New Identity

Are there really rules in ragball?

2011-06-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

So tonight was Maci's second ragball game. It was a good time had by all UNTIL I told a kid to run two bases instead of the one the "rules" stated. However, I didn't even know there was rules in ragball because there is no outs, everyone hits the ball, everyone runs the bases and everyone plays in the dirt. I thought the point was to teach them hit ball, drop bat gingerly, run to first in the straightest line a 4 or 5 year can run, then to second, third and home all touching each base. And then the fielding maybe my suggestion of if the ball comes to you give it to a boy should be altered at some point. Especially since there won't always be boys playing ball with her. But have fun right. I do want to point out that my kid is better than your kid because she did hit the ball without the tee TWO times. Yes they only bat 2 times in order to make it through the hour time limit. And really there is only so much dirt playing that can actually happen right? And the grandparents can only take so long on those hard bleachers, while watching the action packed game of ragball. So I broke the "rules" it is still up for debate.

The conversation with the upset coach was short. She says "the kids are only allowed to advance one base." I say "I didn't know the rules or read the rule book." (in my defense last week I was strictly dugout coach - you know make sure all the kids were there and the right ones had helmets and bats. The real coach had to work and this was a rain date make up game) "We did this last game and no one got mad at us. I thought the only rule was to have fun and no outs and no score." She proceeds to home plate. I mean really when we started most of them didn't know which base to go to first. So I thought this is great league learning fundamentals and getting out socially. Silly me.

So I got told on to the umpire. And the next inning, I got kicked off 3rd base coach and moved to 1st base for the 2nd at bat. All in all it doesn't matter my little slugger ran to 1st an gave me a big hug and kiss. I bet that isn't allowed in the "rules" either.

I signed her up for pitching lessons if I am going to be that parent might as well go FULL speed ahead. Yep she is playing even if she doesn't want to - and she is going to like it! I might start my own ragball traveling team and go play out of town YMCA teams. Wish me luck! Or more appropriately my little ragballer luck!

And by the way the ruling went in our favor. I think it was stated it was just for the kids to have fun it is really no big deal either way. Tell that to the grandpa in the stands constantly telling me that I was making up my own rules and is that how it was going to be yada yada yada. I didn't even yell shut up or I don't see you out here coaching. I spent my time cheering for their kids I knew when they were batting and fielding and "coaching" them along. Even though they weren't on our team. Crazy isn't it?

Halloween

2010-11-08T17:19:00.000-08:00

We successfully made it through Halloween. Maci was a cheerleader and Hannah was a monkey. And yes the monkey was Maci's costume. When she gets old enough to tell me what she wants to be - she can get her own costumes. She has discovered how much she likes candy and can be really annoying about it. It all started with our parading this summer. We would bribe her with a sucker for the duration of the parade. On Halloween Madeline took Maci and Hannah in the neighborhood. Hannah ate candy the whole time. She watches where I put up the candy and whines and whines and cries until she either gets the candy or I have to LEAVE the room. So we have really been practicing our teeth brushing.

Maci reads her first book

2010-09-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

It is official. Maci can read okay maybe not read read, but she can read one book we have and okay the pictures help...but I'm counting it! The book is "Blue Hat, Green Hat" by Sandra Boynton.

I'm a Good Citizen

2010-09-16T10:58:00.001-07:00

So most days at school I eat lunch with the K-2 group. It is always interesting. It is a difficult shift for the adults to get all the kids situated and ready to eat so the more of us the better. Lately I have been the open the milk lady. Seriously those cartons of milk are ridiculous to open. If I am having a hard time, you know it is going to be hard for a Kindergartener. Today after opening one girl's milk she very politely said "thank you." So I responded with "that was so nice of you to be polite." She says "well I am a good citizen you know!" No I didn't, but thank you for pointing that out.

Bye O Baby

2010-09-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

I think one of the cutest things Hannah does lately is singing Bye O Baby. It is a song that Grandma Calista use to sing all the time. And during Hannah's fussy period of not wanting to sleep, I would sing it to her and rock. So now about anytime she rocks, she sings it. I love it.

The Observant Maci

2010-09-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

Every day when I pick Maci up we spend the trip home talking about her day or any other subject she brings up. So a couple days ago after we had discussed the good and the bad of the things that happened, she proceeded to start on her test of how many questions she can ask me before we get home. This days topic - Next year and going to school. This year she just can't wait for the next year when she starts school. The converstation goes a little something like this...
Maci: What do I need to know to go to school? Me: you will need to be able to write your name, letter, numbers etc etc.
Maci: Who will be my teacher? That will be Miss Gott.
Maci: Is she the one that was wearing the green shirt and has a green cellphone?
Me: I don't know I can't say that I have checked out the color of her cellphone.
Maci: I think it is mom. Remember the time when I went to work with you and she lost her keys.
Me: Yes I do.
Maci: Yes that is her she has a green cellphone.
Me: (thinking....hmmmm could she be right. I have to know. Calling Miss Gott... Me: Angie? Her: Yes; Me: What color is your phone?; Her: Green.

Well this is when I realize the kid is super observant. Better watch out.

Computer Cleaning

2010-08-31T10:57:00.000-07:00

So today our internet at work was slow and choppy so I decided to "clean" my computer files. I had organizing them just about as much as I do real files. It never fails as soon as you clean up (in my case that translates into throwing away, purging, or file 13 you can fill in the blank with your favorite)someone wants a copy of this or that. Really it has been on my computer since the first year here and no one has asked for it and you pick today the day I just "cleaned up" that file. But I don't learn - I keep doing it! Some of my favorite files I "cleaned up" today are to following....

Ice Cream Break

2010-08-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

After doing 15 minutes of chores, I promised an ice cream break. Well we did the chores and went out on the newly remodelled deck (which is now complete!) with our ice cream. I have learned no one can share with Hannah. She eats her fair share and more. So I unwrapped her ice cream bar and she proceeds to BITE it until it was gone. And you would think wow a one year old would be full and not want more. OH you would be wrong. Upon the realization that her bar was gone she promptly headed toward her sister. At this point I feel for Maci I mean really she can't even enjoy her own ice cream in peace. Am I teaching her to eat fast before her sister gets to her? She reaches her sister and screams at her until she shares. And without even complaining Maci just gives her bites. What an great big sister!

P.S. Posting this thought for later reminder that she is a good big sister. I know I will need evidence when they are fighting at an older age...

Hannah Tricks.

2010-06-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

Hannah Tricks
1. Giving High Fives
2. Eating Lots all the time!
3. Walking sometimes when she feels like it
4. Talking on her phone
5. Peek-a-boo in the curtains
6. Screaming mama at everything
7. Saying yum yum to whip cream
8. Unloading any basket in 5 seconds flat
9. Playing the Wii or pretending so with remote
10. Saying bye bye when she wants to go

Vacation

2010-06-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

I told Maci that my office is going to be closed for cleaning next Monday. She told me she wanted to go on vacation with me. So I asked her where she thought we should go. She wants to go to eat and the library in Columbia. I thought that was a very simple request and we should be able to do that, however, tonight she told me it wasn't vacation unless you spent the night! I didn't really want to spend the night in Columbia. We will see...

Package!

2010-03-11T09:43:00.000-08:00

Papa mailed Maci a package in the mail yesterday. She was so excited to open it up and see what was inside it. It had her very OWN pens (I had taken away all her pens after she wrote on the wall of her closet), notebooks, cookies, and a bag of gummy worms. She loved all her treasures. Dad is out of town so we having girls' night in with a movie. I was hanging out with Hannah and Maci was in her chair eating gummy worms. Then the movie ended and it was bath time. Maci told me that her tummy hurt. I asked why and she kept saying you know mom it hurts. What kind of hurt I kept asking and she kept responding with you know. I didn't know. I know now. The you know tummy ache is quickly followed by projectile vomiting. My good OCD girl did manage to keep it off the carpet and she was screaming for my assistance. She has grown up so much from the last time we had the pukes. I assumed she ate too many gummy worms and it made her puke. However, we were up and down all night and had a couple sheet/clothes changes before we finally went to sleep around 3 a.m. After the second set of projectile puking I decided she must have a flu bug. Then first thing this morning Jeanne called and said she had been sick all night too. So we are hanging at the homestead today with a slight fever and upset tummy. Guess it wasn't the gummy worms after all.

Dr. Visit

2010-03-08T09:06:00.000-08:00

Maci did go to the doctor last week. She is 37 3/4" tall and 33 pounds. She is growing right out of her pants. Good thing it is close to capri season!

He is not satisfied with the amount of meds she is on and her still having issues. So we are headed back to STL for additional allergy testing. He wants to do a second run of test. We may be exposing her to something everyday and not knowing it. Each year does get better and better. But she is on adult doses of meds and still having issues. He can't add meds so he wants to make sure we are not missing anything. I keep hoping for a simple fix! High hopes I know. I just want to get her out of her bubble.

I hope to have an update in mid-April.

After her doctor visit we did get to go to the BIG library. She loves that place. Next time she wants to check out the kid computers. This time she made a friend and played order up (aka restaurant game). She loves the kitchen there.

Wanted: A REAL Princess

2010-03-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

Today on the way to Jeanne's house Maci requested a real princess. I asked "What kind of princess?" Her response "you know mom a real one." I asked "Like real - like a person?" She said "Yes mom." very matter of fact. So I proceeded on with the conversation mostly because I couldn't believe she was serious. And secondly to see if she really thought she could really request a real person? So I asked which princess. She wants Belle. And no I don't have access to her phone number only my friend Shana does. And that is because my friend Shana took her daughter to see Belle and had a picture of Belle on her phone. So after hashing all this out, I asked "why do you want a real princess?" She replied "well mom she could sleep with me and I would share my bed with her. And then I wouldn't want to sleep with you all the time!"

So where does one pick up a real princess? She would like that and a skateboard for her birthday.

Happenings...

2010-03-02T12:34:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I haven't mentioned that we have had tons of snow. I think because I am a firm believer in positive postings. I keep forgetting this is a journal to reflect on years later. So the last month not only have we spent most of our time at home sick - there has been lots of snow. I have burned lots of calories clearing the driveway. Max even got our car stuck in the driveway. I am done with the snow and hope it is done with us too. Although I do like a snow day off from school!

Hannah is crawling, but not good crawling yet. She gets where she wants in a larger circle now. I am not good at the milestone happenings, because I think they must have perfected the task to call it. And with babies one day they can't do it and it seems like the next week they are a pro. They are quick little learners.

Maci & Hannah spent last evening with Leah, Madeline & Stella. Derek and I had an meeting to attend. Maci was wound up when we got home and took a good hour to settle down. As the babysitters were leaving Maci gave her hugs out and gave Stella a big hug. Stella was so excited, because Maci usually only gives those hugs out to Madeline. Hannah loves for us to get home when we are away. As soon as we enter the room she is working her little hands impatiently waiting for you to get to her.

Hopefully spring will bring fun postings!

Busy Busy Sick People

2010-02-09T20:02:00.001-08:00

We have been busy being sick here. Hannah had her first hospital visit for several days with RSV. It is a good thing we have most of the hospital equipment at home because I was ready to get home. The last couple days both of them have been running a fever.

So we have been spending lots of time at home. The other bonus is the weather has been snowy and cold so we didn't have to get out in it. The last two days have been snow days at school, so we wouldn't have to leave anyway.

So today Maci had been in the house for several days and has been wearing me out on the talking talking talking. She just talks, sings, and makes noise to hear herself! So we did the wii fit to burn up some of her energy. Then later I went downstairs to the treadmill to run since I missed exercise class. Maci ran beside me on the treadmill for several of the minutes pretending to listen to her ipod. She was miffed that I wouldn't spend an hour in her room looking for her princess ipod. I just wouldn't. She didn't seem to mind pretending.

Hannah has been spending lots of time on the floor. She is so close to crawling. We have the rocking and pushing but no forward motion. I haven't encouraged it too much as I still need to get the gate on the basement door!

I am hoping we will be fever free tomorrow so we can break out of our bubble just enough to go to Jeanne's!

Hannah waves bye-bye

2010-01-23T20:19:00.001-08:00

Hannah waved goodbye to Madeline tonight. She then did it again for Leah. So it wasn't an accident. She really can do it! She was so proud of herself afterwards - smiling from ear to ear. I don't know who was more excited me or Madeline?

Hannah gets her first tooth!

2010-01-12T18:45:00.000-08:00

Hannah chomped down on my finger tonight and has a rough little tooth edge here!

This week we have been home because big sister is sick. We did pretty good this year. This is our first time having to stay home sick. Our fever was 104 last night. When she decides to be sick she does a good job of it!

We have lots of updates we need to get on here, but Hannah doesn't want me to type much tonight.

SNOW DAY!!

2010-01-07T08:34:00.000-08:00

Maci already loves snow days. She was so excited this morning when she found out we were staying home. She requested panpakes (pancakes) for breakfast with Grandma Mary (aka Aunt Mary) strawberry jam. After eating her Mickey Mouse panpakes (two of them), she went off to do her makeup. She is getting better at "staying in the lines" with her makeup. I wish I would have taken pictures the first day she was doing it. The makeup was like a mardi gras mask on her face. All over the general eye area. Today she did much better - I did get a picture for you to see.

We have big plans today. I have to do the laundry and clean up the house (which is almost not worth it - as it will just get messy again). Then we think Madeline is going to bust out of her house in the blizzard and play wii with us today. Tonight we plan to have family movie night with hot chocolate, popcorn, and oranges. So on with the serious plans!

Oh and I have real work I need to get done. I best get it out of the way before all the fun activities. I bet mom wants me to get her new computer set up today. And Mr. Perkins thinks I need to scan and email a super important form. Derek thinks I need to find some paperwork for him. And I want to get local tv. Wow that is too much stuff. The local tv rant I will save for another day. I hate the stupid local tv issues.

Chef Borardee vs. Real Thing

2010-01-03T13:03:00.001-08:00

Christmas break is coming to an end. I don't really want it to end, but who ever does. I have half way put up the decorations, so after we take down the tree this afternoon it is time to get ready to get back to the real world.

Today we have spent the day cooking and playing with our new toys. Maci got makeup and hair stying toys. Grandma Betty also got her a locking journal. She has played with those for almost 2 days straight. We have awesome blue sparkly eyes and pretend curled hair. I got up this morning and made her cinnamon coffee cake. Then Derek decided to call some of the hunters and get an authentic Italian tomato sauce. It has been cooking all day. The house smells great and the sauce taste great too! Then we decided to make ravioli. We (okay I) made artichoke/cheese ravioli from scratch. I like my Kitchenaid because I like to use it to make bread - I hate getting the sticky all over my hands. I should have know as I started the egg well with the semolina flour it was going to get messy, but I still wanted to do it. Well it was a sticky mess and I never done it before so I don't know if the consistency was correct. But then I used the lasagna noodle disc off my Kitchenaid pasta maker, and squished out some pasta. It made them a little thick, but we tested a few and they are great. After Maci tested a few, she told me I was the best mom ever. After thinking about all the things we did this break I then realized she had canned ravioli for the first time and homemade ravioli all in the same week. Now how can I go back to Chef Borardee now?

New Camera

2010-01-01T10:38:00.000-08:00

Derek bought me a new camera. So we have been doing photo shoots about every hour on the hour! Maci likes to do pictures as much as I like to take them of her. My brother claims the mirrors in our house are going to make her self obsessed. For those who don't know we have two HUGE mirrors that came with our house. They are so big they make me uncomfortable. It took me several weeks to get use to all the different angles of reflections. I would jump at shadows thinking someone was standing in living room. I about peed my pants several times! Self obsessed or not she is really stinking cute...here is a couple preview photos.

Weekly Email

2009-12-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

My grandma can do a weekly email to all of us, but I can't seem to update our blog once a month. I attribute that to not having 5 minutes to compose my thoughts uninterrupted. However, today I am home ALL BY MYSELF. I know it is WEIRD. The best/worst part is I am really not able to do any of my task. I do have trouble leaving the laundry on the floor. I guess I could call Leah up the street to get to work, but I am sure she has her own laundry. And then I would be acting too much like her own bossy mother. Well onto the important people updates.

My mother says I have put too much pressure on Maci, because she is worried she is not good enough for Santa to leave her a present. I really don't put an emphasis on Santa. I do, however, put an emphasis on being good. She is generally too good to be true, so Santa will be visiting her. I assure her of that nightly. I love seeing her get so excited. Another great thing about her she is the only 3 year old I know that keeps a secret. She helped me wrap all the presents (pre-surgery) and her dad is constantly trying to find out what she bought him. She keeps telling him "dad it is a secret you will just have to wait." He tries all kinds of things to get her to tell, but no way she is giving it up.

And then there is Hannah. Derek and Hannah have been spending every minute together this weekend. I was all drugged up so he was sleeping, feeding, and caring constantly for her. So much so that last night she was only content to rock with him in the chair. I will have to work on that when I can rock again! She is growing out her of sleepers a couple months early. I can't not believe how long she is getting. I also saved all those clothes of Maci that might be too small now. Oh well a girl needs new clothes right?

I hear that I should be up skiing (according to my cousin) by tomorrow. So will be back to work and no longer updating the blog. So see you next month.

Allergy Doctor

2009-11-16T15:52:00.000-08:00

Maci was weighed and measured today. She is 30 pounds and 3 ft 1 inches. She had grown almost an inch and 1/2 since May. Still hold steady on her weight hanging around 30 pound mark. We didn't learn much else at the allergist.

Then she got to go grocery shopping. She hadn't been out since Halloween. She was so excited. Also tried strawberry milk for the first time. She said it is alright.

Hannah thought it was too much time in the car she was protesting by the time we got home. BUT is happy now playing in her saucer. She just needed to stretch out!

Secrets

2009-10-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

Lesson to be learned: 3 year olds do NOT keep secrets.

Maci has been associating letters to words. For example, C is for cookie or H is for Hannah. Another thing Maci loves to do is type on my computer. I usually let her do this for a few minutes and then she moves on to something new. Tonight she was pointing out letters on the keyboard associating the letters to words. She gets to F turns around and whispers to me. "F is for fart, but that is a secret." Apparently at Jeanne's house we were learning about F and words associated to it. Jeanne had jokingly told her it was a secret.

She cracks me up!

Hannah bo banna

2009-10-15T08:03:00.001-07:00

9/13/09 - Owen's Birthday Party

Somewhere in between

October 12, 2009 - Columbus Day!

Sisters

2009-10-15T07:56:00.001-07:00

Dancer!

2009-10-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

Maci started dance class last Tuesday. She has to stay there all by herself - no parents allowed. She has been twice and had a fabulous time. Her grandmother is against the whole thing because of flu season. Maci might have to take a break for a couple months. I hate that she has to live in a bubble all the time!

Hannah goes to the doctor.

2009-10-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

Hannah went to visit the doctor 9/29/09. She weighs 12 pounds 2 ounces. I already forgot how long she was...see I need to do this more often.

Hannah is really taking an interst in food. She is smacking her lips everytime someone is eating. It will not be long and I think she will be ready to eat some cereal. I am looking forward to that because it is my hopes she will then sleep longer at night. It maybe wishful thinking!

Wedding

2009-09-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

I didn't post anything after the wedding. Uncle Dan & Aunt Cassandra got married this month. Maci will not be a professional flower girl. She was super for the pictures. She can pose for the camera like the best of them AND never gets tired of taking pictures (unlike her Grandma Calista who skipped out before they could even get her picture!). The people intimidated her and she didn't want to go down the aisle. She cried and I had to go fetch her from the back. After the wedding we had the reception and dance, Maci LOVED the dance. She closed the show down and would have stayed for more!

(The real photographer photos will have to be touched up to remove the bruises and scratches on her face!) I can't believe how rough and tough she gets.

Madeline Kidsits

2009-09-19T16:03:00.000-07:00

I started to say Madeline babysits, but Maci is far from a baby. Last night I had a visitation to attend, so Madeline came up to watch Maci for the first time all by herself. She did a great job - well of course she did. Maci is a pretty easy kid to sit as long as you have the time to play all her games. Then mom and I brought home pizza and soda. They had a picnic in the living room.

My favorite lesson to Maci from Madeline. Maci was talking about keeping secrets and Madeline told her you tell your mom everything. You should never keep a secret from her. I thought it was excellent advise!

Today Hannah played in her saucer for the first time. She is getting really good at holding her head up. She gets bored with it pretty quickly, but she get bored with everything quickly!

Well she is getting bored now and is starting to protest.

Hungry Marvin

2009-09-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

When I am hungry lots of times I will say "I am starvin Marvin" to Maci. Well last night she told me "I am hungry Marvin, I need something to eat!" I tried to explain it, but it never seems to work for me.

Hannah is 3 months today!

2009-08-28T06:02:00.001-07:00

Hannah is 3 months old today. Maci think it is neat that she is 3 just like her. The 3 month mark is when the colic magically turns off. We will see. She had been getting better, but reverted the last few nights. She is constantly trying to sit up. She kind of looks like me attempting to do the "full" sit up. ONLY she is much cuter at it. She did roll over the other day from her tummy to her back. She is not a big fan of tummy time, but really just wiggles till she gets where she wants to be.

Maci continues to be a great big sister. She is getting into the food channel. The other morning she wanted her dad to bring her kitchen into the living room so she could cook with the lady on TV. I can't wait for her to cook for real!

We have been discussing Halloween costumes. Maci changes her mind every other day. This week so far she thinks she wants to be Clyde (mom & dad's dog). I am for it. There is a costume at Old Navy and we can get it. Then aunt Lisa would do her spots. I might need to have some creative help in changing the name tag. Hannah is going to be a princess fairy. Of course she will be cute in anything she wears.

Maci is really excited for her Uncle Dan's wedding. I found her new shoes to match her dress so she has been wearing them around the house. She is going to be a great flower girl.

Night Night

2009-07-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

Maci is working on going to bed all by herself. She has been successful 3 out of the last 4 nights. If she goes to bed by herself, she usually sleeps longer in her own bed by herself. She doesn't come sleep with me until after Derek goes to work. Tonight I was tucking her in and reading her a book. I always tell her night night don't let the bed bugs bite. Tonight she said it to me first "night night don't let the bed bite the bugs!"

Welcome Hannah & Maci can't see

2009-07-01T12:40:00.001-07:00

Hannah Ellen was born 5/28/09 8 pounds 3 ounces and 20 1/2 inches. She started out sleeping for the first 2 weeks of life. Then she progressed to have a bit of colic. She has been driving us crazy for the last couple weeks. BUT she smiled at me a real smile yesterday for the first time. She has really cute fat cheeks & dimples! It makes the long crying spells worth it. The last couple days she has been doing a little better.

Maci went to the eye doctor last week. She can't see far away. She has a follow up appointment to numb her eye and get a real reading. I'm going to be shopping for the 2 for 1 special for laser surgery for us both.

We have been spending the days doing what we want. Well Maci went to Jeanne's on Monday. She got a bad report at the end of the day because she threw a fit when she didn't get her way all day. I blame it on the lack of sleep and unroutine schedule. So we are napping this week at normal time. So far I think she is still spoiled.

Maci started taking a couple private swim lessons this last couple weeks. She loves it. Then Cali, Jeremy, Leah, Madeline & Stella took her to the "beach" and to play in the lake. She came home full of sand and tired. It must have been a success. Hannah and I stayed home. Hannah gets heat rash really easy so she has to be pampered.

We are planning another fun afternoon with Cali & Jeremy, but the big sister is sleeping like crazy. She has been asleep for over 2 hours.

2009-05-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

So we are gearing up to be 3! She says she is excited for her baby sister to get here, however, not before her birthday. We told her she would have her birthday and then baby sister would be here. Well for a while I didn't think that was going to happen, but now who knows!

Just a few notes to myself mostly so I don't forget (that is actually why I started the blog!):

Maci loves to wear dresses. She did not get that from me. It is all her Aunt Chris. Also, she loves to do her nails. And scarily pink seems to be a favorite color. She does not get any of those traits from me.

Her imagination is going like crazy all the time. She reenacts all kinds of princess stories. She blames bad things on beast.

If something is torn up she blames it on the wicked step-sisters. My favorite is when Grandma Jane brought dress up dresses from our "work-out" friend at the hospital. The Tinkerbell dress strap broke after a couple minutes of having it on - she comes running around the corner distressed shouting "the wicked step-sisters tore up my dress!" We all were laughing - which by the way she didn't find funny. Thank goodness Grandma Calista was able to whip it back into shape! Only Grandma Calista has Tinkerbell thread color apparently!

She LOVES popcorn and a movie time. Since she has had to be an inside kid most of the year, she has been exposed to lots of movies. Her Aunt Chris also has a Disney movie obsession and gave most of her VHS collection to Maci. So she has plenty to choose from. We did have a tragic moment when we moved her VCR quit. Again Grandma Calista came to her rescue with a VCR she wasn't using. In it's first life I think it mostly recorded basketball, but I think technology phased it out! Good for Maci.

I love how she tries to get phrases right, but they are so not. For example, "Dad how you like that?" She is asking how do you think she looks.

She is drinking juice FINALLY. The last time she was sick I bought some juice boxes trying to sell any kind of liquid on her. Now she will drink all kinds of juice. I still don't know what her deal was with juice, but she really did not like it.

AND FRUIT we finally have adapted to most fruit. She has always liked grapes and apples. We have gradually progressed to strawberries. I think it was Aunt Mary's strawberry jam (I mean seriously who wouldn't like it). Tonight Aunt Amy brought her some strawberries she ate them! We couldn't get her to touch them last year. So now I have committed to make her some jam, since we ate it all on pancakes (aka pampakes to her).

That reminds me that her vocabulary mostly is scarily accurate and clear. It makes it really hard to pretend what she said is not what she said. She spent the day with her Grandpa Brad and Grandma Jane this weekend. We went on the yard tour and were on the front porch checking out the flowers plain as day she said "those damn flies." I was thinking surely she didn't just say that... And then grandma said well I believe she did. So I was giving her that is a bad word speech and she said papa told me that it was not a bad word. She spends most of the time telling him not to say that word so I am assuming he was tired of not being able to talk. He claims she won't let him say anything without reprimanding him. So we can't say shut-up, hiney, butt, or hell - but damn is fair game. I forgot to take up that matter with him before I left.

She still prefers to sleep with someone. She has no problems going to sleep on her own at daycare, but at home she thinks we need to snuggle! She will tell you she is spoiled. So now we start her in her own bed and depending on the night she comes into our room. It might be 3 hours or it might be 6. If we had more energy, I am sure the correct thing to do would be take her back to her own bed. I opt for my own selfish reasons to let her get in bed and go back to sleep. I know sleep is overrated.

I am sure this should have been a post itself including pictures, but I still haven't found my camera cord. She had her FIRST haircut 2 weeks ago. I have to admit I don't like it as well. We had never cut it so it was all different layers and really long. Now it is all shaped and mid back length. Of course I think she is still cute, but I think I was attached to the long hair. I was just preparing for summer.

Every time she sees a cat in a book, on TV, or in real life. Her comment "I am allergic to cats and mold" It cracks me up.

This is a sporadic unorganized post but as I said it is mostly for myself to remember all her quirks at almost 3!

Oh I almost forgot my favorite reason for having her. She keeps her dad in check. She doesn't let him wear his shoes in the house, makes him pick up his socks, and has him wrapped around her little finger. He is such a sucker for her. They are best buddies if you ask her. (boys are buddies - girls are best friends)

Big Day

2009-04-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

As we all know Maci spends most of her winter time exposed to very few public places. She doesn't get to do much. So now that we are letting her out she tries to talk me into going anywhere every day. So yesterday was a HUGE day for her. I had a doctor appointment late afternoon in Columbia. Derek normally comes home and gets her, however, he has a job in St. Louis he had to visit. So he couldn't make it back to get her in time. Maci got to go to the doctor with me. Another concept she had lots of questions about. Normally she is the one going to the doctor. She asked 4 billion questions.

After the doctor visit, we went to the library. I have been bribing or what I think most parents call the award system her with a trip to the library. She had to be good at home and at Jeanne's all week and she could go to the library. Originally I was thinking the library in Macon for a preschooler reading night. However, we went to the Columbia library. She had a fabulous time! I think I might have messed up though, because now she is going to want to go to that library every time. The Columbia library has all kinds of puzzle, doll houses, special kid chairs, & a kitchen. She had a hard time leaving all that stuff to pick out a couple books to take home. AND then to pick out a couple books was difficult, because there were SO many to choose from. I think they need a wall display of books at the kids level and rotate the books in that display. Then the kids wouldn't have SO many to choose from on the shelves. She kept gravitating to the books at her level on the end of the isles that were on display. And for some reason they were all cat books. She would then comment I'm allergic to cats I don't want to read that book. I kept cracking up. I tried to explain she wasn't allergic to cats in the books, but it was a lost cause!

After the library mind you she didn't want to leave and we had been there for almost 2 hours, we met her dad for supper. Derek has been wanting to take her to the Japanese hibachi grill place. He thought she would love all the activity and they serve her favorites in food - shrimp, noodles, rice and vegetables. She did really good - I thought she might get intimidated by all the attention she was getting from the chef. She did not like the BIG huge fire in the beginning, but all the cooking was great entertainment. Her dad told her the big fire was like when mommy cooked a comment that made her laugh (I however didn't find it as funny). She ate with chopsticks (or bread sticks she kept calling them) and did really good with them. Derek and I were impressed. I think I was impressed that she never gave up using them. Of course they fixed them up to stay together for her. She ate all her noodles, shrimp, & vegetables with her chopsticks. The rice was a bit hard for her to get, but seriously it is hard for anyone.

After all that I was worn OUT! So we headed home she wanted to go shopping, but I was NOT doing it. I told her all the shopping I was going to do last night would be online, and I was even too tired for that!

Been a long time...

2009-04-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

I noticed it has been a long time since we posted. Maci had a great Easter today. She got lots of stuff. The Easter Bunny did bring her flashcards that she has played with all afternoon. She likes to have me quiz her and then her quiz me. The flashcards cover all kinds of things I didn't think she would know yet, but I guess she picks up on more than I realize. I thought the ones that would trick her would be the beginning sounds - which one in the picture starts with the same sound. Or the which one in the picture is different. I thought she would struggle with those things, but I struggle more than she does! I sometimes try to make it harder than it is...

Needless to say she got LOTS of candy. And Uncle Dan always comes through with the toys that parents would never buy....silly string who buys that for an almost 3 year old? She also has about every bubble toy they make and then some. So I hope a couple of these days we have off will be nice outside. The Easter Bunny left a basketball for her and she can't wait to play with it. We told her if the weather was not nice we would let her play with it in the garage, but she doesn't think that will be the same.

She still really likes to write in notebooks (or checkbook as she calls it). She has been writing in her little books the Easter Bunny brought all day. I can't believe how long that can entertain her.

We did take Grandma Calista with us to have lunch for Daniel's birthday. Obviously Grandma is feeling better and was able to wear her shoes for more than 20 minutes. The last time I had been to visit she had put her shoes on for the first time and had them on for 20 minutes, but today she had them on for a couple hours! After lunch Maci made Grandma Jane take her downstairs to watch a movie. Then we headed home - Maci fell asleep about the end of the gravel road. She took a big nap today.

I want that...

2009-03-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

So today Maci was watching icarly and a commercial for polly pockets came on:
Maci: "I want that, I am going to buy it"
Me: "really how are you going to do that?"
Maci: "I am going to drive your car to the store and buy it. You can go with me and ride in the back."
Me: "where are you going to get the money to buy it?"
Maci: "Papa gave me some money"

She has an answer for everything doesn't she.

No More Bath Time Fights!

2009-03-04T17:26:00.000-08:00

When we started the bath time it was always a fight to get her out of the tub. The water would be freezing and she would still want to play. And really we don't have many bath toys, so you would think if you were cold you would get out. Now we don't have to fight with her anymore. Her dad and her negotiated the end of bath time. Now when her fingers are wrinkly it is time to get out. When she sees her fingers are wrinkly she gets out.

Rationalization and evidence seem to get her to agree with us.

Baby Sister

2009-03-03T15:31:00.000-08:00

Tonight Maci was discussing her baby sister. She started with "when my baby sister gets here she is going to dance with me" So I told her "your sister won't be able to dance for a while." She says "that's right I can hear her say goo goo ga ga right now." She then proceeded to tell me she was going to help her sister up when she fell out of my tummy. Interesting...

YIPPEE!

2009-02-23T07:02:00.000-08:00

Last night Maci decided that she was going to bed by herself. She wanted me to come tuck her in and turn on her lamp, but then she was going to sleep alone. She has been sleeping in her own bed, but usually one of us has to lay down with her until she falls asleep. AND she really likes her dad to do this job, because he falls asleep too! She went to bed on her own at 8 p.m. I told her I would be in the living room if she needed me. It took her about 15 minutes to be out - I know I couldn't not keep checking on her. I just couldn't believe that she was going to do it all by herself. She woke up about 9 p.m. for a second (I think I might have over blanketed her because she was all sweaty), and then right back asleep. She didn't get up until 6:30 a.m. However, she proceeded to get in my bed while I was getting ready and fell back asleep.

Irritated

2009-02-18T16:53:00.000-08:00

Why do all stores assume that people are not tall? I am feeling the strain of my pants and I can't find pants that are long enough. AND might I add I am cheap. I don't want to pay Gap prices. However, I will keep looking. I did find a nice tummy band. It look like everyone needs one of them. It is a big elastic band that allows you to wear your pants for longer with no need to button them. I know several people that could use that say on Thanksgiving!

First Time Through the Drive Thru...

2009-02-18T16:44:00.000-08:00

...at the bank. Of course we have been through the drive thru at various fast food chains, but today was her first trip through the bank. For various reasons she hasn't been with me most days I go to the bank. Mostly I don't go to the bank very often. We have direct deposit and online banking so really I never do actually hold on to my money. Today I forgot to drop the school deposit before I picked her up, so we had to run it through. She had to ask why are there banks? Why do they keep your money? Do they pay your bills? How does the microphone work? (Of course the teller increased the confusion on this questions. The teller was talking away to me, but forgot to turn on the microphone. So Maci could not understand what was going on - I kept saying I can't hear you. The lady keeps talking. You get the picture) Who goes to the bank? Where does the money go? The questions did not stop until we went past the school and she saw a school bus. "Mommy mommy it is a school bus!!!"

When I get bigger...

2009-02-11T06:25:00.001-08:00

Maci lately has been saying when I get bigger I get to...

There is wide variety of things, such as,
...I am going to play basketball.
...I am going to get a skateboard.
...my dad is going to take me deer hunting.

So today on the way to Jeanne's we passed the library and the skate park. Every day she ask about Grandma's hospital, the library, the municipal building, and for some odd reason the Mason building. I think it is all the brick buildings on the way to daycare. When we passed the skate park she stated "when I get bigger I am going to bring my skateboard to the skate park."

So I wonder what age she thinks is bigger?

70 degrees & water main break = LUCKY!

2009-02-10T17:15:00.000-08:00

It quite possibly will be the last day we could spend outside for a while. AND it so happened the fiber optics people cut the main water line in Atlanta. It is the only time that I couldn't drink or pee and was excited. So school was let out early, I did my Valentine's Day shopping for Maci, and headed to get her from daycare. We came home put away the shopping stuff (although it was hard to leave the new Valentine cards at home), and headed to the park. We have the same it is not just your park conversation going down the hill to the park. I don't think she believes me because the 3 times we have been to the park there is only us there. Or we might have one straggler stop in and head out. Maci is probably trying to figure out why I tell her she has to share the park when obviously there is no one there. Maci did discover she can access all the areas of the jungle gym with the slides. She even climbed up to the lookout tower several times. Although she was pretending it was a shower and the telescope was the shower head. She would climb up there pretend to wash her hair and sing at the top of her lungs. Maybe it is a good thing we are the only ones at the park.

Tonight we are going to work on our Valentine's Day cards. We have the cookie snacks cooking. Who knew Valentine's Day was such a big deal at daycare?

Tomorrow night her friend Cara (PAT) comes to visit. She is excited to see her. I think we might be doing a testing visit. So we will see what we are falling short at doing so I can obsess about it. Last time the only thing we had to work on was lacing beads. AND the bad parent I am - I didn't find the lacing beads. So I guess we will fail that again...

First day at the Park

2009-02-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

We had our first day at "Maci's Park" - I spent 1/2 the walk on the way telling her it was not just her park. It was a little breezy so we didn't get to stay as long as she would have liked, but we managed to play on all the equipment. Her favorite is the big slide. I was a little nervous for her on the steps, so I would help her up the steps. Then before I could get to the other end she was giggling up a storm -saying "I beat you I beat you!" (I will post photos after I find the camera cord).

Also, this weekend her dad brought home her bike from the other house. She rode that in the driveway Saturday evening. She is getting so good at the peddling. She had been too short to peddle both sides. She hasn't mastered peddling back up the incline on the driveway.

Hopefully tonight it will be nice enough for her to get a few outside minutes. It might rain though...

Friday, 60 degrees, 1/2 day of school = Happiness!

2009-02-06T06:08:00.001-08:00

2009-02-05T11:54:00.000-08:00

Last night we went by to see Grandma Dunham. Maci is feeling good and Grandma didn't have a contagious illness, so we took the opportunity to visit. Maci doesn't get to do much visiting in the winter. Maci's grandma Jane keeps me paranoid that we are going to catch something. I get weekly reports - did you know there are 35 cases of influenza in Columbia? It is only a matter of time till it is in our area. I don't think it helps that I work at a school either. The parents call in for the sick kids and the nurse has to report to the health department the different illnesses we have here. So, I give the parents the 3rd degree. I know they are thinking my kid is sick why is she asking so many questions. I think they think I am judging their parenting skills. I am not - I just want to know for the nurse and my own paranoid self. Anyway moving on...

I had told Maci we were going to visit Grandma Calista. She responded "she has lots of good books there." And if you have been by Grandma Calista's she does have lots of good books for the old and the young. She enjoyed playing with all the toys and Uncle Paul. They did argue for a bit about who could have which truck, but I think they worked it out. Aunt Amy was looking a bit tired. I told her some nights we struggle to make it to a normal bedtime. I tried to convince Maci the other night we should take our bath early and go to bed. It was 6:30 p.m. It didn't work. I thought it would be perfectly appropriate if Aunt Amy went to bed at 6:30 why not?

Maci is really enjoying the new room. She has spent hours in there playing independently. She cooks, cleans, and plays baby dolls. After a long quiet time, I realize wow she is still in there playing. Do I go look or do I just enjoy the peace? If I go look, she will come out. If I don't, she could be painting her room. What is a parent to do?

Uncle Buck Sally Grover

2009-01-30T11:02:00.000-08:00

She has extended the baby name. I don't know how her mind comes up with these things!

2009-01-24T16:48:00.000-08:00

So how does 1/2 a gallon of puke come out of a 2 year old? Seriously her stomach can not have that much in it. Last night I know at least that much came out of her, because I filled up 1/2 of an ice cream bucket with pancake puke. She just begged and begged me to fix her pancakes all day. I finally gave in for her about 7 p.m. In the middle of Monk we were doing our breathing treatment, and she filled her mask with puke. And then the bucket and my shirt. I am sure everyone would have loved to see how I got us to the shower without dropping it onto the carpet. I wished I would have covered a path to the bathroom, but I didn't.

I think she is finally understanding her tummy hurts different than hungry now. Yesterday she kept saying I NEED TO TAKE A SHOWER. Every time she threw up we threw her in the shower to clean it off. So I think she is figuring it out.

I have been starving her today and only feeding her saltines and pedialyte. She keeps telling me she needs cheese. I can't eat anything or she wants it and starts crying. So I am on her same diet. She did get a pedialyte freezer pop. I was hoping she would feel like it was something substantial. Guess not because she wanted cheese after it.

She is surprising active everyday, but every night we puke. So I don't know if she is better or not. Of course she is still on steroids so maybe those are keeping her active. We will see. Meanwhile I am staying away from others to keep our germs at home.

Sally Grover

2009-01-23T14:20:00.001-08:00

Maci has named her sister. She thinks we should call her Sally Grover. At first it was just Grover, but then she decided she needed a second name.

Warning: Don't read while eating!

2009-01-22T12:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was called to get Maci early from daycare. She was projectile vomiting. Jeanne continued to tell me that Maci didn't eat much the whole day. I thought she said that Maci hadn't eaten anything all day, but I am sure she had peas, hamburger, and seaweed for lunch. She kept complaining her tummy hurts and she needed to eat something. I don't think she knew the difference between hungry and upset. I am not use to dealing with puking sick kid, I only know snotty asthma kid. (And I don't claim to be too good at that one)

I had board meeting so I left her with her dad. When I returned late they were both asleep on the couch. He said she was really clingy, but drank lots of special juice (pedialite) and water. She seems much better today - still clingy. It makes it challenging to get anything done!

2009-01-21T10:40:00.000-08:00

I am tired of titling my post sick or sick again or going to the doctor or doctor visit. BUT we were off the steriods for a week and now the monster is coming back out. I knew with all the activity with the family we would be getting some kind of illness. The visitation was a great time for her (or as she thinks the night of the family picture and I got to wear a pretty dress), but that many people equals lots of germs. So we are back on steriods, but the night went better than expected last night. Her cough has mostly subsided and the runny nose is gone. We are just left with the asthma. She does still have a bird voice, but it is getting better.

Also, we finally told her she was going to be a big sister. She doesn't understand the concept at all. She thinks the her sister is at the hospital and we are waiting to pick her up. She says she is excited, we will see once she has to share the spotlight.

Doctor Visit

2009-01-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

So we made the trip. Maci had a good day. We saw the other doctor that alternates with Dr. Noyes. He said we were doing good. He suggested adding an additional steriod inhaler to her when she is getting sick. It is the same one she is getting daily, but it would increase the dose. I am discouraged, because we are really just going to have to continue on this path. He mentioned a new drug out for FDA approval that is going to be available for 4 year olds. She would benefit from it. So I guess a couple more years of ups and downs for us. If only the sickness progressed the same each time, it would make our lives easier. Instead it is a big guessing game. I sometime wonder how well we are guessing.

On a happy note Barnes & Noble is right around the corner from the doctor so we usually go get a book after the appointment. (remember she is all pumped up on steriods) She is running from book to book going MOM LOOK AT THIS ONE AND THIS ONE AND THIS ONE. We read a few and then proceeded to the DVD's because they were on sale. She got a few DVD's for her car ride home. Another Seasame Street alphabet movie that had Cookie Monster on the front. It was a MUST have. And Eloise at the Plaza with Julie Andrews. We watched it last night. She liked them both. She insisted on Cookie Monster this morning on the way to daycare.

We will see how the day back with others goes ... I left her instructions no cheek pinching or being mean. The steriods really make her aggressive. She was so excited to see the first other kid arrive. I think she was tired of us adults!

On the web again!

2009-01-07T15:10:00.000-08:00

Today the internet was installed at home. We are back in touch with the world. Maci's babysitter was joking the other day that if the economy was to get too bad she was cutting out food before she would cancel the internet.

Maci has been spending the week with a different person each day. Monday she went to daycare but was starting to get sick. Tuesday Aunt Amy was available to come over and stay with Maci. Derek was hoping that in one day Aunt Amy would teach Maci to play twinkle twinkle little star on her keyboard. So far she hasn't been able to play it for us! Later that night Grandma Jane came over and was saying something to Maci and she told her she was just like Aunt Amy! Grandma Jane thought that was funny stuff. Wednesday her cousin Amanda volunteered to stay with her. I think it was a good day. She seemed very happy and hugged her goodbye. I was afraid she might not be familiar enough, but of course I should have known Amanda would be a great entertainer! Amanda reported they read lots of books, and Maci read books to her too.

Maci is on the oral steroids, but her mood has been pretty good considering. Today is the start of the reducing of it. We go to the pulmonologist tomorrow. I am thinking it will be good to see him in the middle of one of our episodes. Every other time he sees her she is doing good. He will get to witness her in action.

This is our first week that we were supposed to be back in the swing of work, but the illness is making it extra tiring! Good thing her Grandma Jane comes and hangs out with her at night. Last night Derek and I thought we could just disappear and she would be perfectly content with her Grandma Jane. As soon as Grandma got here she wanted her to come to her room and get in bed together. BUT I know why she likes her so much better. Grandma Jane does everything Maci wants to do AND her mother will not get up in the middle of the night and rock her in the rocking chair. I am so mean.

Santa Clause

2008-12-14T16:17:00.000-08:00

Last night I was looking for something. I couldn't find it anywhere. I asked Maci if she had seen it. She informed me that Santa Clause had taken it. I said Santa usually brings things not take them away. NO no no mom he gives the stuff to other people who need it. So there it is the elves can have some time off Santa is going to take things from people who don't need it and give to others. And goodness knows he could shop at our house for a lot of things. I know because I have been working on packing things up - Maci owns A LOT of books.

The book issues is mostly my fault. I don't really like to read the same books over and over. So I purchase a variety for our reading pleasure. However, we also use new books as reward. If you let the doctor stick you with all those allergy needles, we will go to the book store. I think it could be worse.

New Sayings

2008-12-12T07:27:00.000-08:00

Maci has picked up a couple new sayings. "I love you so much" She says this repeatedly to you. I think this is great since she is on the steroids.

"Mom is the boss and I am the mom" She told this to the other kids at daycare this week. She did repeat it to me this week. I tried to explain that I was really the mom, but it really didn't work out for me.

"You are my best buddy" or "You are my best friend forever" She puts you into two different categories. I don't know which one is better. She told me Jeannie was her best friend forever. She thinks a lot of Jeannie, so I think that might be the higher class category.

Almost over the sickness

2008-12-12T07:13:00.000-08:00

We have been home the last few days sick. We had one bad day and night. We made it all last night without oxygen, so we are on the mend. She should be ready to get back to the real world by Monday. She is on steroids so her mood sometimes could use some improvement. However, she has been pretty good considering the dose of steroid. She hasn't been eating much because she can't breathe. However, she request to make lots of things. She still wants to cook even if she doesn't eat much. She did eat most of a pancake this morning with Aunt Mary jam.

She has learned to bargain with M&M's. The medicine really smells bad and she says it taste bad. She actually shutters when she has to take it. A normal reward is 3 M&M's, but she has negotiated for 5 M&M's this week.

Aunt Amy & Uncle Paul we are watching Sesame Street at 7 a.m. & 9 a.m. Our DVD player broke so we can't watch the old episodes. However, it comes on 2 times in the morning. So we aren't missing out. I bet you wish you were here.

Parent Trap Obsession

2008-12-08T08:46:00.000-08:00

Maci is obessed with the Halley Mills version of Parent Trap. She watches it as many times as you will let her in a row. She only gets to watch it on the weekends as it is at her grandparents house. Last night her grandpa called to make sure we knew it was on TCM. So of course she heard him say it so we watched it AGAIN!

Blog Pressure

2008-12-05T06:41:00.000-08:00

As requested here is a blog entry. Last night we had Parents as Teachers come to our house. And this time Maci played with the finger paint and really got into it. We had been working with playdoh and various other messy things, but I didn't know how she would do with actually getting messy. She did play in the paint and then wipe her hands on the washcloth. BUT I think it is an improvement. She didn't make excuses and try to get away from the activity.

I have been neglecting my computer world. We settled on a house in Macon. Derek is super picky and I really had a long list of things I wanted. I did not get a good kitchen (except for nice cabinets) or a yard, but it is close to the hospital. It needs less work than most of the houses we were visiting. I am not excited about moving our stuff - the good thing is most of it is still packed up. I miss those days of when all your possessions would fit in your car. Derek is determined to move into the house as soon as possible. I think I was procrastinating the whole house thing because Maci cost me about a house payment in medical bills. Maybe I will be more excited when we are moved. Obviously, I am not real excited yet. BUT Maci is going to have her own room for all her toys and her new big girl bed.

Next on my list is getting pictures off the camera. I am not promising a quick turn around on that project. I have stuff everywhere getting ready to move, so camera cords maybe missing.

Only 10 more working days till vacation time!

Parenting Tip

2008-10-31T09:11:00.000-07:00

I think there should be a book given out at the hospital on tips you should know. My latest parenting tip. KEEP all toy catalogs it is HOURS AND HOURS of FREE entertainment. I was going to throw it away thinking she would be asking for 40 things, but on the contrary she just flips though the pages. She loves just looking at the different things and asking what they do. She has worn a couple magazines out already.

Thumbs Up

2008-10-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

The last couple weeks Maci has really been into thumbs up. She says thumbs up and then she presses your thumbs together. Tonight we had a 2 thumbs up night. She is learning to count items, so she combined the counting and the thumbs. Too bad she can't do messy stuff...

My Little Monk

2008-10-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

So we had our visit from parents as teacher last night. The activities we worked on were all related to puzzles. She can match things up, but is not really good at lining the things up. We are going to work on that later. Then she wanted to do a messy activity. So she put shaving creme on a pan with some picture under the creme. Maci kept making up excuses to why she couldn't participate. Oh...I need to...put my baby away. Then, oh...I need to...feed the baby. She just kept making up excuses. It was kind of funny to me. So then Cara and I put our fingers in it and showed her how we could wipe it off on a towel. She tentatively put one finger in and quickly requested I wipe it off. So we need to work on our messy play! However, the whole time we kept asking her where was the duck, dog, or deer. She would point to the pile of creme without touching it. So she remembers things well.

After parents as teachers left, we tried on our Halloween outfit. She looks pretty cute in it. She loved modeling it. She kept telling me that she was a beneficial bug a.k.a. ladybug (my mother told her that this weekend.) I took some pictures, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise. I will post those soon.

Spanking Big Bucks

2008-10-20T11:00:00.001-07:00

Last night on our way home we saw a big buck in the middle of the road. We checked it out and then continued on our way home. However, I forgot some medicine at my parents' house so we had to turn around. On our way back to the house the big buck ran into the side of our car. Maci and I sit on the same side. So I asked her did you see that big buck run into us? She responded "yes I am going to spank that big buck on the mouth. He needs to be careful!" He only grazed our car - dusted it off. BUT his antlers made quite the noise on my window.

Pedicure Anyone?

2008-10-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

Last night Maci was in watching one of her many Disney movies. She usually watches about 10 minutes and then ventures out to play or help do whatever I am doing. However, last night I had washed all the dishes and finished cleaning the kitchen when I realized she hadn't ventured out. At first I was excited - wow maybe she is learning to entertain herself more...then I realized the danger in quietness. So I start heading to the bedroom, as I am approching the bedroom there is a strange smell coming from her direction. It was a familiar smell, but I couldn't quite place it. When I turned the corner she was sitting in her rocking chair with her shoes and socks off. I asked what have you been doing? I still couldn't see what she was doing, but the smell was very strong. Then I saw the foot pedicure creme. She was giving herself a pedicure. I should be so proud. She wasn't destroying anything, she didn't write on the walls, she just decided she needed a pedicure. She didn't even waste any of the creme.

St. Louis

2008-10-13T17:06:00.001-07:00

As requested an update on our trip to St. Louis. We went to visit the friendly Cardinal Glennon Children's hospital. First, they did a scope procedure to make sure Maci is built correctly on in her upper airways. She is perfect - no toys, erasers, food, etc in her lungs. I didn't know until after the procedure I should have been wishing for an eraser. I guess some kids swallow object, aspirate and get them lodged in their lungs causing all kinds of crazy problems. Then after they remove it the kids are all better. Not Maci.

Then after the scope we went and picked her up and headed to recovery. (So far Maci has had no food or drinks since midnight the night before...) They put her IV in after she had smelled some strawberry gas so the good news is we didn't have to go through that drama. However the IV was causing her much distress. She kept saying it was bothering her. So in and effort to take her mind off of it we had to review our sticker collection we received from the different nurses. We had to wait several minutes to make sure we were able to do a swallow test. After many request for milk we FINALLY we able to move on to the next thing. The best thing about this hospital is all our appointments are on time or EARLY! I think our swallow test was around 1 p.m. We thought it might be an issue for her to drink the magic milkshake. However, when you starve her she was ready to drink it before the doctor was there to read the x-ray machine. He finally arrived and Maci drank the milkshake like it was the best thing she had ever had. Her test all looked fine. We got her dressed out of her little hospital nightgown and were ready to get the heck out of there. BUT before we could leave Maci asked if we could take her milkshake with her. She was officially the first patient to ask to take the nasty thing with her!

We quickly left and took her for some great macaroni and cheese with a big old glass of milk. We were all starving. We didn't eat or drink in front of her - so we also had nothing to eat or drink.

So all is well with Maci structurally so we have to continue on our quest to figure her out. All in all Maci is a great patient.

Holy Jalapeno!

2008-10-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

In the famous words of Skippy JonJones - Holy Jalapeno it has been over a month since we posted! We are slackers.

Maci is getting smarter by the day. She has learned to count to 10. I give all the credit to her asthmatic case. We have to take 2 puffs of 5 breaths of her inhaler. So we count to 10 morning and night!

She is fascinated at all the things to see when driving. There is lots of construction on our way home. She loves to watch the tractors. AND she thinks Uncle Dan operates all cranes - no matter where they are located. Yesterday there were 2 tractors parked along the highway and she said look mommy two tractors. I don't know when she learned to count and associate things with numbers.

She is doing better, but not the best with her asthma/allergies. We visited the allergist and added a nose spray. I think she might be the only kid that at 2 would so easily allow you to squirt spray in her nose. It makes me cringe each time we do it. I didn't even have to bribe her with M&M's. Usually with particularly nasty medicine she gets an M&M to get rid of the taste. I think she will be a hypochondriac when she grows up. She is really into any medical show I watch. I like to watch House and she is always asking me what is wrong with that boy/girl. I know she won't be able to be a nurse because any foul smell makes her gag and puke.

Right now she can't wait for Halloween. We have purchased the stuff to make fancy cupcakes for Jeannie's, a fun new costume, & treats for her friends. She doesn't understand why we have to wait...

Singing Sensation!

2008-09-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

We are really into singing lately. I mean singing at the top of our lungs - repeating the parts of the song she can remember over and over and over! O Susanna - is "don't cry for me" over and over and over. Okay you get the drift.

Tomorrow we head to STL for to get ready for her scope on Wednesday. We had a little setback the end of last week, so we are crossing our fingers that we will still get to do the procedure. I just hope we can figure her out. Then maybe we will find the perfect house and live happily ever after! (We really need a playroom - her portion of our living room is exploding!)

No My NOT!

2008-09-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight I said to Maci - "Princess, it is right here" She responded "No my not princess- I am Maci Elizabeth James."

Tonight we were watching Fashion Rocks - okay not a normal show we would watch. HOWEVER, Maci was insistant on dancing to the music. She can really get a groove on...she does a little break dancing, swaying, singing, & flopping!

Adding QRS!

2008-09-09T08:05:00.001-07:00

For a couple weeks Maci has been singing her ABC’s. It goes a little something like this…ABCFIJLMNOP now I know my ABC’s next time sing with Maci. Sometimes I add little bits to the end or start with her so that she can hear the rest of the ABC’s. This week the QRS was added. In time we will get them all!

3 C's = Clean Plate Award

2008-08-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

Maci's new favorite dinner consist of cheese (macaroni & cheese), corn, & cantaloupe. She cleaned her plate all up tonight. She ate EVERY kernel on the corn on the cob.

Maci's newest trick is being able to open the fridge herself. Of course with every trick there are pros and cons. PRO she can get her own milk out (and put it back). CON she checks the fridge out often. PRO she gets her own cantaloupe snack. CON she can't reach the bowls yet so sticky mess all over!

She also goes potty all by herself and doesn't even bother to tell you. PRO she is independent. CON there is pee in her potty and no one knows it.

Tonight I took her out for a swing. I told her we could only swing for a bit because we needed to go cook supper. After we had been swinging for about 20 minutes I told her we needed to go in and we would come back later. She said "no I am going to swing you go cook supper." Which is all fine in theory, but she is in a kiddie swing in the front yard for everyone to see that I just abandoned her in the swing. And she can't make the swing go herself so really it would just look like I forgot her there. I tried the walking off and she will change her mind thing. I tried going in the front door and seeing if she would be concerned - SHE WASN'T. In fact, I gave up and she wins the persistent award. Then I had to convince her she wanted to go shuck corn.

Hoisin Beef & Green Beans

2008-07-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

Maci is all about the green foods. Tonight she ate up her dinner. We had Hoisin Beef and Green Beans with brown rice. She ate it all up and asked for more. If you have never tried it, you should. I think it might be my favorite Cooking Light receipe ever. The orginal receipe called for ground pork, but I use pork, turkey, or beef whatever I have. We have included the receipe for you to try.
Mix:
1/2 lb. ground pork
1 T. cornstarch
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. white pepper

Heat skillet (the receipe says to add oil and heat - I don't use the oil), add ground pork, 3 cups green beans, and 1 T. garlic. Cook until done.

Mix:
2 T. Hoisin Sauce
2 T. Soy Sauce
1 t. Red Pepper Flakes
1 T. Sugar

Add this mixture to the ground pork and green beans. Cook for a few more minutes. I usually let simmer until the rice finishes cooking.

My new favorite stage

2008-07-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

As Maci keeps growing I keep saying this is my favorite stage. BUT I think this might really be my favorite. She is potty trained which helps. She makes decisions on her own. She can tell you what is wrong with her. My tummy hurts might mean hungry or she really doesn't feel good. She says the funniest things. For example, today there was a helicopter flying over and her dad jokingly said it was a UFO. So then when I was trying to tell her it was really a helicopter. She replied "no mommy it IS a UFO!"

Photo Show

2008-07-11T06:57:00.000-07:00

Maci's Big Day Out

2008-07-02T06:09:00.000-07:00

Maci slept in her own bed until 4 a.m. last night - at which time she proceeded to yell at me to take her to the POTTY. MOM POTTY MOM POTTY MOM POTTY - okay okay I am up I am up! We went all through the night without a breathing treatment. We will see how she does today. It might have been a bad night to try it, but she was sleeping in her OWN bed again. I didn't want to disturb her at 2 a.m. She did spend the day yesterday with Grandma (dreama - as she says - mom thinks it sounds so glamourous).

Yesterday morning I met mom & Clyde at the vet office - Clyde had to get his shots. I offered to stay because I knew big country dog in town and a 2 year old might be a handful. BUT mom insisted she could handle it. Well little did she know that a cat was going to be in the waiting room with Clyde. Clyde doesn't care for cats - okay he HATES them. So Maci had to hold mom's purse and stay with the doctor until mom came back after putting Clyde in the car. Then I wish I could have seen them riding home. Clyde and Maci sat in the back seat together. Mom said only for a bit was there trouble because Clyde kept kissing/licking Maci's face. I just crack up even thinking about them sitting back there together. Clyde has the best posture of anyone in the family and he is so attentive.

Transitioning to a Big Girl

2008-06-30T07:44:00.001-07:00

We have been completely diaper free (okay except in the night) for the entire week. And we have had no accidents either. She hasn't even had an accident during nap time (I know scary for me to leave her in her panties for nap time). And maybe if she was sleeping in her own bed I wouldn't be such a chicken. Every time she gets sick I have to retrain her to sleep in her own bed. I blame my mother. She moves her around where ever she request to sleep. Last night she told us she was sleeping on the couch and we pretended to go in our room and go to sleep. We even turned the lights off. She was not giving up. She stayed out there until Derek finally went in and brought her into our room. It was time for her breathing treatment. She couldn't hang on through the treatment she finally fell asleep (in our bed of course). The breathing treatments in the middle of the night do help potty training. She asked to go potty at least once in the night when we get her up for her treatment. We will see when we get down to no treatments at night...

Sightseeing with the Blind

2008-06-27T06:19:00.000-07:00

There has been crazy flooding in our area. We had so much flooding that the last two days we had no summer school due to road closures and washouts. Who knew I would get flood days and snow days! So the first flood day a couple of the staff members that could make it to work, came in and called all the kids to make sure they were home and their parents knew that. After that Derek, Grandpa Dunham and I went to check out the crops. Our little plants were completely covered and we have our own lake right now. We couldn't get into Grandpa's farm (well in a truck), so we couldn't study his fields too closely. However, Mary sent pictures out. Grandpa kept saying it was worse than it was in 2002. He thought the last time he saw it this bad was 1917. Grandpa kept saying he couldn't believe he was sightseeing and not able to see. However, he could figure lots of things out - he said the details were just fuzzy. I think he had a good time. I had called and asked Grandma if he would like to ride with us. She said of course. Later he told us that she just wanted to get him out of the house!

Diaperless Day

2008-06-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

Our first diaperless day - from start to finish. Okay so I am a chicken and had her wear a diaper in the car seat on the way to Jeanne's. However, her father has more faith or doesn't care if there is pee in his carseat. He brought her home diaperless. We had been working on it for the last week while she was sick. I am in denial that she is "potty trained". Of course I am prepared for the worst!

Back to Jeanne's

2008-06-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

Last night I told Maci she was going to Jeanne's today. Today when I woke her up she asked first thing if I was ready to go yet? She was ready to go to Jeanne's. She actually rushed me out the door. And since I had to return her borrowed medical equipment to the hospital, it was a good thing. Sometimes in the morning she is a little grumpy. Okay most everyday and really grumpy. Unless she wakes up on her own terms and then she is the sweetest ever. Derek is going to pick her up early before it is outside time at Jeanne's. Jeanne offered to make all the kids stay in, but I didn't want everyone to be mad at Maci for having to stay inside!

Am I that bad?

2008-06-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

I had a telemarketer hang up on ME today. He asked for an employee that no longer worked in the district so I told him they weren't employed with the district. I usually follow that up with please remove us from your list, but I didn't even get to that before Jeff White introduced himeself. So it goes:
Me: "He no longer works in the district"
Him: "Well who is the new principal"
Me: "Who is calling"
Him: "Jeff White"
Me: "Jeff White with which company"
Him: "Resources Unlimited (or something of that nature)"
Me: "Can I ask what you would like to talk to him about, maybe you need to talk to another person in the district"
CLICK

I LOVE IT. That absolutely made my day. If you just keep asking questions, you might just get rid of all your telemarketers.

Do we have to do everything our selves?

2008-06-17T07:03:00.001-07:00

Last night Dr. Burdin called for her evening chat with mom about Maci. Maci had her allergy test and it had come back negative. However, we kept saying something was triggering her sickness. I thought maybe she was just going to have an asthmatic trigger to cold weather - which was concurrent with information I have been reading. BUT now that we have developed a sickness not in the winter there had to be another trigger. Thanks to Lindsey (Dr. Burdin's daughter) who was also tested with the same allergy test as Maci, we find that the lab gave us incorrect information. Maci and Lindsey were tested and both came back with similar results, however, Maci's was negative and Lindsey's was positive. So Dr. Burdin called the lab to see the difference. The lab read Maci's as if she was 101 years old. (Okay so my first reaction was WHAT if you are 101 why the heck are you just now allergy testing.) So long story short - she has allergies, but to what we don't know.

Tree Hugger Peer Pressure

2008-06-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

I have given in to the tree hugger peer pressure. Everyone that has watched Maci this week has asked if her sippy cups are "safe". I can't find where they are safe anywhere on the Internet. SO Amanda you will be proud. I ordered myself a new reusable water bottle (Derek took mine to the farm and it is yet to return so I really needed it), a grocery bag (I have been secretly jealous of my mother's because it fits on the cart and folds up really small - and I had to order 2 because of the price break), and a multitude of cups for Maci. I can't tell if I will be able to clean the yucky milk junk out of them on the Internet. The Sigg ones make it really difficult with the small opening. Maci loves the one she got from Amanda for Christmas, but we can only drink water out of it.

So I have done my part this week for the environment.

Jeanne & Amy can't leave anymore...

2008-06-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

So as we know Jeanne is off this week. Aunt Amy usually covers for Maci watch on those weeks, however, she took a couple days off this week too. WELL they aren't allowed to do that anymore. Maci is starting her sick thing again. Leah took her to the doctor today and they decided to put her on steroids for a couple days.

Maci has had an eventful week. She has been able to spend lots of time with family. Yesterday was the craziest day. I took Maci and Popo to the farm. Then went to work. I returned to the farm and had batting practice with Stella. Then we loaded up the taxi and headed to Macon. We dropped off Popo, the peas, and some powerful onions (the girls had a snack or two). Then we loaded up again and headed for the ball field. We were there early enough to make Grandma Dunham proud. Stella thought they were going to practice a bit before the game, but they didn't. We watched a painful game for me, but MUCH MUCH MUCH better than t-ball. I just want to help them so much and really you can't. Stella had a fabulous hit. It made it in the live zone, but just past it so they had to run up on it. She made it to first and was safe! She is a very nervous batter. I went home and told Derek he was going to have to take her out and practice with her. I did and she hit it every time I pitched it to her. So maybe she needs another coach. Then we all went out to have dinner.

Last night right before bed she puked ALL over the bed. She was in there reading a book with her dad. I wasn't in there to witness the puking, however, as he took her for her 2nd bath of the evening I was summons to clean the sheets. I only have one set of sheets unpacked at this house, so I had to wash them immediately. I decided I needed to find the others soon. She didn't act sick other than the puking. Then this morning I took her to Leah's. I told Leah we needed to go back to more treatments per day. I guess she listened to her and thought she needed to go the doctor. (she still doesn't act like she is sick - for goodness sake she ate 3 1/2pancakes. She had them with strawberry jam for the first time. She liked it. I knew I would convert her to fruit.)

Tomorrow Aunt Amy is back. I hope she remembers that she doesn't cry when I leave her there. Monday she cried, but Tuesday she didn't when I dropped her off with Aunt Amy. Then Wednesday she cried when I left her at the farm. AND today she cried both times I left her with Leah.

Picking Peas with POPO

2008-06-10T05:49:00.000-07:00

No Jeanne this week. So Maci is going to be spending everyday with the farm gang. Yesterday was pea picking day and RAINING. I think the pea pickers are crazy or dedicated - you decide. However, it must have worn Maci out. She slept for 2 1/2 hours at Aunt Amy's before Derek picked her up. And then when she got home she took another 2 hour nap. I thought she wouldn't sleep last night, but she slept all night. I guess all that work just did her in!!!

Good Night Gorilla

2008-06-10T05:47:00.000-07:00

Last night we were reading Good Night Gorilla. Maci likes to repeat and repeat. Well one of the animals in the book is an armadillo. Have you every heard a 2 year old say armadillo? It will make you laugh.

There goes Parker's mom...

2008-06-05T06:21:00.000-07:00

It amazes me how Maci recognizes things that you don't even think she would. Yesterday we were driving through Macon and she said there is Parker's mom. So I am looking for Parker's mom. HOWEVER, it was just a car that looks very similar to Parker's ride. As they drive off, she says bye Parker. Also, she thinks every white truck is her dad.

Another thing she recognizes before me is children from daycare and their parents. We will be filling up with gas and she will say there is Jayden. Or we will be getting groceries and she will spot another kid (or their parents) WAY before I do.

Note to self: Very observant child need to watch what I do!

Doctor Update

2008-05-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

We went to the doctor yesterday. We are cutting back the breathing treatments. Maci is doing very good. She gained 1/2 a pound, so she is 27.5.

2008-05-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

Maci loves to watch the rabbits in the yard. Here she has spotted them out the bedroom window. When we are outside she squats down and motions for them to come here. All the while asking the rabbit "come ere bunny, come ere bunny".

Biker babe: One of our favorite outdoor activities includes riding the bike around the driveway. When she gets tired you have to push her. Some genius bike maker added a tall handle for the parent.

Future artist. She loves all craft like activities. The messier the better!

Stella & Maci checking out the ambulance at the YouZeum in Columbia.

The Internet makes me smart!

2008-05-23T07:48:00.001-07:00

The ability to use the Internet makes me appear to be smart! I find that the teachers here do not know the power of Google. I don't have a phone book. I don't listen to the weather. I don't watch the news. I have the Internet. People come to me for the weather forecast, phone numbers and general information. If there is an argument going on about What was Lucy's last name of the peanuts? Google it is. Van Pelt if you are now wondering. On the flip side people come and ask me phone number, the weather, and general information. I always ask - did you try to Google it?

Weekend - Busy start / Slow Ending

2008-05-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday

We had a VERY eventful Saturday this weekend. We started out heading to the Youzeum in Columbia. It is a new children's activity center all themed around the body. Leah, Madeline, and Stella had invited us to join them. We met Larry, Donice, & Anthony there. Maci was a little clingy, but loved the activity. We then headed to lunch with the gang. We had a nice visit. Anthony & Maci got to color and eat raisins together. Anthony is a very sweet kid especially for Larry as a father. He takes after his mother. I was worried Maci would be mean or bossy, but she did good.

Then we headed to Fulton to visit the great grandparents. Dale and Bev were there mowing and weed eating away (until the rain). We had a good visit. Maci showed up just in time for cake and ice cream.

After our visit, we headed back to Barnes and Noble to pick out a few new books for me to read to Maci. I have to mix it up. The same books do get boring. We picked out some really good books this time. I have already had to read them 3 or 4 times yesterday.

We then met Derek's side of the family for dinner. We took Grandma Betty out for Mother's day. She was ecstatic to see Trace. She wouldn't leave his side until her food came. Then she barely would eat because she wanted to spend more time with him. I think he likes her attention, but will soon be embarrassed as he gets older. I don't know though.

Sunday

Maci and I hung out all day Sunday. We didn't even leave the house. It was great!

No Allergies for Maci

2008-05-07T05:51:00.001-07:00

I didn't get this post up too quickly. Maci had an allergy test. She is not allergic to anything. Good news is she doesn't have allergies. Bad news we don't know why she stays all full of yuck. We have a followup visit in a couple weeks. We will see what is next.

A few of her favorite things

2008-04-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

1. Baby Dolls as previously stated
2. Balls
3. Dogs
4. Playing outside
5. Chocolate Milk
6. M&M's plain (her mother makes her do things before she can have them though)
7. Feeding the calf milk (Don't even mention Papa unless you have time to take her there and feed the calf)
8. Calling Trace or Papa on the phone
9. Drawing/Coloring/Painting If you are writing, she must have paper and pencil too!
10. Reading books with or without someone

A few of my favorite things

2008-04-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

1. Maci likes to sing. Although her recollection of the words is not the best yet. Her favorite song - Rock a bye baby. Her words: Rock a bye baby top. She only misses the part about in the tree top!

2. Arguing. Of course she comes by this naturally. She likes to pick the fight too. She will say my dad and then you say no mine. And the arguement is in full swing!

3. She uses one or two words to ask question. Doing? Who that? What want?

4. Watching her run. Her little short legs can really move.

Baby needs milk

2008-04-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a while. It has been pointed out to me many times now.

Maci is still loving pretend play. She has to feed the baby milk frequently. Also, the baby has to have her diaper changed ALOT. And now she wants to use real ones. So this morning I told her I couldn't afford to diaper her and the baby. So I think she is going to potty train herself today - that way I can just buy diapers for her baby! She has named one of her babies baby Parker. The other night Derek was gone for turkey hunters and Maci slept with me. She wouldn't go to bed without the baby so the baby slept with us. I woke up at 3 AM to her sitting straight up in bed feeding the baby. I guess she is taking this parenting thing seriously. Also, I think we might be raising a hypochondriac she has to give her baby medicine frequently. And she loves to take the baby's temperature. I don't know if other children take their baby's temperatures - maybe it is normal.

Dr. Burdin's favorite story yesterday was the potty training. Maci likes to go potty by herself when she needs to do #2. I know when she has finished because she gags and sometime actually pukes, BUT she always gags. So I bought her a new potty ring to go on the big potty (hopefully that will help with the gagging). I think that rules out being a nurse. Dr. Burdin said she could still be a doctor, because they usually don't have to deal with the poop part. So maybe her hypochondriac ways will end her up with a medical degree. I think I need to up her 529 plan contributions!

We went to the doctor yesterday for a followup to our asthma stuff. Dr. Burdin was a little discouraged to hear one of her medicines has been recalled. So we are going to continue as is for another month. I am a little discouraged too. I just want to know what to keep her away from so we don't have to go on steroids. So since I am a need to know person. We went ahead and did a blood draw to get her allergy test done. We are going to see what this test tells us before we go to the allergist. We should know in a week or so.

The blood draw was a little traumatic. They had to stick her 3 times to actually get blood. And the final person to do it was Sharon Kennison. She is the only one that has ever been able to put in her IVs and now draw her blood. I wish we could have her as our own on call nurse! After our trauma with the blood draw, we went to visit uncle Mark. He was sitting up and looked as good as a person that had a broken hip could look! He had supper while we were there even though he complained he didn't have much of an appetite. John came into town and was there visiting too. Maci sat on his lap (shocking - I know - I can't believe she would sit on him!). She thought he was funny and even hugged him goodbye when we left.

I will try to post more often.

Funny Stuff

2008-03-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

I keep thinking to myself - I need to blog that about Maci it is too funny. BUT then I forget those things. I guess I need to make notes. I feel if I have to make notes then I am getting old and forgetful. So I guess I am old and forgetful.

This morning Maci and Parker carried on a conversation about Parker's dad. Parker would say dada. Maci would say Maci's dad. Then repeat and repeat and repeat again! I tried to throw in new words for Parker, but did't get too far. However, it just frustrated Maci because Parker wouldn't repeat her new words. I guess I will stay out of the game. They were doing fine on their own.

2008-03-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

Maci is starting to get a runny nose AGAIN! I am so ready for the flu, cold, and sickness time to be over. Last night she did get to spend a little time outside riding her bike. She loves being outside. It is sad to say but I am hoping she doesn't have allergies, but I think I am living in a dream world.

She is doing so many fun things now. She talks all the time and the best part is you can understand what she is saying more times than not! The guessing what she is saying and getting it wrong did not sit well with her. She loves to play with her baby doll. She has many, but it is funny that she only wants to play with the same one. She makes the baby go potty, dresses and undresses, feeds, and my favorite gives the baby medicine every night. Just like her of course. She does a lot of cooking and making tea too.

I bought a new camera this last week. It is shockproof so I am more willing to let her hold it and use it. She started taking pictures of her baby doll. I took that as a sign that I take a lot of pictures of her. She had a hard time getting the pictures just right so she had to try many times. She is so lucky to live in the digital world. Our parent would have never developed baby doll pictures for us. I bet they would have thrown the roll of film away. OR not let us play with the camera at all.

Other than the snotty nose Maci is having fun.

Huh?

2008-03-04T05:58:00.000-08:00

My new not so favorite saying of Maci's. Yesterday I was telling Jeanne that we were not repeating ourselves when she says this, because she says it all the time. THEN the other little girl Maci's age said HUH? So now I know where she picked that up from. Jeanne told me that the other little girl was 10 times worse than Maci. So I don't know how Jeanne does it - I would lose it!

Pretend Play & Sick

2008-02-25T13:20:00.000-08:00

Maci caught a cold, and then the cold turned into her asthma filled lungs of gunk. So we have been house bound again. Maci has taken the opportunity to teach her babies how to go potty. First she takes all the babies clothes off and then she puts the baby in her potty so only the head sticks out the top. Also, she tells me to SHHHSH baby going night night. Then she puts all 3 babies in the baby crib.

My new favorite saying "bad girl" and "good girl." If you do something she doesn't like she tells you are a bad girl - even Derek. I really don't tell her she is a bad girl - I do tell her she is a good girl when she goes potty or says thank you in the appropriate response without being cued. So I guess Jeanne must tell them they are bad girls. She probably hears that when she is stealing the toys from other kids.

AND I am so sorry I introduced Seasame Street to her. I have heard nothing but COOKIE every 2 minutes. Also, Madeline and Stella gave Maci some old videos. I set up the TV and VCR in the bedroom for her to watch them. She has me put Spot on in there and then demands COOKIE in the living room. AND then she watches neither one of them!

Well she is having a steroid induced fit (my mother says that is why she is so moody). I wonder what her excuse is when she is steroid free? Gotta go.

Parker Cries

2008-02-19T18:34:00.000-08:00

For the first time today I heard and witnessed Parker Ellen crying. Of course one of the other girls at daycare didn't let anyone have more than a 15 minute nap. So Maci was a little clingy tonight and I HEARD Parker cry. She was so tired rubbing her eyes. I then took her to Aunt Amy's and Uncle Paul's and she perked right back into regular happy Parker. I knew Uncle Paul would have that affect on her. I bet they didn't even get a whimper out of her.

Maci rules the roost

2008-02-17T07:38:00.000-08:00

Life changes with baby. And then life REALLY changes with toddler. The toddler has taken over the tv with cartoons, she makes you wake up at an early hour everday even weekends, she makes you read her books instead of your own (while not changing the cartoon), she thinks you should play on the floor with her all day (even though you have things to do), and if you falter she tells you how it is...

Valentine's Day Kiss to You!

2008-02-14T19:27:00.000-08:00