Trees please

Having been in this house for 2 whole years, I decided it's time to get outside and do some landscaping in our little ol' yard. We bought all sorts of nice shrubs and plants and five nice-sized trees. The trees were being planted this morning, and I was very excited. Then I woke up at 4AM and remembered that I have no idea where the gas line is buried (or the electric, phone, or cable, for that matter). Probably a good idea to find out where that is before the poor tree planter hits a line and my neigborhood explodes or we lose cable or some other disaster. So this morning I called the "Dig Safely NY" people and they are going to have all of the lines marked for me. But I had to cancel the trees and reschedule for Thursday, which is a minor bummer.

On a positive note, our dream of fencing all around is being realized, as we've arranged to share the cost of some fencing we'll share with the people next door. When it's all done we'll have a nice, private, semi-enclosed backyard. And it will have trees!!

Poor little geeky baby...

My husband has trained our young one (or should I say padawan???) to ask for Star Wars by name. As in, "Star Wars? Watch Star Wars!" Jeff of course beams with pride and loads up A New Hope immediately. He reads the opening titles to her as if they are a bedtime story. When people get hit by blasters he tells her they are going to sleep. She's obsessed with R2-D2's whereabouts and wants to know "Where D2 go?" whenever he is off-screen.

What's perhaps even sadder is that I am loving this. It's really sweet and funny to watch them together. He finally got his very own Princess Leia.

To sleep, perchance to let Mommy watch Desperate Housewives

Lately my little one has been next to impossible to put to sleep at night. She used to get into her crib, smile, say "Night night Mommy!" and I would gleefully go forth into the world of adults (well, if you consider Jeff an adult, but you get the idea). But for the past week or so it's been "No, Mommy...Read book again! Sit here!" etc. and I've been getting sustained howls of fury should I try to leave before she falls asleep. This is completely unlike naptime, where she usually cries for 30 seconds or so but then gives up and goes to sleep. I've been feeling like I did when she was an infant and I refused to let her cry it out but was at the same time at my wit's end becasue she just too forever to get to sleep. I've taken to begging Jeff to sit in the nursery with his laptop and play World of Warcraft so she stops crying and I get to leave, which works, but it's not his favorite solution. But tonight I seem to have stumbled upon the answer: I told her I had to go potty (true, I really had to pee...) but I'd come back and check on her. (I conveniently neglected to specify when.) Lo and behold, no crying! I heard some "Where Mommy?" on the monitor, but no outraged screams of fury. I'm ridiculously happy right now. Now let's see if it works tomorrow!

So much for gender neutrality

Leia hands me the cart by itself with the little blond dude inside.

"Oh, look, the prince is riding in the hay cart!"

"Horsey?"

"Yes, he needs a horsey."
Leia digs around for a horse and attaches it to the cart. Then she puts the prince on the horse.

"Oh, the prince will ride the horsey! Who's going to ride in the cart?"

"Princess!"
She gets the princess and deposits her into the cart.

"So the princess gets to ride in the hay cart? Where is the prince taking her?"

"Shopping."

Yep, that sounds about right.