My take on Disney's The Little Mermaid

So, I hate to come across as one of those "Oh we don't do Disney" holier-than-thou moms because I hate that. BUT...The Little Mermaid is really on my "I hate the message in that movie" list.

First of all, while I realize Ariel is a mermaid and mermaids wear seashell tops - it bugs me and I find myself wanting to cover the poor child with some clothes. Maybe a nice sweater knitted out of whatever the seaweed version of Fun Fur would be.

Secondly - In the past I had always, always loved the song Ariel sings in the beginning "Part of Their World" It was the melody that I liked and I'd never paid attention to the words; but then, I didn't have kids and the words didn't really matter. That is, until the other day - I was sweeping the floor in the kitchen singing along as Elizabeth watched the movie. "I bet up there fathers don't reprimand their daughters...bright young women...sick of swimming..." WAIT A MINUTE. What kind of message is this sending to my child? Yeah, children hate for their parents to reprimand them...but we're PARENTS, that's WHAT WE DO.

And, the whole Little Mermaid story (not just Disney's version) - the Little Mermaid disobeys her father and is rewarded for it. That bugs me, too. That REALLY bugs me.

I'm sure these will be good talking points as the girls get older.

Toothless Wonder no more!!!!

Katherine's first tooth has finally cut through the gum!!! Wahoo!

Well, as my friend, Rebecca says...Wahoo until she bites my nipple.

So, I know it's not a huge deal - but I was impressed

Today, Elizabeth picked up the Sterilite box that all her Dora Duplo Block(TM) are in and turned it over. A little mat was on the bottom of the box and it had a crab printed on it. Elizabeth pointed to the crab and said, "Crab, Mama." How in the world did she know that was a crab? I know we've seen a crab in one of our ABC books recently, but that's a new book and we've only read it twice. And Sebastian the Crab in The Little Mermaid (which I hate but that's a subject for a whole 'nother blog) doesn't really *look* like a crab. And I finished reading her bedtime stories to her about an hour ago. One of the books we read was Chicka Chicka 1,2,3 (if you don't have this and it's companion Chicka Chicka Boom Boom well, go to Barnes&Noble right this second and order them!!! You're doing a disservice to your children if you don't have them!) Anyway, so I'm reading Chicka Chicka 1,2,3 and it is, obviously, about numbers. All through the book, zero is standing to the side of the apple tree. When I got to the page where 10 comes into play, Elizabeth pointed to the zero in the ten and said, "Zero!" (only she says it some funky way that I can't figure out how to spell). Whoo-hoo! I know she's not a genius, I'm not saying that in this blog entry. I'm just proud of her! She did the same thing when 20,30,40 etc. Cool! She's putting stuff together!

Earlier this evening, Nin was down for a nap. E climbed into my lap, grabbed my head, pushed my hair out of the way and "nibbled" on my ear then died laughing and said, "Parrot hick!" (parrot chick). Then she said, "Beh-ah" (bear) and tickled me. She was acting out two pages from her book Mommy Hugs. We love this book and Daddy Kisses they are nighttime staples for her. In each book a parent animal hugs/kisses her/his baby animal. In the Mommy book, Mommy parrot hugs her chick with a nibble. I've always nibbled on Elizabeth's ear when I would read that page to her and she giggles and squeals. Mommy polar bear hugs her baby with a tickle (hince the tickle right after the nibble." Her favorite one in the Daddy book is Daddy squirrel kisses his pup on the paw. I have to kiss both of E's hands and all four of Beh Beh-ah's paws.

Katherine continues to love solids and is up to three meals a day. She is also still the toothless wonder, but don't think that's stopping her! We're not giving her meat yet because (a) she isn't old enough and I absolutely refuse to give her baby food meat (have you ever smelled that stuff? Cat food smells better. That crap is NASTY) and (2) the no theeth thing. She's pulling up and getting back down much better. She still has some trouble getting down, but is getting more and more confident.

Oh, one last thing...let me rant about the mail! Today I recieved an envelope from Albany, NY. I didn't recognize the name on the return address -- however, it was hand addressed to our family. I thought perhaps it was someone Brad went to high school with or something. No. Inside was another envelope addressed to us and a sticky note. "This was delivered to our house [their address listed]. A litle off?" It was a Christmas cards from a family we go to church with. I couldn't believe it! And, it was mailed from Little Rock on December 23, we should've gotten it Christmas Eve!! I called my friend and told her what had happened. Someone (some computer, actually) was smoking crack when they sent that to Albany. I'm just glad this family forwarded it on to us.

The kitchen calls, as do my bed linens (they've *got* to be changed!!!)

The end is not near

Went to bed at 3a.m. This crap is for the birds.

Will it ever end?

This morning when I woke up, Katherine was in our bed. I remembered her waking at about 12:50a.m. and I brought her to bed with us (I think she's teething, but then I've been saying that for three months and she's still the toothless wonder). She was congested, fussy and wanting to nurse. Once she nursed, she calmed down and wanted to play. Nope. At around 3:30 I put her back in her crib and turned on the lamp in her room so she would know she could play if she wanted. When Elizabeth woke at 7:30ish, Katherine was back in bed with me (Brad was already at work). I assumed that he'd brought Nin to me before he left for work and I just didn't remember it. When I talked to him later he told me that when he got out of bed at 5:45, Katherine was in our bed. Huh? Apparently I got out of bed and got her again between 3:30 and 5:45. I don't remember it. So, I swore I'd go to bed early tonight.

It is 11:51. I'm not in bed and won't be for about another hour. Hey, going to bed at 1a.m. is early when you've been turning in between 3:30 and 4:00, right? I'm just wondering if the insomnia will ever end.

Our boring life

We rang in the New Year in style. Brad was asleep on the family room floor and I was downing margaritas like they were made with water. I didn't realize "the new year" was here until we were an hour into it. Yawn.

Elizabeth Jane's 2nd birthday was the 3rd. We had a great time at her party...I guess. I feel like I didn't get to talk to anyone. Well, I did talk to our guests some: "Would you prefer hard or soft tacos?" "What would you like to drink?" "White cake or chocolate cupcake? Ice cream? Vanilla or Turtle Sundae?" Yeah, the hostess with the mostest...whatever. Elizabeth loved it - but then, in one place she had all the big kids that she loves to play with and they were all paying attention to HER.

Since Christmas, Katherine has been pulling to her knees and I knew it was just a matter of time before she made it to her feet. On the 4th, she did just that...grabbed onto her Daddy's legs and pulled herself to standing. Last night she wouldn't do it for Bill and Diane ("I'm not doing parlor tricks, Mom, get over it.") but I haven't been able to keep her on the floor much today. She'll be cruising soon. She's also eating like a little piglet. Last night after having a huge bowl of carrots and rice cereal, she was eating rice off my plate and didn't seem to care that there was some chicken stir-fry along with it. Then Brad took her and she ate MORE rice off of his plate. Good grief! And, she'd nursed before and after the cereal.

Hmmm, the last time I had a baby pulling up and eating solids - I got pregnant...

Elizabeth Jane

Elizabeth Jane - My first-born. An absolute delight and precious gift from God. The child we, and many others, prayed for. By the time you arrived we had been waiting nine days shy of ten years for a baby. It was hard to wait and not know what would happen; but I learned so much about myself, your Daddy, our relationship and God during that time. You were definitely worth the wait. Being your Mommy is such a joy. I honestly don't know what I did with my life before you arrived. Happy Birthday, biggest girl. I love you!