Never Stops. 12-24-14

At Aunt D’s during our Christmas visit, she did laps around the kitchen/den singing. Laps and laps. No naps. I thought I was clear today at the grocery when she got in the little car made onto the front of the shopping cart and wanted to be buckled in. We didn’t even make it through the produce section. She was all over the place somewhere between produce and health food. She had long shed her little vest that matched my sweater at the Chinese restaurant, and she was marching/stomping through the aisles of the grocery in blue princess dress, purple microfiber boots, and black minky jacket. And singing. Singing as loud as she could without yelling. She can really project. And singing about: everything. Narrating her entire trip through the grocery. At one point: “Signs. There’s lots of signs. Signs everywhere.” The next minute: “Mommy said to stop. Stop, stop, stop.” And she was stomping those big purple boots to keep the beat. She is like an extravert version of me on super steroids. 

The whole time, I just tried to keep my eyes focused straight ahead, not making eye contact as I followed behind the ring leader. However, out of the corner of my eye, I could see people cracking up and nodding their heads. Some admired her boots; some complimented her princess dress; some just commented on her cuteness. Meanwhile, I’m thinking, ‘When do I intervene?’ ‘Is this healthy for her to be encouraged to be so… theatrical?’ ‘What will become of her; she's 2 years old and already so--out there?’ ‘Do I nip it in the bud?’ She’s fearless and full of energy. I am carefully picking my battles.  

Spring Cleaning. 6-4-14

It’s still officially spring. I have a couple of weeks left. I’m trying to get caught up from all of the months of office work. My house is showing the wear. The winter was rough. I thought a metal roof would be such a good investment, but it sure has done a number to my gutters. So, I need to figure out what to do.

Boop likes to help me clean. That’s great in spirit. However, as you would expect with a toddler, she has a way of creating new jobs for me to do. For example, she had the spray bottle of vinegar to clean the stainless steel fridge. She actually did a decent job for the one or two areas for the first few squirts, but I would look away and look back to find huge streaks and the fridge and paper towels dripping with vinegar. The kitchen reeked of it for a few days. Could be worse. But honestly, the best thing about the activity is that it keeps Boop occupied. Could be worse. Much, much worse. I’ve gotten distracted by doing something so many times when suddenly my Mommy Alarm goes off, and I look around to see what she’s gotten into. Apparently, a toddler daddy in South Korea was not so lucky. He presented his passport to leave a foreign country, only to find that his child had drawn in ink all over the passport photo page, making it useless. I’d say Boop hiding my credit cards (she LOVES credit cards) and keys rank pretty high up there. I just pulled out the couch to find a treasure trove—Winnie had hid our socks there, and Boop had hid credit cards, business cards, award cards—all those little cards just perfect for toddler-sized hands.

I am always watching those hoarding shows for inspiration, hoping that Boop and I don’t end up that way. And in my cleaning, I came across this. But I’m hearing that Neil is not going to tour for a long, long time. So, these will be few and far between, unfortunately. 

Reinvention. 12-20-13

I had to take another sick day yesterday to take care of an ailing Boop. She had had peas for dinner the night before; so the bed looked like a scene from a Linda Blair movie. I’ve been washing my hands so much that they feel like scrub brushes.

Mom has always said that there are givers and takers. I don’t exactly believe that. I’m not sure that gives appropriate credit to the enablers. Well, I just try not to be a taker, but it’s very tempting sometimes. For me at work, the issue is more barriers and facilitators. So with the end of the year, and my various failures at work weighing heavy, I seek reinvention.

I have a couple of guy friends who are out on big adventures, P in Antarctica and J in India. P has the distinction of being the only guy to ever stand me up; I doubt he knows that. He did eventually show up, though. Anyway. I hope they find what they are looking for. A change of context helps, but I doubt I’ll need to freeze my rear off to accomplish change.

I hooked up my old Wii last week, which Boop likes. I hadn’t been on Wii Fit since before I had Boop, probably very early in my pregnancy. Fortunately, I’m about where I was then; I just need to try to get back to the weight I was about 6 months before I got pregnant. My teeth are straightening out. Superficial. I know I need bigger change. Hopefully change for the better. 

On the Move. 6-26-13

These photos were taken in late May, but our photographer just returned from Iran. The election slowed down things a bit there. These are copied from a PowerPoint she sent.

If she's not on my lap, she is clinging to my knees.
This gets really challenging when I try to make dinner and slows me down a fair bit, in general.