Saturday, April 01, 2006
Daylight Savings Tonight!
This always reminds me of the time when I was 13-ish and was babysitting for a 6 or 7 year-old. I friend was coming over to spend the night when I got the last minute call for help. I asked my friend if she wanted to come over babysit with me. It was fine with her and fine with the mama.

We knew it was daylight savings that night. After the little girl went to bed we got the bright idea to be good samaritans and set their clocks for them. But we couldn't remember for sure which way it went. So we debated...was it Spring forward, Fall back or Spring back, Fall forward. Once we hashed it out we fixed all their clocks for them. The parents got home around 11:00 p.m. and my friend and I walked home (just a few doors away).

When we got home we realized that we were going to have to call them and tell them to reset all their clocks again because we had gotten it wrong!
Heartwarming mushy stuff
It's so gratifying as a mommy to see your child vying for the attention of her daddy. When he came home tonight she was so jazzed. As soon as he was settled in and she could get through the gate she'd grab a toy and bring it to him. He'd take it and she'd immediately head back to the toy chest to bring him another one. Unfortunately, I couldn't take over dinner preparation for him so he could play. He was making salmon cakes, one of his specialties. He tried to give her attention as much as he could between deboning salmon and chopping celery and onions. She stood right there by him, hugging his leg occasionally.
SpongeBob SquareHat
This is her new hat, a Christmas gift from Aunt K. and Uncle B.
K. picked up on our trip to Paramount's Kings Dominion this summer. Cool!

Words, words, words...finally
She's starting to share them with us now. I'm continually amazed at what she seems to understand. She can follow directions so well and she's eager to do what you tell her, even if it's something new you've never asked before. Now she's saying new words. The word she says the best and most clearly is "shoes." But she seems to be repeating a lot more things she hears us say. Socks, dog, kitty cat, are a few that we hear often. Of course, I'm having trouble remembering them now that I want to tell you about them.

I've been working on teaching her "please." First we worked on the sign, but she never really got it. You make a circular motion against your chest, kind of over your heart. She says please by signing the same thing as "more." Today she actually said the word at least twice "pees." Then it became this little sequence where she'd sign, maybe say it, and then laugh. Like a little forced laugh. It's pretty cute.
Nothing like a blank notepad
Emma has my list-making pad. I'm wondering if it's universal behavior that she wants to make a mark with the pen on every single page?


Friday, March 31, 2006
Clearing the decks
I got a lot of stuff done a work today. I'm trying to get all pending business off my desk and tidy up before I leave for vacation. I even cleaned up my office. I did the ruthless purge of crap that's been sitting around forever. It was a tiring day but I have that rosy glow of accomplishment.

In other news...Mary threw a monkeywrench in the works. She's not babysitting Monday. She has to consult with someone about her situation re: Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Part B. Joy. Grandma G. isn't available to babysit except maybe three hours in the morning. So M. may take her home for lunch and a nap. Then he'll bring her to me for the end of the day. Maybe. I'm not sure M. can afford to take such a huge chunk out of the middle of his day because his mom won't be around and his brother is laid up with gout. I'm hoping I won't have to take a sick day, but it may come to that. Maybe I can be sick for half a day ;)
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Overheard at the store
Me: I picked up Emma's decongestant from the medical center. 20 freakin' dollars! That shit better work!

M: Wow, but Emma's worth it.

Me: Yeah, what's your point?

My point is $50 in co-pays and $41.13 in prescriptions, and this is with $$$ insurance and a prescription card. Somebody's ass BETTER be getting cured.
Today's outfit
This was the second try. I first had her in tights and a jumper, but the jumper was too long. It would be too difficult to chase the boys if she can't crawl under the table after them.


Computer Guru
But I hope to never, ever say "She probably knows more about that thing than I do." Hearing that from adults with children makes me cringe.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Starting to pack
I actually set aside a stack of shirts for M. today. He has so many there'd be no need to wear these before we leave. Oh, and I put two belts on the stack ;)

Uncle B. called me. We discussed some of the details about the trip, including packing. He suggested if we wanted to blend in then we should bring along darker colors and earth tones. No problem, that's mostly how I dress. He said if you REALLY want to blend in you'll bring tight clothes. I said, no thanks.
A ray of hope
Once again, Noni bullied me into going to the doctor. I hadn't even really thought about it. I'm glad I did. Because this afternoon was the worst of all. Serious pressure headache and low grade fever. That's what sinus infections do. So now I'm on Zithromax and a decongestant. I hope that will knock it out.

On the Emma front she'll get a decongestant too. That's to stop the runny nose she's had for a couple of weeks. As far as the milk goes the doctor speculated about lactose intolerance but when she realized Emma had been on milk since January she decided on a different tack. She suggested I try milk again and if it doesn't stay down switch to soy milk for a while and then try and switch back. I'm starting to wonder if maybe we were just giving her too much at a time for her irritated tummy. I gave her a small cup and lunch and another small cup around 5:00 and no problems yet. Maybe she's finally shaken the stomach bug.
The cruelty of nature
Emma finds a prime stick, goes in for it and comes up with...a Q-tip. Presumably from one of M's front porch woodworking projects.


She now has the stick she desired firmly in hand...


Large carnivore, who outweighs her by eighty pounds, comes and takes away her stick.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Random Randomness
I'm still sick. And sick of being sick. But I will grant you that I was better today than yesterday so there's progress. I use Nyquil at night and today I spent the day on Dayquil. It was a board meeting night so I had a long day to get through.

Emma seems fine, but she threw up again at the babysitter's yesterday. That's twice that she's thrown up the same day I reintroduced milk. And she's really cranky about being deprived of milk now. When we give her the morning sippy with water she gets so pissed. I even went out on a limb and gave her apple juice this morning. No go. So it's disrupted our whole morning routine. She bawls to get out of the pack n play and Elmo just isn't holding her interest like he used to.

Vacation is a week away now and I'm no more ready than I was a week ago.
Today's new project
Is dragging around her whole toy box. It's a big job, but she's a determined little girl.



Sunday, March 26, 2006
Today's wounds
This morning she fell again Noni and Popi's bedframe and made the marks in on her forehead and in front of her ear. Later when she got home she fell down a few steps. Thankfully I was there to catch her, so it wasn't a total disaster. But she did do a full somersault. Sigh.

I will acknowledge...
that she is finally getting some hair. It's a bit sweaty in his picture.