Growth spurt?

Last night was Taco Tuesday at our house. I forgot to fix the rice to go with it, so it was just tacos last night. I wondered how well Paige would eat. Sometimes she loves tacos, sometimes not so much. She ate 3. That's 3 tacos with everything: meat, cheese, salsa, tomato and lettuce. Plus the shell. I couldn't believe it! I decided she must be hungry & didn't think anything else of it.

Tonight was pork chops with green beans and mac & cheese. I made 1 extra pork chop so I would have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. My left overs? Currently sleeping down the hall. Tonight Paige ate 1 and a half pork chops. Plus a large helping of mac & cheese and green beans. I couldn't believe it. I'm guessing a growth spurt must be coming on.

I mentioned it to a friend who told me she was a picky eater at this age, and how much picky eaters bug her now. That got me to thinking. When I was a kid, I was a picky eater. I didn't like meat very much. My cousin Stephine didn't like veggies at all. Worked perfect. We sat next to each other at the dinner table and switched plates.

At Granny & Paw Paw's 50th anniversary party, we told on ourselves. We thought they knew! I mean, how slick could we be to get away with that? We were kids. Granted we sat at the end of the 8 foot table, but still. They had to see us, right? Nope. They grounded us. Hmmmm. I wonder if we're still grounded.

And for the record, I still prefer veggies over meat. Except for a good steak.

Well, at least she's honest

This morning Paige & I were laying on the bed trying to decide if we wanted to get dressed for the day. We were laughing & playing before facing the day.

Mommy: "You make me happy."

Paige: "I make Mommy happy. And Daddy. And Grammy. And Grumpy."

"Yep! You make us happy."

"I make everybody happy!"

She stops to think for a moment.

"I make people mad too."

She may be a bit conceited, but she does realize she makes us mad sometimes.

Batman's Cate

Batman & Superman both have cates. Did you know that? Me either. We have Superhero PJ's: Batman, Superman & Spiderman. The cool thing about them, is they have capes that velcro on the back. Paige keeps calling them cates. We're working on it, but she still keeps calling them cates.

I wonder how Batman feels about this.

Relay for Life was fun!

We had an absolute blast! I knew when I signed up that I wouldn't be able to make it all night. I knew we had too much to do Saturday for me to sleep the day away. Besides, I get cranky when I'm tired. Kelli and I left work at 3 to go set up our tent. We didn't have much in the way of decorations, but we had plenty of food & drink to get ready.

The event kicked off with the Survivor lap. There goes Todd & Kelli starting their victory lap.


Then no survivor got there alone, they all had to have a caregiver. The second lap is the survivor with their support. Kelli and her sister Katie, Todd and his wife Jessica. This was my favorite picture of the entire night.


There were activities planned all night. There was line dancing, a scavenger hunt, mascots from local schools out there, shaving a balloon, and a talent contest. The organizers also scheduled a movie, video games, and a few other things to keep people awake.

The luminary took place around 9:30. The entire track is lined with luminaries. They were in honor of those who had died, celebration of the survivors, and support for those going through cancer now. I probably should have taken pictures, but it wouldn't have done it justice. The entire group walks the track as one, and in complete silence. All lights are turned off, and the only thing lighting the way is the luminaries. After the lap is complete, everyone gathered at the stage to watch the slide show. It lasted until around 10, which is 2 1/2 hours after Paige's bedtime. I looked over and found this.

It may look like he's sleeping, but he's not. Just enjoying a bit of snuggle time with his little girl. Ronnie left a full day of work to come out and grill for us. We had hamburgers, sausage, and hot dogs. He's so good, he even kept all the pork away from the beef so that our Muslim attendees could eat! After this they both came home & went to bed.

I made it until about 1:30. Ronnie came back to help us break down & load the huge grill pit back into the truck. I spent yesterday recovering & unloading. My van was packed full from all the stuff we needed. I cleaned out ice chests, dried out banners & tents, and ran 2 full dishwashers. We're already making plans for next year. We're thinking a luau theme for our tent. I can't wait.

If you've never participated, I highly recommend it. Amy posted a comment in another post asking what to expect. Bring a chair, plenty of Coke, good TP for the porta potties, a towel to dry off everything when it gets wet (we live in a very humid area), and a box of Kleenex. If you don't tear up with the Survivor Walk, then you will with the luminary walk. Also bring a camera to remember the times. And like us, you'll probably be taking notes & discussing what you can do next year to make it even better.

8 Things

I was tagged yesterday by Heather. This looks really interesting, so here goes:

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

• A nap today.
• Getting to the bottom of why I have so many migraines.
• Finishing the scrapbooking I have pulled out to do.
• A visit to my best friend Kim, one day.
• Going back to Germany and showing Ronnie all the great beer.
• Having another baby.
• Paige sleeping late.
  
• Breakfast.

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

• Went to work early.
• Ate Taco Bell.
• Texted some friends.
• Emailed clients.
• Drank a lot of Coke.
• Grilled.
• Didn't watch any TV.
• Walked in Relay for Life until 1:30 this morning.

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

• Play more with Paige without getting tired.
• Get rid of my migraines.
• Take a vacation to Disney.
• Sing without making dogs howl.
• Stand the idea of watching Little Mermaid again, I know Paige will want to today.
• Speak another language.
• Get Paige to stop twisting her hair.
• Stop Paige from sucking her thumb.

8 Shows I Watch:

• CSI
• NCIS
• Dr. Who
• TORCHWOOD
• Smallville
• Top Chef
  
• Dora the Explorer
  
• Toot & Puddle

8 Songs on my iPod

• Angela Dangerlove
• Stadium Arcadium
• No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem
• Changes in Lattitude, Changes in Attitude
• Bob the Builder
• Benny & The Jets
• Just a Dream
• 1999

8 Favorite Warm Weather Activities

• Going to the beach.
• Laying in the hammock, taking a nap.
• Reading on the porch swing
• Watching Paige drive her Jeep.
• Grilling
• Playing in the sprinkler.
• Sitting inside in the A/C.
• Slip n slide.

8 Favorite Happy Things

• Ronnie
  
• Paige
• A good book.
• Afternoon naps.
• Time spent with friends.
• Finishing my To Do List.
• Pedicures
• Video Games

8 People to Tag

• Monica
• Beth

OK, so that isn't 8. But, they are 2 that I think will do it.

Relay for Life

One of my coworkers, Kelli, has been the driving force in my participation this year. She found out when it is being held, created a group, and told us to sign up. Tomorrow night I will be participating in my first ever Relay for Life. The activities begin at 6pm with a survivor lap. After Kelli and Todd (another coworker) complete their lap, it will open for the rest of us.

The local chapter of The American Cancer Society has some good activities planned. There's a childrens area as well as events planned all night long. The goal is for us to walk until 6 am. I'm not sure I can make it that long. Someone from our team should be on the track at all times. I think there are enough of us that we can achieve that goal.

This is a family event for us as well. Everyone is bringing their spouse and children, if they have any. I've put together some things for the kids to do other than what's already scheduled. We've borrowed a canopy. Ronnie is bringing out the big grill pit. Everyone at work is bringing something. This should be a nice get together for everyone involved. And at the same time raise money for a good cause.

Our Superhero Names

Every good Geeky parent deserves a good superhero name. And sometimes, the Geeky child deserves one too. So, after Sunday's dinner fiasco, I have given us all our superhero names.

Presenting:

Meany Mommy

Diabolical Daddy

Pouty Paige


On the plus side, Paige ate dinner again tonight.

Mean Mommy Strikes Again

And Mean Daddy too. See, we only cook 1 meal a night in this house. There's no special meal for a 3 year old who decides she doesn't like what we cook. If we cook something I know she hates, like asparagus, I will make her a different veggie. But, a whole meal? Nope. And if it's a meal I know she likes? Little girl better be eating. Mommy doesn't play that game.

Last night Paige sat down at the table & announced she was not going to eat. She asked to get down. We told her no, that she could sit with us at the table. Lately she's decided she doesn't want to eat supper, she would rather play. In order to stop her from playing through supper the new rule is she must sit with us while we eat.

Paige refused to eat. And refused to eat. And refused to eat. After her bath she asked for a snack. I sat her at the table with her plate & cup still on it. She didn't want it. Fine. Paige went to bed hungry last night. It was the first time she's completely eaten nothing for supper. She woke up at 2:30 this morning crying. I couldn't understand her until I sat with her. She was trying to tell me she wanted to eat her supper. I was nice to her and put her back to bed. It was 2:30 in the morning & Mommy was tired.

This morning Paige woke up at the usual time. She was hungry. She ate 3 French toast sticks for her first breakfast. (Our little hobbit gets 1st breakfast at home & 2nd breakfast at daycare.) She wasn't happy this morning. She woke up hungry & cranky from waking up during the night.

You know what? She ate her supper tonight. And asked for seconds.

200th Post!

The 200th post I've done on here. I'm rather impressed. When a TV show gets to 200 episodes there's usually a big party with a huge cake. Of course, those 200 episodes are spread out over years. Not the case here. Stargate SG-1 did a great 200th episode. That was probably one of my favorites. I love a show that can poke fun of itself in a special episode when they usually poke fun of themselves every how anyway.

What I really came on here to post about is coloring. When you grow up you mostly forget about the joys of coloring. The time spent laying on the floor, picking the best picture in the coloring book. Then selecting the perfect color for each section. As much as you want to use your favorite color all the time, you just can't. I mean, a picture colored all green doesn't really turn out all that good.

Then you have a child and you color. And color. And color some more. We have a big container full of crayons & markers. We have stacks of coloring books. My favorite is the extra large one. That gives both of us plenty of room to color together. It's big, 2 feet by 2 feet. Paige & I can lay on the floor beside each other and color without getting in each others way too much.

While I enjoy coloring with her, my favorite time to color is after she goes to bed. Try it some night. No one telling you where to color & what colors to use. You get to pick it all by yourself. It's a good stress reliever. Give it a shot after you put the kids to bed tonight. I won't tell, I promise.

Happy Birthday to me

Tax season is over, and it's my birthday. All on the same day. What a great day! My day didn't start out all that great with some early morning work phone calls for Ronnie. It did get better from there. Paige was very good for Mommy this morning. That always makes for a good morning.

Work had a much more casual feeling today. The pressure of April 15th was off of everyone. Even those of us who don't actually prepare taxes. (People like me end up doing extra work to free up tax prep time for others.) It was almost a party atmosphere. We had our After Tax Season luncheon today. A nice 2 hour lunch to relax & have fun.

Tonight's dinner was amazing. Ronnie grilled asparagus & steaks, and baked potatoes. That was followed by a cake made by Ronnie & Paige. She was so cute spreading green icing, sprinkling chopped pistachios, and putting strawberries on top.

Tomorrow night I'll go out with some girl friends for a girls night out. No men allowed. Even the bartender & server we have are females. No men, no kids. Sounds like a great time with friends. Now that tax season is over & things are more relaxed, you can expect more posts.

Bed Time

Bed time is actually pretty tame around here. So many people complain about their kids not going to bed at a decent hour or about the kids fighting bedtime. Paige has a bedtime, for the most part. It varies between 7:45 and 8. It depends on how late we're running with dinner & how long she plays in the bath.

Bed time has been the same for close to 2 years now. Paige puts herself to bed. What can I say? She's her mother's daughter and likes to sleep. My Paw Paw could sleep sitting in a chair in the back of his grocery store. It's a family thing. Our routine has varied a bit and evolved over these 2 years. I must say that the latest version is by far my favorite.

Paige is finally old enough to sit and listen to stories now. She's listened to stories for a while, but is now sitting longer and longer at a stretch. Paige purchased this book with a gift card she received for her birthday. Each night we read the story for that day. After that we read a Dr. Seuss book to her as well.

We alternate nights of reading to her. Tonight was a daddy night. It was so sweet to see him sitting there next to her bed, reading her a story. I think it's one of the cutest things I've seen.

Easter Weekend Recap

Let me warn you now, this post involves complete picture overload.

It was definitely an eventful weekend. We started Friday by going to the science museum. We were greeted by a huge beating heart. I think it looks pretty cool.

Emily got to perform virtual heart surgery. I did a knee replacement. It was yucky. But now I know what the doctors will do when they eventually have to replace my left knee.


The white everything and the blue lights made me feel like I was in an episode of Star Trek. I think the pics turned out really funky looking. We finished up with the science museum and went down the block to another museum. This one had an exhibit on pirates.

G-mama, Paige & Emily played on the pirate ship. I don't know where they sailed but she kept telling me she was leaving.


I was disappointed in this exhibit. I was hoping for more. This was really short on displays & descriptions. The main thing in the exhibit hall was the parts of the ship they built for the exhibit. We still had a good day though.

Friday night we took Emily back home to New Orleans. We got up Saturday for an egg hunt. This is done each year by Emily's neighborhood. Each year a group of Mommies meet up at the gazebo and hide eggs. Everyone meets up later to hunt, hunt, hunt. Paige did extremely well here. She found the most eggs, 43. We were very serious scoping out the best spots to search.

We followed up egg hunt with a nice lunch of crawfish. Yummy!! Then we were on the road headed home. Paige had a bit of an exciting day, and one without a nap. On the way home we discovered this in the backseat.

Sunday was the usual Easter day. The Easter bunny came to visit us bright and early. Paige got to hunt eggs that the great bunny left for her. Paige left him a small bowl of carrots & a bottle of water. He ate the carrots & took the bottle of water with him. Must have been thirsty. He left Paige a very full basket of treats. Very little candy, but some nice books, a View Master, hair accessories, and Kidz K'nex.

It looks like the bunny went all out. But I would like to point out that our bunny knows how to catch a really good sale. The bunny also starts shopping early & stashing things away. Grammy made Paige a beautiful pink dress to wear.

The back is what makes this dress so adorable.

We went to Aunt Ann's house to have lunch & an egg hunt with the family. It was a larger than usual gathering and Paige was very uncomfortable. We didn't stay long. Even before the egg hunt she was ready to go back across the street to Grammy's house. Grammy came over to watch the egg hunt and Paige walked back across the street with her. I gathered up a few more of treats and headed back across.

Grammy & Grumpy couldn't decide which outfit they liked better. So, Grammy had to make 2 of them. The dress was for the day, then Paige had an outfit change into her egg hunting outfit.


I got her to change the outfit, but couldn't get her to change the shoes. We all know how Paige is about her shoes. I think her favorite Easter present is the new sandals from Grammy & Grumpy.

Let the Easter Activities Begin

Ronnie & I both have off for Good Friday this year. Me because I scheduled a day off, him because he has to work Sunday. Today will be spent with his Mom, G-Mama, and niece, Emily. We're going to our local kids science museum. We have an absolute blast at it. There's something for every age group. Then we'll be off to see the pirate exhibit at our local art museum. Tonight, we will take Emily back home to New Orleans.

Saturday morning we will have an egg hunt at Emily's house. Their neighborhood has an annual egg hunt & we're invited. After the egg hunt it's back home to attend a crawfish boil.

Sunday is my family Easter get together. We all meet at Aunt Ann's for a potluck lunch & egg hunt. I look forward to it every year. I'm sure Paige will have fun.

Now if I could only find time to do laundry and grocery shop I would be in good shape!

Sign of the Times

Paige picked up the phone from her play kitchen tonight. I asked her who she was calling. She said she wasn't calling anyone. Instead she pushed quite a few buttons. Paige had to send a text message to Grammy. Hope Grammy got it!

Yep, my 3 year old has sent her first pretend text message. I guess I'm rubbing off on her; my cell bill shows more texts than minutes used each month.

Our Garden

We decided this year that we wanted to do a garden. It's something we can do together & get us out of the house. Besides, with the economy going south, and fresh veggies getting higher & higher, it will be easier on our checking account. At least hopefully it will be.

The garden hadn't been used in about 3 years, so it was a bit overgrown.


Paige was ready to help us pull up all the grass.


We kept the rosemary bush as well as the Jasmine. Everything else came out, including a lot of the top soil.


Once we got everything cleaned out, it was time to add in some manure & potting soil. Ronnie formed the rows up into hills. This way Paige could see where she could walk and where she couldn't. She has pink gloves, pink trowel, & a pink sunhat. She's all ready to help out in the garden. We wanted to make sure she could clearly see where not to walk. Paige got to help plant the jalapenos with Daddy & Paw Paw. (Paw Paw & Aunt Maria stopped by at just the right time to help out.)


I think the end result turned out pretty nice. Well, OK, the intermediate result.

We planted jalapenos, green bell peppers, cucumber, roma & grape tomatoes, okra, corn, & zucchini. We tried to pick some of the items we use the most. And things we thought we could grow in our little backyard garden. We're not so sure about the corn, but we're giving it a shot. I'm not going to tell you that we're all organic. We did use organic potting soil & manure. But we're using Miracle Grow LiquiFeed every 2 weeks. I'm guessing that doesn't count as being all organic.

Anyone else out there planting a garden this year?

Hit & Miss

OK, folks, the deadline is almost here, April 15th. We've already passed the first deadline (March 15th), but the big one is just around the corner. In my world, this is the busy time. That's only 8 working days. I'm still here. I'm alive & mostly well. This sinus infection just thinks it'll kick my butt! The next week and a half may have some spotty posts. I have a lot of ideas, and do have a list going. But, by the time I get home from work I'm drained. I've been staring at the computer all day and it's the last thing I want to do when I get home. I promise a couple of posts a week at least.

I'm just asking for a bit of slack for this poor overworked accountant who's eyes hurt from staring at numbers all day. I'll be back in full force on what I like to call Accountants Holiday, April 16th, also known as my birthday.

I almost forgot

Yesterday was April Fools Day. I've never been big into gags and things. Usually, it just passes as another day for me. Last year Jonah Lisa got a lot of people with her blog post. That was a good one. So good that she brought it back this year and got her new readers.

In case you haven't realized yet, I'm a Geek. As a Geek, one of my favorite websites to shop is Think Geek. Every year they create fake items for April Fools Day. Sometimes the items look super cool & I want to buy them. Even if you know the item is fake, it's still great to click on. They do cute little gotcha sayings. I almost forgot to click over and check them out. Luckily, Think Geek keeps it up for a few days for people like me.

This year had some pretty nice items up for sale. How about a USB Pet Rock? Or Squeeze Bacon? Yum, I love bacon. I like the Buzzword bracelet myself. One product was so popular that they are going to try to produce it! Of course, before they can George Lucas has to give his blessing. Make sure you check out the Favorites on the right side. That will give you even more. There are clues it isn't real. Check what the items say for availability. That's a give away. They definitely put some thought into this each year. I think my favorites are USB Fondue set & the PC Easy Bake Oven. And the wireless extension cords, Habitrail for your gerbils, and the caffeine inhaler. Oh, hell, I like pretty much all of them.

Anyway, sit back, relax, and enjoy Think Geek's April Fools Day jokes.

Tea Party

Saturday we went to visit Grammy & Grumpy. Paige loves her Grammy & Grumpy. She had been asking for them for a week or longer, so we went for a visit. Mom, aka Grammy, has a lot of little knick knacks around the living room. And of course, Paige loves to play with them.

This past visit Paige discovered the tea set. It's a miniature resin tea set where everything is shaped like magnolias. At first she had a tea party with the teddy bears playing checkers. But they got boring, they didn't talk back to her. Next, she invited Grammy for a tea party. Grammy had to teach Paige to stick out their pinkies when they drink tea. As Grammy said, all good Southern Belle's stick out their pinky when drinking tea.



Paige and Grammy had a wonderful tea party while the rest of us watched. She did offer to share with Grumpy. I guess Mommy & Daddy just didn't cut it Saturday.