Redux

The stinker did it again...I was sleeping sound in my bed and she did it again...

Conversations at 2 a.m.

More like 2:45 a.m., but that didn't flow so well as a title.  Anyway, it goes something like this...

TARA (calling from the top of the stairs):  Mama!  Mamaaaa!  Maaaamaaaa!!!!

ME (stumbling sleepily into the hallway at the bottom of the stairs):  What, baby?

TARA:  Can I sleep on the couch?

ME (trying to focus and do what it takes to get back into bed as quickly as possible...) Ummm...okay.

TARA (all smiles now):  OK, let me get me pillow...and my teddy...

I help her down the stairs (cuz I am so much more coordinated that she at 2 in the morning...yeah, right...).

So I fashion a bed for her, with the brown "soft" blanket, as opposed to the blue or grey blankets that we have as couch throws.

She settles in happily (Lordy, who can be so chipper in the freakin' middle of the night?!?!?).

TARA:  Now the blue blanket, Mama. 

So, I cover her over with the blue blanket, tuck her in and give her a kiss.

ME:  Okay, not go to sleep!  See you in the morning...

I stumble back to bed, burrow down in the covers, Daisy settles herself in next to me, and...I hear the thump, thump of little hands pushing open our bedroom door...

TARA (using a LOUD stage whisper):  Mama!  Mama...

ME:  What, baby!?!?!

TARA:  Can I sleep upstairs in my bed?

Enter whining...

Tara, my sweet, precious angel is everything that you could ever want in a daughter.  She is such a sweet spirit, she is funny, she is silly, she is smart, she is kind-hearted.  I know that she is going to do amazing things with her life and that this world is better because she is in it. 

How can you not love this face?

But...

You know there was a "but", right?

THE WHINING...oh, my gosh, THE WHINING!!!

If she is not completely happy, every syllable that somes out of her mouth has the most annoying, broken record, sing-songy tone of angst.  Allow me to demonstrate...

Maaaammmaaahhhhhhh...Savannahwon'tletmeplayinherroomandshewon'tplaywithmeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

What do you do about the whining?  I think for the longest time, we just assumed that she would grow out of it.  But, she turns 4 in a few weeks and the whining is louder and more annoying that ever.

We have started to really call her attention to it, because, honestly, I think a lot of it is habit.  We will ask her to repeat herself in a regular voice and, [gasp] miracle of miracles, she is capable of talking in regular sentences...

Prince Charming will also talk back to her in a whine to show her how it sounds - that ususally gets her laughing and she will make a point to speak in a normal voice.

So, are we doing the right thing?  Will it get better?  Or is she destined to rival Fran Drescher for most annoying voice?

Ewwww...seriously?

Do you really want to be the woman that dates this guy?

I mean really!?!?  Is there a guy in the US these days that is any skeezier?  I get actual chills (and not in a good way) just thinking about it!!! 

So apparently, he has a new girlfriend - I stress the word "girl."  Seriously, at 24 she is not old enough to theoretically be the mother of his oldest daughters - well, I guess she is technically, but you get the point.  I just don't get it.  She is attractive (couldn't find a good photo except for one from her facebook floating around the web and I draw the line at using that one), wealthy, educated (from Emory, no less). 

He is a moderately attractive guy at best, unemployed, the father of EIGHT children.  All that might be fine if he were just not so disgustingly skeezy --  (pause for chills again)...  What does a beautiful, educated, young woman see in him?  I have seen the show, y'all - he ain't got a stellar personality.

I just don't get it.

Oh, well...start the clock on her 15 minutes...

The catch-up lunch post

So, I got a little (okay, alot) behind on the lunches sometime in December (short month anyway because school let out for Christmas break, Tara had her tonsils out, which meant Savannah stayed with friends and ate the cafeteria meal...ahhh, but I digress...); at some point, I just decided to call it good and just get a fresh start come January.  But, I still managed to take a photo of the lunches I did make (and one crazy supper) so now, all in one whack - a bunch o' lunches for your consideration:

1) Wheat thins, mini pepperonis and mozzerella chunks, red bell pepper strips and strawberries (with some blueberries for Tara).

2) Mini pretzels, cheddar cheese cubes, red bell pepper slices and clemintines.

3) This is the supper that either wins me the Mama of the Year Award or causes someone to call Child Services:  I call it a Waffle Sundae - A whole-grain waffle with strawberry filling (frozen) with maple and chocolates syrups, whipped cream and a cherry.  Hey - minus the chocolate syrup, whipped cream and cherry, it is a very ordinary breakfast - I just let the girls dress it up some for supper.  They ate every bite!!!

I came up with Waffle Sundaes after a particulary stressful workday - I wanted something quick and easy that I knew would go over well and would get me out of the kitchen fast and avoid any whining.  Since then, I don't pull them out often, but Waffle Sundaes for supper are always a hit!









4) Wheat things, cherries-sweetened cranberries, vanilla yogurt, a ham roll up, grape tomatos for Tara and baby cukes for Savannah and a fudge-covered Ritz for a treat.

5) Hot dog chucks and cheddar cheese cubes, red bell pepper slices, strawberry slices and a mini cupcake for each.  This lunch followed Savannah's birthday - the cupcakes were left over from her birthday treat at school.

6) Wheat thins, grilled chicken slices, red bell pepper clices and strawberries and homemade whipped cream.

7) Spaghetti with sauce and parmesan cheese, red bell pepper strips and strawberry slices.

I confess that I did not photograph last week lunches - just needed a little time to get back in the saddle I guess, but tomorrow's lunch is already prepared and photographed, so tune in next wee to kick off our second semester's worth of lunches.

60:1 - Sweet Revenge - Nora Roberts

So I kicked off this year's reading challenge with an oldie.  Once I was a few pages into Sweet Revenge, I realized I have read it before.  Probably more than once.  But, like a favorite movie, I find myself often going back to books I have read before.  So, this one is about a princess who is also a jewel thief who falls in love with the man who is supposed to bring her to justice.

Even though this is technically the 52 in 52 Reading Challenge, since I finished 2009 with a total of 63 books read, I set my goal this year at 60.  You might think that I should have pushed myself a bit more and set it for 70 (ahem, Anita...), but I also have several other things I want to challenge myself to do this year (learn to knit, blog more, focus more on my hair clippie hobby) so I am going to go with 60.  Here is my promise - if I exceed this year's goal of 60, I will pick a goal of 70 for next year!

Hmmm, what else has been going on with us?  It is COLD - I mean COLD.  Did I happen to mention it is COLD.  And I am not even being a whiny Southerner (okay, maybe a little), but I think it is fair to say that single digit temps qualify as COLD anywhere...  I am ready for Spring, but for now, I will settle for the moderate Florida temps we will be enjoying in a couple of weeks at ...DISNEY!!! 

Yeah, after months and months and years of Savannnah begging to go to Disney, we are finally going.  Honestly, I am probably more excited than the girls.  I love Disney.  I worked there a semester when I was in college through the Disney College Program.  It was absolutely the best experience of my college days and only made me love Disney more than I already did.  So, yeah, we are going for the girls, yeah, that's it.  Expect more in the coming weeks of the Great Booher Disney Vacation of 2010.

Well, that is all you get for now.  Everyone is up and moving around this morning and for me, that means a trip to Wal-Mart is in order.  The weekend has begun.  Yeah, I live a wild life...