Archive for April, 2007
-image-It’s Raining, It’s Snowing,
the old bitch is moaning.
FOR THE LOVE, Mother Nature. LET THERE BE SPRING.
In less than 2 weeks, I’ll be flying into Minneapolis (and St. Paul– don’t want to give the cold shoulder to the Twink I’ll actually be bunking in) and BY GOLLY I do not want to be packin boots! Wah. While I’m beyond geeked to see and hang and dine with my fabulously lovely & hilarious friends there, I do need help deciding what books to bring with me on the plane! If you’ve traveled with a small child, then you know the luxury of traveling ALONE. No puking, crying, pooping, feeding or entertaining to worry about besides my own! Hopefully I won’t blow out of my undies, but ya never know. I should probably bring an extra pair just in case.
What should I DO with all of this alone time? Lemme tell ya, if you should happen to find yourself next to me on my flights in (les than!) 2 weeks… I don’t want to talk to you. Just zip it. Wear deoderant, don’t hog the arm rest and sure, I’ll be courteous and considerate, but I don’t want to chat with you or listen to you rattle on about whittling wood in Canada (has happened. For several painful hours.). I’m going to bring some books, maybe some Sudoko, maybe some gossip mags. What do you think? Any paperbacks you can recommend for a free-wheelin’ chica.
Random Weekend Picture:
The dog is as confused as we were.
Posted by Mrs. Squirrel @
1:30 pm |
-image-The Shoes That Jojo Hates
Look harmless enough, eh? The first time I showed Jojo these cute little kicks, he shook his head and definitively announced “no” (or as he pronounces it, “nyo.”).
I was a little worried. He doesn’t much care about clothing– yes, he loathes anything that has to be stretched over his enormous gourd, and he’d rather not have to bother with collars of shirts, but the immediate dislike of these seemingly benign Target finds raised my alarms. How could he not adore these tiny blue bundles of cuteness?!
I kept the receipt in the box, tags on the shoes, and set the shoes within his view so he could warm up to them. Over the next couple of days, I tried re-introducing the (evil) shoes to my Jojo, hoping he’d take a shine to them or at least quit openly hating them.
He didn’t. The “nyo” turned into long litanies of “nyos nyos nyos” with simultaneous head shaking. I showed Mr. Squirrel this Pavlovian experiment, but that didn’t stop him from trying to put the shoes on Jojo the following morning before daycare.
I could heard Jojo’s screams in the shower. He didn’t wear those shoes to daycare.
And considering my husband (note the change in address from Mr. Squirrel to “my husband.” Also note: my head is cocked to the side and the tone ‘in my head’ is one of annoyance, not adoration.) ripped the tags of the shoes and threw away the receipt, the $14.99 Shoes of Hate and Piercing Screams are now ours.
But. BUT. BUT. Somehow, Mr. Squirrel, obviously back in my good graces, tricked Jojo into wearing them a few days ago (with mild protest at first). The women at daycare loved the shoes. We loved the shoes. Jojo? Still not a fan. He doesn’t loathe them with the passion he feels towards bibs or teeth brushing, but at least we got one wearing out of them!
Because now he hates them again. Sigh. Sweet Babboo, these may be coming your way…
The shoes that Jojo loves…please pay no attention to his ridiculously dirty shirt or untucked onesie. We’re usually not this messy…ok. We are. Still love us?
But see? He’s better at walking in heels than I am.
The Shoes That Mrs. Squirrel Adores and NOT just because they were the cheapest ones of the lot at DSW:
But really…someone has been wearing my shoes, so I needed a new pair. Didja notice, too, that kitchen floor? NOW that’s a different story…hideous, eh?
Posted by Mrs. Squirrel @
9:31 pm |
-image-Oh Yes He Did
We’re watching the Mets. Well, Mr. Squirrel is; I’m reading your blogs.
He’s all excited after Jose Valentin (who we call ‘Stache — as in moustache) makes a great snag and throws out the runner at 1st base.
He knows I love ‘Stache, so he tells me to watch the play. He’s still excited. So excited that he sing-songs this modified Deniece Williams refrain:
Let’s hear it for the ‘Stache…
Please tell me you know how he sounded; and, that if and when, one day, you meet Mr. Squirrel, you will mock him mercilessly for this? Thank you.
And now, I gotta cut loose. Footloose…
Posted by Mrs. Squirrel @
8:22 pm |
-image-Desperate Housewife — Tales from last weekend
Because you know, I’m always a few days, weeks, years late to the game.
As you may remember, Mr. Squirrel abandoned us last week Friday for a long weekend of work out of town. Yes, over the “holiday” weekend. People didn’t believe me, but yes, he worked on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday all day. Every day. Good times for all of us.
As much as I love Jojo, I knew that I needed to line up some indoor activities so the entire weekend would not involve me trying to convince a whining, stubborn Jojo to DROP THE SNOWSUIT because we’re NOT going outside at 6 am nor when the temperature drops below 40.
I had plans, my friends: Friday, well, he spent the morning with his g-friend, whose mom & dad we met in Lamaze. See, something good did come from Lamaze…well, that friendship and the realization that my husband is totally awesome for not asking me to stand outside with him during the break to breathe in the cigarette smoke he’s generating.
Anyhooo… Friday: Jojo played all morning with them while I worked half a day. I took the afternoon off to watch Jojo (since daycare was closed). We ran an errand and spent the rest of the day playing in or around the house (yes, I do take him outside…just not for long stretches with the wind and chill and cold yo).
Friday evening, after a splashtacular bath and loads of kisses, I put my bundle to bed and popped in the first 4 seasons of Entourage, which, as you may recall, I said was “eh.” I don’t think I even finished the 4th episode. BUT, I’m not giving up on it at the urging of my BBF. I hit the sackage early to prepare for our
Big Plan Saturday:
early am — grocery shopping!
10:30 am — meet up with aforementioned g-friend and her mom for swimming at their YMCA.
lunch!
nap!
play with mommy!
5:00 pm — again, go over to Jojo’s g-friend’s house to dine with her parents & dye Easter eggs.
7:00 pm — head home to deposit thankful & exhausted toddler into crib for a long, delicious night of sleep
Reality:
early am — grocery shopping! CHECK.
9:00 am — call from my friend canceling our swimming plans. Rack brain for diversion…
10:00 am — head to mall to play on indoor playground. Success!
10:45 am — talk to friend about dinner plans. They’re still on! What can I bring, I query? “A dozen hard-boiled eggs for dyeing.”
11:15 am — drop by neighborhood co-op for eggs since we only had 3 eggs at home.
11:30 am — lunch. Back on track!!
2:00 pm — while Jojo naps, I hardboil eggs. 3 eggs don’t make it out of the carton, but that’s ok because I have an extra three. End up with 9 hard-boiled eggs. I lost three in the boil. But 9 is good, right? Yes! I’m not letting this stop me! 9 is the new 12 after all. You didn’t know that? Hm.
3:00 pm — friend calls to cancel dinner plans.
3:01 pm — act understanding yet cry afterwards. Because ACK.
Yeah, I don’t remember the rest of the day, but we probably played outside, played inside, played upstairs and generally just tried to amuse ourselves… I’ve repressed Saturday apparently.
Sunday! Onward to Sunday…what to do on Sunday? There’s not much to do in this area on Easter Sunday, as I’ve learned the past 2 Easter Sundays when I showed up at the Big Mall to do some Spring shopping only to find myself shaking the doors in frustration. I checked online anyway and learn that WHEW! Hooters is open…definitely WJWE! And Border’s. Ok, Border’s may be doable for an outing (make mental note…poof. gone.).
The only other plans for Sunday included something FUN for Jojo– an Easter Egg hunt at our neighbor’s house (her two sons, 5 and 8 are incredibly kind to Jojo)! PLUS — I purchased some fun things for our own Squirrel Family Easter Egg Hunt as well:
On the mess of our guest room bed, please note the 2 bags of Easter chocolates which were solely for the neighbor boys and me. Also– the Sesame Street egg decorating kit which does NOT, I repeat, NOT work well on plastic eggs (I mean,
obviously, the dye doesn’t go with plastic eggs, but I’m talking about the paper Elmo headband thingy…I tossed all that shit in a fit of rage — tantrum, I think we call them — and just put stickers on the eggs.). Disregard the
weird wooden puzzle which my Mr. Squirrel solved in 3 minutes yet we’re still 4 months stumped on the accompanying riddle which we NEED TO UNLOCK THE MYSTERY. Ahem. And the work posters in the upper left that I took home to use for Jojo’s art projects. With permission! I wasn’t pilfering,
Dwight. I promise.
But Jojo loved our 6:15 am Easter egg hunt, which he lovingly demonstrated by placing said eggs in his dump truck:
I tossed some clothes on the boy and headed over to our neighbor’s house at 7:15 (we got the call to come over and begin the hunt). I have pictures of this adorable event, but I promised my neighbor I wouldn’t put her kids online without her permission and considering she selfishly left me for an entire week to spend time with her family at DisneyWorld, I cannot thusly ask her permission. Plus, I’m mad at her for leaving me.
But UGH. The adorableness of her two boys, trying to entice Jojo to GET AWAY FROM THE GLASS TERRARIUM and “loooooooook Jojoooooooo….what’s this????? An eeeeggggggggggggggggggggggg!” “ooooooh Look Over HERE!!!” Then Jojo would FINALLY break free from the Silent Pleas for Touching coming from the Fragile Terrarium and run over to the boys, find the egg, put it in the basket they were holding for them, then glance back longingly at the beckoning terrarium.
Luckily, the boys moved quickly and got Jojo to find the remaining eggs. Whew. And then it was 7:30. AM.
My neighbor cooked eggs, we talked, laughed and played, and then they had to get ready for church. We were invited. We declined with a “we don’t go to church sorry”, and laden with eggs, headed home.
It was before 9 am. Twiddle, twiddle, whine whine.
A little after 9, I sent a desperado email to my mom’s club. What next did we do? You wouldn’t believe it. Well, maybe you would, but not you or you.
Find out here.
Posted by Mrs. Squirrel @
11:06 am |
-image-I can’t figure out how to post pictures
without them taking over my entire blog and threatening to break out from your monitor and choke you with Jojo cuteness.
Perhaps this evening…after we put the whining infant to bed (ear infection #2, thankyouNOTverymuch), after we watch the Tivo’d Lost, but before I fall into a heaping, snoring sack of stuffed nasal passages & sore throatedness on our suddenly very lumpy bed, I can attempt proper WordPress photo inclusion!
In the meantime, I feel it might be time for another Exercise in Quadrancy (fake copyrighted to me):
1. SNL’s Chronicles of Narnia or Let’s Get Some Shoes?
2. Oprah or Ellen?
Please let me know your preference (& degree of preference) for both questions!!
Posted by Mrs. Squirrel @
3:20 pm |
-image-Lookee me!
How do you like it? I’m just NOW learning how to post in WordPress, so cut me some slackage. Not to mention a certain toddler is sick again, bringing down his momma with him.
Take a minute to enjoy the changes, and I promise a poppin fresh post soon.
Jojo and I welcome you to the new and improved, Hollow Squirrel!
BIG HUGS to Karen at Swank Design (wouldn’t a link here be totally cool)? Yeah! That’s what googling is for while I try to figure out WordPress.
And the header awesomeness– Ranie O’Dell. Yeah, I’ll link to her, too, although both awesome women are in the header on the left… THANK YOU!
Posted by Mrs. Squirrel @
8:06 am |
-image-must go to bed
Jojo: 3
Mom: 0
I’m defeated.
Call SuperNanny.
Posted by Mrs. Squirrel @
7:22 pm |
-image-Fat Attack
Mr. Squirrel needs to return home stat. Not only do we miss him terribly for all the obvious reasons, apparently all reason and self-control fly out the door with him regarding my diet– I’ve made the pop-’em-in-the-oven chocolate chip cookies (5g of fat EACH) two nights in a row.
(8 cookies in total x 5 = 40 extra fat grams! Why am I shouting about this? This is not good news, you moron! AND now I’m shouting at myself. Good times.)
For dinner, I made (Knorr Lipton) fettucine alfredo which was delicious…because it was loaded with fat. And a salad. I had a salad, too. But who really cares when I wash it down with warm chocolate chip cookies?! UGH.
Tomorrow, I’m single-mommin’ it again, so there’s little hope for nutrition.
Or fun (owing to the cold weather + major holiday = nothing the F to do because most of today was spent indoors so HELLO impending boredom/whining).
This year, at least, I’m prepared. The past 2 Easter Sundays, I’ve headed to the mall with visions of spring sweaters in my head only to be brutally rebuffed by locked doors & DUH signage that the mall was closed for those nonheathens spending time with their families.
With a shred of hope, I decided to check– the only stores open at the big mall here are the new Borders (score!) and a variety of (crap) restaurants including Hooters! Yes, I know, they’re wings are suppose to be really good.
So, a trip to Border’s will constitute Easter Sunday 2007 for Jojo and me. Wait. No! I also hid some plastic eggs around the house. I’m going to send him on a hunt while I mix his oatmeal tomorrow.
Ha. Good one.
If you knew our morning routine, you’d know that he’ll cry large ridiculous tears of HATRED and screw up his little face into one of RAGE and INDIGNATION because MOMMY IS NOT MOVING FAST ENOUGH TO FILL MY PIE HOLE WITH OATMEAL, DELICIOUS OATMEAL.
Seriously. He does not yet grasp the necessity of the microwave. I cannot imagine the pain we’d both incur if we didn’t have the microwave and had to cook it on the stovetop.
The horror.
Shit. I gotta get to bed.
Posted by Mrs. Squirrel @
8:28 pm |
-image-Entourage ‘n Eggs
1st 4 episodes: eh.
Hard boiling eggs: um, apparently sources differ on the length of time the eggs should sit in the covered pan. Not that I’m trying to place blame, but can I just tell you that I lost 6 eggs today– THREE were cracked in the container (and subtly dripped out the bottom, thereby crusting themselves to it) and THREE cracked in the (GD) pan. My kitchen smells eggy.
I’m suppose to bring 12 to a dinner this evening, but I can only manage 9.
9 is the new dozen.
Pass it on.
Posted by Mrs. Squirrel @
12:47 pm |
-image-Update on Daycare Woes
I thought I should report to you, the very kind, supportive and willing to kick ass alongside me friends who commented on my lengthy explanation of my current daycare woes, the much more favorable events which transpired when I picked up the Jo this afternoon.
Since I was able to leave work earlier than usual, Jojo wasn’t crying when I arrived (he tends to cry when everyone else is leaving, and he’s one of the last to go…I know. Sob!). Instead, he happily played and chatted with a 7 month old in an exersaucer.
Three of the 4 teachers (in the combined rooms — and NO, Miss C, the one who doesn’t like me wasn’t there) were still there, as were 3 other kids. All three appeared genuinely cheerful. Perhaps it was because they get today off of work or the unusual activities of the day — Easter egg dyeing, Picture Day… and for my growing boy, his first nap on a cot!
My Jojo napped on a cot for 2 hours without falling off and incurring a head wound. Whew. His teachers were so proud of him, that I started to tear up.
Then they excitedly told me that next week, he would eat lunch and snacks at a toddler-sized table instead of the high chairs!
And in his cubby I found a colorful bag containing the dyed Easter eggs, some biter biscuits and a BIG Jojo-colored Easter card for mommy & daddy.
On my way out, I ran into the assistant director who gushed about Jojo’s success at cot-nappin’ and reported that the two teachers in the Toddler Room are so excited for him to move there.
Needless to say, I feel much better about the situation.
I’m still going to speak to the director about Miss C’s attitude and my concerns, although with only 4 days left in dealing with her, I think time and distance will smooth things over. The concerns still should be addressed though.
The outlook for Jojo’s stay at this daycare and his upcoming move to the Toddler Room have vastly improved.
Thanks again for your support!
—–
Weekend Update: Remember how I asked you for movie recommendations? Well I trashed all of your ideas. They sucked. KIDDING. Geeez. But you know how you end up at the video store and suddenly you can’t remember any of the great movie titles you’d been planning to rent? And then you end up just mocking the soft-core porn or quickly turning away from the killer clown videos so they don’t haunt your dreams?
Next, you find yourself in front of the Television Series display, gazing longingly at Peter Krause and Michael C. Hall and all of your friends from Fisher & Sons? Sob. Yes, YES, I’m talking Six Feet Under again. I’m still in mourning. I think I’m at the depression stage. Hopefully I’ll move onto acceptance soon… but really, this WOULD be a great series to pick up and see where they’re at. BAH.
I picked up another HBO series, Season 1 of Entourage. Let’s see how that goes…
Posted by Mrs. Squirrel @
9:54 am |
