A new haircut

We've been letting Paige's hair grow out some. She does great with haircuts. She had her first haircut at around 5 months I think. And we've been cutting it regularly since then. She has this bad habit of twisting her hair with her right index finger while sucking her left thumb. Daycare calls it the "Paige suck and twist." She does it mostly when she's tired or stressed.

I picked her up from daycare on Wednesday to find what appeared to be a 2 inch by 4 inch dreadlock on the right side of her head. Paige had discovered that after she twisted her hair into knots, that she could stick it in her mouth and chew and suck on it. Ok, let's be honest. That just grosses me out. It's super nasty. Ronnie had been talking about cutting her hair, I decided it was time. Trying to brush that mess was awful. There was lots of crying and screaming. And Paige cried too!

When we got home I went home and immediately made an emergency hair appointment with Aunt Wii for Thursday afternoon. Thursday morning I told my boss I needed to leave early for an emergency haircut. Once I explained it, she completely understood. Aunt Wii ended up cutting about 2 to 2 1/2 inches off.

Here's the before:


Please notice that she didn't chew her hair that day. Figures.

After:


After she looked in the mirror:



Paige was not happy with getting her hair cut. She wanted her hair longer. Must be some girly thing, I like mine super short. Aunt Wii was happy with it. Mommy and Daddy are happy with it. Until this afternoon if I ask her about her hair, she refuses to speak to me. But she does say she likes it.


*Please note the super cool mural in the background. Aunt Wii's brother painted that for her. Aunt Wii loves suns and moons.*

Travel Preparations

Our big trip is coming up in a week. I will be flying alone with Paige. We have 2 short flights, about an hour and a half each, and a 1 hour layover in between. A road trip I'm prepared for. We've done those together, just the 2 of us, before. I know how to keep her occupied, and how she'll react to things. Flying is a bit different. First, how will she like it? Next what if she screams the whole way? I have to think of the other passengers too. I had a few ideas, but turned to the flight guru, Beth, to ask for suggestions.

Beth was kind enough to confirm my thoughts and add a few of her own. I'll be checking the car seat as luggage (free of charge, thank you very much) instead of at the gate as I was planning. I'll be set with the laptop, iPod and iPhone, just as I had planned. I've also gotten a hidden stash of travel coloring books and colors, a composition book and some stickers. I'll pack some snacks and Crystal Light To Go packs.

We're flying Delta and we each get 2 carry ons. I'll probably only have 1 for myself, but it is a pretty big backpack. Paige will have 2. She'll have her small pink backpack that she packs her toys into, and her Pink, her teddy bear that she can't leave at home. Someone suggested I bring candy that she's not normally allowed at home as a special treat. Um. No. Paige doesn't eat much candy and when she does, she gets super hyper. I'm thinking peanut butter crackers, potato chips, things like that. And gum. Paige doesn't know how to pop her ears. If you have a suggestion on how to teach her to pop her ears, please let me know.

I'm making lists of things to take. I don't want to over pack, and Kim does have a washer and dryer. But I want to take enough for the trip without having to do laundry unless Paige spills milk all over the suitcases! I'm also trying to get away with just 1 large suitcase, less for me to deal with.

To those driving around me

I guess my driving is just getting worse and worse. I feel like I need to apologize to people whao have driven close to me recently.

To the driver of the white BMW SUV
First, let me start off by apologizing for the person in front of me. That driver was only doing 35 in a 40. There are certain laws of physics that I must obey, even if not obeying the speed limit. One of these says that I can't go any faster than the car in front of me. I'm sorry you felt the need to try and pass me in the left emergency lane that was ending. I'm not quite sorry I didn't let you back into traffic in front of me. I think it's safe to assume that after you got behind me, then tried to pass me on the right, that you decided to participate in some father-son bonding with the 7 or 8 year old boy in the backseat. How nice that your father-son bonding includes both of you rolling down your windows, flipping me off and screaming obscenities at me. My idea of mother-daughter bonding involves shoe shopping. I do hope my rolling down my window to blow you a kiss didn't upset you too much. From the look on your face it did. That wasn't my intention.

To the county worker trying to get on the interstate
There was a long line of bumper to bumper traffic. Being a county worker I'm guessing you've lived in the area more than a week. Going through a school zone to get to the on ramp, there's lots of traffic and lots of quick stops. Sorry that you couldn't squeeze your county van into the spot that disappeared when I had to slam on breaks. I must say that trying to cross the solid line and the cones was not your best idea. Cutting me off and almost hitting me was not a good idea either. I must say though, your supervisor was quite interested in that call. I do like the "How's my driving" stickers the county provides. Has he discussed this with you yet? If not, I'm sure he will. You see, he informed me this isn't your first complaint. Sorry about that. Maybe you should consider a course on how to manage your road rage.

And finally, to the little old lady driving the large Chevy pickup
I was happy to see you leaving the library in front of me. More people should use the public library. Seeing you turn left, just like me, I thought nothing of it. I do realize we had 2 lanes to pick from. I'm sorry that my honking scared you. For that mile that I was behind you, you couldn't seem to pick a lane, but rather liked to drift over into the center of the 2 lanes. You see, I'm rather fond of my van. I like it without dents. And definitely preferred not to spend my Saturday afternoon in the ER. I only honked to get your attention hoping to get around you. It did work. You got over into only the left lane, and I was able to pass you. Judging by the passenger side of your truck, this is a common occurrence for you. I noticed your side mirror was dangling, and there was different color paint on your silver truck. Mostly I noticed black, blue and red. I was happy to not add green to your collection. Oh, and while I'm pointing out things, may I suggest a phone book? Maybe then you could see over the steering wheel.

I feel so much better getting that off my chest. I've been thinking I must be a horrible driver recently the way people have been acting on the road.

The Summer Gala Ball

We had a great time! The food was really, really good. They served sushi, teriyaki filet, a fried rice cake, and a yummy chocolate cake. The company at our table was nice. Most tables seated 10, but we were at table 1 and we only had 8. The extra elbow room was nice! Definitely something we'll do again next year.

Us about to leave the house.


The entrance.

The Grand Ballroom.


Table setting.


I just hope that by next year shoe fashions have changed. The 4 inch heel was a bit much. My feet hurt today. And that bum knee of mine? It's really unhappy today. But the rest of me had a great time!!

I'm Outnumbered

The first thing most people comment on when they see Paige is how much she looks like me. And she does. Paige is very much a little me, in looks. Personality wise? She's all her Daddy. That's probably a good thing because he's much more outgoing than I am. The downside of that, is that well, I'm outnumbered.

For example a few weeks ago I took all the toys out of Paige's room. She was getting up in the middle of the night to play. We could hear every bit of it on the monitor and it kept us awake. We were up part of the night, so we were grouchy. Paige didn't get a full nights sleep, so she was grouchy. Not a good combination. Toys came out, and we all started getting a full nights sleep again.

A few nights ago it was my turn to read bedtime stories. As I settle down into the rocking chair, Paige pulls out a book and her flashlight from under her pillow. It seems that Daddy had given her the flashlight from her Bob the Builder workbench, and a few books. After lights out she's been pulling out her flashlight and books and reading until she falls asleep!

I'm sure I shouldn't say anything. After all, she's reading. Also, I promised myself when I became a parent I wouldn't be a hypocrite. Not that I ever remember sneaking a flashlight under the covers. But I do remember a lot of mornings where I find my book and glasses beside the bed and my light turned off. Mom must have done that since I'm positive I fell asleep reading. Now Ronnie has taken over that job. Many nights I still fall asleep reading and he marks my place in my book, and put it and my glasses on the bedside table.

I'm most definitely outnumbered. Paige and Ronnie are the same personality. I'm not certain what that means for me when she hits 16, but I think I'm ready for it.

New shoes

Ronnie and I are attending a black tie dinner Saturday night. It's an annual event for the hospital where he's executive chef. He went out and rented a tux. Luckily, I had a little black dress in my closet. I've had it for probably 4 years or more but never had a reason to wear it. I didn't have any shoes that were appropriate for the dress. So shoe shopping I went.

Shoe shopping sounds like it would be fun. Sometimes. See, I have a small foot, wearing a size 6. When a store gets in a style of shoe they usually only get 1 pair of size 6. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, they get 2 pair of size 6's in a style. The same thing happens for the larger sizes as well. If you were a 7 though, they get lots in that size. The result is usually when I go shoe shopping I find really cute shoes that I like, but they don't have my size. It makes shopping for shoes for a specific occassion rather hard. I finally found a great pair of Candies peep toe, 4 inch heels that are perfect. And the heel is fat and chunky, not a thin stilleto, so I can stand longer in them.

Wednesday morning, my unobservant child walked into my bedroom and immediately noticed a new shoe box. The fact that it's bright pink probably helped. Her face lit up.

Paige: "AAAHHH!!! New shoes!!"
Mommy: "Yes, Paige, new shoes."
P: "Are they for me??" You can see the excitement.
M:"No, they're for me." Her little face falls.
P: "Oh. I want new shoes too! Try them on so I can see."

I did try on the shoes. And no, she won't be getting a new pair just yet. When winter gets here and she needs new shoes, then I'll buy her new shoes. Not until. And for the record, Paige loves the new shoes. When we got home yesterday afternoon she went to look at them. She actually opened the box and petted them like they were a cat. I see lots of shoe shopping in my future.

Overnight Potty Training

It's driving me crazy! I'm not sure I had that far to go to get there in the first place. Paige just doesn't get it. She's been daytime potty trained for close to a year now I guess. That part she got early. It's the overnight. I think maybe she just sleeps too hard and doesn't realize she needs to potty.

We restrict her liquids in the afternoons and evenings. She potties just before she goes to bed. We use the thick potty training panties and plastic panties over them. I even put a cloth diaper inside the panties. She still wakes up having soaked through everything, including the sheets. I'm doing more laundry than ever.

So, all you potty training gurus out there. What next? I'm about ready to go back to diapers for a while. We've been doing this for 2 weeks and it's not getting any better at all. In fact, some mornings, it's worse. Each morning we have to give her a quick shower to get all the pee off her. Toss the sheets and pajamas in the washer, and try to still make it out the door on time.

Weekend Commitments

We try to pack so much into our weekends, like everybody else it seems. Some weekends I just want to turn off our phones, disconnect the computers and veg. We never go so far as to shut down the phones and the computers, but we do get to relax some weekends. Others, we just spread ourselves too thin. Some weekends we do completely opposite things.

With both of us working regular, full time jobs, we don't get to see or do a lot of things with Paige during the week. We're home from work and daycare by 5:45, but it's cook supper, bath, brush teeth, and in bed by 7:45. Not a lot of time for fun. And none of us like to get out of bed in the mornings, so by the time we pull ourselves out of bed we're rushing to get ready and leave on time.

Last weekend Ronnie took Paige to New Orleans to visit his family, so I got a nice, relaxing weekend to myself. Glad we all enjoyed it. This one should be interesting. Saturday morning Ronnie has to go help out with the food for a wedding. (Aunt Wii's sister Kathi is getting married in the early afternoon.) While he's gone to that we'll go see my parents then off to a birthday party for a cousin. (Andrew is just a few months younger than Paige and we picked out some cool gifts.) By the time we get home from that it will be time for supper.

Sunday is our usual activities: making a menu for the week, grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning house and spending time together. I would like to go to the science museum but not sure if we'll have time. That may have to wait until next weekend. Oh wait, next weekend Ronnie is helping build a carport for my parents. Oh well, we'll get their eventually I guess.

Wow

Some things just amaze me in a not-so-good way. The other day I was happily reading a library book, when a piece of paper fell out. It took me a minute to realize exactly what I was looking at. The handwriting was a woman's, and she was doing the math to see if she should work or not. I know plenty of couples who sit down and work out whether one will be a stay at home parent or if both will work. I think what upset me more about this was what she was calculating based on:

$10870 Grant from state
$8112 Food Stamps
$3600 Child support
$10300 Section 8 Housing
$3000 Utility Allowance

$35882 Total

$7 hour x 40 hours a week=280
$280 a week x 52 weeks=14560

$14560 Working
$3600 Child Support
$6112 Food Stamps

$24272 Total


There's more on the other side where she calculates how much food stamps she really needs and how much she can sell for cash. She also circled the top calculation and X'ed out the lower one, so I'm assuming she decided not to work.

I'm all for Stay at Home Parents (Yep, I know a Stay at Home Dad) who can really do it and make it work. And I have no problem with public assistance for those who need it. I do have issues with someone deciding they can make more money by not working and just living off the system. The only thing I know about his person is they have very girly handwriting and like Orson Scott Card. I don't know anything else about her. I also think it's a horrible system when someone can make more money by not working than working. Shouldn't we encourage people to work? And how sad is it that she can make more money at home than working?

By Popular Demand

I posted a few weeks ago about Paige and her AC/DC shirt, plaid skirt, and knee socks. Several of you asked for a picture. Friday Paige and Ronnie went to New Orleans for the weekend. They stopped by my office to say goodbye. Paige picked out all of her own clothes to wear. I had to take a picture with my phone. She decided on the pink Princess shirt instead of the plaid one, but I think the look came together nicely.
What do you think?

And for the record she's wearing: AC/DC shirt, pink Princess tulle skirt, skull and crossbone ladies knee high socks (they go to her panties) and Dora shoes.

Mommy Time

Ronnie took Paige to New Orleans for the night. They left early this morning and will be back tomorrow afternoon. Just a quick trip to visit some family. But it does give me some alone time. I got work at 3, as usual on Fridays. I came home and relaxed a bit, then made a menu for next week. I always hear about how bad WalMart is on Friday evenings. I just had to see for myself. I got my list together and decided to brave it.

It was funny! Now, I live in a shall we say, redneck kind of area. Toby Keith put out an album called White Trash with Money. These people don't have money, and the words white trash don't follow color lines, shall we say. There was a family having a reunion in the meat section. I heard one of them say they hadn't seen each other in almost 3 years. They should get out more. Once I got past them, I got stuck behind the overweight woman in the poorly fitting clothes and hair in curlers. I wish I could have sneaked a picture of her. I know you won't believe me otherwise. There was the couple dressed up to go out to WalMart. Oh, and the little Vietnamese woman in the 5 inch spiked heels & jeans. She still didn't come up to my chin and I'm only 5'5. There was the usual compliment of families with screaming kids. Time wise I was in and out of there in about 40 minutes. Not too bad for a grocery shopping trip. It was actually fun to watch everyone else pulling out there hair and trying to navigate through the aisles. What does that say for me that I find it amusing?

I came home, put away my groceries, relaxed, and had chips and dip for supper. I've played some video games, read, watched TV, and taken a bath. I gave myself a facial just before sitting down to blog. I'm enjoying my evening at home alone. In another hour or so I'll take an Ambien to knock myself out. My ultimate goal for this is to sleep late in the morning. Something I haven't done since January 23, 2006. The day Paige was born.

John Hughes

We lost another great Hollywood Icon today. John Hughes died of a heart attack while visiting family in Manhattan. You may or may not remember his name, but I'm positive you remember his movies. Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 16 Candles, Breakfast Club. His movies defined cool for my teenage years.

Who didn't want to be Claire in Breakfast Club? Or Sam in 16 Candles? And how could you not want to spend the day with Ferris? His characters were the ultimate in what 1980's teenage girls wanted to be. We dressed like them, talked like them, and we wanted to date those guys. He inspired the so called Brat Pack.

Granted, he hadn't done a lot of stuff lately. But as long as he was alive we had the hopes of more good movies. Now, we're doomed to remakes of Fame and Footloose. Oh wait, those are already in the works. Well, we're doomed to more bad remakes of other bad movies. In memory of John Hughes we're watching one of Ronnie's all time favorite movies tonight: Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Cuz in the 80's, all teenage boys wanted to be Ferris.

Infections, infections

Paige is better from her nasty bought of sickness a couple of weeks ago. Last week, around Tuesday, my eyes started watering. Stuff is blooming around here, so I think it's allergies, right? Right. Time to start the Claritin. (Or at least the generic Target brand that works just as well for 1/3 of the price.) By Thursday evening my eyes were red and watering a lot. Friday afternoon I couldn't take it anymore. I went to an Urgent Care Clinic since I didn't think I could get in with an ophthalmologist, Dr. G. I was told it was pink eye, use these drops, and it will get better.

By Monday it was worse. I called Dr. G's office as soon as they opened. The receptionist told me to start driving to the office, they would see me when I got there. Dr. G wasn't sure if it was bacterial or viral, but it definitely wasn't pink eye. He put me on antibiotics. The red, puffy, I've been punched in the face look started to fade away. My eyes aren't watering as much, but definitely still are. But by today my left eye is starting to burn as well. Lovely.

I go in today for a recheck. I'm not healing as quickly as he would like, and Dr. G would like a second opinion. You see, if an eye infection goes too long without getting better, and starts to get worse, then it starts to spread. What is close to the eyes that it could spread to? Your brain. That's right, the brain. It's very important to get eye infections under control as quickly as possible. Besides possible permanent eye damage, the wrong kind of infection can cause brain damage.

I go for the second opinion, with Dr. T. Dr. T does all kinds of test that Dr. G did, as well as a few others. His second opinion is I don't have cellulites, which would require a hospitalization, I have a viral infection. That's the good news. The really good news. I don't like needles and those are kinda required for IV antibiotics. **Shudder** Dr. T's opinion is that Paige gave me her viral infection and it set in my eyes. I'm now on 2 different medicines by mouth, and 2 different eye drops. That's a total of 7 times a day I use eye drops, and 8 pills a day. That doesn't count the usual Claritin, Aleve, other stuff I take daily. And the best news? His exact words were "I expect it to get worse before it gets better." What a nice thought. Already by the end of the day my eyes are burning from staring at a computer screen so long, sunlight hurts so it's hard to drive, and I get headaches a lot. That's why you haven't been getting very many posts lately. By this time of day my eyes and head hurt too much to look at the screen.

The worse part of this? I can't wear contacts. I HATE to wear glasses. Absolutely hate it. I wear glasses for an hour or so a day, at most. That's the few minutes between waking up and inserting contacts, and taking them out at night and going to sleep. I've thrown away the contacts I was wearing. I hadn't been wearing makeup so I don't have that to throw away. Looks like the only casualty is 1 pair of contacts, which I can live without. Oh, and my vanity because wearing glasses is the one thing I'm vain about.