Quite the coif!

Sometimes Hannah wakes up after I bring her downstairs on Tuesday nights. This is what she looked like last night... thanks to Ralph the Night-Hairdresser (and sleeping on Auntie Nancy's couch):

Sometime between 12:30 and 1:00am. Awesome.
Check out the eyes... Way too alert!

Wishes gone awry

The other day, Hannah and I were sitting on my bed - probably negotiating a bedtime - when we had this little interchange:

(I believe the conversation started by talking about spiders, which was apparently the subject of a former wish made on a star... That all of the spiders in the world would die. Have I mentioned that Hannah really dislikes spiders?)

H: But it hasn't happened yet.
M: (silently trying to conjure up a response)
H: I even waited 6 or 8 weeks, 'cuz you said some wishes take longer to come true.
M: Ok...
H: But it's been almost a year since I made that wish, and it still hasn't happened. I thought maybe after 8 months it would happen, but now it's been like 10 months.
M: (Still got nothin...)
H: I even said the whole poem!
M: Well, honey... Some wishes don't get to come true...
H: (ignoring me, and cutting me off) Maybe it was a world, and not a star.

I am sure that's what kept that wish from coming true (...not the fact that spiders are an unfortunate but essential part of the food chain).

Watch out, spiders, she's gonna locate a real star soon... And then it's GAME ON!

Friendship defined

Last night, roughly 3 hours past her bedtime (as usual), Hannah was regaling me with tales of friendship, merriment, and betrayal... Well, it was about her and 5 other 6-yr-old girls that are all "training" to be rock stars. Unfortunately, Hannah "had to kick one of the girls out of the group" because she sometimes liked to go play with the boys instead of practicing. The nerve! I mean, "we only have 3 recesses, and we're not in the same class, and not all of them go to Wunderkind (her daycare)." So, quite obviously, they should make good use of the time that they have together... But all of Hannah's yelling isn't making the other girls listen. (Don't worry - we talked about that part, too!) PS- I see trouble ahead for that other girl's parents... Already choosing boys over girlfriends...?

During this struggle with figuring out how to work with friends when things don't always go smoothly, Hannah offered this little nugget of wisdom about her friendship with one of the girls in the group:

"Camille thinks I'm a star. Not because I'm popular, but because of who I am. And I think Camille is a star, even though most people don't like her."

I've never been prouder.

I have a niece!!!

Hi friends! I am so excited to finally have a niece, so I have to brag a little... Mark & Ellie had little Sylvia Paige on Oct 6 at about 4:30 pm (California time). Even being 5 weeks early, she weighed in at 5 lbs 14 ounces, and 18 inches of cute. I had to steal this pic of her, but isn't she adorable!!!


Check out more pics on Paige's and Lenore's blogs... Thanks to Ellie's sisters for keeping us updated! We love you!

PS - I'm insanely jealous of all the Greenbaum doula's for getting to hold little Sylvie already!

Here are some more pics, courtesy of Paige and Nor:

Yes, Ellie is always this beautiful.

Mark, waiting...

Brand new Sylvie!

Mark and Ellie (still gorgeous after delivering), with their adorable new addition!

Welcome to the planet, Sylvie!!! We already love you!

Words from the wise (aka: Hannah)

As usual, Hannah and I were avoiding getting out of bed this morning, as that is quite obviously the most hateful part of the day... While I was trying to convince myself to get up and get ready, Hannah says, "Mommy... Since you're really smart, I'm gonna ask you a hard question."

Me: Ok. Ready.
Hannah: Does every single person fart at least once?
Me: Yep. [Considering that babies pass gas all the time, I think that covers it.]

a thoughtful pause...

H: Ok. I have an even harder one.
M: [awesome, because that last one was a bit of a gimme...]
H: When was John & Eve born?
M: Do you mean Adam & Eve?
H: Yeah.
M: [yep. good one. definitely harder.] I don't really know... We have recorded history that goes back several thousand years... So, before that.
H: (after a brief pause) Well I know when... 3,032 years ago.
M: (impressed, but expressionless) How do you know?

And then she just tapped her temple - as if to say, "It's all in here..."

You'd be surprised at everything that Hannah knows. I know I am... regularly! And I can't wait to find out what other gems are stored in that fabulous mind of hers...

Stay tuned!

When did I get old?

This last weekend, Hannah and I spent some time at Mom and Dad's house, just to get out of Dodge for a few days. Except Mom was on a business trip (still weird!), so it was Dad and Robin at home. At some point, Hannah decided to invite us all to play a quick game of Silly Dilly's with her. Just one problem: Dad and Robin have played and Hannah and I haven't. As a secondary issue, I've been experimenting with not just letting Hannah win. So I told Dad and Robin to play normal, which, unfortunately, they did. As a result, they had all the disks within 8 seconds, and Hannah and I may have had 3 between us. I didn't give a twit whether I had any disks, but Hannah broke down immediately.

As Hannah-tears contain the precise ingredients for clearing a room of Dad and Robin, Hannah and I had some alone-time to talk about it. She was sad that she didn't win, but mostly because she didn't know how to play the game and everyone else (ie: Dad and Robin) did. So I explained that it's just that they've played it before, when we hadn't... And not to worry about it too much. To which she responded, "Well, you have to remember that you guys are like a hundred, and I'm only 6!"

Since when??? Last I checked, I was 30. Now c'mon... Isn't that old enough for now?

Giving up

Do you ever get to that point where you just have nothing left to give and your world is falling apart around you? I'm there, and I can't win for losing.