Random Blurbs: Madeleine Edition

There was a cricket chirping in the kitchen this morning. (I know, crickets in the dead of winter in teen degree weather. I don't get it either.) Madeleine listens for a minute and then asks, "What's that sound?" I explain it's a cricket chirping somewhere in the kitchen. She gets very excited and asks, "Mulan's cricket?!?"

Thanks to Madagascar 2, she has her first word she can spell all by herself. "Moto Moto." M-O-T-O. And boy, is she proud of it.

She can name even the most minor characters in most of her movies. Characters most people could never name.

She needs to get out more.

On top of that, her favorite phrases are "no," "zip it," and "freakin' annoying."

I'm creating a monster.

Project Say Something: Lies, Lies, Lies

When is the last time you lied? What did you lie about and why?

I've told a fair number of lies in my day. White lies, big lies, hurtful lies, and downright beyond vicious lies. Luckily, I got a clue and realized it wasn't only mean, it was plain stupid. That's not to say I never tell a lie anymore. Please. Anyone who says that is, well, LIEING.

The last time I lied was this afternoon. I told Madeleine if she didn't get in the car this very second, I was leaving without her. That's pretty much the extent of my lies anymore. Lie to get the kid to do what I want her to. Which, I know, isn't going to work forever. They rarely work now. She knows my tricks and she doesn't play my games. She's evil like that.

Project Say Something: One Person - One Question

If you had the opportunity to meet any ONE person (current or historical) and ask them any ONE question, who would it be and what would you ask?

That one is much too easy. The Tenth Doctor. Marry Me?

I never have a good answer for this question. I always think there is some really insightful answer I should have, or something really thoughtful and intelligent, or know the one person and the right question to ask for the answers to the universe. But no, I think the ridiculous is much more "me."

Baby Tag

Were you married when you found out you were pregnant? Yep. We'd been married for five years, almost six.

What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? Ummm.... for me there was a lot of swearing. For Dan (three days later, mind you), there was a lot of silence.

How old were you? 29

How did you find out you were pregnant? Took a home test the day after Dan left for a business trip. (You might see a pattern emerging here....)

Did you want to find out the sex? Of course. Though we still called her Baby Dave.

Due date? July 14? July 16? I have absolutely no idea now.

Did you deliver early or late? 4.5 weeks early (which explains the previous answer)

Did you have morning sickness? Nope.

What did you crave? Nothing really. The only thing that was odd that popped in to my head often that sounded really, really good but that I never actually ate was Oreos dipped in peanut butter. (Mmm... that sounds really yummy...)

Did you get stretch marks? None that I didn't already have :(

What was your first child's sex? Female

How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 32

Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? I was anemic toward the end and had excessive amniotic fluid (whatever that means - I know what it literally means, but beyond that...)

Where did you give birth? Winchester Medical Center (Thank God. The hospital I was supposed to deliver at gets nothing but horror stories.)

How many hours were you in labor? I didn't know I was in labor for quite a while so maybe 14 hours total.

Was it natural or c-section? Natural

Did you take anything to ease the pain? Heck yes. I put it off as long as possible but when they said it was now or never, I jumped on the NOW!

How much did your child weigh? 6 lbs 12.5 oz

What did you name him/her? Demon Child Monster Baby. Which would apparently be much easier for people to pronounce. It's MAD-EH-LEN people. Not MadeLINE or MadeLAINE or even MadeLENE. Simply Madeleine. Seriously.

How old is your first born today? 2 and a half

Is he/she named after anyone? Yes. First name is a long story that I don't care to go in to. Middle name is after my sister.

How long were you in the hospital after birth? 2 days

Who was in the delivery room with you? My mother in law since my husband was clear across the country trying his ass off to get back as soon as possible

Are you ready for another? Ready? Hell no. But we'd better be by July, huh?? (If you haven't been told - consider yourself told. Though, if you're breathing, it's a miracle my husband hasn't told you yet. It seems he's told everyone and their mother's dog already.) While the actual due date is in August, I give no credibility to that crap.

Ouch

We're watching Monsters, Inc. and Li'l Miss Monster is talking about how Boo is with her friends (the scene where Sully thinks she's in the garbage compactor).

Me: Boo is with her friends?

M: Uh huh.

Me: Do you have friends?

M: No.

Me: No? Why not?

M: My friends at home. At my own house.

"My own house" is what she calls the Virginia house. So apparently all her friends are in Virginia. She barely had the sentence out before I haId tears in my eyes. She has friends here, they're all family. Looks like I need to get this kid some Utah friends who aren't related to her.

Project Say Something: Let it Snow!

Snow.
What's your favorite thing about it? Your favorite thing to do in it? Your favorite memory in relation to it.

I asked this question because I was freaking stranded in SLC for a week because it wouldn't stop snowing. That, and I had forgotten it was my turn so hadn't given a topic a single thought in weeks.

I love the snow. I mean love. Love that's up there with chocolate and crepes and really cheesy, bad movies and long, hot baths and long conversations with old friends and... Do you get the idea? I'm not a skier or a snowboarder or a do much of anything "in" the snow person. Though I do love cross-country skiing, I haven't done it in ages but boy, I loved it (no, not as much as snow. Or chocolate. Or... I need a bigger vocabulary of like words). Sledding is fun though I haven't done that since high school either. And snowmobiling (that was probably jr. high). Mostly, I love the snow but I HATE being cold. So even snowball fights and making snowmen take a lot to get me out there.

I think my thing is how it just covers the world in a blanket of pure perfection. It hides the dirt and the weeds and the garbage and the muck and buries it in its glistening shimmer of clean white. It makes the ugliest of ugly beautiful. And immediately the atmosphere is peaceful and serene. I love the sound after a freshly fallen snow. The way even the silence is amplified by it.

That it can kill you in an instant is something else entirely. Also, when it turns to brown, plowed/shoveled snow (or yellow! The horror!), it's time for it to melt and move on.
I used to dream of living in a small village in Alaska where it was covered in feet of snow for most of the year and that was just how life was. Being so used to it, walking down the street in it wasn't a punishing chore but just something you did. (There may not be anywhere in Alaska like that, I have no idea. Now my dream is just to visit there someday.)

During a snowstorm, sitting near a window, in front of a small fire with a cup of hot cocoa, reading a book - there just can't be a better way to spend one's time. Unless it's stuck in your car at the top of a hill your friend dares you go down then at the last minute you both realize that if you go down it, you'll NEVER get back up and so you spend HOURS trying to figure out how to get out of the rut you've got yourself in just to find out that all you have to do is drive down the damn hill and you'll easily get back up. That's always been one of my favorite things to do in the snow.

And this year I have found some other ways to enjoy the snow - through my (INSANE) toddler. We've done snow angels, made snowmen, had snowball fights, stayed out in the dark until we were both near-numb from the cold and just had all sorts of fun in the snow. I look forward to a million more snowstorms and finding all sorts of things to do in them.

Project Say Something: SuperDork

What super-power would you most like to have, and why?

As you can see, my husband had a great answer to this question. Me? Not so much.

I already feel invisible most of the time. Time travel is not for me (I'm a spoiler-freak, I'd spend too much time going forward and not enough going back). I don't want super speed or super strength, or the ability to fly or to read minds (there are already way too many things I know I wish I didn't) or walk through walls. To be a walking lasso of truth might be interesting. But then again there's that "knowing things I wish I didn't" part. So I am sort of thinking like super metabolism - eat anything I want, burn right through it. Or maybe, and probably most likely, super smarts. Beyond genius. Really, really, really freaking smart. Although I can see it now, that could *so* suck.