Readjusting Expectations

This morning, I asked Little Miss to get dressed.  She has the ability to dress herself, but that doesn't mean she does.  I usually dress her to speed up the process in the morning.  This morning, I added the Mother's Guilt and told her I'd be so happy if she got dressed at the same time I did.  So, she ran into her bedroom and came out wearing just red knit tights.  (No, there are no pictures of a topless girl with tights.)  I wanted to sigh and be disappointed that now I have to undress her to dress her again, that I wanted her to dress herself in the outfit I put out for her.  However, I remembered that my instructions were to get dressed and that's what she thought she was doing.  So, I readjusted.  I let her wear the tights (though I did add a skirt and shirt).  She felt proud of herself and it was somewhat helpful to have her be more productive.  Plus, it didn't rock the boat and she was more agreeable to brushing her teeth and taking her medicine. 

Also, she did see the clothes I put out after and said, "Oh, look, you had it all out for me."  So, she just didn't see the other clothes.

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

It's always fun to document what children say they want to be when they grow up. Little Miss has been saying she wants to be a construction worker for the better part of this year. Sometimes, she'll go so far and say she wants to work specifically with bricks. She was very obsessed with bricks. Later, when she got her doctor's kit, she's been wanting to be a doctor. As I posted on Tumblr, as of last month or so, she wants to be a construction worker, doctor, and a hockey player. I'm thinking of leaning her towards sports medicine and at least knock out two of those things.


Regardless, she's been taking her medicine all week and very proud of herself because she's mostly good at taking it despite hating it. So, this morning, she wanted to tell the doctor that she's been taking her medicine. I told her she could when we go to her physical next month. Then, she asked me if the doctor wants to be her.


After a few minutes, I figured it out. If Little Miss wants to be a doctor when she grows up, it's only natural that the doctor would want to be Little Miss.

#2 - And That Ain't Bad

I'm paraphrasing my favorite line from a Jennifer Aniston vehicle.  It was just announced that Arlington is the No. 2 city in America. I'm not sure what the competition or even how the other cities ranked, but it makes me happy. I liked the criteria used - from green space to schools to culture. I know I enjoy living in Arlington and try to take advantage of all this area has to offer.

New TV

Last night's venture into new programming brought me to New Girl.  It was enjoyable.  I know there will be recasting between the first and second episode.  I also think pilots are difficult to use to judge an entire series.  However, it was cute.  I'll give it at least another week.  Anybody else watch?

Weekend Update - Family, Fun and Football

Last Thursday, I went to bowling.  At the same time, Husband had to deal with Little Miss who was having trouble going to the bathroom.  When she peed, she would cry and cry.  It was so traumatic that she ended up falling asleep on the living room floor.  So, I anticipated the worst on Friday morning which is exactly what we got.

On Friday, she woke up and screamed like we were skinning her alive when she went to the bathroom.  I stayed home with her and let her basically watch tv all morning while I worked.  She was quiet and only really was an issue when it was time to go.  She had a mid-afternoon doctor appointment for which Husband came home.  She actually was very good at the doctor's and, after what seemed like forever, even gave a sample.  She was prescribed an antibiotic and we were on our way.  The first dose of the antibiotic went very poorly (though I'm pleased to say that she improved each dosage after to the point where this morning, she came running and took it with no issue at all).  Friday night, we went to Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law's apartment where we met up with In-Laws.  Little Miss played with Nephew.  It was a nice, quiet evening.  It's always fun to see the nephew, too.  If you click the Tumblr link (in a previous post or in the upper right corner), you can see a video of Nephew thoroughly amused by Little Miss.

On Saturday, we all woke up early.  Little Miss wanted to cuddle with Husband on the couch, but she wanted me to hold her while she tried to go to the bathroom.  It was still quite painful through Saturday (though got increasingly better Saturday and back to normal on Sunday).  Husband took her for a surprise in the morning and brought her to the playground.  After, I gave her lunch and drove to my Parents' house where we met Nephew and a friend of the family.  Little Miss played with Nephew.  During playing, she did trip down a stair and her tooth went through her lip which resulted in a fat lip.  After a few minutes of cuddling, she was off and running again and hasn't complained once about it.  She took a nap on the way home and then ate dinner and pretty much went back to sleep.

On Sunday, she got up with Husband while I stayed in bed a little longer.  I developed a bit of a cold and was a little worn down.  She was all excited because Husband's friends were coming over to watch football.  She was ready to impress them all, and she did have fun playing and talking to them all.  That's the price you pay for watching football at our place.  We both took a nap in the afternoon (mine being much longer) and then she did bath, dinner, bedtime after which I watched the Emmys. 

Little Miss is fully healed this morning and ready to start the week.  She was so excited to get back to school and all her friends.  Husband and I are bit sluggish however. 

New Alternative

I get very tired of sandwiches even though I love them.  However, I tried the new Thomas' Bagel Thins.  They're 110 calories and just a little different from plain sandwich bread.  I do not recommend them for PB&J, but they work well with lunch meat and cheese.

Have you recently discovered a product?

Congratulations, Kyle Chandler!

I was already happy when Friday Night Lights won a writing award last night. It was proven that the theme song can make me all misty-eyed just by itself. So, Husband told me that if the writing award was making me happy, I was going to be very happy later on (I was watching on my DVR and about an hour behind). So, when I got to the best actor award, I was still skeptical but then so happy. It's nice to see Kyle Chandler be rewarded for years of failed television shows and decades of work. I was good with Mad Men winning Best Show over Friday Night Lights, but I only wish that Connie Britton could have won with him. It was a nice way to cap the end of the series.


I'll even forgive Kyle Chandler for not thanking me in his speech.

New TV

I don't write about television often though it's probably what I do with the majority of my time (not including work). This season, I decided to give a few new shows a shot. This week, Husband and I both checked out Up All Night and I watched The Secret Circle last night.

I will say that the CW network has a specific demographic. I don't always fall in that category. However, Gale Harold is in it, and I love him. Not in the way I love Coach Taylor but a lot. The show was solid, a good intro. I'll have to see if it can sustain a mystery while growing the characters and expanding the plot or, more importantly, just keep me interested. Seriously, Gale Harold plays such a good bad boy - except it seems like he's just pure bad boy in this and less the heart of gold.

I thought I should add what the shows were about.  The Secret Circle is about a teen whose mother is killed mysteriously by a man outside her house.  So, Cassie goes to live with her grandmother in a small town where she is told she is a witch.  Meanwhile, it looks like the parents of all the witches were all a group, and that's the bigger mystery.  What were the parents into that made all the witchcraft stop and how did each of them lose a parent?

I enjoyed Up All Night. I'm not quite hooked, but I'll give it another week or two. I like everyone in it so that's promising. Also, the parts I liked, I really love. I just have to see if those parts overcome the parts that I didn't like or the show improves over time.

Up All Night is about a set of new parents.  The husband stays home with the baby girl while the wife goes to work on a daytime talk show.  A lot of the baby moments are true to form if not slightly exaggerated, and I found the workplace humor a little over the top.  A lot happens in the first half hour, and I read they retooled it so I'm hoping it finds a good pace. 

Anybody else catch anything new to recommend?

Mark Your Calendars - September 19

September 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Last year, it fell on the weekend which was unfortunate because, every year, I see a man dressed like a pirate. He's usually in Ballston heading towards the Metro. I hope I see him this year and he hasn't moved or lost his sense of fun. It would make for a fun Monday morning.

Tumblr

I have posted the link to the right, but I wanted to take time to mention my other blog. You can click here or click on the link to the right. This is, and always will be, my primary blog full of news and information. However, the other blog is very easy to post to from my iPod so I do quick little soundbites and photos throughout the week. It's not worth visiting daily or even weekly. Also, if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, the other blog automatically posts there as well. Currently, there are a handful of pictures, quotes and videos.

Our post 9/11 Little Miss

Little Miss was born 6 years after 9/11.  Husband put this into perspective by saying Little Miss was born 6 years after 9/11;  we were born 6 years after the moon landing.  The moon landing seemed like forever ago, ancient history.  Little Miss is going to think 9/11 is ancient history.  Insane. 

Obviously, there was a lot of news coverage on 9/11.  Little Miss isn't quite understanding the depth of what was on television, but Husband did his best to simply state what happened.  She looked up at him and told him that it was ok to be sad, but then later impatiently asked when football was going to be on.  Evidently, she did get concerned when she saw the fire.  She didn't like the fire, but overall, she was pretty unaffected still by the images.  All she knew was that there was football on and it was her uncle's birthday.

Weekend Update - Are You Ready for Some Football?

Last weekend was kind of a blur. We went grocery shopping on Friday night (doesn't get any more exciting, right?)


On Saturday, I met book club at Seasons 52 where we had a great time and ate a delicious lunch - and spent 30 seconds giving the book a thumbs up or down. Big moment though because we all actually read the book. Afterwards, I picked up a couple of things at the mall and went home where the rest of the evening was pretty quiet.


On Sunday, we had breakfast and then made chicken avocado egg rolls while Husband made some Asian-inspired ribs. For dinner, I made bulgogi. We usually have lots of food for the beginning of the football season. Also, in the afternoon, Little Miss and I went to the party store for birthday invitations. While we were there, we picked up Little Miss's Halloween costume. It is the cutest thing ever on her. Then, dinner, bath and bedtime routine.

Sunday was also Grandparents Day so Little Miss called her grandparents and wished them a Happy Grandparents Day.  

Books Read in August 2011

1. The Passage by Justin Cronin (NOTE: This is the first book in a trilogy. It does end on a cliffhanger. The second book, The Twelve, is due in 2012.)
2. The Many Sins of Lord Cameron by Jennifer Ashley
3. Only Mine by Susan Mallery (NOTE: This is part of a series. You can find more information on the Fool’s Gold series and order in which to read here.)

Moderate month. Just wait for September though! I got sucked into The Passage after getting past the first couple of hundred pages (it’s a long one). I loved The Many Sins of Lord Cameron and it made me want to reread the series. The last was a cute intro to the next arc of Fool’s Gold books.

Movies Watched in August 2011

1. It’s Kind of a Funny Story
2. The Help
3. Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Good movies this month. I saw It’s Kind of a Funny Story on cable. The other two I saw in the theater. I didn’t think any of them was a waste of time.

Vacation Update - Jersey Shore

On Thursday, we hit a comedy of errors trying to leave Northern Virginia, but we finally got on the road.  We ate breakfast on the road and got to New Jersey by mid-afternoon.  We had time to unpack and get to the beach for an hour or two during which Little Miss did not venture anywhere near the water.  It got pretty chilly so we didn't stay that long.  Turns out the pool was cooler so we were back in the room by dinnertime and went to bed fairly early.

On Friday, we got up and head to the beach after breakfast.  Our first order of business was to get Little Miss in the water.  After a bit of whining, she loved it and jumped waves until her lips turned blue.  We stayed as long as we could before heading back to the room.  Again, the pool was cold so Little Miss didn't spend too long in it.  You know it's cold when the kids won't even go in! 

Little Miss took a nap when we got back to the room and we woke her up an hour later to eat dinner so we could go to the boardwalk.  It was Firework Night so we were on a slight time table.  She rode the rides and loved every minute of it.  Then, she saw the fireworks.  On the way back, we convinced Husband to stop for ice cream.  Then, because it was around midnight, we all went to sleep, but the night was worth staying up late!

On Saturday, we didn't even try the pool.  Because it was our last day, we spent as much time at the beach as possible.  The weather had been great all week, maybe a little breezy with rough water, but it was sunny and warm.  On Sunday, we treated Little Miss to some more rides and then headed home after lunch. 

Weekend Update - Rock You Like a Hurricane

A couple of weeks ago, I posted that an earthquake hit our area.  The following weekend, we were scheduled to meet Hurricane Irene.  Based on the newscasts, the entire East coast was going to be demolished.  We didn't quite believe the hype but better safe than sorry.  So, we went to the grocery store on Thursday and stocked up a few things. 

On Friday, we had an Ice Cream Social at Little Miss's school.  She didn't see any of her friends or teachers, but it was nice to have some ice cream.  We also picked up some flashlights (or rather whatever was left that would work if the power went out).  Slim pickings considering the news treated the hurricane as if it was covering the end of the world.

On Saturday, Little Miss and I met Sister and Nephew at the mall for lunch and to spend some gift money.  We went to the Lego Store and The Disney Store.  Little Miss got 2 t-shirts and got to do some activities at the Disney Store.  Then, the kids played at the play area and we had lunch.  After, we went home.  In case the storm was bad, we fed Little Miss and gave her a bath.  Then, we waited and waited for Irene, but she kind of breezed through the area quickly. 

On Sunday, however, Irene did show her face.  She did knock down some power in the area.  Therefore, even though we had power in our apartment building, our building itself didn't have 100% power.  This affected us because we are on a higher floor and the pumps didn't work to pump water to our apartment.  So, we woke to no water.  By mid-afternoon, we prepared for the worst.  We were glad that we bought some water the week before, but we were conserving and didn't know how long we'd be out.  So, we packed up to go to Parents' house to shower and visit with Sister and Nephew a little.  The kids played while we glorified in running water.  We left and hoped for the best, but no water when we got home.  We microwaved some leftovers for dinner and left the dishes in the sink.  Luckily for us, we had water before we went to sleep.  Unfortunately, in order to restore power for the water pumps to work, they had to shut off all power, but it was short-term.

On Monday, I discovered that Irene knocked out phone lines at work for the entire week.  Inconvenient, but it wasn't the end of the world.  Seeing how the rest of the world fared, we got off pretty light.