At the moment, it looks like Saint Valentine himself threw up on our living room.
I tried to step things up a notch from last year. I got my ideas for this year's valentines from here and here. For the teachers, I got these super cute travel cups. Now I sort of wish I had gotten one for myself.
I couldn't care less about Valentine's Day, but I do love making valentines. It gives me a chance to put my very expensive art degree to use. Ahhh, just what my parents had in mind, I'm sure.
Speaking of the art, the kids from Greta's day care are going to have an art opening tomorrow night on RIT campus. The name of the show is "Little Artists Make it Big." I CAN'T WAIT. I am so excited for Greta's first art opening. I'm sure it will be many for our little future artist-doctor-musician. (What? I have high expectations for our little girl. Is that so wrong?)
Greta continues to bring cool artwork home from school. Recently they were learning all about pengins, and Greta brought this home. I love it! In case you can't tell, it's a pine cone with a shredded cotton ball sort of wrapped around it, and then of course the face and the soup cup igloo. So creative.
She also brought this home earlier this month. Can you guess what it is? Hint: It came home on February 2nd.
Speaking of high expectations, sometimes I think they have some sort of smarty-pants-making plan in the works for the kids at day care. As I've discussed previously, sometimes they get scrap paper for the kids to draw on, and recently we've been getting drawings on information like this:
If Greta becomes a artist-renologist-musician, then I'll know who likely deserves credit.
I shot this picture with my "car phone," so excuse the poor quality, but I had to share this recent gem that Greta brought home from day care.
I love it so much. I love how spindly we are, I love that the mom mermaid's head looks like an alien's, I love the frowny faces, and I love the horizontal scales. Is there anything I don't love? Maybe the fact that it's on some dot matrix printer paper, but I'm pretty sure even that adds to the je nais sais quoi.
Greta and I tried out a new cookie recipe today, and we were thrilled with the results. They're vegan oatmeal cookies, which were great because they're relatively healthy, I had all of the ingredients at the house, and sometimes I like to play vegan for a day. I'll put the recipe in the comments section for anyone who is interested in trying it.
Look how excited Greta is about the precooked cookies. She can't even tear her eyes away from them to look at the camera.
Here's the finished product. I like my cookies nice and soft, and since these are vegan cookies, I could undercook them without worrying about pesky salmonellosis.
She's not really looking at the camera in this one either. Maybe she was staring off into the distance at cookies.
Greta and I had a lot of quality time together today since I missed part of the fun yesterday and because Pat had to do some studying for his midterm tomorrow. After we baked cookies, I asked Greta if she wanted to go on a "nature walk" or if she wanted to go to the mall. She voted for the mall (belch).
Greta is usually very reasonable when it comes to buying junk, but today she asked me probably a dozen times if she could get a new Build-a-Bear toy. She was being super good, and I was high from being in our new Anthropologie store, so I said we could get her one. As much as I wanted to buy a few little things at Anthropologie (I'm in the market for some knobs for my childhood vanity that I'm giving a makeover, and they have the greatest knobs ever), the line was insanely long, and there was no way I was waiting in that line - with kid or not. I seriously could not believe how many people were in line. That store is good and all, but come on. Tanget: apparently Anthropologie can do wrong.
So we finally wandered over to BAB, and I could see from a distance that the store was jam packed, with the line spilling out the door. It was even busier than Anthropologie. I have never seen anything like it post-Christmas on late Sunday afternoon. The store was swarming with people, and the line to stuff the animals was probably 20 deep, and it was NOT MOVING. I felt awful about reneging on my promise, but there was no way I could wait in that line and survive. I tried to rally by summoning my memory of the time I decided I just had to have a Cabbage Patch Doll. My mom very patiently waited in a very long, disorganized line in what I recall to be a small room in a department store because, even though I hadn't even seen one before, I sensed that I MUST have one. Even thinking of that time in my life, I couldn't do it. I mean, I knew the stupid pink unicorn BAB Greta had her eye on would still be there tomorrow and next week and even next month.
I scanned my brain for any excuse to get out of there and suggested to Greta we go get a cold drink and then come back and see if the line was any shorter. Greta was game, so we shared a super tasty strawberry banana smoothie at yogen früz (they didn't have White Russians, unfortunately), and by the time we got back, it was way more reasonable in there. Greta ended up decided instead of a new BAB animal she wanted some clothes for one of her old BAB animals (thank you, thank you, thank you), so we were in and out in no time. The thing that sort of blew my mind is that all of the people working at BAB were all so damn chipper still, and the parents waiting in the giant line all looked so calm (there were some very agitated kids, though). I think it's official: I have the temperament of a toddler. I might need to work on that.
I don't think I really captured the essence of it in this post, but today was a great day. I wouldn't have wanted to do anything else. (BAB can suck it, though.)
At some point during the last month or so, Greta's drawings went from blobs and scribbles that resemble nothing to blobs and scribbles that resemble something. Multiple pieces of artwork come home from day care a day, and for years I have tiptoed lightly, coming up with creative ways to politely ask what something is supposed to be, trying to avoid hurt feelings or squelching my only child's artistic endeavors. But recently, I can proudly exclaim, "Oh, a snowman!" or "What a great [hairy] ladybug!" Sometimes the faces she draws have such pointy heads they look like Klansmen, but I'm sure it's just a phase. Anyway, I'm very proud of her recent artistic improvements, and I wanted to share a good example.
Nine months ago, to the day, I interviewed Greta with 21 questions about moi. The results were pretty amusing, if you recall. I decided to reinterview her with the same questions to see what the results would be nine months later. The results, you'll see, are quite wordier. This is no surprise to me since she has turned into quite the chatterbox...It's a good thing I'm a fast typist. She is still fairly nonsensical. Anyway, here are both results, for comparison. At the very least, read #13. And #21 is NOT true.
1. What is something mom always says to you?
3/10/09: You do it. I think mommy is going to be a dinosaur.
12/10/09: I'm nice and you love me, and you let me sit on your lap, and my friends sit on my lap, and I sit on my friends' laps, and I love my dad, and he lets me sit on my lap, and I love him.
2. What makes mom happy?
3/10/09: Cereal flakes.
12/10/09: To kiss and to hug. To do stuff that's nice. To, like, paint artwork. Color and help your mom eat, and I love you. And you're special to me and then I'm done.
3. What makes mom sad?
3/10/09: Doo-doo. You fall down and that makes you sad.
12/10/09: To hurt people. And to bite. Not to hug people. Just to do bad things. To hit. Just to try to say, "I'm tellin' on you," and it makes you mad if I say "stupid," and that's all I do...I don't do all those things.
4. How does your mom make you laugh?
3/10/09: Say a funny thing. Say hands off the nana.
12/10/09: When I tickle you. When I put my hand in your armpit and tickle you. And tickle you on the shoulder.
5. What was your mom like as a child?
3/10/09: Fall down.
12/10/09: [Walks over to a framed picture of me as a kid and points to the picture.] Like that!
6. How old is your mom?
3/10/09: Three. Are you older than that? Five.
12/10/09: 14
7. How tall is your mom?
3/10/09: Three tall.
12/10/09: Let me measure you. This tall! And I'm up to here. [Points to my upper arm.]
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
3/10/09: Eat me.
12/10/09: To tickle and give hugs and play with green sand. And blue sand. And take pictures. And bounce this ball like this.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
3/10/09: Cry.
12/10/09: Go at work while I'm at school.
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
3/10/09: Eatin.
12/10/09: Bein' nice.
11. What is your mom really good at?
3/10/09: Laughing.
12/10/09: Kiss.
12. What is your mom not very good at?
3/10/09: Blowing bubbles.
12/10/09: At cookin' letters.
13. What does your mom do for her job?
3/10/09: Check your email.
12/10/09: Works and does nice things. Teaches people how to do some things. Did you know Dad fights fires? He does that. Do you know that?
14. What is your mom's favorite food?
3/10/09: Pasta
12/10/09: Pizza. Snow flakes, and teeth [laughs], and carrots, yogurt, and water.
15. What makes you proud of your mom?
3/10/09: Eating a banana.
12/10/09: To wipe my butt.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
3/10/09: Cinderella.
12/10/09: Just make music and be my mom.
17. What do you and your mom do together?
3/10/09: Color.
12/10/09: We do nice things.
18. How are you and your mom the same?
3/10/09: Going shopping.
12/10/09: Cause you have your sweatshirt on, and I have the same short-sleeve shirt, but it's short-sleeved, and it's the same color.
19. How are you and your mom different?
3/10/09: Yellow mama, purple dad. I'm pink.
12/10/09: I put this on, and you put that on.
20. How do you know your mom loves you?
3/10/09: Be loud.
12/10/09: That I'm nice and I want to press the G. [Reaches over and presses the G key.] gggggggg
PnF.com just celebrated its 7th (and crappiest!) year! Are you so, so excited? I do apologize again for the last lackluster year of nonbloggery. (I blame it on the 7 year itch.) For the first half of the year, using the word obsessed to describe my house search would be an understatement. And no one wants to hear that same crapola over and over. And then when we got the house on the market, multiple people advised me not to talk about the doings. I knew that was good advice, but if I couldn't talk about that I didn't know what to talk about. The previous 6 and a half years I would compose posts in my head (it's better-n-therapy!), and whether I actually posted them, it was a great outlet. Sadly, I've stopped the composing, and I've also been slammed with work-work and all of the little house things that need to be done, but I will try to be better. And I have high hopes for 2010. Yay for year #8.
In addition to the apologizing, I'm sure the burning question on your minds is, Did the Reeds have a great Thanksgiving?? Yes, it was lovely. Fairly uneventful (for us) but lovely. Here's the skinny.
Wednesday night: After work, we headed to my parents' house in Skaneateles and got Greta settled. Then we went out with Taryn and Todd. We usually all go out in Marcellus (the hometown) or Syracuse (close enough), but this year we decided to go to Sherwood Inn in Skan-town. While I felt sort of like an imposter, it was nice to not have to drive more than 5 minutes out of our way and to focus on talking to my friends without scanning the room every 5 minutes for a familiar face.
Thursday: We went to the annual McCarthy Family Turkey Bowl. This year was notable because it was the first year Greta didn't require one of us (the one NOT playing football - me) to hold her the entire time. Previous years she was freaked out by the multiple dogs, but this year she was unfazed. Within a few minutes of arriving, I saw her walking down to feed the ducks with my aunt and two little girls she just met. If you could have witnessed the difference between her personality previous years and this year, you would be sitting there reading this jaw agape. She is like a different child. It is a good thing. Oh, and I left my camera at my aunt and uncle's house, which is why there are no pictures. Sorry. Later on we had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house. Best meal of the year, for the stuffing alone. And the rest was just bonus. I love Thanksgiving...
Friday: We headed back to the ROC. Pat was summoned to work on his grandparents' flooring project, and Greta and I occupied ourselves by decorating for Christmas. We had a blast. Greta was super into all 2 and a half hours of it (I swear she was burnt out by minute 20 last year), and even asked me about many of the ornaments and not only didn't complain the entire time (a Christmas miracle indeed) but seemed like she could have gone for another 2 and a half hours. In the evening we went over to Pat's grandparents' house for Thanksgiving leftovers and to provide moral support (read: distraction) for Pat.
Saturday: More flooring duty for Pat and his dad. Greta and I did some grocery shopping and then headed over to Second Storie, an indie craft show. It was unbearably hot and crowded when we went, and Greta was unbearably clingy, but it was great to see some friends and some really top-notch craftiness. After the show, Greta decided to boycott her nap and was bombarding me with questions every 6 seconds (I timed it!). I informed her that I needed some "alone time," but she was unconcerned by my needs. I almost lost my mind. At this point I'd like to say GOD BLESS YOU STAY-AT-HOME MOMS. (I don't know how you do it. I am always fine on days 1 and 2 with Greta, but day 3 always involves some sort of breakdown experienced by yours truly. Seriously, how do you do it??)
Sunday: We did lots of stuff around the house - glamorous things like organizing the basement and cleaning out the garage. I even got my aforementioned "alone time" when Pat took Greta to the library while I went back to the Second Storie show so I could browse without Chatty von Clingerson. Since I am convinced no one has read this far, I will share that while I was cleaning the basement I found a brand new, wrapped Koehler toilet seat. Because one of our toilets could definitely use a new seat, and because I enjoy the thought of having a toilet seat that has had only Reed fanny on it, I had Pat install the new/old seat. Only until we got the old seat off and the new seat and base were right next to each other did we realize the seat has a green tinge (the toilet itself is white-white). It looks really silly, particularly in our overly bright bathroom. Now I find it amusing every time I pee and feel like I'm doing my business at the Emerald City. Okay, maybe this is funny only to me. Hey, don't act like you don't care about my new toilet seat.
And now it's almost Monday. Damn. I feel a little like I might throw up when I think about how I didn't do any work-work this long weekend (but worked nearly every free second the last two weekends, and of course during the week, including nights) and have so, so much to do. But I do feel like the break was deserved. No doubt I will be cursing tomorrow.
I hope you all had the most thankful of Thanksgivings.
