Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wordless Wednesday - Things I'm Looking Forward To
Whitewater Falls, near the South/North Carolina border. One of my absolutely favorite places to visit in the fall. These are from late October of last year.
Dummy Parenting 101
A couple of recent entries to Mommy's Vault of Stupid:
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In totally unrelated business, if any of you knows anything about digital scrapbooking, holla. I'm interested in starting it, and I'd like opinions. I've tried Scrap Blog, but I think it might be a little too basic for my needs.
- Take your child to Toys R Us so that you can get ideas for Christmas and birthday (which are within a week of one another for Livers). Show child a pretend guitar that plays music, a toy which child is guaranteed to like and want. Then take toy away from child, put it back on the shelf, and tell her that we're not getting it today but maybe in three months for Christmas. RESULT: Child will throw her first real temper tantrum in a (quiet) store, loud enough to likely be heard throughout the building. She will cry big fat crocodile tears, turn very red in the face, try to climb out of the buggy, and look up to you saying "Hold you, Mama!" I'm brilliant.
- Go to Sam's and give your child a balloon, all the while cringing because (A) popping balloons scare the bejesus out of you, and (B) child is holding balloon with her fingernails. Put child and balloon in the back of the car, making sure balloon is unreachable by child. Get child out of car at restaurant. Get balloon out of car at restaurant because you can no longer stand the possibility of child popping it in cramped quarters without warning. Tell child to say bye-bye to balloon and then let it go. Watch child roll out bottom lip and cry, with outstretched arms, "Balloon!" Hear cries turn to shrieking screams.
* * * * * *
In totally unrelated business, if any of you knows anything about digital scrapbooking, holla. I'm interested in starting it, and I'd like opinions. I've tried Scrap Blog, but I think it might be a little too basic for my needs.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
FFFF - One of My Favorite Places
Since I was a baby I have spent my summer vacations at one beach. I've only once in my life beached anywhere other than here, and this place holds many memories for me. My husband and I even chose to get married here, because he loved the place as well and felt it would be a fitting place to start our wedded lives.
I've since passed this tradition on to Livers, and I hope that she grows up with the same love for this place as I have.
Last week Livers and I spent a few days at my favorite beach with my parents. We'd already gone to the beach with neighbors, but I love the beach very much and would hate to go another year without visiting the one from my childhood. To commemorate this trip I am posting pictures from our visit to one of my favorite places on earth. Happy Friday Foto Finish Fiesta!
Early morning the first full day at the beach.
My budding beach bum contemplating throwing her shoes in the ocean.
She instead chose to drink the water. To each her own.
Washing her salty mouth out with some of her Bompa's Coke.
I love sea gulls, and so does Livers. It's one of the few birds that she can call by name. We enjoyed feeding them pretzels, Chex Mix, and whatever else we had on hand. Here are some of my favorite shots.
This species of gull always looks so pissed. I don't know what he's got to be angry about. He lives at the beach.
Livers had some apples and was trying to feed them to the sea gulls. They were not fans.
The second and last day we were on the beach it was incredibly windy. A front had moved through after our first day on the beach, producing some huge thunderstorms and keeping it overcast and cold the next day. I was afraid to go in the water, because I'm pretty sure there would've been rip currents.
My mom, like me, hates getting her picture taken. She'll probably be mad that I put this one up, but it was too funny to pass up.
The frighteningly rough surf.
Livers pondering the ocean. Either that or looking for a sea gull to harass.
These are sanderlings. They are incredibly small, and not all that shy. They would scoot almost to your toes to pick up food you had thrown down. Livers called them "teenie tiny birds".
One of my dad and my favorite places to visit is one of the local marinas. We always have enjoyed going in the late afternoon to see what the charter fishing boats have brought in from the Gulf Stream. Unfortunately for us, on this day they did not go out (likely because tourist season is over and it wasn't worth it), so we were disappointed. We instead walked on the walkways over the inlet. These are a few shots from the walk.
Livers loved this giant fish. She kept petting it and giving it hugs.
They have a "goat island" in the marsh. Seriously, it has a bunch of goats that live on it (and a few peacocks) and they eat all of the marsh reeds. They're a hoot to watch.
The last place we went was to the pier. I always love a good sign, and this sure got my attention.
This bird isn't all that spectacular, but for me it is the quintessential beach bird (more so than gulls). It is a Boat-tailed Grackle, and it has a very distinct call that reminds me of the beach. I always think of the beach whenever I hear it.
I managed to take a pretty decent shot of the moon rising on our last night. I liked how it was rising red, and you can actually see some of the craters in the moon.
I hope you enjoyed your tour of our beach trip! If you would like to see any other photos, stop on by Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Finish Fiesta and check them out!
I've since passed this tradition on to Livers, and I hope that she grows up with the same love for this place as I have.
Last week Livers and I spent a few days at my favorite beach with my parents. We'd already gone to the beach with neighbors, but I love the beach very much and would hate to go another year without visiting the one from my childhood. To commemorate this trip I am posting pictures from our visit to one of my favorite places on earth. Happy Friday Foto Finish Fiesta!
Early morning the first full day at the beach.
My budding beach bum contemplating throwing her shoes in the ocean.
She instead chose to drink the water. To each her own.
Washing her salty mouth out with some of her Bompa's Coke.I love sea gulls, and so does Livers. It's one of the few birds that she can call by name. We enjoyed feeding them pretzels, Chex Mix, and whatever else we had on hand. Here are some of my favorite shots.
This species of gull always looks so pissed. I don't know what he's got to be angry about. He lives at the beach.
Livers had some apples and was trying to feed them to the sea gulls. They were not fans.
The second and last day we were on the beach it was incredibly windy. A front had moved through after our first day on the beach, producing some huge thunderstorms and keeping it overcast and cold the next day. I was afraid to go in the water, because I'm pretty sure there would've been rip currents.
My mom, like me, hates getting her picture taken. She'll probably be mad that I put this one up, but it was too funny to pass up.
The frighteningly rough surf.
Livers pondering the ocean. Either that or looking for a sea gull to harass.
These are sanderlings. They are incredibly small, and not all that shy. They would scoot almost to your toes to pick up food you had thrown down. Livers called them "teenie tiny birds".
One of my dad and my favorite places to visit is one of the local marinas. We always have enjoyed going in the late afternoon to see what the charter fishing boats have brought in from the Gulf Stream. Unfortunately for us, on this day they did not go out (likely because tourist season is over and it wasn't worth it), so we were disappointed. We instead walked on the walkways over the inlet. These are a few shots from the walk.
Livers loved this giant fish. She kept petting it and giving it hugs.
They have a "goat island" in the marsh. Seriously, it has a bunch of goats that live on it (and a few peacocks) and they eat all of the marsh reeds. They're a hoot to watch.
The last place we went was to the pier. I always love a good sign, and this sure got my attention.
This bird isn't all that spectacular, but for me it is the quintessential beach bird (more so than gulls). It is a Boat-tailed Grackle, and it has a very distinct call that reminds me of the beach. I always think of the beach whenever I hear it.
I managed to take a pretty decent shot of the moon rising on our last night. I liked how it was rising red, and you can actually see some of the craters in the moon.
I hope you enjoyed your tour of our beach trip! If you would like to see any other photos, stop on by Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Finish Fiesta and check them out!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Things Found at the Playground
Today was a GORGEOUS autumn day in C-town. It was sunny with only a few wispy clouds in sight. There was a decent breeze. It was in the low-70s--low enough for this indoor girl to comfortably and happily wear her new, on sale JCPennys, super-soft sweater for most of the day. Since it was so nice (and Livers had been forced to shop much of the day), I took her to the park a couple of blocks from our house.
She had a blast. She spent much of our time picking up acorns and asking me, "How many?" before running off to pick up more. I pushed her in the swing for a good long time. Usually she gets bored and wants to move on to other things, but she was captivated by the guy on the "law mowah" cutting the grass on the baseball field. I finally put her down because I was getting tired of swinging, and I asked if she wanted to look for more acorns. She said she did but made a bee-line for the covered area where you can picnic.
She found a juice cup that some child had left, so I took it away from her and she nosed herself around the benches. Then I heard the chime of "AAA-KEEEEEEY!!", which is what we say when you find something that is trash, gross, or otherwise disgusting. (I didn't make the word up. It's a western Ohio thing.) I figured she'd found a piece of plastic or a bag or maybe some food, so I went to take whatever it was from her to throw it in the trash.
Only it wasn't your garden variety playground trash.
It was...
...a used condom wrapper.
On MY playground.
In MY daughter's virgin hands.
I'm thanking my lucky stars that it was just a wrapper. I wouldn't want to have to call the guys with the HASMAT suits to disinfect my poor child's hands.
I squinched up my face and told her, "Yes, that IS an ackey," and moved to PRY the trash out of the hand. She was trying to use her ninja grip on the thing. Needless to say we busted out the antibacterial wipes as soon as we got to the car.
And I'd always wondered what people were doing at the park at 11 at night. Now I know.
Yuck.
She had a blast. She spent much of our time picking up acorns and asking me, "How many?" before running off to pick up more. I pushed her in the swing for a good long time. Usually she gets bored and wants to move on to other things, but she was captivated by the guy on the "law mowah" cutting the grass on the baseball field. I finally put her down because I was getting tired of swinging, and I asked if she wanted to look for more acorns. She said she did but made a bee-line for the covered area where you can picnic.
She found a juice cup that some child had left, so I took it away from her and she nosed herself around the benches. Then I heard the chime of "AAA-KEEEEEEY!!", which is what we say when you find something that is trash, gross, or otherwise disgusting. (I didn't make the word up. It's a western Ohio thing.) I figured she'd found a piece of plastic or a bag or maybe some food, so I went to take whatever it was from her to throw it in the trash.
Only it wasn't your garden variety playground trash.
It was...
...a used condom wrapper.
On MY playground.
In MY daughter's virgin hands.
I'm thanking my lucky stars that it was just a wrapper. I wouldn't want to have to call the guys with the HASMAT suits to disinfect my poor child's hands.
I squinched up my face and told her, "Yes, that IS an ackey," and moved to PRY the trash out of the hand. She was trying to use her ninja grip on the thing. Needless to say we busted out the antibacterial wipes as soon as we got to the car.
And I'd always wondered what people were doing at the park at 11 at night. Now I know.
Yuck.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
I Won an Award!
Unfortunately, it was the "This Weekend in Clumsy (Dumbass)" Award.
Usually this one belongs to Livers. Case and point, a picture of what won it for her two weekends ago:
However, this weekend's belongs squarely and solely to yours truly. While in the bathroom with my husband, who was getting our resident fish her nightly bath, I turned around to leave the room. Without checking to see just how open the door was, I blindly walked full force into the edge of the slightly-closed door. If you look closely at the picture you may be able to see it's imprint, left via bruise, on my forehead. The picture does not do the injury justice. I think it looks better in person. Also left damaged, my big toe, which was rammed under the door and violently scratched. I should've taken it's picture immediately, as it was nice and blue, but I was on the den floor writhing in pain.
Hopefully I'll get non-injury, vacation-related pictures up soon. I had planned to do it today, but I haven't been at my best. I blame it on taking two BCP packs back-to-back in an effort to avoid the unmentionable while at the beach. It backfired as soon as I returned. What can you do? I hope to be in tip-top shape again soon. Now I'm off to watch a movie. Have a great night!
Usually this one belongs to Livers. Case and point, a picture of what won it for her two weekends ago:
However, this weekend's belongs squarely and solely to yours truly. While in the bathroom with my husband, who was getting our resident fish her nightly bath, I turned around to leave the room. Without checking to see just how open the door was, I blindly walked full force into the edge of the slightly-closed door. If you look closely at the picture you may be able to see it's imprint, left via bruise, on my forehead. The picture does not do the injury justice. I think it looks better in person. Also left damaged, my big toe, which was rammed under the door and violently scratched. I should've taken it's picture immediately, as it was nice and blue, but I was on the den floor writhing in pain.
Hopefully I'll get non-injury, vacation-related pictures up soon. I had planned to do it today, but I haven't been at my best. I blame it on taking two BCP packs back-to-back in an effort to avoid the unmentionable while at the beach. It backfired as soon as I returned. What can you do? I hope to be in tip-top shape again soon. Now I'm off to watch a movie. Have a great night!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
The Girls Are Back in Town
We are FINALLY back home, after what seems like a lifetime away. Livers and I got in around 5 yesterday, and though I was frustrated that the house was not up to my standards of cleanliness, it felt great to be home. I'd only been home for 10 hours since the 11th, and that was long enough to drop off my husband's luggage from Ohio, sleep six hours, and pack up to leave again at 9:45 the next morning.
I must say, traveling with a 20 month old can be rough. It can be especially so when you are stuck in an airport for two hours because of a hurricane grounding your plane IN OHIO. Who knew they got hurricanes up there. Overall Livers did great on her trips. She was very rambuctious and active, but that's no different than normal. I know that things could have been MUCH worse. (We've ALL been on planes or in cars with crying children who don't know when to quit.) There were relatively few meltdowns, and she was taken by the sights and sounds of the world around her.
It was very different going to the beach in the middle of September. I'm used to it being hot and humid the entire time, and there were times when it was actually, get this,...cold. Storms blew though Tuesday which left it around 80 and pretty windy the rest of the trip. It was fall-like! I'll probably get around to posting some pictures from the beach later this weekend.
Livers and the Local Color
For now, I've got to start tackling my huge get-back-in-my-routine to-do list, which is includes but is not limited to:
P.S. Only two days till fall! I'm trembling with excitement, even more so since it actually feels like fall here!
Coming soon to a backyard year you!
I must say, traveling with a 20 month old can be rough. It can be especially so when you are stuck in an airport for two hours because of a hurricane grounding your plane IN OHIO. Who knew they got hurricanes up there. Overall Livers did great on her trips. She was very rambuctious and active, but that's no different than normal. I know that things could have been MUCH worse. (We've ALL been on planes or in cars with crying children who don't know when to quit.) There were relatively few meltdowns, and she was taken by the sights and sounds of the world around her.
It was very different going to the beach in the middle of September. I'm used to it being hot and humid the entire time, and there were times when it was actually, get this,...cold. Storms blew though Tuesday which left it around 80 and pretty windy the rest of the trip. It was fall-like! I'll probably get around to posting some pictures from the beach later this weekend.
Livers and the Local Color
For now, I've got to start tackling my huge get-back-in-my-routine to-do list, which is includes but is not limited to:
- Lots of laundry
- Cleaning a scuzzy bathroom
- Dishes
- Unpacking
- Dusting
- Grocery shopping
- Clothes shopping for Livers (she's getting too big for her summertime britches)
- Buying new batting my mom's dog destroyed while my husband dog-sat him
- Sorting out the baby toys from Livers' stash because she's growing up
- General straightening
- Finishing the diaper bag I had started before leaving for vacations
- Getting around to various craft projects I had in mind
- Reading Nights in Rodanthe before going on a girls' night out to see it Friday
P.S. Only two days till fall! I'm trembling with excitement, even more so since it actually feels like fall here!
Coming soon to a backyard year you!
Friday, September 12, 2008
(Don't You) Forget About Me
Just a quick post:
I'll be MIA (intenet connection dependent) until the 19th. I'm currently in the great state of Ohio for my brother-in-law's wedding, and the day after coming back Livers and I will be taking a trip to the beautiful (and thankfully, hurricane-free) Carolina coast.
If I'm able to update (and hopefully I will be) my blog and read/comment on your blogs, then I will. I'll at the very least be reading some of your blogs in my absence. (Thank God for internet phones!)
Until later, have a wonderful week!
P.S. Thanks, Tiaras & Tantrums! I'll be sharing the love when I get a chance!
I'll be MIA (intenet connection dependent) until the 19th. I'm currently in the great state of Ohio for my brother-in-law's wedding, and the day after coming back Livers and I will be taking a trip to the beautiful (and thankfully, hurricane-free) Carolina coast.
If I'm able to update (and hopefully I will be) my blog and read/comment on your blogs, then I will. I'll at the very least be reading some of your blogs in my absence. (Thank God for internet phones!)
Until later, have a wonderful week!
P.S. Thanks, Tiaras & Tantrums! I'll be sharing the love when I get a chance!
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