Ulterior Motives?
Mood:  not sure

Last New Year's Eve I told Tony and Lauren that if I did not lose 30 pounds during 2008, I would pay them each $100. Maybe it wasn't a very good idea since my success rate is, oh, about 0%, but I was feeling optimistic. Since then I've had a few too many "hoorays" from Lauren when my answer to whether I had lost any weight was "no". She just can't wait to get her hands on that $100 even though she knows most of it would go into the bank. But not last week...last week there was a different answer. A change in tactics perhaps? Last week when I said I had not lost anything, she replied with a pout and a hug, "If you lose 30 pounds then you won’t be a nice, cuddly, chubby mommy any more." Well that was just so sweet, but it did leave me wondering.

Oh, and my dearest Lauren, you will definitely not lose your nice, cuddly, chubby mommy because, believe me, I will still have some cush left.

Seven!
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Lauren

What can I say? Lauren is seven and it's just unbelievable! There have been many changes in the past year, but the one that really stands out is that she has blossomed when it comes to her interactions with others. In fact, a neighbor just mentioned a couple weeks ago how Lauren used to say almost nothing to adults, but now talks and waves when she sees them. It seems my cautious baby girl has been replaced with an outgoing, rather confident little girl.  It is amazing to watch her interact with both adults and her peers in ways she never has before. She initiates play dates, she contributes to conversations, she compromises, and she enjoys all of it. That's the kicker - there's no wish more important to me for my child than to be more outgoing than I am. It will eliminate all the troubles of the timid and serve her well for the rest of her life.

Lauren - Happy 7th Birthday and you go girl!  Love you! 

Her Father's Daughter
Mood:  silly
Topic: Family and Friends

Children generally take after their parents and ours is no exception. Tony and I love music…as does Lauren. I love to read…as does Lauren. I enjoy going out to eat and to movies…as does Lauren. Tony likes to turn a profit…as, apparently, does Lauren. 

Tony loves a good deal. He loves it even more when he can make a profit from a good deal. Actually, that is his business - buying and selling surplus equipment. Generally he buys the items, but he has been known to dumpster dive. You know, when you look in other people’s trash to see if there is anything you could use, or better yet, sell! Why not? One man’s trash… 

Somehow though, I just didn’t see this one as a trait that would be taken up by our daughter. I’m sure Tony didn’t either so I knew I had to tell him about one particular deal made in our house Monday evening about which he would be mighty proud to hear.

I relayed to him how Lauren came into the room to ask me if Build-A-Bear would take payment in coin. “I can go to Build-A-Bear! I have $25. Most of it is coins, but $2 is dollar bills that I got from Grandma because I sold her a pencil sharpener” she explained. “Hey! I made my first money deal!” she added with great excitement.

Tony enjoyed the story, chuckled to himself, and said he wished he had heard it from Lauren. Then he gave me the version he had already heard from his mother. R had offered to buy a porcelain cat from Lauren for the fair price of $2. Lauren, a lover of anything cat related, did not want to part with her cat, so she insisted offered Grandma the used pencil sharpener instead.

Bum deal for Grandma, but nice tidy profit for Lauren ;-)

My Life Mosaic
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Cool

A friend's blog had this entry, so I followed the link and did one of my own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My answers linked to the photos I chose:

1. Joy  2. Pizza  3. Appleton 4. Forest Green 5. Brad Pitt 6. Peach Bellini

7. Cinque Terre 8. Apple Crisp 9. Happy Happy 10. Daughter/Mother 11. Responsible 12. Dean

 

Sin City And Missing Feathers

We arrived back from a fun-filled family trip to Las Vegas to a cold and snowy midwest.  It was a shock that left us wishing we had been able to stay at least another day or two. Another day to lounge by the pool or check out the things we didn't get to (a 117,000 gallon saltwater fish tank or the masquerade parade at the nearby casinos) would have been perfect. Even with the missed sights and the Excalibur hotel/casino power going out (funny how it was back up in no time in the casino section of the establishment, but it took two hours to come back up everywhere else), the trip was well worth it. I was a little concerned at the beginning of the trip because the first night Lauren said she didn't like it. It was too big, too noisy, and there were too many people at the casino (you have to walk through the whole casino to get to the hotel), but by the third day she said it was fun, and by the last day she said she wished we could stay longer.

Perhaps you're wondering "Why in the world would they take their child to Las Vegas?" and I wouldn't be surprised to hear you ask. Most of the reactions I received after mentioning we were "spring-breaking" in Vegas were looks of shock and disbelief. "Vegas with a child? How could you?" they seemed to say. Well, there are plenty of things to see and do in Vegas with children. Namely Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon, the Atomic Testing Center, and the M&M Museum, not to mention all of the cool and free things to see at the different establishments. Things like the fountains at the Belagio, circus acts at Circus Circus, the lions at the MGM, and the gondola and canals at the Venetian.  But what about all the things that put the "sin" in Sin City? Well, I figure it was better to take her when she was 6 and oblivious to most of it than when she's 10 or 12 and "gets" it. Of course, Lauren wasn't oblivious to all of it. There was that billboard of the feathered gal with her whole backside in plain view - a nice looking tushy I have to say - but when I caught Lauren eyeing it I knew I had to say something. So I leaned over with my hand to my lips and whispered in a giggly 6 year old manner, "Her butt is showing". Lauren laughed. We then talked about how her dress was missing some feathers and needed fixing. It worked. And there were the pornslappers - those men (and women!) standing on just about every street corner slapping their deck of cards before handing one to any available looking man to pass by. Lauren wondered what they were doing and why so many of the cards ended up on the ground. A simple statement about them being not nice pictures of women and she was satisfied.  Other than that, there really wasn't anything else seedy or trashy to make us wish we hadn't gone. No stumbling drunks, no fighting, no nudity. And we were out walking the strip on St Patrick's Day to boot!

So, plenty to do and plenty to see and actually a decent place for a family vacation. 

Now That's Talent!
Mood:  surprised
Topic: Yowza!
What's a girl to do if she can't sing, dance, or play a musical instrument? Why, grab a knife and skin a muskrat, that's what! Get a load of this. Do you think the contestant should match her gown to the color of the fur, the blood, or the guts? Hmmm...tough call.

Aha!
Mood:  bright
Topic: Lauren
The truth comes out as to why Lauren was Jonesin' for that little inhaler. Apparently her best friend at school has asthma and once in a while Lauren gets to go down to the nurse's office and watch while her friend gets a hit off her inhaler.  So I guess she does want things other kids have, it's just not the normal every day things I would expect.

Too Funny Not To Pass Along
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Cool

 An old friend from my E2E days posted these on her blog www.SuburbanHippie.com and I just have to pass it along. Enjoy

 

Wickedly Funny

Monday, February 4, 2008

 

Jonesin'
Mood:  not sure
Topic: Lauren

I expected Lauren to want Barbies like all the other girls. I expected her to want a Razor scooter like the kids down the street. I expected her to want all the usual things all the other kids have. Instead I have a child who

• wants braces (they're sparkly and shiny)
  
• wants to play the violin (not that I mind since I also play the violin, but it's just seems odd for a child to have been wanting to play violin since she was 3)
• and is happy ecstatic to have an inhaler

Yes, an inhaler has brought true joy to the life of my child. She has a two week old cold which has camped out in her lungs and while she has no fever, she does continue to have a nasty cough. So after consulting with the pediatric nurse, Tony shuffled her in to see the pediatrician fully expecting him to consider us over reactive parents and send us on our way with a "wait it out". She came away with a prescription for an antibiotic and an inhaler. She was none too pleased about the antibiotic but the thought of that inhaler had her excited and she could not wait to get to the drug store to get it. While waiting to make the trip, she told me all about the nurse explaining how to use it and even insisted on giving me a demo with the spacer. After we actually filled the prescription, the first thing she did upon entering the house was to show her father. "Look Dad! Here's my inhaler!". The excitement was palpable. If only, instead of 10 minutes worth of crying and trying not to drink the whole dose, she had as much eagerness for that anitbiotic! Of course, she wanted to use that wonderful inhaler...right away. We let her and all was right with her world.

Deep Thoughts by Lauren
Mood:  sharp
Topic: Lauren
On Long Flights: Pretzels and juice - you can't live on that.