Pictures

Like most families we have lots of pictures up around our house. Any place we can stick a picture, we do. They're on shelves, walls, dressers, desks, everywhere. Tonight Paige & I were sitting on the couch watching Backyardigans. She looked over and spotted a picture.

Let me back up here. When Paige was 3 weeks old she had her first set of professional pictures. (My cousin Stephine is a photographer.) It may have been a bit young, but we wanted 5 generation pictures. (That would be on my side of the family, 4 generation on Ronnie's side.) We made an afternoon of it & there's lots of evidence of the photo shoot.

Paige discovered the picture of us with my parents. All of a sudden she started pointing and asking for her Grammy. I got down the picture for her. Paige looked over the picture naming everyone in the picture: Grammy, Grumpy, Mommy, Daddy, Baby. She was surprised to hear the baby was her. She immediately proclaimed it to be her picture. I asked if she would like to put her picture in her room. She went to bed tonight with the picture sitting beside her bed on her desk. I don't mind giving up the picture to her. I just wonder how many other family pictures will end up beside her bed.


And for a mole removal update: It's finally healing up well. It did get infected a few weeks ago. I've been keeping it covered & coated in Neosporin. Today I was able to go the entire day with no bandaid. It's not tender any more & has some new skin growing over it. I know, it's kinda gross to talk about. But, at least I spared you the details of it oozing green puss. Oops.

Yuck

No more take out from that place for me. We ordered Chinese for lunch today. I ordered the same thing as always: L19, General Tsao's chicken. I'm the only one who ordered it & the only one who got sick. I left work early to spend the rest of the day in bed. My stomach was upset & I barely made it home and to the bathroom. I know, more than you needed to know. (From the diet point of view I'm not counting my lunch today as cheating. If I throw up the food it doesn't count.) I took a migraine pill, and crawled in bed. This was about 1:30. Next thing I know it's just after 4 and Ronnie & Paige walk in the door. When I could safely do so, I took another migraine pill. Now it's down to something Tylenol could knock out. Of course I can't take Tylenol on top of the migraine medicine, so I have to deal with it.

Ronnie & Paige were great. They came in and he fixed her a snack and set her down to watch Dora. Not our usual evenings, but it kept her occupied so I could rest & he could get dinner ready. He fixed a meal of baked fish, steamed broccoli, & rice. I stuck to the broccoli mostly. After dinner he gave Paige a bath, and read her the required ump-teen books. Now she's in bed and we're not far behind. My tummy feels better, so it's back to work tomorrow morning!

Guilty

I should be folding laundry right now. I have 3 full loads waiting to be folded, and a 4th in the dryer. I hate to fold laundry. I also hate to iron it. I'll scrub bathrooms, mop floors, anything, just please don't make me fold laundry. That's always been Ronnie's job (he doesn't clean toilets so I do that.) But, with him working 2 jobs, it's become my job most of the time. Not that he doesn't help out around the house. He does a lot. But, I want clean panties, so I did laundry & now it has to be folded.

OK, so we've established that I should be folding laundry, and that I don't want to. What am I doing? Well, let's see. I'm eating a bowl of ice cream (there goes the diet), updating my blog (do you like it?), and watching the best Arnold Schwarzenegger movie ever: True Lies. I'm considering curling up with a new book & petting the cat when I'm done here. Too bad I feel the need to sleep on my bed this evening. The ice cream is gone, and the movie is close to over. I'll be folding laundry soon.

Party Recap

The big party was a huge success! No doubts about it. We had a good turn out. There were 7 kids at the party, and 2 that came & left before the party started. (They had been sick & didn't want to share, which we all appreciated.) There were a few assorted family members, most with young kids. Her Godmother Nancy was called to an emergency on the other side of the family. We were disappointed she couldn't make it, but definitely understand. Being a nurse practitioner has a lot of responsibility for her. A great surprise was Paige's Meme made it! Meme and Paw Paw (Ronnie's dad) live in New Orleans. It makes it a bit hard for them to make it to every party we have. We were super happy that Meme could make it. Paw Paw couldn't, but Saturday is a busy day for him at his barber shop.

We let the kids run wild on the carport. We set up 2 large tables & 1 small one. The back table was just for paint & markers. Here Aunt Wii shows off the drying rack for the art work. Sorry, Aunt Wii, not the best picture of you, but the only one I have of the paint & drying!



The 2nd long table was set up with Play Doh on one end, and a create your own necklace area on the other end. Both of these tables were lots of fun for the kids. The Play Doh & paints got the most use.

Here Ryan (left) & Jessie (standing right) help Paige make a Play Doh snake. The small table held stickers & tattoos. The stickers were completly ignored. Everyone did get a tattoo though. By the end of the day the Play Doh was so mixed up that all of it just went into the trash. Don't worry about Paige, she has plenty more.

Paige specifically asked for a pink cake. Daddy made sure his little girl had a pink cake. No store bought cakes here, Daddy made it from scratch. It's pink cake, with each layer cut in half, and put back together with raspberry preserves.

And let's talk about the icing. You know that icing you grew up with? The one you're ashamed to admit you really love. The one made with Crisco. You know the one I'm talking about. Yeah, he made it from scratch too. And it was soooooo good. There was a full container left over. I love icing & have had a few spoonfuls of it. The finished product.

There were 2 cakes like this. We went through 1 1/2 at the party. The other half is going to work with Ronnie tomorrow. My office would kill me if I brought it in. She got help blowing out the candle from her friend Merick. Ronnie lit the candle several times while we sang Happy Birthday. Every time he lit the candle, Merick blew it out. His Mom grabbed him and Paige was able to blow it out by herself.

That's Merick behind Paige. She got to lick the candle so she was happy. She did get to share a snack with her boyfriend, Jude.

The grandparents got to meet Jude, and I think they approved of him. He's a cute little guy who has no idea Paige has declared him her boyfriend. But, since they've known each other practically since birth, I feel we know him well enough to give our blessings, for now.

And finally, after the party was over, we did some quick clean up. We discussed what to do about Paige. She didn't have a nap and was a bit cranky. I left her and Ronnie on the couch watching Hellboy while I went into the bedroom to call Mom. After about 5 minutes on the phone I came back out to find this.


Ronnie woke up just after I took this. We decided to let her sleep for about an hour then wake her up. It was already 4:30 and we didn't want her sleeping to late. She woke up on her own around 4:45. She was so cranky! She watched a bit more of Hellboy then fell back to sleep. We let her. Neither of us had the energy to deal with her crankiness anymore.

Slight crankiness aside, it was a great party. Everyone had a wonderfule time. Some people had told me I must be nuts to play a painting party for 3 year olds. It was perfect. I couldn't imagine a better theme for this years party. As parents & kids were leaving some even told me they would consider it for their kids!

Happy Birthday, Paige!

Today is my baby girl's 3rd birthday. I'll spare you the whole long birth story. It was 10 1/2 hours of labor, 3 of that pushing. Oh, and that epidural thing? Yeah, it didn't work. They numbed my left leg. Contractions aren't in your left leg.

Paige made her entrance to the world at 4:33 pm weighing in at 8 lbs 1 ounce and 19 3/4 inches long. She screamed so loud they heard her in the waiting room. My girl made sure to announce her arrival to the world.

It's been a fun 3 years, but I can't believe it's gone by so quickly. She's gone from a sweet little baby girl to an independent high spirited big girl. I wonder what the next 3 years will bring. I'll post a then and now picture later today.

Karma

Mom likes to tell the story of when we went to Disney World when I was 5. It seems that after dinner one night I was bad. Not a little bad, but really, really bad. We were at Pizza Hut having dinner with a family friend. As the story goes Mom was taking me to the bathroom for a "talk." (Mom speak for a spanking.) The friend started making excuses for me. It had been a long day. I was tired. I was hot. I was over-excited. All good excuses. It didn't work. Mom turned to her friend and said, "Do you want to be next?" He wisely shut his mouth.

Sunday night after we got back from New Orleans Paige was bad. Not just a little bad, but really, really bad. She was screaming in my ear, hitting, kicking, the works. We had tried to get her to calm down but it wasn't working. She had already had a time out. A spanking was next on the punishment list. During the time out I called Mom to let her know we were home safe and sound. And then I told her how bad Paige was being, and that she was going to be getting a spanking soon. Mom started making excuses. She was tired. It had been a long weekend. Her routine was off. All good excuses. And all true. But it doesn't excuse hitting, kicking & trying to burst my ear drums with her screams. I bit my tongue. What I wanted to say was, "Do you want to be next?" What I actually said was bye.

Another example of karma at work:

My favorite color is green. It's always been green. When I was Paige's age if the clothes weren't green I wouldn't get dressed. Mom's favorite color is red. The one color she couldn't stand? Green. There's several colors I don't like, the one I can't stand the most is pink. Paige's favorite color? Yeah. Pink.

Karma has a funny sense of humor.

It Never Fails

Paige puts herself to bed every night between 7:30 and 7:45. She gets up every morning by 6. Even on weekends that girl is up by 6. On rare, special occasions (of her own choosing) she will let us sleep until 6:30 or close to 7 on the weekends. If we have a 3 day weekend, like we just had, she's still up by 6 every day. If we have a 5 day weekend, like over Christmas, she gets up every day by 6.

Except on the first day back at work. Today she was still asleep when I went in her room at 6:15. Saturday she was up at 6. Sunday, we were out late Saturday night and she didn't get to bed until 9:30. She was up by 5:45. Monday, up by 6. Today? Slept late. What is it with her? It's like she knows we can't sleep late any more so that's the day she decides to sleep late. And it really doesn't matter if it's a 2 day weekend, 3 day weekend, or longer. She'll be up every morning by 6, until the day we have to go back to work.

Is it party time yet?

I swear Paige is going to drive us nuts asking about her party. We get the question several hundred times a day. OK, more like 15 times a day, but I swear it feels like more! Her party is scheduled for this coming Saturday and I can't wait. I'm ready for her to stop asking about it. Besides all the work it takes.

Everything has been purchased, except the ice. I think it can wait until Saturday morning, even with our overnight temps getting down into the low 20's I think it's best to wait on that one. Goody bags are made. I still need to stuff the pinata & make the candies. Food will be done the day of the party. Really all that's left is the cleaning.

I'll admit it, I'm not the best housekeeper in the world. My house is mostly clean. As in if you walked in right now I wouldn't be too embarrassed. The living room could stand to be de-Paiged of all her toys, but oh well. I have an almost 3 year old, get over it. Now it's time to do the deep cleaning that really needs to be done more often. Cleaning off the shelving unit in the bathroom, decluttering my desk (& Ronnie's). These are the things that tend to get ignored.

3 Firsts this weekend!

We spent this weekend in New Orleans. Ronnie's grandmother (on his dad's side) turned 90. Maw Maw had a nice birthday dinner and we all attended. We left early yesterday in order to hit some of our favorite stops along the way.

Paige got a po boy at Jocko's Check In Check Out. Not a first for her by any means. She helped devour my fried shrimp po boy. Then, she had her first mufuletta with Daddy. She LOVED it! Full of meat and olive salad. What's for her to not like?

After she got full, it was off to her Phefe's barber shop. By no means was this her first haircut. I believe her first was at 4 months. But this was her first haircut by Phefe. (Ronnie's dad) She did quite well for him. No surprise there, she sits very still for Aunt Wii as well.

Saturday night was the dinner. The food was good. I heard the gumbo was great, but a bit spicy for Maw Maw. I can't comment as Paige at all of mine. The chicken was good though. I did get to eat that while Paige ate Ronnie's fish. (My child is incapable of eating from her own plate in a restaurant. She wants what you have. She had a plate full of fries & chicken tenders. She ate the gumbo & grilled fish. Go figure.) How many people does it take to light 90 candles? 6. How many people does it take to blow out 90 candles? About 10 if my count is accurate.

Saturday night was her first sleep over. We made a bed for her in her cousin Emily's bedroom. I wasn't sure how well this would go. Emily is 10 and has a different bedtime routine. Paige is usually in bed by 7:30, but we didn't even get back to my sister in law Connie's house until after 9. Emily & Paige got into jammies, then we brushed teeth. As Emily was brushing hers Paige crawled onto her little bed. She got over on the very side and I asked her why. She patted the other side and said "This where my friend is going to sleep." referring to Emily. I had to convince Paige that Emily would sleep in her own bed. Emily got into bed and read for a little while. She even got Paige some board books to read in her bed. I was in the bedroom next door and expected to hear Paige calling for me, or getting up to play. Nope. She read for a few minutes. Then, I heard Emily tell her she was turning out the lamp and good night. I heard a feeble night night from Paige, then nothing for the rest of the night.

Overall a good trip. We enjoyed it a lot. The only downside being my little mole removal site got infected. Please note the location of your mole when scheduling to have it removed. A mole on the inside of your elbow should only be removed during summer. In winter months wearing long sleeves over it isn't fun.

Oh my!

Daddy: "Paige, you need to pick up your toys."

Paige: "No. My arms are broken."

What???? Where do kids come up with these things? Sometimes I think she's just too smart for her own good. Or mine.

Christmas Gifts

The good and the bad. We've had a few weeks to play with everything so I think it's a good time to review. I must say, there wasn't any really bad gifts this year. Everything she got she plays with. Some not as much as others, but she does play with everything. Let's start with the big stuff.

Dollhouse. I thought Paige was getting old enough to play with this and enjoy it. I didn't want to get her a plastic Fisher Price dollhouse. I wanted something she could grow with. This one is actually wood & came with furniture. She plays with this some, but not a lot. She likes to move the furniture & put the kids to bed. (We got her a Barbie, Ken & 2 little girls that came with a Barbie set.) The cats really enjoy sleeping in the kitchen of the dollhouse. And Ronnie hides the remotes on the terrace. I think this will get more use the older she gets.

Digital Camera. Picture quality isn't the best. But, she does use her camera & loves it! Better yet, she's stopped using my camera & dropping it. That makes Mommy very happy. It's a 1.3 megapixel I think. She likes the games that she can play and that she can put funny hats or noses on our pictures. Following the recommendations from the reviews I read, we upgraded to a memory card so we wouldn't lose any pictures if the batteries die. We haven't gone through our first set of batteries yet and it's gotten some pretty good use.

Vtech PC Pal. This is great! Paige loves to play on the computer, and now she can play on her very own! It came with one game and the keyboard & mouse. It plays all Vsmile games. We used a very nice Target gift card to get a joystick, Diego game & an ac adapter. The game selection on this one was better, to me, than on the Leapfrog. It goes up to age 7, so I think this will get lots and lots more use. It doesn't come with an ac adapter, but runs on 4 batteries each for the keyboard & the game consule. Truse me, invest in the $9 ac adapter. You'll save that much in batteries the first month! Grammy & Grumpy did good with this one.

Crayola Glow Board. This says ages 5 and up. Don't wait that long. If you find one in stock, grab it now! This was a gift from her Paw Paw and Aunt Maria. I will admit I hid this toy for about a week. She loves it and plays with it frequently. The one draw back is the markers dry out quickly. Paige isn't the best about putting caps on her markers. She tries, but she sometimes doesn't get the cap on completely. They dry out super quick. The directions recommend keeping them in a sandwich bag when not in use. Of the 6 markers it came with, 3 of them dried out within the first 2 weeks due to lack of correct capping. Of course it was the pink ones. I had a hard time finding replacement markers. This was an extremely popular gift this year. Until I could find replacement markers, I hid it under the couch. It was easier than listening to her whine (& get in trouble for it) because she couldn't have pink markers. I found 2 packs of replacement markers & it came out from under the couch!

Board games: Candyland, Chutes & Ladders, Ants in the Pants, Memory, Cooties. She's a bit young and hasn't quite gotten the hang of sitting still long enough to play. I think these are the closest thing we had to a bomb this year. But, given a few more months, or maybe longer, I think she'll grow to love these games as much as I did as a kid.

Books. Paige gets books every year. They are always a hit. This year one of her books was The Toddler Cookbook. This is pretty cool. We haven't tried the recipes yet. We've been a bit busy. It's got good ideas & a lot of pictures. Ronnie & I both like this publisher, they are great for their pictures. There are even party tips included for throwing a cooking party for your toddler friends. If you're looking for something to get your toddler started in the kitchen, try this one.

One Less Identifying Mark

Let the crime spree begin! I have one less identifying mark. I have several moles, 5 to be precise. Four of them don't bother me. Then there's that one on the inside of my right elbow. It catches on things, then bleeds, then hurts for a week. I've wanted to have it removed for years. I finally did it today.

None of them have changed color or appearance. Well, except for that one on my left thigh. It's gotten flatter as my thigh has gotten fatter. It had to spread out & cover more area! That's usually the first thing to look for. And if you have moles, I suggest you watch them to make sure. The dermatologist did send it off to the lab. He said if he doesn't then insurance considers it cosmetic & won't pay for it.

I will have a scar where the mole was. It'll be the same size as the mole & about the depth of a chicken pox scar. Not too bad. I'm really not worried about having another scar. I'll just add it to the car accident scars, stitches & miscellaneous other bangs I've done to my poor body over the years. If you're thinking of having a mole removed: go for it! There's a few seconds of pain as you get a Novocaine injection. After that, all you feel is a bit of pressure. The tingly sensation in my hand took longer to go away.

So, let the crime spree begin. No one can identify me by my right elbow. Now, if only the government didn't have my fingerprints & DNA.

Chalkboard Wall

One wall of Paige's room is covered in chalkboard paint. It starts at the light switch and goes all the way to the baseboard. We did this about a year ago, maybe longer. She's such a little artist. She just loves to draw and color. It seemed like a no-brainer to me to give her a wall she can color on.

Some people said they don't think they could do it. What if the kids color somewhere else? So far we haven't had that problem. We have a sand bucket full of chalk sitting by the wall. We've spent many happy hours coloring on the wall.

The one drawback to it is cleaning it. To really get the chalk off you need to use a damp cloth. After a while, it starts to wash away the chalkboard paint as well. I'll probably need to repaint this spring. The painting is more like glooping it on. It's very thick, and does require a couple of coats. It's a wall she can use for years. Most kids love to draw. When she finally outgrows it, or we move out, it'll probably require a can of Kilz to get rid of it. A small price to pay for the amount of fun we've had!

Paige's party is coming

Paige is super excited. I let it slip last week that she's having a birthday party. She didn't even know her birthday was coming up. Bad Mommy! Now she's worrying about who's coming to the party, and what color everything will be. For the record Grammy & her friends MUST be there, and everything should be pink.

This year we're going with an arts & crafts themed party. You know, all the stuff most parents won't let their kids play with at home. We'll set up on the carport with tables and different stations. We're set to have:

• Paint
• Markers, crayons
• Play doh
• Tattoos
• Chalk
• Construction paper
• Glue
• Googly eyes
• Pipe cleaners
• Stickers

I think that's it. I have several crafts lined up, such as making their own necklace, and a hand print flower. I'll provide aprons for the kids so they don't get their clothes all messed up. For those I'll go to the thrift store & purchase button up shirts to cover their clothes.

When the party is over I'll wrap everything up in the plastic tablecloths & throw it away. We can get out the power washer & hose down the carport if needed. We've invited 12 kids. Most are around 2 to 3 years old, with a few closer to 5 or 6.

I think overall it's a great idea for a kids party. We should have a blast. Her party is scheduled for the 24th at 11:30. A light lunch will be served: ham salad sandwiches, egg rolls, pizza rolls, veggie tray, relish tray, chips & dip, and cake & ice cream. We'll ice down drinks for everyone & let the party tend itself. I want to be able to enjoy her party & socialize with friends and family. I don't want to have to spend the entire party trying to keep things running.

A herd of elephant on my roof

I sat down tonight to blog about Paige's upcoming birthday party. It's definitely going to be interesting. But, that will have to wait. As I sat down at my laptop, a herd of elephant started running across my roof.

What herd of elephant you ask? Or, how can your roof support a herd of elephant? It's actually the cats. We have 2 cats, and Wendy has 2 cats. We have a flat roof over our bedroom. When the cats start playing up there it sounds like a herd of elephant are trampling over our heads. Normally it's funny to hear them. Paige just giggles when they run. At other times they do it in the middle of the night. On those nights I swear we're getting rid of the cats. Never happens.

Maybe if we were smart we would cut down the trees close to the house. That's how the cats get up there in the first place. But, they are some pretty oaks, and we don't want to lose them. So for now we have to live with the herd of elephants, um cats, running across the roof.

Think we should put them on diets? And don't even get me started on what it sounds like when they chase squirrels. I've been to concerts that aren't as noisy.

First Sinus Infection

There's something you don't find a place for in baby books! Have I mentioned that Paige has been cranky lately? Oh, you say I have? I thought so.

Yesterday Paige had 2 nosebleeds, something she's never had before. I decided it was time to go to the doctor. Luckily, we have a great pediatrician! Dr. Laycock is wonderful. We called at 7:30 and had an 8:30 appointment. My poor little girl has post nasal drip & a sinus infection. Just what she needs. Sinus infections are rather painful. At least that explains why she's been so cranky lately.

I know that at almost 3 she can't really tell me yet exactly what is wrong. I've been quizzing her lately. I would ask about ears, throat, tummy, the usual stuff. Yesterday she said her ears hurt. Then later she said they didn't.

Unfortunately it looks like Paige has inherited my sinus problems. I do wish she hadn't. That's one of the things I didn't really want to pass on to my child. My sinus issues, Ronnie's finger toes, the poor child is doomed! She'll be the kid at the beach with the runny nose & ugly toes. :(

Freezer Cooking

This is probably my single greatest time saving device. Of course it takes Ronnie hours of work, but it save me a lot of time! For the uninitiated freezer cooking requires you to plan ahead, have a deep freeze, and spend an entire day in the kitchen. I guess you don't have to have a deep freeze, but it does make things a lot easier.

First, make a list of items your family enjoys eating, and that freezes well. Meals like casseroles, soups, beans, stews, meatloaf, lasagna, spaghetti, gumbo, stroganoff. All of these freeze very well. Pick 3 or 4 that you want to start with. Hit the grocery store and get ready to cook in bulk. Ronnie will typically have 2 crock pots and several pots going at one time. On his last cooking day he made beef stew, pork stew, gumbo, red beans, black beans, stroganoff, and spaghetti sauce. Cutting veggies in bulk & prepping everything before you start will make it go smoothly. You can put a stew in the crock pot, while you cook beans & spaghetti on the stove & have a meatloaf in the oven. Make sure you time it so that everything isn't ready at the same time.

Think about the last time you made stew. You probably had leftovers for days. That was a lot of meals. We got 5 meals out of the last stew Ronnie made. We freeze our meals in serving size. A serving for us includes enough for me to take leftovers to work the next day. Using blue painters tape to label the containers will prevent them from getting marker permenantly embedded in the plastic. It peels off easily no matter how long it's in the freezer too. We've found that the perfect containers are the tall quart containers you get egg drop soup in from the Chinese restaurant. It's enough for all of us to eat, plus have leftovers.

Once all the hardwork is done, relax with easy meals for weeks. We usually do this, OK Ronnie usually does this, about every 6 to 8 weeks. Sometimes longer. Once the freezer starts getting low we start making lists of what we want next.

Weekly Menu

After talking to a coworker, a few other friends, I realized either I'm a freak, or my friends are freaks. I'm not so sure which is better. But that's beside the point. At lunch we were talking about dinner. Our office is all about the food. My coworker, Crystal, had no idea what to fix. She said she usually just wings dinner & it may end up being fast food or corn dogs from the microwave. My dinner? Beef stroganoff, pasta & peas. Tomorrow? Grilled chicken, mashed potatoes & green beans. Crystal was amazed. I already knew what I'm having tonight, and I had planned for tomorrow as well.

I do this every week. Saturday morning I sit down and plan a menu for the week. Ronnie does a lot of freezer cooking, but that's another post. I take into consideration what we have prepared in the freezer, and what meats we have already. Then, I put together a shopping list. I only buy things on the list. Since I use a lot of what is on hand, my weekly shopping bill is down to about $35-$50. When things we use frequently are on sale, I'll stock up the pantry or deep freeze then. Otherwise, I'll buy as we need.

This saves a ton of time as well. Take tonight for example. The beef stroganoff was from the freezer. Last night I moved it into the fridge to thaw. By the time I got home, it was completely thawed. I made pasta while heating the stroganoff. Toss some frozen peas to steam in the microwave & dinner is served. Dinner tonight took about 20 minutes from walking in the door to table. And that does allow for a potty break for Paige, and Mommy getting out of work clothes.

Tomorrow won't take long either. I already have the George Foreman out on the counter ready to go. On weeks when I'm really on the ball, it takes even less time. Some weeks I'll pre cook any rice or pasta that I'll need for the week. That seriously cuts down the cook time in the evening!

So, am I the only one? Am I the freak or are my friends?

Well, we survived

It wasn't pretty, but we survived yesterday. Paige was very cranky, and spent some good quality time sitting by herself in the bathroom. (Works better than her room since it has so many toys.) Paige decided to play on my rocking chair, which is usually fine. But she started to get very rough with trying to stand and jump from it while it was rocking. I kept telling her to stop or she would get hurt. Well, Mommy caught her. And now I have a really nasty bruise that covers most of my pinky on my right hand. Really not pretty.

She didn't take a nap at nap time. We could hear her playing. We each went in once, and put her back down. About an hour into what is usually a 2 hour nap, she called for Daddy. She had wet the bed. Ronnie showered her off while I changed the sheets. That one I don't get since she pottied just before nap time.

Ronnie still wanted to do something special with just the 2 of them. He packed her up and headed to the Exploreum. She loves it there. So much so that she didn't want to stop playing to go potty. She peed on herself. Ronnie had repeatedly tried to get her to potty, and she refused. As a result, she lost TV privileges yesterday afternoon and evening. They had to leave early to come home & get cleaned up. (Paper towels in the mens room doesn't really do much.)

She argued & acted up more during the afternoon. She pretty much refused to eat dinner. We refuse to cook 2 meals, so she may have gone to bed hungry. (And it was her fave meal anyway- fish, cous cous & green beans.) We did put her down to bed early also. Usually bedtime is 7:45. Last night we put her down at 7:15. We didn't hear a peep from her. She was so tired she was instantly asleep.

One of those days

I think it's going to be one of those days. Paige let us sleep late today, and we didn't get up until 7:30. That was a small miracle in itself. But, the extra sleep didn't help her any. She's cranky.

She started off by asking for chocolate milk. Ronnie said OK, and they started to the kitchen to get it. Then the mistake came. Paige told me that I couldn't have any. That it was only for her & Daddy. Now, I don't drink milk of any kind. I hate it. But, it's the principle of the thing. She's got to learn to share & to be nice. She's still refusing to share chocolate milk. She's had to sit in the bathroom this morning. And, she's been told there will be no chocolate milk today at all.

There's been much crying, screaming, a couple of temper tantrums, and an overall not very nice mood this morning. I'm hoping it gets better.

The Best & Worst of 2008

They're everywhere. The best of this from 2008, the worst of this category from 2008. There's Oscar Buzz, and lists of who we lost in 2008. I don't tend to agree with most of them. So, I've created my own. Here it is, Angie's Best & Worst of 2008.

Movies:
Best Actor- Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight. He freaked me out.
Best Action Movie- The Dark Knight
Best Comedy- Wanted. I know it wasn't supposed to be a comedy, but have you seen it?
Best Comic Book Adaption- Iron man. Except for the very, very end.
Best Surprise Moment- Hancock
Best Sequel: Hell Boy 2
Worst Movie: The Love Guru. I didn't see it, but the previews killed braincells.

TV:
Jumped the Shark: Nip/Tuck
Best SciFi: Battlestar Gallactica
Best Reality Show: Top Chef
Sorry to See Go: Stargate Atlantis
Why Was it on So Long?: Boston Legal
Please Cancel: Most Reality TV
Best Imports: Dr. Who/ Torchwood. Torchwood is a spin-off, so I'm justified in selecting both.
Thanks for Canceling: ER
Best Cartoon- Bob the Builder
Best Drama- CSI

Internet:
Over-hyped: Lyndsay Lohan is gay. And?
Over Drama Queened: Brittney Spears
Most Addictive Site: Twitter
Most Time Consuming: Facebook
Best News Site: ABC News
Funniest: LOLcats
Most Over Publicized: Brad Pitt/ Angelina Jolie. I really don't care.

Books:
Best New Read: Duma Key, Stephen King
Best Reread: Stephen King's Gunslinger Series
Most Anticipated: Ender in Exile, Orson Scott Card
Most Read in our House: Sing a Song of Sixpence

Politics:
Stupidest Politician: Blagovich. Seriously, don't talk about it on your cell phone!
Shoulda Ran: Colin Powell
Most Un-newsworth Story: Palin's clothes shopping spree.
Is It That Serious?: Obama's get a dog.

Around the House:
Can't Believe I said: "Cat's don't wear chapstick."
Favorite Gift: Strawberry Shortcake Display Stand. I LOVE IT!!!
Nosiest: Paige on the drums.
Biggest Achievement: Using the potty.
Longest Overdue: Graduating from college.
Best Invention Used Around the House: DVR
Can't Live Without: George Foreman Grill
Most Used: Coffee pot
Mini Me Moment: Catching Paige laying in bed reading.