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Mama Monday #81 2007-10-29 07:44:00 Theme: LegacySweetie's Sundress, July 2007Sweetie's sun dress, made by her Nana, with material from a sun dress my paternal grandmother once owned, then passed on to my mom.----------------------------------------Unknowingly, Oh, The Joys posted a lovely entry on this week's theme. Check it out and send her some love.---------------------------------------So, what's your take on this week's theme? Submit your entry today. ...

Sweetie Saturday #80 2007-10-27 07:25:00 So last week y'all saw Jack's Story. But I didn't get a chance to tell you some other details of the day:When Sweetie and I first got home that evening, she took off like a shot for parts unknown (well, okay - she took off towards the bathroom). Good! It gave me time to set up the Jack scenario and take some pictures.Finally, I called to Sweetie:Sweetie? Where are you? Hiding!But you've got to come here. You have a special letter waiting for you.At that, Sweetie came out of hiding - completely, 100% naked.See, she was excited to take a bath in our new bathtub. New in that, just the day before, Hubby had the pleasure of spending many, many hours with and many, many dollars on the nice plumbing and heating guy who replaced pretty much all the plumbing and fixtures in our downstairs bathtub.Anyway, at the time Sweetie was much more excited about her impending tubby than her letter from Jack. But after the bath, that's when she started to get into it.She was somewhat confused.But, pu ...

One Too Many Coconuts Boppin' Me On The Head 2007-10-24 20:01:00 Sweetie read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to herself on the car ride home from Nana's this afternoon. Only a handful of words made her pause, asking me for help.Mama, what's this next word? I don't know. How do you spell it?t-h-e-i-rtheir.Oh. Okay. Thank you, Mama.This went on for awhile and I was impressed with how infrequently she stopped to ask me about other words. But there were others:Mama, what's this word? s-k-i-n-n-e-d?"skinned". Like you skinned your knee.Oh. 30 seconds later....What's this word? k-n-e-e?k-n-e-e?Yeah.Nothing. That's not a word.Yes it is! What is it?!Oh! Knee! That's the word "knee". Sorry about that, Sweetie.Come on - give me a break. It's hard to drive and spell at the same time. ...

Mama Monday #80 2007-10-21 20:52:00 Theme: DividedHubby and I may disagree, fight and become frustrated with each other. We have before, and we will, undoubtedly, again. But, through hard work and determination, we will never be divided.Years ago, when Hubby and I were dating - possibly after we were engaged - a mutual friend of ours who happened to be big into astrology told us something about our relationship.He told us something we actually already knew, but had never really thought about - that we tend to approach things from completely opposite directions, but ultimately want the same outcome.We've witnessed for ourselves that this is the case for us time and again.Keeping this info in the back of our minds has been a real life saver for us. When things begin to get heated we are often able to take a breath, calm down, and restate our positions until we can each understand what the other is saying. And more times than not, it's true - we see we're arguing for the same conclusion.When it comes to parenting, Hubby ...

Sweetie Saturday #79 - "Jack's Story" Edition 2007-10-19 20:08:00 Hi (Sweetie),I need a face for Pumpkin Day. Will you please draw some for me? I'll pick my favorite one.Thank you.I'll see you tomorrow.JackI never got a letter from a pumpkin before!--------Good morning, Mama. It's 7:00.Come here.No. I'm going downstairs to see what my pumpkin looks like....(gasp!)...(back up the stairs)What's he look like?He looks like the first one I drawed! But... he doesn't have eyeballs.--------Pumpkin Day (addendum)Awwww.... I hear Jack calling me. He misses me.Yeah, but he's with all his pumpkin family now.But those are all his pumpkin party family. He loves me.---------Don't know the official count, but Jack had several thousands of pumpkiny brethren to keep him company all day long.Oh Jack, we hardly knew ye. But we loved you just the same. ...

Smart IS Beautiful 2007-10-17 21:29:00 Upon switching the channel last night from Cavemen to Beauty and the Geek (neither of which, I realize, was appropriate viewing for Sweetie, but there ya go....)Me: This is a show with pretty girls who aren't very smart and smart boys who aren't very pretty. But they're helping each other to be smarter and prettier. Which do you think is more important - to be smart or pretty? Sweetie: Pretty.Hubby and me, in unison: WRONG!Oy. So much for all my Smart Sweetie talk.Of all the things to think, Sweetie! That is the one thing you've got completely WRONG!(Well, that and your erroneous idea that you can't be a builder when you grow up because only boys are builders.)Be who you are, Sweetie. Be who you want to be - whatever path that may take you down. But most of all, be smart. Your natural beauty will undoubtedly shine throughout your life when you speak your mind, speak from your heart, and apply your intelligence to further both yourself and the world around you. ...

Mama Monday #79 2007-10-15 08:41:00 Theme: Virgin(ity)Yesterday Hubby and I had a fight. A stupid, angry fight. Yelling (both of us) and crying (me). And Sweetie heard it all. She came to silently stand in the corner of the room we were in - tears down her face and sadness in her eyes.After a two hour separation, Hubby and I each stewing (I mean, getting over it) in different rooms, all was fine. It really was a stupid fight over a stupid misunderstanding. It's not even the type of thing I'd normally bring up here, or anywhere, at all. My only point in writing about it is the effect it had on Sweetie.When Mommy is sad and crying it makes me feel like I want to cry too.----------------------------------------Yesterday evening we had AFV playing on the T.V. Not a show that we usually watch, but it seemed to be the best option at the time.Watching Sweetie watch this, I wondered if she'd think injury-inducing "comedy" would be funny to her or make her upset to watch. But my curiosity was relieved after a couple different ...

Sweetie Saturday #78 2007-10-13 07:47:00 Okay, one last time (for now)... Please indulge me as I show off my Sweetie a little more. (not to mention my mad movie-takin' skillz and both Nana's and my game-inventing ideas.... Okay, okay. So it's based on a game I saw on Curious George. But Nana helped turn it into a clock game).Behold the following video, in which our dear Sweetie creates a perfectly arranged clock. For our purposes, the Ace represents a 1, the Queen = an 11, and the King is the 12. Enjoy!Additionally, prepare to be astounded by the following photos I took of some Sweetie-drawn-and-captioned-pictures.For this one, she asked me how to spell "number".This idea she got from watching an episode of Word World. Note how she turned the letters of "vine" into a vine. Oh, and that's her swinging on it, not Daddy. He's just watching. She only asked me how to spell "swinging".This one she did entirely on her own. Wow, Wow, as in Wow, Wow Wubbzy. Pretty good Wubbzy rendering, huh?This is a picture, of course, of a pupp ...

What Makes a Sweetie So Sweetie-ish? 2007-10-10 16:12:00 So, I don't know, was it a couple months ago that we took our cats to the vet? Whatever - doesn't matter much. They're fine. A little fat. And Spoon! has one evil temper. But it was a good checkup for both felines overall. That's not what I'm here to talk about.What I still remember most from that day is Sweetie's insistence on making her presence known. Politely, mind you. But, man, is she persistent in her quest to ask questions, offer answers, and generally be noticed.Our vet, who's clearly more of an animal lover than a child lover, at one point asked us,Wow! Where did she get her confidence from?Confidence? Is that what we're calling it these days? Hmmmmm.... well, if you say so....Anyway, this rather rhetorical question actually made me think - where does Sweetie get her confidence from?Everything from Sweetie's declaration of being great everyday, to her creativity, dramatics, her pride in her smarts, her sense of humor, her ability to quickly make new friends and speak ...

Mama Monday #78 2007-10-08 14:09:00 Theme: CompassionHubby and I spend this past Saturday in Boston seeing the musical Wicked. If you haven't seen it already, I highly recommend it. It was breathtakingly awesome. Truly wonderful.I don't want to give away much of the story for those of you who haven't read the book or seen the show. But, really, at it's heart it's a story of compassion.Is the Wicked Witch of the West truly wicked? Is Glinda the Good Witch purely good? Their's is a complicated story of friendship, personal beliefs vs. sticking to the "norm", love, honor, disappointments, honesty and dishonesty, passion and compassion.I love going to the theater. And I loved this show.And I love my Hubby.Thank you, Hubby, for my birthday-present/anniversary present. Thank you for showing me compassion throughout the years. Your determination to lead a life with passion inspires me everyday.Because of you, I've been changed for good.---------------------------So, what's your take on this week's theme? Submit your en ...

Sweetie Saturday #77 - Completely Random Edition 2007-10-06 08:16:00 Sweetie has, of late, made some pretty (you guessed it) random declarations.For instance, I noticed on the announcement wall at Sweetie's school that one of her classmate's birthdays was coming up. So, once the birthday arrived (on a Saturday) I mentioned to Sweetie,Hey Sweetie. Today is M____'s birthday.She didn't comment at all at the time and just went on with her playing. Okay. Whatever.Later, when we dropped Sweetie off to play at Nana's for awhile, the very first thing Sweetie excitedly said to my mom was,Hey Nana! Guess what?! Today is M______'s birthday!----------------------------------------------------------On another occasion, at bedtime, we instructed Sweetie to gather her sleeping friends before she headed up to her room. Unfortunately, Kisses could not be found. Anywhere.Hubby looked around - twice - in every downstairs room.Sweetie looked around.I looked everywhere too.Nothing. Kisses was officially missing.Sweetie waited in her room while I searched the downstair ...

The Growings and Goings-On of A Sweetie 2007-10-03 20:10:00 More proof that my little Sweetie is growing up... she got invited to her very first friend-from-school birthday party. And it's a Halloween costume party to boot! My, my... the first of many party invites, I'm sure.--------------------------Sweetie has been impressing me lately with her larger grasp of the world. That is, her ability to see beyond the Right Now. To understand and apply things to the larger picture.For instance, we have a family wedding to go to this weekend. And Sweetie needs shoes to go with her dress. Considering this on my own, I resigned myself that I'd just have to stop somewhere on my way home one day this week to pick out a nice pair for her.Then, just a couple days ago, it occurred to me that she already owns a pretty pair of sandals I got her this summer. They're still in good repair and probably still fit her. So, thinking to myself about this, I told her,Hey Sweetie. Go get those sandals of yours on the shelf in the kitchen. I want you to try them on.Ok ...

Mama Monday #77 2007-10-01 06:50:00 Theme: PurifySince having Sweetie (and largely, if not entirely, due to her presence) my body and life have been intoxicated with bodily aches and pains, exhaustion, stress, anger, impatience and worry.But.... hearing her laugh, marveling at her confidence and dramatic flair, and admiring her intelligence and wit purifies me more than any massage, cleansing diet, or comfy sleep ever could.-----------------So, what's your take on this week's theme? Submit your entry today. ...

Sweetie Saturday #76 2007-09-29 07:00:00 Well, I actually have a whole mess of cute things Sweetie's said this week - all written down and ready to go.But then she just had to come home from Nana's the other day with a cute little coloring book of her own creation. Totally her idea. And the pictures are oh so cute.So - funny Sweetie-isms will keep for next time. Today - you get Sweetie drawings.Our little artist. What a smart cutie! ...

Aha! Moment 2007-09-26 17:59:00 I just realized why Sweetie always suffers head injuries when she's alone with her Daddy, but never when she's with me.... I'm not physically able to do all the crazy activities that lead to such trauma!Sweetie fell on her face when we where playing wheel barrow.Sweetie got jabbed in the cheek with a pickup stick when we were playing magic wands.Oy. ...