holiday video 3 - the parade

Here is E at the local Christmas parade, sort of dancing as one of the bands went by.

holiday video 2 - jingle bells

I tried to show more of the other kids this time. E seemed to be the only reluctant one.

holiday video 1 - "checking it twice"

E's preschool class did a little holiday concert for the parents last week. She only participated after being bribed with a candy cane. Her blanket was on the seat beside her and her thumb never left her mouth, so she didn't sing. But she managed some of the hand gestures.


If you can't tell, that song was "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town".

anniversary

Today is the anniversary of my breast cancer diagnosis. Apparently my recent mammogram was fine because they didn't call me the next day, or the next, or the next.

little updates

I got a new office because somebody else was being moved into mine! So, no promotion, not much excitement. But in the old office I only had a window onto an empty hallway, and now in my double wide cubicle I have a window to the actual outside world. And I actually have more space. It's nice to have a change, but sometimes when I'm sleepy I really miss my door....

E is learning to button buttons and very proud of that. She knows her left and right. She's pretty clearly right-handed. She's loving seeing Christmas lights up everywhere, more each day, and keeps bugging me about "where are our Christmas lights". I'm determined to get the tree up this weekend!

David is borrowing a friend's studio space to paint something, and we visited recently. E got to create her own artwork and she was just thrilled. "Mommy, it okay if I paint too? I wuv painting!"

good morning sweetie pie

the view from my new office window today

since someone asked

Christmas gift ideas for E...

footie pajamas size 4T (need bigger size for her feet!)
long sleeve tops size 3T (plain pink or purple would be useful)
tights, whatever size would be 3T-4T
pink long sleeved dress
a warm winter hat that looks very frilly and girly, if there is such a thing

puzzles, up to 100 pieces
books or videos that include dancing
stickers, sticker books
reels for a Viewmaster (maybe fairy tales, if possible)
coloring books
dress-up accessories
child's dishes and utensils
jumprope
some kind of outdoor game

E and J at the zoo

Another picture from October when E and I took J to the zoo as a belated birthday present. This is in the "polar bear cave" with some other kids.

Milestone: E has been excited about babysitters before, but last night had to be a record. She didn't even notice we were leaving; all she wanted to say to us before we left was "Get out of the way!" Daddy was on her dance floor. And the award for this exciting development goes to.... Auntie Felecia!! Yay! (Felecia is a good friend I work with.)

today

E and I are watching Santa Claus is Comin' to Town. When Miss Jessica married Kris Kringle in the woods with the elves, E said, "She's a princess now." I think she thinks that when a woman gets married she becomes a princess - of course it's in all her favorite fairy tales.

I think we'll go to the Christmas parade tomorrow, and then if we're still holding up, go make some crafts at my church's "simple Christmas" celebration. I love parades, never go enough. Sometimes I miss being in the marching band.

Today she and I went to a toy store with a friend, just to look and play. Her two favorite toys were a colorful child size umbrella that she could open and close by herself, and a plush duck that danced to the song "Splish Splash I was taking a bath" (she danced with it). Then we went to my workplace where I was recognized (along with 63 other people) for my years of service (10). E and I got our picture taken with the president. After coming home we took a stroller walk.

my article link added

My article on Respect in the workplace appeared in a Singapore newspaper December 1st, and they'll only have it available for a week. My name and picture don't appear in the online version but I can email you a pdf version if you want it.

I added the link to the earlier post.

media coverage

David and I both were featured in newspapers today, on opposite sides of the world!

David's article: Children go ga-ga over this mechanical man made of junk
Sarah's article: The trick to keeping employees (link only valid til Sunday Dec. 7)

help me wake up

Good morning readers. Sarah is cranky this morning, wanting more sleep. I come to the computer for social interaction that may help me wake up. My mom asked, will Facebook replace my blog? I said no, and that's accurate, but it does compete with it. I was cranky yesterday too, somehow feeling a bit lonely and anti-social at the same time, and I found myself wanting to post too many status updates on Facebook - like one every 2 minutes! I stopped myself. Don't want anyone to filter me out for being a Facebook pest. I remembered that the blog is good for writing status updates that are more than sound bites. And readers drive themselves to the blog, it doesn't continually flash up a notification for everything I do, so I don't feel like a pest.

I didn't take any pictures at Thanksgiving. E enjoyed some of the food, especially the cranberry "jelly" I convinced her to try. She liked helping me make my bitter sweet potato dish and licking the beaters. The oranges were what made the dish bitter, which it's not supposed to be.

David looked at the low tire I'd been driving on for a week and discovered a screw in it. He patched it. My hero!

E fell off the porch at my parents' house. I saw it happen and was paralyzed. I should have been able to prevent it, because I did think, "Why is she running toward that side of the steps? There's not much room there to step down." She didn't even step on the steps at all - she stepped down into open space. Apparently she assumed the steps went all the way across. She scraped her lower back on the corner of the bottom step when she fell. It's fine now, no longer hurts, but it haunts me because it could have been so much worse!

Grandma Mickey gave E a book about fairies (Barbie fairies actually) and wished she had read it first! It was full of long, unusual names that made it awkward to read - like Zinzie the Meewah, for example (and they never explain what a Meewah is). It was as if the writer were trying to give a role and a fancy name to all her friends and family in the script. The story sounded like a little girl made it up. It was pretty saccharin. E loved it!

Now it's Monday. E will go to Erma's today. I go to work and the dentist, to have 2 fillings replaced. David is working all week, I think. For one thing he's painting cut-outs for a nativity scene. Last week he made two giant tennis shoes that are actually podiums, for a convention.