The Not-so-Fabulous Adventures of Hockeykat

Farewell

2008-11-11T20:49:00.002-05:00

Did you ever meet someone who made a lasting impression on you? From time to time we meet these people who make our lives a little bit better in some way. Dan Hitchens was one of those people for me.

I first met him when I interviewed for a Technical Support position at a large insurance company in Pennsylvania. I got the job, and got to know Dan there. He was one of those energetic "idea" men - he didn't have all the answers, but he knew how to get them. I was still inexperienced in the IT world, and he took time to mentor and explain things to me.

As often happens with big companies, time got tight and the budget shrank, resulting in layoffs. Dan was one of the people let go, but he had enough seniority to get almost a year's worth of severance pay. Of all the people leaving, he was actually almost happy - he had plans. He was going to start his own business, doing networking and support for small businesses. If anyone could do it, he was the one.

I tried to stay in touch, but I'm not good at that and he was busy. Then six months later I found myself "down-sized" also, and he put me in touch with a friend of his who was looking for a helpdesk technician. I got that job, and I am now in my third position with that company.

I didn't talk to Dan directly much after that, but I heard about him through a few friends he had at my company, and sent my greetings through them also. His business was doing well, he bought his sister's hair salon, he was building out an office space. Then one day the news was sobering: he was diagnosed with cancer. He was in and out of the hospital and went through chemo, I heard some stories but didn't know much. Then the stories got more positive: he was back to work, same old self, etc. But recently he was back in the hospital and this time it looked serious.

Dan Hitchens passed away on October 30, 2008. He was thirty-eight.

Celebration

2008-10-30T09:01:00.002-04:00

The Philadelphia Phillies have won the World Series!

I'm not a big baseball fan, but Hubby is, and he was so excited! The whole city is celebrating, since it has been many years since ANY Philly team has won a championship. It's pretty cool! Congratulations Phillies!!!

Monkeynut is Three

2008-10-15T11:42:00.002-04:00

Well, I didn't realize that it has been so long since I have updated my blog. Lots has happened in the last month!

My little Nut turned three this past weekend, can you believe it? I can't. We had a party for her with about ten of her friends, and she was so excited to see them all. Luckily her two best girlfriends came - they had both been unsure whether they could make it. I can't explain the look of happiness on her face, it was priceless. Mommy had baked her a pink birthday cake, like she asked, only it was in the shape of a monkey. It was so cute, and she thought it was funny. She held my hand while everyone sang happy birthday - it's nice to know that she still needs me even though she's a "big girl" now!

She has been sleeping in her new "big girl" bed without any problems, and we have even stopped using a diaper at night successfully (so far). She is starting to learn her letters and can even write a few. She loves books, especially stories about princesses.

Next time I'll write about our trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa back in September. We all had a great time.

Working for a Living

2008-08-20T11:52:00.002-04:00

Work has been very stressful for the past few weeks, but I think it is finally getting better.

Monkeynut is starting to transition to the next class at daycare. This is a "preschool" class, so it is more structured. She seems mature enough, and she knows quite a few of the kids in the class, so I'm sure she will be OK. However, it makes me quite sad to see her growing up so fast.

We will be going to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Texas soon! Monkeynut is really looking forward to it, she wants to go on a plane and she has all sorts of things she wants to show/tell her grandparents. She will get some time alone with them while my husband and I take a much needed few days to ourselves.

A funny story

2008-08-19T21:25:00.002-04:00

Hubby, MonkeyNut, my Father-in-law and I were sitting around the kitchen table the other night. MonkeyNut was coloring, and the adults were talking, mostly about the upcoming presidential election. Hubby said something about George - meaning Bush - probably feeling happy that his term is over.

And MonkeyNut, without even looking up from her coloring, asks "George the monkey?"

Yes peanut, some people might say so!

Annoying Bathroom Message

2008-07-22T21:49:00.004-04:00

I work in an office that is predominantly male. There are about 200 employees at this office, and 4 bathrooms. Two for men and two for women. At the beginning of the summer, the office management called a meeting of all the women - all 12 of us.

The meeting was to ask us if we would be willing to give up one of our bathrooms for the men. Apparently some men were complaining that other men were taking too long in the stalls so that there were never enough available. Or something. Whatever, who cares? But I do think it was nice of management to consider us and actually ask.

So now there is only one women's restroom. A few weeks ago someone put up a cryptic message, and it is still there. The thing that bothers me about this message is that I have no idea what it means. Maybe someone was just trying to be tactful, but they left out the whole point of the message.

Here is what it says:

Please be more conscious of hygiene issues. Please be more aware.

It infuriates me every time I see it...what do they mean by "hygiene issues"? What good does it do to "be more aware"? Doesn't the writer want some action to be taken (or maybe not taken)? I am going to have to put a note up asking for clarification, just in case there are some "issues" that I am not aware of...

Underpants

2008-07-22T06:51:00.002-04:00

Monkeynut has been wearing her underpants to school every day and has been doing a great job! She has only had one accident at school since the first day! She tells us now "I'm a big girl" and is so proud of herself. We're proud too, she's great. She has had a few accidents on the weekends, but she's getting better. It's also hard while we are out, since stores and restaurants don't have training potties like she is used to.

Now that she is a big girl, we are thinking about getting her a big girl bed for her birthday. The toddler bed she has been using was borrowed, so I feel like we should give it back. She says she would like a bigger bed, and she wants to help pick it out. We have to be careful or she will get a pink princess bed I'm sure!

New Car

2008-07-13T20:51:00.002-04:00

Hubby finally pulled the trigger on a new car. We had been talking about getting rid of the SUV ever since his new company took away the company car. We bought the SUV to be a third car, not to be driven every day.

After much searching, test driving, deliberation and anxiety, we finally decided on a VW Jetta. It's really nice, and am I a little jealous that he gets the new car. OK not too much, since I really like my car. And I guess we are now a VW family, having two VW's. We did get an extra discount for "customer loyalty".

Will post pics soon!

My "other" life

2008-07-10T12:44:00.002-04:00

Those of you who know me and know my family know that we are gamers. My Dad and my brother especailly. So a few weeks ago my Dad told me that he had started playing the Lord of the Rings Online and he thought I would like it. He got my brother and his wife playing it, and even my mom. So I decided to give it a try.

Now my hubby is probably wishing I had never started, because I am hooked!

My only other foray into online gaming was a few years ago, and I didn't like it at all because as a new player, other stronger players would always beat you up and I could never get anywhere in the game. Not fun. But this game does not let players fight other players, so that is not an issue. And you can play as a group with other people, or just play solo if you want to. The game is really huge, and the graphics are beautiful and detailed - it's really like exploring another world.

So now that I am hooked, it's like having another whole life to lead. Because one life isn't enough I guess!

Definitely a Big Girl

2008-07-10T12:41:00.002-04:00

Well Monkeynut is wearing her underpants (actually training underpants, which are thicker) to school now! Yesterday was her first day doing it. I was so nervous! But the school did not call, so I took that to mean she was doing OK.

She did have some accidents, and her teacher told me it was when they were outside playing. I think she just needs more practice.

So far so good I guess, we'll see how it goes the rest of the week.

My "Big girl"

2008-07-06T21:15:00.002-04:00

MonkeyNut thinks she is big girl now. She wants to wear her big girl panties all the time now. And she is really doing well with the potty for the most part. For some reason now she is having trouble with doing number two in the potty, but she is good with number one. She even started actually going in the potty at school, not just sitting on the toilet.

For some reason she thinks that she can only use the potty if she is wearing panties. I don't know where she got this idea, because it is actually the other way around. I have to talk to her school to see what their policies are.

She has really been willful and opinionated lately, and even defiant at times. This is really exhausting, it's a constant battle. I don't know if it's just a stage, or if there is something that is causing it, but I can't wait for it to go away! (Don't you dare tell me that it never does, let me keep my delusions for a while!)

More potty news

2008-06-24T10:16:00.004-04:00

Yesterday Monkeynut had a diaper rash when I picked her up from school. I think the best thing for that is fresh air, so I offered to let her wear her "big girl" underpants. She has been pretty good about using the potty at home, so I told her to let me know if she had to go.

By the way, she has such a tiny bottom, whatever is going to keep her pants up if she's not wearing a diaper to add bulk???

Anyway, I asked her if she needed to use the potty about every five minutes. (Last time we did the underpants she had three big accidents in about 30 minutes.) But she kept saying no. I asked her again before dinner, and she said no.

Then while we were eating I looked over and she had this surprised look and put her hand down there. I asked her if she had to go and she nodded, so I grabbed her and took her in. To my surprise, she had only gone a little bit while she was sitting, and did the rest in the potty! We were both so proud! So we put some dry underpants on again, and she stayed dry until bedtime. Yay!!!

It can't be this easy, can it? (knock on wood!)

Good news

2008-06-17T20:31:00.002-04:00

First, Monkeynut has started to use the potty! We bought her a book about a girl who uses the potty, and she really likes it. My idea was to get Nut thinking about it, but not pressure her. Then yesterday she told me that she wanted to use the potty, so we took her diaper off and she sat for about two seconds. Then she said she was done. But I told her she should give it a little more time, and got her a little cup of water to drink while she was sitting. Sure enough, she went! We were both so excited.

So today I went out and bought her another little potty seat so we can have one downstairs and one upstairs. She wanted to use it right away - and she did! Then later she used it again! I don't know whether or not this will be a regular thing right away, but I am so proud of her for doing it! I would really like for her to be out of diapers by the end of the summer.

Second, my tile looks awesome! Hubby and his friend did a really good job. The blue glass is not too bright blue, and the travertine marble looks great. We are definitely going to have to paint, but that's OK. I'll post pics soon.

Tile, flowers, and more

2008-06-16T21:20:00.003-04:00

My tile is finally going up in my kitchen! I am so excited, we have only had the tile since...uh, well, let's just say we've had it for a while. We had been debating whether or not to do it ourselves, and never got around to it. But hubby has a friend who has done it lots of times himself, and he offered to help put it up. So tomorrow they start!
Here's a link to the glass tiles we bought for behind the stove:Sonoma Tile
We got the 1x1 in a blend of three different blues. For the rest of the backsplash we got a filled tumbled marble. Since the kitchen is currently a light yellow, I think it is going to be a big change. We will probably have to paint too - we'll see!

My flowers are doing really well, in fact some of them are doing too well and look a bit over grown. The coreopsis I planted last year is blooming well, but extra large. The coral bells bloomed this year for the first time, and I was pleasantly surprised by how pretty and long-lasting the flowers are. I might plant more of these!

MonkeyNut is still asking us "why" constantly. It is so hard to answer her sometimes. She will ask "what is that?" and when we tell her she asks us "why?" Like "Why is that a school?". It just is! Ugh! She has also started asking us "Can I do ...?" She is really fun.

More updates soon!

Vacation Pictures

2008-06-08T15:33:00.003-04:00

Here I am with Nut on the last day:
Here is Nut and BK with their daddies, too cute!

Flying kites made from garbage bags at the Wright Brothers Memorial:

Nut enjoying what she called a "lollipop stick" (a Popsicle):

With Daddy at the Wright Brothers Memorial, the monument is in the background:

I'd rather be...

2008-06-03T10:27:00.002-04:00

Still on the beach! But we are home now, and we had a great vacation.

The week prior I had to travel to a business meeting, which was hard because I wanted to be packing for vacation! I got home Thursday evening and had Friday to pack, then we left for North Carolina on Saturday morning.

The drive down was OK, except when Monkeynut vomited on herself. Poor baby, she has never thrown up before, so she didn't known what happened. Our fault I guess for feeding her store bought pink milk and donuts for breakfast in the car. We had to pull over on the highway to clean her up, but she was fine after that. Seven plus hours on the road was enough!

The weather was mostly beautiful and sunny, although kind of cool. The pool was too cold to use, unfortunately, but the hot tub was great. It rained one day, and one day was only in the 60's, so too cool for the beach, and we did other things those days. Monkeynut had a great time with her friend, we all hung out at the beach and she had someone to play with when we were at the house. When we weren't all together she kept asking "Where's my friend BK?" "What's BK doing?"

I'll post pictures soon!

Gearing up for vacation

2008-05-15T09:24:00.003-04:00

We are getting ready to go on vacation in a few weeks, so I had Nut try on her new bathing suits. I bought them about a month ago, and I wanted to see how they fit. She sure is skinny! They fit well enough, I bought the tankini style because I figured she won't outgrow it lengthwise like she would a one-piece suit.

She loved trying them on, we can mix-and-match the pieces so she wanted to try all the combinations. Then she was checking herself out in the full length mirror and posing! She would probably love being a catalog model or something. I would do that if I had the time to take her to auditions. She is so cute! I wish I had gotten pictures!

She still loves to wear dresses, and I had a talk with her school about it. I think she likes all the extra attention that she gets, so I want them to try NOT to make a big deal out of it. But when she says "Look at my pretty dress!", and she does look adorable, it's really hard not to respond with "Wow you look SOOOO pretty!" and gush over her. We catch ourselves doing it still. I just don't want her to get hung up on looks at such an early age.

Belated Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-13T21:41:00.002-04:00

I had a cold all weekend and I didn't feel like posting, so Happy Mother's Day a few days late!

Sunday morning I was greeted with "Happy Mother's Day" from my Monkeynut, amd that was enough right there! She had also made me a present at school, a suncatcher that she put her handprint on. We went to church, napped, and played. All in all a good day! I also got one of these - I think Daddy helped pick this out! It's so cool, it has a touch screen, plays video and music, and even has a widescreen!

Monkeynut also misses her Grandma and Grandpa. Yesterday she got very upset with us because we wanted her to wash her hands in the bathroom before dinner, and she wanted to do something different. We did not give in, and she got a time out. During the time out she started crying for "Gamma and Gampa". Poor thing! I guess she figured they would let her do what she wanted!

Mother's Day "Gifts"

2008-05-09T09:11:00.005-04:00

Mother's Day is almost here, and we have been bombarded with advertising for gifts, mostly jewelry, clothing and bath/pampering products. But I have heard two unusual advertisements for "gifts" that really didn't seem to actually be for Moms.

The first was a radio ad that I heard for Creative Playthings swing sets. $500 off for Mother's Day! First of all, this is a fairly expensive gift even with the discount, and I have to say that I would prefer that MonkeyNut (and Daddy) not spend that much. But if they were going to, I could think of many other things that I would prefer, like a shed or a vacation.

The second was for Baby Einstein videos. Again, while this is something that Moms would might like to have, it's not FOR Mom, it's for the baby. This is a great shower gift, but for Mother's day? Isn't the whole idea to do something just for Mom because she thinks about the kids 24/7?

There must be Moms out there that really would like a "gift" that is for the whole family. And if you were looking to buy a swing set anyway, take advantage of the savings. But I don't think it's really a Mother's Day gift if it's not something Mom would use herself!

(To Hubby: No, this isn't a hint for you, I know you understand what the day is all about!)

What's that Building?

2008-05-08T23:13:00.003-04:00

There has been a lot of construction in the area around my office. One of the buildings did not look like the typical office building, it looked more like a warehouse as it was going up. I recently found out that it is an indoor Water Park. To me it seems like a strange place to put a water park, amidst the office parks and retail centers.

But then while looking this up, I discovered that another indoor water park is being built on the same road, just about 7 miles away. The kid in me thinks this is great, I would have LOVED these things when I was young. But the adult in me thinks it's a breeding ground for bacteria and would be full of noisy obnoxious kids. If they are still around when Monkeynut gets older, I am sure she will want to go.

Fun with Gamma-Gampa

2008-05-07T10:34:00.003-04:00

We all had so much fun while my parents were visiting, and it was sad to see them leave. MonkeyNut didn't quite understand when we took them to the airport that she was not getting on the plane too. She started to cry when she realized they were leaving, but she was OK after a bit.

We did lots of fun things while they were here. Lots of trips to the park - the weather was great! We went to a "children's museum" called Imagination Quest which is like a learning playground. We went out to eat a few times and MonkeyNut behaved very well each time. We went to the circus, and that was great, the show was really impressive and fun. Nut loved it, I had to carry her out screaming and crying when it was over (granted it was well into nap time when we left). She especially loved the elephants:

Nut has also started asking the dreaded question: "why?" This is even more exhausting than the "what's that?", since it usually requires more than a one word answer. Here is a typical conversation:

Me: Did you hear that your friend BK is going to be a big sister?
Nut: (Pause while she thinks about this) Why?
Me: Because her mommy is pregnant and is going to have a baby.
Nut: Why?
Me: (In my mind) Aaaah! You're too little for THAT explanation!
(out loud) Because they want to have a baby.

Luckily we were interrupted, or this could go on forever!

Gamma-Gampa

2008-04-22T13:29:00.002-04:00

My parents are visiting! Yay! I was so excited to see them. We haven't seen them in person since last October, so I was a little concerned that MonkeyNut might be shy around them, but that was not the case. She talked my Mom's ear off on the way home from the airport, and has been going no-stop ever since. She is having so much fun, and so are they! She says "Gamma-Gampa" like it is one word, instead of Grandma and Grandpa. She was quite surprised the morning after we brought them home that they were still here and had slept at our house. Now she calls for them in the morning instead of Mommy or Daddy!

Monkeynut Moments

2008-04-17T14:41:00.002-04:00

Two totally cute things she did yesterday:
I was sitting next to her, reading a magazine, while she was eating dinner. Out of the blue she grabbed my hand and held it up to her cheek for a moment, then kissed it, and looked at me with a big smile. We didn't say anything, just smiled at each other until I had to look away because of the tears in my eyes. Is there anything sweeter than that??

We have a bird feeder out front, and sometimes we like to sit in the window and watch the birds. We did this yesterday, and after a minute I left her there and went into the kitchen. She soon followed, asking "Mommy, where's Bird book?" - the Field Guide to North American Birds that I often use to identify the birds we see. So I got it off the shelf for her.

She thanked me, sat down by the window, and opened the book. "Hmmm, let's see. Is this one? Nooo" (Flips pages) "Is this one? Nooo..."

Picture

2008-04-17T10:45:00.002-04:00

I haven't taken any pictures recently because we were having problems with the camera. This one is from Easter, but it's so cute I wanted to share it again:

Jellybeans

2008-04-16T14:38:00.004-04:00

Monkeynut loves jellybeans! She is always asking for "a little treat" when I pick her up from school. I tell her that she will have to wait until we get home because I don't have anything on me, and she usually begins negotiating then:

"I want four jellybeans." (holding up her hand and trying to figure out how to do four fingers)

"If you're good, you can have one jellybean."

"How 'bout I have two jellybeans?" (holding up two fingers)

"Maybe, if you're good."

"I'm good Mommy, two jellybeans."

And as soon as we get out of the car:
"I'm good girl, I want four jellybeans."

The little stinker got three, I'm a sucker (and she knows it)!

Then after dinner, because she ate it all, she gets dessert. She had her choice between chocolate ice cream, a cookie, or jellybeans. She actually passed up the ice cream for more jellybeans!

Girly Girl

2008-04-15T12:23:00.002-04:00

How does a toddler learn to be a girly girl? Monkeynut is SOOOOO into dresses now, and everything pink and girly. Does she somehow get that from me? I don't wear dresses unless it's a special occasion, and I don't consider myself to be all that "girly", but Nut must get it from somewhere.

Maybe it's the attention she gets at school when she wears dresses. Everyone tells her how pretty she looks, how cute, etc. She wants to wear a dress every day now. In fact, the first words out of her mouth this morning were "I want to wear a dress". And there is no use trying to talk her out of it if she has her mind set. Do other kids her age do this? At least it is getting warmer so I am more comfortable with her wearing them to school.

First

2008-04-13T20:27:00.004-04:00

Monkeynut got her first skinned knee of the summer yesterday. I have a feeling there will be many more!

We were outside, in the front of the house doing some planting. It was really warm - upper 70s - and Nut was wearing a little skirt. She looked so cute! I left her playing and went into the garage to get somehing, and the next thing I know she starts crying.

Poor baby, she had tripped or something on the concrete walkway and fell on her knee. She had a bloody scrape, and of course since we had both been working in the dirt our hands were muddy and she had dirt all in the wound. She wanted a band-aid, but since we were so dirty we had to wash our hands first. She didn't like waiting! Then we cleaned the knee, out medicine and a Dora band-aid on it, then followed with a few jelly beans, and all was well.

After her bath that night, I wanted to put a clean, dry band-aid on. After I put the new band-aid on, Nut said "Thanks, that feels better". She's the sweetest little girl ever!

PS My friends who are adopting found a little boy about 4 years old. Yay!!! Thanks for your prayers!

More "Those People"

2008-04-11T10:42:00.004-04:00

This time I'm referring to the neighbors who have the perfect yard. Their lawn looks beautiful already, thick and green, while the rest of our lawns are just starting to wake up after winter. These particular neighbors happen to be right across the street, and makes our lawn look terrible in comparison. Ok, so our lawn doesn't look that great regardless, but they don't have to rub it in!

They also have nice landscaping, with a brick walkway and porch, and brick edging the driveway with embedded lights, goodsize trees and shrubs. It's "picture perfect". Of course, they did spend quite a lot of money on it all, so I shouldn't really be giving them all the credit. When you hire professionals, it makes a difference.

There is one thing, though, that we can say about ours, that they can't: We did it ourselves.

"I DO IT!"

2008-04-08T14:12:00.003-04:00

This phrase is something I hear often from MonkeyNut. Usually stated very loudly, and often accompanied by a stomping foot.

The problem is that most of the time, I want her to do it, whatever it is. Sometimes it's something small that I didn't think she would even care about (opening a drawer), and sometimes she is doing it and I just try to help a little (my arm on her elbow to keep her from falling while she is twisting around trying to get her shirt off). But lots of times it regular things like getting dressed that I would be very happy to just let her do and not have to worry about it myself, but she just doesn't do it or she takes too long to do it.

Anything these days can produce a screaming crying fit because someone did something she wants to do. Yesterday when I picked her up from daycare, one of her boyfriends took the opportunity to "help" me pack her bag by taking things out of her cubby. Monkeynut saw this, threw herself down on the ground and started crying and screaming "NO NO NO!". The teachers did not realize what had happened, but I knew, so I thanked the kid and put all the stuff back in the cubby. When Nut calmed down, she came over and packed her own bag, saying "MY Mommy, MY bag, I put stuff in bag!"

Thankfully this time she actually completed the task in a reasonable amount of time. I usually sound like a Nike commercial "Fine! Just do it!"

Those People

2008-04-07T21:16:00.002-04:00

Have you ever known Those People? You know, the type whose house is always perfectly clean? You can stop by unannounced and there are never crumbs on the floor, or toys all over the place, despite the fact that they have a two year old? And if you say anything to them, they laugh and disagree and talk about how messy it is. I want to know where all their STUFF is - it has to be somewhere! I feel like checking closets when I am there. Where is the mail and the coupons? Where are the piles of bills that are waiting to be paid or filed? Where are the books, pens, socks, and other miscellaneous "stuff" that never seems to get put away at my house?

The answer, of course, is that they don't have a lot of "stuff", and what they do have is put away where it belongs - shocking! They are definitely more organized than we are. I have seen their bedroom closet, and it is organized by type of item and color. Really. Now, I don't think I want to be quite that organized, or spend quite that much time cleaning up. But I would like to find the right balance, for me, of time spent organizing/cleaning and time spent with my family.

Fear of Dirt

2008-04-04T17:07:00.003-04:00

When do kids start to be afraid of dirt?? Well, it's not exactly fear I'm looking for, but more of an aversion, as in not wanting to get dirty. I will be happy when Monkeynut gets to that point! I never realized just how much I don't like dirt until she started getting dirty.

When I picked her up from school yesterday, the teacher told me she had some mulch in her hair. Apparently the kids had decided to put mulch in their play house while they were outside, and my Monkeynut decided to roll in it. So it wasn't just in her hair, it was all over, and in her coat. Mulch is dirt!

That evening she had a bath, and I was quite disgusted by how dirty the water was as we washed all the mulch off. Yuck! But it didn't seem to bother 'Nut. Sigh. She's turning out to be the tomboy who likes to wear dresses.

Adoption

2008-03-31T21:35:00.003-04:00

Friends of mine are in the process of adopting. They are overseas right now, hoping to come home with a little one. They have been there for a few weeks already, and we hear that things haven't been going well. The whole process just seems so uncertain and scary to me, I think they are incredibly brave for trying this. Today was their last appointment to find a healthy child, please pray with us that this time they will meet the one they have been waiting for. I've been so nervous for them, it will be heartbreaking if they come home empty handed.

MonkeyNut moment

2008-03-31T21:27:00.002-04:00

So we were waiting for Nut to finish her dinner tonight, as usual she takes twice as long as we do (at least). And hubby asks me "is tonight a b-a-t-h night?", spelling it out so that she doesn't get set on a bath if we aren't planning on giving her one. And before I can answer, she says "Yes, a bath." Now I know that she probably just knows what we mean from prior conversations, but it sure made her look smart!

Then when we asked her if she was done with her dinner yet, she says "I hope so!"

So do we we, crazy girl!

Easter pics

2008-03-26T20:44:00.003-04:00

She is so cute! She loves dressing up, and for Easter she got a new dress, new shoes, and a purse - she was in heaven!

The Easter bunny brought her her very own garden tools, so she can help Mommy in the garden. And PopPop brought her a dress, and 101 Dalmatians DVD. And she got lots of candy too.

Belated Happy Easter

2008-03-26T12:57:00.003-04:00

We dyed Easter eggs on Friday with Monkeynut, she enjoyed it. But unfortunately I did not do a good job cooking the eggs, they were way too gooey and oozed every time she dropped one. Easter day she was very excited to see her basket that the Easter bunny had filled. Then we went to church, taking another empty basket to leave in the garden which was filled while we were inside. She was so happy! Let's not forget also the humungous basket bestowed upon her Saturday by PopPop, which included a DVD, a dress, two stuffed bunnies, and a boatload of candy. I do feel bad about the candy, she received WAY more than one two-year-old can eat (although she would be happy to try!), even with some help from us, so most of it will get thrown out.

Monkeynut has moved beyond asking "what's that?", called the lableing stage. She hasn't quite reached the "why" stage, but she asks other questions, like "where" and "when", and most recently "what are you talking about?" (but the words aren't quite that precise). We can't have a conversation without involving her!

Alligators eat toes

2008-03-21T12:53:00.002-04:00

Monkeynut and I were dancing the other day. As usual, she had taken off her shoes and socks, preferring to dance with bare feet. She stopped dancing, sat down, and was doing something with her toes. She wouldn't quite let me see. Here is how the conversation went:
Me: What are you doing?
Nut: Fixin my toes.
Me: Fixing your toes? Why, what's wrong with your toes?
Nut: Toes broken.
Me: Broken?? You broke your toes? How did that happen?
She stops to look at me, and whispers: Alligator got 'em.
No, I don't know where this idea came from, but I will play along, so I said: Maybe we can get your toes back from the alligator and fix them. Where is the alligator now?
Nut, whispering still: In fireplace.
I go to the fireplace and knock on the door: Hello Alligator, can we have Monkeynut's toes back please? What's that? They were stinky toes and you didn't like them anyway?
Nut giggles at this and sniffs her toes: Peeee-EEWWWWW!
I pretend to pick up her "toes" and reattach them to her feet, while she sits quietly, watching very intently.
Nut: Tanks Mommy. Er toes broken?
Me: No, my toes are fine, I don't let alligators nibble on my toes.
Nut: Yes, I no let alligators nibble on toes any more too.

Good idea Monkeynut!

Party Night in the Neighborhood

2008-03-15T22:28:00.002-04:00

Tonight was the annual St. Patrick's Day party hosted by one of our (Irish) neighbors. They invite almost 200 people, so it's a big bash. This year though, I didn't get as excited about it as I used to. In fact, I had to keep reminding myself that there was a party this weekend, because I kept forgetting. I guess it is a combination of getting older and of being the parent of a two-year-old, but "partying" just isn't as appealing as it used to be. Plus I just can't do it like I used to! Monkeynut wakes up early no matter what, and I will feel like crap if I stay up late, even if I don't drink, so where's the fun in that? These days I am more into family parties, or adult parties that have a purpose, like a dinner party.

I am not a great hostess, but I do like to host parties occasionally myself. Two years ago we hosted the first of what we had hoped would be an annual get together of hubby's cousins (there are 17 of them) and families. It was a great time, and everyone said they loved it. Unfortunately no-one else volunteered to have it last year, so there wasn't one. We are thinking of doing it again this year. Maybe we will combine it with another idea we had, for a "BYO pool party" - where everyone brings their own blow-up or wading pool. I would also like to have an adult dinner party, and a wing-and-beer party, where everyone brings there favorite wings and beer, and the favorite wins a prize.

Of course, these days if a party is not in the daytime and doesn't include kids, then it will require a babysitter. It's not all that difficult for us to find a sitter since most of the teachers at daycare are willing to babysit, but it's a matter of how important is the event - is it worth $50-$60 extra to go? A lot of times, like tonight, it really isn't.

2008-03-12T12:53:00.002-04:00

Monkeynut's school had pajama day a couple of weeks ago, and she loved it. She still asks occasionally if today is "jama day" so she can wear her footie PJs. So i happened to mention to hubby that "I wish I could have a pajama day." He gave me a dirty look and asked what I was talking about. "You can have pajama day every week."

Oh, yeah. I guess I can. I am priveleged to be able to work from home a day or two a week, and if I wanted to wear my PJs I could. I do get dressed, and even put shoes on most of the time. But I don't always shower (shhhhh, don't tell anyone!). That is one of the best things about working from home.

Another thing I like - that is also a curse - is access to the pantry. If I get hungry there are plenty of things to eat...and eat...and eat.

The quiet atmosphere is also good and bad. If you want quiet to get some work done, it's great, but if you want someone to bounce ideas off of, or just to talk to...well, the cats are there but they're not always good listeners.

It's not as distracting as you might think, I am pretty good at using work as an excuse to put off household chores! Working from home (occasionally) rocks!

New template

2008-03-09T20:11:00.002-04:00

I know this new template doesn't look very good in Internet Explorer, use Firefox and it will look great!

GOTT Squad

2008-03-09T19:59:00.002-04:00

One of the director's at Monkeynut's school has coordinated a social women's group. It's a bit cheesy, but she called it the GOTT Squad - Girls On The Town. It's just a bunch of moms who have kids at the school getting together once a month for fun. This weekend was the second event. The first one last month was bowling, and seven women showed up. This time ten women showed up. They were both fun, and everyone has been great so far.

The only problem I had was that both times I was the oldest one there. I'm not used to being the oldest in a group of women, it is a strange feeling. Although, to be fair I have to say that some of them were only younger than me by a few months. I guess since I am getting closer to the big four-oh I have been thinking about it a lot. And feeling it too.

Lofty Ambition

2008-03-07T11:55:00.002-05:00

Monkeynut and I were looking at the stars the other night:
Nut: "Mommy, I see bunch of stars!"
Me: "Yes, there are lots of stars in the sky."
Nut: "I want to touch them" (reaching up) "I can't reach them!"
Me: "No, they are very high up in the sky. You would need a rocketship to reach them."
Nut: "I want a rocketship to reach the stars"
Me: "Not just anyone can have a rocketship, you need to be an astronaut to have a rocketship"
Nut: "I want to be astronaut! I want to be astronaut on rocketship!"

Lost Season 4

2008-03-04T21:31:00.002-05:00

OK, I don't know if anyone who reads this watches Lost, but I have to say, I am completely blown away this season. Every episode so far has left me thinking "WTF just happened????!!!!" (in a good way!). Thank goodness I can record it on the DVR, because I have had to re-watch each one at least once. As always with Lost, you get some answers but more questions...it's great! Thursday can't come fast enough!

Almost Spring

2008-03-04T21:22:00.002-05:00

We are having some warmer weather! Although it really hasn't been too cold this winter, and hardly any snow, we are looking forward to spring. Yesterday and today the temperature got to the upper 60's. Yesterday morning I told Monkeynut it was going to be a nice warm day so she would get to play outside. The first thing she said was "I want to wear my new dress!" The little stinker, we bought her a summer dress about two weeks ago, and when she wanted to wear it I told her she had to wait until it got warmer - so she did! How could I refuse?? I let her wear it, but made sure she had a shirt and tights on underneath. She looked so cute. Then I made plans with BK's mom to take them to the park after work. They were already there when we pulled up, and I told Monkeynut that I saw BK on the swing. She got so excited, as soon as I put her down she took off, and BK almost fell out of her swing with excitement! It was adorable, but even cuter was the first thing Monkeynut said to her friend: "I'm wearing my new dress!"

I wish I had taken a picture. She's really becoming a girly-girl.

Whassup?

2008-03-02T14:07:00.006-05:00

Hey, haven't blogged in a while. It's strange, because I THINK about blogging a lot, but if/when I get a chance to sit down at the PC I don't seem to be able to remember any of the things I wanted to blog about!

I can't believe that I haven't written anything since before Christmas, and here it is March already - yikes! Sorry about that (for all two of you that actually read this). The holidays were good for us, we really enjoyed it this year, and Monkeynut was starting to understand about Santa and presents. She got so much stuff! We don't know what to do with it all, and have had to start rotating toys in and out of circulation. It's all good though.

Toddler fashion: Beach cover-up with snow boots (in February)

Monkeynut moved up into the next daycare class in January, which has really been good. The kids have to be much more independent in this class, which was hard for her at first, but now she wants to do everything herself. We can have whole conversations now too, it cracks me up to hear her voicing her thoughts. She is very funny! She is also starting to get into girly stuff, like putting her hair up and wearing dresses. She loves princesses too, and has finally started to relax a bit with the Dora luv. She can get dressed and undressed completely by herself, down to the shoes if they don't have laces, and except for snaps. She is two inches taller than her friend BK, but is so skinny!

We went to Florida a couple of weeks ago. I had a training class to attend in Orlando, so my husband decided he and Nut would come too, and we would stay the weekend to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Palm Beach. It was a really good trip. My class was Thursday and Friday, so hubby and Nut went to Sea World and did some stuff without me. Saturday we drove down to Palm Beach to see my family, and had a great time. We went to Lion Country Safari, which was a really cool place (Nut loved the animals and the rides), and we also got to see boats at the marina. No, we did not do Disney while in Orlando, the trip was just too quick and Nut still a little too young.

The only other excitement in our lives is booking a vacation - our first real, family vacation to the beach, and some good friends of ours are planning to adopt a little one - we are so excited for them!

Love to all, I will try to keep up with this blog!

It's (Finally) beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2007-12-09T21:09:00.000-05:00

My Aunt came to visit this weekend on her annual "East Coast Baby Tour", and it was really nice to have her. We didn't do anything fancy, we just hung out and got a lot of Christmas decorating done. We baked cookies on Saturday morning, and Monkeynut did a great job helping us roll out the dough and use the cookie cutters. Then in the afternoon we started decorating, and we took Monkeynut to visit Santa. She was not really sure about the whole thing from the start, and when we arrived Santa let out a loud "Ho ho ho!" and Nut practically jumped out of her skin, then buried her head in Daddy's coat. She didn't cry, but she was very scared of him. Luckily there was no one else there at the time, so we spent a few minutes there and managed to get her to look up and even look at Santa, but she wouldn't take her coat off for the pictures.

We also got a tree on Saturday, and Daddy put the lights on that night. Nut really liked the lights, and she tried her best to help Daddy put the lights up. Fortunately for Daddy, I "borrowed" his little helper for another project so the lights could get finished!

Sunday morning we put some of the ornaments on the tree. This was interesting to do with Nut, since she wanted to take the ornaments out of the box, but wasn't quite sure about hanging them on the tree. And when we did get some on the tree, she decided that some of them needed to come off again. But we all had fun, and I was glad that my Aunt was able to share some of our Christmas traditions with us, as I always miss my family most at this time of year.

Then Sunday afternoon Monkeynut's friend BK came over to help us decorate the cookies we had made. The girls enjoyed decorating for about ten minutes, but once they realized they didn't get to eat every cookie they decorated, they lost interest. The two of them are so cute together, but they also get into trouble. Here's a picture of the two of them at BK's birthday party a few weeks ago:

All in all it was a good weekend!

Weekend

2007-11-04T20:32:00.000-05:00

Why is it that we either have NOTHING to do on the weekends, or we are busy all weekend? This was one of the busy weekends.

Saturday Monkeynut had a birthday party to go to. It was held at Jellybean Jungle, which is a good 30 minutes away. The Nut had a great time, as did all the kids, and I enjoyed meeting some of the moms of the other kids in her daycare class. The kids just ran around like nuts, playing in the giant jungle gym and ball pits. Then they stopped for about 5 minutes for pizza and cake, then back to playing!

Today we took Nut to Baby Loves Disco with some of the neighbors. It was fun, but not quite what I expected. It is a Dance for little ones that is held at a night club in the city. I loved the music they played for dancing, but not all of it was appropriate for kids (Bringing Sexy Back, anyone?) They had snacks and juice, and the bar was open if any of the parents wanted a drink. The problem was that the place was huge, and crowded, and it's a bar - it smelled like one! Not really a place I wanted to see in the daylight, it was kind of gross. But of course kids don't care about that, and they had a great time dancing on a real dance floor, complete with smoke and bubble machines.

They also had rooms with toys and chairs for little ones to just hang out. It was really cool in some ways. I don't know if we will go again (it happens once a month), but it was fun to try it.

Princess Leia

2007-11-01T20:40:00.001-04:00

Monkeynut's costume was a big hit! Everyone loved it, she looked so cute, I heard lots of comments from parents at the daycare parade and trick-or-treating. The hat/hair was much too big for her, even after I "fixed" it (it was too big for me too!), but she did wear it which was awesome! It didn't take her long to get the hang of Halloween, she had no problem going up to the houses with her friend BK and saying "trick or treat". She got tons of candy! It was fun for all of us.

Here are some pictures:

Spam

2007-10-31T13:22:00.000-04:00

Haven't people learned yet that not every email they receive is true? I don't understand how seemingly intelligent people can get an email (usually forwarded many times) full of dire warnings and not check to verify it before forwarding. In most cases it takes only a minute to look it up on a website like Snopes. Two I have recently received are:

Boycott the new dollar coins because the words "In God we Trust" are no longer on them. FALSE! The words have been moved to the edges. But who uses dollar coins anyway?

A deadline for registering your cell phone number with the National Do Not Call registry is about to expire. FALSE! Cell phone numbers are not published in a directory, telemarketers are prohibited from using automated devices to call cell phones, and the deadline is not about to expire in the next x number of days.

Bill Gates will send you money if you forward this email to everyone you know.FALSE! Why would Bill send you money? There are plenty of charities he can donate to. And how would he know who you forwarded the email to? Not possible!

Plant Sale

2007-10-30T14:59:00.000-04:00

You probably know that I like to garden. I just don't like spending a lot of time gardening. So as fall has arrived, finally, I realized it is time to do any fall planting. I had big plans, I was going to dig a large bed in the back, and also put a bed at the end of the driveway. However, I scaled back a bit, and just decided to get some plants to fill in the front beds that we didn't complete in the spring.

I knew what I wanted, and when I saw an ad for an "end of season" sale, I knew it was time. So I went to the website to order, and the plants were half price! So I selected the plant with quantity of 2, and got a notification that I would get a "free gift" for ordering two. Even better! So I continued to the shopping cart to find out what my free gift was, and it said "Buy two, get three free."

Hmm, shouldn't that read buy two, get one free? And they were half price anyway. Cool! Three plants! Not sure where to put the third, but I knew I could find a place for it.

Friday I got a box - my plants had arrived! I started taking them out of the box...one...two...three...four...five! They really meant Buy two, get three free! I got five plants for the price of one (at full price). Great! Now I just have to figure out where to plant them.

Imagination

2007-10-27T13:02:00.001-04:00

First, I want to say that if you have a problem with Dora the Explorer, then it is your problem and leave Monkeynut out of it. I don't want to teach her hate, and I hope you don't either. You don't have to buy her anything Dora related, there are plenty of other non-character (non-"ethnic") toys, just don't make derogatory remarks about her favorite show, especially when she can hear.

Whew, thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Monkeynut has been showing her imagination lately, it is really funny. She will draw a picture (that still looks like scribbles to me) and tell me the story of what is in the picture, like a baby cow and daddy cow playing football. She got a Mr Potato Head set for her birthday, and she really likes to play with it. But you have to put the pieces in the right place - no putting an arm coming out the top of the head or anything. She has also started playing mommy with a doll, and she will try to put a diaper on it and get it dressed, then it is time to change the doll. She also likes to play "monster", where she says there is a monster in the other room, and we have to tiptoe in to see - usually this ends up being a chase-the-cat (as the monster) game, but we have fun.

24 Month Stats

2007-10-22T21:04:00.000-04:00

Monkeynut had her 24 month checkup today. She did great! She didn't cry or fuss at all, and was even chatting with the doctor a bit. She didn't even cry when she got a shot, so the nurse gave her an extra band-aid, a special shiny one!

Height: 34 in
Weight: 23lb 4oz

Bed

2007-10-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

Monkeynut is no longer on the floor! While she had been sleeping on her matress, it was on the floor, so I felt a bit guilty. I asked my neighbor's opinion on getting a bed, since she has 4 kids of her own and is a doctor too, and she offered to let us borrow a toddler bed frame that they weren't using! And Monkeynut loves it, I think she really feels like a big girl in her new bed.

The Party

2007-10-13T20:58:00.001-04:00

Well, I think the birthday party was a success! It was difficult having it on Friday evening, as I know it was hard for everyone to get there after work and all. As it was hard for me to work in the morning and still get the place cleaned and decorated by 6pm. Monkeynut woke up at 5am, she said she had a bad dream about a hangnail (really, that's what she said!), and we couldn't get her back to sleep. Then she got tired and went down around 8:30. Which was great for me, as I was able to work uninterrupted. By 10:30 I decided to wake her up, in the hopes that she would take another nap later. I guess I should have let her sleep, because she did not want another nap, and was a bit cranky getting dressed for the party.

But it all worked out. I did underestimate the time it would take to do everything, so it ran a bit later than I had planned, but that's OK. And Monkeynut had a great time! She loved having her friends over. I am really REALLY glad there were only five kids, even with about 15 adults it was hard to watch them all, especially after all that cake and ice cream!

Nut got a lot of presents, and I underestimated the time for that too. I forgot how little kids can't just sit nicely and open presents. First it was all the kids crowded around, handing Erin gifts and then starting to open them before her, grabbing the cards, and just generally causing chaos. After a few things had been opened, they turned their attention to the new toys - but so did Nut, so the opening of presents took a while. We ended up leaving some for today. She got a bunch of Dora stuff, lots of books, and toys. Only a few outfits, and two pair of PJ's. I'm not sure where we are going to put all the toys, some of them are kind of big - she got a tricycle from PopPop and Nana, and a cleaning caddy (complete with working vacuum!) from Grandma and Grandpa.

It was a really good birthday, and she had a great day today too, opening the rest of the presents and exploring all the new toys and books.

Thanks to all the family who sent gifts! We missed you!
Here are a few pics, you can see them all on the Photobucket page.

Happy Birthday Monkeynut!

2007-10-12T09:12:00.000-04:00

Dear Monkeynut,
Today's your birthday, but there have been so many changes that it seems like you have been two for months now. You were walking last year, but you were still unsteady and unsure. Now you run, jump and climb, and even go up and down the stairs like a pro. You are talking in full sentences, and we can actually have a conversation together! You can put your own socks and shoes on, use a fork and spoon, count to ten and recognize your name in print. You have become aware of yourself, that you have feelings and desires of your own and that you can influence what happens around you. You are very good at giving commands like “sit down”, “come on Mommy”, or “No Mommy, I do it”. It is fascinating to watch you figuring out how to do something, and I don’t know who is more excited when you get it, you or me!

You have learned so much, and I think that has a lot to do with daycare. Everyone at “school” adores you, and I love that they see just how special you are. You have taken over as the mother hen in the toddler room, helping to teach all the younger kids proper behavior (“Not nice!” is a common phrase) and take care of them. I am happy that you enjoy your days at school and are learning so much, but I still miss you every day while I am at work and I sometimes sit at my desk wondering what you are doing right now, and wishing that I could be there with you.

We still get comments all the time from strangers on how beautiful you are, especially your big blue eyes. While of course I agree, it saddens me a little bit to see that you are changing into a little girl, growing up before I am ready to let go of the baby stage. Can I have one more year? I can hear you now - “Let’s go Mommy!”, so I guess a will have to let go just a little bit.

Have a Happy Birthday and a wonderful year being two!

Love always,
Mommy

Neighborhood Craziness

2007-10-10T08:54:00.000-04:00

I have great neighbors, as many of you know. However, they tend to get a bit crazy. Parties can get a bit wild, and so can their ideas. We recently had a neighborhood block party, which went very well. However, we ended up with money left over, and the woman who has the money does not want to be responsible for it. She also does not want to give it back to the Homeowners Association, for fear it might be "lost". So she is looking for ways to spend it.

The block party committee (of which I am a member) has been emailing back and forth over the last few days with ideas on how to spend this money. Personally I think that it should be saved for next year's block party. But the idea that has gotten the most votes among the committee is to have a Halloween party, AND TO MOVE HALLOWEEN to Saturday. Um, Halloween is only 3 weeks away, isn't it a bit too late to try to change the date?

All sorts of ideas have been flying around, and I don't really have an issue with spending the money on a kids party, but I really don't think it's necessary to try to move trick-or-treating to another day. Some people are talking about having a progressive-type party where different houses have different activities, and drinks for the adults. I know that a lot of people (adults) get really into Halloween, but I think it's mainly a kid's holiday, and have no interest in celebrating it myself. Before Monkeynut we didn't do anything except put a bowl of candy on the porch, and maybe a pumpkin or two.

There is a meeting tonight for teh committee to discuss this, and unfortunately I won't be able to make it. I sure hope that someone can reign in the craziness!

Hey, Christmas is on a Tuesday this year, how inconvenient, let's move it to Saturday!

New Shoes

2007-10-09T21:22:00.000-04:00

I haven't even mentioned the shoes yet. MonkeyNut needed new sneakers, and I had been looking for some for a while. Something simple, but cute. I like her to have one good pair, plus one or two cheapies. So we took her to Stride Rite at the mall, because I wanted her to get fitted. What a mistake! We have since declared a moratorium on taking the Nut out anywhere, because she is constantly squirming and running away - a dangerous thing in a mall or a parking lot. Nut got fitted (she's a 6.5-7) and we picked out a cute pair of sneakers. Nope, don't have her size.

Try another - same thing. By this time I have been chasing the Nut around the store and desperately trying to keep her IN the store for 15 minutes. Oh, and she pooped the minute we got there, so she stunk and hubby had left to get the diaper bag out of the car. So we try another shoe - they don't have these either, but the girl brings out yet another pair that she does have in Nut's size. The girl shows them to Nut first, as I tried my best to block them from her view. Too late, she now has these:

Yes, they light up. They are awful. And they don't really fit that well. But she likes them. Sigh.

The sweetest child from h*ll

2007-10-05T13:31:00.000-04:00

MonkeyNut is the sweetest kid - sometimes. But she seems to know when I am in a good mood, and for some reason it is her mission in life to spoil it. Take yesterday, I went to pick her up from daycare a little bit early, thinking that dinner was in the crockpot so we would have time to play a little before eating. It was going to be fun! She seemed OK at first, but when we got into the car, my sweet Monkeynut disappeared and was replaced by unreasonable-cranky-monster-toddler.

Her: "No seat!! Nooooo sit seeeeeeaaaat!!!!" (arching back in carseat)
Me: "Do you want to go home and see Daddy?"
Her: "Nooooooo Daddy!!"
Me: "Do you want to go home and play with Mommy outside?"
Her: "Nooooooo outside!"
Me: "Do you want to go home and have snacks?"
Her: "Nooooo snacks! Wah!!!"
Me: "Treats?"
Her: "NOOOOOOOO!!"

Other parents snickered in the parking lot overhearing this. It was quite hot inside the car in the sun, and I was beginning to feel a bit cranky myself.

I tried every thing I could think of to bargain with her to get her to sit, even asking if she wanted to watch Dora. However, the concept of needing to go home to watch Dora didn't quite sink in.

How did this drama end, you ask? Well, 15 minutes later we were both crying and cranky, but she was strapped in to her carseat.

Score one for me!

Birthdays

2007-10-04T21:00:00.000-04:00

Wow! It's that time of year, everyone seems to be having birthdays! My manager's oldest daughter just turned 3, and the second one turns 2 in a few months. MonkeyNut turns 2 a week from tomorrow. I am planning a party for her, but it is going to be low-key. We are having a Dora the Explorer theme, and besides family I am only inviting two of the neighbors who have kids that she likes, her best friend BK who is almost 2 herself, and RF who is 5, and her brother M who is 3. We also invited Nut's "cousin" who is 3 1/2. So that is five kids, and a bunch of adults. I think we can handle it! We are just having pizza and cake, and I am planning one game for the kids - sort of a scavenger hunt with a Dora-like map with pictures of things around the house, I think they can all do that. I hope!

Then Nut got her first ever invitation to another kid's b-day party. One of her classmates at daycare invited her to his party. Now I kind of feel bad that I didn't invite any of her school friends, but there are 18 kids in there, and I don't really know who she plays with. And I can't imagine trying to have 18 toddlers over! But this kid's party is at Jelly Bean Jungle, and his mom actually MADE the invitations herself. Am I not spoiling my MonkeyNut enough, or is this mom going overboard for a two-year-old?

Another Night Terror

2007-10-02T21:35:00.000-04:00

MonkeyNut had another terror last night. At least this time we knew to just leave her alone, although it was really hard to just sit back while she cried and screamed. At one point she started shaking her head and crying "No Mommy, no" - it was heartbreaking! Thankfully it did not last long, she went back to bed and "woke up" for me to pick her up and comfort her. I think it only lasted about 15 minutes. Unfortunately the cats got upset hearing her cry, so then I had to reassure them that everyone was fine.

We got her school pictures back today, and it seems that she actually sat still for them! In fact, they are almost all the same pose, just slightly different. And super cute, of course!

First Concert!

2007-09-22T15:04:00.000-04:00

We just took MonkeyNut to her first concert today! It was great! It took her a few songs to warm up, but then she was a dancing maniac. She didn't want it to end, and we had to drag her out crying when it was over - she wanted more music! I was researching kids bands online this week, and I found a band that I had seen on TV. Then I found that this band was playing in Philly today! From there I discovered that World Cafe Live in Philly has a concert series called Peanut Butter & Jams every Saturday. What a great idea for a rainy day!

The band we saw today was AudraRox, and they really do rock! You can hear their music on their website, or see a video on Noggin. I think hubby and I enjoyed it as much as Nut did. Of course we had to buy the CD, and play it all the way home. Nut was already singing along! Who doesn't like songs with lyrics like "Can I watch a video and run around naked? I hope my momma says yes!" And we will definitely be checking out some of the other bands in the future. If you are in our near Philly and have kids, definitely check this out.

Portland Pictures

2007-09-22T14:58:00.001-04:00

One of the many waterfalls in the gorge area:

Me and little Bro at Graduation:
Rocks at Cannon Beach:MonkeyNut with "Gumma-Gumpa" (Grandma and Grandpa) at the Zoo:

Back from Portland

2007-09-22T14:41:00.000-04:00

We survived our trip to Portland with an almost two-year-old!

It was lots of fun, but it was also exhausting. The plane ride was 5 1/2 hours, which was a long time for the Nut to sit in one place. She did really well though. She was completely off her sleep schedule all week of course, and the time change was really difficult for her to adjust to. The first morning she was up at her usual time - 4 AM pacific - despite having been up late the night before. The worst part of that is that there is nothing to do in a hotel room at 4 AM and no where to go. Then by the time things start opening up, she is ready for a nap!

We did lots of things while we were there, we went to Cannon Beach on the coast the first day. It was really a cute town, and the beach was cool with all the rocks. However, it was COLD and extremely foggy, so we couldn't see much. We drove through Ecola state park, an old forest where all the trees were covered in moss - it looked prehistoric, it was so awesome!

We also went to the zoo, the Saturday Market, and the Columbia River Gorge. All lots of fun. And my brother graduated on Friday 9/14, yay!! We are so proud of him!

The worst part of the trip was the second to last night. My parents took the 'Nut back to our hotel to put her to bed, so we could have an adult night out with my brother and his wife. We had a great time at a local brewpub. We got back to the hotel and everything was fine, Nut was asleep. But later that night, she woke up crying, alot. But when I went to comfort her (she was sleeping in a blow-up bed on the floor), she freaked out and started screaming, and I couldn't do anything to calm her down. We turned the light on and she was sitting up in bed, eyes open, but not really awake. It was so scary! She was crying for mommy, but didn't respond to me being there. We found out that this is called "night terrors", and the best thing to do is just wait for it to pass. It was awful! I hope it never happens again. It took us an hour to calm her down (probably because we were making it worse by trying to help) and another 45 minutes to get her back to sleep.

All in all we had a good trip.

TV

2007-09-07T14:19:00.000-04:00

MonkeyNut has really discovered TV. She will actually sit and watch her favorite shows for as long as we let her - usually no more than an hour. Every time we say TV, she asks "Elmo TV?". But Elmo is not usually on, so then she asks for Diego. She also likes Dora and Wonder Pets. She doesn't quite get the concept that we have to watch whatever happens to be on at the time - we haven't started doing videos of those shows yet.

She also likes music videos if she can dance to the music. Unfortunately, most of the videos are not appropriate for her. I would like to find modern music - rock, rap, dance - with lyrics for kids. Anyone know of any?

Two Very Important Things

2007-09-06T21:13:00.000-04:00

Number one, I forgot to add Las Vegas to my list of cities that I liked visiting! Doh! All I can say is that I was really tired when I wrote that.

Number two (pun intended) is that Monkeynut went poopy on the potty! All by herself! And we haven't even started officially potty training yet.

We were changing her diaper tonight, and because she had a rash I told her she could run around naked for a few minutes. But I told her that if she felt like she had to go, she should tell me or sit on the potty. A few minutes later I didn't see her anymore, but the light was on in the bathroom (yes, she can reach the light switches now). So I looked in, and she was sitting on her potty. Which she likes to do once in a while. But when I asked her if she was going, she said yes. Then she looked underneath her and started saying "oo, oo, mess!" and getting a little upset. And sure enough she had made a little deposit! I told her how good that was and had Daddy come in to see and he made a big deal too. Funny how you can get so excited over poop!

Too Short

2007-09-04T20:13:00.000-04:00

We got MonkeyNut's hair cut again. I just wanted a trim since it was getting out of control. I told the girl "chin length". She did such a terrible job, and didn't try to help my Nut settle down before she started cutting, I was quite annoyed. And I swear when she made the very first cut, she said "we're almost done". And she was.
Here's a before pic:
And here's the after (she's posing for the camera):

It does look cute, but it's much shorter than chin length! And the worst part was that I kept finding long pieces of hair that she missed because she was going too fast. I could do a better job than that!

I hate New York

2007-08-29T20:34:00.000-04:00

I know that this is an unpopular opinion, but of all the cities I have been to, I think the "Big Apple" is by far the worst. I just got back from a business trip there, and I hope I never have to go back. Ever.

It smells. It's loud. It's crowded.

Times Square? A bunch of over-priced stores and cheesy restaurants with garish signage. Big deal. Central Park? Like I have never seen a park before... grass, trees, and lots of homeless. Nice.

Did I mention it smells?

My hotel was good, the room was cozy and clean, and the decor was cool. But the street noise was terrible - apparently the city collects trash (very loudly of course) during the wee hours of the morning, and hotels and restaurants sure do have a lot of trash - about 1.5 hours worth, actually.

Cities I have enjoyed visiting: Austin, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Houston, Minneapolis

Cities I would like to visit: Boston, Portland, OR, Chicago

Easy Giving

2007-08-23T20:56:00.000-04:00

I just discovered these two websites that allow you to give money to charity without doing anything out of the ordinary.

GoodSearch lets you earn money for your favorite charity just by searching the Internet. You don't need to sign up or anything, just go there, pick a charity, and search like you normally would. I think I've raised a couple of dollars already in the last few weeks. It's not a lot, but if enough people help a charity, it could really add up.

iGive gives a percentage of the purchase price to your charity when you buy something online from your favorite website. You go to iGive first, then browse through the list of online stores (including Best Buy, Target) and make your purchase. The percentage varies, but if you are buying something anyway, why not? It doesn't cost anything, but you do need to register for this one. I haven't bought anything yet, but I know with Christmas coming up I am going to be all over this!

Cool Links

2007-08-22T16:33:00.000-04:00

My dearest brother sent me a link to babylovesdisco, which sounds really cool! I am planning to take the Nut in October to check it out in Philly!

Then I followed some links from there and found these: GoodyBlog and HeatEatReview (whose tagline is "Because you're too lazy to make a sandwich..." How did they know?

More Wildlife

2007-08-14T21:00:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how much *wildlife* there is around here - we live in the suburbs! Yesterday we had some work done to the house which required the workers to remove our front door. As they were removing the decorative molding that surrounds the door on the outside, a BAT fell out! A BAT! It was living in our doorway! And from the amount off bat poop, it had been there a while. Now, it's not like there were gaping holes, just a tiny little space where the molding had pulled away from the wall a little bit. Pretty amazing that it could fit in there.

What next, a Jersey Devil??!

Possible New Addition

2007-08-08T12:56:00.000-04:00

Hubby and I are seriously considering getting a dog!

Actually, we definitely want a dog (NOT a puppy), but we just have not decided 100% on what kind of dog. Right now we are considering adopting a greyhound. We filled out the application and had an interview, and met some of the dogs. They are so sweet! The people at the kennel are very knowledgable, and they test all the dogs for cat and kid friendliness. Monkeynut was a little overwhelmed when we visited the kennel, so we plan to take her back a few times to get her used to the dogs before we decide on one.

Check out the dogs and learn more about them at the Greyhound Angels website.

And if the greyhounds don't work out, we'll check the local shelter. We are not in a hurry, we just want to make sure we get the right dog!

Bad TV

2007-08-08T12:48:00.000-04:00

Why am I so interested in bad TV shows? Certain shows that I have been watching are complete traing wrecks, but something is compelling me to watch!

The latest favorites are on VH1, which used to be a video channel, but apparently does not show videos anymore. Rock of Love is a "reality" show about Brett Michaels of the band Poison trying to find "love" among several trashy, crazy women. I think what he is really looking for is just to get publicity for himself. But I can't help watching! The other show is The Pickup Artist, another"reality" show with a bunch of nerdy guys learning from a Master Pickup Artist (there is apparently some sort of certification for this) and competing to win money. I love nerd shows!

It's pathetic, I know, but it's a harmless vice. I think.

Prayer Request

2007-08-01T21:05:00.000-04:00

Please pray for my neighbors and their newborn son, Giovanni. Only 5 weeks old, he has been diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, a disease that occurs in only about 300 babies a year. The parents have been told that there is about a 40% chance that Giovanni will require a liver transplant by the time he is 1 year old, and about a 95% chance that he will need a transplant by the time he is a teenager. He recently underwent a five hour procedure that, if it succeeds, will help his prognosis and quality of life.

He and the family are in my prayers every day, please take a moment to wish them well.

Caterpillars are not that bright

2007-07-26T20:25:00.000-04:00

I'm sad to report that our caterpillars are gone. One day two of them just took off. I guess they were looking for a place to cocoon, but we don't have many trees so they had a long way to go. Then the next day the other two took off. One of these two did not get very far before it climbed about two feet up the house and made a cocoon. Unfortunately, it was a completely exposed location, and the day after I saw the cocoon, it was gone.

Poor things! I have no idea what kind of spot would be good for the caterpillars, but I am going to plant more parsley and keep it closer to the trees just to see if I can invite more caterpillars. I really want to see them turn into butterflies!

Some Firsts

2007-07-23T22:32:00.000-04:00

This past weekend Monkeynut had a few firsts! It is so much fun doing stuff with her these days, she is quite a conversationalist now. In fact, at home she talks constantly, and she sings a lot too.

First berry picking: On Saturday we went to a local farm to pick blueberries and blackberries. She actually understood the concept of picking the ripe ones by color, and more importantly, she did not eat them! She put them right in her bucket. It was a lot of fun!
First pie: We made our first pie together with the blackberries we picked. Nut had fun "helping" me stir. She did eat a few of the blackberries as we were putting it together, but they were hard to resist!
First time really saying yes: Nut started saying "Yah" instead of just nodding yes. Once, when we asked her a question, she apparently had to think about it, because she said "Ummmm, yah."
First time wearing pull-ups: We bought pull-up diapers so she can change herself. We are only doing this when she is home, but she has taken to them pretty well. There are two problems with the pull-ups though, they are more expensive, and since they are not adjustable, they are a bit loose on my skinny peanut.

She has also become even more independent and willful. She spent 20 minutes today trying to put her socks and shoes on, then taking them off and doing it again. It wasn't easy, and she was getting so frustrated she was crying and even threw a sock, but when I asked her if she wanted help she said "No help Mommy!" and pushed me away. She also purposely does everything we ask her not to do. Just to see what our reaction is I suppose, but it is exhausting.

She has a favorite book right now, called Five Ugly Monsters. We read it to her every night, and often we can hear her "reading" it to herself when we leave - "No more monsters bed" she says (the line is No more monsters jumping on the bed). So cute!

New Wildlife

2007-07-20T20:48:00.000-04:00

We have some new wildlife at our house! I have a container on the back step, that I bought already planted with herbs. Unfortunately all but one of the plants died, and the only thing left was parsley, but it was doing quite well.

Then today I noticed that it didn't look quite as good, or as full, as it had been. As I looked at it, I saw what at first looked like new leaves, but then I realized it was caterpillars - and there were four of them!

I looked them up on the 'net, and they are the caterpillars of the black swallowtail butterfly, which is rather pretty. And they love parsley! I am hoping that they will stay and make cocoons, so we can watch them turn into butterflies, but I am worried that four of them will eat all the food and then they will die.

Monkeynut liked looking at them, and we got one to move a little bit so she could see that it was alive. I guess she is too young to appreciate the wonder of caterpillars turning into butterflies, but I think it is cool anyway!

We also have a lot of toads. I think this is a bit strange, as there are no ponds or anything, but I don't mind. I think they are living in our rock wall (right next door to the mice I guess.) Did you know that toads poop? I had never thought about toad poop even once before, but they have been pooping all over our front step. Since it (apparently) consists of mostly bug carcasses, it's fairly easy to sweep off, but YUCK!

Here is a picture of my perennial garden, just about every plant has bloomed or has buds, except for the daylily and the coral bells. One of the rudbeckia toto plants was doing great, then just suddenly died in a day, I don't know why. But I think next year the plants will really look good. I am going to have to move the balloonflowers - they are the tall ones with the white flowers. I did not realize they would be quite so tall and so straight, they don't look right where they are. But they are really cool, the buds blow up like balloons, then burst open into flowers.

Bedtime

2007-07-17T20:54:00.000-04:00

Monkeynut learned how to climb out of her crib - actually it's more like throw herself out. So we took the side off of it, and she has been sleeping on the floor ever since. She prefers to sleep right in front of the door, so that we can't open it without waking her up.

We have our little bedtime ritual, which always ends with us putting her down in the bed and tucking her in. But about a minute after we leave the room, BAM! She hits the door as she lies down. I guess as long as she is sleeping I am not going to worry about it. Too much. Well, not every day. OK, maybe just not every hour. OK, maybe I can't help worrying about it. Doctors and everyone tell me that she will learn to sleep in the bed, but what if she doesn't?

She also likes to read her monster book before bed, and she sort of says it along with me - "No more monsters bed!" It is so cute. And she is putting lots of different words together, like "made this" when she is showing us her artwork, or "help with this" when she needs help. It is so cool! We have also had fewer biting incidents lately, and I am hoping that is because she is more able to use words to express herself.

Family visit

2007-07-01T21:32:00.000-04:00

This weekend my cousin visted with her husband and 14 month-old son. It was great to see them, and we just hung out and relaxed. Of course the kids played together, which was fun to watch. Although at their age it's not really sharing, I was very happy to see that my Monkeynut was not upset by him playing wiht her toys, and she would even bring him things to play with. In fact, she often seemed to be showing off and acting silly for him, like running around and making faces. I think she enjoyed having him here.

Here is a picture of him, he has gorgeous blond curls and big blue eyes:

And here is a picture of Monkeynut giving him a kiss:

MonkeyNut really surprised me this weekend. I expected her to regress a little bit, be extra clingy and a little jealous of her cousin. However, she actually acted MORE mature than usual, was not up my butt all day, and was generally extra well-behaved and friendly. She was the perfect little one! And you would have thought she was three, not almost two. She has really started using two word phrases, like "Mommy shoes" or "bubbles outside". And she also says "please" (most of the time), "thank you", and "bless you" when someone sneezes.

Oh yeah, did I tell you she can count to three??

Big K

2007-06-27T21:15:00.000-04:00

We recently loaded the Nut itno the family truckster for a trip to the Big K. Our mission: to find cheap water shoes for the Nut to wear to school on Water Play Day. As we approached the store, we passed a group of boys walking along the main road in the same diretion we were headed. They looked about ten or twelve, wearing big baggy shorts.

So hubby says, "Look at those hooligans! Their pants are way too big, they're falling off!"
(Pause)
"They must be headed to KMart to buy belts."

Yes, we really are old farts!

Daddy Site

2007-06-27T21:11:00.000-04:00

Hey all, I found a great blog site written by the father of a three year old. I found it very entertaining and enjoyed his product reviews, check it out at http://www.thingamababy.com.

Carpet cleaner saga and more

2007-06-23T12:57:00.000-04:00

Of course I had to return the convection oven that was supposed to be a carpet cleaner. So I called customer service to make sure I didn't get charged for the return shipping. And guess what? They were sold out of the carpet cleaner, so she couldn't ship a new one. I have to start the process all over again. Sigh. Too bad I'm honest, the oven was worth more than I paid for the carpet cleaner!

We have a lot of "wildlife" here for being in the 'burbs and not having many trees. Lately the birds have bene causing me grief. I got the bird feeder for mother's day, and the birds empty it in a day! I must be feeding every bird within a mile or something. Then I noticed that the feeder had also attracted mice - that are living in the spaces of the new rock wall. They really are cute, but they had better not come inside!

Now I can't go out my front door. There are some birds that must have a nest nearby, because every time we try to go to the front of the house, we get dive bombed by these shrieking birds. I think they are barn swallows. All I want to do is water my plants! And I also saw the cutest little goldfinch out front. I guess they like Gerbera Daisies, because this little guy was happily ripping the petals off my flowers. No wonder they have been looking so ragged! How could such a small, cute little bird be so evil??

Vocabulary

2007-06-22T14:43:00.000-04:00

I recently mentioned that Monkeynut is putting two words together occasionally. Well, she floored me the other day when she put three words together! Here's what happened:

We ordered pizza for dinner because I had just gotten home after driving back from VA for 3.5 hours. As soon as Monkeynut saw the pizza box, she said "PIZZA!! Pizzapizzapizzapizzapizza..." etc, repeating this non-stop until she got some. I didn't know she knew that word, but they have pizza day at school sometimes, so she probably learned it there. Anyway, we were all sitting at the table eating our pizza.

As soon as the Nut finished what was on her plate (except the crust of course), she said:
"More pizza, please" -- clear as day! Wow!

I can't even keep track of all the words she knows now, but here are a few that she likes to use:
bus (as in school bus)
snack
truck
elbow
snack
neck
sprinklers
snack
pool
peanut butter
snack

Another You Know You're getting older....

2007-06-21T21:35:00.000-04:00

When you suddenly realize that you have spent more time in a doctor's office lately than you have spent in a bar.

The Box

2007-06-21T21:26:00.000-04:00

When I arrived home today, I was greeted by my husband who had this news for me:

Him - "You got a package today."
Me - "Yay, my carpet cleaner!"
Him - "Um, I don't think it's a carpet cleaner. Did you order two things?"
Me - "Well, I did order something else, is it a small box?"
Him - "No, it is a large box. It says convection oven on the side."
Me - "Haha, it can't be a convention oven, I ordered a carpet cleaner. They must have put it in a different box. Check the packing slip."
Him - "The packing slip shows a carpet cleaner, but this box is awfully heavy."

So we open the box. It's a convection oven.

You know you're getting older when...

2007-06-19T19:56:00.000-04:00

You don't want your new carpet cleaner to arrive home before you do because you don't want your husband to have all the fun trying it out.

Oh yes, I actually thought this today. I ordered a carpet cleaner a few days before I left for my training class, and I caught myself thinking "I hope it doesn't show up while I am gone". When did I start thinking that cleaning the carpets would be fun?? That's messed up!

Reston, VA

2007-06-19T19:53:00.000-04:00

I am sitting here in my hotel room, with nothing much to do except fart around on the internet or watch TV. This is the first time that I have traveled out of town for work that I haven't been with other people I work with, and it is a bit lonely. I thought I would like having the time to myself, but I miss my family and there is nothing to do here. There are a few shops, and restaurants, but anything interesting requires a drive, and the traffic around here is horrendous after work. I have even tried working after dinner, but the internet connection is as slow as the traffic, which makes it difficult.

On the positive side, the people here are very friendly and nice -- it is the South after all, and the company I am training with has a great facility, very comfortable training rooms and a really nice cafeteria right in the building. I am hoping to be home at a reasonable hour tomorrow, since the instructor said she could get the class done by 3pm if we didn't mind extending it a bit the first two days. Since it took me more than an hour longer than I had planned to get here, I sure hope I can beat some of the traffic to get home!

Monkeynut said "I love you" over the phone, and "see you tomorrow" (her version)! She's the best!

Top 5 Words & Diaper Changing

2007-06-15T14:52:00.000-04:00

Here are the top 5 words Monkeynut uses the most:

No
Mommy
Up, please
outside
snack

She also has learned how to take her diaper off. Luckily she is trying very hard to learn how to put it on too. I went to get her the other morning and found her naked from the waist down, sitting on the diaper trying to figure out how to get it back on. She was very frustrated, as every time she pulled from one side it slid right out from under her. She knows what she needs to do, she just can't quite get it. So now diaper changes take forever, because I have to let her try, but I can't wait until she can change her own diaper! :-)

Unnecessary Children

2007-06-14T20:52:00.000-04:00

I found this article about Unnecessary TV children - those kids who were added into a TV show for some unknown reason, and probably only served to hasten the show' demise. Remember cousin Oliver on the Brady Bunch? Oh yes, he was the classic unnecessary child. There are others, I am sure you will remember the shows, and maybe you can even think of more. I don't remember the extra kids from Growing Pains, but I think I had stopped watching that show by then.

Anyway, take a look, it's good for a chuckle.

Hawaiian day

2007-06-14T20:48:00.000-04:00

Monkeynut had Hawaiian day at school. All the kids wore some kind of hawaiian print shirt or something. They also learned to hula dance, and when I picked the Nut up, she showed me her "hula" dance. So cute! Then we got home, and she was running around the house saying "lola, lola!" and waving. Who is Lola you ask? Well, so did I. Until I realized she was actually saying "Aloha"!

Our family

2007-06-10T21:36:00.000-04:00

Grandma and Grandpa

2007-06-10T21:20:00.000-04:00

We got to see Grandma and Grandpa! The Monkeynut had a great time hanging out with her grandparents while they were here. She was the center of attention all the time, and was spoiled rotten by them! I have to say I was spoiled a bit too, as they were more than willing to get up with her in the night, feed her, change diapers, etc. It was great having two extra pairs of hands!

We also did some fun things:

Nut's first trip to the zoo. We went to the Cape May (NJ) zoo, which is free, and is small enough to get through most of it in a little over an hour. But they have some big animals, it's a nice zoo.

Nut's first trip to the beach. Also in Cape May, we stopped by the beach. She was fascinated by the bubbles in the surf, and all the rocks and shells on the beach. However, she was not a big fan of the sand on her feet.

Nut's first boat ride. We went to see Fort Delaware, which is an old fort on an island in the middle of the Delaware river. To get there you have to take the ferry. It was a beautiful sunny day, and while the adults enjoyed the fort and the history, Nut really liked the boat ride best.

As for sleeping, Monkeynut has been mostly sleeping through the night again. However, I discovered that she has not been sleeping in her bed. The night after we took the side off the crib, I went to check on her before I went to bed, like I always do. But when I tried to open her door, it wouldn't open - something was blocking it. So I pushed harder, and realized too late that it was the Nut, sleeping right by the door! Poor thing, I don't know why she doesn't want to sleep in her bed.

Her language is really taking off, she is starting to put two words together. She is also pretty good at saying please. And she repeats everything you say! But she still had a little baby voice, it is so cute!

Where's my baby?

2007-06-04T11:28:00.000-04:00

Monkeynut is not a baby any more. She is officially a toddler, and now I suddenly want that tiny baby back! This little person says "no" a LOT, and has definite opinions about what she does and does not want - and can you believe that she does not always agree with me?? In fact, she is not ME at all, and I am finding that to be a tough concept to swallow right now.

She has been climbing out of her crib, so in order to keep her from falling and cracking her head open, we took the side off the crib. Now it is almost like a regular bed. She can get up and walk around! I think mommy might have more trouble getting used to this new arrangement than the Nut will!

Vegas, Baby

2007-06-04T11:20:00.001-04:00

So I went to Vegas for work. Stinks to be me, doesn't it? It was two weeks ago already, but I just haven't felt like posting. Vegas was great! We attended an awesome conference on Enterprise Portals. Hanging out with Leslie each night was awesome too, we had a lot of fun! We were both "Vegas Virgins", so of course we had to go see a Vegas show. We saw Zumanity, a Cirque du Soleil show, which was surprisingly funny and had amazing performers.

I can't wait to go back when I have time to really see some of the sights! And we found you really should stay right on the strip, our hotel was a few blocks away, and there are planty of cabs, but it's not the same.

Landscape pictures

2007-05-19T20:18:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures I took today.
First we have my bird feeder and the matching bird bath. You will have to imagine the area behind the birdbath as having shrubberies, as we haven't planted anything there yet.

This is the new bed with the perennials I planted. I can't wait until they are all established and start blooming! It should be non-stop color all summer long!

This next picture is one of the balloonflower plants that shipped as bare root. I was so happy to see it poke it's little green head up! I always fear that these plants really are as dead as they look when they arrive. Although one of the three is nowhere to be seen yet.

Lastly, here is a picture of our little maple tree. It doesn't show so well in the picture, but the bark is red, and the new leaves are tipped in red. It is very pretty. Right now it is only about 4 feet tall, but it seems to be doing well.

The wonder of plants

2007-05-18T20:43:00.000-04:00

Warning: this post will probably be boring to anyone not interested in plants and flowers, there is no MonkeyNut news in this one - scroll to the previous post!

So three weeks ago I planted a bunch of plants in my new flower bed. I am so amazed at how they are doing! One died, but it didn't look good when I received it, most of the leaves were black and slimy.

But the rest of the plants are growing like crazy. A couple already have flower buds! It is just so amazing to me that you can plant some bare roots that don't look like anything, and three weeks later you have a little plant. I check them every day to see how they are doing. I should probably be taking pictures of them to reference. Maybe I will remember to take the camera out tomorrow.

And one of my peonies is HUGE this year. It has a bunch of buds, I can't wait until they bloom, they are a spectacular flower. The other one kind of got crushed while we were landscaping, so it is far behind in development, but amazingly still alive.

I also divided one of my daylilies this year, which is something I had always been afraid to do before - you have to cut the plant apart. But each of the divisions seems to be growing just fine. I'm not sure if they will flower this year, but as long as they are doing well I can look forward to dividing my too-big Stella D'Oros in the fall and at least tripling the number of plants for next year!

Here are some of the perennial flowers I planted this year. A few I have grown before, but many are new to me, and kind of an experiment to see how well they do.

Campanula "Blue Chip" - a really great, hardy flower

Rudbeckia (black-eyed susan) Toto

Gaillardia, Dwarf

Coreopsis Sterntaler - I have grown other coreopsis, they have always been easy

Red Coral Bells

White Balloonflower

Columbine Leprechaun Gold - these were a bit pricey, I hope they do well

Astilbe

I also hope the Coral Bells do well, there are some beautiful new varieties with colorful leaves as well as flowers. I would love to plant more, and I think they would look nice under the coral bark maple that we planted.

I'll try to get some pics tomorrow!

What a Flirt!

2007-05-18T20:35:00.000-04:00

I am talking about Monkeynut! She is a HUGE flirt! We were out to dinner, and she was sitting in her highchair, when all of a sudden she started acting really strange. She was throwing her head back, weaving from side to side, and generally acting crazy. It took me a few minutes to figure out what had gotten in to her: two young men had been seated at the table across from us. She spent quite a bit of time trying to get their attention, being loud and being silly. She pretty much ignored her dinner, except to throw it on the floor. But finally her antics paid off, and the young man facing her noticed and smiled and started waving at her. OMG! She started giggling and laughing, and hiding her face like she is shy! Hello, you were just waving your dinner around and yelling "see ya" (her latest new words), and now you're shy??

Is this normal for a toddler? She doesn't do that with everyone, but seems to prefer teenagers and young men. Ugh! Daddy almost pooped his pants when he realized what she was doing. He better keep a shotgun handy as the Nut grows up!!

My Amazing Nut

2007-05-15T21:19:00.000-04:00

My MonkeyNut is so cool! I just love her to death! She says "no" and means it now, like if you try to put a pair of shoes on her but she wants a different pair, she will say "no" and push you away. I was told that 19 months is early for this to be happening, is that true? She really seems to understand everything we say now, although she can't say all the words herself. It is so cool to have a conversation with her!

The word she says most often is "zis" (this), which is usually a question as in what's this? while she is pointing at something. She listens intently to everything you tell her, too. It reminds me of how much I have actually forgotten in my lifetime, as I try to explain what everything is. At this point it is just names of things, and I dread the day when she learns why and how, I'll never get a moment's peace!

She did the cutest thing the other day, she was not getting her way while we were playing, so she started to pout. I had never seen her do that before, it seemed to be just a natural reaction. However, I couldn't help but laugh because it was so cute! And she knew why I was laughing, she laughed too, then she did it again so I would laugh. Now I try to get her to make the pouty face so we can both laugh, we make a game out of it.

She still loves outside, and wants to go out all the time. She also likes to watch the birds come to my new bird feeder (that she got me for Mother's Day). It's right outside the window so that she and the cats can enjoy it.

Here is a picture of the Nut "reading" the phone book:

Small Town Living

2007-05-13T12:43:00.000-04:00

We took Monkeynut to her first parade yesterday. She had a great time! It was a small parade, put on by our local township for "township day". Afterwards they have a little carnival and vendors, and activities all day long at the local park. They usually have fireworks at night, but it was rained out. But Nut loved the parade, especially the bands. The loud noises from the firetrucks and the clown horns did not bother her, but she was a little afraid of the mummers string band in their big, bright costumes.

It was fun, but tiring, and we all took naps in the afternoon. Then when she woke up we all went to the mall. It was just as crowded as it is before Christmas! For such a beautiful day with so many spring events, I didn't expect that. Who were all those losers spending the day at the mall??

We bought Nut some shoes. Not the ones she really wanted, and tried to run out of the store with, but she got some cute sandals that she can wear to school. Mommy got shoes too, and I think she likes mine better.

She started in her new class at school, the toddler room. She loves being with the bigger kids, and has adjusted very well. And mommy and daddy like the new, lower price too! The only thing we don't like is that she comes home all sweaty and stinky..they must play very hard in this class! Who knew that such a sweet beautiful little girl could smell so bad?

The Meaning of Busy

2007-05-08T19:54:00.000-04:00

I am sitting in a hotel room right now, in lovely Oak Ridge Tennessee. I should probably be doing something work related, but I thought I would take a few moments to update this blog. And it is after working hours, so I guess I am not obligated to work, I just feel the pressure and guilt.

So last week was my week to host a meeting at my office. The meeting went very well, and we got a lot accomplished, but was stressful. Then my order of plants showed up during the week, so on Friday I had to plant them all - about 30 plants.

Saturday "we" had a Kentucky Derby/Cinco De Mayo party, which was a last minute decision by hubby, so I spent the day cleaning and preparing, then hosting. Luckily everyone who came had young children, so everyone left at a reasonable hour. Monkeynut had a great time with all the kids too.

Sunday I skipped church in the morning, because I didn't have time. I had to clean up after the party, do laundry, and pack a bag to leave on Monday. In the afternoon we did the CROP walk, but we only did about half before the Nut got too restless in the stroller. We got home to rest and freshen up, then there was a church service and procession of the firetrucks/firefighters for St. Florian. I spent the time packing and making sure everything was ready, and finishing up some work that I needed to get done before Monday.

Monday morning I was up at 3am, the taxi picked me up about 3:30am to head for the airport. I went right to the office for the meeting when I got to Oak Ridge, then we went to dinner. That was a long day! Luckily we will be finishing up a bit earlier than originally planned, so I can get home earlier to see my family.

This weekend coming up there is something planned, but I forget what. Next week so far is clear, but then the following week I will be traveling again.

I think I will be traveling more for work this year than I have my whole time with this company. I don't mind traveling, but I do miss my little Nut. And I find it a bit stressful just being away from familiar surroundings. I don't know how people can work jobs where they travel all the time!

So after all this, I don't really have any Monkeynut updates. She is doing well, and is moving up to the next "class" in daycare. I know she will do well, as she loves being with the bigger kids.

Landscaping is no longer fun

2007-04-29T21:21:00.000-04:00

I am exhausted from all this WORK! I thought weekends were supposed to be for fun. We spent the weekend either at nurseries looking at plants, or online looking at plants, or actually planting some in the beds. I have even been dreaming about plants! We thought we had a ton of stuff, but after planting it doesn't look like much! We still have a lot to get, but we are going to add to it little by little. And next weekend will be more of the same, I ordered a boatload of plants that should arrive this week. I'll get pictures when it's all planted.

May is turning out to be a super busy month. This week I have a number of colleagues flying in for meetings all week for a project I have been working on. The good thing about this is that I don't have to travel myself, but I have never played host before. It should be interesting.

Then next weekend I wil have the plants to put in the ground, hubby decided to have a Kentucky Derby get-together Saturday, and Sunday is the CROP walk, which hubby is in charge of for the church. Meaning, I have to walk six miles or whatever so some hungry people can eat. Can't I just give money? Oh wait, I am doing that too. There is a big service Sunday night too, but I know I won't be able to attend, as I probably will have collapsed and been left as a hopeless cause along the walk route somewhere.

Then I have a conference for work the last week in May, where I will be out of town. I get back on Thursday (actually, by the time I get home that night it might be Friday), and then the following Saturday my parents will be flying in from Texas for a visit. I am so excited about that!

Some other week in between I might also be traveling for work. Whew! I'm tired already! I think I will need a vacation after all that, any suggestions where to go that is cheap and fun for almost two year olds and adults?

Really scary baby

2007-04-26T21:11:00.000-04:00

MonkeyNut really freaked me out yesterday. Here's what happened:

I picked her up from daycare, and she was very cranky. SHe screamed the whole ride home - she started doing this high-pitched, sqeaky scream that just grates on every nerve when she doesn't get her way. So by the time we pulled in the driveway, I was ready to do anything to get her to be quiet. As I was getting her out of the carseat, I gave her my keys to play with, and thankfully, the ear-popping screams stopped. I gathered up her things, and walked into the garage. I started to ask the Nut if she could hand me the house key - I was just talking to her, being sociable ya know - when I looked down and she was HOLDING UP THE HOUSE KEY!!
It was all ready to put in the lock. She's only 18 months old, how does she know which key, and how did she know that's what I needed?

Her intelligence is frightening! Grandma and Grandpa better keep adding to that college fund, Harvard is expensive!