Wednesday, July 30, 2008

The Tooth

We like to call her Nanny McPhee... this tooth has been trying to come out for more than 5 months now, how it is still attached is a mystery.



For more wordless Wednesday see 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

If you...

Sunshine as of late has been trying this new technique on me...

"If you don't let me BLAH BLAH, then I'm going to hit you with this!"

As the conversation escalates she gets louder and louder reaching the decibel level she had as a baby when she was really upset about something- you know that cry that started with no sound at all, kind of like the warning shot across your bow- after that you knew glass could shatter!

Being the typical Mother, I am not perfect, and I do try my best, I try to make things positive- using the reward system, if you do this then we can do something fun. And I know there are times that I do say, if you don't do this, then you can't have XYZ.

But never, ever, never have I suggested that if she didn't do something that I was going to hit her. And the screaming, oh my, the screaming, I will not lie, I have yelled at Sunshine, but it is not common. Where on Earth is she getting this? And I ask you, will it stop?

Frankly it scares me- I dread getting a phone call that she has hit some other kid. I hope this is just a stage, a very very very short stage.

Any suggestions?

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

Because I really want to see this movie...For more wordless Wednesday see 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

IAG

Last week I was away at a conference for work. It was a tremendous experience for me. I won't bore you with details, but it was good on the work level and the person level.

Our trip was a bit comical, I suspect even the best author's in Hollywood could not have come up with the different things that happened to us. But you know what, even in my lowest moments, I never lost my cool. I got quiet for a few minutes, or laughed uncontrollably, but I just kept right on keeping on.

I must have said it's all good 2-300 times last week. I am sure I can not put into words how I felt coming back, this new found me, calmer, less tense, less worried.. continuing to find more of that freedom I've been looking for.. you know as much reckless abandon as a single Mom with a full time job and a house and all that other adult responsibility can have.

For kicks, I gave up flour about 3 weeks ago, flour and sugar and caffeine. Please note, I am not a health food nut, I like to buy good food, preferably without too many preservatives, but I drink soda, and Sunshine has fruit snacks and we don't eat enough fruits or veggies.

In the back of my mind, I wonder, did my new found calmness have anything to do with the change in diet? My experience at the conference? A combination of the both?

Either way, I've been thinking about a new tattoo for some time.. toying with some sort of Ying and Yan.. but I think, I may change my mind and simply get IAG on my hand.. just a reminder... don't sweat the small stuff.. really.. it's all good.. it ain't no thang but a chicken wing..

Saturday, July 12, 2008

The Basement

I've been in this routine of waking up around 4 or 4:30 each morning and so I get out of bed. I do some stuff around the house quietly and then usually plop myself in front of the computer and surf or create World Peace, sort of depends on mood.

The other day, I'm sitting at the computer and I hear voices, my first thought is, oh, I forgot to turn my alarm off- the first alarm is a radio station, then comes the loud obnoxious beep if I don't wake up. So I get up, to turn it off not wanting it to wake Sunshine up. As I approach my room, I realize a. the noise is not coming from this direction and b. the alarm clock is off, so I start walking toward the living room, odd, but maybe the cats accidentally hit the remote. But nope, as I walk toward the living room the noise gets louder- it is women speaking and in true Doppler Effect the noise gets quieter... hmm...

So I walk back toward the office... wait... the basement? That is funny. So I open the door and turn on the light. I did mention that is 5 in the morning right? And I know what you are thinking- don't do it, don't do it.. people always get in trouble when they go into the basement in horror movies.

But what is a girl to do? I am the adult in the house? I have to protect Sunshine. Wait? Why isn't the dog barking? So I start looking for what large blunt object I should bring with me into the basement, I am not sure why I chose large blunt object and not sharp knife, but this is what I did.

I start looking, we don't have a baseball bat.. what about a broom? No, that's too thin... you know, if there is someone in the basement, he or she knows you are up now. Why isn't the dog barking? You know this is how bad things happen to people in horror movies. Ah.. I found something.. this will have to do.

And this, ladies in gentlemen, is what I chose as my weapon of choice to enter my basement...

Because really, what could be more frightening than a child's hobby horse? I don't know, maybe in my brain I was thinking the would-be-attacker would see my weapon and start laughing.

So I descend the stairs.. looking side to side.. please note, my basement is one big room, with the exception of movable partition that separates the oil tank from everything. Back and forth I look, hobby horse squarely in my hands ready to swing at whatever comes my way.

I step on the basement floor, I turn more lights on. Somewhere on my decent down the stairs I think, the cats must have turned the tv on by steeping on the remote, but as I hit the floor, I see the remote and it really isn't any place either cat could get to.

I turn, I move the partition with one hand so as to keep my weapon poised for attack.

Hmm... nothing. While I'm down here I guess I'll scoop the cat litter. So I place the hobby horse on the dryer and start to scoop the poop, and as I'm doing this I think, well if there is someone down here, I now I've a new weapon, I'll just throw dirty cat litter at them...

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Seems Appropriate Some How...

In contemplating joining the Wordless Wednesday mommy bloggers of the world, I started looking for pictures to post.. came across this from the Air Show last year.. seemed very appropriate based on my high school dream. But this wasn't a dream, came to fruition and I got to sit on a boat and watch the Blue Angels fly... by the way, maybe next week, I'll participate in Wordless Wednesday.. I did my 1 scary thing already today!





You Have Three Chance to Land..

I've been trying to think of something funny to blog about, but frankly, I'm not feeling all that funny recently, so instead...

Along long time ago when I was in High School, I wanted to be a Navy Fighter Pilot. I know, who knew?? Me? But it is true, there was an allure for me, as I look back on it now, I think it was the idea that it was risky yet finite, as I used to say "You only have three chances to land" and then you are done, referring to the catch wires on the boat. Maybe it was just the Playing with the Boys volleyball seen from Top Gun, either way, I looked into going to the Naval Academy, and actually while in grad school applied for a job in Annapolis. Hmmm..

I ran into this kid who I had known a few years ago when he was still in High School, asked how he was doing, how school was going and he said good, but he was taking the semester and maybe the year off to go to Colorado. I said, you know, I don't regret anything I've done, if I had to do it all over again, would I have done it differently? Maybe? Maybe I would have not been so focused and driven on getting my education and finding a job, and taken more time to find myself earlier rather than later. Who knows, but I told him to have a blast.

So I've been pondering the Fighter Pilot desire, coupled with this intense ansiness, I am almost feeling like a caged animal, ready to pounce. Why did I stop wanting the 3 chances to land and when did I become so cautious?

And this week, I get a quote from a newsletter I get that and it simply says: "Do one thing everyday that scares you." Eleanor Roosevelt

So, I'm trying that out... one thing each day that scares me... and it is scary, but maybe in the process I'll rekindle that desire to only have 3 chances... wish me luck.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

A Great Adventure

Sunshine and I drove to The Great Escape. I had been here as a kid, so it was very interesting to see how things have changed in the last few (several) years.

Many of the rides I remember as a kid where still there, and there were lots and lots of new ones. It was also interesting to compare last year at this time- we were in Florida and spending a couple days at the Disney parks. All things considered, this was a much better adventure, we weren't too hot to spend the whole day at the park, the price was less, and the lines were much more manageable. Sunshine really wants to go back, so maybe we'll go again this Summer.

It was also interesting to see the dichotomy of Sunshine, she LOVED the Bobsled ride,

which was an adult roller coaster, but also had a blast on Wile-E-Coyote's kid's roller coaster.

All and all...
A whole heck of a lot of driving
$66 in tickets
$50 in gas
Lots of smiles like this..


PRICELESS!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

A Few Random Thoughts from Our Travels

More on the travels later, but some random thoughts for now...

* Why are amusement park maps so hard to read? I get lost, every time, how can that be?
* When did it become okay to grab your girlfriend's bottom in public. Wait, let me clarify, to actually put your hand up a woman's mini-skirt and feel around (I am presuming the woman was a significant other, if not, there is a bigger question!).
* What is different about being in an amusement park that we can leave a stroller or a bag with our belongings in it at the end of a ride and not worry about it being taken? Why doesn't that concept work in other parts of the world?