Scary Story

'Tis the season for frightful stories

full of horror and fear and gore,

While listeners cringe and cower and cry

then sit up and beg to be scared some more.

And so I'll share a tale so disgustingly true,

the facts will curdle your stomach...

turn your toenails blue...

rot your eyeballs from the inside out...

send you running madly about....

And so it goes

it's short and sweet

but a more spine tingling tale

you'll be pressed to meet.

Armed with towels and the bathroom cup

there goes my 2 year old daughter

thinking perhaps she'd play 'cleaning things up'

she instead she...

brace yourselves now...

DRANK HER BABY SISTER'S BATH WATER!!!

OH THE HORROR!!!

Red Ribbon Week

It's Red Ribbon Week. A time for children (and others) across the nation to celebrate, pledge, affirm, learn, and commit to being drug free. I know at our school kids get actual red ribbons to wear all week, and we usually have some sort of celebration each day to help remember why being drug free is important. For example, where red on Monday, wear caps on Tuesday, favorite team jersey, etc. etc.

Well into Red Ribbon Week by yesterday, Chris was asking Greta about the ribbon she was so proudly wearing pinned to her shirt. "Don't Eat Grubs", she proudly exclaimed.

"What?" Surely he heard her wrong. When trying to ask if she said "Don't Do Drugs" Greta emphatically retorted that no indeed, this week the message was "Don't Eat Grubs".

Celebrating

It might not be negotiating world peace...yet....

But for today we are celebrating Hadley's first major accomplishment, after birth which I guess is really THE first, but we'll just start counting with those achievements outside of the womb.

After 3 weeks...Hadley actually took not one but TWO 2 ounce bottles today at daycare!!!! What a relief! Maybe tomorrow I'll try 3 ounce bottles and by next week she might actually be on her way to eating like a normal baby!!! (Unless I'm jinxing it all, in which case we'll be no worse off than we have been in which she has been spending the hours between 7am and 3:30pm not eating. Anything.

Send positive vibes our way!

For close family and friends to enjoy

Call Before You Come Over Because...

this is why my floors aren't mopped.

this is why there's laundry to put away.

and then there's more laundry.

did i mention there was some laundry?

this is why the sink is full of dishes.

(Not bottles however. I guess that's the one

good thing about little miss refusing to take them,

none to clean. phew.)

this is why there are toys under the couch cushions,

crumbs under the coffee table,

something sticky on the computer mouse,

something fuzzy under the kitchen table....

But this is also why all of that is okay.

Poor planning

You see I have my paci.

You see I have my blankie.

And you really expect me to be able to wait for

you to make lunch?

Orange ya' glad

What? What's that you say?

Did someone just call me

little pumpkin?

Because what you really mean is...

CHEESE!

The Good, The Bad...No Ugly

BAD:

The daycare we have been using for 5 years has closed.

GOOD:

We found a new daycare, 5 minutes from home.

BAD:

Clara cried and was saying how she didn't want to go to her new school, cried for me in the mornings when I dropped her off (just hear "Moooommmmmyyyyyy" echoing...bouncing off schoolroom walls like a yodel in the canyon.)

GOOD:

Day 4, Clara walked in without a tear. HOORAY!

BAD:

Hadley has yet to take a bottle from anyone, which means she has not eaten a THING in 4 days at daycare. Lovely.

GOOD:

Her teachers seem really good and are genuinely trying hard to get her to eat.

also good:

Hadley at least has not been spending the days crying, except for when someone tries to put a bottle in her mouth, and is not up any more than she was at night...so far.

All in all, everything else is going well. Greta and I survived our 3 week break home together, had a ton of fun, and ended up being incredibly busy that we had very little down time. We didn't follow the plan I had initially thought of, but that is okay. We've been doing a lot of math for fun lately, a lot of adding numbers. "Greta, what is 123 plus 0?" "123!" She's learned that anything plus 0, is that number. Which means she already has more math skills then I did in First Grade. Phew.

My Coiffure

There is a hair upon my head,

it is not brown but grey instead.

A regal white, a stylish silver,

Pure White Silk, if you may.

I'll call it shining starry bright,

instead of wiry grey.

I intend to leave it there,

I see no reason to hide it.

It makes me feel quite debonair

(and you need to be taller than me to find it.)

I'd say I don't know how it got there,

why it felt it's time was due,

except I'm fully well aware

as probably are you.

You may know them as grandkids,

nieces or just friends,

I personally know them better as

"future grey hairs and split ends."

So if you happen to see me, stop and have a chat.

We'll share our stories of life's adventures,

but let's not stop at that.

I'm in a new club, and proud to say,

I'll now be able to compare,

just what products someday I'll use to cover my future grey hairs.

Quick Good Morning

I know this isn't much of a video, I was trying to capture Hadley's smiles. A task which wouldn't be hard to do, except I'm trying to spare you screams and yells and other extraneous noises which would ruin a cute video. So, you get the idea. At least it's quiet.

Beachy Keen

We had a beach get away.

The weather was delightful. Cool, occasionally crisp, especially in the mornings.

A slight breeze, perfect though for a walk on the sand.

I did NOT tell her to pose this way, she just sees a camera and strikes it. I DID tell her that her shoes did not match her outfit.

I can't wait until there are 3 little girls who can run in the sand together.

2 months +

Hadley had her 2 month checkup this week and I am happy to report that she is very healthy. She has already tackled two colds in the past two months, but has come through with flying colors and is happy and booger free right now. When she lays on my lap she wants to pull my arms to sit up, and loves sitting up and looking around. Now if that heavy head would just stay put she'd be even happier. She thinks that it is hysterical when I take her feet and rub them on her mouth (oh to be that nimble) and has even let out a little tiny chuckle, which of course is the best noise. If you catch her in the right mood, usually first thing in the morning, she will even have a mini conversation with you amidst grins and a teeny tiny wee dimple on her left cheek.

She enjoys her play mat, and we put a toy bar on her car seat which she enjoys watching as well. We're working on getting to sleep in the crib, and not just in the bouncy seat which is what she is still sleeping in. When she had her first cold (at 10 days old) I kept her in that to help with the drainage which she would keep choking on, and then it became a habit. She sleeps so well in it. But, it's about time to work on the crib, so we're trying that. I'm hoping that going to daycare and sleeping in a crib will help with that. And while we're on that subject, don't ask how it's going getting her to drink from a bottle. It's not. Sorry daycare, you're going to earn your money on Friday. hohum.

Anyways, if you're waiting for 2 month baby stats, here they are:

11.12 pounds and 22 and a quarter inches. While she was in the 97th percentile for weight at birth and 90th for height at birth, she has slowed down and is more in a normal range now. She made it through her 2 month shots -- didn't even need any baby Tylenol or anything. 2 more days to snuggle at home with mommy now, so that's what I'm going to do.

Transformation

It was time. The price of shampoo/conditioner, plus conditioner, PLUS spray on conditioner was eating up the college fund, and brushing the tangles was eating at my sanity (and that's precious stuff, there's not much left of whatever there was to begin with).

We traveled an hour and a half -- because this was a special occasion after all -- for a true 'cutting of the hair' celebration. The place was cute, just for kids. She sat in an airplane themed seat, watched Dora at the mini tv in front of her, got a ribbon in her hair and spray on sparkles to boot. (Probably the best part if you ask Greta. Either that or the sucker she got to pick out.) I'm not wasting space showing you pictures of the salon, called Peek a Do, but here are the important photos.

The before. I'm not sure what odd face this is, but you get the point.

Just before. She was a tad nervous....

Too late to turn back now, and yes I was nervous now too. It looked shorter than what I said, and all I kept thinking was 'what if she hates it?' 'what if Chris hates it?' 'what if it looks dumb?'...the what if monster had me by the throat and was choking me.

But then it was done. And I have a few other photos I could stick in here, but

look at this:

and this:

Wow.