Lula Belle. 11-14-15

I had already started ripping things out; I couldn't resist!
I did remember to stop and take a few quick photos before I got too far.

Boop's favorite spot

Boop's Photos. 9-27-15

Boop frequently nabs my camera. Here are a few recent ones:

She took this of the sky over the Mall in DC near the Washington Monument

She instructed me to "make a silly face" as she snapped this photo at Sesame Place in Philadelphia
But, I'm just generally sticking my tongue out at you.

Here is a recent photo I took of the photographer herself.

And here's a photo of Boop on her latest adventure.

A Little Over 3.5. 8-20-15

A few random updates:

• The main reason I'm posting is that Boop memorized her 1st book earlier this month, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. She almost knows the entire book verbatim and only needs a few prompts here and there. 
• Not sure what happened, but she woke up one morning with skin like the texture of misshapen coblestones. Maybe from playing in the yard and helping clean outside. Boop learned the word sphigmomanometer at the doctor's office, and we practiced it for when the doctor came. She actually did get most of the word out for the new doctor, in spite of her being a bit shy.
• She is starting to get better about cleaning her messes by herself--when she wants to, but she's also excelling at making some very frustrating messes. Last night, she just decided to pour the rest of her Benadryl in the middle of the kitchen floor.
• Bedtime is a chore. Note bullet point about Benadryl. Starting about 8:30pm, she runs around like a wild banshee, jumping on beds, and throwing objects. I got her a daybed and painted it purple like she wanted. Unfortunately, the Mickey Mouse sparkle paint did not work out too well. In spite of my efforts to get her bed just right, Boop is not very good about using it, always upset that it is "too hot!" It's the same as mine. Maybe the situation will difuse as cooler weather rolls around, at which time it will undoubtedly be "too cold!" It will also be dark earlier, which may help me usher her to bed at an earlier time.
• Boop has been writing her name for a little while, but I suspect it's more legible for people with dyslexia when she gets going a little too fast. Sometimes it's rightside up, sometimes upside down, sometimes backwards, but mostly a combination of the 3. But at 3.5, I feel pretty good about her progress.
• She's a big girl, and it's a bit hard for her to get all those muscles to cooperate. If coordination is a problem for her, she came by it honest; plus the fact that her development hasn't quite caught up to the big body it must command. She's getting there. We're working on coloring inside the lines. Sorry John Mayer (no, not really. A millenial, she is not). 
• Winnie is still hanging tough. She's coughing more due to the heart murmur, but she can bound up and down the stairs without missing a beat. When we took her to the pet store for her birthday in July to pick out a present, the shelter volunteers were shocked to learn that our puppy was really 13 years old!
• As for me, I'm still trying to get my stuff together. Life happens. I'm coming down after several weeks of steroids from poison ivy. School starting is always measured chaos. Trying to find time to do fun things for Boop, as she's only this age once. Trying to make sure she is doing enrichment activities, too. For example, last Saturday, we ran from Boop's music class to a birthday party for Boop's friend to opening ceremonies for my school. I think these things will only get worse. 
• The good news is that the finanical planner felt pretty comfortable with me retiring in 8 years--not that I ever really would quit working entirely, especially since retiring at that age would mean living at a bare minimum.
• And so that's Boop waking up. I call her Broadway Baby. She sings every move that she's making. Apparently, she is making her grand entrance down the stairs. 

RIP Teen Titans Go. 6-22-15

It was a peaceful weekend for a change (with the possible exception of cleaning up after Winnie). Mom left Saturday morning. It was rainy, and so we spent most of the weekend around the house. Unfortunately, that usually means Boop is out-of-control, but she was fairly calm this weekend. I made a decision last weekend: no more Teen Titans Go, which was met with much wailing and gnashing of teeth. She had been hitting me with her chairs and other objects and was increasingly out of control, biting, licking, etc. I checked in with daycare, and she hadn’t been acting out there. The most precipitous event was her coming into the den with a handful of silverware and flinging it at me last weekend. A light bulb went off. I wonder if Teen Titans Go has anything to do with this? And so Teen Titans Go is now banned from my house. So, they join Peppa Pig in their banishment. Our world is a happier place; although I will kinda miss my cartoon kindred spirit, Raven.

I’m in the process of trying to sort out getting rid of cable/dish entirely. There really isn’t much kiddie programming she can watch on our package other than cartoon network. Disney has a bunch of pre-teen sitcoms in the afternoons, but none pre- enough to catch Boop’s attention. So, I’m looking to see what kind of Internet subscription services will serve our needs better. So far, the Wiggles, Bubble Guppies, Team Oomy Zoomy, Dora, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sofia, Doc McStuffins, Curious George are all pretty safe bets. Of course, I try to keep her away from TV as much as possible; however, I’m working on getting my energy level and mobility back (post-school-semester recovery)—not that I could ever keep up with her, anyway. 

Logodaedalist. 6-16-15

More of Boop's language:

• Hanitizer--Hand sanitizer (I like this one a lot.)
• Usage--I need some hanitizer.
• Scare me up--When someone comes into your room, wakes you, and it scares you. This is a lesser known definition than the regular use of the phrase "scare me up", which means "gather," as in "scare me up a mess of beans."
• Usage--You scare me up this morning. 

Lovely Day. 5-26-15

It's been a lovely day, so far. I had a root canal this morning, and a big honking knot on my jaw from my wailing TMJ. I'm up to my ears in credit card bills: along with the root canal, I went on a spending spree of much overdue needs last week. Heck, this month I've been out-of-control. A new over-the-range microwave, washer, dryer, other home maintenance issues. Everything has either conked out or is on its last legs. Season passes to Kiddie Land, which was a bit farther away than I thought. A trip to Philly for work. I actually bought myself some clothes! A trip to visit family. Summer pool pass. Swimming lessons. Digging into savings. It's also Neil Finn's birthday. And so, Neil, don't be expecting any presents ;)

Tempest in a Teacup?

Jollychic. 4-26-15

Just got back from San Antonio a few days ago. I had to leave my baby for 3 days. More on that later. 

I thought I would just post a photo of some things I ordered over the holidays, as Boop's outfit today reminded me. I ordered some stuff from Jollychic.com. Unfortunately, I didn't read reviews before I ordered. After I ordered, I happened to read the reviews, which were abyssmal, except for the ones that were apparently written by people from the company. I came across a blog of a woman who ordered a number of things from them. She was a little bigger than me and had ordered size medium, which should have fit her. I had read the notes on the site and had ordered a size larger (medium). So, I thought I might be okay.

However, the more I read, the more concerned I got. The blogger had her 9 year old daughter try on the clothes, and they fit her daughter. So, I was not at all optimistic. To my relief, when I got the package, some of the things did fit me, and I had ordered scarves, which were okay. Yet, I did get a few things that were questionnable. Boop is 3. Here she is wearing one of the dresses. The 1st two photos were before the dress was washed. I heard terrible stories about returns; so I didn't even bother.