Hit the Road Mac!

I'm speechless. I'm not sure what to say. I believed so strongly in Apple iMac computers for 3 terrific weeks. Now, I'm just lonely and sad and hurt. Our brand spankin' new iMac broke so bad that we had to ship it back for another new one. It was only THREE WEEKS! Apple Care Customer Support couldn't even do anything to save it. It was toast! THREE WEEKS! THREE! We lost all our files. Glad I didn't upload any photos.

I am grateful for our hand-me-down laptop that has been through 2 of our computers already. I know I laugh when I can only create Word Perfect documents and can't open Excel files but seriously, I'm grateful for Ol' Faithful PC.

This means another delay for pictures and fun posts. In the meantime, I'll be counting my blessings.

Just DOO It!

For my birthday, back in September, my mom got me a great gift. The gift of a new hair doo! I haven't had my hair done since I was married (almost 5 years ago). So on Saturday, I got it done. I am so grateful to have my hair look good again. It really has been too long.

This is today. I can't seem to get it exactly how the hair dresser did it. The part in my hair is a little off here. Tomorrow might look better.

This picture shows how the hair dresser styled it. This is the day it was cut and colored. Sure looks better than plain hair put up in a ponytail.

This whole experience of having my hair done reminded me of a story my good friend told me:

I was walking down the street when I was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless woman who asked me for a couple of dollars for dinner.

I took out my wallet, got out ten dollars and asked, 'If I give you this money, will you buy chocolate with it instead of dinner?'

'No, I had to stop eating chocolate years ago', the homeless woman told me.

'Will you use it to go shopping instead of buying food?' I asked.

'No, I don't waste time shopping,' the homeless woman said. 'I need to spend all my time trying to stay alive.'

'Will you spend this on a beauty salon instead of food?' I asked.

'Are you NUTS!' replied the homeless woman. I haven't had my hair done in 20 years!'

'Well, I said, 'I'm not going to give you the money. Instead, I'm going to take you out for dinner with my husband and me tonight.'

The homeless Woman was shocked. 'Won't your husband be furious with you for doing that? I know I'm dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting.'

I said, 'That's okay. It's important for him to see what a woman looks like after she has given up shopping, hair appointments, and chocolate.'

Mac and "Cheese"

We finally got a new computer!!! It's awesome! We are so grateful to have a new iMac. We absolutely love it. At first I was super unsure because I remember my days in college when I had to do a whole project on a Mac and it was so difficult for me. I was always a PC girl. Macs scared the heck out of me. Now I'm not so sure why I was so intimidated. It is by far the best computer! It is really EASY too.

I've been trying to learn how to do things little by little. Maia and I love the Photo Booth.

We're still figuring out a lot of stuff but we now know how to smile, say, "Cheese," and capture pictures of Maia on a roller coaster at 18 months, standing on my lap.

Maia starting to get the hang of putting her hands up.

Maia got a little scared on that last drop. And I have a bolt (or part of the track) through my neck.

Again...still learning.

Bubby, Bubby

I had to share a funny story. If you have ever seen the episode of Friends where Joey speaks French (found at this website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D30U-nz_Hts

watch from 7:17 to 8:04)

you will appreciate my story.

So Maia had a diaper that was pretty full. I said, "Maia, your diaper is saggy baggy." She looked down and I said, "Maia, say saggy baggy."

She responded, "bubby, bubby."

I said, "No, say, 'saggy baggy'."

She said, "bubby, bubby."

I tried again, and said, "Maia, say saggy."

She said, "Saddy"

I said, "Say baggy."

She said, "Baddy"

"Not bad. Ok, say, saggy baggy."

"Bubby, bubby."

New Favorites

Maia has grown up to be such as sweet girl. Lately she has made it known what her new favorite things are:

TV show/movie: any Elmo dvd checked out from the library
YouTube video: Elmo's song, Muppet's Manamanah song
Food: raisins, oranges, peas (tomatoes are still a favorite of hers but she is mildly allergic to them)
Toys: my wallet, computer, and still the "hello" (aka my cell phone)
Book: "I Am Reverent When..." The ironic thing is that she has no idea how to be reverent.
Daytime activity: library story time, going to the park to swing on the swings and to go down the twisty slides all by herself, being outside, blowing bubbles, bathtime


Things that never go unnoticed:

1. If the printer is filled with paper, Maia makes sure she empties it.
2. If there are vases under the sink, she will make sure that there aren't.
3. If she has something in her hands (sippy cup, blanket, toy) when you open her car door, she will make sure to drop it at the right time so that it lands in the street. (My reflexes are getting faster)
4. If all the toys are IN the baskets, she will make sure to empty all of them, and spread out all her toys in the front room, before daddy gets home.
5. If the computer is on and the chair is pulled out, she will climb up to push all the buttons and turn the computer off.
6. If a chair isn't pushed in around the kitchen table, she will climb up to see if there is a writing utensil she can use.
7. If her tray isn't on her high chair, she will climb up and turn the light switches on and off.

Even though she creates a lot of messes and is very disruptive, she has a sweetness about her that makes everything worth it.

1. She will make sure to say "I love you" often, followed by some kisses.
2. Maia will be reverent and fold her arms for short prayers.
3. She will say "dee-doo" (thank you) when you give her something. (So polite)
4. When the phone rings, she reminds me that it's "daddy" calling.
5. When she pretends to talk on the phone, she's always talking to daddy.
6. If you're about to leave, she will get your shoes for you.
7. When it's bath time, she will go get her own towel and bring it to you.
8. If you ask her to wash her hands, she will quickly obey and run to her bathroom.
9. In the morning she wakes up calling "Mommy" from her crib.
10. She will try her best to make you laugh if you haven't been laughing for a while.

I love being Maia's mom.

Lil' Talker

Maia has become the little talker around here. She is starting to say things on command and copy what you say. I LOVE it! I love her sweet voice. I love the things she tries to say.

Thank you= dee-do
Mickey Mouse= Me me me
No gracias= No yeah yeahs
naranja= ha HA ha
hooray!= a-RAY!
yes= yeap
I love you= I why you

I'll try to post a video once I can. She loves to wave and say "Hi" to everyone in the grocery store or any store really. She's so friendly.

A Quiet Toddler is a Mischievous Toddler

Yesterday I was getting some things sorted out for the upcoming Primary Program, working with a client on my Etsy shop, and preparing stuff for an Enrichment activity...all of which required my attention at the computer.

Our regular family computer crashed after 4 years of good use. Gratefully, we received a hand-me-down computer that works! It's a little slow but it gets the job done. As a side note, this computer doesn't have Microsoft Word...no, rather it has Word Perfect. When was the last time you worked with Word Perfect? Don't send me any Excel Docs because I can't open those.

Anyway, back to my story of me being busy at the computer. I'm typing away and programming some stuff while Maia plays all around me. After a while, I notice that it is a lot quieter than usual. I turn to see where she is and she has managed to take my wallet out of my purse and pull out my checks, steal my credit card, Disneyland pass, library card, and debit card. She was in the middle of stealing my identity!!!

After I put my wallet back together and stash my purse on top of the table, I go back to my business at the computer. Again, Maia starts to play and then it gets quiet again. This time I notice the sound change a lot quicker. I turn to see where she is...She's getting ready to dance on the table or steal my purse again. I pull her down before she dives without a flotation device.

Now you would think that I would just stop what I'm trying to accomplish at the computer and monitor my wild child at this point. Nope, I give it one more shot except this time I decide to give her a snack in her high chair. At least she's got a tray holding her in her seat.

Maia: making noise,
me: type, type, type,
Maia: quiet,
me: look for Maia in her high chair
Maia: standing up in her high chair with one foot on her tray and the other foot ready for transition from seat to tray.
me: freak out, save Maia from utter self-destruction, lose patience, get Maia a bottle and put her to bed, think about all that happened in the last 10 minutes and rethink my strategies and safety restraints.

While I have been posting this, Maia hasn't stolen much, maybe just relocated a few items that I might not find for a week or so, hasn't been climbing on any furniture that might cause a head injury if she fell, and hasn't destroyed important documents, just a book that I was planning on giving to D.I. So far, so good.

What's that awful smell?

A stinky toddler is a poopy toddler.

Oh yeah, and one more thing, you might not see pictures on the blog for a while because we can't download those to the computer either.