dandelions

E school work

2012-01-18T21:41:00.002-05:00

Honestly, I did rotate this photo when I saved it, but not sure what happened. Maybe I'll fix it later. Anyway, what made me burst with pride today was finding out that this delightful piece of paper was not dictated nor sentences copied from the board, but all sentences that E made up and wrote on her own. She sounded out and spelled the words, applied punctuation, and illustrated them. The teacher told me this morning that it's "awesome". I've seen some of these sheets (much duller ones) and thought they were all copied from the board. I noticed spelling errors in this one (because I'm learning Spanish too!) and that E was more excited than usual to show it to me, so I asked where these sentences came from. The teacher smiled and tapped the side of her head.

Translation: Today it is my mommy's happy birthday. Today it is Merry Christmas. Today it is my happy birthday!

You can tell which picture is her and which is me, I'm sure. The smaller person gets the bigger cake. But we're both wearing high heels.

fashion experiments

2012-01-10T19:52:00.009-05:00

E is branching out, fashion-wise. She wore jeans last week for the first time since she she's been able to choose her own clothes. Today she ventured to layer a top under a jumper, something she refused to do for years. Yesterday she called her striped shirt and striped top a "complete outfit" (you be the judge). Tomorrow she's wearing a blousy peasant dress she used to hate, with a lavender t-shirt over it. Each day is a new fashion experiment, carefully planned the night before. I figure, let her express herself while she can, before her peers stomp her down.
You can't tell from this how bright the colors are!

(4 ponytails, if you can't tell)

kindergarten thanksgiving

2011-11-20T20:23:00.009-05:00

On Friday, parents were invited to the classroom to have a "feast" and hear the students sing all the Spanish songs they've learned. David was out of town and couldn't make it, but I enjoyed it immensely. E was clearly nervous but didn't act out as she would have when she was younger. She soldiered through it and was clearly relieved at the end.

While waiting to start she was wringing her skirt quietly.
She spent a lot of time fiddling with the yarn on her pilgrim bonnet ("it's NOT a bonnet, it's a sombrero!")

Showed a little liveliness on her favorite songs. This one required a partner.

Happy to see me and that the performance was over.

Goofing around with friends at her table

another birthday pic

2011-11-20T20:21:00.001-05:00

Went to an indoor playground with a new school friend on Veterans Day, which was a school holiday.

more birthday pics

2011-11-18T20:49:00.001-05:00

birthday pictures

2011-11-18T20:43:00.001-05:00

E's birthday

2011-11-18T20:12:00.002-05:00

Family picture at one of our frequent haunts...

E's dinner request for her birthday dinner was to redeem a coupon she earned for participating in a reading program, for a free personal cheese pizza at Pizza Hut. David's parents joined us, and we all had cake at home after.

good picture

2011-10-31T05:13:00.002-04:00

I was surprised this turned out so well - I stuck the camera down without looking and snapped it.

halloween event at my work

2011-10-31T05:03:00.003-04:00

E is a bride this year. She's been planning the costume since Christmas last year. Luckily she has a new hand me down sweater that was deemed appropriate for a bride to wear, because it was cold out. On the way to and home from Trunk or Treat at my workplace, she asked me several times, "Do I look like a real bride?"

alligator head

2011-10-28T05:57:00.003-04:00

David's friend Dave gave E this real alligator head. She took it to school for Show & Tell yesterday. I thought she might have had some memorable reactions from kids or teachers, but no, she remembers nothing about it. No stories to tell. Rarely get those anyway.

story themes

2011-10-14T20:16:00.002-04:00

E always, always wants me to tell her a story - especially when she's upset in some way. Lately all her story requests are for Scooby Doo "not listening". She guides the stories a lot. There's a certain character taking on a clearer role lately. The Scooby Doo gang has long been accompanied by "Baby Emma". While I think she used to be half mermaid/half fairy when she first appeared, she is now consistently a tiny, very articulate baby who speaks in a squeaky voice and drives a tiny car. She is kind of like a Conscience for Scooby Doo, telling on him when he does bad things and always enforcing rules. She's also a brilliant problem-solver who pops up out of nowhere and offers just the right insight -- or some clever invention -- at just the right time. I picture her car as a pink VW bug.

kindergarten report

2011-10-14T20:01:00.003-04:00

E got a good report from the kindergarten teacher. Said she's extremely intelligent and very aware of everything going on around her, wants to ensure everyone is following the rules. Pays attention to everything the teacher says and does, and is soaking up Spanish like a sponge. She seems to get along well and have good friends. Some days when we walk down the hall into school, E stops 2 or 3 times for hugs from friends. She only has a little work to do on certain social skills, like being willing/able to walk into a room of people. Some days it's really hard to let go of my hand and go into her classroom.

espacio

2011-09-28T19:53:00.003-04:00

Special day today. E got her hair done, had the best milkshake ever (cookies & cream from Sonic), and lost her second tooth. She had been telling everyone about her "espacio" (Spanish for space) and now it's bigger.

insight

2011-09-21T20:13:00.004-04:00

E and I were battling tonight over her eating 1 bite of chicken. It was taking forever and escalating. She explained why she just wouldn't take that bite: "I have a bad feeling in my mind and I can't get it out." I said, "I wish I could help you, sweetie, but I'm out of ideas. I don't know how to help you - I've tried everything I can think of, and apparently I can't help you do what you need to do."

E insisted, "Yes you can! You can help." I demanded, "How??" She had her back turned to me and mumbled. When I asked her to repeat it I understood how I could help her: "...by getting Daddy to take over."

We were surprised because she often complains about David's unyielding ways, but I guess she knew what she needed, and it was her idea. And it worked out great! She even asked for him to do the whole bedtime routine.

:(

2011-09-16T18:59:00.002-04:00

We've been planning all week for E to visit her old preschool this afternoon, and she was so excited. But when we got a block away, she started to feel way too shy and nervous, and decided to stay in the car while I dropped off my last load of the cot sheets I've spent all year mending. The teachers' faces were so sad when they realized it was only me.

We'll try again.

Sept. 11th

2011-09-12T05:40:00.003-04:00

E and I went to an event commemorating the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. I decided to tell her (partially) what Sept. 11th was, in the car on the way. I said that a very scary thing happened in America 10 years ago - airplanes flew into big buildings, the buildings burned down, and lots of people died. And this "festival" we were going was for 2 things: to celebrate that we got through the scary time, and to be sad and respectful to remember all the people who died.

The first thing we did was check out the volunteer service projects that were going on. E found this one interesting enough to watch for a while. I think they were building parts for a wall for a Habitat house.

We walked around in the hot, hot sun and got discouraged that the $3 of quarters in my pocket wouldn't buy any of the concessions. Other service projects were to write notes to the troops that were stuck onto copies of Our State magazine, assemble "welcome home" baskets for people who've just obtained housing after being homeless, and assemble care packages for troops. We missed the last two - they'd used up all their supplies before we got there.

homework

2011-09-08T19:55:00.004-04:00

E doing her first homework!

The assignment was to trace the dotted lines (gets them ready for handwriting, I assume). Instructions were typed in English and Spanish.

There were 2 other pages as well. One was cutting and pasting and helps them recognize the Spanish word for "red" and the other was to "put an X on the things that are circles". E decorated the page by poking holes with the pencil at each of the 4 ends of all the X's. She said that made the X's easier to see.

Oh, and she's writing her name with lower case letters now too, with little loops in the m's.

teeth

2011-09-08T19:53:00.001-04:00

Surprised tonight to see a new tooth in E's mouth - her 6 year molars are coming in!

reading??

2011-09-06T08:40:00.002-04:00

Yesterday out of the blue, E tried to read the "word" CVS. She said "suh-vuh-suh" I think. She is trying to read and got the sounds right! Any day now.

On another note, even though every morning she says she hates kindergarten, she is loving learning Spanish. She has been teaching me some of the colors this weekend, and making up entire songs in Spanish -- the lyrics are nonsense words, but they have a kind of Spanish sound to them! And sometimes when we play that I'm her kitten, she wants me to pretend that she knows Spanish and I don't, and for me to be jealous (envious) about that.

first lost tooth!

2011-08-31T20:06:00.002-04:00

She was eating a slice of an orange at the after-school program and no one could find the tooth so we assume she swallowed it. E said tonight that she wants me to invent a "sucker thing for teeth" - some kind of tube that can go down into her stomach and suck out only any teeth, nothing else.

Day 4

2011-08-30T19:56:00.003-04:00

Day 4 of kindergarten: E already knows how to ask to go to the bathroom in Spanish, how to say "great job!" "good morning," "thank you" "moon" and "milk". She can sing a Spanish song, more or less; and when I repeated the bathroom phrase correctly she exclaimed, "Perfecto!" (Bathroom permission sounds something like "pweddo eed ali banyo".)

On Day 2 she told me, "You can only learn another language if you look at the person's mouth while they're talking." She is eager to learn to read, and knows that we're supposed to spend 15 minutes reading with her each night. Tonight she repeated all the sentences I read in a book, one by one, and started to recognize a few of the words by sight.

Her teacher says she pays close attention and is doing well. Yesterday there was a lot of crying, but today was much easier and she was SO happy when I picked her up. David got her to bed at 6:30 yesterday evening; I'm sure that helped. And we got there a lot earlier this morning and I walked her into the room. Parents will not be allowed to do that anymore, soon. E says she "can't" walk into a room full of people.

I got to work by about 7:45 and left at 4:45. It felt like such a LONG day! I'm not used to getting to work that early.

First Day of School - leaving the house

2011-08-25T20:37:00.003-04:00

E's first day of school wasn't too hard on us, I think. I didn't cry! Nor did she. I don't know if David did, but I suspect he just went back to bed.

First Day of School

2011-08-25T20:21:00.003-04:00

Walking in to the school...

Conversing with a classmate...

View of the classroom as we got ready to leave...

We were both eager to go pick E up and ask her questions. The school day ends at 2:40 and she goes to an after-school program there at the school. We went to get her about 4:30.

Seeing her at the end of the day, pick up from the cafeteria...

She fell asleep a little sooner than usual tonight...

Last Day of Preschool

2011-08-24T20:15:00.005-04:00

Well, E seems ready to go to "big school". First day of kindergarten tomorrow. The whole family's getting up early to take her when school opens at 7:30. Backpack is packed. Lunch is packed. She is TRYING to wind down in bed right now. Here are some pictures we took at the child care center today. I will miss the teachers who've been our partners in child-rearing for the last 3 years. They are going to miss E, too.

This is E's favorite teacher, "Joy Joy," the lead teacher for 4 & 5 year olds:

E's cubby:

This is the teacher whom E would come talk to when she was upset:

Outside:

Old MacDonald's for dinner afterward (she's eating a chicken nugget dipped in milkshake):

E kept saying "I can't believe this is my last day of preschool!" and, tonight, "I can't believe I'm starting kindergarten tomorrow!" It's good to finally see her excited about it. Happened in the last few months. Other kids her age have been leaving throughout the summer, and the last two 5 year olds had their last days today too. What E seems most excited about is learning Spanish - the fact that it's something her parents don't know!

In the last month she's drastically cut down on sucking her thumb, thanks to David's rule: Every time she gets caught doing it, she has to eat one garden pea. No peas for 2 days in a row, so far. We allow it at bedtime and rest time. At kindergarten they'll only get rest time for the first month. No more loveys - that may be difficult, haven't practiced that yet. But otherwise, we're as prepared as we can be, I guess.

not talking

2011-08-16T20:24:00.003-04:00

Tonight trying to get E settled down in bed, I tell her "no more talking, now".

E: "Okay. ... But Mommy, I CAN talk if a saber-tooth tiger comes in my window. I'll yell, 'Mommy, a saber-tooth tiger!' and you'll run and get Daddy."

me: "Yes, certainly you can talk if that happens."

E: "And I think you and Daddy would run and get all the weapons you have to fight it."

me: "Actually, I think Daddy and I would just grab you and run from it. Unless it cornered us. Then we might have to get our weapons and fight."

E: "But you don't have any!"

me: "Yeah. Hey, I know, if it cornered us, we would throw something on the other side of it to distract it, and then while its back was turned we could run away."

E: "Yeah. But I think you and Daddy don't know anything. (Pedantically), Saber-tooth tigers LOVE dead animals. So, I think you should get a dead chicken. If you throw a dead chicken on the other side of it, we could definitely run away."

me: "There, now we have a plan. No more talking, now."

E in David's old bathrobe

2011-08-14T16:24:00.001-04:00

She finally wore it, August 2011.

independence day, post-parade

2011-07-06T22:17:00.000-04:00

boat trip

2011-06-27T07:08:00.002-04:00

E and I got to spend the afternoon on the lake yesterday with my friend Marie and her family. I didn't get many pictures but couldn't resist this shot:

A fancy house on the lake:

The power plant that uses this lake and makes parts of it as warm as a bath:

What I didn't get pictures of includes swimming, some of the others jumping off a rope swing, and any good photos of the rest of the people with us. I was in the water whenever E was, even though she's amazingly self-sufficient in her little life vest. I wasn't crazy about the hot water, but in one area near the rope swing it was nice and cool and I loved that.

first wedding part 2

2011-06-16T06:42:00.004-04:00

Blogger won't let me upload but so many photos to a single post. Here's more from the wedding, including the "after" shots in the mini-van on the way home.

E's first wedding

2011-06-16T06:11:00.002-04:00

These pictures are kind of in reverse order, and this is all from back on April 2nd, 2011. My cousin got married and it was the first wedding E got to attend; she was very excited. There was standing room only at the church, more or less, and I held her over at the side of the balcony so she could see. She was quiet and extremely attentive, and said "seeing the bride" was the best part. The part she talked about most afterward, however, was the younger flower girl, age 2, who was "so cute!" when she walked down the aisle and played with the flower petals. And then there was the dancing - none of the girls could get enough time on the dance floor! It was hard to get a good picture but these are the best. The couple E is watching is the groom and his mom.

literal minds

2011-05-28T21:41:00.002-04:00

E's been learning at preschool an American Indian poem/chant/song that apparently goes something like this:

The Earth is our Mother.
We must take care of our Mother.
The Sky is our Father.
We must take care of our Father.
The mountains are our Grandfather.
We must take care of our Grandfather.
The oceans are our Grandmother.
We must take care of our Grandmother.

It's been really inspiring to me to hear E talking about respecting and taking care of our planet, and I'm loving her learning this beautiful spiritual perspective. I talked about ways we can show respect and take care by not littering, not wasting, etc. When she let the water run too long after brushing her teeth, she said, "Sorry, Grandmother!" I thought that was cool.

Yesterday at the sink she told me something like, "You know, the ocean is made of our Grandmother's spit." When I laughed it surprised her. She held up her hands and said, "Because it's liquid!"

Mothers Day at the park

2011-05-25T06:39:00.003-04:00

Pictures from part of my Mothers Day 2011. Took a long walk from my friend Marie's house to the park. Ate Cheetos and drank soda. Threw dirt clods. Haven't E and V grown??

E and E sitting in a tree

2011-05-25T06:14:00.002-04:00

(thankfully not k-i-s-s-i-n-g! as the rhyme goes)

E and E are best friends and talk about getting married when they grow up. I like the other E but hope that my E will learn that love is more than just desperately wanting to do everything that person does! She wants to be just like him, "except for his hair". It's been a serious crush, maybe lessening up slightly but they still can't get enough of each other.

art

2011-05-24T21:16:00.003-04:00

Try this link to see a slideshow of some of E's preschool artwork. The teacher uploads pictures now and then.
http://www.artsonia.com/museum/slideshow.asp?artist=2850685&school=126434

First prize, Military category

2011-05-15T09:53:00.001-04:00

David won in the ASAA art show! First place in the "military" category. He's pictured here wearing a suit (!) and shaking the hand of Keith Ferris, one of the most famous aviation artists.

E's first meal

2011-05-13T21:39:00.004-04:00

Spread a slice of bread with ketchup, sprinkle with grated cheese and chopped-up hot dog, heat it up, you have a mini-pizza! I made one of these for E one time last week, and mentioned that I used to make them when I was a kid, that I had a recipe for them. It was either found in the Mini-Page (kids section in the newspaper) or in my Girl Scouts cookbook. So she promised that next time she would make mini-pizza for me. Tonight she tried to fool me that she was making something else (a layer cake) and I played my part so well that she had to ask me if I really thought it was a layer cake.

I grated the cheese but she chopped the hot dog with a table knife. She wanted to use the microwave instead of the toaster oven and thankfully she asked me which buttons to push before doing it. So the bread was a little tough, the hot dog lukewarm, but we sat there exclaiming to each other how yummy it was. "Do you like my cooking, Mommy?" she asked, several times.

5 and a half

2011-05-10T21:45:00.002-04:00

Today was E's half-birthday. She's 45 inches tall, about 2 inches taller than 6 months ago. She marked the occasion by saving special treats for today - the last tube of "go-gurt", and the bonus package of frozen blueberry pancakes (there are normally 3 in a serving, but they must have slipped up at the factory). She also had this little sample-size shampoo bottle she plays with in the bath, and she filled it with water over a week ago and put the lid on, set it on the side of the tub. Then she saved it to open today, on her half-birthday. I don't know why that was so exciting, but it made her happy!

loud joy

2011-05-10T19:07:00.000-04:00

E puts on her hearing protectors to stomp bubble wrap.

stuck tape

2011-05-07T18:11:00.002-04:00

E and I made up a story the other day and one thing she said stuck vividly in my mind. There was a roof that needed to be securely attached so that whatever the villain was wouldn't be able to fly/blast/sneak through it. She said the fairies used "stuck tape, peanut butter, and bricks" to fasten it down.

hairstyling

2011-05-04T21:07:00.002-04:00

Last night I braided E's hair to make it wavy and fluffy in the morning, thought she would like that, and she does! But she liked the braids better than the waves and we re-braided this morning for her to wear to school.

E and E @ Jay's Deli

2011-05-01T22:09:00.001-04:00

Another picture of E and E, under the counter at our favorite deli, a few weeks ago.

2 peas in a pod

2011-04-30T21:21:00.004-04:00

E and E had a sleepover here last night. They "hairstyled" the happy meal barbies, made their laundry basket beds and chatted quietly about books for a good hour before they decided bed and floor would be more comfortable. And in the morning we had French toast and went to two playgrounds, walking and riding in the wagon. Ev. introduced himself to just about every passerby, just like my E used to do. I played tag with them and realized I really need to run hard to catch E now. Time to get in shape!

Total gender equality is the name of the game.

royal wedding 4-29-2011

2011-04-29T19:43:00.002-04:00

E loved seeing the bridesmaids and bride, the trees inside Westminster Abbey, and all the real royalty. She asked why there weren't any girls in the choir.

kindergarten readiness?

2011-04-25T11:19:00.004-04:00

We had a great Easter weekend at Grandma Mickey's and Grandpa Bud's house, and I will put up some pictures. I know I have a lot of catching up to do. But for those who know how nervous I've been about E transitioning to kindergarten, I have a positive development to report. Today's events were nothing like what would have happened when "the K word" was mentioned months ago (fear and loathing is the phrase that comes to mind...).

E will be going to a Spanish Immersion program at a school near our house. As with most schools in our county, they have an after-school child care program on site, called "ACES". I'd heard that the slots fill up quickly for it, so I told E last night that we were going to stop by her new school this morning and pick up a piece of paper (the ACES application form), and she would get to see what her new school looks like, just for a quick visit. She said, "Hmm. That sounds good." I wasn't sure if what sounded good was seeing the school, or that it would be quick.

This morning she asked me to tell her a Scooby Doo story about herself starting kindergarten and making friends with Everett (you may know who he is...), and the Scooby Doo gang had to come and help the teachers out with something. So I happily obliged on that, feeling hopeful.

When we went by the school, the two parking lots that were visible from the main road were gated off, so I didn't know where to park and I told E maybe we could come back tomorrow. She started to throw a fit, and I interrupted to say, "Don't cry - talk to me! Do you have another idea of what we should do?" She immediately calmed down and suggested I park on the street and go in to ask them where the parking lot was. She did not want to wait another day.

I had gone past the school and wasn't sure where I was but I realized I could call the school and ask - E's interest was worth the 411 call charge on my phone. I learned there was another lot behind the school. So we headed back. E asked me to tell her another story, but I said I had to concentrate on finding my way back to the school. She was quiet, and when we finally pulled into the lot, she said, "Did you like how patient I was, with not talking?" I said, "Yes!" She unbuckled her seat belt and said, "Just like a real kindergartener!" (wow.)

We saw some children playing outside, just a small group, and the halls were quiet when we went in. E wondered where all the people were. In the office the receptionist made a fuss about wanting to see E's pretty face, so E hid her face under my shirt. A kindergarten teacher was called over to meet her, and Senora C spoke to E in English, with an effective, engaging tone, and got E to "gimme five". She welcomed her and said, "Are you ready to learn some Spanish?" E didn't answer, but I'm pretty sure she was smiling. Then Senora C asked E in Spanish what her name is, and after a couple of repetitions, I asked E, "Can you introduce yourself?" E hid her face, saying "I'm too shy". So I asked the teacher how to say shy in Spanish. I expect E will learn to say "Yo soy timida" (I am shy) as one of her first sentences. But I'm delighted with how it went. She was happy going back to the car, and asked me to play Follow the Leader.

I could tell it was a big deal for her even though she didn't talk about it any more, because at the preschool drop off she was very clingy. But she didn't cry, and she seemed more happy than grumpy. She wanted me to tell everyone not to talk to her, but I said she needed to speak up for herself. So she bravely announced to the friends clamoring for her attention, "I don't feel like talking!" And the teachers said, "Give her some space, let her get settled."

Next week we'll have a kindergarten assessment at the school. Not sure yet what it will entail, but I feel better today about how that might go.

Nova reenacted

2011-04-14T06:10:00.006-04:00

Last night E was pretending my bathrobe, being dragged along by the belt, was a colossal squid. A colossal squid can break a person in half. It's a dangerous predator. Then in the bath the washcloth was the squid, and she was studying it. She cut it open and put her hand in it to feel its heart and its eyeballs (I think). All along she narrated and the funniest thing to me was how she said "colossal squid" in the same dramatic tone as the narrator of the documentary she had watched with David (about the colossal squid).

To see a picture of a real one, click this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Calmarcolossal.jpg

farmer girl

2011-04-09T08:21:00.003-04:00

E and I have been reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and a scene in that book inspired her to plan a big breakfast on our next stay-at-home day. She had 2 pancakes, apple oatmeal, a piece of toast (half cheese, half butter), some sugar smacks cereal, and hot chocolate. She ate all of it except the cereal and had to save the rest of the hot chocolate.

advice from E

2011-04-08T06:00:00.001-04:00

Last night when we were pretending I was E's kitten and upset about something, she came over and stroked my cheek repeatedly, looked into my eyes, and said slowly in a soothing voice, something like this (I tried to memorize it):

‎"The earth hears you, and you need your calmness. Calm down, or your eyeballs will explode and turn into lava and burn you."

busy month

2011-03-27T13:05:00.003-04:00

Work has been very busy and I'm beat when I get home. Also I had my next reconstruction surgery this month, and it went well but added some complexity to the schedule. We're all doing fine.

If my camera battery wasn't dead, I would have made a movie this morning of E jumping on the couch cushions in her underwear, yelling "cannonball!"

The other thing we did this morning was watch videos (of course). Her latest favorite is She-Ra (He-Man's twin sister, a cartoon from the early 90's). I drew her a picture of She-Ra to color, and she said it looked like Shaggy (from Scooby-Doo) in a costume!

best friend

2011-02-27T19:02:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture of E and her best friend/fiance, also initialed E and aged 5.

snowflake mask

2011-02-26T19:03:00.002-05:00

This snowflake had part of it accidentally chopped off and E was furious with herself, but I said it looked interesting because it was different. She said, "Oh! Thanks." Then we noticed it looked like a mask, and she tried it on. "Puwefect"

new paintings

2011-02-15T21:09:00.003-05:00

Links to David's latest paintings:

Gravel Inspector

Kingfishers

alienation makes for a bad day

2011-02-08T20:40:00.003-05:00

The other day E heard the word "alienated" on the radio news and asked what it meant. Of course it piqued her interest, having to do with aliens. I said, "It means being left out."

Soon she said, "Mommy? Not this day, but another day..., I felt alienated. I was playing with Everett and he was picking someone to be his dog, and I was wearing my white dress with the buttons on it and he said the person he picked was wearing a SHIRT, and that was Niyah! And then he picked Abby to be his wife!"

ribs do kind of look like gills

2011-02-08T20:33:00.003-05:00

On Sunday E and I went to the neighborhood park, and we ran a lot, played tag. E ran so hard she had to stop: she put her hand on her ribs and said she had a pain in her gills.

I said, "That's actually called a 'stitch'," and I told her to rest for a bit and it would go away. Every time after that when she was running and had to stop, she would grab her side and yell, out of breath but apparently quite happy, "My ditch! My ditch!"

"looks like a pretty day out there"

2011-01-23T08:30:00.000-05:00

This is E right now.

new game

2011-01-22T21:43:00.003-05:00

Coloring was E's favorite thing to do with me until recently. Now we play "Go Fish" with some cards I think Grandma Mickey gave her 2 Christmases ago. E plays with great glee! It's a fun way to wake up on a weekend morning.

more art

2011-01-16T21:30:00.005-05:00

Here's the result of last Sunday's snowflake fest.

Yesterday, we started our day with glitter glue. E squirted the colors all on top of each other in 4 little piles...

Then swirled them around, was quite pleased with the effect (despite the expression captured here).

And check out this masterpiece that she did at preschool! She worked longer on this than the other kids apparently and created something 20 times larger. Perhaps her motivation was thinking she'd get to eat all the marshmallows, but I suspect she just got lost in the "flow". She loves to do this kind of thing.

first paint-by-number

2011-01-14T20:33:00.001-05:00

This was taken New Year's Day. She still hasn't finished, likes to do one or two sections at a time.

Peter Pan

2011-01-14T06:57:00.003-05:00

E is really worried about going to kindergarten this August. First, she thought kids went there and never came back home (because she didn't see them ever come back to the daycare). Then she learned they don't have naptimes, and that might have been okay except they don't allow loveys!!! Or thumb-sucking. Or fuzz, probably. And you have to do work, lots of work!! A girl we know apparently told E it's a lot of chores and homework and she hates it. Another friend only likes recess, or was it lunch? The teachers at preschool keep trying to teach responsibility saying things like "this is how you'll have to do things at big school", and all of this is stressing E out. Even more of her play is about being cute little babies (and kittens) and she keeps asking me to do things she can do perfectly well herself. She's gotten more shy and clingy to me over the last few months (may be other reasons included in that, though). The other night she said she wants to still live here when she's a mom. She was worried about that too, about having to leave home when she grows up.

So a word to all of you, until we figure out how to deal with this, please don't talk to E about kindergarten! We tend to assume that going to big school is an exciting thing for them, but not for this one. She loves her life now and doesn't want to grow up.

probable snow day

2011-01-11T06:10:00.002-05:00

E trotted into my room at 5:10, said she woke up early so she'll have more time to play. She fell back asleep pretty quickly, but when my alarm rang at 6 she insisted she should get up with me because she never sleeps. She's been saying this for a while now, that she only rests at night, never goes to sleep. One time she said, "Mommy! Last night I just put my head down and then it was morning!"

new favorite food

2011-01-10T21:00:00.001-05:00

E is rapturous over fried egg sandwiches with cheese!

weekend rundown

2011-01-09T22:10:00.003-05:00

E and I had a great day today, a partly miserable day yesterday.

I woke with a migraine and nausea (Sat.) and when I had a reprieve between bouts of "frowing up" I posted on Facebook how bad I felt. My friend Marie asked if I needed help, and I wrote, "Either that, or lots of praise for being a martyr!" So I shipped E off in Marie's mini-van to go play for the afternoon. Just before Marie got here, as I was telling her the plan, E more or less said that I had "ruined (her) day". She had "planned" to stay home and color with me. I said my day was ruined too, thank you very much. Marie had to carry her away, crying, but of course she was fine and had a grand time. We had both been looking forward to a day of just playing together. So that's what we did today. We got so engrossed in our snowflake-cutting and crocheting that we didn't look at the time until 6:30. I can't believe it but I taught E to finger crochet! She's proud of her "braid". The snowflakes are now decorating the fishtank, along with the Kwanzaa chain E made me.

We went to Friends' Meeting, and the message was about anxiety, "the uninvited guest". I was feeling great then. Well I guess I invited it tonight as I finally sat down to sort out and pay bills. *sheesh* Oh well, I'd put it off long enough, had to do it. And then I looked up the weather report: snow tomorrow and freezing rain all day Tuesday with significant accumulation. I might get to work tomorrow at least for part of the day, but then I'll come home and worry about the power going out. I'll be okay though. I wallow in it for a little while, envision the worst, and then feel ready to go with the flow, rise above it all.

Speaking of anxiety, here's a funny moment: in Harris Teeter grocery store, E stops suddenly in the entry way, looking up. Stomps her foot and puts her hands on her hips, saying "I don't like those cameras being in the store! They're like a Santa camera."

I guess 5 is old enough to feel self-conscious. This is the theme of the last few weeks or months. Funny how a couple years ago E was hailing strangers on the street and now she hates almost any situation where she draws attention. Outside of home, I mean, and maybe preschool. Doesn't want people to look at her. Except me, apparently. It's "Mommy, Look!" every other minute. Today I left the dinner table for a minute and E tracked me down saying I should have told her where I was going - "I thought you had died already!" She was smiling and laughing though - I wasn't sure how seriously to take that. We'll see.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-06T21:46:00.004-05:00

A few pics from our Christmas morning. I know I'm getting slack, but I posted these here first, instead of on Facebook!

This last one is E showing off the "Ring Pop" she got in her stocking - diamond-shaped candy stuck on a plastic ring so that you can wear it.

battleship trip

2010-12-20T22:12:00.003-05:00

Here's a few of the pictures David took when he and E went to see the battleship yesterday. David was doing research for his next painting, of the Kingfisher plane you see in one of these pics.

E's wearing her pink "ear protectors" in case they shoot the guns. She asked me the night before (when she was excited about going to see the real ship that Daddy's building a model of), "Why do they shoot guns?" I gave some uncomfortable, over-simplified answer about war and soldiers (yes, I know, they're sailors actually) having to shoot "bad people" in war. E said, emotionally, "But what if a bad person is my friend???" Good question, I said.

My answer indicated I believe in trying to get people who do bad things to learn to do good things. E felt better when she decided that "The polices will take the bad people to jail and teach them how to be good." If only our system worked as it's supposed to... (sigh).

When the morning of the trip dawned, E was nervous and said she's "not used to going places I've never been before". She asked me if other kids would be there, and said she was too shy to go. She wanted to stay home with me. But we persisted, and David said the beach was near there, which changed her attitude completely. They didn't make it to the beach but she did have a great time after all. Has been talking about it a lot. Showed everyone at her preschool a postcard of the "ginormous" ship.

birthday cape

2010-11-18T09:10:00.002-05:00

E's birthday dinner

2010-11-16T23:49:00.001-05:00

More pictures coming

so what if I can't sew straight?

2010-11-09T23:00:00.002-05:00

Birthday present in progress... Gotta get up early to finish, and/or take it to work with me. It's going to be a cape. E was telling me about a classmate's vampire cape this evening, and it gave me the idea. All she asked for for her birthday is "a pretty thing".

David's going to make the cake.

E's into modeling

2010-11-09T22:58:00.001-05:00

halloween party

2010-10-29T20:57:00.002-04:00

This first pic is where E was when I got to the daycare this evening, hiding with a friend (who didn't want his picture taken) behind the tables that had been pushed aside for the party.

She was a "pepper princess" again this year. The tiara, gloves, and shoes didn't stay on very long.

The ceiling fan had little tissue-paper ghosties flying around.

These pictures were taken before everyone got there. It was packed and crazy later on and I didn't take any pictures then. They had one room decorated with "spooky stuff" and one with a blow-up bouncy thing, and outside there were marshmallows and donuts tied to strings, which you had to try to eat without using your hands.

Victor sleepover

2010-10-25T21:56:00.003-04:00

Next-door neighbors in the fort

Next adventure: discovering that the toilet "plumper" will stick to the wall.

finished painting

2010-10-22T07:35:00.002-04:00

David's painting is finished, see pictures here, and en route to Wilmington to give to the veteran. Hope he likes it! I'm very proud of my husband.

part of the working mom/wife package

2010-10-14T22:56:00.001-04:00

I'm organizing child care and transport, work meetings, date nights, family and friend visits, play dates, dance classes, doctor visits, birthday parties, and oh yes, grocery shopping. I'm even having to schedule the laundry. The next few weeks are going to be a logistical work of art.

how I spent 10-10-10

2010-10-11T07:06:00.002-04:00

I read about a photography contest, to take a picture at 6:10 am my time (10:10 Greenwich Mean Time) on yesterday, but I decided not to set my alarm. I woke up at 7:00.

The sun was rising behind the Blue Ridge mountains. We were at David's parents' house. No one else was up yet. Emma was snoring gently in her sleeping bag on the floor. She has a slight cold. I went downstairs and turned on the tv (an exciting novelty for me!) and decided to watch CNN. They were showing live footage of a massive celebration in North Korea to introduce Kim Jong Il's successor, his youngest son Kim Jong Un. I know that live tv from North Korea is rare, and 100 international journalists were invited to watch the impressive dancing and fireworks. There were thousands of dancers in a stadium, choreographed to the millisecond. I've never seen anything like it. Beautiful!

Other news was annoying - spokespersons for partisan politics speculating on the influence Barack Obama might still be able to have on mid-term elections. Why don't they get more neutral observers? Bringing these on, you know exactly what they're going to say -- that's not news.

My father in law was up next, told me he found on Google Earth the place he had been stationed in South Korea in 1956. There's nothing there now.

I think it was around 8 am when I heard my mother in law moving around and then, E's little voice. We watched the Scooby Doo movie her Aunt Cindy sent to her until it was time to set the table for breakfast. E helped me with that task a couple times over the weekend, learning to fold the napkins and which sides the knives and forks go on. She was excited to have cheese toast, eggs, and orange juice. She ate bacon after her grandma teased her for saying it was too hard. She said, "Oh, she doesn't have any teeth, she can't chew it." Then E asked for some.

After breakfast E helped wash the dishes. And we went outside and collected fallen apples. E kept changing her mind about what to do with them. At first we were witches making applesauce with rotten apples. Then she wanted to pretend to make an apple pie. After several distractions we ended up leaving them in a pile as an Apple Feast for the deer who visit. E didn't like the "squishy" wet grass we walked in and went back to put her shoes on, but I loved it and kept my feet bare. The ground there doesn't have as many hard and spiky things as our yard here.

More playing, then finally packing up to leave. We took the scenic route home, guided by the GPS. It was truly gorgeous. Hard to find a bathroom though. We got to a country store that said they didn't have public restrooms but I promised to buy something so they let me go. I came back in with my purse and E and the store clerks exclaimed over her. Gave her free candy. David said, "Now she's learned she can get things just by being cute!"

We got home in time for E and me to go to the park. We played and I helped try to find the owner of a loose dog who was apparently not a stray but starving. Another neighbor brought cat food for him. Another neighbor petted and talked baby talk to him. He wandered off and we lost track of him. Poor dog. None of us felt comfortable taking him home to keep him temporarily, putting up posters and all that, which is what my animal loving friends would see as the right thing to do. Didn't want to call the dogcatcher either, because we knew how that would end. He was incredibly gentle and pleasant, but too old and decrepit to be adopted, probably.

The day ended with reading of the Richard Scarry Storybook Dictionary, as usual.

what a day

2010-10-03T21:04:00.002-04:00

E watched a movie on my laptop while I took a shower this morning, and when I came out I caught her with her elbows on the keyboard, thumb in mouth, entranced by the lines she was making with her other hand on the LCD screen - with a sharp piece from a home-made glass and metal wind chime! There are scratches now. Could have been gouges, I suppose, but still annoying to look at on my nice otherwise clean white Mac. I was absolutely furious, as we'd already had a big "talk" about not touching the very delicate screen after she left finger smears all over it. The wind chime was made with wire and colored glass, given to her at the art studio after she admired it. The glass pieces aren't sharp enough to cut your skin at a normal touch, but they're not something to be playing with anyway. I said "I thought you had more sense!" and told her she could never watch any more movies on my computer, ever. Then I went in my room to calm down. She took much longer to calm down, herself, but by the mid-afternoon she wasn't crying whenever she thought of it. She compared this incident to how sad she was that time we were going to go to the mountain house but we couldn't because she was sick.

We went to Meeting (church) after that, and things were fine, but she was exceptionally energetic today. I took a nap on the couch while she watched a video, and instead of spacing out she talked all through it and had trouble sitting still. David called to offer me a break, said, "What's E doing?" I said, "bouncing off the walls". Later tonight she was even worse, stumbling and pitching herself over things, knocking stuff over, careening through the rooms, chattering nonstop and LOUDLY. When she finally went to bed she crashed hard.

We have had a lot of power struggles lately, and they've scaled back a notch, as I see her processing things through her play. Today at lunchtime (between church and my nap) was an extreme example of the kinds of things she's wanted to play since these control issues came to a head. She was the mom and I was the daughter, and the beans I was eating for lunch were my "yucky pills" that I had to eat 20 of. She wanted me to cry and whine and kick my legs throughout while she lectured me about it. She told me what to say and I had to pretend to cry a lot. Mimicking my calm motherly tone, she said things like, "You want to be healthy, don't you?"and "I'm sorry, Daughter, but you have to have a lot of painful shots," and "I'm the mom and I have the rules"! The rules for me were that I had to eat 20 yucky things and have 20 shots a day. I protested, "But that's more than most children have," and she replied, "You're the sickest child ever." She gathered a collection of keys, spoons, toy golf clubs, pencils and pens, and was preparing to give me "painful shots" with all of them - in that calm tone of voice - but luckily got distracted before I had to endure the whole series.

another blog

2010-09-27T08:52:00.001-04:00

A blog you all might be interested in....

good day

2010-09-20T21:21:00.004-04:00

I was proud of E tonight. At the preschool board meeting (parents are on the board), she shared her dinner with a friend, and she played independently and she loved on her teacher and one of my other friends even more than she did on me. She even hugged a parent she had never met before! She drew a picture that started out being of me (so she said), all decorated and standing on flower petals on my wedding day. Then she took it back and worked on it some more, and gave it to my friend Jeni. She told me later it was a picture of Jeni holding her baby on her wedding day. I approved 100% - I love that she loves other people and that she didn't cling to me during the meeting. She seemed to need my attention hardly at all.

And tonight she didn't have any fits either - even braved the sandy band-aid removal.

I think David's coming home tomorrow.

another E-ism

2010-09-16T22:07:00.002-04:00

Last night E said her brain kept thinking about Scooby-Doo monsters when she went to bed. "I think I must have a haunted brain."

power struggles

2010-09-15T19:47:00.003-04:00

This morning I didn't let E take any dress-up clothes to school because she had tried to sneak 5 dresses and tutus past me, stuffed in her pillow case. She lied when I asked what was in there. So we had lots of crying and accusations of unfairness, etc. in the car on the way to preschool. Some of the best lines:

E: "I never get to do everything I want!"
me: "No one ever gets to do everything they want"
E: "Pippi Longstocking does!"

E: "I wish you and Daddy could go to another land so I could do anything I want."
me: "You want to live like Pippi Longstocking?"
E: (reflective pause, change of tone) "But I don't know how I could... I don't know how to cook stuff!"

babies in tummies

2010-09-14T19:29:00.003-04:00

E said, "I wonder how I could be so small to be just a spark in the universe!" I must have used that phrase at some point, but only once I'm sure, and it was not discussed. Then she started speculating on how she got in my belly in the first place.... I somehow vaguely implied that daddies have something to do with it, and I have always said that she comes from Daddy and me. She said with a furrowed brow, "I guess they have to cut the baby in half to put half in the daddy and half in the mommy...."

scooby dooby doo!

2010-09-02T22:18:00.001-04:00

silly dressing up

2010-09-02T06:25:00.002-04:00

I think this is E's latest favorite game, dressing up in funny ways.

why zombies?

2010-08-31T06:27:00.003-04:00

Somehow it worked out that I give E a reward after she eats 20 servings of vegetables, which takes about 2 weeks. What she chose this weekend was to sleep with Mommy. So Friday night she was pretending to read me a story in bed, and this was the opening line:

"In the soft and chilly air, the zombies come out."

Then she got distracted and I never heard the rest of it, but I thought that sounded downright literary!

Yesterday, I asked E what zombies are. "They're monsters who don't have any people inside them." Where do they live? "Underground and in brown water underground, like under the ocean."

At the preschool months ago there was a sign up listing what each child said they were afraid of. There were things listed like lightning, snakes, spiders, and beside E's name it said "zombies".

So, you may ask, why is a child this age so fascinated with zombies? How does she even know about them?? Well, this is what happens when parents don't do sufficient Netflix research. Last year sometime (I think) E watched "Scooby Doo on Zombie Island," a recent cartoon movie, and I realized that these monsters were really monsters, not people wearing masks in true Scooby-Doo tradition like I grew up with. I thought that was too scary for a 3-4 year old, whatever she was at the time, and steered her away from that particular movie for a long time saying it was too scary for her and she wasn't old enough. Of course, she asked why. So I said it was because the monsters didn't have people inside them like in the other Scooby-Doo movies. She knew what I meant and she had had a nightmare about it, so she went along with the new rule, but of course it just added to that movie's mystique!

She likes scary movies and stories and it appears that she can handle things meant for kids a couple years older. I've been alert for nightmares but there aren't any, anymore, for months, so she's watching Zombie Island again. She doesn't know that zombies are supposed to be dead people come back alive and I'm not telling her that! I guess they shouldn't be any scarier than werewolves or ghosts, but they're just gross. Anyway, we haven't really talked about death yet. There's just that song "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly"....

I'm just waiting for more questions! Or repercussions.

croque madame

2010-08-24T20:53:00.003-04:00

Tonight as we were driving home, E asked for a Scooby Doo story set in Paris (as is one of the ones she's watched a trillion times). Because I was hungry, I guess, I spent time describing all the French food that Shaggy and Scooby ate in a cafe. I would say (butcher) each French name then describe what it was for E. I mentioned Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame, saying the latter was a cheese and egg sandwich. She asked for a Croque Madame for dinner.

Maternally and pedagogically thrilled was I. I looked up the recipe to be sure I remembered it accurately. I wasn't too far off: it's a grilled ham and gruyere (a kind of swiss cheese) sandwich with a fried egg on top and a little more melted cheese. People usually eat it with a knife and fork. So I didn't have sourdough bread, nor gruyere, nor ham, but our honey-wheat-bread/medium cheddar/roast deli turkey version was just fine. E skipped the mustard and turkey on hers.

Having looked up the recipe online I also saw the Wikipedia entry and learned that "croque madame" can be more or less translated as "Mrs. Crunch"! Ours had less crunch and more oil, of course, in true keeping with my brand.

Looking Like a Real Ballerina

2010-08-24T20:50:00.000-04:00

E in her Very Neat Bed

2010-08-24T20:48:00.000-04:00

tonight's quote

2010-08-23T18:56:00.000-04:00

"Daddy, you're just always a kidding man!"

tiredness

2010-08-20T06:28:00.003-04:00

Yesterday morning when I woke E up, she blinked at me and said, "That was short!" She was referring to the night. I said, "I know."

Last night, overtired E was having a fit about something just before bed. As I was holding her, calming her down, she paused crying for a moment and then said she didn't remember why she was so upset. I said it was because she was tired. She said, "Not that! What am I upset about?" Me, incredulous, "You want me to tell you what you were crying about?" "yes" "It was something to do with not wanting to get out of the bath," I said, not wanting to remind her of the specifics. But that was enough, and now reminded, she started wailing again!

kneed affection

2010-08-18T20:50:00.004-04:00

E took Barbie and 2 dolls to bed with her tonight, gave them each Kleenex blankets and small Happy Meal loveys. Barbie had something unexpected on her knees - little soft gel pads you put around your toes to keep them from rubbing together, which E stole from my bathroom drawer while I was on the phone. They reminded me of gardeners' knee pads. "Barbie just needed a little affection on her legs," she said.

making the house neatful

2010-08-17T20:49:00.002-04:00

E asked me to show her how to neaten up her bed the other night. I told her it's called "making the bed". I did remember how to do it, believe it or not. She was just thrilled, loves squeezing under those tightly-tucked covers. She suggested I make my bed too, and thought that looked beautiful. Tonight she folded all her pajamas and sorted them in the drawer, said she's making her house all neatful.

I hope to capitalize on this new phase.

The Princess At Home

2010-08-16T08:13:00.003-04:00

E is so excited that her heels finally reach the ends of these Cinderella shoes. I don't have the heart to point out that one day she won't be able to get in them!

I've got to get the flash on my camera fixed so things are less blurry.

science lesson

2010-08-10T20:34:00.002-04:00

E said tonight, "You have cardinal in your nose." Then she showed me, pressing her nose against the wall, "See? It flattens." She turned around, "And then it comes right back! That's cardinal!"

nutcracker video

2010-08-04T06:49:00.001-04:00

I found a way to post this from Facebook, and it said something about it will respect my Facebook privacy settings. I don't know how it can do that, but if you are not able to view this and you're not my Friend on Facebook, let me know.

spontaneous sleepover weekend

2010-08-03T06:20:00.005-04:00

E's only girl cousin is the closest thing she has (and probably will ever have) to a sister. MC is 5 and a half, E is 4 and a half. She was planning to spend the day on Saturday, but I thought, at the last minute, why not have her spend the night? I knew she and E had had a sleepover at Grandma's and that they did eventually get to sleep. MC hadn't brought anything for a sleepover, but she's close enough in size to E that we knew they could share clothes. She borrowed a teddy bear and a blanket to sleep with and didn't seem to miss her own loveys at home. She slept in E's red sleeping bag on the bed, while E had a pallet on the floor. She kept saying, "I can't believe I'm spending the night here!" One time she said, "I'm barely old enough for sleepovers."

Saturday morning started with some drama as E tried out what she must have thought of as sisterly behavior: theatrical tantrums triggered by having to share, complete with defiant declarations, clenched fists, stomping around, flinging herself face down onto bed or couch, and saying, "I hate you!" (to me) and "You're a bad mommy if you make me do that!". It was really a performance, not her usual pattern at all. MC and I just stared at her. She did it two or three times, but after she realized the consequences weren't worth it (MC had my back - "You especially shouldn't say that to your mom"), she gave it up and played very nicely. Eventually E was happily saying things like, "I know who will go first - MC, because she's the guest!"

They watched Barbie in the Nutcracker on video and danced along with the final scene. The video I made is too big to upload here. Then we went to the children's museum and stayed until we just got tired of it, over 2 hours. I forgot the camera. A friend of mine came over after that and we got to talk while the girls played in E's room. Then she went with us to Steak and Shake.

Getting to sleep was the hardest part of the weekend. I'd heard that they went to bed on their own about 10 pm at Grandma's, so I didn't intervene much until I saw that they were still full-on at 10. I lay down with them and physically held E still. After she finally succumbed, MC was finally able to drift off about 11.

Sunday morning involved artwork, creative hairstyles, and then meeting Marie and her son Victor at a McDonald's with an indoor playground. The kids played HARD for a good full hour before E and Victor showed serious signs of fatigue. I didn't take any pictures there. Here's the arts and crafts scene:

After McDonald's we went to Food Lion to get things we needed for lunch, and this cart was a big hit. I always tell E she can only ride in one when she has a friend with her, because they're meant for two children.

It's fun to have a friend over, to get to know that child better and to see another side of my own child, and to have a break from the constant chatter and activity that's normally directed at me.

more mountain pics

2010-07-30T07:23:00.001-04:00

snail, continued

2010-07-28T21:11:00.004-04:00

the snail

2010-07-28T21:03:00.002-04:00

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

2010-07-26T06:47:00.003-04:00

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

2010-07-23T07:07:00.002-04:00

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

2010-07-23T06:47:00.003-04:00

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

2010-07-22T21:55:00.002-04:00

filmed June 11th in our kitchen

clever word

2010-07-21T20:33:00.001-04:00

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