Out, damned spot

Here's why I almost didn't blog tonight. Because I'm FREAKING ADDICTED to the Word Challenge game in Facebook. I can barely log in, then I see that little icon
and I can't. stop. myself.

"Just one game," I tell myself. I LIE. It's never just one. It's, "just one more," and then, "just one more over 15,000," then "just one more over 20,000." Forever on a quest to get better than the Shakespeare guy.

Next thing I know, I've missed the Daily Show and half of Colbert Report and, instead of being wound down and ready to call it a night, I'm all jazzed up and ready to run a marathon. Well, not really get up and run. Just sit there for another hour playing Word Challenge some more.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow

Lauren takes on Mickey Rourke

Stayed home today with a very sick little Lauren, coughing like the Marlboro man and talking like Bea Arthur, boogers running off her face. At first she'd tell me, "Mommy, I have boogers" and let me wipe her nose, but she got tired of that and just started wiping her face on her jammy sleeve to get that nice layer of booger crust.

And watching lots of TV. Elf, Sleeping Beauty, Elf, Baby Einstein, Elf.

WARNING: if you don't like to watch the same movie over and over and over again (with a safe bet that it's not a movie in one of your favorite genres), don't have kids.

I want to express my sincerest thank you to the folks behind the kids movies that interject over-their-heads adult humor for those of us they know are stuck in repetition hell. I can handle most. Horton Hears a Who - NOT SO MUCH.

We were waiting for Daddy to get home from his golf vaca in sunny, warm florida - to come home to 1.5 sick chickies (I'm just half sick right now) and a dose of arctic air. Just before Daddy got home, Lauren had me paint her nails. Then before they were dry, she did the booger sleeve wipe, only to spread red nail polish on her nose, cheek, eyelid, and forehead. And it looked EXACTLY like bloody scratches. And it didn't wipe off. So here I am with my little one who looks like SHE was in the ring with Mickey Rourke. Daddy was going to freak.

So after trying to take some pics, I tried again to get it off... had success, kinda scratching it off. So other than a little bit of red, she looked like a porcelain faced doll when Daddy got home. A porcelain faced doll covered in boogers.

Oh Deer

Since my sleeping disorder is in full swing, thought it's be a good time to post.

It is going to be freaking freezing this week. 5 degrees on Thursday. That's crying-because-I'm-so-cold weather. Last night on my drive home, after quite the accumulation of snow, there was a deer walking down the middle of the road... not crossing the road, walking up it. I'm sure it's because he had no sense that there was a road, since it was covered in about 5" of snow.

I pass way too many dear on my routes to home - since I live in the almost-country burbs. Sometimes I pull over and yell at them, "get back into the freakin woods, you're going to get yourself killed!" Most of them listen and run, the other night, one just stood there, rather close to the road, and looked at me. Like, "hmmm, you're interesting but not scary." When I realized he wasn't going to run away, my bunnyhugger side took over and I tried to entice him over to my car with a cashew dropped from Lauren's latest bowl 'o snacks, but he didn't budge. Not even with my cutsie, high pitched voice, "c'mer... c'mere little deer". Bastard. Either run or humor me.

Anderson Cooper and the Great Puppy Debate

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Road to the Doghouse - Puppedential Debate

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Ok, this is one of the freakin funniest things ever. I LOVE The Daily Show!

Flight of the Conchords

Looking forward to the new season of Flight of the Conchords They made the premier available online early, I've watched most of it... but then my addiction to Word Challenge in Facebook... or my addiction to looking for coupons and online sales... kick in and I get drawn away.

I just adore their humor though and will watch on Sunday nights when my laptop is safely sleeping in it's sleeve.

Spit Spot

So it's 2009. I was a very bad blogger for most of '08... then, the first comment of the new year on my last post, from Prissy - "You should blog more often, I miss the daily bite of the daily bite!"... so with that motivation (thank you Prissy), here I am, trying to be a better blogger.

I will try not to be ALL about Lauren, but it's hard not to be when the little cracker jack just does funny stuff left and right... like strip the clothes off her Mary Poppins doll faster than you can say, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!"

So this is what I come home to. Naked Mary Poppins dolly. And as Bridget Jones would say, "it's kind of pervy, really."

Lauren Acts

Happy New Year! Perhaps this will be the year I become a stage Mom and Little Miss pays the bills with her acting skills. Or perhaps not =)

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Lauren dancing with santa

Whoa! The little one is channeling her inner Elvis!!

My girl has an accent. Not sure how or why. She is saying, "Let's in park the car."

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At Strong Museum

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A Great Meal

Catching up on email today, I found one arranging for dinner with The Golf Channel at Marcello's in Ridgewood NJ (this all was while in NJ for the Barclays Golf Tournament).

It caught my eye because it was a memorable evening with VERY memorable food. I had one of the best steak dishes I'd ever had and I'd be remiss if I didn't post it in case any of you ever find yourself anywhere near Ridgewood, NJ.

It was the "Marado" - Filet Mignon stuffed with smoked mozzarella, prosciutto
and spinach, portobello mushroom, port wine.

I am salivating just thinking of it.

Six years today

...

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Lauren has FINALLY started politely asking for things instead of demanding them. What was formerly, "I want a Cereal Bar!!", yesterday morning became, "Mommy, may I please have a cereal bar?"... in the sweetest voice. Imagine my dismay when I did not, in fact, HAVE a cereal bar to give.

Yesterday Daddy took Lauren to the new Wegs on Calkins. Today when I picked her up from Daycare she said, "Mommy, I want to go to Wegmans and get a cookie." The marketing genius of this free-cookie per kid idea finally truly hit me. I believe Lauren will be asking to go to Wegs every day. And I had half a thought to make it a routine. Wegs, cookie for Lauren, Brie and Bread for Mommy... sounds like a nice idea to me.

And a note to TRISH: fun things to do with an 11 month old in Rochester - I recommend the Zoo, always safely fun (there is a creek she can dip her feet in)... the kids go crazy for Strong Museum - especially the mini Wegmans... and a nice walk along the canal at Schoen Place, feeding the ducks, followed with a Ben & Jerry's ice cream, is good too. Very near Schoen Place is the Pittsford Dairy - I havent' been there this year but Jenny goes often and I believe they have cows in front for the kids to pet. Good luck, I hope it is a very nice visit for you! Direct Message me on Twitter if you want to ask more.

Baby Bumble Bee Song

I taught Lauren the Baby Bumble Bee song, and she was singing it quite sweetly. We tried to get in on video, but then she got very quiet. So I asked her to sing it loud... here's what we got:



She says, "Bumble Bee Song! Won't my Mommy be so proud o me cause I'm throwin up my baby bumble bee. Won't my Mommy be so proud o me cause I'm throwin up my baby... do it loud. (me: you do it loud). YOU do it loud!

Just sent this to Jenny. She finally got me to read Twilight... then I read New Moon... now I'm 10 pages away from finishing Eclipse... and will be running out tomorrow to buy Breaking Dawn.

Lauren learned to sommersault a while ago and loves to do so, she also loves jumping. So when the Olympic Gymnastics came on, she was enthralled. She said, "Mommy, she's wearing her babysoup (bathing suit)" - she demanded to have her bathing suit on, then started sommersaulting around. She copied other movements (arms in the air) and at one point just dropped from standing to sitting position (this was pretty damn funny).

I got a little nervous that she'd try a no handed cartwheel or something, but she stuck to sommersaults (probably did at least 20).

I guess it is certainly time to enroll her in a gymnastics class!

Taking a walk down to the river. Before the bee attack.

How lame am I, I barely blog anymore - none in July. Twitter like crazy, but blogging seems to take so much more time.

June flew by... we announced the Kodak Challenge and I went to the Buick Open and the AT&T National golf tournaments.

FINALLY ate at a Melting Pot, Shruti had urged us to go there while in Chicago 2 years ago, but I insisted on The Cheesecake Factory (before we had one in Rochester). Well, let me tell you this, the Melting Pot immediately jumped to the #1 spot of "Restaurants that if I were ridiculously rich, I would charter a plane weekly to get to a city with a Melting Pot." They have one in Buffalo, and Shruti, Jenny, Denise and I went last weekend... they are thinking of opening one in Rochester. We begged, pleaded, and are about to bombard the guy with email weekly, urging him to open here ASAP.

Other than all that, my little one is at a very fun stage. She says things like, "OMG" and "Hello Mommy Honey, you want some dinner?" and "I no like to go to cool [school]" (though I did get her English corrected to say, "I DON'T like to go to cool"). She daily makes requests to visit people, "I want to go to Jenny & Aaron's house". Definitely a fun stage, except when she doesn't listen (she may grow up with the nickname "Brickwall").

So this post has no pictures and is lame, so I'll try to do better next time.