New Toys Are Very Exciting

Turns out there's a huge benefit to having (very generous) cousins that are 15+ years younger than me: Kathryn gets all their old toys! This particular toy includes three sides for climbing, a mid-level floor for climbing onto or hiding under, and a slide. It also fits remarkably well in her bedroom, ensuring that she plays with it every day, rain or shine.


She also got another playhouse that is in our guest room and will be getting a picnic table. Last night she tried to convince us to let her sleep in the playhouse.

We've only been here two months and we're already out of space!!!

Tale As Old As Time...

Don't bother turning up your volume. One of Betsy's friends is talking is the background--sorry!!--and Kathryn isn't really saying much anyway. She's dancing to "Tale As Old As Time" from Beauty & the Beast. The music can faintly be heard playing, then the talking starts. We tried to get another take with no one talking, but Kathryn wasn't interested in dancing anymore.



This happens pretty much every time she watches the movie, so chances are decent that we'll be able to get a better video at some point, but I know some people have been getting a little impatient... Hope you enjoy it!

It's Really Over

Veronica Mars Is Now "Officially Dead"

Maybe now the healing can begin....

The CW has officially pulled the plug on Veronica Mars. Series creator Rob Thomas confirmed the news for me via e-mail just moments ago. "I'm afraid I have to report that Veronica Mars is officially dead," he wrote. "At least in TV-show form. There's really no way that it can happen now. I'm not sure the CW should've given the glimmer of hope. I think Dawn Ostroff genuinely would have liked to have continued on with a version of the show, but there was too much resistance around her. At the end of the day, it would've been kinder had the band-aid simply been ripped off rather than peeled away in this agonizingly slow manner."

Although we all saw this coming, particularly when they didn't even get a full 22-episodes this season, it's still sad that my newest favorite show has ended. Even more sad because it was finally looking like stupid Piz would get out of the way for a Logan/Veronica reunion. (The actor--Chris Lowell--is scheduled to be on the Grey's spinoff next fall.) But, as with all my favorite shows, it didn't last.

Really makes me appreciate General Hospital. On the air since 1963 with a new episode every weekday. Doesn't get more stable than that.

Photo by Patrick Ecclesine/The CW; article from tvguide.com

I Relented

Turns out, that first night was a fluke. Every night after resulted in more and more crying. I can only take so much "Mommy...Mommy...need paci. Mommy..." mixed with sobs (both real and forced) before I crack. So last night, after a good 30 minutes of breaking my heart, I went in and gave her the pacifier. She looked up at me and said, "Thank you," in the most pathetic, exasperated little voice. It was adorable. I've now decided that I care if she ruins her teeth with it...they're all going to fall out anyway. Just as long as she's not that 4-year-old walking around the mall tying to talk through it.

Sans Pacifier, Night 1

Remember how I just said I was terrified of putting Kathryn to bed without her pacifier? Well, sometime between her nap this afternoon and bedtime tonight, it vanished. I mean, completely disappeared. Evan tore her room apart looking for it, checked the living room, kitchen...nothing. So, we decided to give the whole no pacifier thing a try. Turns out, it wasn't so bad. Tonight.

She was exhausted from a busy day of playing with Daddy and then a birthday celebration for my mom, aunt, and grandma (all have birthdays within two weeks of each other this month) at my grandma's house, which I thought would make things worse. Seems it may have actually helped. She was so tired that she only cried for 2 minutes. Followed by 3 minutes of quiet. Then 1 minute of forced crying. Then about 10 minutes of playing. For the last hour she's been perfectly quiet, which I hope means she fell asleep.

We did try to compromise by giving her a chew toy--what I call a chew toy is actually one of those teething toys that go in the freezer until you use them--but it's a rattle-type, so she can't really suck on it. She may have hidden the pacifier someplace that we couldn't find and simply got it out again after we left, but she hasn't yet figured out how to climb out the crib, so she would have had to find a really good hiding place. Like, inside the foot of her Tickle Me Elmo.

I'm not sure if this was just luck being on our side tonight or if giving up the pacifier really wasn't as big a deal as I anticipated, but I'm hoping for more nights like this one. Maybe with even less crying. Nap time tomorrow will probably be a good indication. Guess we'll just have to wait and see!

My Daughter, The Monkey

Maybe it's because she just finished watching the monkey section of Baby Einstein's World Animals, or maybe she just decided it sounded like fun, but my daughter just did one of the craziest things of her short life thus far.

Kathryn was supposed to be watching the rest of her Baby Einstein DVD (which was not doing a very good job of holding her attention) while I did a few things on the computer. She comes wandering into the computer room, bugging me to change the DVD (for the 4th time in an hour, and by 4th time, I mean 4th DVD). Reluctantly, I agreed, but told her to go into her room first so I could change her diaper. Then I went back to the computer, sort of forgetting that she was waiting for me.

A few minutes later, she starts calling me. "Mommy, help! I stuck!" I realize I haven't gone to change her diaper yet and now she probably has her arm stuck in her crib trying to reach that dumb pacifier. So I go into her room, and there she is, laying exactly the way she does when I change her, on top of her changing table. I have no idea how she got up there. Nothing was knocked over, so I guess she climbed up the shelves of the table, and miraculously didn't tip it over onto herself. I asked her to show me how she did it, but she refused and went back to the DVD.

Hmm...I guess maybe that section of her room could use a little straightening... Maybe later. It's lunch time.

"10" Things for Rachelle

Recently, my wonderful sister-in-law, Rachelle, posted a 10-things-about-me list on her blog and asked that all her sisters-in-law do the same. Well, the others did it a while ago, and I've been going crazy trying to think of 10 things about myself that I felt like sharing with the world wide web. So, here's what I've come up with:

1. I think offering a 42-oz soft drink for 89 cents is just plain cruel. McDonald's should be ashamed of themselves.

2. My thoughts on domestic violence are perfectly summed up in Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder & Lead" (from her Crazy Ex-Girlfriend CD), and it warms my heart to hear Kathryn "singing" along in the backseat.

3. I pretty much always sing in the car (unless I'm on the phone) or while watching Disney movies with Kathryn, but I absolutely will not sing in front of Evan. Nevermind how we met or that he probably wouldn't really care that I don't have a very good voice, it will not happen.

4. I made Amish friendship bread for the first time this week and it was actually good! (The surprise is in reference to my culinary skills, not the Amish.)

5. I am a compulsive list-maker, although I rarely check things off.

6. I am terrified of the day that I have to take Kathryn's pacifier away from her. Evan tried this morning and my heart almost broke from her devastated little expression.

7. I'm pretty sure I couldn't function without my DVR & SOAPNet.

8. Despite our technical competence, neither Evan nor I can figure out how to hook up our TV so that the DVD player and VCR (which are connected) work at the same time. For the last two years, we've either not used the VCR or changed the cords around so the DVD player doesn't work so we can watch a VHS tape.

9. I haven't yet managed to teach Kathryn how to say "yes" but she has learned "mm-hmm." Now, when I tell her her I love her, she says, "Mm-hmm." I ask, "You love Mommy?" And she says, "Mm-hmm." It's probably one of the cutest things she's ever learned.


10. After all this time trying to think of 10 things, I only came up with 9.

Choose your words wisely...

...when speaking to a 22-month-old. On our drive home from the doctor's office yesterday, I decided we should stop and get something for lunch because I didn't really have time to make anything before nap time (and I didn't really feel like making anything).

I said: Kathryn, where should we eat?
She said: On couch.

Clearly, she missed the point of my question, and she refused to let me rephrase it. Every time I tried to ask it differently, she'd say, "No. Eat on couch."


In doctor's appt news: NewBaby is the only one there (no twins) and is about 1" long right now. Dr. estimates my due date at January 11, but said not to plan any holiday traveling (based on Kathryn coming two weeks ahead of her due date). So, it's pretty much what I thought. Oddly enough, Kathryn was due August 11 and actually came July 29, so I guess NewBaby could come as early as December 29. I'm thinking more like Jan 4, though.

$5 To The First Person To Answer...

1. What is this?
2. How do I fix it?


I know the picture is a little fuzzy, but it's the best we could get with a camera-phone. It looks like some sort of fungus growing on various parts of my azalea plant. This is the plant that was already here when we moved in, so I have no idea how long it's been like this. I just noticed it today, but, if it makes any difference, no new flowers have grown on the plant in the last couple weeks.

***

Well, I guess the $5 is going to stay in my pocket. I decided to do a little research on my own, and I found the problem. Apparently, my azalea plant has what is known as azalea gall disease. Seems it's not very serious, but Evan still needs to remove all the infected leaves as soon as we notice them to keep it from spreading all over the plant and my new rhododendron (which Kathryn brutalized this afternoon). Thanks for playing, though!!