Interview with an 8 year old

Today we celebrate Isabella, our amazing, smart, loving, funny and beautiful girl. It's so hard to believe she's turning 8 years old.  I know it's the biggest cliche out there, but really... where has the time gone?! It's been such an honor and a wonderful adventure watching her grow and turn into the extraordinary person she is.

In an effort to document her, who she is and where she's at in life right now, I thought it would be fun to do a short interview with her. And that went a little something like this:

What is your favorite thing to do right now?
Go swimming at Tata's (grandma's) pool with my cousins and my friends, because we use our imagination to make up a lot of fun games.

What's your favorite food?
Pepperoni Pizza

What's your favorite drink?
Diet Dr. Pepper... it's really yummy and tasty and good!

What's your favorite TV show?
Jessie

What's your favorite movie?
Monsters University, because it's about two "people" becoming friends in a very cool way.

What's your favorite thing to play?
Games on my tablet, especially Diner Dash.

What's your favorite thing about summer?
No school! (with no hesitation whatsoever!)

What has been your favorite activity this summer?
Our trip to Colorado. Going up a ski lift and down that long slide on a sled on wheels was AWESOME!

Who's your best friend?
Can I pick two? I have to pick two. Hudson and McKenna.

If you could travel anywhere right now, where would you go?
Back to Aruba. Everything about Aruba was awesome, the hotel, the pools, the beach, the waterpark...

What do you like most about being a big sister?
That I'm the oldest (read bossiest) ;-)

What do you like most about Sam? What do you like least?
Most: He's very funny!
Least: He's so annoying!

What do you like most about Max (I realize I have not introduced the amazing Max yet....oops!)? What do you like least?
Most: He's so joyful!
Least: He's so drooly!

How do you feel about going into the third grade?
I'm excited to learn a lot of new things and make new friends.

What do you hope this new year will bring?
I'm excited about going to to the American Girl store!
I want to get my first real American Girl doll.
I want to learn to ride my bike without training wheels.
And I want to learn to write in cursive.

Our girl:

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!
We love you SO much!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Yesterday we had terrible weather. Like really, really scary weather! Rain, lightning, thunder, super strong winds, tornado sightings, sirens blaring ~ the whole shebang! I was working at Eclectica when the worst of it happened. I looked over at my friend Ellen and noticed she was stressing out. I kindly told her it would be OK and advised her to take some deep breaths. Then I made the mistake of saying what was on mind, "I wonder if Isabella is freaking out...". Ellen apparently also said what was on her mind, "She probably is." Yeah, that was the beginning of the end! I started thinking of my little girl, away from me, sitting in the hallway at school, scared out of her mind. Hello! Can you say panic attack?! I called Scott and started crying just thinking about it. Scott managed to talk me off the ledge and calm me down by telling me that the kids were probably in a safer spot than I was and quite possibly completely oblivious to what was going on outside. I bet Ellen was thinking "Who needs the deep breaths now, huh?"

2. When I finally picked Isabella up from school, I immediately asked her about her day. She gave me a run down of her day. Never once mentioning anything out of the ordinary. After waiting a while, I specifically asked if they had to huddle in the hallway because of the weather. She responded with a less than enthusiastic "Oh, yeah". She forgot. Alrighty then!

3. You know when people type LOL and LMBO? I often wonder, really? Are they really laughing out loud or laughing their butts off about this or that? Well, last night while catching up on my blog reading, I literally lol,... to the point of tears. One of my favorite bloggers, Meg Duerksen from Whatever, posted pictures of her attempt at grooming her dog. Oh my goodness, I'm still laughing at the pictures of poor Waffle. Go check it out here. That is some funny stuff! Best laugh I've had in a while.

4. I love me some canvas prints and the Canvas People are offering a free 8x10 canvas (not including shipping and handling) or $50 towards any upsized canvas. I hate that I missed out on this promotion last year, but trust me, I quickly jumped on it this time around. I ordered an 8x10 print, and the s&h came to about $15. I can't wait to get it! I think these would make great Mother's Day presents. Go check it out and order yours here!

5. Isabella says she is madly in love with a little boy in her class named Luke. She talks about how much she loves him and how much he loves her and how they're going to get married soon. I explained that it's OK to really like Luke and that they can be the best of friends, but Kindergarteners are much too young to even think about getting married. She thought about for a minute and then said: "Well, since the two of us are really smart, after we finish Kindergarten we can skip to the fifth grade, and then we can get married." Apparently 10 years old is the magic number. Yeah... good times!

6. I don't know about you, but I don't remember really noticing boys until I was like 12 or 13 or 14. What's up with that?

7. Scott and I did some exhaustive research and made some reservations. Disney in 2011! And we are all thrilled!

8. For some unknown reason, Sam was super excited to see his pediatrician for his three year check up. During the visit, Dr. Higgi told Sam he (1) HAS to sleep in his room, not in mom and dad's, (2) HAS to use the potty, no more Pull-Ups, and (3) could only drink one cup of juice a day. Needless to say Sam left the office feeling quite deflated.

9. Sam has slept in his room ALL NIGHT for the last 9 days. He has been sporting some pretty cool big boy underwear for the last 6 days, using Pull-Ups only at nap and night time. And his juice consumption has been drastically reduced to 1 (and OK, sometimes 2) cups per day.

10. Dr. Higgi is our hero! And Sam has been handsomely rewarded for all of his hard work!

Delusions of Grandeur

As I was going through Isabella's school folder the other day, I came accross this:

Now let me start by saying that Isabella is very good at doing basic addition and subtraction, but this,... well, this is a whole different ballpark. This is no 2+2, people! I can't even begin to tell you how amazed I was that she was doing this type of math. And to get an "Excellent!" from her teacher. I mean, WOW!

So I approached her while she was watching Sponge Bob (let the record reflect that this was my first mistake), and beaming with pride, I ask:

Me: "Isabella, did you do this?"
Without looking at me, she responds with a less than enthusiastic: "Yes."

Me: "Baby, this is amazing! You are adding and subtracting double digits here. And you got them ALL right!"
Again, with her eyes glued to the TV and barely acknowledging me, she says: "Uh huh."
 
Me: "Holy Cow, girl! This is a big deal. How did you do it?"
And maybe it's because I'm not letting her concentrate on her beloved TV show, or maybe it's because she's tired of me going on and on and on about it, or maybe it's because she thinks I should stop celebrating and looking and sounding like the village idiot, but she finally looks at me and says:"I did it with one of those things, you know... the thing with the numbers?!"

Me, now really looking and sounding like the village idiot: "You mean a calculator?"
Isabella: "Yeah, a calculator. Those things are the greatest. You don't even have to think or anything."

And just like that, without a single care in the world, she popped my visions of having my very own little Doogie Howser, MD.

An interview with a 5 year old

So, I sat down with Isabella the other day and asked her a few questions.
Here are her answers:

How old am I? 13 (Nice!)

Where do I work? At Eclectica

What do I do at Eclectica? Make pretty scrapbook pages (Aww!)

What do I do during the day? Take care of us

What is my favorite thing to do? Stay home and play with us

How tall am I? 13 inches (Apparently she's obsessed with the #13)

How much do I weigh? 14 pounds (HA! I haven't even lost that much on WW)

What is my favorite color? Orange (I'm actually growing quite fond of orange these days)

What is my favorite food? Broccoli (Hardly! But that is HER favorite)

What do I do after you kids go to bed? Work for Eclectica

What do I love the most about you? My laugh (I do love that laugh!)

What is my favorite thing about Sam? When he loves on me (Funny how she makes it about her, isn't it?)

What is your favorite thing about me? That you play with me a lot (happy ♥)

What do you think I was like when I was your age? You liked to play Barbies and ride your bike,... oh, and mess with your little brother (Right on, Sister!)

Where is my favorite place to shop? Eclectica (Hmmm, I think I might have a problem,...)

What's my favorite chore? Washing dishes (Yeah,... NO! But then again, I can't think of anything she could have answered that I would have agreed with)

What's my least favorite chore? Doing laundry (That's definitely on the list!)

What is my favorite thing to drink? Coke (There was absolutely no hesitation)

What is my favorite hobby? Hobby Lobby (Ha Ha Ha!)

I do love this girl of mine!

October 2010

A Conversation

Isabella is in this stage now where she is constantly asking all sorts of questions. And for the most part, she starts most of them with: "Mom, is it true that..." , which ALWAYS makes me feel like I'm being tested or something.

She's also stretching her imagination and constantly thinking of crazy/silly, off the wall things, which she is forever sharing. And those usually start like this: "Mom, can you imagine if..."

A couple of nights ago, I was in the kitchen doing the dishes and Isabella was sitting at the counter talking away about her day, which I absolutely love! Then she started getting silly and saying some of those "Mom, can you imagine if..." questions/statements. Well, after she said the first one, I looked at her and told her she was so silly, to which she replied: "No I'm not!"

Then she continued on, and a bit later made another "Mom, can you imagine if..." question/statement. So I looked at her and told her she was Cuckoo. She giddily replied: "No I'm not!"

Then she said something (which I must admit, I don't remember what it was) and tickled herself to the point of some seriously awesome belly laughs. You know the type; loud, heartfelt, contagious, non-stop, make you wanna pee your pants laughs.

I looked over and just stood there and watched her crack herself up. And without even realizing the words were coming out of my mouth, I said "God, she's beautiful". And in the midst of all the laughter, she immediately replied: "Now THAT I am! You got one out of three right, Mama."

Overheard

Scott, Isabella and Sam were watching a movie downstairs earlier today, while I was upstairs playing on the computer. Suddenly, I hear this exchange between Isabella and her Daddy:

I: Is that a mean guy?

S: Yes, he is!

I: I don't like mean guys. I feel like I want to send them to God.

S: *Insert sounds of crickets chirping*

So, I don't know about you, but it sounds to me like maybe it's time to introduce our little God-loving Christian girl to the 6th Commandment:

"Thou shall not murder."

She sure does have a great mean guy booty kicking face, crown and all.
Don't you think?

Fix Him!

Well guys, this is it. Today is my last day of posting for the super exciting "A Photo a Day in the Month of May" series. It's been real, but I'm looking forward to my more sporadic blogging just for the fun of it. Know what I mean?

Anyway, I'm leaving you with a funny story and an old photo so here we go.

The day after Isabella's dance recital I was looking through the many pictures I took and doing some photo editing. Isabella came over to the desk and sat on my lap. She intently watched as I worked and finally asked:

Isabella: What are you doing?
Me: I'm editing some pictures from your recital.
Isabella: What does editing mean?
Me: It means changing or fixing.
Isabella: How do you do it?
Me: Well, look at this picture. See how your eyes look red here? I can make them not look red by pressing this button right here.
Isabella: Oh! What's that called?
Me: It's called "Red Eye Removal".
Isabella: Hmm, do it again!

I flip over to the next picture and remove the red eyes.

Isabella: Cool!

I forward to the following picture and since it doesn't have any red eye issues I move on to the next one.

Isabella: Wait! Go back!
Liz: What?
Isabella: You forgot to fix him!
Liz: Fix what, honey?
Isabella: The picture!
Liz: Baby, there are no red eyes in this picture.
Isabella: Mom!!!
Liz: What?
Isabella: Papa Abu has red eye all over him! You have to fix him!

The picture in question:

I sure do love that girl!

My short lived panic attack

Isabella: Mama, you see this scratch here? It really hurts.
Me: Oh honey, what happened? How'd you get that scratch?
Isabella: I don't know.
Me: Come here, Baby. Let me kiss it and make it all better.
I kiss the aforementioned scratch.
Me: There, is that better?
Isabella: Not really.
Me: Not really?!
Isabella: Well, the kisses don't really make it feel better.
Me (panicked, but keeping my cool): They don't? Hmm, I always thought they did.
Isabella: Nope, they don't make the boo-boo better, they just make me happy and then I feel better.

Phew! For a moment there I was really concerned with where that was headed.

She's at it again

Once again Isabella raided my scrapbook corner to get enough materials to create another scrapbook page.


I just love how incredibly proud she is of her creation. And I also love how she calls herself an artist because of her passion for anything involving crayons, paints, pencils, markers and now scrapbooking materials.

She proudly showed her Daddy her page as soon as he got home from work. Her Daddy oohed and aahed over it and asked her if she was now a "Scrapper" like her Mommy to which she indignantly replied:

"No Daddy, I'm a scrapbook pager."

Alright then,...

Are you kidding me?

As you might have noticed on the previous post I got my hair cut. It was about a week ago. I desperately wanted a change. I wanted it short and cute and different. So, I had them cut well over 6 inches of hair.

I got home from the salon to find my Mom and the kids playing outside. Well, as soon as Isabella sees me, she carefully examines it and says: "You got your hair cut. I don't really like it, Mama."

Okay,... not exactly the reaction I was hoping for. Although there's really no telling with her. I mean, remember my doggy do from last year? Man, apparently this child can really do a number on my self-esteem.

Anyway, later that night we're having dinner and Scott made a comment about liking my new hairstyle and the conversation that followed went a little something like this:

Scott: I really like your hair

Liz: Thanks! Isabella wasn't too thrilled with it.

Scott: You don't like Mommy's new hairstyle, Peanut?

Isabella: Not so much.

Scott: Why don't you like it?

Isabella: Are you kidding me?

Apparently to my beautiful daughter it is so painfully obvious that my new hairstyle is such an incredible flop, that she didn't think it was necessary to actually verbalize what it is she doesn't like about it.

Well, here it is:

Photos taken by my wonderful nephew at the park this morning.

So, what do you think? Do you find it as "repulsive" as Isabella did? And please, please, please don't answer "Are you kidding me?"

I'm happy to report that since then Isabella has approached me on numerous occasions to tell me how nice my hair looks and how much she likes it. In all honesty, I think it might have been the way it was styled at the salon that first day. But the again, who knows,...

Me on the other hand, I seriously love going back to short hair. But I do hate that because I have SO much hair, it takes me so long to blow dry it straight in the morning. Also, it's taking me some time to get reacquainted with the round brush after so many years. But I'm sure I'll have it re-mastered in no time.

A Case of Diahritos

So, Isabella called me into the bathroom yesterday afternoon while I was getting dinner ready and as soon as I walked in I could tell she was somewhat troubled. The expression on her face was that of pure anguish.

ME: "What's up, honey?"

ISABELLA: "Mom, I had an accident,... in my pants."

ME: "Ooh, what happened?"

ISABELLA: "I went poopy in my pants, but I didn't mean to. It was an accident. I don't want you to be upset."

~Yeah, insert Mommy guilt and horrifying
flashbacks of potty training here~

ME: "Oh honey, it's OK. Let's just get you cleaned up."

As I examine the damage I realize what happened and say to her:

ME: "Baby, I am NOT upset, OK? I know it was an accident and accidents happen to all of us. The problem is you have diarrhea so you probably didn't have enough time to get to the potty, that's all."

ISABELLA: "I have diahritos?"

~Insert uncontainable laughter here~

ME: "Yes honey, it would appear you have a case of diahritos!"

It's finally beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Alright, so let me just get it out there so that we can move on with this post,... I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry I've been such a bad blogger lately. Things have been INSANELY busy and when I do have time to sit, writing about the craziness of it all is the last thing on my mind. So there! I don't know about you, but I feel much better.

First order of business ~ the halls are finally decked! I'm usually one of those people who puts up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving day or shortly there after. Nope, not this year. Actually, I'm embarrassed to admit that for a while there I had quite a Scrooge-like state of mind. You see, with all this uncertainty about my Dad and his condition/treatment and whether or not we'd be traveling to FL, I actually debated whether or not to put the tree up at all this year. I kept thinking what's the point? And then it hit me ~ Isabella and her fascination for all things Christmas that light up! She's the point! And although Sam's too young to know it, so is he! So as you can imagine, as soon as I had my little epiphany I got real busy.

This here is a view of our Christmas tree from upstairs. Due to my before mentioned state of mind, I kept the decor pretty simple this year.

This eclectic flocked pink little number decorated with everything from graceful ballerinas to lollipops to disco balls is Isabella's tree that sits in her room.

Of course, Sam inherited Isabella's old tree. He is absolutely mesmerized by the different color lights and ornaments. I'm thinking next year we'll have to "personalize" his tree for him.

This is our Dining Room tree which is the only one that's been up since before Thanksgiving.


*****
OK, so what else have I been up to? Oh yeah, not WW. I just realized that I haven't even reported on my WW progress, or lack thereof, since November. That's NOT good! Let me just be frank here, I have been so unmotivated lately it's ridiculous. The lack of self-control I have had in the last few weeks is a disgrace.

Pounds lost last week: +.2 lbs
Pounds lost this week: .2 lbs
Total lost: 24.4 lbs

So as you can see luckily the damage has not been as bad as it could have been and I have vowed to get back on the program ASAP. Next week there WILL be a loss reported,... I promise hope!

*****
Last Wednesday our friend Laura, brave friend that she is, hosted a Children's Christmas party at her beautiful home. It was all about the kids and it was wonderful! They got to decorate Christmas cookies, eat pizza and play for hours.

There was one itty bitty insy weensy problem ~ I did some major sinning while I was there. You know the commandment that says : "Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's ______"? Well let me tell ya, I coveted, I coveted BIG TIME! What was the source of my desire/sin you ask? Here it is:

That's right my friends, it's the 21 piece Willow Tree Nativity Set and it is as magnificent as the price tag is hefty! I was literally trying to figure out how I could discreetly stuff the entire set into my very small purse. HA HA HA. Just kidding,... or am I?

So I'm wondering, is coveting a "sin" if it involves something that is Jesus centered? Yeah,... probably.

*****
Today we went to my niece's 6th Birthday party and then to Alpine Village for the fourth year in a row. I'll post about that later because someone, who shall remain nameless, is hanging on my leg begging me to get off the computer. But before I go I do have to leave you with a funny from this week.

On Tuesday it rained and rained and rained and rained. And just when you thought it couldn't rain anymore you guessed it, it rained some more. Anyway, I was having one of those days when I wanted to call in sick for the day. You know the kind, right? I didn't want to change another diaper, or feed another mouth, or listen to any whining or do anything really. So as if I wasn't irate enough already, the dogs refused to go outside to do their business in the rain until way late in the day. And of course, when they finally did they tracked all this water and mud into the house adding one more thing to the list of things I didn't want to do, but had to.

Anyway, Mick comes back inside and heads straight to the water bowl. When it comes to water Mick can outdrink any dog we've ever known. So he's drinking. A lot. Nonstop actually. Isabella's in the bathroom taking care of her business. So I tell him: "Mick, that's enough". Drink. Drink. Drink. Then I say: "Mick, stop!" More drinking. Finally, I yell at him: "Mick! Quit!" Suddenly, the bathroom doors flies open and Isabella comes out, pants around her ankles and says to me: "Momma, is he killing you or just getting on your nerves?" Yeah I admit it, I laughed hard at this one. She totally changed my mood for the remainder of the day.

OK, gotta go now.

She's Grateful

When I picked our girl up from school this afternoon she showed me some of the work they had done in class. Being November, gratitude is one of the topics they will be working with throughout the month.

Today was one of those days: they worked on gratitude and the number 4. She had to tell her teacher 4 things she's grateful for and her list was as follows:

1. Mommy
2. Stickers
3. Stamps
4. Daddy

Are you wondering what I'm wondering? Right,... where's Sam? Well, it appears Stickers and Stamps trump Mr. Sam in her totem pole.

So, of course I asked why she hadn't listed Sam as one of the 4 things she was grateful for. Her response? "Well, Stickers and Stamps are much more fun!"

And there you have it!

Deep inside I'm just hoping that he'll eventually make it on one of her grateful projects this month, especially the placemat they make for Thanksgiving that includes a turkey for each person they are grateful for. Oh, please let there be a turkey with Sam's name on it,...

BTW, are any of you as shocked as I am that I not only made it on the list, but I'm actually her #1? Take that Daddy!

Good news and everyday randomness

Good News:

Well guys, we finally got the good news we've been waiting for ~ the Mayo Clinic called my Mom today to let her know that they have accepted my Dad as a patient, complicated profile and all.

My Daddy with his crazy wind blown hair at Shelby Farms
April 2008

We still don't know when we'll be traveling to Jacksonville, FL, but what we do know is that initially he will be in outpatient treatment. He will be going into the hospital on a daily basis until they decide his condition is such that they'll need to hospitalize him, which we anticipate will probably happen sooner rather than later. I didn't speak to my Dad directly today, but my Mom says he's in a state of shock, almost like it's too much for him to take in all at once.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You for all of your prayers and wonderful words. God is so good! He has purposely surrounded me and my family with an unbelievable amount of amazingly caring people who have made this difficult time much more bearable. I can't imagine what it would have been like to go at it alone. Luckily, I don't have to. Have I said Thank You?

So please keep those prayers coming so that we continue to be filled with faith, hope and physical and emotional strength during our upcoming journey, which has only just begun.

*****

Everyday Randomness:

* My gas light lit up today and it only took $37 to fill up my tank. Yes, from E to F for $37.00. Say it with me people: Hallelujah!!!

* I know we're a bit behind, but we finally carved out 36 lb pumpkin last night. I can't believe I haven't carved a pumpkin in over 25 years. I had so much fun! Isabella picked the stencil we were to use because it had to be a "fwendly pumpkin, not a scawy one". Hey, it looks pretty friendly to me:


* I still have not made the necessary alterations on the kids' costumes for tomorrow night. YIKES!

*Our new countertops (and sink) are finally installed and I love how the kitchen looks. I like it so much I've given up on the thought of painting the cabinets, and that's a really good thing. I was SO over those cream colored countertops that showed absolutely everything. Hmmm, I wonder if I can count this as my OPAM for the month of October. Probably not,... Oh well!

Before:

After:Before:

After:

Up next for the kitchen: some under cabinet lights, window treatments for the eat-in breakfast area and a tiled backsplash eventually.

* We have a family photo shoot with the very talented Marci Lambert on Saturday morning and I am besides myself with excitement, although I do have to find a pair of jeans that fit tomorrow,... this is almost as miserable for me as buying a bathing suit. Ughh!

* I made this for dinner yesterday:
and it was easy and fast and actually tasted quite good. Even Isabella liked it and that's saying a lot these days. It's a Bruschetta Chicken Bake recipe from the Kraft Foods magazine. For my WW buddies out there, it was 6 points per serving, which is a cup. I had about a cup and a half and it turned out to be a bit much. Anyway, I've gotten the magazine for a while now and have made a number of their recipes. You can find this recipe here, and while you're there take some time to browse their site for fast and easy meal and yummy dessert ideas.

* While I was making our yummy dinner last night I overheard Isabella talking to the dogs in the living room and getting somewhat frustrated. The exchange ended with her sighing, walking away while telling them: "You guys are killing me!" Where does she get this stuff?

* And just because they seriously are "Really Cute", just like her hat says, I joyfully leave you with this:

Meet the village idiot

The following conversation took place bright and early this morning while Isabella, Sam and I were having breakfast. Sam started grunting and his face turned really red; obviously he was taking care of business.

I: What's Sam doing?

Me: I think he's pooping.

I: Why is he pooping?

Me: Well, because everybody poops.

I: Well, I don't go poop,...

Insert long pause here ~ long enough for me to foolishly think she had finished her statement. Right! Silly me!

Me: Of course you poop, Silly! Everybody poops!

Insert a raised index finger and a whole lot of attitude here.

I: I wasn't done talking. (Insert long pause for dramatic effect.) I was saying I don't go poop ON MYSELF,... I go poop in the potty.

Insert an overly exaggerated sigh from Isabella here.

I: I am so much smarter than you.

WHAT? EXCUSE ME?

OK, so here's the thing, on more than one occasion I've said to Scott that I think Isabella thinks I'm like the village idiot. To her "Her Daddy" is the greatest and strongest and fastest and smartest thing since sliced bread. Nobody compares to him in her eyes. As a matter of fact, she cries every morning begging "Her Daddy" to NOT go to work and the second "Her Daddy" walks through the door, it's seriously like I'm instantly dismissed. It's like I'm the Latin maid/nanny that needs to disappear through the back door the moment "Her Daddy"" (the Master) makes an appearance. Poof! Be gone, Consuelo!

When Scott's not around either she knows I'm all she's got until he gets home or, dare I say, she actually enjoys being with me. But things are really good. We laugh, we play, we talk, we dance, you name it ~ it's great. And she is SO loving and affectionate. So this "statement" of hers today actually took me by surprise.

Here lately she's been constantly saying that she's faster than X or that she's stronger than X, so I think today was just another adaptation of being " ___er than X". But did she really have to add the "so much"? I mean, seriously!!!

So today we had another conversation about being humble and respectful and considerate of others' feelings. She said she was sorry for hurting my feelings and gave me a big hug. Awww!

Hmm, you think maybe deep inside she was thinking: "Oh, how dare you reprimand me, you underling? I'll have "My Daddy" deal with you tonight. Pack your bags, you village idiot! You're so outta here! Adios, amiga!"?

Nah, she wouldn't,... or would she?

It's a Compliment,... no really, it is!

This morning I left the house to get a WAY overdue and MUCH needed haircut. Between the nasty Memphis heat, the ridiculously excessive shedding, my inability to comb through it after a shower and just the plain lack of any style, something had to be done, and pronto.

So I went to see a new girl at a salon I had been to before because supposedly she has a lot of experience working with naturally curly hair,... and well let's face it, I need all the help I can get. I think she did a good job. Right now it's kind of hard to tell because she went about it like no one ever had before. She did a dry cut, which basically means that my hair was washed, dried and straightened with a flat iron before it was even cut. Wow, I had no idea my hair could look so straight. It is freakishly straight, like not even the Memphis humidity was a match for this lady's flat iron skills. She claims that by doing it this way it looks good straight as well as curly. Sure, whatever, you're the expert.

Anyway, she cut about 4-5 inches which now puts my hair right about shoulder-length. Again, I think it looks OK, but the true test will be when I wear it curly, which is about every single day, because I don't really have a spare 45 minutes to an hour every day to spend on straightening my hair.

Moving on ~ so I come home, walk through the back door and Isabella's head instantly pops up from behind the couch. Her eyes show how surprised she is as she excitedly exclaims:

"Oh Mommy! Your hair is beautiful! You look just like a doggy!"

Hmmm,... thank you? I guess since she really does love dogs, that's a compliment, right? It's gotta be.

I know she really loved the straight hair since she spent about 30 minutes combing it with a brush and normally the sight of Isabella coming towards me with a brush gets me running faster than most anything else in this world. On any given day, the result of her using a brush on my thick curly hair usually leaves me looking like one of those crazy-haired troll thingies,...
Anyway, I was all excited about posting a picture of my new do today, but needless to say I'm not exactly feeling "pretty" right this minute, with my "doggy" hairstyle and all. I might wait and see what it looks like when it's curly and then I'll post one.

For now, you'll just have to use your imagination: picture a doggy with freakishly straight hair. I don't know, maybe something along these lines:
What do you think? You like?

Just a chillin'

Recapping a conversation that occurred this evening and went a little something like this:

Me (in the kitchen): "Isabella, dinner's ready."

Isabella (in the living room): "What?"

Yeah, I've already blogged about how much I'm loving the whole WHAT? thing here.

So I patiently repeat: "Dinner's ready, come eat."

To which she replies: "What, mama?"

A little less patient, I say: "D I N N E R * I S * R E A DY!!!"

Somewhat defeated, while walking into the kitchen she responds: "OK, OK, chill out mama!"

Incredulous, I ask: "What'd you just say?"

And quite matter of fact, she looks me in the eyes and answers: "I said just chill out mama."

Chill out? Chill out? Where does she get this stuff?

Underage Gambling

For dinner tonight we had chicken cordon bleu with bacon ranch Suddenly Pasta Salad and a vegetable. I cut Isabella's chicken into bite size pieces and arranged her meal on her new Princess plate. She's sitting at the counter watching Noggin when she suddenly looks down at her plate, carefully examines it for a while, and with her sassiest little girl voice says to me: "I bet I'm not gonna like thiiiisssssss!", while pointing to the pasta salad.

OK, so when did she start betting? I'm pretty sure I don't walk around the house saying: "I bet if you don't pick up your toys you're going on a time out", or "I bet if you don't eat your meal you're not getting a cookie", or "I bet if you don't listen and do as you're told you won't get to play outside in the backyard".

No, I don't talk like that because I don't like uncertainty, I don't want any room for possible misinterpretation and I'm simply not the betting type. I am much more direct, like: "Isabella, if you don't pick up your toys you ARE going on a time out", and "Isabella, since you didn't eat your (insert meal here) you are NOT getting a cookie", and even "Isabella, when you START listening and doing as you're told, then you'll get to play outside".

And, in the interest of full disclosure, here's the other new "thing". Everything I say to her, and I mean everything, is met with a "WHAT?" EVERYTHING! It is driving me crazy. So yesterday after having one too many of my requests fall on "deaf ears", I finally told her that since she was having such serious hearing issues we'd have to go see Dr. Senter, her pediatrician, so that he could fix her up and make sure her listening is perfect going forward. Guess what?! Yep, you guessed it, she heard that loud and clear.

So I'm left wondering, as we prepare to enter the threes next month ~ will the thrilling threes be any easier/better/more tolerable than the terrible twos?

Oh, and just so you know, our betting girl was right on the money and won the jackpot ~ she did not like the pasta salad.

I don't ever want to forget,...

So Scott and I were talking about a funny thing that happened in the car on the way home from dinner Saturday night. Just a few days later and we're already struggling to remember ALL the details. But we've finally managed to piece it together and it goes a little something like this:

At Hannah's birthday party all the girls got one of those funky straws with lots of loops in their cups. On the way home Isabella pulled her straw out of her cup and since it was so dark she was having a hard time getting it back in the right spot. So she asked her daddy for help. Scott took the straw put it in the cup and gave it back to her, to which she enthusiastically responded:

"Good job, Daddy! I'm so proud of you!"

Scott and I looked at each other and started laughing. Of course, as you can imagine, her daddy instantly turned to mush. Not that it takes much,...

What'd you say?

Ever since Isabella has started "talking", we've always thought she picks up words quite quickly, almost effortless actually, forcing me to REALLY watch what I say and how I say it. As she approaches her second birthday, that ability seems to be greatly exaggerated.

This last week was a particularly interesting one in the language development area. The last few words she's added to her vocabulary, and uses quite appropriately if I may add, have us laughing pretty hard.

NUFF (enough) ~ as in: "Stop mama, nuff tickling!"

OH GOSH ~ as in:
Liz: "Isabella, get down before you get hurt."
Isabella: " OK mama, oh gosh!"
Also used when she's struggling to climb somewhere or when she accidentally drops something.

CHOKE ~ as in: (fake cough) "Mama, Lella (Isabella) choke."

LICIOUS ~ as in:
Liz or Scott: "How's your food Isabella?"
Isabella: "Mmm, Mmm, licious."

This morning she woke up, had breakfast, handed me the phone and said: "Call Daddy!", so I did. She had a brief conversation with her daddy and after I hung up the phone she looked at me and stated as a matter of fact: "Daddy at work".

So as frustrating as this age/stage/phase or whatever else people call it can be, she sure is quite the entertaining act these days as well.