Monday, May 23, 2011

Get off my lawn!

How do you know when you're getting old? I'm beginning to think it may be happening in our household.
We live in a bad spot for noise in our community. During the winter it is not bad, but in the spring and summer months, every yahoo with a motorcycle or pickup with pipes feels the need to come around the corner and rev as loudly as possible past our house. It's obnoxious, and we've always hated it. But now that we have a baby, our hatred of this behavior has reached a fever pitch.
This weekend the noise was terrible. Apparently whoever these people are have nothing better to do than drive around town all day long and burn gas. Oh, to be young again and have gas to burn!
On Sunday afternoon I took a lovely nap. Or at least I tried to. Early on I was interrupted by that familiar rumbling past my house. I did get some sleep, however, and then it was my husband's turn. I got the baby down for a nap as well, and about half an hour into her nap, there it was again. It not only woke her up, it woke up Tim, too. He was furious. He came downstairs and said he was going to drive around town to get license plate numbers. Fortunately, Jane put herself back to sleep and slept for two hours. If she hadn't, blood may have been shed.
Tim came back without numbers, but shortly after his arrival home, there they were again. Turns out there were two of them, one following the other. Tim got a license plate number for one and a good description of the other truck. He called the police and a short time later, I saw one of the trucks drive past. A few seconds later, a police car followed. Success! It was quieter for some time afterward, but later on there was more noise. I think it's going to be our goal this summer to continue to catch these guys and turn them in. We should be able to have our windows open and enjoy a nap on a Sunday afternoon, shouldn't we?
At this point in the story, we realized we were beginning to act like old fogeys. In that "you kids stay off my lawn" sort of way. Tim told me that, since he has now officially become "old," he is going to start using words such as "malarkey." I think the word for us is "crotchety."
In related news, Tim's hearing isn't doing so well, either. Last night when I said something he completely misheard. He then decided it was time for an ear trumpet. He thinks they have them at Walmart.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

A tale of two teef

Further evidence that my little girl is growing up showed up this week. Just in time for my dearly beloved to be gone the entire weekend (lovely timing, dear), Jane's teething kicked into high gear. On Thursday evening I did a gum check, which I had been doing every few days, and discovered a hard spot on Jane's gum. On further examination, I finally was able to pry her mouth open long enough to see that there is a tooth coming in. Her first! Then, yesterday, I got in there again and found that she not only has one, but two toofs ... er, teef ... er, teeth coming in! Soon her toothless smile won't be so toothless anymore. I can't lie, I prefer the gummy grin to crooked baby teeth, but that's not up to me to control. There's just something about two or three teeth sticking out of a babies' mouths that makes them look like tiny hillbillies.
Teething hasn't been too terrible of a process for us so far. There's been lots of chewing, sure, but not that much drooling and she honestly hasn't even been all that fussy. A bit clingy and whiny, yes, but none of the all-night screaming I've heard about. I hope that continues as her new teeth come in.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day





Happy Mother's Day to all the great moms out there. I am fortunate to have the best mom in the whole world, and I'm not just saying that because I am biased.
Yesterday we went garage saling with my family and found a ton of new toys for Jane. Then we went out for lunch and in the afternoon went to Grandma Janet's and also to Grandma Alma's. Today we mostly had a quiet day at home. I got to sleep in with my two favorite people by my side. What could be better? In the afternoon we went to the park for a little while and then went to DQ for dinner.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

No princesses here!


There's been a lot of hullabaloo over the past week (well, months, really) over the new princess. I must say it hasn't interested me that much, except to give me something to give the occasional eye roll over. Royal families are pretty ridiculous, if you ask me! I think part of the reason it is so appealing to some is that many little girls dream of one day being a princess. I was not one of those girls. Cinderella and Snow White were all right, but I had no delusions of becoming them.
We've all come into contact with the little girl who insists on wearing a tiara, gaudy plastic rings, and perhaps a pink tutu or a pair of fairy wings. Because she is a princess. Heck, I've known a few grown women who have acted this way, sans tiara. I'm not much for the princess phenomenon. What does it mean to be a princess really? Does it mean the rules don't apply to you? Does it mean you can have whatever you want? Does it mean everything is supposed to automatically go your way? Maybe I'm putting way too much thought into it. I'm sure there are some very nice princesses out there, too. I just don't want princess stuff crammed down my daughter's throat from the time she's an infant. I don't understand why there are pajamas with Disney princesses on them for 6-month-olds, or why I would want to buy them. There is no way I'm going to start raising a princess at this young age!
Now that my little rant is over, I'd like to talk about mobility. Jane is getting more mobile by the day. I turn my back for two seconds and she has rolled under the coffee table. It's like she has a stealth mode. I guess it is time to baby-proof! She is on the verge of crawling as well. Last night she actually got up on all fours and rocked back and forth a bit. I'm sure it is only a matter of time before she takes off.
Jane is also sitting up unassisted. Just a couple of weeks ago I was getting worried that she had not yet mastered this skill. On Easter Sunday, I tried to make her sit up in a Boppy and she absolutely refused. Yet just three or four days later, she could sit up for half an hour at a time. I do not understand it, except to say that I think it may have been a case of "won't," and not "can't." Ah, the strong-willed child! I wonder who she gets it from?
Solid foods are also going better for us. In the past week, Jane has enjoyed sweet potatoes, bananas mixed with oatmeal, and carrots mixed with oatmeal. I'm tempted to try peas today but I fear they'll all go to waste. I guess you never know! Our little girl is growing up so fast!