Saturday, May 27, 2006
Regular old Saturday
M. had to work today all by himself so we were on our own all day. Fortunately it was a beautiful day. We played in her room, played outside with the outdoor toys, walked to the cattle guard twice, swung in the swing on the front porch three times, took a stroller ride for Mommy's two mile walk, and went to town to see Daddy and pick up supplies for supper. Here Emma and Beaker are waiting for Daddy to return from walking Jake this morning...

Written at 8:19 PM by Highlandgal.
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Some new stuff to play with
Some friends of ours brought a few things for Emma that used to belong to their daughter. She got a baby buggy, a grocery cart, a blue swing and a batting tee. She likes the baby buggy, which she pulls instead of pushes. The grocery cart is pretty unweildy and difficult to push over the uneven ground, so she mostly ignores it. It wasn't until today that I could show her that the buggy was actually meant for her baby. Here she is ready to go...


Gotta feed the baby before we leave...


She's on her way...

Written at 8:09 PM by Highlandgal.
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Attention Noni!
(When you get back) We put your Christmas gift up today. Emma was fascinated with this one too. She can actually reach the wheels on it which isn't necessarily a good thing.

And while I have your attention...two different times today when she was on the swing she brought you guys up. "Noni" "Popi" I do believe she is missing you.

Written at 7:54 PM by Highlandgal.
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Long buggy ride
Actually there was no rider. But she pulled the buggy all the way to the end of the driveway. Quite a long walk for such short legs. On the way back she stopped and plopped right down in the gravel and chose a few select rocks to take the rest of the way.


Written at 7:50 PM by Highlandgal.
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Can you count...
...how many things are wrong with this picture? My daughter is sitting on the filthy floor of the store playing with condom coins. There's two.

Written at 7:42 PM by Highlandgal.
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Sometimes you just have to marvel...
So my friend in Massachusetts calls me. He's in traffic on the way to New Hampshire for a weekend with some friends. Traffic slows down and now he's crawling. It takes him half an hour to go half a mile. Then he says it looks like they've closed the highway, but he can't tell why. Next thing he knows he's being diverted to another route. I look on the internet and am able to tell him that the reason he's being diverted is because a propane truck went over the guardrail and has a small leak.

Whoa. I'm in Virginia telling someone in their car in Massachusetts why the highway ahead is closed. Amazing, no?
Written at 11:39 AM by Highlandgal.
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Friday, May 26, 2006
Ashes, ashes...
When I went to pick up Emma this evening I came through the door and Emma was excited to see me as usual (Yay!) She goes straight for her lunchbox and heads for the door (She likes to rifle the contents of her box on the way home) Mary said to her "Show mommy ashes." For some reason I immediately knew what they were talking about, even though we've never done it before. Ring Around the Rosie. Of course Emma was on her way out the door so she ignored Mary completely.

This evening after we had nakey baby on the way to her bath I told Daddy about the Ashes. So Emma and I stood there in the bathroom and we tried it. She knew exactly what to do. Even saying the "ashes" part and giggling when she fell down. I'm telling ya, it was enough cute to kill you.
Written at 7:56 PM by Highlandgal.
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Pinwheel
After work we stopped by the Evil Corporate Entity to check for a particular item. They didn't have it, so they suck even more. But Emma did spy a pinwheel. I pulled it down and blew on it for her and she laughed out loud. People were commenting from other aisles because they could hear her. Needless to say, the pinwheel came home with us. 75 cents well spent.

Here she's pointing at a motorcycle...


Ready to roll with her new pinwheel...

Written at 7:37 PM by Highlandgal.
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Friday outfit
I have to record this one for posterity (Noni bought it ;)


Written at 7:25 PM by Highlandgal.
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Thursday, May 25, 2006
A meme for Leslie
Of Gelbspot. Fill in the blanks.

I AM: pretty happy these days. I know that's inviting trouble, just saying that, but what the hell? It's true.

I WANT: another baby. I'm pretty sure of it.

I WISH: M. could be happy and fulfilled doing something he wanted to do.

I HATE: mean people and liars.

I MISS: something I'm not sure I've ever had. A close girlfriend (IRL, of course)

I FEAR: losing any of the people close to me.

I HEAR: what you're saying, but your actions speak louder than words.

I WONDER: if our income taxes will ever get done.

I REGRET: fouling up my college experience; I wish I had never gotten married to Don.

I AM NOT: a very good housekeeper. There, I said it. (Like you didn't know ;)

I DANCE: to make Emma laugh. It works.

I SING: my A, B, C's. It brings a grin to Emma's mouth every time and sometimes she tries to sing along.

I CRY: rarely in real life. I cry easily at movies, books or funerals.

I AM NOT ALWAYS: a barrel of laughs. I can be crabby too. Ask around ;)

I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: not much any more. I used to be creative. Now my hands are on the keyboard.

I WRITE: for me, for Emma, and for you.

I CONFUSE: myself easily. Before I say something I sometimes form the sentences fully in my mind. Then an hour later I won't remember if I ever said it out loud, or only in my head.

I NEED: love.

I SHOULD: remove the clutter from my life.

I START: the day by greeting my sweet daughter who always wakes with a smile and greets the day with a playful spirit.

I FINISH: every item on my list with a sweet sense of accomplishment.

I'll tag Jen, Katherine, Deanne and Leslie.
Written at 9:40 PM by Highlandgal.
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Close encounters
Today Emma had her first close encounter with a thistle. We went for a walk down to the cattle guard again. Then she ventured off through the field. Some of the thistles out there are whoppers. I tried to steer her around them because I know she had no idea...and then she fell on one. Oh boy. I know it hurt, I remember. After that she wanted me to carry her. I walked her out of the area where the thistles were dense and tried to put her down. She freaked. I carried her onto the old road and tried to put her down. No dice. As we walked past thistles I'd point to them and say "owie", trying to help her learn how to identify them. When we reached the gravel driveway she finally agreed to walk again on her own. She headed back toward the gate. But as we'd pass a big thistle by the driveway she'd point and say "ow."
Written at 9:02 PM by Highlandgal.
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Bathtime!
A peek into Daddy and Emma time


Written at 8:39 PM by Highlandgal.
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Thinking of Noni and Popi...
They're flying to Germany today. Their itinerary will include a four day stay at an all-inclusive in Majorca, Spain with Uncle B's family. Then they come back to Germany where Popi, Uncle B. and George will go on a motorcycle tour. Aunt K. plans to take Noni to Poland to shop for some Polish pottery at the source.

Meanwhile...they're sitting on the runway in Detroit, waiting for the rainstorm to stop so they can take off. Their flight is already delayed 2 1/2 hours. Bummer. Not the greatest start but at least their whole fun vacation is still ahead of them.
Written at 8:34 PM by Highlandgal.
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Why we still use the paci...
The yell hole, wide open.


Plugged...


Ahhh...sweet relief for everyone.

Written at 8:30 PM by Highlandgal.
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Wednesday, May 24, 2006
The afternoon of the hat
When I picked up Emma she was still wearing her hat, for whatever reason. I left it on because it was easier than trying to coax her into putting it on later.

Written at 9:04 PM by Highlandgal.
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Part of the new routine
Every evening she wants to walk down to the cattle guard at the end of the driveway. She usually does it with Daddy, but today she and I did it. We got halfway down the driveway and she saw that the cows were gathered around the gate. She stopped and stood there for the longest time. Wouldn't move toward them (which I think is a healthy response). Finally Beaker chased the cows away from the guard and we proceeded. Daddy lets her go the guard but not onto it. It would be a good way to break little bones. She obeys pretty well.


Here Beaker was chasing a lone cow back into the pack. There they are...my arch-nemeses.

Written at 8:54 PM by Highlandgal.
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Limbo girl
When we got to the cattle guard she went to the open gate and walked around it and ducked under. She did two laps before I pulled out the camera.

Written at 8:49 PM by Highlandgal.
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Today's most unpopular dog
As we were walking along the old road Beaker disappeared over the hill. He apparently found a mud bog. When he came back we didn't realize it until he shook hard and coated us with mud specks. Fun!


The culprit.

Written at 8:18 PM by Highlandgal.
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Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Daddy's night
I had a meeting tonight so he was in charge of bath and bed. And taking the pictures. The following photos are his...

And take note. No Pink. Day #2.
Written at 9:02 PM by Highlandgal.
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The old girl threw a shoe...

Written at 8:56 PM by Highlandgal.
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MasterBlaster
Written at 8:52 PM by Highlandgal.
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Oh, come on, people!
I know you're taking the tests! Tell me what you got!
Written at 5:55 PM by Highlandgal.
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Political junkie here
Some of you already know that. I don't bring politics to my blog very often because I don't want to scare people away. But just so you know, it's a huge part of who I am. I already know my politics don't jibe with most of the mommies on my mommy board. I'm fine with that, and I think they are too. I rarely argue politics with people online because both of us will start from entrenched positions and stay there. But for those who I have "argued" with, I think you will agree that it's mostly fun. It's a debate and if both participants try to keep it away from ugly it can be lots of fun. It's more like "When Smartasses Attack" ;)

Anyway, of the many parts of my life that aren't on my blog, that's a big one.
Written at 12:16 PM by Highlandgal.
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Take this test, tell me how you did
Moral Politics

This test doesn't care what you call yourself politically, it goes by what you believe and then tells you where you fall. I recommend the long test as it is only 16 questions long, as opposed to the test in the next post, which is 70-some questions long.

Your Score

Your scored 4 on the Moral Order axis and -2 on the Moral Rules axis.

Matches

The following items best match your score:

System: Conservatism
Variation: Moderate Conservatism, Moral Conservatism
Ideologies: Capital Republicanism
US Parties: Republican Party
Presidents: George H. Bush (91.16%)
2004 Election Candidates: George W. Bush (86.02%), John Kerry (69.06%), Ralph Nader (53.86%)
Statistics

Of the 189748 people who took the test:

0.2% had the same score as you.
53.8% were above you on the chart.
31% were below you on the chart.
8.7% were to your right on the chart.
88.9% were to your left on the chart.
Written at 12:12 PM by Highlandgal.
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Hee hee
I guess this should surprise no one who knows my politics. The fact that he used to be a Democrat fits too, because I have some fairly libertarian views on certain social issues. It's morning in America, ya'll!

You scored as Ronald Reagan. 40th President, in office from 1981-1989
Born: 1911 Died: 2004

Ronald Reagan

74%

Dwight Eisenhower

64%

Franklin Roosevelt

62%

Abraham Lincoln

57%

George Washington

55%

Thomas Jefferson

50%

Woodrow Wilson

45%

John Kennedy

45%

Theodore Roosevelt

29%

Lyndon Johnson

29%

Harry Truman

26%

Which Great US President Are You Most Like?
created with QuizFarm.com
Written at 12:08 PM by Highlandgal.
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Monday, May 22, 2006
When Emma gets REALLY mad...
She'll grab the hair on both sides of my head and pull out hard. It's only happened a few times, but it's definitely memorable.

(She even did it to Noni once)
Written at 8:57 PM by Highlandgal.
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For Walt
No pink today.

Written at 8:27 PM by Highlandgal.
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Emma's new compulsion
She gets a tissue out of the tissue box and cleans her house with it. That would be the Laugh and Learn house. She'll even clean inside the shape holes in the door. She'll stick the tissue in each hole and wipe it all around. I know she didn't learn that from me. I don't know if she's ever seen me clean ;)


If she were more like me...

Written at 8:09 PM by Highlandgal.
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Sunday, May 21, 2006
A good day
Emma had a good day. She had Daddy's attention almost all day. He hardly ever denies her anything so I think it's safe to say she ruled the roost today. I'm just glad when they have extended time to be together. It happens so rarely. M. is consigned to grabbing a few minutes in the morning and about 40 minutes at night. He does the bath now so that's special time for them. They make it a lot of fun together.

Written at 7:46 PM by Highlandgal.
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Back to the sandbox
We've hardly missed a day...

Written at 7:43 PM by Highlandgal.
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Curious Buddies
We're taking a break from Elmo. Emma really likes these Curious Buddies DVDs. I initially found one in the $5.50 bin at Walmart. The "buddies" are voiced by children and laugh a lot. I think she loves hearing that. The narrator tells you what's going on. These are a Nick Jr. product.

Written at 7:40 PM by Highlandgal.
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Daddy's shoes
Emma finally found a pair of shoes in our house she could put on and take off by herself.




Written at 7:34 PM by Highlandgal.
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