Be Afraid... be very, very afraid...

and then stockpile, and plan.

If you don't know about Peak Oil , it's time to start a crash course.

If you're like Kevmo and I, and have been aware of Peak Oil for awhile, but just didn't allow it to truely sink in, it's also time to start a crash course.

The link above is a good start. Learning how to garden- for real- is another one.

just another post...

I've been meaning to blog for days, have had various posts running in my brain but though i am on and off the computer all day (and kevmo can attest to this) having uninterrupted time to complete said post from start to finish is tougher. By the time both kids are in bed and asleep i am either not far behind, or my brain can listlessly surf the web or watch some Tv on DVD and that's about it.

But tonight- you are in luck. A few handfuls of chocolate chips too many and the hours my dear, sweet husband allowed me to sleep in this morning have given me a second wind here at nearly 11pm. Which is good for you, in that you'll have this nice, rambling blog to read, and bad for me in that once again, i will have stayed up far too late. Though i am sure the parents in the audience can attest to how difficult it is to give up those kid-free evening hours. So often I am sooooo tired and I really should fall right asleep with Liam at 8pm, but then it would be like i got no break. Sleeping does not constitute a break. Thus I sacrifice a few hours of rest for some uninterrupted time to push the laundry through another cycle, get the kitchen cleaned, find some random space for the many toys scattered through out the house... oh, who am i kidding? mostly the kid-free time is spent emailing, surfing the web, watching a movie or hanging with kevmo if he isn't working.

But this is not what i intended to blog about.

So as kevmo wrote in his blog, we're checking out and pursuing quite seriously a chunk of land with a passable house and a nice looking barn. The property is up on a ridge about 25 min. from our current home, with unbelievable views of the valley and lake below- a nice country lake, not a jet-ski playground like the lake we currently play in. This opportunity kind of just fell into our laps, and there's nothing perfect about it; in fact, there are several things that are pausers. But when is anything perfect? I could ping-pong this thing back and forth in my brain until i've anticipated every possible move, but even then...??? It's taking a chance, a chance at country living, 25 min. from any decent size town that has things like groceries and gas.... a chance at living and making decisions with some people that we really don't know at all...a chance at managing a family, remodeling a barn, tending a marriage, finding solo time- all at once. But most importantly, it's an opportunity to live a conscious life, to choose to spend the majority of our time in a place that challenges us to stay awake and alert. It's pretty cool to have that opportunity. With all of the f*&cked up shit going on in the world today, I welcome a place of constant beauty.

****

in other news, we attended one of the first of- i assume- many performance that one of our children will be in. Raelin took a little ballet camp every day this past week with a gaggle of other 3 and 4 year olds. I was thrilled to see 3 boys in the camp, and since one of our good friends' daughter was also in the camp, i had some nice mommy time with a friend. On Friday the kids did a mini-recital. It was really just doing what they did in class, but in front of a line of parents armed with video and digital cameras. Yup, i filmed along with them... until i was laughing so hard i couldn't see the screen and decided i would miss it if i didn't put the camera down and just pay attention. Oh my. What.a.show.

For the first part, they stood in this nice little circle holding hands and showed that they knew first position, plies, tondeaus and the like. Well, some of the kids did. Some looked around wide-eyed. Some did the move 30 seconds or so after the others had moved on (Raelin)... some picked their nose (Raelin)...some ran over to mommy and daddy and Liam to give kisses (Raelin). When the ballet part was done, they did a bit of interpretive dance along to a taped voice that encouraged them to "Sway... like a tree" (Raelin hopped... like a ?)... or "melt" at which time Raelin announced that she was "swimming." We kinda felt like Steve Martin and his wife at the end of "Parenthood," when they watch the play desintegrate before their eyes with their kids at the center of it. It was priceless.

Needless to say, when the teacher, Miss Emily, handed out the fall schedules I told her that we had to settle into preschool and then maybe we'd consider doing ballet again in the winter when presumably Raelin's attention span and ability to follow some directions will have matured along with the seasons. We shall see. I doubt we have a dancer on our hands... at least not of the classical type. Abstract, interpretive and creative, yes. Structured, poised, focused ballet... doubtful. But then again, this is not anything that i didn't already know.

Well, it's time for me to retire for the evening.... Good night, Children, Everywhere...

da sudz...

It seems only appropriate that i dedicate a full post on PottyParty to the Sudz. They are, after all, part of the family.

They come with us on errands, usually riding in the back of the station wagon. But unlike Jasmin (our trusty white Shepherd) they do not whine, and are quite behaved. They even lay down! Sometimes Raelin needs to give them a shout, "Sudz! LAY DOWN!" and from what i can tell (which isnt very much) they usually obey.

The Sudz sometimes hang out in the basement, and when they are especially naughty, they hang out in the bedroom when Liam is napping. But no worries- when I tell Raelin not to open the door to let them out (or check in on Liam to make sure he's still asleep) they quickly scamper out the crack between the door and the floor.

The Sudz like to eat crumbs off the floor, small bits of chips, O's and the like. Seems they must steal water from the dogs' bowl, either that or drink from the toilets, because i can't remember the last time a bowl of water was put down especially for them.

And apparently the Sudz are rather hairy, as i learned from eavesdropping on this conversation Raelin has just this morning:

ENTER RAELIN. SHE PICKS UP THE PHONE AND DIALS A NUMBER. GUESSING FROM THE NUMBER OF BUTTONS PUSHED, SHE HAS EVIDENTLY JUST CALLED MARS. THEY PICK UP.

yeah, hi, this is kellyraelinoceancallahan and i would like to know a question?

PAUSE

yeah, um, the sudz need a de-shed can you do that?... yeah... um, ok, grreeaaaaate.

PAUSE

ok, byeseeyoulateriloveyou!

CLICK



So you might be wondering who the hell the Sudz are... me too! But here's the best i can piece together...

In February, I took Raelin to kid's concert... a guy named Rick Charette who is a Maine native and has a gazillion albums out and has been singing since i was a kid. I have fond memories of such songs as, "I Love Mud" and "There's an Alligator in the Elevator" so i was pretty psyched to take her.

The first some Rick sings is called "Car Wash" and there are some groovy hand motions that go along with it. Since it was the first song of the show, Raelin actually watched and paid attention. She loved it. She more or less tuned out after that and preferred to run around and climb up and down the stairs, but when i asked her if she wanted a CD, she emphatically announced that she needed the "Car Wash" CD. So we got it, and for the next several months all we listed to were:

Splish, splosh squish
scrub scrub scrub

look at me, i'm covered with suds
Splish, splosh squish
splatter and spray
washing that dirt away...

etc...

(for the adult version, contact kevmo, his blog is now at www.kevcallahan.com...)

So, apparently that song made a big impression on her, and the Sudz have been with us ever since.

I can't complain, really. They eat fairly discreetly, now that i've insisted that they eat out of bowls and not off the floor, they seem to go to sleep on their own, and best of all, they are highly entertaining, via Raelin.

If they have sudzlettes... i'll let you know.

THIS JUST IN:

So Raelin's been asleep since 4:15 or so and it's now after 8:30 at night. We're sitting at the table talking when..."kerthunk" a door opens and closes and little feet start striding down the hall. Now typically when R wakes up there's some amount of grumpiness, or at least a "mommy/daddy can you come in here?" No such comment now, just the purposeful strides of a toddler on a mission. She got out to the living room and said in her groggy little voice "I just came out to get the sudz because they're climbing into here (as she peered into the carseat in out living room)."

Then she and Kevmo had some dinner and made ice cream...