Current George Words

d'OW! = "NO!"
choo choo TWEEE! = "choo choo train" or "car" or "anything with wheels"
Da-eeee = "Daddy"
Mamamamamam = "Mommy"
Maow = "Kitty"
Keeee = "Kitty"

Everyone's A Little Bit Racist

I would love to see Avenue Q live. Besides the infamous "Internet is for P--n" song*, my favorite tune from this great musical is "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist." Why? Because it points out the stupidity of the liberal PC crowd.

Lately I've been hearing a lot about race in the news, on the internet, and in magazines. A Newsweek article suggests that babies are racist at 6 months, Joe Wilson makes a rude but correct comment during President Obama's speech to Congress and is labeled a racist (the topic being healthcare and non-citizens), people who are outspoken against Obama and his "changes" are being labeled racist.

I have a question for you liberals that I ask my toddler when he won't stop whining. Do you need somebody to call the WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAmbulance? It seems there is a large piece of wood that needs to be removed by your proctologist.

I am about as white and pasty as could possibly be.

But...

When I moved to a new town in the 3rd grade the first friend I made at my new school was...drum roll please...black. I try to think back and remember any of my schoolmates as a young child and I only remember fun things we did, not what they looked like. In fact, when I checked through some old school photos the only thing I really noticed was the hair (late 80's, early 90's...wow).

Fast forward to when I moved to Texas. I was a little shocked to discover there were only three black families in my hometown (the town's name might have something to do with it although unintentional). I was intimidated...to be surrounded by white people.

In college I had friends of just about every skin color. A good friend of mine is black, but I don't even notice it most of the time. To me, he's a friend, just like all my others. He's also very funny and an excellent cook.

Why am I telling you all this? Because believe it or not, I am a white conservative Christian and I am NOT racist. Agist (against teenagers) and sexist (against stupid woman drivers), yes. Racist, no. I could ask any one of the conservative people I know about race, listen to their comments, see their actions, and I see absolutely no hint of racism. Disgust of stupidity, but that affects people of any color.

So to you liberal nuts out there, get over yourselves. Please.



/end rant



*This is actually a very humorous song that really makes more of a statement of fact than anything. Some might find it offensive. If you think you might be offended, please don't look it up.

7 Quick Takes Friday

Ah, here we are again. Yes, I'm squeezing this in under the wire.

7 Quick Takes is hosted by Jen @ Conversion Diary.

--1--

First of all we must never forget what today is the 8th anniversary of. I don't have the words to express how I feel about 9/11 and so just ask you to say a prayer.

--2--

My sister called me yesterday! I haven't talked to her in months because we're both horrible at communicating. It was good to hear her voice and I was amazed by how much we had in common in only an hour's worth of conversation. I say this because Becky and I are like night and day. She is seven years older than I am and has a completely different set of beliefs. For one, she is Unitarian and I am an Anglican currently discerning a call to join the Tiber swim team. She also has much more liberal views than I do although I think we have similar beliefs for the extremely important issues.

--3--

During that conversation talked about how some parents we know (not naming names here or implying anything!) let their toddlers run rampant and get away with just about anything. I am not intending to be snide or snarky here, just that it's something to think about. It is pretty interesting to discover just what kind of impact our parenting style has on our children. Hmmm.

--4--

Lily seems to be getting better. Although I have not posted it here, my facebook friends know what I am talking about. We came home from vacation to find that Lily had tapeworms. A visit to the vet and one application of a topical medication and she's even a bit less lethargic. She's actually been very lovey lately which is unusual for this cranky old lady.

--5--

Speaking of vacation, Mississippi is great. We went up to MSU to visit Alex and spent the rest of the time pretty much relaxing while George chased Grandma's cats around the house.

--6--

Did anyone notice my hint about a possibility of joining the "Tiber Swim Team"? This is something I have been mulling over quite a bit over the last year. More to come on this subject, I promise.

--7--

And last but not least...Most of you probably know Sean was laid off last month (this is what prompted the Mississippi vacation). As of this posting, he is still unemployed. However, he has been getting several calls a day from headhunters, he has gone on several interviews, and he and a friend have even started their own internet image consulting business (more on this later). Please keep him, our family, and his business partner, Charles, in your prayers.

Went to Visit Nana and THIS is What Happens...

I think Sean is not going to allow me to take George up to my mom's any more, every time we go it seems like he ends up with a cut or a bruise. And Mom feels so bad about it. But accidents happen. George is a boy (and boys will be boys) and Mom's house isn't childproofed at all. I feel like I don't get a moment's rest trying to keep him out of cabinets and drawers.


Owie. This is in the car just after he got treated at Cook Children's Urgent Care Center in Hurst.

George threw a tantrum at Nana's and hurled himself onto the base of my mother's motorized wheelchair. One of the metal supports on the chair has a bit of a sharp edge to it and that's the part his forehead connected with. It bled like crazy (all head wounds do) but ended up only being superficial. At the urgent care center they cleaned him up and put DermaBond over it to seal the cut and help it heal. He sobbed quietly while it was being done but not a peep afterward.

What a brave little guy!

And a special great big THANK YOU to the Cook staff (Dr, nurses, registration, etc.). They are so great with kids and turned a potentially scary situation into one of the best "hospital" visits I've ever had. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And God bless you!

7 Quick Takes Friday

Trying to get back on the ball, here are my 7 Quick Takes.

--1--

I really don't like storms, and it is rather difficult to get a cranky toddler back to sleep when I yank him out of his bed scared to death of the tornado siren and what it means and then find out that the tornado was several miles south and we're just getting a bit of rain and wind.

--2--

This week has been a half-hearted attempt at cleaning up my office. Stuff is mostly organized, but it still looks like chaos.

--3--

I feel so sorry for my family that lives in western Washington. There has been a nasty record-breaking heat wave up there for the last couple of weeks and I doubt any of them have A/C. Here in Texas A/C is a must, in Washington...not so much.

--4--

Dairy Queen's Tagalong Blizzards are delicious. 'nuff said.

--5--

I am so tired of the drama going on in TEC. In addition I am sick of liberal bitchiness and whining in general, whether it has to do with GLBTQRSWHATEVER, the Obamessiah, environmentalnazis, etc. The list of businesses one should boycott to show disapproval of them spending money on immoral causes is so long now I don't even remember which way is up. Conversely, I'm getting tired of hearing from ultra-conservatives how I'm supposed to live my life. Can I crawl into a cave now?

--6--

Wow, I must be in a funk right now. Maybe it has something to do with George first getting his thumb stuck in a toy and getting the first layer of skin ripped off getting it out and then a few minutes later falling down the stairs. Poor thing has had a rough morning. The picture below is post-thumb first-aid and stair-falling and even shows a glimpse of those evil stairs...

--7--

Speaking of George, I shall end on a super-positive note. He pooped in his potty on Wednesday! I'm sure before I realize it he will be potty trained and off to college. Such a smart kid. :D

Being a Mommy is Rewarding

You know you're doing something right when the child who has resisted being read to his entire short life so far walks over to the bookshelf, grabs "Kitten's First Full Moon" (borrowed from the library) and tries to climb into your lap so you can read to him. Of course he still wanted to turn the pages before I could finish reading them but he wanted me to read to him! I think I almost started to cry.

Maybe we can get into a routine now of reading a bedtime story together every night?

Another sign of his development that brings joy to my heart is his recognition of body parts. It used to be that he knew where his nose and belly-button were but asked where any other body part was and that little pudgy finger would go right back to the tip of his nose! Now he knows where his mouth and eyes are and is even getting "ears" right about half the time.

On a side note, the cutest thing happened today. We were getting ready to drive to Dairy Queen (Tagalong Blizzard = absolute yum!) when Sean asked George to "go tell Mommy that it's time to go." George walked down the hallway, stopped in the doorway of the playroom where my computer is, and proudly told me "Ah bababoo. Pfffffaba boo." He then turned around and walked back to Sean who stood there slack-jawed in amazement for a moment.

Ain't that something?

Libraries are Great!

George and I made our first trip to the local library this morning. Since moving in almost a year ago, I finally quit being lazy and went. On Wednesday mornings during the summer, the library offers a "storytime" for children ages 0-5. I have now discovered that this is a great opportunity to get us out of the house and *gasp* interact with other people. As a plus, I also got a library card.

I keep forgetting how rewarding libraries are and as a consequence I don't get out to them very often. However, the nearest branch is super kid-friendly and have the nicest librarians I have ever run across. When we lived in Dallas we would occasionally go to the local branch nearest our apartment and I always felt awkward bringing an infant, even one as quiet as George. It didn't help that we seemed to always get the "evil eye" from the librarian at the front desk.

At the branch nearest our home I felt very welcome. George is a bit noisier now that he's a toddler, and has a tendency to want to run off. I didn't get a single disapproving look! In fact, some of the other patrons, mostly other "storytime" goers, offered sympathetic smiles and even greeted George. What a difference it is to feel welcomed. I am becoming more and more convinced that we made a good choice in buying a home in this area.

Splinters

I am posting this from my phone, so please forgive me for the brevity.

This post is a question for mommies of toddlers...Do you have tips for removing nearly invisible splinters from your toddler's foot?

Poor George had a shard of glass in the ball of his foot from a minor accident involving a drinking glass and the floor and Sean had to hold him down so I could dig it out. We gave him some baby Tylenol beforehand but he was clearly in a lot of pain and squirmed like crazy.

Tips?

7 Quick Takes Friday

Okay, I'm jumping on the Quick Takes wagon starting today, thanks to Jen from Conversion Diary.

1. A pizza slicer is great for cutting toddler-sized pieces of sandwiches, especially grilled cheese. This handy tool makes lunch prep a breeze. Just make sure the sandwich has been properly smushed. A sandwich is no good unless smushed.

2. I spent the last two weeks without getting on my computer. Although I have stayed connected via my new 'net-capable phone, I have noticed that life really does exist outside of the interwebs.

3. The time I normally spend online has been spent on a couple of projects. The first is a dollhouse that my mother bought for me as a child and never got around to building.


4. The other project is an entertainment center and mantel for our living room. Progress has been made since this picture was taken and is nearing completion.


5. I want to meet the genius who created Crayola Color Wonder products. George loves the finger paints and markers and I love that there is no mess besides slightly sticky hands after fingerpainting. Plus, all Crayola products are non-toxic!

6. Fresh homemade guacamole is super easy to make and tastes great. After spending a weekend in Comanche, my friend Melisa showed me how to make it and I decided to try it out last night. If only avocados weren't so pricey!

Super Easy Guac:
2 ripe avocados
a couple of squirts of lemon juice
1/2 ripe tomato, diced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
approximately a tablespoon of chives
approximately a tablespoon of dried cilantro
Mush avocados in a bowl with a fork, add other ingredients, mix thoroughly. Serve with chips. The only non-fresh ingredient I used was dried cilantro since I couldn't find fresh at the grocery store.

7. Speaking of our trip to Comanche, we spent the morning of the 13th in Dublin snacking on free Dr. Pepper birthday cake, free milk, and of course...free Dublin Dr. Pepper! Yes, I brought back cake and frosting mix for Dublin Dr. Pepper cake. And a couple of cases of Dublin Dr. Pepper.

Mommyblogging

Ack, what is a "Mommyblog" without some mommyblogging? I think I need to take this blog in a whole new direction, or at least get it back on track. Lets see if I can get a good thing going here.

For this purpose, I will start with a 7 Quick Takes since today is Friday.