oh man

did you see this? Does anyone know any further details? Let's pray for everyone involved, from the rescuers, to the families, to area residents.

la acqua naturale

This is my new chore. I get to water the dog every day! Can you tell how excited I am?It's a big job, first I have to make sure it's the right temperature.
Then I have to taste it to see if she will like it.Sometimes I need to taste it again just to be sure.The kitty always tries to take a drink too, so usually I try to distract her
She likes me a lot. but sometimes she likes to go away too. It's very dissappointing. But mommy still loves me, especially when I give her kisses! Maybe next time I'll tell you about the other thing I get to do every day ;-)

Here's some pics of the volcano activity. I don't know who took them but they are pretty small so I assume they were taken with a cell phone. Not too bad though.



Pretty cool huh?

are those cobwebs in the corner?

I've been a lazy blogger lately. If you're an of-age female and I haven't already told you, feel free to ask why, I'm a wellspring (ha) of unabashed TMI. Guys, you REALLY don't want to know. Trust me on this.

At any rate, mr. waaz is going to be away most of this month and there is plenty of fodder in my head and in the camera, so I should be able to muster up the oomph to put together some interesting minutiae for your perusal. eventually. Oh, and the following pic has absolutely nothing to do with anything in this post. It is a tad cute though, no? We've been doing a lot of outdoor activities now that it is cooler; as a result my compost is turned, the garden is happy, the back yard on its way to being level, the bike is mostly clean, and the boy has only gone through 2 diapers in the past 2 days (again with the TMI, I know). Today I am finishing the hem on a pillowcase skirt, folding laundry, playing with the borrowed snap press, and perhaps cleaning bathrooms. What's on your to-do list?

so this is what I bought my guitar for its birthday. I figured you probably: a: didn't read the comment, or b: didn't really get it from the descriptions, or c: everybody loves pictures.

here's the stand.
























a close up of the carving in the middle













Look the wood matches!








Look how much my guitar likes it's present.

what is it

with us and cats?? StupidCat/Psycho Kitty/Albacore used to suck on mr. waaz's dirty black boot socks (never the clean ones and rarely the white ankle socks), knead the floor, and purr like mad with an "interrupt-me-and-bad-things-will-happen" look on his face. Then Temporary began sucking on his own belly to the extent that the ONE time we let him "have at it," he left a wet spot of drool on the couch. I thought we were going to be ok with Cosmo, 10 weeks old (or so) and no sucking. Then the dog had to go and get in a fight--ok, had to try to make friends with a protective pit bull--and now every time I go outside and leave the animals to wallow in the misery that no human interaction brings, I return to--you guessed it--Cosmo trying to suck on the dog's jowly neck, kneading her leg and purring, eyes glazed over and ears cocked for the first sound of the screen door. Weird, I tell ya.

Wordless Wednesday: the view from here

CLICK HERE

ps: explanation in the comments.

new way to create a playlist:

1) Let your iTunes music library play at random.
2) Add a new playlist to the sidebar while the music plays.
3) Pay attention to your resident toddler, who is probably nearby, throwing remotes jingle balls and toy mice at for the kitty and laughing hysterically at the ensuing chase. Or perhaps he's busy unrolling toilet paper or maybe even emptying the junk drawer into the trash can, item by item. Certainly not playing with his very own toys.
4) When said toddler begins head-banging and shaking his butt the SECOND the song starts, drag that song into your brand new playlist and then dance maniacally gracefully around the room with him. Be sure to stop and wonder why it is that a 13 month old can move in time to the music and you certainly cannot. If he stops what he's doing, comes to wherever you are, grins, and then begins jiggling so hard he almost falls on his behind, put it at the top of the list. If it's just kind of waving in motion to the music, put it at the bottom.
5) If your consultant just gives you a funny look, skip to the next song. If he runs away crying, the song probably doesn't belong in your library at all, so delete it.
6) Once you have a good number of songs, or once your toddler falls asleep in the middle of the floor, exhausted from all the hilarity, post your playlist so the entire world can sing along.

My short list from this morning:
"Clinch Mountain Backstep" Doerfel Family Bluegrass Band
"I Got a Robe" Gospel Action Songs
"How Sweet It Is" James Taylor
"Praise You In This Storm" Casting Crowns
"These Words" Natasha Bedingfield
"Get Rhythm" Johnny Cash
"Amazing Grace" Selah
"Big Fish" FFH
"Stuck in the Middle With You" Steve Miller Band
"Wurlitzer Prize" Norah Jones (with Willie Nelson)

Wordless Wednesday

happy birthday

to my guitar.

Taylor serial numbering system let you know exactly what day your guitar was made. Mine was made on the 21st of August, 2006. So it is now officially a one year old. The last three numbers of the serial represent the number made that day, so mine is the 38th guitar to roll off the line. Pretty cool huh? I think you should buy it a present. I did. And to prove that I am not the only crazy one, Emily made it a pie. See:In case you can't quite tell what's going on there is a guitar, musical note and number 1 all cut out in crust. Very crafty.
D

all better

's about time! Hey, I've been thrifting and...um...acquiring...a lot lately and haven't bragged about it yet. Anyone interested?

crying over spilt milk

Everything that went into this child yesterday (and last night...) came out rather abruptly last night via one of two preferred routes. I can't even count how many times he's puked in the last 24 hours, I stopped keeping track after 10. As for the diapers and clothing changes required? Let's just say I'm doing laundry again today. Right after I brew myself a nice cup of chammomile tea. The boys can take care of themselves.

Why are you taking a picture of THAT?!

my Grandma just sent me a few pics from our trip to Rome. (most of the photographic evidence is still locked in the dr. cuz's camera, awaiting release. hint hint.) I was highly amused that two of the pics were of my backside. One of them I tried to turn around and smile for, and she very politely told me she didn't want to see my face, she wanted to remember how I'd wrapped the boy so she could show her friends the "new" way to carry babies. heh.

I brought my camera along on this trip too, but like Grandma, didn't find many opportunities to use it. Self-same dr. cuz has a much nicer camera, and was taking the same pictures I would have taken, so I saved myself the hassle. She was gracious enough to take a few shots for me that she may not have thought of on her own, but drew the line when we got to the Sistine Chapel. My first words: "hey, look at the floor! that is so cool! Those are quilt patterns! Take a picture!" were met with a look. You know the one, mountain family. So I had to make do with my point-and-click olympus. After all, my mother never would have forgiven me for not documenting these. you know, for inspiration. or something. the color and clarity are all wacky because with a bazillion people in one room and low lights and no flash allowed, it's hard to get a clear shot of the floor. It's also hard when you have a tot using you for balance as he oogles.

what's YOUR favorite nursery rhyme?

crimes in rhyme

ha! interesting. We all know about the Ring Around the Rosie hidden meaning, and I've heard a bit about London Bridge, but this is new. I don't, however, see some of my personal favorites in the list, and so I'll keep singing.

Answer time

No one guessed. It's a cosmo:

she matches our carpet quite nicely I think.

I spy with my little eye

first one to guess what is holding the Putz's attention gets a prize. I'll update with the "answer" pic tomorrow. I'll give you one clue: The boy is just as intrigued, but wouldn't hold still long enough for me to snap a clear pic (trust me, I tried).

If you're going to the beach, bring a man.

So we went to the beach with some friends this weekend. We have been here--on an ISLAND--an entire year, and this is our first time. What on earth were we waiting for??? It was in the 100's in housing, but in the 90's and breezy on the coast. We avoided going when Gma was here because, well, you've all heard about the beaches in Europe. This beach happily broke the stereotype: it featured free parking, clean sand, modestly clad swim-suited patrons, blue water, and vendors selling everything from jewelry to floaties.

The boy made friends with a little italian belle, I swallowed much too much salty seawater, the beach chairs (don't ask where I found them ;-)) were utilized, as was the sunscreen and water, and fun was had by all.
EP fell asleep right before it was time to pack up, so we had to pose for just one more picture:

When we got back to the car, we were quite relieved to note that it had not been broken into while we were cavorting. After arranging to meet up with our buddies at our new favorite pizzeria for supper transferring the still sleeping baby to the very hot carseat, and shaking out as much sand as we could from our clothing, we pulled away from the curb. With the AC blasting, the only thought on our minds is a cool shower and no more sand.

Thump. Bump.

uh-oh.
"honey...is the car riding a little funny to you?

Like maybe something's wrong?

Like maybe we have a flat tire??"

"um. yes."

Here's where the title of this post comes into play. Because our car seems to have an innate ability to find every single pointy metal thing
in the road, Mr. Waaz has become extremely skilled at changing tires. So skilled, in fact, that taking the back tire off, replacing it with the spare, taking the front tire off and replacing it with the back tire took under 30 minutes. AND the boy stayed asleep, which proves that there was no yelling or banging involved whatsoever. What a man. (what a man what a man what mighty fine man)

We made it home in time to shower and change clothes before supper. Which was superb, by the way. No pictures because we ate it too quickly...but if you come visit me, I'll take you there, promise.

uh-oh

We have a great morning routine here in the waaz household. I wake up, deposit the boy outside so he can...you know...commune. With nature. Utilize the diaper free opportunity to water the grass at will. You get the point. Anyway, while he's toddling around in the back yard, I feed the dog, enjoy a latte and some cereal, browse the net, and think about what new and wonderful things I'm going to do that day. Somewhere in there, once EP has been quite relieved, I escort him back inside and outfit him with a nice clean diaper so he can go about fulfilling his other morning ritual. A couple of weeks ago, I sort of forgot about the second part of our routine. That was also the morning the dog was feeling extra cuddly and decided to sit right down behind the boy and make sure his backside wasn't catching a chill. Bad plan. Anyway, I digress. This morning I didn't even get to my coffee because I got distracted playing with this fun tool and messing with the blog (love it? hate it? mom, what's the message board sign-in info?). While I was busy cropping, refreshing, and squinting, EP wandered inside and under the table and over to me and was almost to the back door again when he whined. I paid no attention. And then he peed. oops, shoulda listened to the whine, I guess. I won't even tell you what happened after I got that cleaned up and before I could slap a diaper on the child. No, I'll just let you use your imagination and assure you once again that there are redeeming qualities about an all-tile floor. This is helping ready him for potty training, right?! and it's the last time it'll ever happen? stop laughing, moms. no, seriously. it's not that funny. I'd like to see you react with as much poise and aplomb. At least I didn't take a picture...

blech. we are now fully diapered and ready to face the day. what a relief. What's your morning routine?

eta: actually posted by mira, not granny, but I forgot to sign out and back in. deal with it.

big boy bath

anyone feel like adding captions? until then, think of this as a old-timey silent slide show of sorts.

wordless wednesday