Does Not Play Well With Others

Katie is having a hard time with kids taking toys she is either playing with or is interested in playing with.

Even when we are alone at our house, she'll hold on to a toy so that, her words, "No one will take it."

We were at playgroup today and she had three screaming fits because someone decided to play with a toy that she had put on the ground.

How do you explain to a 2.5 year old that if something is laying on the ground, it's fair game?  If it's not in your hand, then you are not playing with it?

Sigh.

When I say screaming, I mean it was like an "I've just seen Freddy Kruger" type of scream.  The scream is then followed by crying.

I guess this is all part and parcel of learning how to share.

I just wish that she could figure out if someone takes the toy on the floor next to her that there are, like, a million other toys right near by to play with.

I've had a rough day.  I guess Katie has too.  We needed a break.

Thank you, Mr. Nap for saving my sanity!

Happy Groundhog Day

"Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

On Gobbler's Knob this glorious Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2009,

Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators,

Awoke to the call of President Bill Cooper

And greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths.

After casting a joyful eye towards thousands of his faithful followers,

Phil proclaimed that his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers were World Champions one more time!

And a bright sky above me,

Showed my shadow beside me.

So, six more weeks of winter it will be."

Huzzzahhh!

Good on ya, Phil.

As Phil was busy making his predictions, Katie and I were busy visiting her allergist.  They then sent us to the local Children's Hospital for a blood draw.  Ugh.

Katie did really good.  She only cried when the needle went in and not even enough for tears. The nurse and I kept her distracted with talk of stickers.  It was over in a minute and then she got a nice pink wrap on her arm.  They use this wrap stuff now instead of tape so your skin doesn't rip off.  It's pretty nice.

Anyways, she told me that she cried because the needle was "owweee".  So, I told her that's why I hugged her the whole time so that I could make her feel better.  Then she says, "No, Mommy.  The pink band-aid made me feel better."

Oh well.  All I can do is try.

On another note, today is 13 years.  Yep.  13 years of marriage today.  I will not even get into how long we have actually been together, like the year that we actually started to date.  It will scare you too much.

Not much planned for today.  We did have a nice dinner this weekend at Cheesecake Factory and then a uber-yummy Huzbend-made Chicken Pot Pie yesterday.  

Ladies, there ain't nothin' better than a man that can cook AND has a bod' that looks drool-worthy in superhero-tight cycling clothes.  

NOTHIN'.

Creativity

I never in a million years thought that a two and a half year old could be so.....imaginative.  I just didn't think they were capable.   Under developed brains or something. 

I didn't think toddlers were capable of empathy either, but Katie's proved me wrong on that one too.

I really gotta stop underestimating her.  I'm gonna get myself into trouble being so complacent. 

She's finally figured out that she can use her little stool to reach things that are up on the counters.  In just a little while now she'll begin pushing the chair over to reach higher heights.  Something that I NEVER did as a toddler.  Sigh.  Maybe it's genetic?

Anyways, I should take some of Katie's creative ideas and write myself a nice little children's book.  Really.  I should.  I could make, uh, hundreds at least.

Yesterday, she came up with this.

The moon is the Mommy.  The star is the baby.  The Mommy Moon is back-floating in the sky.  She swims by the Baby Star.  The Mommy Moon thinks the sky is a big pool.

The other day, she came up with this story about our family.

Daddy has three bikes (he does).  Mommy has her red bike.  I will get my special own bike.  I will make it pink.  Mommy, Daddy and Katie will ride our bikes as a family.  To the amusement park.  We will eat ice cream, hot dogs and cookies.  And cotton candy.  We will ride the merry-go-round.

And yesterday, she began to put together the birds and the bees.

Girls are Mommies.  Boys are Daddies.  Mommies and Daddies make families.  Mommies and Daddies make Katies.

  

Just a short one....

Two things.

1)  Katie was singing a song today and came to a part where she couldn't remember the words.  So, she substituted these words to the tune of the song, "And IIIIIIIIIII donnnnnnnn't knoooooowww the woooooorrrrdddsss to 'disssssssss."

Awesomeness.

2) There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, more cool than making your toddler laugh so hard that she doubles over, falls on the floor and her laughing becomes so high-pitched that you think the next door neighbors dog is the only one that can hear it.

Awesomeness times two.

Yes, I'm Bragging

Katie attends co-op preschool two days a week now.  One day, I stay and "work" (as if you could call it that.  I just play with eighteen two year olds for two hours) and the other day I drop her off.

Katie has good days and okay days.  Sometimes, when I'm "working" she won't leave my side. Other days when I drop her off, it's like she could care less that I'm leaving.

Each of the kids in class seems to have their own good days and bad days.

It happens that one of Katie's good pals is having a hard time right now saying "Bye-Bye" to his Mommy. 

Today, the kids were out on the playground.  So, this particular Mommy and I were inside learning stuff about parenting (part of a requirement at the co-op).

One of the teachers stuck her head in and told us that Katie was outside holding her pals hand, hugging him, kissing him and telling him over and over, "Don't worry.  Mommies ALWAYS come back."

I don't think anything could've made me feel more proud.

I guess we must be doing something right with our parenting.

Yay, us!

 

So, there was no news footage of Katie.  

Oh well.

At least the balloons are still kicking around.

Ba-ooooons!!!

Huzbend had seen on the news this morning that Mickey and Minnie were hanging out in Seattle today handing out balloons and registering people for a sweepstakes.

Oh, man.  We couldn't pass that up.  Off we went.

As soon as we got out of the car, the Disney people handed me five Mickey Mouse-head balloons.  The balloon dude actually asked us if we wanted the whole bunch!  I could just imagine handing them to Katie and watching her float away like the scene in Curious George.

The next thing you know, Mickey and Minnie came outta nowhere.  I mean, like, they must have appeared out of thin air right behind us.  You know, Disney magic and all that jazz.

I had brought my camera, but I was trying to juggle five balloons, my purse, a backpack and a very excited Katie who was holding on to my hand.

Mickey and Minnie bum-rushed us.  They loaded Katie up with hugs and kisses and then vanished as quickly as they appeared.

Sigh.  No pictures.

So, we went back to the booth to try to find them again, but alas they were disappearing for the day.  I guess we were lucky to see them at all.

As we were leaving the area, one of the local news guys showed up and did a little interview with Katie and shot some footage of her oooooing and ahhhhhing at all the balloons and pictures of Mickey.  They said that they might use it later on today.  We'll see.  I'm taping all the news broadcasts just in case.

When we got home, Katie played with the balloons for about two hours straight.

It was awesome.

I feel sick.  My stomach cringes in shock and dismay.  

I watch, disgusted.  

My God.  What have they done?  

Why have they done this....this awful thing?

WHY?!?!?! 

It's a travesty.

Sometimes books just need to stay books.  

Sigh.

On a much lighter note, here is the most awesome Katie sentence of the week:

"Mommy, can you change my diaper 'cause I can't sit down 'cause I dumped a load in my pants."

Hil-freaking-larious!

Playing God

I started playing a new video game called Spore.

Here's a little blurb from the instruction manual: "Spore is your own personal universe.  In this universe, you can create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, and even sculpt entire worlds."

And so, there it is.  Your "guy" starts off as a little cell in a tidal pool and gradually you evolve him into a spacefaring race of creatures.

This video game made me THINK.

What did I think about?  Intelligent design.

It's basically what I am doing in this video game.  I'm playing God.  

My little creature gets his ass kicked by a neighbor and so I decide that I need to give him bigger claws so he can go back and get some bloody revenge.  I upgrade him.  I evolve him.

Completely ignoring the whole Adam and Eve thing, I had always thought, "Sure.  I guess it could be possible for God to have created life at its most basic structure.  Then it just evolved on it's own."

But, now that I am in control of evolving my own little creature and realizing how time consuming it is to evolve him all the time, I'm thinking to myself, "Why waste the time?"

Say I'm this all-knowing, all-seeing being.  I'm infinite and all that jazz.  Why would I waste the time building an inferior creature?  Why wouldn't I just make the bestest, most awesome thing I could right off the bat?  Why wait millions of years for a finished product when I could have one instantaneously?

Which leads me to another question, why create life at all?  What's the point?  I guess it could be some sort of entertainment.  Are our lives just a large version of a 'Chose Your Own Adventure' book for God?  

Here's another one.  This one might explain the reason for waiting millions of years for us.  Maybe we're just food.  Like, it took all this time to cultivate us to be the perfect meal for some other 'chosen' species.  They're actually the perfect beings and they're gonna swoop down and make us all into cheese burgers.

Deep thoughts, eh?  Brought on by a video game.

I've got videos for you.......

Enjoy!

December Snow Moments

Snippets of Xmas 2008

WoW

So, you've probably noticed that there hasn't been much action on this here blog.

You would be right.

There are a two reasons for this.

Numero Uno:  Huzbend was home on vacation for two weeks.  Believe it or not, I still enjoy his company.  You would think that after a million years I would be bored by his presence and yet, I am not.  

Numero Dos:  WoW.

To the non-D&D nerd that means World of Warcraft.  

Yes.  

You thought I was a nerd before, well now I have achieved the next level of nerd-dom.

Huzbend got me a WoW trial for Xmas and I have been playing during pretty much every spare Katie-free moment.

I know I mentioned hanging out with Huzbend...but hey, he got videogames for x-mas too.  I don't wanna sit around and watch him have all the fun.

Speaking of which, I could be playing right now.  I've got some boar intestines to round up for some innkeeper.  They're paying me good money, you know.  Then I think I gotta smash me up some Troggs.  All in a days work for a kick-ass dwarven warrior queen.

Later.