Cuddlebugs

Sam and Awyn are becoming inseperable. They like to play together. They hold hands, it's awfully cute. Of course, then Awyn knocks down a tower, wrecks a train, and Sam's done with this 'togetherness' for a while. 

Sleeping Beauty

Awyn asleep for her nap today. Isn't she cute? Eric took the toy off the crib when she got up to replace the batteries and it's suddenly not working. Awyn loves the thing, so I'm thinking I might have to replace it. It's part of how she puts herself back to sleep when she wakes up. I remember it not being the cheapest toy in the world, and it eats batteries, but my baby loves watching those bird spinning on the ceiling and on the toy. 

Awyn and her Cricket

Cricket

Sam and Awyn are currently obsessed with crickets. When Sam found this cricket on the front porch, they both sat outside for over an hour watching it, blowing on it, but not touching it. In fact, if I got too close, I'd get admonished by my son. Awyn learned to say cricket, but it sounds a bit more like 'cwickey'. Still, it's awfully cute to listen to. Now all I have to do to get them outside is to send them on a cricket hunt. These guys are very colorful, green, red, and white - something Sam was sure to inform me of. Also, he's decided that it is indeed a bug, and it can jump, and climb. Oh, and it eats grass. Between the crickets and the caterpillars (snout butterflies) he's been in bug heaven. 

Sam's Pumpkin

Sam learned about jack-o-lanterns at story time this week, and even made a jack-o-lantern rattle that even Awyn can appreciate. He also very clearly says jack-o-lantern, and understands that without a face, it's just a pumpkin. Of course, he's suddenly substituting f for p in that initial position - so you can guess what he calls his pumpkin. When he saw the pumpkins at the grocery store he shouted, "look, pumpkin patch!" So we just had to get him one. I think we'll save it and let him 'carve' the pumpkin when his grandparents get here. 

Awyn wears Mama's shoes

Tonight Awyn decided she needed to walk around in my sandals. She was very cute. 

Dancing!

We went to two birthday parties this weekend. This one was Ciara's 3rd birthday. Sam loved the cake, the dancing, and all the toys to play with. Awyn loved the cake and ice cream too. I helped Angelina decorate Ciara's cake with monkeys. Angelina had a great book with how to draw monkeys, so I used that, and it worked pretty well. Sam and Ciara danced together holding hands, but the moment Eric went for the camera, they stopped. We also went to Taylor's 3rd birthday party, but we forgot the camera. We saw a very large owl while there, sitting on the power line behind the house. As we walked back to the van, Sam wanted 'More Owl!" Oh if only it were that easy to get wildlife to make command appearances! 

Awyn eats cake

 

Yum, frosting!

 

 

Playing With Picassa

 

Sam

I thought I needed another photo of Sam here.

Tonight we went to Burger Night at the Starlight. Yum. It was late for the kids, and they were a little cranky. Sam fell asleep as we pulled into the parking lot. Awyn woke up when we stopped the car. They both did really well despite the lateness of supper. Luckily we were seated right away, even though there was a line. We also tipped pretty well for the bump in seating; I think the wait for a table was actually supposed to be 45 minutes, and we waited less than 5. No, I didn't bribe the hostess; she saw the kids and thought it would be better if we didn't have to wait. She was also the daughter of a park employee and has seen us around and has seen what happens when Sam gets hungry and cranky.

Awyn ate her entire burger! I was expecting to box it up and take it home. Of course, I ordered her a veggie burger like mine. She started out eating it with this giant burger, bun and all, in both hands, gnawing bits off as it was too big for her mouth. Then about halfway through she ditched the bun and finished off the patty. The waitress brought us applesauce instead of fries. Sam got fries anyway, and didn't finish his hamburger. I ordered him a regular cheeseburger like his daddy. (two for one burger night; made sense to get two of each). I sure wish we'd brought the camera; Awyn and the burger was hilarious, and Sam made a new friend and danced with her to the live music down on the dance floor. The new friend might be living full time in Terlingua, so they might get to see each other again. She's only a few months older than Sam. 

Pet Peeve of Long Standing

Last night I was reading our latest issue of Newsweek. Anna Quindlen had the Last Word, as is appropriate in an issue that was mostly about women in high placed jobs. I'm not going to gripe about that; actually she made some fantastic points and I enjoyed reading what she had to say. She also got me thinking about one of my pet peeves. Now, I don't know if I qualify as a true die-hard feminist. I believe in equality - pay, voting, job status, etc. I've deliberately upset people just to get them to think, even for a minute, like the 'bill' I tried to pass in my high school gov't class 'senate' that would include women in registering for selective service just like men do when they turn 18. Most people totally missed my points: A) the draft is wrong for both men and women, and B) if men have to register then it is sexist not to include women. One teenaged mother in the class had a cow because women have babies. Sheesh. So they do, and men are fathers.

But that's not what I wanted to ramble on about. I want to get you thinking about sports. Not title IX, but mascots. Now, when I went to high school there we were the Roughriders. And we were the Lady Riders. Whoa, boy, get off my back! It gets worse, and so far, this is the worst that comes to mind; in college we were Razorbacks (woo pigs!) and the Lady 'Backs. Anyone care to make the requisite derogatory comment? Well I will! Ladies-on-your-backs! Ugh. Both cutesy nicknames for the girls' or womens' teams make the think of poor sex jokes, always have. And that's not even the part that really gets me going!

Why do schools need to separate out their athletic departments into mens and womens - Hornet and Lady Hornets, Panthers and Lady Panthers. If I'm a Razorback, why can't I be a Razorback? Why do the men's teams automatically get the mascot, and the women get the leftover sexist version 'Lady'. What about calling them the Tigers and the Gentlemen Tigers? Before you tell me that adding the 'lady' makes it honorific, I'm going to say no, it's a modifier, and it's not intended to elevate, it's intended as a diminutive. If we must differentiate between the genders of our athletic teams, then find a way to work boys or men into the name, and don't let us all assume that when a news anchor tells us that the Sooners won the game they mean the men! That we even need a modifier is overtly sexist.

Perhaps this just isn't a big deal to most people. Honestly, I didn't worry much about it before I moved to Kansas and got my first taste of midwestern manners. There I couldn't find anyone else who found it sexist. In fact, I found pride in the division. They weren't just plain old Jayhawks, they were Lady Jayhawks. Ack, if you are a Kansan, you are all Jayhawkers! (yes, even you PowerCat sporting K-Staters)

It got worse when I moved to Arkansas, where the lady was clearly a diminutive and the girls teams did not get nearly the attention of the boys.

So I've gotten over my high-school need to lift as much weight as any guy, refusal to ask for help or prove in any way that I'm just as tough, smart, fantastic as any guy. After all, I'm a woman. I'm better. I just can't get over the fact that girls don't get the mascot title unless it's prefaced by 'Lady'.

When I hear that the Hogs went 9 and 0, I want to have to ask, "which team?" and be referring to gender.

Awyn & Sam frolic in the flowers

After supper we drove out to Tornillo flats and took some pictures of the kids playing in the flowers. There are thousands of little yellow flowers blooming out there from the late summer rains. Sam and Awyn did not want to pose for pictures, so mostly we just took pictures of them playing around. I have plenty of pictures, so I'm sure I'll post more later.

 

 

 

This picture was pretty typical. We were trying to get them both to look at the camera and smile, and neither one of them wanted to. They were more interested in playing with sticks and dirt. Awyn was trying to pull up the flowers. 

Panther Junction is just over Sam's shoulder on the side of the mountains. So you can almost see our home.