A movie, some tennis, and a visit from the Fire Department

What a day!

In the morning we went to the movie theatre to watch a movie. Unknown to me, all summer long they've had $1.00 Wednesdays. They play a kid friendly movie, open up all of the theatres to show this one movie, and all the proceeds go to children's charities. Fabulous idea! Too bad we found out about it on the last couple of weeks. So Melly and I went to see Surf's Up. She did really well, sat on my lap and was quiet as a mouse soaking it all in. Then about 80% through the movie, she says to me, "Mommy, I all finished". I try parent trick #1. Ignore it. No good. She asks again. I whisper and try to point out all the fun things about the movie. Didn't work. So, we pack up and go. I think the part that bothered me most is that I really wanted to see how it ended. So, if anyone has seen Surf's Up, please tell me how it ends!

Then, I start tearing apart my house for the arrival of my in-laws. My project for the day.... the office. This room is my nemesis. It's the "throw all the junk in there" room. I can mostly say it's all Rob's junk, but as I tore it apart I realized that there is a lot that's mine too. Hello Freecycle! I listed a bunch of stuff to get rid of there. Hurray! So, since I'm getting the office ready for guests, the other stuff gets forgotten. Our bedroom wasn't straightened, the kitchen had some dishes around, laundry is waiting to be folded, toys are left... no big deal I'll get them later.

Later comes, and I go meet my girls for our Wednesday tennis fun. Melody comes with us since Rob had a meeting to go to. Melly was great, our tennis swings were marginal, but we had a blast. So now I'm all grossly sweaty and all I want is a shower and to clean my house.

I get home and Rob's home. I'm just about to get Melly ready for bed when the kitchen alarm goes off. Hmmmmm. Strange. Rob checks it out and it's the carbon monoxide detector going off. He resets it and it does it's test to show it's working, then it goes off again. It's plugged right into the wall, so it should be working correctly. So Rob goes on line to do some research on what it could be. THEN, the office carbon monoxide alarm starts going off. YIKES! OK, now it's time to call the fire department. So Rob talks to them and they say they'll come over to check it out. Man they were not kidding! 2 firetrucks, 1 police car, 1 fire chief with another car, a few other emergency vehicles all show up with lights on. The neighbors come out, we're all kicked out of the house while they search it. Oh, did I forget to mention that the firemen were all in full get-up including oxygen tanks and masks! After about an hour (with Melly in her car seat watching a movie), the decide that oddly enough both of our detectors were going off in error. Wacky, huh? The fireman also mentioned that he has never seen a house with so many fire and carbon monoxide detectors in it. So kudos to Rob for making his house as safe as he can!

Pirate's are coming!

We were playing trains yesterday, and Melly got her pirate flag and the trains were on the lookout for pirates. We played for a while, then I got up to go get a drink. Melly calls after me, "Mommy be careful, pirates are coming!"

A clue! A clue!

While in New Hampshire, we took a drive through the mountains and ended up at a gift shop (apparently my family tends to find a lot of them!). This particular gift shop had the attraction of dancing bears and other such novelty shows. We skipped that, but to direct people to them, they painted bear paw prints on the sidewalk. Melody likes to watch Blues Clues, and in this show, you have to look for the dog prints to help solve the mystery. So, Melly sees these paw prints and shouts "A clue! A clue!"

Big kids with lollipops

We went to New Hampshire this past weekend to meet my family camping. Melody loved it! She was able to sleep in the camper and loved waking up and seeing everyone. On one of our trips, we drove Lloyd & Claire with us up to the Cog Railroad that took us to the top of Mount Washington. The trip up the mountain was beautiful and a great way to spend the afternoon. While wandering around the gift shop, Lloyd asked Papa if he could get a "gourmet" lollipop. Of course Papa said yes, and out came Lloyd with a chocolate marshmallow something or other lollipop. Claire saw Lloyd with it, and of course asked Papa for one too. So now Lloyd & Claire are outside the gift shop, enjoying their pops, when Melody asks Papa for one too. So off we go to get her one like her big cousins. We walk into the shop and go right to the giant rounder of lollipops where they actually did have almost every flavor imaginable. I read a few choices off to Melly and she picks wild cherry. She takes it out, brings it over to the cashier and puts it right on the counter. The cashier asks her what she has, and Melly says, "wild cherry lo-pop". The woman giggles, as Melly hands her the money. The woman gives her the lollipop back, Melly looks at her and says, "Thanks!"

So on the ride home, I look in the back seat, and there's Melody, Lloyd & Claire all eating their lollipops. It was so cute I almost cried to see Melody watching her cousins every move to make sure she was doing exactly what they were doing. Then towards the end, as the lollipops got smaller, Lloyd and Claire were putting the whole things in their mouth to eat them. Melody was quite upset at this, and kept telling them, "Lloyd, please take it out" and "Claire, no put lollipop in, take out". What a good supervisor!

My little Smarty Pants

I had a few phone calls to make this morning. With each one I had to gently remind Melody that I was on the phone and I would play with her again in a few minutes. Each time when I put down the phone, she was all smiles and said, "Yay, Mommy you all finished!" We played for a while more, but then my email was calling my name. I told Melly that I would be right back and I went into the office. A few minutes go by and I hear her screaming, "Mommy! I need you! Mommy!" So of course I run out of the office at record speeds to find her playing very nicely by herself. She looks at me and says, "Oh Mommy. You all finished." So I ask her what it was that she needed. She said, "for you to be all finished". Well, the screaming that she needs me is sure one way to get my attention!

Third time's not the charm

We were playing play dough this afternoon in the living room. The dough supply and all the tools are in the office down the hall (or the tunnel as Melody calls it). We were trying to make some figures with the fun factory, but some of the tools were still in the office. I kept asking Melody to go and bring me the needed tool. She would run (since she doesn't walk) down the tunnel, fish around the play dough drawer, and come back with a tool, which sad to say was the wrong one for what we were making. I asked her again to get the needed tool. She ran and again came back with something else. I asked her to get it a third time, she looks at me and says (with a bit of attitude), "Mommy, you go find it".

Yankees game with my Daddy

Melly and Rob went to a Yankees game and had a blast! It was a bus trip, and Melly did great the whole time. She sat in her own seat and was a real big girl! She made some friends with a group of guys in their late 20's (yikes!) and they loved her so much they bought her some cotton candy.

Wow are they up high!

Melly likes to clap!

Baby Emilie look how big you are!

Baby Emilie you are such a big girl you can sport a comb over hairdo! Happy 3 months to you!

Look! A pool can be fun!

Look at Melly actually having fun in a pool! It helped that Mema and Papa's pool was a balmy 82 degrees. Well, the thermometer was left in the pool last winter and froze itself to death, so the temperature always reads 82 degrees! But I actually think it was that warm this time. We put Melly inside a tube, and she held on tight. She even learned to kick and swim around the pool. Now that Melly isn't completely afraid of the water, it will be time to spend more time lounging the day away at Mema's!

My new bedtime is 11:00 Mommy!

So, after a few fun, but late evenings over the past few weeks, a baseball game, playing at Mema's, Melody has had a few late nights. Normally staying up past her bedtime for something fun doesn't impact her routine. Maybe for a day or two she'll sleep a little later in the morning, or take a longer nap. Well, we now have an ever so lovely habit of deciding sleep is no longer necessary. All week, Melly's been going to sleep not at 9, not at 10, but 11:00!!!!! You've got to be kidding me! She'll go into bed at 9 (which is a little on the late side, but her range of bedtime) and she'll hang out in her bed kind of quietly, until 10. Then the screaming starts. The crying for Mommy and Daddy, telling us that she can't sleep. Nothing seems to be hurting, but she's just not tired. So we sit with her, read stories, sometimes bring her into our room to watch a movie for a bit, but it's been the norm that it's 11 before she can get herself to sleep. Then she'll sleep until about 8 and she's good for the day. My goal has been to keep it up that eventually she'll get back on her routine.

Well today we have a new development. A no nap policy has been started. As I write this, the screams of a very angry child can be heard throughout the house, and perhaps even the neighborhood. I bide my time, try and ignore the screams, stand my ground and hope for the best that a routine can be found again! I'm just hoping that she's not deciding a year early that she's too much of a big girl for a nap!

It's a lie!

Well I went to the Dr. for a regular check up yesterday afternoon. I swear the scale is a lie! I haven't stepped on a scale probably since the last time I went to the Dr. last year. I don't like getting on the scale. I prefer to judge my weight by how I feel, how I look in the mirror, and how my clothes fit. After my extremely surprising discovery a few weeks back that I now fit into a size 6 jeans, I was quite brave when I stepped on this scale. Then, the shocking discovery that I weigh quite a bit more than I did last year. How can that be?

I know people that live by what the numbers on the scale say. I try with all my might to break them of that habit, because it can be just as addictive as a drug. One pound here, one pound there, and they always know exactly how much they weigh on any given day. If you asked me before yesterday how much I weighed, I could have guessed, but I really wouldn't have known. As it turns out, I would have been way off. I would have taken my weight from last year and taken away a few pounds.

I thought perhaps it was that whole "muscle weighs more than fat" thing, so I looked it up. Come to find out one really has nothing to do with the other. Muscle takes up less room than fat, so you would look thinner if you suddenly gained a mass quantity of muscle (which I clearly have not done). Muscle is more efficient at burning calories, so the more muscle you have, the better you are at burning off that strawberry frosted doughnut. This could perhaps be the category that I fall into. All those evenings of playing tennis, the walks around the block, and the occasional work out video may be making me a little more efficient. It doesn't, however, explain the huge difference in this years weight versus last years weight.

So I am stumped. I will continue my boycott of the scale because I do feel great and I am fitting into smaller size clothing. Just the other day I had a wonderful compliment of how 'skinny' I look. Do you know how long it's been since I've heard that? Not since I gave birth and people were telling me that I looked good after gaining 60 pounds worth of baby (who was only 7 pounds!) Whatever the scale says, I will hold my head up high and continue to shop in the Gap where they have magic clothing and magic mirrors that make me nice and 'skinny'.

What did you just say?

So, I'm notorious for getting tongue tied and using the wrong words in the wrong place. I usually joke it off as being a blond thing, but alas it has been many years since I've been a blond. I was watching my new niece Emily as she's squirming around and chewing on her hand. I ask so innocently, "Awww, is she teething? Is she getting a foot?"

The new us!

So, how do you celebrate your 30-something birthday? Get a new look! Who do you bring with you for a day at the salon? You're sister! And there you have it. After I got about a foot of hair taken off, and Carol got a trim and some long layers to accent her newly grown out bangs, viola! Super fabulous sisters!

Me

Carol

Happy Birthday to me!

"Bye bye crap"

I wish this meant that I was getting rid of some junk around the house, but sadly, it is my darling little daughter, while the video camera is recording, saying good bye. We often switch around words to be funny in this house. For instance we now sing about the "okey dokey" spider instead of the itsy bitsy one. Somehow during a silly laughing session those words came out and they stuck. At the end of recording some, Rob asked Melly to say good bye to the camera, and out came "Bye bye crap!" as clear as day! Of course the whole room burst out laughing (even though we're supposed to ignore it), then Melly kept saying it louder and more (which is why we're supposed to ignore it), and now every "bye bye" that comes out of her mouth is now followed with a "crap".

Baby Moose

Melly isn't too fond of playing with dolls, but really enjoys taking care of her other toys. She went through a phase of feeding and diapering her Thomas trains, and lately she's been caring for baby moose. She carries him around in a basket, and sometimes he cries and she cleans his face with tissues. Here's a little video of that.

Bringing the kids to their first concert!

Last Friday Rob's band played an outdoor show, so we all got to bring the kids to their first concert! Actually, Melly's been to a few. That's kind of a perk when your Dad's in bands. It was a great time to hang out with friends, listen to good music, and the weather was perfect! Sadly, I did not take any pictures of Rob up on stage, but managed to get a few pictures of some of the family and friends.

Alex, Carol, and a squirmy Melody

Carlo, Kerri & Ashley

The Mancusi's (who are very well coordinated!)

Lisa & Danny

Joanna & Faith

Stand-off at the OK Corral

Well, actually it was my kitchen. Melody woke up this morning and asked for a Papa Juice (which means a Capri Sun drink pouch, my Dad always has them at his house, so they are now known as 'Papa Juice'). She drank one, and we had the outlook of a good day. I started making breakfast at 9:30 (Melly's a late eater) and she asked for another Papa Juice. I told her that breakfast is almost ready and we drink milk with breakfast. Oh my, the breakdown that followed! "PAPPPAAAAA JUUIIIIIIIIIICCEEEEE!!!!" could be heard around the neighborhood. I quickly realized that this wasn't going to be about the Papa Juice, but clearly about her not getting her way from having such a meltdown. So, for the next 45 minutes, (oh yeah, I timed it!) I heard the "gorilla cry", which appropriately named sounds like a large gorilla running around the house. "uuhhhhhh, uhhhhh, UUUUHHHHHHHH", followed by the loud wail for the "PAPPPAAAAA JUUIIIIIIIIIICCEEEEE".

Luckily, my sister called in the middle of the insanity, and kept my sanity, as we both chuckled about how ridiculous it is to cry so much over a juice pouch. And, I did actually try yet again to reason with the 2 year old that is screaming over juice. Obviously my reasoning didn't go over so well. But eventually, a whole 3/4 of an hour later, the crying stopped. She did not drink her milk, but she also did not get her Papa Juice. I guess we can call that a victory and one more point for Mom. We have to take these wins, no matter how small, and hope that we're one step closer to this little toddler's understanding that throwing a fit doesn't' get her too far.

Melly's a Yankee?

Melody grabbed her foam baseball bat, ran into the kitchen and started yelling, "I'm Mickey Mantle". Rob and I didn't even know what to say. I don't think we've ever even mentioned his name before, let alone that he was a baseball player! Where does this kid learn this stuff?? Nana, did you teach her that?

On a side note...

Melly is actually wearing open toed sandals, without socks today! I've been carrying around a pair of socks just in case, but so far she's been fine without them!

My epiphany

This morning, I had an epiphany. It all started as I was in a rush to leave the house to make it to a play date, I was trying to just take a minute to go to the bathroom, and there's Melody trying to pull down the curtains, throw magazines around the bathroom, and unroll an entire roll of toilet paper. Out of frustration of her not stopping when I told her to, and that grin on her face telling me that she knew perfectly well she shouldn't be doing it, I took the ball in her hands and threw it out the door for her to follow it. Yes, indeed, I played fetch with my daughter. I felt guilty about doing it after, and I tried to figure out what I was doing wrong (as this not listening thing is a new behavior). Everywhere I go, I hear frustrated and exhausted parents asking friends, family, professionals, anyone they can find, what they're doing wrong. I realized it's not a matter of right and wrong, but more of a working and not working. I think we should think of all our child rearing questions in that phrasing. For most things, there isn't a clear answer. It does all depend on the kid and how they respond to things. Although I must admit, playing fetch with Melly probably was both wrong and not working, it did open my eyes a bit.

Our group photo shoot

Some may say we're crazy, but I think it worked out pretty well. We took the whole group to get professional portraits! The photographer looked at us like we were nuts to do it, but once she got into it, she started to enjoy. Here is the whole group from the left: Anthony Joseph, Penelope, Ashley, Melody, Julia and Rylan. Rylan wasn't digging hanging out with all the chaos, so he wasn't too happy in the beginning, but we still got him in the group shot!!! Later on a few tears emerged from others in the group as it was a lot to take in all at once. We each got single shots and a few groups as well. Here are the ones that I picked:

Melody & Ashley (and a giant duckie that Melly wouldn't let go of)

Close up of my girl!

Honk 3 times...

Our house is surrounded by woods, and there's plenty of trees between the houses, so even though I can see our neighbors house, there's lots of stuff in between. Our back room is the closest we can get to a clear view of Karen's house, but you really can't see anything. Often Karen and I will joke about how we will sometimes go running around the house in our underwear to get something, praying the whole time that you really can't see anything from each others house.

This morning I was trying on dresses that Aimee lent to me and I went into the back room. Without thinking, I just started trying them on. I took off the first one, walked across the room to get another one, and I hear Karen honking her horn. I duck down from the window, peek outside to see, truly, that you can't see in the window. Just a fluke I think and go to get that dress. AGAIN, I hear the honking! So I duck down yet another time, peek out the window, and come to the same conclusion. So, I go for a third time, and HONK HONK HONK! I am convinced that not only can she see me, but she is honking to warn me that the whole neighborhood is standing outside my window peeking in. I humbly bring all the dresses into the other room with all the windows and shades drawn tight to finish trying them on. No more honking.

So, curiosity gets to me, and I email Karen about my moment of "exposure". Check out this odd timing. Her cat Katie had run into the street while she was on her way out, and all the honking was to scare the cat away, at the exact same time that I stepped in front of the window. Freaky, huh? So apparently, only the cats are out there watching me try on dresses.

Melly in the pool

Compliments of Aimee... here are the pictures of my Melly in the pool.

MySpace...Sinatra style

My cousin sent me this link. FUNNY! It's a dig on those that live on myspace. Check it out!

http://americancomedynetwork.com/animation.html?bit_id=25239

Did the truck sneeze?

Garbage truck outside the house: "PSSSSHHHHHHHHH"

Melly: "God Bless you truck!"

Do you have eyebrows?

We are working on labeling the more obscure parts of the body, like elbow, knuckle, hair, bangs, eyebrow, eyelash, etc. After going through a lot of them, Rob asked Melody, "Do you have eyebrows?" Melly replies, "No, Mommy cut them off." A little confusion of eyebrows and bangs, because I cut the bangs, but she still has her eyebrows!

It's a miracle!!

Today, Melody went into a swimming pool! I can't believe it! We had a busy morning. I started off the day at the DMV to get my license renewed (which, by the way, took me only about 15 minutes, and everyone was very nice!) Then I rushed to the mall to return the tank top at the Gap that was too small. (If you remember, I bought the medium in a moment of elation at the fact that I actually fit into a size 6 jeans). When I got to the mall, I was a big old goober and forgot the mall doesn't open until 10 (it was about 9:30), so we walked around until the Gap opened. I did my business, then whisked off to Aimee's house as she had kindly invited everyone over to swim. I had a swim diaper in the bag, that has probably been in there since May (the last time I could get her in the water). She reluctantly got into her swim diaper, and ran around the yard playing with it on for a while. I got in the pool, called her over, and was able to rip off her socks and shoes, and get her in there before she knew any better. I spun her around in the water a bit, made a game of it, and behold! The pool is actually fun! She then walked around the pool saying, "Look at me! I swimming! Everyone look at me!" Aimee was able to take a picture as proof, and I'll post that when I get a copy.

Farewell to Shea

There are only 40 games left at Shea for the Mets before they move next door into their new home. We were able to take Melly there so she could be there for at least one game. Papa was lucky enough to get free tickets for giving blood at work for all of us to go. So we went to a Wednesday night game and had a blast. The weather held out for most of the night, we only had a small rain delay in the middle. The Mets won the game 5-0, even though we left before the end. Rob explained that when the Mets hit a home run, the big apple pops out of the behind the outfield. Melody was very excited to see the hat come out and asked for it at least every other minute. Ramon Castro did us a favor by getting a home run and letting Melly see the apple. Of course after that, she thought everyone that hit the ball would make the apple come out.

The new stadium in the background with the big apple that pops out of the hat.

Just after the rain delay

A very happy Melly with Mommy and Papa

The cutest little girl in the universe!

Breakfast with Elmo!

Tuesday morning at 9 AM (yes, after getting home after 2 last night), we're off to have breakfast with Elmo! Kerri & Ashley, and Emily, Julia & Lillian joined us there. You can't tell too much by the picture, but Melly loved seeing Elmo. I think she wasn't sure about sitting on his lap, but the rest of the time it was hard to keep her in her seat. She just wanted to follow him around. Ashley and Lillian also loved Elmo very much. Lillian grabbed hold of Elmo's hand, and poor Emily had a hard time getting her off! Julia was more reserved with him, and wasn't upset, but wanted Elmo to keep his distance. She was much more content eating her breakfast on Kerri's lap (isn't it great that all of us Mom's are interchangeable now! All of our kids feel that comfortable with all of us). We all ventured to the farm afterwards, and walked around looking at the animals, including a baby calf that was only 1 day old! What a treat!

Mamma's getting back to her roots

This is the whirlwind week. Let's start it off. Monday night I went with Kristen to BB Kings to go see Lita Ford. Yup... you heard me right. Lita! Everyone else couldn't make it because it was during the week. Mom-hood is the same if it's Monday or Saturday, so count me in! I got off to a bad start, which Rob was right, would end up being no big deal. (Did I just say that Rob was right???) I realized that the only thing I have in my closet these days is "Mom Gear". Meaning: comfortable. Perfectly fine for everyday, but not for a trip to NYC. So, what's a girl to do? Go shopping! I head off to the mall, and use my Gap gift cards. The saleslady sees me rummaging through jeans, and offers help. I'm looking for 8 regular. She looks me up and down, suggests the 6 regular. I chuckle inside, but placate her and take the size 6 into the dressing room. It fits! Seriously! So now I'm on cloud 9 with my size 6. I find an incredible tank top that fulfills the mom comfortable (so I can wear it more than once), yet also fits into the going out category. Extra bonus. I tried on the tank in Large, but I'm feeling good and get the tank top in the size Medium, because the large was a tad too big (but do-able) in the Large. Home I go, after Melly was fabulous in the mall, and we had a great time. I'm getting ready to go, try and put on the tank top, and it is WAY too small. I mean, the buttons that are holding it together are BURSTING! So now, Rob's home, and offers his help of "You can wear anything and you'll look fine". But now I'm on the verge of tears running around throwing tank tops and t-shirts everywhere. Finally I settle on the plain old ribbed tank top that I wear all the time. I get to Kristen's and she assures me I look fine. It was OK, but she looks as if she has just stepped off of a magazine page, and here comes the shlumpy me! But, 2 minutes into our trip and we're laughing, having the best time in the world. Lita was GREAT! It's been a long time, so many songs I did not know, but the 'best of's' I know and love. We got a special treat of having Dee Snyder show up and sing a bit as well. Even though it was a late night, my blood was pumping and I realized something dangerous..... I MISS IT! I don't miss going out all the time, but I do need to make more of an effort to go to a show every now and then. So, to sum up... thank you so much Kristen for dragging out the old haggard Mom and rejoining her back with the good ol' days!

Kristen and me ready to go!

Here is our Lita. Kristen thought she looked old, all I could think of is that I hope I look that good when I'm close to 50!!!

My little Kobiashi

Every year, for some reason, we always end up watching the 4th of July Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. I guess it's because our TV has the privilege of always being tuned in to ESPN. It's like watching a train wreck. These seemingly normal people are able to consume over 25 hot dogs in 10 minutes, and the winners are usually in the 30's. I can't imagine eating that many in a year, let alone a few minutes. For the past 6 years, Kobiashi has been the winner. Rob likes the way his name sounds (and I do to), so if we're eating too fast, or too much, we often will say things like, "slow down Kobiashi". While watching the contest, Melly had her banana. While watching all the contestants, she starts shoving her banana in her mouth, saying, "I Kobashi".

Boaf heads

Every kid has those words that they just have a hard time saying, and it usually brings smiles to our faces. Melody, cannot say forehead, and she keeps calling it "both heads". But, with her little accent, it comes out 'boaf heads'. So today, I get poked in the forehead, and Melody laughs and says, "I poke you in your boaf heads".

Say goodbye to the 'Carvinal'

Well, our local carnival has gone after being here for a month. So sad to see it go, but we had one last hurrah with the Colombo's. Melly's partner in crime Ashley joined us for one last go on the fireworks night before the 4th of July. This was Ashley's first time seeing fireworks, and staying up WAY past her bedtime. As usual, she was a trooper and was a gem. Kerri, on the other hand made one little girl cry purely by accident. (Sorry Kerri, I told you I would put it in eventually!) We were putting the girls on the car ride, and one little girl in the back of the line really wanted the pink car. She raced as fast as she could to get it, but Kerri beat her to it with Ashley, and Melly was right behind her. That poor girl (who was about 7, and clearly should not have been crying over a pink car), cried the ENTIRE time on the ride. Kerri made amends after I told her about her evil ways and talked with the little girls Mom, who had no problems what so ever with her kid having the fine purple car instead. Bye bye carnival! We'll see you next year!

Presenting, Melly as Dora

The other day we watched Dora the Explorer. We don't watch too often (mostly because we try to not watch TV past Playhouse Disney in the morning), but it was on and Melly really enjoyed it. She's always loved the Dora books, and has a stuffed Dora that she usually doesn't play with. Today she decided to dig out Dora after watching the show, and she found a little stuffed bear that she was calling Boots (Dora's sidekick who is actually a monkey). I'm watching her from the kitchen as she's playing all by herself. It was so cute I had to grab a pen and paper and write it down. The video camera was in the living room and I was afraid that if I grabbed that, she would stop and I would miss it. Here, for your reading pleasure, is Melody playing both roles as Dora and Boots:

B: "Yay! You did it Dora!

D: "Thank you Boots"

B: "Wow, knocked over my car" (she had them in her Fisher Price School Bus)

B: "Help!"

D: "I help you Boots"

D: "Boots, your friend!" (she found another stuffed bear in a different color)

B: "Hi friend, I love you"

D: "Hi Boots friend"

(everyone's back in the car)

D: "Let's go home"

B: "OK"

(The car now "fell" off the chair. OK, actually it was pushed!)

B: "Dora, you hurt?"

B: "I love you Dora"

D: "Thank you Boots. Save me"

My little actress in training!

No Mommy!

Nothing breaks my heart more than these words: "No Mommy, go away!" Whenever Melly plays with Rob, and I walk into the room, she used to shout "No Mommy, go away!". It broke my heart, so Rob & I worked with her and explained that it was not nice to say that to me, or to yell. So now, Melly has learned and expanded on this statement. As calm as can be, she says in her sweetest of voice, "No Mommy, please go away". To go even further, usually if I'm not in the room with her, I'm in the computer room down the hallway, which Melody calls "the tunnel". So now, I get, "No, Mommy, please go away in the tunnel".

Fireworks!

We went to fireworks last week, to see how Melly would do. We got all packed up, drove to the parking lot, walked the 1/2 mile to where we were sitting, unfolded chairs, put out the blanket, got out the Papa Juice's (what Melly calls Capri Suns), and waited to see our daughters delight at seeing fireworks for the first time this year. Well, we didn't expect the reaction we got. She was running around all excited, as Rob & I explained what was going to happen. The whole, "some will be loud, but they can't hurt you" and the "you'll see how pretty they are, and they're fun!" She was all set for them. The first test "boom" exploded in the air, she climbed up on Rob's lap in fetal position and started chanting, "I go home! I go home! I go home! I go home!" It broke our hearts! Then the real fireworks started, and we really thought that once she saw the colors she would relax some. Nope! She kept chanting for the first 5 minutes. We debated whether we should pack it up and go home, if we should push her a little and try to get her to like them (she wasn't' crying, so she wasn't petrified, she just was a bit scared). Then a miracle. A perfect green circle firework opened up in the sky. Melly then said, "Ooh! Green circles!" Hurray! she got the fun part! After that she really got into them, saying all the colors she saw, and how they were "tricking" her by changing colors. The whole walk home all she kept talking about was the "boom-booms".

We went to fireworks Thursday after the carnival with the Colombo's, and again on Friday, and she joked with us about the "I go home" part by sitting on our laps saying it with a big smile. So now our little adventurer that loves carnival rides, but hates her feet exposed, now can add fireworks to the good side of the list.

No Alligators!!

There are a few things Melody loves. Playhouse Disney in the morning, and alligators are two of them. When Disney announced they had a new short they were making to go on in between shows, I thought the 'Can You Teach My Alligator Manners' would be right up Melly's alley. WRONG! For some reason, the second the little 3 minute short starts, she starts screaming and crying with tears for me to change the channel. For the life of me I cannot figure out what's so scary about it. She screams with delight when any other alligator is on TV or in a book.

Check this out and see if it's that scary to you!

http://atv.disney.go.com/playhouse/canyouteachmyalligatormanners/videos.html

Do I need any other reason to not garden anymore?

I love gardens, hate the work. I'm not a big fan of digging in the dirt when it's hot with bugs around. Now here's the icing on the cake as to why I will no longer be gardening and I will add this job to the "Boy's List". I was weeding the front gardens (literally in front of the house), and it had maybe 3 small piles of weeds. I spent 20 minutes pulling out some clover, grass and baby trees that sprouted from our acorns. I went inside and noticed I had a bug bite. "Bummer" I thought. I neurotically washed my arms up to my shoulders as I always do after being outside in the garden and then rewarded myself for actually going outside to weed. 2 days later, I get my reward for being a good little gardener. POISON SUMAC!! Oh, but that sweet little bug did me the extra favor of injecting the poison right into my skin. This is what happened and how my arm looked for 2 weeks. It's only now just starting to look like skin again.

Did she just say stegosaurus??

Melly has a new found love for dinosaurs. That's my little girl for ya! She actually can remember and say their names. I can't even remember or say their names!

Buy these fishticks!!

I bought these on a whim. I don't like fishsticks, Melody doesn't like fishsticks, Rob sure would never eat one. The Gorton's tenders extra crunchy are really yummy! Melly eats them, and I eat them, and we both even like them. Rob will still never eat one. The coating on them is almost like a puffed rice, and is actually a little sweet. Since the only other fish I can manage to eat is tuna from the can, it's good to know there's at least one more option for me!

Papa Potatohead

Melody dug out Mr. Potatohead, grabbed the mustache, held it up to her lip and said, "Papa!" So we made Papa Potatohead!

Well, I'm never wearing these shorts again!

For those that don't know, Melody's way of soothing herself is rubbing the tags of her stuffed animals on her face. Not just any stuffed animals, but her favorite brand. Most pictures we have of her, show one of her "guys" butts (where the tags happen to be located) on her face. It's kind of funny to see.

Today, I have on a pair of Levi denim shorts on. On my back pocket, there is a little tag made out of the same material that her "guys" tags are made of. So, I have had Melody, literally, with her face up my butt trying to get my tag all day!

Hi Jesus!

Little brains are amazing. You never know how much they're going to remember. We try to go to church regularly, but I must admit it is not every week. Part of it is that Melody is touch and go with Sunday school, and way too chatty to stay with us. She has heard the basics though, and proved it the other day. We have a house in our neighborhood that has a few statues in the front yard. One by the front door of Mary, and one by the mailbox of Jesus. We were driving home and from the back seat I hear a very excited voice say, "Hi Jesus!"