She's so unusual

Looking at that word..unusual...looks odd to me. Maybe I just never really took a good look before.

My daughter is 4. She is my only girl after 3 boys, so I feel rather lucky to be having the experience of a girl. There are quite a few quirky things about her. The first and sometimes most alarming is her gas factor. Yes, she has gas like her father. If she took anything from him genetically, I think that's the big one (can gas be passed on that way? me thinks it's possible). From birth this child has been gassy. Not the usual painful infant gas (it never seemed to bother her much in that way), but audible farts, no joke. Before her, I'd never really heard an infant fart. We can see it & sense it, as mothers, but never did I hear until Maia. The fartiest baby I ever knew & now, the fartiest girl I know. She hasn't ever been shy about it and most often we all get a good laugh from it. Not, at least, until last summer. We were out to dinner and she farted. Both my hub & I looked at each other grinning, and she was laughing (so were the boys). Then I explained to her that farting was something we did in private. After that moment, each public fart, if she can't hold it, has been her mortification. She will cry, occasionally and I can't help but wonder if I scarred the girl. Don't get me wrong, she'd be much more mortified if she learnt that lesson the hard way later in her young life, but still...

The other day (last week) we had Polish sausage for dinner. She loves that - it's one of the few things she'll always eat in her picky stage. She had her fill & the next day...OH MY GOD! The gas was the smelliest! I swear it came from her dad & not her (and what is it with the men enjoying their "mixture", or is mine the only one who relishes it?). She was sitting on the couch at one point & the smell hit her bad, after she giggled the noise away. She almost cried because she thought it smelled so bad! I was laughing because it was sweetly sad & funny at the same time. Keep in mind, she was quite sleepy at the time and we all know most girls are a little more sensitive when they're sleepy (hell, all little ones are). Aside from the farting, she is mostly girly. She loves to have her nails painted, wear her jewelry & her dresses, plays with her Barbies, Littlest Pets, Ponies and stuffed animals. This year for her birthday, we asked her what she wanted. She said Transformers & Ninja Turtles... Yeah. My mom actually got her the mini Leonardo set with the bad guy, Hun. She was pleased as punch, but now Andy claims it's his Leo if he can't find his own. Heh. She doesn't care much if Andy makes his claim - she can just grab his cars & he's giving Leo back to her.

They do often say the funniest things and here I am talking about some of the yuckiest...more. She put her finger in her nose the other day & said she could "feel her brain". Of course I got a laugh out of it & explained reality to her. I shared it with my hub & her older brother, Kyle, among a few others. It's cute the things they say. Tonight, we were in the garage (I was smoking there because it was raining - I hate when they must follow, the whole reason I go in there is so they don't have to be around it) and she picks her nose & says she's touching her brain. Another giggle from me & her alike. Her favorite joke is:

"Knock, knock?
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Banana that got flushed down the toilet."

I always play the gimme five thing with her, you know - gimme five, up high, down low, too slow? She & Andy LOVE that game, especially if they can hit my hand. I added an element to it, the "in the hole" element and then "thanks for cleaning out my toilet bowl". The hoots of laughter I got after that one were awesome! Well, she made up her own. Gimme five, up high, down low, fire in the hole! Whenever I hear that, I think of Stella from Over the Hedge - so I'm thinking she's thinking stinky stuff.

Yeah, she's so unusual.

Friday's Foto Finish Fiesta

As much as I think I don't want people reading my blog, maybe it would be cool if someone did besides me. Heh.





Had some storms blow through here tonight - nothing terrible, so far. I think most of the worst of them will break up before they get to us.





Back to the matter I spoke of above, I will participate in the Friday's Foto Finish Fiesta thing, as long as I can. I have plenty of favorite photos and more to come I'm sure. Since we're all winners...heh heh. I followed the link from Bottles, Barbies & Boys. I enjoy reading that one and by the looks of it, I'll have another one to follow with Candid Carrie. My favorite photo for this Friday (4-25) is my 7 year old. I think I have been a bit uptight in not naming my kids. I was thinking I would would be more brash, more candid and that was the case in the beginning, not so much any longer. I think I am an evolving blogger, if there is such a thing. My 7 year old is Andy. He's quite a goofball and a lot of fun. He seems to love the camera and be quite photogenic. That is one of the reasons I like photographing him. I took this one last Summer (late summer) and I had no idea how the sun through my window would affect all the pics I took that day. They were all quite wonderful. You should see what some of my earliest photos looked like - blurry, heads cut off. I was just bad. That was several years ago and I think I've gotten better over time (camera technology helps, too..heh). That is one of my many favorite photos.

What comes next, I don't know, but I am off to send my email to Candid Carrie. Thanks for this, I think it'll be lots of fun! I look forward to every Friday to come. Also, thanks to Bottles, Barbies & Boys, I'm glad I found your blog. Hope to see you around!

Friday's Foto Finish Fiesta

Join the fun!

He's not digging the later nights.

7, that is. He is getting right pissed that he has to go to bed when it's still light outside. Tough break, I guess. He needs at least 9 hours or more. Otherwise, I pay the price after school, big time.

I went out this evening to have a smoke and it smelled like a combination of old dog shit & a wash rag that's a sink full of dishes away from the hamper. Not sure what was making the stink, but it was a bit nasty. Once in a while, I'd catch the wafting comfort of the inside of my house. Do you ever wonder what your house smells like to other people? I've wondered. I hope it smells good.

I'm not looking forward to the stormy season - not at all. I can't stand the big ones. I always fear a tornado. The idea of one gives me the heebee-geebees, creepy crawlies under my skin.

My daughter found a couple of "sleeping" lady bugs on the deck yesterday. She found them a home in a knot in one of the deck boards & decorated it with a couple of star erasers & one of Tanner the amazing pooping & eating Barbie dog's food (poops). Uber wicked decor for the dead bugs. I took a couple of pics & I will have to drop them in here after I've resized them.


That's all for now - I have to see who gets the axe tonight on Idol. Didn't watch yesterday, btu I caught the performances on you tube. I don't ever like the weeks the do show tunes or things like this. It's always rather boring, Kinda glad I didn't have to sit through it. Heh.

A

How do they do it?

The creative process is an interesting one. How it works for me is probably just as different from the next guy. If I sit to write a novel (which, I may one day, or not) the story comes to me from the beginning. I start to write it & it will break off into parts. I have to follow where it takes me of course, but the sequence isn't right. I will go back & rewrite & put things together, but I have to follow the flow.

I haven't ever outlined an idea, I have written character ideas, or sketches. None of them have ever flied, though. I have had a few really original ideas in the past. Then I wait, or stall & now those ideas have come to light in other stories. So none of it's original any more.

I'm one of those people with tons of ideas for stories, lots written down, even started, even half way done. Nothing makes its fruition, though. Except the things I write for kids.

Maybe if I air it out, tell the truth, the real deal...maybe I will be able to forward my vision. I know I am not an anomaly - I know there are plenty of people who think they can write. I think a fear of mine lies in that, fear that I can't & in the concept that I may find success. Both equally frighten me.

I have a strong will in most everything in my life. My will to write is misshapen right now, towards a more gelatin like goo. It has no real outline, it's lumpy & full of holes. It doesn't have a lively color. This is how I see it. I am a stalwart. It is purely my intention to be so. It is my doing and maybe, eventually, maybe my undoing. If I choose to remain, I will never know. That is an anvil over a huge water tank, suspended only by a tenuous thread. If I let that drop, without reshaping my will, then I will remain this way - unkempt & unfinished inside. Unknowing.

I should have written this out earlier, when it was much more alive in my head. I watched some tv & the goo, well, it's a lazy goo. Maybe I can better articulate what I am trying to say another day. Just not right now. Of course, I'm not literally articulating - not talking to myself. I do that sometimes. If I were, I'm sure my hands wouldn't be free to type, as I am also a gesticulator.

After rereading some of these posts, they feel rather, ejaculated, and prematurely. Aside from Then you Grew because that was me inspired. Some of my early posts are fully me, but still rambling. It's like I step into this blogging place & turn into a talentless goo ball, like the will to write I speak of. I dunno - maybe I have to sit at this keyboard typing for a few hours to actually produce anything remotely read-worthy. I could go ahead & post some of my little kid stories. I could, but how would that help me? How would that coerce me to move forward & reshape my ugly writing will? I dunno, but maybe I can just write something on here when inspiration hits. Maybe I can just do it here?

Some other thoughts - do good writers write down funny things they hear or think of? Do they write down extraordinary comparisons or metaphors they create or things they hear in every day life that seem they might fit appropriately in story some day? I have some things in my head, things I've heard from my own kids or people I know that I think would liven up some dialogue in a story, but I don't write it down. I may be risking losing that info, but I don't think so. For some reason, that stuff creeps into my mind when I need it to.

A