Further proof of the magnetic properties of the television . . .For the last month, I've been letting Karis watch a Baby Signs DVD every day. Both Jafta and India watched this when they were babies, and they really did learn some sign language from it so that they could communicate before they were verbal. And also so that we could make them perfom party tricks like signing "poop" in front of a large audience. Because poop is funny, ya'll.However, every time I put the video on for Karis, Jafta . . .

Jafta is my crafty little kid. He is always coming up with creative solutions for the things he wants, and this often involves dressing up like someone else. Like when he was watching football with Mark, and he suddenly bolted out of the room and re-emerged with two rolls of toilet paper under his shirt, declaring himself a "USC football guy":And then, a few days later, he came up with a better solution, using his skateboard pads on his shoulders:He has also been asking for an ipod so he could . . .

We are back from Seattle . . . the entire week before we left Jafta talked about how we were going to "See Attle". I guess you could say we did.We had a great trip. Still unpacking, both literally and figuratively. There is nothing like travel and a little time with nature to make you start rethinking everything you know. One thing I do know for sure: we miss our family in the northwest.Karis's first plane ride I think this photo accurately captures the essence of my little boy and his awesome . . .

I've been feeling a little run-down lately. My family might even say I've been acting a little cranky. Okay, I HAVE. I'm so tired. I've been trying to figure out why, and I think I got a little clarity last night, when Mark attempted to give Karis a bottle. Karis was not having it. She was screaming and crying and arching her back, and as this was going on I made the connection that this was her first bottle in about six weeks. Which means, for the past six weeks, I have not been away from Karis . . .

In family systems theory, there is a concept that I really like called reframing. Basically, it means to take a situation and encourage someone to "see it in another frame", usually adding a more positive context to the scenario. Because I enjoy using my kids as psychological experiments putting my psych training to work as a parent, I tend to do a lot of reframing with my kids. If you are a parent, you are probably already doing it, and just didn't know there was a fancy technical name for . . .

Yesterday was a day of fulfilled dreams.First of all, Jafta won MOST IMPROVED CAMPER OF THE WEEK at his basketball camp. He was so excited! He had a great last day and proved that mommy's neurotic insecurities were mostly just projections based on her own lack of corrective emotional experience and fear of competition due to unresolved family of origin issues. Or something like that.Then, after basketball, we went to a toy store and India got to meet Zac Ephron in the flesh cardboard!! She was . . .

We had a little crisis this week that was thankfully solved pretty quickly. Jafta has been begging to attend a basketball camp for the past three months, and I signed him up for one through our city for preschool-aged kids. All summer, he's been asking about it and counting down to when it would start. It was supposed to start Monday. On Saturday, I got a call telling me it had been cancelled. I found myself with two options: 1) completely crush my son and have him mope about it endlessly until . . .

1. Load the car up with every baby gear item in your home to the point that you cannot see out of the back window.2. Under the children's feet, stuff bags of food from your own kitchen so you don't have to eat out the entire trip. 3. Find a creative way to breastfeed your baby in the car without having to stop your three-car caravan and make your friends wait on a nursing session4. Leave the kids in the car while checking in so the resort staff won't see you have one more child than the "maximum . . .