Favorites

Cesar Loves . . .

Soccer
Ice Cream
Red Sox
Gripping
His Eyeglasses
Apple Pie
His Truck
Wikipedia
The Outlaw Josie Whales
Back Rubs
Bar-B-Que
Singing
XM Radio
i tunes
Free Parking
Civilization Game
Sudoku
Tetrus
Rock Band
Guitar Hero
Halo
Lip Balm
Lotion
Our Christmas Tree
An Empty Sink
Smart Food
Sweedish Fish
Green Tea
Peanuts
Gummies
Tools
Generators
Cutting the Lawn
His Shed
His Tractor
Welding
Techno
Feather Pillows
Duluth Trading Clothing
Hot Rods
The Beach
Belt Buckles
Road Trips
Popeye
Dell's
Waterfire (with no people)
Hugo's Hugs
Baseball Caps
Target Shooting
Red Wings
Old Friends
Jello
Burritos
Kimchi
Campers (we now own 3)
Organization
Fire
Lemonade
The Everything Cookie
The Everything Salad
ESPN
Motorcycles
Fall
the color Green
Politics
Information
Chihuahuas
Honey Nut Cheerios
Animal Cookies
Yogurt
Double Dipping at the Movies
Hoodies
Skiing
Good Rain Gear
Skateboarding
Trident Stick Gum
Fine Homebuilding
Apple
Bags
Hot Sauce
Dump Runs
Lowe's

His Family

Climbing Walls & Slides

We were out looking for sources and information for an insert for our fireplace the other day. The internet supplied a few address and off we went to explore. Low and behold - we arrived at our destination and they happen to also sell play structures, can you believe it?! The fancy schmancy kind! Hugo made a mad dash for them as soon as he was unbuckled from his carseat. So I followed Hugo and Cesar went inside to gathered information on a possible insert for our house.

Once surrounded by the play structures, I think there were eight total, Hugo was in little boy heaven. He climbed up one wall and down the slide he flew and over to the next structure he ran. Over and over the pattern was repeated till we had made a double or possibly even a triple circuit around all eight play structures.

So Hugo climbed.

And he climbed.

Surprisingly he paused and looked about at all the cars and trucks passing by. All we hear from him these days is "What's that?" Sometimes I get so tired of repeating my answers over again and again so I simply turn the tables and ask him, "What's that" and he'll smile and say car or truck or bike (for motorcycle) or his current favorite - tractor.

And Hugo climbed, again.

This structure had a barn on top. Hugo wouldn't go in. The mom that I am, told him that cows and pigs were inside so he should hurry up and go look! Here his arms are stretched forward, palms up, as he explained in half words half gibberish that there were no pigs or cows inside the barn. "No pigs Mama, no pigs." I just thought once inside the barn he'd see the slide and enjoy it, which in the end, he did.

Once more, Hugo climbed.

Hugo has been watching the Backyardigans lately. I can tell that he has been paying attention to the stories because while he spied through the glass and spun the ships wheel he said, "Aaaargghhh!" I couldn't believe it! Made me laugh like silly while I stood there watching him happily play all by himself. Today in church a friend let him play with two horses. He brought them back to me where I was sitting and he said, "Yeeeee Haaaa!" Way to go Backyardigans!

We Went to the Movies!

Cesar's choice was to see Wall-E and I'm so glad we did. This imperfect and out of date robot will have your heart in mere seconds. It is a lovely love story. Hugo stayed awake for the entire movie! Shocker! He enjoyed seeing Wall-E in the lobby on our way out. His face lit up at the cardboard figure. We'll be adding this one to the ever growing dvd collection in our house.

Cars, Planes, Helicopters annddd Trains!

Summertime and Hugo was only a few months old. One day in particular seemed super hot and uncomfortable. We picked up our friend Jared and headed to the mall to enjoy some cold air conditioning. We walked around and around pushing Hugo in his stroller. At last we found ourselves at Target. After much debating and walking up and down the foreign territory of toy aisles, together we chose this train set for Hugo.

I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for Mr Hugo to be able to play with the train set. The box states that it is for ages 3+, Hugo is now only 2 . . . Cesar has been waiting and waiting and waiting for me to chuck it since the giant train set box seems to travel from location to location throughout our house.

Hugo did pretty well keeping the train cars on the tracks. As he would knock over trees, the post office or clock tower and animal figurines he'd pause and take a minute to right them. Then he'd resume pushing the train and it's cars up and over the bridge and knock something else over. The bridge set up isn't very stable (wish it had been designed a little better) and caused some anxiety in him as it toppled over a number of times. After awhile I reworked the tracks to eliminate the bridge. It worked but wasn't nearly as interesting or pretty. We'll have to keep practicing our play with the train set. I wonder how he'd handle sharing the trains and tracks with another kid?? Might be interesting to watch . . . I'll keep you posted!

Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

Cesar got these fabulous Julia Child cookbooks for me on ebay. I love them. Love the jacket and box colors and the fleur de lies design. Love that they were written to teach the average cook how to "divorce herself from recipes". Many of the titles are in french and I don't know french. I must admit that I am a bit intimidated to try the books out. I'm sure if Julia herself were here right now, she'd wack me over the head with a skillet. She'd tell me what a dumb girl I am because these books were written for precisely a girl like me. So okay. I'll keep reading. Just sitting there on my bookshelf in the kitchen they are so pretty. I do want them to help me make the house smell mouthwatering for my boys!



This past Sunday my girlfriend Gloria gave me this Amish Friendship Bread starter. I am so excited! I've never had a starter before. Tomorrow is day 10 and baking day. I'll also be handing off the starter to other friends, I'm just not sure which friends . . .

Last of the Baby Days

At nap time today I couldn't resist holding Hugo until he fell asleep. Cool June breezes were ruffling the curtains shading the windows. One of his lullaby cds from his Aunt Millie was quietly playing beside us. I had read a Curious George story while Hugo sat on my lap. I propped my legs up on the footstool and spun him around sideways so we could cuddle for a moment. I tickled his tummy, under his arms and his skinny little neck. We rubbed our noses the eskimo way. Playtime was paused and I slowly began to simply rock us back and forth, back and forth saying, "Ssshhhhhhhh". Before long his eyelids began to drop and flutter. I should have gotten up and carried him to his bed and crept out of the room. I didn't. I just sat there and held him. I thought how I wanted to remember this moment and this last taste of baby days. I carried him into my room and took this photo of us.

Love

"The most important thing one woman can do for another
is to illuminate and expand her sense of actual possibilities."
Adrienne Rich

Women young and old are my girlfriends. Some are tall, some are short. I have blondes, redheads, and brunettes all backing me. They play with me, know me, support me and inspire me. They help me to see things in myself that I find to be unclear.

Cesar is my husband and is a year older than I am. He is about four inches taller and has naturally wavy brown hair and hazel eyes. Sometimes he plays with me. He knows me and then again, he doesn't know me. He has always supported my love of knitting and designing and pushed me to reach for things which all on my own I would find frightening. He helps me to see things in myself that I find to be unclear and alter or change those things which have been assumed, and even accepted.

We are changing. We are growing. The goal is to stay in tune and connected with one another and in love. I want to love and be loved and to be in love with my husband.

I watched a beautiful program on PBS tonight about the life and love of artist Emile Norman. I admired much of what he had to say about living and loving and being our authentic self. Referring to the home he built with his companion he said, "The house reflects love."

I want our home to reflect love. I want all who walk through its doors to feel that the Lord dwells there also. I want to create an environment in which our son Hugo will want to bring his friends home to play. A place where he'll want to spend time with his parents. A place where our friends and family will want to be. A place where we will forever be drawn to because of it's love. A house, a marriage, a partnership, a friendship and a family which all reflect love.

A Post of Updates

I have been asked to elaborate on Hugo's accident so here goes... Hugo was nicknamed Tree Frog from the moment we brought him home from the hospital. Well, he was listening and has tried desperately to live up to his name. He is a climber. The kid can scale just about anything. Chairs, couches, footboards, his crib, all of his friends cribs, bikes, motorcycles, Papa's truck, play structures which are far too old for him and ladders, don't get me started with the ladders, please. He almost never falls and when he does it usually turns out to be no big deal. Hugo is tough. We didn't ask it of him, it's just part of his packaging.

Friday morning began like most others except for one small thing. One small something was different. I opened my eyes to Hugo's smiling face and knew that it was my birthday. What promise did the day have in store for me, for us? Cesar was yet sleeping so we snuck out of the room. As Hugo and I walked downs the stairs with Rodrigo and Bella trailing behind I began to crave a warm, yummy bagel fresh out of the oven. We opened the door for the dogs to run outside and discovered it was a beautiful morning. We sat together, Mr Hugo and I, on a low wall overlooking our garden watching the bumblebees busy at work amongst the flowers. The thoughts in my head at the time went something like this, "Bagels, bagels, bagels. Strawberry cream cheese! Should I get blueberry or sesame? Or cinnamon raisin? Maybe strawberry cream cheese would taste better with a sesame bagel. I am still in my nightgown, I'd have to change clothes. Rats! I'd like to take a shower. Hmmm, maybe simply cereal this morning and I'll get bagels later today for the weekend! Yes, yes, good thinking Alissa!"

So inside we went and I began to pull out the bowls and cereal for us when I heard an odd thump. I turned around and there was Hugo spread eagle on the floor starring wide eyed at me with one of the high backed stools from the kitchen counter smack dab on top of him! How did this happen?! Blood was on his lips. I moved the stool to the side of him. Hugo raised his hands up to cover his mouth. I grabbed a clean dishcloth, wet it quickly at the faucet and bent over him. At that point he started to cry and I scooped him up. It took a little while to slow the blood down. It was a little while longer after that before I could figure out the complete damage. Really I was in a bit of shock. I have no idea how it happened. He climbs up and down the stools multiple times a day without any trouble.

The cuts to his upper and lower lips looked awful to me. But I learned this past Thanksgiving that doctors don't like to make sutures around the mouth if not completely necessary. Hugo had received a nasty scratch from his Aunts cat on this exact same upper lip. We had just gotten used to that scar when Friday morning happened. So this is why Cesar referred to Hugo as Our Little Frankenstien.

Cesar woke up and found me holding a whimpering little boy with a wet and bloody dishcloth pressed up to his face. Hugo's lip was HUGE at this point. Looked more like a duck bill than an upper lip. Somehow or other he stretched out his body in my arms. He titled his head back just so and I could see somewhat into his mouth. It didn't look right. I stuck my finger inside to investigate. Hugo was not happy. But my fears from each and every one of his past falls was upon us. A tooth had been knocked out of place. The good news is that it doesn't have to be pulled out. The knocked back tooth thankfully does not interfere with his bite and so can remain where it is, knocked back. I assumed the dentist would simply straighten the tooth. Silly me. Nope, not gonna. If it had interfered with the bite or the root had been damaged the tooth would have been pulled. Pulled?! A whole lot of missing front tooth pictures between now and Hugo's 7th or 8th birthday would fill up this blog and our albums! The tooth might, might straighten out on its own. It could take months to find out if there will be any nerve damage. The dentist doesn't think that the budding adult tooth will be compromised.

A small birthday funny note from the Husband:
We were in our patient room waiting for the Doctor to arrive. Cesar was filling out our emergency visit paperwork while I held a nervous Hugo. Cesar turned to me and asked the date. "6/20" I answered all annoyed like. "Oh. Oohhh, it's your birthday."

We ordered Chinese for dinner. When we were nearly finished eating Cesar said, "I don't have a cake for you."

Shoosha Update:
About 2:45am Hugo was up and at my bedside. The two of us were up, down and up, down and up, down till about 5am when I finally gave in and let him in bed with us. At that point none of us got any sleep. While I was rocking Hugo in his room earlier, trying to get him to fall back asleep he stretched out his hand to the drawer where I keep the shooshas. I hadn't removed them - chicken momma that I am. I opened the drawer and handed him one. He realized that it still didn't work. Wasn't gonna fit right. He was sad but gave it back to me.

Yesterday he didn't ask for a shoosha at nap or bedtime. Once he was asleep last night I opened the drawer and removed them all to a keeping box in my room. I plan on keeping just one to show off later on.

I should also mention here that snipping the tips off the shoosha's did not help us. Hugo ended up preferring them snipped up. I found one a week ago which had not been cut and I thought oh well, and handed it over to the boy. He didn't want it. He only wanted the snipped up shooshas. Interesting.

Hugo's Blanket:
This post of updates would not be complete without mentioning Hugo's beloved blanket. Although, this is blanket #2. He completely and utterly destroyed blanket #1. I dropped him off at a girlfriends one day while I ran to the city. I left her with the scraps of his blanket. Mere remnants really. These remnants were so small that when her husband came home from work he began to clean up and tossed Hugo's blanket #1 in the trash! My girlfriend figured out what happened and rescued the pieces for me.

Thank heavens I was a little overzealous in my knitting for my unborn child and had made him two blankets. I switched out one cashmere and silk blanket for the other without missing a nap.

Blanket #2 is now sadly in shreds. I keep gathering up pieces and knotting them together into a giant lump of a knot. I have no idea how much longer the delicate fiber can hold out. Do I make him a blanket #3? What if he destroys this one also? Should I use a more durable cotton? Will he accept it if I do? Is he getting too old for a knitted blanket from his Momma? I hope not because I think I will want to knit for him until the day I can't see straight.

Our Little Frankenstein

Here is one of my typical, everyday blurry photos of my son Hugo. But this photo is not telling you the entire story ... Oh no. This photo happens to be a bit deceiving as to sort of day we had here at the House of We Three.

Now here you start to see the real picture of what our day was like. I do believe the day had promise. Hope of fun and love and happiness and surprise and family was all in the works the night before. It turned out to be a sad, sad day with plenty of long faces and tears and even some good old fashioned blood. Even a doctor aannddd a dentist were involved, these were not planned doctor or dentist visits. This was actually Hugo's first trip to the dentist. It took three adults to hold him down so the dentist could look about in his mouth. Once back in my arms I quieted him down and he went right to sleep. Out like a light.


Later in the day we did get a few tickles in to produce some laughter from Mr Hugo. Played a little hide and seek with a flannel blanket. Had lots of popsickles and applesauce. We even ordered up some chinese. Hugo loves sesame chicken. He filled up his tummy with chicken and broccoli. We gently washed his face, dabbed on some Neosporin and he slurped up some Tylenol. We dressed Hugo in his truck jammies. We started to read a book and within just a few pages he was out cold.

One bright note is that his snipped up shoo sha bothered his lip and he didn't use it all day. They might just be migrating to the trash tonight. Might be.

Car Happy Boy

Just thought I'd share some pics of Hugo enjoying a few of his many cars. Hugo loves cars and animals. It's a pretty close race between the two of these for his toy affection.

We have been driving Cesar's noisy diesel truck the past week or so. Hugo's engine revving noises have really improved. Another perk about the truck is that he sits higher up in it than he does in my car which allows him to see out and about better. Nearby there is a farm that we drive pass often which has buffalo. He normally hasn't seemed very interested when we see the buffalo. Kinda strange since buffalo are so large and oddly shaped, they have horns and sometimes run around and fight even. How could he not think they were cool?! Now as we drive on by the buffalo he shouts out to them and talks about all the babies that he sees.

Car Lovin Tunes

Chasing My Blues Away

"I had an early morning run in the woods before the dew was off the grass. The moss was like velvet, and as I ran under the arches of yellow and red leaves, I sang for joy, my heart was so bright and the world so beautiful. I stopped at the end of the walk and saw the sunshine out over the wide "virginia meadows." It seemed like going through a dark life or grave into heaven beyond. A very strange and solemn feeling came over me as I stood there, with no sound but the rustle of the pines, no one near me, and the sun so glorious, as for me alone. It seemed as if I felt God as I never did before, and I prayed in my heart that I might keep that happy sense of nearness all my life."
Louisa May Alcott

Early Father's Day Snuggle

We went to bed around midnight last night. I checked on Hugo before slipping under my sheets. I must have disturbed his sleep a bit too much because from the moment I laid down Hugo was up. He tried over and over to sneak in bed with us. Over and over I scooped him up and marched us back to his own room. Cesar pretended sleep. Wasn't moving. Had no comments. About 4am the short one was back. I could barely see anything in the room as I sat upright trying to sort out reality from my dream. It was quiet, the short one had paused. I'm sure he was guageing my response time. Then I heard his sleep heavy feet as they quickly ran past my side of the bed over to his Papa. I complained as Cesar assisted Hugo in his climb up the side of the bed, the two males in my life ignored me. They snuggled up together on the left side of the bed and I continued to hold court over on the right. We three all passed out not to be heard from till 8am.

Picky Eater

Hugo has been a bit of a picky eater recently. Here is a short list of some of his current favorites: Goldfish, cheerios, apples, raisins, bananas, grapes, watermelon, risois, potatoes, ravioli, applesauce, yogurt, peanuts, freezer pops, and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. He used to love broccoli and cauliflower. Not anymore. The only vegetable I can get him to eat these days is a carrot. Hugo loves carrots. He doesn't eat much meat. He does like the occasional bacon, ham and salami but not sausage. Chicken has it's yes and no days but mainly no way days and he'll shake his hand at me in a mock wave to say, "No way Momma". Because he always drinks milk he thinks that water is a big treat, hee, hee, hee! He does get a juice box once in a while. He loves it when I give him a little bag of fruit snacks. Popcorn is also popular, he calls it simply "corn".

Tonight I made something new and Hugo really liked it. I tried out a recipe for Chicken & Herb Fritters. Hugo finished his plate and licked it clean. Hugo then moved over to Poppa's lap and helped him to polish off his plate. He wasn't interested in our salad. We thought he'd try out the Craisins since they look so similar to his fave raisins but nope. Not gonna. I had used a vegetable peeler to peel a carrot into our salad. Hugo pinched all the fine carrot peels out of the salad with his thumb and index finger and into his mouth. He checked out what was left on my plate and then slid on over to my lap to help finish off my fritters. I am planning on making these again with vegetables add in.

Chicken & Herb Fritters

Makes 8
1 lb 2 oz mashed potato, with butter added
1 1/3 cups cooked chicken, chopped
2/2 cups cooked ham, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh mixed herbs
2 eggs
1 tbsp milk
2 cups breadcrumbs
salt & pepper

In a large bowl, blend the potatoes, chicken, ham, herbs, and 1 egg, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into small balls or flat pancakes.

Add the milk to the second egg.

Place the breadcrumbs on a plate. Dip the balls in the egg and milk mixture and roll in the breadcrumbs, to coat them completely.

Heat oil in a large skillet and cook the fritters until golden brown. Serve hot with a mixed salad.

So, if you have a picky one in your house ... try these! They were delicious. Not so pretty, we'll work on that next time. Small is good. Balls might have worked better than the pancake shape I tried for. Good luck.

Early Mornings in Bed

Most mornings now I wake to find Hugo has crawled into bed with us. Sometimes he wakes me in the process of climbing up and sometimes because he pats my face with his hand while standing next to my side of the bed. Sometimes as I wake and begin to stretch and roll over to check the time on my alarm clock I'll find him there asleep clutching his worn out blanket. Sometimes he is wide awake and playing with cars or looking at books. Sometimes if his Papa has left his bag of peanuts out the night before he'll bring one or two of them to us. Once he spies me with my eyes open his face brightens and he says, "Mama!". So nice to hear. I have been trying for months to get him to say good morning but no such luck. Sometimes I am amazed at how much he has hauled up onto our bed while I slept soundly away. The other morning I woke to find the bed covered with just about every car, truck, fire truck, ambulance you name it, that Hugo owns. How did he do that? How many trips did he make between his room and our own?

When he was new and small I would take pictures of him in our bed. I found that after that first morning nursing the light was soft and perfect as it streamed through the window onto our bed. I kept the camera on my nightstand during those early days. Some of those lounging about morning shots are my very favorites of baby Hugo. Then with all the crawling and exploring that soon followed the camera was moved elsewhere from my very interesting to Mr Hugo nightstand.

I have started to keep the camera next to my bed again. I have kicked myself enough for not having the camera near by. The photos here were taken in the early morning. I woke to find him waiting patiently for me. It was raining out and there wasn't much light. The funny puckered up lips photo of Hugo is not his attempt at an early morning smooch. He was choo chooing for his favorite Thomas train he wanted me to play with.

The Great Somersaulting Hugo!

Hugo had a blast at our Wednesday Playdate yesterday. The kids ran back and forth between Amy and Hannah's new swingset and the sandbox. I feel guilty to call the beautiful swingset a swingset because it is so much more than the typical swingset that I grew up with! It has swings, a teetertoter, a climbing wall, a slide, a fort and a picnic area. I was surprised to hear that it was a purchase from Wal-Mart. Didn't know they carried such an item.

It had rained the night before which meant the slide was wet. So was the tall grass which lay between the swingset and the sandbox and the house. The kids could have cared less. A triangular footpath was formed by their running feet between the swingset, sandbox and the house which they all traveled on again and again. They were completely filthy from head to toe by the time we headed back inside. Everyone was stripped down to skin and washed to remove all traces of sand and grass. My quick thinking girlfriend through all the kid clothes into the washer for a tumble. She then began handing out little outfits for all the short naked people running excitedly about her house. The thing is, she only has girls. That means she only has girl outfits. We were happy that our boys are too young to notice. So these very blurry somersault photos of Hugo are showing off his oh so cute girl wear. The pants have little embroidered flowers set in a cluster in the corner of the bottom hem. The shirt has a scalloped edge and a fairy, with a wand, smack dab in the middle of his chest. Girl clothes are just sooo cute. Oh well.




This last picture was taken at another friends house later in the day. I almost forgot that we were invited to a baby shower that afternoon. No time to change! We grabbed our gift bag and out the door we went. Hugo loved, loved, loved their trampoline.

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

I have been craving my Great Aunt Cilla's Rhubarb Coffee Cake ever since a wonderful friend gave me a bundle of rhubarb stalks a month ago. When I went in search of the recipe the other day I couldn't find it. Mom is visiting Lizzie and her new baby out west so I can't call her. Grandma Marge, well, I have called her a few times but have gotten side tracked and forgotten to ask. So I turned to Martha. I have the super Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook which I stole repeatedly and won from my sister Millie during our present game three Christmases ago. Ha, ha, ha!

Cherry (Rhubarb for Me)-Streusel Coffee Cake

1 stick butter, room temp plus more for pan
2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1 cup frozen sour cherries, thawed and drained well (I used my chopped and frozen rhubarb)
1 cup Streusel
Milk Glaze

Streusel (The following makes 4 cups of streusel, I didn't read the amount and poured all 4 cups worth of the streusel on top of the cake batter - it was crumbly but yummy!)
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temp
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt; cut in the butter using a pastry blender, until large, moist clumps form. Streusel can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Milk Glaze - Makes enough for one 9-inch tube cake.
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 Tbls milk
In a medium bowl, wisk together the confectioners' sugar and milk until completely smooth. Immediately drizzle glaze over cake.

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9-inch tube pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. beat the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the flour mix in three parts, alternating with the sour cream and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat until just combined, scraping sides of the bowl as needed.

Spoon about half the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange the cherries (rhubarb) in a single layer on top of the batter; avoid placing any cherries (rhubarb) against the pan's edge, as they may stick or burn if not fully encased to batter. Top with the remaining batter, making sure it is evenly distributed, and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top of the batter.

Bake until the cake is golden brown and springs back when touched, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet, and let the cake cool 10 to 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack, then reinvert (so streusel side is up), and let cool completely. Spoon the glaze over the cake letting it drip down the sides. Let the cake sit until the glaze is set, about 5 minutes, before serving. Cake can be kept at room temp, wrapped well in plastic, for up to 4 days.

Enjoy!

Poppa, Hugo And The Snake

I tried to enlist Cesar as a guest blogger tonight. He said that it sounded like a good idea.... For the future that is. Tonight his eyelids are too heavy - wah wah wah! I thought he'd have fun telling his story about catching the snake for Hugo. But I suppose, I'll just have to tell our snake tale my way.

The big highlight of catching and playing with this snake that Poppa found tonight, was that it pooped all over the two of them! Not just any poop but very stinky snake poop! Poppa's hands were covered. Hugo took a poop blast straight to the chest (How is that even possible you might be asking yourself??, well, just stop. Don't ask. Chalk it up to Life with Cesar. I changed Hugo's clothes before these photos were taken by the way.). His right arm and one of his bug boots also got it good. Cesar asked if I was game to hold the poopy snake and I answered with a big resounding, "No Way Jose!" Hugo did like the snake but I did not consider keeping it to share with our playdate friends.

When the time came to release the snake Hugo just about had a cow. This surprised us because it wasn't his first opportunity of poking at a snake. Poppa has caught at least two other snakes for Hugo to poke at. Each attempt at letting this oh so special stinky poop snake go was met by cries of fury from Master Hugo. Poppa would quickly trap and scoop up the snake and thennnn release the snake, and trap the snake and release the snake and trap the snake. Finally, the snake headed too far off into the bush to be caught, meltdown occurred and into the house for bath time we went. Night, night poopy snake! Fun time in the yard had by all!