Aging in the snow.

I am from the north. If you are reading my blog, you know this. So 6 to 10 inches of snow is no big deal. I know from my experience in television news that the snow storm that is "100% coming", is probably going to shut down many small communities and much of Oklahoma City. However, the amount of snow it dumps will likely only be 2 to 3 inches. On my scale that is the same as driving on dry roads. On the Oklahoma scale it is worthy of closing schools and sending all non essential employees home for the day.

This storm was supposed to start yesterday . . . then it was pushed back to overnight . . . then it was pushed back to this morning . . . now it has been pushed back to noon and go through the evening. All we have seen of this storm so far has been wind. Lots of cold wind. Of course that isn't unusual for Oklahoma to see wind but yesterday right around closing time (in small towns that is 5:30) the WalMart (one of only three grocery stores in town) was packed to the brim. In case one might wonder if these shoppers were persons hitting the store last minute for presents for the holiday let me assure you, there were no and I mean no gallon size containers of water on the shelf. Which means people are preparing for a catergory 4 hurricane that could cause damage and leave people without services and food for months for a snow storm that, at best, will close the Safeway a little early today.

It isn't hard to panic the public down here, with stories of impending doom. That is why the weather men are the highest paid talent at the news stations. They do a good job of selling water. Of course the only time you should really panic is if you notice that a huge volume of old people are shopping for supplies and staples. These people are barometers. Their bones tell them if the storm is really coming or not so when they get the feeling they head to the store and pick up a few things. I do feel like I am starting to slide on that slope a little. Yesterday, my right knee was aching. If the pain magnifies witht he intensity of the storm I could understand why so many elderly people retire in Florida.

For now, though, I will just have to accept that I am getting older and my body is going to start telling me to do stuff when it used to be the other way around. Merry Christmas to all my friends and family.

Dreams...Part ?

I had just sold a house. I am walking through a two story victorian bequeathed to me through the passing of my grandfather. There are french doors off the library - that has no books. The french doors exit to a garden area where, if you were watching a Hollywood movie you would see a handler walking with two muzzled german pinschers. Obviously this would be a foreshadowing of a sticky security predicament. In this dream there are no security dogs. I can see through the ivy covered trellis like fence out on to the street and wonder about how safe this place really is. If it would be a concern to potential buyers. Bad things happen, even in good neighborhoods.

The day is an overcast and misty day. The sun is trying to burn off the mist to no avail. The dark clouds begin to take over the remaining light and I head back inside without particular urgency. Once inside, I am aware of a light on in a part of the house I had heard described as the servants dining area. It is attached to the kitchen. Traditionally there would have been a heavy wooden swinging door there as much to separate the noise of the kitchen as to mark the class of the people on either side. My grandfather had taken it down. He's never had servants. I had never known him to be more than a modest man so this home he lived in alone, surprised me. It is extravagant for a modest man. Two stories? That is so unlike him. It is very unlike me.

I hear the thunder and the crack of the lightening. I can tell the sky ouside has rained down in volumes unseen in a while.

I was thinking about selling this place. It was sort of just given to me with out much pretense. I am here to evaluate it and see if work needs to be done. As I move through these two rooms, I know that there is another floor above me and still many more rooms to see. The thought of selling it leaves my mind as I think about what it would take to maintain the lawn. I wonder if and where the tools to do so would have been left. I decide they were probably taken when the books were taken at the passing of my grandfather. I would have to invest in some more tools.

I hear dripping begin in the hallway or foyer, I am not sure which architectual descriptor to attach to the space. I choose to ignore it even though I know that more water will be coming through the ceiling. I should be finding pots and pans and whatever else might still be around to catch the water but I see the space in which I am standing was used most recently as a home office and is piled with clutter. Ignoring the bigger obvious problem, I start to sort and separate the clutter. Trying to throw out all things that are unnecessary, I scan each blank paper carefully so as to not miss something useful. Hours I am at this and making no headway. Either the room is getting larger or the clutter is multiplying like tribbles. Meanwhile, I look over to the hallway and I see the leaks need attention in a serious way. More water is coming through than before and I know if it continues it will cause structural damage that will be very costly to restore. For some reason I cannot let go of the clutter that is burying the room. Finally, I decide there is never going to be an end to the clutter and that it is not the more pressing need. As I step over unwritten letters and blank papers and junk and trash to get to the doorway of the kitchen, all I can think is, "fix your leaky house."

As we were performing our morning routine on Friday, X picked up her rubber duckie and said, "wasis". (That'd be what's this for those of you with out kids.) I told her "duckie". She repeated, "duckie". I, as a mom, was tickled that she repeated. Since she has been doing that and will be doing that I didn't think much of it.

So I take her to school for half the day. Then I bring her back to the office as I wasn't quite finished with what I was doing when I had to go get her. We are walking down the hall, we pass the door of one of my coworkers. He has an impressive display of wildlife oriented things and part of that display is a pair of duck decoys. She looks in his office as we start to pass his door and she spots them and hollers "duckie". She runs in picks them up by the bill and proceeds to carry them down the hall.

As you can see there is a big difference between these duckies and her rubber duckie at home. I mean the rubber duckie has a pacifier in it's mouth. She still recognized a duck shape and that is what impresses me. Now I will have to help her be able to identify different duck species because . . .

It obviously inspired these to appear anonymously on my desk this morning. These are 3T but it is never too early to get kids interested in the outdoors. Incidentally, I took a short tour of a gun shop here in town and they have a couple of rifles that are made for children that will fit these pants. I think it is possible to teach children this young about gun safety and how to hunt and shoot. The guns I saw in the store had pink handles and otherwise looked like toys. They were not toys. If I am going to get a gun for my kid, it had better look like a fire arm so there are no mistakes. Also there will not be any toys that are gun shaped in my house. We don't play with guns because guns are serious business. My parents would both be proud, though, if she was an accurate shot by 5.

Two posts ago . . .

How is this for, well, I don't know if it is considered irony or not.

Two posts ago I tell about a dream I had meeting an uncle I was vaguely aware of and today I find out that my mother has connected with two uncles I am pretty sure I never even heard about.

Weird. But my family is now two people bigger than I thought. Cool.

What she says. . .

I was ecstatic when I was sure I heard Xyla's first word. I tried not to get a big head and think that it was a status report but it's hard not to when that first word is "happy". It reminds me of a joke about a horse. Ask me, I will tell you sometime.

So much of language is about mimicking words and then learning what those words mean - or vice versa. There is a theory in philosophy that centers entirely on the concept of how we learn what we learn. I won't bore you with the details but it was a fascinating class no matter what grade I got.

I was puttering around the house and trying to do something that resembles cleaning when Xyla looked me dead in the face, extended her arm with her first finger straight up in the air (palm facing me and her other fingers balled in a fist). She shook the finger back and forth and says with all seriousness, "no, no, no, no, no." I laughed. I laughed almost as hard as when I found out she was trying to undress herself. I have never done that to her so I know she didn't get it at home. She didn't pick it up from her grandma's house. I figured it was probably something she'd learned at daycare.

We went to a birthday party on Saturday where all the daycare workers attended and I brought it up with the owner. I told her Xyla does this all the time now. She says, "we haven't ever had to tell her no. But sometimes Bob (who's party it was) is a little rough with her so we have to tell him "no, no".

Let this be my lesson that any and every thing I say can be locked in that little mind and come spilling out, whenever.

and then . . .

WEIRD DREAM WARNING!

It was night. I was sitting in a borrow pit (ditch to those of you who didn't grow up in the valley) with an old mexican style lap blanket I was trying to pull all around me because it was starting to get cold. I could get it around my shoulders but not to meet up in the middle and I was tugging and pulling as best I could when a car, dark in color - maybe the color of bondo, or dark grey matte spray paint. The headlights shone in my eyes blocking my vision of who ever was inside. A younger guy opens the door and is leaning into the crook in the door.

He says, "Hey, let me help you. I've been homeless before and I know how it feels to be where you are at."

Leery, I calmly ask him what time it is. He says he doesn't know. I tell him, "thank you for trying to help but I am ok, really."

He gets very angry that I have rejected his offer. Anyone who gets mad when you refuse their offer to help isn't there to help you. He gets into his car and slams the door. He yells out the window, "you have to do something about your hair, that's the only reason I saw you."

I know that my hair is platinum blond and I think seriously about what I might look like as a brunette. I look up at the moon and time passes. Next thing I am aware of is standing with Liz at the bus stop. (Liz is a woman who works in my HR department - if we were both homeless, I would want to be homeless around her, no matter what kind of day she is having she just has one of those personalities that makes you glad you saw her today.) At any rate, Liz and I get on the bus and it turns left into a little village area. I tell her and a third part of our party about what had happened the night before.

When I got to the part about asking the time a Liz asked, "What did he say?"

I told her, "He said he didn't know. I mean what self-respecting homeless person can't look at the moon and tell you exactly what time it is."

Since everything had changed (I don't know exactly what changed) it had become common to revert to the way things used to be before technology. I knew the guy was lying to me because it was a basic skill to know what time it was at night based on the distance between the moon and the north star. It was around 1 am. That man had intended to hurt me but I knew he wouldn't if I didn't get into his car.

I started formulating a plan. A plan to be able to use my apartment again. I had an apartment but I couldn't use it unless I paid the daily fee. Every third day or so (which was kind of the weekend) I would be able to get in to shower ect. I had a plan but I needed a roommate so I was trying to enlist the help of Liz. She didn't seem too keen on the idea. I appealed to her sense of safety and she gave me the "I'll think about it" brush off.

The bus stopped and everyone got off and went inside a dimly lit building. It was like going into a night club in the middle of the day. I was behind Liz and the other woman. An older gentleman caught my elbow and I started to just walk on by. He had a scraggly red and grey beard and the wiry red and grey hair to match. It was short, the beard that is. He did have a head full of hair but I knew he was older than that. I wasn't attracted to him, though I knew he was trying to get "that sort" of attention from me. I walked two steps past him and figured it wouldn't be a bad thing to have someone else buy my first drink.

I took the two steps back and said hello. He began, "I am a preacher from Slidell, Louisiana. My family isn't from there they are from Cody, Wyo." Instantly I knew he was my great, great uncle.

I told him, "Well then you need to stop talking to me right now for two reasons."

"Why is that?" he asked.

"Cody, Wyoming is a really small town and there ain't but one red headed family that's from there." Even as the words came out of my mouth I knew how 'old west' they sounded but it was one way to let him know I was familiar.

"How do you know that?" He asked.

I said, "and that would be the other reason, I am related to them." I immediately began trying to recall my mother's maiden name. The weird thing being the red headed part of the family didn't have her maiden family name but he knew who I was talking about when I finally blurted it out. I told him, "That'd make you my great, great uncle."

We started carrying on in the wake of an unexpected family reunion. As I left my uncle he hollered after me, "I'll send you a tropicana on your first tray." I went to sit with Liz and the other woman. I started to tell them what had just happened half expecting them to make fun of me for getting hit on by my own relative but they weren't responding to anything I was saying . . .

How are you liking Oklahoma? Part 3

A word about water in Oklahoma. Knowing that there isn't any natural body of water in Oklahoma it should come as no surprise that water conservation and water quality are two high priorities. The following picture was taken by one of my co-workers at the Watts WMA. It is part of a partnership program to bring even more fishing opportunities to the state. As a result of the land rush very little of Oklahoma is publicly owned. The only way to acquire new lands is for people to donate their properties back to public use. We will talk about how oil impacts decisions to donate land in a future post.

Back on water though . . .

We have pictures here at the office of most of the larger lakes in this state being "made". Oklahoma is a good place to study the engineering of waterways, if you are into that sort of thing. Managing water to sustain wildlife and managing riperian areas. If you are into those sort of things this is kind of an exciting place. It kind of makes me laugh though when I interview fisheries biologists who say such and such species is "not a native species to Oklahoma". I think to myself, "that would pretty much cover all Oklahoma fish species wouldn't it?" Nonetheless, I have seen species of fish that I wouldn't think would be fresh water oriented. Florida strain Largemouth Bass are the biggest sportfish to go after. I have also seen 75 lb catfish that men catch with their hands. (Noodlin' - never heard of it? That's ok because it is only legal in Oklahoma now anyway - google it it's worth the adventure). When you get to looking at a fish that size you realize that is a 75 lb muscle these guys are arm wrestling with. My friend Lesley, you wouldn't think it to look at her but she's a noodler too. That in addition to rattle snake hunter. This woman has amazing depth to her character.
I just thought I would throw in another land scape picture here. This is otherwise known as a mountainous area in Oklahoma. (In the east part of the state there are some actual mountains but it's not like your ears pop when you crest the summit so still they aren't that tall.)

I am currently on a campaign to get this particular co-worker to put together some work that can be displayed in the halls in our building. The posters that are there now are as old as the building and since he is an amazing photographer I think he should be able to leave some sort of legacy here. I think I have finally talked to the right person about it. Hopefully we will see some stuff going up in the hall soon. More amazing that what you see here and as he chooses which he will put up I will get copies so you can see.

What you can't really see in the above picture is the shed/house/falling structure. I know this sort of thing happens everywhere but I would think it would behoove a person to tear these structures down. They are a random hazard out in the middle of nowhere. But then I have to remember some of these structures are the original homesteads. How cool to look at a building that was probably here before Oklahoma was even a state. There are still people alive today who lived here before it was a state. That just blows my mind.

And you thought I was kidding.

This is the full body harness I just bought for Xyla. She is only 16 months but it would be a shame not to encourage her natural fearlessness and her unfeigning interest in climbing everything that will hold still and sometimes things that don't.

Honestly, what do you teach a 16 month old to signify needing to be let down? I suppose they have some solution for that at the climbing gym. Off to our first adventure, as soon as this arrives.

Remember this?

I ripped this off an MSN article on brands that disappeared quickly. I used to be a Dr. Pepper fan almost exclusively until this came out. I started drinking it just because it had my name on it. I figured if someone else put theirs down I could pick it up and when they gave me "that look" I could say, "sorry, it has my name on it. I thought it was mine."

Baby Proofing 101

What I have read in baby/parenting magazines about babyproofing your home has always seemed absurd. I mean picking up stuff on the floor and putting in their mouth is the way babies learn about stuff. I am drawn to the fact that things need to be safe for our kids but sometimes the stuff they come up with is over board. So I have limited it down to the three basics of baby proofing:

Toilet lock: serves the basic purpose of closing off the only standing water element in your home, as in your baby could drown here, it also keeps the baby from playing in the toilet water when they slip out of your eye sight. Some babies just like water.

Cabinet lock: really only necessary on the cabinets that have poisons in them. Put all your poisons in one cabinet and you'll only have to get one set.

Stove safety: and this one is free. Those knobs come off so take them off and the baby (if a climber and a helper - discussion later) will not be able to accidentally turn the stove on. You only need one and guess what, they are interchangeable.

The only other saftey thing I feel is necessary is a garbage with a lid, at least until you can convince the baby that what goes in the garbage should not come out (unless of course it's mommy's keys she just put in there).

Obviously the climbing is not just a stage. Next month we are working to acquire two things, a full body harness that adjusts down to her size and another thing I am not ready to talk about yet.

As far as milestones she is learning to dress (put her shoes on - and she always picks two shoes that match and puts them on the right feet - I didn't teach her to do that, I am proud though.) . . .
. . and undress herself. Somedays this is easier than others. She squealed from the other room and then walked past me very quickly and this is what I saw. I laughed so hard she scowled at me - that is a look she has been working on.

It is a grueling tale that takes to much effort to recount. Lets just leave it at she loves this bike. In my next post I will tell you why we got it but for now . . . there is a baby seat that mounts in the middle. I like that idea because if a car hits us from behind there is me between her and the car, somehow that just makes me feel better. We got the bike home and had to adjust the baby seat so I had to have her try it out. Then she picked up some tools and made some of her own "adjustments". While she was asleep for a nap the air went out of the tire rather quickly. I had to take the rear tire off to check the tube and there was a puncture. I haven't even ridden it yet. I was disappointed. I used a repair kit to fix it and a new hole was punctured through the patch. I checked the rim and a piece was seated wrong in rim and exposed the spoke connectors which popped the tire. When she woke up and saw the tire off she acted like I had mutilated her friend. I think it's safe to say she likes the bike, however, I will be at Academy Sports for lunch today.

Those parenting magazines also tell you right around now is a good age to have your kids help you cook. She is interested but it's hard to keep her from touching the burners when they are on. She is really good at following my directions when I tell her to put something in something else, I'll just have to slide her ladder around the corner in the future so she can't reach the pots.

Hey did I tell you we ditched the high chair? Yep, they have been setting her at the table to eat at the day care for a while now so I decided to find her a table and chairs that were her height. She is diggin' it. The new version of this "Dora the Explorer" table is $50 at that baby store. We picked it up for $20 at Burlington. It helps you bargain with them if you know what the going price is. Her Dora push button doll got new batteries last night so Dora was saying, "count with me". And proceeded to count in Spanish and she tried very hard to repeat quatro, it sounded close to me.
I am not sure if this is the time in her life where I need to tell her life isn't about filling someone elses shoes, it's finding a comfortable pair to help you blaze your own path in life. Still it makes me feel good that she wants to wear something of mine.

How are you liking Oklahoma? Part 2

To give you an idea of where I came from lets start with what was right outside my front door.

This is the Grover bridge. Also known as the set out point for the salt river float, the fish/boating access, and generic swimming hole. The driveway to the house I grew up in is just to the left of this photograph. My dog used to steal fish from the fishermen. We used to lay on the road way after jumping in the river (because that water is so stinking cold, even in the summer). We had horses and the dogs, we were a mile from our neighbors in either direction and it was a great place to grow up.

Then there is this. This is the city of Afton's water source. A natural artesian well that quite frankly is the best water I have ever tasted. Anywhere. Along with the springs comes a hike that makes you feel good inside. There are so many places to hike here that you will never get bored. The top of each trail is an amazing view that is definitely worth the climb.

I am going to make an assumption here and I am willing to be wrong but I really don't think I am. This is the Elk refuge. It is an area where you can't hunt because well, that'd be like shooting sitting ducks but this is how you know those stinkers are out there. It has been said by many a hunter that the one that got away bounded off with a copy of the regs in their back pocket.

As spring turns to fall this is what you get. It really doesn't matter what direction you turn, you have a great view.

When winter hits (for about nine months) there is still a plethora of things to do. Not the least of which is cross country (uphill) skiing at the south end. I can't wait to take the baby here.

When I look at these pictures I borrowed off the Star Valley facebook fan page I do get all nostalgic and I wonder why it is we left. I was unhappy growing up for one reason or another but those reasons seem to melt away when I see where I am now. So when you ask me how I am liking Oklahoma and I say "it's ok." I am just trying to be nice. You wouldn't understand if I tried to explain to you where I am from and why I will never feel about flat the way I do about the mountains. If you aren't from there you just won't get it.

Blessings in disguise.

This post is to say that when God puts on your heart that you are to do something for him that he will make sure it is within your means to do so. Johova Jireh. Our church selects an Oklahoma City elementary school to "adopt" and buy all of the school supplies for. They type up the sheet of the needs and like "Angel Tree" you go pick up the stuff and bring it back. It really feels good to do this with the baby and talk to her even from a young age about why we are doing this and why it is important to do so.

Last year's list wasn't too extensive and ran right around $30 for all of the items. That didn't hurt to do it, it was more a matter of finding the right things. The school was specific about the brand of items. This year I picked up a list and didn't look at it until I got into the car. 4 boxes of 24 crayons, 4 boxes of markers, 8 glue sticks. My first thought was . . . when I was in grade school I didn't even use one whole glue stick how could they possibly . . . I stopped myself right there. These are things they said they needed and I picked up the list because I feel like I am supposed to. There are things on there that at face value are kind of pricey. I can see how someone could easily spend $100 on the items on that list. So I say praise God for small blessings.

at 1.99 each pack are the glue sticks on the right ($8 worth) on the right are 4 packs of 24 crayola crayons (self described as "the ones teachers prefer") ringing in at 2.99 a pack. Total paid for all of it? $1.69.

Now let me tell you how God is thinking about things even before you do.

I got home yesterday and got the weekly flier for the neighborhood grocery store. I have their discount card and I tell you it is worth it's weight in gold every now and then. In the flier they are advertising certain type of school and office supplies for 30% off and tucked into the corner is the part that is supposed to draw you in. 4 packs of crayons for $1.00 next to 5 packs of 2 count glue sticks for $1.00 (of course the list only specifies 8 glue sticks so I only needed 4 packs of 2 count glue sticks). I live two blocks from an elementary school so even though the flier had just come out I didn't expect there to be any crayons because I live in a neighborhood where you have to get up early (and I mean early) to suss out the values. I had to go for milk and thought I'd check it out and there weren't any just as I had suspected. They did have the glue sticks so I went ahead and got those.

Fast forward to today. I got my report back from the county extension office about "what's in my dirt" with a report that I will probably have a pretty easy time growing my grass this fall. I had some questions so I called and one question in particular garnered a plug for Horn Seed Company. I used to know where that was. That is the problem with living in a big city, things change so fast it's hard to keep up. So I headed over to where the building used to be and on my way find another in the chain of grocery stores like the one in my neighborhood. Some of those fliers advertise prices in one store but not another but I figured I could make a two-fer stop and see if they had the crayons at the ad price and pick up lunch from the deli. The seed company has moved so that was a waste of a left turn but I trucked back over to that store and checked the office supply aisle first. They had the crayons . . . they had the crayons for the price in the flier. They were so going home in my little shopping bag. I picked up lunch and the crayons all for under $6, so there are some things McDonalds can't do for you.

All in all I don't consider it a waste of time that I drove all the way to the south side to find seeds to sow and I will get to sow an even better seed in my daughter, the one of giving. Even if the task seems impossible . . . God will make a way.

How are you liking Oklahoma? Part 1

This is a question I get all the time that I will break down into parts. Part 1:

Scratch the surface of Oklahoma and you will find red dirt. There were places in Tennessee that had some red dirt but I'll tell you Oklahoma bleeds with it. It is a clay like soil and when it gets wet is very heavy. A little grass cover is not going to help with erosion-let's put it that way. A brief history of this state is it started with a gun shot. Literally. That is also why it is called "The Sooner State". People lined up around the boarders and when the gun went off they made a dash to claim land with their little flags in hand. Some of the unscrupulous ones got out there "sooner" than they were supposed to. It was originally intended to be a "black" state. They were going to ship the southern black people here they way they did with the native american tribes (this is the end of the trail of tears - more about that later). But another black substance changed all that (also will talk about that later).

With tried and true methods of cultivation these homesteaders began to grow crops. During the depression it was obvious that something was wrong. Farmers all over the northwestern part of the state had plowed up all of the native grasses. Everyone plows their fields at the same time and there was nothing holding the dirt in place. One of the seriously under utilized natural resources that Oklahoma should be the lead in developing is wind. The wind picked up and carried all of the surface level of Oklahoma to the doorstep of congress (see references to 'Black Sunday' if you search Dust Bowl).

Some of what I do at work is to help promote programs that help farmers to use farming techniques that prevent this from happening again. There are more deciduous trees in Oklahoma. The ones they plant are generally ones that grow big roots and instead of finding them in groves or blankets of forest, you generally find them in rows along fence lines. If you are paying attention you'll realize this is as a wind break to help keep the fertile soil from blowing away. Not everyone does this kind of preventative maintenance (a tornado will rip one of those trees out and send it through your window) so you get a flat view almost all the way to Iowa. I used to tell people I could hit a live shot from Dallas if I had to because it is so flat. People who don't work in tv don't understand that reference but just know, that is flat.

When you ask a person from the Northwest how they are liking Oklahoma there is a one word answer that is very loaded and that is "flat". Which also means red dusty, hot, and lacking shade.

I don't know how many parts of this there will be so please stay tuned . . .

I have been baptized . . .

My sister will get a kick out of this.

Last evening I go to pick up my daughter. I had 3 important things that needed to get done and that was the first of the three. Lately she has been putting off leaving the daycare because she wants to play with this toy or show me what she learned from this show or some other such thing. I pick her up, chat with the workers about the day she's had. I look at her sheet and see that she only ate 25% of her lunch. For the last two weeks she has been eating everything that has been put in front of her and more so a 25% lunch report is odd. It's not the first time something has been odd in her pattern but I blew it off an hoped that meant she would eat her dinner.

I walked her out to the car and plopped her down in her car seat as usual. I reached around and clipped the chest piece of her harness together. I clipped in the left side of her lap belt. I clipped in the right side of her lap belt and it was like I hit the button on Ol' Faithful. Pink curdled stuff came spewing out of my daughter and into her lap. The fortunate think is it was more of a gush than a projectile vomit but still I wondered what she'd had that was pink.

We still had about 10 to 15 minutes to get to the house, she was covered, her chair was covered and I have never been able to deal with the smell of expelled stomach contents. Which is why my sister would have paid money to see this all go down. When we were kids she would always have to clean up after me because I couldn't handle it. It has been the event she has been waiting for to see me deal with as a mom because she knows my history, intimately.

I didn't know quite what to do. I unbuckled her seat belt and took off her shirt and tried to clean her up as best as possible with the extra t-shirt I had tucked in a safe place just in case. I clipped her back in to her seat. I could have gone back in and asked for a change of clothes I left there for her but the seat was still covered so I'd only be getting more stuff drenched in "it". I decided to open the windows and b-line it home.

When we got there I didn't even think twice before I picked her up, chunks and all. As I saw it there was no way to get out of this with out getting some on me so I might as well dive in. I dragged her car seat inside as well. She was still trying to drink fluids and eat fish crackers but everything that went down came back up 10 to 15 minutes after it went down. I felt so bad for her. I remember how scary it was to be sick as a kid. Fortunately she probably won't remember this but unfortunately it won't be the last time. Every thing that came up, consequently, found it's way down the front of my shirt and gathered in my cleavage. (Not that I have much cleaved there but that is another story for another time.) After a while the contents were narrowed down to just water or watery juice.

Her tummy was so sour that she wasn't able to fall asleep for a long time. Finally around 9pm I prayed that God would settle her tummy enough that she could go to sleep. She drifted off. She woke up two more times, once ralfing on her bed sheets so I laid her on my bed for a while. The next time she woke up we made it to the tub. I could tell she was ready to be done with puking. I gave her her some water and as I gave it to her I prayed, "Lord, you are the God of healing, if you can make the deaf hear and the blind see I know that you can settle the stomach of this small child. I have faith that you will place your hand on her and make her tummy still."

She didn't wake up or throw up the rest of the night. All I can say is it may not be parting the red sea but it is God showing even the smallest of those he loves that he will be faithful to heal them. And showing their mommys he will answer prayers, even in the middle of the night.

I have been thinking about roses. I planted some earlier this year and now they seem to be doing well. I get new buds all the time.

But the Rose I have been thinking about lately is Xyla's aunt. She will be having a baby soon and has asked me to shoot and design her invitations for the baby shower. I am trying to find a way to incorporate this picture. Stay tuned . . .

How have I not known this all my life?

Other than the weedy habitat in my back yard and my general dislike for the little jerks, I admit my knowledge of mosquitoes is limited to "only the females bite" "carriers of several deadly diseases" and "need standing water to hatch their eggs".  

I have eliminated all of the standing water that sits long enough to collect larve (dog dish is changed daily so it doesn't count).  I have hacked down the jungle in my back yard and still I have a healthy population of skeeters at my house.

I would love to blame it on my neighbors who haven't done anything about their weedy back yard either but I can't.  After doing some research it turns out that mosquitoes eat 10x more nectar than they do blood.  They only need blood for reproduction.  So I have yet another reason to attempt to irradicate that lovely flowering menacing vine in my yard.  I am not attached to having humming birds in my yard, I could take them or leave them but the same flower that attracts them also is the food source for my unfriendly yard guests.

It is really hard to get rid of this vine because it reproduces so quickly.  Apparently you have to continually cut it down to the ground and put round up on the cut ends.  Hopefully this will only take a few years worth of applications because the stinking vine is everywhere in my yard.

If no vines means no mosquitoes then guess what I will be doing Saturday with all the other yard work.  

My 15 month old . . .

At 15 months of age my little girl can:

-climb 3 steep stairs with out help

-put her bike helmet on her head

-says "circle" and "shoes" and can identify both

-says yes as often as she says no

-likes hot dogs, string cheese and cereal

-goes to sleep with out much of a fight

-throws away diapers in the trash

-washes everything with wipes, even herself

-loves to play in water

-prefers to bathe in the running faucet rather than sit down in the tub to scrub

-washes herself

-can execute the blowing part of "blowing kisses"

-wears sunglasses for almost 10 seconds

-has 3 3/4 teeth

-tolerates nail trimming

-doesn't get too rattled by schedule changes

-climbs her high chair

-eats a wide variety of food but never the same thing two days in a row

-has a purse with contents of a card, a cell phone, and her sunglasses.

-wears size 5 shoes

- is 20lb 5 oz and 31 inches tall

-is well known for being a happy baby

-gives flibberts

-is just starting to try to wrestle out of her diaper during changes

-loves to be outside

-thinks tooth brushing is fun

-only gives her mommy kisses sometimes

-isn't afraid to pet a dog just of the dog's large head when it is pointed in her direction

-likes the motorcycle ride at the mall

- knows how and is willing to share

-says "thank you" but has not quite grasped the concept of "please"

-Favorite thing to say . . . "uh, oh"

-started using a pacifier because her friend Bob does

-while trying to help mommy make sandwiches she gets out the mayonaise and the jelly.

-still uses a bottle

-favorite song "Little Xyla Has a Farm"

-sings "eee-i-eeee-i-oooo" at the appropriate time

-favorite movie "Barn Yard"

-just picked her first "lovey" and it's name is "monkey butt".

-is suprisingly obedient

- makes some of her own boundaries that she won't cross

-has good problem solving skills for a 1 year old

-might have allergies that will be with her for life

-dances in circles

Updating my world . . .

When ever we go to Granny's house X gets to sit in these little plastic adriondak chairs her cousins got. She loved them immediately because they are exactly her size. Knowing that the wood ones from Pottery Barn Kids are expensive I was trying to put off getting her a chair. Her aunt told me she thought they had been bought at Toys R Us. I had nothing else to do so I decided to brave the toy store. We checked out the prices of so many things. She seemed to like the lego's more for the noise they make in the box they come in. She was completely into the little trikes they had but she is still slightly too short for that so we had to leave it at a short ride around the store. But she also found this little plastic chair. It is slightly too big for her to just "sit" in but she really loves it. She uses it as a wheel barrow. She backs it up to the couch so she can climb into it without it bucking her out. And I caught her standing on it while she was engrossed with "Nacho Libre". Before you get after me for allowing my child to watch a movie about Luchadore wrestling let me express to you that I am all for good clean fun but I push the classics too. That last shot is her trying to read "Tom Sawyer".

X discovered canteloupe. She liked it so much that she was trying to dig it out by hand before I had a chance to scoop out more with the spoon.

I got around to a project I have been thinking about picking up the hardware for for a while. I have been trying to find drawer pulls for this dresser that was given to us for the baby's room. After trips to Home Depot and Lowe's I found that there are not drawer pulls commercially produced that are long enough for the space between holes on this piece of furniture. I had to pick up 8 individual pulls for the four drawers that needed something done with them and soon. The bottom picture there is what the old pulls looked like thus why they needed an upgrade. I was smart about it though and used the knowledge I gained from the summer I worked for a construction company and used some lock-tite bolt glue to keep the knobs from becoming loose because of use. I can still get them undone with tools if I need to but I don't see that being necessary.

Ok the next two are out of order. This is my jar of dirt on it's way to the dirt lab. That is, on the way to the county extension office.

I bought a book from the half price book store about what you need to know about starting a lawn from scratch. One of the things they recommend is taking a dirt sample to the county extension office to find out if you need to augment your soil to give your lawn the best chance to grow. I called the master gardeners and they said to collect the sample you should dig down at least six inches and put samples from this depth in a bucket, you need samples from several areas in your yard since different parts can have different issues. You stir up the dirt and put a sample in a glass jar (mason or otherwise). I used an old washed out 16 oz. mayo jar and it was plenty for a sample. I took it in and paid $10 and will get to know in a couple of weeks: what is "in" my yard and what I can do to give my grass seed project for this fall the best chance to work. I am kind of excited. For me right now it is more nerve wracking that waiting for a report card since I am sure nothing healthy has grown in my yard, probably in 10 years or more.

As you know from a previous post some of my projects got relegated to back seat status because of what I am going to talk about next. See my neighbors had this garage that has structural damage and is a hazard to . . . probably the whole neighborhood. They finally had a company come in and tear it down. The way things go in this state I thought it would be a two day process, one day to come down and one for clean up. I came home Friday evening and found they had done it all in one shot and exceeded my expectations when it came to the clean up. You'd never know they had a garage. It created a huge problem for me though. It left this huge hole in my fence as when they put the fence up they neglected to put anything where the rear wall of the garage stood. Fortunately my immediate neighbor had the sense to let me know when they told her the she was going to come down. I had supplies delivered that afternoon and the process was started the next day. Unfortunately for the dog he had to be on the back porch for two days while the work was being done. After a discussion as to whether the 2x4's should face in or out, since my back yard sports fencing that goes either direction, we got it done before noon on Sunday. I have had to take measures in other parts of the yard to keep the dog from digging under the fence but the cement slab here is going to be effective for that purpose and he hasn't even tried to start digging. I think he is just grateful that he gets to run around outside and pee when he wants to. Cost of this project - just under $100.

Having friends like Mr. Donnie who will drop everything at a moments notice to help you address your emergencies: priceless.

Since we had to do some digging to get the fence up I decided it would be an ideal time to get my yard soil samples. I wanted to get that done before I put down the herbicide and the pesticide so it wouldn't spoil things. I waited long enough though that some of my weeds are starting to pop back up. Weather permitting, this weekend will be a yard work weekend, anyone and everyone is welcome to help. Also since there is significantly less bird poop on the back porch and none in the dog's bowl I think the feeding container I put out is doing fairly well at keeping the birds out of the dog food. I am certain that he ate all of what was in his bowl this morning. As it turns out the best thing for controlling mosquitos is purple martins. So I will be trying to figure out how to get some purple martins in my area to take care of the skeeters.

The best kind of dog to own is one who is happy because he can eat and poop freely in his own back yard.

You know how you like a guy in Jr. High and you "go out" with each other for a short time then break up then nearly twenty years later you wonder what they look like all grown up?  So did I.  I swear to you these are two different people not two different personalities of the same person.  Although they had kind of the same personality.  They also didn't look this much alike in Jr. High either.

I think it is safe to say when I was in Jr. High I liked a certain "type" of boy.  

Do you know why this car probably would be hard to sell in America?

I imagine it would be hard to insure since it will never withstand one of these.  Energy efficient yes, cheap on price yes, worth your life?  Not so much.

Where are we going?

I don't want this to turn into a blog about fiscal challenges with living in a recessive world but I am quickly coming to a conclusion and I want to save the juicy parts for tomorrow.  More research is pending.  

And before you think I am an all fast food eating freak of nature let me stress that this is an unusual eating pattern for me.  The central A/C has been out at the house for a few months.  Last month when the temperature hit high I bought a small window unit for the baby's room so there would be at least a little respite from the heat.  It averages about 15 degrees higher in the house than the temperature outside.  You can't open the window  because the "breeze" is hot too and only serves to bring more hot air into the situation.  I am telling you if I had a balloon right now . . . 

My point is, if I were to turn on the oven or the stove right now we'd be seriously hurting.  So for the time being we are only picking up foods that can be unfrozen in the microwave and served through a window.  I am learning so much that I never wanted to think about when it came to fast food.  Did you know, for instance, that if you order a double cheese burger you will be charged differently than if you specifically ask for the double off the dollar menu?  What's the difference?  Apparently - pickles or some other such rediculousness.  The difference money wise is more than a dollar.  If you are like me and already on a tight budget guess what, your belt just got a little tighter.

Enough about that.  Part of dealing with excessively high temperatures is finding creative ways to stay out of the heat, especially when you have a 1 yr old in tow.  There isn't hardly anywhere you can go in this city without spending money.  You go to the mall at the very least you are shelling out a few dollars cash for the play area that instead of fun stuff to climb on is now populated with 75 cent kiddie rides.  Thank you to the mom who sued on that one.  You'll probably be out some money for food too for reasons previously discussed.  The blessing is that 1 year olds don't tend to eat a whole lot and would prefer to eat off your plate and not their own so you are probably only going to buy one meal.  The health benefit is that you reduced your portion size and had to eat slower to accomodate your child.  The health non-benefit is, well, have  you ever seen any food at the mall that isn't dripping with grease or filled to the brim with sugar?  Of course that part will be true no matter where you go.  And don't make the mistake of walking in the end of the mall with the Build-A-Bear workshop.  Even babies can appreciate the fun of making your own friend, they do not however, understand why you have to leave the store with out their new pal.  I have a particularly agreeable child and even she threw a fit when we had to leave.

When it is 105 in the middle of the day you can hit the spray park or the parkpark only early in the morning before things start to heat up.  We went Saturday and surprisingly there were a number of adults there who were not there for the equipment or the exercise route.  Let me just say I am surprised, even at 7:30 am that I was not propositioned nor offered anything.  Someone call the non emergency number for 911 and get the officers right on that.

Once it started heating up and X was finished with the swing and playing in the dirt we headed back to the house for a little bit.  The baby hit her morning nap a bit early but I was ok with that.  She didn't sleep long but it was long enough.  We had to go to Home Depot and pick up some things that we'd been putting off for a long time.  We also had to find out the price and dimensions of the fence panels they sell.  In a previous post I explain the corner cutting building plan that is going to cost me a little bit of unexpected money.  Roughly $35 a panel and I will only need two panels, two 4x4 posts and some concrete  which reminds me I need to make a call to a guy about a thing.

Then we headed over to pick up the rest of the baby's diaper supply from her granny's house.  I could explain but that would take longer than I am already taking.  They have some decent a/c.  Then we went back to the house, ate and worked up a couple of those projects.  One was trying to fix the door bell.  Which I thought was an excellent idea until I realized that door bell button isn't attached to a chime . . . anywhere.  Leaves me wondering if this was another victim fallen to the do it yourself rennovator I bought the place from.  I am going to keep the button though because if that silly chime is in the attic I can have the electrician (Fred) help me find it and fix it while he is up there caring for some other things that need attention.  Can you say open junction box.

I had to return the light switches though because as it turns out it wasn't a switch problem for the porch light after all.  (Also a long explanation.)  So back to Home Depot.  So not loving their return policy or their self check out isle.  We get back to the house in time for the baby to have a well deserved snack and nap.  By the time she was up again it had already started cooling off outside and I was trying to create an inside breeze to alleviate the heat in the house.  It was working, mostly.  

Saturday night is when I realized the baby is about to sprout some more teeth.  She has it rough with those.  She doesn't know quite what to do about them.  They make her absolutely miserable and in the heat it's even worse.   She doesn't throw tantrums normally but I am letting her attitude slide for the most part for now because I realize it's tough being 15 months old.

Masochistic or scientific?

After yesterday's scathing review I wondered two things.  Would I get over charged again or would my complaint mean something to Sonic.

As  you can see the price comes out to what is advertised but there are now two discount codes shown on the receipt instead of one.  I can see how with the number of specials they have at Sonic on a rolling basis how it would be difficult to remember all the new combinations of discounts and by default  you would just do the thing that makes the most sense.

Either that or this is the new pricing structure now that someone has "caught on" to what was happening.  Please notice the Route 44 discount has changed from .98 to .40 which is the difference in price between the medium drink that comes with the meal and the Route 44.  With the 'mistake' they make .25 off someone not paying attention.

My conclusion . . . eat somewhere else unless Sonic is your only option and then you should really look at the receipt and plan on an extra 15-20 minutes to talk to the manager if there are any problems.

Oh, don't forget that one.

I have decided to go ahead and try to use the clothesline posts that I don't feel like digging up in the back yard.  It will keep me from having to use the dryer which keeps the excess heat down in the house and saves me some money.  Can't argue with that.  I did get a small unit to put in the baby's room so that on really hot nights we won't get heat stroke in our sleep.

As you can see the jungle is all knocked down.  I haven't decided if I am going to keep the climbing vines or not yet.  And as it says on the pictures on the right . . . two box fans and two oscillating fans still won't keep the temperature below 90 (that's right 90) inside the house.  So think of us as you are enjoying your air conditioning and/or cool temperatures.

Progress is the measure of change.

That's the point of having a blog right?  Documenting the changes in your life.  A few weeks ago I told you about the start of some new things, I have some new things to add, and something that is mid-way but will be finished shortly.  We shall start with old business.

The tomato plant.  I wish I could report that the plant was a complete success and my black thumbs are now green, but I can't.  The positive note is they are probably only brownish now.  I was very happy that even though there were several blossoms on this plant that even one chose to sprout a  happy little tomato.  It wasn't long after it started that I noticed this blackish spot starting to grow from the bottom and overtake the plant.  I found out that this is something that happens if the plants are not watered properly.  I take solace in the fact that it may have been Walmart's fault for not watering properly on hot days.  Then again it could have been my fault for not watering enough early on.  The world may never know.  Even though some of the leaves aren't hanging in well there are a few more blossoms erupting and maybe, just maybe we'll get one good tomato.  Even if it is only one I will still feel like a success.

What I am about to impart now is new business.  My neighbors have this one car garage.  Not my next door neighbors but the ones just around the corner.  The garage is un-usable because it has been allowed to deteriorate to the point that it is now a hazard.  The only problem is when the geniuses who built my fence put it up they used the back wall of the garage as part of the "enclosure".  What that means for me . . . it means I get to go buy fence panels and hire someone to put up the rest of the fence the day this bad boy gets knocked down.  I don't know how long it will take them so I don't know how long to keep my dog locked up so he won't escape.  it also poses another problem.  The dog will have a new place to dig out from under the fence. 

The baby has taken to free climbing her high chair.  The bike helmet I bought her may have to be worn at all times.  The insert that comes with the helmet is "This helmet may or may not protect you from injury."  I want to meet the brilliant person behind that marketing scheme.  There are two ways to sell a lot of anything; either it has a cool factor that every one wants or it has a legal factor that makes it something everyone needs.  That equals guaranteed millions.  The bike is forth coming as is mommy's helmet, a bike lock and the baby seat that mounts between me and the handle bars.

These are some of the weird weeds that have decided to take over a tree and my neighbors driveway.  The flowers on the vine attempting to strangle the tree are pretty but they are considered a noxious weed in OK.  And they are darn hard to get rid of.  The other tree like structure is growing from under the top slab and out a crack in the side of the neighbors drive way.  Not even sure where to begin with a plant that determined to grow.

The gentleman who has been helping me clean up my back yard has been putting the bagged clippings in the "alley" between my house and the utility easement.  I knew there was a half way house around the corner from my home but I'd never met the women who lived there until these black bags showed up.  I was coming in my house and they decided to ask me about it.  (Honestly I get concerned when I see things like this too, it is the reason I don't stop to pick up bagged 'trash' along the side of the road.)  They said they knew a lady lived at this nice normal looking house with her baby . . . and then one day the bag just showed up.  She didn't have to finish telling me what she was thinking because I have interviewed neighbors like this for stories you don't want me to repeat.  She also knew the man of the house no longer lived there.  She said to me, "I was thinking . . . there are better ways to get rid of his body . . . and the police never have to know."  I haven't asked her what she was in for.

I am aware this is a little too redneck even for a country girl but I wanted to see if it would work before I spent any money on a bird feeder.  One problem I have right now is feeding the dog.  His water dish and his food are next to each other on the back porch.  The birds pop down, steal his food and bathe in his water dish.  It doesn't matter where I put the pair the birds always find them and the dog doesn't care to chase them off.  He ends up with water he won't drink (and I don't blame him) and I end up with bird dropping on my back porch/yard/dog house.  So my logic says to me, if I move the food and eventually get a bird bath I could probably solve this problem.  There were about 2 cups of bird seed in there about a week ago.  I think they are starting to get it.

Evil Drive Thrus

I know, know, know that most of us with kids . . . if we have to take the drive thru . . . are not there because we want to spend time arguing with the manager of the  store but I seriously almost got out of my car parked and then raised a ruckus.  I just want to warn those of my friends out there who are penny conscious anyway to be ware of drive thrus.  The more kids you have, the more sorry I am for you because it means the more this will happen without your noticing.

This morning I stopped at the Sonic near work to pick up a breakfast toaster sandwich.  I quickly checked the value of the meal vs. the sandwich by itself and decided that since I had planned on getting a soda with the sandwich the meal would work out wonderfully and I could do the Route 44 upgrade and nurse the soda for the rest of the day.  The board says the meal is $3.99.  I ordered it and said yes when she offered the "free" upgrade to the Route 44.  She said my total was $4.97.  That is almost a dollar in supposed tax and that didn't sound right.  Before I made a fuss I wanted to see exactly why I ended up with a higher bill than I should have.

By the way the price on the menu for the sandwich alone is $2.26 so you are already getting charged .03 more for the sandwich than if you order it separately.  $2.29 plus $1.49 for the tots plus$1.79 for the route 44 with a discout code of .98.  Yep that adds up to $4.59 for a sub total but if the advertising were true I should have only been charged .21 for the Route 44 to make it match the advertised price with the applicable discount.  With a total sales tax rate of 8.375% does equal .38 for a total of $4.97.  However if they had charged me the actual advertised price of $3.99 for the meal my meal would have been $4.32.  A difference of .65.  

I can tell you with almost certainty I was charged for a side of tots instead of the "meal" tots but the question is, was this intentional.  Are they purposely over charging on the tots to make up for the Route 44 upgrade.  Does this happen on a regular basis even when they are not in the middle of some crazy promotion?  I can tell you it does happen.  It has happened to me at several Sonics and some local Mc Donald's as well.  

Now those of you who say that .65 isn't worth getting in a tiff over let me express to you again that the more people you are ordering for the more this is going to cost you.  Let's say you are ordering for a family of 5  that is an extra $3.25 added to your bill that you probably won't really notice and since your kids are screaming for their food and you have a million other stresses you'll chalk it up to "well the price of things is going up."  

I am telling you that what it is, is false advertising.  Some of you might thing that $3.25 is not big deal either and maybe you are right.  $3.25 isn't much for just one transaction but if you have watched "Office Space" (and I know you have) you know that $3.25 in mistakes at the register times the thousands of people they serve every day is a lot of money.  Since this kind of accidental pricing happens more often at Sonic than at any other chain I have visited I have to insist it is not, repeat NOT, and isolated incident and therefore not an accident.

I did call their number to complain and the nice woman on the other end of the line took my complaint and said it would be forwarded to the appropriate manager (I imagine with a job well done memo attached).  I would turn them in to the BBB but honestly when it comes to fast food would you check them out with the BBB or would you be more likely to check them out with the health department.  By the way if you are going to call, they are going to ask you the address of the store and that is not printed on the receipt so make a note.

I just want people to know to look out for the switch when it comes to that stinking upgrade.  I haven't ordered the regular meal during this promotion yet but I will and I will make note of how it is handled.

A great time in the old town . . .

Hello out there.  The baby and I had an amazing 4th of July.  I just wanted to share some of that here with you.  I mean I was up past midnight putting these scrap pages together. It took me about a half hour of convincing the night of the 3rd that she wanted to go to sleep because Saturday was going to be a big, big day.  Downtown there is a Botanical Garden.  Part of the downtown 4th of July Celebrations is that you can go visit some sites for free that wouldn't otherwise be.  If you wore red, white and blue you could get into the Crystal Bridge for free.  Why would a single mom not take advantage of that.  Naturally a giant green house is going to be a humid place so we dressed lightly.  

In the middle of the Garden is a "Pirate Ship" structure. (Top Left)  It is really more or less half a ship but you get the point.  And in case  you are wondering that is supposed to be Peter Pan on the top of the mast.  Inside the ship is this steep stair with a sign that says, "Guest 6 Years Old and Up only Please".  We are Young's, rarely have we ever been deterred by a sign.  She started climbing this all on her own.  I decided to heave her up so she could run around up top.  I can see why it says six and up but she loved it too.

One thing I love about this girl is her adventurous spirit.  After walking around up top we came back down.  She met a new friend who was about her age.  She saw some older boys go up the ladder and she decided she'd rather hang out with the boys.  I decided to see how far she would climb up the stairs this time.  She got about half way before she got to tired to continue.  I like the pictures I ended up with though.

Now this picture doesn't look like anything too odd.  She started playing with one of the flowers instead of trying to pick up all the stones that were bigger than her.  Perhaps she was trying to haul them over to throw at the big bad wolf but I kept putting them back under the scowl of the volunteer who was tailing us by this point.  I go over to get a picture of her poking the flower and then I realized she wasn't really playing with the flower, she was playing with the water puddled in the flower.  She dose love to play in water.

Really she is about 14 1/2 months but that wouldn't fit across the picture.  After we finished terrorizing the plants we took our party outside to the Myriad Garden (The outdoor part of the Crystal Bridge) spread out a blanket, copped a squat and had a little pick-nick with some juice and a ham and cheese lunchable.  We toddled around the garden to walk off lunch and then we headed for the car.  I strapped her in and in less than two blocks she was asleep.  I took her home and put her down for a three hour nap.  There was still more day to be had.  

She was awake around 3:30 but lazed until about 4:00. We popped over to WalMart (which I can not effectively boycott when they have the cheapest price on the dog food I buy) and picked up some dog food.  If we were going to a barbeque we'd have to take care of the mutt before we left.  By the time we got home she was snackish.  I fed the baby, fed the dog and by then it was 5:30.  The Barbeque was a 6:00 in Yukon.  I figured she would sleep on the way out there but she didn't.  We had very much fun and the fireworks didn't get to her until a neighbor let off one that was loud and continuous.  

It was a busy holiday to be sure.  So yesterday we kept it low key and just hung out at the house.  I let her wander and explore and she started "reading" some literature I left out about online marketing and such.  I guess she feels she needs to get a head start.  I think that is a fantastic way of thinking.  Hope you had a wonderful holiday.