I can't believe that some people (including my sisters, in a big way) love to go shopping. I went to the mall today, the big mall on the west side of Madison that I try to avoid because I don't have the store locations memorized.
I always end up parking at the wrong end of the structure, which is the pits, not because I don't need the exercise of walking but because if I carry a reasonably heavy shopping bag in my right hand for any period of time, my fingers go numb (old tendonitis thing).
And there were an insane number of people in this mall for a Friday afternoon. It was quite obvious that at least half of the city's residents that got gift cards for Christmas were there, using the cards up before they started losing value (that's been on the news a lot lately, but I think they're talking about cards unused after a year, people, not after a week!).
I'll admit that the reason I was at the mall at all was to return a few things that Greg got me. I now have a new favorite store to hate--Coldwater Creek. They had two women working at the checkout/return desk and it literally took half an hour for me to get to the front of the line and do my return.
There were people in line both in front and behind me who were not even doing returns. They just wanted to buy something from this store. You have got to be freaking kidding (guess what word I wanted to type there, but my mom reads this blog and she hates swearing, let alone the "f" word).
I was very, very happy to get out of there. Breathe in, breathe out.
Now I can concentrate on looking forward to doing Christmas with my family this weekend. Just what my children need--more toys! I'm kidding, I'm incredibly grateful I have a family that wants to give my children gifts (did I mention they're the only grandchildren?).
We're going to rent the storage locker for all the new stuff on Tuesday.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Sound asleep
Poor Pig, she's home from the vet after a long day and she will feel better as a result of her adventure, but probably not too soon.
We were really concerned early last night because she wasn't drinking. Then we had to take up her food and water at 8 last night because she was going to be put under today.
This morning, the girls and I took her in. The vet put her to sleep, gave her an antibiotic shot, pulled her loose tooth, cleaned the rest of her teeth, gave her fluids, expressed her anal glands (don't ask), cleaned her ears, and prescribed ear drops for a week and capsule antibiotics for two weeks. $288.52.
We couldn't pick her up until after 4 and she even then was still a little wobbly. Pig was very happy to get out of her cat carrier and I was relieved when she went over to her water dish and started drinking. The vet's assistant said she needed to keep drinking tonight to wash out the last of the anesthesia.
Now she's been home for a few hours and she's snoring with her head under the Christmas tree. I can hear her from across the room.
We were really concerned early last night because she wasn't drinking. Then we had to take up her food and water at 8 last night because she was going to be put under today.
This morning, the girls and I took her in. The vet put her to sleep, gave her an antibiotic shot, pulled her loose tooth, cleaned the rest of her teeth, gave her fluids, expressed her anal glands (don't ask), cleaned her ears, and prescribed ear drops for a week and capsule antibiotics for two weeks. $288.52.
We couldn't pick her up until after 4 and she even then was still a little wobbly. Pig was very happy to get out of her cat carrier and I was relieved when she went over to her water dish and started drinking. The vet's assistant said she needed to keep drinking tonight to wash out the last of the anesthesia.
Now she's been home for a few hours and she's snoring with her head under the Christmas tree. I can hear her from across the room.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
And now, the cat
This morning, Pig wended her away around everyone's feet, mewing repeatedly. Not meowing--that's not her style--just mewing rather piteously.
She's a champion at faking that we've forgotten to feed her, so we didn't pay too much attention. When Greg came downstairs, he checked her water dish and cleaned and refilled that (I'd already put food down for her).
Then we all went off on our individual days.
After an entire year in my new job, I spent about 4 1/2 hours this afternoon cleaning out files and making new files to clear off my desktop and tabletop. Tedious, dirty (since my office is located inside a factory), but ultimately satisfying.
When I got home, Greg was sitting on the floor petting Pig. It turns out that one of her bottom teeth, one of the big ones on the corner of her lower left jaw, is loose--in fact, pushed out at a weird angle.
She's 13 1/2 years old, so this kind of thing is rather to be expected, but you still feel sorry for her. She desperately wants to drink but apparently that's quite painful. She did eat about 1/3 of her normal amount of food, but still, something obviously has to be done.
So tomorrow morning, Pig is going to the vet to be put to sleep--not permanently, just with an anesthetic! They'll take care of the loose tooth and check her out for other issues.
We used to be religious about taking our cats in for annual checkups, but since Butterscotch died and we later found out Pig has diabetes, we've kind of been letting things slide. Frankly, it was a relief not to have to chase the Pig from under the furniture to get her into the cat carrier every year.
Nonetheless, Pig is off tomorrow to be seen. I hope she doesn't read this post in the meantime or we'll never find her.
She's a champion at faking that we've forgotten to feed her, so we didn't pay too much attention. When Greg came downstairs, he checked her water dish and cleaned and refilled that (I'd already put food down for her).
Then we all went off on our individual days.
After an entire year in my new job, I spent about 4 1/2 hours this afternoon cleaning out files and making new files to clear off my desktop and tabletop. Tedious, dirty (since my office is located inside a factory), but ultimately satisfying.
When I got home, Greg was sitting on the floor petting Pig. It turns out that one of her bottom teeth, one of the big ones on the corner of her lower left jaw, is loose--in fact, pushed out at a weird angle.
She's 13 1/2 years old, so this kind of thing is rather to be expected, but you still feel sorry for her. She desperately wants to drink but apparently that's quite painful. She did eat about 1/3 of her normal amount of food, but still, something obviously has to be done.
So tomorrow morning, Pig is going to the vet to be put to sleep--not permanently, just with an anesthetic! They'll take care of the loose tooth and check her out for other issues.
We used to be religious about taking our cats in for annual checkups, but since Butterscotch died and we later found out Pig has diabetes, we've kind of been letting things slide. Frankly, it was a relief not to have to chase the Pig from under the furniture to get her into the cat carrier every year.
Nonetheless, Pig is off tomorrow to be seen. I hope she doesn't read this post in the meantime or we'll never find her.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Sick girl update
Since our girls slept in the car on the way home yesterday, we let them stay up an hour past their normal bedtime, until we said we weren't opening any more toys--play with what we've already unboxed!
True to what I told Marcia, sick girl Allie slept through the night, until 5:30 this morning when she called me. She asked for water and sipped a little, then she threw up violently three times over the next hour and a half.
We had thought she was getting better since she made it through the whole day yesterday without tossing her cookies, but no such luck. And she still had a fever.
Mid-morning, I took her to the doctor because this is either the third or fourth day of this crap. We like Dr. Tom, but there was nothing he could do except look at her and charge us $120 for 6 minutes. Oh, well, we know now it's not appendicitis or something.
By the time we got home, Allie was asking if she could try to eat. She and Julia are both napping right now and so far, Allie's kept down the cereal she had for lunch.
Julia's days, however, of hogging all the new toys are probably limited. Allie's been lying languidly on a couch for a long time, and now the sharing (I mean fighting) will soon commence!
True to what I told Marcia, sick girl Allie slept through the night, until 5:30 this morning when she called me. She asked for water and sipped a little, then she threw up violently three times over the next hour and a half.
We had thought she was getting better since she made it through the whole day yesterday without tossing her cookies, but no such luck. And she still had a fever.
Mid-morning, I took her to the doctor because this is either the third or fourth day of this crap. We like Dr. Tom, but there was nothing he could do except look at her and charge us $120 for 6 minutes. Oh, well, we know now it's not appendicitis or something.
By the time we got home, Allie was asking if she could try to eat. She and Julia are both napping right now and so far, Allie's kept down the cereal she had for lunch.
Julia's days, however, of hogging all the new toys are probably limited. Allie's been lying languidly on a couch for a long time, and now the sharing (I mean fighting) will soon commence!
Monday, December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas!
Hello, we're home, thank goodness. I truly love to visit my in-law's home--it's very comfortable, they're wonderful company, we get to see all of Greg's family members, my parents-in-law sleep near our kids so we don't get woken up in the night, the food is wonderful. But.
They all live almost 4 hours away and just the anticipation of the long journey home is enough to add a sour note of dread to our every visit.
Plus there's more. Allie threw up in the car on the way down on Saturday and we thought it was just carsickness.
Then she spiked a fever on Christmas Eve day, she threw up several more times, and she's been completely uncharacteristically quiet and listless considering there are piles of new toys everywhere.
Meanwhile, Julia missed her nap yesterday, both girls slept poorly last night, and both woke up early today. On the way home in the car this afternoon, they both fell asleep for a good two hours. That was a blessing.
So now we're home, Santa came here too so there were even more fun things to unwrap, but neither girl has eaten well since this morning.
Allie managed to barely make it through the day without throwing up but she still has a low-grade fever, Julia is still healthy, we're feeling OK if tired, and tomorrow, no one has to go anywhere and no one is visiting.
I really hope the girls sleep in, but I think the scent of new toys will waft upstairs and wake them up early. That's a big part of what their Christmas is about, after all.
I hope you all got what you wanted for Christmas, even if that was just a day off from work. Happy Holidays!
They all live almost 4 hours away and just the anticipation of the long journey home is enough to add a sour note of dread to our every visit.
Plus there's more. Allie threw up in the car on the way down on Saturday and we thought it was just carsickness.
Then she spiked a fever on Christmas Eve day, she threw up several more times, and she's been completely uncharacteristically quiet and listless considering there are piles of new toys everywhere.
Meanwhile, Julia missed her nap yesterday, both girls slept poorly last night, and both woke up early today. On the way home in the car this afternoon, they both fell asleep for a good two hours. That was a blessing.
So now we're home, Santa came here too so there were even more fun things to unwrap, but neither girl has eaten well since this morning.
Allie managed to barely make it through the day without throwing up but she still has a low-grade fever, Julia is still healthy, we're feeling OK if tired, and tomorrow, no one has to go anywhere and no one is visiting.
I really hope the girls sleep in, but I think the scent of new toys will waft upstairs and wake them up early. That's a big part of what their Christmas is about, after all.
I hope you all got what you wanted for Christmas, even if that was just a day off from work. Happy Holidays!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Sing, sing a song
Allie's concert turned out to be pretty entertaining today, for a grade school event.
She did a fine job singing her 60s tunes. That was the theme--her music teacher is retiring after this year and so Mrs. Baker did a show with music through the decades. The first graders thus ended up singing the aforementioned "Yellow Submarine" and "Puff the Magic Dragon."
Other classes did do some Christmassy songs, including the dreadful "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer," which was somewhat highlighted by Allie's principal, Mr. Jamison, putting on a dress and wig (he's normally pretty bald) and pretending to get run over.
They also had kids dressing up as Bing Crosby and Doris Day, Elvis, and the Beatles.
The biggest hit of the concert, though, had to be when the kindergarteners sang "Rubber Duckie" from Sesame Street and Allie's two gym teachers were pushed out in a cardboard bathtub, wearing only swim trunks and Bert and Ernie heads.
Allie thought the funny part was their handheld bubble machines. I thought it was her age 25ish gym teacher scrubbing under his arm with a scrub brush, while her age 50ish gym teacher waved and tried to stay down in the tub.
Good clean fun!
She did a fine job singing her 60s tunes. That was the theme--her music teacher is retiring after this year and so Mrs. Baker did a show with music through the decades. The first graders thus ended up singing the aforementioned "Yellow Submarine" and "Puff the Magic Dragon."
Other classes did do some Christmassy songs, including the dreadful "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer," which was somewhat highlighted by Allie's principal, Mr. Jamison, putting on a dress and wig (he's normally pretty bald) and pretending to get run over.
They also had kids dressing up as Bing Crosby and Doris Day, Elvis, and the Beatles.
The biggest hit of the concert, though, had to be when the kindergarteners sang "Rubber Duckie" from Sesame Street and Allie's two gym teachers were pushed out in a cardboard bathtub, wearing only swim trunks and Bert and Ernie heads.
Allie thought the funny part was their handheld bubble machines. I thought it was her age 25ish gym teacher scrubbing under his arm with a scrub brush, while her age 50ish gym teacher waved and tried to stay down in the tub.
Good clean fun!
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Older child update
Today at school, Allie made a gingerbread house (actually a graham cracker house, but let's not be picky).
Each family of each student was assigned something to contribute. Our contribution was just a box of graham crackers; fortunately we weren't in the "make royal frosting" group. If you don't know, royal frosting is the glue that keeps gingerbread houses together and I believe it's quite challenging to keep the stuff from turning into a block of concrete after you mix it.
Allie told us all about her construction while we ate dinner tonight. Actually, me, Greg, and Allie ate--Julia's had a low-grade fever for two days and so she's gone anorexic on us.
Allie said that she had 1/2 hour to decorate her house, but it sounded to us like she ended up using about six pounds of candy. We get to bring the thing home on Thursday, after her school concert, so we'll see.
Ah, yes. The All-School Sing. Mustn't call it a Holiday Concert, lest someone get offended and sue the school district.
And what songs is my daughter going to be singing for this lovely "holiday" event, you may ask? Well, two of them are "Puff, the Magic Dragon," and "Yellow Submarine."
Feel free to comment if you like.
Each family of each student was assigned something to contribute. Our contribution was just a box of graham crackers; fortunately we weren't in the "make royal frosting" group. If you don't know, royal frosting is the glue that keeps gingerbread houses together and I believe it's quite challenging to keep the stuff from turning into a block of concrete after you mix it.
Allie told us all about her construction while we ate dinner tonight. Actually, me, Greg, and Allie ate--Julia's had a low-grade fever for two days and so she's gone anorexic on us.
Allie said that she had 1/2 hour to decorate her house, but it sounded to us like she ended up using about six pounds of candy. We get to bring the thing home on Thursday, after her school concert, so we'll see.
Ah, yes. The All-School Sing. Mustn't call it a Holiday Concert, lest someone get offended and sue the school district.
And what songs is my daughter going to be singing for this lovely "holiday" event, you may ask? Well, two of them are "Puff, the Magic Dragon," and "Yellow Submarine."
Feel free to comment if you like.
Monday, December 18, 2006
He's here!
Ashton Wade, 3 lbs., 9 oz., 16 inches long. Born Sunday, December 17, 2006 (almost 10 weeks early, but breathing on his own).
Congratulations to Karina and Larry as they add little Ashton to their family. Big brother Jaden and big sister Mariah are excited (probably more because their mom will be coming home soon after being hospitalized on bedrest for 7 weeks or so, but nonetheless).
Congratulations to their entire family! I hope everything goes smoothly and that Ashton will be home soon. He needs to get busy on being the state's best baby ever!
Congratulations to Karina and Larry as they add little Ashton to their family. Big brother Jaden and big sister Mariah are excited (probably more because their mom will be coming home soon after being hospitalized on bedrest for 7 weeks or so, but nonetheless).
Congratulations to their entire family! I hope everything goes smoothly and that Ashton will be home soon. He needs to get busy on being the state's best baby ever!
Saturday, December 16, 2006
A case study
Julia was playing with Allie's Leapster game tonight when bedtime came. We went upstairs so the girls could brush teeth and go potty and she wanted to keep playing even when she finished those tasks and crawled into bed.
She cried when I told her she had to give it up, so I told her I would put it on top of her dresser and that she could have it as soon as she woke up. Meanwhile, Greg had crawled into Allie's bed to pretend he was going to sleep with her. I went downstairs to watch TV.
This is what happened after that in Julia's head:
1. I'm not tired. I want my game.
2. I can't reach the game.
3. I could reach the game if I was taller.
4. I would be taller if I had a stepstool.
5. There's a stepstool in Allie's room.
6. I'm going to get out of bed to get the stepstool and get my game.
7. No one will be able to figure out that I'm being naughty.
8. Time to get out of bed.
9. I'm opening the door.
10. I'm going into Allie's room for the stepstool.
11. Oh, oh. Daddy's in here!
12. I'm going to lie!
Daddy said, Julia, why are you getting the stepstool? Julia said, I need to get my teddy bear.
Unfortunately for Julia, Daddy followed her into her room. Now the game is in Mommy's and Daddy's room.
She cried when I told her she had to give it up, so I told her I would put it on top of her dresser and that she could have it as soon as she woke up. Meanwhile, Greg had crawled into Allie's bed to pretend he was going to sleep with her. I went downstairs to watch TV.
This is what happened after that in Julia's head:
1. I'm not tired. I want my game.
2. I can't reach the game.
3. I could reach the game if I was taller.
4. I would be taller if I had a stepstool.
5. There's a stepstool in Allie's room.
6. I'm going to get out of bed to get the stepstool and get my game.
7. No one will be able to figure out that I'm being naughty.
8. Time to get out of bed.
9. I'm opening the door.
10. I'm going into Allie's room for the stepstool.
11. Oh, oh. Daddy's in here!
12. I'm going to lie!
Daddy said, Julia, why are you getting the stepstool? Julia said, I need to get my teddy bear.
Unfortunately for Julia, Daddy followed her into her room. Now the game is in Mommy's and Daddy's room.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Stuff
More than a month ago, Greg fired the girl who was trying to become our latest regular cleaning lady. I call her a girl because even though she was starting her own cleaning business with a friend, she couldn't have been more than 23 years old.
We gave her a try and the first time she cleaned, which was supposed to be her "super stupendous get your house in order for the first time" cleaning, she did a terrible job. I mean really terrible, where you wonder what she did in your house for two hours, or more.
The biggest disadvantage of this situation, besides the fact that Greg and I both really hate cleaning and so our house is now pretty darn dirty, is that it's become really, really messy.
When we've had a cleaning lady, we always aggressively tidied our house every two weeks, right before they visited, so they would spend more time making things spic and span and less time picking up and moving things.
We have not aggressively tidied the house in a long, long time and, as a result, we have stuff everywhere. I'm typing this sitting in a chair in the living room, and I can see the following items without even turning my head:
Many, many children's books, one of Allie's school notebooks from last year that she likes because she has many drawings in it, the bridle and harness from a toy horse (it's pink, of course), a Highlights magazine, a Leapster handheld game (pink), magazines (motorcycle and entertainment), tissues, crumpled napkins, Happy Meals toys times four, Allie's diary, dress-up shoes that Julia was wearing the other night (pink), a picture frame that talks that both girls like to record messages on, a Hello Kitty purse (pink), a fabric rose (pink) that has a bendy stem, a toy car, Julia's blankie (pink), Greg's laptop and about five different computer cables (I'm not typing on that computer), a Magic Eight Ball, an empty bottle of Gatorade, a giant ball, a newspaper, a 2007 calendar, a puzzle, binoculars, a toy lipstick (pink), a rock, a wand that goes with a Magic Dora hair growing doll (but the doll has been missing in action for ages), an Elmo birthday blow-out, a Christmas ornament, a CD, a stray sock, an eyeglass case, a toy golf ball, a fruit snack wrapper, a drawing that Allie made at daycare, the remote that we only use to change the TV to watch DVDs, a painted pumpkin that had better go in the trash before it rots into the carpeting, a pewter tooth fairy container, a plastic bottle that used to hold cookie decorations and that Julia has now filled with water, part of the vacuum cleaner hose extension, a Halloween pillow, the (pink) reel to a Disney Princess projector (but we don't know where the projector is), a (pink) purse full of pens, a magnet, a "cleansing wipes" container that Julia appropriated and filled with who knows what else, a hair band (pink), a white tube that I don't know the origin of, a Skydancer launching contraption (pink) with no Skydancer, two daughters watching "Polar Express," and a cat.
Christmas is coming. We'll clean for Christmas, right? Goodness, I hope so!
We gave her a try and the first time she cleaned, which was supposed to be her "super stupendous get your house in order for the first time" cleaning, she did a terrible job. I mean really terrible, where you wonder what she did in your house for two hours, or more.
The biggest disadvantage of this situation, besides the fact that Greg and I both really hate cleaning and so our house is now pretty darn dirty, is that it's become really, really messy.
When we've had a cleaning lady, we always aggressively tidied our house every two weeks, right before they visited, so they would spend more time making things spic and span and less time picking up and moving things.
We have not aggressively tidied the house in a long, long time and, as a result, we have stuff everywhere. I'm typing this sitting in a chair in the living room, and I can see the following items without even turning my head:
Many, many children's books, one of Allie's school notebooks from last year that she likes because she has many drawings in it, the bridle and harness from a toy horse (it's pink, of course), a Highlights magazine, a Leapster handheld game (pink), magazines (motorcycle and entertainment), tissues, crumpled napkins, Happy Meals toys times four, Allie's diary, dress-up shoes that Julia was wearing the other night (pink), a picture frame that talks that both girls like to record messages on, a Hello Kitty purse (pink), a fabric rose (pink) that has a bendy stem, a toy car, Julia's blankie (pink), Greg's laptop and about five different computer cables (I'm not typing on that computer), a Magic Eight Ball, an empty bottle of Gatorade, a giant ball, a newspaper, a 2007 calendar, a puzzle, binoculars, a toy lipstick (pink), a rock, a wand that goes with a Magic Dora hair growing doll (but the doll has been missing in action for ages), an Elmo birthday blow-out, a Christmas ornament, a CD, a stray sock, an eyeglass case, a toy golf ball, a fruit snack wrapper, a drawing that Allie made at daycare, the remote that we only use to change the TV to watch DVDs, a painted pumpkin that had better go in the trash before it rots into the carpeting, a pewter tooth fairy container, a plastic bottle that used to hold cookie decorations and that Julia has now filled with water, part of the vacuum cleaner hose extension, a Halloween pillow, the (pink) reel to a Disney Princess projector (but we don't know where the projector is), a (pink) purse full of pens, a magnet, a "cleansing wipes" container that Julia appropriated and filled with who knows what else, a hair band (pink), a white tube that I don't know the origin of, a Skydancer launching contraption (pink) with no Skydancer, two daughters watching "Polar Express," and a cat.
Christmas is coming. We'll clean for Christmas, right? Goodness, I hope so!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Colors of the wind
How did it end up that my girls, like millions of other little girls worldwide, are addicted to pink?
Now I realize that we parents start them out right away with pink outfits of every kind, but at the time, they are too little to do more than puke and pee on the clothing. They certainly aren't focusing on what color they're surrounded by.
Julia is 3 and by now it's completely ingrained. She loves pink shirts, pink pants, pink socks, pink shoes, pink dress-up clothes, pink toys, and, of course, her pink blankie. She'll generally wear other colors (thank god), but as soon as I wash her pink things, she wants to wear them again.
We put a pretty good effort into not having Allie be a girly girl, completely to no avail. We (and our families) bought her trucks and Matchbox cars and bats and balls, dinosaurs and golf clubs and lots of Legos, and she'd make castles out of the Legos for her dinosaurs. Nothing was mentioned about anything pink.
Then I'd tell her a story at night about a princess named Allie and this is how it would go:
Me: Once upon a time, there was a princess named Allie who lived in a magical castle. What color was the castle, Allie?
Allie: Pink!
Me: And the castle had a beautiful tower attached to it. What color was the tower, Allie?
Allie: Pink!
Me: And in the tower was Princess Allie's beautiful bedroom. What color was the door, Allie?
Allie: Pink!
Me (laughing): And inside, she had a beautiful bed with a huge canopy. What color was the bed, Allie?
Allie: Pink!
Me: One day, Princess Allie was playing in her room when she decided to go outside and take a ride on her magical horse. What color was the horse, Allie?
Allie: Pink!
Me: And what was the horsey's name, Allie?
Allie (long pause): Jack!
(Every animal was named Jack in Allie's world at this age, including Jack the First, a fish, and Jack the Second, another fish. Both quickly died and went to heaven.)
Me: So Princess Allie took a wonderful ride on Jack the pink horse through the beautiful countryside filled with amazing trees. What color were the trees, Allie?
Allie: Pink!
Me: And there were also wonderful smelling flowers everywhere. What color were the flowers, Allie?
Allie: Pink------and purple!
Me: So Princess Allie had a wonderful ride through the forest and when she got tired, she went back to the pink castle for a snack. What did she have for her snack, Allie?
Allie (another long pause): Cookies!
Me: And what kind of cookies were they, Allie?
Allie: Pink cookies!
Me: And with the cookies, Princess Allie had a refreshing drink. What did she have to drink, Allie?
Allie: Pink milk! (At the time, we mixed Allie's milk with strawberry milk powder so she'd drink more, so her milk often was really pink.)
Me: So Princess Allie finished eating her pink cookies and drinking her pink milk and she went to the pink tower and climbed the stairs to the pink door and opened it to find her pink room and her pink bed and she laid down and took a wonderful nap. Time to go to sleep now, Princess Allie.
The amazing part is that Julia was a baby when we started doing that story, so she didn't hear it with all of Allie's pink answers. Three years later, after a long gap from me doing it with Allie at all, I started doing it with Julia, when Allie was in her own room.
All of Julia's answers were also, Pink! Maybe it's genetic?
Now I realize that we parents start them out right away with pink outfits of every kind, but at the time, they are too little to do more than puke and pee on the clothing. They certainly aren't focusing on what color they're surrounded by.
Julia is 3 and by now it's completely ingrained. She loves pink shirts, pink pants, pink socks, pink shoes, pink dress-up clothes, pink toys, and, of course, her pink blankie. She'll generally wear other colors (thank god), but as soon as I wash her pink things, she wants to wear them again.
We put a pretty good effort into not having Allie be a girly girl, completely to no avail. We (and our families) bought her trucks and Matchbox cars and bats and balls, dinosaurs and golf clubs and lots of Legos, and she'd make castles out of the Legos for her dinosaurs. Nothing was mentioned about anything pink.
Then I'd tell her a story at night about a princess named Allie and this is how it would go:
Me: Once upon a time, there was a princess named Allie who lived in a magical castle. What color was the castle, Allie?
Allie: Pink!
Me: And the castle had a beautiful tower attached to it. What color was the tower, Allie?
Allie: Pink!
Me: And in the tower was Princess Allie's beautiful bedroom. What color was the door, Allie?
Allie: Pink!
Me (laughing): And inside, she had a beautiful bed with a huge canopy. What color was the bed, Allie?
Allie: Pink!
Me: One day, Princess Allie was playing in her room when she decided to go outside and take a ride on her magical horse. What color was the horse, Allie?
Allie: Pink!
Me: And what was the horsey's name, Allie?
Allie (long pause): Jack!
(Every animal was named Jack in Allie's world at this age, including Jack the First, a fish, and Jack the Second, another fish. Both quickly died and went to heaven.)
Me: So Princess Allie took a wonderful ride on Jack the pink horse through the beautiful countryside filled with amazing trees. What color were the trees, Allie?
Allie: Pink!
Me: And there were also wonderful smelling flowers everywhere. What color were the flowers, Allie?
Allie: Pink------and purple!
Me: So Princess Allie had a wonderful ride through the forest and when she got tired, she went back to the pink castle for a snack. What did she have for her snack, Allie?
Allie (another long pause): Cookies!
Me: And what kind of cookies were they, Allie?
Allie: Pink cookies!
Me: And with the cookies, Princess Allie had a refreshing drink. What did she have to drink, Allie?
Allie: Pink milk! (At the time, we mixed Allie's milk with strawberry milk powder so she'd drink more, so her milk often was really pink.)
Me: So Princess Allie finished eating her pink cookies and drinking her pink milk and she went to the pink tower and climbed the stairs to the pink door and opened it to find her pink room and her pink bed and she laid down and took a wonderful nap. Time to go to sleep now, Princess Allie.
The amazing part is that Julia was a baby when we started doing that story, so she didn't hear it with all of Allie's pink answers. Three years later, after a long gap from me doing it with Allie at all, I started doing it with Julia, when Allie was in her own room.
All of Julia's answers were also, Pink! Maybe it's genetic?
Monday, December 11, 2006
Updates
Pig, the cat, did not throw up her dinner last night, nor did she throw up her canned cat food breakfast this morning (beef stew, that one). No word yet on the poop.
I did make it to the vet today and I asked if was very harmful if we treated her occasionally with canned cat food. They said it was fine, as long as she doesn't start ignoring her regular cat food while she waits for the canned.
They also said canned cat food tends to be very fattening, but Pig used to be a much, much bigger cat, so we're not afraid of her gaining a little weight. And we don't give her cat treats (unlike my sisters, whose cats get probably 30% of their diets from treats!).
In another update, our daycare provider is still hospitalized but she's doing OK. She hasn't been home since they admitted her the first week of November. I told her mom (who's doing most of the work of keeping the daycare open) that this baby had better not have colic and that he'd better be the best baby ever, after all the trouble he's caused before birth.
I also think he'd better never throw up on his parents, be a brat or talk back, fight with his siblings, break any bones, drive wildly, or date girls his parents don't approve of. This baby should win the best baby title of Wisconsin and go to the finals for best baby of America, top five at least.
I did make it to the vet today and I asked if was very harmful if we treated her occasionally with canned cat food. They said it was fine, as long as she doesn't start ignoring her regular cat food while she waits for the canned.
They also said canned cat food tends to be very fattening, but Pig used to be a much, much bigger cat, so we're not afraid of her gaining a little weight. And we don't give her cat treats (unlike my sisters, whose cats get probably 30% of their diets from treats!).
In another update, our daycare provider is still hospitalized but she's doing OK. She hasn't been home since they admitted her the first week of November. I told her mom (who's doing most of the work of keeping the daycare open) that this baby had better not have colic and that he'd better be the best baby ever, after all the trouble he's caused before birth.
I also think he'd better never throw up on his parents, be a brat or talk back, fight with his siblings, break any bones, drive wildly, or date girls his parents don't approve of. This baby should win the best baby title of Wisconsin and go to the finals for best baby of America, top five at least.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Clucking all around
Ever since our cat, Pig, was diagnosed with diabetes over a year and a half ago, she's been on a prescription dry cat food that runs $38 a bag. Expensive, yes, but we elected not to put her on insulin, so we thought it was the least we could do. She seems to be doing fine with just the special diet, anyway.
We've known that we were almost out of dry food for her for ages, and our vet is open on Saturday, but nonetheless, neither Greg nor I went to the vet to get more food for her.
So tonight we went to the grocery store and bought canned cat food to get her through until tomorrow. We bought a rotisserie chicken for ourselves, so we got a chicken blend for her.
To say that we have a happy cat right now is a huge understatement. She ate and ate and licked the plate and ate some more. Her little stomach must be filled to bursting. And tonight, if she doesn't throw up from the richness of the change in diet, she's going to sleep the sleep of the blessed.
We've known that we were almost out of dry food for her for ages, and our vet is open on Saturday, but nonetheless, neither Greg nor I went to the vet to get more food for her.
So tonight we went to the grocery store and bought canned cat food to get her through until tomorrow. We bought a rotisserie chicken for ourselves, so we got a chicken blend for her.
To say that we have a happy cat right now is a huge understatement. She ate and ate and licked the plate and ate some more. Her little stomach must be filled to bursting. And tonight, if she doesn't throw up from the richness of the change in diet, she's going to sleep the sleep of the blessed.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
201
I've had this blog since June, 2003 and my last post about Julia learning to lie was number 200.
Dan at allthatcomeswithit.com, meanwhile, is at just under 200 posts and he started his blog in January of this year.
I've looked back and there were times in the past when I only blogged twice in a month. I've been doing a lot better recently, and it coincides with finally starting to feel like my work life is under control. That's somewhat under control for the first time in 2 1/2 years, by the way.
I just hope the crap doesn't hit the fan next year. I look at blogging as a way to keep family and friends informed of what our family is up to, but it's also a way to write down the little stories about our daughters that I won't remember in five years.
And don't ask me how I am with their baby books. So this, this is for them. I love you two!
Dan at allthatcomeswithit.com, meanwhile, is at just under 200 posts and he started his blog in January of this year.
I've looked back and there were times in the past when I only blogged twice in a month. I've been doing a lot better recently, and it coincides with finally starting to feel like my work life is under control. That's somewhat under control for the first time in 2 1/2 years, by the way.
I just hope the crap doesn't hit the fan next year. I look at blogging as a way to keep family and friends informed of what our family is up to, but it's also a way to write down the little stories about our daughters that I won't remember in five years.
And don't ask me how I am with their baby books. So this, this is for them. I love you two!
Friday, December 08, 2006
Wait until she's 13 1/2
This evening, I gave my children Eggo waffles for dinner. Now I don't need any eye-rolling from any of you over that. They had some protein earlier because they ate nuts when we first arrived home. Julia also had some cottage cheese (which she loves, for some reason) and Allie ate some fruit.
Greg was working late and I didn't bother to try to make something nicer for us for dinner because Greg and I needed to eat more of the amazing chicken soup/stew he made the other night and I knew the girls would never eat it.
As she ate her third Eggo, Allie managed to get a whole bunch of syrup on one pants leg. When she finished eating, she took off her pants and put them in the laundry room, so she was walking around wearing a warm shirt, undershift, panties, and socks. And she grabbed a blanket.
Julia is a naked-preference girl, so she immediately wanted to take off her pants too. She came up to me and said, Mommy, my pants are wet, can I take them off? I said, what? She said, I got water on my pants, can I take them off?
I looked suspiciously at her pants and asked where she was that she got water on them. She changed her story, and said, I spilled milk on them and they're wet, can I take them off?
I said, where are they wet, Julia? She looked down at her dry pants and said, Mommy, look, they're dirty. She bent over and pointed to an imaginary spot on the cuff. She said, Mommy, can I take them off?
I told her that her pants weren't really wet, were they, but you want to take your pants off, right? And she said yes. So I told her she could take them off.
My almost 3 and a half year old daughter has learned to lie. This is an important developmental step, right? And not an indication of trouble ahead!
Greg was working late and I didn't bother to try to make something nicer for us for dinner because Greg and I needed to eat more of the amazing chicken soup/stew he made the other night and I knew the girls would never eat it.
As she ate her third Eggo, Allie managed to get a whole bunch of syrup on one pants leg. When she finished eating, she took off her pants and put them in the laundry room, so she was walking around wearing a warm shirt, undershift, panties, and socks. And she grabbed a blanket.
Julia is a naked-preference girl, so she immediately wanted to take off her pants too. She came up to me and said, Mommy, my pants are wet, can I take them off? I said, what? She said, I got water on my pants, can I take them off?
I looked suspiciously at her pants and asked where she was that she got water on them. She changed her story, and said, I spilled milk on them and they're wet, can I take them off?
I said, where are they wet, Julia? She looked down at her dry pants and said, Mommy, look, they're dirty. She bent over and pointed to an imaginary spot on the cuff. She said, Mommy, can I take them off?
I told her that her pants weren't really wet, were they, but you want to take your pants off, right? And she said yes. So I told her she could take them off.
My almost 3 and a half year old daughter has learned to lie. This is an important developmental step, right? And not an indication of trouble ahead!
Santa -- check!
Last night, Greg and I took the girls to see Santa at one of our local malls. We like that mall because the Santa has a genuine white beard and because he seems like such a jolly, happy soul. No, really, the local newspaper profiled him last year and he seems like a wonderful man, who's been playing Santa for something like 15 years.
As we were driving, the girls were both talking to themselves, which is pretty normal. They don't usually talk to each other, but each of them will be telling stories to herself or talking to a toy or something.
Greg and I paused in our conversation and that's when we noticed that Julia was reciting, "Oatmeal, Oakmeal, Ballerina, Ballerina. Oatmeal, Oatmeal, Ballerina, Ballerina."
We looked at each other and started smiling and the recitation continued, "Oatmeal, Oatmeal, Ballerina, Ballerina." Then she threw in a new one, "Oatmeal, Oatmeal, Ballerina, Princess. Oatmeal, Oatmeal, Princess, Princess."
We have no idea what it meant, but because she wasn't reciting, "Kill Mommy, Kill Daddy, Kill Allie," we didn't interrupt her.
As we were driving, the girls were both talking to themselves, which is pretty normal. They don't usually talk to each other, but each of them will be telling stories to herself or talking to a toy or something.
Greg and I paused in our conversation and that's when we noticed that Julia was reciting, "Oatmeal, Oakmeal, Ballerina, Ballerina. Oatmeal, Oatmeal, Ballerina, Ballerina."
We looked at each other and started smiling and the recitation continued, "Oatmeal, Oatmeal, Ballerina, Ballerina." Then she threw in a new one, "Oatmeal, Oatmeal, Ballerina, Princess. Oatmeal, Oatmeal, Princess, Princess."
We have no idea what it meant, but because she wasn't reciting, "Kill Mommy, Kill Daddy, Kill Allie," we didn't interrupt her.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Bulbs and sobs
Greg, Allie and Julia decorated our new Christmas tree tonight while I did a mountain of dishes at the other end of the house. That's one of the things I like the most about our house--that the entire back side is our active living space. Living room, dinette, and kitchen, all on the sunny side of the house.
So I could glance over at any time and see what so-godawful-ugly-and-I-thought-we-threw-it-away-years-ago ornament that the girls were exclaiming over as pretty and placing in a prominent place on the tree.
The evening wasn't complete until both girls had brief crying spells, which wouldn't have been so bad except that Greg picked up the video camera and filmed them sobbing. Julia dropped a glass ornament and cried, and Allie was too afraid to come close to the running vacuum cleaner to pick up an ornament hook so Daddy yelled and she cried.
The tree looks great and Greg bought our first Christmas gift for someone when he ran to the store tonight. So now all we have to do to be ready for the season is buy the perfect gift for everyone we know in the world, attend numerous holiday functions (including some food preparation), take the girls to see Santa, make and decorate Christmas cookies, figure out exactly when we're traveling for the holidays, and write and send Christmas cards.
Oh, I'm sure that last one doesn't have a chance of happening. I haven't sent Christmas cards for probably four years, unfortunately. We do wish everyone a happy holiday however!
So I could glance over at any time and see what so-godawful-ugly-and-I-thought-we-threw-it-away-years-ago ornament that the girls were exclaiming over as pretty and placing in a prominent place on the tree.
The evening wasn't complete until both girls had brief crying spells, which wouldn't have been so bad except that Greg picked up the video camera and filmed them sobbing. Julia dropped a glass ornament and cried, and Allie was too afraid to come close to the running vacuum cleaner to pick up an ornament hook so Daddy yelled and she cried.
The tree looks great and Greg bought our first Christmas gift for someone when he ran to the store tonight. So now all we have to do to be ready for the season is buy the perfect gift for everyone we know in the world, attend numerous holiday functions (including some food preparation), take the girls to see Santa, make and decorate Christmas cookies, figure out exactly when we're traveling for the holidays, and write and send Christmas cards.
Oh, I'm sure that last one doesn't have a chance of happening. I haven't sent Christmas cards for probably four years, unfortunately. We do wish everyone a happy holiday however!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
No smelly
Last night, we went shopping and bought our Christmas tree. It's going to be our Christmas tree for an indefinite period of time because it's a fake tree--my first fake tree ever.
Even when I lived alone for years, I always had a small real Christmas tree. And this one doesn't smell. It makes me sad, even though I realize it's a sensible decision. At least the cat likes it just as well.
We also had a rare occurrence last night. I've been navigating my way around life for probably about 33 or so years. Back then was when my dad gave me a map for the first time and explained how they worked.
I have a good sense of direction and, for example, manuveured Greg and me all over London and Paris without even once getting us lost or even turning us in the wrong direction.
But last night, we left a parking lot and I said, hey, we can avoid going back to the main road to get to Farm & Fleet if we cut through here, and Greg said, makes sense.
Umm, I got a little messed up. 10-13 minutes worth messed up. Oh, well. I guess I'm not perfect.
No comments unless you want to tell your own "getting lost" story!
Even when I lived alone for years, I always had a small real Christmas tree. And this one doesn't smell. It makes me sad, even though I realize it's a sensible decision. At least the cat likes it just as well.
We also had a rare occurrence last night. I've been navigating my way around life for probably about 33 or so years. Back then was when my dad gave me a map for the first time and explained how they worked.
I have a good sense of direction and, for example, manuveured Greg and me all over London and Paris without even once getting us lost or even turning us in the wrong direction.
But last night, we left a parking lot and I said, hey, we can avoid going back to the main road to get to Farm & Fleet if we cut through here, and Greg said, makes sense.
Umm, I got a little messed up. 10-13 minutes worth messed up. Oh, well. I guess I'm not perfect.
No comments unless you want to tell your own "getting lost" story!
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Memories of days gone past
Both of our girls have sucked their thumbs, and Julia still does. Allie decided to stop when some new kids came to our daycare and the baby sucked it's thumb. She wanted to be the big girl and she was able to stop. She was about four years old.
What made her able to quit cold turkey was that she put away Dolly. Dolly, her soft pink fabric doll, who went everywhere with us for at least two years.
We took Dolly with us when we visited Greg's dad, Mike, in Florida when Allie was two. We had a lovely morning on a pontoon boat on the intercoastal waterway and at one point, when we were flying along, Dolly got blown overboard.
I screamed at Greg, who screamed at his dad, and we both yelled, We have to go back and get Dolly! Thank god, she floated, because we had only brought one Dolly with us (out of the five we eventually owned). We rotated them so they all wore out equally.
Likewise, Julia has her comfort object, her pink blankie. Blankie has likewise traveled everywhere with us. Unfortunately, there is only one Blankie, so she's getting pretty ragged.
I'm looking forward to the day when Julia stops sucking her thumb, but I know I'm going to be sad too. It's the last big babyish thing she still does, in her necessary quest to become a big girl.
What made her able to quit cold turkey was that she put away Dolly. Dolly, her soft pink fabric doll, who went everywhere with us for at least two years.
We took Dolly with us when we visited Greg's dad, Mike, in Florida when Allie was two. We had a lovely morning on a pontoon boat on the intercoastal waterway and at one point, when we were flying along, Dolly got blown overboard.
I screamed at Greg, who screamed at his dad, and we both yelled, We have to go back and get Dolly! Thank god, she floated, because we had only brought one Dolly with us (out of the five we eventually owned). We rotated them so they all wore out equally.
Likewise, Julia has her comfort object, her pink blankie. Blankie has likewise traveled everywhere with us. Unfortunately, there is only one Blankie, so she's getting pretty ragged.
I'm looking forward to the day when Julia stops sucking her thumb, but I know I'm going to be sad too. It's the last big babyish thing she still does, in her necessary quest to become a big girl.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Shopping is a task
I've been trying to remember when was the earliest date that I ever had all of my Christmas shopping finished.
It was probably when I was a kid, when I only shopped for my parents. Now, I'm pretty happy if I finish my shopping by about December 20th.
This year, Greg and I have scheduled a shopping day for the girls for December 14th. We're getting to the point now where we have to watch what wrapping paper we use for them.
I distinctly remember two years ago, when Allie was four, and she said, Look Mom! Santa uses the same wrapping paper that we do!
Fortunately, we're not to the point yet where we have to make extensive efforts to hide the gifts.
When that time comes, we'll just stock up on fake spiders and the gifts will be safe from all investigation. There's nothing the girls hate more.
Did I mention that I haven't even started my shopping yet this year?
It was probably when I was a kid, when I only shopped for my parents. Now, I'm pretty happy if I finish my shopping by about December 20th.
This year, Greg and I have scheduled a shopping day for the girls for December 14th. We're getting to the point now where we have to watch what wrapping paper we use for them.
I distinctly remember two years ago, when Allie was four, and she said, Look Mom! Santa uses the same wrapping paper that we do!
Fortunately, we're not to the point yet where we have to make extensive efforts to hide the gifts.
When that time comes, we'll just stock up on fake spiders and the gifts will be safe from all investigation. There's nothing the girls hate more.
Did I mention that I haven't even started my shopping yet this year?
Friday, December 01, 2006
Resilience
This morning seemed like a pretty typical morning.
I woke the girls, got them downstairs and got them apple juice, went back upstairs to get dressed, picked out clothes for them, went downstairs, and got them each something to eat (Allie's been on a peanut-butter-and-jelly-toast kick for awhile now and Julia had plain toast, so that wasn't too bad).
Then I got each daughter to change clothes, packed up Allie's backpack for school (don't forget my homework, Mom!), stacked up what I need to bring to work for the day, found Julia's mittens, and found Allie's and Julia's boots since we had a mini-blizzard today.
I don't know how, but Julia's feet seem to have grown in the last three weeks or so, because the boots that fit her last month now were too small.
I read Allie her school hot lunch menu before I started looking for the next size up boots for Julia in the back hall closet. The only lunch entree that Allie would possibly consider eating was cheese quesadillas. I told her that was available and added that dessert was chocolate pudding, hoping against hope that she wouldn't wrinkle her nose and say she wanted cold lunch.
Greg often packs her lunch but he'd already left for work. But she wrinkled her nose and I told her that if I had time, I'd pack her a lunch, otherwise she was going to have to eat the quesadilla.
It took me a few minutes to find Julia's boots, so I didn't make her a lunch, and the three of us headed off into the snow.
Four and a half hours later, I had just finished eating my own not-very-good-cafeteria-food-but-there's-no-way-I'm-going-out-in-the-snow lunch when my phone rang. The woman said she was the health aide at Fox Prairie school and I said, oh oh.
It turns out that Allie ate part of a quesadilla at lunch. She said it was burnt (which I doubt) and that the cheese was chunky (congealed, most likely). Aren't I a good mom for making her eat this?
She got over to the garbage can to throw out her garbage, bent down to pick up her dropped mitten, and she got a mouthful of stomach bile in her mouth.
She said she ran to her classroom and spit it out in the garbage can. Then she asked her teacher if she could go to the office, whereupon they called me, saying that Allie had thrown up and was warm (feverish) and could I come.
Greg and I did some brief planning and I left to get her and take her home, until Greg could finish something and drive home. Then I'd leave to go back to work for a meeting.
When I saw her, she was lying on a cot next to a garbage can , looking very flushed and miserable. Of course, she was still wearing her snow bibs.
We went home and she got on the couch and started watching TV. Greg called to say he was on his way home and about 15 minutes later, Allie said she was starving and could she have something to eat.
I gave her a banana and said we'd see how she kept it down. She ate it and about five minutes later, she asked if we could go outside and play in the snow.
Hmm.
Her daddy was not happy that he took a half day off to come home and watch her and now she wasn't ill. We talked about taking her back to school, but weren't sure they would take her (or if they did, we'd be the worst parents in the world to make her go back).
Allie had a bad lunch, and then she was better. What lesson have we learned, people?
I woke the girls, got them downstairs and got them apple juice, went back upstairs to get dressed, picked out clothes for them, went downstairs, and got them each something to eat (Allie's been on a peanut-butter-and-jelly-toast kick for awhile now and Julia had plain toast, so that wasn't too bad).
Then I got each daughter to change clothes, packed up Allie's backpack for school (don't forget my homework, Mom!), stacked up what I need to bring to work for the day, found Julia's mittens, and found Allie's and Julia's boots since we had a mini-blizzard today.
I don't know how, but Julia's feet seem to have grown in the last three weeks or so, because the boots that fit her last month now were too small.
I read Allie her school hot lunch menu before I started looking for the next size up boots for Julia in the back hall closet. The only lunch entree that Allie would possibly consider eating was cheese quesadillas. I told her that was available and added that dessert was chocolate pudding, hoping against hope that she wouldn't wrinkle her nose and say she wanted cold lunch.
Greg often packs her lunch but he'd already left for work. But she wrinkled her nose and I told her that if I had time, I'd pack her a lunch, otherwise she was going to have to eat the quesadilla.
It took me a few minutes to find Julia's boots, so I didn't make her a lunch, and the three of us headed off into the snow.
Four and a half hours later, I had just finished eating my own not-very-good-cafeteria-food-but-there's-no-way-I'm-going-out-in-the-snow lunch when my phone rang. The woman said she was the health aide at Fox Prairie school and I said, oh oh.
It turns out that Allie ate part of a quesadilla at lunch. She said it was burnt (which I doubt) and that the cheese was chunky (congealed, most likely). Aren't I a good mom for making her eat this?
She got over to the garbage can to throw out her garbage, bent down to pick up her dropped mitten, and she got a mouthful of stomach bile in her mouth.
She said she ran to her classroom and spit it out in the garbage can. Then she asked her teacher if she could go to the office, whereupon they called me, saying that Allie had thrown up and was warm (feverish) and could I come.
Greg and I did some brief planning and I left to get her and take her home, until Greg could finish something and drive home. Then I'd leave to go back to work for a meeting.
When I saw her, she was lying on a cot next to a garbage can , looking very flushed and miserable. Of course, she was still wearing her snow bibs.
We went home and she got on the couch and started watching TV. Greg called to say he was on his way home and about 15 minutes later, Allie said she was starving and could she have something to eat.
I gave her a banana and said we'd see how she kept it down. She ate it and about five minutes later, she asked if we could go outside and play in the snow.
Hmm.
Her daddy was not happy that he took a half day off to come home and watch her and now she wasn't ill. We talked about taking her back to school, but weren't sure they would take her (or if they did, we'd be the worst parents in the world to make her go back).
Allie had a bad lunch, and then she was better. What lesson have we learned, people?
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