Cooper Lately

Cooper continues to both amaze & frustrate me. I'm not sure why - he's nothing like me.

He's smart. Sometimes, he's too smart. These days he loves math...which is strange, because I would rather go to the dentist than take a math test. He'll tell us "5 plus 5 is 10" or any such addition. As long as it doesn't go over 10. Then he runs out of fingers. :-) He also loves to do his school work. I've had to fuss at him, stressing that a nap is important. He'd rather skip his nap and do more work. He loves working in the workbooks we have at home - tracing lines & letters. He's very interested in spelling names - ours, his friends, family members. He loves to "read" and really enjoys being read to. I hope that sticks! I'm a big reader and I really hope to pass the love of books on.

We started doing chores last fall and he saved up money to purchase a few things. A month ago, I swapped his chores out for new ones. He still has to put his plate up, and put away his shoes and dirty clothes. But we added bigger chores for a higher dollar (well, cents) value. The struggle is that he doesn't have anything he is begging for & wants to work for. So he's not always motivated to earn that dime. Instead, he has figured out he should ask the Easter Bunny.

I am still amazed at how much he loves his sister. He's got such a big heart - much like his Aunt Sassy. He wants to be friends with everyone, even when I sometimes would like to yell at the other kids for being mean. Caitlin is always looking for him and following him and so far he's been really good about letting her play. He tries to take things away, and she wants to destroy his buildings, but he's very careful to keep small things from her. Or at least ask if she can have something. I'm sure once she's walking it will be a whole other ball game!

We recently started allowing him to watch a few Marvel cartoons on Disney XD. He feels so grown up. I hate to imagine a year from now when Caitlin is begging to watch Mickey and he is SO over that. It seems we've sort of passed the Star Wars obsession - at least slightly. Though he has already decided to be Darth Maul for Halloween.

His too-smartness comes out in the attitude. And the bossyness. Cooper & I have been at stressed lately because of this and we're on a bit of a reset. I took away the Friday donut shop trips and he's trying to earn a trip to the movies with a good attitude and less mouthy-ness. I've had to ask him several times if this is what he wants to lose a sticker over. He's very much a do-it-yourself kid and will try until he's blue in the face before asking for help. Part of this may be the fact that I rely on him for so much around the house, but some things he's just not old enough to do!

That boy is funny, though. And he knows it. He loves to sing - a lot. We still mostly listen to his Sunday School songs and apparently Zaccheaus climbed a 'spicamore' tree.

He also told us last weekend that this lady rode her horse without a saddle while the Ashalum was playing. Jason and I were a bit confused, but realized he was talking about the National Anthem. Even though he insisted his Aunt Sassy said Ashalum.

He's still taking swimming lessons & started t-ball practice earlier this month. Swim will end in a few weeks and we're going to take a break, but t-ball will kick off with game in April. I can't wait to see the kids out there playing!

Cooper slept in my bed while Jason was out of town a few weeks ago. One night I heard a thud & he was whimpering. I jumped up & grabbed him off of the floor. The next morning, I asked if he remembered falling out of bed - which he didn't. The later at breakfast he lifted his shirt and showed me a scrape on his stomach. I asked where it came from and his reply was "I have no idea!"

Three Year Check-Up

We took Cooper to the pediatrician yesterday for his 3 year visit. Neither of us were surprised to see his weight & height are still off the charts.

Weight: 41.5 lbs
Height: 41.5 inches

Does that make him symmetrical?

For the first time, we had to do the vision test. Cooper was a little confused at having to wear the glasses & kept saying they were broken and that he didn't need them. Once we convinced him that was part of the "game" he went with it & did fine.

The doctor came in and looked him over - noting that his vocabulary is pretty good. I mentioned that he asks a LOT of questions and that's always a good sign. He's doing very well with everything according to the milestones. The rest of his check-up went great and the bonus was that we did not need any shots!

Here are few things Cooper has done recently that crack us up.

The day before his birthday party, we sat out a few gifts from us & his aunts that were wrapped. He took one look at them and said "Mom! Santa came!"

We bought into the Elf on the Shelf idea and Cooper has the funniest pair of Elf pajamas from his Aunt Carla. One evening after putting them on, he ran downstairs because he needed to tell Elf that he looked like him.

I can't imagine him being more excited for Christmas than he his this year. Every day he asks if it is Christmas Day and if we can open presents. He loves to listen to the Christmas music and watch any Christmas movie. As soon as we get in the car, he starts singing along. Even if the songs aren't playing!

We've been talking about the Christmas Story quite a bit and Cooper thinks Baby Jesus's parents are Jophes and Married. I tried correcting him, but it really is just too funny and cute.

Santa visited the daycare earlier this month. Cooper isn't a fan of anyone in costume - especially characters like the Easter Bunny or Woody from Toy Story who visited a restaurant earlier this year. I pumped up Santa hoping he'd be past his fear and we talked about how he could tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas. Everything was going well until Jason mentioned he would need to sit on Santa's lap. He got very serious and said "No. That man is scary." We explained that if you don't, you won't be able to tell him what you want for Christmas. Cooper responded with "I don't want nofing." The next morning I told him he could stand beside Santa. This was the result.

I'm pretty sure the candy cane was the only thing that got him close to that scary man.

Who knew?

Last week we were driving around and Cooper started to sing his ABC's.  Apparently he knows how to do that now.  He mixes up a few letters, but we were pretty impressed.  And he's a glutton for attention - every time we cheered him on & clapped, he would sing them again.

A little rain...

If you're not from Texas, you may not know that we had a quite extreme drought this year.  Like we could only water the lawn twice a week, the lakes are completely dry and some restaurants quit automatically bringing water to the table unless requested.  That kind of drought.  The really scary part - it sparked some major fires this summer.

Lately, though, we've been getting a little rain.  Sometimes more than just a little - twice this month we've had some flooding.  Unfortunately, it isn't quite enough rain to put us back where we need to be, but it is nice to see green yards again.  Cooper got a rain coat & umbrella from his Granna & Papa.  I let him wear the rain coat to school last week, but it ended up causing a fight.  Apparently one of his friends wanted to see his jacket, and the end result was that his friend bit him.  Cooper keeps telling me who did it, but I'm not sure I believe him since this kid has never been a biter.

It is a cute rain coat though, so who knows!

Today I let him walk around outside a bit with his umbrella before we left.  Since I didn't want to cause anymore altercations in the classroom, we left the umbrella in the car.

One of Cooper's favorite snacks happens to be the little baby oranges - the Cuties.  I think they're pretty good, but I'm fairly certain he could eat the entire bag in one day if I let him.  He can open the fridge, open the drawer and get them out.  Yesterday, though, he decided he wanted to peel it.  I put him in his chair at the bar and let him go.  I offered help, but he kept telling me he wanted to do it by himself.  I encouraged him, told him that I was proud of him for being patient and not getting upset that it was taking a while.  And then he cracked me up - he said "I did it! I proud of me."


The only downside to this, is that I can see him feeding himself oranges from now on.  Remember how I said he could eat the whole bag??

Sundays

A few weeks ago, I spent some time building Cooper up to go to Sunday School.  We quit trying several months ago because he was miserable.  He started crying in the parking lot and by the time we got close to the door, he was hysterical.  We left.  Since then, we've been trying to keep him quiet in the church.  Sometime before Christmas he started to understand that we were going to listen to stories about Baby Jesus and that he had to be quiet.  He made it through most of the service, but never the whole thing.  This week, I decided he was going back.

I built up Sunday School - he could sing songs and color and play.  Last Sunday we talked about how fun Sunday School would be and he talked about how he wanted to go to church.  He was fine...until we got to the room.  After church, they said he'd cried for about ten minutes, and then played.  Then, I tested the water.

Me: Cooper, did you have fun at Sunday School.

Cooper: Yeah, I had fun.

Me: Do you want to go back?

Cooper: No, I go to church.

Yesterday was much of the same - he did a little crying on the way in, we shoved him in the door and turned around.  He would be fine.  After, I asked him again if he had fun (he did) and if he wanted to go back (he didn't).  His new trick is to tell us that he'll be quiet and listen in church.  I don't quite believe him.

Last weekend, Cooper kept talking about a fire truck.  He wanted to ride in his fire truck.  That made sense - he has one on the back porch.  Only...he didn't really care to ride in it.  Sunday we realized he was singing.  I Googled it and figured out there is a song about riding in a fire truck.  When Cooper says it though, it sounds like this:

fir-rah shruck...fir-rah shruck...I want ride on my fir-ruh shruck.

I also like to give him a little flexibility on Sundays.  Well, once church is over.  I'll ask him what he wants to wear and just go with it.  I'm thinking he probably doesn't have a career in fashion to look forward to.

Someone needs a haircut

Catching up

2011 had some ups and downs.  I won't elaborate, but for a while there I was ready for a Happy Freaking New Year.  And then it changed and I learned a very important lesson that life is mine to live, but not to control.  That said, this year hasn't really started with a bang.  Well, I guess it has.  Fireworks, to be exact.

Let me go back a bit.  When we visited Jason's parents Cooper started acting funny.  He just didn't want to sleep and asked us to lay down beside him.  I didn't give it too much thought, thinking he was just a little off from the travel and all of the holiday excitement.  We came home New Years Eve and that was the Big Bang.  Turns out, my kid is terrified of fireworks.  And because NYE was on a Saturday, we got two full freaking days of fireworks.  Two full days of a toddler trying to crawl into our skin.  Two nights of him begging to stay up and watch a movie or sleep with us.  In fact, after we came home on NYE, we put him to bed, only to wake up an hour later with him climbing over me and into the middle of our bed.

And that was just the beginning.  Since then, we've all be a little sleep deprived.  Some days are better than others.  But the others...well, last night for example he was awake at 12:30, 1, 1:15 and 2:45.  I am pretty sure that's what a 6 week growth spurt would look like, only he's not eating during the night.  I've pretty well tried everything - bribery, sticker charts, cry it out (that ended when he climbed on top of the dresser) and just sleeping on the floor.  Yesterday we started a new strategy and well...I'll say last night was mildly successful.  He was still up, but we only sat next to his bed for 10 minutes at a time.  Right now, that's the best I can hope for.

Have I mentioned how much I love coffee???

On a different note...here are few funny things he's done recently.

Before Christmas, my mom's dog Tuff was sick.  Tuff is a teeny tiny teacup poodle, so him being sick isn't good.  I called Rachel to chat and brought it up and said if something happens to that dog, this will be the "Worst.Christmas.Ever."  Tuff got better (he ate an acorn) and I told the story to my mom a few weeks later.  Sitting in the backseat, Cooper yells out "Worst. Christmas. EVER!"

I have a bad habit.  I've learned some bad words and I'm trying to unlearn them.  But I'm having a hard time with crap.  I don't think it is that bad, but Cooper probably doesn't need to go to school saying crap every 15 seconds.  Last week I was driving and said crap.  Cooper immediately told me that it was a bad word.  Jason asked if I should go to time out and Cooper's response was "ummmmmmmmmmm......"  I think that must happen at school!

He's discovered how to be silly.  Who knew?  I also get amazed at how well he talks.  Jason and I went out of town this weekend and when we got home I told him that I missed him.  He replied "I missed momma."  Heart: melted.

Christmas Train Ride

When Jason told me about the steam train close to his parents house, I'm not sure who was more excited.  Me about seeing Cooper's face or Cooper.  We decided to ride the train the day after Thanksgiving and being the awesome parent I am, I used that train all day to get Cooper to eat lunch, nap and listen.

All afternoon Cooper talked about how he was going to ride the train.  He was going to ride James.  (for those of you not fully immersed in Thomas-speak, James is the red engine)

Cooper was excited.  I was excited to see him see the train!  Then it happened.  That train pulled into the 'station' and he looked at me and said "I go ride in car."

This would not be the face of an excited boy...

We managed to get on the train and he was OK, as long as I held on tight.  We finally figured out that he's most likely afraid of the dark.  The train took us through a trail of lights that told the story of Christmas - he would be fine when things were lit up, but when the trail was darker I'm pretty sure he managed to climb into my skin.

Later that night, I asked if he wanted to ride the train and Cooper responded with a very quick "No."  He was perfectly happy playing with his small, motorized train set.

You know, where he could play Godzilla.

He wasn't traumatized - the next day (and every day since) he's talked about going to ride the train.  Next time we'll make sure it is daylight!

Fall = Football!

Cooper still loves baseball.  He constantly asks to watch baseball on tv, and loves playing with the t-ball set outside.  But since football season is in full force, we decided to buy him a football to play with.  He can say foot and he can say ball, but for some reason football always comes out sounding like butt-ball.  The weather has finally been great and we've spent some time outside playing.

First, we had to mow the lawn.

and fix the lawnmower...

then we had a kicking lesson.

but we had to stop for a popsicle break

and finally we had to make sure the cheerleader was ready for the big game.

Too fast

Monday night Jason picked Cooper up from school.  The evening teacher has been with Cooper since the first classroom and he loves her.  Probably not as much as he loves Peanut & Libby, but some days he may prefer Ina (Ee-na) over Momma.  I've not-so-secretly been dreading the day he was going to move up to the 2's and leave Ina.  He cried for a month when he moved to this classroom and Ina was moving with him!  And she loves him just as much.  But I figured he'd be a little old and one of his buddies would move with him, so I didn't panic.

Until Monday.  Ina was a little pained to tell Jason that "they" wanted to ask us about moving him early.  He seems to be a little advanced and they feel like he'll benefit more from being in an older class.

So you're telling me he's a bully?  Ok, that wasn't said, but I did think it.  Cooper usually gets great reports in the evening.  I sort of think Ina is a little biased and may water things down, but she also does have to follow the rules.  He has been bit quite a few times, but I also think (and know) that sometimes he causes it.  Not that biting is ok, but I feel like that is the first reaction kids learn and it is their defense mechanism.  Plus, he's easily the biggest kid in class.  (shocked, aren't you?)  

I talked to the assistant director Tuesday morning just to see what was discussed.  Cooper is bored.  He doesn't sit long during circle time and they think he will benefit from being challenged more.  They go outside twice (score!), still nap (hallelujah) and have a bigger educational plan.  Plus, they'll start potty training him.  I was fully prepared to wait until next summer (or longer if needed) because I know boys are usually behind on this. And I know pushing him can cause it to fail.  But I do think he's ready.  He runs to the bathroom if Jason is going, and Sunday he asked me to sit on the potty.  I asked him if he knew what was supposed to happen on the potty, but he didn't answer.  I've also been informed that once we start this, I get the pleasure of being clapped for every time I go to the bathroom!  I've been waiting my whole life for someone to clap for me when I pee!!  Not really, but it did make me laugh.

Still, this is all going too fast.  I feel like just last year I was pregnant.  And now when I realize I need to work out and drop some weight, I also realize that I almost have a 2 year old.  It is all going too fast.

A tale of two books

A few weekends ago Cooper and I needed to get out of the house.  I needed a few new doormats, so we went shopping.  Our first stop was Marshall's.  Though I usually don't frequent Marshall's, I do think they are good for certain things.  I've been on the hunt for another Thomas the Train book and thought that might be the place to go.  Because if you haven't looked, Thomas the Train books are a little hard to find! 

Sure enough, I found a few.  I sorted through the stacks looking for a book in decent shape and handed it over to Cooper.  He flipped the pages and read the book while I finished shopping.  Then I spotted it.  In the checkout line, a shelf full of books.  Holding a shiny Thomas the Train book that I knew would play songs.  Cooper spotted it.  He promptly shoved the other book in my chest and pointed.

"Choo choo book."

I looked at the book, knowing it was probably priced around $10.  I have a hard time spending $10 on a book for myself to read.  I'm cheap, ok.

"Baby, you have a choo choo book."  I tried handing back the old book.  He shook his head no.  Reluctantly, I grabbed the new book hoping that since it was Marshall's it wouldn't be overpriced.  Instead, it wasn't priced at all.  I handed it over, thinking maybe I could make a switch at the register, but really working on justifying paying for the book.

I guess I got lucky.  The manager happened to check us out, there were quite a few people in line and he noticed that I had to pry the book out of Cooper's hands to give it to him.  I was shocked when I heard "We'll just give it at the price of the other book.  Gotta keep the kids happy!" 

Marshall's - you have a shopper in me.  I'd already decided to buy the book, because some fights aren't worth it.  But after working in retail for years, I was impressed with the customer service.  I could also tell that the manager must have kids, because he recognized the look Cooper was giving me.  It wasn't a "I want I want I want" look.  More of a look that told me he wanted the book, but if I said no he'd live.

Cooper proudly carried that book to Bed Bath & Beyond.  And quietly read it through the store, playing the Thomas theme song over and over and over again.  Pure toddler happiness. 

Speed Demon

Last year Cooper's godfather sent him a baptism gift that made me laugh.  It was a fire truck.  Cooper was 3 months old.  The truck sat in the attic for a while and finally this summer Jason convinced me that we needed to bring it down.  Late one Saturday, we put the truck together and Cooper was pretty excited the next morning. 

For now, he uses it more to climb on...and he can push Eileen.  But he hasn't quite figured out how to move it forward himself.  This week I taught him to keep his feet up so that we could really motor around the house.  Note the perma-grin on this face as Jason speeds laps around the sofa.  And giggle a little at the sound effects.

Sing along...

Earlier this week, we headed home from dinner and Cooper realized that Jason wasn't getting in the same car.  He flipped his lid.  So I did the only thing I could do - crank the radio.  Thank goodness for satellite radio because within seconds I found...Ke$ha.

I'm not your typical Ke$ha fan.  But her songs are easy.  It is the same thing over and over again, meaning I know some of the words.  By the end of the song, Cooper knew them as well.  If you're familiar with the song Blow you'll hear his version of it at the beginning of the video.

If you know the words to the other song he sings, sing along!  And then email me and let me know what song it is because we have no clue.

M-I-C-K-E-Y

M-O-U-S-E!

Cooper has been a fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for a while.  We DVR it, if that tells you anything.  He really only watches the songs, and then spends the rest of the time playing.  We've also had this stuffed Mickey Mouse in a pinstripe baseball suit on the shelf in his room since the beginning.  He's seen it, but suddenly this weekend he realized that the Mickey Mouse on the shelf was the same Mickey Mouse in the tv.

He freaked.  Like all out crying until he got his hands on that Mickey.  I had to pry it from one arm to another to get his shirt on.  And he wouldn't let it go. 

The real test now is going to see if he will pick Mickey over the Monkey...

Wanna know what happens...

when you leave your camera in another town for a week?

Nothing.  The severe lack of posts are a result of my sister getting married (and all of the prep work that comes with) and not having my camera or photos for the next week.  Not much has been going on, though.  Cooper learned to climb.  On everything.  The dining room chairs. The sofa. Our bed.

The key is to keep him from standing on everything.  He's got this funny song he sings when he climbs on top of things.  I have no idea what it is or where he got it from, but it's the same thing every time.

I also wake up every day thankful that he hasn't realized he can also climb out of the crib.  The day that happens...well, I'm not sure what I'll do.

Can someone call the CDC?

It's been a rough week around our house.  Last week we noticed that Cooper's ear was draining.  They told us that once he had tubes the ears would drain, though he could still get an ear infection.  After hemming and hawing over it, I called the pedi and Jason took him in Thursday night.  They gave us an oral antibiotic and some ear drops and sent us on our way.

Friday when I picked him up from school Miss Sabrina was pretty worried about him.  See, Miss Sabrina has been with Cooper since the beginning.  She's the "floater."  She goes wherever she's needed and in the evening she hangs out with the kids who have parents that abandon them work late.  Since day one, it's been her and Cooper alone for the last hour or so of the day.  Meaning she spoils him, but that's ok with me.  Anyway, she was worried because he'd thrown up.  Once we talked, I figured out it was all phlegm and really wasn't worried.  He does that pretty well with every ear infection, however she did mention another kid in school was sick Thursday & Friday.

Saturday Cooper felt ok, but he wasn't himself.  He sure wasn't eating what he usually does!

Then Sunday came.  Sunday.  A day that will live in infamy.  (until I get to Monday & Tuesday)  Coop woke up about 6:15.  I could tell on the monitor that he'd peed out of his diaper (again) so I couldn't count on him going back to sleep.  I got up, changed him, realized he blew out of his diaper, cleaned him up and brought him to my bed.  Thankfully he went back to sleep until 7:30.  He started playing with Bridget and suddenly sat up and gave me this look of horror.  I somehow knew what was coming.  I pulled him off of Bridget and close to me and he proceeded to vomit all over my bed.  Saturday's breakfast at that.  Poor Cooper had this look of "what the what???" on his face, I screamed "Oh my god" and Bridget jumped up.  Then Cooper cried.  I owe Bridget.  A lot.  She grabbed him, I cleaned up the vomit and we gave Cooper his first bath of the day.

It went downhill after that because I'm pretty sure he had 3 more baths and I changed his pants 6 times.  Once after I stripped him down in the front yard and rinsed his legs with the water hose.  Don't worry, I checked the water temperature first.

Monday I stayed home with Cooper.  If I had sent him to daycare, they would have sent him home.  We managed the day with only 3 clothes changes, but I did have to spot clean the carpet.  Then I started feeling bad.  It was at that point I realized he wasn't having a reaction to the antibiotic.  It was a virus. 

Tuesday morning I woke up with 101.5 fever.  I don't think I've had fever in 10 years.  Honestly.  I couldn't figure out why I was so clammy and achy.  I felt like death.  And we had to wash Cooper's bedsheets again, if you get my drift.  By 2pm Jason was sick.  We were both on the sofa and Cooper was finally feeling better.  I wanted to pay someone to come get him, but I remembered I like my friends too much.  I felt so bad for him.  He wanted to play and go outside and we couldn't move.  It was probably the worst parenting day ever.  Combined with lots of toys and a few episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Hard to believe that one little kid at school could manage to take down another toddler and 4 adults.  Yeah, because both my mom and sister, who were over Sunday, have been sick.  How Bridget managed to avoid it, I don't know.  But I'd like to bottle her immune system and keep it on hand for future invasions.

I did tell Cooper that if he wanted to push the kid who gave us this sickness, I'd be ok with it.  Don't worry, though, he's a lover not a fighter.

Today's Special: Mommy Guilt

If you're a mom, you know exactly what I mean when I say those two words.  If not, well I can't really explain it.  Mommy Guilt can cover all sorts of things.

As moms, we are sure quick to guilt ourselves over a number of things.  The past week Jason has had to work late, meaning he can't make it home in time to pick up Cooper.  Most days I can fly home and with a little luck, I'm there to get him before the daycare causes me to take out a second mortgage.  But I can't guarantee it.  So my boss was gracious enough to allow me to change up my schedule and ensure I'd be there on time.  Next week that ends.  Jason's project will be over and the extra 15-20 minutes I get at home with Cooper will be gone.

And I'm sad.  In the grand scheme of things, 15 minutes is nothing.  But it is enough to serve up a huge helping of Mommy Guilt.  Guilt that Monday night when we got home Cooper wanted me to drop everything and play.  He clung to my legs crying, just reaching up and begging me to play with him.  News flash Cooper: you don't eat if momma doesn't cook!  I chose to pick him up briefly and direct him to a toy until Jason could play with him and I could finish heating up dinner.  With a side of guilt.  Because I wanted to play with him.  But he isn't old enough to understand that we'll play for 15 minutes and then I'll go cook dinner. 

More guilt that Sunday was what my mom calls a "Proud Parent Moment."  The whole day was trying.  We sent Cooper to the nursery at church because the last time he sat in the sanctuary with me, we were both asked in a roundabout way to finish service in the cry room.  He cried when we dropped him off, cried hard when we picked him up and held a grudge for a few minutes, crying the whole way home.  Guilty.  Then, during our afternoon trip to the outlet mall he managed to pee on me.  His diaper must have shifted just the right way and...voila.  We're soaked.  After I gathered my thoughts we tried to make it to the nearest bathroom.  I tried to carry him without getting more soaked, he screamed.  I let him walk, he refused to hold hands and screamed.  We put him in the stroller, he screamed.  Jason carried him, he screamed.  I'm sure you can imagine that people were staring at us.  Now, I can laugh (a little) about it.  But at the time, I was pissed at him.  And you guessed it, I felt guilty about it.  Guilty thinking I should enjoy every second with him no matter how he behaves because they grow so quickly.

The issue is, that's just not a good idea.  It wouldn't be smart to let Cooper run around like a wild Indian doing whatever he wanted because I felt guilty.  Children need a certain amount of discipline.

And I just need to learn that I don't always have to have my dinner with a side of Mommy Guilt.

Is rodeo time yet?

Cooper's friend Jacob passed these boots on a few months ago.  We tried them on this weekend and I think they went to his head. 

After he figured out how to walk in them, he went right over to his horse and tried to climb on.  If he keeps this up, we may be in the market for a new pony this summer.

No, Lin, not a real one.  They just don't make rocking horses like they used to!

Arctic Blast 2011!!!

Snowmaggedeon!  Winter Weather Watch!! Blizzard of the Century!!!

Or something like that.

Right now, it is just down right cold here in Houston.  Tuesday the "Arctic Blast" blew in.  Really.  When I left work it was so windy!  And the news couldn't report anything other than Arctic Blast 2011.  I sure hope nothing else is going on in the world this week, because according to Houston (and most of the Mid-West) the only thing happening is this crazy winter weather.  So world - if you're planning anything else for the next few days, I'd advise you to just hold off.  Or expect that we'll cover it next week.  News watching this week has been comical, to say the least.  I know in other parts of the US the crazy snow is actually something to worry about.  I mean, I think I heard that Chicago shut down schools for winter weather for the first time in something like 13 years!  But here in Houston, we've got nothing so far.  Actually, as I type, the news station is reporting ice pellets.  Not exactly sure what that is, but panic will ensue.

I know people who are laughing at some of the crazies here in Houston.  I laugh and I grew up here!  But really, when it rains people get stupid driving.  Just think about when that rain freezes.  Lots of overpasses.  Men who drive large trucks and think that just because the truck is big, it will get them places.  Less than 5 sand/salt trucks (I think).  It all adds up to crazy.  I think I'll watch from the sidelines, thank you very much.

The biggest crazy, though, is the rolling blackouts.  The entire state of Texas has put out a warning that you should expect to lose power at some point.  But don't worry, it will come back on.  Yeah...ok.

So far, here is my Arctic Blast 2011 story.  We got up yesterday expecting it to be cold.  Really cold.  Instead we found out that we had no water.  Because it was frozen in the pipe outside.  Talk about waking up and not needing coffee!  After we figured out that nothing was broken, Jason thawed out the frozen water with my blow dryer and we were on our way.  At that point, I expected to be 10-15 minutes late for work.  We got dressed, I woke up Cooper and bundled him up and as I walked toward the garage the freaking power went out!  ((FYI if you hear Cooper repeat a certain 4-letter word, I may or may not have let one slip.))

I set him down, pissed him off, grabbed his milk from the car so he'd at least not follow me out into the garage and tried to open the garage door manually.  Except the cord wouldn't stay pulled down and I wasn't able to pull the cord and hold it with one hand while pulling up on the door at the same time.  A few more "oh darns" and I took the milk away, pissed Cooper off again, put his hat on and ran across the street to see if my neighbor would rescue me.  Thankfully he was a really nice guy who followed me back to the house and opened the garage.  And we were off...only to find out that daycare had no power.  They were taking kids, but if the outage lasted another hour they would call us to come get them.  I risked it, dropped Cooper off and finally made it to work a half hour late.

Fortunately they didn't call and Cooper stayed most of the day.  What a mess, though.  Stay tuned for more stories from Arctic Blast 2011.

Toilet paper

Toilet paper is one of those things that drives me crazy.  It has to go over.  Remember the whole "over or under" debate a certain TP company did last year? I'm an over supporter.  Under just doesn't work.  I'll even admit that in some houses, if the TP roll it set to go under, I flip it over.  I usually just assume they don't care, because if they did - they would have it go over.  ((yes, I know I'm crazy, ok!  Deal with it.))

PS: this whole over thing was only made worse when I started working in hotels.  They roll it over AND they fold down the little triangle at the end.  I'm not that crazy.  Yet.

I just wanted to give you a little background on how I can obsess over the small things. 

Because now...it astounds me that I'm now the type of person who will just set the roll on top of the counter.  Why?  Because if not Cooper makes it his personal mission to unroll the entire thing in one quick, hard, swipe of his chubby little hand.  Don't worry, he giggles while he does it.