Shopping at my own garage sale

Reposted blog entry from May 2, 2008

I love garage sales. I have scored some major finds like a playhouse that retails for $500 -I got it for $40. And this toddler car bed that retails for $200. I got it for $1. (not a typo!) I've also gotten a barley used trampoline with enclosure, two park benches, a desk, 3 motorized Fisher Price ride in cars ($5 each!) and various other big items for cheap, cheap, cheap. My latest find, was a 5 piece all-wood bedroom set for Asha. We are getting it painted, but it was in otherwise perfect condition. $250 score!


(There's also a hutch, a desk and a long dresser)

But I will confess that I have a problem. No, its not spending money. I usually spend less than $5 on any given day of garage sale-ing and many times come back without having spent any money. My problem is that I'm a hoarder. Which is kinda of ironic since I'm also a bit of a minimalist. I told a friend once that I was having a garage sale and she laughed and said, "What are you going to sell? You don't have anything!" Not true. Even though my house is so empty that I can often hear an echo when I talk in the living room (I'm really not kidding about the echo), my garage is packed with stuff I don't need/want/use.

I blame my parent's for my problem, so lets start there. My dad used to work at a retirement home and whenever there was a funeral, the family would sift through their stuff and toss all the junk. My dad would then sift through the junk and bring his finds home. While my mom hated that my dad brought all this stuff home, she couldn't bear to throw any of it away. So growing up we just moved all of these things that we didn't need/want/use from spot to spot.

Back to my problem...all the stuff that I don't need/want/use any more I can't bear to throw out either. Here's how it goes through my rationale: if I want something like it in the future, then I will have saved money by keeping the one that I had, right? And even though I don't want it, it is perfectly good, so someone else might want it, right? And if they do, they might even pay me money for it! So I store it all in random boxes in the garage for a garage sale that I might get around to one day.

Believe it or not, my "one" day is actually coming this Saturday. I decided to break down and force myself to have the sale to get rid of stuff that I don't want to cart to Hawaii. But as I am picking through boxes marked Garage Sale, I found myself taking things back out! At first it was just innocent, like a few toddler boy clothes that had put in before I knew we were having another boy. But then it started to get ridiculous. I've got a huge box of sweaters from North Dakota that I haven't worn since moving back to California -and will of course not need for another 3 years in Hawaii -and I know they will be sorely out of style after that. But then I think to myself, no one is going to buy these here in semi-sunny California...so I take them out of the sale pile. But there's nothing wrong with them so I can't bear to put them in the trash either. So there they still sit in my garage. Ahh! I was so disgusted with myself that I just closed the garage and came back into the house to see if I could muster up the courage to toss them in an hour or so. I had a whole pile already designated for the sale tomorrow but it seems to be getting smaller.

Now I know a lot of people who have garage sales complain about early bird shoppers who stop by hours before the sale is set to start, but its kinda sad to be the early bird shopper at your own garage sale.

The Long Road to Paradise

(The Air Force stationed our family in Hawaii from the middle of 2008 to the middle of 2011.)

Reposted blog entry from Sept 4, 2008

Now that we're here, we are never leaving. I don't say this because Hawaii is considered to be a paradise, but because of the 8 hour plane ride it took to get here.

A road trip is my idea of fun. Strap the kiddos in and there's no more need to chase them, separate them, or clean up after them (at least until the end of the trip :). They make a lot of noise in such an enclosed space, but since I don't mind and no one else can hear them, its not a problem. The best trips even end up like this...



A plane trip, however, is not my idea of fun and I don't relish the thought of doing it again any time soon. The kids are still in an enclosed space but now its with lots of other people who DO mind their noise. They only have to stay strapped in until we're flying high and I spent the whole trip cleaning up after them. We also don't get to stop every so often to stretch and get out excess energy. The kids didn't misbehave and we even got comments at the end of the trip from fellow travelers telling us how well they did on the plane, but we had to spend the entire trip actively trying to make that happen and that is very tiring. Jet lag was not fun either. my husband and I only took a couple of days to adjust, but Asha took a whole week and Daniel took two weeks! Ugh!

But we are here and it is beautiful. It has been sprinkling on and off for the last week or so and we have seen so many beautiful rainbows. We happened upon the famous beach in Honolulu just as this rainbow was over it. The photo does not do it justice. We could almost see the end of it on either side.


I think I'm going to like it here :)

Ethan’s name

Reposted blog entry from July 31, 2008

With my husband being gone the for most of this entire pregnancy, we didn't have much time to talk over baby names. Not that it would have mattered, Daniel didn't get his name until after he was born either. Both times we have known the gender since week 16. But even though Ethan was not named until several hours after he was born, his name was not pulled from a hat. He was named on purpose.

Ethan Raj means "Strong King". But the purpose of his name is because of who he is named after. We knew all along that our baby's middle name would be 'Raj' after his father. In the end we also thought it would be fitting that his first name would be Ethan.

You see, in the old testament, Ethan was a Levite assigned to be one of David's music leaders. He is the author of Psalm 89 which declares, "I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations." So we thought it was appropriate that the son of a worship leader would be named after a worship leader in the Bible.

(On a side note, when telling of how wise Solomon was, it is said that "He was wiser than any other man, including Ethan" -that means Ethan was well known for being wise too.)

Click on the image below to see the announcement for Ethan Raj.

I should have known better

Reposted blog entry from Jun 7, 2008

I'm a white girl. A very white girl. (except when I stand in the sun for 10 minutes, then I'm red) I know this and yet still...!

Ok, let me back up. My husband's Weapons School graduation is on Saturday. Its a very fancy, formal affair and everyone will be dressed to the hilt (not a "slightly dressier than Sunday" occasion). So I had to find a formal gown that would fit over my baby belly and make a cute bump rather than a whale bump. As difficult as it was, I did manage to find the perfect dress (well, it will be perfect after quite expensive alterations to accommodate said belly). Its very sleek -almost slimming- and though not strapless, it is fairly backless.

So why did it not occur to me that sitting in the sun in a square neckline for 45 minutes the day after I bought this backless dress might not be a good idea? I don't know, but the bright red square that extends a third of the way down my back might as well be a huge sign that reads "moron".

Weapons School Graduation
8 months pregnant with Ethan

Embarrassing moment #3612

Reposted blog entry from Feb 8, 2010

When I see tourists taking pictures of each other, I like to offer to take a picture for them so they can both get in the shot. I've never had anyone turn me down and so far this has been a positive experience. Today, however, it was not.

We were visiting the Dole Pineapple Plantation with my sister-in-law and an older Japanese couple was taking turns posing in front of the pineapple plants. I offered to get a shot of the two of them and they were very pleased. The wife handed over the camera and went to stand by her husband. The problem was she hadn't taken the strap off of her hand. So when she moved toward her husband the camera pulled out of my hand, fell off hers, and smashed to the ground. I quickly picked it up and put the battery pack back in. While closing the battery compartment, I see the big chunk missing out of the battery flap. Oh, no... I handed it over feeling horrible. The sweet couple turn the camera on, hand it back to me and pose again. Nothin' doin'. I can't read it cause its in Japanese, but the picture says it all. The camera will not work because it thinks the battery compartment is still open. I tried to fidget with it to get it to recognize that it was in fact closed, but it wouldn't. They tried turning it off and on and handing it back to me, but no such luck. The camera just kept swearing at me in Japanese. At least that is what it looked like to me. I feel even worse than horrible now.

I had to leave with them staring blankly at the camera screen and all I can think to myself is that I just ruined someone's Hawaiian vacation. I was just trying to be nice but from now on I'll pretend to look right through the tourist like everyone else. Maybe even learn a few Japanese swear words to use while pointing at the camera if anyone does ever dare to ask.

残念に思う。あなたの良い自分用です。

Embarrassing Moments #3462, #3520, 3521, & 3522:

Reposted blog entry from Dec 11, 2009

Embarrassing moment #3462:

I took the kids bowling. Wish I had my camera. Daniel's pretty good. Got a few spares and even a strike without any helps. Asha used the tripod ramp and thought she needed a running start to push the ball. She was so excited she kept forgetting to watch her pins fall down. Ethan was all about the balls. "Ba. Ba!" Kept picking them up and chasing them all around the floor. He was just tall enough to push the ball down the tripod ramp and managed to get a spare. I wish I had my camera. It was so cute!! Then he decided to run down the lane after the ball. I caught him just in time, then...whoa!!!! Down I goooo.... Not just on my tush -All the way flat. Knocked Ethan on his head and one of the gutters down too. Every other player staring at me...On second thought, I'm kinda glad there were no cameras around.

Another reposted blog entry from Dec 24, 2009

Embarrassing moment #3520, 3521, & 3522:

So its Christmas Eve and we finally made it out of the house to get a Christmas tree. Got a crazy cheap deal on it. Go figure!

We got it in the cart and began making our way to the car from the Navy Exchange. I've got Ethan in the umbrella stroller and he's kinda grumpy from a cold so I'm giggling him back and forth to try and keep him happy when...CRASH~ I tip him over onto his head! ACK!

Okay, that could have been enough embarrassment but as I snatch him up in lighting speed and give him the once over for blood, I hear insanely loud laughter from a few yards away. I don't mean a snicker, or even a hearty chuckle. I mean a full blown, make everyone who wasn't already looking turn around to gawk at me, belly laugh. Yes, Sir. I do already know that I am a moron. Was the public ridicule really necessary?

Now all I really want to do is teleport back to the car, but alas, I do not yet possess this technology. So I walk as fast as I can, which means stepping off the curb and not walking around to the ramp. I did manage to get the stroller down without incident, but don't forget we've got the tree in the cart. When the first set of wheels hit the pavement...so did the tree. Up out of the cart and into the middle of the road. The very same road that I wished would open up and swallow me whole.

I guess by this time the man felt bad for us though, because he restrained himself to something akin to a giggle on his way past us. Gotta love helpful people. Especially the ones who help rub salt into your wounds.

This time it went too far

Reposted blog entry from April 6, 2008

I don’t plan to go grocery shopping only once a month. I just tend to wait until my fridge looks like Mother Hubbard’s before I break down and perform the dreaded task.

This morning my fridge held 2 eggs, a bag of shredded mozzarella, a head of cabbage and various condiments. Even though I had no bread or milk, I wasn’t worried. We still had some canned soup, dried pasta, frozen veggies and a bag of chicken breasts in the freezer. (I’m sure there’s got to be something you can make out of sugar, flour and salt too, right?)

But after I went to the bathroom this morning and discovered a little too late that we were COMPLETELY out of toilet paper, I realized this had gone too far. Some things just won’t wait until you feel like dragging the kids to the store.

I know there are support groups for shop-a-holics, but is there any help for me?

 

"Where’s the Beef?"

Way too cool!

Reposted blog entry from Apr 7, 2008

Since my husband has been gone [to USAF Weapons School], I take random videos of parts of the kids lives so that he can still feel a part of what’s going on here. I took a video last month of Daniel reading his bedtime story and posted it on YouTube so my husband could share in this precious time.

Yesterday, I got an email from a friend of the author. The author saw the video and was touched and wanted to get into contact with us. Here is a copy of the email. I believe the friend who sent me this email is the Mary Bloom that the author wrote about in another one of her books. Way too cool!

~
Date: Mon Apr 7 07:28:32 2008
From: Mary Bloom
To: Wendy
Subject: Copy of Aliki’s Email

Hi Wendy,

This is the note she sent to me originally to me, my response and then her response.

Please send her a note when you have time,

Mary Bloom

~
From: aliki brandenberg
Date: April 6, 2008 3:40:02 PM EDT
To: Mary Bloom
Subject: RE: What a way to start my day today!

Hi Mary,

Tim found it., I loved it. I loved that patient mother, doing all the right things. I loved that little boy fidgiting, trying so hard, and the questions he asked. I loved when he said "what’s aware"? his mother let him read the answer. I loved looking into their very private reading time together, behind my back. I loved that it wasn’t an ad for the book, that it was about READING TOGETHER. I have to get me a video name (and new address?) I wish I could write to them. xo

~
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 21:06:22 -0400
From: littlebrowndog
Subject: Re: What a way to start my day today!
To: alikibrandenberg

How did you find it. It’s amazing to see since it shows you first hand how important your work is.

Mary Bloom

http://marybloom.com

~

On Apr 5, 2008, at 1:22 PM, aliki brandenberg wrote:

What a way to start my day today!

~
From: Ham4ut
Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2008 23:01:34 -0400

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRQZ6ghz9DE
Click on this link for a surprise!
 

My weird son

Reposted blog entry from May 16, 2007

This is my first attempt at blogging so I'll try a little story about my three y/o son.

We're sitting at the table eating when he lets out a HUGE belch.  I was waiting for an "Excuse me" as he is normally very polite.  Instead he loudly yells, "I'm okay!"

I guess he must have thought it was "iffy" there for a minute.

(weirdo...)

Another entry from Feb 28, 2008

I was singing along to one of Daniel's songs when he tells me to stop singing.
"But I like to sing," I say.
"Why?" he asks.
"Because that's the way God made me," I reply.
"I like to sing too," he says.
"Then why did you want me to stop singing?" I ask.
To which he replies, "Because that's the way God made me!"

Another entry from Apr 22, 2008

Where is your father?

Ways your son tells you Dad's been gone too long:

1.  (Hold up a pair a thong underwear he got out of the hamper) "Mom, what is this?"  Uh, Mommy's underwear.  "But they're too small!"  Uh, you are correct.

2.  Ask, "Mom, when is my chest going to look like yours?"  Uh, never.  I hope...  (Hold up his shirt and show me his nipples)  "But I have these too."

3. (Hold up a panty liner) "Mom, if you don't pee in your underwear, what are these for?"

5. (Hold up a bra) "Mom, why do you wear these?"

4. Ask, "Mom, is there a penis inside you that helps the baby come out?"   No, honey, that's just how the baby got there (don't worry, I didn't really say that...)

5. (call from the bathtub) "Mommy, my penis is surprised!  Its looking at the ceiling."

Will you come visit me in jail?

Reposted blog entry from January 5, 2008

Will you come visit me in jail?

Because I'm about to break into the house next door and I don't care if I get arrested for it.

Yesterday, the weather matched my mood. It was raining outside and a little on the inside too when my husband pulled out of the driveway never to return. Okay, I know six months is not really never, but it might as well be. Even with two very loud and active children, the house feels so empty without him. I'm not usually this emotional and I blame it on the pregnancy hormones (I never thought I'd be one to get knocked up and then left). While the kids were in ignorant bliss, I self medicated with chocolate (which I don't even like) and endless internet searches. So when the power went out twice, while the rain poured down, and the kids were in bed (at 6) I had nothing better to do than head to bed myself. The one upside is that it would be a nice long night with no alarm going off in the wee hours of the morning to jar me out of sleep......until.....

The stupid, stupid, stupid low-battery alarm on the smoke detector in the house next door! The house is empty and the BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! is bouncing off every hardwood floor and bare wall to keep me up all night long! When the rest of the world is quiet and sleeping, the sound is deafening and all consuming. I'm about to freak out now and break in there to rip it off the ceiling and stomp its little self to bits. Or it occurs to me to just set the thing on fire. So when I'm sitting in jail tomorrow, I hope you'll come visit me.

Little gifts from God

Reposted blog entry from October 5, 2007

On Friday I was telling a friend that the one thing I had wanted to do here in California that we hadn't done was go to the San Diego Zoo.

My husband was scheduled to work overnight shifts this past weekend but at the last minute was given the weekend off. So we hopped in the car and took off for San Diego.

On the way there I was telling my husband about another friend's story. She wanted something that was out of her price range but was there at just the right time when it was clearance and then 50% off. She said she felt like it was a little gift from God.

When we got to the zoo on Monday, we were surprised at the amount of people that were there. Turns out, it happened to be Founder's Day and admission for the zoo was free for the day! We saw the pandas and had a lot of fun. When we were done we took a break at the hotel and then headed over to Sea World. It was the season that they honor those serving in the military making our admission free! We got there just in time for a pet show (trained animals doing tricks) that the kids loved and then got to see the last Shamu show of the day. My husband won a giant dragon at the ring toss too.

It was such a wonderful trip. I told my husband that I felt blessed by it. Like we too had gotten little gifts from God.

Blueberry picking

Reposted blog entry from August 20, 2007

We went blueberry picking on Friday. It was sooo much fun! They gave us little buckets for the berries and straw hats for our heads.
Asha loved getting to pick berries and put them in a bucket. Of course she also loved putting handfuls of dirt and twigs in the bucket too. Daniel picked about one berry from each bush while going from row to row calling us Farmer Mommy and Farmer Daddy. My husband enjoyed sampling all the different flavors -some tart, some sweet- and I loved the hunt for the biggest and bluest.  It was a very memorable family day and we got some nice photos to remember it by. I can't wait to go again!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Conversations with Daniel

Reposted blog entry from November 26, 2007

We pulled up to a stop sign and a woman with headphones jogged through the intersection. The following conversation went like this...

Daniel: Mommy, what's she running from?
Me: She's exercising.
Daniel: Hee, hee, no! Maybe its a car.
Me: You know how Dad exercises at home when he runs on the treadmill? Well, some people run on the street to exercise.
Daniel: When I'm on the street and a car comes, I exercise too!

Another reposted entry from October 25, 2007

We went to the beach today. When it was time to go home, Daniel was speeding for the car. Asha on the other hand was in no hurry at all and lagging quite a bit behind. Daniel calls for me to hurry and here's the following conversation...

Daniel: C'mon, Mom!
Me: Honey, we have to wait for Asha.
Daniel: Why?
Me: Because we can't leave our sister at the beach.
Daniel: Why? Will someone else come and take her?
Me: Yes.
Daniel: And they'll be happy to have a new sister?
Me: Are you happy to have a sister?
Daniel: (silence)
Me: Daniel, are you happy to have a sister?
Daniel: (pause...and then an unconvincing) yes.

Anyone else feeling the love? hmm...

Another reposted entry from December 9, 2007

I hear Daniel and Asha fighting in the hall and then it sounds like someone is getting smacked. I'm pretty sure its Asha getting hit since I don't hear Daniel telling on her.
I call out to him, "Daniel, hitting is not an answer!"
He calls back, "Is it a question?"

Exercise

Reposted blog entry from September 25, 2007

My husband keeps bugging me to get back into my exercise.
"I can't live without you so you have to exercise and stay healthy so that you can outlive me." he says.
I know that I have slacked off on my exercise "program", but I think what I do all day should count as exercise.

Do you think it should count as exercise when I scrub the kitchen floor on my hands and knees while a 2 y/o and 4 y/o climb on and off my back for added resistance? Are there bonus points for mopping again an hour later after the 2 y/o decides she can pour her own lemonade and gets more on the floor than in the cup - and the 4 y/o walks through it with dirty feet after playing outside with no shoes on?

Would you call it a sort of lunge when I dart back and forth across the lawn while bending over so as to get the sprinkler in just the right spot without getting wet?

I do lift 20lb and 40lb weights all day long when kissing boo-boos and wrestling the kids in and out of highchairs, car seats, bath tubs, etc...

And is it considered cardio when my heart rate shot up as I chased my stubborn toddler down the sidewalk praying that she didn't reach the intersection before I reached her?

I don't know if there is a way to quantify all the bending, lifting, twisting, -and groaning- that I do all day but I think I ought to get credit for it.

The Moments

In honor of Mother's Day

Reposted note from March 10, 2010

Although the moment after the kids go to bed is a great part of my day, my favorite part is the moment before. The moment when we snuggle up close and enjoy each other’s company with a couple of good books, then shower each other with hugs and kisses and I-love-you’s after we express gratitude for each other to the One who loved us first.

That's Daniel at 3 months.

We started this practice when Daniel was only a few months old. He loved books! He could go on and on. I would indulge as long as I could until I knew prudence dictated that I put him down to sleep. Asha took a little longer to warm to the process. Until she was a year we would sing instead of read. I enjoyed this too, but there’s just something about reading books with your child that gives you a unique opportunity. A chance to see inside them. To see what interests them, what they love and what they’ve learned. Their excitement and attentions give them away. Especially for the little ones like Ethan, it is a glimpse into their unspoken world.

Reading books is also a way I share myself with my children. Not just my time, but my interests… “Did you know that I loved this book when I was your age?”, and my values... “Did you think that was the right way for them to treat each other?”. It provides a forum to talk about things that I think are important, and to teach things that the constant motion of the rest of the day just isn’t conducive for. I get to teach them new words, new ideas, and new ways of looking at the world. A moment when I don’t just get to see inside them, I get to change them from the inside out. It always changes me too.

I don’t think there are any other moments that can compete with these moments. Yes, they are only moments in my lifetime, but more than that, I think they are the best moments in my life.

Rocking My Baby

In honor of Mother's Day.

Reposted note from February 18, 2011

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

~Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Cobwebs and dust are the least of my worries.  As my friend Mari witnessed yesterday, it was moon sand, spaghetti sauce and Science covering my table, and popcorn covering my floor, and a host of other toys and papers covering my counter.  But instead of spending the evening cleaning, I spent it dancing.  I danced in the kitchen with a most handsome and charming half naked young man.  I was enchanted by the sparkle in his eyes, captivated by his laugh, and highly entertained by his lack of dancing skills (though his are still better than mine).  Someday he will be too busy to dance with his mother.  I will have plenty of time to clean then.  And then, the memories that I will wish to remember will not be of my house, but of my child.  I know that my time was well spent...
  I was rocking my baby, and I will not care that my house was not neat first.

The Voices in His Head (and body)

Reposted blog entry from September 17, 2007

Daniel told me today that he wanted to eat something because his heart told him that he was hungry.

You know how its suppose to be okay to talk to yourself just as long as you don't start answering back too? Well I heard him in the back yard the other day asking himself questions and then answering back. But to top that, he came in the house and told me about the conversation! He says, "Mommy, that's what I told myself."

You might not think there's a little schitzo under that little grin of his, but a mother can tell early on.
Last year when he was two and a half, he was using his hands as puppets. That might not sound ab-normal, but let me explain. He would hold his forearm vertical with his wrist loose, flap his hand up and down, and talk to it like it was a separate entity. He would encourage it, ("You can do it, hand.") and then praise it ("Good job, hand!") One time he was trying to put something together and when he finished, he stood up and held his flopped over hand out to me and said, "Mommy, hand did it!" then he held up his other hand and said, "Other hand helped too!"

My husband is a beautiful liar.

Reposted blog entry from August 24, 2007

Out of seven room in our new house, I have gotten exactly 3 in order. The rest (including the kitchen and dining room) are still one big box maze. My husband comes home from work yesterday and says, "Wow, Honey. The house looks great!"

He will catch me at the end of the day when my hair has frizzed, my make up has worn off, and the kids have gotten food all over my clothes and say, "You look really hot right now..."

I collapsed into bed one night after a day when the kids drove me so nuts I thought about checking into giving them up for adoption (not quite, but parents will understand the kind of day I'm talking about) and he says, "You know you're such a good mom. That's why I want another one -because I think more kids will be lucky to have you as a mom."

I painted the bedroom in the new place and though it is far from "girly", it does look like it was designed by a woman. He said he liked it and I questioned whether it was something he would have picked. He said, "No, but I like walking into this room and seeing your personality. It's a nice feeling."

It was at that moment that I felt beautiful too.

My Little Trooper

Reposted blog entry from August 10, 2007

Asha fell and broke her arm on Monday.
She cried all the way to the hospital but then she ran around the ER like nothing happened. Both bones were broken and you could see her arm crooked but she kept taking the splint off so she could use her hand.
After all the doctors and nurses oohed and ahhed over how she didn't seem to be bothered by pain, they put her under anesthesia to pop the bones back into place and cast it. The cast is suppose to come off in about 5 weeks.
She woke up the next morning to go about her business as if she had only ever had one arm!
She's my little trooper.

Another entry from August 28, 2007

I promise not to believe what your kids say about you...

...if you promise not to believe what my kids say about me!

While I was reading Asha a bedtime story, she leans forward and then pops back and hit my neck so hard I yelled Awh!  Daniel asked me what happened and I told him that Asha hit me and it hurt.

After I tucked her in, I come into the living room to hear Daniel telling Dad, "Mom read Asha a story.  Then she hit her and then she put her in bed."

All I could think was 'What will people think when they hear that and then see Asha's cast?'  I just want to clarify for the record... -She hit me- and then I put her in bed.

Siblings

Reposted blog entry from July 7, 2007

So Daniel is sitting on Dad's knee.  Asha comes over and Dad scoops her onto his other knee.  Then Daniel turns to Dad and says, "Daddy, there's too many kids in here."

(Funny, that's what I was thinking yesterday ;)

Another entry from July 14, 2007

I ask Daniel why Asha is crying and he says, "She hurt her head all by herself."  Oh, really... so I ask 'how' and he clarifies, "I pushed her down, then she hit her head on the floor all by herself."