The Casual Perfectionist

The First Lesson Went Swimmingly

Published

on Wednesday, January 7, 2009

. 1 Comment

Yesterday, Claire had her very first swimming lesson! This was much anticipated by all involved. Okay, truth be told, Daddy was only slightly excited compared to Momma and Claire, but that’s because he doesn’t get to go frolick in the pool in the middle of the day.

You have to be at least 3-yrs old to be enrolled in these particular lessons, so Claire was anxiously awaiting her birthday in November. Enrollment for the next class didn’t start until December, but as soon as the enrollment period opened up, I jumped at the chance. I enrolled Claire in two four-week sessions. The first class is the Tadpole class and the next level up is the Minnow. In order to get the class dates/times we want, they advised me to go ahead and enroll for both levels back-to-back, assuring me that it would be easy to adjust that if necessary.

Just like her Young Preschooler Class, I wasn’t sure how this would go, but I couldn’t wait to try it! She’s confident, balanced and enthusiastic, but she’s also three…so every day is a new day. Plus, this is her first swimming class. I’ve taken her swimming on a regular basis since she was 6-months old, but every other experience at the pool has been unstructured, unfettered, and carefree. I was so curious to see how she’d do in a class-setting.

I’m extremely happy to report that the first swimming lesson went swimmingly!

In fact, the class went a little too well. She now wants to go to swimming lessons every day, and she didn’t want to leave. Luckily, we’ll be going every Tuesday and Thursday for the next two months, so she won’t have to wait a whole week after each class like she does for “school.”

There are four little girls in her class, and they all seem to be at the same confidence level in the water, which is nice. None of the girls had problems putting their faces in the water, blowing bubbles, kicking, splashing, or practicing and learning the various things with the teacher. And, Claire only had to be reminded a couple times to turn around and pay attention, and the teacher did it in such a nice, patient way that I could tell that she not only really likes her job, but she’s really good at it, too.

I mean, she single-handedly kept four little über-excited swimmers focused and happy for almost half-an-hour…and she did it with a huge smile on her face.

Claire responded really well to her teacher and the class, and if this first lesson is any indication, I just know she’s going to learn a lot and have a great time doing it. I had a great time, and I was just watching.

In fact, I can’t wait for the next class!

Is it Thursday yet? Huh!? Huh!? Huh!? I can’t wait for Thursday!

I’d like a tube of blog fodder with my order, please. Yes, I do have a coupon.

Published

Momma

on Tuesday, January 6, 2009

in Random Thoughts and Venting

. 4 Comments

Do you ever go to stores that print off personalized coupons with your receipt? A couple of the grocery stores we frequent do this, and Target is great about sending us coupon sets in the mail. Granted, the collection of personalized coupons from Target border on creepy and stalkerish, but they’re helpful nonetheless.

Why, yes. Yes, I would like a coupon for that item that I hide near the bottom of my cart so no one notices it, thanks!

I guess more and more places are doing this, and I appreciate coupons as much as the next guy, but sometimes they’re annoying. The random ones that we’d never use are just wasteful, and the ones that hit a little too close to home make me feel weird.

It’s not that I’m completely offended by things like this (or offended easily in general), but something happened this weekend that made me pause. I dare say, part of me *was* kind of offended or even almost embarrassed, but that’s not even the right way to describe it.

What’s a good cross between almost embarrassed and offended, without really being either, but teetering on the edge of both? Ponder that. And, given that, what would make things better or worse? I know! I’ll write about them in a public forum!

I’ve done this before, so this shouldn’t be too shocking. (No, I won’t link to anything here, but feel free to do a search for chopsticks in the little search-field at the top of the blog. If you dare.) This time, I’ll keep the specific details to myself so as not to lure unsuspecting Googlers to the site or totally embarrass Claire when her friends find my blog years from now.

Plus, seeing ads for this particular item on my sidebar would probably make my head explode. (But, because I’m such a big fan of irony, it would make me laugh…so there is an upside.)

I’ve written before about some challenges that Claire has had in the past. She’s still following the doctor’s orders, and things are running smoothly. So to speak. Rather than pay full-price for her medication over-the-counter, we buy a generic brand available through the pharmacy with a doctor’s prescription for a fraction of the cost. This weekend, Claire and I went to our local pharmacy to pick that up. I was feeling particularly lazy, and it was snowing, so I decided to go through the Drive Thru instead of go into the store. The friendly pharmacist promptly handled my transaction and handed me the paper bag. Stapled to it were my receipts and paperwork. I didn’t think anything of this.

I get home, and go about my day, and then I’m organizing my receipts, and I notice that this particular store has started printing coupons with the receipts.

When I saw their friendly product suggestion, I gasped out loud and then became equal parts nearly embarrassed and almost offended.

My hubby wanted to know what was wrong, and it took me a while to even explain why I was so taken aback by this. It was hilarious and not funny at all, all at the same time. I mean, Claire is three! Apparently their little computer system doesn’t take that into account. She’s clueless (thankfully!!) to the stigma attached to her prescription or for the item on the coupon Momma got with her order. I felt the need to defend her, and us! I wanted to shout, “She has ABSOLUTELY NO NEED for anything related to her prescriptions, and neither do we!”

But, we already know that. And, the computer has no idea. Numbers in. Numbers out. I doubt the pharmacist even gave the coupon a second look before he stapled it to our bag.

I guess, if an adult was taking Claire’s Rx, they *might* need what was suggested on the coupon. Maybe. But, odds are, they wouldn’t want some computer somewhere spitting out a very blatant reminder. Would they?

Or maybe they wouldn’t care. Maybe they’d look at the coupon and say, “Sweet! My special cream is $2 off! Let’s stock up!”

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

You know you’ve been watching too many medical shows when…

Published

Momma

on Monday, January 5, 2009

in Random Thoughts

. 4 Comments

Every time I watch Sleeping Beauty, I can’t help but wonder if Maleficent has a problem with her liver. Sadly, it’s the first thought that pops into my mind when I see her.

I mean, why else would the whites of her eyes be so yellow? She should probably have that checked out before it’s too late.

Then again, after turning into a dragon and getting herself stabbed by Prince Phillip’s sword, being jaundiced is the least of her worries.

Weekend Time-Traveling: A Dollhouse Story

Published

Momma

on Sunday, January 4, 2009

in Re-run

. 5 Comments

We’re traveling back in time on the weekends, and you can read all about that here.

This is one of my favorite posts from the past. Check it out!

A Dollhouse Story
Originally posted Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Every dollhouse tells a story. Claire got a dollhouse from one of her aunts for Christmas, and she loves playing with it. She rearranges things to suit her fancy. I couldn’t help but notice what was happening with the dollhouse yesterday.

Note about the pictures: You can click on each picture to enlarge it. Clicking a second time will show even more detail.

Here is a picture of the dollhouse.

Upon first glance, all appears to be somewhat normal. Claire has decided that the big bed needs to be on the upper level (in what is supposed to be the baby’s room?), but that actually makes more sense. It fits better up there. The wardrobe is out on the patio, but again, it fits better out there. The chairs are in the baby’s room and they are facing the window, because who doesn’t like to watch the squirrels playing in the trees in the backyard?

Upon further inspection…

You’ll see that Baby and Momma are in the bathroom. The chairs are in the tub. Hmmm…not quite sure why, but that’s okay. It’s not my house. Maybe they were dirty? Oddly enough, they fit perfectly.

Then we see something has gone awry in the kitchen…

Daddy has either tripped and fallen or has decided to take a nap. It’s hard to tell without more information. Either way, he still has a goofy grin on his face, so whatever it is can’t be all that bad.

Then we see the real reason…

(I’ve made some adjustments to show you what’s happened, in case you can’t tell from the other picture…)

Daddy has discovered that his computer chair has been replaced by a toilet. And, he’s fainted from pure joy.

And, who wouldn’t?

p.s. What? Claire comes by this assumption naturally… Ha! I love it!

Weekend Time-Traveling: A Walk Around the Lake

Published

Momma

on Saturday, January 3, 2009

in Re-run

. 0 Comments

Today marks the tenth anniversary of our move to Colorado!

Ten years? Can you believe it?

We’d tried to leave the Midwest on January 1st, 1999, but we got stuck in a blizzard…quite literally, I’m afraid. We finally dug out and arrived in our new home on January 3rd, 1999. (Maybe one of these days, I’ll write more about that…it’s quite the exciting story!) In the meantime, the post below is one that I wrote in June of 2007, but the sentiment is the same. It conjures up such great feelings for me.

This is home.

A Walk Around the Lake
Originally posted Tuesday, June 19, 2007

We live on a cul-de-sac that overlooks a very pretty lake. Years ago, when we were house hunting, we had no idea this lake even existed, even though it wasn’t too terribly far from where our apartment was. It’s tucked back in a subdivision, and you can’t see it from any major roadways. We decided to take a street we’d never taken before, and that’s when we saw the lake and then found a house for sale just up the street.

We love the lake.

Tonight, when the sun went down behind the mountain, it really started to cool off. We’d just gotten done with dinner, so we decided to take Claire to the lake. We’ve taken her to the lake before, but she’s always ridden in the stroller. This time, she insisted on walking, but we knew she wouldn’t be able to do the full mile-and-a-half around, so we brought the stroller along, too.

We head off down the hill, and her little feet are going a mile a minute. She was so good about holding my hand and having a great time going top speed. I carried her across the street to get to the sidewalk by the lake and put her down.

And, we were off! Momma was holding Claire’s hand. Claire was running as fast as she could, and Daddy was pushing the stroller.

A ton of people were there this evening, and a lot of them were walking dogs. Claire loves dogs, and all the dogs she met tonight were very friendly. We quickly walked by the ones that were questionable.

She had a great time looking at the water and watching the geese and the ducks. There is a really cool playground on the other side of the lake, but we opted to visit another time.

As expected, her little legs started to give out, so we put her in the stroller. She didn’t even balk at being strapped in. I think we’d run the energy right out of her! She’d made it almost a quarter of the way around, and that’s like the equivalent of three miles to a toddler!

The sunset was gorgeous behind the mountains, and it reminded us of why we moved here. We could have lived anywhere, and we chose to live here. I looked at Daddy pushing Claire in the stroller, and I saw my two favorite people in the whole world.

What a great night.

We’re traveling back in time on the weekends, and you can read all about that here.

Handy Resolution Picker

Published

Momma

on Friday, January 2, 2009

in New Years and Random Thoughts

. 5 Comments

I saw something similar to this on another website, and I thought it would make a nice, handy way to choose a resolution to focus on in The New Year.

This Handy Resolution Picker takes all the guesswork out of picking your resolution! It’s all based on your favorite number!

I’ll warn you…there is some math involved, but it’s not too complicated, and the results are very helpful!

It just takes a few minutes. Check it out!

WHICH RESOLUTION IS BEST SUITED TO YOUR PERSONALITY?

1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9.

2) Multiply by 3

3) Add 3

4) Multiply by 3 again (it’s okay to use a calculator…I won’t tell anyone.)

5) You’ll get a 2 digit number…

6) Add the digits together to obtain your score.

Now, scroll down to find out what your score means!

(Just keep scrolling…)

(and scrolling…)

(Are you still scrolling?…)

(No cheating and just picking one that looks good…this is scientific! It’s based on numbers! Let the numbers do all the work…don’t peek ahead and then try to get the answer you want!)

(Not that you would ever do such a thing…)

Now…with the number you got from above, you’ll see which resolution in the following list will be the best one for you!

WHICH RESOLUTION IS BEST SUITED TO YOUR PERSONALITY?

1. Drink more water.
2. Exercise more.
3. Take a daily vitamin.
4. Use a moisturizer.
5. Live in moderation.
6. Floss every day.
7. Donate to a worthy cause.
8. Travel to a brand new destination.
9. Read The Casual Perfectionist every day.
10. Use cloth grocery bags.

P.S. Stop picking different numbers.

Happy New Year!

Published

Momma

on Thursday, January 1, 2009

in New Years and Photos

. 0 Comments

From those of us here at The Casual Perfectionist, to those of you on the other side of the computer monitor:

Happy New Year!

Does the Enchanted Castle have WiFi?

Published

Momma

on Wednesday, December 31, 2008

in Claire and Conversations

. 2 Comments

Claire loves to tell stories. Her playtime is sprinkled with conversations she creates between the different characters. Sometimes those characters are in her head, and sometimes she’s talking to her toys. Most of the time, she’s talking for her toys. Many times, she’ll ask me a question, and then it will morph into a conversational story, complete with different voices for the different people.

For example, this is what she said the other night.

“Does Sleeping Beauty type her blog, Momma? Does she type it at night?” Claire asks me, as she’s snuggling under her blankets. It’s time for her to go to bed, and she often has questions or things to tell me at the end of the day. Sometimes I think it’s a stall-tactic to avoid bedtime, but other times, I can tell she’s just curious about all the different thoughts swirling in her head at that particular moment.

“She might, if she has time. What do you think? Do you think Sleeping Beauty types her blog at night?”

“I bet Prince Phillip says, ‘Don’t type your blog now. Don’t type it tonight. Do it in the morning,’ and Sleeping Beauty says, ‘Okay!’ And then she doesn’t! She types her blog in the morning!” Claire says with excitement, changing her voice into a deeper voice for Prince Phillip and into her high-pitched signature princess voice for Sleeping Beauty.

It’s good to see that Sleeping Beauty hasn’t let the Internet take a higher priority than her relationship. Yet. I mean, “ever after” is a really long time.

Big girls don’t have baby teeth

Published

Momma

on Tuesday, December 30, 2008

in Milestones, Month-at-a-glance and Photos

. 3 Comments

As you may remember, Claire turned 3-yrs old on November 30th. Well, because she’s automatically covered on our dental insurance policy, and because 3-yrs old is the magical age when both our pediatrician and dentist agreed should be the time to start going to the dentist, I set up an appointment for her with my hygienist and dentist.

Neither my hubby nor I have ever had any cavities (knock brush on wood), so the dentist isn’t a place we fear. Still, a lot of people are afraid of the dentist, and I want Claire to be comfortable going. I figured this is the perfect way to get that ball rolling. It’s never too early to think about good dental hygiene.

I made the mistake of telling Claire about the appointment way in advance, and if the question of the day (…any day. Pick a day.) wasn’t “Is today Monday!? Can I go to school today!?” it was “Can I go to the Dentist!?” Finally, the 18th of December rolled around, and we got to go to the Dentist.

She was beside herself with excitement. I told her about the cool chair that moves up and down and lays back. I told her about the bright lights. I told her how the hygienist would wear a scary mask and weird glasses. I told her how it was okay to be nervous, but that there wasn’t anything to be afraid of. Momma and Daddy actually like going to the Dentist, and so will you!

And she did!

You would have thought Christmas came early. She loved Kate, my hygienist. She was a little weirded-out by the chair, but she got used to it. She wore her pink sunglasses so that the lights weren’t too bright. She even got the hang of how to hold the water in her mouth and then let Mr. Thirsty (the name they gave that sucker-dealie**) suck it out of her mouth.

Even the squirter-dealie** didn’t upset her. “Momma! Kate put a little water-fountain in my mouth!” **I’m pretty sure those are the technical names for those instruments.

I was so impressed!

I mean, we’d scheduled what that office refers to as “A Happy Visit,” and they said they count it as a success if they get the little kid to sit in the chair without crying. It’s considered a good day if they can count her teeth. If they’re lucky, they actually try to clean them.

Claire had such a great time and was so into the whole thing that Kate was able to do a full exam and clean all 20 of her teeth. You see, Claire had been told she could pick out her very own Princess Toothbrush when the exam was done. She sat in that chair like a little baby bird, her mouth wide open.

Claire also got to meet my dentist, Dr. J. She was a bit anxious around him at first, but that’s to be expected. He told her he wanted to look at her teeth, and she said, “That’s okay. Kate already did!” It was all my hygienist could do to not laugh out loud.

It didn’t take Claire long to warm up to the dentist, and he got a good look too.

He told her she had all her baby teeth, and she told him that she didn’t! “They’re not baby teeth. They’re big teeth!”

Thankfully, everything looks great. Claire loves brushing her teeth, so that’s not an issue. The only concern I’d had was about the thumb-sucking. Dr. J confirmed what Dr. B, the pediatrician, had said. Now is the perfect age to get that to stop. If she doesn’t, more of the bone will be moved than what is already happening.

She really took what they both said to heart, and I’ll have to write more about that later, because it’s really quite comical and amazing. So, stay tuned!

After Dr. J looked at her baby big teeth, and the exam was over, he led us to the front of the office to the Treasure Chest. That’s where Claire got to pick out whichever toy she wanted. That’s funny, I’ve been going to that office for what, nine years (!?), and I’ve never gotten to pick out a toy! I feel gypped!

I’ve already scheduled Claire’s six-month cleaning, but I’m not telling her that yet. June is way too far away for me to handle the “Can I go to the Dentist today!?” question.

So, in honor of Claire’s First Dentist Visit, here are some photos of her brushing her teeth. These were actually taken before her first visit, so that’s why you don’t see her New Princess Toothbrush. They were taken the day she turned 3-yrs old! And, ironically, her birthday was one month ago today! So, I’ve thrown in a picture of her that I took today, too.

Click to enlarge.

Brushing, brushing, brushing

Claire is 36-months old in this photo. It was taken on her 3rd birthday!

She’s getting really good at spitting into the sink.

Admiring her handiwork

And, today...a month later…37-months old! She and Merlin are fast asleep.

And, today...a month after her 3rd birthday…37-months old! She and Merlin are fast asleep in Claire's big girl bed.

Random Thoughts: The Happy Ho & Peanut Butter Sludge Edition

Published

Momma

on Monday, December 29, 2008

in Random Thoughts

. 2 Comments

My hubby has one more week of holiday break before going back to work on the 5th. Our holiday travelers have come and gone and we have a relaxing week ahead of us. Sweet!

So, in honor of a Monday that isn’t even really like a Monday around here, I’m going to capture some random thoughts that occurred to me over the last week or so.

Peanut Butter Chips come in 10 oz. bags. Chocolate Chips come in 12 oz. bags. If you’ve been at the store for an hour-and-a-half and don’t notice the difference until you get home because you picked them up on a whim anyway, you can try to make alterations in your “it-calls-for-12-oz-bags-recipe,” but you may still end up with Peanut Butter Sludge instead of Peanut Butter Fudge.

Still, next time, buy an extra bag of Peanut Butter Chips and be more meticulous in the measurements if Sludge offends your delicate sensibilities.

But, for the record, no one seems to care that the Peanut Butter Sludge isn’t the Peanut Butter Fudge you intended to make, especially if you’ve sprinkled chocolate M&Ms on top. Keeping it in the fridge seems to help it solidify somewhat, but it’s not perfect. Watching them fight over it anyway totally made my day.

Hearing my hubby say, “Now, remember…you need to go to bed, and no peeking in the stockings!” made me really excited to see what I’d find in my stocking.

I could totally justify eating a chocolate truffle for breakfast if there aren’t so many witnesses. It’s not so much the questionable nutritional value of said breakfast…it’s that those pesky witnesses would 1) know where I keep the stash, and B) insist on sharing.

Some of us were sad when the Christmas Countdown Calendar finally ran out of daily windows to open with little chocolate pieces hiding inside. That same person was extremely excited to know that it meant Santa was coming the next day! And, some of us did a Happy Dance in the kitchen when the Countdown Calendar ran out of daily windows to open. That same person may or may not have taken great pleasure in crunching that thing up and shoving it to the bottom of the trash can when the other person wasn’t looking.

Oddly enough, no one has noticed that the Countdown Calendar is gone. Thank goodness for small favors.

I noticed that Target Photo had started printing the file name of the photos on the back of the pictures we’d had printed there. So this year, to match our Holiday Letters, I changed the file name of our holiday photo to say “Happy Holidays 2008.” When I got the photos back, I noticed that Target Photo had chopped off the file name. This year, Target Photo brought holiday cheer to each of our Holiday Letter recipients one Happy Ho at a time.