Team captain.

Gabe was team captain today.  He was supposed to be team captain last week, but the game was rained out. What does it mean to be team captain, you ask?  It means you bring the after-game snacks!

I missed the beginning of the game while I was entertaining Max.  By the time I got out there, I noticed Gabe seemed to be kind of slacking ...  I asked him, "Are you trying hard?"

And he said, "Yeah, I'm trying hard to make sure my band-aid doesn't fall off."

I always cringe when I know he isn't paying any attention to the game, and then they go and make him the goalie.

Here's Joe, struggling with his umbrella during one of his out times.  It kept blowing inside out.

I'm not sure what the heck Joe (left) and Gabe (with raised fists) were doing here, but it looks like they're about to fight!

The daddies just love standing in the sun ...

... and then going to Target after the game.  I took this one to show Dan what his back looked like.  He was timekeeper today.  Seems like he always winds up with that job.

When we got home it was someone else's turn to be captain.

Egypt: Going overboard.

This morning I put Max's hat on him, and of course he automatically tried to yank it back off.  I said, "Don't take it off, Maxie.  That's your hat."  And he repeated the word distinctly, "Hat."

I'd like to apologize to everyone around me for spending too much time, going overboard, making stuff for Egypt.

Gabe doesn't care much for this picture of Anubis.  He says it looks like Anubis is sitting on the potty.  Oops ... you know, it really does!

Clari helped me paint the sarcophagus.  Thanks, Clari!

Thanks to Mom and Dad for helping with Gabe and Max.  My boys love going to Grandma and Buddy's house!  Too bad for Mom and Dad, they never want to go back home!

This is Max's gesture to show that his teeth are bothering him.  The biting is another sign.  Last night he crawled right up to me and bit me really hard, right on the butt!  While I was laughing, he did it again.

Ancient Egypt is coming to my messy kitchen.

Buster gets a shot ... from me!

Buster went to the vet for his rabies shot today.  By law, the vet has to give him that shot, and it doesn't require a well-pet exam.

The parvo vaccine does require a well-pet, unless you give it yourself.  So I decided to give the DIY option a try and save $30 ...

The drawing up part is easy ... just like people shots.

The moving target was a bit more challenging ... Not to mention the weirdness about not really seeing where the needle is going!  All I could see was hair!

Here's Max, eating a healthy dinner of hummus, mashed millet with cauliflower, broccoli, and sweet potatoes ... and then drowning it all in apple juice on his tray.  (I don't ever let him have juice boxes, and therefore he is very, very interested in them.)

Gabe had soccer practice tonight.

Dan keeps Max happy by giving him wagon rides.  Once Max is in "ride mode," he sort of shuts off.  His eyes are open, but it's like he's totally asleep.  Once you take him out, he turns back on again!

So far Buster is doing fine after two vaccines today, one delivered by an amateur!  

My 35th birthday.

Wow, this has been a great 35th birthday for me!  Gabe wished me happy birthday first thing this morning!

Okay here's a look at birthdays in my past:

Here I am, blowing out five candles on my 5th birthday cake!  (With poor Brian crying behind me.)

I couldn't find a picture of my 15th birthday party, but here's me a couple months afterward!

I spent my 25th birthday on a cruise ship!

And here I am today, on my 35th!  Granny and Gramps got me a new crockpot, and Dan got me a fancy DVD recorder thingy!

And Mom got me a gift certificate to get my hair cut and colored.

So pretty soon, I won't have to be ugly anymore!

Thanks to everyone for coming to my party!

Getting old is easier when you're surrounded by family.

Guess who's birthday party is coming up next!  These three little guys!

35's Eve.

I guess dealing with 35 is not easy for me ... (well, partly because of some other worries).  Maybe I'm just coming to grips with the fact that I am aging.  And also human.  Surely I have some wisdom to show for 35 ...?

I've recently concluded that for every subject in life there are two kinds of truth:  the popular truth and the real truth.  Popular truth varies with culture.  It is taught in school and believed by the mainstream.  I think that the final maturation stage of intelligence involves sorting popular truths from real truths, and most people don't make it to this stage.

I think the most important thing in the universe is life.  More specifically, in order of importance, (1) absence of suffering, (2) existence, health, (3) happiness.  The most important things I can do are to bring life into the world, protect it, and prevent suffering.

About myself, I've learned that I am absolutely, if unfortunately, human.  Human nature is my nature, and mistreating myself never benefits me.  Treating myself as an entirely logical entity -- one that should not have these silly needs -- is counterproductive.

I've figured out that I don't have to keep reinventing the wheel.  I've spent most of my life refusing traditional lessons and insisting on figuring things out myself.  Why am I doing this?  It is so much more efficient to employ other people's methods and learn from other people's mistakes.

As much as I have pretended I don't need anyone, I am learning to admit that relationships are important.  Friendship requires an effort, and I need to make an effort.  I've always done a pretty good job tolerating people, but maybe not valuing them.

And finally, my goal as a mother is not, and never should have been, to make sure my children are inconvenienced as little as possible.  My job is to try my best to raise secure, self-confident, smart, healthy, and responsible children who are good people.  

Here's hoping for deeper wisdom in another 35 years ...

Root canal.

Had my root canal today!  Other than a couple little snags, all went well!

(SNAG #1:  They wanted me to fill out a form with all my credit card info to keep in their drawer, "just in case."  Hmm ... just in case you decide to charge me more later?  Told them no way!)

(SNAG #2:  They wanted another doctor to take responsibility for any consequences of their local anesthetics since I am breastfeeding.  I had to wait around while they faxed forms back and forth with my other doctors.  Dr. Casagrande's office pretended they'd never heard of me, but Dr. Singh came through!)

In the waiting room were Grandma, Buddy, Gabe, and Max!  Here's Max, playing with Fidget when we got home.

Gabe is literally counting down the days till his birthday!

Max wanted to help me paint hieroglyphics in the kitchen.  He actually entertained himself doing this for a long time!

But the list of things left to do is very long!

This is the book I am reading now ... nervous about my genetics and considering becoming vegan.  Let's see how much more counter-culture we can get.

Writing on the walls.

I started painting hieroglyphics on the kitchen walls today.

Here's Gabe, drawing Iron Man and a big robot.

He got a new hat today ... (actually, Dan bought it for himself, but it didn't fit).  Captain America!

Headed up to Granny and Gramps' for dinner.

Max scratched his face on Friday.  He apparently stood up outside in the grass on his own from a sitting position.  Then he immediately fell back down.  Poor Maxie!

Maya loves to come over and play!

And here's Dan, enjoying himself thoroughly ...

Speaking of which, I have a root canal coming up tomorrow.