tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58202054261638185082024-03-05T23:32:23.224-05:00Landscaping, Flower Division...Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-14917441404179066762017-12-08T01:57:00.000-05:002017-12-08T01:57:32.057-05:00Fake Snow and Dive BombsWhen you are out in public, you have certain hopes for your children. That they don't have a massive meltdown. That they remain fully clothed. That they don't pick their nose and eat their boogers. Basically, that they behave like slightly civilized little human beings. I say slightly, because we all know that children are savage. <br />
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I have had, what I consider, reasonable expectations for visiting Santa this year. I remembered that it took four tries, and a bribe to get Pookie to visit Santa when he was 2 1/2. So now that Squishy is about the same age, I figured visiting Santa would be slightly bumpy. I've been talking Santa up to Squishy. Giving him the chance to get acclimated with the idea of visiting Santa. However, this is always met with 'I see Santa. I cry.' I've got to give the kid credit. At least he is honest, and is giving me a heads up. We did a trial run during the lighting on the Common. Pookie had no problems going up and visiting with Santa. Squishy on the other hand, had a death grip on my neck, and was crying hysterically. I can't say that I blame him, Santa is a big guy with a loud voice, and a bushy beard. I can see how this can be rather intimidating.<br />
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Some time went by, and I found the perfect afternoon to go visit Santa at the mall. Both kids were in clean clothing. (Yay!) I gave Squishy the rundown of how the visit would go. I'm feeling good about this visit. We are good to go! We get to the mall, and there is a small line to see Santa. I figured this would be a good thing to help Squishy get acclimated to the idea of visiting Santa. It's finally our turn, and Pookie marches right on up, and plunks himself next to Santa. Squishy allowed me to put him on Santa's lap, however, he refused to look in Santa's direction. The poor photographer was trying desperately to get Squishy to smile. But it was just not happening. I told the poor photographer not to worry about it, because one, Squishy is actually sitting on Santa's lap, and two, he's not shrieking like a banshee. I'm calling this a win in my book. <br />
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We say our goodbye's to Santa, and make our way to look at the pictures. There is a line, due to only one lady working at the photo counter. I have to give this lady props, because she was supper cheerful! That is a hard emotion to maintain during the holiday season. <br />
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Silly me, left the stroller in the car. For whatever hopeful reason, I thought we would be in and out fairly quickly. Squishy wanted to get down and explore. He was not to thrilled when I told him that he could either be held, or he could stand and hold my hand. It's finally our turn, and there is this perfect picture. Pookie has this great big smile on his face. And then their is Squishy. His head is down, with a scowl on his face, and he is glaring at the camera. It is absolutely perfect! Both kids are actually looking at the camera! It does not get any better than that. <br />
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As I am trying to pay for our pictures, Squishy is being his delightful, destructive, self. You know how they put plexiglas in front of large signs? I'm not entirely sure what happened, but Squishy caused the destruction of the one in front of the register. I managed to shove things together, while apologizing profusely. Then Squishy makes a dash for it. I have paid for my pictures, and I am trying to shove everything back into my bag while chasing after him. At the entrance, there are two elves, with their faces cut out, so you can have a photo opt. Squishy runs behind, and sticks his face through the opening. As I was trying to get my phone out to take a picture, Squishy does a pirouette and runs under the rope, and dives into the fake snow. One of the guys in line was laughing, and told me that would make a great picture. I agreed, but knowing exactly how destructive Squishy can be, I pulled him out as fast as I can. I'm juggling my bag, two coats, and a wiggly two and a half year old, that is covered in glitter and fluffy bits. I gave Squishy a quick dust off, got him into his coat, and high tailed it out of there! <br />
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I had hoped to go to the grocery store after our Santa visit. We are almost to the grocery store, when Pookie informs me that Squishy has fallen asleep. One long detour later, we finally make it home. I was able to successfully transfer Squishy from the car to the house, and he took a great nap. All in all, I will call it a highly successful visit to see Santa! Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-14921413817961064672013-07-13T01:24:00.000-04:002013-07-13T01:24:16.157-04:00Spiders and Ants and Wasps, Oh My!I hate bugs. Well, I should say that I hate bugs in my house. I have no problem with bugs outside the house. Unless it is a mosquito, I don't care where those little blood sucking creatures are, they all deserve to die. What really drives me nuts are baby spiders. (Yes, I do know that a spider is an arachnid and not an insect. But to me they go in the same category of creepy crawly's, aka, bugs.) Inevitably we put the air conditioners in and the spiders flock to the inside of my house. I go to great lengths to block off any possible point of entry, but they still find a way in. Then of course it has to be a mama spider. I think I could deal with the baby spiders if they came all at once. But they seem to come in waves. To top it off, they love me. They keep landing on me, which generally results in a lot of shrieking on my part. Rob has the audacity to just laugh at me. He blames me for the large influx of spiders. He seems to think that the house was spider free before I moved in. I just think he wasn't paying attention.<br />
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To make things more interesting, small sugar ants have started a conga line in front of the front door. I have no idea why they are congregating there, but they seem to think it's a great spot. I have found that the easiest way to dispose of all bugs inside the house is by sucking them up with the vacuum. Pookie likes to make sure to point out any bug inside the house. He will even open the closet door up and pull out the vacuum. Pookie has an interesting love affair with the vacuum. He knows how to turn it on and off, and he's not too bad at pushing it around. He hasn't yet figured out how to plug it in, but I'm sure that's coming soon. I have tried several non-toxic methods of getting rid of the ants. Too bad none of them worked. I finally pulled out my trusty can of Raid and attacked the front door with it. That seems to have done the trick.<br />
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This past Friday, we had the perfect day weather wise. It was low humidity and in the 70's. I don't think it could get any better than that. I decided to open up all the windows and let in the fresh air. I think the windows are original to the house. The house was built in the 50's. The windows leave quite a lot to be desired. Some are easier to open than others, but they all tend to stick. This generally results in a lot of banging to get the window to un-stick. On the front of the house we have a very lovely brick chimney and a small window on either side. Well, on the right side in-between the chimney and the window, there is a very lovely wasps nest. They seem to be quite happy there and the wasps haven't bothered anyone yet. (aka, Rob hasn't gotten around to spraying the nest and killing them all yet.) So I'm inside banging on the window, trying to get it to un-stick and all of a sudden, out side the window, I see a swarm of pissed off wasps. Oops. They were not happy campers. All I could think of was that our newspaper hadn't been delivered yet and I really hoped that our delivery lady didn't get stung. Luckily, the wasps calmed down very quickly and our newspaper was safely delivered.Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-15250814467096925992013-07-12T00:22:00.001-04:002013-07-12T00:22:24.240-04:00Drains, part 2Bath time has gotten a little bit easier around here. Pookie still has an intense dislike of drains. I think that is something that will take a while to completely dissipate. Things finally came to a screeching halt a couple of weeks ago during one of Pookie's tubbies. It resulted in me stripping down to my skivvies and getting into the tub with Pookie. I have come to the realization that as long as my feet are in the tub, Pookie does okay with his baths. <br />
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Pookie has taken to hording all of his bath toys and attempt to sit on them. That way the toys won't float away and accidentally get too close to the drain end of the tub. Let me tell you, that process is rather entertaining to watch. Nothing like trying to sink float-able objects. Also, all of the bath toys have to be out of the tub before Pookie will get out, and then I need to be the last one out of the tub. Pookie will still get a little freaked out when I take him out of the tub and start to dry him off. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I am still standing in the tub while I'm drying him off. Our bathroom isn't that big and there isn't a lot of room to maneuver. Then once he is all dried off and into a set of PJ's, we watch the water go down the drain. <br />
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Another thing that has helped is reading books about bath time. Pookie has really fallen in love with a book called <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bernards-bath-joan-elizabeth-goodman/1000215077?ean=9781563978548">Bernard's Bath</a>. It's about this little elephant that doesn't want to take a bath and his parents and grandma convince him that baths are fun. Pookie also really likes <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/curious-george-plumbers-helper-h-a-rey/1100302977?ean=9780547235899">Curious George: Plumber's Helper</a>. George takes a bath and his toys accidentally go down the drain and cause a clog. The plumber needs to be called to fix the problem. I think the Curious George book is great because it shows how pipes work and if something were to go down the drain, it could be retrieved. <br />
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In addition to our bath time rituals, we have taken to checking out other drains. Mainly the sewer drains in the street. Pookie likes to check to see if there is water at the bottom of the drain. He also likes to reaffirm the fact that he is indeed too big to fit through the grate and will not get sucked down the drain. After dinner, as long as it's not raining, we set out for a walk around the neighborhood. As we go along Pookie will pick up rocks and sticks, although, he is limited to one of each. Sometimes when we go for a walk, Pookie will want to bring along his egg. This drives me nuts because I have visions of him dropping it down one of the drains and not being able to get it out. Generally I try to dissuade him from bringing anything along for a walk. <br />
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I love to hear him chatter as we go along. There is a section where there are a lot of trees and Pookie will call it the spooky forest. I tell him that we have to be quiet and tiptoe through the "forest." Pookie, of course, thinks this is great fun. I'm sure the neighbors think I'm nuts. Really, who cares what the neighbors think, Pookie is having a grand time and that's all that counts!Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-54408921194574055522013-07-11T01:30:00.001-04:002013-07-11T01:30:50.472-04:00Good job car!Pookie has been very interested in choosing paths. For example, we go for a walk after dinner to take a look at the sewer drains. (That is a whole other story.) As we walk along, we come to crossroads and we decide which way to go. This path versus that path. We make our choice and continue on our walk. <div>
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Earlier today, we were driving along, and Pookie was jabbering on about the paths the car was taking. I talked to him about right turns and left turns. Then proceeded to tell him when we were making a left or right hand turn. Pookie had a lot of fun announcing the direction that we were turning in. Apparently he felt that the car needed a little bit of praise and out of the back seat I heard "Good job car!" Good job, indeed. </div>
Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-50543935734408439062013-05-27T00:16:00.001-04:002013-05-27T00:16:55.055-04:00DrainsPookie is now afraid of the drain on the bath tub. Afraid might be too mild, terrified, might be better. A few tubbies ago, Pookie was taking a bath in the big tub. When he was all done, I started to drain the water before getting Pookie out of the tub. He became very concerned about his bath toys. He thought that they were all going to get sucked down the drain. I told him that his toys were fine and that they couldn't fit down the drain, only the water could. He seemed to calm down and didn't really say anything about it again. <br />
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Then came the big melt down. Once again, I was giving Pookie a tubby in the big tub and I thought everything was going well. I scrubbed him down and he was having fun splashing in the tub. Then all of a sudden Pookie started to freak out. I guess that too many toys had congregated at the end of the tub near the drain and he thought that somehow they were all going to get sucked down the drain. Mind you, I hadn't started to drain the tub yet. Pookie started grabbing his toys and tossing them out of the tub. He was freaking out so badly, I pulled him out of the tub before rescuing the rest of his toys. In order to show him that the no one and nothing was going down the drain, I rolled my pants up, got into the tub and let the water drain. Let me tell you, he was NOT happy about that. <br />
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I have been giving Pookie his baths in the kitchen sink again. This seems to be helping slightly. He still will freak out at the very end. I find this interesting because I empty out the sink after I am done scrubbing him down and refill it with clean water so Pookie can splash around for a while. Apparently he is okay with the sink draining as long as the water is running. I have no idea how I am going to convince him that he and all his toys are safe. <br />
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Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-35747840321617605862013-05-21T00:21:00.000-04:002013-05-21T00:21:30.995-04:00And we're off!Pookie is a runner. Well, at the moment, it's more of a skip / gallop as apposed to a run. Regardless, the kid is fast on his feet. Normally, this isn't too much of a problem. My middle brother was a runner, so I know that I can't take my eye off of Pookie, because he will disappear. Generally if he does wander, he's not too far away. Until today.<br />
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We were working in the garden. I was trying to get the rest of my plants planted. Sometime this week we're getting a sprinkler system put in, plus the beds still need to be mulched and I just want all the plants in place. As we are going along, Rob's guys come by. Pookie, of course is thrilled to see the trucks. I needed to talk to one of the guys for a minute, to go over business what-not, and during that time, Pookie disappeared. Thank goodness Rob's guys started to look for Pookie. We checked the front yard, the back yard, behind the garage, in the garage, and a quick check of the neighbors yard. As I was checking the house, one of the guys found Pookie. He was on the far side of the neighbors house. I have never been so scared. I know Pookie was only missing for a couple of minutes, but it felt like forever. It is the most disgustingly sick feeling, with a large dash of panic on top. </div>
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It's really too bad that they don't make an electric fence for kids. I would so invest in one. I know, it is my duty as a parent to keep an eye on my child. I'm not the first parent to misplace a child, and I know I won't be the last. It's funny, we keep our pets on leashes and make sure that they are properly fenced in. Kids are a whole other story. I've heard that using a tether on a child is just bad parenting. Can't you teach your kid to stay with you and not run off? Sorry, I have a very inquisitive child that likes to disappear. I think I would rather make sure my child is safe, thanks for asking though. At two, Pookie doesn't have the brain development to realize that running off is a really, really bad idea. So I think that I will be investing in some rope and a dog run. I don't care if I have to tie Pookie in knots, I'm not loosing that kid again. I guess I'm going to be "that" parent on the street. </div>
Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-45559739424886537242013-05-19T16:51:00.000-04:002013-05-19T16:51:41.908-04:00SocksPookie is obsessed with socks. The socks have to be just right on his foot, not too tight and not too baggy. Apparently they have to be properly aligned, as well. He will ask me to fix his socks through out the day. I guess they need adjusting from time to time. Pookie can get very cranky if his socks are not properly situated on his feet. It also helps if they are blue socks. Sometimes I can get away with other colors, but blue is the definite favorite. Pookie can get very cranky if he is not wearing socks. Although, sometimes it is okay to wear shoes without socks. But as soon as the shoes come off, he needs to put his socks back on. <br />
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Not only is he obsessed with his own foot wear, he is very concerned about other peoples foot wear. I like to go around barefoot if possible. This completely throws Pookie for a loop. He will go into my room and either get my slippers or find a pair of socks, then bring them over to me. Pookie will proceed to shove the slippers at me and insist that I put them on my feet. You can see him getting agitated if you are not wearing something on your feet. </div>
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I think this whole thing is hilarious He seems to have inherited some sock quirks from my side of the family. My middle brother is fanatical about seams in his socks. They drive him nuts. Plus, the socks have to be just so, otherwise he starts to have issues. Then there is my mom, she hates bare feet. She doesn't like the feeling of different textures from the floor / ground on her feet. She even wears socks with her sandals. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with wearing socks with sandals, but that look wouldn't be my first choice. Although, I think at this point in her life, comfort trumps anything else. It will be interesting to see where Pookie's sock obsession takes him. </div>
Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-6161857714984106462013-05-16T16:46:00.000-04:002013-05-16T16:46:27.451-04:00Dinner disaster 2013Polenta.<br />
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I've heard some great things about polenta. How versatile it is. It can be creamy or firm. You can put just about anything in it or on top of it. It can be creamy yummy goodness. Or so I have heard... <br />
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Every so often, I want to try something new for dinner. I am always looking for new ways to put the same handful of stuff together. Every time I go to the grocery store, I keep my eye out for anything different that could fit in Pookie's list of safe foods. As I was going through the pasta aisle and saw some instant polenta. I've never had polenta before, but I thought I would try it out. I think instant polenta might have been my first mistake. <br />
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Rob had a very late day yesterday, so of course I thought that was a great time to do a dinner experiment I had some steak tips, carrots and polenta. Well, the carrots came out really well. But it is hard to screw up carrots. The steak tips were a little chewy, but were edible. <br />
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Then we come to the polenta. I read the instructions on the package. It seemed easy enough. I got out a pan, filled in the appropriate amount of water, tossed in some salt and waited for it to come to a boil. I think my second mistake was using too small of a pan. The water came to a boil and I started to add the polenta in, mixing all the while. Well, wouldn't you know, boiling polenta is like a volcanic explosion. It landed on at least three walls, the floor, all over the stove and me. Of course this is the point that Pookie comes into the kitchen to "help." I scooted Pookie out of the kitchen, at which point he has a melt down. I couldn't leave the polenta all over the kitchen to harden into rock. So I got out my cleaner and cleaned off the stove, walls and floors before sitting down to dinner. I get Pookie's dinner all set as he is continuing his melt down. Nothing like an over tired, over hungry two year old. I finally sit down to eat and the polenta is horrible. It has become a congealed hot mess. Ugh.<br />
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Then to top of the whole hot mess of the dinner, as I was getting the dishes into the sink, Pookie knocked over my glass and spilled cranberry juice everywhere. It was on the table, on the my chair and all over the floor. Double ugh. <br />
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At some point I want to try polenta again. However, I <strike>think I</strike> am done with the instant stuff. Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-51505515881867098932013-04-30T01:09:00.000-04:002013-04-30T01:09:40.561-04:00Crafts make me itch (sometimes)I can not believe how fast this year has been flying by. My crafting kick that started sometime last fall has continued into this year. Out of my current queue of projects I have finished three and I have at least two more to go. But as the way projects go, more always find a way of tacking themselves on. I will post pictures soon! I just haven't had a chance to download what I already have. So far I made another baby set. Only this time, in addition to a blanket and hat, I made a cute stripey crew neck sweater. Something cute for an older baby. <br />
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My aunt requested a burlap wreath for her birthday. I was excited to try something new. I've never made one before and I went searching online looking for various ideas. I finally got Pookie down for his nap. (Oh! P.S. Pookie is finally taking naps in his crib again! And sometimes he actually SLEEPS!) I got all my supplies out and got to work. Well, wouldn't you know it, almost half way through, my mouth started to feel funny. My lips kind of went numb, then my tongue started to feel funny and then my neck started itching. Yep, I was having an allergic reaction to burlap*. Ugh. So I took some benadryl and finished making the wreath. However, I still had to finish decorating it. I plunked it in the office thinking that hopefully it was just a contact issue and as long as I didn't touch my face while handling it, there wouldn't be a problem. Silly me. I'm in the office the next day checking my email and I start feeling funny and getting itchy. Apparently it was an air borne thing not a contact thing. Oy vey. I take some more benadryl and get a couple of garbage bags to put the wreath into. Then I moved the darn thing to the garage. <br />
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My ever thought full honey pie set up the saw horse in the garage and gave me a face mask so I could finish my project. (On a side note, I would highly recommend brushing your teeth really well after eating hummus if you are going to be putting a mask on.) I did manage to finish my project with minimal itching. I did stick it back into it's garbage bags. I have no idea what I am going to do with the darn thing on my aunts birthday. I can't be in the same room as it. Maybe we can stick it on the back deck and she can open it as we are leaving. I guess we'll cross that bridge when it comes. <br />
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*Burlap is the kind of texture the material is, but burlap can be made out of jute, flax or hemp fibers. Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-76977002296010467032013-02-18T14:33:00.000-05:002013-02-18T14:33:03.497-05:00When all else fails, blame it on SantaThere are all sorts of mile stones in a persons life. Pookie has just hit a new one. Around this age, kids start telling fibs. At two, kids can't distinguish between fantasy and reality. On the flip side, this means his imagination is working. <br />
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Pookie has been a little more cantankerous the past couple of days. Our schedules are all out of whack, which tends to wreak havoc. The other day I was getting my list together to go grocery shopping. Mind you, I am also getting breakfast together and really, I'm not awake yet at this point. I have the freezer open to check to see what I need more of and Pookie decides to grab the bag of frozen corn. Not only does he grab the bag, but he pulls the clip off the top. Then he proceeds to drop the bag. Before I can stop him he picks up the bag of corn from the wrong end and corn goes everywhere. Erg. I make a noise of frustration and Pookie heads for the hills. I manage to get the frozen corn out of the freezer and swept up off the floor. I have a feeling that I am going to be finding corn kernels in random spots in my freezer for the next several months. At this point the toast is definitely on the toasty end and I take a couple of gulps of my now cold coffee trying to wake myself up a little more before going to talk with Pookie.<br />
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Pookie has very wisely set up camp in a corner of his room. He is looking very ashamed of himself. I picked him up and we sat down on the glider and I asked him what happened. To which he responded "Saanta Claws dop con" (aka Santa Claus dropped the corn). Hum, I don't think Santa was in the building, I think that Pookie dropped the corn. Pookie continued to insist that Santa was the one who did it. I gently told him that I saw Pookie drop it, that it was an accident and accidents happen. I then told him that he needed to say 'sorry' for dropping the corn. He really wasn't having any of that, however I asked him if he was sorry that it dropped and he said yes. Really, I kind of like Pookie's tactic, just blame it on Santa Claus. Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-42593690402103672842013-02-13T22:39:00.000-05:002013-02-13T22:39:03.612-05:00Favorite parentPookie has been going through a stage where he is glued to my side. Rob's been feeling a little bit left out. Then the Blizzard of '13 hit and Rob was gone from mid day on Friday and got back home in the afternoon on Sunday. Rob did manage to stop by the house twice 50-ish hours that he was out. But really, the time that Rob was home, he was asleep for most of it. We're talking at total of 5 hours at home over the course of two days. Pookie really missed his Dada and boy, did I know it! For the most part Pookie is a good kid. He's active, but he will listen to what I am telling him. Over the the span of the blizzard, Pookie had one issue after another. He was not a happy little camper. <br />
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Then Rob came home. Pookie was ecstatic to see his Dada. I was telling Rob how Pookie kept having issues over the weekend and I mentioned that Pookie really missed him. Rob was a little surprised that Pookie missed him so much. Seeing as he's been having such a Mama's boy streak going on. However, Rob was relieved and happy that Pookie missed him. Nothing like a little validation that even though Pookie is going though a clingy stage with one of us, he still loves both of us. <br />
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On a side note, it was really funny to watch Pookie's reaction to the amount of snow that we got. We got about 30" here, plus the drifts. We had to get a front end loader to clear our driveway. Pookie was ecstatic about the 'Big Truck'! I did manage to get Pookie out in the snow. At first he wanted nothing to do with going outside. But once we got out he had a lot of fun helping me shovel the walkways. <br />
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Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-4947690994890992482013-01-26T23:48:00.001-05:002013-01-26T23:48:55.020-05:00Bath timeMy little guy has just turned two. I have no idea where the past two years have gone. I had a funny moment the other day that gave me a flash back to when Pookie was little. Pookie has his bath time in the kitchen sink. He fits and my back and knees don't hurt after. It works for now. Pookie loves his bath time. I blow bubbles and he tries to eat them. I think that child would eat just about anything. He has a lot of fun splashing around and getting Mama wet. As I was finishing up cleaning Pookie off, I thought about his first bath at home. <br />
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The winter Pookie was born, it was cold and we had a LOT of snow. Like, so much snow, I didn't see Rob for about three months because he was either out plowing or he was sleeping. My mom came out for a visit right after we got home from the hospital to help us out. We had been home for a day or two, and we decided to give Pookie a bath. I got everything ready. I turned up the heat in the house, I made sure that we had enough towels and that the water was at a nice warm temperature. Because Pookie still had the umbilical cord stump attached, he needed to have a sponge bath. I got everything set up on the changing table and my mom and I got to work on bathing Pookie. About half way through, I looked at Pookie's face and his lips were blue. Poor thing was cold! I hadn't had him home for even a week, and I managed to turn my son blue. Talk about Mom-of-the-Year Award! We quickly finished his bath and got him all wrapped up like a burrito. We got him all toasty warm and pink again in no time. <br />
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Flash forward two years and now he is running around the house almost naked before his bath. Pookie radiates heat, between Pookie and Rob, I have two personal space heaters. It is astounding how much one little person can change in the span of two years. Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-88886722502150751472013-01-22T23:44:00.000-05:002013-01-22T23:44:50.680-05:00Gift overloadPookie has recently turned 2. I can not believe that my baby is 2 years old. My mom keeps reminding me to wait until Pookie graduates from high school. If I feel like time has flown by now, it is much worse then. With Christmas and then Pookie's birthday, Pookie has received a LOT of gifts. We are starting to run out of room to put things. Talk about a first world issue. My child has received too many gifts. Do I sound ungrateful or what? There are so many people that love Pookie and want the best for him and have a tendency to buy too much for him. Really, that's not such a bad thing. However, we only have so much space. <br />
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It was very funny watching Pookie opening up his gifts. At Christmas he would peel off one strip of wrapping paper at a time and throw that piece of paper away before tearing off another piece. I think Pookie was more interested in putting things in the garbage than actually opening his gifts. Once an item had been opened, Pookie would then want to play with that new item. Looking back, I should have let him open one gift a day as apposed to opening everything at once. By the time we got to my in-law's house, Pookie was starting to be all done with opening gifts. Of course a pile awaited Pookie. By the time everything was opened, Pookie was fried. <br />
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We ended up celebrating Little Christmas with my side of the family. Pookie decided to take stuff randomly out of bags and play with that item for a while before moving onto something else. It ended up working really well. So when his birthday rolled around, I wasn't too surprised that Pookie randomly started pulling stuff out of bags. He did a little at a time, and he had opened everything by the end of the party. Thank goodness that Pookie got a lot of clothing. I think he officially has more pants than Rob and I combined. <br />
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At some point I have to go through all of Pookie's toys and sort through things. Some things I will save for later, some things will be put in storage for the next munchkin and some things are going to need to find a new home. I think I am going to need some more storage containers to help sort Pookie's toys so he knows what he actually has. Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-87901191990022714032013-01-21T22:51:00.000-05:002013-01-21T22:51:00.721-05:00Pookie the goat<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLG3mW8vMLQyKX6IS3uxi7dXAF5hm77aajLTZ0R3ZNej1uFIRBSBKTAagCUmW_ttNDdXcCyKIQEk9oWahoOjXtFhP_BLmm9M_UeNZjj-lJSP6zOLNCo7bjtgObDr-Nty9apjAdrx1iDO1S/s1600/DSCN2490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLG3mW8vMLQyKX6IS3uxi7dXAF5hm77aajLTZ0R3ZNej1uFIRBSBKTAagCUmW_ttNDdXcCyKIQEk9oWahoOjXtFhP_BLmm9M_UeNZjj-lJSP6zOLNCo7bjtgObDr-Nty9apjAdrx1iDO1S/s320/DSCN2490.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tasty book</td></tr>
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My child eats everything. Books, wooden spoons, blankets, socks, his crib... You get the picture. Poor kid is getting all four of his two year molars in. They have been creating quite a bit of havoc. Who would have thought that these little teeth would cause such a ruckus? Between a lack of naps and interesting wake up calls in the middle of the night, I can not wait for these horrible teeth to arrive. Maybe then, I can put Pookie to bed and not come back to holes chewed through his blanket. Or better yet, his shirt.<span id="goog_916997706"></span><span id="goog_916997707"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shirt after Pookie's nap.</td></tr>
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I can deal with the eaten books and random pieces of cardboard, but the chewed clothing needs to stop. We were driving along the other day and I heard the familiar sound of material being ripped. He was chewing on his coat. Chewing isn't the right word. I can understand chewing. Pookie, however, grabs a chunk of material between his teeth and pulls. It's like he is having a tug of war between himself and his teeth. Pookie teeth make a horrible clacking noise once the material is ripped from them. I suppose this may be a smidge better than Pookie grinding his teeth. Not by much, just a little smidge. At least I can tell him to stop when we are driving in the car. When I put him down for a nap we have a couple of issues going on. One, he doesn't sleep, and two, he chews holes in his cloths when left unattended. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wooden fork</td></tr>
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Apparently, I shouldn't be too surprised by this behavior. My mother remembers chewing on her crib as well as other wooden surfaces when she was little. She liked the feel of her teeth sinking into the wood. It makes me feel a whole lot better knowing that she did manage to outgrow that phase. Although, in college I lived across the hall from a guy that chewed on his shirt. Hopefully Pookie will outgrow this sooner rather than later. I thank my lucky stars that Pookie is not an actual goat, otherwise I think my entire house would be completely chewed. <br />
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Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-11402604186227149402012-12-13T00:14:00.000-05:002012-12-13T00:14:24.742-05:00Some daysSome days, I feel that I am wadding through molasses. I might as well be going in reverse, I am getting so little accomplished. Today was one of those days. I have a laundry list of things that need to get done and oddly enough I managed to get most of it accomplished. <br />
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Last night I stayed up late wrapping presents to be sent to my family back home in Michigan. Of course I had a hard time waking up this morning. Followed by me scrambling to get the items boxed up to be shipped out and the second box was not quite closing properly. I taped another piece of card board on top of it to keep all the contents together. I am very sorry for whomever opens the box. I think I used a half roll of tape on the darn thing.<br />
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When I take a shower, I put on Daniel Tigers Neighborhood for Pookie. Then say a small prayer that he doesn't get into too much trouble while I'm in the shower. At the very end of my shower, I notice one of Rob's trucks pulling into the driveway. I can hear Pookie getting very excited that Dada is home and I can hear him climbing onto the couch. Pookie likes to perch on the back of the couch. Normally this isn't a problem. However, on Sunday, we got our Christmas tree and the furniture has been a little reorganized. Well, wouldn't you know, Pookie fell off the couch and landed behind the Christmas tree. I hop out of the shower, throw on a towel and pull Pookie out from behind the tree. Poor thing, I asked him if he had any boo boos on his hands. He looked at his hands, wiggled them a little and said 'no' in this very sad voice. I asked him if he had any boo boos on his feet. He looked at his feet, wiggled them and said 'no.' I asked him if he had any boo boos anywhere else, and he said, Dada home! Dada back! Back home! Sorry Pookie, Dada is working. As it turns out, it wasn't even Rob, it was one of the guys picking something up. <br />
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So as we were running errands, I needed to stop at the 99 Restaurant to pick up a gift card. We get out of the car and Pookie starts saying 'Eat, eat, eat!' I figured it was around lunch time so we stopped in for lunch while we were there. Eating out with Pookie is a little bit of a challenge. I always have food for him with me, but I like to get something for him off the menu. At the 99's I get Pookie a plain hot dog. No bun, no sides, no drink. Apparently they were having a bit of an issue with the no side concept. The waitress asked. The manager that came over to verify that they weren't going to use butter on the hot dog asked as well. The lady that brought out our meal apparently took things one step further and brought out a side of broccoli just to be on the safe side. Our waitress was walking by our table and said 'Wait, he can't have any sides! I'll take that!' then grabbed the broccoli and took off. The lady who brought out our meal was very concerned that Pookie didn't have enough to eat. I reassured her that I had other food for Pookie and that he had issues with all of the sides that were listed on the menu. Honestly, I am not trying to starve my child. I promise! <br />
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At the end of the day, we managed to get most of our errands done AND Pookie got a nap in. Naps are erratic at best. I just need to go to two more stores and my Christmas shopping is DONE! I just need to get my Christmas cards mailed out and the presents wrapped. I actually have time to spare this year! And, I have Pookie's birthday gifts, too! How's that for being on top of things! Now I just need to get his party planed. Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-29491601989366217692012-12-08T23:41:00.000-05:002012-12-08T23:41:18.401-05:00Crafts galoreMy husband thinks I am off my rocker. I have been on a creative frenzy for the past couple of months. So far I have made a knitted baby blanket, sweater and hat set. From there I started on an Advent calendar. In the midst of making the Advent calendar, I made a Merry Christmas banner and a tacky wreath for our front door. <br />
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The baby set is for a friend of mine. I am very happy with the way everything turned out. The sweater gave me a little bit of trouble. I had to take both front panels apart a couple of times. But I think over all, I am really happy with it. Plus, it's supper soft! <br />
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I think I have been spending a little too much time on Pinterest. So many wonderful ideas, and so little time to do them all! I have been on the hunt for an Advent calendar that I like. There are similar calendars out there, but you have to fill the pockets or drawers with items on a yearly basis. I was really excited when I stumbled upon this one <a href="http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2010/11/advent-sew-along-week-4-crunch-time.html">here</a>. I really like the idea of hanging up the ornaments on the tree as you count down to Christmas. I still have ten more ornaments to make. Oy vey, I might actually get this done before Christmas. "Might" is the key word in that sentence. </div>
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I have been receiving an impressive amount of catalogs as of late. It's fun to look at all the pretty things. I ran across a similar banner in <a href="http://www.landofnod.com/merry-christmas-garland/f11160">Land of Nod</a>. I looked at it and thought to myself, I can totally make that. I have a ton of left over felt from my Advent calendar project and this helped use some of it up! The rather entertaining part of making the banner was trying to starch a couple of the letters. The "E," "C" and "S" needed a little extra help. I started off with spray starch, and that didn't work. So I moved on to a cooked corn starch method. Holy Hot Mess, Batman! Let's leave it at, it was an interesting experience and I managed to figure out how to detach them from the towel that they had adhered to with minimum damage. </div>
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Once again, I was on Pinterest, and found a ribbon <a href="http://www.casasugar.com/DIY-Halloween-Ribbon-Wreath-2353651">wreath</a>. It looked easy to put together and I thought it would be a fun addition to our holiday decor. Initially I wanted to make a red wreath, but couldn't find the right color red. I had picked up some horribly tacky blue tinsel trees that I stuck in front of the door, so I figured blue would be a good second choice. I added some silver in to be a little more festive. My theory is, if you are going to be tacky, you might as well go big with it. <br />
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I sill have a few more projects on the back burner. Last year I dried orange slices for ornaments, and I would like to do that again this year. I also want to make cinnamon ornaments. Then I want to make a felt tree to put on the wall so Pookie can put felt ornaments on it and decorate it. Hopefully it will keep him away from the actual Christmas tree. Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-23456599666119735082012-11-20T00:44:00.000-05:002012-11-20T00:44:30.399-05:00A visit with SantaLast year Pookie's visit with Santa went very smooth. I don't think Pookie even knew what hit him. I zoomed into the mall, wheeled the carriage to where Santa was at and plunked Pookie on Santa's lap faster than Pookie can say "Mama." This year has been a very different experience. At first I thought that things might go well. Pookie has been doing really well with costume characters, like Donald Duck. I had a small hope that this would translate to a visit with Santa. Apparently, no such luck. <br />
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A couple of weeks ago, my Aunt, Cousin, Pookie and I went to a craft fair. There was a very nice Santa there. Pookie wanted no part of saying hello to Santa. In fact, he buried his head in my shoulder and refused to even open his eyes. No big deal, I told myself. There are plenty of opportunities to visit Santa. Last Wednesday, I needed to get my glasses fixed. We wandered around the mall for awhile to kill some time while my glasses were getting worked on. I figured it would be a good idea for Pookie to try to see Santa again. Once again, he had his arm over his head and he wouldn't even look at Santa. Humm, we seem to have a trend here. So on Friday I had errands to run, one of which was at the mall. I figured I would try again. Once again, no luck. Although this time, as we are leaving the mall, Pookie announces STOP! followed by a motion to go back inside. At this point, I have other errands to run and I figured it would be better to just cut our losses and try again another day. <br />
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Monday was the day! After breakfast I told Pookie that we ARE going to visit Santa and all I need is for him to sit on Santa's lap and get a few pictures. He looked at me as if I were off my rocker. At this point, I probably am. Then, I had a brilliant idea. I needed to pick up a book at the library, and Pookie loves books. So I told him that we could get books after we saw Santa. You would have thought that I had just told him that he had won a life time supply of blueberries. All the way to see Santa he kept saying "Book!" After we left Santa, all I heard was "Book! Book! Book!" I felt so proud. Pookie isn't quite 2 yet, and I have managed to instill a love affair with books. Score one for Mama! On a side note, Santa was very nice, but the photographer completely ROCKED! He managed to get Pookie laughing and that is a good thing indeed! I seriously thought that this would be the year of the screaming child pictures. Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-62194773999440696122012-11-01T23:52:00.000-04:002012-11-01T23:52:11.541-04:00Happy Halloween!Pookie has started to move into the Terrific Two's. *cough*cough* I think he is in the middle of a growth spurt and getting all four of his two year molars in. My once happy baby is having a few issues. Yesterday did not start well. Pookie woke up crying. That is never a good way to start one's day. From there we had a bit of an issue with the Cream of Wheat cereal. I think I added too much rice milk and it ended up very runny. There was Cream of Wheat everywhere. Do you have any idea how challenging it is to clean Cream of Wheat off of an almost two year old? There was little specks of wheat all over the place. After the Cream of Wheat debacle, things were going fairly smoothly, until we tried to leave the house. Pookie wanted my keys. I knew that if I gave him my keys we would never leave the driveway. So I gave him his play keys instead. The play keys were flung to the ground, followed by Pookie belly-flopping onto the floor having a hissy fit. He finally managed to calm down and we made it out of the house and into the truck. (My car was under the weather and was in for repairs.) To say that I dislike driving the truck would be an understatement. I hate it. I can't see anything and it takes me three tries to get into a parking spot. Whenever I back up, I'm afraid that I'm going to run someone or something over. Pookie, of course, loves the truck. <br />
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We finally made it to our destination. There is a breastfeeding mother's group that we used to belong to. They have a Halloween party every year, and the big kids are welcomed back for a visit. Pookie is decked out in his snazzy fish costume and is doing good. This of course, does not last for long. There were only a couple of big kids that were there and thank goodness, we knew some of them. However, I spent the entire time removing Pookie from the snack table and the corner of the room where there was a stack of precariously perched yoga balls. To top it all of, the room was hot as hades. We did make it a full hour before heading home.<br />
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Once we got home Pookie took his version of a "nap." Once again, he woke up crying. At this rate, I was seriously considering calling off trick-or-treating for Pookie. He doesn't really go trick-or-treating, but the neighbors get a real kick seeing Pookie dressed up. Plus, Rob has a fun time bringing Pookie out. According to Rob, Pookie had a great time trick-or-treating. Pookie let himself in to at least one of our neighbors homes and made himself comfortable on the couch. From the sounds of it they had a nice visit with the neighbor. Pookie came home with quite the haul. Rob said that Pookie helped himself to a couple of handfuls of candy at a couple locations. It sounds like we have a few things to work on for next year. From a day that started questionable, it ended quite well. It was all topped of with a showing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Seeing as Pookie loves pumpkins, he was quite enthralled with it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Costume, check. Pumpkin, check. Treat bag, check. Let's go!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pookie practicing knocking on the door.</td></tr>
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Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-86857912978909910442012-10-20T23:15:00.000-04:002012-10-20T23:15:16.724-04:00Growing upMy little guy is growing up. Two rather funny things happened today. Pookie has been letting me know when he needs his diaper changed. (No, he is not ready for potty training quite yet. He is recognizing that he has gone to the bathroom, not that he needs to go.) A couple of weeks ago he learned the word "bum." He likes to point to his and other peoples backsides, and label the body part. Well, he has learned a new word. "Poop." As I was changing his diaper, he was singing the word "poop" over and over and giggling. He is all boy. <br />
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As the day progressed, Pookie "helped" me to clean the house. He likes to wear his ear protectors when I vacuum. He loves the vacuum and he likes to pretend that he is vacuuming. When I got around to cleaning the bathroom, I didn't have time to do a full scrub. I just wanted to give it a quick once over. As I was wiping down the toilet, Pookie took a look what I was doing, and proceeded over to the sink cabinet. He rummaged around for a minute and brought over the toilet bowl cleaner and handed it to me. I proceeded to squirt it in the toilet and Pookie went over and grabbed the toilet brush. He then stuck it in the toilet and started swishing it around. I'm utterly astounded. First he knew which cleaner was needed and where it was kept. Followed by how it worked and what was needed to finish the job. I'm thrilled that he wants to get involved, but slightly skeeved that he wants to help clean the toilet. Germs, yuck. <br />
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I really shouldn't be too surprised by the toilet cleaning incident. Pookie got his hands on a wrench and has been going around to furniture "fixing" it. He pretends to tighten the bolts. Well, I hope he is tightening them and not trying to take it apart. Seeing as my father-in-law took apart his mothers washing machine when he was four. Just so he could see how it worked. Maybe I should lock up the tools now, just to be safe.Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-10303048492616016982012-10-05T00:04:00.001-04:002012-10-05T00:04:39.464-04:00Truck DaySo, I'm a little behind on my posting. I've been working on a very hard on a knitting project. Let me tell you, I've been doing so much knitting, that my carpal tunnel is flaring up. Regardless, I'm very proud of what I have accomplished, and pictures will be posted at a later date! <br />
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At the beginning of September was Truck Day. Rob looks forward to this day every year. You know how some people have count downs to Christmas? He has a count down to Truck Day. Truck Day lets kids get up close and personal with trucks and other equipment. It's fun to watch all of the kids climb all over every thing and honk all of the horns! Rob and his guys spend a lot of time getting the trucks and all of the equipment cleaned up and shinny. He made sure that he arrived early so he could get a prime spot on the green. <br />
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Rob was very upset that he could only bring two trucks this year. Someone tampered with the third truck and it was in the process of getting fixed. Instead, he decided to bring Pookie's Cozy Coup as an alternative. After Pookie got the Cozy Coup, Rob brought it to the guy that does his lettering for the big trucks. There are decals posted for his landscaping company, along with Pookie's name and a shamrock plastered on top. For the occasion, Rob added a small strobe light to the top of it and created a Boss "plow" for it. Apparently Rob and his dad are in discussions of making a more impressive plow for next year. <br />
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Pookie's Cozy Coup was a big hit with the kids. There was generally a couple of kids waiting to try it out. Pookie, however, wasn't too thrilled with all of the kids getting into <em>his</em> car. At one point he went over, opened the door and "helped" another child get out of the vehicle. I'm not sure what bothered Pookie more, people climbing over Rob's equipment and trucks or the kids playing with his car. <br />
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Pookie had a grand time checking out all of the other trucks. I brought ear protection for him, but he wasn't interested. I was a little surprised by that. We're talking about the kid that wears his ear protectors when I'm vacuuming the house. Whatever floats his boat, I guess. The count down is now on for next year!Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-19307418466692325802012-09-22T00:14:00.000-04:002012-09-22T00:14:35.018-04:00FearlessI don't think Pookie has any concept of what fear is. Granted, he is 20 months old. His brain isn't hard wired to figure out that doing certain things might result in injury. Also, he is all boy. One of my younger brothers was known for jumping off of everything. Making a flying leap from the couch to that chair that is five feet away. No problem! Crash! It is astounding that none of us needed stitches due to stupidity. Pookie seems to be following in his Uncles footsteps. <br />
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I brought Pookie to a playground a couple of days ago, to help him get his wiggles out. At this particular playground there were three sections. One for toddlers, one for young kids and one for bigger kids. Pookie makes a bee-line for the big kid section. I can't say that I blame him. It was the biggest structure on the playground, and it had a lot of fun things to do on it. I attempted to steer Pookie towards the toddler structure. He made it down the slide once before heading to more interesting things. We did spend a good amount of time at the middle structure. There was this tube that connected one half to the other. Pookie had a great time scooting from one side to the other.<br />
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Of course, we made a couple trips over to the big kid structure. Pookie needed to check everything out. Over the summer, Pookie has developed a love for slides. Nanny got a Little Tikes slide and swing for the back yard. This was a very big hit with Pookie. Apparently, when it comes to slides, in Pookie's opinion, bigger is better. As we were wandering on the big kid structure, Pookie finds the tallest slide that spirals down to the ground. He scooted right up to it, and down he went. The little stinker had the nerve to look at me with this "Ha ha ha! Look what I'm doing!" face as he was going down. I had visions of him shooting out of the slide and landing several feet away. Pookie at least had the smarts to use his sneakers to slow his decent. That gave me enough time to get to the bottom before he landed. He looked so proud of himself. I redirected him to the swings. Regardless, a good time was had by all!Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-61947187890162775362012-09-04T15:50:00.000-04:002012-09-04T15:50:49.834-04:00MIAOn Sunday, I had the bright idea of ripping out the flower plot next to the house and to re-organize it. No, this isn't the massive garden on the side yard. That sucker isn't going anywhere any time soon. There is a patch of garden next to the drive way, by the back door. Three years ago, I put in several lily's that I transplanted from my grandparent's old house. Of course they had the audacity to grow and were looking a little overgrown. It didn't help that Rob re-painted that side of the house and trampled any vegetation that was living over there. Regardless, it looked sad. <br />
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With Pookie by my side, I went to town digging everything up. I find it very entertaining to watch Pookie with a shovel. He can keep himself busy for quite a while. Then when he got sick of digging holes, he would go into the garage and "help" Rob paint the dump truck. (On a side note, Truck Day is on Sept. 9th. Rob loves to bring his trucks down and show them off. Of course the trucks have to be shiny and looking spiffy.) <br />
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As I was digging up the garden, I went in search of bulbs that I have planted over the past couple of years. I managed to find the hyacinth and the muscari bulbs, but the tulips were no where to be found. Mind you, I had at least a half dozen tulip bulbs, and I could not find a single one. I really hope that somehow I just missed them and they will pop up next year. However, I think they have disappeared. My mother-in-law suggested that the squirrels might have gotten them. I never saw any signs of the ground being disturbed where the bulbs were located. I guess the waiting game is on. It will be interesting to see what actually pops up in that garden next year. Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-52793952099582770492012-08-25T23:58:00.000-04:002012-08-25T23:58:42.136-04:00The case of the missing poop...The other night Rob, Pookie and I went to a car show after Rob got home from work. It takes about 45 minutes to get there, but it's fun to drive out, get dinner, walk around and see all the old cars. Plus they are an ice cream stand and they happen to have a gift shop. What could be better? Get a little dinner, see some old cars and do a little shopping before getting dessert and heading home. We are definitely part of a car loving family. The older the better. I'm talking classic old cars and if they have a big engine and can go fast, all the better. <br />
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We had an enjoyable dinner. It was nothing fancy. But the food is good, none the less. After we got all cleaned up, we went to take a stroll. First stop was an old tractor. Pookie loves any piece of heavy machinery. As we were admiring the tractors large wheels, Pookie got this look of concentration on his face. Yep, he had to go #2. I didn't feel like schlepping back to the truck to change his diaper, and the port-a-potties looked terrifying, so I went into the gift shop to see if they had a changing table in the bathroom. Apparently they aren't equipped with a baby changing station, but the bathroom was fairly large and I figured I could work something out. <br />
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I haven't mastered the art of changing Pookie's diaper as he is standing up. However, I didn't want him laying on the bathroom floor, even with a changing mat under him. Pookie is a very wiggly kid. I get everything situated and take off Pookie's diaper. There is a smear of poo, but the poo itself is missing. I check his backside. It's not there either. The poo managed to dislodge itself and land on the floor. I grab a baby wipe and scooped it up. Followed by giving the floor a good scrub with another baby wipe. Then I topped it off with a little hand sanitizer squirted on the floor and rubbed in with a paper towel. I managed to get Pookie's clean diaper on. It was a little haphazard, but it was attached. I finished up business and exited the bathroom. By this time the line had formed around the corner. <br />
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The rest of the car show was entertaining. Pookie kept trying to either touch or get into the cars. Seeing as most of the cars are show pieces, little fingerprints are not appreciated. There was a Dodge station wagon with a third row seat in the back. I told Rob that this is the car that I need for my next vehicle. It has all the room I could ever need, plus it has great visibility! He just laughed. Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-30349941560227282922012-08-24T23:04:00.000-04:002012-08-24T23:04:09.766-04:00Grocery shoppingGrocery shopping is not my favorite thing. Well, I don't mind going to the store and selecting my purchases. It's the schlepping everything into the house and putting it away that sends me over the edge. Think about it, by the time you're done, you have basically handled everything five times. Six, if you bag everything yourself.<br />
1. put it in the basket<br />
2. put it from the basket onto the conveyor belt<br />
3. bag and put back in the cart<br />
4. put the bag in the car<br />
5. bring the bag from the car into the house<br />
6. unpack and put away<br />
That is really way too many times to touch the same item. <br />
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To add to the yuckiness that is grocery shopping, I am having a few issues with my current store. I was looking for blueberries and every single package had mold in it. Yuck! The vegetables looked sad. It was not good. Then to top it off, I generally re-bag my groceries when I get to the car, because the bagger feels the need to put every single heavy thing in the same bag. If you have problems picking it up, then it is too heavy. <br />
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To attempt to fix this problem of yucky fresh food, I have decided to try a different grocery store. This new grocery store, let's call it MB for future reference, leaves a lot to be desired. It is know for having really cheep prices. MB has opened up a new, larger, store and I thought it would be a good idea to at least try it out. MB should really provide battle gear when you enter their store. There are more little old ladies than at a bingo convention shopping in this place! And they have a take no prisoners attitude! It's impressive that Pookie and I made it out alive. I think it helped that I had Pookie with me. The little old ladies were distracted by Pookies cuteness and I was able to do a sneak attack to get some potatoes. When we got home, I had to take a nap with Pookie, because the shopping trip was so tumultuous. The final verdict? They did have good produce, but the meat was horrible. Some of the prices were cheaper, but not cheap enough to convince me to do battle with little old ladies over blueberries. I think I need to check out the local farmers market for the fresh fruits and veggies. There is also another grocery store further away that I need to try out. Hopefully that one won't be inundated with the little old ladies.Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820205426163818508.post-68094391823277989332012-08-20T16:27:00.000-04:002012-08-20T16:27:41.822-04:00Marco Polo?Trying to take a shower is an interesting process. My main problem is what to do with Pookie. Pookie is at a funny age. Too little to be left unattended, and to big (aka mobile) to be strapped into a stationary device to keep him contained. My current fix is to stick him in his crib with a couple of books an a toy. The toy can't be too big, because he might use it as a launching pad to escape from his crib. <br />
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Pookie doesn't really have a problem hanging out in his crib while I'm in the shower. However, there is a fairly short time span before he gets a little concerned about my well being. Projected from his room comes the shout "MAMA!" This will continue until I respond back "Pookie!" I feel like we are playing an odd game of Marco Polo. Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07181914230672962536noreply@blogger.com0