more mountain pics

snail, continued

the snail

This snail was happy to crawl all over our hands, never retreating into its shell. E was just delighted with it, and I was amazed to feel it licking (?) my hand. It wasn't as slimy as I would have thought.

mountain weekend

E and I spent the weekend in the mountains at a friend's cabin, with several friends. It was not as hot as I was afraid it would be. The house is very shaded and with fans going it was just fine.

We enjoyed going to wade in the New River on Saturday. Here's just one picture. I had a big job to keep Enthusiastic E from floating away on the current! She was not afraid at all.

E and baby

This is a picture of E with the baby I mentioned in the post below, who's 4 months old. When E learned we were going to visit my friend's baby she said, "I think when she grows up she's going to like me!" I said, "I bet you're right."

In this photo they look like they could be sisters.

morning report

I'm suffering a headache but it's one that (so far) can be tamed enough to go about my day at a basic minimum level. Don't expect to be very sharp today.

E and I are going on a "girls weekend" in the mountains this weekend. The mountains are 10 degrees cooler than here, but we're in an extreme heat wave right now, so I'm expecting it to be "only" 90 degrees up there! Most folks with second homes in the mountains don't need to invest in air conditioning, so I'm a little worried. It's been a long time since I endured indoor life without A/C. (We're going to a friend's house, not my parents' house, by the way.) I am not going to cancel, though, I'm going to go see what it's like. Have been looking forward to hanging out with friends, one of whom has a little baby.

At work I've been training my coworkers how to use a new database and software program. Thought I would hate this task, but I'm finding I kind of enjoy it. It's the teaching part. Yesterday was my one-year anniversary in my job. Going very well.

On a more sad note, another friend of mine, a new friend, is going through breast cancer. This is the 3rd person I know to be diagnosed in the last 2 years, and according to the stats, I can expect it to go like this or actually get higher for the rest of my life, as risk increases with age. I know two people whose mothers have been diagnosed. I'm going to appointments with this new friend and her mother trying to help take notes, explain what the doctor's talking about, and reassure, and they appreciate my help. I say I'm just paying it forward so that she can do it too, down the road. She seems to have an aggressive form of cancer and it's in the lymph nodes. She is going to have all the 4 main treatments: surgery, chemo, radiation, and drugs. And she's going to have to quit drinking and smoking, which are going to be hard for her.

Welcome to the sisterhood. It's the most supportive community you never want to join.

blanket twirl

filmed June 11th in our kitchen

clever word

This morning when I woke E up, she said, "That bright light is hurting my eyedrums!"

excitement

E has been SO excited this week about going to Grandma and Grandpa's Raleigh house for three nights all by herself. It's just precious to watch her. Tonight we were wrapping David's birthday present to give to him early, before she leaves, and we had to pretend that we were the Scooby Doo gang (as always) and Emma was going to go without the others to spend 3 nights with her grandparents. "I'm sorry, Freddy. I'm sorry, Daphne, but it's my last night before I go to my grandma and grandpa's Raleigh house. I hope I miss you!" We said we did't know what we'd do without her if any mysteries came up. She promised to call.

Ack. I should have been asleep hours ago. But I'm very much looking forward to sleeping late on Saturday and Sunday!

summer pictures - miscellaneous

Here are some of the pictures I've been wanting to post over the first half of this summer (or so).

With our friend after the parade (waiting for David to drive the firetruck around and around)

I don't remember why I took this one except I like her t-shirt, should have shown more of it.

Getting to hold a chicken

At my friend Kimberly's neighborhood pool

E struck this pose one night and said, "Don't I look handsome?"

art from E

Something E made for me on Daddy's computer, emailed with the message, "Mommy this is for you. This is from Emma. I love you." (Before you get inappropriately impressed, David said the pattern already was there in PhotoShop and all they did was change the color to red. I don't know about the other stuff.)

tooth boo-boo

E has a brittle tooth, a molar, due to "hypoplasia enamel" (?) - that is, the enamel is weak. Dentist recommended filling it, and we did that this morning. They sedated her, just kind of made her drunk and forgetful, didn't put her to sleep. When the dentist came to get her, after the drug took effect, she said he had two heads! She was ready. Apparently she was laughing when they gave her the numbing injection, didn't even notice. Afterward, she didn't remember it had been done. He had told us that he would decide after he got in there whether it needed a white filling or a silver cap. I made the mistake of telling E that before the procedure, and she got upset that it didn't need a silver cap. She didn't want to leave the dentist's office without her silver cap, and made a big fuss when we left. She cried desperately all the way home and for a while after we got here, saying she wanted to go back. And she cried that her lip felt funny. She was angry, kicking and hitting, absolutely furious, and told David to stop asking her questions. He was trying to distract her. At home she wanted to get up and walk around but could barely stand so I had to hold her in my lap with all my strength. She's calmed down now, watching a movie. David's gone back to sleep. The appointment was at 7:40 and they required both of us to be there, which was good for that drive home. I'll let him get some sleep and then he'll watch her while I go in to work for the rest of the day.

David having fun

David got to drive around the museum's parking lot after the parade, giving people rides. I could tell he was enjoying himself. It's a 1943 truck that the children's museum gave to his friend who works there.

fire truck in the parade

I've got pictures from May and June to post, but why get farther behind? Here's one of the things we did this weekend - ride in an antique firetruck in the 4th of July parade.

A friend of mine had to work all weekend and had no daycare, so her 3 yr old son joined us. In this first picture we all look pretty somber and stoic, waiting patiently in the hot sun for the parade to start.

E's new hat for 2010

photo by E

I know, I know

I've got a few photos piled up to post here - sorry I've been so lame about this blog lately. Today is a holiday and I'm sick of Scooby Doo so I'm going to try to do some catching up. E has her hair in 4 ponytails the way she likes it (one on top, one on each side, one in the back) and she's wearing a white dress. She looks (is) precious to me. I got a little bit of a nap in the second viewing of What's New Scooby Doo, disc 1. Now I'm drinking tea and when I finish E and I are planning to vacuum.

Yesterday at a friend's house, E was playing outside with their kids and then when I went to check on her I saw her edging toward a gang of neighbor kids (just a bit older than her I think). She stuck out her tongue at them. I called her over and asked her why she was doing that, because it was rude. She said, "They had bad manners at me!" I asked what they said and she said one thing somebody said was that she was ugly. I wasn't sure whether to believe it but I told her she could ignore it. She flounced off into a big grassy area by herself to ignore them. She was talking to herself and we could hear some of it - I don't remember it but it was funny and we offended her by laughing. She called out, with fresh outrage, that a kid said "bo-botty" at her. I said, "What does that mean?" She said something about going potty over and over again without stopping, and we laughed again. She turned her back on all of us, then suddenly turned, stuck out her tongue again towards the kids, turned her back again, bent over slightly and pointed her little red skirted bottom at all of us and waggled it! My friend said, "Well, that's one way to handle it."