Romie's Rants

Morning

2009-06-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

This morning MLO woke up early, earlier than I wanted to wake up.

She came into the room and tried to get me to wake up, I refused telling her I was waiting for the clock to turn a certain time.

She laid down with me and wiggled around, trying to get me to open my eyes.

Didn't work.

So, she climbed out of bed and went over to daddy's side.

She woke him up, by telling him she loved him "this" much (opened her arms all the way). He smiled and gave her a big hug back. She then gave him a hug and said she loved him SOOOO much.

After a kiss, she pauses.

"Can you wake up now daddy".

She is using the system.

Been so bad, good mom, bad blogger

2009-04-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

I have had a rough few months, my father is pretty ill and we are dealing with the bouncing between hospital and home and his desire not to die in the hospital.

So, all my personal blogging time got taken up in that and I haven't been here.

MLO continues to be amazing and funny. Few things:

1) She shot up over an inch in one month (I measured her at 3 1/2 and checked it one month later after an instance from her grandmother that she grew a lot).

2) She loves babies, she has a special connection with one of my friends little ones, whenever they see each other they break into huge grins.

3) In her bath tonight she said she was pretending to wash another baby she knows hair.

4) She loves calendars and we set up one just for her so she can mark the days and see when she has things (especially parties) coming up.

5) She is in a weekly gymnastics class and wants to go all the time (but we have it on the calendar so she can see what day it will be on).

6) We took her ice skating after watching the world championships on TV. She had a great time and wants to go again. We took my sister as when she was young she wanted to be an ice skater but she grew too tall (she is now 5'11" and that just doesn't work in ice skating).

I am sure there is more and I will try to come back and include, for my own later memories more than anything else.

Animal Noises

2009-03-03T09:04:00.000-08:00

MLO loves to make animal noises, we go over the different animals and their noise while we are driving places. It makes a fun game that keeps her happy on even long drives.

Today she added a new animal: a snake.

She kept hissing and hissing.

Then she had to sniffle and giggled, I asked her what was happening.

She said, this is what a snake sounds like with a runny nose: "sniffle".

Sayings

2009-02-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

MLO is asking all sort of questions.

The best two over this weekend:

We were talking about how we had to keep buying her new pants because she grows so fast:

When my body gets bigger how old will I be?

Driving home after shopping all day:

Is this the way to my house? Why did you put my house over here?

Singing

2009-02-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

My daughter is definitely enjoying anything that involves learning new songs to sing. She comes home almost every day with a new song being sung.

She sings in the bathtub, she sings in the car, she sings while making us dinner in her little kitchen, she sings to her baby.

Tonight was the perfect moment and example of how much she loves singing.

While watching her movie she started singing, I wasn't really paying attention but eventually noticed that she had gotten quieter and quieter. I couldn't understand the words she was saying anymore.

I looked over and her eyes were closed and she was mumbling her song. A few seconds later she stopped singing and she was out.

She sang herself to sleep - I love it!!

Puzzles

2009-01-19T08:20:00.000-08:00

MLO has always had a sort of engineering inclination. She tried taking things apart from a very early age and loved putting things together.

I got her a puzzle for her second birthday (over a year ago) and she loved it, quickly mastering how it worked. Since that time I have bought several more puzzles and she loves putting them together, taking them apart and then putting them together again.

She is so fascinated with puzzles that in a toy store, I can tell her I will buy her one thing, the thing she will choose is a puzzle.

So for now, whenever you walk into my house, you find a completed puzzle on the floor. You know that MLO has accepted you as a friend, when she asks you to do a puzzle with her.

Pre-school

2009-01-07T08:57:00.000-08:00

MLO started preschool, she is growing up so fast and it is so exciting and a little sad.

The first day I was all prepared to be there all morning, maybe all the way until lunch.

Other kids get dropped off, hug and kiss their parents and push them out the door or just waving goodbye.

After being there for about twenty minutes she tells me it is time for me to leave, she gives me a hug and a kiss and pushes me out the door.

Every morning since then (Monday, Tuesday and today) it only takes about fifteen to twenty minutes and she is ready for me to leave.

It is a great thing and yet I sort of wanted her to want me around a little more. I love how affection she is with me, how much she loves having me around all the time.

Oh, my little one is getting so big.

The New Year and Snow

2009-01-02T10:53:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, we started out the year with MLO's first visit to the snow.

My daughter only likes to wear dresses so I had to convince her to put on jeans, a long sleeve shirt and her new boots.

We drove up to the snow and when she got out of the car her teeth started chattering. I gave her coat to her and she gave it right back to me. She said she wasn't cold, with her teeth actually chattering.

I told her we could only go out on the snow if she put it on, so she agreed.

We went walking on the snow and she was giggling, laughing, falling and having a great time.

She finally wanted to actually do something with the snow so I then had to convince her to put on her gloves. After she tried to do it with her bare hands she discovered how cold that really was and quickly asked for the gloves.

So it only took about half an hour to convince her to get fully dressed for the snow.

After that we had a great time. We wondered around the snow and forest. We built a snow man and a reindeer (the reindeer didn't come out so well, but she thought it was "cool").

The only reason I got her to agree to leave finally was because she had to go pee. However we have already made plans to go back on Sunday, should be great!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T17:26:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all and

to all a fabulous 09!

Fire warning

2008-12-22T10:12:00.001-08:00

MLO has never particularly liked spicy food.

It has become an easy way to warn her that she might not like food.

We went to a party and they had some fire pits in their backyard as well as a fire in their fireplace.

We were telling her it was hot and she shouldn't touch it and she immediately said, "oh, the fire is spicy!"

Yes, exactly.

The Car is Hungry

2008-12-16T10:14:00.000-08:00

On the way to daycare I get gas sometimes.

I told MLO that the car was hungry and needed some food.

Almost every morning now she asks me if the car is hungry. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't.

One day on the weekend, hubby, MLO and I were on our way to the market and I told him we needed to get some gas.

MLO pipes up in the backseat: "Yeah daddy, the car is hungry and needs gas. I am hungry and need nuts." Upon which she promptly pops a nut in her mouth.

I love laughing with my little one.

Princess MLO

2008-12-10T18:43:00.000-08:00

My daughter is now called "Princess MLO".

She wears all her princess clothes whenever she can until I classify it as very dirty.

She knows almost all the various Disney princess songs and we sing them in the car.

She wants everything we buy her to have Disney princess on them somewhere.

She loves sparkly jewelry because princesses wear them.

She only wears dresses because princesses wear them.

She is a very benevolent princess luckily, she thinks she is supposed to kiss other people's hand and bow to them.

It is just her name that has to include "Princess" in front of it.

Oh and when she isn't a Princess she is "awesome MLO" because daddy told her she was awesome MANY months ago.

She is all of the above and more...

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-01T20:07:00.000-08:00

It all went very well, we love our house and I am happy to have everyone over. It has some great entertainment features which make it a good choice (and therefore has been the choice) for our family parties.

Last year I cheated on the Turkey and got it pre-cooked so I just had to warm it up.

This year we had a little tighter budget, so I got to do all the hard work. Well sort of, I got to call my mother-in-law and have her come help me so it wasn't too hard. We cooked for 8 people so did a 16 pound bird, which turned out to be just perfect (we were expecting more left-overs).

We got compliments on it being the best Turkey ever, so we must have done ok.

MLO loved sitting at the table and having dinner with all her favorite people in the world. Her favorite was the corn my mother made for a side (I made people bring food so I didn't have to do everything), she had about three helpings of it.

Through-out dinner she kept pointing at people and saying how happy she was they were there. After that she just kept naming who was sitting next to who, over and over again.

In between dinner and dessert she went outside with my brother and they played "soccer" for a little bit. It was hilarious to watch because my brother was tired and very full so he ran sort of funny.

We were all up late talking and MLO didn't want to go to bed, even after everyone was gone she wanted to keep getting and giving hugs.

Thankful

2008-11-30T19:59:00.000-08:00

So it appears to now be the tradition to have Thanksgiving at my house.

This means a lot of cleaning and preparing which seems like a lot of work. However once dinner starts and we all sit around the table and laugh and eat, it does seem worth it.

I meant to do a what am I thankful for post, but in all the big event preparations I didn't get to it.

So, a little late (better late than never) I am thankful for:

My strong and supportive family. They are always there if I need them, they love me no matter what and while we may not always agree, it never reduces our love.

Most especially my husband who is most happy when I am happy and loves making it possible for me to do whatever I want.

And of course, my fabulous daughter whose love and kisses warm my heart. I am so grateful that I have gotten to see her grow into such a smart and intelligent girl and look forward to seeing her continue to expand.

I am thankful that everyone I love is in good health, with any physical problems, currently under control and them feeling good.

I am thankful that both my husband and I continue to be successful so we can provide the best life possible for our daughter.

I am so thankful I have a large group of friends who love to come to my silly parties and invite me to their parties, or even just call on the phone and chat about ridiculous things.

I am grateful for getting to live in the United States which while it might not be perfect, the freedoms we have are something not everyone gets to enjoy.

Thank you!

Quantum of Solace Review

2008-11-29T20:18:00.000-08:00

Hubby and I got some time for us and we went and saw Quantum of Solace.

I knew it was being credited as the first real sequel to a James Bond movie, but (to get straight to the part I liked the least) it expected you to remember a lot of details from the previous movie. I could have used a little more reminders on who and what and why.

To just get this over with, the other part I didn't like (and don't like in other movies I have seen) are the rapid, really fast cuts during an action sequence. On my TV it would probably be okay, but on a huge cinema it is too hard to watch. I can't see what is happening and my husband had to ask me how something happened because he missed it.

I don't mind assuming things for movies and adding in what happened in between scenes, I usually follow just find and don't find that hard.

Now, with all that said, Daniel Craig is still the best James Bond ever (with Sean Connery a very close second). He is totally hot, is a wonderful actor and does the franchise good.

I like that we are really getting to understand James Bond, instead of just the mystery of why he is like he is.

Overall an enjoyable movie - but I hope they just fix my two little points above on the next one.

Bolt Review

2008-11-24T09:29:00.001-08:00

Sunday afternoon we went and saw Bolt with MLO. It was her first movie on the big screen and grandma came too as she wanted to see MLO's responses to a big movie.

We warned her about the lights going down and that there were other people around us who wanted to see the movie too.

She talked through the previews and kept asking me what the green screen was (the one that says "preview" in-between the actual previews).

Once the movie started she was pretty entranced, she loved all the animals, cheering for them. Being only three-years-old she didn't get the nuances of the story (that Bolt wasn't really a super-dog). She did yell for Bolt to find Penny and understood that they loved each other.

About 45 minutes into the movie she did want to get up and movie around (considering we usually watch movies at home). But she was enjoying the movie so much she was willing to just stand and swing on the chair in front of her (luckily an empty seat).

I really liked the movie and all the adults were laughing as well, though I admit to being a little distracted with my virgin movie goer.

We are now counting the days until MLO asks for a dog.

Daddy

2008-11-20T14:14:00.000-08:00

Daddy has been working long hours, late at night (and then sleeping in). He is a computer network consultant and he has to work a lot when no one else is at work.

This morning he was on the couch when we came out of her room. When she saw him she yelled "daddy" and ran to sit by him on the couch.

I then couldn't get her to leave him to get ready for daycare or anything.

Hopefully this reminds him that he needs to manage his schedule better so he can be "daddy" more often.

Singing

2008-11-18T12:10:00.000-08:00

My daughter has learned the words to the following songs:

Twinkle, Twinkle
Itsy-Bitsy Spider
Wheels on the Bus
and more kiddy ones...

One of my two favorites however are:

You are My Sunshine

The best one hands down is:

Yellow Submarine

She knows more of the words than I do and it is absolutely hilarious to listen to her sing it, and sing it well!!

He is a he and She is a she

2008-11-14T16:36:00.000-08:00

MLO is enjoying saying who is a she and who is he. It is pretty funny but it is VERY funny when she gets it wrong and insists that she is right.

So far we know:
I am a she
Daddy is a he
MLO is a she
Aunt is a she
Uncle is a he
Grandma is a she
Sevta is a she

However grandpa is sometimes a she and sometimes a he. She can't seem to decide which one he is. He loves it and thinks it is really funny and Grandpa takes it all in good stride.

See MLO can't do anything wrong in grandma's eyes it goes very well. Plus she always gets a laugh which she loves to create.

Trick or Treat

2008-11-04T16:39:00.000-08:00

It went very well. MLO had a great time and loved running around outside with a bunch of other kids.

Her favorite part was saying the words "trick or treat", of course this was at all times, and never at the right time.

We would be walking in between houses and say "trick or treat" to the air.

She would see a squirrel and ask it "trick or treat?"

Then she would turn around and look at me and smile and say "trick or treat".

Of course, I was carrying her bag and she wanted to carry her flashlight more than the bag. She would forget about it and run up to the door and smile her cute smile while I was still catching up with her bag in my hand.

We went with a bunch of her daycare friends to a place that was packed with kids. The houses really got into it, with their front lawns covered in "scary" stuff.

MLO lasted about five blocks (all around) and when we got home, she happily traded me all the candy she had for a huge stack of stickers I had just for the occasion.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T15:37:00.001-07:00

Hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween.

Lucky for me MLO is insisting on re-using her costume from last year - Arial.

It will be interesting to see how she does. Between the shyness around strangers, but all her daycare friends (we are all going together) around I will have to remember to write down here how it actually goes.

Sleeping Beauty

2008-10-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

Ever since I bought the newest version of Sleeping Beauty MLO is in love with it. We watch it all the time, over and over again. I love Sleeping Beauty, well, at least I did.

My little princess, who loves the Disney princesses and will yell out their name whenever she sees any of them. Guess what her favorite part is:

The battle between Prince Philip and the Dragon. She is scared and I have to hold her so the dragon can't get her. However, at the end of the scene she yells, "AGAIN!" If I let it go on to the happy dancing on the part she wants me skip it.

My little princess just loves the action sequences. Take Robin Hood and the fighting (skip the wedding), take Enchanted and the fight with the dragon (skip the happily ever after scenes), take Ariel and the fight with the evil queen (skip the happy dancing and wedding) and on and on.

But she is a princess still.

Go Slow

2008-10-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

Many moons ago (after all she is all of three-years-old) my daughter used to love going fast. We went to Mexico for a vacation and she loved how FAST the airplane went and for a time after insisted that everything go fast.

Well she has done a complete reversal and is now insistent on going slow.

Mommy must drive slow, eat slow, wash her hair slow, make dinner slow and even get back to daycare at the end of work slow.

It is so extreme that when I tell her I will come right back or do it really fast, she starts crying and tells me "no, do it slow". She then stops crying when I agree and say I will do it slow.

I was not surprised with the fascination with fast, I had it too and seems like a normal kid thing.

I have to admit, this slow thing has me a little puzzled.

Movie Rating System

2008-10-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

My husband and I had a "date night" on Friday and decided to go see a movie. There isn't much out so we went and saw Max Payne which was rated PG-13.

I wasn't that hot on the movie, it was ok, there were some silly points where the story really expected you to make a leap of faith (like when the "stumble" on a new clue of a case three-years-old that must mean none of them were any good at the whole detective thing).

My biggest issue with the movie wasn't the movie, it was the rating. There is no way in h**l (sorry) when my daughter turns 13 will she be allowed to see that type of movie.

The violence was over the top, everyone got shot at least once, there was lots of punching and crazed drug-induced fights.

I would rather my daughter see a little more nudity and a little less violence (or better yet, neither) when she is thirteen.

That movie should have been NC-17 (I would let her see it, if she wanted to, at 17).

I am amazed at how messed up the rating system has gotten, someone needs to take a good look at it and quickly revise it.

My Sister's Birthday

2008-10-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

We went to see my sister for her birthday, MLO came along and the whole drive down to see her she couldn't stop talking about seeing her Aunt.

We took her on a dinner cruise and MLO sang her happy birthday several times . Then another several times again and a few several times more until everyone else on the cruise was laughing and shaking their heads.

I got a tour of her campus (she is in college)

We slept on one of her room-mates beds in her little apartment (the room-mate was spending the weekend with her boyfriend). MLO loved her apartment and kept running around it (though it is pretty small).

Even more fortunate is that her apartment was across from a park with huge playground visible from the entrance to her apartment. So, while everyone got to sleep in on Sunday, MLO and I woke up bright and early and played on the playground for hours and hours.

The whole time we were driving home MLO kept saying over and over she want to go back to her Aunt's house. They have always been close and I am so happy that even when MLO goes month's without seeing her she loves her to pieces.