The Birds

So is there one bird whose job it is to watch when the feeder is empty and let all the other birds know when that lady with terminal bedhead and the fuzzy pink socks comes out with the seed and refills it? Cause there wasn't any sign of any birds anywhere near that feeder at all today until right after I filled it up before lunch and now there's a wait so I think someone must have been on the lookout.

Has My Luck Run Out?

If I'm absent tomorrow, don't worry about me. I've been called in to service: Jury Duty! In all the years I've known Husbandguy, he has never been called. He says he went once, but that was before I knew him. I, on the other hand, have been called 4 times. And never had to actually go to the courthouse. The first two times were during finals and I was excused, and the last time they just didn't need me. I'm hoping they won't need me tomorrow (I can find out after 5:30 this evening), but I'm thinking my luck has run out and I'll be downtown all day tomorrow. I guess I should have a lunch packed just in case...

On the plus side, I can take my book and my notebook and get some reading and/or writing done without any distractions. And also, based on my college Latin teacher's jury duty experience, I might actually be too smart to have to sit on a jury. According to him, the lawyers don't want people who think. He said that when he went they asked if anyone had an opinion about the fact that in the US, people are innocent until proven guilty, and when he raised his hand and said that he thought that was a good thing, they dismissed him.

Pete's Amazing Presentation

First, help! I couldn't find a synonym for 'amazing' that started with 'P' and so had to skip the alliteration. Anybody got anything? Also, sorry you had to wait for this; I'm very busy this week!

Pete was one of only two children from her class of nearly 2 dozen selected to demonstrate Sensorial Montessori activities last night to parents of the Primary (pre-k and k) children. The other child selected was Pete's best friend who is a boy (not her best friend overall, just of her friends who are boys, and not her boyfriend - don't let her hear you call him that! but if in ten years he is actually her boyfriend I think I'll be okay with that) and with whom Pete works really well. Their center got rave reviews. They both did amazing work.

I'm going to brag on Pete's friend first because he's so cool. He started with the binomial and trinomial cubes, which are basically algebra with blocks. The trinomial cube looked very difficult, but he just flew through it! Also, Husbandguy said he saw him do the graduated cylinders wearing a blindfold, and DH was pretty sure he must have been able to see through the blindfold, but Pete says you have to try really hard to peek out the bottom if you want to cheat so we're pretty sure Pete's friend is just that good.

And Pete! Wow! She started with the cylinder cabinet. I'm not going to explain it because it can be difficult to picture, but PSP has an email she can forward you if you're interested and if she thinks it will help you understand. It looked like it was pretty simple, way below Pete's skills, but she started and focused and finished and made us all very proud. Then she got to do more difficult work that I can't remember the name of and some stuff I didn't get to see because I was looking at the other centers and trying to find out what that kid was doing or that kid there (one was doing the addition strip board, which I'd heard of but never seen - he was making 10 in as many ways as he could like he adds to 10 all the time - he was 4! sorry, I'm off track). When I got back, Pete was doing the binomial cube like it was second nature for her. Then her teacher asked her to demonstrate the Pink Tower, one of the symbols of Montessori - maybe The Symbol. It was clearly too easy for Pete. Once she had finished stacking the cubes the right way, she very carefully, starting at the top, turned each cube just slightly and seemingly randomly until the tower had a very precarious and artistic appearance, but it didn't wobble. Then she laid the cubes out in a row from smallest to largest at random angles and made a neat crooked stair step effect. She did this on her own! How do I nurture that?! The last thing Pete and her friend did they did together. I don't know what it was called, but they are a great team!

The best part of the whole thing wasn't that DH and I were proud of Pete (and her friend, by the way) for being so grown up. We were already proud just that she was selected and knew she could do it no problem and were, of course, extra pleased that we were right. The best part was how proud Pete and her friend made their teacher. They were perfect examples of kindergarten Montessori students and they were a reason for their teacher to go home knowing she is doing a good job.

Remind Me

Remind me to tell you about what an amazing job Pete did presenting last night at Parents' Night.

Back in the PTA Saddle

So on Tuesday, at the Principal's coffee (remember? I help organize those?), the PTA secretary was there, and we talked a little about the role I'd like to have on the PTA. It sounds like they are seriously considering my suggestion that we have a Membership Committee, and she agreed that one person could probably handle that on their own and seemed very pleased that I was interested in that job. And also I think I volunteered for another job that I'm not sure how to do, but I did tell her that I'd only do it if there was someone else leading. We'll see what happens with that... And the principal was happy when I told her I'd like to coordinate her coffees next year if she decides to do them again (why wouldn't I? free coffee!!). Even though I didn't like being a committee chair, I have to admit that I was missing the PTA a little bit. Maybe this will help.

On an unhappy note, the nicest lady, the hardest working volunteer I've ever met, just found out that she has breast cancer. I know you don't know her, but please keep her in your thoughts/prayers/whatever-you-do. She doesn't deserve this.

Lists Lists and More Lists

I think I have a problem. Admitting it is the first step toward recovery, right? I am a list-maker. I make lists for everything, the obvious stuff like for shopping and who to send Christmas cards to, but also other unnecessary or excessive things that I should probably remember, like things to pack after I use them in the morning when we're going away for the weekend, like my toothbrush (duh!). The other day, though, I was cleaning in my closet and I came across a little notebook that had lists in it. It was full of them, in fact, full of lists about things pertaining to Lulu's birth, like things to pack for the hospital (PJs, toothbrush, slippers, etc.) and what we still needed for bringing her home (bathtub, diapers, etc.). The first list in the notebook, though, (and this is why I think maybe I have a problem) was a list of lists to make!

Another Less Random Thought

Maybe if, when people ask me what I do, instead of saying, "I'm a mom," I say, "I'm a writer," then maybe I'll be more motivated to stick to it...

Husbandguy asked what I'll say when they ask what I write. I'll have to think about that, but I can honestly say that I write children's stories (just not published) and possibly I'll be able to say I'm working on my novel. But only if I really am. I can say I have a blog...

A Few Random Thoughts

Why do the women on "Rock of Love 2" think they're actually going to end up with Bret Michaels? Didn't they see the first season? Don't they realize that if he picks one of them and "settles down," they won't be able to do "Rock of Love 3"?

-------------------------------

A few months back I had an idea for a subject for my novel but that was all it was, an idea. There wasn't any kind of substance. Last night I remembered it, and this morning I woke up with a bare bones outline in my head. I'm going to write it down before I clean the kitchen. I'm hoping that by putting it out here that I'm working on something, maybe I'll stick with it until it's done (ten years from now...). Also, Husbandguy is always teasing me about how I should write my novel so we'll have more money. Either he doesn't really get how that works or he thinks I'm a much better writer than I think he thinks I am. Anyway, if he's going to say stuff like that, I hope he's willing to back it up because I might need to spend some time at the library or wherever doing research and stuff. Without the girls.

----------------------------

I dropped Lulu off at school this morning with crusty boogers on her nose and a stinky diaper. I apologized to her teacher. I feel like I'm a terrible mom, but she wouldn't let me clean her nose and she made the stinky diaper right before it was time to get in the car and didn't leave me any time to change her. A better mom than me would have... I did let her pick out her own clothes this morning. She is very proud to be wearing blue jeans, had to show everyone.

HA!

After about 30 minutes of talking down to Husbandguy, our ISP finally admitted that the internet problems we've been consistently having are their fault. A technician is coming tomorrow to check the phone line to our house.

LL Says:

When I was getting Lulu ready to leave for the Grandpa and Meme's house last week, I asked her if she was ready to go on vacation, and she said, "Yeah," then she shouted, "OSHEN!" Awww. I like that kid!

Health

Lulu has been well for 3+ weeks. Aside from sore cheeks from pending teeth, there has not been anything wrong, not a drip of snot or the hint of a cough. Hopefully I haven’t jinxed it by posting this, and she’ll continue to be well. But just in case, I wanted to mark this down so that if she does end up needing the humidifier or the nebulizer or to sleep upright in Husbandguy’s arms so she can breathe and DH finds himself wondering why our baby is always sick, I can remind him about this time, this precious and rare mid-winter wellness.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said for our ISP. They just suck. I think ISP actually stands for “Intermittent Service Provider.”

Bragging on My Baby... Again

When I picked Lulu up at school yesterday, her teachers mentioned that she is the youngest child in the class. Then they went on to say that she's also the "smartest" (their word). I don't like to be one of those moms who's all "My baby is smarter than yours," but sometimes I am anyway.

More Birthday Baking

Have you ever made a burnt sugar cake? I have. It's yummy!

Since we couldn't figure out how to bring the last of the birthday cake from this past weekend home with us from the Grandpa and Meme's house without messing up the icing, I didn't have any cake on hand for my birthday yesterday. And what's a birthday without a cake or something? I guess I could have asked Husbandguy and Pete to make something, right? But come on! Do you know me at all? It's way more fun for me to make it myself. I'd say that 2/3 3/4 of the joy of baked goods for me is the actual baking. I spent the whole day trying to decide what kind of cake to make because we don't have any mixes in the pantry, and burnt sugar cake sounded like something DH would like. And it was! Me too. And Pete. Lulu didn't finish hers, but we think she was full from dinner.

Now we're trying to decide what kind of icing it needs. We're eating it un-iced for the time being, but I think we're all in agreement that it needs something next time I make it. Moomie said my grandma always made burnt sugar icing, which I'd like to try, but it's time consuming and tricky so I'll need to plan ahead. DH thinks caramel icing might be too much, but maybe not. No one thinks chocolate would be good except Pete who eats chocolate on everything. Have you ever had it? What kind of icing did it have on it? Would you eat it again? Want me to make you one? I wonder if Poppop would like it...

Pete Says:

On Thursday, when there was a winter storm, Pete and Pete's mom were admiring the woods out back and how pretty they were with snow on them. Pete's mom said that she thought it would be even prettier if there was a cardinal in one of the trees, and Pete said, "Yeah! Then it would be like we were in a snow globe!"

Lulu's New Friend

So today Lulu made a new friend. Me too. And I got to see some people who were much younger the last time I saw them. I don't mean anything by that. It's a fact. I was too.

PSP packed her family in the car and made the trip all the way from her house to the Grandpa and Meme's house just so we could hang out and meet each other's families. Lulu and her new friend fought over coloring books and moms' laps like they'd known each other forever. That's always nice to see. And I totally turned into an old lady when I saw Kiddoo, who is 9 (?) years older than he was the last time I saw him. I actually said something like, "I remember when you were this (holds hand at Pete height) big." He's not that big anymore. He's like twice as big, at least! And soooo cool. I remember when he had chicken pox. Now he has a drum set!

It wasn't long enough, our visit. We're obviously going to have to do it again. And the Husbandguys can watch the toddlers while Pete and Kiddoo and PSP and I hang out. Because toddlers are cute and fun, but they're also busy and distracting.

(Thank you, TG and MM, for letting us use your space for our reunion.)

Mini-Vacation

Usually a long weekend is just that, a weekend only longer. You know, you do the same stuff you do on a normal weekend but you have more time to do it. But since the Grandpa and Meme moved closer, now our long weekends are more like vacation. It's super cool. We get to get away from our routine, and we get to see the Grandpa and Meme.

This weekend was the perfect mini-vacation. Comfortable accommodations, good food, warm company, shopping with Meme... The only thing missing from TG and MM's home that used to be there when we couldn't visit as often is Big Brother and his family. We do miss them...

More Snow!

So Meme recently returned to the South from MA, and on Saturday, my family and I are at her house and it's snowing!! I'm all excited, "Ooooo! Look, Pete!! Look, Meme!!" and Meme's making fun of me, claiming she can't even see any flakes and saying I've been in the South too long and stuff. And you know what? She's right! I totally wouldn't used to get excited about an inch of snow before, but now it's a big deal. I miss winter...

Also, Husbandguy and Pete and Lulu had a snowball fight and came inside all wet because nobody knew enough to keep their hats on.

Friday Fives

These lists are everywhere and I can't think of anything else to write about so here you go. Let's learn a little more about Mommy's Nintendo:


Five years ago I was: Working at a bank... doing, um, temp work, I think...

One year ago I was: Doing what I do now but with Lulu home all day.

Yesterday I was: Enjoying the snow day, baking muffins, cleaning, trying to remember how old I'll be next Tuesday...

5 snacks I enjoy: Chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered espresso beans, cheese popcorn, those nachos you get at hockey games (or any nachos, really), muffins

5 things I would do if I suddenly had 1million dollars: Pay off the mortgage and Husbandguy's car, save for the girls to go to college, invest for DH's and my future, get a bigger house with a better kitchen, just spend a little tiny bit, like 1%.

5 locations I would like to run away to: Maine, Seattle, New Hampshire, anywhere there is ocean right there, Canada

5 bad habits I have: I spend too much time on the computer, I yell when I get angry or frustrated, I let DH do kid-duty more often than I should, I can't leave chocolate candy or pastries alone, I complain a lot

5 things I like doing: Talking to my kids, reading, writing, eating out, putting together some-assembly-required things (toys, furniture, etc.)

5 TV shows I like: Chuck, The Soup, The Amazing Race, um...

5 Things I hate doing: Cleaning, folding laundry, fighting with Pete about practicing her piano, being a PTA chair (I don't do that anymore), talking to DH about money

5 biggest joys of the moment: Pete, Lulu, DH, the bird feeder in our backyard, my job

She's a Giver

Lulu's teacher commented to Lulu about how she likes muffins, and Lulu volunteered me to make her some. Seriously. She said, "Mama bake!" And when I picked her up, she told me about it. Her teacher said, "What did you say you would bring me on Friday?" and Lulu looked me right in the face and said, "MUFFIN!" If we get a chance, I think we might actually make muffins for Lulu to share with her whole class on Friday.

Snow Day

Yay! Pete's home today! But the snow is currently being ruined by rain so it won't be any fun to play in. Oh well. She's home.

Poopin'

When I got to Lulu’s school to pick her up Monday, she was standing real still kind of clutching the toy kitchen. When I called her name and she looked at me, I asked her what she was doing and she said, “Poopin’,” which is what I thought she was doing. Since she didn’t want to poop in the car or wait until we got home and I didn’t want to stand in the hallway holding her hand until she had finished, we went to the little potty in the 2 year-old room. First she said she wanted to; then she said she didn’t so I put her in her coat and we headed toward the door; then she changed her mind again so we went back to the potty, and she made one tiny poopoo in it. It was pretty cool. I’m not sure she exactly gets what a big deal it is, though, because when we got home and I tried to get her to talk about it, she didn’t seem interested. I’m still proud of her, though. And once it clicks for her, since she hates to have her diaper changed, I bet she’ll be potty-trained.

Toddler Soundtracks

Have you ever wondered whether babies get songs stuck in their heads like grown-ups do? I can't answer that for the really little babies, but I can tell you that toddlers, my toddler specifically, do get songs stuck in their heads. Lulu will be enjoying her blueberries and Cheerios or just playing quietly or riding in the car or something and suddenly break out with "Crunchy Munchy Honey Cakes" or "B.I.N.G.O" ("I N G OO...Neem-OOO") or "Elmo's World" or some other little ditty. During the holidays I'd hear "Jingle Bells" a lot, sometimes "Rudolph." It's fun. I don't think Pete sang this much when she was this age. And also, Lulu likes to sing along. Maybe she'll be musical too!

Pete Says:

When Pete and Lulu are playing in the other room, sometimes I'll hear Lulu start to cry, and Pete always says, "Shh!" but not in a soothing, it's-okay way. It's more like, "Shh! Someone will hear you!"

Yeah - That's What I Meant

At Chuck E Cheese on Wednesday, Lulu and I wanted a little more pizza so I went up to the register and said, "I'd like a small pepperoni pizza, please," and the girl lady person behind the register said, "We only have individual, medium, and large." (??!!) So I said, "That's what I want." I was intentionally vague. She looked confused and said, "Individual?" (DINGDINGDINGDING!! You're a winner!!) I said, "Yeah."

A Success

The tea party was a great success. Everyone had a good time. And the cake, while not super pretty, came out really good, aside from the fact that it was a very grown up cake and too rich for everyone under the age of 30 except Pete and 1 of her friends... It's my go-to dessert if I ever have grown-ups I want to impress, though. And I'm sure I'll have to make it again for Pete. I don't know if I mentioned that I bought white cup cakes just in case the cake was too grown up (and because Lulu shouldn't have that much chocolate). Those were a big hit. Husbandguy did all the decorating, and he did a great job. There are streamers everywhere! Lulu had a great time chasing the big girls around; she got kind of over-stimulated and was ready for bed when it was time. There was a lot of shrieking and giggling during the party. A LOT of shrieking and giggling. And Berry is sleeping over, which is really cool because Pete never gets to see her at school anymore since she's in first grade and Pete isn't. Berry is a lot of fun to watch movies with. She really gets into them. There's a lot of exclaiming and laughing and whatnot. It's fun.

So, my Saturday? Great Big Gold Star! And I get to make pancakes for breakfast.

LL Says:

Waiting for the bus the other day, Lulu and I went outside. While we were out, the poor kitty got sick. Lulu was very concerned. She spoke gently to the kitty, "Okay kitty. Okay. Feel better?" Then she turned away and said, "Nene* turn!" and pretended to throw up herself.

*"Nene" is what Lulu calls herself.

More Annual Review Stuff

I'm Super Mom, I think. The other moms at Pete's school just think I'm nuts, but they're wrong. I'm Super Mom.

On Wednesday, Husbandguy and I went to Pete's school for her birthday ceremony and lunch. The Montessori birthday ceremony involves the birthday child holding a globe walking around a candle, which represents the sun, as many years as they have been alive. This signifies the child's journey on the earth from birth to today. Get it? It's neat. While she circles the candle, someone is supposed to talk about the things that happened in each of the years, and if her parents are there, they're supposed to do the talking. But I'm a sap. I blame Moomie (she's okay with that) because she was a sap first. Because I am so sensitive (I think it's called having high empathy), I wouldn't be able to narrate Pete's life without crying. So I wrote it all down for Husbandguy, who graciously read it. He would prefer I talk, but since he could read it and not have to remember (which is hard - I don't fault him - I had to look at pictures to remember everything) on the spot, he did it. And I also made a poster timeline of Pete's life. It started in the middle with a picture of her in the hospital when she was born and spiralled out with gradually older pictures of her, ending with one of her at her grandparent party last weekend. I'm pretty proud of it. I'm going to turn it into a scrapbook when she brings it home. Does that seem like a lot of work for a little 20 minute ceremony? Tony's mom thought so when I ran into her on Wednesday. But it's what I, Super Mom, do!

So her tea party is next weekend. We've heard from 4/7 of our invitees that they're coming so it should be a nice little party. But my Pete, who has very sophisticated tastes since we've always made her try everything, asked me to make a dark chocolate truffle torte with raspberry filling for her cake. (!!) What other little 6 year-old girl would ask for that?! I won't go on. We all know she is exceptional. She asked me to make it, though, FROM SCRATCH, which is what I'm doing right now. The layers just came out of the oven and are cooling. This is the easy part. I can bake a cake. It's the decorating that will get me... Being Super Mom, I know that I can run to the grocery store and buy a pretty chocolate truffle torte (no raspberries, though) if this one turns out ugly. I checked this morning. You might say that Super Mom should be so confident in her abilities as a super mom that she wouldn't need a back-up cake. But I say that Super Mom knows she's not infallible...

So now I'm going to go play hide-the-mess. Hopefully no one will look in our closets when they're here tomorrow.

Happy birthday, Pete! It's all for you!!

Weird!

The oven seems to have caught the TV's disease. Every time I look, the light inside is on!

Know What I Like About My Job?

It has been a really long time since I had the urge to answer our home phone with, "Good morning. This is [Mommy's Nintendo]. How can I help you?"

Pete's Birthday Breakfast Poem

Little Miss Monkey*
Sat on her bumky**
Eating her Cheerios.
Along came her sister
Who sat down and kissed her
And beeped her on the nose.


*Lulu
**bumbum

Pete Says:

In a deep, put-on voice, Pete said, "If Daddy writes the music, you and me will sing it. Right Mom?" Pete's mom said, "Where did that come from?" Pete said, in that voice again, "I'm talkin' hip-hop, dude."

Defective TV

There's something wrong with the TV at our house. Whenever I turn it off, it seems to come back on almost right away. Well, it's not every time, not during the day during the week. But in the evenings and on the weekends, really when everyone is home with me, it does. I'll turn it off and go to another room and when I come back, it's back on. Or in the mornings I just won't turn it on, but as soon as everyone starts rustling around and it's not just me awake, it will come on. It's weird!

Where's My Baby?!!

You know Pete is almost 6, right? So not really a baby, right? But when she's more than a hour late getting home from school, she's my baby and that's that.

Pete's been getting home a little later than we thought she would when we signed her up for the bus at the beginning of the year because they added another whole route to her bus in the afternoon. I was okay with that. I'd prefer she get home at the time she was supposed to, sure, but it's okay. But then on Friday, the later time came and went with no sign of Pete or the bus. No big deal, things happen and buses get 15 minutes behind sometimes, right? But then 15 minutes went by with no sign of her. And then 15 more. I called Husbandguy to see where he was in case she was at the school and needed to be picked up for some reason, and I started cooking dinner. She'll be here any minute I kept telling myself. And the little Mom voice in the back of my heart kept saying not to think about the fact that every mother who's lost a kid has told herself that very same thing. After 15 more minutes, I called the school; surely someone there would know why she wasn't home. But there was no answer. After 10 rings the fax machine picked up. I waited a couple more minutes and called Rhymes-with-Tennis's mom, because RWT rides Pete's bus too. Her line was busy. So I hung up and turned off the stove and stood in the window and wondered what to do next. Then the phone rang. It was RWT's mom. She was a step behind me, calling the school while I was calling her. We looked up the number for the transportation center and both called. The message at the beginning said that if you were calling about a late bus you should call the school. Since I'd already done that, I waited and when they picked up, I said, "I already called the school and no one answered. My daughter is usually home an hour ago and she's not here yet. Can you help me?" and the lady said, "Is it [Pete's school]?" and I said, "Yes!" and she said, "There's a delay. Hang on," and put me on hold. She came back on after a couple of minutes and asked what our stop was and put me on hold again when I told her. When she came back again she said, "They're 5 minutes away." I was so relieved I didn't even think to ask what had happened until I'd hung up, but I knew Pete would know (another bus broke down and they had to help with that). Then RWT's mom called back and when DH was talking to her, the bus came so we could tell her that RWT would be home soon because RWT's stop is next, I think. And when Pete came in, I smooshed her in a great big hug, and she looked all grown up to be getting home after her daddy. And WHEW! That sucked! I reminded Pete that she doesn't have to take the bus, but she still wants to...

Month-Long Annual Reviews

Remember. Annual reviews are birthdays. And Pete's and mine are both this month. Because Pete opted to have a all-girl tea party this year with her friends, we decided to invite the grandparents to a separate celebration, which was today. Thus began the month-long review. On Pete's actual birthday, Wednesday, we're taking her to Chuck E Cheese because we've been telling her we would go forever and it seemed like a good time to follow through with that. Then the tea party is next week. So far, one person has RSVP-ed yes and Pete said she got one no at school the other day. Then, since the Grandpa and Meme can't be here this weekend or next, we're going to see them the following weekend, at which time Pete will (reluctantly, I'm sure) pass the Birthday Baton to me because my birthday is that next Tuesday. And since we're not sure how or where the whole Grandpa&Meme thing is going to happen, I think we're going to celebrate my birthday with Moomie the following weekend, which is the last weekend in January. Thus: Month-Long Annual Reviews! Whee!!

Also, Happy Birthday today Kiddoo!

LL Says:

LL says: <cough, cough> "Oh goodness!"

Peaceful Is

Post hard-poop morning

After shopping, pleasant lunch

Sound sleep in the car

LL Says:

This morning when I dropped Lulu off at school, her little friend Ashlyn started to help her out of her coat like she always does, but Lulu turned around and looked her in the eye and said, "Oshen," (nod, nod) "oshen." She was sharing her vacation! Awww! She's so neat. I'm glad I sent a picture of the beach in her bag today for her to share at circle. She'll like that, I think.

Seriously! She's only 19 months old!

Wod Dibd Joo Seh?

After a restless night that involved a lot of itching, I woke up this morning with gigantic lips. I'm not kidding. They were at least three times the size they usually are. And they weren't lip-shaped. Husbandguy and Moomie both commented that people pay money for their lips to look like that, but since I haven't had any collagen injections that I'm aware of, I called the nurse instead. And now I'm waiting to hear back from the doctor. In the meantime though, both of my girls spent their morning staring at me. Pete asked me to leave the breakfast table because my lips were so distracting. Lulu kept saying, "Puff!" at me while I was getting her dressed. She wouldn't clarify what she meant, though, so I'm not certain that she was talking about my lips. The itching has moved from my hands and feet to my lips and chin now, and my lips aren't nearly as big as they were and are lip-shaped again. I wish the doctor's office would call...

The only new things I've had/done/been around recently that I might be allergic to are Tic Tacs, a piece of chocolate from Husbandguy's stocking (shh!), and our present from Nana and PopPop (yes, they did finally give us something), and Husbandguy is pretty sure it's not the present. I guess we'll see...

It Wasn't All Bad

There were some nice parts of vacation, too. So you know.

We saw pelicans.
The view from our room (on the 21st floor) looked like this.

Except for the last morning when it looked like this.
And I got coffee here. It was the only real cup of coffee I had on vacation. It was pretty good. Husbandguy doesn't drink coffee but couldn't pass up the hot chocolate.

Lulu loved the beach. She remembers it even now. She'll tell you it was cold, and the other day, when Husbandguy got her into her jacket and shoes to go shopping or something, she yelled, "Oshen!" all excited and looked genuinely disappointed when Husbandguy said we weren't going there. Pete played mini golf with me and she won. That was Super Fun. And I ordered a dinner I wouldn't normally order because it had asparagus and it was really good and Lulu didn't throw up that time. That was the only time, though. And I took a TON of really great pictures of my family on the beach. There's this super cute one of the girls in their heavy coats standing right at the edge of the water. And I saw a dolphin that surfaced again one more time so I could show Pete.

And also, Lulu is feeling better now. She hasn't thrown up in several days and her cough is way better. We held off on the doctor because she was a lot better yesterday.

Everyone goes back to school/work/etc. tomorrow. I enjoyed (most of) our vacation. I'm looking forward to our Real Life now.