And tell you about something I love, because then you have to love it too.
Very Short List
It's a once a day email thing, but (as it says on the box) it's very short. It's often full of cool books and music, generally on subjects that I've not thought about much before - and you all know how I can go cuckoo over new subjects to mess with/google for hours on end.
So yes, like Oprah, I too can post "things I love". Except mine are free, because I'm cheap like that.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Oh, and something else...
I've spent nearly all morning reading an awesome blog. I have to plug it.
It all started with someone sending me an ebay item:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130144061675
Any mom who will ebay a box of pokemon cards her kids snuck by her in a supermarket is a good woman. Her item description cracked me up, and below, in the comments, she posts her blog:
http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com
She rocks. It's one of the reasons I love reading other people's blogs - there are so many people out there who are really great writers - people with humour and life situations that make for wonderful reading (and much thankfulness, and a little wistfulness that we decided on just the one child).
It all started with someone sending me an ebay item:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130144061675
Any mom who will ebay a box of pokemon cards her kids snuck by her in a supermarket is a good woman. Her item description cracked me up, and below, in the comments, she posts her blog:
http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com
She rocks. It's one of the reasons I love reading other people's blogs - there are so many people out there who are really great writers - people with humour and life situations that make for wonderful reading (and much thankfulness, and a little wistfulness that we decided on just the one child).
OK, so I'm a slacker again.
But most day's my life is really not interesting enough to write about.
School is going well - the third day started with Iz not even bothering to say goodbye to me before she got on the bus, and not even bothering to wave once she was on the bus. She proudly informed me that her teacher had given out "slam dunk" tickets to kids yesterday (the school's good behaviour reward program - when a teacher notices good behavior, the kid immediately gets a ticket, which entitles them to something good happening later that day - they get a prize, or get to be the line leader, or something else that five year olds think is just great), but not to her. Apparently she's not that bothered - yeah right. This child is one of those award-collecting kids. If they're giving out certificates, she wants one. Heck, if they're giving out stickers, she will move heaven and earth to get one. We'll see if she comes home all self-satisfied this afternoon.
I'm kind of liking this whole getting up an hour later than usual - sleeping in until 6am is heavenly. It's awesome. I know C is loving not having to drive 2 hours in the afternoon to pick Iz up, too. Things have actually been getting done around the house. It's like, all of a sudden, we're normal people with a vaguely tidy house and dishes to eat off. I give it two weeks before we're back to our usual selves.
Other stuff? I think Iz loves her teacher. I know she's upset that the weekend's coming up - and a long weekend at that - three whole days away from school! It makes me feel so loved. Actually I prefer this to a kid who screams all morning becuase they can't bear to go to school.
School is going well - the third day started with Iz not even bothering to say goodbye to me before she got on the bus, and not even bothering to wave once she was on the bus. She proudly informed me that her teacher had given out "slam dunk" tickets to kids yesterday (the school's good behaviour reward program - when a teacher notices good behavior, the kid immediately gets a ticket, which entitles them to something good happening later that day - they get a prize, or get to be the line leader, or something else that five year olds think is just great), but not to her. Apparently she's not that bothered - yeah right. This child is one of those award-collecting kids. If they're giving out certificates, she wants one. Heck, if they're giving out stickers, she will move heaven and earth to get one. We'll see if she comes home all self-satisfied this afternoon.
I'm kind of liking this whole getting up an hour later than usual - sleeping in until 6am is heavenly. It's awesome. I know C is loving not having to drive 2 hours in the afternoon to pick Iz up, too. Things have actually been getting done around the house. It's like, all of a sudden, we're normal people with a vaguely tidy house and dishes to eat off. I give it two weeks before we're back to our usual selves.
Other stuff? I think Iz loves her teacher. I know she's upset that the weekend's coming up - and a long weekend at that - three whole days away from school! It makes me feel so loved. Actually I prefer this to a kid who screams all morning becuase they can't bear to go to school.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
All went very, very well.
And Iz is excited and counting down the hours. All the kids in her class were as desperately shy as she was - so it was aminly parents wandering around, reading name-tags and trying to introduce their kids toy your kid. And the kids taking a quick peek and running away. Incidentally, Iz will be in a class with a kid that C has done some dry-wall work for. Either they didn't remember him (probably), or we were all very good and didn't talk about work while the kids were supposed to be socializing.
Oh, and I have to report my absolute hypocrisy. As much as I went on the other day about people who want ultra-expensive things all the time, and those who market to them, I really really really want a Wegman's closer to my house. We went in yesterday to pick up some things not available at our local supermarket (think eastern end of the cold war - you're lucky if there's bread on the shelves) and I realised that I do really want polite, friendly staff, a huge selection and gorgeous (although still supermarkety) surroundings. And it's not that much more expensive than my only local supermarket, which is horribly run, dirty, poorly stocked and has crazy staff who examine your purchases as they pass them across the scanner, making the odd comment about your tastes.
The one problem with Wegmans (the one that makes me feel all hypocritical) is that they do stock lots of "over expensive crap you never knew you needed", but I figure I can make a statement and not buy any of it. Or at least I could if there was a Wegmans close to me. *sigh*
Oh, and I have to report my absolute hypocrisy. As much as I went on the other day about people who want ultra-expensive things all the time, and those who market to them, I really really really want a Wegman's closer to my house. We went in yesterday to pick up some things not available at our local supermarket (think eastern end of the cold war - you're lucky if there's bread on the shelves) and I realised that I do really want polite, friendly staff, a huge selection and gorgeous (although still supermarkety) surroundings. And it's not that much more expensive than my only local supermarket, which is horribly run, dirty, poorly stocked and has crazy staff who examine your purchases as they pass them across the scanner, making the odd comment about your tastes.
The one problem with Wegmans (the one that makes me feel all hypocritical) is that they do stock lots of "over expensive crap you never knew you needed", but I figure I can make a statement and not buy any of it. Or at least I could if there was a Wegmans close to me. *sigh*
Friday, August 24, 2007
An exciting day.
Well, that is, hopefully it will be an exciting day.
We will be spending the afternoon at Iz's new school, where we will get to meet her teacher, see her classroom, and no doubt get some goldfish crackers or a cookie. I swear, my child will never go hungry at this school. Every meeting or appointment we've had so far has been accompanied by a snack.
Iz was thrilled yesterday to get a letter (a real letter in the mail!) from her new Kindergarten teacher. I was thrilled when I found out that this lady has 24 years elementary teaching experience. You have to be a special kind of person to survive elementary education (pupils, parents and policies) for 24 years. Not that a new teacher wouldn't be cool too, but I definately get the picture that this lady is unflappable. Come to think of it, I'm kind of looking forward to meeting her today, too!
After we go to the school this afternoon, C and I have agreed that we'll let Iz choose wherever she wants to go for a meal, to celebrate her going to school, and being a big kid. I've got a feeling we;re either going to end up at Chuck E Cheese's (pizza and arcarde games) or the Outback (steakhouse). I know which one I'd prefer...
We will be spending the afternoon at Iz's new school, where we will get to meet her teacher, see her classroom, and no doubt get some goldfish crackers or a cookie. I swear, my child will never go hungry at this school. Every meeting or appointment we've had so far has been accompanied by a snack.
Iz was thrilled yesterday to get a letter (a real letter in the mail!) from her new Kindergarten teacher. I was thrilled when I found out that this lady has 24 years elementary teaching experience. You have to be a special kind of person to survive elementary education (pupils, parents and policies) for 24 years. Not that a new teacher wouldn't be cool too, but I definately get the picture that this lady is unflappable. Come to think of it, I'm kind of looking forward to meeting her today, too!
After we go to the school this afternoon, C and I have agreed that we'll let Iz choose wherever she wants to go for a meal, to celebrate her going to school, and being a big kid. I've got a feeling we;re either going to end up at Chuck E Cheese's (pizza and arcarde games) or the Outback (steakhouse). I know which one I'd prefer...
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Some things just don't sit right.
Apparently I'm in a really contrary mood lately. A couple of things that have generally started pissing me off to the extent that I have to rant about them (or at least bitch a bit).
1) It seems to me that our local (city wide) talk station does more stirring up of hatred between races and socio-economic groups in the city than it actually does talking. This is quite a feat for a 24 hour talk radio station, but one that seems to be acheived (at least in this city) with great regularity. This seems to be the argument between C and I - he maintains that the city is full of hate and the radio station reflects it, and I maintain that the city may be full of hate, but the radio station magnifies it, and therefore encourages it.
The last time I listened to this particular station (around December), the host was doing a fabulous job of ripping apart a recently bereaved mother, who had come on as a guest in order to try to bring some solidarity to the city and end violence. The host maintained that since the murder victim was "a thug", it was pointless to encourage people not to murder each other. In fact, in the eyes of the host, the fact that this woman's son had done drugs seemed to totally negate the woman's plight. After a few minutes of this, he unleashed the hounds - the callers waiting to say that it was all the fault of the woman - she had failed as a mother and the death of her son was the price. Would you do that to a mother who has lost a son? Perhaps you'd like to walk up to her funeral and tell her that? It scares me that as many people speak out about Fred Phelps and his funreal picketing, there seems to be a much larger movement that thinks it's OK to blame people for their misfortunes, as long as it's done anonymously.
Maybe I'm oversensitive. Maybe this radio station does reflect the true ideas of those who live here, but I really hope not, because it's scary. It makes C mad becasue he believes it's the truth of the city (insert insensitive if not scarily racist comment here), and it makes me mad because I think any possibility for progress to be made is being shouted down by those in control of the media.
2) We have some magazines lying around at work that are of the "House Beautiful" variety - understandable, seeing as we're sort of in the house beautification market. These also irritate the crap out of me, although it's turned into a sort of obsession lately. I looked through one yesterday, trying to find the cheapest item that I could. It was an issue about throw pillows, and the cheapest throw pillow (cushion) I could find was $125. The most expensive? $495. Other items on their "must have" list? A Tiffany honey-comb, silver handle, wooden comb, for $195 "because don't you get such a rush when you bring something home in a little blue box?", and some baby clothes. The top (a knitted jumper) for $105 and some trousers for $85.
Who are these magazines aimed at? Are there real people who would happily pay $190 of a baby outfit? Babies puke alot. They also grow. What do you see for that $190 a few weeks after you buy it? A too-small, pukey outfit that baby may have worn once. Are there really people who furnish their living rooms with furniture that makes you think $495 for a throw pillow is a bargain? Perhaps I'm just living in a very sheltered world, where making your mortgage payment for the month means we're living well.
I'm not entirely sure that there are many people for whom this magazine serves as a catalog of pretty things to pick up next time we go shopping. Even if I had the money, I'm not sure I could ever justify spending it like that. Ever. Not when $495 would feed quite a few people for a good length of time. Of course, perhaps there are people who think a cushion is more worthy than feeding people, but I like to think they don't exist. Or at least are fairly rare.
What irritates me is that this magazine (and others like it) clearly markets to an audience who aspires to this form of wealth (blech) but won't ever attain it. It's saying "Here are the things you should want and love if you're ever going to be afforded the staus in society that you've been told to aspire to".
OK, bitch time over. I'll admit that I'm wasteful, and desire things that I cannot afford. But I'm working on it.
1) It seems to me that our local (city wide) talk station does more stirring up of hatred between races and socio-economic groups in the city than it actually does talking. This is quite a feat for a 24 hour talk radio station, but one that seems to be acheived (at least in this city) with great regularity. This seems to be the argument between C and I - he maintains that the city is full of hate and the radio station reflects it, and I maintain that the city may be full of hate, but the radio station magnifies it, and therefore encourages it.
The last time I listened to this particular station (around December), the host was doing a fabulous job of ripping apart a recently bereaved mother, who had come on as a guest in order to try to bring some solidarity to the city and end violence. The host maintained that since the murder victim was "a thug", it was pointless to encourage people not to murder each other. In fact, in the eyes of the host, the fact that this woman's son had done drugs seemed to totally negate the woman's plight. After a few minutes of this, he unleashed the hounds - the callers waiting to say that it was all the fault of the woman - she had failed as a mother and the death of her son was the price. Would you do that to a mother who has lost a son? Perhaps you'd like to walk up to her funeral and tell her that? It scares me that as many people speak out about Fred Phelps and his funreal picketing, there seems to be a much larger movement that thinks it's OK to blame people for their misfortunes, as long as it's done anonymously.
Maybe I'm oversensitive. Maybe this radio station does reflect the true ideas of those who live here, but I really hope not, because it's scary. It makes C mad becasue he believes it's the truth of the city (insert insensitive if not scarily racist comment here), and it makes me mad because I think any possibility for progress to be made is being shouted down by those in control of the media.
2) We have some magazines lying around at work that are of the "House Beautiful" variety - understandable, seeing as we're sort of in the house beautification market. These also irritate the crap out of me, although it's turned into a sort of obsession lately. I looked through one yesterday, trying to find the cheapest item that I could. It was an issue about throw pillows, and the cheapest throw pillow (cushion) I could find was $125. The most expensive? $495. Other items on their "must have" list? A Tiffany honey-comb, silver handle, wooden comb, for $195 "because don't you get such a rush when you bring something home in a little blue box?", and some baby clothes. The top (a knitted jumper) for $105 and some trousers for $85.
Who are these magazines aimed at? Are there real people who would happily pay $190 of a baby outfit? Babies puke alot. They also grow. What do you see for that $190 a few weeks after you buy it? A too-small, pukey outfit that baby may have worn once. Are there really people who furnish their living rooms with furniture that makes you think $495 for a throw pillow is a bargain? Perhaps I'm just living in a very sheltered world, where making your mortgage payment for the month means we're living well.
I'm not entirely sure that there are many people for whom this magazine serves as a catalog of pretty things to pick up next time we go shopping. Even if I had the money, I'm not sure I could ever justify spending it like that. Ever. Not when $495 would feed quite a few people for a good length of time. Of course, perhaps there are people who think a cushion is more worthy than feeding people, but I like to think they don't exist. Or at least are fairly rare.
What irritates me is that this magazine (and others like it) clearly markets to an audience who aspires to this form of wealth (blech) but won't ever attain it. It's saying "Here are the things you should want and love if you're ever going to be afforded the staus in society that you've been told to aspire to".
OK, bitch time over. I'll admit that I'm wasteful, and desire things that I cannot afford. But I'm working on it.
Monday, August 20, 2007
The countdown begins.
Actually, that's a lie. The countdown began a few days ago for Iz. A week left until she starts school. We're all ready, supplies bought - the last of the shopping was done on Saturday, where we even managed to get the required kid-sized shoe box, which came with her new soccer cleats. It's hard to say which I wanted more by Saturday afternoon, the cleats or the box they came in.
So - a week left. One more school visit on Friday, and then she's on her own. I still have yet to find out what class the kids she knows from soccer are in. Knowing the way preperation has gone for school, they're not in her class. I'm almost scared to ask, because that's the one good thing that still could happen. Everything else seems to have kind of fallen in over the last week or so. Even so, I feel better that it's fallen in now, rather than just after she starts.
I think I'm more nervous than Iz is. She's excited, and has admitted to being "just a teeny tiny bit nervous" - the most nervous that my tough-girl will ever admit to being. What's keeping me calm is that I know she's going to a good school - a stable place with caring staff. Also, I klnow she's ready. she's been ready for a year now, so she's enthusiastic and ready to learn. She's ready to be in a class full of kids her age, and ready to learn to deal with friends in a neutral environment.
But am I ready? Am I ready for her to come home asking to watch shows that she's not allowed to watch "because all the other kids watch it"? Am I ready for the Easter bunny and Santa myth to be well and truly busted by another kid (for the record, I'm not entirely sure she believes anyway - it's more of a fun game for our family, but we've never come out and talked about it, which we probably should have)? Am I ready for my child to come home crying because another kid (who I don't even know) was mean to her?
Not sure yet.
So - a week left. One more school visit on Friday, and then she's on her own. I still have yet to find out what class the kids she knows from soccer are in. Knowing the way preperation has gone for school, they're not in her class. I'm almost scared to ask, because that's the one good thing that still could happen. Everything else seems to have kind of fallen in over the last week or so. Even so, I feel better that it's fallen in now, rather than just after she starts.
I think I'm more nervous than Iz is. She's excited, and has admitted to being "just a teeny tiny bit nervous" - the most nervous that my tough-girl will ever admit to being. What's keeping me calm is that I know she's going to a good school - a stable place with caring staff. Also, I klnow she's ready. she's been ready for a year now, so she's enthusiastic and ready to learn. She's ready to be in a class full of kids her age, and ready to learn to deal with friends in a neutral environment.
But am I ready? Am I ready for her to come home asking to watch shows that she's not allowed to watch "because all the other kids watch it"? Am I ready for the Easter bunny and Santa myth to be well and truly busted by another kid (for the record, I'm not entirely sure she believes anyway - it's more of a fun game for our family, but we've never come out and talked about it, which we probably should have)? Am I ready for my child to come home crying because another kid (who I don't even know) was mean to her?
Not sure yet.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Sick
Been sick the last few days - left work early to sleep yesterday, slept from midday until 7.30pm. Then I lay awake all night worrying about really worrying stuff.
This is my dilemma. Iz starts school next week. Earlier this week, I find out that the person who was giong to be watching Iz in the mornings (through no fault of her own) is unable to watch her. Which means I have a week to find her somewhere new, preferably for not a whole bunch of money, but more preferably where she feels comfortable and happy. And get her busses changed, which means making begging overtures to hre school office.
So this kept me awake last night. There's not an easy answer, and I really want to get this settled so we can prepare properly for the whole starting school thing.
So I'm sick and I'm stressed. I'll stop there, because if I carry on I'll just bore everybody to death.
This is my dilemma. Iz starts school next week. Earlier this week, I find out that the person who was giong to be watching Iz in the mornings (through no fault of her own) is unable to watch her. Which means I have a week to find her somewhere new, preferably for not a whole bunch of money, but more preferably where she feels comfortable and happy. And get her busses changed, which means making begging overtures to hre school office.
So this kept me awake last night. There's not an easy answer, and I really want to get this settled so we can prepare properly for the whole starting school thing.
So I'm sick and I'm stressed. I'll stop there, because if I carry on I'll just bore everybody to death.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Pictures from the weekend
We went crabbing on the dock (actually we spent most of our weekend crabbing).
This is the campsite we went to this weekend - very cool huh?
State parks are always nice campgrounds - ussually secluded and quiet after 11pm, useful when you have little ones.
This is C and Iz fishing on the Chesapeake bay. Windy and cold!
This is the campsite we went to this weekend - very cool huh?
State parks are always nice campgrounds - ussually secluded and quiet after 11pm, useful when you have little ones.
Where have I been?
Well, I wrote out a huge great long post on Friday, only for the comuter to eat it before I posted. I've just now figured out how to retrieve it and post it, so today you get a two-fer.
We did go camping last weekend, and it was a blast - Point lookout is great, although we didn't even get to go to most of the places I wanted to see. We really just spent the time crabbing, which Iz loved, and making the most of the activities laid on at the Nature center - I love state parks. All the activities are educational, and very tailored for whatever kids show up. The warden there was fabulous, she even took time to give Iz and I a complete guided tour of the center when we showed up late for one of the activities. Too many jellyfish to go swimming, but Iz was fine with just hanging out on the floating docks catching crabs (all of which were way too small to eat).
This week is shaping up to be stressful - at least yesterday was, and today is headed the same way. I got badly let down by someone who was supposed to do work for us, although I was kind of expecting it, it wasn't fun to have my worst fears realised. Thankfully C is stepping into the breach and doing the drywall work that needs to be done.
C took our nephew to the football game last night - the preseason between the Ravens and the Eagles. I watched it on TV, since there really wasn't anyone to watch Iz, and our nephew deserved the treat anyway. Seems like they had a blast.
Tonight we're at Iz's new school yet again, this time for a new student's evening. Since we missed the Kindergarten one, we were invited to this one, which is nice, since we'll get to see the whole school and meet some of the staff. Next Friday she has "back to school afternoon", and then the Monday after that she starts school - scary since my childcare deal fell through. Now we're going to have to figure something else out, and with only 2 weeks to do it, I have no clue how we'll do. Oh well. We'll survive.
We did go camping last weekend, and it was a blast - Point lookout is great, although we didn't even get to go to most of the places I wanted to see. We really just spent the time crabbing, which Iz loved, and making the most of the activities laid on at the Nature center - I love state parks. All the activities are educational, and very tailored for whatever kids show up. The warden there was fabulous, she even took time to give Iz and I a complete guided tour of the center when we showed up late for one of the activities. Too many jellyfish to go swimming, but Iz was fine with just hanging out on the floating docks catching crabs (all of which were way too small to eat).
This week is shaping up to be stressful - at least yesterday was, and today is headed the same way. I got badly let down by someone who was supposed to do work for us, although I was kind of expecting it, it wasn't fun to have my worst fears realised. Thankfully C is stepping into the breach and doing the drywall work that needs to be done.
C took our nephew to the football game last night - the preseason between the Ravens and the Eagles. I watched it on TV, since there really wasn't anyone to watch Iz, and our nephew deserved the treat anyway. Seems like they had a blast.
Tonight we're at Iz's new school yet again, this time for a new student's evening. Since we missed the Kindergarten one, we were invited to this one, which is nice, since we'll get to see the whole school and meet some of the staff. Next Friday she has "back to school afternoon", and then the Monday after that she starts school - scary since my childcare deal fell through. Now we're going to have to figure something else out, and with only 2 weeks to do it, I have no clue how we'll do. Oh well. We'll survive.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Camping
Finally decided where to go this weekend - we're headed to Scotland. Scotland, Maryland, that is - off to Point Lookout State Park for some fishing (hopefully some crabbing) and some beach time. My new books from Amazon might arrive in the nick of time, at least I'm hoping they will. The USPS puts a delivery estimate of Augsut 21st on the package, but it was in Capitol Heights, MD yesterday, and it shouldn't take that long to get to my house - A parcel shouldn't take two weeks to go less than 20 miles.
We were going to head to West Virginia, since I wanted to check out the "Purple Fiddle" a cafe and live music venue built around the idea of kids being welcome for all shows. That place just sounds like heaven for me. You don't realise how difficult it is to tote a 5 year old to music that isn't free and outdoors - the WTMD First Thursdays concert season has saved us in years past, but we haven't been able to make any of those shows this year.
Still, next weekend is "Hot August Blues" at a park near us - $30 a ticket, but kids are free, and there's tons of workshops and stuff laid on for the little ones. http://www.hotaugustblues.com/ - looks like fun.
We were going to head to West Virginia, since I wanted to check out the "Purple Fiddle" a cafe and live music venue built around the idea of kids being welcome for all shows. That place just sounds like heaven for me. You don't realise how difficult it is to tote a 5 year old to music that isn't free and outdoors - the WTMD First Thursdays concert season has saved us in years past, but we haven't been able to make any of those shows this year.
Still, next weekend is "Hot August Blues" at a park near us - $30 a ticket, but kids are free, and there's tons of workshops and stuff laid on for the little ones. http://www.hotaugustblues.com/ - looks like fun.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
She's a star!
Just a quick entry - Iz was an absolute star today.
We went to the dentist this morning, and she behaved perfectly. She has to go back for a filling next week and she even took that news well. Better than I did. A huge plus at the dentist was that I found out that we do have dental insurance after all - there's $110 I thought we were going to have to spend today that we didn't.
Not only that, we've just got back from the assesment at school with one of the kindergarten teachers. She behaved perfectly then, too. She put up with a 30 minute one on one quiz, and the only thing she couldn't come up with was a rhyme for "w". It took me a little while to come up with a rhyme for "w", so I think we can be satisfied that she did her best, and did pretty well.
I'm so proud!
Monday, August 6, 2007
A new week.
And a countdown to a few days away. Camping somewhere, although I have no clue where, yet. Probably somewhere in West Virginia, where there aren't a whole bunch of people. Possibly Seneca Rocks, since we've been there before, and there's a nice wildlife center in the park but not much more than that going on - some caverns and a diner, if I remember right. But somewhere, so we can get away. I already got permission to leave a little early on Friday, so we can get to wherever we're going. I'm excited already!
Had the in-laws over for crabs yesterday, which was actually quite pleasant, but we were both exhausted afterwards. At least I slept well last night, unlike a certain someone. Iz is still having trouble sleeping, and it seems to get worse. It's now a full 30 minute song and dance extravaganza to get her into bed and to sleep - complete with real tears. I really hope that once she meets her teacher tomorrow she'll calm down a little - I'm convinced that this has more to do with starting school than even she realizes.
So here's hoping that by tomorrow evening she's at least calming down some. For all of our sakes.
Had the in-laws over for crabs yesterday, which was actually quite pleasant, but we were both exhausted afterwards. At least I slept well last night, unlike a certain someone. Iz is still having trouble sleeping, and it seems to get worse. It's now a full 30 minute song and dance extravaganza to get her into bed and to sleep - complete with real tears. I really hope that once she meets her teacher tomorrow she'll calm down a little - I'm convinced that this has more to do with starting school than even she realizes.
So here's hoping that by tomorrow evening she's at least calming down some. For all of our sakes.
Friday, August 3, 2007
OK, here's one from England...
Corfe castle, to be exact. Apparently flickr prefers me to blog from here if I'm adding pictures?
I'm thinking pictures.
Or, more correctly, I'm thinking I should put up some pictures. I will, tomorrow. I'm at work now, so the potentioal for pictures is limited to whats on my flikr account, which is pictures of our last England trip.
So here's one of England, if I can make it work... OK, it didn't work, but here's one of Iz last halloween which does work....
So other than the picture thing - I'll take some more interesting ones tomorrow, I've been sewing. Making practice party bags for Iz's party (they're actually turning out good enough that I might really and truly make bags for Iz's party!), and making wallets, because they're easy, don't take much fabric and they're good practice. they're not quite good enough to give away yet, though. Shame.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Promises, promises.
So I never did get back here yesterday, as I ended up taking Iz for dinner and some shopping after work. Which means I didn't get to sleep last night because what I ate gave me a stomach ache, which means I'm still tired this morning. I did, however, successfully avoid the Snickers and Diet Coke lunch I was planning, so that's something.
On the way from Iz's day care (my sister-in-law's house) to dinner last night, Iz and I had an interesting discussion. Her favorite ever singer, Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus, daughter of the achey-breaky-heart guy for those who are blessed by the lack of five year old girls in their life) was on the radio, singing something nauseating, when Iz suddenly piped up "When I get older, I'm going to be Hannah Montana". I had to bust her bubble, and tell her that when we grow up, we can only be ourselves, and not other people (I did stop short of pointing out that she definately couldn't become a Disney created pop star teenager with a badly-acted double life though - I'm not a monster). I did tell her that if she really wanted to, she could be like Hannah Montana, although I'm not entirely sure I'll be encouraging that development too much either.
So why do we tell our kids that they can be anything they want to be, and then constantly moderate it with "but not that"? Yesterday I settled for reminding Iz that she's Iz, and that as long as she's still herself and true to herself, we'll love her whatever.
On the way from Iz's day care (my sister-in-law's house) to dinner last night, Iz and I had an interesting discussion. Her favorite ever singer, Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus, daughter of the achey-breaky-heart guy for those who are blessed by the lack of five year old girls in their life) was on the radio, singing something nauseating, when Iz suddenly piped up "When I get older, I'm going to be Hannah Montana". I had to bust her bubble, and tell her that when we grow up, we can only be ourselves, and not other people (I did stop short of pointing out that she definately couldn't become a Disney created pop star teenager with a badly-acted double life though - I'm not a monster). I did tell her that if she really wanted to, she could be like Hannah Montana, although I'm not entirely sure I'll be encouraging that development too much either.
So why do we tell our kids that they can be anything they want to be, and then constantly moderate it with "but not that"? Yesterday I settled for reminding Iz that she's Iz, and that as long as she's still herself and true to herself, we'll love her whatever.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
So so so so so so tired.
You know those mornings where you just want to eat something vaguely breakfasty and comforting, something like a nice croissant, and then crawl back under your covers and perhaps read until you fall back to sleep?
Yeah, that's me this morning. But instead of a nice croissant to eat, I got a moany child to get up and get dressed, and instead of covers and a book, I got a cubicle and some flourescent lighting. Go on, guess my mood this morning. Oh, and I have a huge oil mark on my (clean) t - shirt that I never noticed before I got to work.
So I'm attmpting to be less grumpy this morning, and I'm holding on for lunch and the promise of at least a peanut butter sandwich, and if I can reconcile it with my diet plan (watch me do it), a Snickers bar and a diet coke from the 7-11. Perhaps I'll blog something useful after that.
Yeah, that's me this morning. But instead of a nice croissant to eat, I got a moany child to get up and get dressed, and instead of covers and a book, I got a cubicle and some flourescent lighting. Go on, guess my mood this morning. Oh, and I have a huge oil mark on my (clean) t - shirt that I never noticed before I got to work.
So I'm attmpting to be less grumpy this morning, and I'm holding on for lunch and the promise of at least a peanut butter sandwich, and if I can reconcile it with my diet plan (watch me do it), a Snickers bar and a diet coke from the 7-11. Perhaps I'll blog something useful after that.
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