Happy New Year!

...I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.

~Neil Gaiman

Two Weeks!?

Has it really been that long? Geez. I blame work.

I last left off at Ellie scaling her crib, or the Great Prison Break of '08 as it is now known.I ordered a safety rail, and it got here later that week. Wouldn't you know that it specifically says on the box that you can't use it for a toddler bed. Would have been nice if that had been in the description on the website. Or maybe if that particular safety rail didn't pop up when "toddler bed safety rail" is searched. Hmmmm.

So that safety rail was out. Another google search, and I found that the only safety rails that can be used on convertible toddler beds are these wooden ones made by the manufacturers of your specific model. OK, fine. Harry calls the store we got the crib from, and they quote us a price of $218. For a safety rail? That can't be right. The crib was only $260! And it would have to be ordered and could take up to 16 weeks to receive. 16 WEEKS. Yeah. No go on the wooden rail.

We decided that Harry would just build a safety rail, but even that didn't really pan out because he couldn't find the right thickness of wood for the job. How very frustrating.

We ended up deciding to ditch the crib-converted-into toddler-bed all together and just get a toddler bed with the rail already on it. They only go for $60-120. Go figure.

I then remembered that my niece's toddler bed was in storage at my mom's house. Um, FREE is always good in my book. We went and took a look at it, and it was still in perfect condition minus the crayon on the rails. We brought it home, cleaned it up (even the crayon came off!), and voila! A brand new big girl bed for Miss Ellie! She's been sleeping in it for the past 3 days, and, knock on wood, it's been fab. She loves her new bed. And she's been sleeping even better. It's crazy. And the best part... she still waits in bed in the morning for us to come and get her. It's so sweet. She'll just lay there and talk to her baby dolls until we get up. I love my little girl.

***

Now for the holidays. Christmas Eve was interesting. I got out of work around 3pm, and we headed on over to my mom's house for dinner at 6pm. My little sister, her boyfriend, and Kaylee joined us for some good eats (which I couldn't really enjoy because of the awful stomach bug I got from Ellie the beginning of the week). It was an interesting evening, to say the least. My sister's boyfriend is a little *ahem* young, to put it nicely. And he likes to hug. A lot. I'm not really much of a hugger. Oh, and they were both tipsy from going to the bar beforehand. Yeah. Fun.

We got home a little after 7, spread out the reindeer food on the lawn, gave Ellie her bath, then settled down with "The Night Before Christmas" and "The Christmas Key", two books that will be traditions in our household for years to come. For those of you who don't know what The Christmas Key is, it's a magical key you hang on the outside of your house that only Santa can use to open doors to those homes that don't have fireplaces. Nifty, right? We then put out milk and cookies for Santa, and then Ellie went to bed. We brought all the gifts up from the basement and set them under the tree, and then I got to work making homemade sauce for our Christmas lasagna the next day.

We got up around 7am the next morning, brewed some coffee, and opened gifts. Ellie loved her new bongos from Santa, and she got a few new books and DVDs from Mommy and Daddy, as well as a bunch of new bath toys, which she's super psyched about. The girl loves her bathtime.

We went back to my mom's house for our annual Christmas Crepes Breakfast, and it was SOOOOO good. We exchanged a few more gifts, experienced a few more antics from my sister's boyfriend (the boy is strange), and then I finally got to spend some time with just my mom as we cleaned up her kitchen and chatted. It was nice.

We went back home for a bit to shower and get dressed, then went back to my mom's for a third time for "supper". We visited with my older sister and her family there, ate some turkey with all the trimmings, and exchanged yet some more gifts. By 1:30pm, Ellie was TIRED. So we packed up and got home so she could settle down for a nap. I ended up napping, too, but only because my stomach was killing me and sleep was the only thing I could think of to combat it. What a nasty little stomach bug.

Meanwhile Harry picked his mom up from the nursing home, and they proceeded to watch hours of TV. LOL. It's what she likes to do. I got up, made the lasagna, then ended up laying back down again while they ate. I couldn't even have one little piece of it. So sad.

The evening ended on a quiet note, and I was kind of glad it was over. The next afternoon, Christmas was at an official end when we took the tree down and boxed up every last decoration. I have my house back!

***

Of course, family time wasn't over after Christmas though. My niece's birthday is the 28th, so we trekked our butts up to Torrington yesterday afternoon to help celebrate. We spent the majority of the visit running around after Ellie because my sister's house is a split ranch with an open stairway right smack in the center of the house. FUN. And there were lit candles all over the house when we got there that my niece's all dutifully ran around like mad-girls to extinguish to save my child any 3rd degree burns. Thanks Jenn and Jes!

Ellie only napped for 20 minutes in the car on the way up, so we knew it was going to be an interesting day, but once we got her into girls' bedrooms away from all the people and staircases, we had a really nice visit. And Ellie was fantastic in the car. I thought for sure she'd fall asleep on the ride home. Harry and I were chatting in low tones all the way, and at about the 1/2 way mark, when I was sure she was asleep, we were talking about the chocolate cake my sister had made, Ellie pipes in with "Choc-y! Choc-y!" Yeah, she so wasn't asleep. And she's totally addicted to chocolate. She found the stash of M&Ms while we were there, and totally destroyed them.

Which resulted in an extremely spastic Ellie once we got home. Chocolate overload will do that to you. She could not stay still, and she was talking up a storm. I thought she'd never go to bed.

***

So that's the last two weeks. I'm back at work now while Harry's at home with our little monster. Poor guy. Heh heh.

Another Rite of Passage

It's Saturday, 1:15pm. Ellie's been in her room for about 15 minutes now, unwinding before she naps. We hear her talking to herself as usual. Suddenly, we hear a strange sound coming from her room. It's a doorknob, turning. And a door opening. Harry and I both look at each other, that deer-in-the-headlights look on both our faces. I race down the hall to find my little girl emerging from her room.

Ellie has figured out how to get out of her crib.

Sigh.

I calmly put her back in, telling her she's not supposed to get out of her crib. It's time to take a nap.

1 hour later, and she hasn't tried to climb out again. She also has not slept. At all.

She manages a nap later on in the day on the way back from a visit with Grandma B at the nursing home, so at least there's that.

She goes to bed as usual that night. And she wakes up on Sunday as usual, too. No climbing. I order a safety rail anyway. Just in case.

Sunday night, she tries to climb INTO the crib. OK. We pick her up and put her in, ready to say goodnight. Ellie decides now would be a good time to show Mommy and Daddy exactly how she gets out. Clever little girl. She swings one leg over the rail, shifts her butt up onto it (it's about 3-4 inches wide), hooks her hands around the adjoining rail, and slowly slides over the edge, using her foot against the wall to stop herself from falling too fast, finding the radiator to stop entirely, then stepping off to the floor.

That safety rail can't get here fast enough!

A Rite of Passage for my little girl

I decided to try painting Ellie's toenails this morning. Wouldn't you know? She stayed very still and was tickled pink (heh heh) that her toes could looks so pretty.

Meme-y Goodness

Stole it from Cristina

One Word

Where is your mobile phone? desk.
Where is your significant other? printing.
Your hair color? brown.
Your mother? short.
Your father? aggressive.
Your favorite thing? baby.
Your dream last night? forget.
Your dream goal? travel
Room You’re In? cubicle
Your hobby? reading
Your fear? heights
Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
Where were you last night? couching
What you’re not? male
Where you grew up? here
The last thing you did? eggroll
What are you wearing? sweater
Your TV? heavy
Your pets? Luna!
Your computer? Vaio
Your mood? eh
Missing someone? Yes.
Your car? Civic
Something you’re not wearing? bandanna
Favorite shop? book
Your summer? humid
Love someone? Yes.
Your favorite color? red
When is the last time you laughed? morning

Firsts Meme

1. Who was your FIRST prom date?
Chris
2. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink?
beer
3. What was your FIRST job?
filing at the office my sister worked at
4. What was your FIRST car?
1984 grey Oldsmobile Firenza - oh yeah.
5. Who was the FIRST person to text you today?
Nobody. I don't really do texting.
6. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning?
Ellie
7. Who was your FIRST grade teacher?
Mrs. Oliver. I loved her.
8. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane?
Canada
9. Who was your FIRST best friend, and are you still friends with him / her?
Kristine. Not really. I just got back in touch with her through facebook, but we've just pretty much said hi, how ya doin?
10. Who was your FIRST kiss?
Chip
11. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today?
Ellie
12. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning?
Turned off the alarm
13. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to?
Tori Amos
14. What was your FIRST tattoo or piercing?
First piercing - ears - around age 7. First tattoo - faerie - age 23.
15. What was the FIRST foreign country you went to?
Canada
16. What was the FIRST movie you saw in the theater?
Gremlins
17. When was your FIRST detention?
I have never had dentention.
18. What was the FIRST state you lived in?
CT
19. Who was the FIRST person to really break your heart?
Jeez. Probably Scott.
20. With whom was your FIRST date?
Mike
21. What was your FIRST pet?
Fluffy, a beautiful gray Persian cat.
22. Who was your FIRST roommate?
Lisa B.
23. Who was your FIRST love?
Scott
24. What was your FIRST screen name?
evilfaerie
25. When did you have your FIRST baby?
2006

The Lovely Long Turkey Day Weekend

I have been crazy-busy at work, which is why I haven't updated here in, what, two weeks? I also haven't been able to keep up on everyone else's blogs because of that, so I apologize and hope to check in more often.

To say that I have been stressed because of the testing I've been doing at work is an understatement; I'm completely overwelmed with numerous conflicting emotions because of it. It's taken its toll on me, and because of that, on my homelife. That's a big no-no in my book. Work should always stay at work. The stress should stay, patiently waiting in my cubicle, until I return the next day. Unfortunately, this is not an ideal world, so the ugly sucker followed me home whenever it could.

Once Wednesday, 3pm, hit though, I said screw it and decided that I would have a good holiday weekend. I would not think about work. I would spend 4 wonderful days with my husband and my little girl. And that's exactly what I did.

We decided on a nice, quiet Thanksgiving at home this year. We had a lot to be thankful for... good health, a wonderful child, an amazing marriage, a lovely new home, both of us employed... we are extremely fortunate. We know that. And we wanted to celebrate that in the one place our lives have really, finally come together. Our new house means so much to us. This holiday, for us, was about the trek getting to this spot.

I made sure to ring my dad up in the AM and wish him a happy thanksgiving. We chatted for a few minutes, Ellie got on the line to say hi, and that was it. I can deal with a relationship like this. I hope it can continue.

I ended up leaving a message for my mom since she must have been hanging out with my aunt and uncle and didn't hear the phone ring. I talked to her a couple of days later, and she had a great thanksgiving, too. She's pretty much moved into her new home down in Florida, and she sounds so excited. I'm happy for her.

Harry went and picked up his mom around 1pm, and I started dinner. We had a nice visit with her (surprise!) and dinner was absolutely perfect. I'm pretty damn proud of myself. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry and apple stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn, and crescent rolls. Nothing was particularly difficult to make; it was getting everything cooked and ready to serve all at the same time which was the feat I overcame this past Thursday. I rocked it.

The rest of the weekend was so chill and laid back. I so needed it. We put up outside christmas lights on Friday, which Ellie absolutely loves. She screams, "Lights! Lights!" over and over again whenever they're on. It was warm enough both Friday and Saturday for Ellie to play outside, which is awesome because she hates being cooped up in the house for days on end. We watched lots of Christmas cartoons, I did some shopping, and we ate and ate and ate this entire weekend. It was wonderful.

Now I'm back at work, waiting for the next round of hell to begin. Wish me luck.