What My Birthday (allegedly) Says About Me

Your Birthday Predicts You're Sensitive

Ever since you were born, you've always been able to cooperate. You enjoy supporting and being inspired by others. You appreciate the dynamic of a group. Getting along with others is essential to you. You are both fair and well mannered. You are very intuitive and easily effected by other people. Sometimes you are too delicate.

For kicks, I entered Little Miss's birthday. Her description seems about right.


Ever since you were born, you've always been able to assert yourself.

You are confident in carving your own path. Soon enough, other people will be persuaded and follow along.

You are driven and competitive to the point of being impulsive. You'll do just about anything to win.

It drives you crazy when you have to stay still in life. You are too dynamic to stay stagnant.

What Does Your Birthday Predict About You?

Sexy Friday

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I present to you the first of four Irishmen. All month long, Sexy Friday will feature a man born in Ireland. It was tough to find photos that fit the bill, but I'm content with them. If you have any suggestions, in the meantime, let me know. Perhaps they will be better than the ones chosen.

First up is Stuart Townsend. I really liked him in Trapped and even watched Queen of the Damned for him. Mostly, I suppose he's known for dating Charlize Theron. Still, if he ever tires of the tall, leggy, blonde types, I'm free. Well, not free, but I'm sure I can work something out...

Blah Blah Blah

Little Miss has been repeating certain words to us adding to her list of words (up to this point, Mama, Dada, and Num Num and, most recently, up and down though we also think we hear Night Night and Oh, Yeah). Tonight, Husband said something and ended saying, "blah blah blah". Little Miss looks at him and goes, "aaah aaah aaah" and then starts giggling. So, all night, Husband would just look at her and say, "blah blah blah", and she would mimic him. So, the fun begins as we censor everything we say.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Today is the anniversary of Dr. Seuss's birthday. He was born in the town next to my hometown. That combined with the fact that my mother was a nursery school teacher and Dr. Seuss's biggest fan, I'm very familiar with his work. He has a fascinating life and, whether you are as big a fan as my mother, you can't help but know at least a couple of his characters. My favorite book is The Sneeches and Other Stories. Though I don't have a Sneech, I do have Thing One and Thing Two. As I've been more active blogging than I thought I'd be when I started this, I thought the below is a nice reminder to keep things brief.

Weekend Update - Everybody has a Birthday!

On Friday, after work, we drove to Clydes to celebrate Father-in-Law's birthday. Little Miss was pretty good even if she didn't actually eat anything but crackers. After dinner, we went to Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law's apartment for dessert. We had a nice night with family, and Little Miss enjoyed entertaining everybody. She ran around and around and then just asked to be picked up and fell asleep.

On Saturday, we had a lazy morning and afternoon. Then, we got ready to go to Mom's house for her birthday. Grandma (G.G. to Little Miss) and Papa (G-Pa to Little Miss), Sister and Nephew were also there. Little Miss does love playing with Nephew. He rough houses a little with her, but you can see it makes her stronger. She keeps her balance better around him and tries to mimic everything he does. Little Miss did eat a good dinner, and she coincidentally woke up right before dessert was served. She didn't want cake, but she's not one to ever turn down ice cream. She then stayed up on the ride home and through grocery shopping but had no trouble sleeping after her busy night (with no naps).

On Sunday, Little Miss slept a lot... and ate a lot. She must be gearing up for a growth spurt. A friend and I went to see He's Just Not That Into You this afternoon after a lunch at Chipotle. We liked the movie a lot. It was a good afternoon. I came home to play with Little Miss. She ate a big dinner and dessert and then went to bed. She just woke up a little after 11PM, but she fell asleep right away. She hasn't woke up during the night in awhile, but it happens.

So, good weekend all in all.

First - the stepstool, Next - the stroller, Tomorrow - Mount Everest!

She looks like an angel, doesn't she?

Well, we all know that she learned to climb onto a stepstool. Today, I was sitting on the couch watching tv while Little Miss ran around the room. Next thing I know, I see a little face peering above the love seat. I ran to grab her and put her on the floor and she reenacted her little climbing skill. (Note: She had one sock on all day. We're not sure where it went and never bothered to take the other sock off.)

Here for your amusement:Step 1: She climbs up on the footrest of the stroller.Step 2: She climbs up onto the seat portion.Step 3: She stands on the seat portion and peers over the love seat.

Future in Photography?

Little Miss knows how to turn on my camera and take a photo. We were sitting on the couch and she disappeared behind the love seat. Next thing we know, we see flashes. The above photo is one she took. I think she has a good eye for light and shadow.

Books Read in February 2009

1. Dark of Night by Suzanne Brockmann. (Note: This is part of a series. The order in which to read the Troubleshooters series is found here.)
2. Stud Finders Incorporated by Alexis Fleming. (Note: This is a book in the erotica genre. I will admit that the book is pretty tame considering others in the genre. The title and cover are the steamiest parts of the book. However, the plot was actually cute though the book could have been a little better in my opinion.)
3. A secret book which I promised not to mention though I wanted to keep track of my total. I very much enjoyed it though. If you're very curious, I will tell you privately but not on the blog.

It was a pretty sad month considering I read the first book last month and finished it the first of this month. The others were quick reads. I will be reading the next book club book by the time you read this blog. So far so good (though I'm only on page 3) so expect more on that next month. I also have a package from Barnes & Noble this week so that should increase my book count next month because I'm looking forward to all of them.

Adventures with Nephew

There isn't a day goes by that Nephew doesn't amuse me to no end. I call my mother everyday. Most afternoons, Nephew is there. Some days, he asks to talk to me. Today was not one of those days. However, today was a day when he was on Mom's last nerve. Nephew starts copying her.

Here is how the conversation went:
Mom/Nanny: Stop copying me!
Nephew (in a sing-song tone): Stop copying me!

After a brief time and some more copying:
Mom/Nanny: You're cranky!
Nephew: No, you're cranky!

There may have been more, but I couldn't stop laughing after this part. Maybe you had to be there to hear his laughing tone and my mother's patience rapidly slipping away. Also, to know how the two of them are completely at odds most afternoon is hilarious. I mean, Nephew goes out of his way to aggravate my mom. He's not mean-spirited, but it's like he's bored and there's nothing else to do. It's like how my sister and I mostly got along, but sometimes, it rained or there was nothing to do, and we'd just start to bicker. It's like that.
Yesterday, Nephew talked to me and wanted to know what I was eating. I told him I was eating Pad Thai. He asked what that was, and I told him they were noodles. I asked him what he ate. He answered grapes and o's (Cheerios) and 5 chocolate chip cookies. Then, he went on to tell me that the cat was not a big boy and pooped in one of the bedrooms the day before. This is only partially true. The truth is that he had two bowls of grapes and o's and, though the cat was a bad cat, it wasn't the day before. I just love that you can have a conversation with him.

Then, I asked to speak to Nanny again, and he told me no. After some begging, he still wouldn't hand the phone over. So, I told him that if he didn't hand the phone over, he couldn't play with his cousin this weekend and, next thing I knew, my mom was back on the phone with Nephew going "Little Miss coming this weekend?" We assured him that she would be there.

Last story, yesterday, my mom was responding to an e-mail and Nephew looked up and said, "that's my name!" He can't read, but he can recognize and spell his name. So, he sat at the computer and typed his own name which is better computer skills than my mom!

He's a funny, funny kid (and brilliant)!

Sexy Friday

Oh, Simon Baker, it was only a matter of time before you got your time to shine in the Sexy Friday spotlight. I do apologize for bumping you off last week's spot. Right now, Simon Baker can be seen on CBS in The Mentalist. I loved him in Something New though he's been in many other tv shows and movies.

Presidential Address to Congress

Now, my least favorite thing is when the President interrupts my nightly television. I don't care what President, what political party. Don't enough people have cable to watch on CNN or MSNBC or Fox or all three? I need my network tv during the week. I don't want a night of relaxation ruined by listening to a bunch of blow hards stand and clap or not stand and clap. Still, someone in the apartment was happy to see this tonight.Little Miss didn't stand that close to the television the entire time, but she does stand and pay attention which is more than I can say for our regular tv viewing.Plus, whenever Congress stands and applauds, she stops what she is doing and applauds as well. I wonder if this means she'll be a member of Congress. Oh, I hope she's destined for something greater.

A New Trick!

Starting last week or so, Little Miss has been trying new ways of getting in trouble, er, exploring her skills set. Because I'm short, of course, I have a step stool. Little Miss has used it to stand. Lately, she's been crawling up and sitting on it. Today, she took it another step.

Little Miss starts by crawling up.

Then, she gets up on her knees. (NOTE: I actually couldn't take a photo in time, but she did have to do this step twice. The first time, she fell backwards. She was stunned to be on the floor. It was really cute, but she picked herself up and started again.)

The final stage! She stood up on the step stool! Of course, once standing, she couldn't figure out how to get down so she whined until I helped her. We're trying to teach her that to go down the step stool and stairs, she just has to sit on her bottom and slide, but it's not working. Why would it work if she knows that whining until someone helps her works just as well!

Weekend Update - It's Oscar Time!

Sorry for the late Weekend Update.

Let's see... on Friday night, I went from a hectic work week to visit Sister-in-Law. We went to see Slumdog Millionaire. I loved it. I really did. I know how it seemed to hijack the awards on Sunday, but because it was the only movie I saw, I didn't care. We had a good dinner of Chinese food, saw the movie, and then I went home.

Over the weekend, Husband had an overnight guest and a weekend-long bachelor party for a friend. So, when I got home on Friday night, I made up the air mattress and set everything up (put sheets and blankets on the "bed" and set out towels). The boys had a poker night on Friday.

On Saturday, I slept as long as I could and made a nice breakfast for myself. I surfed the Internet. Then, I got a manicure/pedicure. It was great. I should mention here that Little Miss stayed with the grandparents all weekend and was completely spoiled. It's going to take all week to de-program her. The In-Laws and Little Miss came over on Saturday to meet Husband's Friend. She flirted heavily. Then, Sister-in-Law came to pick me up so we could go to Chipotle and to the mall. I ate like a pig and then bought jewelry and shoes for the wedding next month. I previously bought a dress on clearance. We went back to my place to watch Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway. It was, as always, fantastic. We popped popcorn and watched the movie in preparation to seeing the tour in the Spring.

On Sunday, we both slept and then woke up to see Husband's Friend off. Then, we fought with the ever-dying and annoying television. I watched the Independent Spirit Awards in the afternoon, made dinner and prepared to watch the 81st Annual Academy Awards. Each year, Husband, Mother, and I have a pool to see who can choose the most winners. Most years, Husband wins though I won a couple in there. This year, we let Little Miss have a ballot as well. We lined up Cheerios for her to eat. If she ate the furthest Cheerio, it would be a vote for the first nominee. The second Cheerio would correspond to the second nominee listed and so on and so forth. She did fairly well actually. I may try that tactic next year.

So, that was our busy yet not busy weekend. We're onto a crazy work week. Next weekend is Father-in-Law's birthday dinner and Mother's birthday dinner. So, hopefully, I'll get some photos to post.

Oscar Menu

The actors going to The 81st Annual Academy Awards will dine on lobster and caviar, but we will not. However, tonight's menu is one of our favorite meals and often a quick and easy pantry meal for us. Our grocery store has 2lb. bags of frozen shrimp on sale all the time so we always have shrimp in the freezer. I thought I'd share the recipe from Everyday Food.

Shrimp, Tomato, and Basil Pasta.

Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails removed)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
6 teaspoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
½ pound linguine
1 ½ cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces, plus extra leaves for garnish (optional)

1. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 4 teaspoons oil over high. Add shrimp; cook until opaque throughout, turning occasionally, 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; set aside.

2. Make sauce: To the same skillet, add remaining 2 teaspoons oil and garlic; cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add canned tomatoes and their juice, along with 2 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes have softened and are saucy, about 15 minutes. Remove sauce from heat; stir in cherry tomatoes.

3. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain; return pasta to pot. Add tomato sauce, shrimp, and basil; season with salt and pepper, and toss. Serve immediately, garnished with basil leaves, if desired.

Per serving: 483 calories; 10.8 grams fat; 44 grams protein; 52.2 grams carbohydrates; 2.9 grams fiber

NOTE: I almost always double the recipe so we can have it two nights. I make 2 lb. of shrimp and season with garlic salt and pepper instead of regular salt. I also don't add the cherry tomatoes anymore. They're good, but it makes it extra chunky. It does stretch the recipe if you add them though. For a second meal, you can store the leftovers and then add a little water as needed and simmer for leftovers. I don't always add the basil either. Sometimes, I'll put a dash of dried basil or oregano for some extra taste. It's definitely something with which you can experiment.

Sexy Friday

Just for Sanna, Hugh Jackman is the subject of today's Sexy Friday. He is this Sunday's host of the 81st Annual Academy Awards. I bumped another perfectly good candidate for Sexy Friday for this Australian and, though there was a bathtub photo of Hugh Jackman to continue with my unintentional theme of the past two weeks, I chose this one. Enjoy!

The Great Cookie Caper - The Sequel

The above photo is Little Miss's ideal cookie.

My mom made heart-shaped M&M sugar cookies. Little Miss took a liking to them. I mean, what's not to like? So, my mom packed us up a couple to take home. Tonight, because she finished her entire dinner, we took out the last M&M cookie. She ate some pieces of plain cookie. Then, I gave her a piece with M&M. At that point, she would no longer eat plain cookie. She would scrape off every little bit of cookie and then eat the M&M. At the last bite, she could taste a bit of cookie with her M&M. She put her hand in her mouth, took out the itty, bitty crumb and handed it to me. At that point, she was given no more cookie. Again, Husband just laughed until he turned purple.

The Great Cookie Caper

Tonight, Little Miss was being cranky and wouldn't eat dinner. This is not unusual. It is also important to know that it's Girl Scout cookie time, and I received my 3 boxes today. One particular box was opened as I couldn't wait to try it. She manages to grab the box, get the cookies out of the box and take one. At that point, I get up to grab her and the cookie. She didn't eat dinner; she didn't need a cookie. She then drops the box, clutches the cookie harder and takes off to the front door at top speed. Finding the front door shut, she continues to race around with me close at her heels. At various points, she tries to shove the cookie in her mouth with little success. At the end of the journey, she ends up right where she started and she throws the cookie onto the floor to break it into tiny bite-size pieces. Meanwhile, Husband is purple with laughter on the couch. There is some debate in the house whether she deserved a cookie after being so smart to find it, elude authority and figure out how to get a big cookie into her mouth. I say no. I am not rewarding cookie theft.

The above photo is staged with the cookie box (though empty of actual cookies to the great disappointment of Little Miss).

Weekend Update 2 - More Stories about the Kids

Husband wanted me to add two more stories about Nephew from last weekend.

First, Nephew has become more spontaneous in declaring his love. He's always said he loves people when prompted, but now he'll say it whenever he wants. So, he crawled up into Husband's lap and said, "Uncle, I love you." This, of course, melted Husband into a pile of mush. I've yet to be the recipient of his declaration of love, but then again his uncle is one of his favorite people. I'm much further down the list.

Second, Nephew, Sister, and I were having a conversation on the chairlift that resulted in the following conversation:

Sister (to Nephew): Do you want a brother or sister one day?
Nephew: A sister.
Sister (to Nephew): Really?
Nephew: I want (Little Miss) to be my sister.

It was too cute. The kids are really adorable together. I know it seems he's really rough with her, but he's just enthusiastic when hugging her. I think it's great that it doesn't scare her. She just kind of braces herself. As they both get older, she really looks up to him a lot, too.

As for a Little Miss story, she had her 15-month Well Baby visit last Friday as well. She was super cranky the entire afternoon, but she slept as soon as we got home which helped. She was healthy and growing at the same rate she always has been. The doctor said we'll see a big leap in her speech this year. She already babbles a lot and is SO CLOSE to saying real words. Right now, we're just guessing at what she's saying, but it'll be great to have a conversation with her.

Weekend Update - (Finally) A Winter Wonderland!

It was a long weekend which was a long time coming! On Friday, I saw Avenue Q. I loved it. I had been waiting a long time to see the play and was so excited when it came to town again.

Then, on Saturday, we drove to Maryland to my parents' vacation house. We saw flurries as soon as we left Virginia, and the snow just got heavier and heavier as we headed west. The kids played in the snow a little. Little Miss only had a brief nap in the car so she was a little cranky, but I think she was a little fascinated with the snow, too.

On Sunday, Mom, Brother-in-Law, Sister, Nephew and I went skiing/snowboarding. Husband stayed inside with Little Miss. It was fun especially watching Nephew ski. He took to skiing very quickly. At one point, I told him I'd race him. The next run, he shouted, "Auntie April, stop!" so I came to a quick stop to see him ski right by me. While he passed me, I heard him say "I won!" Stinker.

This morning, we went swimming before heading home. Nephew loves the pool. Little Miss was ok with me, but she wasn't really loving the pool. I think she would have rather a morning nap. We were hoping to keep her awake so she'd sleep on the way home which she did.

Nephew and Little Miss really get along well. When Little Miss was cranky at dinner, he offered her his ice cream to cheer her up. When Nephew got in trouble for rough housing a little too hard, she went over to him and kissed his leg. This morning, while I was getting ready, Nephew watched Little Miss to keep her out of mischief and away from the stairs.

Below is a video of the kids sledding:

And it's time to start another week...

Sexy Friday

Now, I'm not the biggest Johnny Depp fan, but he does have his appeal. I loved him in Finding Neverland and absolutely adored him in Chocolat. I mean, it's Johnny Depp playing the guitar, having a role where he's super nice and charming and there's chocolate. Anyway, this wasn't the sexiest photo I could find, but I liked it. Plus, you can't see it, but I'm on the other side of the tub just out of view. You know how make up runs in the bath. I was way too embarrassed to show my face with eyeliner running down my cheeks.

No Mr. Darcy for Me

I'm always a sucker for online quizzes even if I think they're a load of hooey. I actually like the results to this one though I believe I've taken this quiz a couple of times and, each time, received a different result. I'm copying Sanna.

This result says: You are Anne Elliot of Persuasion! Let's face it; you're easily persuaded, particularly when friends and relatives try to use "the Elliot way" against you. But this doesn't mean that you don't have conviction. Actually, your sense of duty is overwhelming. And though you won't stick your neck out too often, you have learned to speak up when it counts. To boot, you know how to handle sticky situations. You love deeply and constantly.

Take the Quiz here!

My friends are still talented!

I've mentioned before that Sanna is totally talented, and she has a lot of contests. Continuing in my theory that you can't lose if you don't play, here is my entry. Who doesn't want chocolate and a mug of something yummy for two on Valentine's Day? Good luck!

Time to Retire?

I read this morning a segment that suggested ten celebrities need to retire. We've seen their best, they've peaked, they need to go. This is inspired by Joaquin Phoenix's decision to retire. I don't know if I agree with the list, but what do you think? Who do you think should retire?

The list is as follows: 1. Tom Cruise , 2. Al Pacino , 3. Will Smith , 4. Mickey Rourke , 5. Russell Crowe , 6. Kate Winslet , 7. Steve Martin , 8. Jennifer Aniston , 9. Sean Astin , 10. Miley Cyrus

Anyone you think is underrated as an actor, that should have been a superstar? I was thinking this about Liam Neeson. He's always a solid actor and pops up every now and then and a leading man. There are plenty of underrated actors who are character actors or non-leading men.

The Very Quiet Cricket

As I've mentioned before, Little Miss's favorite book is The Very Quiet Cricket. This photo is the fourth time she asked for the book to be read to her tonight. She will sit through the entire book being read most nights. A lot of the time, she'll go to the little drawer where we keep the book, pull it out and bring it to us. She'll hit the book and yell if we don't stop what we're doing and read it. Tonight, Husband's hand was blocking a picture and she moved it so she could see the little cricket underneath. Leave it to my kid to like a book about a bug.

Weekend Update - The Temperature is Rising

On Friday, I cleaned the bathrooms and tidied up a little. We had a bit of cleaning to do before the In-Laws came over on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Internet kidnapped me and I wasn't able to do much cleaning.

On Saturday, we finished cleaning and went grocery shopping. Husband cooked a huge meal of meat sauce with meatballs and sausage, cavatelli and raviolis, chicken cutlets and sour cream coffee cake. I did a cheese and cracker platter and baked chocolate chip cookies. We had a nice meal and hung out.

On Sunday, we slept late. Little Miss slept until 11:30AM. Around 1PM, Sister and Nephew came over. We went to the park and ran around. (Note: I'm kind of weirded out by the fact I'm not wearing any make up at all in the photo - rare day without even moisturizer or lip gloss, nothing!) Little Miss loved being on the slide and playing with a ball she stole from someone else. After a little while, we headed back home and went to the pool. Unfortunately, the pool was freezing so only Nephew and Husband went in. Little Miss walked around the entire pool three times or so to amuse herself. Sister and Nephew stayed for dinner and now we're just hanging out and hoping Little Miss goes to sleep soon. She hasn't napped all day and is exhausted (and so am I!). So, as soon as she goes to sleep, I'll be right behind her.

Sexy Friday

Sorry for the delay in Sexy Friday. Last week, it was actually going to be Christian Bale, but I thought, in light of recent events, I would choose a different sexy star. So, today's Sexy Friday belongs to David Boreanaz of Bones. Enjoy!

Staring Contest

Tonight, Little Miss was getting into mischief of one kind... and another. Husband spoke firmly with her and stared her down. Little Miss stood her ground and stared right back with her hands on her hips. This is the part where I have to admit that, unfortunately, Husband lost the staring contest and started to laugh. Little Miss went on her way as victor continuing to make her mischief.

Not Fade Away

Today was the day the music died, the day that the plane went down carrying, along with the pilot, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson. I, obviously, wasn't alive yet, but I'm familiar with their music. So, I thought I'd do my part to keep the legacy alive.

Is That Your Final Answer?

Last night, Husband and I were watching Chuck. He enjoys the show more than I do, but I'll watch. I think it's gotten better this season. At one point in the show, Yvonne Strahovski, who plays Sarah, is in this little nightie thing, and Husband remarks that she's "the most beautiful woman in the world." IN. THE. WORLD.

See below:She's been shown in less on the show, but the Wienerlicious outfit is one of his favorites. She no longer wears it much to many men's disappointment. Anyway, at his statement, I turned quickly around in my seat and said, "In the world?" He's about to say yes when he realizes he's looking at his wife, the love of his life and then backtracks, "Well, of course, you know, after you..."

Don't get me wrong, she is a really beautiful woman, but seriously, how dumb you gotta be to forget you're talking to your wife who just wants to hear lies about how beautiful she is? I mean, in his case, it's not a lie, of course.

Weekend Update - Superbowl Sunday

Yesterday, it was a slow day. Little Miss woke up. I fed her breakfast and we watched a little television. At 10:30AM, we took a 3-hour nap. We woke up, had lunch, and lounged around. Husband fixed us a nice dinner for Superbowl Sunday, a surf and turf meal. We watched the game. I may have read a book during the game and then peeked at some of the commercials. Then, Little Miss went to bed. We watched a little more tv and followed shortly after. Lazy Sunday... my favorite.

Books Read in January 2009

1. Kiss of the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Note: This is book 7 of a series. The order in which to read the Dark Hunter series is found here.)
2. Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Note: This is book 8 of a series. The order in which to read the Dark Hunter series is found here.)
3. Seize the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon. (Note: This is book 10 of a series. The order in which to read the Dark Hunter series is found here.)
4. The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon

I had a long break between Sherrilyn Kenyon books. I've been borrowing them from a friend. I really like them, but I was waiting for the new shipment. In the meantime, I lost momentum in the series. I read these two books back-to-back and found I really missed the old Dark Hunters. I still have a a couple left in my pile. I hope to get to them soon. The third book was for book club. I finished it. I can't say I loved it, but it has stuck in my mind which is more than I can say for some other books. Something happened today that made me think of it. Either way, it's always good to read something I normally wouldn't and even better to have an excuse to have lunch with friends and talk books.

Weekend Update - First Haircut

Last night, we did nothing. We had dinner and then we watched a little television and hung out. Well, yesterday, we did have a little excitement. Little Miss has had a fever all week between 100-103 degrees. We had a doctor appointment on Friday. Of course, on Friday, she had no fever. Either way, I brought her to the doctor. The consensus going in was that she had an ear infection. However, the doctor dismissed that and any other diagnosis others made. She did say that Little Miss's throat was a little red so she took a throat culture. She woke on Saturday with no fever once again so we're hoping it was just a virus.

With Little Miss feeling well, we kept our Saturday plans. First things first, on Saturday, Little Miss slept until 10:30! Husband wanted to go in and check, but my rule is to never wake a sleeping baby. Ever. She woke up on her own shortly after our discussion. We went to Cartoon Cuts and met Sister, Brother-in-Law, and Nephew. Little Miss was still a little sleepy. She sat in the chair by herself until she saw the camera. Once she tried to get the camera, she wouldn't sit still so she had her haircut on Husband's lap.

Her haircut went well. It's a bit shorter than I imagined, but it'll grow out. This time, when it grows, it should be close to one length rather than the odd growth that was her hair before. We got a certificate and a little baggy of her hair to commemorate the big day.


After the haircut, we had lunch at the food court. Then, the kids played up in the Food Court's Germ Pit (that play area for kids). She had fun and loved the slide. After that, we rewarded the kids with some ice cream. Little Miss loves coffee ice cream. I shared a Sweet Cream with chocolate chips with Nephew.

We then went grocery shopping. Little Miss took a nap as soon as we got home. She woke up cranky and then went back to sleep with me. We took a long nap which we both needed.

She still doesn't seem herself today. There's no fever, but she's been super cranky which isn't like her at all. She's been picky about her food and not drinking so much. So, we'll keep watching her and see what happens. She just might be embracing her inner Princess... a princess not happy with her staff.

There's a special place in Heaven for those who cut children's hair. It can't be easy holding scissors and cutting hair on a moving object! I can barely bathe her without incident. Below is a video of her haircut:

Tales from South Park

We were watching a bunch of episodes of South Park this evening. I missed the last couple of seasons, but I forgot how much fun the show can be.

First, we watched an episode where Wendy beat up Cartman. Husband totally thinks this will be Little Miss when she is in fourth grade. She has a bad temper that gets worse everyday and definitely has a part of her that wants to teach the world a lesson or at least follow her leadership. Warning: graphic violence.



Then, I happened to be on Facebook and there's an application where you can make your own character. I believe you can do this on the website, too, but I never had as much luck with my character.

Anyway, if I lived in South Park, I'd look like this:

Baby, One More Time...

Every child likes to hear a book or watch a movie/tv show over and over and over and over. It was only a matter of time before our child developed a favorite anything. She does like Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain before bed. The rhythm of the text relaxes her. However, there is only one book she asks to hear over and over and over and over. That book is The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle. Today, we read it four times. And I hate bugs!

Sexy Friday

You all had great suggestions last week. Some will probably show up eventually. For now, Sexy Friday belongs to George Eads Despite the fact that he shares a name with my grandfather, he is still hot with his little dimples. I liked him before he was on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and I'm sure I'll like him long after.

Waiter, There's a Fly in my Pasta!

After reading about Shoshana's unfortunate dealings with a customer service rep, I thought I'd say something nice. One week ago, I was making linguine and, while I was boiling the pasta, I saw these little black things bubble up in the water. At first, I thought it was part of the spoon. We run everything through the dishwasher so sometimes the utensils aren't in the best of shape. So, I scoop up one of the specs with my ladle and put it on a lid. I ask Husband to come in and ask him if it's a bug. I don't actually think it's a bug, but it's my standard question when I find anything - a speck of dust, leftover food crusted to the stove after I'm done cooking, anything. The only difference is that this time he says yes. So, I freak out. While I'm freaking out, he discovers that we have an extra box of linguine. He empties the pot and throws away the pasta, washes the pot and fills it up with water again. Meanwhile, I'm going through every strand of pasta in the new pot.

Rationally, I understand that this is a possibility. It still creeps me out. While the pasta was cooking, I e-mailed the company on the e-mail provided on the box. I'm expecting some form letter, but within hours, I received an e-mail from De Cecco asking for the code on the box and in what country I live. Luckily, I didn't throw the box away yet so I responded with the information. The next business day, I get another e-mail outlining the shipment and storage policy they have in place and an explanation on what the code on the box means. Then, they ask me for my address and phone number to send me a token of appreciation. I figure it means another box of pasta which is fine by me.

Meanwhile, I go grocery shopping again. I needed the manager's help to reach something. So, while he was helping me, I mentioned to him that I bought some pasta there the previous week and, when I cooked it, there were insects in it. I just thought he should know just in case more people say anything, but I've already mentioned it to the manufacturer. He gives me a free box of pasta, too. I happened to have one in my cart. Plus, he directed me to a new line at the check out.

Obviously, having anything in your pasta other than pasta is bad, but it's nice to know everything got resolved really well. I know the squeaky wheel gets the grease, but it's nice to know the mildly irritating wheel gets a little attention, too.