week of progress

My sweet girl has come so very far. Her left arm gains strength on a daily basis. (For those who may not know what I’m talking about, you can read my daughter's story and baby miracles to fill in a few of the gaps.)

When Miss C began crawling, she usually balanced out a weak bicep by dragging her body around almost army crawl style, yet not. As she got the crawling concept down, her compensation came in the form of using her elbow only on the left side—kinda cute, really—she was in correct crawling posture otherwise. With each passing day, we knew she was getting stronger and got loads of enjoyment from seeing her use that left arm the way she should, then alternately drop down on her elbow, then back up and so forth (more so when she was tired). She definitely had a bit of style going on!

This week has been yet another milestone of progress for our daughter.

On Monday, Miss C began pulling herself up. Then…she stopped dropping to her elbow while crawling! It was a noticeable change over the course of three or four days. For us, this was huge. She also prefers to use her left hand for feeding herself (and accurately aimed a fork this morning, thank you very much)—as her therapist said, being a lefty would be the ultimate, since it would require fine-tuning her motor skills that are subtly lacking.

In the meantime, my son is working on teaching her to climb stairs. She’s proving to be quite a little learner--both knees have made it to the first step; time for those extra gates, I do believe.

road rage

I have this pet peeve that drives me insane--people blocking an intersection. Obviously, they don't get it that they are the reason there is a traffic jam! If you cannot get through the light, stay behind the line. It's a law, it's simple, it's basic, and good golly miss molly, just DO it, please? And when I am following this simple curtesy, DON'T HONK AT ME.

Little B's private school is a wisp of a mile away -- something I will miss when we move. They go from "mother's morning out" to 6th grade. All preschool ages arrive and leave at the same time via three different doors, depending on the child's classroom location. Last year, my "door" to go to used a turn lane and an extra entrance to the parking lot--it was short and often overly full. THIS year, however, I SHARE an entrance with the littlest kids...the younger they are, the longer and slower the line. We line up next to them in the circular drive, and I must say OUR line is always incredibly short and fast--IF you can get to it.

This morning, I sat through the light twice since the moms in the long line do not know how to pull forward, which is all it would take to make room for more cars at the end. I'm not sure why the moms in these carpool lines are so incredibly dense--they leave a ton of space in front of their cars, not paying the least bit of attention. The wierd thing to me is that they are the ones stuck at the back at some point, right? You'd think they could remember it for a mere 10 minutes. But, no, apparently not.

When the turn arrow turned green the third time, the mom behind me honked! Sorry lady, I'm not doing it to annoy you (if I'd have turned into my lane, my car would have blocked the entire intersection and yes, I've seen some of these ladies get tickets for that very thing!).

I finally did a u-turn and went into the empty line, parked and walked my son up--there was only one car in his lane, as well. But getting there was the issue.

I was seething by the time I walked him up. The teachers getting them out cannot do a thing, but they could see how mad I was. The afternoons are just as bad and the teacher taking down carpool numbers doesn't say a word--in fact she stands in my way most of the time.

Oh, I cannot wait for next year--the elementary school lets out at a different time and there are so few cars in those lines. I've seen them while driving by...

full caff today, please

My intent today was to drop off Little B, then nap when Miss C napped. She is napping now. I am not. Am I tired? Very...teething, red bottoms and little boy nightmares do not make for good nights (yes, plural).

I am stupid. I wanted that nap BAD. But, I was a little afraid she and I would oversleep...we have to leave in about 15 minutes, and an alarm sounded like such a lousy way to wake up. Oh well. Guess I'll be making coffee after all (which I only skipped in hopes of grabbing that nap).

help wanted

I have some cloth diapers my daughter has outgrown and I want to sell them. I am nervous about selling on ebay (never done it, and don't know anyone well enough to consult with about doing it). Someone suggested craigslist, but I suppose I don't know how I feel about that, either (I don't really dig meeting up with strangers, you know?). Does anyone know anything about selling stuff online or could someone suggest another means of selling? Please???

shopping

Last week I bought my daughter her first pair of shoes--for summer, bare feet and occasional booties or socks are sufficient in my book. I'd been debating back and forth on what to get: Stride Rite Crawlers, last year's style at the Stride Rite Outlet, Robeez, or Target's Circo brand of Robeez. I finally settled on Robeez, and went to Nordstrom to buy them--a store I usually only frequent for their elevator. I'd heard they were actually a buck or two cheaper (though I did not double check), and most important, they had a better selection. Wow, did they! I was actually wishing I could buy some boy's ones, too. =p I finally settled on the pink pair with kittens. Miss C is something of a kitten to us in a lot of ways, so that only seemed appropriate.

I was asked to fill out a card of information while paying; there was a place to list my purchases, current and future, so I figured why not? (And, I did enjoy looking around a tidy, posh department store...oh, I'd love to be a regular shopper in such a place.)

Today I got a thank you note from the sales lady. Talk about regal shopping. . .

the quest

We spent this past weekend in the mountains I love so much. The leaves had not yet changed, but it was still crisp and cool and lovely and poetry ran through my mind the entire time. I had a relaxing time, to top it off (my parents were with us and helped with the childcare load). Lovely.

While there, my husband and I made an attempt get dessert within walking distance of where we were staying, but discovered it was by reservation only and we decided it was too much hassle for right then. This is the second failed attempt to "indulge" in less than a month. Now, we've mostly maintained our sugar free efforts, so to tantalize ourselves with the promise of a scrumptious dessert and have it fall through simply whets the appetite for the forbidden. And I have been craving chocolate in a big way for about a week (I was known to create my own with cocoa powder and honey last week--yes, I needed it!)

We rejoined my family (deciding to make reservations for brunch the next morning, which was delicious, by the way), and within about half an hour I became crabby...I was needing real chocolate and fast. I can only figure it's PMS but it was a big deal to me. So, we drove to the grocery store that would be closing in 30 minutes or so (the town shuts down around 10pm if not sooner, even on Saturday!). I searched for my tried and true chocolate and I swear they lacked the good stuff in every way! I need DARK chocolate (my only concession to milk chocolate would be almond m&m's which they did not have anyway).

There was no Dove dark--just the milk.

I looked for Special Dark with Almonds--they had no bag (or bar) of just that. There was a only a mixed bag of Hershey's Treasures--not worth the whole bag for a quarter of it to be dark (and Hershey's is only so-so anyway).

I considered just a Mouds candy bar, but there was only a Halloween-sized bag which was overkill (not for my usual preferences, but for Mounds, it was excessive).

At this point, I can honestly say I was getting close to tears. I know, I cannot believe I just admitted to that, but it's true. I'd have happily worked my way through most of a bag (of dark chocolate only) that night! I contemplated making brownies and while that might have worked, it would have been midnight before it was ready to eat, so I nixed that idea, too. The store was closing at this point and I was desparate to find something that would work.

So, I headed to the freezer and finally found some Godiva Dark Belgian Chocolate Ice Cream. I am amazed I didn't eat it with my fingers or at least buy a spoon. I managed to make it all the way back and ran for the silverware. When my husband got a spoon for a bite, I glared at him. Poor man--he'd helped in my desparate quest for real chocolate--I said, "At least let me finish the top layer, okay?"

I am not a person who can down a pint in one sitting, so I shared and there is still some left! The craving has only mildly abated, though, and I eat a little each day. (I'm breaking the no sugar rule until this is remedied.)

In fact, last night, I went to my favorite coffee shop and had a four layer piece of chocolate cake (that's a ton of cake for me).

I think I will be buying a bag of the good chocolate to get me through...

dining disaster update

For those who have read my most recent blog, please allow me to fill you in on today's occurances in response to my "kind" email.

Before 10am this morning, I had two responses from various people at Golden Corral (I've already used their name on my site, so I'll carry through). At 11:30, I received a third. I was kind of impressed, since I'd only sent two emails out.

And, apparently, I have created a tiny uproar in that local joint. Fascinating coming from a woman who grows more wary of confrontation with each passing year (and I used to be GOOD at it!!). I responded to two of these emails, one which asked for my phone number so she could pass it along to an Area Director for that location.

Then the director called. I was asked to recap my experience (which I did, though I hate recapping when I know they've just read the email sitting in front of them!). This man apologized profusely. He stated more than once that this is not how they do business and that he was very embarassed. He told me he'd spent the day at that location and had handed out reprimands pertaining to this incident. Honestly, I liked him. He was nice, he was kind, he apologized multiple times, and was genuinely more than a little upset by how things had been handled. He asked if there is anything he could do. My answer: "No, I don't think so, and my liklihood of return is slim in spite of it being my son's favorite restaurant." (It is almost always Little B's first choice in dining locations, and, hey, it is fast to get hot food.)

All that said and done: I have some free meal coupons coming in the mail. I would not ask for them--my belief is that they needed to offer them on their own after that fiasco.

Will I use them? Eventually. I doubt it will be next week, and possibly not even next month. But, yes, eventually. Probably after I know better what Miss C is or is not allergic to. After all, it's long been a favorite Saturday morning breakfast spot (though for the sake of not eating out so much, we don't frequent it as often, and rather my two men make me breakfast on Saturdays. Gotta love it!)

Am I happy with the outcome? Yes. I believe I am. My point was made, the higher uppers quickly handled my complaint, and I was thanked for contacting them rather than simply walking away or badmouthing them. (Well, you guys are my friends, right? Not a newspaper. And, hey, who doesn't tell their friends about their experiences? Besides, I posted the outcome and good stuff along with the other. Okay, my conscience is clear.)