He Said/She Said

Abby has certaintly started to express her likes and dislikes...as if almost on cue...she will be exactly 2.5 years old in a couple of weeks....

Here is some of her recent phraseology:

No, Mommy...I don't LIKE IT! (I'm trying to convey the emphasis...)
Mommy, I am MAD....I am mad MOMMY.
I don't WANT TO!

Sometimes these phrases are uttered with an accompanying fist pumping in the air for good measure. Fun times!

Most times I ignore these outbursts while hoping I was hearing things. Surely my sweet baby girl doesn't talk like this.... My denial was quickly shattered yesterday when I was going through the endless tubs of clothes that Abby was outgrowing. I was separating clothing into piles...those to save, those to sell...when along came Abigail.

Abby: "What are you doing Mommy?"
Me: "I'm going through some of your clothes."
Abby: "These are Abby' clothes!"
Me: (Not for long) "Mommy is cleaning them up."
Abby: "Mommy, I clean up! " As she steps through the piles as if it was late September and we were bagging leaves on the front lawn.....
Me: "Abby, please don't step on the clothes. Why don't you come sit next to me and help me make piles."
Abby: "NO, MOMMY I DON'T WANT TO!"
Mommy: "Abigail Maya! We do not talk to Mommy like that . Do you understand?"
Abby: "Little Joey* say it!"

There you have it. Why wait until grade school? The imitation starts early these days! Little Joey is a lovely young boy who attends the same in-home daycare that Abby does. Little Joey has an older sister in the 1st grade. Enough said.......

*Names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent.

Political Science for Dummies

I'm not one to always read, and certaintly not forward the emails sent to me that are obivous forwards...but this one was worth the read, the forward and the blog.....

DEMOCRATIC

You have two cows.Your neighbor has none.You feel guilty for being successful. Barbara Streisand sings for you.
REPUBLICAN

You have two cows.Your neighbor has none.So?
SOCIALIST

You have two cows.The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor. You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.
COMMUNIST

You have two cows.The government seizes both and provides you with milk. You wait in line for hours to get it.It is expensive and sour.
CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE

You have two cows.You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.
BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE

You have two cows.Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.
AMERICAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses.Your stock goes up.
FRENCH CORPORATION

You have two cows.You go on strike because you want three cows. You go to lunch and drink wine.Life is good.
JAPANESE CORPORATION

You have two cows.You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains.Most are at the top of their class at cow school.
GERMAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.
ITALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows but you don't know where they are. While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman.You break for lunch.Life is good.
RUSSIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.You have some vodka.You count them and learn you have five cows. You have some more vodka.You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.
TALIBAN CORPORATION

You have all the cows in Afghanistan , which are two.You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts. You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.
IRAQI CORPORATION

You have two cows.They go into hiding.They send radio tapes of their mooing.
POLISH CORPORATION

You have two bulls.Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.
BELGIAN CORPORATION

You have one cow.The cow is schizophrenic.Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish. The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow.The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk.The cow asks permission to be cut in half.The cow dies happy.
FLORIDA CORPORATION

You have a black cow and a brown cow.Everyone votes for the best looking one. Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one.Some people vote for both.Some people vote for neither.Some people can't figure out how to vote at all.Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best-looking cow.
CALIFORNIA CORPORATION

You have millions of cows.They make real California cheese.Only five speak English.Most are illegals.Arnold likes the ones with the big udders.

No Easy Bake Oven for Abby!!!

After weeks of Abby making me pie--all kinds of pie...pea pie, blueberry pie, apple pie, orange pie....I thought it might be great fun to make a cake with Abby.

Abby stood on a chair next to me as we used the mixer, sealed the crumbs, and frosted the cake......

Watch out Sylvia Weinstock.....this mother daughter team might be on your heels..... ;)



and here is a pic of Abby taking a picture of the cake...errr....I mean the dishwasher.... LOL

I Interrupt this Program....

to bring you this important message. I guess it's a fact of life that as we get older, we are faced with some grim realities. None worse than learning that our friends and peers may be sick.

It is in this vain that I bring you a public service announcement of sorts......please read this--it is quite important.

IBC STANDS FOR INFLAMMATORY BREAST CANCER, MOST DOCTORS HAVE NEVER SEEN A CASE, IT CAN KILL YOU!! PLEASE CLICK ON THE WEBSITE BELOW AND TURN UP YOUR SOUND, IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE,OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW.



IBC is usualy a very advanced Cancer.

This happens when the disease goes undiagnosed for a long time - or in some cases, a suspicious finding that doesn't get followed up on by a woman is too busy!


We would all be diagnosed long before this would ever develop.

Have you had your mammo in the last 12 months?

When is your next? - set the date now and keep it.

That's your best bet against Breast Cancer!

The Mom Vote

It's Super Tuesday! I have never been so excited to vote in a primary election. I am excited to say that this registered Independent changed my affiliation today, in order to vote for Barack Obama. MOMMA'S FOR OBAMA!!!!

As I post this--I see that Hillaryk Clinton won New Jersey--so all DH and I can hope for is that Obama can siphon off as many delegates as possible as we wait for 100% of the polls to report.

I find the impending presidential election fascinating. I find Obama inspiring with the kind of cross generational appeal not seen in a long while. I read and hear anecdotal stories that it's the younger generation opening the eyes of their parents (Caroline Kennedy, included) and elders to the likes and appeal of Obama. This phenomenon has struck a chord with me. This will be the 4th presidential election I will be voting in, the first as a parent. Somehow, more than ever, I feel like I need to be as informed as I can be in order to make a decision Abby could be proud of.

It's probably idealistic to think that my vote will have an impact in THIS election, let alone Abby's future. However, it feels too imporant to take a chance otherwise. I feel a connection with Obama--a connection of hope and optimism that I hope to be on the horizon.

Hold on---it'll be an interesting ride to November 2008.