Miss P

Miss P was a nice companion this week when I was sick with the...stomach flu! (on top of my sinus infection). Sometimes I stare at her in wonder - how did we do such a great job? She is sooo smart. She uses words like 'suggested' and 'remarkable' in her everyday language. And she is so kind and loving as well. I wanted to add a recent cute pic to this post, but for some reason I can't post any photos to the blog - computer is not recognizing the path - ack!

Anyway, here are some ways she is 'charming' us...

P is currently obsessed with 'knock knock' jokes that go on forever. I'm trying to teach her the concept of a 'punch line.'

Depsite her big vocab, she has a few words she flip flops. The notable two are 'lash eyes' (you have beautiful long lash eyes!) and paper toliets (mommy! we're out of paper toliets!)

She sings like Celine Dion like every chance she gets. She makes up her own lyrics too. A recent song was called 'the most important thing in my liiiffeee.' Some of her songs sound similiar to each other. She tells me that she just has different 'virgins' (versions) of certain songs.

Every day, P and her daddy say 'I love you' in sign language. It is so sweet!

Scrapbooking, digital photo books, blogs...oh my!

OK, I usually don't ask for comments, but I'm hoping to get a lot of feedback on this....

I'm in a quandry.

I love the concept of scrapbooking. I'm fairly creative, I love photos, journaling, and looking at other people's scrapbooks. I also am sentimental and love the idea of preserving family history and stories.

However, although a kindergarten teacher, I'm not naturally artsy craftsy. My handwriting is messy. When I've done pages in my various scrapbooks, I usually mess up big time, either due to being impatient, or just general 'inept-ness.'

I am bummed that I made so many mistakes with Miss P's baby album that it is out of order and a mess. I started a 'toddler to teen' creative memories album, that I had high hopes for, but never did the 'titles' and didn't keep up with it. Last year, I was determined to fix this. I started organizing my mass of photos over the holiday break and made just a dent. Then I decided to do just yearly chronological albums. A two page layout for each month. One side for journaling (since that's one of my favorite parts - I typed the stories), and the other side for the photos that gave an overview of the month in a simple layout. However, again I didn't get past March. I love the end result, but I guess I don't love the act so much. With blogging it's been different, it doesn't feel like a chore. It feels much easier and I look forward to it.

So, my question is: do I just give away all my scrabooking stuff which is taking up room and not being used, and stop feeling guilty? If so, how can I keep my memories of P and our family? I know I have this blog, but I'd like to have something more tangible. Should I try and go back and make digital albums on snapfish or kodak.gallery? Should I start a seperate blog for P and turn it into a book through blogger? Should I just suck it up and go back to last year's idea of a very simple scrapbook, schedule the time, and just do it? What do you do?

The starbucks gal will be glad to see my new purse....

Remember this purse? To add to my lovely week, it was stolen at Target on Tues. I assisted the thief by setting it down while helping Miss P try on her adorable new rain boots. (Preschool had discussed puddle jumping on Wednesday for all boot-wearers, so of course E and I raced immediately to outfit Miss P in some. Can you say suckers? It had been non-stop raining around here.) Anyway in my current ill state, totally didn't remember the purse until it was time to go to school Wednesday morning. When it couldn't be found, I grabbed the spare keys and off we went.

Later E and I tore the house apart with my head raging. I called Target as that would be the only possible place it could be, and when they didn't have it I was stumped. I'm such a trusting person, only a small part of me thought it could actually be stolen. Sure enough, a local sherrif called a little later to let me know that she had found my purse, with all contents intact except for the cash (naturally). It had been abandoned at a mall.

On a positive note, my daughter is now a bike-riding champ. (Just needs to work on braking). She turns smoothly, is finally riding at a decent clip, and has much more confidence. I'm sooo proud of her. Not only can I not wait to ride with her, but I think it has been a great experience we can draw from in the future.

Now, if only I can kick this thing....

Our Ski Week thus far

The good news: We're on vacation this week!

The bad news: I'm down with a sinus infection....

The good news: At least I didn't have to hassle with sub plans.

The bad news: Again. I'm sick on vacation. 'Nuff said.

The good: E and I have managed to see Slumdog and Benjamin Button. Wow! Amazing! However, although I liked Slumdog a lot, I feel it is a bit-overhyped. On the other hand, I enjoyed BB much more than I thought I would. Very bittersweet and I bawled. Both movies had multiple painful scenes, which is, sadly, why I tend to go for lighter fare usually (wimp!!!) However, I feel honored to have seen both movies.

The bad: My husband does not know how to take care of me when I'm sick. Last night I was really coughing and feeling sorry for myself. I wanted him to just chat to me about upbeat things, plans, etc., to lift my mood. He really felt stumped by this.

The good: My husband does know how to take care of me when I'm sick. E let me sleep in this morning. I woke at 10 and he was out doing errands, after dropping P at preschool. He brought me a starbucks too, although I'm sure he didn't approve of coughing and coffee. (Even with feeling yucka, it was gooood). Then he took me and Miss P to Marie Callendars for dinner, as I was craving some soup, cornbread, and pie. Even though none of those things are on my plan, I allowed myself to waver.

More good: I was proud of myself, for I ordered sugar free lemonade (instead of diet coke), and ate only half my soup and a quarter of the cornbread. I also shared a piece of 'no sugar added' razzleberry pie with E (instead of getting my own slice of regular), and I did not touch P's kid's sundae. At least my choices were moderate.

By the way, I've been playing a see-saw game, a few good food days, then off the wagon for a special meal. I'm learning to use my willpower and want to eat completely clean for at least a month, before moving to more of a moderation phase. Since there are no big holidays or events coming up, this might be the time. More on this later.

Stay well...

Just FYI

I've updated my blogroll! Check out some new reads...

Happy Valentine's Day!

The family that bikes together...

For Christmas Miss P got a bike. She has been quite tenative about riding it. I think we have focused a lot on indoor pursuits, and she just has not developed a love for

the great outdoors and active play. She had a fall early on, and with the winter weather being a deterrent at times, not a lot of biking has happened.

I have actually had to make an incentive chart (something I don't do much of), and have tried various different approaches: always empathetic to her fears, sometimes pushing her a little, trying to take her mind off her fears as she rides, and reading books about characters riding bikes. We even had one of my brother-in-laws hook us up with some cruiser bikes so we could all ride together. I love my bike and am having sooo much fun with it!

We had a bit of a breakthrough yesterday, so I'm excited. As you can see from the photos she had a fall (actually a couple) and realized she was 'OK.' I know it may continue to be slow progress, but I am hopeful that we will have many fun family rides ahead! Go P!

Should I be offended?

So, I'm at Starbucks this a.m. (Miss P is going to church with grandparents, so I took the morning off) and the barista thoughtfully remarks to me:

"You almost need a new purse" (as she squints at my green and khaki bag above, which often sparked random compliments in it's 'heyday').

Granted, I have been hard on this bag. I out loud agree with the barista wholeheartedly. Then, at the end of the conversation, she says again, "Yes, you definitely need a new purse." Ok, I got it!

Is that kind of weird? Is it like saying, "you may need to touch up your hair color." "Yep... I definitely see some gray."

I know she has college aged kids (and not that I look like a college aged kid, but I may look youngish to her). Anyway, I'm taking it as a motherly nudge. (I can definitely see my mom saying this to me.) I'm also thinking she did me a favor. Who knows how many people may have thought the same thing...