livelaughlovebloom's Xanga

Monday, November 03, 2008

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:39:53 GMT

This year SP went as a leopardy cat for Halloween. I made the costume from things we already had at home; the actual clothes were a hand-me-down onsie and matching pants. Trick-or-treating was a blast. SP loved walking around with her pumpkin basket, though she didn't or couldn't hold it up to get the candy. She loved all the other kids who were out, and would yell Booo if she saw something 'scary' or would growl if she saw an animal costume. I love that her tail dragged on the ground behind her.

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And for the record...

The reprogramming of SP has worked, with minimal problems. Hooray! My next project is to start giving her one nap a day instead of two. In all honesty, I thing this will be harder on me than it will be on SP. *sigh*

Hooty the Pumpkin, before and after

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:29:09 GMT

What do you think?

I was going to leave the pumpkin alone, but I got 'creative'.

So I shaved the skin off the owl.

I kind of like the lines that were left behind.

So that's it.

Happy Halloween!

Our Pumpkin

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:02:30 GMT

We finally finished our Halloween pumpkin tonight.

Do you like the owl? We did it because SP can say owl and hooooo really well.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:05:55 GMT

Reprogramming, continued...

So far the results have been varied. SP goes to sleep without any problems, but her waking up time has been all over the place. Maybe this is to be expected. I'm still hoping that by Sunday Sweet Pea will be sleeping for ten hours, from 9:oo pm to 7:00 am. Or there abouts.

Here are the results from the switch:

Fri to Sat 9:00 pm to 6:00 am
Sat - Sun 9:00 pm to 5:15 am
Sun - Mon 8:00 pm to 6:45 am
Mon-Tues: 9:00 pm to 6:50 am

Okay, so for the last two mornings SP's trend is looking good. I'm not sure if it's the later bedtime, shorter naps during the day (two 1 to 1&1/2-hour naps instead of two 2-hour naps), or it's just that SP is growing up.

In other news...

We finally set up the fishtank that's been sitting empty in the basement for the last two years after my beloved beta died. Since SP loves to visit the fish department at Meijer when we go to do our weekly grocery shopping, K and I decided it was time she got her own. Yesterday we got two lovely platys, one I can't remember, and one bottom feeder. So far SP has been content to sit and watch the "ish" get acquainted with their new home.

Tonight we will be carving our Halloween pumpkin. I think we'll make it a hooty owl. We'll see.

And that's about it for now. Hope your week is going well.

Daylight Saving is coming to a close...

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:53:37 GMT

... and I'm getting ready for it now. I've decided to start deprogramming SP's inner clock. Her inner clock is set for her to wake up at 5:30 am nearly everyday. Not such a huge problem now, but in a week or so 5:30 am will actually be 4:30 am. SP waking up at 4:30 am nearly everyday will be a huge problem. Here's my deprogramming plan:

start doing her daily routines (meals, naps, bathtime) one hour later than normal
put her down to sleep at 9:00 pm instead of 8:00 pm
pray to God that she sleeps through the night and wakes up around 6:30 or 7:00

We did this yesterday, and she went down to sleep no problem. But then, she never has had a problem going to sleep. It's the getting up that's the problem. She slept until 6:00 am this morning. Next week that will be 5 am. I am really, really hoping that by next week her inner clock will be reprogrammed.

Or is this just wishful thinking? What about all you mamas and papas out there? What have your tricks been in past years? What do you plan on doing this year?

Monday, October 20, 2008

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:17:39 GMT

Dear Xanga Family of Friends,

I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with your posts for the last few weeks. I miss all of you and want you to know that it isn't you, it's me. I would like to excuse myself on grounds of extreme business, but that would be a lie. I'm not all that busy. The problem in SweetPea. Now that she is getting older (being 18 months now), she doesn't like me to be doing any of the things I would like to do: sleep, wash dishes, go to the bathroom, make lunch, and of course the worst thing of all- be at the computer. She has a very nasty habit of grabbing my hands and pulling until I go with her. It's been difficult enough to keep up with reading and commenting on your posts, and just about impossible to write one of my own. I'm hoping that SP will soon grow out of this habit and leave me alone for more than three minutes at a time.

And yet, some of you will be thinking, I seem to be on Facebook a whole lot. That, friends, is a whole 'nother story.

I did want to tell you that last night K and I voted via absentee ballots. It is wonderful to have it done and not worry about standing in long lines or having to take SP with me to the polls. So TV ads, internet ads, automated phone ads, and radio ads.... you no longer have one iota of my attention, so you may as well not bother. Now... where's my "I voted" sticker??

That's about it from my little corner of Michigan. I hope you all are well.

Sincerely,

livelaughlovebloom

I kid you not.

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:18:12 GMT

Date: Saturday, September 27, 2008

Time: Approximately 9:30 pm

Where: Around the intersection of I-94 and I-75, off the highway on an old house

What: Christmas decorations, all lit up

*sigh*

Words and words

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:51:41 GMT

SP is now seventeen months. I've read that by eighteen months, toddlers should be able to say about ten words. Here is what SP can say:

mama, mommy, and mommy-ah (all refer to me at different times of the day)
dada (I think this still means her name)
da (her daddy, K)
baba (her bottle)
baba (my mom)
bah (also her bottle)
bah (as in what a sheep says)
bah (ball)
eye (the body part)
eye (Hi)
ot (out, though she doesn't say it very often) (it also sometimes means down)
eee-ah (eat)
tickle
LaLa (her beloved blanket)

I have no idea why she puts the 'ah' sound at the end of some of her words, but that is entirely her doing. So is 'mommy'. I have never referred to myself or others by that title. It's always been 'mama'.

So far that is about fifteen words, and about half are two syllables. I guess she is on track. Whatever; I'm not worried about anything. She's talking ALL the time. I just don't know what she's saying yet.

Serious Love

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:36:18 GMT

Did you have a special blanket, doll, or lovey when you were young? Do you remember how much you loved it?

SP received many blankets and afghans as gifts when she was born, most I couldn’t even tell you they are from. But there is one that she loves more than any other. We call this blanket LaLa.

LaLa is pink, smooth satin on one side and soft plush on the other. Contrary to popular belief, she prefers the soft plush side. SP loves to chew on it and rub it between her fingers. When she is tired, SP will rub LaLa under her nose (almost as if she is breathing in its goodness), pull it over her head, and then scrunch it under her cheek before she falls asleep.

LaLa is so much part of SP’s life that it has begun to become personified- LaLa prefers hugs from SP more than from Mama or Daddy. She likes to have sips of water fed to her from SP’s sippy cup. SP likes to give LaLa a turn on the pacifier. LaLa likes pieces of grapes mashed into her. LaLa likes to jump off of SP’s lap when we’re in the car and loves to fall out of the crib in the middle of the night. Oh, LaLa. She can be such a silly blanket!

SP loves this blankie so much that my mom cut it in half so that we would always have a spare on hand just in case. And there is almost always a “just in case situation” waiting to happen...

A few weeks ago SP and I were at the mall with our good friends Sarah and Jack on our usual play date. We were having a good time mall walking when I heard SP’s little voice say softly and with love, “LaLa.” I realized that I hadn’t checked on her in a while, so I peeked my head around the stroller only to find that there wasn’t a LaLa to be found.

Trying not to panic, but failing miserably, we backtracked our steps into the department store we had just come out of. No LaLa. I called K and without even saying hello I cried out, “I lost LaLa!” Both K and Sarah tried to reassure me that LaLa was in the mall someplace and we would find it. Didn’t they know how special LaLa was, how other toddlers were dying to get their little fingers on it?

We backtracked some more, into each store, with me asking if anyone had found a pink blanket. Blank stares and No’s were all I got back. Finally I stopped at the information desk. One last desperate plea for the beloved blankie. One lady shook her head sadly as she looked at SP. The other, with a hopeful ring to her voice, said that she didn’t have it there but she knew where it was. Holding myself back from grabbing her by her polyester lapels and shaking the information out of her, I waited for her to say that she had seen it around the corner near the bookstore.

That was enough for me. I took off at furious sprint, Sarah yelling at me to slow down, as her seven-month pregnant body wasn’t about to run through the mall. So we calmly walked toward the bookstore and sure enough, there was LaLa on the ledge of one the huge planters that are in the middle of the mall.

As we walked closer I could hear SP cry in her little soft voice, “LaLa” and watched her clap as her beloved blankie came into her view. She took it from my hands, rubbed it under her nose, pulled it over her head, and scrunched it under her cheek as we continued to walk around the mall.

That is some serious love.

Party Time

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:41:11 GMT

Have you heard of houseparty.com? No? Well, check it out. If you like having parties, trying out new items, and getting some things for free... this may be for you. A fiend of mine suggested it to me, so I signed up not really expecting to get chosen to host a party. But... I did! I am hosting a "Get Creative with Canon Scrapbooking Party" party. I've invited ten of my friends and family to come to my house for scrapbooking and food. Not that those two things really go well together, but whatever.

Everyone will be coming over on October 18th for a fun time. We'll use the party pack houseparty.com provides and do a bit of scrapbooking together. And the best thing is... I get to keep the SELPHY CP770 Printer for free! What a sweet deal. I really don't have to spend much of anything for this party. Bonus.