Bang • Bang • Bang: Return of the Bullet List

• An actual snippet of recent dialogue between Avery and me:

A: “Momma, turn off the TV.”
Me: “No, Avery, You are watching another episode of Max and Ruby.”

Let me explain myself: I have been sick, so once again I have been parenting from that prone position. It hit me like a freight train on Sunday: Within and hour I lost my voice and felt terrible chest constriction. Bad cough, sore throat, the works. The poor girls wanted to go to the playground on Monday and there was no way I could take them. I let them watch way too much TV that day. I have been feeling better each day, but suffering from extreme exhaustion. I fall asleep earlier than Nicole.

• Last night I came home from the food store with a pint of strawberries for Madeline. I left them on the counter in the kitchen and went on my merry way. Avery went in, pulled over a stool, took them out of the container, put them all in a bowl and brought them to Maddie, serving them up to her with a smile and a “Here ya go, Maddie.” Is that not the sweetest thing ever? I basked in the adorable afterglow of that for a few minutes, then freaked out that the strawberries weren’t washed and therefore most likely toxic.

• I have a secret blog. No, not the secret blog that I direct you all to when I have a password protected posts. Another one. My third one, technically. On it I am completely anonymous, mostly pictureless, and topic-focused. And writing on both is exhausting. And confusing: I need to keep switching “identities” and make sure that I leave comments as “arcane matters.” I know this is annoying, but I won’t be sharing that link quite yet.

• Nicole has oral surgery today. Some complex procedure that requires grafting skin from the roof of the mouth to be placed near a certain part of her gums. I don’t ask for any details because mouth issues are traumatizing to me. The girls’ losing teeth stage is going to destroy me. She took Friday off, so we will be heading up to Massachusetts so she can recover. It’s a four day weekend! I am hoping that when she gets back today she will feel inspired to leave tonight. I love waking up there, and she does too. But I have a feeling she will most likely want to recuperate tonight and head out tomorrow morning. A girl can dream.

• Madeline is talking a lot more these days. Her favorite phrases include: “Hey, what are you doing?” and “That’s mine” and “I be right back” and “Go this way, Momma.” She still won’t say yes, and instead says “ok.” She is starting to punctuate her requests with please, which pleases me.

• Avery’s favorite phrases include: “I need last time” and “No either” and “I need to wash my hands” and “What’s that sound, Momma?” She also can play toddler games on my iPhone like a pro. It is surreal to see her laying on the couch. Which her legs crossed, holding my phone and playing the games and calling out shapes. We never had that sort of stuff when I was her age. We had these weird little credit-card size electronic games from China that broke after like a week.

• Madeline and Avery sleep together every night now. And every nap, too. They smush into Maddie’s toddler bed together, sharing a pillow and blankets. That is the cute part. The not-so-cute part is that they play and talk and laugh and sing, sometimes for hours, before they fall asleep in a tangled mess of blankets and arms and legs. Last night they drifted off within about ten minutes. But Madeline woke up an hour later in a night terror. Figures.

• I bought a treadmill and am beyond excited. It is being delivered in Massachusetts tomorrow. I only wish we had room for one in NYC. It is so much more cost-effective than gym memberships, not to mention convenient.

• I am starting to get worried that I WILL win the NYC marathon lottery in March. What a challenge that will be to train for.

• The girls’ favorite book right now: Five Little Monkeys and Good Night, New York. They really exhaust one book before moving on to another. It can be quite tedious for me.

• I am addicted to Bog Love. I just watched all three seasons. And now I need to start Season 4. The problem is, we cancelled HBO because we never watch it. Now I need to add it again for a month so I can catch up.

Pictured above, Avery likes sushi! Well, Avery likes the salty soy sauce, that is for certain. Also pictured, Madeline the Lion, one of the dress up costumes at this great little café with an indoor play are for kids in Massachusetts. And finally, Avery yelling CHEESE as I snap a picture from the front seat. All crappy quality because I took these pictures with my phone.