Hungry baby suckles statue - Boing Boing

This made me insanely happy.
Dimitri is at the stage that he is very cocky about breast feeding. He wants to nurse in odd positions, upside down, while chewing on a book. He is very interested in anything nippular.
He pokes at Todd's nipples and looks at me questioningly.
Dimitri would so do this.


Hungry baby suckles statue - Boing Boing

Don't touch that! or The Repression.

I fear I have given my child issues.
I realized today that every time there is a poopy diaper, Dimitri instantly reaches down to investigate his penis.
Diddle, Diddle, Diddle.
My instant reaction is of horror, that of course he will grab a handful of poop and put it straight in his mouth. So I yell, "No! Yuck! Don't touch that!" Which is of course what every young man wants to hear when touching his penis.
So today after my moment of poopy clarity, I was determined to rectify the situation.
"Look Dimitri, its your Penis! You can play with it!"
Which is of course what every young man wants to hear when touching his penis.
Perhaps not from their mother though.

They look like Miss Piggy Shoes.

Heelarious® ~ her first high heels

Backyard bounty

I think that the number one thing I was excited about when buying a house was having a garden. Being able to plant and nurture them, them eat the goodness. Unlike my son, who I planted and nurture, but as of yet have not eaten.
The garden has been great. I have had a glorious summer of planting and growing and eating.
Things I have planted:
Tomatoes-3 types Early girl, cherry and Big balls beefeater.
Cucumber
Zucchini
Muskmelon
Basil- Thai and Lemon
Habenero peppers
Potatoes
I had visions of garden splendor all winter long. I read endless magazines and books. Burpee was my long lost best friend and the library card my new lover. I decided that I would have a lasagna garden, various layers of organic material in differing stages of decay, told to be the hottest in gardening. I planned and replanned what I would plant, where and when I would plant it, and how it would all taste when I was done.
In my mind I would have modest amounts of each item, enough to can and store to have all winter. I would have beautiful melons (other than the ones I already have) that I would bring to parties as gifts. Bushels of potatoes, ready to be mashed. Oh the harvest! Reality is quite different.
I did not fully, I think, understand the Zucchini.
Four plants and 93 pound of Zucchini later I think understanding is creeping up. People are beginning to run screaming when they see me coming with a bag of mutant Zucs. Many were small and delicious, tender and sweet. More were ginormous, lacking only batteries to be statisfying. I have made more Zucchini bread than can be imagined.

Jessamy's tried and true Zucchini bread.
3 cups grated Zucchini
2 cups Brown sugar
3 Eggs
1 cup Veg. oil
3 tbl. Molasses
3 cups Whole Wheat flour
1 tsp. Baking soda
1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp each Cinnimon, Nutmeg, Ginger
2 tsp Vanilla

Bake 350 degrees
loaf or bundt 1 hour
muffins 25 min

Most of my Garden is exactly what I had hoped for; fantastic tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and peppers. I highly recommend the Big Balls beefeater, excellent flavor. The melons and the potatoes, however, were a bit disappointing. I got 15 potatoes no bigger than a super ball and so far all of my melons have fallen off before ripening. Ah well. Still a resounding success.
We also have a unexpected pear tree in the backyard. Ate one today, delicious. Many have fallen in the yard and are fermenting. I could do with fewer bees. If anyone knows what to do with a bounty of pears or Zucchini, let me know.