Crazy

Sooo....two kids is a lot of work. Having that second kid doesn't just double your work, it increases it exponentially. Like, to the 112th power. All of a sudden you go from two-on-one to man-to-man defense. Or even zone when you're by yourself. Because now you have two dependents who are remarkably good at tag-teaming in the needs department. Take nap time, for example. I put Aoife down for a nap, then move on to Cormac. He takes for-freaking-ever to calm down, and by the time I get him somewhat settled Aoife has woken up angry because she has rolled to the other side of the crib and can't get her pacifier and lovey since her arms are pinned to her sides by the darn blanket. So then I get her back to sleep, and by that time Cormac has thrown all the toys out of the bins on his bookshelf and is using them to climb up higher on the bookshelf in order to fling more stuff off.

Or sometimes in the car, Aoife gets annoyed that she's still in her carseat because it's been, like, five whole minutes. So she starts fussing, which annoys Cormac, so he yells, which bugs Aoife so she cries louder, which makes Cormac cry, and so on. The situation deteriorates very rapidly.

And then try traveling with both of them. We did it a few weekends ago when we went to a wedding in Seattle. Thank God my parents were on the same flight with us, because otherwise one of our children would still be lost in the airport, and I would still be knocked out from all the Ativan. Here's the craziest thing, though: we're planning a trip in the beginning of November with just Chris, me, and the kids. To England. I know. We clearly did not have our thinking caps on when we made that decision. But the tickets are already booked, so across the pond we go. But it will be fine as long as no one loses anything too important, like an eye or a limb.

I had originally planned on making this post longer, but I've been working on it for, like, three days now, and I can't really remember what else I wanted to say. Because I have two kids. So I'm just gonna post what I've got, because, hey, it's something, right?

Conversations With Cormac. And Aoife. And Inanimate Objects.

While driving in the car, I hear voices in the backseat. At a stoplight I turn to look at Cormac.

Cormac: I'm talking to Aoife.

Me: Oh yeah? What's she saying?

Cormac: Ah.

***

Cormac: Hi!

Chris: Hey, Kiddo! What are you coming over here for?

Cormac: I'm coming to eat ice cream!

Chris: Oh, you want some ice cream, huh?

Cormac: Ok!

***

Cormac to his stuffed bunny: No, no. I don't like this. I need some space... Ow! Don't kick! That hurts.

***

I'm taking Morris for a walk with Aoife in the Moby wrap. As I cross the street, I pass a woman who asks, "Is that a little baby in there?"

Me: Yup!

No, I have a ten-pound tumor on my torso that I like to decorate with scarves.

Kites: A Story In Pictures

A few weeks ago, we bought a kite to fly at the park across the street from our house, because it's almost always windy. For some reason, though, every time we planned to go use the kite for the first time, something came up and we had to postpone. But yesterday we finally made it over to the park with said kite in hand... only to find that there was almost no wind to speak of. There was enough of a breeze to get it in the air for a short time, so we made the best of it.

Cormac flying the kite mostly by himself.

A small amount of assistance,

And now on his own.

This is about as high as we got it.

A rainbow in the sky

Short range kite flying

Time to head home.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Although the real celebration with family, corned beef and cabbage, and car bombs is on Saturday, we celebrated on a smaller scale today; everyone wore green, we listened to Irish music all day, and we made colcannon for dinner. Cormac also informed us that he really likes beer, and he would like to drink some, too. I told him he has to be at least eight before he has any beer.

Colcannon is really easy to make, and it's delicious. Here's a recipe. Make sure you use plenty of butter and salt. And if you feel the need, you can add some cooked thick-cut bacon or ham.

Colcannon

1 1/4 pounds (about 2 large) russet (baking) potatoes

3 cups thinly sliced cabbage

1/2 cup milk, scalded

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits and softened

Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch pieces. In a saucepan cover the potatoes with salted water and simmer them, covered, for 15 minutes, or until they are tender. While the potatoes are simmering, in a steamer set over boiling water steam the cabbage for 5 minutes, or until it is tender. Drain the potatoes in a colander, force them through a ricer or the medium disk of a food mill into a bowl, and stir in the milk, the butter, the cabbage, and salt and pepper to taste.

Slàinte!

Making Do

What, your kid doesn't sleep in a laundry basket?

Welcome, Little One

Aoife finally decided to join us on February 9, a week late, thus carrying on the family tradition of never being able to get anywhere on time. She decided to follow in her brother's footsteps by arriving at 41 weeks exactly and was pretty much the same size as her brother, at 7 lbs and 20 inches (Cormac was 7 lbs 1 oz, and 19 inches). Actually, Aoife even looked almost exactly like her brother when he was born. When it comes to cooking my babies, I am nothing if not consistent.

The only downside to the similarities between my two children is that I sometimes forget that Aoife is a girl, especially since we dress her in the same clothes that Cormac wore.

Things we have learned about Aoife so far: she is feisty, loud, and has very large feet. She also sleeps quite well at night and is often content to lay by herself and look around at the world during the day.

Welcome to the world, little one.

Go To Sleep

Cormac is currently upstairs refusing to nap. I know he's tired because he fell asleep in the car right before we got home, and his cheeks are rosy, but now he's just throwing stuff over the gate we use to keep him contained in his room. This wouldn't be the end of the world, except that I'm exhausted and overly pregnant and want to nap. I'm trying to be patient with him, but this is what I really want to say:



Remind me again why we're having another one.