Banishing the BaBa

Since Ava was almost two and way to attached to a bottle (baba to her) needing it first thing in the morning, during any stressful time, to go to sleep, and any other time during the day, it had to go. Pediatricians recommend that babies are off of a bottle by the time they are one, so we are a little behind. Don't get me wrong, I tried when she was about a year old. She did very well. I don't know when or how the set back occurred, but it did and how. Yes, I realize that this is my own fault for giving in to her screaming fits for one, so I could have a few moments of peace. My compliance just made her more addicted and unable to cope without it. One day, I decided that enough was enough. She wasn't eating well because she was always full from milk. I though we were going to have to find a Baby Bottles Anonymous support group or go through rehab to get her off. But no. She has done remarkably well. I told her we gave her bottles to the tiny little babies (she Loves babies) that needed them. I really gave them to the trash can. Except for one emergency one. The first few mornings were the worst. Every morning she gets up, she cries for a bottle and her lovey, she takes them and lays in the living room floor and watches a cartoon. Well, until last week, she now asks for a bottle, I tell her they are gone and she cries for a little while, declines her sippy cup of milk, sometimes very angrily, and finally comes to grips with it again that they are gone, and accepts the sippy cup. Last night she even asked for a sippy cup after of course she asked for a bottle and I told her they were gone. It has been 10 days since her last bottle. Hopefully we are home free. Now if we could just get Colton off the paci.

Random Ramblings

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted. I guess there just hasn't been too much excitement. Well, Heath and I went to NY without the kids. That was pretty major. It was really great. We got to stay at Bethel, at 90 Sands. Our room was amazing and it overlooked the Brooklyn Bridge. We ate at awesome restaurants, rode the subways, and walked until I thought my feet would fall off, and got to spend time with our close friends there.

Last night we went to Walmart for groceries. As if a trip to Walmart for a weeks worth of groceries is not stressful enough, they were remodeling. Not only did it smell like a poopy diaper (I kept checking to see if it was Ava, it wasn't), but nothing was where it was, and things I had come for (i.e. Cottage Cheese) they did not have. The deli was closed, the bakery was closed, the towels and other housewares are now outside in the garden area. Who wants to go out there in 100 degree weather.

Ava who doesn't tend to eat food too often, decided the other day that she would try poop. She got a dirty diaper out of the trash, opened it, and took a little bite, spit it out, and started gagging and saying YUCK! How exactly do children make it to adulthood? She is a handfull. Much more curious and into things than Colton ever was.

Colton was so funny yesterday. He loves to roll his window down and try to make truck drivers honk. Yesterday on our way home, he got the long haired trucker to honk. Heath told him it was nice of the man to honk for him. Colton replied, "Dad, that was not a man, it was a lady man." At least the man could not hear him. Unlike the old man that is always at the only restaurant that serves breakfast here. He has a microphone that he puts to his throat to talk (not sure what that's called). The first time Colton heard him, he told Heath, "Oh my goodness Dad, there is a robot in here". This is a tiny place and he is very loud. Heath- "Shhh, he's not a robot". Colton- "Dad, yes he is a robot, I see him, he is right there (pointing), he is a robot". I think Heath forgot to talk to him about it because the next time they went, he was there again. Colton- "Oh my goodness dad, the robot is here again".

I can't think of anything else too exciting.

Memorial Hair Mishap

Since I went dark with my hair a few months ago, I've started noticing a few gray hairs. This to my horror. I have always said that I will never have gray hair, they make hair color and I am much too vain not to use it. The day of the memorial was uneventful. We distributed invitations, cleaned the Kingdom Hall, and came home. I decided that I definitely should not go the memorial with gray roots. After all I was a professional hairdresser for several years, I know how to apply color, I have the professional color here. So I applied the color to my new growth as best I could and as far as I could see to the back of my head. Of course when applying color it is very difficult to not get it on your skin. It was covering most of my forehead, one ear, and a small spot on the tip of my nose. Not a big deal, since I'm remembering the rule from my hair doing days, "Color removes color". When it was time to rinse, I took some color and rubbed it where I knew it was on my skin. Color removes color, no problem. That is until I looked in the mirror. Evidently, color no longer removes color. At least not with the color I was using, which on my skin looked like I had applied dark brown shoe polish to my forehead, ear, and nose. Wow, I'm going to make a nice impression to newcomers to the memorial. Of all days for me to do this. I tried to get it off with alcohol, nail polish remover, even more color. I finally called a sister who does hair begging for suggestions for removal. Thank goodness she had a product at her salon that took most of it off. I don't think anyone noticed at the memorial if they did they were kind and didn't mention it.

Colton loved passing the emblems. I let him pass the bread with help. He wouldn't let go of the wine, he was holding on to it and I was so afraid it was going to spill even though I was holding it too. I had to tell him to let go. When he did he asked me, "Are we not going to drink any?". Then he asked, "What are we passing next?". We had 169 there, a nice size for our congregation of around 90.

Etsy

I've been wanting to start a website for quite some time now and had even considered having a store on eBay. Since eBay is having a little trouble right now, or maybe I should say they are making a lot of trouble for sellers, I've decided not to sell on eBay anymore. That is unless they change their new fees. This is beside the point however. I have decided to open a store on a website called Etsy. For those of you unfamiliar with Etsy, it is a website that is exclusivly for handmade items. They have some awesome things on there and some amazing artisans. I recently found the most beautiful silver ring on there that is a large handmade silver ginko leaf. They have things for everyone, even some great clothing. So my store, Little Belles Boutique, is now a part of Etsy as well. And hopefully it will do well. Here is a link so y'all can check it out. http://www.littlebellesboutique.etsy.com There isn't much in there yet for sell but, tell me what y'all think.

Bert, Elaine, Baker Smurf, Iron Eagle

Sesame Street Persona Test

Your Score: Bert

You scored 89% Organization, 51% abstract, and 59% extroverted!

This test measured 3 variables.

First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean.

Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type.

Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert. By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more about herself.

You are very organized, both concrete and abstract, and both introverted and extroverted.

Here is why are you Bert.

You are both very organized. You almost always know where your belongings are and you prefer things neat. You may even enjoy cleaning and find it therapeutic. Bert is a big neat freak and gets quite annoyed when Ernie makes a big mess.

You both are sometimes concrete and sometimes abstract thinkers. Bert is probably a bit more concrete in his bottlecap collecting addiction and his love of the weather. He does show his abstract side when he sings and performs his "Doin' The Pidgeon" song. You have a good balance in your life. You know when to be logical at times, but you also aren't afraid to explore your dreams and desires... within limits of course.

You are both somewhat introverted. Bert is probably more introverted, because he spends most of his time either with Ernie or alone. Still he has no problem being around other people in his role as chairman of "The National Association of 'W' Lovers." Like Bert, you probably like to have some time to yourself, but you do appreciate spending time with your friends, and you aren't scared of social situations.

The other possible characters are
Oscar the Grouch
Big Bird
Snuffleupagus
Ernie
Elmo
Kermit the Frog
Grover
Cookie Monster
Guy Smiley
The Count

http://www.okcupid.com/tests/4525550649363613939/Your-SESAME-STREET-Persona

The Your Seinfeld Identity Test

Your Score: Elaine

You scored 22% Harsh, 52% Kavorka, 21% Sarcastic

This test measured 3 variables.

First it measured how harsh you were. By harshness I don't mean whether I think you are going to kill somebody, but whether you are a lollipop and happiness person, or a "shit happens" type of person.

Second it measured how much Kavorka you have. Technically Kavorka is the Latvian word for "the lure of the animal." According to Seinfeld at least. In my test it measured your ability to lure men or women and to a lesser degree how social you are.

Third it measured how sarcastic/cynical you are. Some characters like Jerry are very sarcastic while the Soup Nazi is much less so. It can be difficult to accurately measure sarcasm in a written test.

You scored low in harshness, medium in Kavorka, and low in sarcasm. In other words you are a pretty normal friendly person. You aren't mean to others, and you have a cheery attitude. You also have a tad of Kavorka in you. You can't get anybody you want, but you do have some appeal.

I bet you are thinking, why Elaine? It was tough to find a major character that fit you. Elaine isn't able to get any guy she wants, but she does have her shiksa appeal. While Elaine can get nasty at times, you are both mostly gentle people.

You may not surround yourself with only men, and you might be able to keep a normal job, but otherwise...you are Elaine.

http://www.okcupid.com/tests/9689055168657518336/your-SEINFELD-identity

The Smurf Personality Test

Your Score: Baker Smurf

You are 66 % Action Driven, 78% Interpersonal, 82% Street Smart, and 70% Artistic

This test measured 4 variables.

First, this test measured if you place a higher value on words or actions. Both have their own advantages. For instance a skilled negotiator and a skilled firefighter both save lives.

Second, this test compared your intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences. Simply put intrapersonal intelligence means you understand yourself, while interpersonal intelligence means you understand others.

Third, this test measured if you are more book smart or street smart. Book smart people may be more interested in a variety of topics, while street smart people focus on the most relevant information. Smurfette is very street smart, while Poet Smurf is not.

Fourth, this test measured if you prefer an artistic or functional approach to life. Artistic people may concentrate more on details and ambiance, while functional people focus on if it works. In this case Vanity Smurf would be considered Artistic while Hefty Smurf just wants to lift stuff up.

You are more action driven, more interpersonal, more street smart, and more artistic.

Congratulations, you are Baker Smurf! Let's find out why.

The master of culinary inventions, Baker Smurf is a smurf of action. He enjoys creating masterpieces for others to eat. Too bad Greedy Smurf is always trying to steal them. Like Baker Smurf you are not the type to just sit around. Baker Smurf knows his talent in life. Your high intrapersonal intelligence score suggests you also know your own strengths and desires.

Your high street smarts score suggests you are comfortable in new situations. Baker Smurf could create his dishes anywhere, as long as the proper ingredients are around. Of course art and beauty is very important to Tailor Smurf. A true chef, he knows that good food is not only about taste. You also seem to appreciate art, creativity and design.

The 16 possible smurf categories are...

Lazy Smurf, Slouchy Smurfling, Hefty Smurf, Papa Smurf, Jokey Smurf, Grouchy Smurf, Sassette Smurfling, Grandpa Smurf, Handy Smurf, Dreamy Smurf, Painter Smurf, Poet Smurf, Baker Smurf, Vanity Smurf, Smurfette, Tailor Smurf

http://www.okcupid.com/tests/17485837933297914632/Smurf-Personality

Which 80's Action Flick Are You

Your Score: Iron Eagle

You scored 37% Justice, 28% American Way, and 54% Truth!

Break the sound barrier. Break the speed barrier.

There's really not very much about you that's good. You're derivative; a cheap knockoff. But you do have Larry B. Scott (Lamar from Revenge of the Nerds,) so that has to count for something. Despite all your flaws, somehow you still manage to rock.

Totally Disneyfied

I am officially in love with Disney. I hadn't been in 3 years and Colton was 4 months old. It was fun then, but this time was great. Seeing Disney World with a 3 year old is wonderful, magical. We went to Magic Kingdom and pretty much walked onto every ride. Both kids loved the rides. Ava would sign more when we got off of one. We saw the parade but could not meet any of the characters because the lines were always too long, I guess that's why there were no lines for the rides. We wound up going to Epcot on our last day. About 20 minutes after we arrived, it started pouring rain. It rained very hard for at least an hour. We finally bought ponchos and walked in the rain. It must have scared a lot of people off because there were very few people in the park after that. We got to meet Donald, Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, the mice from Cinderella, Alice, Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Beauty and the Beast. Colton loved meeting all of the characters. His favorite was Alice. She played with him, danced with him, and looked at toys in the gift shop with him while were were waiting to meet the Pooh characters. It was so sweet. Ava was scared of the characters (except Alice since she was a real person) and cried every time we got near one. I am looking forward to going back when she is a little older.

We could have not asked for better weather. It was in the 80's every day and only rained that one time. We went to the beach one day and to the Everglades where we saw dozens of alligators very close up.

It was almost a perfect trip. We had to say goodbye to our friends and the flight home were the only bad parts. We were the family that no one wants to be near on their flight. About 30 minutes into it, Ava puked all over me and herself, including her lovey blanket that she can not go to sleep without. So we smelled great. And since her lovey was covered in throw up, she screamed the next 2 hours. I was very happy to land even if it meant being in the cold again with an Arctic front coming in in a couple of days. Woo hoo!

The Zoodoodis

Yep, I have The Zoodoodis. And as far as I remember this is the worst I've had it. "What is Zoodoodis?", you may ask. It is basically any illness that one may have. A term coined by my grandfather, better known as Bop.

I have been without a voice for 2 days and have a severe sore throat. I finally went to the doctor today and they gave me an antibotic, although they had no name for what I have, just a list of things it could possibly be, ranging from Strep Throat to Sinusitis. And since they didn't know, they gave me an antibiotic. Usually I am not willing to take antibotics unless they are certain that what I have is Bacterial and not Viral. Since my throat feels like it has been blow torched, and I'm leaving for Florida tomorrow, I was happy to get something. Hopefully it will help soon. I've not had strep since I was a kid and if it isn't strep that I have, I would hate to know what strep feels like. But, hooray, we're going to Disney World in 4 days.