Extra Lazy

I'm still exhausted from our trip, returning to out-of-town company at our house, and taking Linus to a birthday party tonight, so I'm taking the lazy way out for now...

Guess where we went. Yummy prize to the first person to get it right.

~It was HOT!
~We were attacked by swarms of love bugs.
~We ate, and ate, and ate.
~Linus begged to live there. She told us our house was too old (it's only 3 1/2 years old!).

If nobody guesses correctly, I'll give easier hints.

An Extra Short Note

Hi All,

We just returned from a nice vacation. I didn't mean to skip out for so long...I got sick before we left, then I thought I'd have internet connection at the resort. I'm exhausted, but I'll be back tomorrow (Saturday) with tons of Linus stories, maybe some pics (depends on how much I get accomplished by then), and some tidbits about our vacation. I hope everyone is well! :)

Extra Cuteness

Poor Linus! As I suspected, she is sick. She still managed to say some cute and funny things today though.

This morning she asked me if she could ask Santa for a princess bra. I told her I didn't think so. When she asked why not, I thought I'd be clever and take the you don't need one approach, so I told her that she didn't need one yet. She asked if she could ask Santa for one when she got older. I told her I guessed so, but just because she asks doesn't mean he will bring it even when she is older. That seemed to satifsy her, which satisfied me. A few minutes later though, she hit me with, "Mommy, can I ask Santa for boobies for Christmas?" ACK!

By late afternoon, Army has a noticible 5 o'clock shadow every evening. Tonight at dinner, Linus looked over at him. Looking wasn't enough, so she got up and rubbed the stubble on his chin. Then she said the cutest thing. She said, "Daddy, you have beard seeds to grow a beard like Condad (my dad who has a beard right now)." Isn't that adorable?

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to edit a certain four year old's Christmas Wish List!!!

An Extra Invitation

First, many thanks for your well wishes for Linus! We are very thankful that she had a mild case! Thanks for the wonderful ideas too!
----------
Army spent the weekend with a wicked virus. He still isn't doing great. I love my family dearly, but I can only spend time inside the house for so long without going a little nuts. I was really looking forward to getting out today. Linus and I did get out (we've been given the ok), but not long after we got home I heard 6 little words that set my Mommy Alarm off. These are words every mother should want to hear, but they definitely invoke fear in me. After we had been home for about an hour, Linus said, "Mommy, can I take a nap?" I knew in an instant she was sick. Those words just don't cross the lips of my child. She has never been one to sleep anywhere but her bed or her carseat. When she does (I can count the times she's done it on one hand, even as a baby), she's sick. No exception. So, now she's sound asleep in my bed. I've tried to wake her, but she's not interested in getting up. Poor baby. I'm hoping it's just allergies or a simple cold! Time will tell, but I guarantee she's sick, not just tired.

So, who wants to come over and visit?

Oh come on, nobody?

Really? You don't want to come visit my chicken pox, wicked virus, and still-to-be-determined-illness germ infested home?

Gosh, y'all are no fun!

Extra Bumps

Linus has chicken pox! I guess that vaccine wasn't a 100% guarantee. :(

She's handling it like a champ. She's one amazing child!

A Little Extra Evening with Linus

We went out to dinner tonight (I know, big surprise). Linus LOVES blue jello, which she calls blue bumpies. After finishing her potatoes and fish, she asked if she could have her blue bumpies. I told her she had to have 4 bites of carrots first. She looked at Army and me and said, "Shh, did y'all hear that?" We both fell for it and said no. "Shhh, listen, my teeth just said they would rather bumpies!" Nice try!

On the way home, we stopped at the video store to rent a movie. I think we are the last people on the face of the earth who don't have Netflix or Blockbuster through the mail. We don't have Tivo either. When Army was about to go in, he asked what I wanted if they didn't have the movie we were looking for. I don't know if I've ever mentioned it (haha!) but I love mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I'm thinking about leaving Army for the man in charge of the MRPBC factory. Naturally, I told him that if they didn't have the movie we wanted, my next choice was fresh MRPBC. There is a grocery store in the same complex as the movie rental store. He didn't think my idea was all that funny. While he was in the store looking for the movie, I prepped Linus to ask for "fresh snacks" when he returned since I know he'll do anything for her (yes, I know I'm evil). She started asking the minute he go to the car. He looked at me and said, "Well played!" then drove over to the grocery store (it was raining, we're not that lazy). Right before he got out, Linus asked, "Mommy, what should I ask Daddy for next?" Thankfully he laughed, but I'm fully aware--and scared--of the monster I created.

As we pulled into the driveway tonight, she looked up at the sky and said, "When I go to outer space..." I immediately said, "I'll be so sad when you go. I'll miss you." My little sweetie said, "Don't be scared, Mommy, Daddy will take good care of you, and I'll have my eye on you the whole time from outer space!"

Extra Vocabulary Part II

What are the chances???

Tonight Army and I went out to dinner, and Linus stayed behind with a babysitter. Her babysitter and I are friends, and she is a teacher at the preschool Linus attends. I told her the story about Linus and the word.

When Army and I got home, the babysitter gushed about how good Linus was. I praised Linus and told her how proud of her I was. Then it happened. She decided to sit down in the grass, and the babysitter said, "Oh, be careful, that's probably damp."

Damn?

No, damP!

Oooh. Damn!

NO! DamPPPPP.

Ok, Ok, I won't sit in the damn grass.

Thanks teach! Now I can blame you if she says it at school!

Extra Vocabulary

My sister called Saturday night to tell me what her oldest daughter (2.5) said. My sister and her husband are good, as opposed to Army and me who have been known to let a word fly every now and then. We truly try to watch our language, but when you drop an entire bottle of liquid medicine on the floor, and the sticky mess immediately takes up home in the spaces between the wood planks in your floor, well "damn!" just may slip out. My sis and her hubby are better at being cautious, or so I though. When she called, she said, "I know you think we're saints, but you won't believe what Big A said. She's said it a few times throughout the day, but it wasn't until a second ago that it was quite obvious that she was saying, 'Oh man! Damn it!" I laughed hysterically. The thought of her daughter doing it was hilarious especially since my daughter hasn't exactly said it yet. Linus slipped one a year ago or so, but she said "Minute" instead. We're such bad parents that our dog's full name involves the word minute. I know, go ahead and nominate us for parent of the year! Anyway, I've giggled to myself a few times since my conversation with my sister.


Then it happened.

This morning, Linus ripped a big "damn it" because she couldn't have what she wanted for breakfast.


Shhhh. Don't tell my sister. I sure haven't!

Extra Smiles

Linus started her first day of 4 year old preschool Tuesday. I take a picture in the same place every year so that I can see her growth. If you look at the door knob, window, and lock, you'll really see her getting taller. I started around the time school starts when she was itty bitty so that they'd always correspond to the first day of school.

First day of 4 year old preschool. Her baby features have all but disappeared.


Her first day of 3 year old Mom's Morning Out


2 1/2 years old


18 months old

An Extra Dose of Religion ('Cause We Need It!)

We're Catholic, but it seems as though Linus is trying to get us excommunicated. Don't believe me? I've got proof:

1) A friend gave Linus a Rosary when she was two or so. Linus LOVES it, and she wears it often. She finally calls it by its proper name most of the time. In the beginning though, she called it "Jesus on a leash." I'm fairly certain the Pope wouldn't be amused!

2) For at least a year, Linus called the steeple on a Presbyterian church near us a "witch tower." It had nothing to do with it not being a Catholic church, she was simply convinced that it truly was a witch tower.

3) She overheard an adult at preschool say, "Oh my God" one day, so now she says it. Hers is very deliberate though...more like Oh. My. God. We do correct her!

4) She truly believes the words to the chorus of The First Noel are "Oh well, oh well, oh well, oh well..." instead of "Noel, Noel..." Worse yet, none of my family can hear that song now without giggling.


She does provide some saving grace though. I'm pretty certain that's why they haven't kicked us out yet:

A) Remember what she calls a church playground?

B) Remember how we'll add to our family? You have to scroll down on this one to the last paragraph for the adding to our family part.

C) Remember her thoughts on Mufassa's death?

D) She truly loves going to chapel at her preschool and relates the stories she hears there to things that occur in our everyday lives.

Hopefully the good outweighs the bad and they'll let us continue to be members.

Extra Credit

Extra credit if you can identify the picture below. Linus called me to her room the other night to see what she had drawn (this was after she was already in bed for the night, little stinker).



Here's what I saw:





So what is it?






Oh come on, make a guess.





Nope! Try again.




Give up?





Isn't it obvious? It's vines for Tarzan to swing on!

Extra Foot? Insert in Mouth

I was talking with friends recently about foot-in-mouth situations. I have two distinct ones, though I'm pretty certain I have others that I'm choosing to forget. Believe it or not, neither of these two were part of my most embarrassing moments list from a week or so ago.

The first time I remember inserting my foot in my mouth was in high school. I was taking to a guy I had a crush on. I knew he had a really cool car, I had seen it! We were standing on a balcony one morning before school watching cars go by. As one car pulled in, I commented that I hated that type of car, and I could never date somebody who drove one. Yes, I know that was shallow, but I was in high school. I looked back at him, and I knew immediately I had said the wrong thing. Did I just shut up? Oh, but no. I looked at him and said, "Oh come on, I've seen your car. I know you don't drive one of those. They are the ugliest things I've ever seen, and I know you wouldn't buy one." He looked at me and said, "Nope, you're right. I wouldn't buy one." I wondered why he stressed the word buy, but I still didn't get it. In fact, I didn't get it until he walked away and another friend walked up to me and asked what the heck I had just said (she saw his face before he walked off). I told her, and she immediately let me know what an idiot I was. Nope, he wouldn't buy one because he already had one. Ugh! He usually drove his "cool" car to school, but he had his deceased grandfather's old car too. The same car I had just belittled. I felt SO bad. He's a really good guy though. To this day, he still gives me a huge hug every time I see him. In fact, in a round about way, he's partly responsible for my engagement ring. :)

My other time was recently. Linus was really the one that did the foot sticking, but it was my fault. Her whole life, I've been telling her "no touching" when we go to public restrooms. We've walked into more than one stall and turned around and walked out because the seat was filthy. We went to visit one of my good friends from college recently. Linus really had to go to the potty, but the only potty that wasn't occupied in her house was in the master bedroom. She walked us back there, and was still in there as Linus took a look at the seat, panicked and announced that she could not use such a dirty potty. It wasn't dirty at all, but the paint was chipped on the seat. Thankfully she has three children and was completely used to kids saying things like that. I felt so badly though!

Extra Trouble

I'm in trouble. Big trouble.

Remember we're the freaks that only eat dessert on Tuesdays and Saturdays? Yeah, well there's a reason we do that. Although there's a *slight* possibility that I *may* be a *little* bit of a control freak, I have absolutely no control with food. I have even less control with desserts. Portion control? What's that? It sure doesn't help that I love to bake. By limiting the availability of sweets in the house, I am able to keep my dessert eating obsession in check.

Army and I threw caution to the wind for most of the summer and ignored, errr forgot, our Tuesday/Saturday rule. I've got a few (possibly more) unwanted pounds to lose as a result. We've been quite strict about it lately though.

Some of you may remember that my dad had a TBI (traumatic brain injury) this Spring. Mom and Dad came up Friday. During their drive up, Mom received a call on her cell with some results from some tests my father took earlier in the week. The results were outstanding! :) I look for any excuse to skip cooking, so his results absolutely meant we had to go out to dinner to celebrate. The restaurant we were going to was crowded, so we went with a one that wasn't exactly somewhere to celebrate. I got the bright idea to take him to a local bakery and let him pick out a treat today (Saturday, so it falls within our dessert night rule) since Friday night's dinner wasn't what we had planned. We got there, and he decided he didn't want to go in, so he sent Army and me in to pick something out.

BIG mistake!

I have a slight obsession with petit fours. McKenzie's in New Orleans is 100% to blame. They made the most fabulous petit fours around. Ever. When I was pregnant (obviously not with Linus), petit fours were my one and only craving. It was one intense craving though. McKenzie's had closed a year (maybe 2?) before, but I fully intended to get in my car and drive SIX hours for a petit four. Where I'd get it was beyond me since McKenzie's didn't exactly exist anymore, but I was going to figure out those details later. No joke. I think it was the tears that I shed over not being able to tame my craving that led Army to a local grocery store for petit fours. Poor guy brought home a zillion. I took one bite, announced I hated them, and that was that. Every now and then I'd dream about my beloved petit fours, but since I had tried an impostor and didn't like it, I wasn't about to try any others...

Until one day Army came home from work and told me he had McKenzie's caliber petit fours.

I was on a mission then, and had to have one. One? Eh, maybe SIX. I got in my car and drove over to a local bakery and ordered half a dozen. The lady behind the counter went to the petit fours, came back, and said, "I'm sorry ma'am, we only have six." Trying not to laugh, I smiled and simply said, "Oh, that's ok. Six will do just fine." To her credit, when she came back to ring up my order, she looked at me and said, "You must think I'm the biggest idiot ever. You said half a dozen, didn't you?" I just smiled and said, "I've had days like that too." Those petit fours were divine though. They made my taste buds dance the entire Nutcracker Suite. Those delicious little things have made me go to great lengths to avoid this bakery. If I went near it, my car would go on auto pilot and I'd end up at the bakery ordering a few. I simply had to make the bakery off limits unless it was a very special occasion.

Anyway, that's the bakery (though a different location) that we went to tonight. I fully intended to buy my father a slice of strawberry cake (his favorite), but I must admit I noticed immediately that their petit fours weren't where they usually are. Panic. I could feel my breathing become more rapid. It's a sick obsession, I tell ya. The guy in front of us asked for strawberry cake too, but they were out. Plan B. We then looked at the boxed baked goods and noticed a sign, "BUY ONE GET ONE FREE." YIPPEE!!!! Free petit fours, now all I had to do was find them. Then Army said, "Hey, Lanny, look! The one has been scratched out and now it says BUY ONE GET TWO FREE!" Hello? Heaven? Thank you!!! Army found something else he wanted though, so he grabbed that. There's no way I'm going there and leaving without petit fours, so we got those too.

Out we walked with three bags of M&M blondies and three boxes of petit fours.

There was no good reason at all that we should have bought that much. Here's the problem: we still have a ton and it's all I can think about. I'm practically drooling just typing about them. Good fresh petit fours even trump mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups most days. Does that tell you how much I love these things?

I'm in trouble. Big trouble.

You might as well buy me a Santa suit now. I'll be fitting in it by Christmas. No extra padding will be needed.

An Extra Lesson in Numbers

Conversation at a restaurant today:

Linus (to the lady behind the counter): Hi, I'm four!

Lady: Really? You're four? Wow! I have a three year old little girl at home.

Linus: Yeah, I was three last year.

Lady (laughing): Really?

Linus: Yeah, but don't worry, she'll be a big girl on her next birthday.