ellipsis...

Courtesy of Wikipedia: Ellipsis (plural ellipses; from the Greek: ἔλλειψις, élleipsis, "omission") is a mark or series of marks that usually indicate an intentional omission of a word in the original text. An ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause in speech, an unfinished thought, or, at the end of a sentence, a trailing off into silence (aposiopesis) (apostrophe and ellipsis mixed). When placed at the end of a sentence, the ellipsis can also inspire a feeling of melancholy longing. The ellipsis calls for a slight pause in speech.

So why am I telling you this? Well, first because I had no idea what "..." was called until tonight. (OK, well maybe I knew one day, a long, long time ago but I clearly forgot.) And because Gage is absolutely the most adorable reader ever. Tonight he read Zuzu and I a bedtime story, "Watch Me Throw The Ball!" and I'm telling you, this kid is good.  The book, part of a series of books by Mo Willems, is written as a conversation between Elephant and Piggie.  And Gage just gets it.  His inflections are right on.  He gets loud and angry when Elephant gets all riled up and he gets sweet and silly when Piggie does.  But the best part?  The ellipses. Because Gage sings them as if it's a goofy mystery and we just can't wait to find out what's next. It sounds something like this, "duh, duh, duuuhhhhhhh". And it is ADORABLE.

the zuzu show

'Cause it was a Rock Lobster, You Can't Stop the Beat, Life's What You Make It kinda day...

and another page has turned...

And then all of the sudden it happens. Without conversation, explanation or celebration, he silently retreats back to his old room. It is as if he never left. There is no hesitation, no fear and certainly no regret. He is even immune to the pleading from his little sister who generously shared her bed for over six months and isn't quite ready for him to move on yet.

He sits patiently in his bed reading his new, big boy chapter books while mom reads to his little sister and tends to her many ridiculous requests in the room next door. And then, when his turn has come, I sit on his bed and HE reads to ME. He tells me he loves me. He lets me wander out. And he goes to sleep.

In his room. In his bed. Alone.

And another page has turned...

our kids are weird

Our kids are weird.

And our dog is weird too.
But my video icon is back!

In case you haven't noticed, I've been unable to upload videos to this blog for some time now. Terribly frustrating but clearly it never became a big priority. Until a few days ago when I mentioned it via blog comment to my most useful bloggy friend, Jill, who found the simple solution for me. Ah, it's nice to have motivated friends.

So now my easy peasy link function is gone, and some of the other frilly new features that I'd been enjoying that you probably could care less about, but the video action is back.
Consider yourself warned.

you are loved.

You are loved.  

And you are beautiful in every way.  

And you are my rock.  

And I simply can't type anymore because there are too many tears in my eyes.  

Thank you. For everything.

We miss you & can't wait to see you again soon.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

happy mother's day to me

Not only was I showered with three different flower arrangements by the thoughtful adults in my life today, I was also honored with two lovely handmade cards courtesy of my loving children and their talented teachers.  I'm still waiting for the day that one of my children doesn't thank me for taking them to the toy store...but nonetheless, I am teary eyed reading these love notes over, and over, and over again...

My mom is great because...

She makes sure I don't fall.  

She takes me to the toy store and 

she gets me water when I'm thirsty.

Love, Zuzu

My mom's hair is as yellow as the sun.  

She can help me build a robot. 

My mom is as smart as a scientist.  

Her eyes are as blue as an iceberg.  

My mom is so cool!  

She is a great mom! 

Love, Gage

When I read Gage's card in the school parking lot I started to cry.  I bent down and gave him a huge hug and told him how much he had genuinely touched my heart by his words.  He looked up at me and said, "I know, I know... and now you're going to go home and put it on your blog."  

the fight for the frozen land

It's official.  Our son is a creative genius AND a perfectionist.  What?  You're not surprised?  But why?  His genes hardly lean that way. 
Do they? 

This is a journal entry he wrote tonight in the handmade journal I made this afternoon.  Twice.  (The first journal's pages didn't line up perfectly and it was abandoned and given to his little sister.) 

This copy above is chapter one of the journal.  When you add the intended caps & punctuation it reads, "The GRO is a secret agent team that solves crimes.  It only has children in it.  The secret agent rock star is today's agent.  Today's mission is the fight for the frozen land."  He got the idea from a new series of "chapter books" he's reading entitled Secret Agent Jack Stalwart.  Granted, edition 12 that he's on now is called "The Fight for the Frozen Land" so it's not entirely creative... but still. We all have to get inspired somehow.

Unfortunately, the artwork on the top of the page was discredited by the author and the entire journal was abandoned shortly before bed.  At his majesty's request, I have just spent the last 40 minutes of my evening photocopying, cutting, gluing and binding journal #3.  Wish me luck when I hand it over tomorrow.  It better damn well pass inspection.

it's somehow worse in writing

I got this email today from our local soccer league and I really just want to know (and I almost want to type in all caps but I'll refrain because I really hate that) how I can look forward to another terrific season when our baby is going to be in Second Grade.  Second Grade?  Really?  Noooooooo...

Dear Kristi,
Gage has successfully enrolled in the club's 2010 recreational soccer season.
•••
Currently, we have Gage in the Second Grade - Coed age group.
•••
Please contact me ONLY if the information above is in error.
With approx. 1,350 players already signed up, we’re looking forward to another terrific season.  I’m glad you’re a part of it!
Best regards,