Wheee!

About a week ago, we made a family trip to the park. We prefaced our enjoyment of swinging and sliding with lunch and ice cream. Beans wasn't into the lunch so much. She ate a pickle slice and that's about it. But she was totally down with the ice cream. It is her new obsession. She asks for it for breakfast (and sadly, Mommy and Daddy deny this request).

She was very happy swinging. Almost the entire time she said "wheee" on a loop. Until she started saying "M". This puzzled us at first, but we soon realized she was pointing at the bike rack which was indeed shaped like a lower case m.

My little blonde carbon based unit of perpetual happiness.

New Do

Or maybe it is a do not. I like it. Napalm orange and bleachy blonde. You only live once and hair grows back. Unless you're going bald. But then there's always Hair Club for Men.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Little Miss Beans has an ear infection which means antibiotics. Not a favourite around here. Anything we have to give her in a syringe is bad. It could be sugar water, but it's still not going to happen.

So the first night of medication, Mommy and Daddy had to hold poor Beans down and fight to get it down. It was horrendous. There was a lot on her, her daddy, and me. I'm just not sure about in her.

Later, I tasted the stuff. And nearly gagged! I can't blame her for not wanting to take it! I wouldn't want to either. It's like bitter, chalky goo with a slight hint of citrus or tropical fruit flavor. What pharmaceutical genius thought of that concoction for a kid!? I know it's medicine, but come on! It's not like finding a cure for the common cold... just make the stuff taste good!

So the next morning I had an epiphany after trying to fake her out by putting it in the straw of her sippy cup (which actually got 2 mL in her). I thought lemonade! She loves it and it would cover that awful bitterness with a little extra sugar. I got online and found nothing saying mixing citrus with it would be bad (if you're considering doing this please check with your pharmacist - I am not a medical professional) so to the kitchen I went.

A squeeze of lemon, a ¼ teaspoon of sugar, a ¼ cup of Country Time Lemonade, and 3 more mL of medication. And then I ask Beans if she wants some lemonade. Her response? "Lem-made!"

Sucked the whole thing down! Victory! It seems to be working still. If we can keep it going to 8 more days, we'll be golden... like sunny, delicious, lemonade.

I've always heard that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade. And I've always felt that if life gives you lemonade, you just sell it. But now I've learned for certain that if life gives you a toddler with an ear infection and medication that tastes like a sadistic, parent-torturing chemist flavoured it (i.e. life giving you lemons), make lemonade and give it to the toddler.

I Love This Man

Going through some photos, I found this one. It's not the best photo of either of us. Let's face it. I have my tongue sticking out. But it reminds me of how great the man sitting next to me is. He is awesome. He can cook. He can fix anything. He's like a one man contractor. He can forge metal and weld. He's artistic but tone deaf and can't dance. He even rubs my feet though I won't touch his. He makes our baby girl and me laugh uncontrollably at times. 

And I love him madly. 

Baby Update: 18 Month Check Up

We made it through another visit to the doctor. This one was far more eventful than all the ones before. Why? Let's just say that adorable grinning girl is stronger and smarter than I imagined.

We went into the waiting room where it was all smiles and giggles. Nothing bad has ever happened to her in the waiting room. Then the dirty diaper hit the fan and we walked back to the exam room.

As soon as I started taking her shirt off, she started getting upset. She remembered what happens when she's in the exam room... shots. She didn't want to lie down so they could measure her height (which came in right under 33 inches). She didn't want to stand on the scale to measure her weight (which is 27.2 pounds).  And then came the doctor.

She was nice, but to make things more uncomfortable it was one of the doctors we've only seen maybe twice before. Beans was being poked and prodded by a stranger. She was pissed, but we survived. Even though I had to hold her in my lap with my arms around her head to check her ears... and every check was like that.

And shots. Wow. She recognised that silver tray instantly. I had to hold her chest and arms while the nurse held her legs between her knees. You wouldn't believe the shade of red this child turns when she's angry and scared and in pain.

But we made and she good for the next six months. Unless of course she gets sick in the meantime. But until then, we'll enjoy six months of no baby doctors. Here's to a healthy little girl.

Christmas Is Over

So Christmas came early this year. And will come again in six months. 

We set up our tree. We rocked Christmas songs and discovered they make rap Christmas music. We baked Christmas cookies. We had egg nog. Yes, my mother-in-law makes the most awesome egg nog and she whipped up a batch for the occasion. And what summer Christmas party would be complete with out burgers, hot dogs, and pulled pork?

We also played Dirty Santa or White Elephant. I'm still not sure if there is a difference, but I ended up with two fantastic beer steins. And of course I "stole" them from some one else playing. Because I'm dirty... or an elephant. Maybe I'm a dirty elephant?

And to top off the evening, I went down the Christmas Slip and Slide. The photo is from the first run. I went three times. And that was after only 2 beers. As you can see from my expression, I planned on it hurting much more than it did. It really wasn't that bad. I even talked Heather into trying it. She was less than thrilled, but an 

excellent sport.

All in all, a great Christmas in July. Hope to do it again next year. Merry July to all.

Christmas in July!

That's right. You heard me. We're dragging the fake tree down from the attic and decking the halls. Or our friend's back yard. We've decided that, this year, July 25th will be Christmas in July. 

It's something I've always wanted to do. Ever since I can remember, the novelty of it has made my brain tingle. I actually have friends that find this as amusing as I do, so my silly little idea will come to fruition in less than a week. 

We're grilling and decorating a tree. And there will be obnoxious Christmas music. Ho ho ho!

Dinner... Tomorrow?

I thought ahead, which for me is rare. But I pulled pork chops out of the freezer last night. I put them into the crock pot this morning with apricot preserves, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, garlic powder, ginger, and mandarin oranges. Then I get a phone call from Jas. 

We're going to his parents for dinner. Tonight. Family is in town. I can understand that. So we'll eat this tomorrow. With rice and green beans. But I don't have to cook tonight... oh wait. I already did.

Baby Update: Much Ado About the Potty

Beans is now a year and half old. And I'm ready for potty training. But as you know there is always a but...

The toilet in our house is sad. It is sad because Beans won't put her cute little bum on it. At all. It only results in a nude, hovering butt attached to an arched back which is attached to a neck which houses vibrating vocal chords and holds up a darling blonde head and angry red face. Yeah. She just screams.

So I fear that she may just not be ready even though I am. I don't like diapers. Bad for the planet, bad for my wallet, and ever filling my trash can. I'm done.

MISSION: Figure out how to get that powder white booty on the porcelain throne.

I Call Shenanigans!

I got a phone call from a number from area code 423. They knew my name and said I'd won a $1000 shopping spree. I was "offered" magazine subscriptions for the price of shipping and handling only and told my $1000 would arrive in the mail in 3 to 5 business days. All they "needed" was to confirm my credit card number and expiration date. 

What made this one tricky is that they claimed to be from "American Publisher" which is a real BBB registered company with an "A" rating. I called the number the BBB had and asked if they had offices in Tennessee (which is where that number is from) and they said absolutely not. They are based in Illinois (and the two representatives I talked to were very nice). If you get a call DO NOT give them your info! Call the police and report them please!

However I do have to say that if this a legitimate company and I'm wrong, I apologize. The cops won't bug you and I'm just out $1000. So really if you're not trying to steal my credit card information, it's my loss.

But it's like they say, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and sounds like a duck, it's probably not a moose.

Random Thursday

Yeah, I've missed a couple. 

Random is an adverb.

I'm struggling here.

Laundry to the Left of me, Laundry to the Right...

Here I am, stuck in the middle folding. Yes, it's now Thursday. I forgot to blog yesterday and Tuesday. As a favourite writer of mine once said, my ambition is hadicapped by my laziness. But I have good news. I've done at least two loads (washed, dried, folded, and put away) each day. I'm making progress. My husband can get dressed in the morning without asking where the clean socks are. I still have some work to do. Starting on the piles of sheets today. My sister and her boyfriend are coming for the weekend and I need to get some serious cleaning done along with clean sheets on the bed.

Till then, my peoples, let the washing machine spin.

I'm A Washing Machine

During nap time alone, I folded 4 loads of laundry and have one drying and one washing. That's a bunch of dirty clothes... and there's more.

Until it's ALL done, I'm going to update my blog daily and make myself feel bad when I don't do any. You should feel free to heckle me on those days. Hopefully I won't give you the chance.

Having said that, I have to go get a load out of the dryer and one into the dryer and then get the baby girl up.

*As a side note: The laundry in the photo is not mine. I liked the image.

Where's Yiyi?

Hi there! Miss me? I've missed you. Really, I have. A little.

Nothing personal, but I've been too busy and hot to miss blogging. And with a cute little water bug (like the one in the photo to the right) who could miss anything?

We've been swimming, we went to the zoo, we been playing in the sand box and the kiddie pool. We've been having a blast. 

It's also been hot. If you haven't figured it out, we live in the south-east United States. And it gets sickeningly hot here. I've lived in Cairo, Egypt and the heat there is more tolerable than it is here. It's the humidity. It's like walking around in a hot bathroom that someone just took an hour long shower in. It's hot and gross. But if you like that sort of thing, great. Some one should. Thank you for taking that bullet for me.

But Beans doesn't mind the heat of humidity. As long as there's water or people she happy as a clam in a frog shaped pool.

Random Thursday

You know I missed one. I know it too. But that's okay. We all make mistakes.

For today a random haiku from RandomHaiku.com.

Germany challenged

until the luggage imagined

and the papers went

Have a nice day and thank you for reading.

Memorial Day Weekend

We made an impromptu Memorial Day weekend trip to Mississippi. My dad had to work, but was happy to spend any and all the time he could with his little granddaughter. 

We didn't do much to rant about. We saw a few friends, ate chili and deer roast, and played. Beans had a blast and by the end of it was trying to say "Grand Daddy" which ended up sounding more like "gablabla" but it's a start and made my dad very happy.

On a more solemn note, just wanted to acknowledge all those out there that we've lost in military service. And not just Americans, any one serving their country's people. And my sympathies to all those who've lost parents, grandparents, children, siblings, and the like. My heart and gratitude goes to you all.

Back to something a little more perky. I think I have taken the single most adorable photo of my dad with Beans. She's holding his hand. It made his weekend.

Title Unimportant

Yesterday, Beans and I were going about the usual. And she wondered into the kitchen (where she likes to play in the Tupperware) and I always follow. Yesterday, I lagged behind. When I rounded the corner, this is what I found.

Just check out the gems in this photo. But please ignore

 the floor and the tile backsplash. They came with the house, I loathe them, and look forward to the day they are replaced! To understand the absurdity of this photo, you have to understand that I have a 26 pound, 32 inch tall, 16 month old and a professional Kitchen Aid 5 quart mixer. So both of those thing that are so perfectly fitting in my cabinet are huge. The cabinet is what make them look small!

Maybe this should go on Picture is Unrelated. Then again, it's not that bizarre. I'm just a big fan of the items in the cabinet.

Tweet Tweet!

That's right. I'm a follower... quite literally. I'm now on Twitter. You can read my blog and see what I'm doing every 15 minutes! There is even a Twitter widget on my page now (bottom of the left column).

What will they come up with next?

Random Thursday

Ah Thursday. You want some randomness? How's this for random? 

That adorable little child in the photo to the right... she's been waking up between the hours of 1 and 3 AM for about a week now. Why it that random? Well it started randomly. I have no idea why. She wakes up, screams, I rock her for about 20 minutes, and then she's fine. But then I'm awake. And very sleepy the next morning. 

Here's something else random for you. Did you know that according to Listverse, the record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes? It happened during a "rocking chair marathon". They say that record holder reported hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses. 

Sounds a lot like being a mommy. A whole lot like being a mommy.

Random Thursday

It's Friday. Which means that yet again, I have blown Random Thursday... I efforts to make up for this I offer you this random photo from Picture Is Unrelated. It's a fantastically funny site. And very very random. There are however some "adult-ish" photos, so be sure your audience is appropriate.