Kolache Festival 2011

So, this past weekend we took Mellie to Hallettsville's 2011 Kolache Festival.  What is a Kolache Festival, you ask?  Well, obviously, it's a festival.  There were kolaches to be bought, along with "pigs" (as in Pigs in a Blanket because true Czech kolaches are never filled with meat, but rather fruit, cheese, or poppyseed).  Many local organization were raising funds by having booths where they sold food, drinks, and/or dessert.  The local band boosters had a cake wheel, and there were a bunch of booths with vendors selling all kinds of items.  Additionally, there were raffle tickets for sale, moonwalks, and even a petting zoo for the kids.  There was a kolache eating contest, a strudel making demonstration (which we sadly missed) along with a kolache making demonstration (which I did NOT miss).  On top of all of that, there was plenty of music, both country and polka for listening and dancing pleasure. 

Ronnie has no shortage of family in the area, and while there we were able to spend time with his cousin, Jennifer, who has a four month old that we finally got to meet, along with a toddler.  Ronnie's dad and his girlfriend were also there.  Ronnie's Aunt Sandra had to work, so we didn't get a chance to see her.  Uncle Dave wasn't there, but we stopped by to see him on our way home. 

Anyhow, Mellie had the best time.  For the most part, we sat on some picnic tables towards the back near the band, and let Mellie wonder around freely (with supervision).  I had such a great time watching her wander about, approaching some people, while steering clear of others.  She's so charming, anyone who saw her couldn't help but smile.  I was surprised by how far she felt comfortable wandering, but when she got too far, I approached her without getting too close to allow her some independence.  On several occasions, she approached the edge of the concrete and then looked up for someone to hold her hand.  If I was there, she would take my hand and tentatively step off the concrete.  If no one was there, she would just wonder off in another direction.  This is something I have noticed when taking her on walks in the neighborhood.  She will reach for my hand anytime there is a "break" in the concrete, whether it is a crack or just the end of one square and the beginning of another.  I think it's because there are frequently elevation changes involved (as there were at the Kolache Festival) and she is less confident with elevation changes.

I wish we could have let her get up on the moonwalks.  There were several of them, and I think she would have enjoyed it, although I don't think she has the skills to stand and jump in them.  Unfortunately, there were too many big kids playing, and I was worried she would get hurt. 

I did take the opportunity to take her into the petting zoo.  This petting zoo had rabbits, a chicken, geese, goats, two fawns, a llama, a pig, a donkey/mule and a wallaby.  For the most part, Mellie was not interested in the animals.  Every once in a while, she would reach out and give a goat a pat.  Soon after we entered, the donkey/mule came over to see us.  He was particularly interested in Mellie.  I was cautious, but allowed him to approach her.  Initially, I thought that he was investigating the new girl and whether she had any feed (you could buy feed for the animals for $2 - we didn't).  I figured as soon as he realized we didn't have any, he would leave.  But, he didn't seem to care at all that Mellie didn't have any feed.  He was so interested in her and he got so close to her I was worried he would knock her over, but he didn't.  I picked her up so she could give the llama a pat (which also didn't interest her).  When I put her down, the donkey had wondered over again to the point that I was again worried he was planning on knocking her over.  He didn't.  I rewarded him with a head scratch after noticing earlier he was scratching his cheek on a chair. 

At least one (if not both) of the fawns were pretty skittish.  It was difficult to tell them apart, so I couldn't really tell if it was one or both.  I never saw both acting skittish at once.  By this point, we were near the entrance/exit, and I was planning on leaving the petting zoo soon.  Several of the goats had gathered nearby and I was watching Mellie closely as I could tell there were some social issues going on among them.  Meanwhile, I wasn't paying attention to the fawn who was freaking out about something.  He got himself between me and the fence, and Mellie was right in front of him.  I didn't move for fear of freaking the fawn out any more, but I was worried for Mellie because I could tell the fawn was weighing options for getting past her.  Keep in mind, this all happened in an instant.  The next thing I knew, the fawn made it's decision and went sailing over Mellie's shoulder.  Amazing.  I immediately scooped Mellie up (I'm not sure she even noticed that he jumped over her because she had her back to him). 

I made my way to the exit and was trying to figure out how to get past the goat that were sitting/standing at the exit gate.  Remember earlier when I was concerned about the posturing of the goats?  Well, I had reason to be concerned, and as I was trying to figure out my exit strategy, two of them started locking horns and ramming each other.  Remember, these are petting zoo goats.  They aren't very big, and they aren't really into it (or maybe they're too fat to do much more), but I still don't want to interfere.  Then, a third goat gets involved and one of the first two wonders off.  There are another two or three watching this all go down.  Meanwhile, I noticed a wallaby in a fenced off section, so I take Mellie over to give it a pat through the fence while the goats handle their "issues."  When we were done, the goats had wondered away from the gate and we managed to make our exit. 

After the petting zoo, I was worried Mellie was a little flushed, so I took her into the KC (Knights of Columbus) Hall so she could cool down in the A/C.  I also gave her a pouch of food she could eat.  Tangentially, we have made the mistake of encouraging Mellie to eat finger foods and dependently use utensils at home, and she has gotten to where she will not let me and/or Ronnie spoon feed her.  She doesn't have a problem with it at Ms. Betty's, but god forbid one of us try it.  Anyhow, they have these little pouches with like straw openings, and she can suck the food out herself, thus allowing her to be independent as she prefers.  They are a godsend....  However, they are a little pricey at around a buck a pouch....  Anyhow, back to he KC Hall and the A/C.  Unfortunately, they had already put up all of the chairs that had been out earlier when I went to the Kolache Making Demonstration.  Mellie is in a stage where she likes climbing up on chairs, so that would have kept her occupied.  But instead, it was a big, open, empty hall.  With a door that swings open when pushed.  Mellie, being the most brilliant toddler that has ever walked the earth, quickly realized it had a door she could open.  So, she kept opening the door and going outside, back in the heat.  Thus undermining my efforts to cool her off.  After about six attempts, I gave up and we went walking back to Daddy.

At some point after this, Mellie went wondering off, and Ronnie went to go get her when she wandered too far.  Somehow, they wound up on the dance floor, and my husband (who has only danced with me on our wedding day and at our wedding reception two weeks later) took Mellie for a swing around the dancefloor.  Note how Mellie looks like she is going slide down at any moment.

Notice Ronnie's wardrobe -- khaki shorts, white polo, baseball hat and tennis shoes.  During her wanderings, it was always amusing to watch her when she realized she had wandered back to us, her face would light up and she was laugh and run over to us, throwing her arms up to be picked up.  During one wandering, I saw a man wearing khaki shorts, white polo, baseball hat and tennis shoes who was NOT Ronnie, standing with a bunch of people we didn't know.  As I saw what was coming, I jumped up and rushed over to catch her before it happened, but I didn't make it.  She walked right up to him, threw her little arms up to him and grabbed his shorts, tugging them and letting "Daddy" know she wanted him to pick her up.  I managed to get to her just after, picking Mellie up and showing her that he was not her Daddy.  I then explained to the gentleman that she had thought he was her Daddy, gesturing to Ronnie and they realized they were dressed similarly.  Laughs were had all around.

These are the moments I treasure.

I'm Ready For My Close Up Now, Mr. Demille

So, not this past Saturday, but the Saturday before, we trekked down to the Sears Portrait Studio over at West Oaks Mall for a little photo shoot.  Not that we could afford it, but because I had a coupon for a free shoot, free 10x13 print and a free wallet/5x7 print.  Sounded good to me, so I signed us up.

Of course, we were running late.  I had woken Ronnie up and asked him if he wanted to go to the store to get milk or give Mellie a bath (we had made the trek to Ronnie's home town of Ganado the night before for a high school football game and had not gotten home until late, so Mellie didn't get a bath.  Amusingly, though, we made the drive to see Ganado, a little 1A school, play George Ranch, a local 4A high school that was new enough to not even have a senior class yet.  When we arrived, we discovered it was Homecoming, which was nice.  I was puzzled when I saw the away stands full of blue instead of Maroon for George Ranch.  I happen to know their colors because they are the Longhorns, and it amuses me to no end that they are also Aggie Maroon.  Ha ha!  So, long story short, they were playing TIDEHAVEN instead of George Ranch.  George Ranch wasn't until the following week.).  Anyhow, Ronnie chose to go to the store.  So, I took the baby upstairs, started her bath running, got her undressed and undiapered, and proceeded to give her a bath.  I let her play for a while before draining the water and wrapping her up in a fuzzy ducky towel.  When I came out of the upstairs bathroom, what did I see?  My naked as a jaybird husband running across the house.  HE HADN'T EVEN LEFT FOR THE STORE YET!  I sighed quietly, thinking about how I look forward to the day when Mellie is old enough that he can't run around naked anymore and took her into her bedroom to lotion her up, brush her (scant) hair, diaper her, and get her dressed into the cute little denim dress I wanted her to wear for the photo shoot. 

The little denim dress came with multi-colored leopard print bloomers which had a matching sash.  There are also several peace signs embroidered onto the dress.  It was a gift from Aunt Dina (one of my friends) for her birthday, and I just loved it.  Unfortunately, I had a heck of a time getting the darn thing over her head.  It was denim, like I mentioned, and only had three snaps in front to make it loose enough to get it on.  Except, that wasn't enough.  So, I struggled to get the dress on while Mellie tried just as hard to get it off as I was hampering her attempts to play in her toy box.  Finally, I got the dress on along with a pair of socks, and some shoes.  I gather her along with the outfit I want her to change into and some props and we head downstairs.  By now, Ronnie has finally left, but he certainly isn't back yet.  I take the time to get dressed myself, using the extra time to take special care on my makeup and hair. 

So, now I am done getting ready, with no sign of the husband.  I get some snacks together, and make sure we have everything we need for our excursion.  Check, check, and check.  I find some appropriate cover-up for the little bruise/scratch she has under her eye and work some magic.  Do I have her "I am one" onesie?  Check.  What about the purple tutu and matching suede shoes?  Check.  Husband?  Ummm...  No.  So, I take Mellie to sit in the backyard so we will hear Ronnie pull up.  Plus, Mellie loves to be outside, and the weather is actually pleasant for once.  My phone rings.  It's dear husband.  "What kind of coffee do you want?"  Instant fury on my part!  We have twelve minutes to get there, he isn't home yet, and he's buying coffee?  I quickly weight the option of yelling and throwing myself on a sword for the cause, but I know he's still going to get coffee for himself, and I would like a cup myself.  "A vanilla latte, please."  "Are you sure you don't want this salted caramel mocha?" (or whatever it was called)  "WHATEVER JUST GET ME SOMETHING!!!"  Click. 

Did I mention that I get anxious when I am running late?  Maybe not to y'all, but I have told him a hundred times.  Finally, he is home, we are all packed up and heading to the mall.  I'm FURIOUS, and I haven't taken a sip of my coffee for fear of messing up my lipstick that I so artfully applied.  "I don't understand why you are so upset.  It's not like they aren't going to see us because we're late" he tells me.  "BECAUSE BEING LATE MAKES ME ANXIOUS!"  "Really?" is his response, like I haven't ever bothered to mention this.  You would think that someone who also struggles with anxiety would bother to recall something like that.  So, I pick up the phone and call the portrait studio, worried that they will cancel our appointment, or worse, that they are just sitting there waiting for us, and attempt to explain that we are running late.  They are slightly rude to me, and I get the feeling that they didn't actually have us on the books, despite the fact I scheduled on the internet like two days ago.  After hanging up, I start getting more anxious.  Afterall, the e-mailed promotion said it was only good for the first fifty customers.  And, they hadn't called to discuss the sitting.  They've always called in the past.  Oh no, what if they don't honor the promotion?  Finally, I reach down and succumb to the delicious coffee.  I try to be careful so I will not mar my lipstick - which results in a giant splatter of coffee all over my blouse!  No time to turn back, no money to buy a new top when we arrive. 

We finally arrive, and they assure us that they are offering the promotion to everyone, not just the first fifty customers.  I am relieved.  Mellie is in a good mood, and I am cautiously optimistic.  There are some kids around, and they take an interest in her.  I try to warn them that she can be mean, but they don't listen to me.  Fortunately, Mellie decides to be nice.  She watches them play with some toys.  The older boy even goes so far to tell me later that he likes my daughter.  Clearly, there is something wrong with him.  I thank him as my polite southern upbringing dictates, but I am more suspicious of him and his well-behaved siblings.

The photographer sets us up in the room, suggesting a brown backdrop which I readily agree to.  She is nice, she took our Christmas photos, and I am pleased that she is taking our pictures again.  As she is setting up some stools for our family photos, Ronnie's phone rings and he wonders off to answer.  I inform the photographer about the coffee spill, and she tells me that it's ok, we will put the baby in front of the stain.  I thank her profusely.  She's ready for the photos, but where is my husband?  Still on the phone.  Damn!  Mellie is busy climbing all over a little wicker like chair that she has found that is just her size.  The photographer decides to start with pics of Mellie instead, and removes the stools, bringing the little wicker chair for Mellie.  This is about the time that Ronnie shows back up. 

Mellie had been happily climbing all over this chair.  Sitting in it, climbing out, climbing back in, etc.  I get her stuffed lion and sock monkey that I brought as props, and sit on the ground next to her in the chair.  She promptly has a meltdown.  The photographer jumps up and down and does cartwheels and about everything else that can be expected to get her to a). look at her and b). smile without much luck.  I'm terribly puzzled as anytime I am taking pictures, Mellie becomes the biggest ham.  I have a bazillion pictures of her looking at the camera and smiling so big her eyes close.  Here, like this: 

The photographer decides to take a break from that and we get some family pictures, with Mellie artfully arranged so she covers the spilled coffee.  She does much better in these pictures, which I expected.  The photographer then directs me to change her into her second outfit. 

While I am changing Mellie, the photographer changes the background to a solid white one and puts a little pseudo staircase up for a prop.  Mellie is now dressed in her white "I am one" onesie with a purple tutu and purple suede shoes.  We put her on the prop and again, I am seated nearby.  She has a meltdown, even worse than the first one. 

I don't know if you can tell, but there is a giant tear slowly running down her face, and I think the look on her face about communicates it all.  We are done.  The photographer sets us up at a computer, shows us the shots, and talks to us about packages (we all know that the promotion just gets you in the door).  We decide on a package, but we are having trouble choosing shots and prints.  When she comes back to check on us, we explain our trouble as there are not many good shots.  She suggests we schedule another shoot and add more shots.  We readily agree and schedule for the following Monday afternoon.

Yada yada yada, more adventures on the way home.  When we actually GET home, we discover this.  God forbid she allow the photographer to take a picture like this!

So, Monday rolls around.  I take off work at 3:00 in order to make it there by 4:00.  Nothing is ready, including my husband, and by the time we take off to pick Mellie up, it's nearly 4.  Of course, much to my dismay, we are late.  Again.  It's a different photographer, but I have also worked with her in the past and she's nice (although I suspect she was the one who was rude on the phone on Saturday).  She does a splendid job of handling the studio all by herself, dealing with a controlling mommy (ahem) and a little girl whose greatest ambition is to not cooperate.  The photographer thinks the pop the flash makes scares her, but I know Mellie better.  That child is a daredevil, she's not scared of anything. 

Eventually, we manage to finish taking shots (I forgot to put on my lipstick this time) and get to selecting photos.  Mellie has decided to continue her uncooperative behavior, and we frequently have to stop and chase her through Sears.  Once, she found underwear in the little boys department and took great pleasure in ripping packages of Transformers underwear off the rack.  That's my girl.  Finally, we make our decisions, only to discover the poor photographer is having trouble checking us out. 

Sigh.  Anyhow, here is the result....

Sorry this post is so rambling.  I'm having trouble focusing.  Crises abound all around me....

Mellie and the Water Bowl (Part Two)

Here is part two, back by popular request!!!

Quick recap of part one -- I learned to be more suspicious when Mellie is quiet when she created a huge mess by giving Sock Monkey a thorough bath in the water bowl for the free-ranging animals (generally referred to as the dogs' water bowl as the dogs out number the cat AND the cat does not generally drink out of it if she has a choice).

This took place the week before last, when Ronnie was home alone with Mellie.  Due to our finances, we could not afford to take Mellie to day care that week, and Ronnie had to turn down several subbing jobs in order to watch her at home.  Good news, though, is that this created several good stories for us to share with our friends and family (and eventually Mellie's first boyfriend.  And her second one.  And her future husband, along with future children, and generally anyone else who would enjoy hearing embarrassing stories about her.)

Clearly, Ronnie had not learned the lesson of being suspicious when Mellie is quiet.  Or maybe he was distracted while browsing for potential jobs online....  Despite our continued efforts to keep Mellie away from the dogs' water bowl (including time outs - both in her activity center and her pack and play, yelling, and more yelling, along with keeping it nearly empty - poor dogs), it continues to have a nearly supernatural draw for her.  Yeah, that must be it.  It's supernatural, not bad parenting on our parts.  :)

So, Ronnie discovers Mellie has gotten into the dogs' water bowl.  Nothing terribly interesting here.  What he discovered however, was NOT a wet puddle around the bowl, or a wet Mellie, or anything as mundane as that.  What he discovered was an EMPTY water bowl.  Here is the picture of the water bowl again.

I don't know if you can tell, but the water bowl is pretty large.  It may not be heavy, but it is large.  Mellie has never tried to lift it or flip it or knock it over, and when Ronnie discovered the empty water bowl, the water bowl was not in any unusual place or knocked over. 

SHE HAD PLAYED WITH THE WATER SO FRANTICALLY THAT SHE EMPTIED THE WATER OUT OF THE D@MN THING!!!!!  

So, Ronnie used the towels that we use to clean up to sop it all up.  Unfortunately, he missed a smidgen.  Which I found later that evening with, you guessed it, the heel of my bare foot.  Causing my foot/leg to go straight up in the air, and I nearly fell.  Fortunately, my forearm hit the doorway to the kitchen (causing a bruise that I still have today, nearly two weeks later) and I managed to grab the wood paneling there and prevent a disastrous, not to mention painful, fall on my part.  Whew. 

Honestly, I wish I could come up with a solution to this problem.  I cannot pick the water bowl up, because the animals need to have access to water, especially with the current heatwave/drought (the cat was desperate enough to drink out of the water bowl last night) we are currently experiencing (not that the dogs ever place a PAW outside if they can help it).  If I put the water bowl out of Mellie's domain, it is also out of THEIR domain (note that Mellie is a similar size compared to the dogs) and they do not have access to it.  If YOU have a bright idea, feel free to share it. 

I'm sure this is not the end, and I will not be terribly surprised if I have to write a part 3 in the near future.  Hopefully, it will not entail me (or Ronnie or god forbid MELLIE) making a trip to the emergency room.

BFF or Nemesis?

Today's Blog is introducing a new character in Mellie's life.  Her name is Paisley, and she is about two weeks younger than Mellie.  Paisley is another one of the children that Ms. Betty cares for at her home day care.  Being that they are both girls, similar in age, and have been going to Ms. Betty's since they were each about six weeks old, they spend a lot of time together.  Here is a picture of Paisley taken back in March.  Honestly, she was in the background, but it's all I have got.  She is actually a lot cuter than this picture indicates.

Now let me tell you about Paisley's personality.  Unlike Mellie, she is a very content baby.  As such, Mellie was crawling for I want to say two months before Paisley started crawling.  Mellie took her first step near the end of her tenth month (she is now thirteen months) and now walks EVERYWHERE.  Ms. Betty told me today that Paisley is still rather unsteady on her feet (remember this for later).

From the time that Mellie started crawling, she has a love/hate relationship with Paisley.  The first stories I would hear were that Mellie woud take all the baby toys to the other side of the room and leave them there so Paisley couldn't play with them (when Mellie was crawling and Paisley was not).  Then, Paisley started crawling.  One day, shortly after Mellie started crawling, I personally witnessed Mellie crawl up to Paisley (who is chubbier and weighs more than Mellie) and she either tried to shove Paisley, or take a toy from her (I forget.  Clearly, my near photographic memory is not any use when I actually need it!).  Paisley responded by pushing Mellie back.  Mellie than proceeded to crawl as fast as her hands and knees could take her to me and "tell" on Paisley by crying and otherwise having a hissy fit.  I told her that it was about time Paisley started standing up for herself.

Most recently, the stories from Ms. Betty are generally related to Mellie pulling Paisley's hair (Paisley was born with a flop of dark hair on the crown of her hair, which has lightened significantly, but she still has TONS more hair than Mellie has).  She then laughs when Paisley starts crying (understandable - I have also been the victim of Mellie's hair-pulling, and it HURTS!  I have had to start tying my hair back at all times as a result.  And yes, she laughs when I indicate that her pulling my hair is painful).  There has been at least one incident of her grabbing Paisley's hair and then "bouncing" Paisley's head up and down (I'm sure this was in a friendly manner) while in time out for doing the exact same thing to another, younger, baby.  Paisley was just dumb I mean unlucky enough to get too close to Mellie in her time out.

So, it sounds like they hate other, doesn't it?  Or at least that Mellie gives Paisley plenty of REASONS to hate her, right?  Honestly, they don't.  One day, I was getting out of the car in Ms. Betty's driveway to go in and pick Mellie up.  Paisley's mom, Jill, was already in the driveway with Paisley and her older brother Hudson and putting Paisley in the car while Hudson was busy telling me that Mellie looks like a robot when she walks (he, of course, is right...).  Jill informed me that when Mellie saw Jill was there to pick up Mellie, she threw a HISSY FIT.  And trust me, Mellie has HISSY FITS down to a FINE science....  Anyhow, I'm not sure I believed her.  Afterall, most of the stories I hear about Mellie and Paisley are not so nice.  But, sure enough, as soon as I got inside, Ms. Betty told me the exact same story.  So, clearly they are friends, and probably spend quite a bit of time playing together well, it's just that these stories do not make it to me because they are less interesting and/or noteworthy (I'm very worried that Mellie is becoming a bully, though, so really, stories about her playing well with others would be very welcome, although probably not very interesting for blogs....).

So, this morning, I was dropping Mellie off at Ms. Betty (honestly, Ronnie has been doing this recently as it's already hard enough for me to get to work by 8:20 I mean 8:00 am.  Sharp.  Every day.  Rain or Shine (mostly Shine lately, due to the fact that we are having the worst drought in the history of the PLANET EARTH.  Honestly, I don't really remember what rain even looks like....)).  I came in and gave Mellie to Ms. Betty who gave her some love before setting her down (which resulted in a hissy fit).  Ms. Betty was very excited to see me (I don't know that Ronnie talks to her, or whether they just don't understand each other, but I imagine Ronnie just grunts at her).  Ms. Betty told me an interesting story about Mellie and Paisley.  Apparently, Paisley has a sippy cup that is her favorite.  It is purple with a straw top.  Yesterday, Mellie apparently got ahold of it.  What ensued was a full blown tug-of-war over the sippy cup.  Finally, Mellie got hold of it, hugged it to her chest, and walked away.  Remember earlier when I said Ms. Betty had told me Paisley was not too steady on her feet?  Well, her next sentence was that Mellie "won."  I told her "Mellie always wins" followed by a heavy sigh on my part.

Anyhow, I'm not sure where, exactly, Paisley lives.  There are about four different elementary schools in two different districts in the vicinity of our neighborhood.  I guess, I am assuming she lives nearby, but I know her mother works at Foster High School, the local high school in LCISD, which is the same district that we are zoned to, so I am hoping that they will be going to the same elementary school.  Will they be best friends forever?  Will they be arch-enemies?  Will their love-hate relationship continue?  Only time will tell....

The Bottom of the Bin

Just a quick post...

Mellie is obsessed with my phone on some days.  On other days, she couldn't be less interested if she tried.  One of my co-workers introduced me to an application called "Toddler Lock."  Now this brilliant app locks all of the functions of your phone so your child cannot say, call Japan and set the phone down massing up an enormous bill.  Not that I've had that experience.  No, certainly not...  Anyhow, while locking the phone down, the app makes little tinkling bell sounds, and will make little colorful shapes on the screen or allow you to write or draw with your fingertip.  There's also a little bar at the top that you can pull down to clear the screen.  On TOP of that, there's a secret handshake required to get OUT of the app  (OK, it's not a handshake, but still).

So, on the days that my phone interests her, Mellie's favorite thing is not to make shapes or lines or even the little tinkling bells (although she likes that because that's how she knows the app is running).  No, her favorite thing is to catch the bar at the top and pull it down to erase the screen.  Brilliant, eh?  Yeah, that's my child.  'Tis better to destroy than to create...

Anyhow, yesterday she was not interested in my phone.  I took a nap on the couch (while she was napping) then woke up, and went to my actual bed because it's way more comfortable.  I woke up at 4:40 because the baby was screaming, having woken up from her nap and found herself retrained in a crib.  How dare we!  What horrible parents she has!  I lept out of bed with excitement as the yogurt I was trying my hand at making was supposed to be ready at 4:30.  Before my nap, every ten minutes, I was asking Ronnie if it was 4:30 yet because I was so excited to see the outcome (it was awesome, as was the Labneh I made from half of the yogurt).  So, obviously, I left the baby screaming upstairs to Ronnie to deal with while I ran to the kitchen and absorbed myself with testing the integrity of the yogurt and preparing Labneh.  I know, I know...  Mother of the Year....

So, an hour or two later, I am looking for my phone.  I can't find it.  I checked the chair I napped on, and the couch I sat on, and the table, and the bed, and the kitchen counter, NADA.  Finally, Ronnie got tired of my whining about not being able to find my phone and called it.  I was still looking for it in the kitchen when a clear, LOUD ringing (the theme song from TrueBlood) was coming from the living room.  As I wondered around the usual places looking for it, I realized Ronnie was laughing.  He gestured towards the television, and off I went to discover my phone IN MELLIE'S TOYBOX!  There were only a couple of toys in there, as she had removed MOST of them (I suppose she needed the room for her sippy cups and my phone and other things she enjoys stashing there). 

So, my phone was found, yogurt and cheese were made, and laughs were had all around.  A successful weekend I would say.

Mellie and the Water Bowl (part 1)

In my previous post, I introduced you to our pugs, Pippin and Maggie, and our cat Dee Dee was also mentioned.  I think of these animals as our "free-ranging" animals as they are not in cages like our prairie dogs and flying squirrels. 

So obviously, they require a water bowl.

Years ago I purchased this water bowl for our free ranging animals (which has numbered as high as four - two dogs and two cats, although now the number is down to three.  Yes, I know that means I have an opening, but we are not looking to fill it, so please DO NOT send me e-mails about cute little cuddly dogs or cats that need a good home.  And dear god, DON'T EXPECT ME TO WATCH THE SARAH MCLAUGHLIN SPCA COMMERCIALS!!!!). 

Ahem.  I don't really remember what we used before, I just remember getting irritated at having to fill the dern bowl so often so I got the biggest one they sold.  Although it's a pain in the rear to clean, it's nice that theoretically we don't have to refill it very often.  Two small dogs and one cat that prefers other water sources and will only deign to drink out of the same bowl the DOGS drink out of when other water sources are not available and she is about to drop dead from dehydration (if you're familiar with cat psychology, you understand) should not empty very quickly, right? 

You may have noticed the low level of the water.  And the fact that the reservoir is COMPLETELY empty.  This is not an accident, this is on purpose.

Enter HURRICANE Mellie.....

This picture was taken shortly before her first birthday.  See the doll that she is holding?  That is SOCK MONKEY.  She, has two, this is her first one that generally stays in her crib.  The second one is larger and more traditional looking, and his name is Maxx the Sock Monkey.  Anyhow, back before Maxx the Sock Monkey joined our family, it was just Sock Monkey.  Mellie loves Sock Monkey (BTW, she loves Maxx, too).  She will pick Sock Monkey (or Maxx) up and hug him and carry him around the house before dropping him like he's hot when she finds something fresh and interesting. 

So, one day, back before Mellie walked, when she only crawled (she got into JUST as much trouble), she was free-ranging in the living room (notice how I tied her back to the pets?  Ha ha!) and playing reasonably quietly, so we weren't worried.  This, obviously, was before we learned that the quieter she is, the more worried we should be.  But don't worry, we HAVE learned that.  Now.  Anyhow, this was back then.  I was sitting on the futon (I mean couch, because I am a home-owner, and no longer in college, and obviously am too established and mature to own a futon like I am still a starving college student.  Of course I don't own a futon, much less two.  That's just plain crazy.)  Anyhow, I was sitting on the COUCH, watching television when Mellie came up to me and wanted me to pick her up.  Being the fabulous mother that I am, I scooped her up only to discover that she was SOPPING wet.  Literally.  Like her clothes were sopping, her diaper was sopping, and upon further review (take in breath - inside joke, Ronnie will get it) I discovered a path of water puddles leading to her current position from -- you guessed it -- the dog's water bowl.

Now, this was not the first encounter she'd had with the water bowl.  She had long since decided it was her favorite toy.  So, again, being the fabulous mother I am, I grumbled (trying to hold her as far away as possible as to not get myself wet) and carried her upstairs (this was before she started crawling upstairs, or I probably would have made her go up herself).  I immediately stripped her, dried her with a towel, and put on a DRY diaper (note: to this day I have NEVER seen a diaper as full as that one was) and dry clothing, and came downstairs to clean up the mess before someone slipped (that tile is extremely slick when wet). 

Obviously, I cannot clean up the mess very well while holding Mellie, so I set her down.  I SHOULD have been suspicious when I put her down and it did not cause a meltdown.  But no, I was distracted.  As I am cleaning up the mess, Mellie is crawling by on her way into the laundry room for further trouble when I realize that I have underestimated both the extent of the mess as well as the cause.  She wasn't simply splashing in the water as she is prone to done.  No, I realized, as I looked at a poor, discolored, and SOGGY Sock Monkey.  She had decided SOCK MONKEY NEEDED A BATH!  And where else would you give him a bath but the WATER BOWL.  So, I picked up poor Sock Monkey, who was looking up at me with beseeching eyes screaming "Why do you hate me?  Why did you let her do this to me?" 

Fortunately, Sock Monkey is resilient, and washing machine safe.  :)  Unfortunately, Mellie had crawled through the mess again (hey, the tile is WHITE, how was I supposed to be able to tell?) and I had to take her upstairs and change her.  Again.  Interestingly, that was not her record for amount of needed clothing changes.  That was THIS weekend, but that is a story for another day.

Look forward to Mellie and the Water Bowl (Part 2), where I will explore the purpose of having such a low level of water in the bowl.  Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday.....

The Battle of the Blanket

I would like to thank all of my readers, especially my followers and members.  Which includes myself.  Yea me!  Ronnie told me yesterday's post was not as witty as the day before's, so I will try to witty up....

Before our lives were blessed with Sweet Mellie, our lives had already been blessed with our two pugs, Pippin and Maggie (Ok, Dee Dee has insisted that I include that our lives had also already been blessed by our beautiful Snowshoe Siamese -- Dee Dee, and two prairie dogs - Petie and Precious (who would gladly kill you) and our two flying squirrels - Gordie and Meeloh (no, I did not name ANY of these animals.)).  Meet Pippin and Maggie.  See how happy they are?  No, really, they are happy.  They're pugs!  That's the way they ALWAYS look.  But trust me, they're happy.  ;)  Obviously this picture was taken pre-Mellie.

That's Pippin on the right and Maggie on the left.  Let me give you a little bit of history on our puggies.  We bought Pippin as a nine week old puppy.  We were looking at puppies because we were getting married and my mom would not let me take MY labrador/husky mix Mercutio (best dog I have every had) and not having a dog was simply not something to be considered.  I made the mistake of picking Pippin up, and I was not going to put him down, so I told Ronnie to pay for him.  Anyhow, that was back in 2005, so now he is 6.  We got Maggie to be Pippin's companion.  We found her on Craig's List.  Her family was moving and couldn't take her.  Plus, they had two small children and she simply wasn't getting the attention she deserved so they made the difficult decision to find a home for her.  We absolutely love her from the day she joined our family.  She is two years older than Pippin, so she is 8.  (She also barely tolerates him, even though she is SUPPOSED to be his companion.  In fact, his previous "companion," a snow white husky/malamute named Juneau tolerated him even less.  Hmmm.  I think there is something to be learned here....)  Anyhow, I am sure that many more of Mellie's adventures will coincide with the pugs, so I figured some history was in order.

Anyhow, back to my point.  Bringing Mellie home has been difficult on Maggie.  From the moment Mellie came into our home, Maggie has tested boundaries.  Whenever Mellie was little, if I was very busy with her, Maggie would bring me a toy and test to see if I would play with her.  I tried to always take a moment and toss the toy for her to chase so she wouldn't feel like she was being replaced.  Despite our efforts, she is NOT a big fan of Mellie.  She has this incredible skill of staying at least three feet away from Mellie at all times.  We try to encourage Mellie to play with Pippin and not Maggie to not aggravate Maggie's feelings about the baby.  Pippin is much better with her.  When we first introduced Mellie to Pippin, he attempted to give her a big sloppy kiss!  When she could hold her little head up, we would hold her on top of Pippin and take pictures of her "riding" him, and he would just sit there and allow it (for a time).  Now, he lets her climb over him and pat him entirely too hard.  Of course, he does have limits, and when they are reached he simply leaves. 

Recently, Mellie has discovered that she can pull blankets off the couch.  She and Maggie have had, ummm... "disagreements" about who this blanket "belongs" to once it is off the couch.  (Obviously, it belongs to Pippin when it is ON the couch as he is the only one of the three of them who gets ON the couch.  Duh.)  When Mellie is not around, you will find Maggie happily sitting on the blanket, maybe even catching a few zzzzzs..... 

Unfortuately for Maggie, she has a very strict following of the aforementioned "three feet" rule, so when Hurricane Mellie comes, Maggie heads for the hills...... 

(Sorry about Mellie's face being blurry.  She moves so darn fast and I only had time to snap one picture before she realized I was taking pictures and came over to me to ham it up).

So, Mellie, like Maggie, has discovered that this is a very nice blanket to crawl on, to roll around on, and to generally drag around.  Unfortunately for Maggie, due to her three foot rule, she doesn't have a chance at winning the Battle of the Blanket.

But it's ok, because Maggie wins the war in the end.  As she always does.  Why, you say?  Because Mellie gives Maggie her snacks.  And you know, in the end, all that matters is a full belly.

The MELLIE in the BOX

Welcome to our followers!  I'm so excited to see you here!

Mellie has been at home with Ronnie this week.  Long story short, we don't have money for day care this week.  She should be back to her adventures at Ms. Betty's next week.  Ronnie is not really accustomed to having her home, so I have been trying to come up with fresh things for her to do to make things easier on him.  Ronnie has always been interested in muscle groups and gross motor skills, so the other day I e-mailed him an article about developing gross motor skills of kiddos that Mellie's age.  (see article here:  http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/12-18-months-activities-for-large-motor-skills/?sssdmh=dm17.547583&esrc=nwASToddler_Wk5&email=2322092273) 

One of the suggestions was to take cardboard boxes and cut out holes (like windows) for them to crawl around in.  So, Ronnie took the article's suggestion and we just happened to still be holding on to the box her new convertible car seat came in.  Why we have the box when it has been installed for almost a month is another story.  We have issues with holding onto boxes that things come in.  Yes, we are seeking help.  (No, not really!)


At first, he said she just pushed the box around.  Which is another suggestion in the article - giving them things they can push around.  But she did eventually crawl on in.  Cuteness ensured, and the pictures are attached.  Notice her clutching her sippy cup.  Enjoy!