Slow

Snow days are slooooooowwww days
It feels like Avery and I have been glued at the hip for days. She's sleeping with us (me*), she's constantly asking me to play with her, she's on me like white on rice. She's even started to ask me to watch TV with her when I use that as my escape route for a few moments.

Needless to say, I'm very ready for school to resume. Hopefully it's tomorrow. The snow up here is melting fast, but there's a relatively large amount of it.

*D has been heading for the guest room lately so he can get some much needed sleep. The blog update regarding this regression of to coming into our bed will have to wait for another post.

Tired
I'm having a bit of a hiccup in my energy levels. Truth be told, that's putting it a bit mildly. I'm sleeping a lot right now. I've also been having almost daily headaches for several months now. I'd attributed the November & December headaches to anxiety from the holidays and overindulgence in sweets. However, even with a change to a much healthier diet in January, it's more rare to have a day without a headache than one with one. And my stomach is no picnic either. Either I'm accidentally ingesting gluten often (unlikely), or something else is the culprit along with gluten.

Truthfully I know I should do the elimination diet again. And were I to start it right now, I know within a few days I'd be fine and not missing much of my old food. However, it's just so.much.work for me. I just don't feel like doing it again. It's illogical to not do it now since D is doing it right now, but I can't seem to force myself to do it.

New genre: historical fiction
I've found a new genre of book that I like! And it's not all gory and depressing like my survival stories tend to be! It took me quite a while, but I finally got through The Sunne in Splendour, a historical novel about Richard III. After I finished the book, I did some research and discovered the author was true to history when presenting timelines and characters and locations. Of course, no one could know what personalities all these people from the 15th century, so clearly those conversations and elements of the story are left to the author. I would have no interest in the book if it took liberties with historical fact, but the author chose to present all facts and then her interpretation of the known facts. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. So I'm reading another of her books, Here Be Dragons. It's the first in a trilogy about 13th century Welsh princes.

Updates

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Minor Updates
It seems I've fallen to a weekly blogging schedule.  Let's see, what's happened?

• Mom left yesterday.  
• Avery started school on Tuesday and is loving it.  
• I'm getting started on projects around the house after my hiatus while Mom was visiting.  Right now I'm working on getting all the data from my old computer transferred to my new one.  I've been patiently waiting to get this done until Avery started school.  
• We're dog sitting Princess Beans.  I'm not quite comfortable with super small dogs. They just seem like they're going to break.  I also tend to think they won't obey the same way a big dog will.  Like when I call her, I think, "Well, she's not going to come.  She's a small dog."  Fortunately, she's not annoying at all.  She is jumpy when you first meet her or when people first come in, but it takes her no time to settle down and she's not a yippee or jumpy dog at all.  That's nice.  She's also not a barker.  So, I think this will be an easy little dog sitting stint.  

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Realization
I have a little theory going about myself: that I like to make "rules" for myself just so I can get a thrill out of breaking them.  For example, my attempt to start working out after I dropped Avery off at summer camp in July and August.  I did it for the first few days, then I just started to skip it. The first time I skipped, I had a thrilling morning for myself.  I think I just sat around that morning and watched TV or did something else useless.  I do remember how thrilled I was.

I seem to do this a lot, that is, set a goal for myself only to quit early and be thrilled about it. It's like my own little drug.

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No crash ... could I be - dare I say it? - just happy?
It seems pertinent to blog that I've not (yet?) crashed.  I'm doing just dandy.  I'm still as fidgety as ever, and I had to wear my night guard to prevent clenching for about a week, but no crash.  So maybe this is a state to stay with me for a while.  That would be so nice because I'm very, very happy with things right now. I have also had a few off days, but they're very much in the scope of normal off days that we all have.  Not an off day that leads to another and then another and then just becomes the norm.

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Avery's new school
Avery, so far, seems to love her new school.  There is considerably more chaos in dropping off and picking up than there was for summer camp, but we're getting the swing of things.   I'm dropping all three kids off everyday and picking up 4 days/week.  RHG picks up on the 5th day.

Pockets

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Still Obsessed with the Silhouette

It's 11:37 pm.  I am playing with my Silhouette.  I'm making very necessary pockets to hold Avery's earned tickets.  Of course, I also made Avery new tickets with ladybugs and bees and fairies and butterflies.  And I laminated them.  I'm a little obsessed with the new toy.  I even volunteered to make RHG a chart and some tokens for Elise.  See, here Elise is standing next to it.

Right now, I'm cutting the pockets after spending a bit of time getting the design right.  Here's my pattern:

The numbers are mirrored because the flaps fold inward. The screen grab above doesn't show it, but the three lines where the card is to be folded are not actually solid cuts, but rather perforations making folding easier.  Nice. However, I messed up when I did the numbers and made them perforations as well, so I had to use a box cutter (couldn't find an exacto knife) to cut out the numbers by hand.  I would have just done another sheet on the Silhouette, but I only had one of the sheets I wanted to use for the pockets. I'm too lazy to use my camera, but here's a picture using Photobooth on the iMac.  It's obviously a mirror image since it's all backwards, but you get the gist.

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All things non-Silhouette related

• Avery came down with a weird little virus of some sort on Sunday evening.  On Monday, she ended up with a fever of 103.2.  I called the doctor to make sure I was doing the right things, confirmed that she shouldn't go to school on Tuesday, and spent Monday and Tuesday with a total trooper of a sick girl. 
• Today, Avery apparently made quick friends with a new girl who will be attending her school and will be in her class.  
• I couldn't help but donate to My Charity: Water after reading this story of a 9-year-old girl who asked friends and family to make donations instead of getting her presents for her birthday on June 12th.  She set a goal of $300, but fell short at $220.  She died last week in a car accident in Bellevue, WA. Her family put the site back up, her pastor talked about it at church, and some news stories were done on it.  Now her project has raised over $500,000.

Silhouette

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New toy

I finally caved and bought an electronic cutting tool.  I absolutely do not need this, but that's why it's a toy, right?  I'm testing it out on cardstock as I type this.  It can also cut very thin paper or vinyl or fabric.  It was easy to set up and easy to figure out how to do basic things.  A first cut reveals that it's very good at small detail.

This tool is definitely better suited for my skill set than the Cricut.  The Cricut is a stand alone machine and uses cartridges.  It's difficult for me to visualize exactly what is going to come out.  With a tool that uses software to lay things out, I can mess around with it on the computer before making any cuts.  So far, their website and the software are easy to navigate.  One feature I'm really liking so far is the ability to search for designs by designer.  A con of the online shop is that you can only see it if you have the software loaded onto your machine.  I can see why they would do that, but it's odd that I can't send a link to someone. 

I just discovered they have sketch pens that can also be loaded and used.  This turns the Silhouette into a plotter that can draw or sketch items from the software.  When I bought it, I didn't know it did this.  I'll have to wait until I have a use for such a purpose, then will have to get some of the pens. 

True to form, I'm currently obsessed with figuring out how to make a particular design in the software.  After watching the instructional DVD and playing with the software for a few hours, I still can't figure it out.  Grrrr.  I posted the question on a forum of users, so hopefully some expert user will take pity on me and respond. 

Anyway, if anyone needs something cut out, I'm your woman. I can't imagine any pressing cutting needs, but you never know. It's good to be prepared for cutting emergencies. And now I'm also prepared for drawing emergencies.

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Avery & the new school

There's little to report on this topic.  Avery is really enjoying it, but I wasn't expecting anything else.  She's asked about her old school a couple of times, but it's more a question asked in passing than any angst about missing it.

Typically, I pick up Elise on the way to school, then drop both girls off at school.  RHG picks them up on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, then I pick them up on Thursdays.  Today I brought Elise back to the house where we all enjoyed a nap, then a long playdate at the park with Lily.  It worked out nicely for all involved. 
Weekend plans
Tomorrow we have a playdate at Playdate PDX with Amber & Josie & siblings.  In the afternoon, Elise and Nolan will join Avery and I at home and stay until the G's return from their date night.

Saturday is the company picnic for D's company, followed by our date night.

Sunday is RHG's baby shower.  Eek.  I need to get on the ball with some things.  Don't worry, Christie.  I will. 

Routine

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Return to Routine

I'm working my way back towards a routine.  Between all the travel, everything with the dogs, Avery switching schools, and life in general, I have been kind of spinning my wheels.

My first step is to get the house back to a state of clean and organized.  I'm making progress.  I'm managing to keep the areas already decluttered and cleaned in that state each day.  I'm also working on cleaning all the areas that tended to get dirty due to the dogs.

I'm also trying to get back to working out (gasp!)  I went to the gym immediately after dropping Avery off at summer camp/school.  Granted I only did 20 minutes on the elliptical at a leisurely pace, but I was still pleased with myself for going.

Tomorrow my goals are gym and grocery store.  We've been eating out more than usual lately.  I like the ease of it, but there's something to be said for the ease of eating at home, too.  Tonight was sushi, so at least it was healthy.

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Crafty

Since there was nothing on TV tonight, and I'm in between books, I decided to spend the evening making cards.  Now that all of my supplies are easily accessible and my kitchen is cleaned of all clutter, it makes the whole process easier.  I am planning to make thank you cards for several of my FB-make-something-for-others-in-2011 commitment.  I thought I'd just make a bunch, but the thing is I can never decide if I like a card enough to make it again.  So I ended up with three very different designs.

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Avery's new school

Avery went to her first day at her new school, which is in summer camp mode for the next two months.  She was happy as could be to go there.  She didn't even want to hug or kiss me goodbye because she was too busy playing.  We'll see how tomorrow's drop off goes.

When she saw Elise walk up to the school, she gave her a big hug and said, "Oh! I missed you Elise!" You know, because she hadn't seen her since Sunday night. Adorable. 

Doing the drop off at school was an adjustment for me.  Avery's previous school is very well organized.  It cares for children from birth to 5 and is open from 7am - 6 pm with a policy that you can drop-off and pick-up at any time during the day.  Any facility with those parameters has got to be organized.  I had an exact routine to follow when dropping off.  At the new school, things are much more casual.  This isn't a problem for me, but it was a bit jarring at first.  Rachele picked the girls up from school today and took them to her house for playtime before their afternoon gymnastics class.  This meant I had the whole day off.

Specialist

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Turtle & her eye

There's much I want to blog about to catch up, but Turtle is occupying most of my brain at the moment.  A bit ago I made an appointment for Turtle to see a vet that specializes in ophthalmology.  I decided that it's worth the consult fee to see if this vet thinks it can be anything simple - or at least treatable with reasonable medications.  I'm not going to authorize any tests that will reveal things that we won't treat (cancer, tumor that must be removed, etc).  Hopefully that approach will keep the cost down while keeping my guilt and worry in check.

Her eye doesn't look quite as bad as it did at its worst, but it's definitely unpleasant to look at.  And her nose is still bleeding a good amount.  She won't drink her food if I liquefy it, nor will she drink Ensure.  She will, however, drink an Odwalla protein shake.  Leave it to my dog to pick the most expensive option.  Ah well, the shakes are quite filling, so I don't feel like she's starving to death if I give her two a day.  She looks quite svelte right now. 

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Last day

Today is Avery's last day at her current school.  I was telling Christie that I'm not the parent to have emotional reactions to things other parents seem to react to.  By that I mean that I don't have these "she's growing up so fast" cringes and I often don't get emotional about things I hear other mothers talking about.  Well, I found the thing I do.  I'm having a hard time with this changing of schools thing.  I guess it's because she does so well at her current school, she fits in, she's liked by all the teachers and kids, and it's really been a great experience for her.  Her teacher called me yesterday to see what special treat Avery would like for her goodbye party.  Then she said, "If only I could have ten Avery's in my class."  I almost cried when I dropped Avery off at school this morning.  Avery, on the other hand, is just fine with it all.

I made thank you cards for the three teachers yesterday.  I also got each a gift certificate to Target. When Avery is old enough to pick out appropriate gifts for her teachers, I will go with something more personal than a gift certificate.  However, I have a lot of trouble buying knick knacks that *I* pick out for a teacher.  *I* would never pick a knick knack.  I always pick practical, so gift certificate it is.  At least I made personalized cards!

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TV

D and I have started watching a new series on USA called Suits.  I linked to it on Hulu for anyone who is looking for some TV to get them through summer.  Both D and I really enjoyed the pilot.  It avoided a lot of cliches, so I have hope it'll be a good show. 

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Books

I'm reading Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction.  A Goodreads friend (and former coworker from way back) read it and rated it highly.  She and I have somewhat similar reading tastes.  It's hard to read, not because of gory detail or awful stories, but because reading about a child who becomes addicted to drugs is gut wrenching to think about.  Oh, and Christie, it was published in 2008.

I'm also reading Children of the Mind, the fourth in the Ender's Game series.  It's not nearly as readable as the other three.  However, D told me the next one is very good, so I will slog my way through it to get to the next one.  D had the same reaction to Children of the Mind as me, so the author must have been having an off period.

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Sneak peak

And since I don't have the brain bandwidth (see aforementioned Turtle issue along with Avery's last day of school) to blog about these things, I shall make a list of all I want to blog about:

• Avery's fit in Colorado
• Recap of Colorado trip
• Avery's sleeping situation update (it's good!)

Case

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SSP1: Knitting Needle Case - 95% done

It's almost done!  All I need to do is put on some sort of button/snap/closure.  I didn't do that at the time because I wanted to finish it, yet wanted to make sure that RHG's longest needles fit in the case.

I'm quite pleased with how it turned out, though I know where every flaw in it is located.  RHG stopped by, for other reasons, today.  We were able to try out her needles, cables, and other items.  I'm pleased, proud, and a bit surprised to report that everything fit perfectly. 

I'm pondering doing another case just to see if I can get closer to perfection.  But what would I do with such a case?  Anyone need a knitting needle case?  KMK?

Exterior of case when it's folded shut.

Interior of case

One more shot of the interior.

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Childpeace = In!  But, we're still going to the play-based school

Well, Avery got into Childpeace. I didn't think she'd get in at all, and I certainly didn't think we'd get notification so early.  It really hasn't changed anything in my mind.  While it makes it more a decision for us versus just acceptance of fate, I am quite firm in my belief that Montessori isn't the right way to go for Avery at this time.  I still strongly identify with a lot of the concepts and philosophies of Montessori, however, the things I don't like about it are strong enough to sway me in another direction.  That said, in a different situation, I could see making the choice to do Montessori. 

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Advertising for toys - girls vs. boys.

Two charts, divided by gender, showing the most common words used to market toys to children.  Guess which one is the girls' chart and which is the boys' chart.

Charts created by Wordle.

Pre-Avery, I would have been completely disgusted by this. Post-Avery, I do think there's room to merge these two a bit, but I also see the very obvious differences between boys and girls. 

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Christie's BD

And now, I am off to El Gaucho for dinner with Christie, Amber, and Stacey to celebrate Christie's BD. Perfect!  Daddy and Avery have already left to go to dinner.  Several times before she left, Avery made sure to tell me, "Don't let Eddie poop everywhere."  But then she told me it was OK if he did because I could just clean it up.  Good to know, Little One.  Good to know.

Jog-A-Thon

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Seeking Pledges

Avery's school is doing a Jog-A-Thon to support their Healthy Kids campaign.  Any family or friends who'd like to sponsor Avery can do so by making a per lap pledge or a flat fee pledge.  Avery will run for 20 minutes.  A lap is approximately 1/24th of a mile.  If anyone is up for sponsoring Avery, flat fee or per lap, leave a comment or shoot me an email.  She'll be running either tomorrow or Thursday, then I have until the 20th to collect the pledges.  I'm so late in posting this because we were gone most of last week.  Eek!

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Day Off

This is my first true day off in a while.  At least, it's my first day where I have a large chunk of time to do whatever I want.  So, of course, I want to do nothing.  I will not actually be doing nothing, but it's funny how that works.

Among the projects I'm considering:

• Finishing odds and ends in the garage
• Starting the knitting needle case for RHG
• Cleaning the house thoroughly
• Finally doing Avery's 3rd BD post (head hanging in shame)
• Editing some of the video from our trip to make a little movie

Right now, I'm leaning towards a bit of the first three.

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TV

Marcel, of Top Chef fame, has his own show on the SyFy channel: Marcel's Quantum Kitchen.  I was never a fan of Marcel's on Top Chef, but the show is pretty interesting.  They are obviously inventing drama to make the show more interesting (which I don't think is necessary), but it's nothing too annoying. 

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Snoring

Both dogs are in my office snoring away as I write this.  I love snoring dogs because it means they aren't bugging me to do something.

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Freecycle

I'm in a round of Freecycling.  Unfortunately, I've had no one request the stupid futon frame.  I guess I'll try posting it on Craig's List for free and see if that gets any hits. 

Lunchbox

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All preschool talk, all the time

I threw caution to the wind and canceled my scheduled observation at the final Montessori school I was investigating.  Given that I really liked Childpeace, yet have decided to go with the play-based preschool even if Childpeace does offer us a spot, I figured what good would going to another Montessori school do?  So, that's one less appointment I have this week, a week which has been full of various appointments.

After I had to pack Avery's lunch for her trial day at her (starting in September) preschool, I could no longer resist buying Avery's lunch box.  I saw the stainless steel Planet Box long ago and knew I wanted it.  Then RHG bought it for Elise and loves it.  So I've been waiting and waiting and finally caved.  Why I'm so excited to buy a freakin' lunch box, I have no clue.  I bought the carry case to go with it so I can easily pack a cloth napkin and water bottle or whatever.

It's actually a bold royal purple, though it comes off as bluish in the picture

I went with the modern art theme for the magnets.  Thank goodness they didn't have Disney themed princesses since I would have had to get those knowing they would absolutely be Avery's preference. 

I bought the little dipper and big dipper containers, too.  I'm not confident Avery will be able to get the lid off the big dipper because of the smallness of her hands, but the little dipper is usable now.

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Accessible clothing

For quite some time, I've wanted to have an additional low curtain rod in Avery's closet so she can reach all of her clothes.  I hang everything except tights, underwear, socks, and jammies.  I despise folding clothes so I'm very pro-hanging.  Anyway, I finally decided to bite the bullet and just pay to have a rod installed.  In my head, this would be a large cost.  Turns out, it's cheap.  I went to Home Depot, bought the wooden dowel and the brackets, which came to less than $10.  Then I had the handyman do the installation.  It probably took him 15 minutes.  Since he was here doing other stuff as well, the other 45 minutes in that hour of work (he bills by the hour) was billed to other activities.  So the total of this project was about $15.  Let this be a lesson to me: don't assume things are expensive or cheap, just find out. 

Avery loves that she can reach all of her clothes to pick what she's going to wear.  As a bonus - for me, at least - she is wearing pants more often because they are within reach and at eye level.  Typically, she wears the pants under skirts in lieu of tights.  That's just fine with me because I definitely prefer she wear the pants since tights are not as easy to get on.

Blurry picture of Avery's closet

Speaking of clothing, I bought Avery an Easter dress.  I couldn't help it.  It was so darn cute and I know how much Avery loves new dresses and there's the possibility that we'll get to do the White House Easter Egg Roll (we should know today if we got tickets in the online lottery).  I didn't take a picture of it, but I will take one of her in it next time she tries it on.  She insisted on trying it on this morning and then pointed out each detail of the dress she particularly likes. 

DST

DST

This time change thing is really throwing me off.  I thought it was 4:00 and it was really 5:00, you know, because the time changed.  It is the time change that will need to take the blame for dinner out tonight.  I meant to hit the grocery store, however, things just got away from me.  Improved energy or not, I cannot go grocery shopping with a preschooler in tow at 5 PM when I'm already hungry.  If there was ever a recipe for disaster, that is it.  I wish we'd get rid of DST. It's rather silly to be changing our clocks when electricity exists.  

Preschool - final decision made

I feel 99.9% sure that even if Childpeace offers us a spot, we'll go with the play based program. I think Montessori has a lot of great things about it, but some of the things I've observed, as well as discussions with various folks (including anonymous commenter - thank you!), lead me to believe that my gut is telling me the right thing: playbased preschool is right for Avery and for us as a family. 

Happy

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Better diet = much happier Megan

I don't think I've blogged much about my diet since leaving for Mexico.  Basically, I fell off the diet while in Mexico, and I have no regrets at all about it.  First, I didn't go crazy.  I just allowed myself to relax a bit, have fun, and enjoy the various foods.

I was able to stick to eating my brown rice cereal in the mornings since it is an allowed food import (I actually checked "yes" on the form and had the customs agent approve the foods I brought - brown rice cereal & raisins = OK; almonds = not OK).  For lunch I typically had brown rice mixed with various fruits and vegetables.  For the record, brown rice with cucumbers and strawberries and avocado is delicious!  For dinner, I ate whatever everyone else was eating.  The evening we had the private chef, that was the first one I truly abandoned all rules.  It was totally worth it since the meal was delicious.  The next night, we went to Super Burro which I knew would be totally worth it.  I also indulged in ice cream when we went into town, but I didn't eat any while at the casa.  Basically, I followed good eating habits when in the house, then laxed a bit when we were out.  I was very pleased with myself overall.

Mostly, I'm pleased that upon my return, I immediately ate along the lines of my elimination diet not because I had to (it's over since I blew the proper reintroduction schedule), but because I wanted to.  Clearly, I am significantly more motivated by having more energy than I ever was by losing weight or looking better.  I have been more tempted in the past couple of days, but most of the time, I've been either able to redirect myself to a healthier choice or to just have a few bites of something.  For example, tonight we went to get Avery a cupcake at New Season's after going out for sushi.  D ordered himself a slice of cheesecake.  I opted to not get any dessert, but rather asked D if I could have some of his.  This thrilled D as he's always wanted to be a dessert sharer, but I've historically objected to this idea.

Regardless, the end result of all this is that I'm so much happier I can't even explain it.  I don't know if it's that the food itself makes me happier (I know studies show that sugar and processed food doesn't help with depression), or if it's the food gives me more energy and this makes me happier.  I don't care.  I'm happier and that makes me happy. 

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School

Since yesterday, I've been thinking a lot about Avery's play-based preschool vs Childpeace Montessori a lot.  Making decisions on gut feels is our MO. My gut feel is that the play-based preschool is the right place for Avery and for us.  I can just see her being very happy there.  And this also means she would do kindergarten at the local public elementary school, rather than joining in first grade.  I was willing to do kindergarten at Childpeace, but I was less thrilled with that idea the more I thought about it.

It's much cheaper (more than 50% cheaper), but more a factor than simply saving money is that we can redirect those funds to save for something else.  The tentative plan right now is to put the saved money into a fund designated for international travel for Avery.  Then, when she's a bit older, we can focus on visiting various parts of the world.  I think that will be a much better use of funds than the Montessori school.

It's also a possibility that Elise will go to this same preschool.  If she does, she and Avery will be in different classrooms, but will get to play together for 1.5 hours a day of recess time (and maybe lunch?) We obviously won't tell Avery or Elise about this until they actually start school in case something changes for us or for RHG, but I do look forward to them being at the same school for a variety of reasons.

Oh, another thing that made me immediately take to the play-based school: their snack policy.  I will need to pack a lunch for Avery everyday, as well as bring in snacks for the whole class periodically.  I asked if the snacks can be home baked goods and the woman kind of smiled/smirked and said yes.  I didn't know until recently that most public schools (maybe private, too?) don't allow parents to bring in home baked goods anymore which I think is a ridiculous policy. I also liked her attitude that it would be ridiculous not to allow such a thing.

All that said, I'm still touring two more schools.  One is a Montessori; another is a private school, but I know it's not Montessori.  I'm not sure what it is to be honest.  It was recommended by a woman I went to HS with (Felicia G, for you Eatonians) after I asked her where her son is going to preschool.  We ran into each other at Portland's newest indoor play area.

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Reorg

I organized our new bathroom cabinet.  Do I ever love doing that stuff.  Then, because some of the containers I'd been using didn't fit in that cabinet, I was able to re-purpose those containers for storage in our kitchen pantry for Avery items.  That means I got to reorganize two cabinets, plus I still have one to go!  It's like crack for me.  I think I like reorganizing more than I do organizing.  

Perfect

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The Mexico! 2011

The trip was awesome.  For me, it was the perfect length.  One more day would have been a tad bit too long; one less day would have felt not quite enough.  Overall, I couldn't have been more pleased with the trip.  Everyone got along very well, which evidently might be a bit of surprise to the menfolk since I know of at least two spouses who inquired as to whether there was any female drama.

I always feel a certain pressure for things to go very smoothly when going with people to our casa.  If the vacation was to be a let down, I would feel somewhat responsible given it's our house, etc.  However, I don't think Loreto Bay let me down.  Construction noise was minimal (relative to construction noise levels); the dust was less than it's ever been due to the paved paseo; the water was only out one day (not a common occurrence, but not uncommon either since there's always on-going construction in other developments near us); the town was very easy to navigate; and the people, as always, were very friendly.

It was such a successful trip that it's now on all of our calendars for this time next year, too.  

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Preschool

My reentry yesterday was greeted with an appointment for me to tour a preschool for Avery at 10 AM.  What was I thinking?  We managed to make it there on time.  It felt really good to me, so I signed Avery up to do a trial day there today.  When I came to get her, she did not want to leave.  She really, really, really liked it.  So, I put the deposit down to save her a spot in that school.

It's the polar opposite of a Montessori school.  However, what I've realized is that, like most other decisions Damian and I make, I'm making this one based on my gut rather than on a set of criteria that a school needs to meet.  Childpeace, our first choice and a Montessori school, just felt right the two times I've toured/visited it.  I love it each time I enter the school.  I get a really good feeling when I'm there and the kids seems very happy. I could see Avery thriving there and loving it.  I've been to two other Montessori schools, including one this morning to do an observation, and neither of those have had the same effect on me; I couldn't immediately see Avery fitting right in and loving it.  Given Montessori is a lot more expensive than the (play-based) one she went to this morning, I can't justify the cost versus the benefit.  I have little doubt that if Avery gets into Childpeace, we'll forfeit the deposit on the play-based one and send her there; but, I'm also not worried about whether that's going to happen.  I feel good about this decision.  It was quick, but we always make big decisions quickly and based on our guts and that has yet to fail us (aforementioned casa being a possible exception, depending upon how you want to look at it).

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Cabinet

Before I left, I had a cabinet installed in the toilet room of our master bathroom.  I cannot wait to organize it, but this is the first time I've really had time.  I'm heading up there now. 

Gluten

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Reintroduction of Gluten

I decided that despite the fact I'm still sick, I would reintroduce gluten today as planned.  I felt like waiting to get better is just pointless as it seems my destiny is to be sick for the rest of my life.  I've been on the elimination diet for 26 days, which means I've been sick for 24 days since I was only well for day 1 and day 2 of the diet.  Anyway, this morning, I decided I would eat as I normally have been, but add a sandwich.  That way I know that it's not just because I didn't eat a balanced breakfast.  So I had my usual brown rice cereal (oh how I love thee), chicken for protein, and then an almond butter and jelly sandwich.  I guess I usually have some fruit, but I forgot that part.

I started getting a headache around noon.  Since I'm still so sick with other crap, I realized this is the error of reintroducing when not feeling 100%.  However, now I have a sign I haven't had the whole time I've been on the diet and sick with one ailment or another: I'm so nauseated.  And I'm also feeling that oh-so-familiar pull to take a nap.  So, I think gluten is out for the moment.  The naturopath said it's entirely possible I might be sensitive/reactive to gluten (or something else) now, but be able to resume eating it in six months or so. The next step is to not eat any more gluten, wait for these symptoms to clear up, then introduce dairy.

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Doctors

Tomorrow I have appointments with both my naturopathic doctor and my Western doctor.  I'm thinking of going to a witch doctor also, you know, just to cover all the bases (ba-dum-dum).  I'm going to the Western doc because I'm pretty sure I have a sinus infection.  I know that my mucus glands are in overtime at the moment.  Despite having bought a good 20 boxes of Kleenex on Superbowl Sunday, we're out of fresh boxes.  And I'm out in my car, too.  So I had to take a tp roll when I took Avery to school today.  Here's a picture of what the roll looked like when I returned home just 3 hours later.  I didn't use this for anything other than blowing my nose.  Notice the better-than-usual picture quality, though granted it's the usual poor photography skills as evidenced by the shadow in the bottom of the picture.  Avery seems to have hidden my camera.  Since I was planning to buy a new point-and-shoot camera soon anyway, I did that this weekend.

After on the left; right, size of roll before Mucus Fest 2011

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Guilt

Avery will be in school for four days this week. Count them: FOUR! I feel really guilty about this, particularly since I'll be leaving on Friday.  However, it's just the way it worked out given she missed school due to weather last week, needs to go on Friday since I'm gone, and then typically goes on Tuesday and Thursday.  I'm picking her up early so we can still go to swim lessons tonight.

I don't know why I feel guilty since Avery loves going to school.  She couldn't wait to get there and join in on the walk the kids were doing on the fifth floor.  Odd activity if you ask me - walking around the office building floors - but I guess that is just what you do when the weather is crappier than usual and the school/daycare is in an office building.  

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Problem solver

I am a problem solver.  Never mind I've had this problem for three years, I have solved it and that is what matters most.  I have never been able to find a trash bag that works for my car.  I don't like hanging things off the knobs in the front of my car.  For a long time I hung a little bag off the divider thingy in the center console. However, that bag was never big enough since I go through a lot of Kleenexes (thanks for those genes, Mom).  Finally, I decided to make myself a trash receptacle out of a shoe box, then fasten the Kleenex box to the top. That way I wouldn't lose the spot where I keep my Kleenex box, and would have a larger, more easily accessible bin for trash.   It's working perfectly.  It's easy to empty, easy to access, and the Kleenex box stays in place.  Of course, since I'm out of Kleenex boxes at the moment, I doesn't look nearly as impressive as a show box with a hole in it should look, but trust me, it's impressive.  Well, it's functional.

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Post-it Folders

There's nothing too fancy about this, but it's darn handy.  Did you know you can get these holders that you fasten to the wall using the same type of sticky stuff as is used on Post-It Notes?  That means you don't have to worry about damaging a cabinet.  And you can move it if necessary.  Such a great idea for temporary things that you don't want to have fastened to the wall.

I am definitely going to use one for receipts around the holidays.  Before, I've always found an old shoe box that then gets moved around.  Everyone is supposed to put their holiday receipts into that so we at least know where all receipts are for any necessary returns.  That works well enough, but this will work much better. 

Update

Diet

I am still on my elimination diet.  It's going very well from a difficulty standpoint.  That is to say, it's not been difficult at all to stay on it.  I'm now confident I can make it all 21 days. For this, I'm am so very grateful.  Attempt 1 felt like I was white knuckling my way through for the three short days I was on the diet.  This time it feels natural and unforced.

One of the changes I've noticed is my hair.  My hair is so freakin' soft.  D was even stunned when I told him to feel it.  Other than that, I haven't noticed significant physical changes with the diet.  I do believe have more energy when I am awake, but again, it's hard to judge since I've also been sick since day 3.

Speaking of sick, the explanation I got from the acupuncturist* is that most people get sick around day three of the diet.  According to her, your body is working at eliminating all the toxins that have built up in your body.  I'm not sure I wholly believe this view, but I do know that I got sick on day three for both diets.

The other thing I find interesting is acupuncture and how it's effect has changed while I've been on the diet.  I've been twice recently.  The first visit I was off Diet Coke and eating very close to the diet, though not officially on the diet.  The point being that I was eating very healthfully.  The second visit was day 6 of the diet.  For both of these visits, after acupuncture, I had so much energy all day.  I'd heard that it's not uncommon for people to experience a sort of high after acupuncture.  I had never experienced that.  For me it was more of a build up over time where I attributed changes to ongoing acupuncture treatments.  Damned if these last two times I haven't gotten that high (of sorts - it's not like a buzz - for me it's just like before the appointment, I'm wearing blinders and slogging around, but after the appointment, the blinders are off and I have a ton of energy).  Anyway, I haven't asked my acupuncturist or naturopath about this, so I have no idea if it means anything, but it's worth noting.

* My naturopath also sometimes does my acupuncture, but since most of my visits are solely for acupuncture, I see another woman who does a vast majority of the acupuncture on me.  Which is good because her needle sticks hurt way less than his.  And for those who've heard acupuncture doesn't hurt, it often doesn't.  It's just that the points that I need done tend to be in my finger tips, wrist, toes, and ankles.  Those points hurt, for me, when the needles first go in.  Once they're in, it doesn't hurt anymore.  

Tea

I went out with The 38* on Wednesday night.  It was just Stacey and Rachele and me.  I decided to eat dinner beforehand so I wouldn't be hungry.  It turned out to be a good thing because I couldn't have eaten even the salads on the menu.  So I went out to dinner and had tea.  It cost me $5 for the whole evening.  And it wasn't difficult to watch the other two eat.  It was a non-issue. Again, I'm so very grateful for that.

* The Yummy Group has officially been renamed The 38. No one in the group was ever fond of the name "The Yummy Group," so when a list of the 38 essential PDX restaurants we published online recently, we decided to rename ourselves The 38.

Busy

D has been working what feels like non-stop in 2011. If he's not at a Trailblazers game with clients, he's at a dinner.  If he's not at dinner, he's working late.  If it's the weekend, he's typically working all day on at least one of the days.  It was starting to wear on him, so he mentioned he just needed a day where he was completely off.  I decided the easiest way to give that to him would be for Avery and I to come over to the G's house on their date night and have me do the sitting for the G's date night by myself. Currently, I'm sitting in RHG's office after the three kids went down oh-so-easily tonight (again, so grateful).  I'll also spend the night and most of the day here tomorrow.  This way D has all night tonight to go out with friends, then can sleep peacefully with no Avery in bed (a common occurence again afte a brief 3-week (ish) hiatus where she just slept in her bed all night), then can sleep in tomorrow morning. 

Dance

Avery is signed up for another month of her hip hop dance class, as well as a pre-ballet class.  She's really, really looking forward to pre-ballet.  She's also doing twice-a-week swimming lessons, so she and I are driving all over the place and keeping busy.  I am not intentionally scheduling a lot of activities, but I think our schedule is now full with the scheduled activities.

School

Bad news: Avery is the fifth girl on the wait list for the preschool we would really like her to go to.  I'd say it's a 50/50 chance she'll get in.  I called the admissions director to ask what, based on her experience, she thinks Avery's odds are at getting in - that's where the 50/50 guess comes from.  There's really no way to predict it.  She said last year, all the boys on the wait list got in, but only two of the girls.  Hopefully it's the reverse this year.

In the meantime, I'm going to refocus my efforts and find a backup school so we're all set in September regardless of what happens with our first choice.  I asked the admin director for a few references.  One of those she gave is the preschool Elise currently attends.  Elise won't necessarily stay in that school next year (for a variety of reasons I'll leave to RHG to blog or not - none are bad or secretive - just logistical and practical), but it would be fun for those two to play together at recess.  If Elise were to stay, and if Avery were to attend that school, I'm not sure what my thoughts are about them being in the same class.  I'm not sure I would even have any say in that, but if I did, I lean toward requesting they be in different classes just because their bond is so tight that I wouldn't want it to throw Elise off her path (she's doing great at school) or to distract Avery.  Maybe that's not even something I should be thinking about for a three-year-old?  Maybe three-year-olds should be distracted by their friends?  I don't know.

Anyway, I'm not too thrown that Avery is on the wait list.  I suppose this is because it's preschool and there are lots of good preschools where I think she'll thrive.  Also, I can't do anything about it.  It is what it is. There's no use getting my panties in a bunch about something I can't change.  I'll just ramp up efforts to find a backup school.

Paint

Nook update

I painted the nook this afternoon.  Unfortunately, when I bought the paint, I thought I had all needed supplies at home.  I had everything but the pad to go on the roller.  As a result, I painted the whole nook using just a paintbrush.  If I hadn't done that, I think I would have run out of paint, so it worked out all right in the end.  It took me about two hours, which was a bit uncomfortable given the small, awkward-shaped space. 

In a bit I'll take the carpet upstairs to see how it fits.  I'm hoping it's a good snug fit, but I think it's going to be an inch or two too long on either side.  Hard to know because the measurements on the rug I bought were not specific. 

Christmas ... excited?!  WTF?

I'm actually excited for Christmas this year.  I know, I can't believe it either.  Most of it is a result of Avery's sheer enthusiasm.  Some of it is because I feel like I have things a bit more under control this year: I started planning Avery's BD party very early, I have been doing my shopping way earlier than usual, and I'm not putting unrealistic expectations on things. 

The excitement has only increased since our friends Vic & Mike are going to join us for the holidays!  Barring any illness, they're going to drive up from Colorado so they can bring their dog ... who gets carsick.  Yeah, doesn't sound like a fun drive to me, either, but I don't care because I'm just happy they're coming! Woohoo!

Avery and school

For a month or two, Avery went through a phase where she'd cry when I dropped her off at school.  Teacher Carlya said she always stopped about 30 seconds after I left, so I wasn't overly troubled by it.  Nonetheless, it's nice that she seems to be through that phase for the moment.  She happily runs into school - which she did even when she would cling to me when I left - and then yells, "Bye, Mom!" when I leave.  

Avery and sleep

The sleep chart worked quite well, but I fell off the charting wagon when we left for Mexico and haven't got back on it.  She managed to stay in her bed all night on Saturday night, so before bed last night, I got out a star sticker and said she could earn another one if she stayed in bed all night again. She didn't.  Then she asked me for a star this morning and I said no and explained why.  To which she answered, "OK, Mom.  I will try again tonight." 

Birthfamily visit

Avery's aunt (her birthfather's sister) and her grandmother (her birthfather's mom) are coming for a visit - their first time meeting Avery and D and me - on Saturday.  Aly friended me on FB and that got us communicating.  I'm excited to meet both of them.  I'm not nervous yet, but I know I'll be anxious before they get here.  I am so thankful that this visit was set up via FB and email.  So much easier to set things up that way - at least for me.

Words

School week

I've had quite the week off with Avery at school Monday, Tuesday and today.  Plus, since it's been icy out, D has driven her to and from school each day.  His car has snow tires and a snow mode (who knows if that does anything), so we're assuming his car does better on snow and ice.  I still find it hilarious that an inch of snow and a bit of ice is so much more of a concern here than in Colorado, but even with considerably more snow, the roads in Colorado are typically way better than the roads here. 

Yesterday, I cleared out the nook I'm going to spiff up for Avery.  In that process, I managed to shatter a lamp and spread bits of glass all over our room.  Later in the day, I dropped a glass in the kitchen.  Plus, I sliced off the very tip of my finger when I was cutting apple slices for Avery in the morning.  It was not the most coordinated of days for me.  Nonetheless, I made good progress. I'm ready to buy the paint and carpet/rug.

Word play

My dad forwarded me this email:
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Knowing your interest in words, I just had to send this to you.

Did you know that, the words "race car" spelled backwards still spells "race car"?

And that "eat" is the only word that, if you take the first letter and move it to the last, spells its own past tense, "ate"?

And if you rearrange the letters in "Tea Party Republicans," and add just a few more letters, it spells: "Shut the fuck up you free-loading, progress-blocking, benefit-grabbing, resource-sucking, violent hypocrites, and deal with the fact that you nearly wrecked the country under Bush and that our president is black, so try and get over it."

Isn't that interesting?

Washington Post Mensa Challenge

Not to be outdone regarding forwarded emails about word play, my mom sent me this one just an hour later. 
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The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding,  subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are the winners:
1.Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxicaton: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido: All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor ( n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

And the winners are:
1. Coffee, n.  The person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.

3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4.esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.

6. Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.

7. Lymph, v.  To walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavoured mouthwash.

9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster, n.  A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

Crack

Mexico

Um, yeah, so we're going to Mexico soon.  I haven't packed a thing, nor have I given all that much thought to it (other than, "Crap, D's not going." and "I should get a notarized letter from D," which I did.)  It's like I'm in some sort of denial about something fun happening.  Odd. 

Books & Kindle

I finished The Help yesterday afternoon.  I really enjoyed that book.  I started the sample of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo that I downloaded, but so far, it's not catching my interest.  I'm not a mystery/murder book fan.  I'll finish up the sample, but based on the way I devoured the last three books, I have to remember that if I don't devour a book, odds are good that I 1. won't finish it and 2. will stop reading all together.  That's the way I work, like it or not.

My Kindle now has a small hairline crack in it due to the cover.  After doing research, I found out it happens when you open the Kindle from the back rather than the front.  Why they would design a cover (and Amazon designed this cover for their book) that causes damage to the Kindle when you open it the wrong way is beyond me.  Even more beyond me is why they didn't do something to prevent this from happening, and why they didn't email those who bought the cover to notify them of the problem.  After I did some research online, it's been a common problem with these covers.  Amazon apparently is replacing Kindles with cracked screens, but I'm not sure about just the cracked cover.  I don't care about the crack from an aesthetic stand point - it's barely noticeable now that the cover has been removed - but I do care if it means it's lessened the life of my Kindle. I am also annoyed that the offending cover cost about $30. I've emailed Amazon to see about replacing the Kindle.  We'll work on the cover when they, presumably, reject that request.

Cute: Avery often asks me, "You reading your Kindle?"  I don't know why I find that so cute, but I do.

School

When I called about Avery's school fee going down when she reaches 2.5yo, only to discover it wouldn't since she is in a class with kids younger than her, I pushed only a very small amount on it.  I didn't have the energy to deal with it and realized I didn't mind paying the extra money if it meant she was with Teacher Theresa.  However, they called back the other day (which I didn't request) and said they can move her into Teacher Mary's class in June.  That means she'll be in the same class as Lily and her rate will go down.  I'm happy about those, but am having a lot of trouble thinking of her not being in Teacher Theresa's class.  My guess is she will barely notice after the first day.  Man, if I take each teacher change this hard, the next 16 years are going to be rough!  It's not like she won't see TT when she's outside. 

Helmet

The last couple of days, Avery has worn her helmet in the house a majority of the time.  This morning, she brought it to me at 6:15 to put on her head.  I did so and then told her to play in her room.  I went back to sleep and she, apparently, played in her room until about 7 ish.  She asked to wear the helmet to school, but I didn't let her. 

Hairbands

Avery has gotten better about letting me comb her hair, so the dreaded haircut may be avoided.  So far, Nikki, Grandma J, and D all want me to leave her hair as it is.  So do I, but I'm only doing it if she allows me to comb it without a massive battle everyday.  What has been working lately is asking her which color hairbands she wants to put in. She looks down at her shirt, then picks colors that match it.  Today, she picked pink and orange after realizing she was wearing a pink and orange skirt. 

Dread

Today is my appointment with the (new) PMHNP.  There are few things I like less than going to someone to talk about this stuff.  I dread going.  Just think of the happy pills, just think of the happy pills ...

Blah

Blah

That is what I feel like lately.  Just blah.  I managed to get a few key things done Monday morning, then spent the afternoon napping. We'll see what Tuesday has in store.  ... I wrote that earlier.  So far today has had me give up while shopping in Target, drive home, and fall asleep for three hours.  Nice.  I'm exhausted lately.  Maybe I'm storing up my reserves for Mexico. 

Freecycle

I decided to get the garage cleaned out of the items I've been accumulating for the purpose of giving away.  Instead of doing mass posts of all items at once, I am posting one or two items at a time.  That is making the process slower, of course, but also less chaotic.  So far I've gotten rid of a printer, a dresser, and a baby swing (with a broken motor).

My goal is to get the garage cleaned out such that the dogs can spend more time out there, weather permitting.  They're driving me crazy.  As I've lamented again and again, I was not meant to have a baby/toddler at the same time as large dogs and that's all there is to it.  It gives me little joy and that is not a good feeling. 

I have been marginally better at walking them daily, which helps the situation somewhat, but Eddie has still started to take on annoying old-man-dog traits: sitting at our feet panting, refusing to listen to where he should go lie down, and generally just being very needy and omnipresent.  Turtle is her usual wonderful self who blends into the background and, if given a daily walk, asks of nothing more.  But the hair.  Oh the hair.  Sigh.  Crap.  I've written yet another section on dog hair. 

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day yesterday, we met Nikki & Garrett & Grandma J (Nikki's mom) at a park for a picnic and swinging.  It struck me at some point how natural the interaction felt to me.  Nothing too weird about it.  I think Nikki & Grandma J deserve all the credit for that. This visit was a lot less anxiety provoking for me, which confirms my observation that I seem to get most anxious when the visits take place here. Not having to prepare the house, even if I don't do much to prepare, takes a load off.  

School

I called about our rate at Avery's school, which I was expecting to go down when she turned 2.5.  It turns out it goes down when the youngest child in her class turns 2.5.  This makes logical sense, but it definitely wasn't explained to me that way.  I was told it would go down in July.  The other thing I learned is this means she won't be in the same class as Lily.  Lily is a week older, but her mom will be  be paying the lower rate when she starts in June, which means that Lily must be one of the youngest in the class.  I can see about getting Avery transferred into one of the other classes, but she loves Teacher Theresa.  After thinking about this overnight, I'm just going to leave things the way they are.  She really likes TT and feels comfortable so lower price be damned!  She can still play with Lily during outdoor time.

Books

I finally finished Stones into Schools.  I think I preferred Three Cups of Tea, but that might have simply been because of the order in which I read them.  Both were excellent reads.  I should have listened to you earlier, Mom. :)

I bought and downloaded The Help last night after analyzing the other books bought by people who bought Three Cups of Tea.  Interestingly, the other book coming up as recommended for me is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which was recommended at the last Yummy Group.  Perhaps that one will be next.

Friday

School

Avery went to school today since she didn't go her regular two days this week.  Unfortunately, Teacher Theresa is on vacation, so Avery wasn't too keen to stay.  It's much harder to leave her when she doesn't want to stay.  Of course, she always has a great time and is perfectly happy when I go to pick her up, regardless of whether TT is there, so I shouldn't worry.  But I do.  She was happy as a clam when I picked her up, so I guess all went well.  Of course, a day at school means a whiny evening at home.  Can't win 'em all.

Sick

D now has the stomach bug that's been going around.  I feel grateful to have escaped it and can only hope I continue to do so. I am exhausted today, but I'm guessing that's just my natural, whiny state of always being tired versus actually being sick. It did, though, occur to me that I might have just the exhaustion portion of the bug and not the upset stomach part. Is that possible? 

Haircut

I think I'm done with the hair battles with Avery.  She hates to have her hair combed.  It's just so darn cute when it's up in pig tails that I have a hard time cutting it.  For me, any sort of desire to have Avery be girly is so very rare, but I was clinging to this one.  However, I think it's time for a cut.  Maybe we'll do it this weekend.

Young College Graduates

I stumbled upon this slide show of the youngest college graduates.  Some were reading at 8-months-old and doing math problems at 18-months!  Also, I didn't know that Woody Allen and Mia Farrow's son, Ronan, was one of these types of kids.  He's the second slide.  And, side note, he's very good looking.  Who would have thought Woody Allen would produce offspring that looks like that?

Oprah

I stopped watching Oprah about the time Avery was born.  I appreciated the shows of substance where she brought attention to issues around the world and in the US. However, I got annoyed that I had to put up with four shows with her fawning over celebrities or other crap to get the good show.  I just now read a headline that indicates she interviewed Rielle Hunter, the mistress of John Edwards.  Seriously, Oprah?  Why is she giving this woman a national platform?  She had an affair with a man whose wife is dying of terminal cancer!  

Story

Ladybug

Yesterday, I tried reading my Kindle while Avery read books.  I sat on the chair and she sat on the couch.  It was very sweet.  After about five minutes of reading together, yet separately, Avery looked up and started to tell me a story about school.  It was fascinating to listen to her string her vocabulary and the sequence of events together to get out what she wanted to tell me.

• Avery said, "Teacher Theresa put ladybug on her finger to show."  
• Then she paused and looked down.  "Grant.  Grant squashed ladybug."  
• I said, "Awww."  
• She then said, "That not nice!"  Another pause, "Avery no squash ladybug." 

I'm quite curious to ask Teacher Theresa about this to see how accurate the story is and, in fact, whether it happened at all.  Teacher Theresa was surprised to hear that Avery said, "Just like Teacher Theresa!" when eating her green beans, but Avery definitely has a green bean association with TT since she repeated it again when we had green beans again the other night. 

Three Cups of Tea

On Tuesday night, I downloaded two books by/about Greg Mortenson: Three Cups of Tea and Stones Into Schools.  I'm 50% of the way through Three Cups of Tea and love it.  I'm happy reading it because I know I still have Stones Into Schools to go.  Typically, I start to get sad at the halfway point of a good book because I find it so difficult to find books I really enjoy reading, yet when I do find a book I enjoy, I like reading more than most any activity, TV and computer included.  

Avery & Illness

Avery is doing much better and seems fully recovered.  However, there are some lingering things that make me wonder.  For example, yesterday she threw up a massive amount right before D got home.  And in perfect timing, D arrived about two minutes after I finished cleaning it all up.  Well played, honey.  In any case, then she sat down and ate a fair amount of dinner. 

This morning, absent any fever or coughing and looking really well, she has asked me to hold her hair twice, then stared over the toilet obviously feeling unwell.  Now, just fifteen minutes later, she's totally fine.  Strange. 

Lovely Pattern

I'm not sure how long this has been going on, but it's really solidified into a lovely pattern.  D gets up earlier than me on most weekdays.  Avery has either joined us in bed (she comes in around 6 ish most mornings it seems), or she wakes up when she hears him get up and then joins us.  D gets her some milk.  He gets ready and leaves for work.  Avery and I then sleep until anywhere from 7:45 to 9:00.  It rocks.  I sometimes wonder if giving her milk to get a bit more sleep out of her is wrong.  Then, after thinking about it for a while, I decide what could be wrong with helping your child get plenty of sleep. That's the stance I'm taking, right or wrong.