[W] Afraid to Hope

I really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY want this man to win the election. I want it so badly I feel like if I think about it too much, I'll jinx it -- kind of like I never like to talk about how I think I did on a big test. I believe this is a quintessentially Midwestern sort of feeling -- the feeling that openly proclaiming what you really want to happen will cause the very thing you want most not to happen after all.

Admittedly, I have reservations. One of my greatest concerns is that evidently the man upon whose shoulders I rest my hopes and dreams for my country, my future, my family's future, my children's future, is a smoker (how often he smokes is up for debate, it seems). I've seen pictures. And the thing is, I believe smoking is a major character flaw.

Still, it's not nearly as bad, as, say, telling Katie Couric you have experience with foreign policy because you can see Russia from your window. So, my hope is that Obama will win -- and win by a landslide, so that the blasted Republicans will see how fed up we Americans are with the way things have been handled by G.W. and his cronies. And I hope that after he wins, he reads When You Are Engulfed in Flames and hires those Hiroshima experts on Big Tobacco's dime to rid himself of a filthy habit. GOBAMA!

-W

[W] A+ Cousins

One of the things that's really important to me is that our kids know each other. I'm not sure if my two will ever have any "real" cousins anyway, so the A+ Jr. branch will be called upon to fill that role for J & B. Anyway, this is a picture I took of the loft area of a condo in Mammoth that S and I rented a few years back. When I was looking through old pictures to inspire today's blog, I found this one and thought, This is the room I can imagine the A+ kids sharing! I mean, can't you just see them all curled up in their beds giggling their little heads off? So, hopefully we can make that happen at least once a year as the kids get older. Won't they be surprised when they see what wild and crazy women their mommies become when they get together?!

-W

[W] Pumpkin Patch

We took J & B to a "pumpkin patch" the other day -- not really a pumpkin patch at all, but a sectioned off corner of a gravel parking lot at the local community college with pumpkins lined up in stick-straight rows. Other authentic and not-so-authentic pumpkin patch touches included hay bales, dried corn stalks, a kiddie train, a pumpkin-shaped bouncy house, and a delightful game of chance which offers the lucky suckers who pay $2 to play the game the opportunity to win fabulous assorted prizes all of which you could buy 4,000 of in China for 50 cents.

We had a grand old time and J & B particularly enjoyed pushing the aptly named "Colossal" pumpkins off of the hay bales. Happily, none of the colossal pumpkins went the way of Humpty Dumpty, so we didn't have to buy pre-smashed pumpkin.

In fact, we ended up skipping the pumpkin purchase all together because the pumpkins were quite over-priced. I think we'll swing by the local grocery today or tomorrow to pick up a few.

-W

[C] Teach Our Children Well

I figured that my very first foray into the blogosphere should be about something weighty and important. Opining about the historic election right around the corner, or about the disastrous state of the global economy, threats to the environment - these seemed topics appropriate to the occasion. But in the freakish myopia that stay-at-home-motherhood can be, somehow diapers and feeding and bathing take on fateful significance all their own. As do playing and learning and laughing and growing... and come to think of it, what really is more meaningful than how we raise and shape our children? I find myself wondering how our toddlers will be when they are kids, then teenagers, then adults. What amazes me is how quickly that will happen, if the past twenty years are any indication. That's how long the four of us have been friends. In less time than we have known each other our little ones will be meeting the people who will become *their* A+ Productions. May they all be as lucky.

- C

[W] Gonzo

I've been thinking a lot about my wee doggie Gonzo lately -- missing him. We lost him suddenly a year ago this month and it's hard to believe a year has passed already. He really was the most amazing furry friend. Gonzo and I spent many long hours snuggling together during my pregnancy-induced couch-rest months. I am grateful now that we had that time together before the twins came along and life got so crazy.

Three of my favorite things about Gonzino:

1. his wiggly butt move which always charmed/terrified people when they first met him
2. the way he climbed under the covers to cuddle me at night
3. the way he woke S. and I up each morning by licking our faces.
   

I miss you, Gonzino d'Beano.

[W] Atkins Diet My Foot!

Today J & B and I went to the local bread outlet and got eight bread items for $11.40. Admittedly, we definitely did not need EIGHT breads, but, you know, I was hungry. And it's so cheap! And I only picked out four things, and then I let the kids each pick out one item (J picked the Milton's Whole Grain and B picked the Roman Meal Whole Grain Sandwich -- excellent taste, if I do say so myself) and then we got two items for free because we spent $11 and we got lots of stamps on our free bread card.

I am in love with the bread outlet. Especially because bread at the regular grocery store these days is a whopping $4+ a loaf. That's if you get the fancy stuff and not the generic white, which they'll sell you for a buck, but it's generic white. Why eat white bread when there's so much other delicious bread out there? You know? Kind of like, why eat a non-chocolate dessert when there's chocolate to be had?! Why waste the calories?

This came up last night at my girls' movie night when I won the trivia contest and got to choose first from an array of delectable gourmet mini-desserts from a local bakery/cafe. I, of course chose the chocolate walnut cake. But I only took half because in a roomful of women, it's just not right to monopolize chocolate!

-W

P.S. Yes, that is a cheese danish you see in the picture. What can I say? I was hungry. Naughty, I know, but it will be so yummy!

[R] Wow! And I don't even have a cell phone...

And yet, I am BLOGGING! I would add a picture to the blog, but, alas, our family digital camera is in Beijing at the moment. It is a sad state of affairs when one envies the family camera.

I'm feeling a bit of pressure that I don't feel in emails -- you know, to be witty and make sure my grammar is correct. I guess if we're going to become famous with the blog, I should just get over it.

One thing I think is blog worthy is my super idea for the TODDLER OLYMPICS. I got the idea the other day while at Adele's gymnastics class when a fellow audience member-toddler threw a fit. I was thinking (as the ever competetive parent), "Oh, that is NOTHING, my dearest Elsa could throw a much louder and longer tantrum than THAT." Thus, the idea for Toddler Olympics was born. So, some events:

Food throwing (obviously)
Marathon tantrum

Hmm, well, the categories would all have to involve either food or endurance tantrums, I guess.

Ok, I'm off to frost the cut-out cookies I made with the girls this morning. I'm not sure I have it in me to frost them while they are awake -- it would just turn into them stuffing frosting into their mouths every time I turned around.

[W] Chaos & Mayhem

Behold, an aerial shot of the utter and complete chaos my dear J & B have left in their wake after a stay-at-home morning. Their dad started it, as he usually does, by pulling pillows off of the couch to create a dive-pit for the wee ones. The books are more or less my fault because I collapsed on the pillows after lunch and then the kids started bringing me books and I decided it was a good way to keep them busy, so I demanded that they bring me "all the books in the WORLD!!!!" and they cheerfully obeyed.

On the bright side, the kitchen is decidedly lacking in chaos today, which is a nice change. I made J & B mac and cheese with hot dogs for lunch, and made myself an onion bagel with cream cheese that was two months expired (discovered after I'd already downed half the bagel) and a banana. As they are wont to do, the children begged for my food, and because I am a total softy, I handed it over leaving myself to forage lunch from their discards after the fact. The bagel was good -- even though by the time I got it it was cold, smeared with macaroni and cheese from kiddie fingers, and, of course, covered with expired cream cheese.

And now, I must call the gym and cancel my first ever training session with a real, honest-to-goodness trainer so that I can go watch a movie and drink cosmopolitans with friends instead. A much better plan if you ask me!

Oh -- and there's still the living room to tackle. Ugh.

-W

[W] The Iowa Waltz

You just don't get this kind of wide-open sky in Southern California. When I went back to Iowa after I'd been living in Big Bear for a few years, I distinctly remember feeling like I could really stretch out, really breathe in Iowa. Now that I've married a Californian, I doubt that I'll ever land in the Midwest again -- these California folks are so attached to their balmy coastal climes. And -- well, truth be told, I've grown pretty wimpy about cold myself. But I am filled with gratitude and I feel so lucky to have grown up in Iowa.

-W

[W] Really? A Blog?

Okay -- who are we kidding with a blog? We're not big on drawing attention to ourselves. We're quiet, strong women who are committed to changing the world we live in for the better. We've known each other since the angst-ridden middle school years and though we're not related, we're sisters just the same.

Oh -- and we're very smart -- Honor roll, Dean's list, that sort of thing. But just how do we translate that to being grownup-type people with grownup-type responsibilities like kids, husbands, jobs, mortgages? That's what we're all still trying to figure out. After all, AP English didn't include a unit on crock pot cooking. Hmmmm....

-W