James is 2!

Two months ago, actually. Though we documented the occasion thoroughly, I neglected to post anything about it. However, as I organized pictures tonight I came across this little video of the kids enthusiastically singing Happy Birthday to James. I think he was getting into the spirit of it.

On another happy note, I was feeling thristy one warm morn this summer during a little family trip in central Oregon. I grabbed the nearest cup, filled it with agua and drank deeply, eyes closed. I felt a tickle on my upper lip, opened my eyes and shrieked louder than I have in a long time as I threw the cup across the kitchen.

Though unwelcome, it was a beautiful creature and my siblings and I had a good laugh about it. In retrospect, I should have given it to Isaac to see if he was hungry.

Shakespeare Insult Kit

(Borrowed from my Dad's ever inspiring blog.)

In an effort to elevate the level of discourse on Irene's Mustache, we offer the following aid. Simply combine a modifier from each of columns 1 and 2 with a noun from column 3, then preface your insult with "Thou" and add exclamation point. (Example: "Thou gorbellied hedge-born varlet!") Practice on family members. No more of this "Hey, like, you're such a LOSER."

COLUMN 1
artless
bawdy
beslubbering
bootless
churlish
cockered
clouted
craven
currish
dankish
dissembling
droning
errant
fawning
fobbing
froward
frothy
gleeking
goatish
gorbellied
impertinent
infectious
jarring
loggerheaded
lumpish
mammering
mangled
mewling
paunchy
pribbling
puking
puny
qualling
rank
reeky
roguish
ruttish
saucy
spleeny
spongy
surly
tottering
unmuzzled
vain
venomed
villainous
warped
wayward
weedy
yeasty
cullionly
fusty
caluminous
wimpled
burly-boned
misbegotten
odiferous
poisonous
fishified
wart-necked

COLUMN 2
base-court
bat-fowling
beef-witted
beetle-headed
boil-brained
clapper-clawed
clay-brained
common-kissing
crook-pated
dismal-dreaming
dizzy-eyed
doghearted
dread-bolted
earth-vexing
elf-skinned
fat-kidneyed
fen-sucked
flap-mouthed
fly-bitten
folly-fallen
fool-born
full-gorged
guts-griping
half-faced
hasty-witted
hedge-born
hell-hated
idle-headed
ill-breeding
ill-nurtured
knotty-pated
milk-livered
motley-minded
onion-eyed
plume-plucked
pottle-deep
pox-marked
reeling-ripe
rough-hewn
rude-growing
rump-fed
shard-borne
sheep-biting
spur-galled
swag-bellied
tardy-gaited
tickle-brained
toad-spotted
unchin-snouted
weather-bitten
whoreson
malmsey-nosed
rampallian
lily-livered
scurvy-valiant
brazen-faced
unwash'd
bunch-back'd
leaden-footed
muddy-mettled
pigeon-liver'd
scale-sided

COLUMN 3
apple-john
baggage
barnacle
bladder
boar-pig
bugbear
bum-bailey
canker-blossom
clack-dish
clotpole
coxcomb
codpiece
death-token
dewberry
flap-dragon
flax-wench
flirt-gill
foot-licker
fustilarian
giglet
gudgeon
haggard
harpy
hedge-pig
horn-beast
hugger-mugger
joithead
lewdster
lout
maggot-pie
malt-worm
mammet
measle
minnow
miscreant
moldwarp
mumble-news
nut-hook
pigeon-egg
pignut
puttock
pumpion
ratsbane
scut
skainsmate
strumpet
varlot
vassal
whey-face
wagtail
knave
blind-worm
popinjay
scullian
jolt-head
malcontent
devil-monk
toad
rascal
Basket-Cockle

The combo that snagged me right off the bat was "Thou fishified plume-plucked measle!" Thanks, Pop.

And from the first son-in-law: "Thou misbegotten unwash'd foot-licker!"

Forgeries and Worms

Clara was supposed to turn in a reading log, with daily notations by Momma that it had been done. The girl reads constantly but I'm dismal at recording it. "Don't worry about it, Mom!"

Let's have a closer look at that, shall we?

And so it begins.... What do you say, Mom and Dad? She just might be a chip off the old block yet. (She actually turned this in. Her teacher did not give her credit for it.)

At Jacob's soccer game last Saturday I spotted a big worm between Will's feet and brought it to his attention. The kids all admired his new pet until Michael told Clara he'd pay her $5 to eat it. "No way, Dad! That's way too gross." But Isaac's ear perked up, "Really? Five bucks?" He watched the worm wiggle in his hand for a moment, then swapped out his gum for the worm, felt it squirm in his mouth, described the taste to get a reaction from his sister (and the old woman sitting next to us who was watching the whole scene with supreme disgust), gagged for a moment as it creeped down his throat, swallowed, popped in his gum, then smilingly held out his hand to Michael for his $5. Later he said that was way easier than pulling out five teeth!

Later in the week:

As I walked into the kitchen and saw our dejected hobbled cat: "Kids, is there something wrong with Seamus?"

Collectively: "We couldn't tell. Better to be safe than sorry."

Somehow I don't think poor Seamus would agree with that one.