No damage to anything other than the tree, but what a pain! I wondered what that sound was. Hmmmm
Well, good news is I guess now we can relandscape the yard next spring. And free firewood.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Rainy day, finally!
I shouldn't say that, it was rainy yesterday too but man we needed it! The grass is dying but somehow the weeds in the flowerbeds are doing just fine? Don't know how that happens.
The carpet guys should be here soon to fix the upstairs meaning....drumroll please...I GET MY ROOM BACK!!! I do love my little girl, but it will be so nice to have her back in her room where she belongs. And be able to put all the random crap back in the closets. It's been WAY too long. Though, I have appreciated the chance to throw out a bunch of stuff that's like "We are keeping this WHY?"
Top it off, my paper shredder is working again after a 3 month strike. I tried every darn thing in the universe to get that clog out. Haven't touched it in a month, I gave up and was going to throw it out. My friend Angee suggested WD-40. I figured, I'm junking the thing, why not? Well, plugged it in, did NOTHING to it, and it worked right away. I went ahead and oiled it to make sure but I can now SHRED again. I realize this is a small thing for most people...but now I can finally handle all those little piles of information/paper that needed to be destroyed before being thrown out. That is a LOT of my office clutter and I am so happy!
In other news, I just had to leave you for a bit to make sure Zoe wasn't into any trouble. Caught her just as she decided to ignore mommy's warning that jumping down the stairs is NOT a good idea NOR will it be tolerated. Yeah, stuck the landing on the one stair...then tumbled down about 6. She hit no walls, and not a mark on her thank God. I didn't need to see that, but I think the lesson is finally home!
The carpet guys should be here soon to fix the upstairs meaning....drumroll please...I GET MY ROOM BACK!!! I do love my little girl, but it will be so nice to have her back in her room where she belongs. And be able to put all the random crap back in the closets. It's been WAY too long. Though, I have appreciated the chance to throw out a bunch of stuff that's like "We are keeping this WHY?"
Top it off, my paper shredder is working again after a 3 month strike. I tried every darn thing in the universe to get that clog out. Haven't touched it in a month, I gave up and was going to throw it out. My friend Angee suggested WD-40. I figured, I'm junking the thing, why not? Well, plugged it in, did NOTHING to it, and it worked right away. I went ahead and oiled it to make sure but I can now SHRED again. I realize this is a small thing for most people...but now I can finally handle all those little piles of information/paper that needed to be destroyed before being thrown out. That is a LOT of my office clutter and I am so happy!
In other news, I just had to leave you for a bit to make sure Zoe wasn't into any trouble. Caught her just as she decided to ignore mommy's warning that jumping down the stairs is NOT a good idea NOR will it be tolerated. Yeah, stuck the landing on the one stair...then tumbled down about 6. She hit no walls, and not a mark on her thank God. I didn't need to see that, but I think the lesson is finally home!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Just when I'm headed to the gym...
Now she decides to nap. Isn't that always the way?
Gearing up for the weekend. Got daycare handled, so I'm getting psyched for a weekend of yoga mornings. And I'm having a massage at a place nearby that, coincidentally, is hiring. I like to preview a spa before I send in a resume if I can help it. Much truer view of how they operate if you see it from the guest's point of view.
But, oh, a massage! I can't wait.
Gearing up for the weekend. Got daycare handled, so I'm getting psyched for a weekend of yoga mornings. And I'm having a massage at a place nearby that, coincidentally, is hiring. I like to preview a spa before I send in a resume if I can help it. Much truer view of how they operate if you see it from the guest's point of view.
But, oh, a massage! I can't wait.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tinkerbell is out.
I hope everyone had a wonderful "Tinkerbell Release Day" yesterday. We've been waiting about a year for this new movie. It's cute, a different story than I thought it would be based on the initial previews on Tinkerbell 2. But we liked it. We've watched it 5 times now in 2 days. Oy. So now we've covered Spring, Summer, and Fall. Come on Winter Tinkerbell!!!! We need you now!
Oh, children. Gotta love 'em.
So, a friend and her daughter (who I call MMM) were stopping by. MMM is potty trained and needed to use the potty. Now, Zoe isn't remotely interested in using the potty herself, but is fascinated when anyone else does. Times that by about 1000 if it's another kid.
So she hears MMM say she's going to go potty (and she likes privacy), and Zoe dashes to the bathroom, literally removing her pants as she goes. MMM is standing there patiently telling Zoe that she needs to potty, with all of the privacy that usually entails, and Zoe stands there absolutely deadpan serious. Her little arms crossed tightly over her chest in a huff, in nothing but a Tshirt and a diaper, and bossily explains "That's not my problem". Angee and I were dying laughing with our heads turned at the exchange. It was a priceless moment where you are starting to see their personalities in how they communicate with each other.
Eventually, we coaxed Zoe out and MMM was allowed to potty in peace. But I don't think Zoe will ever forgive me!
Then later that night, I was scolding her as the 4 of us sat at Panera for dinner. Zoe was flinging soup off of her spoon (onto her plate, not everywhere, but still not a behavior I will let fly). As I'm in her face telling her to look at me and explaining why Mommy is so cross, she expertly goes "Shhhhh". Finger in place in front of her mouth. I stop, flustered, and start again. Same thing happens. I start again, trying desperately not to smile, and again I am shushed by my 2 year old! Picture the zip it scene in Austin Powers and you'll see what I'm dealing with.
Again, Angee and I had to turn our heads to laugh silently. You can't let them know that they've done something funny or horrid behavior continues. But sometimes it's just impossible not to laugh.
So she hears MMM say she's going to go potty (and she likes privacy), and Zoe dashes to the bathroom, literally removing her pants as she goes. MMM is standing there patiently telling Zoe that she needs to potty, with all of the privacy that usually entails, and Zoe stands there absolutely deadpan serious. Her little arms crossed tightly over her chest in a huff, in nothing but a Tshirt and a diaper, and bossily explains "That's not my problem". Angee and I were dying laughing with our heads turned at the exchange. It was a priceless moment where you are starting to see their personalities in how they communicate with each other.
Eventually, we coaxed Zoe out and MMM was allowed to potty in peace. But I don't think Zoe will ever forgive me!
Then later that night, I was scolding her as the 4 of us sat at Panera for dinner. Zoe was flinging soup off of her spoon (onto her plate, not everywhere, but still not a behavior I will let fly). As I'm in her face telling her to look at me and explaining why Mommy is so cross, she expertly goes "Shhhhh". Finger in place in front of her mouth. I stop, flustered, and start again. Same thing happens. I start again, trying desperately not to smile, and again I am shushed by my 2 year old! Picture the zip it scene in Austin Powers and you'll see what I'm dealing with.
Again, Angee and I had to turn our heads to laugh silently. You can't let them know that they've done something funny or horrid behavior continues. But sometimes it's just impossible not to laugh.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Beach trip 2010 recap
Just need to get a datestamp here, will add more text and pictures later.
In a nutshell we:
Had a great time.
Ate some good food shared with family.
Went crabbing at a not-to-be-disclosed-because-we-were-trespassing location.
Ate said crabs as crabcakes....yummy!
Rented bikes and drove the little ones around the island.
Watched Zoe attempt many times to bury herself in the sand while building "birthday cake" sand castles.
Went to the Charleston aquarium.
Saw dolphins.
Discovered how sucky biting flies are.
Missed Jason.
**********
The drive down was no big thing. Left earlier than I thought I would and got Nelson to the Flying Monkey Kennel...as we affectionately call it. The neighbor of the kennel owns about 6 baboons. When we drove up I noticed the mom and babies and pointed them out to Zoe. She was enthralled and we just watched the monkeys for a bit before continuing on.
Each year that passes, that beach house feels more OURS than anything. It's like coming home, I know where my stuff goes, we know how the kids fit around the table and at the time of year we go the tide of vacationers has dwindled to major LOW. I know when I pass the church sign, and the house with the Georgia Bulldog flag, that the next staircase belongs to Starry Sky. And we trade off cooking so the vacation expense is knocked WAY down.
We hit the beach and Zoe is definitely all about digging in the sand. It surprised me, because she is such a water baby. But she was more interested in digging herself into a hole and getting help making molds of sand than anything else. She does love the sand. A LOT. I just wish she'd figure out that throwing it into her eyes and rubbing said eyes with sandy hands really lands her in quite a predicament. I found a sand dollar that she thought was pretty cool and she used on her sand "birthday cake" that she was building that day. Several days of beach followed, with Zoe surprisingly only napping one or two days the entire week. Girly girl was determined to stay awake and not miss anything, even when her Grant-Grant buddy went down for a nooner.
Early in the week Russell, (I think) had a great idea and we rented bikes with child seats to take the little ones around. Zoe thought this was the best thing ever...laughing YEE HAH! pretty much the whole time. She did get a bit annoyed when Russell and Grant pulled ahead and she couldn't see him anymore, but she did love the pleasure cruise around the blocks. I am planning to look into getting a used bike and seat to take her around the neighborhood, one more thing on my never-ending to do list.
Russell had to leave Wednesday morning, so it was a Daddy (but not Buffy) free rest of the beach time. It's tough being two parents in one, even in the short term...the kiddos were not happy about his leaving, so it seemed, without consulting either one of them! Grant was missing his Daddy, which just got Zoe to missing hers more and led to a couple of rough nights. All's well, though. Katherine had the idea to go crabbing; I have never done that and didn't grow up around crabbing or picking crabs. We left the chicken necks on the porch for 2 nights and one day to let them get really nasty...apparently quite the bait for crab. Eww, how can they be so yummy eating crap like that??? I seemed to be attracting all the big "Bubbas" in the area because I was pulling up crabs I was scared to get near! The kids thought the process was neat, but then were NOT thrilled when they saw the crabs coming up and...GASP...running sideways across the docks. So they spent the rest of the time throwing rocks into the waterway with Yiayia. Which apparently is much more fun.
The whole gang went to the Charleston aquarium when we needed a beach free day, the kiddos thought that was really a fun time. Though, in true kid fashion, Zoe found the most entertainment while watching them clean a small tank with a vaccum tube. We watched that for awhile. Grant watched the fish swimming around and around in the entry tank going "That one's my favorite. This one's my favorite" While Buffy narrated from the console to tell us what they were. When we hit the shark tank, Zoe wasn't entirely sure that the sharks weren't after her peanut butter cracker OR her so she sat on my lap laughing and alternately saying "Oh no, don't get me" whenever a shark came near.
Yiayia and Buffy took the kiddos on a walk to let Kath and me have a break, I was, as usual a little flabberghasted at what I was supposed to do having not planned for it but it was so nice. I went to the beach to collect sand for our "Sandy Feet" project which turned out GREAT (highly recommend the kit from Chinaberry, we had plenty of plaster for 2 full sets of 2 year old feet). And then to collect some more shells for an art project for me and Zoe.
In a nutshell we:
Had a great time.
Ate some good food shared with family.
Went crabbing at a not-to-be-disclosed-because-we-were-trespassing location.
Ate said crabs as crabcakes....yummy!
Rented bikes and drove the little ones around the island.
Watched Zoe attempt many times to bury herself in the sand while building "birthday cake" sand castles.
Went to the Charleston aquarium.
Saw dolphins.
Discovered how sucky biting flies are.
Missed Jason.
**********
The drive down was no big thing. Left earlier than I thought I would and got Nelson to the Flying Monkey Kennel...as we affectionately call it. The neighbor of the kennel owns about 6 baboons. When we drove up I noticed the mom and babies and pointed them out to Zoe. She was enthralled and we just watched the monkeys for a bit before continuing on.
Each year that passes, that beach house feels more OURS than anything. It's like coming home, I know where my stuff goes, we know how the kids fit around the table and at the time of year we go the tide of vacationers has dwindled to major LOW. I know when I pass the church sign, and the house with the Georgia Bulldog flag, that the next staircase belongs to Starry Sky. And we trade off cooking so the vacation expense is knocked WAY down.
We hit the beach and Zoe is definitely all about digging in the sand. It surprised me, because she is such a water baby. But she was more interested in digging herself into a hole and getting help making molds of sand than anything else. She does love the sand. A LOT. I just wish she'd figure out that throwing it into her eyes and rubbing said eyes with sandy hands really lands her in quite a predicament. I found a sand dollar that she thought was pretty cool and she used on her sand "birthday cake" that she was building that day. Several days of beach followed, with Zoe surprisingly only napping one or two days the entire week. Girly girl was determined to stay awake and not miss anything, even when her Grant-Grant buddy went down for a nooner.
Early in the week Russell, (I think) had a great idea and we rented bikes with child seats to take the little ones around. Zoe thought this was the best thing ever...laughing YEE HAH! pretty much the whole time. She did get a bit annoyed when Russell and Grant pulled ahead and she couldn't see him anymore, but she did love the pleasure cruise around the blocks. I am planning to look into getting a used bike and seat to take her around the neighborhood, one more thing on my never-ending to do list.
Russell had to leave Wednesday morning, so it was a Daddy (but not Buffy) free rest of the beach time. It's tough being two parents in one, even in the short term...the kiddos were not happy about his leaving, so it seemed, without consulting either one of them! Grant was missing his Daddy, which just got Zoe to missing hers more and led to a couple of rough nights. All's well, though. Katherine had the idea to go crabbing; I have never done that and didn't grow up around crabbing or picking crabs. We left the chicken necks on the porch for 2 nights and one day to let them get really nasty...apparently quite the bait for crab. Eww, how can they be so yummy eating crap like that??? I seemed to be attracting all the big "Bubbas" in the area because I was pulling up crabs I was scared to get near! The kids thought the process was neat, but then were NOT thrilled when they saw the crabs coming up and...GASP...running sideways across the docks. So they spent the rest of the time throwing rocks into the waterway with Yiayia. Which apparently is much more fun.
The whole gang went to the Charleston aquarium when we needed a beach free day, the kiddos thought that was really a fun time. Though, in true kid fashion, Zoe found the most entertainment while watching them clean a small tank with a vaccum tube. We watched that for awhile. Grant watched the fish swimming around and around in the entry tank going "That one's my favorite. This one's my favorite" While Buffy narrated from the console to tell us what they were. When we hit the shark tank, Zoe wasn't entirely sure that the sharks weren't after her peanut butter cracker OR her so she sat on my lap laughing and alternately saying "Oh no, don't get me" whenever a shark came near.
Yiayia and Buffy took the kiddos on a walk to let Kath and me have a break, I was, as usual a little flabberghasted at what I was supposed to do having not planned for it but it was so nice. I went to the beach to collect sand for our "Sandy Feet" project which turned out GREAT (highly recommend the kit from Chinaberry, we had plenty of plaster for 2 full sets of 2 year old feet). And then to collect some more shells for an art project for me and Zoe.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Time to get our pig on!
Headed out to Edisto for the Lester family Labor Day week extravaganza! The extravagance being all the time we get to hole up and hang out together like no other time during the year. We cannot wait.
Car's mostly packed, I'm getting ready, and Zoe is helping by sleeping in today!
Car's mostly packed, I'm getting ready, and Zoe is helping by sleeping in today!
Friday, September 3, 2010
"Don't!!!!!"
This is all I heard today. Don't.
Don't kiss me.
Don't nuzzle me.
Don't change me.
Don't sing.
Don't tickle me.
Don't strap me in.
Don't wash bunny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't wash my blankie.
Don't turn on movie.
Don't turn off movie.
Don't blow my hair.
Don't touch my hair.
Oy, I'm lucky I got to breathe today! But at least she napped conveniently so I could get a pedicure and then shoot over to finally choose the vanity for the bathroom. Packed and ready. Off to the beach after wake up!
Don't kiss me.
Don't nuzzle me.
Don't change me.
Don't sing.
Don't tickle me.
Don't strap me in.
Don't wash bunny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't wash my blankie.
Don't turn on movie.
Don't turn off movie.
Don't blow my hair.
Don't touch my hair.
Oy, I'm lucky I got to breathe today! But at least she napped conveniently so I could get a pedicure and then shoot over to finally choose the vanity for the bathroom. Packed and ready. Off to the beach after wake up!
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