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.  
   

The Princess Phase. 4-8-15

All Princesses, All the Time. 

Her school uniform has been princess dress, necklace, tiara, and black minky coat.

At least she is wearing clothes.

Bursting at the Seams. 4-6-15

Here is a photo of Boop at Great Aunt D's on Easter, in her white dress while it lasted... Not a very good shot.

 
Easter Hunt #1 with Gammy and Aunt D at Aunt D's

Easter Hunt #2 John McEnroe at Great Aunt D's

Hope you had a happy Easter. Notice, I didn't say 'hoppy' Easter. That's because I didn't want your Easter to be full of bad Easter puns, just simply egg-straodinary. Okay, just one. 

Lost. 4-2-15

Many different streams of thought brought me to think about my cousin, A. She was a older than me, and I just thought she was wonderful. As a teenager, she always took extra time for me, French braided my hair, entertained me. Most of my cousins were good to me, too, but I didn't get to see A that much. I remember we went up to stay with her grandparents for her uncle's wedding, and she made sure I had a good time. I remember Julian Lennon was in heavy rotation on MTV at the time, and A was just crazy about him—maybe she even said he was ‘dreamy’. But she could say it with complete sincerity, such a sweet person. And of course, I was his fan, too. She took good care of her little brother and seemed so loved--which is why I never understood how things went so awry. I still don’t. Drugs? It’s not an explanation. We lost her long before we actually did. Tragic, I guess that’s what it means. Now, her little brother takes great care of her little guy. And so it is with loss. We never really know what is going on in people’s heads. And in the end, we’re left to try to understand.  

Primal Scream Therapy?
Whatever works...

Wolf Mom Parenting? 3-26-15

Just read these stories this morning:
Wolf Dad Parenting
Er, All I have to say to this dad is: Have fun at 2 1/2 years when you finally try to get him to wear clothes. Fortunately, we've gotten to the other side. Maybe. I hope. Boop is well into her 3's. I had to eliminate Peppa Pig from the screen. Ah sweet Peppa Pig seems so perfectly harmless. Yet, Peppa Pig encouraged all sorts of defiant behavior--not wearing clothes, not going to daycare, not going to bed, not having dinner at the table. Peppa could not be interupted. Alas, Peppa was sacrificed for the benefit of household harmony. Thankfully, we may have also lost the temptation of 'muddy puddles,' but I kinda diffused that when I explained that Peppa was a pig, and that pigs like to play in mud (not really true but true enough to get us through the moment). I have made my piece with Teen Titans Go! They really aren't so awful. Certainly not the IQ-dropping mind-suck of Spongebob Squarepants.

"Little Brats" playing on Veterans Memorial
Yes, I can see Boop trying to have a go at something like this. I'm sure she's already offended people horribly, as have I by my parenting misdeeds. But, goodness, the two of them are pretty old and have scaled pretty high. I guess the troubling thing is that the parents laughed, thought that what the kids were doing was funny. And it sounds like it took a huge crowd to take the hint that this was not okay and not funny. No apologies offered to the by-standing vets. No apparent scolding of the children. Hm. At times like these, I'm thinking it might be helpful to do a little research on the monument and sit down and have a talk: Information on the Vietnam Women's Memorial. Regardless of what you think of the Vietnam War, c'mon these were nurses. MASH was never really my thing (my parent's watching likely conflicted with a Peppa-Pig-like show that I wanted to watch and the blood, still don't like to see blood and innards), but I can appreciate the day-to-day difficulties of nurses in war. And it gives a hint, even if depicting Korea.

Boop's photo of me in the morning.
Yep, nearly 2 years and $5000 of Invisalign and still not quite right.

Beware the Ides of March. 3-15-15

Here's what's happening at 3 years and nearly 3 months:

• I'm wondering how long it will be before Boop realizes my Cocoa Puffs isn't really burnt cereal.
• I was trying to get some of Boop's old clothes ready for consignment. She gave me a questioning look and asked, "What's that?" "It's an iron, Honey," I explained. I don't think she had ever really seen one before.
• Winnie has another UTI and some kind of heart condition. Her murmur is getting worse, but she seems better with heart medicine. I wasn't happy to learn that the antibiotic that they use for her UTI's may be cardiotoxic. In the grand scheme of things, I'd rather her have a UTI than heart failure. So, I called them and told them I wanted to take her off of the batryl, and I did. We've been trying to keep up the uromax.
• Boop got her new Tinkerbell bed this week, and she has slept in it the past few days. It's taken some negotiating, including me trying to sleep in the tiny toddler bed, but we may be turning the corner. Fingers crossed.
• We've also done better in the mornings getting dressed the last couple of days. I gave Boop the moniker "Tar-Zanna" due to her aversion to clothes and baths. A few mornings seriously degenerated into me shouting such classics as, "We are not animals! Humans have to wear clothes!" I took her to my doctor's appointment, wrapped in a blanket. Unfortunately, that did not have the impact that I had hoped. The next day she didn't want to wear clothes so she could go with Mommy. No, no. We went promptly to daycare with her barely covered and in a blanket. Fortunately, she was ready to change in the bathroom before we got to class. Perhaps that did the trick. I am not into public shaming, but I just wanted her to change her very strong-willed toddler mind. I can't cancel life just because my toddler doesn't want to wear clothes.
• Some of the creepy stuff about people stealing children's identities has been worrying me. If you ever happen to see a photo of Boop floating around out there, please let me know. Thanks!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

You can put your arms away! 2-14-15

That was a song that Boop was singing this morning. She was talking about the cape she was wearing that went with her Elsa Frozen dress. I thought that would make a great anti-Valentines song, a sort of anti-Throw Your Arms Around Me-type song. And it's still snowing and very, very cold. I'm not sure if I'm desperate enough to combat one earworm with another. The risk is that I get a new strange song caught in my head, or even worse: I have both Quinn, the Eskimo PLUS another song, that's even less politically-correct, stuck in my head. 

Got some not-so-good news this morning: Winnie isn't doing so great, Mitral Valve Prolapse. Apparently, more serious in dogs than in people. They've started her on meds, and we'll go check back in a couple of weeks. 

Boop's Birthday Princess Tea Party with a friend
The end to a Birthmonth festivities

You've not seen nothing. 2-9-15

For the past week, my earworm has been Quinn the Eskimo (Manfred Mann version). I had a brief break with the warmer weather, but every time I get cold or see snow, the chorus goes through my head. And when Boop hears me humming, she wants me to sing. Misery loves company. And so, here you go... You can thank me later. You're welcome.

Princesses, Part II. 1-23-15

We just happened to catch Snow White and Aurora on a fluke.

Boop's Favorite Princess, Tiana

Boop was so excited, she had to take a break from Tiana to run around and then come back.

Some Princess Wannabees.

Cinderella's Lovely Stepmother

Me: "She looks a little terrified."

Her: "As she should."

And at the end: "Return to the humans who own you."

 Cinderella, revisited.

 We liked Prince Charming.

Pete's Silly Sideshow? 1-21-15

She finally met Daisy! 

But she was very nervous about Goofy--or The Great Goofini.

(Pete isn't there.)

Princesses. 1-16-15

We saw princesses. We saw princesses.

We saw lots and lots of princesses.

We were late to see Belle, 
but a staff person was nice enough to give us a Fast Pass.

I have to say that was one of the few nice staff members we encountered.

Overall, the staff was not as nice as I would have expected, especially since my Mom had mobility issues and was on a scooter. 
In fact, I think they treated us worse because of it.

Riding Horses. 1-15-15

So nice, we had to do it twice.

Cinderella and Rapunzel. 1-14-15

These were a bit blurry. 
I forgot to bring Boop an autograph book. They gave her a Birthday card at Chef Mickey's; so we just went with that. It actually worked out pretty well--except that the back was slick and poor Piglet got ink all over his paw from Eyore's signature. 
Gammy was on camera duty, and I was on video camera. 

Who's Your Friend? 1-13-15

She would not.let.go of Chip, and it became a little awkward, yes. Funny though. She's nearly 3; so it qualifies as pretty cute. 

Even Dale is cracking up.

Dale takes his turn.

One more squeeze for Chip.

Applecore! 3:00

I’m Just a Woman. 1-3-15

• Over Thanksgiving, we were in the parking lot of the grocery store, and Boop was a little agitated. I told her, “Well, we just need to pick up a few more things for cookie baking day, Chickadee.” She was incredulous: “I’m NOT a chickadee!” “Well, what do you want me to call you, then?” I asked. “I, I’m just a woman,” she explained. I had to laugh at that one, which didn’t help matters. She was grumpy and trudged through the entire store.
• At Christmas, the planets aligned, I had no strains or challenges to my voice, Mom was able to hear me for the first time in several months—devices were present and functioning, and a Fisher Price Little People baby Jesus lay in a manger under our Christmas tree. It was a heady time, indeed.
• At Walmart last week, Boop was walking ahead, and her jeggins were losing their hold. I called to her, “Hon, you think you better pull up your pants?” She ignored me. I looked to my left, and there was a guy in camo pulling up his pants. Okay, so that must be the worst pick-up line ever, but at least someone listened to me.
• Boop’s hit single is ‘Shiny Day.’ I have no idea where she heard this song, but I think it’s one that she’s made up. Fortunately, unlike many grindingly annoying pop songs that are played over and over, her song changes every time she sings it, based on whatever she’s doing.

  

  Check out the hair.

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