Sunday in the park

Lovely day for an impromptu picnic and playtime.

I have no clever title today

I always know that if I ever slack with Ye Olde Blog that someone will make it known unto me. So, that's why I'm taking a break from my oh-so-busy life to give an update.

We're good. Preschool is still good. Although, I just *think* preschool is going well because I haven't heard of any problems. And if it weren't for the weekly newsletter from the teachers, I would have NO CLUE what they do each week. Every day after preschool, this is the general conversation between The Kid and I.

Me: HI SWEETIE!! How was preschool today??!?

TK: Good.

Me: What did you do today?

TK: I don't know.

Me: Did you play outside?

TK: Yes.

Me: Did you play with your friends?

TK: Yes.

Me: Did you fly to the moon and slide on a rainbow?

TK: Yes.

I remember when I was just a little older than The Kid coming home from school and my mom harassing me about what I did in school that day. She just would not stop with the questions and I seem to recall punching her in the stomach. (Sorry about that Grandmumsy!!) I still to this day need to decompress for a bit before I feel like talking about whatever happened during my day. (And when you factor in that you really best not speak to me much before 10am, I have a limited window of conversation with people during the day. ) I want her to tell me about her day, but I also don't want to hound her for info.

And now, for a certain someone who complained because I hadn't posted anything for a while, I give you "The Many Faces of The Kid." I working on sharpening The Kid's acting skills. What do you think? Her next face will be BLUE STEEL.

Mad

Happy

Sad

Sleepy

Scared

A meme

I haven't been tagged for this, but saw it around and wanted to do it, too.

Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line four, and write what it says.
"If you press the shutter button halfway and return to the..." (from my camera manual)

Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What can you touch?
My printer. Junk. The Wall.

What is the last thing you watched on TV?
News

Without looking, guess what time it is.
10:23pm (actually 10:27)

With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
My ceiling fan humming and me sniffling due to allergies.

When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
When I came home from work.

Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
I checked out all the blogs I read and checked my email

Did you dream last night?
Yeah. Some weird thing about high school and having to take a typing class but I had to use the old computers that we had in elementary school that used giant floppy disks and everybody else had fancy laptops. Then I had to go to gym class. I would call that a nightmare.

When did you last laugh?
Probably when I was putting The Kid to bed. I had to tell her towelie to have sweet dreams, too.

What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Paint

Seen anything weird lately?
Heck yeah. I see weird stuff all the time. I was at a renaissance festival just the other day. Talk about weird.

What do you think of this Meme?
Ehhhh.

What is the last film you saw?
In the theatre, Harry Potter 5
On video, The Little Mermaid and Hot Fuzz

If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
A theatre company

Tell me something about you that I don’t know?
I have a very hard time with organized religion, but I consider myself religious/spiritual. I just have never found the right thing to tie into all of my beliefs. But I also think that religion and spirituality are very personal so I don't talk about it.

If you could change one thing about the world, what would you do?
Equality and tolerance for all. (I know it's two things, but if you can do one, you might as well do the other.)

Comment to President Bush.
If I can't say anything nice, I won't say anything at all.

Would you ever consider living abroad?
If that lottery ever comes through I'll be out of here so fast......

What do you want to say to God when you get to heaven?
Thank you. I had a lovely time.

Weekend Roundup

First off, a quick update about preschool. Day two went smashingly well for both her and I. She even brought home her first bit of artwork. I'll scan it in tonight so you can see it. It's titled "Flying Giraffe" and I think it is exceptional. Also, when I asked her what she did in preschool on Thursday, she said she played with her friends. I asked what their names were and she just shrugged and said "I don't know....MY GIRLS!" HA!

Over the weekend, we did one of my very favorite things in the world. We went to a renaissance festival and made fun of the weirdos. Wheee! I was in heaven. The Kid was too. She got to see fairies, pirates, get a dolphin painted on her arm AND ride a REAL LIVE HORSE!!! She also got to practice two of her new favorite phrases "Arrrrrr, Matey!" and "ROCK ON DUDE!"

And here's a little quiz or a puzzler for you all. What do you do with a child who has NEVER made a fuss about taking a bath OR washing their hair and then suddenly acts like I have poured hot lava onto her head? Seriously, what used to be a fun bonding/playtime activity has now become pure torture for both of us. She will absolutely freak out if I try to wash her hair because it gets in her ears or her eyes. But, if she would sit still, it wouldn't. And then after we finally get her hair washed, she gets one of her tub toys and sprays water in her face. What's up with that? Why is that any different? Ugggghhhhh.

Well. That was really much harder than I expected.

I should have known. I cry all the time over weird little things. So why I thought I wouldn't cry taking my little girl to her first day of preschool is beyond me. I was so calm all morning, but then when I made The Kid stand in front of the door so I could take her picture, I felt a twinge, a little burn in my eyes and my throat tightened just a bit. I ignored it, and it quickly went away. Then, as we were in the car, on our way to preschool, out of nowhere, my eyes started burning again and my throat got a little tighter than it had before. But I was still able to blink and swallow to make it go away. And then I was fine! I was fine when she got out of the car and we walked in the building. Still fine as she hung her 'pack-pack' up on the wall. And I was really STILL fine when she went running into her classroom without so much as a "Bye, mama!" No, really. I was fine! But when I saw her teacher pick her up and give her a great big hug, I couldn't stop the burning or the tightening. It was all I could do to keep from making a complete arse out of myself in front of complete strangers. And if there is one thing I CAN'T STAND, it is crying in front of people. So, I basically just had to run out of there.

Don't get me wrong. I love that she is so confident. And I can't help but feel like I've done a pretty good job making her feel safe, secure and loved that she has no fear about going into a totally new situation. But.....she's my little girl! And yet, I was so proud of her today. I peeked in the room for the last 15 minutes or so, and she was taking it all in and in the middle of every bit of activity. I wish that I could be more like her.

And I don't think I mentioned it, but at last week's preview, The Kid was pretty tight with one little girl, in particular and her mom sat down next to me and we got to chatting and they are waiting to adopt from China! And they went through the same agency that I did! Small world, ain't it?

And finally, I'm sure my kiddo can't be the only one whose favorite bedtime friend is a rubber chicken, right? The Kid would like you all to meet Marcy, the chicken. Marcy was a gift from Crazy Uncle Mark. (You should have seen the looks we got at Super T @rget yesterday with her carrying that thing around and hugging it and talking to it......)

First Day of Preschool

Pics for now. Thoughts on the day later.


She just took off....not even a look back.
This was the point at which I started bawling and had to leave.
Dancing to The Fish Song.

Saying good bye at the end of class
In the zone.
And she's out.
Celebratory Ice Cream

Blog Potpourri

Here's just a bit of this and that.

Funny things The Kid says

Am I key say me eye! (That would be M-I-C-K-E-Y from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song)

What's so funny, guys? (Any time we laugh, she asks)

I want to save it for laaaaa-ter. (When she doesn't like her meal)

You're just teasing.

My little girl is growing up

Preschool starts next Tuesday, but you would think it started this week. On Tuesday, I had a Parent Coffee where they just tell the parents all the rules and make us sign up for treats and volunteer days and go over the school year schedule. I only got teary-eyed twice! And there was only one mom who annoyed me (so far)! She basically told us all that her princess was going to DEMAND a lot of attention. I nearly hurt my brain from rolling my eyes too fast. We go back today with kids to let them see their classroom and meet each other. I can't wait to see the little princess and see how her mom handles the meeting today.

The Kid is excited about the classroom rabbit. She keeps telling me that Stanley (the rabbit) forgot something. When I ask her what, she says, "CARROTS!" And then she laughs and laughs.

And finally, In Reality TV News

The next season of Survivor starts up soon and it was filmed in China. In the same province that The Kid is from. About 40 miles from where we stayed in her province. In the mountains. The Kid is from Mountain Town. It will be interesting to see parts of China that we didn't see. Just sayin'.

I watch Big Brother. I know.....it's crap tv, but I can't help getting sucked in every year. I blame Grandmumsy and my co-workers (heh!). Anyway, I never thought The Kid paid much attention when it was on, but last night, I said something about two of the contestants (Amber and Danielle) who had been on another show. And The Kid says, "Big Brother 8! It's so exciting!!"

For Auntie J

Iowa State Fair Pics

Belated Birthday Pics

The Kid all ready for her party
Dumping out the bag of clothes.
Checking her email.
Having her cake and eating it, too.

Happy Birthday!

Today my little girl is 3 years old! I am so proud of the sweet, funny, kind and loving little girl she is growing up to be.

I love you, sweetie! Happy Birthday!

2 years - A family!

It's not Ivy League, but it's a start

I got a call today that The Kid has been accepted into the preschool I was hoping for. I was so late in getting her name in places that I figured she would be attending Uncle Billybob's Preskool-atorium, so I was uber excited that she is in. And when I came home tonight, The Kid declared that she wanted to go to preschool RIGHT NOW! Aye yi yi....they aren't going to know what hit them!

I've already started shopping for her first day of school outfit.

A catch up post

Lots to show and tell. But first a story. So tonight, The Kid and I were watching the end of Big Brother, and she notices a cyst that has been on my wrist for as long as I can remember. She points to it and says "What eeees eeet?" I told her it was a cyst and then she was silent for awhile. She looked at it again and said "That's a n1pp!e*." I was dazed momentarily, and then said "Nooooooo. It's a cyst." And she said "Oh. It's a button." That's better...

Here's the big news! I think I made friends with a mom and a daughter for us to play with! And....even better than that, the mom speaks Mandarin. So, she can teach The Kid all the Mandarin that I was going to learn and failed miserably at! Yay! It was kind of pathetic when I was trying to work up the nerve to giving her my phone number. I was so awkward and I think it came out like "You...me....kids play nice. Do....again?" Luckily, she didn't seem to notice that I'm a complete idiot when it comes to social situations and she took pity on me and took down my number. So, let's see.....you wait three days for someone to call you after you give them your number? If I haven't heard anything by Wednesday, I'll take it that she wasn't interested and will assume that the name and phone number she gave me were fake. I honestly believed her name was Janet???

And finally, we spent the morning Saturday getting some pictures of The Kid and the fam taken at the gardens at the Art Center. Auntie J and I snapped a few as well so here is a teaser for what is to come from the pro.

*funky spelling to keep weirdo G00glers away.

Yellow Spotted Fever

I will be alerting the CDC that the cure is apparently suckers and juice.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!!

Today is my mom's birthday and I just wanted to thank her for being such a great mom. I just hope that I am half the mom that she was (and is!) to me.


(Grandmumsy, on the left, on her first day of High School)


Grandmumsy in the birthday hat The Kid made her
And The Kid with Mickey Mouse shoved down her pajama pants. Don't ask why....

And finally, here is a grainy little video of The Kid singing Happy Birthday to her Grandmumsy.

Teeth, Treetops and Friends

No pictures of The Kidlette this week. We didn't do anything terribly interesting that would have warranted schlepping the camera around. BUT, The Kid did have a dentist appointment (her first, in fact). Here is a little interesting tidbit about me. I am terrified of the dentist. I suppose, dear reader, that you are wondering if that might have had anything to do with the fact that I'm just NOW getting around to taking her to the dentist. Well, since you asked, yes. If I even think about the dentist I start working up to an anxiety attack. So, the fact that I even called one and made an appointment for her AND showed up? That's a pretty big deal. (Lookit me! I'm all growed up!) Her appointment was fine and great and all that. When she came out, I noticed she had a sticker on her shirt. I didn't pay much attention to it, since she usually has a sticker somewhere on her person. We had an early morning appointment and we both needed breakfast. So, we left the dentist's office for six months of tranquility and went off to have ourselves a yummy breakfast of bagel sandwiches. Yum! It wasn't until yesterday that I found her sticker on the floor of the car and actually read what it said. "FLUORIDE IN PROGRESS - NO DRINKS OR SNACKS FOR 30 minutes!" Just when I think I've got this parenting thing all figured out.





We also went to a park the other day and The Kid wanted to play on the swings. She loves to go as high and fast as possible. She also doesn't like to hold on, so we usually end up on the little baby swings. Anyway, The Kid was having a great time and kept wanting me to push her higher and everytime I would give her a shove she would yell 'Treetops!!' and laugh uncontrollably. Pretty soon, all the other kids dropped what they were doing and wanted to swing, too. Once all the swings filled up and all the other kids got moving, each time they would go forward, they all yelled 'Treetops!!', too. It was so cute. But, it pretty much confirmed what I already knew, that my girl is going to be a ring leader.





And The Kid also has a new friend. His name is Gerber and he's very quiet and he mostly sleeps, but that's okay. I wanted to share a picture of him with you.

Yep. He lives in the bathtub and for a long time, we had to be very quiet when TK took a bath because he was sleeping. Sometimes, we had to make sure he got clean, too, but mostly we would just smile and wave at him. Then one day, TK asked me what his name was and I told her that his name was Gerber (it's right there on his forehead) and that was it. They have been best buds ever since. At least TK thinks so. She talks about him all the time. "Mama, Gerber is my friend. He's sleeping. SHHH!!" "Mama, Gerber needs to take a bath." Personally, I think the friendship is one-sided and destined for failure, but what do I know. My best friend at her age was Casper, The Friendly Ghost.