Napping
With Thomas
Don’t ask
Masterpieces
Sunrise over the Straits of Mackinac
Penguin and Lil
Taking notes
Picture post!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
“My Crib is Broken”
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Lilia’s crib was just recalled, so we had to return it to Target to get a store credit. I broke it down into small parts, but it still wouldn’t fit in our hatchback trunk. As I looked for a phone number to call and ask if we could just toss it and still get the credit, Joe used all the rope he has accumulated over the years and tied it to our previously unused roof rack– I knew there was a reason we had one of those! We carefully drove over to the Target on City Line and put all the pieces in a cart and brought them in to the return desk, where Lilia proclaimed to the clerks, “My crib is broken”! One time I returned a pair of shoes to this Target on a weekday morning, and a line of people had formed behind me as the clerk struggled through the transaction, so I was a little nervous about doing this on a busy Saturday afternoon, but the two clerks who helped us were super friendly, and we had no trouble at all.
We wanted to pick up a Target Weekly Circular, because Lilia’s second cousin Lillian is featured in the toy section (warning– you might die of the cuteness if you click there!) but because it was the last day of the sale, they were all out. :( (We’ll get to meet Lillian for the first time at Thanksgiving!!)
Now, we need to find a new bed for Lilia. Where is she sleeping now?
Well, I have a confession to make…
Lilia still co-sleeps. It’s just easier, I’ll leave it at that.
But, we have a nice crib mattress, and she did sometimes sleep in her crib (it was a convertible– we had taken one side off last year). I think this Ikea toddler bed is really cute, but it is a foot longer than the crib mattress, so we’d have to invest in one of Ikea’s mattresses. Plus, our house is so small, I don’t think we have the room to get a bigger bed. Plus, she is short… she’ll fit in the crib mattress for quite a long time. I guess we have some research to do.
Acrobatic squirrels
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Well, it’s Fall already! I have not been great at keeping up on this blog lately…
However, remember this post in which I talked about seeing a squirrel cage at a historic house in Philadelphia? Did you know the Philadelphia Zoo has an actual squirrel cage with the most amazing squirrels? My sister, Lilia and I went to the zoo last week and we took a different path than normal, and found these amazing Russian Red Tree Squirrels! I took a little video with my camera, it’s a little shakey, but I think you can see how acrobatic these squirrels were:
Oh, and you might note that in the post I linked to, I complained about bad service we had a restaurant… The restaurant contacted me (see the comments) and wants to make amends by giving us a free meal, but I feel like that wouldn’t necessarily prove that they have good service… if they know who I am and why I am there when I come in. We considered going back incognito, but it was such a poor experience, I don’t feel like paying money to relive it. What would you do?
Screen Time and Other Things
Friday, August 22, 2008
I’ve been boring my faithful readers with my writing… I know what you really want… you want Lilia posts!
While I worked through three summer courses, poor Lilia got very familiar with PBS Kids and a stack of DVDs I checked out from the library. She likes absolutely everything that is geared towards kids. If I change the channel to news, she gets very sad– we haven’t watched much of the Olympics, but she was interested in the actual events (diving, gymnastics), and when Bob Costas (ugh, do I dislike him!) would come on, she thought we had switched the channel on her! Her favorite shows: Curious George, Teletubbies, Sesame Street, and Barney. *Edited to add: we don’t have cable, so we don’t get Phillies games on TV often… but there is one tonight, and Lilia is very excited!* The videos from the library were my favorites.
“– he shears the sheep, cards the wool, spins the wool into yarn, dyes the yarn with berries, weaves the yarn into cloth, and sews his own cloak! This is one of those cases where the video is better than the book… they are both great, but seeing it come to life is more entertaining than my reading of it, I’m sure.
. I loved it so much, I bought it, and have just ordered Volume 1
(which the library doesn’t have). Our favorite clip: Two little dolls (enjoy!)
by Pat Hutchins and The Foolish Frog by Pete Seeger. Pat Hutchins is great! We have Good-Night, Owl!
already, and I just checked out The Wind Blew
, which is a new favorite. Lilia loves wind!Speaking of Pete Seeger, did I mention that Lilia recognizes the sound of a banjo? Seriously, I spend most of the day in awe of Lilia. I don’t care how she compares to other little kids– it just amazes me that in less than 2 and a half years on this planet, this little girl can hear a couple strums on a banjo, and say “Banjo”!
The “Fall” semester starts Monday, and I anticipate we will be watching more PBS and checking out more videos from the library. We did manage to get out of the house a bit during my classes, and more after I finished on August 9th.
Walking with Daddy at the Schuylkill Center
Lilia STILL loves swings!
Driving the Trolley at the Please Touch Museum
Last Saturday, we went for a drive and saw three beautiful hot-air balloons in the sky. We managed to catch one of them landing!
On Sunday, after a really nice brunch at a restaurant Bonnie Mac recommended (Ida Mae’s Bruncherie), we went to a playground and a community garden. Look at this goldfinch chowing down on this flower:
Well, I hope that satisfies all you Lilia fans for now! As I said, classes start again on Monday… but my anticipated graduation is December!
Secret Lives of Cats
Friday, August 15, 2008
For the storytelling class, I had to tell a story, tell its history, and tell a personal story that related to it. I did King of the Cats, which you’ll find in the previous post. This is the personal story I told:
——
The Secret Lives of Cats
I’ve always wondered what my cats do when I’m not home. Are they just moping around, waiting for me? Or are they plotting to take over the world? A few years ago, my cat Stripe escaped out the back door and didn’t come back for seven days! We searched the neighborhood, and hung Missing Cat signs on all the telephone poles. We searched animal shelters—looking in all the cages for Stripe. Every day, we walked around the block with a can of cat food, calling his name. And finally one morning, he meowed at our bedroom window. We asked him where he was, but he wouldn’t say. And ever since then, Stripe tries to escape… and when he does, he is gone at least a few days. One time he was missing during a hurricane. And when he returns, he never tells us where he has been… one of life’s mysteries is the secret lives of cats!
——
Stripe, pictured in the previous post, was once called the Cat Who Would Be King. However, since we moved to this house, and we’ve limited his outside time (since whenever he goes out, he’ll go out for days), he has gotten kind of soft. In 2006, his left ear blew up with a hematoma and is now a shriveled stump. A few weeks ago, the same thing happened to his right ear. His breath is horribly stinky. He likes to lay on the dining room table, and shake his slobbery mouth all over everything. I was sitting on the couch (a futon), and it STANK of Stripe, so I pulled off the futon cover to wash it. In doing so, I found Lilia’s Phillies hat wedged under the futon mattress– it had has been missing for almost a month! So, Mr. Stripe, although your stinky slobberiness is annoying, I guess it was useful for something! I still love this darn cat!
