Archive for the 'From the offline blog' Category

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Zzzzzz…

Published on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 in Claire, From the offline blog and Random Thoughts. 0 Comments

It was incredibly windy here last night, and it actually freaked me out.  I mean, UNBELIEVABLY windy.  It was the worst we’ve ever seen it, and it went on ALL NIGHT.  The wind was from the north (where our bedroom is).  It was actually shaking the bed and rattling the closet doors!!  I seriously thought the huge maple tree was going to smash into our bedroom.  The hubby and I got no sleep, so we finally went down and slept in the guest room (basement, south side).  That was much better.  Claire’s room is on the south side, so it didn’t sound nearly as dramatic there.

I think I got a total of 2.5 hours of sleep last night.   :(   Yea!

I just couldn’t believe how crazy it was last night.  And, isn’t it amazing that your alarm goes off right as you’re finally falling asleep??

I literally saw every hour on the clock up to 5am…and the alarm went off at 7:15.

From the guest bedroom you couldn’t tell the house was going to blow away, and we really should have gone down there before 4:30, but we thought the wind would stop!  But, it was taking its sweet ol’ time.  We’ve never abandoned the confines of our room and the incredible comfort of our wonderful mattress for the guest bedroom before.  Never.  I guess there’s a first time for everything.

Speaking of which, we recently rearranged the guest room and moved the guest bed to the other side of the room.  It seems to have developed an annoying squeak.  Maybe it’s always had the squeak and our guests are too polite to tell us?  Doubtful.  I know most of our guests, and subtly is not necessarily a strong quality.

The weather is still kind of unsettled today, but not nearly what it was last night.  I had the monitor with us to make sure Claire was fine, and luckily she slept right through it.  She’s a really good sleeper, but the wind really does a number on her.  I’m really surprised (yet quite pleased) she didn’t wake up last night.

My handyman hubby got my a/c unit installed in my office last night, so this cold front is our fault.  I told him this will ensure a cooler summer from here on out.  ;)   

I think it’s time for a nap.

Stunt Puppy

Published on Monday, July 9, 2007 in Claire, From the offline blog and Parenting 101. 0 Comments

One month ago today, we welcomed a new member into our family. Daddy and Momma are the only people who know of his existence, but that’s okay. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. One month ago today, Stunt Puppy arrived.

Claire is absolutely and totally smitten with Puppy. Puppy is a “huggy-pup by TY” that some good friends of ours gave to me, for her, before she was even born. I purposely got her attached to Puppy, because I knew that she would eventually be attached to something, and I wanted that something to be relatively small and easy to handle in the car, grocery store, and a restaurant. Selfish? Yep. That’s me.

Although they were forced to spend time together at first, my plan worked. Claire and Puppy soon became totally inseparable. She has other favorite toys and has recently started sharing her crib with them, but Puppy is the only one who has outside-the-house privileges. He’s the only one that really matters. When we go on our trip, Monkey and Bear have been tapped as attendees as well, but they won’t be allowed into restaurants. A. They are too large, and B. Have I mentioned how big they are??

Anyway, the attraction Claire has for Puppy is amazing, and I would hate for something dreadful to happen to him. She’s way too little to explain such circumstances, and life as we know it would be dramatically different. Claire would be devastated, and I just don’t want to deal with that. Selfish? Again, yes. And, I don’t care. ;)

So, Momma did some hunting on the internet, and found a stunt-double for Puppy! Amazon has him really cheap (and yet he’s priceless, go figure). We placed the order, and he arrived. We opened the package when she was sleeping and threw him in the wash right away. He was a little plumper than Puppy, but not too much, and a trip through the washer and dryer helped a bit. The rattle in his head sounds a teeny-tiny bit different, but when you’re not expecting anything different, you don’t really notice. I made the switch when she wasn’t paying attention, and she never even blinked an eyelash.

Every week, Puppy and Stunt Puppy change places. That way, both are exposed to the same mileage and all of Claire’s secrets. It would be horrible for one puppy to not know a story that the other puppy had been told! ;) I’m careful to keep the other puppy well-hidden from observant little eyes, and so far, the plan is working magically.

Shame on Monkey!

Published on Sunday, July 8, 2007 in Claire, From the offline blog, Language, Milestones and Parenting 101. 0 Comments

Claire has been really good about leaving her Band-Aid alone.  The only time it disappears is when I go to get her from her nap.  Most of the time, I can find it.  (The first time that happened, I wasn’t so lucky.)

The other day, I went in to get her, and I could see that it was not on her head.

“Where’s your Band-Aid, Claire?”

“Monkey took’n Ban-Bay!”

“What?  Monkey took your Band-Aid?!”

Claire nodded vigorously and held Monkey up to me.   “Monkey took’n Ban-Bay!!”

And you know what?  That naughty Monkey has taken Claire’s Band-Aid more than once!  Shame on him!  ;)

I love you!

Published on Saturday, July 7, 2007 in Claire, From the offline blog, Language, Milestones and Parenting 101. 0 Comments

Today is a big day.  This is a day I’ve been secretly waiting for, for a long time.  Claire has started saying “I love you!”

Her version comes out like, “I Lyuv you,” but it’s pretty clear.  She even replaces the ‘you’ with Momma, Daddy, and her whole list of important people and creatures.

Daddy says, “I love you, Claire.”  And, Claire says, “I Lyuv you, too, Daddy.”  It’s enough to melt your heart.

I don’t think it’s possible to have a bad day after hearing that. 

Naked baby!

Published on Friday, July 6, 2007 in Claire, From the offline blog, Language and Milestones. 0 Comments

Ever since Claire was a teeny-tiny baby, I’ve said, “Naked Baby!” whenever I see her nude little body on the changing table or just fresh out of her bath.  It’s just something I’ve always said, and I never really thought much about it.  She would smile and giggle, and we would have a good ol’ time.

Well, as you know, Claire has started mimicking me.  She has also become very observant of her surroundings and has been able to piece two and two together.  Now, whenever she sees herself in the mirror, or looks down at herself on the changing table or in the bathtub, she screams, “Naked Baby!” at the top of her lungs.  I thought this was pretty funny…at home.

The other day, we were in the SuperTarget, and we were walking down the baby bath-time aisle, and Claire saw a picture of a baby on one of the packages.  “Naked Baby!” she shouted.  Then, in true form, she started replacing the word “baby” with all of her other words.  Only, this time, she got stuck on one certain phrase.

Naked Momma!
Naked Momma!
Naked Momma!

Nice.

Either I’m a tad paranoid, or people really were peeking down the aisle to see just what was going on down there.  Nope, this Momma has on all her clothes, but thanks for checking.

“Walk, walk, walk”

Published on Friday, July 6, 2007 in Claire, From the offline blog, Kitties, Language, Milestones and Parenting 101. 0 Comments

Even before having Claire, we made a conscious decision to be “positive” when parenting.  So many people scream “No!” and “Don’t fill-in-the-blank!” and “No!  No!  No!” at their kids that I wanted to at least try to be positive with my own child.  Fully realizing it was easy to make grandiose plans before even having a child, we agree to try. 

Consistency is the key, and luckily, both Momma and Daddy are playing by the same rules.  So far, I think things are working rather well for us.  We seem to be pretty calm with Claire, and she’s really responding well to the positive reinforcement.

Of course, if it’s a really important or sudden command that has to happen, a well-placed “NO!” will work wonders on Claire, especially since she doesn’t hear it that often.  And, I’m not saying we let her get away with all kinds of criminal activity.  If she’s not supposed to do it, she’s not allowed to do it.  She’s told or shown another way to do it.  Redirected.  Crisis averted.  Proper behavior learned…or practiced…whichever the case may be. 

Instead of “Don’t pull Merlin’s hair,” or “Don’t poke Jasper’s eyes,” it’s always been “Be gentle!  Good…such a good girl.  Be gentle.  Pet the kitty like this.  Good!”  Etc.  This has worked tremendously well, and deep down, I know the kitties appreciate our persistence.

Ever since her accident, every time I play with Claire, I’m forced to remind her to walk and not run through the living room.  Visions of blood-soaked furniture fill my mind, and the urge to scream, “No!  No!  No!  Don’t run!  Don’t run!  Don’t run and crack your head open again!” is a powerful one.  But, I remain calm and remember the plan.  So, instead, Claire hears me say, “Walk!  Walk! Walk!”

I know I’m trying to remain positive, and this will be better for everyone in the long run, but I’m afraid I sound like a drunken duck with a speech impediment.

Do they know something we don’t know?

Published on Friday, July 6, 2007 in From the offline blog and Random Thoughts. 0 Comments

We subscribe to quite a few magazines here.  Some we pay for, and some are given to us as gifts.  Interestingly enough, on the table right now are two magazines (both dated August 2007) with practically the same cover story:

Popular Mechanics:  “Survive Anything”  It goes on to list: “Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Floods, Earthquakes.  Essential Skills, Tools & Tactics for any Disaster.  PLUS! Foldout Emergency Checklist!”

National Geographic Adventure:  “How to Survive (Almost) Anything”  It also includes the ominous: “Why Smart People Make Big Mistakes”

Gee!  Have a great summer, everyone!  ;)

One or Zero

Published on Friday, July 6, 2007 in From the offline blog, Product Reviews and Random Thoughts. 0 Comments

That is what my computer-guy hubby always tells me. Computers think in ones and zeros (to boil it down to hardly anything). There are no gray areas…no kindas…no maybe yes, maybe no. Whenever I’m faced with situations with such extremes, I think of this.

I love our washer and dryer. (Wow…talk about whiplash from the lack of a segue! I know, I know… it will all make sense. I promise.) When we moved to this house, it came with hook-ups, but we needed to buy our own washer and dryer. We were actually excited to get a new washer and dryer, because we’d always been forced to use the large apartment complex ones. They left a little to be desired, as you can imagine.

I have a soft spot in my heart for Maytag, (Someday, I’ll elaborate on that in another post…) so we narrowed our search down to the Maytag Atlantis. We’ve had them for six years (or so), and we love them. For the most part. But, as with anything, there’s always that one thing…

So, now I’m back to the ones and zeroes. The ons and offs. The dinging incessantly or the absolutely no dinging whatsoever. The washer, when it’s done with its cycle stands there silently. Not a peep. There is no audible indication that it has completed anything at all. It’s like it’s tiptoeing around hoping we forget what we were doing. What’s the odd musty smell in here? OH, THE LAUNDRY. I FORGOT TO CHANGE THE LAUNDRY! The washer silently chuckles to itself. That’s a lovely feature.

We’ve tried to outsmart the washer by leaving the light on in the laundry room. That way, we know to check the washer if the light is on. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn’t. It all depends on how observant we are at any given moment.

Then, we have the dryer. The incessant dinging of the dryer. Please, one polite ding would be sufficient…maybe two? But NO…you have to ding and ding and ding and ding until the person who loaded the dryer screams, “Enough already! I’m coming!” Dry clothes may wrinkle, but they will not start to smell if left in the dryer overnight. Plus, there’s a wonderful “wrinkle release” mode that really does the trick. Is all the dinging really that necessary??

You would think there could be a middle ground for both machines. Apparently not. It’s all or nothing with those two.

Thankfully, I work from home.

Published on Friday, July 6, 2007 in From the offline blog, It's a paycheck and Random Thoughts. 0 Comments

How are you dealing with the heat? 
“Oh, me?  I don’t wear clothes.”

Vehicular Tourette’s

Published on Thursday, July 5, 2007 in Claire, From the offline blog, It's a paycheck, Language, Milestones and Parenting 101. 0 Comments

I’m back from Children’s Hospital in record time.  It actually took us longer to get there than it did for us to get Claire’s stitches removed.  Whew.  We walked right in, and there was absolutely no waiting.   

Getting there and home was an adventure, because Downtown is a maze of one-way and catty-corner streets, and not really big on signage…so it was a fun little adventure.  It was also a practice for Momma on how to drive without letting her Vehicular Tourette’s Syndrome show.  Not many people know that I suffer from this affliction, and I’m not proud to admit it.  But, I’m happy to report that having a mimicking parrot of a child has cured me!  This outing was a success!  No inappropriate words at ALL came out of my mouth.  I’m amazed and pretty proud of myself.  :)  

Claire was pretty funny in the car. I talk out loud all the time (gee, I wonder where she gets it), and I kept getting confused by the weird signs down there, and we’d be driving along, and I’d say, “WHAT?!  But, what does that mean!?” And, she’d say, “What mean? What mean?” from the back-seat.  :)

 

I’m glad that’s over.  Now I can relax and start on files as they come piling in.

 

I’m just glad today’s Thursday.  It’s like yesterday was a Saturday and we get to skip ahead to Almost Friday.  Sweet.