E-Pression

Ok so now you need to hear about Girl V

2008-02-10T03:09:00.000-05:00

Girl V turned 3 on Jan. 20. She gets so many presents from her paternal grandparents that I have not given her any of the things I bought for Christmas OR Birthday lest she be totally spoiled.
She is very interested in words and letters and we are really hoping she will learn to read this year. She knows the words "up" and "go," we are working on sounding out words. I KNOW that if she could read she would self-amuse a lot more by reading. That's why we are so hot on it.
She likes to look at her Bible story picture books. I got a little worried recently because she was talking about "the three men who went in the hot hot fire but didn't get burned because of God." I worried that she was getting confused about whether or not fire really burns you, since the drawing of Shadrach, Meschach and Abednago in the fire shows that they are just fine! I also had a hard time explaining why David gets to hit Goliath in the head with a rock, when we have a no-hitting rule in our house. Basically, it's like those word games in which you have to get your teammates to guess a concept without using key words that most people would use to explain that concept - since Girl V doesn't get ideas like "Chosen people" or "miracle."
We are thinking about pre-school for next year. Really we should have done it this year but she was not really reliably toilet trained and I would not have been willing to commit in Feb. of last year, which is when you have to sign up. There are 2 options, one is 5 days a week at the Montessori school, which seems like a lot, and of course costs more. The other is only 2 days a week, which might be better, although I am wary because it is a Protestant outfit, and I need that crap like I need a hole in the head. I have not gotten the info for the 2-day option. I just know she was so lonely this winter and was crying that she had no friends, and that made me feel sad.
This week she is excited about finding treasure. One of her babysitters made a treasure map with her and hunted for treasure in our house, and I dug out a book that was about finding treasure, and she thinks it is very exciting. She even made up a little song about it. The lyrics are "I love to find treasure all day! I love to find treasure all day!" and she jumps around singing it. She has no idea that treasure is valuable or what she would do with it once she got it, or why it would be hidden in the first place. But she likes the adventure of finding it.
In the 2 months since I last posted, we also got rid of her remaining nap in favor of her sleeping from about 7 pm to about 8 am (and also being completely cranky after about 5:30 pm). It is not perfect but it gives me some time in the evenings to unwind.

2008-02-10T02:46:00.000-05:00

McCain: crazy as hell, statist, interventionist. Like George Bush, but with rabies. But you know, we've only got 300 million people in this country, so I'm sure he is the best possible choice for one of the two options we will have.

The only good thing that has come out of the campaigns is that I have been able to get in a word with my mother about abortion. She is pro-choice because, basically, everyone else in her area is, and my mother thinks any extremism must be wrong, because it is after all so extreme! She defends abortion based on rape and life of the mother cases, though I have explained to her that her view puts her in the position of restricting abortions to 1% of their current rate. She doesn't want to think about it, because she doesn't want to become an extremist or hold an unpopular view.
It is pretty distressing to me that my own mother holds this view. When I was about 13, she told me that if I got pregnant as a teenager, she would make me have an abortion. She was clearly quite proud of herself for having arrived at such a noble and clear-headed view of how such situations should be handled. I told her I didn't think I could go through with something like that. As was (and sometimes IS) typical, it did not occur to her that I might, you know, need to be consulted for my view in such a situation. Frankly, I think the conversation woke me up a little to the reality of sex (that it makes babies) that at that age I had not really thought much about. The idea of being pressured by my own mother to kill my child was pretty terrifying.
Anyway, I mentioned, offhand, that one of the things that is so upsetting about Obama is that he opposed the "Born Alive" bill that aimed to prevent babies surviving abortion from being suffocated or just exposed in the hallway of a hospital until they die. Mom just gasped and said "Oh my God!" So, maybe she will reflect on this a little more. Unfortunately, though, I don't think she will.

2007-12-04T23:51:00.000-05:00

This evening O.O. entertained Girl V by watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with her on the TV. She was scared of the Abominable Snowman (AKA the White Monster) and did not want to go to bed. So we had to talk her down.

V: "Where's the monster go? I want to say hi to him!"
O.O. looks and points out the window in the direction of the college where he teaches. "See that light waaaaaaay over there? The monster is waaaay over there."
V: "He's in him office at (College!) Him's working! Him's working at (College!)"
This idea seems to relieve her and she submits to going upstairs to get ready for bed. Then more consoling:

Me: "Do you know who's in charge of the house?"
V: "Daddy!"
Me: "Yes. Daddy and Mommy are in charge." (In an effort to tell her we would keep out the monsters.)
V: "And me too!"

Daddy: "Do you know who can make the monsters go away? Your guardian angel can make the monsters go away."
V: "And Baby Jesus too!"
Daddy: "That's right."
V, rethinking: "No. Him's just a baby. Him can't say 'Go away monsters.' Him just says hi to them."
Daddy: "No, even though Baby Jesus is just a baby, he can make the monsters go away. He is very powerful."

Then we said our goodnight prayer and went to bed peacefully, though wanting more stories.

Today Girl V asked "Why" for the first time.

2007-12-03T22:27:00.000-05:00

Wanted to know why she had to finish all the food on her plate. She likes to eat just enough to quell the immediate hunger and then LET'S GO WUN AWOUND!!!

Music liked by Girl V

2007-12-03T11:15:00.000-05:00

The Wall, Pt. 3
The Ghostbusters Theme Song
Jingle Bells
Old MacDonald
That Hi-Ho-The-Dairio Song
Bach
Hark the Herald Angels Sing

2007-11-08T00:11:00.001-05:00

O.O. says, "This also gives me the opportunity to make a poultice, about which I am most pleased."

Girl V, 33 months

2007-11-07T23:51:00.000-05:00

Taking a bubble bath. Daddy put his feet in the tub once and now she insists I do it every bath. It is nice to soak my feet so I don't mind.

Me: "Do you know what's inside a bubble?"
V.: "No."
Me: "Air. A bubble is soap with air inside."
V.: "Oh!....What else, inside?"
Me: "Nothing else is inside. Just air."
V.: "What about bunnies?"
Me: "Nope, no bunnies. Just air."
V.: "And bunnies too!"

When she cries, she now narrates how sad she is. "Mommy, I'm sad. Not happy, no! I got tiny little tears dripping on me! I'm really sad! Don't make me happy! I not gonna be happy, I'm really sad! I'm crying, Mommy, I'm crying!"

Also, today, slipped and fell (no injuries.) "Mommy, I dropped myself!"

Now understands the concept of preference. "Mommy, which one you like?" She doesn't like it if we both like the same thing sometimes, and tells me that I like a different one so that she can be the only one who likes the item.

V.: "Mommy, I want to get married."
Me: "Who do you want to get married to?"
V.: "To you, Mommy!"
Me: "You can't marry me. You have to find a boy to marry."
V.: "A boy? Where's a boy?"
Me: "You have to go find one that you like."
V.: "Oh Mommy, when you grow up, you('ll) be a boy."

2007-11-02T16:39:00.000-04:00

Standing on My Head: What's a Hymn For? Excellent analysis of the problems with a lot of modern hymns.

2007-10-26T21:05:00.000-04:00

Drinking stories that put yours to shame - CNN.com: "The record for history's largest cocktail belongs to British Lord Admiral Edward Russell. In 1694, he threw an officer's party that employed a garden's fountain as the punch bowl. The concoction? A mixture that included 250 gallons of brandy, 125 gallons of Malaga wine, 1,400 pounds of sugar, 2,500 lemons, 20 gallons of lime juice, and 5 pounds of nutmeg. A series of bartenders actually paddled around in a small wooden canoe, filling up guests' cups. Not only that, but they had to work in 15-minute shifts to avoid being overcome by the fumes and falling overboard."

YouTube - Chihuahua Halloween Costume

2007-10-23T20:36:00.000-04:00

YouTube - Chihuahua Halloween Costume

Hi there

2007-10-21T22:21:00.000-04:00

Sorry, I forgot my password and did not have time to go hunt around and find it. Today we made jack-o-lanterns (just drew on them, no carving) and Girl V named them Chaneylaney, Taskalaskas, and Tikkitootot. She feeds them sand. She is very interested in skeletons, ghosts, cats, bats, pumpkins, trick or treating and of course CANDY.

She remains super cute and is the center of attention everywhere she goes. This is compounded by her friendliness, she walks down rows of people smiling and waving "Hello everybody! My dress is so prettiful!"

She has recently done something very unusual. She read a book about a little boy who goes to the doctor and gets a checkup, and as part of the checkup he gets a shot. So Girl V wanted a shot too. We were driving around one day and she said "Mommy, I want to go to the doctor and get a shot," totally out of the blue. I remembered that she was scheduled for the flu shot the next week so I said, "Ok, if you are really really good, we can go get one next week." I figured this request was because of the book and that once she got there she would not want the shot but hey, milk it for all it's worth while she still wants to go. The day before her appointment we took her with us while we got our flu shots so she could see what that was all about. Both of us bled but she did not care. Still excited about getting her shot the next day. So we went to her shot and she was still happy to go and happy to wait for the shot. Then we took her in to actually get it, waiting to see when she would finally figure out what was going on and start to cry. Well, she grimaced a little during the shot but did not cry. Then she went out and said "I want to get ANOTHER shot!" Later on in the week when she got frustrated she would cry and say "I want to go to the doctor and get another shot!" in the same tone that she uses for "I want to go to the circus!" So we officially have the weirdest kid in the world, but I am not complaining.

Our theory is that she is just very bored and constantly wants new and different experiences, and that's why she liked the shot. Who knows.

She is very well spoken these days and very interested in the alphabet and words. She seems to understand that letters make words and words convey information and likes to read baby dictionaries. So maybe she will start reading soon. It would not surprise me.

My horrible work situation is for now "in abeyance." It may blow up again later but I think it is basically okay. Waiting to see...

There is a big meeting on Thursday that is stressing me out a lot. If anyone wants to pray for that, and for Stephanie, Betty, Anita, Karen, Phil, and Joseph that would be great. I am just figuring all my readers must like praying for me if they are still reading this blog because it is just kid updates and prayer requests at this point.

Please pray also for Sara F who needs to find a job at which she can succeed.

Girl V now 31 months old

2007-09-11T22:30:00.000-04:00

Knows her right from her left and tries to tell me where to go in the car - gives directions to the park.
Can ride a baby trike if I push the handle to help her along.
Uses the potty about 90 percent of the time during the day for "both" needs.
Talks a lot, says things like "Daddy, you stay here in Mommy's office, I go downstairs and get some toys for you. Stay here!" (LOVES telling Daddy and Mommy what to do as you can see.)
Amuses herself with books and toys for 10-15 minutes or so, when asked.
Waits patiently while Mommy talks on the phone.
Comes inside the church for Mass, does not talk but does not sit still either.
Knows lots of songs and likes to sing and dance. Makes up her own songs.
When I come in to wake her up she says, "Mommy, have any dreams?" Which means she wants me to ask her if she had any dreams. So I do, and she invariably says "I dream about clowns Mommy!"
She likes to read books especailly new books!

Thanks for your prayers

2007-09-11T22:29:00.000-04:00

We are not going to attempt to resolve the situation until after the 18th, so you still have time to pray!!!!

Please pray for me.

2007-08-29T23:02:00.000-04:00

I have to deal with a major, major problem. Work-related personnel issue. If anyone is still reading this pitiful blog, I could use your prayers. Even my atheist readers, come on, help a brutha out.

Please pray that I can relax - I do NOT deal with stress well. And that a solution amenable to everyone involved presents itself.

THANKS.

2007-08-26T00:57:00.000-04:00

Am-I-Dumb.com - Are you dumb?

2007-08-11T21:47:00.000-04:00

Lutherans to allow pastors in gay relationships - Yahoo! News
My poor grandfather, God rest his soul, who was a Lutheran pastor as was his own father before him, is not happy about this. He saw this coming ...

How I would have ended the Harry Potter series, because I am a very bad person

2007-07-22T23:29:00.001-04:00

Then Hermione handed the book to Harry. "The Bible?" he asked, puzzled.
"It's the only perfect book, Harry. A complete handbook for life," she answered.
Harry opened the pages and read for a moment. Then he stopped and looked Hermione right in the eyes. "You're right," he said. "This magic stuff is all washed up."
"Harry," Hermione asked, "won't you make a commitment to Christ?"
"You mean---my personal Lord and Saviour?" Harry smiled. "Absolutely. But let's do it up right. Isn't there a Baptist Church up the street with a full immersion baptismal pool?"
Hermione nodded. She couldn't wait to tell the Hogwarts for Christ prayer team.

Girl V, almost 2 & 1/2

2007-07-15T23:41:00.000-04:00

She is so busy that I get overwhelmed even trying to think about writing an update. So here are some free form thoughts, best I can do.
She wants to sleep on my lap "like a tiny little baby" or in my pouch the way Roo sleeps in Kanga's pouch (Winnie the Pooh, for those of you not living in Kidworld.)
Has been pretending to be various things. Started by saying, "Name's Gentle Dog!" Then she was Gentle Dog for several days and ran around the house panting and sometimes with a pretend bone in her mouth. Sometimes would cooperate with requests if Gentle Dog was asked to do them, even if Girl V was not cooperating. Since then has been pretending to be just about anything - lion, parrot, penguin, pigeon, prince, cowboy, Christopher Robin, Miss Piggy, butterfly, even several things at once, by saying "Pigeon is a lady cowboy!" Also assigns identities to Mommy and Daddy, so I have been Mommy Tigger, Mommy Cinderella, Mommy Frog, etc. Daddy was Scary Tiger but then she actually got scared so he had to stop that one.
She was "a little bit scared" of the noisy fireworks but did like looking at them. The loud bangs were what scared her. She was very brave and preferred to watch them from inside the car or under a blanket.
I took her to DC briefly and she liked the escalators and even got on them by herself (as opposed to being carried) after riding them a few times. She liked seeing all the statues in Union Station.
She also saw Daddy riding a bike and freaked out. Then she calmed down after seeing it again. We are hoping she will ride in one of those bike seats with him so he can get some exercise. Her head is way to big for the baby helmet though.
Ok, there's your update. Also I have been mowing the lawn since O.O. threw his back out. Who is the patron saint for backs?

Shaya Rochester in the news

2007-07-09T08:53:00.000-04:00

Children get holier than thou - USATODAY.com

In case you're wondering, "Is the MPAA ratings system irreparably broken?"

2007-06-29T22:08:00.000-04:00

The new Transformers movie is rated PG-13, in part for "brief sexual humor."

a comment on Mark Shea's blog

2007-06-28T01:41:00.000-04:00

Comments: "Dr Bernard Nathanson, the ex-abortionist, suggests that pro-lifers could use the expression 'right to live' because it makes it plain that the person we are talking about already has a life, rather than having a 'potential' life."

What the V can do: age 29 months

2007-06-28T01:19:00.002-04:00

She can say:
"I hear a mourning dove."
"I did it!"
"I like that book."
Lots of pronoun use. Some confusion like "There is her." and "Where is she?" said of non-female objects.

Also: "Thomas is crying! Baby's crying!"
Dad: "Yes, Thomas was crying. Is Thomas a baby?"
V: "No."
Dad: "What is Thomas?"
V: "A boy."
Dad: "And what is (Girl V)?"
V: "A GIRL!"

So she finally knows she is a girl. She is starting to understand and answer "or" questions "Is your hair straight or curly?" instead of just repeating the last option.

Likes to pretend that she is scaring me, or a toy is scaring me, or scaring her. Very interested in scariness generally. Also LOVES to pretend that Daddy is "Daddy Cat" and then order the cat around.

2007-06-28T01:19:00.001-04:00

"Mortification is the spice of life." - Fr. Edward Hathaway

Boovs

2007-06-16T22:46:00.000-04:00

Girl V has noticed that ladies have "boovs," and has asked if she can "have boovs too?" (I told her "Yes. Later.") She also wants to get married, drive a car, and use a sword and shield.

2007-06-13T22:13:00.000-04:00

A lawyer's guide to fatherhood

Dean urges Dems to court evangelical Christians

2007-06-12T11:34:00.000-04:00

"I haven't seen gay marriage in the Bible once."-- Howard Dean
Got it. Would that lack of discussion of gay marriage be in the New Testament, where the Book of Job is reputedly located, or the Old Testament?
Really, I can't think of a more queer-positive personality than the God of the Hebrew Scriptures. Remember all those recommendations that men lay with other men, and condemnations of "breeders?"
Or was that the New York Times I was reading? So hard to keep them straight.

Layout changes

2007-06-10T23:39:00.000-04:00

Time to say goodbye to YACCS comments. Sad, sad. Hello Blogger comments and layout. Limited time to update and maintain the blog has led to this change. This new automation should help.

2007-06-05T23:07:00.000-04:00

O.O. says being married to him is like being married to "a waterfall with lightning in it" or "a lion with an electric guitar."

Upon seeing light reflected on the ceiling.

2007-06-04T22:48:00.000-04:00

She sees the light on the ceiling. "Whazzat?"
Mommy: "It's light. It's a reflection."
Girl V: "Hi flesshun! ...What are you doing flesshun? (Want to) play in-a Jump-o-lene? Come here!"
Mommy rotates the mirror causing the reflection, showing her that the reflection moves too.
Girl V: "Where are you going flesshun? Come back! It's going away! There it is!"
Girl V gets distracted by the mirror for a minute. Looks in her mouth, makes funny faces. Time to play with Eeyore.

Girl V 28.5 months

2007-06-02T09:17:00.000-04:00

Lots of amusing expressions. "Hi one girl!" and "(Girl V) live ons the Eart!" She lately has enjoyed playing with the Little People. The recurring scenario is one starts crying, and another comes over and says "I hep you!" She is just figuring out emotions like sad and angry. We are focusing a lot on discipline right now because she likes to push, push, push the limits. Hmm, wonder where she got that? Actually I was a pretty compliant kid, so was my husband.

2007-05-28T08:57:00.000-04:00

Help! Grocery store still overwhelming to men
In a recent report titled "Men in Grocery Stores," Putnam said that men shop inefficiently, which leads to missed sales for retailers.
Many men have difficulty finding items, forego buying rather than risk purchasing a substitute for an item on the grocery list and hesitate to ask for help if they can't find an item, Putnam said in her report.

Peace on Earth - V, 28 months

2007-05-21T00:38:00.000-04:00

Today we took Girl V to church and she was GOOD. Really good, sat on my lap and was quiet 99% of the time. AMAZING given we just started the "taking her to Mass" experiment about 6 weeks ago and figured we would be struggling for longer. Of course, we are still sitting out in the narthex, not in the church itself. That is the next big hurdle, because all the people will be very distracting to her. So I think we will wait a while for that. We are just happy we can attend Mass as a family without getting frustrated and bickering.
V also went to the store with me and was again very good. Her favorite place to go is the Post Office and she now requests to go. "Post Office! Post Office!" She is a weird little kid. I am not sure what she likes about it.
We went to a local festival on Saturday which she enjoyed. She got to pet some dogs, see some people jumping on a ride - "Acrobats!" - and get a balloon. Then after we left, she started banging it on the grass, and of course it popped. Her face fell a little but she did not cry. She wanted to fix it, but we told her we couldn't. She talked a lot about how she had popped it.
She really likes her Cinderella DVD and is trying to sing the "Bibbity Bobbity Boo" song. I can't even sing that one.

It is my birthday!

2007-05-16T03:49:00.000-04:00

My policy for birthdays (at least those celebrated by me) is that the birthday-celebrator gets to do whatever he wants. I am hoping our family will have a fun dinner, either at a restaurant or at home.

The Annunciation, according to Girl V.

2007-04-23T18:52:00.000-04:00

Girl V has a pop-up book on the life of Christ, which includes a scene of the Annunciation. Being a two-year-old girl with two human-looking images before her, Girl V made them talk. Here is what they said.

Mary: "Hi!"
Gabriel: "Hi!"
Mary: "What are you doing?"
Gabriel: "Standing."
Mary: "Ok. Open the door!"
Gabriel: "No. No open the door."
Mary: "Ok. Bye!"
Gabriel: "Bye!"

Yesterday in church, she made her father very happy by announcing loudly that "Jesus is yucky!" Daddy sees it as imposed penance for his sins.

Girl V now 27 months old.

2007-04-21T23:33:00.000-04:00

She has recently mastered transitive verbs and is now acquiring them rapidly - hear, wear, find, drop, clean, squish.
She is HIGHLY SOCIAL and wants me to do EVERYTHING that she is doing. If she's pouring water - "Mommy, pouring too!" then when I do: "Two pourings!"
She got a sandbox today which she loves despite the fact that we did not put the sand in yet (wanted to sleep on the placement of it before loading it w/ 300 lbs of sand.)
She is very interested in the concept of hiding. Whenever she can't see something, or someone is not around, she says it/they are hiding. My mom came to visit and now that she is gone, she is hiding. But she also knows the real meaning of hiding, she just needs to narrow it down.
She is now learning songs like Baa Baa Black Sheep, Ring Around the Rosey (which she thinks means run a circle around something), ABC song. Loves to dance, likes to go to stores with me but gets frustrated when she can't get out of the card and dance to the music on the loudspeakers.
We drive by a cow pasture on our way to a frequently visited destination, but cows are not out yet despite the nice weather. She remembers that they were there several months ago and now hypothesizes that the cows are not visible because they are playing "Ring Around the Rosey."
She is very ok with someone leaving and does not throw a tantrum, typically, just says, "Bye! See you later! Love you very much!"
Fakes injuries for sympathy, or fakes needing to go potty, particularly when about to be punished. But is pretty good at saying please now. Also says "excuse me" but at weird times, so I am not sure what she thinks it means.
We are starting to try and take her to church, which she does not like. She misbehaves loudly so I have to take her out, which is where she wants to be. So I try to keep "out of church" more boring than church, which is not easy. She just cannot get the concept of not talking at "normal volume" in church. I guess we will just have to wait until she understands it. We are going to short masses and trying to avoid the priest who preaches at length.

2007-04-14T21:56:00.000-04:00

Today we took Girl V to Dinosaur Land with my mom, her husband, his daughter and his parents. We all had a lot of fun watching Girl V marvel at the "an-mals!" She said the 30-ft tall King Kong was "scary" but was very brave and checked him out a few times. There was also a giant praying mantis, cobra, shark and octopus in addition to the dinosaurs. She wanted to ride the dinosaurs but that is not allowed.

2007-04-12T04:02:00.000-04:00

The Daily Gut: "But the notion that, when some mildly edgy or tasteless remark makes us cry, we turn to a fat, cheerfully inane clown weatherman for words of healing is proof that we are but characters in an epic satirical novel set in a world of sniveling morons."

Argh

2007-04-10T22:08:00.000-04:00

I have to fire a woman twice my age tomorrow, over the phone. Can you pray that I have the right words to do this as professionally as possible. Also, any suggestions for firing someone over the phone? This is not recommended for good reason, but the only option in this case.

THANKS.

CIRCUS!

2007-04-01T22:14:00.000-04:00

Today, all 3 of us went to see the Ringling Brothers Circus, thanks to my Mom who sprung for the tickets. Girl V had a great time. We had been reading books and watching a video about the circus for 2 weeks so that she would know about clowns and acrobats. On the way there, we stopped in the parking lot of a McDonald's and she said "here it is circus!" so we had to explain that no, the parking lot was not the circus. So we got inside and sat down at the circus only to have her tell us that she needed to go to the potty. She NEVER tells us she needs to go at home, so I was a little surprised and not really wanting to take her to the strange stadium bathroom. But she kept asking, for about 10 minutes, so I decided to take her. And she went, and was totally unfazed by all the strangeness, and we were done in 2 minutes! WOW. Then later, she asked to go again, and we did, with NO drama. Amazing.
She did a good job at sitting still for a long time - the show was 2.5 hrs, though it did have an intermission. She was a little unnerved by a large, moving, inflatable dragon that breathed smoke, and the confetti that they shot EVERYWHERE (think national party conventions on TV) before intermission, but otherwise everything was cool.
She was pretty overwhelmed by the many clowns, elephants, tigers, dancers, acrobats, horses, etc. She made some comments about the events but I could not hear her. We will see what she says about it tomorrow. They had 7 guys riding mini-motorcycles at high speed inside a spherical steel cage about 15 feet in diameter. It was WILD.
In the car on the way home, she sang the whole "Baa Baa Black Sheep" song. I have been singing it to her but did not realize she knew the whole thing. She has also been tracing letters in her coloring books and making "seahorses" out of playdough. She is 26.5 months now.

2007-03-22T20:29:00.000-04:00

The Case for Teaching The Bible | TIME Magazine Cover Story

Try 50%:

2007-03-19T16:59:00.000-04:00

Study Finds One-Third in D.C. Illiterate: "About one-third of the people living in the national's capital are functionally illiterate, compared with about one-fifth nationally, according to a report on the District of Columbia. "

Girl V's Drawing of a Face, 25.5 months

2007-03-19T00:17:00.000-04:00

She actually did a better one that I saved at age 23 months. She did circles for cheeks on that one, and she still does that sometimes.

Today is my 5-year Blogiversary.

2007-03-18T14:43:00.000-04:00

In that time I have created 3007 posts, including this one - an average of about 1.6 per day. Assuming I have spent 1.2 minutes on each post, I have spent 60 hours, or 2.5 24-hr days, writing the blog.

2007-03-14T22:34:00.000-04:00

"DEAR ABBY: I have sold real estate for 18 years, and no one ever forgets my name. It's ... BETH NEWHOUSE, MAYVILLE, N.Y."

2007-03-14T02:10:00.000-04:00

Bright Child or Gifted Learner - EXTREMELY HELPFUL CHART.

Did I mention I am still angry that my Mom did not have me SKIP A GRADE? I was bored out of my mind in first grade.

2007-03-13T12:57:00.000-04:00

He was once somebody, but who? - The Boston Globe

Sad.

Guess I'll have to start boycotting Cyndi Lauper.

2007-03-12T22:05:00.000-04:00

Lauper, others headline gay rights tour - Yahoo! News: "This is supposed to be America, the home of the free and the brave,' she says. 'It can't be free for some and not for others.'"

Ok, Cyndi. But I guess it can be brave for some, and not for others.

I NEED YOUR HELP.

2007-03-12T00:24:00.000-04:00

I need prayers to St. Thomas More for a private, job-related intention.
If anyone is willing to do, like, a whole rosary, I could use it!

To say thank you, I will briefly relate fun Girl V progress. Girl V, now almost 26 months old, continues to improve her verbal skills. We took a car trip yesterday on the highway, and she told me that some of the signs were squares and some were rectangles, as well as counting them and describing their colors. We saw a truck on the side of the road and I told her "The truck is broken." She said "I'll fix the truck!" She also says "I'll get the phone!" Though, she makes no move to actually answer the phone, she just knows that this is what Mommy says when the phone rings.

When she does talk on the phone, she is attempting to have conversations with her grandparents. She asks them "What are you doing, NAME?" and mentions things that happened to her recently, like that she went for a walk in the snow or dropped Mr. Potato Head down the stairs and he got a boo-boo.

She no longer wants to sit in her booster seat, which is blue, but on the regular chairs, which are brown. If I even mention eating, and she wants to, she starts calling "brown chair! brown chair!" before we even go downstairs. She is doing well with drinking from a cup and eating with silverware so usually her desire is accomodated.

She has also begun asking for sweets like "hot coklat" often, and getting more picky about what she eats. But it is not a big deal since she will really eat almost anything.

Probably the funniest thing she does though, is if her head is covered up (like when pulling a turtleneck over her head) she says "Where'd (Girl V) go?"

2007-03-10T19:52:00.000-05:00

Intercollegiate Studies Institute - ISI Books All ISI books are 60% off until 3/31/07.

2007-03-09T16:45:00.000-05:00

Appeals Court Overturns D.C. Gun Ban: "In a 2-1 decision, the judges held that the activities protected by the Second Amendment 'are not limited to militia service, nor is an individual's enjoyment of the right contingent upon his or her continued intermittent enrollment in the militia.'
The court also ruled the D.C. requirement that registered firearms be kept unloaded, disassembled and under trigger lock was unconstitutional."

Now I know what to get Eve for her birthday! Eve - when is your birthday? I am not getting Lukas a gun though. Sorry Lukas, but with your undiscerning appetite you might just eat it one day.

2007-03-09T16:40:00.000-05:00

A very skinny house!

We're going to the Circus!

2007-03-02T10:46:00.000-05:00

We just got tickets to go see the circus next month. I think Girl V will love it! (She'd better - those tickets are expensive!)

2007-02-25T02:48:00.000-05:00

I Insist You Borrow This Terrible Book And Tell Me How Much You Liked It | The Onion - America's Finest News Source - My mother used to do this to me before I had Girl V and she knew I had no time to read anymore.

2007-02-23T09:33:00.000-05:00

Former Editor Can't Believe S*** College Newspaper Is Printing | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

2007-02-20T12:08:00.000-05:00

In College, I Marched Against Racism—And It Worked | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
This is most delicious. Go, read!

It's like some kind of Irony Fractal.

2007-02-19T20:51:00.000-05:00

I am so amazed at the fact that the Bratz dolls for little girls look like whores. There is no other word. If you saw a woman dressed like these dolls, your immediate conclusion would be that she is a whore. So I went to the Bratz website to find you all a photo of what these dolls look like, so you could see that I am not overreacting. And what do I learn but that I can't find those dolls on the site, the only dolls I can find are much tamer and really fine (the gateway dolls to warm them up to the whore dolls!). They don't sell the tame Bratz dolls at the KMart or Toys R Uses where I have shopped.

Anyway, I decided to search elsewhere on the internet for an image for you, my faithful readers. And where do I find one? On the site of an erotic fiction writer who is also complaining that the Bratz dolls look like whores.

The mind reels.

2007-02-19T18:17:00.000-05:00

Please pray for William M., who is having hip surgery tomorrow. Thanks!

2007-02-18T21:10:00.000-05:00

Churches back plan to unite under Pope

Prayers needed for a private intention.

2007-02-16T21:00:00.000-05:00

Prayers directed to St. Francis de Sales would be most appropriate.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Today Girl V learned how to wear a pirate eye patch and say "Arrr!"

Girl V confirms Girl status -

2007-02-16T00:50:00.000-05:00

With little knowledge of the outside world, and not a lot of modeling of femininity from me, Girl V now likes princesses, purses, and jewelry. I gave her an old purse of mine and she loves it so much that she sleeps with it in her bed.

Sometimes she tells us, too, that she had a "pretty nap." I am not sure what that means.

2007-02-15T08:38:00.000-05:00

Week of February 14, 2007 by Robert Novak - HUMAN EVENTS: "After labor unions invested heavily in helping them take control of Congress, House Democrats are marking up a bill this week designed to help labor unions reinvigorate themselves. The so-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would mandate the 'card-check' procedure for unionizing employees at a given workplace, making workers go on the record for or against a union, instead of giving them a secret-ballot election."

2007-02-14T10:17:00.000-05:00

Takes the cake: "DEAR ABBY: Please help me. My lover and I have been disagreeing lately and are considering couples counseling. However, he keeps insisting that we see the marriage counselor he and his wife are currently seeing.
I want to make this relationship work, but I think it's inappropriate to receive counseling from the same one that they are currently seeing. What do you think? -- NEEDS THERAPY IN TEXAS"

X treme Verbosity

2007-02-11T00:50:00.000-05:00

Girl V is displaying great verbal facility. Today she brought me a book, and a duck, and said "Read this together with the duck." Later, she asked, "What is (name) doing now?"
Today we looked at Mommy and Daddy's wedding photo album and talked about how Mommy and Daddy got married and that is why they wear rings. She liked the pictures of everyone dancing at the reception.

2007-02-11T00:29:00.000-05:00

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Her Noble Excellency Zorak the Harmonious of Lesser Cheese Winston
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

2007-02-11T00:28:00.000-05:00

O God, that Great Tsunami - Wow, this is a really bad hymn. Via Fr. Rob.

2007-02-08T21:16:00.000-05:00

The Chronicle: Daily News Blog: Yale U. Will Take Down Portrait Assailed as Racist

Please pray for a private intention, thanks.

2007-02-08T00:49:00.000-05:00

2007-02-04T22:59:00.000-05:00

You scored as Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesial authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is mass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you.

Roman Catholic

100%

Neo orthodox

75%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

61%

Fundamentalist

54%

Classical Liberal

25%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

18%

Reformed Evangelical

18%

Emergent/Postmodern

18%

Modern Liberal

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

V News, 2yrs 1/2 month

2007-02-03T00:48:00.000-05:00

She weighs 28.5 lbs and is just under 3ft tall. 90th percentile height and 70th percentile weight.

She is starting to do some thinking. This is really hard to describe but easy to observe. She knows a lot of words now and she is staring to put them together in ways she has not heard before. For example "baby cup" to refer to a shot glass (we call glasses cups around here cuz we is po' folk.)

We are desperate to teach her how to sit still. Never has on her own. Always moves, unless the TV is on (which is no help). Maybe if we give her a sticker if she sits still for 30 seconds. I will try that. ANY IDEAS?

She is getting beautifuller every day as her curly blonde hair gets longer. I taught her the word "curly" today. She also said "zebra" for the first time, she has known it but never said it.

2007-02-01T00:29:00.000-05:00

McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Things That Get Way More Fun When You Add a "G" to Them.

2007-01-30T10:33:00.000-05:00

If we say that babies in the womb can run around a track really, really fast, do you think people will be sad when someone kills one?

2007-01-29T10:21:00.000-05:00

Pope gives £2,000 to Cambridge chaplaincy

Questions the V can ask

2007-01-25T23:50:00.000-05:00

What happened?
Where did he/she/it go? (along with "There he is!")
What's going on?
Where are you?
What are you doing?

Now she just has to get "Who," "When" and "Why" and she can be a journalist. At her present level, she will have to settle for working for the New York Times.

She has combined the words "Done" and "up" into a single word - "doneup!" She has also learned coming vs going and big vs little, and that the big one is the Mommy and the little one is the Baby.

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY GIRL V!

2007-01-20T11:27:00.000-05:00

Yay!

2007-01-19T12:04:00.001-05:00

Medical Practices Blend Health and Faith - washingtonpost.com - My Ob-Gyn!

2007-01-18T09:44:00.000-05:00

The few. The proud. The male teachers.

Smart kid!

2007-01-17T15:58:00.000-05:00

BREITBART.COM - Runaway, 9, Sneaks on Flight to Texas: "LAKEWOOD, Wash. (AP) -- A 9-year-old boy with a history of stealing cars and running away sneaked onto a plane bound for Texas, getting caught after flubbing an airport connection, officials said.
Semaj Booker apparently found a Southwest Airlines boarding card and made it through airport security Tuesday, hopping two separate flights but landing in San Antonio, Texas _ short of his Dallas destination, police said.
'The only thing I have to offer on that is that were looking into it,' Southwest spokeswoman Beth Harbin said.
The fourth-grader remained Wednesday in juvenile custody in San Antonio. He had been trying to get to his grandfather in Dallas, where he used to live.
Southwest Airlines' boarding policy, which invites people to board in groups instead of by assigned seats, may have aided Semaj, Lakewood police Lt. David B. Guttu said. He said he didn't know whether the boy had a ticket.
The boy was unhappy after his family moved to Lakewood, outside Tacoma. His odyssey began Sunday when he stole a car that was left running outside a neighbor's house, only to be spotted by police near the interchange of Interstate 5 and State Route 512.
Police pursued Semaj at speeds up to 90 mph until he took an exit and the engine blew, after which the car went over a curb and coasted into a tree. He refused to come out of the car, so officers broke a window to unlock a door and immediately recognized him as a frequent runaway and car thief, Guttu said.
Last month he also crashed a stolen car before being caught by police in Tacoma, and more recently he was caught in Seattle in a stolen car that had run out of gas, said his mother, Sakinah Booker.
She believes he learned to drive from playing video games on a PlayStation."

I think I am an escaped chimpanzee -

2007-01-17T13:30:00.000-05:00

Print Story: Escaped chimp gets snack, cleans bathroom:
An escaped chimpanzee at the Little Rock Zoo raided a kitchen cupboard and did a little cleaning with a toilet brush before sedatives knocked her out on top of a refrigerator.
The 120-pound primate, Judy, escaped yesterday into a service area when a zookeeper opened a door to her sleeping quarters, unaware the animal was still inside.
As keepers tried to woo Judy back into her cage, she rummaged through a refrigerator where chimp snacks are stored. She opened kitchen cupboards, pulled out juice and soft drinks and took a swig from bottles she managed to open.
Keeper Ann Rademacher says Judy went into the bathroom, picked up a toilet brush and cleaned the toilet. Rademacher says the 37-year-old Judy was a house pet before the zoo acquired her in 1988, so she may have been familiar with housekeeping chores. Judy wrung out a sponge and scrubbed down the fridge.
It took a couple of tries, but the zoo sedated the chimp, who fell asleep on top of the refrigerator with half a loaf of cinnamon-raisin bread she had pulled out of the freezer.
The zoo veterinarian gave Judy a drug to bring her around. Rademacher says Judy was groggy but fine after the episode.
The zoo says there was no danger Judy would get out of the primate keepers service area and onto zoo grounds.

2007-01-17T12:24:00.000-05:00

Blogs4Life 1/22 Conference

Girl V is now saying "thank you" and "see you!"

2007-01-17T09:46:00.000-05:00

Girl V at age 23.5 months

2007-01-10T01:04:00.000-05:00

Last week Girl V took the opportunity, since we were staying in a hotel while visiting my mom for a week, to decide that she is not going to be contained by a crib or anything like it and it is time to sleep in a big girl bed. I could not lock the ADA-mandated lever doors so I watched tv with her in the bed until she went to sleep at midnight (usual bedtime is nine.) Now that we have gotten home, we converted her crib to a toddler bed and put a bed rail on it, and locked her in her room with a baby-proof door handle. Some people might think that is excessive but our little one will not stay put if she can get out. When she is toilet trained I guess we cannot lock her in anymore but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Last week she did not want to drink anything but Coke, because Mommy drinks Coke. She was placated when I let her drink water out of a disposable coffee cup like you get from McDonald's.

Also V can now draw faces. She draws a circle with two dots for eyes, a nose, a mouth, and hair. One time she also drew "leeps" AKA lips. My 70 yr old aunt, who has raised 3 adult daughters and worked in a church preschool for decades, says that she is very, very advanced in doing this, like usually this happens at 3.5 yrs. So on the one hand I am terrified that she will need 'advanced parenting', but also not so proud to think that if she is really smart, I can do that much to hurt her chances in life, assuming I am loving her as usual.

She is now saying a lot. The other day she asked "Mommy, whad aa you doing?" Today she said "Daddy eat nana."

When she watches a scene in Chicken Run that she thinks is scary, she sticks her fingers in her ears to make it less scary.

Soon she will be two. We are trying to teach her to answer the questions "How old are you" and "What is your name" but she has no interest. She is interested in counting and knows the numbers up to twenty-four. She does not count them all in order but she is getting there. She is also singing about 1/2 the letters in the ABC song.

2007-01-02T10:04:00.000-05:00

All we can think about in the Oligarch/Mantis home, now that Gerald Ford has died.

2006-12-31T00:59:00.001-05:00

NEWS of the WEIRD - Current News: "A Georgetown University student, whose dad bought him a $2.4 million off-campus house and who wants his eight best friends to live (and party) with him, ran up against a Washington, D.C., zoning law permitting no more than six unrelated people per house. In October, after researching the issue, the students filed papers declaring themselves a 'church' (The Apostles of O'Neill, after owner Brian O'Neill) because churches are allowed to house up to 15 unrelated people. O'Neill's dad supports the students, as judged from his testy response to a Washington Post inquiry: 'Who says they aren't a (real) religion?' [Washington Post, 11-11-06] "

2006-12-29T21:46:00.000-05:00

The Ugliest Lamp in the World is only $85! Also looks like a serious fire hazard.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that groups like this exist, but...

2006-12-24T01:17:00.000-05:00

MACHAR/The Washington Congregation for Secular Humanistic Judaism

2006-12-21T12:59:00.000-05:00

NEWS of the WEIRD - Current News: "In Sheboygan, Wis., in November, police arrested Leah Jerolimek, 21, and charged her with trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill at a gas station, even though the bill (made with a computer and printer) was blank on the back."

What the V can do

2006-12-20T00:56:00.000-05:00

She can open doors! I was hoping she wouldn't learn that until she was seventeen or eighteen. She knows where the guitar ("taw-taw") is and likes to get it out and "play" it. She really likes music. There is some musical interest and ability in my family, though it skipped me for the most part.
She loves taking bubble baths and asks to take one every hour or so, even if she already had one that day. When I say no, she gets into the tub anyway and plays with her bath toys. At least she does not know how to turn on the water yet.
We have been looking at optical illusions together on the internet. It is fun for her but not as stimulating as watching Sesame Street on YouTube. I never should have shown her videos on my computer because now she thinks my computer is a TV and wants to come watch it with me.
She knows all her colors now, and can finally say orange ("onnins"). I am trying to teach her gold, silver and clear.

2006-12-19T19:10:00.000-05:00

Man sues over church as polling place - Yahoo! News: "MIAMI - A man who had to vote in a Catholic church has sued election officials, claiming that casting a ballot amid crucifixes and anti-abortion banners violates the principles of church and state separation.
Jerry Rabinowitz, a nonobservant Jew from Delray Beach, filed the lawsuit in federal court Friday. In it, Rabinowitz says elections officials refused to remove or cover religious items at Emmanuel Catholic Church when he voted last month.
'The effect of the defendant's conduct in this case is nothing if not government endorsement of religion,' the lawsuit read.
...According to the lawsuit, Rabinowitz had to walk past an anti-abortion banner flanked by large crosses to reach the polling site. Once inside, he said he had to vote in a room with crucifixes, a poster of the Ten Commandments and signs with messages including 'Each of Us Matters to God.'"

2006-12-18T12:51:00.000-05:00

If you climb up a mountain in the middle of winter and you get lost and freeze to death, it's your own damn fault, and shame on you for it. Anyone with living family who does something reckless like that is either an idiot or selfish beyond reason. And who is paying for the rescue efforts? My tax dollars. YAY.

Brought to you by the Curmudgeon Department of E-Pression, Inc.

Potty!

2006-12-11T01:49:00.000-05:00

Girl V, at just under 23 months, is now using the potty more often than not. She has been showing interest in the potty since she was about 18 months, and we have read potty books and videos, but I think her brain has just gotten to the point where everything clicked. This has been helped by showing her the videos a lot recently after she used the potty once or twice, to reinforce it for her.
So YAY Girl V!
We gave her some of her Christmas gifts early because they were taking up space in the garage that we needed for the cars, but we told her they were because she is using the potty.

2006-12-05T22:48:00.000-05:00

Kids see too many anti-impotence ads: doctors - Yahoo! News: "Children should be exposed to fewer television ads for anti-impotence drugs and more for birth control, and need to be shielded from an advertising onslaught in general, the leading U.S. pediatricians' group said on Monday."

Because we all know that using birth control means being responsible, and not using it means being irresponsible, and NOT the other way around. Thus Saith the Great God of Humanism.

I'm so glad we don't have TV. Just videos. I could not cope with my baby seeing all this trash at the touch of a button. We watch too many videos, but I can control those!

2006-12-05T22:43:00.000-05:00

Flatulence forces plane to land

2006-12-05T21:52:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the visitor who searched for "Design your own thong." Now go feed the poor or something - you have WAY too much free time.

2006-12-05T21:21:00.000-05:00

We finally took the plunge and took Girl V to church with us on Sunday - sitting in the pew, with coloring books, like everybody else. She lasted for 25 minutes! before she went outside with Daddy. She colored for a while, then got wiggly and stood on the floor, then started jumping and would not stop, that's when she had to go. But I thought we might get 10 minutes, or maybe 15, out of the first run, so I was excited that she got almost all through the homily. She is very, very wiggly.
When she and Daddy went outside they saw a magical sight: Two white horses taking people on carriage rides on Main street! They came around several times. In describing this experience she said "white" for the first time. The only color she still cannot say is "orange," and she can now say the word "colors." She still has a hard time with "r."
Lately she has started to name groups - like "food," "animals" or "colors" instead of just the members of the group. She is starting to count 10-14 now, though not with much regularity. And she knows some opposites, like hot/cold, light/dark, sad/happy. She likes to jump up and down, hands extended, shouting, "Happy! Happy!" Must be some sort of recessive gene.

Baby's first debate:

2006-11-30T00:20:00.000-05:00

Tonight she maintained that the lights seen out the window were from a plane AKA "pane," rather than the lights from faraway houses, as I said. So we are actually having little conversations now. Other topics of frequent conversation include:
Where's Daddy?
I want to be released from whatever is restraining me (car seat/crib/arms)
NO
I want to sit on the potty, except that I don't want to
Can I hear a song?
I want to draw

Lately she has been absolutely fascinated by sitting in the tub and pouring water from one cup into another. She will do this until her skin gets all wrinkled and the water is cold. She also got an early Christmas present from Mommy and Daddy - a giant inflatable baby trampoline with inflated sides so she can bounce around and burn off some of her infinite energy. She likes it a lot though she doesn't jump as much as I had hoped.

2006-11-29T15:51:00.000-05:00

"I guess ... I don't really need all these peanuts." -- O.O., owner of seven garbage bags full of plastic peanuts, which have their own designated storage space in our garage.

2006-11-27T00:43:00.000-05:00

Controlled Chaos: European Cities Do Away with Traffic Signs - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News via Fr. Jim.

2006-11-24T09:04:00.000-05:00

Detecting Children's Drug Use | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

2006-11-23T00:28:00.000-05:00

It Came From the 1971 Sears Catalog

Ouch.

2006-11-21T09:31:00.000-05:00

Boxing Gym Gives Inner-City Youths An Opportunity To Punch Each Other Indoors