Sun-starved, but full of grapes

Today, we had a flurry of friend activity in the afternoon and evening.  We had a spontaneous playdate with some of our favorite people in the afternoon, which involved the dad of the family making a boat out of cardboard and getting the kids to decorate it.  It was awesome.  He always comes up with such amazing ideas and I now feel much more inspired to be more creative with playing around our house, too.  Here are the kids in their cardboard boat:

One of the best, and funniest, parts of the playdate happened before we got there.  When I told the kids where we were going after naptime, Tali turned to me and said, in a complete sentence, "Mama, do you think they will have grapes there?"  I thought, oh, my poor sun- and fruit-starved child, spring can't come soon enough, and of course they won't have grapes this time of year.  We do eat a lot of fruit, but these days it's mostly citrus and apples and the occasional papaya that I can't pass up. 

Anyway, as it turned out, they DID have grapes!  In their kitchen!  And Natalia got to gorge herself on as many as she could eat.  It was awesome and I think we must have been meant to go there today just because of that, in addition to the great company and fun playtime. 

After the playdate, we, along with the friends we had just visited, went straight to some other friends' house for their weekly soup night.  They just started doing it a few weeks ago and it has quickly become part of our weekly routine.  It's perfect to have something to do on a Monday night with good friends, especially because our schedules haven't matched up well in the past few months, so we've hardly seen them recently.  This soup night was particularly great, because we knew everyone there well and our kids all knew each other.  At one point, there was a preschool dance party happening in one room and some actual adult conversation in the kitchen.  True story! 

We ended the evening with Mateo reading his friend a long book and then taking two tired and overstimulated kids home for bedtime. 

To complete the social extravaganza, Sacha and I are having a friend over after all our kids are asleep, for our Finer Things club (with credit for the title going to the fabulous Catherine).  It sounds fancy, but it's really just ice cream sandwiches and good conversation, which extremely fancy in our world these days.  Happy rainy Monday!

Bedtime rituals

Mateo's bedtime routine has changed a bit since he started sharing a room with Natalia. I used to read him two stories each night (one in English and one in Spanish), but now he listens to Natalia's stories. So . . . I just read him one story in Spanish after Natalia goes in her bed.

The first few nights of this, Natalia would yammer away while I was reading to Mateo. I kept on having to ask her to be quiet. Then she started playing with her stuffed animals. This was fine with me, because she wasn't making noise. Mateo could hear his story without commentary.

This last week, Natalia has started turning around in her bed and getting closer and closer during Mateo's story time. Tonight she had completely turned around and her head right next to the end of the bed. I don't know that she understands what I am saying, but she was very quietly listening. A few times she even requested to see the pictures as I was reading to Mateo.

Then I sing Twinkle Twinkle to Mateo. And Natalia always chimes in and sings to him too. It is just so sweet to hear her singing to him every night. Overall, they continue to do a great job of sleeping in the same room. Many nights Natalia has elaborate monologues after I leave, but it doesn't seem to bother Mateo. On the contrary, he seems to be comforted by her talking because it is further proof that he is not along in the room.

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On the work front, I am starting my last week tomorrow. This last week is starting before I anticipated that it would start, but I think it's the right thing for everyone (including Drizzle and my students). I am going to work half-time, as was discussed earlier. I am honestly not 100% better, but I was able to get up and sit and walk a bit today. I have been much more mobile today than I was yesterday. Wish me luck for my last week!

Confusion

We're continuing to deal with Sacha's little situation over here, which has necessitated some heavy duty painkillers and lots of bedrest.  She's finally to the point where her pain is under control, but she's definitely not all healed up, or even close to it.  She made the decision with her doctor and her principal today that she'll work half-time this week and then go on pregnancy disability after that, until her maternity leave officially starts.  She'll be 35 weeks this Sunday and nearly 36 by the end of next week.  The reason she's teaching at all this coming week is that her students have state testing and it is very, very, very important for the class and the school and Sacha (who will permanently have their scores attached to her name) that they do as well as they can.  So, she'll shepherd them through that and then be done for the year.  Hopefully we can make the week as painless as possible for her outside of school.

On the inside, Drizzle seems to be doing fine with all the drugs, (Sacha would like me to point out that she's taking as few of them as possible), kicking and flipping all around in there.   However, if this issue continues to recur, then we could be looking at an earlier than expected baby, in order to limit her exposure to more meds.  However, again, if things calm down, then Sacha could go to her due date (April 2).  Or it could be somewhere in the middle.  Who knows?  I guess we'll find out....

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In the meantime, Sacha told me the other day that Mateo said this to her: "Mommy, sometimes it's hard to tell if Mama is a boy or a girl."  Further investigation revealed that this is because I have short hair.  I've been wrestling with whether to write about this or not, and how to, because it kind of took me aback.  I've heard similar things from countless kids, and I love them for lacking the politically correct filter that would stop adults from asking, but hearing it from my own kid was a little different. 

I can only assume he heard a kid at school, like the one who is always asking me if I'm a girl or a boy, and took it on as his own.  Still, I'm sure this isn't the first time this will come up, and it makes me wonder what our kids' experiences will be with being in school and having lesbian moms, one of whom really looks like a lesbian. 

I guess we'll just take it as it comes, but it just breaks my heart to think of them getting teased because of the way I look, which I'm not planning to change, regardless.  I think I want to keep them in a safe bubble forever and this is just the first step of realizing how impossible that is. 

Palm Springs

I went to Palm Springs last weekend, but I didn't bring my camera, and I'm so excited to have just gotten some photos of the weekend!  My two best friends from college and I get together every year for a weekend and have done so for the majority of years since we graduated in 2000.  We skipped a few in the beginning, but I think we must be coming up on 10 years sometime soon here.   Anyway, we always have a great time and one of the best parts is that it always just feels like we can pick up where we left off.  It's a special thing for all of us and we've all made it a priority to make sure the weekends keep happening no matter how crazy things on the home front can get!

So, the weather in Palm Springs left something to be desired, but we had a great time anyway.  And, it was sunny for a lot of the time we were there, although not exactly warm, but still better than the weather here!  We visited one friend's new neighborhood in Orange County and then drove out to the desert, where we ate great food, saw a movie, wandered around, and talked and talked like we always do.  We also went through some old college photos and reminisced about how things were back then.  Here are a couple of photos, with many more to come in future years!

Freeway

So, we supposedly have a massive storm headed our way, which will supposedly contain lots of snow.  I'll believe it when I see it.  Nonetheless, when the sun peaked out this afternoon, I knew we had to get outside and take advantage of it.  Neither kid wanted to go to the park, shockingly, but both wanted to go up over the freeway to look at the cars. 

We've never done this as a destination, but have been over the freeway overcrossing (for pedestrians and bikes) many times on the way to the doctor's office or the farmer's market.   Today, we just went for fun.   The kids just stared and stared at the traffic, although they didn't last long.  I'd say we were up there for about 5 minutes before they were ready to go.  I attribute that to either little kids' attention spans or the fumes from all that exhaust!

In the next photo, you can also see their current favorite arrangement in our stroller.  We do have a great double stroller, but the pushing and whining that ensues when we use it is not pleasant.  In the single stroller, tiny Tali (who recently weighed in around 23 pounds) fits perfectly in the basket underneath and loves nothing better than to ride down there.  I know you're probably not supposed to use the stroller in this way, but it seems safe to me and it's working for us so far.  I think I've put groceries in there that have weighed more than our petite girl, so I think it's all good.  Mateo gets his coveted front seat and Talia gets her cozy bottom perch. 

 All in all, they both got to check out fun cars and trucks and I got a nice walk out of the whole thing, so we all had a good time. 

Then, we got home to find out that Sacha's hemorrhoid issues have flared up again, so she came home right after school today and will be home tomorrow, too.  Poor baby.  She has really had a rough time this pregnancy.  Here's hoping that some R and R tomorrow will do her some good.  She's not supposed to start maternity leave for another four weeks, but we'll see if she makes it that long.  Healing thoughts and such would be much appreciated!

Sun, ever so brief

It was sunny today for a few hours, and although we didn't know that it wouldn't last long, we decided to take advantage of it.  We headed out to Powell Butte, at which we had hiked a few times before having kids but never since their arrival.

We caught the best part of the sun, and the visitors' guide gave us the best part of our adventure - it mentioned that Powell Butte is an extinct volcano.  That was all it took to get Mateo hook, line, and sinker!  He LOVES volcanoes and couldn't stop talking about how we were on an extinct one.  Here he is, expounding on the volcanic status of our location:

He happily rode his balance bike up, up, up the slight incline, while Tali abandoned her bike and tailed along with one or the other of us.

Then, he (and then, when we finally got back to her bike) got to have a loooong and FUN ride back down the hill.  Mateo navigated the switchbacks very well and we all declared the outing a great success. 

The sun disappeared between looming clouds just as we were coming down, and it stayed there for most of the day, with occasional sunbreaks this afternoons.  This made us even more glad that we had gotten outside this morning.  It was a great family adventure and even more fun since I had just gotten home and we were all reunited again.  

PS:  A post on my trip is coming soon!

34 weeks

I got home from my weekend adventure just in time to take this photo of my lovely wife at 34 weeks.  She only has four more weeks of work to go and then maternity leave will start.  Wahoo!

PS:  Sacha wants me to add that it's actually only 17 more work days, because she has some teacher planning days thrown in there....not that she's counting or anything :)

Monster Spray

Last week Mateo had a challenging night of going to sleep. He finally told me that he was afraid of monsters. Apparently mean monsters had been appearing in his dreams at night. He said he didn't want to fall asleep because he didn't want to see the monsters.

Thinking quickly on my feet, I gave Mateo a "bottle" of monster spray. The monster spray was just a pretend thing that he could pretend to hold and spray. The spray scares away mean monsters, but lets nice monsters stay in his dreams.

Most nights he now requests for a refill of his monster spray. After I give it to him, you can hear him whispering, "spray, spray, spray." In the mornings he frequently lets me know that he only had to use the spray once or twice. His sleep has gone back to the more peaceful routine that he was on earlier.

Thank heavens for monster spray!

Princess dresses

Mateo says, "This afternoon we put on princess dresses. It was Natalia's idea. Here are the pictures."




I went to work and Bubby came with me today. The kids all had a great time with their babysitter. They played with her all day. She brought lots of cars from the movie cars, which Mateo loved. She also sang lots of songs from music together with the kids.

This is another picture of Mateo relaxing this afternoon.

Coffee shop

Spending the morning with Tali and Grammy, she got this photo of the two of us.  Tali is such a delight right now!   I'll miss her and everyone this weekend while I'm out of town, but am also looking forward to recharging my batteries for the rest of the winter.  Here we are in our favorite coffee shop!

Weather

It snowed today.  Big, fat, huge snowflakes that came down like crazy.  Of course, they had nowhere to land in the 40 degree weather, so they melted upon contact, but still, it was cool to watch.  I'm glad to live in a place where snow is a fun novelty, but not a constant winter thing.  The kids and I had a plan for the day, but it went awry for various reasons, so we mixed things up.  We had an impromptu playdate, then went to Mommy's school for lunch, and then home for napping and resting.  I should have gotten them going fifteen minutes ago, but the quiet is just soooo nice :) 

Speaking of things going awry, date night is off tonight because poor Apa is sick, and the babysitter I hired to help out this weekend while I'm gone just emailed me to say that she's sick, too.  I'm headed off to a glorious southern California location to enjoy the sun with friends and Sacha was going to have a weekend of mother-daughter bonding while this babysitter watched the kids. 

The babysitter is a teacher at M's preschool, so the kids both know her well and she is great.  And sick.  Argh.  She said she could still come for part of the time, so I guess that will have to do.  I mean, Sacha and her mom will be fine, but I wanted to give her a break for the weekend, to just enjoy hanging out with her mom.  Anyway, I'm sure things will work out and they'll all have fun playing together.  I just hate it when my perfectly organized plans don't work, especially out at the last minute!  I set this up with the babysitter months ago, literally.

Speaking of last minute, we're headed out to an indoor play park to run out some energy.  Since we don't have to be back for Apa tonight, we can stay as late as we want, so I think we're just going to feed the kids dinner there and come back close to bedtime.  The place is open until 8 pm - how crazy is that?  Then we (the parents) will order in and watch yesterday's Glee on hulu.  I think it will still be a great date night after all :)

In full view

Sacha had an OB appointment today, as well as a quick ultrasound to check on the baby's growth.  Other than the best parts of seeing our healthy baby squirming around and being right on track in the growth department, we finally got confirmation of her sex.  The first anatomy scan tech said she thought it was a girl, but she wasn't totally sure.  This time, it was obvious, so we are definitely expecting a daughter and we couldn't be more thrilled. 

It was amazing to see how much more cramped she was in there today compared to at 19 weeks.  As of now, she's in a transverse position, which means she's lying horizontally across Sacha's belly, but hopefully she'll turn head down soon, because...the OB changed her mind on the c-section.  She said she thought a vaginal birth would be the best course of action unless Sacha's hemorrhoids are extremely awful when labor begins. 

It was a big change in tune from Sacha's last appointment, but it's fine.  We can go back to our great one-word birth plan from before:  epidural!   And, I have to add, all of the Bradley classes we took before and Sacha's experience of handling labor before, too.  She really managed it incredibly well and if Natalia hadn't had some issues with coming out, things might have gone a lot more smoothly.  Hopefully, this time, things will go much more easily and happen much earlier!!

Also, we had a lovely Valentine's Day, although we celebrated it this weekend for the most part.  I took the kids out to a local bakery to get a special treat this morning.  Mateo chose a heart-shaped cookie and Tali chose a cinnamon roll.  She had no interest at all in the V Day stuff, which was fine with me, because I got to eat most of her special treat after she got full! 

Later, we had a nice dinner with friends tonight and then dessert for ourselves after the kids went to bed.  All in all, with spending the day with the kids, getting to see Drizzle on the ultrasound, having dinner with friends and then some nice time just having dessert and chatting with Sacha after the day was done, it's been a great Valentine's Day. 

33 weeks

Happy Valentine's Day to my fabulous wife, shown here at 33 weeks along.  And, happy V Day to our kids, too, both inside and outside of the womb :)

Pops

We had a big weekend!  We had planned for the whole month of February to be taken up with Saturday skiing lessons, but Mateo showed us he wasn't ready for that, so suddenly we had some, well, one, open weekend.   Apa very generously offered to watch the kids for a night so we could have a little babymoon at the beach, and we happily accepted.  We stayed at my grandma's beach condo (thanks, Grandmommy!) and had a dinner at a restaurant in Newport called Local Ocean that can only be described as sublime.  I went running up on Cascade Head, which looks out over the ocean, one day, and then this morning I went out on the roads.  I surprised a huge herd of deer on a field as I went past and they all stood stock still, staring at me as I went by.  It was extremely cool.

After driving back, we embarked on another awesome holiday-themed adventure with Katie and Cathy.  We made these cake pops:  http://oneordinaryday.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/valentines-day-cake-pops/ and had quite the time doing it.  I'm going to do a little photo essay of the process, because it was definitely a process.  The kids and I did most of the prep work on Friday, so we spent the afternoon dipping and sprinkling and figuring out why some pops stayed on their sticks and others just slid right off.  There was much sugar to be had and it was yummy.  Happy Valentine's Day to everyone out there!

In/sight

1.  So, I took Talia to the Children's Museum this morning just as she had requested, and it quickly became clear that she wasn't sure what to do.  We meandered through the water feature, the shape sorting part, the grocery shopping part, and the only thing she really settled on was the face painting, which is ALWAYS a hit.  I think she's so used to having Mateo with her when we go there (or anywhere) that she struggles to find her own direction when she's on her own.  On the one hand, it's great that she looks up to him so much.  On the other hand, it would be great for her to experience leading, herself.  It's not that she never does - she's plenty confident in our house - but the outside world can be tough for her.   I hope going to preschool this fall will help a little bit with that.  It definitely has with Mateo.  I can't believe she's going to be three in just a few months!

2.  I fulfilled a long-delayed dream today and got contacts, again!  I tried them over ten years ago, but I've always had dry eyes and contacts did not get along with them.  I wore them for three months just to show people that I didn't actually "just need to break them in," but it didn't work out and I assumed I'd never be able to wear them. 

Just recently, I've been hearing about all the new materials they have for contacts and how some of them are more hydrated than others. 

Then, when we were up in Washington, Sacha's mom was singing the praises of her new contacts and how well they were working, and they were one of the new kinds.  So, since we are lucky enough to have vision coverage (thank you, Portland teachers' union), I went to Kaiser and got fitted for some contacts today.  They even had my prescription in stock, so I got to walk out the door with my new lenses!

It was kind of like the day I first got glasses, way back in fourth grade.  I remember looking up at the trees and realizing that they all had leaves on them!  This was similar - I could see allll the way around, without the fuzziness on the edge of everything that I've just gotten used to.  My vision, according to the doctor today, is about 20/400, so I'm blind as a bat and I can't even see the E on the big letter chart.

So, being able to just look around and SEE things without any glasses seems like a miracle.  I wore them for four hours today and even went running in them and they seemed fine.  I'm going to work up to wearing them all day over the next week or so, so we'll see how that goes!  At worst, if I start having trouble with irritation again, I can just use them for special occasions.  At best, it will be a whole new world of vision!  I figure, it's a win-win.  Now let's just hope I can get them in tomorrow :)  After a decade, I've completely lost my touch!

Tali and Mama time

Tali and I have time with just the two of us every Tuesday and Thursday morning, while Mateo is at preschool.  I have suddenly realized that this time is very limited now, since the new baby will be coming and then both Tali and her brother will be in preschool next year at the same time.  So, I thought I would write a little about what we've been up to on our special mornings.

On Tuesdays, we have a standing playdate with Amanda, her son, Cooper, and Larkin, a little girl that they babysit.  Often Erin and her sons Mateo and Ciaran join the party, too.  In nice weather, like yesterday, when it was in the 40s and not raining, we try to get the kids outside as much as possible.  In rainy weather, we usually end up at one coffee shop or another.  Portland has a growing list of cafes that cater to families and Amanda and Erin have encyclopedic knowledge of all of them, so there's never a shortage of places to go. 

Here's a photo of the kids this week at the park.  It got so cold that even the bigger kids got too cold, so we ended up at a cafe shortly after this.

We've tried indoor play parks and are going to the library next week, so there's a lot of variety.  Natalia loves to play with all the other kids, who are all older than she is except for baby C, although sometimes you wouldn't know it.  She'll be begging to play with Cooper and then get all shy and refuse to even look at him when we finally get there.  Anyway, it's a nice part of our week and I hope we can continue it even after Drizzle is here.  Also, Tuesdays are our grocery days, so we usually throw in a frantic grocery run before the playdate starts.

On Thursdays, I try to keep the morning open for just us.  We usually spend some time taking care of stuff around the house or cooking.  She's usually thrilled to play in the sink while I throw a meal together or straighten up or whatever.  Then we do what she wants to do, like riding her tricycle outside, going for a walk, or going somewhere else.  She asked to go to the Children's Museum tomorrow, so we're going to do that. 

She is such a special, sweet little girl and I cherish the one-on-one time I get with her every week.  We're going to have to work hard to make that happen with every kid once we have three of them, but I hope we can build up to it.  I'm just putting this out there in gratitude for the alone time I've had with her during these past two school years, and in hopes of continuing it in some fashion even after she starts school and Drizzle becomes part of our lives.

Redirection and Correction

Frequently I think that when Mateo and Natalia get older there will be less need for redirection and correction. I am sure that this is the case, on some level. And as they get older it will move more toward us figuring things out together.

Which brings me to today, with my 5th grade classroom. Yes, it is February, and still I have to remind them what it means when I ask for their attention, how to line up, how to transition in the classroom. At 10 and 11 years old!

I know, I can't really compare our children to the students I teach. My students have totally different backgrounds from our kids. There are many students who do not need to be reminded over and over how to behave in the classroom.

At the end of the day, the relationship I have with my students is obviously really different than the one I have with my kids. I feel like I am a much better teacher because I have kids, but that the roles are so very different. And thank goodness I don't have 27 children!

Notes from 32 weeks

Wow - I only have six more weeks of school to teach. I feel like I am really in the swing of things at school. Sometimes I think that there is not enough time - only six more weeks? How will I get everything done that I want to do. Other times of the day I'm thinking . . . six weeks? How am I going to do that?

Thankfully, two other teachers in my hallway help me up with taking my class to recess and lunch. Otherwise, it is going down a ton of stairs and up a ton more. That gives me Braxton Hicks contractions. I know they are supposed to be painless, but they are uncomfortable.

My class seems oblivious to the fact that I am pregnant. Most of the time they are in their own little worlds. Every once in a while I will get a question from a student. Are you having a boy or a girl? Do you have a husband? (Only asked once this year, unlike last year.)

Before this school, I think I've mostly been out at work. The students definitely knew at my last school. With the population I work with, and the culture of the school, I don't feel comfortable being very out at school. At the same time, Alayna comes and visits with the kids. When students ask, I say this is my family. I do have a few pictures of all of us in the classroom. Most of the students have no clue. Last year there were students and parents who knew, but this year that does not appear to be the case. If kids ask if I have a husband, I say no, you've met my family. All of the adults at the school know, and there are other people on staff who are not straight. No one, though, is out to the students.

On the home front, I've been enjoying spending time with the kids. I have more energy now than I did in either the first or second trimester. We will see how long that lasts! I've been feeling much better since the beginning of January. It is just nice to feel a bit more like myself, and not like a walking zombie all of the time.

I know I should enjoy the sensation, because I'll be back in zombie land soon. The lack of sleep with number three should put me there in no time. At least Mateo and Natalia are both sleeping through the night. Mateo was still getting up when Natalia was born. . . so I am really appreciating how much sleep we are getting these days.

The morning book seems to continue to work for Mateo. For whatever reason, we mostly read non-fiction in the morning. Alayna normally starts the book (while she lets me sleep a bit more!!!) and then I sometimes finish the book. The library has a great collection of bilingual beginning fact books. Tomorrow, we are reading one on Tiberones - Sharks!

Well, it is almost 8pm. I am going to go to bed soon. I might actually fall asleep before one of the kids. Natalia is chattering away in their room as I type.

32 weeks

OMG, can you believe she is at 32 weeks?  I can't.  Time seemed to slow down there for awhile, but now it is flying by again.  Here's the lady herself with just (hopefully) eight weeks to go!

Lights, camera, action!

We had an action-packed weekend!  On Friday, having come to my senses and found a babysitter, I drove up to the Seattle area to visit one of my best friends from college.  She was visiting another college friend up there, so we all got to hang out for a bit and reconnect.  I forgot to bring my camera, but I had a wonderful time.  Even though I was only there for a few hours, it was completely worth the drive.  We got in a nice walk, a hot chocolate excursion, a fancy lunch, and a visit to meet the other college friend's little girl, who just turned one.  Then, I got back into my car and drove home.   Big day!

Then, on Saturday, Mateo and I got up bright and early (as always) and got all our gear in the car for his big day of skiing.  He had a lesson on the mountain from 10 to 12, then an hour for lunch, and then the rest of the lesson from 1 to 3 that afternoon.  As with many things, Te Te was very excited about the idea of skiing but much more shy about it when confronted with all the gear and snow and tons of kids milling around.  It didn't help that he had to walk up a huge hill in his ski boots just to get to the ski school.   I carried him part of the way, because he was having such a hard time getting anywhere at all.  He was pretty morose by the time it was time to get out there:

However, after some Mama intervention and a gentle push towards his class, he rebounded somewhat and pretty soon was skating around with one ski on, and then with it on the other foot.  It was so funny to watch all the little four year olds milling around as their (also very young) instructors tried to teach them the importance of personal space while skiing! 

Mateo said his favorite part of the day was learning to make pizzas (snow plowing) and riding on the sled pulled by a ski mobile, which took them to a bunny hill somewhere out on the mountain. You can see him in his little striped hat sitting on the sled.

All in all, one day of skiing was enough for him, as he told me quite emphatically at the morning break, at lunch, and after the day was done.  He loves playing in the snow, but does not want to ski again until he is older.  That's fine with us.  We just wanted him to try it, but we're not going to push it on him.  I do have high hopes that a year or two and maybe a private lesson or two with him and possibly me, too, might change his outlook a bit!

Anyway, we were very glad to get home and the poor guy was practically asleep before he even got to bed last night.  We spent today doing a little bit of everything and mostly just hanging around the house.  We went to the library, took a walk, went to the hardware store, and watched the Super Bowl and Glee with Apa.  Can I just say, as a lifelong Cal fan, that it was awesome to see Aaron Rodgers win and be MVP of the Super Bowl?  Wow!

We have another busy week coming up, so it's a good thing I'm about to go to bed.  Adios!

Senses

Sight:
We went to see The King's Speech tonight, courtesy of Apa and our regular date night.  We went out to dinner first and had a perfectly lovely time chatting, and then got to watch a really great movie.  It was one of the best I've seen in a long time.  I hope it wins lots of awards!  All the work the main character had to go through to speak clearly made me think of the five senses, so I thought I'd post a quick snapshot of the five senses in our house right now.

Hearing:
Sacha and I were debating earlier how Drizzle would react to the movie, because Mateo used to go nuts at movies in utero.  We thought/think it was because of the very loud sounds all around.  I forgot to ask her afterwards, but we did talk about how Drizzle responds to voices.  She often kicks when one of us, especially me or Mateo, puts our mouths right up to Sacha's belly and says hi.  It's so cute and makes me want to meet her EVEN THAT MUCH MORE.  Patience is a virtue, right?

Taste:
Thanks to the confluence of miraculous events, we had two dates in one day!  Before our regular date night, Megan came over to hang with the kids and Sacha and I went out for coffee.  It was positively luxurious.  We had (me) a hot chocolate and a chocolate chip cookie and (her) a decaf mocha and a chocolate almond croissant.  YUM.

Touch:
Of course, the kids are all over us all the time, so we've got the sense of touch covered, but they are exploring it recently with their stuffed animals.  Specifically, both of them like to stuff stuffed animals in their shirts and pretend to have babies in their bellies.  These "babies" even kick, if one is so brave as to touch them.  Earlier, we were looking at a house and Natalia took her baby out of her jacket and helped it walk up the stairs.  Cutest thing ever.   Well, that and when the kids actually get to feel their real baby sister kick inside Mommy's belly.  That is even cuter.

Smell:
I can't smell a thing.  My nose is stuffed up and my voice is slowly making its way back from the brink of laryngitis.  In the interest of avoiding another horrible sinus infection like I had last year, I'm about to Afrin my nose, so I suppose my sense of smell will return soon, too.

That's all I got tonight, folks.  Good night!