Leaves

It's been a year since I posted last. Oh well, I'm not even going to stress about everything I missed. Short version, the kids are nearly 3, started nursery school, and that 9 hours a week they're not home has made me somewhat sane again. Yay?

DS is off at a conference this week. It's been a while since his last one, so I'm a little out of practice. I think this might be the first once since they started school, so tomorrow should be interesting. He's getting out of autumn yard work.  I'd let it wait until he's back, but our town picks up leaves for us to turn them into mulch that we buy back in the spring for a great price, and unless they reschedule, this is the last week they're coming.  Of course, they were supposed to come once last week too, and they didn't. So maybe there will still be two, but I can't risk it. We have a LOT of trees, and I need as many of them out of here as possible before I'm stuck bagging what's left.

Since I was up at 6am on a Sunday (which is ludicrous), the three of us went outside to do full yard rake #2.  As annoying as it is to do it more than once, that seems to make it manageable. Our first year I think I tried to do it all at once in the short hours of the kids' nap and after DS got home from work. Which meant I did a lot of raking in the dark.  It was never ending and exhausting.  It still takes 3-5 hours to do a full yard sweep like this, but that's a lot better than it used to be. I can still have the entire afternoon free and be actually done (until the trees that still have leaves drop them again) instead of it all looming over me every night as I can't get finished.

Anyway, like I was saying, we did some raking.  The kids "helped," by which I mean they swung their rakes around and nearly decapitated each other and scattered my piles. And then they ran through them and jumped in them.  They had a ton of fun, and it was a rather amusing distraction for me so I didn't mind too much.  Enjoy some photos of them in leaves, including a gif that google made for me.

Getting Emotional

Life here is as crazy as ever.  The boys are keeping us hopping and sometimes it feels like I never get a chance to just sit and think.  They are hilarious and infuriating and wonderful and awful.  Usual toddler stuff.

Tonight DS and I are taking them trick or treating for the first time.  Last year I pushed them through the neighborhood Halloween parade in their costumes, but that was it.  This year we all have costumes (mine is something I'm throwing together from the closet; it seems I follow that trend of putting everyone in the family before myself and never got around to thinking about my costume), and we're going to take them just around the little street we typically circle on our no stroller walks.  We know all of our neighbors thanks to a yearly block party, and they all have kids, though most are older, so at least on that front I know it will be a smooth experience.  They do enjoy walking up to people's porches, but they don't have any idea about the concept of trick or treating, so we'll see how it goes.  I don't even think Bear will let me put his costume on him; it involves a hood.

I'm surprisingly emotional thinking about it this morning.  Parenthood never seems to stop throwing me for a loop.

Out of the House!

We've been struggling with Monkey wanting to climb every single thing in the house.  Some things I don't mind.  The couch? Go for it buddy.  Climbing to the top of the couch and then using it as a boost to climb on top of the window sill? PLEASE DON'T DO THAT!  Ugh.  Their antics are getting crazier and crazier, and I worry it won't be long before we're dealing with cracked skulls.  Bear doesn't seem to realize how rough and heavy he is, and prefers to show his love to Monkey by standing on sensitive areas like his face and stomach.

Brotherly love.

But it's not all bad.  They can be so incredibly cute or sweet, sometimes both.  Bear is my little scavenger, and he's constantly looking around for food scraps.  He'll eat anything he finds on the floor (which is usually something he threw there himself during lunch).  Tonight I found a couple of cookies that had been tossed off the high chair, and I placed them on the coffee table.  He noticed 30 minutes later, and his little dance of joy was spectacular to behold.

A dangerous game of hide and seek

We spent last weekend in SC for a wedding.  It was our second time flying with the boys, and they were great.  DS's mom met us there and watched the kids.  I'm pretty sure this was the first time we've had a whole evening away from them together.  It was so lovely, almost 8 hours!  Not to mention all of his "snowboarding" friends were there.  Such a nice reunion.

Honorary cousins of the boys!

Bride & Groom

On Sunday, his sister and her kids came up too, and the whole family went to the zoo there.  It was hot, and very crowded.  I'd been there before, but I honestly didn't remember a single thing about it.  We rented one of the zoo double strollers since we hadn't flown with ours.  There wasn't anywhere to put our diaper bag, and attaching it to the bar immediately made the whole thing tip, even with the kids in it.  So that was a pain, and there was only one "belt" for the both of them.  It was challenging.  Even still, hanging out with the four of the kids together was really fun.

Checking out an ostrich from the stroller.

Not long before that, Bri and I took them to our zoo.  It was our first time visiting with the new KidZooU open, which was actually really cool.  There was a farm section just for littles like mine that can be gated off so they don't get lost.  It has large wooden cutouts of animals with little buttons the kids can push so the animals make their sound.  Monkey thought it was the coolest.  They also got to pet some goats and sheep.  Some of the doors at the zoo are spectacularly lovely.

Smaller than an ant!

Petting some goats

Dragonfly wing doors

Now that the weather is (sometimes) nice, we've been playing on the deck more.  Lots of bubbles and running around.  They don't exactly listen when I ask them to come back yet, so the deck is an easy place to contain them for now while letting them get some fresh air.

This guy was "helping" clean the deck. Spoiler: He's the one that put that dirt there.

Bubbles

We also had some friends visit.  They wanted to visit this local sculpture park that was built by one guy over years and is a sort of architectural mosaic.  I had never been before, only walked past, so it was neat to run around inside it a bit.  We were holding the boys most of the time, but there was a section that was fairly open and empty of crowds, so we let them run a little bit.  Bear was completely fascinated with the floor tiling.  He looked at every step he took and kept bending over to touch the different textures.

   

The inside was also used as an art gallery that caters to mosaic artists, and there were some really lovely pieces that used maps and weather patterns and galaxies to great effect.

Art by Yulia Hanansen | http://www.mosaicsphere.com

Detail of The Center of the Universe by Rachel Sager | http://www.rachelsagermosaics.com/

So if you get a chance, check out Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, because it's fairly inexpensive and pretty cool.  Better than I expected, if I'm being honest.

We also went hiking at a small local park.  It was our first time with the kids, which was exciting because DS and I have been longing to get back outside.  I don't think we'd really done anything together beyond neighborhood walks since I watched him climb when I was pregnant.

The remains of a formal garden, but no signage to clarify.

Under a train bridge.

It's actually kind of nuts how busy we've been lately.  How exciting!

On the Move

Both of the boys are walking!  It's really a sight to behold.  Monkey has been for a while now, but Bear finally took the plunged while we were visiting DS's family in West Virginia two weeks ago.  His learning curve since has been fast, and he learned to climb almost immediately.  Just today he was walking along on top of the coffee table, which makes me nervous because it's uneven (it's really no higher than the couch, so the falling part isn't my biggest concern).  I was signing "sit" to him and asking him to just sit if he's going to be up there.  The little scamp just smiled and signed it back to me and went on about his business.

Monkey kissing? the couch.  I don't even know man.

We had a lot of fun in West Virginia.  Traveling seems like a possible thing now (within reason), especially since we picked up some portable DVD players for the car.  We survived a trip to Boston and this one with very little trouble.

DS's grandmother remarried shortly after our own wedding, and he brought his own grandkids into the mix.  They come say hi whenever we're down there, and this was the first time we've visited where the boys could play with them.  There was a lot of chasing happening, which was entertaining.

Monkey getting chased, but also, on the phone.

Pap's youngest granddaughter has really taken to Bear (she spent a good portion of our last visit just holding him).  She worked with him for a long time, and now he's pretty good at actually stacking his cups!  Sometimes he doesn't know which order is best, but his coordination has gotten a lot better.

Bear stacking cups.

We got to spend some time outside, which still isn't happening much.  The winter has been long and cold and snowy this year.  The forecast is finally starting to look promising, but this week it was cold and snowy again.  So that weekend was extra special just for being outside.  Granny's crocuses were just starting to bloom, and Monkey was fascinated with them.*

Monkey inspecting a crocus.

Bear liked being outside as well, but he was much more interested in getting dirty.  We went to a park nearby that wasn't really great for small kids, but it was something to do.  The swings (only one baby swing, but a lot of regular ones) were over a smooth pebbled gravel.  Bear spent most of the time there just digging his hands into it and throwing it around.  And then of course he started shoveling the rocks into his mouth...  A similar thing happened the next day out on the porch, but this time it was with the dirty in Grannys flower pots.  He was really intrigued with the way it ran through his hands.  It was super messy, but I let it go.  I've been working hard to let them discover the world, even though sometimes every inch of me is screaming against the dirty and mess and danger.

Dirt is the best toy.

 One of the best things about going to West Virginia is that DS's mom can make the trip too.

Having a great time with Granny J.

 We've fallen into a fairly nice routine since.  Now that both boys are walking, my days are filled with the literal sound of pitter pattering feet as they chase each other around the living room.  They can climb on pretty much every piece of furniture we have, so nothing in that room is safe anymore.  Just the other day Bear pushed their castle slide over to their high chairs and used it as a ladder to reach his lunch scraps (kid seriously loves food).

I'm still trying to get monthly photos with the Care Bear, but it's harder to remember now that the months are such big milestones.  The days seem very long, and yet the weeks and months just slide by.  Time is a weird thing.  But here is what it's like getting them now.  This one was only a half month late :P

14.5 months

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*A reminder that those I've designated as "family and friends" on Flickr can see all the boys' photos.  I'm still trying to avoid full face pictures on here for now.  Just send me an e-mail if you need me to add you.

Joys

A list of things I am currently loving:

• I've spent the week with one of my very best friends at their place in Boston.  I haven't seen them but about 3 times since leaving Santa Barbara, and it's been like a balm to my soul.
• I've eaten like a king since I've been here.
• That includes massive amounts of King Cake.
• Monkey has been waddling around their living room with his hands clasped behind his back.  I have no idea where he learned that, but it's so funny to see a teeny tiny person do it.
• Bear is currently in a sunny corner reading a book about dinosaurs, which has a roar button. He actually mimics the roar.  It's fantastic.
• Bear has also taken an interest in sausage, and was enthralled to watch it being made this morning.  I'm really looking forward to being able to include them both in the kitchen and cooking.
• Both boys have started randomly snuggling me throughout the day on their own.

There are more things, but the day is getting away from me.

New Beginnings

Holy smokes.  It's been 6 months since I've posted anything.  I don't think I'm even going to try to back-post 6 months worth of stuff.

We're currently in the throes of winter over here.  It's been pretty snowy already, which of course I love.  Though I do wish I didn't feel so unsure about taking the kids outside.  Somehow even in snowsuits, taking two 1 year olds outside to frolic seems like a bad idea.  It's also been pretty cold, especially in comparison to last winter where it almost never dropped below 40.  This is all to say that I've been spending a LOT of time not leaving the house.  I don't mind it nearly so much as I thought I would.  We do get out once a week for story time at the library, and I'm usually the one that does the weekly grocery shopping (though I let DS do it today because I was out yesterday).  That's twice a week.  Whoo!  Living on the edge!

So I love winter, and the snow is lovely and awesome, but I won't be too sad when it warms up enough that I can start taking the boys to the park again.  I do sort of miss our daily walks to the train station to pick up DS after work.

I can't remember if I've mentioned it, so I wanted to say that I've been sort of on the fence about how easily available I should be making photos of the kids on the internet.  I mean, it's the internet, so if someone wanted to get them they could, but that doesn't mean I have to make it simple.  So I might not put a lot here, but there are SO MANY on my Flickr account.  You just have to be signed in and marked as my friend or family.  (If you don't know how to do that and want to, just e-mail me.)  I will share this photo with you of them in their Christmas diapers though:

I love it so much.  I really like the way you can tell the difference in their skin color here.

We took them to the local children's museum last week.  DS's mom got us a membership for Christmas and I was anxious to get out of the house.  It's sort of geared for kids ages 3-7, but they have these slightly more contained areas with small features for the wee littles.  It was a lot of fun for them, and I was actually surprised we were able to stay an hour and a half.  That feels like a lifetime with a newly minted toddler.

In non-kid news, I've started doing a little writing for the site Rhymes with Nerdy.  Currently, I'm just recapping the show Reign, but perhaps once that is over I'll stretch my wings a little.  We'll see.  It's more work than I expected, and to be honest, these days I'm doing really well if I manage to shower.  My days are certainly full.

I also started a local Sci-fi/Fantasy book club.  I've been looking for a book club in general since moving here 3.5 years ago, but my efforts have failed until now.  This time I decided to bite the bullet and pay for the Meetup service, and that's been fruitful.  The first meeting drew about three people, and we average 3 or 4 for a bit with the members that came shifting.  Somehow in the last month though, it's just started to take off.  We're now up to 23 members on the site, with 13 of them saying they're coming to my house for the next meeting.  I'm probably going to need a new meeting place after this, which is nuts but so exciting.  Initially I wanted it here because it was easier with the babies to not have to leave, but I think we're getting to the point where I can slip away every now and again.  They tend to be scheduled after they go to bed anyhow.

Which reminds me, I'm also the recording secretary for the local moms of multiples group, which is a national organization that has local chapters.  I'm still not sure how they managed to rope me into being a board member, but despite the obligation it puts on me to always attend, I'm glad.  I've met a lot of lovely people, and it's always nice to have other multiples moms to talk to about this crazy life.

So here we are.  I'm slowly starting to integrate parts of my old life back into this new one, and hopefully that means I will be able to keep up with things a little more here.  Wish me luck.

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Whoa, this was my 700th post, and June will mark 9 full years of writing here.  That just seems crazy.

Mother's Day 2013

Today was so lovely!  I got to sleep in until 10am.  HOLY COW!  Half the time even when DS is home in the mornings giving me the possibility of more sleep, the babes will wake me up with their squalling.  They were so good!

I got my choice of breakfast, which was even offered in bed.  I chose not to eat there though, because I've been insanely clumsy since the babies were born and I rather like my bed dry.  Thankfully that clumsiness seems to not include baby handling.  So far.

The kids got me stuffed representations of themselves, and there was a card from each of them with little notes inside.  DS also got me a card with a gift card to Home Depot for plants for my garden, permission to buy myself a patio lounge, and homemade coupons.  They crack me up, especially the one for breakfast in bed that says around the edges, "OMG! WTF! BBQ!"  He asked if I knew what it was, and I don't, but he never explained.

The weather was gorgeous today.  We went for a walk and got some ice cream and sat on a bench at the train station.  We got the best frozen turkey pot pie I've ever had for dinner.  It was like it was homemade, which is probably why it was a bit pricey.  Those were quality ingredients!  I had my choice of dinners and I wouldn't have expected that's what I'd pick, but I saw it in the store and couldn't resist.  We stopped at the park on the way home to attempt the kids in swings again.  I forgot how necessary extra blankets were to keeping them steady last time, and Bear very quickly knocked his head on the swing when he tipped forward.  Of course there was another mom in the park, and of course she looked at me like, "seriously, you just put your 4 mo old kid in that spacious swing?"  But she graciously said nothing and was nice to us while we were there.

DS got some lovely pictures of me with the boys, which I adore.  I'm rarely in their photos because I'm usually taking them, so I'm happy to have these.  I also have video of DS tickling Monkey and him laughing hysterically.  It's so amazing.  DS was laughing so hard he teared up a bit.

I had a nice long conversation with my own mother, who I'll be seeing in 2 weeks.  DS got to talk to his as well.  There was also a super long bubble bath, my first in the new house.  The tub is smaller than I want, but perhaps one day we'll make improvements and I can fulfill my dream of submerging my whole body at will.  The important thing is that the water was hot, the bubbles were plenty, and I was able to read in peace for as long as I wanted.  It was bliss.  I can't remember the last time I was that pruney, and I'm known for my long showers.

Today was a perfect balance of relaxing, peaceful, indulgent, and fun.  I hope I can provide DS with something just as nice on Father's Day.

Ky Baby Shower!

I'd say my first baby shower was a huge success!  So exciting :D  We had a great turn out, and my mom really went all out organizing everything.  The theme was "Two Peas in a Pod", and there were yellow and green streamers and balloons decorating the house.  We even had themed M&M's.  Mom made almost all of the food herself, including pulled pork bbq, which I even liked.  SURPRISE!  We also had three different flavors of cupcakes from my friend Lisa that were so delicious I had two.

Here are a few of the photos from the day.  You can see the rest here if you're so inclined!

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Stargazing

This weekend DS and I drove down to WV to visit his grandparents.  We know we won't be able to travel for Christmas or Thanksgiving this year since I'm not supposed to get out of easy range of the hospital after 24 weeks.  His mom and aunt also came up, so it a nice little family gathering.

The weather was fantastic, especially coming from all the upper 90's we've been having here.  I actually wore pants and got chilly at night.  We slept with the windows open.  It was also the peak weekend of the Perseid Meteor Shower, and WV is probably the most perfect place to watch stars on the east side of the US.

Saturday afternoon we hiked up Bickle Knob.  There's a fire tower at the top, and it's a lovely place to enjoy the landscape.  Honestly, it's not much of a hike.  You drive most of the way up.  But you can't beat the view, especially in the fall.  I was impressed with my ability to climb up all the stairs of the tower.  Anything remotely cardio is a lot harder these days, it's kind of depressing.

DS and I at the top of the fire tower on Bickle Knob.

That night we went back up to view the meteor shower.  Some of them were really bright and amazing.  We didn't stay out late enough for them to really get going, but I'm still really excited with the amount we did see.  I've never lived anywhere before where I could see a meteor shower, so that was awesome.

It's pretty difficult to photograph actual meteors.  There's not a lot of light, and they're not in the sky for very long.  But DS was able to take some cool photos of the sky with a long exposure.  The lines you're seeing are the paths of the stars across the sky as the earth rotates during the exposure.  The lines get smaller in the upper left corner because it was center of the rotation.  Pretty cool huh?

Long exposure of the sky over WV on Aug 11, 2012.

So we had a pretty great weekend.  The food was good, the company was good.  One of his grandmothers even gave us two handmade quilts her friend made for the babies.  She also gave us a wrapped gift "for the shower" that we're not allowed to open yet :)  Now if his other grandmother could just feel better, things would be perfect.

Visiting Family

This weekend, DS's mom, sister, and niece all came up for their annual viewing of The Nutcracker.  The latter two had seen it three years in a row by three different ballets.  It's sort of their thing.  So we talked them into seeing ours, which had the added benefit of finally getting them up here to see us.

Our niece is 9 and really wanted to see things like the Liberty Bell and the Betsy Ross house.  That was easy for us to do, since we live within a few blocks of all that stuff.  Saturday morning we walked around looking at some of the close stuff.  One of my favorite things to show people is Elfreth's Alley, which is the oldest continuously inhabited street in the United States.  As a nice bonus, the residents had decorated for Christmas.  We also toured the Betsy Ross house, where the Betsy impersonator talked to us for a long time, and made our niece a paper star using the same techniques used to make the first flag.  We checked out the Liberty Bell, where we learned that the name came much later in its life when abolitionists adopted it as their sign of freedom.  Then his sister wanted to see the Love statue, so we went across town to see that.  On the way back, we checked out the plaza where all the giant game pieces are, which was a lot of fun.

We had some time before we had to get ready for the ballet, so our niece and I made some jewelry, and I taught her how to play The First Noel on the piano.  It was a lot of fun to see her trying so hard to get it right, and I was super proud when she could finally play it through without messing up and with correct fingering.

The ballet was magnificent.  There was a full orchestra and a choir there for the music.  The sets were really cool, and some of the costuming was just gorgeous.  This was my third ballet company viewing of The Nutcracker, and it's always interesting seeing all the little ways companies do things the same and differently.  The pas de deux at the end was just so great.  Our niece thought that part was boring, but it was the more technical part that probably doesn't look as impressive when you're small and don't understand how hard standing on en pointe and being pulled across the stage with one leg up in the air really is.

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend.  I hope they get to come back soon, because we barely even scratched the surface of things to do in the city.  Plus I just love hanging out with them.  Maybe next time they'll bring the boys too!

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Pumpkins

It would seem DS and I are developing a habit of being with our niece and nephew for carving pumpkins.  I just spent some time looking for last year's post about it, but it would seem it was during my "I forgot I had a blog for 6 months and all these posts are really back-posted" phase.  Lucky for you, I did take photos that were saved somewhere.

"Jack" or a princess.  Carved for (and with a some help from) Dorian.  The glitter was all her, but once it was lit up, I was in love.  -2010

Last year we had flown down to South Carolina for DS's mom's birthday, which isn't long before Halloween.  His grandmother Marie was also in town.  It was a really lovely trip, and DS and I enjoyed hanging out at his sister's house and carving pumpkins with the kids.

We thought this year we'd go back to having pumpkin carving parties at our place, especially now that we actually have friends here in town.  However, life seldom goes as planned, and this time we found ourselves in West Virginia.  Both of DS's grandmothers live there, and we were met by his sister and her family.  Wouldn't you know that the same grandmother from the last year's pumpkin carving had gotten pumpkins this year too?  I was not expecting that, but I was happy.  Carving pumpkins is one of my favorite fall things.  Not that that list is things is short.

The kids this year.  It's hard to believe how old they are.  <3

This year I ended up carving both pumpkins, though the kids cleaned them out on their own.  There was only one good carving knife, and even that was long and very sharp.  They have a healthy fear of knives after an accident last year.  Miles started out wanting a scary pumpkin, and we sketched out designs until he was happy.  And then he decided he wanted a pumpkin for God.  And the end result is probably more scary than his "scary" design, but he was happy with it.

Hearts=Jesus / Cross / Ears=Bibles / Fish

Dorian wanted something scary.  She took some time (interrupted several times by the need to run away from some bees that kept pestering us) before deciding on a ghost.  Carving out those little eyes and mouth with the big knife that I had was tricky.  And everyone was terrified that I was going to slice my fingers off when I was trying to shave down the skin for the rest of the ghost.  Dorian even made me show her my hands a few times to assure her they weren't bleeding.  She topped this one off by stabbing in "the head."  By the time we took the photo, Marie had reclaimed her knife.  You can still make out some stab wounds by the light shining through the slit though.

A ghost with stab wounds.

As with last year, we decided these pumpkins were enough carving for this Halloween.  Now we're looking forward to seeing the girls in his family when they visit us in December to see the Nutcracker.

Weekend in Aiken

DS and I managed to find some last minute plane tickets to South Carolina to celebrate his mom's birthday over the weekend.  It had been a long time since I was able to go with him, and we spent a lot of time at his sister's house playing with the kids.  They were so much fun, and the little one cried when we left.  <3

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DS's Parents Visit

DS's parents' road trip finally brought them to us.  It was a lovely couple of days, and we celebrated with good food and wine.  We introduced them to the joys of In-N-Out Burger, west coast seafood, our cold beaches, and the mountains.  Two of the places we went were lovely, so I took some photos.  The first set is from Cold Spring Tavern, which was a stagecoach stop in the mountains just above Santa Barbara.  Now it's a tavern and restaurant.  The second set is fro Rusack Winery, where his mom did not realize I was being facetious on the way in by saying "Man, this place is a dump" until we'd been there for a bit.  Which, if you knew her, would be hilarious.  That woman is sharp and funny to boot, but this place is obviously not a dump.  I'm not really a wine person though, so mostly I just enjoyed the scenery.

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Grand Canyon

DS's parents are RV'ing across the country, from their home in South Carolina, out to us in Santa Barbara, up to Yosemite, to Mt. Rushmore, down to visit family in St. Louis, and then back home.  All in all, a VERY long trip.  Since I'm 'retired' now, I decided to drive out to meet them at the Grand Canyon.  We stayed at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park, and took their train from Williams, AZ up to the Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim.  We only had about three hours there, which turned out to be a bit too much as it was one of the few days it actually rains there.  I doubt their hoodie, sweater and poncho sales are ever higher...  Luckily, I had checked the weather before going and brought my own jacket.

Even without a ton of time to hike around, this was probably the most amazing thing I've ever seen.  There's just no way to describe how jaw dropping it is to walk up to the rim the first time and see the gaping hole.  I had no concept of its proportions, even after seeing it from the plane just weeks before.  It's up to 16 miles wide, 1 mile deep, and 277 miles long.  MILES!  It's just... indescribable.  I'm so glad his parents like me enough to have me stay with them all by myself :D

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A Mother's Day Memory

I am not what most people would consider a morning person. This has been true as far back as I can remember. For example, there were days when my step-dad would wake me up for school somewhere around 3rd grade, and I would blatantly ignore him. He'd tell me to get up, and I'd either lie as still as possible, trying to stay asleep, or just say "okay" and go back to sleep as soon as he left.

It rarely matters when I go to bed. Morning always comes as a harsh surprise. At some point, both of my parents ended up working at Toyota, which meant that neither of them were around to make sure I was awake for school in the mornings. This posed a particular problem for me, having relied for years on someone continuously checking on me as my mind kept sliding back down the slippery slope of my dreams each morning.

To combat this, my mother bought me an alarm clock that would play a cassette tape instead of music or buzzing. She recorded herself yelling at me to get. It started off mildly, with her simply telling me that it was time to wake up. But it lasted probably 10 minutes, and by the end she was definitely getting upset. So even though I woke up each morning with my little brother gone to school, and my parents gone to work, I woke to my mother's voice.

Perhaps, considering my continual reliance on the snooze button, and DS for getting up at a decent hour, this was not my mother's best decision ever. Regardless, I remember this fondly, and will be forever grateful for this and all the other things she's ever done for me.

I love you Mom!