MB Keeps Testing Me

MB continues to have little tests on her blog, and I just feel drawn to doing them. I can't say I'm overly surprised by the results.

Still Recovering From Time in The Woods

All in all, the trip to my parents' house was....so so.

I usually love going there. It's so quiet and relaxing that most of the time I wish I could stay a little longer. This time was different. Ah, the difference a new child can make.

Apparently, Sparkle is allergic to nature. Well, at least pine trees. That's what most of the trees are in Granny's forest, as Twinkle calls it. We arrived there on a Thursday afternoon. Sparkle did not appreciate the lovely pack 'n play that I took especially for her to sleep in. Thursday night was not pretty. By mid day Friday, the allergies kicked in. She slept ok on Friday and Saturday nights. Then Sunday, I decided she needed decongestant, AKA baby cocaine. The girl could NOT sleep on Sunday night.

Sunday night is the night that I realized exhaustion and I do not mix well. Oi, is that an understatement. I'm mean. I'm sullen. I'm ugly as my mother used to call it when I wasn't nice. And I'm probably actually ugly to look at.

We returned on Wednesday. All three of us were happy to be home. Sparkle and Twinkle and I all slept like we haven't slept in a long time that night. There's just something about being in your own bed that does a body good.

Since we returned home, I've gone to bed before 10:00 every night. I think I'm on to something here.

The upside about the trip is that Twinkle got to play with 3 of her cousins for several days. She had a blast. Another upside is that I did actually get to eat a lotta peaches. And purple hull peas and corn bread.

As Sparkle gets older, I can give her some East Texas honey for a week or two before we go to The Woods. Maybe that will help. The whole time all I could think was that I wasn't really surprised by her allergy. That is the first time in her whole life she's ever been anywhere with plants like that.

She did love the purple hull peas. We'll make her a Texas girl yet.

Once Again Inpsired by MB

You're To Kill a Mockingbird!

by Harper Lee

Perceived as a revolutionary and groundbreaking person, you have
changed the minds of many people. While questioning the authority around you, you've
also taken a significant amount of flack. But you've had the admirable guts to
persevere. There's a weird guy in the neighborhood using dubious means to protect you,
but you're pretty sure it's worth it in the end. In the end, it remains unclear to you
whether finches and mockingbirds get along in real life.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

I guess I'm To Kill a Mockingbird. Alrighty then. If you say so.

Moving to the Country, Gonna Eat a Lotta Peaches

Am I the only person who liked that song?

OK, I'm not actually moving, just visiting. But I do plan to eat a lotta peaches, because it is, after all, that time of year. The girls and I are heading to The Woods to hang out with my parents for a week. They are BOTH actually taking next week off from work. Too cool.

I think my brother's wife and 3 of his kids will be there at some point, but I'm not sure when. We'll be back on Wednesday, because Thursday is Sparkle's 1st birthday (!) and we can't be away from Mr. Swizzle for that! (I had to write it out like that to realize that her birthday is exactly one week after my dad's. He's turning 65 today!)

I guess some time between now and then I should make plans for a celebration of some kind to take place the weekend after we get back. Hmmm.

Sparkle is taking a much needed morning nap. Twinkle is, oddly, watching Barney. And I have some packing to do.

Miss me.

Sweet - I Think

You scored as Remus Lupin, You are a wise and caring wizard and a good, loyal friend to boot. However sometimes in an effort to be liked by others you can let things slide by, which ordinarily you would protest about. Remus Lupin 75% Hermione Granger 70% Albus Dumbledore 65% Sirius Black 60% Ron Weasley 60% Severus Snape 55% Harry Potter 55% Draco Malfoy 50% Ginny Weasley 30% Lord Voldemort 0% Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...? created with QuizFarm.com

Since it seems to be cut off and I don't know how to fix it, what it actually says is this: "You scored as Remus Lupin, You are a wise and caring wizard and a good, loyal friend to boot. However sometimes in an effort to be liked by others you can let things slide by, which ordinarily you would protest about. "

I kind of like being Lupin, though I'm not sure about the "let things slide" bit. Not sure how I got 0% on Voldemort, I must have lied about something.

If Only I Were More Animated

If I were on the Simpsons, I'd look like this:

Go find out what you'd look like here.

If I were on South Park, I'd look like this:

You can make yours here.

Help me. I think I have a problem.

Magic

It's been another good week. Thanks for the comments to the previous post about how things are going.

Twinkle has behaved pretty well this week. A couple of days have been made up of way too much time playing a Sponge Bob video game, and I think today is reflecting that. Just a little argument this morning which resulted in no more of said video game for the rest of today. Heaven knows it was time for that. She has come into our room the same two nights as the days she spent playing Sponge Bob. Hmmmm.

Sparkle continues to do really well. She's expanding her menu daily. Her naps have gotten to be a little screwy, but it's ok. Instead of 2 short naps, she takes one long one. This does mean that she gets up in the afternoon around 2 or 3 instead of 4 or 5, but it also means she goes to bed earlier.

Tuesday at midnight, Elastigirl and I went to see the Harry Potter movie. It was great fun to do something like that, and get home at 3am. It's been a while. I knew the next day would be interesting with only 3 hours of sleep, but it was much better than I expected. I've just finished re-reading book 6 in anticipation of book 7 coming out in 9 days. I'll be in the woods with my parents when it comes out, but I plan to drive the 20 minutes into town at midnight to buy the book at WalMart. I'm anxiously awaiting the release and to see how JKR wraps everything up.

Mr. Swizzle and I did not get on the HP bandwagon at the beginning. I frankly didn't see what all the fuss was. I have friends who still feel this way. In the fall of 2000, Mr. Swizzle picked up a paperback of the first book when he was flying back and forth to N.C. Book 4 came out shortly thereafter, so we ordered the first 4 in hardback. We both read them all quickly and then, hmmmm, joined the masses in waiting and waiting for the next book. In re-reading book 6, I got to the last few chapters and almost put the book down without finishing it. It's a rough last few chapters that still make me gasp audibly when I read them. Even though I've read the book at least 3 times now, I always hope that somehow, magic maybe?, the ending is different. I've tried not to really speculate how the next book will go, and I definitely stay away from reading others' predictions. Like I said, I'm just really anxious to see how it all turns out.

And speaking of anxious, I can't recall if I mentioned this on here. For Mr. Swizzle's 40th birthday, I bought him 6 laps around the Speedway nearby driving an Indy car. Did I mention he can go up to 145 MPH? Yeah. So, that's tomorrow - Friday, the 13th. I'm sure he'll be fine. AND I FINALLY got him a present that, in my opinion, rocks.

I'd Say That's About Right!

Inspired by Elastigirl, who was inspired by MB...



free enneagram test

Here's the fuller description:

Type Six The Loyalist -

The committed, security-oriented type. Sixes are reliable, hard-working, responsible, and trustworthy. Excellent "troubleshooters," they foresee problems and foster cooperation, but can also become defensive, evasive, and anxious—running on stress while complaining about it. They can be cautious and indecisive, but also reactive, defiant and rebellious. They typically have problems with self-doubt and suspicion. At their Best: internally stable and self-reliant, courageously championing themselves and others.

So What Is It?

Things are improving here at Chez Swizzle.

It's been a pretty good week with Twinkle. I think it was Sunday night, after whining and fighting about bed, that I had an idea. I told her that I was really sorry that we had to leave her for 2 weeks in May to go get her sister. That I knew she had fun with her grandparents, but I knew it must have been hard for her to have Mom and Dad gone for so long. I told her we weren't going to do that again, and that she didn't have to worry about us being gone. I also told her that she didn't have to come into our room to check to make sure we were still there, because even if she couldn't see us in her room, we were home and not going anywhere. I did throw in that if she DID need to come to our room in the middle of the night, there was a blanket and pillow on the floor for her where she could sleep if she needed to sleep in our room. Since Sunday, she has come into our room once at night. And I think it was July 4th, a night she stayed up way too late.

Twinkle did continue to fight me and argue during the day with me a few days this week. On Monday, we went to visit my friend S at the hospital. Twinkle really wanted to see S's new baby, but that wasn't possible at the time. Now, I understand that it is difficult for a 6 year old to be still in the best of circumstances, but Twinkle was just nuts. This was intensified, for me at least, by the fact that she wasn't listening. Long, annoying story short, I was talking to Twinkle on the way back out to our car telling her that I was disappointed in her behavior. When we got to the car, she kicked the stroller while staring me straight in the eye as if to say, "what are you going to do?" After driving out of the parking lot, I was talking a little more, and she decided to stick her tongue out at me. Thank you God for not letting me lose it right there. That was the first day she had all TV taken away from her. The next day involved throwing a fit when LEAVING the gym. Again no TV. The rest of the week has been much better.

So, I'm getting better sleep. The fights with Twinkle are diminishing. Sparkle is sleeping through the night and, until right this moment, napping well. I'm even going to the gym (3 times this week). I'm still feeling beaten down.

Am I just expecting to recover from the weeks of Twinkle-interrupted sleep and arguing too quickly? Or hoping to adjust to the mother of 2-hood more easily? I just want to go through my days without feeling too tired to do whatever may present itself.

Right now, I really need to empty and re-load the dishwasher. I just can't manage to. I don't feel like I have any quality time with either girl. I still feel like I'm in survival mode and I guess I thought I'd be moving out of that by about now.