We need more grits

She wants grits for dinner...it's been that way all week since she has started helping me make them.

These are instant grits, people. In this household.

She explains how she's going to pour the package into the bowl, then puts the water in the microwave, closes the doors, presses the buttons, then it comes out HOT HOT HOT, don't touch! She stirs the mix as mommy pours the HOT water, then we blow to cool it off and take a bite, "I Like it!"

It was the same go-round with the instant oatmeal this week too. She REALLY liked the blueberry instant oatmeal.

I think we're starting to run low on instant grits. Nobody around here wants that.

*********************
Last night on my way out the door:

"Bye bye, baby, mommy's going to go teach about...." (trailed off to nothing because she wouldn't care anyway)

Then, from Anna: "JESUS!"

"What, baby? What's mommy going to go teach about?"

"JESUS!"

Well I don't think I'm properly certified to teach about Jesus but it Paul and I got laughs out of it.

*******************
Paul's fixing a slow drain on our kitchen sink. Anna is helping. Last night while I was teaching, they took a trip the Home Depot. She helps Paul by carrying the glue. She also wants to hold his watch.

He tells me that when they go to leave, he asks where the glue is. Her response: "I put away!" She did show him where she put the glue...

Then the watch...gone. He asks where the watch is and she points, "Over there!" She led him back to where she set his watch down.

*********************
Should I save the story he told me that followed after when Paul was spending time on the potty with the door open so he could keep an eye on her and she insisted, eyebrows furrowed (according to Paul) about 10 times, "NO M'AM! Close the door!" And she would close the door. Apparently she shares my insistence on privacy in these kind of situations. You go, girl.

She locked herself in the bathroom this week as a result of her obsession with closing doors. She kinda freaked. She kicked the door and called for me as I was fishing the butter knife that I would use to turn the little tab on the outside of the doorknob to get her out. I had training with this before, pre-Anna, and I wanna say it was MM who locked herself in briefly. But I can't quite remember...anyway, I was prepared and in fact saved the day.

********************
Driving in the car, these days she tells you which direction she wants to go. "Let's go this way!" and she points. If you deny her, she insists. It doesn't mean I actually GO HER WAY. It just means I say, "OK baby!" while continuing down the planned path. She seems content with that so far.

I have lots more to report that goes back two weeks, complete with photos. They include a wedding, an Easter egg hunt at NASA (that included a pony ride), and her weekend with my mom in town last weekend when we went to the crawfish festival. I have pictures scattered between my phone and my camera but have had no time to chronicle about it all. Bummer.

I survived the 5k last weekend but got beat by 2 astronauts who just came back from short-duration spaceflight, where the body becomes deconditioned the longer you stay (even to some level, a two week shuttle flight). So I am for the first time a little motivated to start running again and this time focus on speed.

Paul and I did great on the bike ride the next day. That's making me feel more confident about the MS150 that's about a week away. Even though it's triple the number of miles we rode that day...

In the meantime, here's Paul's favorite video that he took last weekend on his camera phone. Turn your volume down a bit. She's shakin' it....

This is Anna-Marie

Hi Mommy-
Although you left me to sleep in my crib, I am at your computer to say I'm sorry for the crap I pulled in the restaurant tonight.

Look, I know it's been awhile since we went out to eat together. Give me some credit, I'm usually very good! But you knew you were taking a chance tonight knowing that I hadn't napped all day. And the fact that I actually fell asleep in the car and woke up rather crabby should have made you and daddy stop in your tracks and head back to the house.

It didn't help that I burned my mouth on the mac n cheese. Sure you felt the mac n cheese and it felt just right. But in between screams I was trying to tell you it wasn't the mac n cheese, it was the SPOON that freaking burned me to tears. Then to calm myself down I asked for the paci. Denied. You claimed you didn't have one. What, was I born yesterday? I know you don't leave the house without one.

After enjoying my mac n cheese, Daddy promised ice cream. It came on top of a big warm cookie, straight from the oven. All I went to do was take a bite and YOUCH! The freaking pan burned my fingers!!! Stupid ice cream! I thought it was supposed to be COLD!

Sorry I was so unhappy during the whole outing. But I really liked it when we got home and you opened the window in my bedroom and stroked my face with a cool wash rag. Aaaahhhhh...that was so nice! Then you tickled my feet with it, then my ears and my hands! It was cool...oh, and thanks for reading with me and singing with me before bedtime.

I love you,
Anna-Marie

PS, please don't be mad for the virus I downloaded from Baby Facebook.

ISS Science

Here's a link to the International Space Station Science Report I try to get out weekly. It's basically a compilation of lots of different daily reports I have to read through from NASA and our international partners.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/Summary.html

Me: Under prepared

I have to run a 5k tomorrow morning and I haven't run since January. I am also fighting a cold that sets off a coughing fit every time I simply climb the stairs to my office.

On Sunday I am riding in a 62-mile bike ride. I haven't touched the bike in almost two weeks, again, thanks to said cold-fighting. I can hardly breathe but I am getting energy back. This is going to hurt my butt and my hips. This is going to be painful. And it's only a little over half the distance of the entire Day ONE alone in the MS150 we'll be riding April 18-19.

This morning it hit me. I thought I had one more week. But no, our annual Easter crawfish boil is next weekend. NEXT weekend. I thought we had a weekend in between to prepare. The yard is a wreck from winter. I need to double check our crawfish supplier. And stuff, and stuff, and stuff.

Oh yeah, the 2-day, 180-mile MS150 bike ride is the very next weekend. I thought I had one more week to train. But I don't. In all, I only have two solid weeks. Is it possible to bust my butt on the bike every day for the next two weeks? Maybe, if my lungs cooperate through this cold.

Darn it. None of this was supposed to go this way. I was supposed to be super prepared for everything. It's not like I've been slacking. Where does the time go? Why can't I ride my bike every day for real, and train like I'm supposed to? Why isn't the yard done yet and the crawfish accounted for?

Where does the time go? The worst feeling is that of being under prepared.

The first year I rode in the MS150 was a nightmare. I swore I'd never ride again. That year I hadn't trained, didn't know what was coming, and just got on the bike and unexpectedly suffered. The last year I rode, in 2006, it was the most fun ever. I had energy, no pain, and we made our best times ever. It was freaking fun. Now I know how fun it can be and I am afraid that's not going to happen this year.

It really needs to be fun. For sooooo many reasons.

Pre-baby, I used to come home and run at 7:30pm when the air cooled off [or insert "ride bike or swim" here]. Then we'd eat dinner and watch TV. My biggest excuse for putting off the exercise was: I just ate dinner, I have to let my food go down! Now I come home, feed Anna, play, and do the bedtime routine. Sometimes I wish I had a live-in babysitter, but then I realize: no one replaces Mommy or Daddy for a bedtime routine (unless it's Nanna or Nanny Kristi who both spoil her with much more adoration and love).

Or else I go teach. Or else I prep my notes to go teach. I remind myself that teaching actually IS my part time job. So I should expect it to take up some of my time outside of class. And it does. I am teaching in the fall as well. However, the worst part about the first semester is creating all these lecture notes and reviewing material I haven't seen in years. So that takes up much more of my time than I'd planned for. It won't be the same in the fall.

There's always SOMETHING to do. And even my DVR is backing up.

I want to run in the evening when it's still daylight. I want to swim. I want to decide which I want to do and not have to plan for it. I want to go outside and enjoy the long daylight that is left in the evenings with lots of energy. It's wrong that I am buckled up indoors on perfectly wonderful, sunny and cool spring evenings.

The thing is, these days, when I have any spare time, the first word that comes to my mind is "rest". Not "exercise". So I am struggling. So none of the above things is to blame. If I really WANTED to, I could make it all work. Everyone is responsible for the choices they make. But I am choosing "rest" over "exercise" and I feel like I am losing a grip on motivation. So I guess that's my real complaint here. I used to be motivated all the time.

Pish....

Mt Redoubt

This is beautiful. Over March 22 and March 23, Mt Redoubt in Alaska produced a series of five explosive eruptions that each lasted from four to thirty minutes. We're tracking it a bit here at work. Check out this beautiful photo. Wouldn't it be neat to see in person?

It's NOT allergies

It's a cold. It's not allergies like I thought. I looked it up. My symptoms are that of a cold, and not allergies.

Last week Anna had this gunk and I didn't. I'd wipe her nose and her goopy eyes. Last Tues night I realized I'd just put my finger in my own eye around an hour after I touched hers and I realized right then that I doomed myself. If she had a cold, I just inoculated myself with it.

And it came on two days later.

I guess I was hoping it was allergies. People were telling me it was allergies.

But someone told me yesterday I should hope it is a cold because at least I know that will clear up eventually whereas allergies could drag out. She was right. I'd never thought of that. I guess I was just trying to avoid our great lack-of-illness track record we achieved through cold and flu season since last year seemed a little rough.

Alas, last week I was telling a co-worker that I know I'm jinxing myself and I am sure to get sick now from this, but we have been pretty healthy since our sinus infections last October/November. I was certain I'd get sick from the gloating.

And I guess I did. Anna too. In fact, I caught it from her.

Or I willed it. Which I tend to do, you see.

I guess I didn't think of it as a cold because no one other than me and Anna is sick right now, other than those around me who are claiming allergies. Why isn't Paul sick? Probably because he doesn't like to wipe noses and goopy eyes.

Who knows. It's a cold and compared to the flu I had last year, this is minor. It's all good. And it's settled.

Houston still sucks.

Paaauuulll!!!

Sunday night, on the changing table following Anna's bath:

Anna: I wanna watch NEEMO!

Me: OK, you'll have to tell Daddy. He just went downstairs to get I Know You.

Anna (head back, eyes closed, mouth wide, yelling): PPPAAAUUULLL!!!! PPPAAAUUUULLL!!! PPPAAAUUULLL!!!!

I almost peed on myself. Ha...

Houston Allergies SUCK (and blow... your nose)

NO WONDER I've had sinus crap going on for the last week. And Anna has, too. We've both been snotty and congested and she's had the added attraction of goopy eyes. Houston allergies SUCK. It looks like the major offender has been trees this past week. Grass is next, and then weeds was lowest. Here's the tree trend for the past week:

I didn't bother to post the grass and weeds since it's obvious they were out-done by the trees.

Houston blows. I never had allergies till I moved here. GGGrrrr....

Earning her keep

This morning as Paul was leaving for work, I told him to go make some money. Anna was sitting across from me at breakfast.

Anna: I want to go makesomemoney too!

I could hear Paul giggle from down the hall. He backs up to listen.

Me: You do?!

Anna: Uh-huh!

Me: That's great, honey! Are you going to throw newspapers, or bag groceries? (I was thinking more along the lines of cutting our grass, actually).

Anna: Ride ferris wheel!? (Head tilted, waiting, smiling)

Me: I'm not sure how much money you'll get for that, but...

Anna: And choo-choo, and boat?

Oh I see where this is going...

Rocketships

I glanced at Anna's class plans for this week and it was all about space. Particularly for today, they made rocketships. Since Paul picked her up today, I didn't see her art work. So at the dinner table I asked her if she learned about space today.

She replied: Imadearockeshep

I knew exactly what she meant! She made a rocket ship today! I told Paul she was RIGHT! She told me about her day...how cool is that?

Love it...love it...

Must be something in the air

Coincidence that this article came out just as I was posting on Anna's emerging personality?

Click here: Why Toddlers Don't Do What They're Told


This one's kinda cool too, about vocabulary explosion. I still remember Anna saying TRACTOR during our visit to the launch and Disney last summer when she was 14 months old...Also, most moms know that with the 18 month vocab explosion comes sleep disruption. We had a little bit of that around 16-17 months old I think. Anyway, it's pretty neat.

Click here: Secret to Toddler Vocabulary Explosion Revealed.

For the record, Anna's first words were book, airplane, and duck. All emerging around the same time around 13 months. I think duck was first, then book.

Before I forget

Now she only wants to wear those penguin Tevas everywhere. No interest in her new Ked tennis shoes or Striderite sandals that now fit her. Yesterday as I was forcing her Keds, she looked at me and said NNNOOOO!!! I proceeded to put her shoe on.

It's too big! She says, right at me, persuasive.

I looked accusingly at Spacedaddy, who was sitting right next to her: Did you tell her that?!

As shocked as I was, he defended himself: No! I've never said that!! (Laughing).

Ah-ha! This explains why her penguin sandals came back from school her first day all strapped super tight so they were leaving marks. And I wasn't too happy about it. Apparently, her teachers thought it's too big.

I'm sure they must know it's about that time where Anna will be coming home repeating what they say :) I'm almost scared to hear what she comes back with next.

Today I got the same shoe fight. She ended up wearing Penguin Tevas with socks, none of which matched her outfit.

I've heard about this. Here we go.

Now I know why parents buy their kids Dora undies. Elmos back-packs. Princess shoes.

But she is definitely at the stage of which she's exerting her control. I hope this passes soon (ha, right?). Everything is NOOOOO unless it's her idea. She's more difficult to persuade now and wising to the fact that she can make some of her own choices.

She got Time out twice last week. She sat in the chair for 2 minutes, each time. Both times it was for throwing something. Granted, she was beyond tired when she did it, but frankly, I am not allowed to throw crap when I'm tired and cranky. So that's the way the world works.

Yesterday Paul brought home a Toyota Scion he's thinking about buying for the clinic. When he opened the back trunk, Anna says: "Nanee's!!" She was right: it did look like the trunk of Nanee's Toyota 4Runner. Anna last saw the trunk of that 4Runner when she stayed with Paul's parents for a few days while we were in Colorado last November. I thought it was super, super cool that she remembered that.

We walked by the neighborhood pool last week and she said, "swimming pool! Splash, splash, splash!" The last time she'd been in that pool was last summer.

Babies do remember. I thought she'd forgotten all that stuff but no, it's there at least for a little while longer. I think it's amazing. Because now that she can tell us what's on her mind, she is! How cool is that? It's like wondering what your pets would say if they could talk.



***************

Last weekend while Paul was at work, I braved taking Anna grocery shopping with me. It's a source of anxiety for me such that the child has only come along with me on maybe 3 other occasions. Back then she was happy to sit in the cart and chew on an apple.

If you know me you know I hate grocery shopping.

I have had a fear of Anna acting like such the fool, I'd have to leave all my groceries and run out of the store before I could complete my mission.

Therefore, she usually stays home with Spacedaddy and I go at night while she's sleeping. Not exactly the most fun thing I want to be doing after a full day at work...I'd pay someone to grocery shop for me if I had the money.

Anyway, I decided that she was becoming such a big girl, that I would attempt to take her on a quick grocery run this weekend. Just enough to pick up a few things. She doesn't like to sit in the cart so much these days so Paul usually lets her push the cart when he takes her places. At our Kroger, there are the little kid metal carts. I went straight to those with her since it was just big enough for her to push the minimal stuff we needed.

She did great! She behaved herself and followed me wherever I told her to turn. She weilded that cart pretty easily. She put the stuff in the cart when I asked her to. She picked out some nacho rice cakes for herself and when she asked for other chips later, I reminded her she already picked some out. She helped to place the items on the belt for check-out.

Granted, it was only one trip but it was encouraging enough to help me over the anxiety of grocery shopping with a toddler such that I may begin to bring her along more often. I know they won't all go so well but I'd be happy with winning some, losing some.

Since that went so well, I took her to Bed Bath and Beyond and shoe shopping and out to lunch the next day. We had a full weekend. For those of you moms who are braver than me, or Stay-At-Home moms who take your kids everwhere without even thinking about it, you probably think my little achievements this weekend are kinda lame. But for me, they're pretty monumental.

I'm not sure where the shopping with baby/toddler anxiety comes from. May stem from the fact that she screamed her head off for the first 2 months of her life, which scared me badly enough that it flowed over into never being comfortable taking her anywhere (even though that was such a small part of her life)...or it may stem from the horrible tantrum stage that I know toddlers go through. You've seen it in the stores, people. She's not a major tantrum thrower on a regular basis, but she can throw one as good as any other toddler out there.

I know it will happen. The day will come when I say NO in a store and she loses it. I'll get the accusatory stares from the moms with the "good" kids, and the empathetic stares from the moms who have gone through it before. From the non-parents, I'll get the looks that I'm a bad mom, or that my kid's a spoiled brat. You get the idea.

So the grocery cart business of last weekend was a major breakthrough for me. Kudos to me! Kudos to both of us!

2-year check up

Baby did great at the Doc's office yesterday for her 2-year well child check-up.

All systems "Go!"


I spent the week talking about how fun the visit with the doc will be because she'll look into Anna's eyes and ears and check her belly and stuff. And how she'd stand on the scale like a big girl now (no more baby scale). Anna'd ask me for "more" and I'd tell her the plans all over again. I'd tell her the doctor loves her and wants to give her hugs and help.

At one point she asked to go to the doctor now. I explained we had to wait till Tuesday.

Yesterday at the appointment, Paul and I played hand-off between our work schedules. He sat with her in the waiting room for about the hour the doc was behind. I came in and he left and so I was the one in the doc's office with her. While waiting in the exam room, I played with the doc's eye and ear scopes, hoping to get Anna familiar with what the doc was about to do. She didn't even want to touch either! She was more interested in the books in the room. I asked if she was ready to see the doctor. "Noooo!" she replied. Ugh.

Doc P came in all smiles and talking to Anna. Anna was hesitant. But then Anna showed Doc P her new Penguin shoes and there they bonded :) Anna let the doc look into her eyes and ears, and listen to her heart and belly while she giggled. As for opening her mouth: the doc got about as far as I usually do. We had to pry it open!! The doc confirmed it was a drag I had to literally hold Anna down to brush her teeth, but it was necessary. Actually her response was, "Oh, how unlucky you have one of those!!" She sympathized in a tone of voice that reminded me there are lots of other moms unlucky in this area too. Cool.

She said the top final molars were still coming in (WHAT?!) and the lower gums may be a little swollen...

TIME OUT. I thought we were done with the top molars and starting on the bottom.

Crap. I hate teething. It will never end.

The whole appointment went really well. Till the nice doctor left and the mean nurse showed up with a syringe full of Hep A vaccine.

Injection.
Screams.

Leaving the exam room with wails till I remembered where the sticker box was.

Then SpaceDaddy showed up for extra hugs and a hand-off so I could get back to work in time for a meeting. She was rewarded with Chic-Fil-A and Daddy Day.

Last night I got home just in time to read her a bedtime story (and administer new eye drops as a preventative for what may either be pink eye or allergies. Oh SUPER, SUPER fun.).

I read to her about Whinny the Pooh. She asked if she could have some honey. I told her she could have some on her waffles :) I didn't remind her she hated it.

We talked again about the doc's visit because she totally dug the review. She asked to go to her bed (tired!) and I sang her a few rounds of Wheels on the Bus, Old MacDonald ("E-I-O"), and I Know You (Sleeping Beauty, still her favorite movie). Usually she asks me to kiss both hands and both feet, give high fives, fist bumps, hugs and then kisses before exchanges of "I love you" and "Night night" as I leave the room (it's a process, you know). Last night I think she was half asleep at the first hand kiss and offered up nothing else :)

BTW, Spacetoddler is 75th percentile for both weight and height. That's my girl!

Obama talks to ISS

Today, Obama and a group of school kids (and some Congress members) talked to the ISS crew (and combined STS-119 crew) on orbit. It was pretty neat.

Yes, I am aware of the "Special Olympics" blunder on Leno. Give me a break. That Leno interview was really fun, though...I couldn't believe I was watching a sitting president on a late night talk show. Plus I love Leno. He rocked that interview. And to end it with Garth? Very cool. That was admittedly fun to watch.

Listening to Obama talk about being the president is fun. He talks about it in a way like you or I would. But the man is also smart. I get that too when he talks. What a nice combo.

Anyway, here's the ISS interview.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Hand Sanitizer

I get enough junk email on a regular basis that can be discounted as a hoax or just simply misinformation spread as scare tactics around the internet. For most of these, I look them up on Snopes.com for accuracy. If they're accurate, I'll pass them on. If not, I'll usually pop back at the sender with words that let them know that they're circulating misinformation (and this really, really bugs me to no end).

The one I received today turns out to be true by Snopes.com. In a nutshell, keep hand sanitizers away from kids because they can deliver a fatal (or near-fatal) dose of alcohol. I know I'm re-thinking the use of them myself.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/sanitizer.asp