Max and Ilona's Visit - July '05

Max, Ilona, Grandma, and Grandma Candy...

We had a great visit with Max and Ilona and Grandma, and made sure we got to spend some quality time with Grandma Candy as well.

The kids were great, and we had such a good time with them. We had so much fun. But WOW, what a lot of work. We were both bone-tired exhausted after they left. I can't wait till we get to see them again.

"I don't know if you have a mom, but I know my Aunt Judy belongs to you"

Max trying to figure out how he's related to his uncle.

"I know I can do it. I know I can do it. I know I can do it all by my self."

Ilona trying to buckle her own seat belt. It took five minutes, but she did it!

"This is not my breakfast"

Ilona's response to a granola bar.

On Being an Auntie...

We are now on day 3 of the great munchkin adventure. Max and Ilona arrived with Grandma on Friday night. Mr. H had been a little trepidatious about spending 5 days with my mom and 2 toddlers, but Ilona took care of that when she quickly made it clear to everyone that Mr. H was her chosen one, her favorite, her 'Princess Transportation Device,' and pointedly declared to Mr. H that she needed a hug. He complied. The two are now best friends and Aunt Judy is jealous.

Max is charming and handsome, and at five, quite the little man. He always makes sure to hold the door open for anyone that needs it, even the automatic doors, which he holds open by waving his foot in the air in front of the door. He also misses his Daddy. Every other sentence starts with, "My Dad ..."

There's so much more to tell, but right now we're off to spend the day with Grandma "Candy"

Whew! Aunt Judy is tired.

What comes around goes around

The other day, a friend of mine at work asked me if I had a copy of the Riversong Lodge Cookbook. The book, a mix of recipes and the stories of a couple's trials and triumphs in building a fly-in lodge in rural Alaska had been a favorite of mine. I spent hours reading the stories and even more hours trying out the recipes. But the book had been loaned out to someone many years ago and no longer in my possession.

My friend brought in her copy of the book to give me, she was trying to downsize her cookbook collection, but she likes to make sure her things have a good home. I love how things come full circle like this. And this time I got an upgrade. My old copy was paperback. The new one, hard bound and signed by the author.

Autobiography of a Fat Bride

Every once in a while you come across an author of whose voice you just can't get enough. Laurie Notaro is one of those writers. I'm currently reading "Autobiography of a Fat Bride: True Tales of a Pretend Adulthood." The chapters are short, 3 page stories that are brief enough to be read out loud - which happens often in this house as my husband pokes his head in the room to find out why I'm laughing out loud.

She strikes me as a cross between Bridget Jones and the chick from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." She's goofy, clumsy, often drunk, and quite confused about what it means to be a grown up. She could be one of my friends.