Dot Needs to Play the Lotto

Wow, yesterday was such a big day in so many ways:

First, we went to the parents to deliver more supplies. While there...my sister found my dad's car keys that he had lost. They were outside on his junk table. Then while changing the sheets on their beds, she found the hearing aid! It had fallen behind the headboard. I promptly called the doc to try and cancel the order for the new one. Wish me luck that I was in time. Hmmm, now that I think about it, I should have made lucky Aunt Dot make that call. At the very least, I think this is a sign that she needs to play the lotto...quick!

After that we went to the apple store, as my 6 mo old iphone was not syncing with my computer. Interestingly, everyone else there with iphone problems was there for the same reason. We were basically there for over 2 hours...even with an appointment.

It. Was. Hell.

I had no idea it would take that long, and T and I had not eaten lunch. She was tired and hungry. NEVER a good combination. Every 2 minutes the child was asking, "Can we go now?" Oy. Finally we both literally "had to go"...to the bathroom, that is, and was able to leave to do that, as the dumb store has no facilities. While out, we made a quick ben and jerry's stop. My second mistake, as now poor T was tired and on a sugar high. After all that, they did replace my phone with the same model. No snazzy upgrade for me. That's OK.


We then left to go to Julie's house. Julie has a huge yard, and just purchased the mac daddy, toys r us, water slide. All the kids were playing on it for HOURS. They had so much fun i can't even describe it.

Don't look for T in the picture, as I didn't have a camera, damn it. This pic was pulled off the Toys r us website.

We had some bbq, then came home. Luckily, it totally wore poor T out, and she slept like a log.

Hope everybody had a great weekend.

This and That

After dinner last night, we made a stop in office max for my nifty new label maker...see the last pic here. I LOVE IT. I want to label EVERYTHING! It was on sale for only 19.99, which was 1/2 price. Bonus! While there, I spyed this adorable little student chair. Hot pink and all! The perfect chair for T's desk. Now that she's a big girl and is practicing her letters and numbers, she can sit at it. Good lord, she's growing up fast!

In other news, Today, I had a FABULOUS day. Basically, I shopped all day in home depot...all by myself. T stayed home with Aunt Dot. I met my handyman at my parents house this morning. He'll be back to start some work on Monday. In anticipation thereof, I had to go buy stuff. I'm going to have him basically working on the bathrooms. He'll be taking out the 1970's drop ceiling and installing new lights, installing handicapp height toilets, painting the whole thing, painting the vanities, updating the plumbing fixtures, taking out the sliding glass doors in the upstairs shower that's falling off the tracks, etc. Luckily, their tile is in very good shape for almost 60 yr old tile.

I'm also installing handicapp grab bars both in the bathrooms, and around the house. On the 5 stairs going downstairs, I'm going to put them on both sides, so my mom can hold on using both hands. On the 9 stairs going upstairs, I'm going to put a longer one opposite the handrail. It may look a little odd, but I'll rest easier with them there. My mom is more unsteadier on her feet by the day, and the thought of her on the stairs sends a chill down my spine. I'm also going to put one on the wall next to her bed, so she can use it to pull herself up, sit herself down, and walk the first few feet after standing.

So I had a fab time labeling all of the paint cans, with what they go for. Labeling the grab bar boxes with where they are to be installed, etc. Work starts on monday and will probably continue through the weekend.

Ice Cream Cone Bowl

That Aunt Dot is always finding cool stuff in the grocery store. This time, she came up with ice cream cone bowl from p*blix. Literally, its a bowl made out of ice cream cone. T loves it and it's a lot less messy than a normal cone.


In other news, my mother had another audiologist appointment today. Every week we go and they turn up the volume. No turning it up today, though.

Q: What happens when you give a woman with short term memory loss a $1,200 hearing aid?

That's right, she loses it. Sigh. After only 3 weeks. Against all doctors orders, she's been wrapping the thing in kleenex when she takes it out. I think it got thrown away, just like the doc warned. Luckily, these units have an "insurance type" plan with them. We'll be getting a new one for only 300.00...a comparative bargain.

My new plan...you knew I had one...is to get about 3 more hearing aid boxes, then go to office max and buy a lable maker, and label each box "Hearing Aid Box", so that she'll remember what its for. I plan on putting one near her bed, one in the bathroom, one next to her chair in the fla room, etc.

Hopefully, the next one will last more than 3 weeks.

UPDATE: Just went into the kitchen to discover that I forgot to put the yummy bryers ice cream back in the fridge. It was a soupy mess...that I promptly dropped and that promptly spilled all over the counter.

Just the perfect way to set off the day.

A Biblical Plague?

Hmmm, if I didn't know better, I'd think that we were being struck by some biblical plague. After endless sweltering days, we're under a storm watch. Weather services says to expect severe thunderstorms that could produce penny-sized hail and winds of 70 mph. Um, 'scuse me, but isn't that a hurricane?

I fled work early to creepily nice skies. That "nice weather" that any floridian of any experience knows is the calm before all hell breaks loose, meteorologically speaking, of course. In the 20 minutes it took to come home, get inside, take down my umbrella in the back yard...this is what I saw when I looked up in the skies. Yikes. The black front is moving south from broward to dade at about 30 mph.

I think I'll go crank up the a/c and have a battery lantern on standby, in case we lose power...

Update: Just purchased a battery operated digital tv from amazon...figure this sky is a sign and I better get prepared, now that my old analog battery tv is junk.

What else is a girl to do during a storm, if not troll the web and shop?

Summer Solstice

So the news reported that today is the summer solstice and the first day of summer. Since when is that news? Its been summer in this swamp of a state since about January 4th. We've been consistently in the mid nineties for weeks.

Not much to report today. We went over to my father's house to give him his father's day present and a card Taylor signed. She was very excited to give it to him. I fixed all their TVs so that they work, and gave them typed out instructions with pictures and everything so that hopefully they can work their satellite TV.

Now we're happily at home and I'm enbroiled in watching the Da Vinci Code. Good movie!

Summer Fun

I think I finally have the darned pool chemicals more under control. For a while there, the yellow chlorine tester was turning RED (its supposed to be yellow) and the PH tester was turning yellow (its supposed to be red). I let the thing sit for about 3 days and ignored it. When we tested this morning, the yellow was yellow and the red was red. Yippee!

T just enjoyed an hour in the thing, which was fine by us. Its cooler in the a.m., and the mosquitos were still sleeping, so I didn't get chewed up like I do in the evening.

We're off today to visit Aunt Connie...who I think just had a birthday...unless my mom got it wrong AGAIN. Then we'll come back and I'm sure T will want to go in the pool again.

Dot, the purchaser of this extravaganza, took one look at T in it and said...may I should have bought a bigger one.


I shudder to think what huge monstosity will be in my backyard next summer!

Things Go to Hell in a Handbasket So Quickly w/a 4 Yr Old

So last night we were enjoying the evening. All was at peace in the world. I was laying on the couch watching Soapnet, while T sat at the laptop playing on noggin. As it got past 10:00, I started telling her that we'd have to go to bed soon.

She ignored me, and continued playing.

Me: Taylor, you need to finish up b/c we need to go night night.

Silence. No acknowledgment. T continued playing.

Me: Taylor, you need to look at me when I talk to you and acknowledge what I'm saying...

Silence. T continued playing and ignoring me.

Me miffed: Taylor Jordan, if you don't look at me, the computer is over for the night.

Silence. T continued playing now with a smirk.

Me pissed at the smirk: That's it, little girl. I get up and slam the laptop closed.

Good.Lord.

All Hell broke loose. You'd think I was the worst mom in the world and that I tortured her on an hourly basis.

I suspect that this whole little scenario took about 30 seconds.

Life with a 4 yr old.

Better Living through Chemicals

Longtime readers of this small blog will recall one of my favorite mottos for life...Better Living through Chemicals. We are the proud new owners of 22.5 pounds of chlorinating granules, a huge vat of PH+ and a huge vat of PH Minus. Why in the world would we need all that?

B/c Aunt Dot went out and bought a small 8ft in diameter pool. Has a pump, filter and everything. Meanwhile, I'm stuck conducting small science projects every night, trying to figure out if the pool has the right amount of chemicals in it. Have I ever mentioned that science never thrilled me? But for the fact that it would be absolutely ridiculous for a blow up pool, I'd invest in a poolboy.

T and I actually went into the thing this evening, before our Home Dep*t run. It was quite relaxing, so I can't really complain about the work. I've put my walker from my broken foot days next to the thing, to assist both T and me in getting in and out. While it probably looks really odd, it works like a charm.

No pics from tonight, as I was wet myself. Now as T says, we both smell like pool, so we're off to the showers.

That's it from the Casa tonight.

Hmmm....

Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to buy T a new craft kit, on the heels of her haircutting fiasco.

What do ya think?

The New Do - A Somewhat Retro Look!

Yep...her new do is bringing back such nice memories of...so long ago now! How did the time fly so quickly? While I think she looks cute as a button (don't I always?), I'm still secretly happy that come Christmas, T's hair will be grown out at bit and looking more like normal.

In other news, I'm happy to report that my parents have internet service. Now when we go over there, we won't be cut off from the world. I also installed those analog-to-digital TV converters. They work great and actually give a few more stations. My dad was sorry to learn that 2 of their TV's are destined for the junk pile. The are so old that they didn't even have a cable connection...so you can't even connect a converter box to them. I say good riddance!

My mom has her hearing aid and is actually wearing it. Its turned down low right now as she gets used to hearing all sorts of sounds that she's not used to hearing, and we'll progressively turn up the volume in the coming weeks. So far, so good, on that front.

If there's no rain today, we may be setting up T's new pool.

That's it for now.

Remember When?

T's most loyal of readers will remember her short hair from around 18 months old. The orphanage literally gave our girls a buzzed up crew cut. Shaved their heads bald. Poor T had what I kindly called a "pixie cut" on adoption day...and it progressively grew out from there. Well, given her recent foray into the world of cosmetology with her impromptu self-haircut. Kelly had no choice but to cut off most of the length on T's hair to even things up...as best she could.

She now looks very much like she did at about 14 - 18 months. Here's a trip down memory lane....
Of all the damn toys in the house, T chose at about 13 months to play with the toiletbowl brush.

Nice.
T's first trip to disney at 17 months.
She could barely walk, but at about 14 months old she was climbing out of her crib!

...let the co-sleeping commence!


Stand by for pics of the new do!

It was Only a Matter of Time

Yep, as I used to read other family blogs in the past, I knew it was only a matter of time til it was our turn. T woke up this morning and her hair looked really odd. I couldn't understand it, as she didn't go to bed with a wet head. I get the brush and start brushing it, only to realize that...



TAYLOR CUT HER FRICKIN' HAIR...ALL BY HERSELF!

Yep, it looks really odd. On the upside, she did it pretty symetrically and just cut off the hair around her ears. She even got the angle OK. Not right, but OK.

I'll be calling Kelly on an emergency basis, to come fix this mess.

The Deed is Done

Mission Accomplished! I probably should have gotten some shots before I stripped the place of all personal items, but I forgot. Took these shots today as I awaited the movers. We got there around 8:30, the movers arrived at 9:00. By 11:00 we were at my parents house unloading the haul. By 1:30, we were at my house delivering my grandma's furniture for T's room.

Frankly, other than the sentimental aspect of it, I probably would not have chosen to put the furniture in T's room. However, my father will NEVER throw out any piece of the set, and there just wasn't room for his office stuff and this set, as well. It had to go. His mom purchased it in 1938 at Macy's. Since they were a dirt poor Irish immigrant family living in New York, it was a really, really, big deal for them to go to Macy's and buy new furniture. Luckily, its pure wood. No veneers or particle board, so it should clean up nicely with a little refinishing and some tender, loving care.

Anyway, after delivering the stuff to my house, I went tearing back to my parents, to start unpacking it all. Leonor and I finished at about 8:00 p.m. at night. As we were working, it stormed like crazy. There were a few moments when it literally was like a hurricane. So what did Dot and T do while I was otherwise occupied?

They made an Office Max run, and got all kinds of craft crap. T's been busy cutting, gluing, drawing, and glittering all day. Also watched a bunch of movies.

So, that's that. I must admit it was kind of sad watching everything to out the door. My mom was my dad's secretary, and when I was little, they would take me down to the office. Lots of memories. My father, however, I think was incapable of actually packing up and shutting it down. If I was sad doing it, it would have been 1000 times worse for him. But, the time had come. They just can't afford to be shelling out rent every month when he's had no income for years. I didn't push it in the past, b/c it gave him something to do. He can do what he wants with his money. However, it had come to the point where he was only going down there like once a month, if that. Time had come to end it.

So, the items I chose to move fit perfectly, just as I'd planned. I'm exhausted, so I'm off to go lay down.

Night, night, all!

TROUBLE

One thing is for sure...you can't spell Trouble or Taylor without a capital T!

We had a little drama around here last night. T came prancing out of her room in a red velvet dress with roses on the bodice...that she promptly dubbed her new "Belle dress" ( I think its a Sophie hand-me-down). T had on her bell crown and red shoes. She then went directly to the DVDs, pulled out Cinderella II, and asked for me to put it on in her room. Um, NO! It was 10:30 at night, and we don't start watching movies at that hour. T, of course, took exception to this and got mad.

Real mad.

First, she started trying to turn my computer off as I'm typing. That's a big no-no. Then she turned off the TV that I was on. Since it had been on her station, I really didn't care and didn't chastise her for that. So, she had to up the ante. T proceeded to get one of her her new activity books and started ripping pages out. That's it. Game over. I had been warning her all along that if she kept it up, she wouldn't like the consequences of her actions. We're been working on not destroying things when she's mad for a while now and clearly she needs more help with that. She chose to ignore me. So, I got up, snatched the princess crown from her head, and put the crown in time-out on top of the TV unit.

Oh.My.God.

You'd think that the end of the world had come. The pathetic screams of "My Crown" filled the night. Then, the little stinker looked right at me, got up, picked up a pad and started ripping pages out. While normally I wouldn't care if she rips pages out of this pad, I knew this time she was doing it for spite and out of anger. So, next thing to go was her red dress. Took it right off her. Told her that little girls who act badly don't get to wear princess dresses. again,

Oh. My. God.

More pathetic cries about how now Dotty would never see her in her special dress. Aye, aye, aye. The kid needs to join the stage. Well, after we finally calmed down, all was OK with the world and we went to sleep.

Today, as soon as I walked in to the classroom, all the kids got up from story time to tattle on T. Apparently, she was walking around with her shirt lifted up, and Ms. Cynthia chastised her for this bit of poor behavior. However, T wouldn't listen and kept doing it. So, T got put a the time out table, away from the other kids. What does she do?

She pulls out the chair and throws it across the room.

Uh Oh.

She's in huge trouble. There was no swim class today, b/c she wasn't a good girl at school. Secretly, I was exhausted, and didn't want to go either and was just looking for an excuse to stay home...but she doesn't have to know that!

So, that's the drama from the day. Don't know what's causing this latest bit of poor behavior, but I hope it stops soon.

On a funny note, before the real drama started, she did something, I cant even remember what, and I ordered her to time out. She voluntarily went and stood there, but admonished me "Count fast mom, count fast". He he.

How can you stay mad at that?

Mid-Week Update

Just a quick post midweek, to update all of T's 3 interested readers on our mundane life...

*I've been enjoying embroiling myself in work these past few days. I find it quite relaxing. What kind of freak does that make me?

*T is doing very well in swim class. Her kick improves daily, but we're still working on using her arms and her breathing is non-existent. If she can't get to where she needs to go on one big breath, she sinks like a stone.

*Bought my dad some things for father's day...some new suspenders, a couple analog TV converters, and a flat scree monitor for his computer. Hope it works with it. He's got an old Compaq Presario 5000, purchased in about 2002, that uses Windows 98 operating system. Luckily, its fully returnable!

*Dot is in Houston this week and we can't wait for her return. She bought T a new pool for the backyard. 8 ft round and 30 inches deep. Its been sitting on the dining room table in its box, taunting the poor child. Hurry home, Dot!

*The big office move is this Saturday. Wish me luck!

*The rain remains in So. Florida, but that's about par for the course for this time of year.

*No word from Aunt Connie on either her eye or her computer. I'll put in a call tomorrow to find out what's up.

**Can't think of anything else to report, so I'm off to bed. Night Night all!