Happy Halloween 2008

See next post for the October 2008 Round Up.



Currently feeling: carved

October 2008 Round Up

Blinkie by: Jo's Blinkie Obsession (no longer active)

Monthly Round Up idea borrowed from Katie the Scrapbook Lady.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
Well, I started a book: The Book of Air and Shadows, by Michael Gruber. I'm a fair way into it. Quite enjoyable. I like how the point of view shifts around (I know, I'm weird like that.) Read Parenting magazine for the first time in a while. It is becoming less and less useful as he gets older.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
What didn't we watch?! Good grief, we watch *way* too much television. We average 2-3 one-hour shows (or longer, in the case of DWTS) each night during the week, there are a couple that I watch by myself during the day at some point during the week (CSI Miami and NCIS), and we can still barely keep up. In October, two of our "regular shows" finally started back: CSI and NUMB3RS. Tried a couple of new things as well. Star Wars Clone Wars is now showing on Cartoon Network. It's interesting. We like it (don't love it, but like it). Luke *loves* it. Now, some of the episodes can be a little dark and/or violent for him, so we do pre-screen them. I think he's seen 3 of them so far, but he sits there completely mesmerized the whole time. We also tried Crusoe. It's okay. Pretty to look at, that's for sure! Don't love it, though, and it conflicts with Clone Wars (which isn't replayed nearly as much as you'd think it would be). I think Crusoe will be one of those that we watch if we "need" something to watch, but we don't really watch it consistently. (Bones is like that for us as well.)

What special days did I celebrate and how?
Luke's birthday! We had a great time, we had a house full of family from both my side and DH's, and we got to meet our niece for the first time. It was fabulous! And Halloween, of course, with his first "masked" costume.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
Well, birthday gifts, obviously, and a small something for our niece N. Purchased a few other things, but they're still here instead of in the mail where they belong.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
We did so well this month! DH got a very deep bruise on his thigh, right above his knee. He hobbled on that for several days, and it cost him a week on the basketball court (where he received the injury). Besides that, we're all good!

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Just the birthday party, really, but we crammed so many people in that one weekend that I think it was okay to "slack off" the rest of the month.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Tried a "Five Minute Chocolate Cake" recipe made in a coffee mug in the microwave. Not impressed. Thought I was going to get to try a new BBQ place, but we had to cancel our meeting, twice! Tentatively set up for November now. I also tried the Premium M&M's, which were good (and extremely pretty), but not worth the price, IMO.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
Luke's first costume with a mask. He's been asking for it almost daily since we bought it, but we've been keeping it safe in the closet until Halloween. Now that trick-or-treating is over, he can have it to play with as much as he wants, but we wanted to keep it in good shape (and in one piece!) until Halloween.

Good grief, how could I forget!! We bought a Playstation 3 to use as a Blu-ray player, and we picked up two Blu-ray movies while we were at it: Iron Man and Disney's Sleeping Beauty.

What were this month's disappointments?
Our Sonny's closed! That was hugely disappointing. We've been going there for about 7 years or so. Most of the waitresses remember when Luke was a baby. The next closest one is about 20 miles away. We do drive that far to eat on occasion (can you say Olive Garden?). I'm not sure Sonny's warrants it, though. We'll see. And I had a project that was going so well fall down on its face; that wasn't fun.

What were my accomplishments this month?
I figured out how to make a "truly red" red icing for Luke's cake, and it didn't have a bad aftertaste like some deep red icing does. Mom and I were thrilled! I also celebrated 5 years of blogging this month. I am still amazed that it has been that long.

What were Luke's accomplishments this month?
He has officially grown 3 inches and gained 7 pounds since last year. His doctor pronounced him perfectly healthy. His imagination has just exploded. Legos/Megabloks and Tinker Toys are the best things ever! They become all sorts of space ships and robots. He now calls us "Mom" and "Dad" instead of Mommy and Daddy. I don't care much for it, but it's not worth correcting, I don't think. He is also now in a booster seat instead of a car seat (which means he can't kick my elbow when it sits on the front seat arm rest anymore, yay!).

He's also been doing a lot better about trying foods. Mostly because we make him. We pull out the "you're 4 now, and a big boy, and big boy 4 year olds try new things." It's working pretty well so far. Haven't found anything new that he likes well enough to fully incorporate into his repertoire yet, but we have discovered a couple of things that he truly does *not* like (like grapes; weird kid!).

Anything else noteworthy to record?
We froze our rears off for a couple of days near the end of the month. Lows in the low 30s, highs around 50. That's like January weather, not October weather! I love gas heat, LOL. I have also started trying to record those hilarious little conversations that you can only have with a little kid. You know, to save them for posterity. Or his first girlfriend!

Currently feeling: frightful

Smiley Queen

Hi Claire! I wanted to answer your question about where I get all my smilies. I'm quite the smiley junkie, actually, though I don't go looking for them like I used to. I have over 2000 of them (which I'm sure makes most of you wonder why you keep seeing the same ones over and over), but I've only uploaded about 500 of them for use here, many of which have never graced the bottom of a post. They're not all faces. Some are objects, animals, or food items. I've picked them up from all sorts of places.

My most favorite site is Mazeguy. Pretty much, if you need it, he's got it. I think I have virtually all of his downloaded now (I check in every few months for new ones). Now, there are plenty that I know by heart and use regularly, as I'm sure you've seen, but if I don't have one in mind, I start with my Mazeguy folder first. DeviantART is another good source. It's not as scary a place as the name makes it sound, but you might not want to have children looking over your shoulder when you visit either, as some of the content can be... inappropriate. Just search "emoticon" and you'll get about 15,000 hits. The hard part is slogging through them all to find the good stuff, but it's worth it if you have time to kill (I did, pre-child). And if you find one you like at DeviantART, click on it to see who made it so you can visit their gallery; they probably have more you'll like. You can also just do a general Google search (try searching emoticon, smiley, and smilie). Be careful clicking on some of those sites, though; your computer might catch something. Mainly, just keep your eyes open! You never know when or where you'll stumble across a good one.

If you (or anyone else) is interested, all of the smilies I have uploaded can be found in this directory. Please feel free to take whatever you like, but please download to your own computer and upload to your own space if you want to use them on your site, blog, or board. Thanks!
Currently feeling: always looking for a few good emoticons

This Conversation with Luke Sponsored By....

This one is actually from late September, but I just found it stored in my text messages on my phone, so I'll go on and post it. Allow me to set the scene:

We're in the car, on the way to one of our regular restaurants. It's not exactly close, and the traffic was pretty heavy, but Luke was doing a very good job of entertaining himself in the back seat. DH and I were just chatting about our days, enjoying listening to him as he played. He had apparently invented some sort of game for his Star Wars figures to play, and it was quite amusing to we grown-ups. Then, quite suddenly, there was only silence.

DH: Luke, are you playing your game?
L: No, it's a commercial.

Currently feeling: blinded by the cuteness

Gak! Not a fun day.

I'm not up for inventing a pithy title right now. Work was terrible today. Three bits of bad news on a single project, and one that had been going so well to this point that we were looking to be at least a week ahead of our already aggressive schedule. Now we may not even complete before year's end. I am so not happy! My boss's response to my email detailing the complications: "Well you're full of good news today, aren't you?" Yeah.

Plus, I had to take my car back to the dealer. We just had the oil changed, tires rotated, and all that jazz less than 2 weeks ago, and then it started doing that thing where the brake indicator comes on and stays on. That happened nearly a year ago when our brakes really were stuck in the "on" position. Cost us almost $800 to fix it then, a mistake I was not about to repeat. Turns out it was just low brake fluid compounded by the sudden cold snap down here (it was 32F/0C this morning, BRRR!). They topped it off, checked for a leak in the line (found none), and checked the brakes themselves (totally fine). No charge even, so that was good news. It was just a pain to have to take it in and wait on it, especially with Tuesday being my busy conference call day. They have Wi-Fi, and I did take my work computer with me, but dorky me left my secure token at home, so I had to call in and get a temporary access number. Then I had to try and connect to the dealer's network, and it was being fussy, and when I did I discovered my project had blown up in my face, and... and... and....

It was quite a day. I need a nap! Oh wait, I can't. I have to go pick up the child.
Currently feeling: brain fried

Seafood Condiments: A Conversation with Luke

I'm trying to write these down as they happen (because they've been happening a lot lately). Note that "tato" in this case is pronounced TAY-toh, like potato.

Luke: (having recognized our destination as Zaxby's) Mom, I don't like chicken.
Me: We're going to get you Captain D's.
Luke: Mom, I don't like tato sauce.
Me: Tarter sauce.
L: I don't like turtle sauce.

Currently feeling: fishy

4 year old stats

Luke had his 4 year well visit today. I was quite surprised to learn that he had not been to the pediatrician's office since December 2007. Finally! Any antibiotics we've needed have come from the ENT. Yay! A more or less healthy year. Let's hope the trend continues. So, here's where we stand:

* Height: 43 inches (1.09 meters), 95th percentile; up 3 inches (7.6 cm) since last year
* Weight: 43 lbs (19.5 kg, 3 stone), 95th percentile; up 7 lbs (3.2 kg) since last year

His blood pressure, hematocrit, and BMI are all fine. His ears look great (yay!). He passed the hearing and vision tests (pictures, not letters). She was very impressed with his speech improvement. Apparently, everything looks great and sounds great! What more could a mother ask for?

But of course, there is a down side. He had to get *4* shots; one in each arm, and two in one leg (one of them tetanus, so it's still hurting him). Boy, was he not happy. He hasn't had shots since he was 2, so he didn't remember. We tried to explain that it would hurt for just a second, and then it would be over, but that didn't seem to help much (didn't think it would, but I felt compelled to try anyway). He's always done really well with them, so I was actually surprised that these went so badly. According to the nurse, he did great (let Daddy hold him and didn't try to wiggle/jump off the table), but it seemed pretty awful to me. When he got shots as a baby, he would just wail a single time as the needle went in, and that was it. Barely any tears. This time there was hysterical crying over the ones in the arms and *screaming* bloody murder at the two that went in the leg. He's never screamed like that before, ever. Not about his broken arm, not about his stitches in his finger (going in or coming out), never. Talk about feeling like the worst parents in the world! DH was literally shaking when it was over and nearly in tears himself.

Needless to say, Luke wanted to be carried out of the exam room, and for once, we capitulated. He also got a Twix in the car (the "fun size" that's about 2 inches long, which makes about 3 bites for him) and pancakes at IHOP for lunch. He's been asking for pancakes for dinner off and on for a couple of weeks now, and I've been intentionally holding out for today. He was so tired and zoned out at IHOP that we just brought him home. Today had been trying enough, it was cold and rainy and dreary outside, and he was complaining about his leg aching even after Children's Motrin had time to kick in. And he was asking to go home in a very sad and pitiful voice. I just didn't have the heart to send him to school. I know, I'm a sucker. But for today, that's fine with me! Unless he gets sick, there's no reason to go back until after he turns 5, which is also fine with me.

Currently feeling: sorry I had to be the grown-up and let them hurt him today