Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Lessons Learned - Day 100


Check out that arm definition! How do I get some of that?

Wrapping her animals in "blankets" at the dinner table.

She shared her toy frog with the Red Robin. So sweet!




Well, here we are at day 100. Whopee. Only...265 more to go...more or less....here's hoping for less.

I learned several things today:
1. Going running in 91 degree heat is not the best idea.
2. Watch your credit card account.
3. You may have on nice clothes, but you ain't classy!
4. Apparently I will never have running shoes any color other than blue.

Number 1 is pretty self explanatory. Don't try it. It's not fun.

Number 2 is always good advice, but we learned it again today when my dad got an odd email confirming his reservation at a Marriott in Las Vegas. Huh? Several phone calls to American Express and Marriott later and Dad was on hold while the Marriott manager chased a guy down the street and called 911. It was like COPS! Only over the phone. Now the Las Vegas police are calling here too.

As for number 3, well, I wasn't all dressed up today - but I did have on relatively wrinkle-free pants and a new t-shirt and a snazzy pair of shoes, and I even put on jewelry! Then I picked up an item in Michael's that had purple food coloring smeared on it, and managed to get it all over my shirt and pants. Then we went to dinner, and when I picked LSP up out of the high chair and plopped her on my hip she had wet out of her diaper all over the place. So we were both covered with pee. Very nice.

My old pair of running shoes are really beat down so I went to get some new ones. I was hoping for some pink, or green, or a snazzy red...but no, in my brand and in what I need, they had blue. Again. For like the millionth time. Blue. My running shoes are ALWAYS blue. Sigh.

LSP was super good today. Still housebound over the mosquito issue. She played well inside, then went with Grampy to Petco (aka the Free Zoo) while I got running shoes. She loved the white mice spinning on their wheel and the turtle who was, as she put it, "on the porch," (that is, sitting on a rock in the tank). Then we went to dinner and she was very well behaved, though she had some trouble with the spaghetti and the fork. We went to a Red Robin and apparently today is the day that some poor teenager in a giant Red Robin costume goes around to entertain the kiddos. We didn't know that when we went and the hostess warned me that some kids are scared of the 7-foot-tall red bird in a vest, but LSP wasn't, she laughed and smiled and let him hold her toy frog, then high-fived him as we left. Super cute.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Playground Fun - Day 99

Seconds after this photo was taken she rocked a little too hard and busted her lip. She got right back on, though!

She's yelling, "Bye! I'm going down the slide!"



You can see the busted lip here.


My determined little monkey climbed all the way to the top in a flash - on the big kids' playground!


It was stinkin' hot here today, and the mosquitoes were out in force again, so LSP had to spend most of the day inside, until this afternoon when we visited the local playground. She ran and played for about 30 minutes, then even she began to wilt in the heat. When we got there we were the only people at the playground. One other family came before we left, but most people we hiding inside today, I think.

We did get to Skype with Daddy, so that was good. Always fun to see Daddy! Thank God for technology! Also I got to talk to a friend on the phone that I have not talked to in over 10 years. What a special treat! It made me so happy to hear about her wonderful family, put a big smile on my face for the rest of the day.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Problem Solving - Day 98

Reading and walking with Nanny and Papa.


Trying to blow a dandelion. Look how filthy her hands are!

A shows off his mad scooter skillz with his signature flippity flip flop.


Today Nanny and Papa came over for a visit and they tried to take LSP outside - until the mosquitos attacked! In the middle of the day! Very unusual. She had a nice visit with them, anyway. Then we went to get an ice cream with my friend K and her son A. A treated us to a show of his scooter skills at the local skate park while LSP collect handfuls of rocks...and broken glass. Nice.

Today LSP wanted me to draw "[mumble, mumble] Elizabeth!" Huh? I said, and asked her to repeat it, which she did, about 15 times. When I still could not understand what she wanted me to draw she let out a big sigh and said, "Draw Clifford, then." That I understood. She has been into the Clifford the Big Red Dog books lately. So I drew a large floppy-eared dog, then she made her first request yet again and this time I got it: "Draw Emily Elizabeth," the name of Clifford's owner in the books. I was impressed at her resourcefulness. I didn't understand her request, so instead of throwing a fit, she had me draw Clifford, then made her request again, in effect "leading" me towards what she wanted me to do. What a smart little cookie!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Two Fairs, One Day - Day 97

Watching the dog show with interest.

Dog show, up close and personal!




Big grin (and fudge) on her face at the pony ride.

Not a great photo, but I just loved this little outfit she had on today!

Pig races?!? How cool is that!!



J tests his strength...

M tries his hand next...

LSP wants to try, too!




She had on her new shoes today that have lights in the toes. Very cute!

M and J's dog, Toby.

What do two boys do with giant inflatable hammers? Hit each other, of course!

M, LSP and J had a great time at the fair!


What a HUGE day for LSP. We were supposed to go to a dog show at the local fair at 9 am. We woke up at 8:56. We managed to get out of the house by 9:15. Not bad, huh? We went to the fair and she loved the dog show. It was 4H kids with the dogs they train, and my parents' know the woman in charge, so LSP got to go into the ring area and pet some of the dogs. How great is that?

Then since we were at the fair anyway, we looked around some more. LSP got to pet a couple of sheep, see a 1,000 pound pumpkin, some duck and geese, a pig race, the train set (again) and a beekeeper exhibit. She enjoyed it all. For lunch she got to have ice cream and fudge (very healthy) then she rode on the ponies just like last week. She always likes riding on a pony but today she LOVED it. HUGE grin on her face the entire time.

We came home and were home for about an hour when we gathered ourselves up and ran out again. This time we went to my friend N's house, and we walked with N and her two boys J and M to ANOTHER fair - this time a street carnival/craft fair in her town. Again LSP had a blast. We saw lots of people (many of them walking dogs! Whee!) and she got to ride a carousel and play the "test your strength" game with the big mallet! The boys did it so she wanted to as well. Everyone won giant inflatable hammers that they proceeded to whack each other with the rest of the afternoon.

When we were done with the street fair we went out to dinner for pizza, then back to N's house where LSP, J and M played in the yard for awhile. LSP got to play with N's dog, too. Lots of dogs today! On the way back to Nana and Grampy's house we sang songs: the ABC song, Teddy Bear's Picnic, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, the Sesame Street theme. I would sing one and she would then command me to sing it faster, then faster, then faster, then she'd say "regular" and we'd sing it right again. So cute.

I have to add that I was VERY proud of LSP today. Through all this chaos, erratic eating times, heat and noise she was SUCH a good girl. She never once threw a tantrum, even when I had to ask her to leave something she was enjoying. She did not whine or cry or beg for anything. She waited when she needed to wait. She played well with the much older kids, she played well on her own, she watched nicely at the dog show and rode happily in the car. Now that I have said that she will turn on the inner demon tomorrow and she will find every naughty thing to do she can lay her hands on. But today she did very, very well, and I was so proud of her.

No time for a bath tonight and as I rocked her to sleep I could smell a sweaty little girl who had had a great day. What a wonderful smell to end the day!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Day Outside - Day 96

So many things to do outside... run...

Play with the wheelbarrow full of water....

Play with balls of dog hair....

Dog hair floats!

Give the pups some treats!


Beautiful weather today, and so for the first day in a long time LSP got to play outside most of the day. Sandbox, swings, running in the grass, she loves it all. I am in trouble when I return to Germany with my tiny backyard.

This morning she decided it was the Teddy Bears' birthday. Not one Teddy Bear. ALL of the the Teddy Bears. So we sang Happy Birthday to them and she set them up in a line and gave them cups and served them "lemonade," something she has never had but somehow she has decided that is what most of her animals drink. Later it was the goose's birthday. He didn't get lemonade, just the song. Perhaps geese don't like lemonade.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Outlet Mania - Day 95

Look at all these guns out here in the open!



The pop gun was more her speed.

A PINK crossbow? You're kidding.

First you have to smell the guitar...





First of all, to my dozens of loyal blog readers... photos from the last two days have been added. Go back and check them out.

We left this morning on the way back home and on the way we stopped at an outlet mall. Nana and I hit up several outlet stores full of kids' clothing and got some great deals - t-shirts for 99 cents, jeans for $1.99. Can't beat that! We also got some cute stuff for ourselves. The last place we went was an outdoor store that dispays all their hunting rifles out on the floor - with no security cords or anything. Yikes!

Shortly after we got home a nice surprise - Aunt L and Uncle M came by for a few hours. Yeah! LSP was thrilled of course, especially when her very musical auntie and uncle brought out a miniature guitar and an acoustic bass guitar. Uncle M showed her how to pluck the strings on the bass and she jumped up and down and yelled, "I did it!"

Later she was watching a new George episode when she ran screaming out into the kitchen. Something scared her! We rewound the episode with the hopes of watching it with her and explaining it to her to show her it was not scary. That plan backfired. When the scary scene came on again (George and his friend Bill push a kiddie pool down a hill and it crashes into the front door of George's house) she screamed and sobbed and buried her face in my shoulder. Poor thing! Some less scary George episodes seemed to soothe her. But as she was falling asleep tonight she told me, "I scared. Can't move the pool. I scared," several times. I fully expect to wake to blood-curdling screams at least once tonight as my poor little girl has a nightmare.