buzz kill

Without her morning cup of coffee, Sweet Baby A just isn't herself.

cool girl

It's been a rough week in the Slacker house. The 4-year-olds are wearing E out...causing her to be a blubbering mess by dinnertime. A's teething (again? still?) causing mass amounts of drool (4 shirts yesterday at school) and also causing her to be a blubbering mess by dinnertime. Traffic is no longer light because of summer vacations, causing Mommy and Daddy to be blubbering messes by dinnertime.

Yesterday, we phoned it in for dinner by making pasta with jarred sauce and take-n-bake bread from The Teets. John and I declared victory by *not* ordering out. A was uberclingy from the moment I walked in the door. She only wanted to be held, which is not such a great idea when working around things like boiling water and a 425 degree oven. Luckily, sitting on the counter with a sippycup of "mulk" and Mama's "sungasses" was enough to keep her entertained until dinner.

Every time she puts the sunglasses on she says "Cool gull"...gotta love a 2-year-old with good self esteem.
PS: If you look on A's sleeve you'll notice a lighter green. That's the actual color of the shirt. The rest of the shirt is dark green from drool. I'm not even kidding. She's a cute kid, but this drool is seriously grossing me out.

first day of school

So yesterday was the first day of school for the kids in my county. It was also a first day of sorts for E and A because both of them moved up classrooms at "school."

E is now in a Pre-K classroom, which she is totally psyched about because "it's for 4-year-olds." Her other class was for 3-year-olds so every day for the last two weeks she's been asking me if she was going to the class for 4-year-olds. She's very into being 4 right now...it's totally cracking me up. Last week, it rained and she wore her rainboots. They are now too small and were hurting her feet. All of the sudden she busted out with

"I know why they hurt my feet...they are for 3-year-olds and now I'm 4."

A moved up from the Toddler room to the Two's Room. This is pretty significant (to me, at least) because this is the room that E started school at. Sure, E was there for a month until she potty-trained...but still! My baby, who started off in the infant room as a crawler, is now in the Two's! Next move she'll make is to the pre-school side, uniforms and all. Some of her friends moved up with her, which made the transition easier...though her "best" friend, Alexa is still in the Toddler room until January.

In other news, John and I watched 90210 last night. I'm not so sure about it. John, however, puffy-heart loves it. For as much of a guys guy as he is, he certainly loves him some chicky shows and movies. But, if it saves me from having to watch the Orioles/Nats/other sports team that I don't care about (which would be on if we weren't watching 90210)...then bring on the smut!

the cleaner

A is an avid user of the napkins. Sure, it might look like she has dumped her entire dinner down the front of her outfit, but her hands and face are wiped clean. So it was no suprise to me that she got up from the snack table where she and E were enjoying their homemade bagel pizzas for lunch.

"Nah-kin! Nah-kin!" she yelled with a sense of urgency.

She then proceeded to turn around, head back to the snack table...and try to wipe the massive smear of pizza sauce off of E's face.
From the looks of it, copious amounts of drool and snot and a dab of pizza sauce is lower in the hierarchy of wipe emergencies than pure tomato sauce. Who knew?

a little frank

We are currently cat-sitting my parents' cat, Frank, while they do a little traveling, West Coast-style. My parents got Frank a few years ago when they decided they wanted a pet, but didn't want to be tied down to the care and feeding of a dog...so a cat seemed to fit the bill.

Boy were they ever wrong. Frank's a big boy. He likes him some food. So he wakes my mom up at 5 AM so that he can get some breakfast. And if my parents drop by our house and we invite them to stay for dinner, they always say they have to go feed Frank. (This, of course, is more likely a nice way of saying my cooking sucks...but I'm going to blame the cat.)

My parents were very, very, very nervous for the Slackers to watch Frank, in part because Frank ran away once and was lost for 2 weeks -- having two active children aren't exactly the right circumstances for keeping the doors closed at all times. Also, my mom was nervous that throwing a high-maintenance cat to the mix of working, travelling and raising two kids would be more than I could handle. Apparently, she's not fooled by the SuperMom aura I'm sure I give off to you guys. But, since their catsitting options were limited to us and, well, us...Frank came here on Wedensday.

So far, it's going pretty well. Frank is kind of walking around shell-shocked, but he's starting to warm up to us. Here he is telling me he thinks I work too hard.E and A *love* Frank. Everytime A sees him she shouts "HI FANKS!" This morning, E helped me put down his food and water down. She then told Frank that it was ready and we were going to have a great day!
Oh...notice the slippers? That's prize #2 of the Great Behavior Chart Prize Giveaway. Why so long between prizes? Totally keep forgetting to update her chart. But...it's still works to encourage good behavior. Go figure.

football season faqs

It's football season again! This is a big time in the Slacker household since I'm married to a football addict a fairly large football fan. I've compiled a series of Frequently Asked Questions which will help you get to know the Slackers, pig-skin style.

So, Slacker Mama...what football teams do you root for?

My team is the University of Virginia, where I went to school. But, since John is such a big Tennessee fan, being supportive wife that I am, I now root for Tennessee as well.

What year did John graduate from Tennessee?

He didn't. He went to UVA with me.

Oh. Where in Tennessee is he from?

He's not. He's from Kentucky.

Then what the hell's up with his love of Tennessee?

His dad went to law school there. They had season tickets when John was a boy, and they went often.

Does you make it to many games?

In a word...yes. Last year, John made it to three Tennessee games (including the SEC Championship), a bunch of UVA games, and the Ohio State/Penn State game.

This year, it looks like more of the same. John is going to two UT games, and if they (or Georgia...where his little brother went) make the conference tourney, I'm sure he'll high-tail it to Atlanta.

In addition, we are now the proud owners of UVA season tickets. Since it is a "quick trip" down, John has pipe-dreams of making it to pretty much every game. Because, going to a 4-hour event necessitating a 3-hour round-trip car ride with two children (one of whom pukes on a regular basis) is a "quick trip." Oh, to be that naive. But, in reality, he'll probably make it to most (if not all) of them.

What do you do with the girls while you are off gallivanting at all these football games?

It depends. Sometimes, the girls go to the game. Other times, they just tailgate and then go home. And still other times, they get left behind completely.

Who do the girls root for?

The girls are being raised as both UVA and UT fans. They have plenty of gear for both schools, though they have more UVA stuff. We have (sort of) taught them the words to "The Good Ole Song" and "Rocky Top." But, when it comes down to it, John and I hope they are bigger UVA fans...just because it's an in-state school!

So, is it just college football?

Nope. John's a Bengals fan and I'm a Skins fan...so we do watch some pro football. However, John's in not one, but two(!) fantasy leagues this year. So, I'm sure the TV will be on all day Sunday for "research purposes."

Well, at least football season ends in December

Yep...just in time to gear up for basketball season. Sigh. I guess there's always springtime.

it's a wash

In theory, having Pajama Day at school would make getting up and out the door a breeze. I mean, there's no worrying about getting kids dressed in the morning.

However, when E decides to also make it Crazy Shoe day (which we totally flaked on yesterday) by wearing two different Crocs, causing A to spend 5 minutes trying to physically change them into a matched set, and then when I decide to have a little photo shoot of my pajama clad cuties...it really ends up taking the same amount of time to get out the door.

But, hey...at least the pictures are cute.

Note the two different shoes on E. And, yes, A is holding a diaper. Seriously...she considers them the best toys ever.

Twirling, fashion show-style

drawing the line

For her birthday, E got not one but TWO Ariel dolls. The first one was the slightly creepy talking one from Nonna and Pop-pop that has been her constant companion pretty much since she opened it. Slightly creepy talking Ariel accompanies E to bed most nights and even comes to school with her in the morning. Since toys are not allowed in school, E buckles Ariel into her carseat, where she proceeds to freak me out every time I go to the car because she's creepy and is staring at me.

The second Ariel doll is actually a Barbie version of Ariel. Yep. Barbie and Ariel, together at last! A small piece of my feminist heart has died. E had destined Barbie Ariel to a lifetime as a bath toy until A decided to rescue it.

"Pincess A-ee-ul!" A said one night at bedtime.

She walked into the bathroom and returned with Barbie Ariel and insisted that she join the ever-expanding bedtime posse of Blankie, Taggie and Horsie (a stuffed pink horse that was also stolen from E). However, despite my misgivings that Barbie Ariel would poke A's eye out in the middle of the night, the new sleeping arrangement has been pretty successful.

Last night, A and E were playing with their respective Ariel's in A's room. When it was time to round up the posses for stories and songs, Barbie Ariel was naked. I shouldn't have been suprised...every creepy baby in the house is naked. However, the creepy babies have the cloth bodies that look like some sort of modest undergarment, whereas Ariel Barbie is just naked...with boobs.

It took John and I few minutes to get the mermaid bottom and bra top back onto Ariel Barbie (seriously...could it be any more skin tight!?) but I'm happy to say that she was fully clothed at bedtime and this morning when A woke up.

So there you have it. The proverbial line in the sand in the Slacker house:

Naked creepy babies? A-OK.
Naked Barbies? Not so much.

No one said parenting decisions would be easy.

what weekends were made for

So the weekend has come to an end...and it was absolutely fantastic. It was just nice to be home with nothing that we *had* to do and nowhere that we *had* to be. John and I mistakenly thought that not having a true summer vacation would mean a slow-paced kind of summer...but really it has flown by and something always seems to come up.

Our date night on Friday was fantastic. We decided against going out, and instead took a nice walk around our neighborhood, and then drank wine and ate Thai food on our deck until the mosquitoes decided that even the bug spray and citronella wasn't deterrent enough from biting the bejeebus out of us. We then watched Juno, which was really cute. If you are one of the 10 people in the world who hasn't seen it yet...I highly recommend it. I then talked to my sister for about an hour...which is really not romantic or date-nighty at all...but I haven't talked with her in forever so I was happy.

On Saturday, my parents brought the girls back. We were pretty much outside for the entire day...the girls rode their bikes, played on the swing set, drew with chalk, and blew bubbles. We even grilled out and ate outside for dinner. Bedtime on Saturday was a breeze.

Today, we tried to head out to Middleburg for breakfast. It was a beautiful drive out there with a gorgeous landscape of rolling hills...that caused A to get car sick within 5 minutes of the restaurant. The rest of the day, however, was great. We walked to the pool, played outside some more and grilled out again for dinner.

As for this week...it's going to be a busy week in the Slacker house. John's got some work meetings which is always fun for me in terms of dropping off and picking up...and my work week is going to be pretty busy, to boot. And starting mid-week, we are also going to be cat-sitting my parent's cat, Frank, which should provide some good blog fodder. My parents are more nervous about leaving the cat under my care than I am when I leave the girls with them.

Not sure what that means...but it can't be good, can it?

our lameness knows no bounds

Within the next hour or two, Nonna and Pop-pop will be over here to pick up the girls early from school. They wanted to do some sort of special outing with the girls in honor of E's birthday and because they haven't gotten to see the girls as much as usual this summer due to their excruciating retired-people travel schedules (a week at the beach...trip to Seattle...up to New York to see The Boss in concert, then on to New England to visit family).

At first they were going to take the kids to Build-a-Bear...but then my mom sobered up realized that the kids would be just as happy doing something outside involving water. So they are taking them to this cool fountain thing near us (I'd link to it, but I don't want anyone to steal A and E...or Nonna for that matter). Afterwards they are going to have a slumber number at Nonna and Pop-pop's presenting John and I with a rare date-night/sleep in opportunity.

At first, John and I were all sorts of psyched for the date night. We've been debating the merits of places we'd like to go for dinner. How about the wine bar that we've gone to for brunch? That Italian place we've been meaning to try? How about the place we went with your parents to for brunch last week? Should we even venture into DC and go somewhere?

But as the week has dragged on and we try to recover from last weekend and a hectic few weeks of work for both of us...a dark horse has entered the picture. I hate to admit it, I was the first to suggest it half-jokingly at first. But John was immediately game to the idea and it might just win out over all the other choices.

"Or," I had suggested. "We can always order Thai food and sit out on the back deck drinking wine."

Glamorous? No. But as long as I haveJohn and wine...it should be a damn good evening.

6 unspectacular things about me

Lipstick at the Mailbox tagged me for the 6 (un)Spectacular Things about Me meme. Since this conference call I'm on is really dragging on, I thought I'd play along.

1. I *hate* celery. It's disgusting. I will even pick the itty bitty pieces out of chicken salad because...ew. Nasty.
   
2. I'm hugely competitive when it comes to board games, especially Trivial Pursuit.
   
3. I have to sleep bundled up under my comforter. Even in summer. And the air conditioning is broken.
   
4. I have to line up my money right-side up in increasing denominations in my wallet.
   
5. I get the "Go Diego Go!" theme song stuck in my head a lot. I also sometimes sing it to the girls as a bedtime lullaby.
   
6. I have to go potty immediately before leaving somewhere and getting in the car. If more than 5 minutes or so elapses between going and I still haven't left...I have to go again. John gets particularly annoyed at this one.

Whew! That was harder than I thought. Everything I do must be pretty darn spectacular, huh?

in your face, aap!

The other day I was talking to Miss Mandy, one of A's teachers at school. She of course was telling me how A is by far her favorite student and the cutest as well how much A has been talking of late.

"I also love how she counts to 10 in spanish! I ask her to do it every day because it is so cute," she told me.
"I know! It cracks me up!" I replied.
"The first time she did it, I was so suprised!" Miss Mandy said.
"Wait a minute...you guys didn't teach her that at school?" I asked.
"No," Miss Mandy said. "I thought you did."
"No," I replied. "I thought you did."
Miss Mandy shrugged, "Maybe she learned it from watching Dora."

So there you have it. If we had followed the AAP's rules...my kid would be at least two months behind counting to ten in Spanish. Score one for TV!

yo shorty! it's your birthday!

What a difference a year makes! No, I'm not talking about how much E has grown and changed...I'm talking about how the Slackers went from small birthday celebrators to a 3-day birthday extravaganza! It was tons of fun but am I ever exhausted.

The festivities started on Saturday morning, when A and E woke up to find that Grandmom and Granddad had arrived while they were sleeping. Over the course of the day, both girls opened presents from them, including an Ariel gown for E and a Minnie Mouse outfit for A. Expect to see the Ariel gown in many pictures in the months to come, and A to be the cutest damn Minnie Mouse come Halloween time.


In the afternoon, my parents came over and bestowed their gifts upon E, including an Ariel lunchbox and slightly creepy Ariel doll that talks. (Noticing a theme, yet?)

Then it was party time! We had set up the neighborhood waterslide in our backyard and the kiddos had tons of fun on it. My mom made a chicken and rice salad, and John's mom made a pasta salad. I made my 9-layer dip and South Georgia caviar, and my mom made some dip that might have been entirely made of cheese. I also might have eaten half that dip over the course of the afternoon. We also had a wide selection of adult and kiddie beverages.

Before we knew it, it was time for cake! We ordered a Princess cake from Cold Stone which was a hit...most of the kids asked if they could have a Princess figure from the cake. Since E had no say in the flavoring, we were spared blue ice cream with gummy bear fillings, instead getting chocolate chip ice cream and chocolate cake.



After cake, E opened her presents. She got tons of cool gifts that I amE's totally psyched to play with. People started heading out, so we passed out the favors, which were cookies frosted in glass slippers, E's and stars. (Thanks, Nonna!) My parents stayed around to help polish off the dips and the wineclean up, and we had a great time chatting and watching Michael Phelps make history.

On Sunday, we headed out to brunch with John's parents before they left for home. We got home and everyone took naps, except for E, who played in her room while John and I were passed out on her bed. We took a nice walk around the neighborhood, and then came back home where we opened the family presents before dinner. E loved her Ariel t-shirt and nightgown, as well as her Princess tea set. She loved her UVA cheerleading outfit, but not as much as A did. Guess I know what to get A for her birthday now.


On Monday, the girls headed to school, with E carrying her new Ariel lunchbox. She walked into her classroom with the thing held over her head like it was the Stanley Cup and showed all of her friends in class. I came back with ice cream cups for her class' afternoon snacks. Honestly, I felt like a rock star and am seriously considering doing it more often, just so I can be considered the "Cool Mom."

Unfortunately, my plans to finish up a bit more work before picking the girls up for the day were thwarted by both girls (A's class came out on the playground and she saw me). John made it home early, and we headed out for E's birthday dinner. She picked a local dive pizza shop as her "special place." And because we are the biggest pushovers ever, we stopped at the soft-serve place next door for a final birthday treat.

We came home, got cleaned up and ready for bed (including extra long teeth-brushing!), and the birthday celebration (finally!) came to a close. We're definitely doing something low-key for A's birthday in September, but I must admit I had a lot of fun and E really enjoyed it.

I'm just glad I have 365 days until the next go-round.

four

My dear, sweet E,

You are four years old today. Just yesterday I was pregnant with you and now you are four. It's been a dizzying four years, and it's amazing to see how much you have grown and changed.

The first year, you went from needy, crying newborn to an energetic toddler. You learned many skills...you rolled, then sat, then crawled and then walked. You learned to communicate, first by crying and then smiling, babbling, and signing...and by your first birthday even said a word or two (I think...I wasn't blogging back then so we have no record. Sorry about that.)

Your second year, the words really started to come out. The experts talked about a language explosion...and sure enough around 19 months you started talking and have never looked back. Seriously. You talk *all* the time. I've even heard you talking in your sleep when I come in to check on you at night.

In your third year you became the big sister. You (sometimes begrudgingly) learned to share...especially, the time and attention and spotlight that you once had all to yourself. You became more independent, learning to entertain yourself while we were putting A down for a nap or changing a diaper, and then (finally) you were potty-trained.

In your fourth year, you became a big girl. You enjoy going to school and all the things that come with it, like friends and learning. You are well liked among your friends and play elaborate games of house in which you declare "I am the mommy." You are a wonderful big sister...you are A's biggest cheerleader, her protector, her teacher and, most of all, her friend. You are incredibly affectionate. Today, during your naptime when I was asleep on your bed and you were playing quietly in your room, you woke me up several times just to give me a kiss and tell me that you loved me. You are developing a sense of humor, learning knock-knock jokes and funny songs, and you have an infectious laugh that never fails to make me smile.

This year you have learned all about The Princesses. Long gone are the days of Dora (for you at least...A is just getting started) and all hail the doe-eyed Disney gals. At least once a day, you ask me if you are my princess and I always tell you that you are.

So happy birthday, Princess. I love you and am so proud of you.

the more things change, the more they stay the same

In true Slacker-style, I just realized that the anniversary of my first post came and went with no fanfare or celebration on my part. Maybe next year I'll get it together and do something cool.

I re-read some of my old posts. It's funny what a difference a year makes. Last year, I was talking about potty training E and buying her pull-ups...this year A's in the pull-ups. A was just learning to walk last year...now she's a running, jumping spitfire.

On the other hand, I remember that this time last year I had just gone back to work after taking time off when A was born. I remember thinking to myself that the balancing of work and home, the getting the kids to and from daycare, doing the day-to-day chores...all of it was *so* hard, but surely would get easier as the days and months went on. Unfortunately, this one hasn't changed so much.

Sure, it's gotten a bit easier. Both A and E love their school and their friends and their teachers...so there's not a lot of drama in drop-off anymore. But fitting everything in...spending time with John and the girls, work, getting stuff done around the house and maybe even eeking out some time just for myself...that really hasn't gotten any easier. It's really tough to do it all.

To quote Mary Chapin Carpenter...sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're bug.

This week I have feeling very very very bug-like. It all culminated last night, when E threw a tantrum outside of Pizzeria Uno. I told her we would not go in if she didn't shape up in 3...counted...and then all hell broke loose. I had to carry her kicking and screaming back to the car along with A. I had to strap her into her seat as she tried to hit and pinch and scratch me. When I finished and went around to strap in A she had gotten out of her car seat. So, I threw a tantrum, too.

I yelled at her when I should have just hugged her. I buckled her in and slammed her car door shut rather than closing it like an adult. And while her tantrum was longer and bigger and louder...mine was a thousand times worse because I'm the parent and I should know better.

On the ride home I apologized to her for acting the way I did, and drove one-handed so that I could hold her hand with the other one. We hugged and snuggled and played the rest of the evening after a dinner that she devoured in the comfort of her own home. I imagine for the most part that what happened last night barely registers in her memory any more. Oh, how I wish I could say the same for me.

Luckily, we've got a big weekend planned for her birthday. Her party is tomorrow and she is super-excited for that. And her actual birthday is on Monday...I'll be bringing in a snack and possibly a craft in for her class. I still need to figure out what the Food Nazis will and will not allow snack-wise, but she's very excited about that as well.

I'm sorry this is such a downer of a post...it's just been a really tough couple of weeks in Slackerville. So, in effort to look at things on the bright side...at least E's tantrum meant that we wouldn't have to suffer like we did last time we went to dinner at Pizzeria Uno.

like christmas in august

When we pulled up the drive today, there was a big box on the front step. Both E and A got out of the car and went directly to see what it was. By the time that I got all of my work bags and their lunch bags out of the car, they had torn open the box and were screaming wildly.

"Dora, Mommy! It's Dora!" they squealed.

So what got delivered, you wonder...an early birthday present for E, perhaps?

Nope. Two packages of Dora Easy Ups for A.Hmmmm...perhaps I can lower my standards when trying to find the perfect gift for E.

three cheers for dramamine!

On Friday, the Slackers hit the road again to head back to Kentucky. John and his brother were hosting a birthday party in honor of his parents' 60th birthdays. I was a little apprehensive about the whole thing because A threw up on every leg of the trip we took back in July. So I called the ped and got the OK to give her Dramamine though she isn't quite two. When E saw me give A her dose, she immediately started begging for one. Since drowsiness is a side-effect E has on occasion gotten car sick, I gave her one, just to be safe.

I'm happy to report that there was no puking in the Slacker car this entire weekend! The drowsiness claim is kind of buptkus...neither kid slept all that much, which meant we got to listen to The Little Mermaid/Dora/Max and Ruby/Lauri Berkner for hours on end from the portable DVD players. Guess who's getting new DVDs for their birthday? Because really, if I hear Dora's City of Lost Toys one more time...I'm going to puke.

And the rest of the weekend? Great fun! The party was a success...with tons of people there to wish Grandmom and Granddad happy birthdays. Earlier in the day, Grandmom, Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Paul wore the girls out with back to back trips to the park and pool...resulting in THREE hour naps for both girls. So, the girls were totally adorable and well-behaved throughout the evening. E even made it without *touching* the two cakes...though she kept bringing random people by to see them like a pint-sized tour guide.

So we are home and totally exhausted. But there's no rest for the weary. E's birthday party is this weekend. So we have to do stuff in preparation for that...you know, little things like send out the freaking invitations!

One of these days I'll get it together...I swear!

five rings at four in the morning

So the opening ceremony of the Olympic games is tonight. Four years ago, the Olympics were held a little later in August. How do I know? Well, I spent countless hours of the day and night with the Olympics on as background noise as I took care of a newborn E.

Okay, so this really isn't a newborn E...she's about 2 months here...but how damn cute is this picture?

In the days before we had TiVo/DVR, we welcomed Greco-Roman wrestling, track and field, swimming, diving and other summer sports being broadcast at all hours of the night. John and I would evaluate sports on whether or not we'd want E to play in between feedings and pumpings and rockings-back-to-sleep (and massive bouts of crying on both my and E's part...but I digress).

Now, four years later, that 8 pound baby we were so in awe of is a four-year-old girl who sleeps like a rock, eats like a champ and loves any and all sports we throw her way...and still perpetually awes us with the things she says and does.

The Olympics this year (and in four years and four years after that) will likely go fairly unnoticed in the Slacker house. Sure we may watch an event here and there, but we're just not Olympics people. But every time the summer Olympics start from now on, John and I will sit back and remember those Olympics in Athens...where we were and what we were doing.

charm school teacher, i am not

So a few weeks back, I posted a video of the girls in which I tried to use The Princesses and Diego to encourage good manners. Here's a video where I kind of completely do the opposite.

This was shot when I was recovering from my sinus infection and had discovered that gargling made me feel better. E can gargle like a champ...and A gets bogged down by the details (namely: needing a water to gargle...apparently her sippy of milk didn't make the grade). What cracks me up in this video is you can see A's famous "mouth-nod" right at the end. Enjoy!

eyes on the prize

I have a confession to make. A few weeks ago, my sweet, loving E hit the terrible twos, about two years too late. Tantrums are not cute in a 2-year-old...but they are just a big pain in the ass in an almost-4-year-old. Not only that, she was starting to misbehave in school, which presents a special challenge in trying to discipline since (1) I was not there and (2) it occurred sometimes hours before I got there.

Enter the Good Day chart. Nonna reminded me of this little gem that Kiki uses in her classrooms. (I'm sure Kiki would have reminded me herself if she hadn't been gallivanting all over Asia...but I digress.) The concept is simple enough: everyday we ask the teacher how E behaved. If she had a good day, she gets a sticker. Five good days earns a prize. Prizes could be anything from going to get ice cream, eating out, a new book, staying up later than A, watching a movie.

The chart itself is a piece of construction paper with "E's Good Day Chart" on the top, and some boxes across it with the word PRIZE! after every 5 boxes. I would show you a picture but it's kind of embarrassing on how shoddy it looks -- I mean I didn't even use my best sorority girl penmanship to put dots at the end of the letters or anything. But, it's serving it purpose and E is totally psyched to get stickers on it.

Let me tell you, the difference in her behavior has been amazing. She has almost totally stopped the tantrums, the teachers at school have been reporting good behavior and use the stickers as a warning to her to shape up. This week she became eligible for her first prize. What did she get? A package of Ariel (and only Ariel) underwear. Girlfriend was uber-psyched and told me that she was going to wear the first pair for a week, and then change into the second pair.

I smell an "E's Good Hygiene Chart" coming on...

dear sweet baby a's molars...

I know that you are called two-year molars and all, and A doesn't officially "get 2" (to quote her sister) until the end of September...but could you just hurry up and come in? This teething thing is getting really really really old.

First of all, A is not her usual jovial self. In fact, I'll be blunt here...she's pretty damn cranky. It's hard to cook dinner, get dressed in the morning, or even wash my hair in the shower if I have to hold a 30 pound toddler at all times. But any time I try to put her down there's just too much squawking and it hurts my ears.

Secondly, she's back to not sleeping as well. Sure...she's only whining once or twice a night and only needs a pat on the heiny or a quick rock to return to slumber land. But that is interrupting *my* beauty sleep. And preventing me from getting up early in the morning so I can work out (hmmmmm...maybe this one isn't so bad).

Then there's the drool. Dear lord, the drool! Drool is not cute in a 5-month-old baby...it is downright disgusting in a toddler. When I picked her up at school yesterday, she had drooled through *three* shirts. Three! She's the Niagara Falls of saliva at this point.

I know you aren't supposed to want your baby to grow up too fast...but puh-leeeese let's just get past this whole teething stage, okay? Four more teeth...that's all I ask.

Thanks for your consideration,