Well, Allie's been excluded. Kids in her class have just this year begun having big birthday parties where classmates are invited. Allie went to her first big party in January, which included getting her hair and nails done at a local beauty school, followed by a pizza party. There are 9 girls in her class and 12 girls attended that party, so it was obviously inclusive.
This week, one of her classmates handed out birthday party invitations to, according to Allie, all of the girls in the class except her. The invitations were distributed right in front of her.
Allie said she asked the birthday girl if there was an invitation for her and she was told that she'd bring one the next day. That hasn't happened and obviously, I don't care if she goes or not. But Allie does.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
It should be round like a sausage and come out in an S-shape
We've been watching a lot of episodes lately of two shows from BBC America, "You Are What You Eat," and "How Clean Is Your House?"
The "How Clean" show is pretty straightforward, two lady cleaners who wear pearls and feathers on their rubber gloves find the most disgusting homes across England and clean them. We're talking seriously gross, including one woman who had a ton of slug trails under her living room couch and another who let her 11 pet birds fly loose in the lounge (living room), crapping and urinating on every surface. Most of the participants seem like borderline hoarders, or out and out hoarders. They remind me of Dan's stories about his neighbor, Eric.
The "You Are What" show features a woman named Gillian who's a nutritionist. She tackles individuals and families who are overweight and who eat unhealthily and tries to convert them, over six weeks, into people who love natural and organic foods and love their veg. People in the U.K. seem unable to produce the entire word, "vegetables."
Both shows seem to have an unnatural fascination with poop. They both call it "poo," which is so cutesy as to be silly. The cleaning ladies love to describe in detail how feces are coating every inch of people's bathrooms and the nutritionist said the quote in my title. She added, "It should still be attached to your bottom when it hits the water in the loo." In every show, she has people take a crap into a plastic container so she can open it later in front of them and comment on how she can tell they eat nothing but fatty and sugary foods from the look and the smell of their poop. She goes on at great length about how stinky things are.
I think I'll leave my comments at that.
The "How Clean" show is pretty straightforward, two lady cleaners who wear pearls and feathers on their rubber gloves find the most disgusting homes across England and clean them. We're talking seriously gross, including one woman who had a ton of slug trails under her living room couch and another who let her 11 pet birds fly loose in the lounge (living room), crapping and urinating on every surface. Most of the participants seem like borderline hoarders, or out and out hoarders. They remind me of Dan's stories about his neighbor, Eric.
The "You Are What" show features a woman named Gillian who's a nutritionist. She tackles individuals and families who are overweight and who eat unhealthily and tries to convert them, over six weeks, into people who love natural and organic foods and love their veg. People in the U.K. seem unable to produce the entire word, "vegetables."
Both shows seem to have an unnatural fascination with poop. They both call it "poo," which is so cutesy as to be silly. The cleaning ladies love to describe in detail how feces are coating every inch of people's bathrooms and the nutritionist said the quote in my title. She added, "It should still be attached to your bottom when it hits the water in the loo." In every show, she has people take a crap into a plastic container so she can open it later in front of them and comment on how she can tell they eat nothing but fatty and sugary foods from the look and the smell of their poop. She goes on at great length about how stinky things are.
I think I'll leave my comments at that.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Signs of the times
You know that it's been a long winter when your kids don't even want to go out and play in the snow any more.
Julia will go outside if we make her, and within a few minutes, she says her mittens are wet, her hands are cold and she wants to come in and watch a movie. Julia relishes when Allie's busy or away, because it means she normally gets control of what's on TV.
Not to say that my kids watch a lot of TV. Of course not, I'm so offended that you think that! Regardless, there's a clear distinction in our house between "Allie's shows" and "Julia's shows." Julia sees snow play days as her opportunity to watch DragonTales or Sesame Street.
And since Allie is a lot tougher than Julia, Allie will stay outside and play in the snow. We know that Allie is snow tough after this winter. She doesn't even blink when she has to walk home on the edge of the street because the sidewalks aren't negotiable (yes, she's been carefully trained).
Our newspaper has taken to spouting that there's less than 30 days to wait until spring. It was -6 degrees yesterday. The tulips had better stay in hiding!
Julia will go outside if we make her, and within a few minutes, she says her mittens are wet, her hands are cold and she wants to come in and watch a movie. Julia relishes when Allie's busy or away, because it means she normally gets control of what's on TV.
Not to say that my kids watch a lot of TV. Of course not, I'm so offended that you think that! Regardless, there's a clear distinction in our house between "Allie's shows" and "Julia's shows." Julia sees snow play days as her opportunity to watch DragonTales or Sesame Street.
And since Allie is a lot tougher than Julia, Allie will stay outside and play in the snow. We know that Allie is snow tough after this winter. She doesn't even blink when she has to walk home on the edge of the street because the sidewalks aren't negotiable (yes, she's been carefully trained).
Our newspaper has taken to spouting that there's less than 30 days to wait until spring. It was -6 degrees yesterday. The tulips had better stay in hiding!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Julia and Jaden, June 2029
On Friday night, we were driving home from having a belated Valentine's Day dinner in town. I asked Allie if she has a boyfriend these days and she said yes. I asked if she got a valentine from him and she said yes. Then Julia spoke up and said that she had a boyfriend. Julia has a pretty limited social circle when it comes to boyfriend candidates. There's the kids at our family daycare. There's the kids she sees at preschool one morning a week (four boys, based on the valentine list we processed). And there's the kids she sees at tumbling class (three boys).
Not surprisingly, Julia said that her boyfriend was Jaden, our daycare provider's son. Julia and Jaden have been raised together since 10 weeks after Julia was born, so there's a bit of an incestuous whiff about their relationship, but anyway. Julia said that she and Jaden were going to live together in his house, that his mom was going to cook food for them, and when they needed money, Jaden was going to drive his (electric-powered kid-size) four wheeler down to the drivethru at the bank. Julia said she was going to get two suckers each time they visited and Jaden would get one.
Greg and I have firm opinions about marriage. We don't think either of our girls should jump into anything until they're at least age 25. Unfortunately, Julia wants the wedding. Thank goodness, all area reception halls are booked for the next 21 years, because she's ready.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Public service announcement
Yesterday morning, a friend of ours called to say she had a strong smell of natural gas in her house. She was waiting for the gas company to arrive.
Turns out, the problem was that her gas meter was completely buried by snow. That meant a regulator with some kind of exhaust valve couldn't work properly, so natural gas built up under her siding and entered her house.
We know about making sure our furnace pipes aren't clogged by snow (nowadays they come out the side of the house instead of the chimney), but I'd never heard this one.
In other public service news, we have now broken the record for snowfall in one winter. They've been tracking this stuff for 138 years and we have now had more snow than any other winter, over 79 inches. It's snowing right now. It's supposed to snow again on Thursday. I give up.
Turns out, the problem was that her gas meter was completely buried by snow. That meant a regulator with some kind of exhaust valve couldn't work properly, so natural gas built up under her siding and entered her house.
We know about making sure our furnace pipes aren't clogged by snow (nowadays they come out the side of the house instead of the chimney), but I'd never heard this one.
In other public service news, we have now broken the record for snowfall in one winter. They've been tracking this stuff for 138 years and we have now had more snow than any other winter, over 79 inches. It's snowing right now. It's supposed to snow again on Thursday. I give up.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Julia's New Swimsuit
Because we always buy her new swimsuits when it gets -10 degrees below.
She wore this around the house all morning, by the way.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Julia's ready, Mom - not so much
This week, before the storm of the so-far-at-least century, we registered Julia for kindergarten. I swear that she was just born about three years ago, so this was quite a development.
Ok, ok, so she's four and a half. She'll be 5 in July, so that means we can send her to school in September. I don't think I'm going to handle this particularly well. It was one thing to send Allie to school, since I had another little one at home, and I knew I wasn't done with that stage of having little ones. But now we're facing Julia being in school too. It's a whole different world.
She's excited. She wants to go to Allie's school and needless to say, Allie is practically panting to show her the ropes, to tell her how everything works, and to show off her school world. This morning, Julia disappeared upstairs and came back down dressed in summer clothing (sitting out still because of our Disney trip) and wearing her Tinkerbell backpack from her last birthday.
She marched around the house singing a song about summer and I had to smile. She looked so grown up. My little girl is going to be a kindergartener. I have less than 7 months to adjust to this idea. I think it's going to take longer than that.
Ok, ok, so she's four and a half. She'll be 5 in July, so that means we can send her to school in September. I don't think I'm going to handle this particularly well. It was one thing to send Allie to school, since I had another little one at home, and I knew I wasn't done with that stage of having little ones. But now we're facing Julia being in school too. It's a whole different world.
She's excited. She wants to go to Allie's school and needless to say, Allie is practically panting to show her the ropes, to tell her how everything works, and to show off her school world. This morning, Julia disappeared upstairs and came back down dressed in summer clothing (sitting out still because of our Disney trip) and wearing her Tinkerbell backpack from her last birthday.
She marched around the house singing a song about summer and I had to smile. She looked so grown up. My little girl is going to be a kindergartener. I have less than 7 months to adjust to this idea. I think it's going to take longer than that.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
No school again!
Allie didn't have school yesterday because of the enormous snowstorm that came through our area. Madison, north of us, got 13.3 inches. Orfordville, south of us, got 21. So we got somewhere in between, probably about 16 inches.
So school is closed again today. When I was a kid, we seemed to get many bigger storms than nowadays, but I don't ever remember having school cancelled two days in a row.
Hey, that's nothing. Several semi trucks had trouble negotiating a hill east of our town and they blocked the interstate. They blocked the interstate for several hours. How many? Oh, about 12 hours. People ran out of gas, and rescuers on snowmobiles checked to make sure people were OK. The governor sent the National Guard, who came in Humvees and 5-ton trucks and passed out water and military rations. 500 cars, 19 miles of backup.
And they said in the paper this morning, well, we couldn't stop more people from getting onto the interstate. We didn't have enough officers to block every on ramp and exit. You know what, park a city vehicle there! What stupidity.
I am so thankful that Greg didn't go to work yesterday. Allie and Julia went to daycare and I went to work, and barely made it the three miles back across town home.
We survived the storm of '08. And it's supposed to snow tomorrow!
So school is closed again today. When I was a kid, we seemed to get many bigger storms than nowadays, but I don't ever remember having school cancelled two days in a row.
Hey, that's nothing. Several semi trucks had trouble negotiating a hill east of our town and they blocked the interstate. They blocked the interstate for several hours. How many? Oh, about 12 hours. People ran out of gas, and rescuers on snowmobiles checked to make sure people were OK. The governor sent the National Guard, who came in Humvees and 5-ton trucks and passed out water and military rations. 500 cars, 19 miles of backup.
And they said in the paper this morning, well, we couldn't stop more people from getting onto the interstate. We didn't have enough officers to block every on ramp and exit. You know what, park a city vehicle there! What stupidity.
I am so thankful that Greg didn't go to work yesterday. Allie and Julia went to daycare and I went to work, and barely made it the three miles back across town home.
We survived the storm of '08. And it's supposed to snow tomorrow!
Monday, February 04, 2008
Tripping to Disney - long version
So we took the girls to Disney World. Considering that Greg has been wanting to take them there since Allie was 4, I think holding out until her 8th birthday was pretty good. Honestly, I wouldn't have wanted to take Julia any earlier than age 4 1/2. She had so much walking to do and Greg ended up carrying her so much--thank goodness she's 40 inches tall now, so she could go on almost any ride, and she did!
When we left Wisconsin, it was -6 degrees. We ran in our light jackets from the parking garage into the airport and it HURT! I told the girls they wouldn't have to face cold like that again until we came home and after 20 minutes or so, we warmed up. The girls were both very excited about going up in an airplane.
Our flight to Atlanta was smooth, we didn't have any transition trouble, and then we landed in Orlando. Since we stayed on Disney property, we were coddled from that point forward (as long as you consider bus travel coddling). Our resort was almost exactly as we expected, except since Pop Century has over 2000 rooms, it was even more spread out than I thought. Three heated outdoor pools, and believe me, even when the evening temperature dipped into the low 50s, there were people in the pools. That first evening, we went to the Magic Kingdom to see the fireworks show, Wishes. Even though it was kind of a late night by the time we got a bus back, it was definitely a "magic" start to our holiday.
Our first full day was spent at Hollywood Studios. We went on or saw: Star Tours (a Star Wars simulation); Muppet Vision 3-D; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set; Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show; met the Power Rangers; Hollywood Studios Backlot Tour; the Great Movie Ride; Voyage of the Little Mermaid; the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (me and Allie); dinner at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant; and Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey. Greg really wanted to go on the Aerosmith Rock n Roller Coaster, but he would have had to go alone.
The Tower of Terror was amazing and Allie was so brave. It's basically a falling-elevator ride (from 13 stories), but they actually pull you downwards faster than gravity and you drop and rise several times, according to a random computer selection. Allie said it was cool, but that was after she relaxed the expression of terror that was her face. We completely rose off our seats for what seemed like long periods of time, held only by our seatbelts.
The second day we went to Animal Kingdom. We went on or saw: Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends (a nature/singing show with real animals); Festival of the Lion King (a show with amazing floats and up to 28 singers/dancers/acrobats performing at one time); met Minnie Mouse, Mickey, Lilo, Stitch, and Goofy; DINOSAUR; Finding Nemo - the Musical; Expedition Everest (Greg only); Maharajah Jungle Trek; Kilamanjaro Safaris (our longest wait, about an hour); It's Tough to be a Bug; and Rainforest Cafe (for dinner). Julia and Allie both closed their eyes for most of DINOSAUR, a very rough ride in a jeep thing with dinosaurs popping out everywhere. They were both really good.
The third exhausting day was spent at the Magic Kingdom. We went on or saw: The Magic Carpets of Aladdin; the Jungle Cruise (which was hilarious, thanks to David, our guide); Pirates of the Caribbean; met Peter Pan and Wendy; Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (which Julia proclaimed, "Cool!"); the Haunted Mansion; It's a Small World (what a surprise, one of Julia's favorites); Peter Pan's Flight; Mickey's PhilharMagic 3-D Spectacular; Cinderella's Golden Carousel; Mad Tea Party; Tomorrowland Indy Speedway; Space Mountain; Dumbo the Flying Elephant (another of Julia's favorites); Stitch's Great Escape; Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor; Tomorrowland Transit Authority (the only thing we went on twice); Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress (weirdly fascinating); Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin; and dinner in Cinderella's castle, at the Royal Table, while fireworks exploded outside the arched stained glass windows and the Fairy Godmother sang Happy Birthday to Allie (and lots of other people).
I was surprised by how small the Magic Kingdom was, but it obviously enabled us to cover a lot of ground and see a lot of things. Splash Mountain was closed, but the weather during our trip was sometimes cool (relatively speaking), so we didn't mind. It rained a little when we were at Hollywood Studios but we were mostly inside. It was cold in the morning at Animal Kingdom, but it warmed up nicely in the afternoon and was sunny. The Magic Kingdom day was nice too, probably low 70s and sunny.
Our last big day was Epcot. We knew it was going to be the warmest day, mid 70s, so we decided to make it a short day, return to the resort, and have the girls go swimming. At the park, we went on or saw: Spaceship Earth; Test Track (cars that go 65 miles per hour--Julia was so brave!); Maelstrom; Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (met Cinderella again, Aurora [Sleeping Beauty], Jasmine, and Ariel); Mission SPACE (Greg and Allie); Gran Fiesta Tour (me and Julia); Living with the Land; The Seas with Nemo and Friends; and Turtle Talk with Crush. It would have been nice to visit the United Kingdom pavilion to see if they carried Coleman's mustard, but it was just too far to walk with crabby Julia, who didn't get birthday presents like Allie and who just couldn't narrow down her own gift selection to one item.
We left Epcot at 4 and the time the girls spent swimming and splashing at the pool was one of the most relaxing periods we had. We ate dinner, the girls had baths, and we packed to go home. If you did make it all the way through, I appreciate your reading all of the stuff about the attractions we saw. I wrote it to remember what we did, and maybe to spark a favorite memory of something you saw once upon a time.
Our trip back was smooth, except that in order to get seats all together, we were in the last row of the plane, without windows. Allie got airsick and threw up in my hands and Julia was kind of naughty and it was -2 degrees when we arrived in Milwaukee. Allie threw up again as we drove home, and we all had to smile at Greg emptying her puke bucket by the side of the road and "rinsing" it with snow. We were so glad to be home and the cats were very glad to see us.
One anecdote: we were tiredly walking through the parking lot on our last night when we saw a VW bug with North Carolina plates and a carseat in the back. I commented, wow, those people drove all the way from North Carolina with a baby in the back seat. Julia spoke up and said, Is it dead?
You hadda be there. We had the best laugh of the trip.
Now we're basically all back in our normal routines and the weather is certainly back to how it's been this winter. We're supposed to get somewhere between 3 and 9 inches of new snow tomorrow. But we can dream and remember, green plants and flowering trees, chlorine and waiting in line, princesses and a birthday to remember. Happy birthday, Allie!
When we left Wisconsin, it was -6 degrees. We ran in our light jackets from the parking garage into the airport and it HURT! I told the girls they wouldn't have to face cold like that again until we came home and after 20 minutes or so, we warmed up. The girls were both very excited about going up in an airplane.
Our flight to Atlanta was smooth, we didn't have any transition trouble, and then we landed in Orlando. Since we stayed on Disney property, we were coddled from that point forward (as long as you consider bus travel coddling). Our resort was almost exactly as we expected, except since Pop Century has over 2000 rooms, it was even more spread out than I thought. Three heated outdoor pools, and believe me, even when the evening temperature dipped into the low 50s, there were people in the pools. That first evening, we went to the Magic Kingdom to see the fireworks show, Wishes. Even though it was kind of a late night by the time we got a bus back, it was definitely a "magic" start to our holiday.
Our first full day was spent at Hollywood Studios. We went on or saw: Star Tours (a Star Wars simulation); Muppet Vision 3-D; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set; Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show; met the Power Rangers; Hollywood Studios Backlot Tour; the Great Movie Ride; Voyage of the Little Mermaid; the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (me and Allie); dinner at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant; and Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey. Greg really wanted to go on the Aerosmith Rock n Roller Coaster, but he would have had to go alone.
The Tower of Terror was amazing and Allie was so brave. It's basically a falling-elevator ride (from 13 stories), but they actually pull you downwards faster than gravity and you drop and rise several times, according to a random computer selection. Allie said it was cool, but that was after she relaxed the expression of terror that was her face. We completely rose off our seats for what seemed like long periods of time, held only by our seatbelts.
The second day we went to Animal Kingdom. We went on or saw: Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends (a nature/singing show with real animals); Festival of the Lion King (a show with amazing floats and up to 28 singers/dancers/acrobats performing at one time); met Minnie Mouse, Mickey, Lilo, Stitch, and Goofy; DINOSAUR; Finding Nemo - the Musical; Expedition Everest (Greg only); Maharajah Jungle Trek; Kilamanjaro Safaris (our longest wait, about an hour); It's Tough to be a Bug; and Rainforest Cafe (for dinner). Julia and Allie both closed their eyes for most of DINOSAUR, a very rough ride in a jeep thing with dinosaurs popping out everywhere. They were both really good.
The third exhausting day was spent at the Magic Kingdom. We went on or saw: The Magic Carpets of Aladdin; the Jungle Cruise (which was hilarious, thanks to David, our guide); Pirates of the Caribbean; met Peter Pan and Wendy; Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (which Julia proclaimed, "Cool!"); the Haunted Mansion; It's a Small World (what a surprise, one of Julia's favorites); Peter Pan's Flight; Mickey's PhilharMagic 3-D Spectacular; Cinderella's Golden Carousel; Mad Tea Party; Tomorrowland Indy Speedway; Space Mountain; Dumbo the Flying Elephant (another of Julia's favorites); Stitch's Great Escape; Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor; Tomorrowland Transit Authority (the only thing we went on twice); Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress (weirdly fascinating); Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin; and dinner in Cinderella's castle, at the Royal Table, while fireworks exploded outside the arched stained glass windows and the Fairy Godmother sang Happy Birthday to Allie (and lots of other people).
I was surprised by how small the Magic Kingdom was, but it obviously enabled us to cover a lot of ground and see a lot of things. Splash Mountain was closed, but the weather during our trip was sometimes cool (relatively speaking), so we didn't mind. It rained a little when we were at Hollywood Studios but we were mostly inside. It was cold in the morning at Animal Kingdom, but it warmed up nicely in the afternoon and was sunny. The Magic Kingdom day was nice too, probably low 70s and sunny.
Our last big day was Epcot. We knew it was going to be the warmest day, mid 70s, so we decided to make it a short day, return to the resort, and have the girls go swimming. At the park, we went on or saw: Spaceship Earth; Test Track (cars that go 65 miles per hour--Julia was so brave!); Maelstrom; Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (met Cinderella again, Aurora [Sleeping Beauty], Jasmine, and Ariel); Mission SPACE (Greg and Allie); Gran Fiesta Tour (me and Julia); Living with the Land; The Seas with Nemo and Friends; and Turtle Talk with Crush. It would have been nice to visit the United Kingdom pavilion to see if they carried Coleman's mustard, but it was just too far to walk with crabby Julia, who didn't get birthday presents like Allie and who just couldn't narrow down her own gift selection to one item.
We left Epcot at 4 and the time the girls spent swimming and splashing at the pool was one of the most relaxing periods we had. We ate dinner, the girls had baths, and we packed to go home. If you did make it all the way through, I appreciate your reading all of the stuff about the attractions we saw. I wrote it to remember what we did, and maybe to spark a favorite memory of something you saw once upon a time.
Our trip back was smooth, except that in order to get seats all together, we were in the last row of the plane, without windows. Allie got airsick and threw up in my hands and Julia was kind of naughty and it was -2 degrees when we arrived in Milwaukee. Allie threw up again as we drove home, and we all had to smile at Greg emptying her puke bucket by the side of the road and "rinsing" it with snow. We were so glad to be home and the cats were very glad to see us.
One anecdote: we were tiredly walking through the parking lot on our last night when we saw a VW bug with North Carolina plates and a carseat in the back. I commented, wow, those people drove all the way from North Carolina with a baby in the back seat. Julia spoke up and said, Is it dead?
You hadda be there. We had the best laugh of the trip.
Now we're basically all back in our normal routines and the weather is certainly back to how it's been this winter. We're supposed to get somewhere between 3 and 9 inches of new snow tomorrow. But we can dream and remember, green plants and flowering trees, chlorine and waiting in line, princesses and a birthday to remember. Happy birthday, Allie!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Ha! You're too late!
If you were planning on breaking into our house and ransacking our supply of Polly Pocket clothing, you're out of luck. We're back from Disney.
We're foot-sore, wiped out, poor, overly-stimulated, sick of each other, and done with the freaking magic already.
Greg has literally a gig of photos and short videos that he's posting, so you can all feel like you came along on the trip too.
It's 8:30 now and I have to go to sleep. More soon.
And Happy 8th birthday today, Allie!
We're foot-sore, wiped out, poor, overly-stimulated, sick of each other, and done with the freaking magic already.
Greg has literally a gig of photos and short videos that he's posting, so you can all feel like you came along on the trip too.
It's 8:30 now and I have to go to sleep. More soon.
And Happy 8th birthday today, Allie!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Endless day
Julia has an unfortunately pretty common pattern. She'll come down with a fever, develop no additional symptoms to speak of, keep the fever for two days (during which she stops eating almost completely), and then gradually gets better.
Last night, she didn't want dinner, which is not so uncommon. She came over to get a hug and said her tummy hurt and on a hunch, I felt her forehead. Crap.
So today Julia was home with Greg in the morning and me in the afternoon. It was a very, very long day. She was very whiny and very needy and despite not feeling well and needing to rest, she only napped for 45 minutes.
Tonight, she finally seemed to be feeling better. Tomorrow should be a better day. And today, Greg and I earned another parenting stripe.
Last night, she didn't want dinner, which is not so uncommon. She came over to get a hug and said her tummy hurt and on a hunch, I felt her forehead. Crap.
So today Julia was home with Greg in the morning and me in the afternoon. It was a very, very long day. She was very whiny and very needy and despite not feeling well and needing to rest, she only napped for 45 minutes.
Tonight, she finally seemed to be feeling better. Tomorrow should be a better day. And today, Greg and I earned another parenting stripe.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Still alive
We're still here, just busy not enjoying the 8 1/2 inches of snow we got on Monday. It was light, fluffy stuff, not at all suitable for snowman building, so the kids are bummed.
Apparently, this brings our total for the winter to some ridiculous number like 50 inches.
What I'd like to know, Mr. Hughes, is when you're planning on coming and picking up the show you say you want so badly?
Apparently, this brings our total for the winter to some ridiculous number like 50 inches.
What I'd like to know, Mr. Hughes, is when you're planning on coming and picking up the show you say you want so badly?
Friday, January 18, 2008
Bundle me up
As we pulled out of the garage this morning, the thermometer on my car's dashboard said it was 23 degrees outside. By the time we got to daycare (three blocks away), it said 10 degrees. By the time I dropped Allie off at school (3/4 mile away), it said 4 degrees.
Tonight, it's supposed to be -5 degrees with a windchill in the neighborhood of -20. I am ready for Florida. Now.
Tonight, it's supposed to be -5 degrees with a windchill in the neighborhood of -20. I am ready for Florida. Now.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Dentist day
Greg took Allie and Julia to the dentist this morning. For Julia, it was her third time in the chair and her first x-rays. On her first visit (1/4/07 if you want to look it up--I can't get the link to work), she screamed, alternately wouldn't open her mouth, and tried to kick the dental assistant (who was lousy with her, frankly). I had to hold her entire body and especially her arms as the dentist looked in her mouth.
On her second visit, she closely watched as Allie smilingly went before her, then things went smoothly. Today, she sat in the big chair all by herself (instead of on my lap--good thing since I was at a seminar), she opened her mouth, and she said she had a good time.
I love that my kids love the pediatric dentist.
The big news of the day, however, was Allie. After an entire year, she got the spacer taken out from the roof of her mouth. She says it feels very odd and she's not sure she likes it. I say, give her some gum and she'll forget all about the weird feeling. She's been pining for gum.
Fortunately for us, we won't have to miss that spacer for long. Dr. Wilson says Julia's going to need one too. I'm thinking it'll be in about 2 years. Genetic crosshatch, whatever that means.
Gregory, I may have doomed our children to someday have to wear glasses with my poor genes, but I'm putting this one on you!
On her second visit, she closely watched as Allie smilingly went before her, then things went smoothly. Today, she sat in the big chair all by herself (instead of on my lap--good thing since I was at a seminar), she opened her mouth, and she said she had a good time.
I love that my kids love the pediatric dentist.
The big news of the day, however, was Allie. After an entire year, she got the spacer taken out from the roof of her mouth. She says it feels very odd and she's not sure she likes it. I say, give her some gum and she'll forget all about the weird feeling. She's been pining for gum.
Fortunately for us, we won't have to miss that spacer for long. Dr. Wilson says Julia's going to need one too. I'm thinking it'll be in about 2 years. Genetic crosshatch, whatever that means.
Gregory, I may have doomed our children to someday have to wear glasses with my poor genes, but I'm putting this one on you!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Trying to slim down
Simon the cat did almost 2 minutes on the treadmill tonight.
He's trying to lose that little bit of a bulge in his midsection. Turns off the ladies, you know.
He's trying to lose that little bit of a bulge in his midsection. Turns off the ladies, you know.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Julia, over two hours
"Mommy, I want to jump on the trampoline."
"No, Julia, you have to wait your turn."
"Mommy, I want to swing on the rope."
"No, Julia, you have to wait your turn."
"Mommy, I want to play on the long trampoline."
"No, you can't. It's not time for your class anymore."
"Mommy, I want to write on the chalkboard up there."
"No, you can write on this chalkboard."
"Mommy, I want to play on the long trampoline."
"I already told you no. That's for when you have class."
"Mommy, I want another piece of candy."
"No, you got a piece when your class was over. That's all you get."
"Mommy, I want a piece of candy when we get home."
"Maybe. You need to start listening to me."
"Mommy, I want to go get a drink of water."
"You've already had two drinks of water. You're fine."
"Mommy, I want a piece of candy when we get home."
"We'll see."
"Mommy, I want to open the door!"
"Wait until I get there. You're letting cold air in."
"Mommy, I want to skip."
"No, I need you to be careful and hold my hand because there's ice."
"Mommy, can I have a piece of candy when we get home?"
"No, Julia, you haven't been listening to me at all."
"Mommy, can I have that stuff in my hair too."
"No, I have other stuff to spray in your hair."
"I want to spray it in my hair."
"No, Julia. You'll spray yourself in the eyes."
"But I want to spray it."
"No, Julia. We're done talking about this."
"Mommy, I want to get out of the tub first."
"OK, Julia, it's time to get out."
"No, Mommy, I want to play a little bit."
"Julia, put the washcloths away and stand up."
"No, Mommy."
(Finally raising my voice.) "Julia, stand up!"
"Mommy, you didn't dry off my legs."
"Julia, you didn't have a nap today, did you."
"No."
"No, Julia, you have to wait your turn."
"Mommy, I want to swing on the rope."
"No, Julia, you have to wait your turn."
"Mommy, I want to play on the long trampoline."
"No, you can't. It's not time for your class anymore."
"Mommy, I want to write on the chalkboard up there."
"No, you can write on this chalkboard."
"Mommy, I want to play on the long trampoline."
"I already told you no. That's for when you have class."
"Mommy, I want another piece of candy."
"No, you got a piece when your class was over. That's all you get."
"Mommy, I want a piece of candy when we get home."
"Maybe. You need to start listening to me."
"Mommy, I want to go get a drink of water."
"You've already had two drinks of water. You're fine."
"Mommy, I want a piece of candy when we get home."
"We'll see."
"Mommy, I want to open the door!"
"Wait until I get there. You're letting cold air in."
"Mommy, I want to skip."
"No, I need you to be careful and hold my hand because there's ice."
"Mommy, can I have a piece of candy when we get home?"
"No, Julia, you haven't been listening to me at all."
"Mommy, can I have that stuff in my hair too."
"No, I have other stuff to spray in your hair."
"I want to spray it in my hair."
"No, Julia. You'll spray yourself in the eyes."
"But I want to spray it."
"No, Julia. We're done talking about this."
"Mommy, I want to get out of the tub first."
"OK, Julia, it's time to get out."
"No, Mommy, I want to play a little bit."
"Julia, put the washcloths away and stand up."
"No, Mommy."
(Finally raising my voice.) "Julia, stand up!"
"Mommy, you didn't dry off my legs."
"Julia, you didn't have a nap today, did you."
"No."
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
8 Things Meme
I'm just helping out Dan with this one, since I don't believe anyone that he tagged with this meme has done it. Now I know why, it took awhile to think of good responses (or kind of good ones, you know what I mean).
8 things I am passionate about:
My family
Reading
Chocolate
Loyalty
Rules
Cats
Contentment
Learning
8 things I want to do before I die:
Have grandchildren
Travel the world
Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary
Make a difference
Tell my kids stories about my childhood that they'll always remember
Organize my house
Read and learn something every day
Keep being happy
8 things I say often:
"Allie, chew with your mouth closed"
"Hunn-eee"
"What do you say?" (prompting please or thank you)
"I am so sick of this snow"
"No, you cannot have a piece of candy"
"I'll clean the cat box" (joke, not funny)
"Can I help you?"
"How was your day?"
8 books I have read recently:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling
The World Without Us - Alan Weisman
The Stand - Stephen King
Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Stiff - The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - Mary Roach
Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder
Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2007 - Birnbaum
1 song I could listen to over and over again:
Everything - Michael Buble
This is supposed to be a section with 8 songs, but the reality is that I almost never listen to music anymore. I don't know most new bands, I don't know most songs, I don't own an MP3 player or iPod, and I listen to public radio instead of music. My CD player is my car is really dusty and I don't know how the buttons all work. I do realize that this is kind of sad. It depresses my husband. However, it is reality for how I live right now.
8 things that attract me to my best friends:
That they are - Loyal
Intelligent
Non-smoking
Light drinking
Good with kids
Easy going
Liberal
Funny
8 people who should totally do this meme:
Greg (but he won't)
Dwayne (he won't either)
Donna
Bon Bon
Jeanette (another one who won't)
Sam
Kerry
Paul
8 things I am passionate about:
My family
Reading
Chocolate
Loyalty
Rules
Cats
Contentment
Learning
8 things I want to do before I die:
Have grandchildren
Travel the world
Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary
Make a difference
Tell my kids stories about my childhood that they'll always remember
Organize my house
Read and learn something every day
Keep being happy
8 things I say often:
"Allie, chew with your mouth closed"
"Hunn-eee"
"What do you say?" (prompting please or thank you)
"I am so sick of this snow"
"No, you cannot have a piece of candy"
"I'll clean the cat box" (joke, not funny)
"Can I help you?"
"How was your day?"
8 books I have read recently:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling
The World Without Us - Alan Weisman
The Stand - Stephen King
Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Stiff - The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - Mary Roach
Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder
Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2007 - Birnbaum
1 song I could listen to over and over again:
Everything - Michael Buble
This is supposed to be a section with 8 songs, but the reality is that I almost never listen to music anymore. I don't know most new bands, I don't know most songs, I don't own an MP3 player or iPod, and I listen to public radio instead of music. My CD player is my car is really dusty and I don't know how the buttons all work. I do realize that this is kind of sad. It depresses my husband. However, it is reality for how I live right now.
8 things that attract me to my best friends:
That they are - Loyal
Intelligent
Non-smoking
Light drinking
Good with kids
Easy going
Liberal
Funny
8 people who should totally do this meme:
Greg (but he won't)
Dwayne (he won't either)
Donna
Bon Bon
Jeanette (another one who won't)
Sam
Kerry
Paul
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
400th post
Sorry, nothing spectacular, just post number 400 on the first day of a new year. It's taken me almost 4 1/2 years of blogging to get to this point. Not too impressive.
My day started today with a visit from the cats. The wooden headboard on our bed has a cap on it that's about 1 1/2 inches wide. This morning, both Rabies and Simon decided that they wanted to look down on me from the top of the headboard. You know how you can kind of feel it when someone is looking at you? Actually, that's not true. I didn't feel them looking at me until I heard them start washing each other's faces while they sat on top of the headboard. Weird cats; thankfully it was already 8:00, so I didn't kick their little furry asses out of the bedroom.
I've been feeling a little claustrophobic today, itching to go out and have dinner or shop or something. I've basically been in the house since Saturday afternoon, but of course nothing is open today. Dan called from England to say Happy New Year, which was very cool, but that's still not getting out of the house of course. To make myself feel better or something, I've been reading the blogs of people who are living and working at the South Pole. So now I have less self pity about not being able to get out.
It did snow today again. We missed the record for all-time December snowfall by 2 inches, but the weather people say that we definitely got our snow for the month in many more storms than normal. The only good thing about our winter right now is that the days aren't getting shorter anymore. How many days until spring? I'm afraid to figure it out.
My day started today with a visit from the cats. The wooden headboard on our bed has a cap on it that's about 1 1/2 inches wide. This morning, both Rabies and Simon decided that they wanted to look down on me from the top of the headboard. You know how you can kind of feel it when someone is looking at you? Actually, that's not true. I didn't feel them looking at me until I heard them start washing each other's faces while they sat on top of the headboard. Weird cats; thankfully it was already 8:00, so I didn't kick their little furry asses out of the bedroom.
I've been feeling a little claustrophobic today, itching to go out and have dinner or shop or something. I've basically been in the house since Saturday afternoon, but of course nothing is open today. Dan called from England to say Happy New Year, which was very cool, but that's still not getting out of the house of course. To make myself feel better or something, I've been reading the blogs of people who are living and working at the South Pole. So now I have less self pity about not being able to get out.
It did snow today again. We missed the record for all-time December snowfall by 2 inches, but the weather people say that we definitely got our snow for the month in many more storms than normal. The only good thing about our winter right now is that the days aren't getting shorter anymore. How many days until spring? I'm afraid to figure it out.
Monday, December 31, 2007
It's gonna be a new year
It's New Year's Eve, 9 p.m., and we're home. There's laundry going in the dryer, I just yelled at the girls for the third time to go to sleep, and Greg has been upstairs for the last two hours on the other computer. In other words, it's a pretty normal weeknight. I have no desire to go out to "celebrate" the end of 2007. It was a good year--we were all relatively healthy (except for some dental stuff for Allie and me), Greg and I got to travel to Ireland (thanks again, Mom and Dad, for babysitting), and the girls grew at an exponential rate.
I started thinking of the negative things that happened this year to us and to our families, but really, why dwell on all of that. Some stuff happened, some of it was pretty bad, most of it just kind of sucked, and hopefully things will be better next year. I'm an optimistic person anyway, so I'm looking forward to 2008.
2008 will be the year that Julia starts kindergarten (be still, my heart). I can't think of anything else I can anticipate for next year that will change our family as profoundly as our little one heading off to school. I think she's going to be ready. I don't think I am going to be. Thank goodness it's over 8 months away.
Yep, 2008 can take one day at a time to come. I hope it's a happy year for us, and for all of you. Happy New Year!
I started thinking of the negative things that happened this year to us and to our families, but really, why dwell on all of that. Some stuff happened, some of it was pretty bad, most of it just kind of sucked, and hopefully things will be better next year. I'm an optimistic person anyway, so I'm looking forward to 2008.
2008 will be the year that Julia starts kindergarten (be still, my heart). I can't think of anything else I can anticipate for next year that will change our family as profoundly as our little one heading off to school. I think she's going to be ready. I don't think I am going to be. Thank goodness it's over 8 months away.
Yep, 2008 can take one day at a time to come. I hope it's a happy year for us, and for all of you. Happy New Year!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Lame game
Go ahead, guess what it's doing outside right now. Oh, forget it. This game is way too easy.
Of course. It's snowing!
We getting another 4-5 inches of snow today. This is on top of the 1 inch we got on Wednesday night and the 2 inches we got on Monday. Some snow did melt last week, but that really didn't make a dent. For someone like me who doesn't particularly like winter, this weather is annoying.
My family was supposed to come and visit today (for the weekend) and obviously, they're not coming. They say they're coming tomorrow morning. All I can say is that Greg went grocery shopping in today's blizzard and spent over $300, so they better get their asses down here somehow. I have to pick the girls up at daycare in an hour and I'm going to walk the two blocks, because Greg almost didn't get the car back up our slightly-sloping driveway and into the garage.
We're going to Disney with the girls in less than a month. The Weather Channel says it's 84 degrees in Orlando today. I'm ready now.
Of course. It's snowing!
We getting another 4-5 inches of snow today. This is on top of the 1 inch we got on Wednesday night and the 2 inches we got on Monday. Some snow did melt last week, but that really didn't make a dent. For someone like me who doesn't particularly like winter, this weather is annoying.
My family was supposed to come and visit today (for the weekend) and obviously, they're not coming. They say they're coming tomorrow morning. All I can say is that Greg went grocery shopping in today's blizzard and spent over $300, so they better get their asses down here somehow. I have to pick the girls up at daycare in an hour and I'm going to walk the two blocks, because Greg almost didn't get the car back up our slightly-sloping driveway and into the garage.
We're going to Disney with the girls in less than a month. The Weather Channel says it's 84 degrees in Orlando today. I'm ready now.
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