micah luki

Shush, I just got my period - what do you expect?

2006-07-21T12:22:00.000-04:00

okay, this post was already deleted twice - let's try this again.

I've been meaning to post a birthday letter to Micah. Who turned four. A month ago.

Sigh...

Anyway, for now, I will post some recent babyisms, although, according to my "baby", I should now be calling them "big-girlisms".

We have a routine during the car ride home where I ask Micah what her favorite and not so favorite parts of the day were.

Yesterday, her favorite part was telling Miss L that she looked beautiful.

Monday, her favorite part was eating chicken nuggets and her not so favorite part was when friend S tattled on friend K. Micah said, "We don tell on a'chothers, right Mommy? 'Cuz dat's not nice."

My 3 co-workers got her some birthday presents and when she asked who they were from, I answered, "Olga (my boss - who Micah absolutely LOVES), Phyllis and Adrianna." She said, "Oh, Olca, Phyllee and Advianna? Oh, Mommy, Advianna's name is so beautiful!!"

Four is an incredible age for Micah. Her attitude grows by the minute. I don't know whether to laugh or scream when she plants her fists on her hips, juts out her chin, and says, "Don't you dare say no to me!"

And at the same time, her compassion grows with equal speed. So far, we have found a dead bird, a dead rabbit and a baby bird's nest which fell to the ground killing the 3 baby birds inside. We also found a (barely) alive baby bunny who we returned to the line of the woods behind the house. These incidents genuinely upset her and it makes my heart melt.

This past weekend, as we pulled up to my Aunt's house (who lives next door to my cousin who passed away) Micah said, "Oh, the blue house is Grammy's, right Mommy. The yellow one used to be Aunt Favorite's house but now she's in God." From the mouths of babes...

She managed to go from wearing a life vest to swimming without anything in one afternoon. She was jumping in from the edge of the pool with a running start; her fear wafting in the air behind her.

I learn more from her in a single day than I have in the last decade.

She may still pee on the floor out of anger and eat with her hands, but my baby is becoming a little girl. My eagerness to continue her journey into girlhood, teenagedom and eventually adulthood spills into tears as I watch her maturity leap.

I love you, Peanuthead.

geeky babyisms

2006-04-28T12:31:00.000-04:00

This morning, while we were brushing our teeth:

Micah: Mommy, I know Luke's father.
Me: Oh, yeah? (Thinking she's talking about her friend...)
Micah: Yeah, he's Nobi-one.
Me: ** ... Oh, you mean Obi-wan?
Micah: Yeah, Nobi-one
Me: Actually, honey, Darth Vader is his father. Obi-wan is his friend.
Micah: Oh, Dark Bader? Okay, Mommy.

babyisms

2006-03-16T11:37:00.000-05:00

This morning in the car on the way to daycare,

Micah: "Mommy, yesterday when Matthew pushed me down on the playground and I fell on the grass, I started singing."

Me: "SINGing??"

Micah: "yup"

Me: "Why did you sing, baby?"

Micah: "Because I lub him so much."

babyisms

2006-03-08T14:13:00.000-05:00

There are mistakes I make repeatedly over and over again, every day. Like my keys. I forget my keys at daycare every day. Every single day. Usually twice - once dropping off and once picking up. the wierd part, though, is that it's the only place I forget them. As though it's the Bermuda Triangle for car keys.

Anyway, I just want everyone to send me good vibes that one day, one day very soon, I will recognize what a "By-er-min" is because each morning that I don't understand it means "vitamin" just makes the beast more angry.

a case of mistaken identity

2006-02-26T09:29:00.000-05:00

A short while ago, as my daughter was climbing up on my mattress, she insisted she was "micah". I, on the other hand, was certain she was Elmo and told her as much.

her: but see Mommy, I have curly hair.
me: so does Elmo... and it's even red. (like hers)

(she hops down on the floor with her back facing me)

her: but see Mommy, I have a beautiful bootie!

babyisms

2006-02-23T16:51:00.000-05:00

1. Lately Micah has taken to saying to us, "I have a secret for you, gimme your ear." And then we lean in and she says, "I lub you." And sometimes we get, "I lub you da most, most, mostest." I never want it to end. (side note: when she first started doing this a few months ago, she would lean in and put her ear to my ear instead of her lips - so cute!)

2. She marries everything - I can't stand this but I don't tell her that and I have agreed to allow her to "buy me a pretty dress so I can marrying Milan". She offers to buy me this dress on a daily basis.

3. I also dislike when she says one thing (like pink or princesses) is exclusively for girls and another thing (such as blue or fire trucks) is for boys. Yesterday she told me that the boys in her class told her that blue can't be her mommy's (my) favorite color because it's a boy color. She said she told them they're wrong. Good girl.

4. She's biting her nails and peeing her pants nonstop and I feel like she will never outgrow either.

5. She is a completely different child at school and it's causing her to be twice as hyper at home. I feel as though she only expresses her true self at home. Oh, the guilt I feel from it...

6. Her hair still isn't growing but I'm taking her to get it cut Saturday because she has so many split ends. (It's been about 8 mos. since she had her last haircut - which was her first, by the way.) People balk when I tell them I'm paying for it and why don't I do it myself but it's so curly that I just don't know where to begin. Besides, I tried once and the little cricket just won't sit still for me.

7. Her favorite film is Nightmare Before Christmas and anything related to Disney Princess. She's also a sucker for Farscape , Spiderman and the "dancing Shrek". (side note: Micah has always loved to feel a little scared - she loves to be surprised and likes to watch things that scare her. We were watching Star Wars: Episode III, by far the scariest thing we've ever let her watch, and there were scenes when I told her she needed to cover her head with the blanket - we used to just distract her - because a scary scene was coming. So now she'll randomly tell us she needs to cover her eyes - even if it's not scary.)

8. She just recently began drawing faces such as eyes and nose and mouth on her drawings - so cute! She's also starting to stay within the lines when she colors.

9. Last night she ate about a pound of tofu and 15 broccoli stalks but she balks at eating corn. Strange kid. God I love her.

10. Milan and I are working on designing her a shirt that reads, "I'm still hungry" because we hear that phrase around 83 times a day and no matter what she eats, she is never full.

growing up geeky

2006-02-23T11:54:00.000-05:00

(this is something that probably only krystyn (you can also find her here) could appreciate)

the other night, milan and i were hanging a cd rack in the living room and begging micah to just go play by herself and get out from under foot already! she didn't, of course, but she did start entertaining herself. she had 2 babies and she was marrying them as she loves to do. (whose child is this again?!?!)

and she says to me, "look, mommy, this is aeryn and she lubs john crichton and they're marryin."

my heart just broke a little

2006-02-09T13:31:00.000-05:00

kind of in a good way... kind of not...

The director at Micah's daycare just called to check in with me on a few things I'd asked her this morning and after tells me she wants to share a story with me.

She had gone into Micah's classroom this morning to visit with the kids and go over a few things with the teachers and Micah comes up to her and whispers to her, "Ree-ra (Maria), can you help me make some friends?"

(And she did, of course and Micah had fun building a tower with her new friend, Daniel. Apparently, Micah made sure to build it in size order showing Daniel, "This one is small, this one is medium, this one is big... etc." So. Cute.)

moving on part 2

2006-01-27T15:48:00.000-05:00

The other big event that spurred my abrupt pulling of Micah from the class was a situation with the assistant teacher, Miss D. Before this incident, I actually liked Miss D. She's more strict with the kids in that she actually disciplines. Which is a good thing. Come on, fourteen 3-year-olds in one room, you need some discipline.

So, Milan and I are riding together to pick up Micah from school. She's in the back seat on the way home and we've been having major problems for about 3 weeks now so on a daily basis I have been asking her about her day.

me: did you have fun today?
micah: yes
me: what did you play?
micah: i play wif S and JM and we play princesses and dress up and the marryin game
me: that sounds like fun! did you have fun with your teachers?
micah: mm-hmm
me: micah, do you like Miss L?(each day the answer is different)
micah: no... she not nice, mommy
me: but you like Miss D, right, she's nice.
micah: no, i no like Miss D
me: why not?
micah: she grabs me mommy.
me: (red flag up but trying to filter out the 3-yr-old slant like maybe Miss D wouldn't let her jump out of a window or something) you mean like to hug you? is that how she grabs you?
micah: no, she didn't break my hand, mommy, but it really hurt.

milan and i just stared at each other stunned

me: she grabbed your hand today?
micah: yeah
me: does she grab your hand a lot?
micah: um... sometimes she grabs me, yeah, but she didn't break my hand, mommy, she just almost break-ded (broke) it

And yes, Miss D is still employed there. She does not, however, have any contact with my kid. I have been promised that Micah will never be in the care of Miss D or Miss L again. This center is really going down the tubes. I'm so happy with her new class though. She has 3 teachers to 15 kids (because there are 12 boys and some are really rambunctious and one of the teachers has a slight learning and physical disability so they brought in a co-assistant who is awesome!) and she spends time on the computer, is writing her letters and numbers, traces well, cuts well... She's completely different.

In the last 2 weeks or so, however, Micah has been pissing herself constantly. We've tried everything. Everything. I put up a potty chart and for the first week she had 1 dry day. On Saturday, her behavior was so rotten that we had had it and packed up all her toys (pretty much). Now, before your heart breaks, would you like to hear Micah's reaction? She helped Milan pack them away. Then, when the babysitter came over she said, Miss J, I can't play with any toys because I pee in my pants. Then, she had an accident before we could get out the door and 2 before the babysitter gave up and changed her into a pull-up and pajamas.

Then suddenly Monday morning she woke up saying, I am going to be dry today! And she's been dry ever since! (Yes, I know it's only Friday, but come on!!!) And she has also had the best attitude. I don't think I've heard this child whine or cry since Sunday. She's helpful and has been answering yes to our requests rather than no.

I don't know how long this is going to last but I am overjoyed by it and living up every single minute of pure parenting bliss! This doesn't happen often that you feel so good as a parent!

moving on...

2006-01-26T13:48:00.000-05:00

Back in October, I wrote about Micah not "clicking" with her new teacher. That's one word for it anyway. I was feeling very frustrated with the situation because the teacher CLEARLY did not like my child and if I could feel it, Micah could feel it. Micah began acting out. For the first time in the 3 years we've been in this center, I got a phone call at working regarding her bad behavior. She had become the class clown. In the afternoons when I would pick her up, I would ask this teacher, "So, how was she today?" In the two months that I put up with this poor excuse for a teacher, I got only 1 of 2 responses both coupled with a head tilt and shoulder shrug. They were either "Bad." - without explanation - or "Better..." - without explanation. She was also having mulitple accidents a day and one day the teacher told me that Micah had "peed on Miss A." She seriously told me this. What had actually happened is that Micah was wet and when the teacher picked her up, Micah told her she was wet.

Finally, just before Thanksgiving, I had had it with her (the teacher - Miss L.). I walked into the classroom and one little boy was marching around the room with a small pink purse in hand and as he passed another child, he would smack them in the head with the bag. I watched. and watched. and watched. and the teacher did nothing. Meanwhile, I'm searching in Micah's cubby for her glove. We have one - where is the other? So, I say to the teacher, "Have you seen Micah's glove?" "No..." And she starts helping me search the other cubbies. After a few minutes, I say, "Micah, do you know where your glove is?" "Umm... S. (a boy in her class) has it." "Are you sure?" "Mmm-hmm, S. has it. He wanted it." To which the teacher slams shut a cubby and says to her, "Micah! You have to tell me these things! (Insert audible sigh.)"

So, I pull Micah back by her shoulders, turn her around and look her in the eye and say - a little too loudly so that Miss L can hear me - "Don't worry, baby. It's not your responsiblity." and Micah smiles.

Meanwhile purse boy has continued smacking kids so I go and take his purse away and put it on the counter the teacher is leaning on. I tell the kid that it's not nice. Two minutes later, he takes back the purse, without a word from the teacher, and starts it up again. Some of the kids, by the way, are crying and fighting with the boy telling him to stop it.

Now, I sit down and start reading to Micah and before I know it, I have 5 kids in my lap. Guess who comes by and smacks one of the little girls with a purse? We finish the book. As I'm explaining that I'm not going to read it again, I watch one little girl push the other in the chest and girl 2 falls down backwards onto her bottom. I go to her and ruffle her hair and ask if she's alright. She says yes. She then brushes herself off and as she walks by girl 1, she shoves her right into the cubbies and they sway and rock and the girl says Ow. Still no response from the teacher. So we leave.

Next afternoon, I walk in and say hello to Micah, the class and the teacher. It's free play time and a bit chaotic as always. The room has absolutely no structure. This little girl, J, is banging 2 silver mixing bowls together. IT IS THE MOST ANNYOYING SOUND EVER!!!

So, the teacher who is about 15 feet away from her calls out, "J... Put the bowls away..." J keeps playing. BANG!BANG!BANG! (This little girl is ALWAYS in her own little world - she's the type of kid you have to make eye contact with for anything to stick. Now, if I as a parent can figure this out - surely her teacher - who is with her 40 hours a week or more - can figure this out.)

Teacher calls out a little louder, "J, put the bowls away." BANG!BANG!BANG! A bit louder - almost yelling - calls out again. J now hears and tries to pick them up but they are flipped over and she can't get her little fingers under the lid. BANG!BANG!BANG! Teacher yells, "J! Now!" Now at this point, J still hasn't registered that Miss L. is getting angry - she's been humming the whole time and hasn't missed a note. As she is walking them over to their designated spot (they hold the plastic play food in the shelf), they're still banging together (of course they are, they're metal bowls) BANG!BANG!BANG!

Now she's trying to stuff them into the shelf BANG!BANG!BA- when suddenly the teacher screams - J! - J literally jumps 2 feet in the air she's so startled and backs up until she hits the wall and is standing with her chin drooped to her chest. She stood there for a little while before she walked over to some other toys, with her chin still dropped. This teacher never once even looked in her direction except to yell. Never bothered to watch and see whether she listened, never even bothered to explain to J why she wasn't allowed to play with the bowls in the first place. (They are on the toy shelf afterall.) J doesn't consider them annoying, none of the children did. So, the next time J walks into that classroom she's going to think to herself, Hmm... I wonder what toys it is okay to play with? Why did Miss L. get mad at me? Is she still mad at me? etc... I was enraged.

I walked out (with Micah!) and went straight to the director and demanded that when we returned to school on Tuesday (after Thanksgiving) Micah be moved into the preschool room.

It's going really well! She's the youngest by far. All the other kids are 4, the last of whom turned 4 in early December and Micah won't be 4 until late June. But she's making work. And the director said that she's a different child. Quiet. Respectful. And she stopped having accidents the moment she switched rooms!** I'm amazed! Yeah for Micah! :)

**More on this but I'll save it for a later post.

babyisms

2006-01-03T13:27:00.000-05:00

some of my current favorites:

1. uppies or kip (instead of pick) me up
2. may could i have... (she always says the 2 together)
3. she says "ack-chewy" (actually) as in "ack-chewy, mommy, i wan milk, not water."
4. her obsessions with monsters, bad guys and spiderman
"mommy, you a bad guy for sayin' i go nite-nite. the monsters are goin' get you and spiderman is not savin' you. i tell him don't save you this time."
5. our ritual with books is for me to read it to her and then she likes to read it to me. each page she reads begins "lass (last) time..." (i'm waiting for her to add "at band camp")
6. she also remembers everything and refers to "lass time" if talking about yesterday or when we let her get away with something one time over 3 months ago!!
7. she gets really annoyed by "idgies" - wedgies - it's hysterical! "i have a idgy - MOMMY!! - i have a IDGY!!"

my parenting trick

2006-01-03T13:24:00.000-05:00

This is Micah's favorite treat. Licorice. The Allsorts are wonderful because they have 2 fruity stripes mixed in with the black licorice.

So last week, I go to pick up a new tub and **gasp** Trader Joe's doesn't carry them anymore!!! AAACCKK!!

How in the world am I going to get this child to do anything for me now??

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

2005-10-26T11:42:00.000-04:00

We moved into a new house the last weekend of August. That Monday, Micah moved into a new classroom at school. Two weeks later, both of her teachers quit. Then, she got a substitute lead teacher and a new assistant teacher. Within 3 days the assistant teacher quit. Then, the substitute trained a new lead teacher. Then, last week, the new lead teacher took over with yet another new assistant. Yesterday, the new assistant teacher quit (her last day is Friday) and the old assistant is coming back next Tuesday. This makes 7 teacher changes in one month. Compound that with the new house and 2 children in her classroom with high needs and Micah is a wreck. Suddenly, my kid is the one misbehaving, not listening and challenging authority.

The director thinks (and I agree) that Micah doesn't respect the new lead teacher because she is not authoritative enough, not strong enough. Frankly, Micah just steamrolls right over her. She also says that she thinks Micah is bored with the curriculum. With this I also agree, however, right now there really isn't any curriculum going on in that classroom. It's just constant chaos. There's no structure, no time set aside for learning and stations. There are just 2 "circle times" thrown into a day of free time.

The director is considering moving Micah up to the preschool room. The kids are between 6 months to a year older than Micah and only 1 child's name is familiar to me. I'm not sure what to do. The preschool teacher is very structured and I think she would be a good match for Micah because she wouldn't put up with her crap nor favor her for being cute or something.

Last night, we took Micah to the pediatrician because she's developed a facial tic. She's sporatically blinking her eyes. (No other children in her class do this so she didn't pick it up anywhere.) The Dr. told me she'd never seen a tic on a child under 5 before and that it could be a sign of strep throat instead. I can't believe I'm actually HOPING my kid as strep. She also said that if it is a tic, that they usually only last up to three months but that I should bring her in if she's still has it in 4 weeks.

The stress I'm feeling is eating me away from the inside out. I can't help but blame myself for a lot of what Micah is going through.

**UPDATE** Micah has strep throat! YEAH! This means that most likely the tic is from the strep and not the stress! YEAH! Everyone pop in your favorite dance song and let's boogie!!

recipe for braips

2005-10-26T11:40:00.000-04:00

Ingredients:
1 toddler
1 long-sleeved shirt
1 big fat toddler belly
1 toddler belly button (an outie preferably)
1 night time ritual of running around naked while changing into pajamas

First, toddler pulls her arms out of the sleeves. Next, the shirt is pulled over the head. Be sure to stop just above the hairline so that the neck of the shirt creates a crown on the toddler's head. The toddler can now adjust the sleeves so that each one sleeve swoops each shoulder. Then, the toddler removes her pants and underwear.

Finally, she is free to run around the house naked! Be sure to bezerp the belly button after each lap!

Fun for all!!

tech geek

2005-10-09T10:56:00.000-04:00

today, we (finally) got our internet, cable and phone hooked up. we've gone over a month without them and i was so desperate that i was ready to sleep with the guy down the street just for 5 minutes access to his wi-fi.

it's amazing how much you miss these 3 little necessities once they're gone. for example, milan and i wanted to see a movie at the last minute last night. but how do you check movie listings without fandango? we were stumped. finally, milan, in a moment of sheer brilliance mentioned a creation called a "newspaper" (i think that's how you pronounce it) that has all sorts of news and stories and local information.

crazy. what is the world coming to, i ask you.

babyisms

2005-09-09T11:33:00.000-04:00

milan and i made a delicious teriyaki catfish dinner 2 nights ago.

just as we were sitting down to eat -

micah "you know why it's dark out, mommy?"
me "why?"
micah "cuz it take too long makin' dinner. that's why. cuz makin dinner was a long time."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

then last night we had grilled portobello's over salad which she won't touch so we made her favorite - potstickers. there was one left so she grabbed it -

micah "but this one has sauce on it - i no like sauce." (insert big 3-yr-old pout signifying the end of the world as we know it.)
milan "well, it's already on there so there's nothing we can do about it."
micah "oh." ... "i like the sauce, milan"

walk for breast cancer

2005-09-07T13:10:00.000-04:00

I am participating next month in a Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. This affects me very close to home as there are women in my family who have fought, survived, perished and currently fight agaisnt Breast Cancer.

Please help me reach my goal of $1000 by visiting my webpage.

THANK YOU!!

my little angel

2005-09-07T09:31:00.000-04:00

lately micah has been too "scared" to go to sleep at night. frankly, i think she's full of it. i think, her friend at school has mentioned being "scared" of things like monsters outside the window and the darkness. but, i humor her "fears" anyway.

it's hot at night (or at least up until 2 nights ago) but she keeps telling us that she's afraid of the fan and that it will blow all the monsters in. i'm not turning it off because she'll over heat and sweat lakes into the sheets. so, the other night i scrounged and scrounged for "something" - hoping when i saw it i would just know. you know?

well, i found it. a small, stained glass angel. my mother had bought it in the hospital when micah was born. it's pink and she is holding a small silver rag doll and on her chest it reads "daughter". i put the angel on micah's dresser where she could see it and told her it would protect her.

this morning, she says to me, "mommy, i foun my angel an she makes me safe."

hi and wellcome to the potty blog

2005-08-25T16:10:00.000-04:00

As always, we will be discussing poop today.

Actually, I'm so tired of talking about potty training. (I'm tired of dealing with it, too...) She's actually doing quite well so we'll leave it at that.

Micah has begun lying. The bold face kind. The see the chocolate all over my face, no I didn't eat a cupcake kind. She enjoys playing Milan and I against each other. But she's only 3 so she'll do it right in front of both of us and it always backfires on her.

micah: "mommy, can you give me lick-a-liss (licorice)?"

mommy: "no, baby, it's time for dinner."

micah: "but muh-lahn said yes."

mommy: "he did?"

micah: "mm-hmm."

milan: "no i didn't."

micah: "well, mommy said yes."

potty training update

2005-08-06T11:40:00.000-04:00

micah went to bed around 10 pm last night and woke up at 8:30 am this morning (well, actually is 6:15 am but i convinced her to come into bed with us) - and when she went to use the bathroom, she was DRY!!!!!!!! and, to top it off, she had "just a little bit water" on her way to bed last night.

oh, the prides of parenthood!

things they don't tell you when you're going to be a parent

2005-08-05T23:03:00.000-04:00

you may one day have to use a fork to remove a large, hard turd from your daughter's constipated rear end.

pee pee in the pottay!

2005-07-27T23:30:00.000-04:00

well, she's in underwear. she has been for over 10 days now! i'm so proud of her. she usually has an accident a day. mostly when she poops but sometimes during or just after nap. she's still wearing a diaper to bed.

the other day, i was using the potty, and she came over, took her necklace off, put it around my neck and said, "i'm so proud a you, mommy. you go pee-pees in da potty! YEAH!"

babyisms

2005-07-20T21:03:00.000-04:00

just now as i'm putting micah to bed, i said "i'm so proud of you, micah." (because of the potty training - she was dry ALL DAY!!) then i asked, "are you so proud of you, too?" and she said, and i quote "act-chewy (actually) mommy, i'm so proud a you."

damn this kid is awesome!

potty update

2005-07-20T17:00:00.000-04:00

yesterday, we spent 2 and a half hours at the dentist!!! (that's another story!) and micah was dry the ENTIRE time!! she went potty twice while we were there and when the dentist examined her she smiled and cooperated and everything!

i'm so proud of my little girl!

i told her last week that there's no diapers or pull-ups at the new house (that we're moving into in september) and i really think that's making a difference!!

potty time?

2005-07-18T14:41:00.001-04:00

Friday, the 15th, Micah went poopies in the potty ALL BY HERSELF!! I was sitting on the couch and she came running out of the bathroom holding her dress up to tell me!

YEAH!! FINALLY!! She was in underwear Saturday and had only 1 accident. She woke up from her nap dry but then REFUSED to use the bathroom, presumably because she was half-asleep and then peed right there in the stall while i was trying to convince her she has to go anyway. sigh...

Sunday, 1 accident, in Target. Sorry for the puddle! :) And today, in underwear again. We'll see...

I'm so glad she's finally INTERESTED!! She's so proud of herself and has been prancing around telling everyone how she's such a big girl b/c she's wearing dora panties!!

YEAH MICAH!! :)

ice is back with a brand new edition

2005-07-12T16:12:00.000-04:00

we were on vacation in nc for 10 days - woo hoo!! of course 2 of those we spent driving! yes, driving. we drove 675.53 miles with a 3 year old. fun times, people, fun times.

anyway, my purpose of posting today is this: micah told me she doesn't love me. i knew it would happen one day, the "i hate you!" and slamming of the door, but my god, she's only 3!!

actually, as i was saying goodnight for the 538 millionth time over the course of 2 freakin hours! - she said, "i don lub you, mommy." "okay, baby, i love you." "i juss lub you a liddle bit, mommy." "okay." "mommy?" "yes?" "i lub you a lot, mommy."

it still counts!

my baby is three!!

2005-06-29T20:59:00.000-04:00

i'm still too tired to do this properly... sigh... (failure as a mother #972...)

micah - some things about you are:
1. you have this sweet voice which is sometimes hoarse and scratchy. like angie harmon as a baby.
2. you say "chother" which means each other. for example, "mommy, piggy and platypus has to stay togever cuz they lubes chother. cuz they say bad word to chother. okay, mommy?" you just told me this seconds ago as i watched you arrange your animals so you could sleep.
3. you pile up 700 animals/baby dolls with you in bed to sleep at night. and you notice if one's missing and demand to have it. but then you freak out when we give it to you. and then, seconds later, you freak you because you don't have it. and then, seconds later you freak out. just because.
4. you are very opinionated. you often pick out your own clothes and refuse to wear any of the MATCHING clothes that i have picked out for you. you have likes and dislikes, you refuse to use the potty and you refuse to eat. you demand even more often than you refuse.
5. you are so smart - it's amazing. nothing gets past you. you count to 12 (although often skipping numbers or in the wrong order), you count to 10 in spanish, you can say your abc's. you can count to 5 using your fingers. you recognize the letter M every time and can often point out A and S.
6. you're incredibly strong and athletic. you've always had these strong legs with cut little muscles. right now you love to "flip" (forward roll) "swing" (when you stand between the couch and chair and hold yourself up and swing your legs forward and backward) and hop on one foot.
7. you say "watch me" about 15 billion times a day. after dinner, you run back and forth across the living room while singing.
8. you sing. a lot. usually songs you've made up or you sing words like, "i'm runnin'. runnin', runnin', runnin'... runnin' feet. runnin' feet, runnin' fe-et."
9. you crack me up.
10. i love you more than i ever understood was possible!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY!!!

2005-06-23T22:56:00.000-04:00

first of all, i mean, happy birthday, big girl! silly mommy! you are 3 today! i'm excited to write you a Happy 3rd Birthday letter but unfortunately i worked all day and then spent the last 2 and a half hours photoshopping and uploading the gazillion digital photos i took of you. (i took a roll a film today, too.) so, i'm sorry but i'm just too tired! i will try to write this SOON!

I LOVE YOU, PEANUTHEAD!!
love, mommy

how does she remember all this?

2005-06-19T11:32:00.000-04:00

"what's your favorite color, micah?"
"green. and yours is bloo and mahn's is black and green. jessa (jessica) like purpul and sarah like pink."

daddy dilemma

2005-06-18T10:38:00.000-04:00

the fact that micah doesn't have a daddy but does have milan is always a bit confusing. especially, i think for everyone else. they feel like they have to walk on eggshells around the daddy issue. in fact, at the latest parent rep meeting at micah's school, one mother, (i think forgetting that i am, in fact, single) said how awkward she felt when her daughter asked about one of her friend's fathers because they never see him. the friend's parents are divorced. so did the mother simply tell the child that her friends parents don't live together but that the child sees her father all the time. he just doesn't come to the daycare? no, she said something like, well, he works a lot. and then is telling all of us at this meeting how she didn't know WHAT to say.

so, i said how it's no secret that micah doesn't have a daddy. we tell micah, we tell her friends, we tell whoever asks. it's not a taboo subject. it is what it is. it's our life and it's nothing to be ashamed of. in fact, when one of micah's friends sees milan and says, micah, micah, your daddy's here, micah tells them that that's not her daddy, it's her milan. she's very proud of the fact that she has a milan.

well, at school they made father's day gifts and just like last year, they made a gift for milan as well. micah couldn't wait until tomorrow to open the gift, so milan agreed to open it this morning. she's showing it to him, saying "that's me and you, mahn. that's my daddy." and pointing to the card saying, "see, i write daddy here and here and there." so i said, micah, milan's not your daddy, he's your milan. right?

and she said, "but mommy, he's apost (supposed) to be my daddy!"

babyisms

2005-06-15T20:58:00.000-04:00

sometimes they get words and expressions ALL wrong - like pasketti instead of spaghetti - isn't that a common one? (and thank god they do, because it's just so cute!)

well micah calls us a "silly ghost" if we're being silly or if we say the wrong thing instead of "silly goose". it's hysterical. i once corrected her and she laughed in hysterics. silly goose?? yeah, right, mommy - that doesn't make any sense!

party

2005-06-11T19:35:00.000-04:00

micah went to her friend meghan's third birthday party today.

she had a great time swimming, playing and eating! they had hotdogs, macaroni, cucumbers and of course, CANDY!

at one point, they brought out these HUGE lollipops and micah understood what heaven is.

of course, you can't truly enjoy something like this without getting it all over you.

uh, hello??

2005-06-10T15:09:00.000-04:00

how come no one warned me that the 3-year-old phase begins the "watch me" phase which as far as i can see doesn't stop until they're 14 or so.

as if she didn't talk enough already, now she wants me to "watch" every damn little thing, too. she hops on one foot, says the "l" words (see post below), smiles and runs in circles, screams, you name it! and all of it is preceded by "watch me, mommy, watch me!"

sometimes i do the tired and true "uh-huh, baby, i'm watching" but really i'm reading or blogging or whatever and she'll say "no, mommy, lift you head and watch me wit you EYES!"

damn kid. when did i say you could get so smart?

L

2005-06-10T15:06:00.000-04:00

micah has never really been able to say "l" in the middle of a word - balloon for example is "boon" and milan is "mahn". well, she's been practicing and practicing and can now say, "bal-loon" and "mil-an" and she flips her little tongue dramatically in her mouth on the "l". i'm so proud of her! i scream with delight (because she loves it so. in fact, if she says either word and i don't freak out in screaming hysterics, she gets upset and says, "no, mommy, you so proud to me? member?" and then repeats the words over and over.

MY FIRST PIGTAILS!!

2005-06-10T14:55:00.000-04:00

look! micah has pigtails!! click on flickr for more hair-do fun!

(ps - i am so friggin' excited about this!)

ramblings

2005-06-03T15:47:00.000-04:00

milan was sick for about a month and now i've apparantly gotten some of what he had. i took off work on wednesday and then was feeling guilty about it around 12:30 because really i didn't feel THAT bad... or at least not until i stood up, got dizzy, fell down and threw up.

milan is really great when i'm sick, i must say. there's not much that's expected of me. he's fairly sympathetic too, which is something i'm not good at myself.

anyway, about a week ago, we took the gate thing-a-ma-giggy off of micah's bed because she kept kicking it and kicking it and then knocked it over. i'm not sure how it didn't break. so, since she was suppossed to be sleeping we just took it off her bed instead of fixing it. she doesn't need it anyway. we only had it on one side of the bed.

well, last night, she decided to stick it to me and she fell out of bed. i was laying on the couch (milan was at practice) when i heard BANG! THUMP. (pause) (pause) WAAAAAAHHHHHH!!
of course, i was already tearing through the house by the time she starting crying. the bang was her head hitting the nightstand and the thump was her crumpled body hitting the floor.

suffice it to say, we put the damn bedrail back on.

a fun-filled day

2005-05-29T13:21:00.000-04:00

yesterday, we decided to take micah to holtsville park because just like today it is beautiful outside! holtsville park has a nature walk, a playground, barbeque pits and a petting zoo. micah had a wonderful time.

we left for the park around 2pm and micah had not taken a nap. she often misses naps on weekends because she just flat out refuses to sleep. and, like yesterday, by 6 pm she's become a monster!

we left the park around 5:30 pm. in the car, i was feeling crazy and started snapping photos. this was my 3rd or 4th attempt at the ever-so-exciting-side-view-mirror shot and micah had just about had it with me. screaming, "no, mommy. don take a picture to me!!"

so she did what any rational 3-year-old would do and threw a fit in her car seat.

the fit lasted less than 30 seconds. the moment she had stopped freaking out, i turned around. and what did i see??

damn. forget pregnancy hormones. the rath of the 3-yr-old's mood swings is really something to fear!

mama's day

2005-05-09T14:10:00.000-04:00

we had a nice, relaxing mother's day. micah insisted since last wednesday that mother's day was all about her, and in a way, i guess she's right...

milan made me breakfast and we went out to dinner, too. mainly, we just sat around the house. oh, and there were those 3 hours that micah spent screaming as we tried to get her to nap. milan even demonstrated a nap to her, but she spent the whole demonstration climbing all over him.

eventually, we gave in and let her sit on the couch with us while we watched the incredibles, because inevitably, she can't last.

MY NEPHEW IS HERE!!

2005-05-06T15:10:00.000-04:00

this is baby Nicholas!! he was born thursday may 5th at 9:55 am and is 6lbs. 11oz and 20".

he is my brother's first child and i couldn't be more excited if he were my own son!! he and my sister-in-law are the most amazing 2 people - i know they are going to make great parents!!

congratulations dan and liz !!

last day

2005-05-03T14:57:00.000-04:00

this past saturday was micah's last gymnastics class. sorry, baby, but i just can't afford these things anymore, and besides, it's almost summer so you won't even notice!! maybe mommy will be rich come september and you can go back? or maybe she'll be able to afford daycare, at least!

anyway, back on topic, she had a great time as always and i was much more lenient with the rule breaking since it was her last day. i let her jump on the trampoline or go down the slide whenever she wanted just like the other kids whose parents don't look after them do. it was fun for us both!

personally, i'm going to miss going because it was great to spend some quality, activity time with micah and she really LOVED this class! but at least now our saturdays are free!

reading

2005-04-25T11:41:00.000-04:00

lately, micah has taken to reading to herself. of course, if i try to take a picture she hides from me - cranky little baby face. this first one i managed to snap between desperate attempts by her to hide her face.

but of course, she can't stay serious for long. everything must become a game in the Land of the (almost) 3-Year-Old.

alright, now she's just plain silly!! what happened to reading??!!

hee - hee!! micah cracks herself up!

flip flops

2005-04-25T11:26:00.000-04:00

There are only 2 other little girls in Micah's class, one of whom is VERY girly and has forced "princess" things and girly shoes onto our household. (Not that there's anything wrong with that - it's just not "me" but hey, if it's "micah" then that's okay by me.)

This little girl comes in every week with a new pair of sandles, most of them with heels. Yes, she's 3 years old wearing heels. Welcome, little girl, to a lifetime of back pain and poor arches. Anyway, the newest thing is flip-flops. So far, she's worn 3 different pairs to school, one of which is a size 1 and barely stays on her foot. But I digress. The rule at school is that you have to wear closed-toe shoes for safety reasons but the teachers allow her to wear these because this particular little girl is very cooperative and when asked to change into socks and sneakers to go outside she NEVER argues.

Well, last week girl #2 also came in with flip flops so now, how can I say no to Micah? So, I treated her to Nemo flip flops. And they even fit by the way - hello Payless!!

like father, like daughter

2005-04-25T11:09:00.000-04:00

For those of you who don't already know, we rent our house. It's a 2 bedroom and has a small but quaint backyard just big enough for a large, inflatable kiddie pool, a grill and a table with chairs and an umbrella.

There is, however, this horrible thorn bush in the left corner. It doesn't have buds or flowers, just thick leaves and thorns. Big, huge, sharp, menacing, cut a toddler's hand wide open thorns. Now, we could sit here and ask ourselves why in the hell would the owner of a 2-bedroom rental property in a decent school district in a neighborhood full of kids with its very own playground/park/tennis court in walking distance plant a thorn bush. It's not even set up as a barrier or anything; it's "decoration". But, ours is not to question why. Ours is simply to chop it up to smitherings.

I suck, so of course, I don't have a before photo, but you'll just have to use your imagination.

See all that brown dirt? See where the grass begins to grow again at the peak of the shadow? That dirt is grassless because that used to be the area consumed by this massive thorn bush.
Below, is the clips pile. That one branch to the left sticking up high is at the height of the 5 foot fence. So, this pile is like 4 feet high and 6 feet wide. It took me 2 hours and my gloved hands have the thorn scars to prove it - as well as my arms and legs. By the end, Milan was ripping the clippers from my weakened arms threatening, not begging, me to stop.

Now, one of the defining purposes of this post is this ---

My parents have a large driveway. The base of which has a basketball goal and "court". Lining the court are trees (I don't remember what kind.) that grow to about 8 or 10 feet. Every few years, in the spring, my father cuts the living shit out these trees while my mother curses his name to anyone who will listen. "Would you like fries with that?" "Did I tell you what my good-for-nothing husband did to my trees??!!" And, of course, they grow back, but it takes a few years. But I've got her back in saying that look like the victims of a machete attack for quite some time.

Most women fear becoming their mothers but I am clearly turning into my father. If only I liked white undershirts and baseball caps...

fun in the sun

2005-04-11T13:45:00.000-04:00

finally - some good weather!! we took micah to the park where we met up with her best friend, carter. they really had a blast together!

it's so nice to be able to go outside and enjoy the day and i love that it's still light out after work so i can pick up the baby and take her to go play outside!

summer is on its way!!!

licorice container

2005-04-07T13:40:00.000-04:00

this is the licorice we get from trader joe's. milan and i love this stuff and eventually micah asked for a piece avidly enough for me to give her one and she loves it! yes, black licorice! you can sort of see a whole piece, it consists of 2 slivers of fruit-flavored licorice, 2 of black licorice and a white sliver that tastes like nothing ... well, slightly tastes like sugar.

i take a piece and cut them in quarters and then these are the pieces she gets when she goes potty. she gets 1 piece for pee-pees and 2 pieces for poopies. and her diaper has to be dry for her to get a piece and pee-pee actually has to come out... this sounds so mean but it works so well! if i don't restrict it like this she pees in her diaper, sits on the potty and then demands a reward. i have to be very specific with my requests with this child.

sometimes, she'll try to convince me that a wet diaper is dry but i can't be fooled, internet! i don't fall for that crap! and other times, i'll hear her calling out from the bathroom, "c'mon pee-pees, come out my giney!!" sometimes it's sing-songy and other times she means business, "pee-pees! come outta my giney right now! i wan lick-o-liss!!"

and another new thing from micah is that she'll say i love you to us without prompts. just out of the blue. "maan?" "yes, micah?" "i lub u, maan." "mmm... i love you, too, micah."

he's sick right now and when she goes to kiss him, she says, "i hafta kiss you cheek, maan, cuz you sick. i no kiss you mouth." then she'll say, "i can kiss you mouth, right mommy?" like it's the best thing ever!!

damn these "kids". sniff sniff.

mama pride

2005-04-05T14:14:00.000-04:00

at gymnastics on saturday, micah was jumping on the trampoline. the teacher told her she got 3 turns to do "jump, jump, sit". micah does it once. everyone applauds. she starts jumping again and then holds up 2 fingers, "2 more, mommy." she does her second one. everyone applauds. she holds up 1 finger, "last one, mommy, no more." and she's officially smarter than me now because i can't count backwards to save my life.

potty training update:

i've tried it ALL when it comes to potty training but just haven't been able to find something that interests micah. last week, I took her favorite treat, licorice pieces from trader joe's (i'll take a photo this weekend) and cut them in quarters. now, every time she is DRY and goes pee-pee or poopies in the potty, she gets a licorice. (in other words, if her diaper's wet or nothing comes out, she doesn't get a licorice.)

it's been working really well and yesterday, micah was dry ALL DAY!! even when she woke up from her nap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yeah, micah!!! :) :)

babyisms part II

2005-04-04T09:46:00.000-04:00

i remember 2 more.

1. "mommy, i not a boy, yet. okay?" - this usually comes after i ask her if she has to go potty.

2. "when are we gonna see baby cousin?"
"in the summer." (my sister-in-law is due in early may.)
"my birday's in the summer, too, right mommy?"
"uh-huh..."
"an we get to go to swimmin, right mommy?"
"yup."
"can we go to summer right now?"

babyisms

2005-04-03T10:27:00.000-04:00

"mommy, we need more songs in our mouths."
"oh, yeah?"
"yeah, den we can sing dem."

and, i had 3 more but i didn't write them down so...

attention all officers - micah the manipulator at large. considered to be cute and convincing.

2005-03-30T11:13:00.000-05:00

a few nights ago, i taught micah the song "you are my sunshine" (to which i only know 2 versus and a chorus). so, for that night and the next day she would tell me i was her sunshine. just try to keep your heart from melting when your two-year-old hugs your neck and says, "you my sunsine, mommy."

well, that night she didn't want to go to bed so she said to me,
"i can't go to bed, mommy."
"why not?"
"cuz i you sunsine!!"

then, yesterday, when i wouldn't give her a lollipop - hey i didn't even have any!! - she said to me, "you not my sunsine, mommy."

sheesh - what's it going to be like when she's 16????

squiggly lines, squiggly lines, squiggly lines

her "mother! but i have to go to this party and smoke pot and participate in unprotected sex."
me "i said no."
her "fine, you're not my sunshine anymore! and i am not going pee-pee in the potty!!"

micah's classmate

2005-03-25T16:31:00.000-05:00

digging for gold!

tiny - photo friday

2005-03-25T16:10:00.000-05:00

micah's school had a petting zoo come - there are photos in my flickr account - and i snapped this one before the kids got to her. baby chick - pretty perfect for easter!

grand theft bunny

2005-03-23T12:12:00.000-05:00

saturday night we went to the "nice" mall about a half an hour away. it's huge! newly re-done, great stores that you didn't think you could find outside of the city, blah, blah, blah.

so, i have a gift certificate to kb toys and there's one in that mall. we went in looking for a tunnel for micah because she's been begging for one, but this store was ghet-to!! the shelves were empty and the store is tiny - only three aisles, each about 10 ft. long.

micah chose a plush elmo and a "princess dress". (blech... where did she get this girly shit?? oh, yeah, daycare... blech.) so, we're waiting in line and there's this mother who's dressed like a 16 yr. old and also has a 16 yr. old and a 4 yr. old who's in a stroller. the 4 yr. old is the biggest brat i've ever seen. she's freaking out about her mom buying her the dolly.

in front of these people is a woman with her son and the woman is arguing with the cashier over 10 cents. you got it, 10 cents, a dime. apparently, the screaming brat isn't annoying her because she argued for about 15 minutes - the cashier even called over the manager. ridiculous. so, milan takes the stroller (with micah in it) to the front of the store to wait because she's getting reckless and he's annoyed.

i finally get out of there. so, we're walking down the mall and get to haagen daas and milan wants a bailey's shake. i'm ordering when he says, "uh-oh, look what she did..."

she had taken the bunny. the "easter bunny" she called it.

kitchen, easter and kb toys

2005-03-22T14:43:00.000-05:00

i posted the photos of our newly painted kitchen (thanks for your help, mom) on flickr. tomorrow, i'm going to post about the easter bunny and micah's grand theft bunny from kb toys.

brat attack

2005-03-22T14:27:00.000-05:00

micah has been giving us a hard time for the past few nights at bedtime. (and it doesn't help that she REFUSES to nap on weekends and thus usually crashes around 4pm, pushing back her bed time.) so, it was no surprise that she was a crank monster last night. to add insult to injury, milan had a roaring headache so the "patient parent" was not so patient last night.

the result?

internet, you would be so proud of me. i never yelled. not once. i did the "stern" voice a few times where you lower you voice and speak clearly but i never raised it. thumbs up for me!

it wasn't easy, let me tell you. she whined to no end, yelled, screamed, demanded to be picked up only to hit and kick us. so, what did i do? well, i'll tell you. i put her in her room. not in a time out, per se, but i just told her that since she couldn't be nice to milan and i she needed to spend some time playing alone and that i'd be back to get her once she calmed down and stopped crying. and then, internet, i shut.the.door.

i lasted just less than 5 minutes before i sent milan to get her. in the meantime, we were actually able to speak to each other and finish making dinner. at one point, milan said to me, "it's so quiet..." and we laughed and laughed even though there was a screaming two-yr-old in the background. (that door must be well insulated.) anyway, she screamed at milan, "NO!! I!WANT!MOMMY!" and SLAMMED the door in his face. so, i went in.

she was doing that thing when they get themselves so worked up that it's crying, hiccupping and screaming all in one and she was a sweaty, teary mess on the floor. i thought she was going to puke she was crying so hard and she couldn't breathe.

so, i picked her up and comforted her and she was hiccupping, "you yell at me, mommy. you hurt my feelins." (in my head in a whiny voice: "did NOT!!") i just told her to relax and she could speak to me when she was breathing better. i asked her to take a few deep breaths and tried to make my examples silly, but she wasn't having it. "you (breath) yell (breath) at (breath) ME!" WAAH!!!

it finally ended and she went to bed, but man was i exhausted this morning!!

*** i really didn't yell at her!! but who wants to go through a "yes you did" "no i didn't" argument with a 2-yr-old?? she'd totally win!***

i saw god this morning

2005-03-20T08:47:00.000-05:00

and it was in the form of the clock which read 8:06 am!! ****HALLELUJAH**** then, i went BACK to sleep. i know, i know, you think i'm lying but i'm telling you that it was 8:20 when the little "princess" finally came into our room and she was (ever so appropriately) dressed in this:

just rip out my heart and tear it to shreds, why don't ya?!!

2005-03-18T13:46:00.000-05:00

i just got a call from the director at micah's daycare.

her: "it's not an emergency or anything." (they always start off like that.) "it's just that we had a situation with micah and it's never happened before, so i wanted to give you a head's up."

me: "oh-kaay..."

her: "all of the other kids were eating lucky charms and micah wanted some. so, i told her she couldn't have any because she's allergic."

me: (to myself) okay... so far, so good...

her: "and that's when she started hysterically crying... oh, see, now i'm going to start crying again, this just upset me so much..."

me: (to myself) you were both crying - my god - what happened?!

her: "so, she takes my face in her hands and says, "ree-rah, (maria) i don wanna be lergic!"

me: "ooohhh..." *tearing up*

her: "and so i told her i'd make her something special..." *pauses* "are you okay?... i'm so sorry to do this to you at work..."

me: "no, no, i'm glad you called... she's never said anything like that before..."

her: "so, i got her a rice cake and made a face on it with some fruit and she just loved it! of course, then the other kids wanted what micah had so micah said to them, "no! dis is my special! right, ree-rah?!" and i said, yes, micah, it's your special. no one else can have one."

-------------------------------------------

can you see why i love this place? talk about going above and beyond. they really love my daughter. it's so hard as a working parent to drop your kids off in someone else's care. leaving her day after day, missing her, missing her growing up, missing the new things she does, missing moments like this when you just want to run to your child and hold her tight and make all the hurt go away...

it's.just.so.hard.

but. (because there is a *but*.) at least she's in a place where she's loved and where she has such positive and wonderful relationships. what more could i want for her?

oh, she's NOT suppossed to say those things... okay, one of these days i SWEAR i'll make that clear to her

2005-03-17T15:56:00.000-05:00

two nights ago, micah was playing on the refrigerator with her "letters" when she blurted out "suckin bish". i was by the stove preparing dinner and milan was talking to me from the doorway. we immediately turned to each other with those, "no... she couldn't have just said what we think she said..." incredulous expressions.

me: "what, micah?"
her: "suckin' bish" *grinning*
me: "what?" because, come on, this is HYSTERICAL!!
her: "suckin' bish, suckin' bish, suckin' bish" *in a sing-songy voice*
milan: "micah, we don't say things like that. those words aren't nice."
me: "what hrmph did you hrmph say, micah?"
her: "suckin' bish, mommy. suckin' bish."

by the way, she's saying *fucking bitch* in case anyone didn't get it. and i did, eventually, team up with milan on the discipline thing. this kid's in daycare, after all, she can't go teaching all the other kids bad words even though this one brat, er, young man, calls her stupid, fathead and cornhead all the time.

when i went to daycare and told the teacher in front of micah, that if she uses inappropriate words at school i am to be called and i will come get her and take her home, i made sure to spell each of the offending words. um... except when i added that "my language is so bad. i have to watch myself. i also tend to say motherfucker when i screw something up." without spelling out motherfucker. ahem... yeah, i'll be going now...

classical conditioning won't work on me

2005-03-14T15:10:00.000-05:00

how many times have those parenting books tried to tell me? consistency, consistency, consistency! they say it's the ultimate parenting tool. i know. i've seen it work. i've seen the lack of it backfire in my face... and yet...

this morning, i felt like getting "dressed" for work and looking, smelling and FEELING like an actual human being. so, i succumbed to the cranky two year old's pleas through those full, sweetheart lips and those plump, edible cheeks and i put on a dora dvd.

i don't allow tv during on school days - so what a treat for her!

i'm totally going to pay for this.

for weeks. weeks and weeks.

she's going to be all, *whiny voice* "but mahm-my, lass time..."

venus and mars, alright

2005-03-14T11:32:00.000-05:00

micah's friend carter came over on saturday while his parents went to a wedding. i love the way they play together. i have NEVER, in the 2 and a half years they've played together, seen them fight. at least until saturday.

he came over around 6pm and they played well before and during dinner but after dinner, as nightime got closer, they just bickered and bickered. they kept tattling on each other. my opinion with tattling is that i don't want to get involved unless absolutely neccesary. i'm not going to discipline one child just because the other tattled.

i think it annoyed them that i wouldn't take sides, but the conversations that insued between them were HYSTERICAL!

at one point, micah knocked over all the toys carter was playing with, so he hit her. (who could blame him?) so, micah came running with the fake tears looking for sympathy. i told her, "oh, he yeah? do you need me to kiss your boo-boo?"

unsatasified, she started at him in a stern voice, "you have to say me sorry, car-car! we don't hit!" so, carter comes running over to me (i'm sitting about 6 feet away by the way) with eyebrows furrowed, "she messed up my toys!" to which i said, "oh, yeah, that must have really angered you... maybe you guys should apologize to each other."

so micah says, "i sorry i messed up you toys, car-car." and he says, "that's okay." and she's just standing there waiting and finally says, "now you say me sorry, car-car." he just sat there eyebrows furrowed. she said it over and over again louder and louder...

until finally, after she had shut her trap because she gave up, he says, "i sorry i hit you, micah. you wanna play dis wif me?"

SO CUTE! just like a woman to nag and nag and just like a man to wait to say or do something until it can be considered his idea!! hee - hee.

** photos to come - i used regular film!! (gasp!!)**

babyisms

2005-03-13T16:18:00.000-05:00

this morning, micah hiked her hula skirt up around her chest and said, "look, mommy, i a octopus."

trying to be polite or just plain stupid? - you decide.

2005-03-11T14:10:00.000-05:00

inspired by supafine, i have a story from the archives for you.

milan, micah and i went down to virginia beach for a vacation back in may 2003. milan and i had only been dating 2 months. we were paying the fee to get on the dock and he had the baby in the backpack. the woman looked at us all and said to milan, "my goodness, she looks exactly like you!"

to milan! hello?!? the child is my mini-me? are you blind?

calcetines

2005-03-10T15:12:00.000-05:00

lately, when i'm dressing micah she wants to pick out her own clothes. sometimes i can persuade her into the cute outfits, sometimes not. but the socks must always be her call.

so, this morning, after giving milan a hard time about which socks she wanted to wear she told me she didn't like the ones she had on and wanted to change them. i said, fine, go get new ones. when she came back with the new socks, she sat on my bed and we had the following exchange:

"mahn (milan) a dick, mommy."

"excuse me?"

"mahn a dick cuz he put all da socks in da drawer."

"well, honey, that's where they belong."

"oh." (quizzical look on her face) "but he still a dick, right mommy?"

-----------------------------------------

is it wrong to have agreed with her instead of correcting her?

very good, my little grasshopper

2005-03-08T15:22:00.000-05:00

milan and i both forget everything. so we have this ongoing joke that we each have the short-term memory of a grasshopper. last night - i distinctly remember micah doing/saying 3 of the funniest things!!

i've been trying all day to remember... damn grasshoppers...

"mommy, can i use you cam-ra?"

our morning

2005-03-08T15:17:00.000-05:00

when my mother came to visit, she brought a little toy ariel with her for micah because micah keeps referring to herself as a "pincess".

this morning, i realized that we had left it in milan's truck and we were taking my car this morning. micah was very upset but when we got in the car, we saw that milan had found the ariel and put it in my car! yeah! now he's her hero!

"no, mommy, don take a picture to me."

thank you

2005-03-07T14:48:00.000-05:00

thank you grammy, for coming to visit and spoiling micah and giving us a night out even though we're lame and came home at a quarter to nine. (that was some damn good sushi, we had though.) and helping us paint our kitchen red.

dream a little dream for me

2005-03-04T10:32:00.000-05:00

i'll preface this with mentioning that my mother (grammy to micah) came to visit. we picked her up last night at the airport.

so, this morning when micah woke up, i asked her the same questions i ask her every morning.

"did you sleep well?"

*nods yes*

"did you have nice dreams?"

*nods yes*

"what did you dream about?"

*smiles* "gam-mee"

band aid

2005-03-02T16:02:00.000-05:00

for weeks, micah has been calling me to the tv everytime she sees a bambi commercial. it started with "look, mommy! rudolph!!! i wan rudolph! can i peas have rudolph, mommy? can i buy it at da store??!! *singing* rudolph the red nosed reindeer..." and i say to her that it's not rudolph but bambi. she caught on eventually and recently when she sees the commercial she calls, "band-aye, mommy, band-aye!!" which sounds like band-aid and i come running expecting bleeding boo-boos.

well, it was (finally) released yesterday. and since it coincided with the release of the mars volta cd, i was conveniently at circuit city. best buy and circuit city always put the new releases on sale their first week. each of these were $5 off so i thought what the hell.

the monster that has been my child lately, has actually been incredibly good these past couple of days - even at school. so, i suggested we watch it last night. (she isn't allowed tv during the school week - so what a treat!! -- and i was able to make dinner without screaming at anyone!!)

she loved it. she didn't understand the part where bambi's mother dies, because they don't actually show it but during the big fire scene she was scared. she jumped into my lap yelling, "band-aid! band-aid! help him mommy!" and for a minute there i thought she was crying, but i explained how his daddy was saving him and don't worry, he'll be okay. this is one *g* movie that should definitely be monitored by an adult.

there's a reason babies should sleep late instead of getting up at the crack of dawn when they're still exhausted

2005-02-26T10:20:00.000-05:00

"hello?"

"hi, is this Wit's End?"

"yes, it is, are you calling for reservations?"

"yes, 1 for today, please."

"and what time will you be arriving?"

"annnny minute now."

listening too well

2005-02-25T15:26:00.000-05:00

i have a bad back (i was gymnastics my entire childhood and now i'm paying the price.) and micah never holds on when i'm carrying her so i often say to her (too often - i'm only 26 dammit), "i have to put you down, now, my back hurts." or "i can't carry you right now, micah, my back hurts."

so, she's begun to use the same excuse.

"micah, can you please help mommy put your toys away?"

"i can't, mommy, my back's hurtin"

sometimes she'll take it a bit further.

"micah, please put your cup and bowl in the sink."

"i can't, mommy, my legs is broken."

she's also picked up on "in a minute" and when i ask her to do something, she'll say, "in a minute, mommy." or "okay, i will do it. in two (shows me two fingers) minutes. okay, mommy?"

babyisms

2005-02-25T15:25:00.000-05:00

while i'm sitting on the couch, in the middle of a conversation on the phone, she takes my face in her little hands, squishing my cheeks together so my lips puff out:

micah: "scuze me, mommy. i'm talkin a yew."

so.tired.

2005-02-25T10:42:00.000-05:00

for the last 3 nights in a row, micah's been waking up at odd hours. the first night, she freaked out and demanded milk in a sippy cup. milan argued with her about it and the two of them were yelling. it wasn't good. he finally caved on the milk and she was out in a matter of seconds. two nights ago, she freaked out, milan went in, and she yelled about her red slippers and her shoes. he said uh-huh and covered her with a blanket. by the time he walked out of her room, she was asleep. last night she came in my room and was crying for me to help her climb into our bed. i have no idea what time it was, but i was so asleep that i remember conciously saying to myself, must open at least one eye ... then at 3:17am, after being smacked in the head by a flailing baby body part for the hundreth time, i took her back to bed. she didn't even complain.

what's going on with her? i think it may be nightmares... anyone have experience with this?

i remember the day

2005-02-24T15:10:00.000-05:00

i've been nostalgic this past week for some reason and have been remembering micah's babyhood. i have to say, as difficult as being alone is, we had so much fun together. i think we're closer because i'm a single parent.

so - here's looking back -

she always slept. right after birth - she'd sleep for 6 hours at a time. i'm not exaggerating. the nurses in the hospital used to try to force me to wake her to eat.

she was a huge baby - 9lbs - and could eat a lot at a time. i think this is why she slept so well.

the child never cried. i mean never. she was the happiest baby i've ever seen. (she still is.) but, put a plate of food in front of mommy and she howled. i'd not only have to hold and rock her, but stand while doing so. damn. no wonder i lost the weight so quickly...

she used to love when i would stand her on my lap, hold her hips and shake them side to side singing, "do the baby boogie - and shake that baby bootie" - it would crack her up!

she loved faces. i could entertain her (and myself) for hours just putting my face in hers.

she hated kisses for the first few days (they're probably scratchy to that baby skin) but after i berated her with them 24 hours a day - she couldn't get enough of them. she still loves to squish her little cheeks against my face.

she always talked. always. she would make speaking noises while feeding, while playing, in the car, you name it.

her milk allergy was so severe that they had her on neutramigen. in case you're not familiar with it, it's synthetic and smells like ass! (and costs twice as much.) anyway, it also goes through baby's system fast and easily so every time she pooped, it looked and smelled like watery diarrhea and her clothes had to be changed. yup, that's right, she'd go through 4, maybe 5 outfits every day!

because the neutramigen smelled so bad, i gave it to her cold. and as i said earlier, she was a good eater. at 7 weeks old, when we started daycare, she would eat a cold 8-9 oz bottle every 5 hours! so easy!

it's funny how things change. now, she's not as good a sleeper and she talks even more - i didn't think it was possible! she stills loves doing the baby boogie - although she does it on her own now. and she's growing out of this horrible milk allergy.

i'll bring a few fave baby photos to post tomorrow.

hula skirt

2005-02-20T10:41:00.000-05:00

at target last night, i let micah run around rather than sitting in the cart. i ignorantly though i could be that patient. it lasted about 20 minutes. i'm proud of that number!

anyway, while in the toddler girls' clothes section she found this little hula skirt cover-up. it's kind of like the one in the picture (the title is a link to the picture) but there's no suit, just the skirt, and she chose a turquoise one. and it only cost 5 buck-a-roos. of course i said yes.

she put it on as soon as we got home and stayed in it until i made her take it off to go to bed. hold on, let me take a crappy camera phone picture of this...

okay, i'm back. i let her jump on my bed to get her to stay in one place so i could take the picture.

so a second ago, she was walking around putting in on the hanger and taking it back off, singing ba-di-ba-di-ba-dah, skirt, skirt, ba-di-da.

and now we've added the princess shoes to the ensemble. damn she's cute.

la la-la la

2005-02-20T10:12:00.000-05:00

micah sings constantly, all day long and even sings herself to sleep. her favorite song right now is "rudolph the red-nosed reindeer". she knows the entire song. that's a long song for a 2 and 1/2 year old. we hear this song like 50-60 times a day. she also loves mary had a little lamb.

when she's not singing an actual song, she sometimes sings along to what we're doing. "mommy's cuttin the da mango, da mango. i's gonna eat the mango. mommy's cuttin it fo me..." etc... she also sings along with any music/singing she overhears. it could be on the radio, tv, a commercial... she even sings along when milan plays his guitar.

the strangest part of all this is that she's actually pretty damn good. she keeps to the tune, she raises and lowers her voice accordingly and she has (what seems like) a sense of pitch and tone. it's really strange.

i've been trying to post a short video i took of her singing rudolph, but i suck and can't figure out how. one person taught me how if i had a mac, but i don't. nope. i'm just sittin here on a dell pc. i actually hate macs. one ate my year-end report freshman year at UNC-W. funny, i can't even remember what class it was... i just remember that it was 8 pages and i had to start from SCRATCH. i hate macs.

mommy, please report to the principal's office

2005-02-18T14:59:00.000-05:00

all week i've been getting notes home from micah's teachers regarding her "poor listening skills" and that she's being "rough" with her friends.

notes home already?!! she's only 2-years-old! i feel like i've done something wrong! i feel like i'm the one being reprimanded.

here's an example of the notes:

"today, micah had trouble listening to her teachers."

translation - hello, terrrible mother, your daughter doesn't listen to a thing we say. you probably spoil her at home and let her do whatever she wants. you terrible mother.

and

"she ran away from her teachers and class on the playground."

translation - none of the other kids seem to have a problem, so why can't your kid listen and follow the rules? you terrible mother.

or

"do you have any suggestions that we could do to help her behavior improve?"

translation - look, you terrible mother, you need to come in for a conference so we can tell you what a terrible job you're doing. we'll give you some parenting tips that your dumb ass should have known by now.

** disclaimer --- those translations are jokes. jokes. the kind you laugh at and don't take seriously.

but mommy

2005-02-17T23:42:00.000-05:00

"okay, time for bed."
"but mommy, i don wanna go nite - nite."
"i know, angel. but it's time for bed, now."
"but mommy, two more minutes, okay."
"you already had lots of 2 minutes. c'mon, time for bed."
"but mommy, i need medicine, mommy, my forehead is sick."
"you're fine, micah, you don't need medicine."
"but mommy, yes, i do. my forehead is sick and last time dr. nee-er-er (neiderer) say i need medicine."
"time for bed, micah."
"but mommy, i need little bit water, mommy, my tummy sick."
"you already had some milk."
"but mommy, my tummy sick. i need little bit water."
*gives her water*
"okay, let's go to bed."
"but mommy, i need to put the cup in the sink."

mommy hood

2005-02-16T13:36:00.000-05:00

there are 2 things i selfishly ask for. 1. to be able to poop. i just want to be able to go sit on the toilet and read a book when it is so necessary. 2. twice or week or so - i would like to spend 10-15 minutes on my hair before work.

my daughter, though, demands otherwise.

milan was out last night so it was just micah and i. after dinner, a dinner fraught with things like the exchange of (me:) "no standing on your chair. sit on your hiney." (micah:) "no, my knees" uttered 37 times and "mommy, i wan __________ (insert any food other than what we were eating)" growing louder with each demand; i needed to go to the bathroom.

so, i grabbed my book and didn't shut the door. usually, micah comes in with me so that she can pester me. but this time she didn't. for 10 minutes prior to me going into the bathroom she had been testing me by repeatedly pretending to touch the computer. so, when all was quiet, i called her name.

here are the steps so that you can recreate this touching exchange in the privacy of your own bathroom:

1. "micah. *child's name*." 2. no response 3. wait about 20 seconds 4. repeat 5. repeat, but *slightly* louder 6. repeat steps 1-5 occasionally dropping in statements such as "answer me, please" or "what are you doing, please?" until the cashier at the supermarket down the street can hear you screaming your child's name, you've dropped "please" and are using "now" and you are *this* close to getting up off the toilet with the damn poop-log dangling from your ass.

that is when my precious darling decided to grace me with her presence (complete with pen marks all over her face). i'd estimate it was 5-7 minutes from the start as i was reading in my book in between screams.

me: "what were you doing, micah?"
her: "playin wit you peter."
me: "excuse me, my *peter*?"
her: "uh-huh"
me: *to self* - hmmm... but milan's not here.... "oh! my computer!"

commence yelling session. baby tucks tail between legs...

so, now i'm on the toilet (almost finished) and she's sitting across from me "watching me". she gets up to touch me and pet me to make things better. i say, not now, micah, i'm still very angry with you. you don't touch my computer, blah, blah, blah... and she cries. yep, i made a 2 and a half year old cry. now, if i could just crush that lousy beer can on my forehead and knock down that old lady with the cane trying to get from her handicapped parking spot to the sidewalk my life's goals will have been met!

this morning, well, what can i say, obviously she wouldn't stop whining and grabbing hold of my pants and reaching for the straightening iron, etc, etc... i did not however, yell. learned that lesson last night.

still, last night i was almost crying while sitting on that toilet knowing my daughter was getting into trouble and flat out ignoring me.

and ps - the link in the title is a good article about the strive of most women to be the "perfect" mother.

"how i could just kill a man"

2005-02-14T12:26:00.000-05:00

about a month ago, micah jumped on me while i was laying on the couch and said, "mommy! mommy! the monster's gettin' us!!" so, we played that game for awhile until she said, "the man's gettin us"! um... back up... excuse me, a "man" - no. that's way to "real" for me to handle as a joke. then she said, "we have to kill him, mommy." "who?" "the man, mommy." my jaw drops, i stare dumbfounded... "sarah and me always kill the man, mommy." (insert conversation with toddler about not ever killing anything and not joking about a man getting you - monsters, sure, but not men.)

the next day, i brought it up to her teacher who swore up and down that she'd never heard micah nor the other kids saying anything like this.

fast forward to this past weekend. the three of us are walking through the parking lot toward trader joe's and milan's holding micah. she says, "i kill you in you face, mahn." and makes a motion with her hand toward his face that milan described as a stabbing motion. (i didn't see it.)

so, of course this morning, between tears, i relay this to her teacher and how i've brought this up before and blah, blah, blah... i still felt brushed off. so, i went to speak to the director.

i barely get the first sentence out, when she says - "you mean kill the man, right?" why yes puzzle solver extraordinaire - that's exactly what she said!!!

turns out, the director walked in on the class while the teachers were playing the radio (which is forbidden b/c of foul language, etc... they can only play pre-approved kiddie cd's and tapes). and on the radio was the song "how i could just kill a man" by rage against the machine. (the title is a link where you can play a clip of the song) it has a good beat and she said the little kiddies were dancing to it. (the director changed the station and gave a lecture (#759 probably) about that's why we don't play the radio here at daycare.)

here's the chorus:

Here is something you can't understand
How I could just kill a man
Here is something you can't understand
How I could just kill a man

oh thank goodness there is not some bully 2-yr-old threatening to stab my daughter to death at school!! :) and ps - what's next for crying out loud - "killing in the name"?!!?

we're havin a party!

2005-02-10T15:11:00.000-05:00

okay, so really we're just hangin out at a friend's house tomorrow night for dinner. but i totally tried to use it as an excuse last night when i was picking micah up from school. we're going to her best friend, carter's house. (i will post of picture of him from home because he is the cutest and he and micah look like twins.)

*** ooh - i found a photo - he's even cuter now b/c he got a hair cut ***

*** mmm... yummy elastic bands... ***

so, i'm trying to get her coat on (i have her on my lap and i've crossed one of my legs over hers so that her legs are sandwiched and she can't escape - which, for some reason, she hates) and i say to her, "hey, micah, you wanna to go to carter's house tomorrow?"

micah: "car-car havin a party?"

me: "yeah." (read "sure kid - whatever - as long as you put this damn coat on")

and carter's mommy (who's next to us wrestling his coat on him) says "yeah, and we'll have pizza!"

carter: "peet-za?? YEAH!!"

micah: "i have peet-za, mommy?"

me: "no, angel, it has cheese."

micah: "oh, i no have cheese, right mommy, car-car have cheese."

carter's mommy: "oh, micah, i forgot!" (sad face)

micah: "dat's okay - i just have crackers at da party."

it totally worked, by the way. i even got the hat on her! and then carter ran away down the hall, but that's another story.

home sweet home

2005-02-09T14:53:00.000-05:00

this was taken on my drive home last friday. it was the first day that i left after 5 and it wasn't pitch black!! yeah!! spring is on the way!!

for the interest of my mother who has often asked for a photo of the house we rent - here it is

what you don't see is that micah has her own room, the driveway is ridiculously skinny so that you can barely get in and out of the cars and we have more kitchen space then we would ever know what to do with!

ps - hi henry!

in the car

2005-02-07T13:39:00.000-05:00

here we are on the ride home. micah and her dirty little daycare feet! LOL

my little nail biter

2005-02-07T13:33:00.000-05:00

micah has picked up the habit of biting her nails from her friend, J, at school. do these kids really start such habits so young??!! when J was an infant she used to suck on the side of her hand until the skin was raw, and of course, micah used to copy her. (for some reason she always imitates this child - but never any of the others...) back then, i used to tell her, "micah, you're not J. stop sucking your hand." it worked then so i'm trying it again now. we'll see.

now, i ask you - who could resist photographing these cheeks??!! who cares that she was sleeping and i woke her - they're so cute!

stop pushing my buttons, kid!

2005-02-03T18:16:00.000-05:00

micah's new favorite game to annoy me - when i ask her to put something away she asks
"whey-ure is it, mommy?" and every time i initially fall for it.
"it's right there, baby. in front of you (to the left, to the right - whatever)"
"whey-ure", mommy?"
"right.there.right.in.front.of.you."
"but whey-ure? i don see it." when i first fell for this game - i half believed her and half didn't so i was all creative in my descriptions. it's beside the ball and in front of the white doggie. it's between the small, sparkly-haired doll and the green chair... etc... now my response is
"youknowwhereitisnowstopplayingthisgamethis instant"

"yay-yos"

2005-02-03T08:59:00.000-05:00

i just realized that i've never posted one of my all time favorite micah words. "yay-yos" which is cheerios. she's been saying it for a year and a half and milan still has trouble with it. it also sounds like "yay-yo" which is yellow, so you can understand his confusion.

baby-isms

2005-02-02T09:07:00.000-05:00

this morning micah found a pair of her sunglasses and asked if she could bring them in the car for the ride to school. sure.

so, as we walk outside to get in the car she says to me, "i need my sungasses, mommy. my eyes is freezin."

(taken with my camera phone)

my little angel

2005-02-01T13:21:00.000-05:00

proof my child is actually an angel! :) (excuse the poor quality - i had to scan it in)

last night, when i picked up micah, sarah's mom was also picking her up. so, of course, we had to go through the battle of getting them apart. sarah's mom was nice enough to bring fruit snacks for both sarah and micah. she said quietly to me as she handed a pack to her daughter, "can micah have these?" and i nodded yes.

so, she hands the pack of nemo fruit snacks to micah and micah turns them around to look at the back of the little bag. then with her index finger, she traces the lines of words saying, "hmmm... can i have this mommy?" and then seconds later (as i'm cracking up) "yeah, i can have this. okay, mommy?"

don't try to fool my daughter into eating something laced with dairy - she knows what's up!

yes, another photo of little lu-lu

2005-01-31T15:29:00.000-05:00

well, for some reason hello hates me right now and won't let me post the other photo. bastard.
what? the service is free and i shouldn't complain? whatever. bastards.

anyway - this is micah climbing through the little tunnel mat at gymnastics.

edited February 1, 2005
and here she is flipping in the belt on the trampoline.
(this is the photo i couldn't post yesterday)

man, she loves that place! :)

how do i love thee? let me count the ways.

2005-01-30T20:50:00.000-05:00

"i love you, micah. i love you oceans and oceans. i love you to the stars and back again."

*giggling* "i lub you, tew, mommy."

"how much do you love me?"

"i lub you cuz last time you didn't do da seatbelt an i tole you and you gabe me cannie cane, right, mommy?"

she's referring, of course, to a few weeks ago when she was sick and we stopped off at the mall and then, because the snow was covering the lines, an entire third row of cars parked where i had parked completely trapping in those of us in the middle row. (that's another story) --- anyway, i had just put her in the car when a woman showed up to move her car from the third row and in my haste to pull out (after a 96 point turn), i forgot to buckle her car seat.

just as we were pulling out of the parking lot, micah starts flipping out
"mommy, mommy -- do dis, do dis."
"i can't look at you right now, micah, i'm driving."
"mom-my look at dis right now!!!!!"
so, i turn around to see her pointing to the buckle dangling beside her. i pulled over and fixed it and told her that i was so proud of her and what a big girl she was and also rewarded her with a piece of candy cane.

hey - i guess any reason to be loved is good enough for me! :)

saturday recap

2005-01-30T17:59:00.000-05:00

my childhood friend, lisa, and her husband, t.d., came to visit a couple of saturday's ago. they joined micah and i at "nastics" and then we went to ciao baby (the best eating experience one could ever hope for) for dinner.

photo friday

2005-01-28T10:16:00.000-05:00

this is my choice for photo friday. unfortunately, i'm at work (shhh...) so i only have access to a few photos. the subject is youth and i chose this one beacuse of all the accessories she has that, to me, are so evident of the young. for example, the sunglasses, the expression, the band-aid (which is on for appeasement purposes only) and the fact that although it's her birthday and everyone else is eating cake, she's eating macaroni salad! :)

pesky little milk allergy

2005-01-27T16:00:00.000-05:00

we have blood test results!!!!

(drum roll please...)

micah's milk allergy has gone down from a 5 to a 2!! YEAH!!

what does this mean to you and i? not that much, technically, because even though she's less allergic, we're not changing her diet at all. BUT we are much more hopeful that she'll grow out of it by age 5!! (studies show that if a child doesn't grow out of the allergy by this age - most are stuck with it their entire lives.)

also, i'm not so concerned about the epi pen now.

ahh... relief... a whole big boulder of worry just fell right off my shoulders!! :)

------------------------------------------------------------------

"mommy, can i have soh (soy) milk peeze?"

------------------------------------------------------------------

"what's that, mommy?"

"pizza."

"can i have pee-sah?"

"no angel, you're allergic. it has cheese."

"oh... i no have cheeze, mommy, car-car (her friend carter) have cheeze. okay, mommy?"

micah - you so funny

2005-01-26T19:11:00.000-05:00

**disclaimer - all spelling errors are when micah is speaking and are intentional**

------------------------------------------------------------------

1. upon walking into her room at daycare to pick her up:

"hi, micah!!! :) :) :) :) :)"

"uh"

*kneel down beside her and hug her* "hi, baby!! :) :) :) :)"

"uh" ... " i wanna see your booty, mommy."

"okay, it's right here..." *i pick her up by her ankles and toss her over my shoulder so she can see my booty and then flip her right back up again*

*showing me her hand; out flat, palm up* "i got you booty, mommy"

"you do?!?!"

*i pretend to eat it sound effects and all*

*very serious* "don't eat it, mommy, it goes right he-ur (here) on you bah-dee (body)." *points to her booty*

-----------------------------------------------

2. *we arrive home to find milan fixing dinner and take off hat, coat, etc...*

"mommy, i went pee-pees in miss robin potty (her teacher) so i get 2 dora cookies, right??!!" (if you don't already know - teddy grahams now makes a version in the shape of dora, boots, tico and swiper ("oh man") - huge hit and dairy free!)

"yes"

*SCREAMING AT ME* "I WAN 2 DORA COOKIES RIGHT NOW!!! - WAHHH!!"

"micah, i said, okay, you can have them."

"oh"

"micah, you hurt mommy's feelings when you yelled at me. what should you say to mommy?"

"where you feelings, mommy?" *looks me up and down*

"inside me" *i put my hand on my chest*

"in dare?" *points to my belly*

"yes, they're in my heart. do you know where your heart is?"

"right he-ur?" and i'm sure you already know the punch line --- she points to her butt!!

(eventually she felt her heartbeat with her hand and listened to mine and then remembered about the 2 dora cookies.)

henry update

2005-01-24T10:55:00.000-05:00

so, we tried graphite. didn't do anything.
and today it's so cold, that it won't start.

ahhh...

***** update to the update****

he started!!! and i can get in (through one door or the other)!!
and i only have to hit the right headlight twice to get it to come on!

blizzard '05

2005-01-24T10:44:00.000-05:00

they're calling it blizzard '05 and making a really big deal out of it on the news, but we live in suburbia new york, so really, 24" is nothing. the roads were cleared within 24 hours and today, other than some schools being closed, everything is back to normal.

this weekend, micah began watching tv. as in actually watching and not jumping up every 10 seconds and asking for an "other cd" which in micah terms means a different dvd.

she is officially a couch potato.

hee -hee!! look at that baby gut!! :)

so, while micah was vegging and i was capturing it on digital "film" for all of you to bear witness, my knight in shining parka was freeing us from the hell that is cabin fever.

i wish this photo captured just how deep it was. he was out there for about 2 and 1/2 hours all together. he shoveled early which was smart b/c it was freezing up again by around 3:30pm.

zombies, oh my

2005-01-21T16:36:00.000-05:00

we bought shaun of the dead recently and add that to dawn of the dead (new and old) and 28 days later, etc... and i'd say we really enjoy these zombie films! :)

time to go home

2005-01-21T14:23:00.000-05:00

each evening, micah and her friend, sarah, refuse to part. it's a little annoying but her mommy and i joke about it and let them think they're still playing while we creatively find ways to get on coats and hats and make our way into our respective cars.

snapped this with my phone. in case you're wondering, the red on micah's nose is marker and the red on her cheeks is what happens everytime she even thinks of going outdoors in weather 45 degrees or below. i mean, after all, what other child is allergic to baby soap and has to use cetaphil?

i always slather her cheeks, nose, lips and chin in aquaphor (the vaseline of the gods) and it definitely helps. (i've also always used it on her little booty to prevent pesky diaper rash.)

oooh... bad, bad little tangent.

anyway, i was speaking with this other little girl's mommy last night when we both mentioned how when the guys pick up; the girls don't behave this way. hmmm... are we being taken advantage of here by these little 2 and a half year olds?

tsunami donations

2005-01-18T09:01:00.000-05:00

thanks to the link from so anyway, i just donated here. i am a big fan of oprah and her angel's network. she does so much here in america as well as in africa. anyway, it's a place to donate that's not the red cross.

a quickie

2005-01-17T15:16:00.000-05:00

*leaving the bathroom, i turn back to see micah rubbing vigorously at one eye*

"micah, what's wrong?"

"my eye itchin"

"you have sleep in your eye. it's dirty. do you want me to help you clean it? hold on and i'll get you a washcloth."

no, she doesn't want a washcloth, because at this moment she gets the sleep out of her eye and is staring at it on the tip of her finger.

"micah, grab some toilet paper to wipe it on."

*child still stares transfixed at finger*

"here..." as i take one step forward.

too late. she put it in her mouth!!

all i could say was EWWWWWWWWWW!!

and so, of course, she grinned from ear to ear.

if only i was as good as Beth over at Crazy Us, I could've had my camera ready...

maybe someday...

my gifted car

2005-01-13T09:45:00.000-05:00

yes, this is micah's blog but today i'm going to talk about me.

it's okay, she loves me, she'll forgive me.

my car, henry.

henry turns 11 this year. but, he is no ordinary 11-yr-old car. no, no, henry is gifted. so beyond his years is he; only 11 and yet as feisty and temperamental as a teenager. he's been hassling me since the first day i drove him 2 years ago. at that time, his starter was secretly broken but he masked it so well that everyone who witnessed a faulty start swore i just wasn't used to the clutch. i didn't mind being blamed. henry and i just haven't gotten into our groove yet, i would quip. then, a week later, the old vw jetta he was replacing was stolen. (that's another story) and i know now that it was henry's doing. jealous bastard.

after i fixed the starter, i noticed the doorlocks didn't always work properly. you see henry's nice enough that if you unlock the driver's door, all the other doors open too. but when that's the lock that's broken, it causes problems with all of the other doors as well. but no matter who i took henry in to see, they swore a little engine oil on the key would fix that problem right up. and it did. but only for a month or so at a time. the next thing to go was the battery. then, just the usual stuff, brakes and tune-ups, etc...

then, i was backed into. then, the window wouldn't roll back up. then, the steering column broke. then, i replaced all 4 tires. and now, the seatbelts in the front aren't taught anymore. they lay loosely over our chests.

and then, this week, the mother of all problems, the doorlock ,that according to the experts isn't actually broken, broke. (let me mention here that in 2 years, i've broken 5 keys in this lock because it's so hard to turn.) one of four things now happens when you try to unlock henry's driver's door:
1. the three other doors unlock but not the driver's door.
2. the three other doors unlock but when the key slides back into the upright position so that you can pull it out of the lock, they all re-lock.
3. nothing happens what-so-ever
4. your key breaks off in the lock.

so, you see, this is no ordinary car.

so.much.fun

i can't even begin to tell you how much i'm enjoying this!

gweeb-dom

2005-01-10T15:12:00.000-05:00

here's how I'm a gweeb. (this week)

1. apparently we've been watching farscape way too much because now whenever we pull out a dvd, micah yells, "yeah, fah-cake!!"

she loves that show - i think it's because of all the aliens and cool costumes. she calls scorpius "the monkey" and rygel "the froggy"

2. i actually republish my posts to fix any grammatical or spelling errors... that's gotta take the cake! :)