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My three and half year old in all his 'princely' glory - 'fine manners' and all. (to note, that his second helping of broccoli, though he ate very little else of the pork and apples dinner. This singing happened near the end of dinner when it was apparent he was not going to eat much more.)
From Cool Mom Picks
- Gift tag free downloads, including this one from Bucklette
- Project of the month club - building, crafting, science - kits shipped monthly or in smaller increments; for ages 3 - 11.
- Lollipop book of the month club (and smaller increments)
- Editor's picks of the year for music: Lunch Money's Dizzy, and The Recess Monkey's Field Trip
- Editor's picks in the cookbook category includes the Toddler Cafe (see also this Real Food for Healty Kids) and Tamra Davis' Cookbook culled from her online cooking show
- Paper mache boats at Ann Wood
- At One Pearl Button, magnetic paper dolls
- See also her pom-pom garland tutorial
- See Chez Beeper Bebe for Black Apple Doll Accoutrement
- Cardamon Citrus cake from Good Life Eats - looks fabulous!
Yesterday was Daddy Day #1 for T and B, T being out of school until Wednesday, January. B said that T was very good - no tantrums, no whining, and he stopped kicking the seat back in the car when asked. We were in the kitchen discussing the day and B said, "I'm going to tell Noodle what a good boy you were all day," and he walked in to the dining room where Noodle was sitting on the hutch. [Noodle is our Elf on the Shelf].
A little while later we praised T for something else he did that was nice. He climbed down from his perch on the step stool and said, "I'm going to tell Noodle to tell Santa!" He ran over to the hutch and looked up at Noodle expectantly, "I want presents! I have been a good boy; tell Santa Noodle." He ran back into the kitchen with a big smile on his face. "T you said you want, you want. Is that the nice way to make a request?" I asked. T ran back in and looked up at Noodle. "I want presents please, please tell Santa I have been a good boy." He ran back colliding into me for a hug.
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T has been working his puzzles lately. We got him four 25-piece puzzles for $3.99 when we were in Corvallis this summer. They were a little hard for him then, but he is really getting the hang of them now. He told me that one of his classmates asked how to start a puzzle. "I said," T told me," that you start with the corners."
We've also been working through looking at each puzzles piece for clues and in some instances grouping them to figure out where they go. One of this puzzles is construction vehicles and each vehicle is a different color. When T asks me where a piece goes I ask him what color is on the piece. He generally figures it out then. Another of his favorite puzzles right now is his body puzzle. It tickles him that the little boy is naked in one layer, and he mentions every time that the skeleton layer is a little scary. He doesn't quite get the organ layer, but he is learning. We're giving him a Melissa and Doug Dino puzzle for Christmas.
Same Old: didn't get enough sleep last night (or any of the nights in recent memory). I stayed up way, way, way too late making gifts. The good part was that I created stuff and I liked that. Bad thing was that I was up so late and as much as I try my stuff always has small mistakes that make it known that it is not made by a professional or a really great crafter. However, I am happy with the results. Pictures to come.
New: We have something new in the driveway. More on this later, but we brought it home Saturday evening. It is not new (though practically), but new to us (it was a rental). While B does not seem totally enamored with his decision, he is releived to have finally completed this search, and thus to have that part of his life back. He still plans on selling the Z, but perhaps no longer the Porsche. "Minivan" has been mentioned several times, but then he says, "It meets all of our requirements." It is a really pretty blue.
New: I am sitting in a new seat at work again. It is the mass move around time for the development folks for our product. Work on the next release is beginning, and all but one of us writers have been placed on development teams. While writers and testers don't work in the same way that others in development work, it was thought that all would benefit from writers being incorporated in the teams. We'll see. I am concerned about a number aspects of this, but hopefully I will surprise myself. I am on an enhancement team with five others, one of whom is from my old product group. I was second lowest seniority wise, but I still got a seat next to the windows, and with a view of windows where the blinds are hardly ever shut. It is in a two-pack rather than the middle seat of a three-pack that I has been my lot the majority of my time with the company.
One of T's classmates went to Disney World this week. T said, "We should go to Disney World! I want to go to Disney World!" Here comes the onslaught I guess. He also wants to see the Lion King, and he said the other day, "Mommy we should go to Aust-rail-ia. We should go for a week." If we go T," I said, "we will go for at least a week!"
This morning T asked for a story on the way to school. At first it was to be a mermaid story with two mommies, but it quickly changed to regular people, then to a mommy and a daddy, then the boy in the story turned into a bull dog (T is fascinated with bulldogs; he wants a bulldog.) I had to be nimble in my story telling! Oh, and the people weren't wearing anything - they didn't like clothes. So we had to change the location of the story from snowy Pennsylvania to much warmer Arizonia. The people also didn't have much money so they were driving to the next town to see if anyone would give them winter coats, and that is when T, the young boy, became a second bulldog in the backseat of the car.
My fertility monitor showed two bars out of three this morning. That indicates high fertility, or an optimal time for baby making before ovulation. I should be elated, no? I was... EIGHT days ago when it first showed up (it feels like so much longer ago)! I'd jumped from low fertility, or one bar, to peak fertility, or three bars with an egg, overnight for several months, and then last month went without ovulating at all. So it made me really happy to see the two bars last week; I was almost giddy.
Now those two bars seem to mock me. Day 18 and on high fertility. I've had cycles as short as 20 days (as long as 45 too, but that is much more rare.) I am thinking I will be going from high fertility right into my period this month - how's that for optimistic? Of course this is all attributed to my age and the hormones rushing through it.
I can't seem to gauge my body either. I feel pain in my ovaries but it doesn't seem to correlate to anything - not the monitor, not my temperature (I finally got on the whole charting band wagon), certainly not to finding out I am pregnant. My acne seems constant these days so is not so much a harbinger of ovulating or my period. And sore breasts, they don't seem to indicate anything either.
Speaking of charting, I've now done it for a little over two months. I am better at it than I thought I would be, but that isn't saying much. This month, right at a crucial point, I failed to write down the temps I took. I remembered to take my temp - good first step - then failed to chart it. Uhg! Two days in a row! The days preceding a huge jump in temperature then a huge dive in temp. I think my charts are indicating I a problem, but then there are holes in the charts that make reading them not so easy. Charting is as nerve wracking as I thought it would be, but also interesting.
Another day is starting... will it be high fertility or the golden egg?
A couple of weeks ago Mr. Nathan, the lead teacher for T's class, asked the kids what they were going to do next fall. T's answer: "Eat crab!" Today Mr Nathan gave each of the families a very cute book about the holidays and as a memento of the first part of the year. He asked all the kids about the holidays, then added the remarks to photos and drawings from each child. It is quite a little treasure. Here is what T said:
I'm getting ready for Christmas. I'm putting wreaths up at my front doors. I get candy for Christmas. You get presents from Santa Claus. He's a man that has a big white beard and he only has a little bit of hair on his head. He has helpers to make presents. The helpers are elves. They are little people. They make toys with wood and clay and glue with hammers, screwdrivers, and wrenches. I celebrate Christmas; I get all my family together at my house. We eat chicken.
From remarks from other kids I learned Santa has a giraffe, blue and black motorcycle, and goat. He tells you what you want for Christmas and if you aren't good you may get a switch which is a stick to whack your ear with. Mrs. Claus brings the new lip balm.
T and I went to see the Shoemaker's and the Elves this weekend. As part fo the fun we got to make our own little green elf puppets! Here is T's 'on stage' then as he rode the elevator (he really wanted to go on the elevator.)
Saturday night I made eight dozen raspberry strippers cookies for the 1st annual cookie exchange at work. It was fun gathering and munching. I teamed up with Susan M and came home with six dozen cookies (would have had to make 12 dozen otherwise then come home with 12). My supervisor is smiling at me in the photo.
