Anya Easter Pictures

I am still not done editing all the pictures from the aforementioned torture session, but here are a few of Anya to keep y'all happy.





Stay tuned for Inara pictures tomorrow and Jadzia's after that!

40 Books!

At the beginning of the year, I set my goal to read 80 books in 2009. Tonight, 3 months into the years, I've completed 40! I'm already halfway to my goal. I suspect I will have to reconsider the goal as I get closer to reaching 80.

In January, I completed 12 books.
In February, I completed 14 books.
In March, I completed 14 books.

Well done me :)

Easter Picture Torture

Today I tortured the kiddos some to try and get pictures of them in their Easter dresses that my mom sent and the ones we bought. I haven't edited most of them but wanted to share one at least. It was the only clear picture I got where all three were looking in the general direction of the camera at the right time.

Monkey Butt

Jadzia and I have a "playlist" of songs we will sing on any given day at any given time. Some she sings along and some she just "requests" from me. Tonight she asked me to sing "monkey butt" - or at least that's what it sounded like she was saying to me.

Huh!?

I start racking my brain trying to determine 1) where she would have heard the phrase "monkey butt" to begin with and 2) what song it could possibly refer too. After asking her to repeat herself and again being asked to sing "monkey butt", I'm frustrated at this point. Then I ask HER to sing some of it. I listen closely to fragments of the mysterious "monkey butt" song such as "little baby" and "diamond ring".

Have you figured it out yet?

Well I did!

Monkey Butt = Mocking Bird

From the song "Hush little baby...". I'm not entirely sure I make the connection between Monkey Butt and Mocking Bird but at least I figured it out for future reference.

It's a Dog Gone World

Just when Gimli seems to be on the mend and a happy, bouncy pup again; partially thanks to his happy pain pills; Bluto is a new medical mystery. Today Bluto scared me by having a doggie seizure. After a minute or so he was a little confused looking but no longer seizing and then he was back to normal. I'm not sure why it happened but as long as it doesn't happen again this weekend, I'll wait to call the vet until Monday and then consult with them. That was the only thing that happened of any interest today.

I had "I Love Lucy" on all day in the background though. A couple weeks ago, I saw season one on sale on Amazon for like 16$, so I ordered it. Well then the next day or the day after they had the complete series as the deal of the day for only 85$. It was one of those too good to pass up deals so I ordered it as well and gifted season 1 to my neighbors.

Up with the Sun

In spite of dark curtains, Anya still thinks waking up with the sun is fun. Once again she woke up around 630AM - and I just don't do 630AM. There's something about it being at least in the 7 o'clock hour that seems to make all the difference to me.

As a result of the extra early wake up calls, I'm exhausted today. When Anya took her first nap, I laid down on the couch to relax. I had no intention of falling asleep and yet I woke up about an hour later to Inara poking me in the face and Anya waking up over the monitor. Thankfully I have fairly well behaved older kids that I can get away with that sometimes but I don't like to do it. One time I'll wake up and Inara will have painted the house or something.

As soon as the laundry dries, I'm going to bed - at least that's my intention.

It's worse than that, it's dead Jim!

So today I wanted to go to the Post Office and the PX for a few things. I put away the dogs so they didn't destroy the house in my absence. I loaded the kids into their carseats, I got in, and turned the key....and nothing. No noise, no engine starting. Big fat dead car.

I tried again, which naturally resulted in nothing. And again...but you get the idea. So I UN-loaded the kids, went back inside and released the hounds.

A little later I called my neighbor to vent about my big, fat, dead car. Her husband came over on his lunch break to give it a jump!

IT'S ALIVE!! *cue Frankenstein scene here*

By then Anya was napping so errands had to be put on hold for a bit but that was the both the highlight and lowlight of my day.

Pokemon Platinum

Among my many other geeky tendencies, I am totally hooked on the Pokemon games for the various Nintendo handhelds. I've played them all the way back to Gold and Silver (and have bought Red/Blue used just so I could play it too). I have no interest in watch the show or collecting the cards - only the Gameboy games.

Anyway, I preordered two copies of the new game a few weeks ago from Amazon and they came today. One will be going in the mail with a new DS Lite for Robby (who is also hooked). The other I've been playing for the last 7 hours or so (on and off as the kids occasionally drew me away).

Gotta catch 'em all!

Operation Mousetrap was a Success

While not nearly as cool as the old game, modern day mouse traps are surprisingly effective. The mouse guy came out this morning and laid down some of the sticky traps in the areas most likely to see mouse activity. He put a small bit of peanut butter on each trap to attract the mouse and then put them down. Since I share a wall with my neighbor, he did the same to both sides. So all day I hear nothing and see nothing. The traps were placed under the sink, behind the stove and behind the fridge (which also led to the recovery of many wayward toys). Then tonight, the kids were all asleep and I hear the first squeak. I wasn't sure if I heard what I thought I did then. A few minutes later more squeaks. Then I hear rattling under one of the appliances (not sure which). I assume the mouse was struggling on the sticky trap.

One one hand, the curious side of me wants to whip out the stove and fridge too investigate the noises. I also want to avoid the stench that would come with dead mouse eventually. The way too girly side of me knew that I would scream like a little girl and be jumping away if I saw the very stuck but alive mouse struggling on the trap. The two sides battled for a bit before I called my neighbor and had her husband come over to take care of it. I'm really not this girly and yet...I am. He came and pulled out the fridge which is where he found the mouse, very stuck and slowly dying on the trap. Oddly enough, the trap is not toxic but I guess all the struggling causes death faster than starvation? Anyway, he retrieved and bagged the mouse and trap and took it outside to the trash. We all decided to leave the remaining traps for a few days to see if there's more than one (just in case). Hopefully there's not but I'd rather leave them if there is even a possibility.

As he was finishing up, Robby called on Dell Video Chat so they said hi before heading home and I got to chat with Robby for a few minutes. But now I'm tired and I'm gonna try to turn in early which probably won't work but I'm gonna give it a shot.

There's a mouse in my house

First off, thanks for the comments on yesterday's particularly depressing post. Going home to visit is not really an option - well it is but it would probably be more of a headache than enjoyable. Aside from having to travel alone with 3 young children, there would the dog kenneling and ultimately I think I'd come back more crazy than when I left. Thankfully, my parents come to me at least. It's not the same as stepping foot in Texas but it's nice. My dad is coming in June and I think my mom is going to try come this winter but I'm not sure yet. Robby's leave will be in August or September sometime so I have things to look forward to. I was feeling particularly nostalgic last night which helped trigger the homesickness to a degree I think.

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Last week, my neighbor said her husband saw a mouse in their house. Well seeing as we live in a duplex style house and share a wall - if there was in fact a mouse, it makes sense that said mouse might make it's way over to our house as well. Nevertheless, neither she nor I saw any mouse or any indication of a mouse (such as droppings, gnawing, etc). Well this morning, I saw the mouse. I saw a bit of gray out of the corner of my eye and it moved. At first I thought it was a dog hair tumbleweed that Bluto is nice enough to shed all over the house. I glanced over and focused on it and realized it was not in fact a dog hair tumbleweed, but a little gray mouse. Now I don't have any particular qualms about rodents in general. I don't like rats exactly but mice don't really bother me - or they wouldn't if they were running on a little wheel in a cage or out in a field. This mouse is loose. In my house. I don't like the mouse. Gimli was outside when I spotted the mouse, otherwise I suspect our mouse problem would have been over before it started. As it is, when I let him inside, he instantly smelled the mouse and was all over the area I'd seen the little fella. I suspect the mouse scurried under the dishwasher once he moved but I didn't see where he went. I haven't seen him since this morning but everytime a feel something brush against my leg (like a dog, a kid, a light breeze) I nearly jump out of my skin. Anyway, pest people are coming tomorrow.

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And now for something slightly more cheery, the musical stylings of Jadzia (I hope this works!)

Homesick

I miss Texas.

Hawaii is beautiful but it's not home, it's not Texas. Right now vivid bluebonnets have sprouted over fields and on the sides of the highways during the grass into a beautiful sea of bright blue flowers. When I was a kid, my dad would take us out to take pictures in bluebonnets and I did it with the girls. It was a Texas tradition. And I miss it this year. I missed them last year too but moving to Hawaii was still so new at that point I didn't think as much of it. This year, however, I miss everything.

I miss Austin.

I love Texas in general and should it decide to secede from the Union I would have a hard time not returning and publicly declaring myself a citizen of the Republic of Texas. But Austin, Austin is the heart for me. It is weird, Austin is Weird. And proud of their Weirdness. So much so, they embrace it and live by the motto of "Keep Austin Weird". What makes Austin weird exactly? Leslie - the cross-dressing mayoral candidate - for one. Austin is an artistic, indie haven for culture and free-thinking. It's full of art, music, literature and history. While it continues to expand and sadly loses some of that, it is still home for me. It's a small bastion of liberalism against a great state of conservatives.

And my friends are there.

Mind you I have friends here - well I have one friend here at least - but most of my friends are in Austin or in Texas somewhere. I miss my friends. I miss hanging out with them and rolling dice to create characters for a game we'll play once if that. I miss watching Jeff go into the purple zone and laugh at everything regardless of how funny or may not be.

And I miss my family.

Pretty much everyone is somewhere in Texas. We used to meet to have lunch with Dad in Giddings once a month. It was just a couple hours on a Sunday but it was nice to see him regularly. I miss seeing my mom, even though she came with her own annoyances. No matter how much her actions or words might annoy me, I know how much she loves us all. And I think we reached a new level of our relationship shortly before we moved here.

So I miss home. I'm thrilled to get a chance to see places that aren't Texas but there's a small part of me that aches for home I think. And Texas is home to me. Growing up, I couldn't wait to leave Texas. I wanted to move to California and do, I have no idea what exactly, but I wanted to move to California. I had no desire to stay in Texas then. I applied to the University of Texas because my parents encouraged it. As chance would have it, I ended up at UT and met Robby and Jeff and Mary and all my dear friends. I fell in love with Robby and Austin and Texas and now it's home.

I'm feeling rather nostalgic tonight and thinking of friends and family that I haven't seen in awhile. Thus the somewhat depressing ramblings about my homesickness.

Happy Twilight Day

Today was the release day for the Twilight DVD! I know, some of you are thinking - "oh she's one of those Twilight people" and inwardly groaning. Honestly, I enjoyed the Twilight series. Was it absolute perfection, no - hard to find a book that is. But it's a good read for me and Stephenie Meyer is great at sucking you in before you know how deep you are.

Anyway!

When the movie came out in theaters, I didn't get a chance to see it because of the kiddos - mostly Anya who has been notably attached to me since she was born. Despite having not seen it, I knew I'd want the movie so I pre-ordered it through Amazon. Tracking indicated that it wouldn't be delivered until Monday or Tuesday so when I got an email with a code to watch it on demand at their website I was excited.

It took me three hours to watch a two hour movie thanks to the kids and the dogs and morning routine but I at least got to see it. Then when I checked the mail, I was happily surprised to find the movie had been delivered as well! So I watched it again after the munchkins had gone to bed.

I was pretty happy with the movie outcome. While there are a few changes and some things that didn't make the cut into the movie - it stayed fairly close to the book and certainly the spirit of the book. All that being said, the book is better than the movie - but then I find books almost always are better than their movies!

Happy Twilight Day for my Twilight fans! :)

No Surgery for Gimli

Yet at least. The vet said that at this point, surgery isn't necessary but if he gets worse then it may be required. For now we have pain meds to give him and should keep him from jumping on furniture, rough housing with Bluto and other such things that might make his neck worse.

He has a partial prolapse of a cervical disc for anyone who is curious. So for now, at least, we don't have to do surgery.

That was the highlight of my day as Inara spent most of the night with a raging fever. She spiked to 104.1 at one point but hovered around 102 most of the night and day. She is surprisingly not cranky really - just clingy and tired. She has no other symptoms really so I have no idea what's actually wrong with her. But 104.1 fever is not a good thing that's for sure!

It's a marathon, not a sprint.

I try to make it a point to combine errands into one trip because it usually makes my life easier. But I also try not to make more than two or three stops while we're out because the kids usually start getting irritable by the end of stop three. The whole in and out of car seats thing is tough on them and me at that point. Well today I had several tasks to complete to get the whole pet deposit thing taken care of and I opted to pull it all together in one potentially dangerous trip. We needed to go to the post office (unrelated to the pets, just needed to be done), the satellite City Hall for the county registration, get a money order for the housing office, the on-base vet to register them with the office and finally the housing office to put it all together.

Surprisingly, the kids took it all pretty well. Inara started to get fidgety in the stroller while at the City Hall location but was okay getting back in the car. Anya fell asleep between Wal-Mart (where I got the money order) and the on-base bet but woke up okay and was content at least while I waited at the vets' office. She didn't want to get back in the carseat afterwards but calmed down by the time the car was moving so we were able to do the housing office. As luck would have it, none of the places were busy since we started the grand adventure at 930AM in the middle of the week. I guess that's one of the few advantages to utilizing morning hours. I still don't like the morning though.

When we got home, Anya was so ready for a real nap (as opposed to the 10 minute one she took in the car). So I got her down and got the kids some lunch and then collapsed in slump. Despite the kids being (REALLY) good for the trip, I was still tired in the end. I was ready for a nap then!

Speaking of naps, out of the blue, both Inara and Jadzia fell asleep on the couch for a little dose. It was surprising but cute. I think Jadzia only laid down because Inara had fallen asleep and then she fell asleep too. They were both sleeping under the same blanket (which I think was Jadzia's doing). I had to wake them after a little while though otherwise bedtime would have been a beast. But they woke up well enough.

Tomorrow we have to take Gimli in for his X-Rays and will probably hit up the commissary for a few things after we drop him off. He has to be dropped off in the morning and then picked up in the afternoon so at least no waiting around. He's doing really well and is full of energy today which is what keeps throwing me about whatever might be wrong with him. Tuesday he was so obviously in pain and today he'd be jumping on furniture and wrestling with Bluto probably if I let him (which I won't). I just hope whatever it is 1) can be treated and 2) is marginally affordable. He's our dog, and he's family and we'll treat him of course - I would just prefer to deplete less savings than more.

Happy Birthday Bluto

Today is Bluto's first birthday! Happy birthday you big goofy puppy!

Before we came to Hawaii, we opted to find homes for our cats. As much as I LOVED my cats, the flight and 4-month quarantine would have fundamentally altered the cats. Anya (the cat) probably wouldn't have even survived as she was 15 years old and growing sicker. Hawaii may not have let her come in anyway. Shadow, who is 10, probably would have handled the trip okay but I don't know who she would have dealt with the quarantine. She's a very, in your lap and face, needs attention kind of cat. Finally there was Rajah, who was only a couple years old and probably would have handled it all just fine - but she was also the easiest one to find a new home for given her age, health and temperament. She went to live with friends of ours which is nice for us. Anya passed away before the move and the other two were placed in good homes.

So anyway, after we got to Hawaii, Robby said IF I wanted another pet I could since I gave up my kitties (Anya and Shadow came with me pre-marriage). I decided on a dog because, while I love kitties, I don't love litter boxes. So at 6 months pregnant and brand new to Hawaii, I started looking into dogs. I wanted a puppy because of the kids - I wanted to know the dogs whole background. Also, most of the dogs listed on the shelter website were Pits or mixed Pits. I have no problems with Pits but Housing does. They had some adorable Pit mix puppies listed when we were looking that I oohed and aahed over. I found a website with Hawaii breeders for various dog breeds. I knew I wanted one from Hawaii due to the quarantine thing so after looking into ALL the available breeds and breeders I could find, I decided on an Australian Shepherd and found a breeder on the Big Island who would ship him over to us. As it turned out, her pups were already pregnant when I contacted her. In March the puppies were born and oh so cute!


In May the breeder emailed us updated pictures and we started talking about sending him over to us. Here he is as 6 weeks old:
And then a couple weeks later, I picked him up at the airport. He whined in his carrier the whole way home and he didn't even have his name yet. We had a whole list of possible names for him and when he got here NONE of them seemed quite right for him. It took a couple hours before we picked Bluto.

Dog Tired

First off, I must say - Walmart is evil. It is a horrible, money sucking place!

Well...Maybe it's not EVIL per say...

But every time I go there in need of one or two things - somehow I walk out with so much more. I went today for the whole dog leash and collar thing. I also got some shorts and tanks for Jadzia to use as play and sleep clothes, a couple new pairs of shoes for Jadzia and Inara, assorted toys for their Easter baskets, a couple of toys for Bluto's birthday, etc and so on. But I got Bluto a new collar which makes him spaz out a bit, a leash which he then proceeded to try and eat and a new harness for Gimli.

Now onto the "Fun" part of the day. Picture this, a woman with frazzled hair, a crying baby on her hip and two dogs with leashes wrapped around her legs. Yeah that was me today.

I got my neighbor to take Jadzia and Inara while we went to the vet otherwise the picture would have been even more insane. I'm so thankful I did because there was enough chaos without having to worry about those two! First there was the getting into the car - Gimli knows how to ride in the car but the last time Bluto rode in the car he was in a crate and a small puppy. He didn't even want to get in the car! Once I managed to get him in it and the doors all closed, he started whining and trying to jump in my lap. Um, no have you ever driven with a 53 pound dog in your lap? Neither have I and I'm not about to try! So he was jittery and whiney the whole trip to the vets' office. Then we get out and he tries to jump out before I'm ready for him to and Gimli is already making his way for the door. Soon I was dodging dogs and leashes while trying to get Anya out of her carseat. Once inside, there are, naturally strangers to Bluto - which means barking, lots and lots of barking. Here I am trying to sign them in and give them Bluto's information for his chart and Bluto is barking at the ladies and particularly frantic about the little cat walking across the desk. Meanwhile, Anya, who hasn't napped is about at her breaking point and she starts crying.

Finally we're all in and we go to the back. First off the room is TINY so I'm glad I didn't have to cram Jadzia and Inara in there with us. Anya is mercifully back in the infant carrier (which I keep in the car for just occasions where she'll need a place to go) and relatively calm. Bluto meets another new stranger and begins barking again. Gimli gets to go first and demonstrates for them his back problems

(actually a neck problem)

for the vet and the vet tech. While I hate to see him in pain, I'm glad they were able to see it instead of me having to try and explain it. It seems to come and go for him which makes it hard for me to understand exactly. The vet suspects he has a cervical disc problem and wants him back in for XRays to try and determine if that's actually the problem or not. If it is, then it will likely need surgery. They gave him his shots and were very very gentle with him. Meanwhile Bluto was still barking at everyone and every noise (particularly the dogs in the back barking), which upset Anya so I was trying to hold her and she was wailing. One of the techs asked if they wanted me to hold her for a minute so I could help with the dogs and I had to explain that that would only make her cry louder.

Bluto kept trying to get away from people when it came his turn to get on the table thus hitting Gimli a lot and setting him off. Finally they got him on the table and the vet tech starts rubbing him and he completely mellows out. I think he was in doggy love with her, she also kept bribing him with treats. He was perfectly calm through the whole exam and the barking had finally ceased. It was probably the calmest part of the visit. I had them microchip him and then we were done in the teeny tiny room. Wrangling the dogs back out into the hall with Anya was a sport in and of itself but we made it to the check out counter at long last.

I tried not to look shell shocked at the total and just paid my bill but I was at the time. Upon further reflection I realize that if I split it in half it was about the same as what I paid for just Gimli's annual visits, shots, tests, etc. So with two dogs it made sense, but it was still hard to hear at first. And I still have to go back for the xrays and possibly surgery...

(I love my dogs, I love my dogs, I love my dogs...)

By the time I got them home and returned Gimli to his doggy confinement, I thought Anya would be fried. She should have been fried since she'd been up since about 12:30PM. But, while she was very cranky she refused to sleep. I managed to even get her to play on the floor for awhile while I fed the older beasties. When bed time rolled around, I still hadn't gotten Anya to sleep even though I knew she had to be exhausted. I'm now convinced she was waiting for the other two to be in bed before she went to sleep because once THEY were asleep, she conked out.

Prelude to Disaster

Robby was kind enough to point out that no one comments on my blog. To which I first told him neither did he and then told him I usually talked with people about the contents elsewhere anyway. BUT if you're reading this one post, can you comment - just say neener neener neener if you like. Thanks!

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Today I had a few errands to complete. First I needed to go to the housing office to pay our pet deposit (yes I know we've had the dogs long enough it should have been done already but it wasn't so, there.) When I got there first I was told the payment has to bed a money order or bank certified check - OK I didn't have that on me but OK. Then they handed me the form with the necessary documents for the dogs. None of which I have, oh good - more errands. Need current vaccination records - well since neither dog had been seen by a vet since we arrived in Hawaii (well Bluto was seen by the breeder's vet), they definitely need to get shots before getting current vax records. So I called the on base vet because they needed to be registered with that facility anyway - they won't have appointments until April.

Okay, need a new plan there.

When we brought Gimli over, part of his paperwork was being registered with a animal hospital in case it was needed while he was in quarantine so I called them and they have appointments for tomorrow!

That's more like it!

After I get their shots and the new records I can take those records to the on base vet to register them with the on base vet for housing. I don't need an appointment to register them, they just need their information. So that will be Wednesday's job. Then somewhere in there I'll pay to have them registered with the county (which involves a trip to a city hall office, fun!) and THEN I can go back to housing and give them money too. Yeah, this will be an OH SO FUN week!

I predict a long, long week - particularly tomorrow when I get to take 3 kids and 2 dogs to the vet for shots. That should be exciting - especially as the appointment is near dinner time. I foresee stopping at McDonalds on the way back to make all our lives easier. Oh and I need to go back to the PX to get a leash that fits Bluto so I can actually take him to the vet without having to drag him around by the scruff of his neck. Oh and the last time he was in the car, he was a puppy and fit in a carrying crate...good times ahead for me!

So after the non-payment of pet deposit thing, we went to the PX because I needed packing tape. I try to avoid going to the PX because I always leave with may more than I went in for. I even called my neighbor and asked her if she had any tape - alas she did not have much so to the PX I went. That led me to the kids' clothes area of course to look at the Easter dresses...even though we never actually go anywhere for Easter but I like having a reason to dress them up and torture them with the camera. I immediately found something for Anya and something for Inara. Jadzia, however, is in an awkward size. She is growing out of the toddler sizes but lots of styles in the little girls sizes don't put much out in 5s and a lot of the 5/6s are just a little on the big side. But 4s are too small usually. It's a challenge. I found non-Easter stuff for her first - stuff that gave me mild flashbacks to my own child hood in the 80s and early 90s.

I left that store with leggings - leggings with lace at the bottom.

Why oh why?!

Do I need to buy her 17 colors of slouch socks she can mix and match now??

*shudders*

But I did find a charming dress that Jadzia loved. As she was trying on the jacket that comes with the dress, an older lady stopped to mention how beautiful she was and then chatting about having three girls. Which led to the inevitable question of if we were going to try for a boy now?

Uh, no. Did I say no? I mean NO, with a capital N and a capital O.

Don't get me wrong, I love my spawn and I love children. Once upon a time I actually wanted four of them. And every once in awhile, for a fraction of a second, I think about what it would be like to have a little baby boy in the mix. Then Inara throws something that hits Anya and knocks her over and Bluto charges over to "help" and knocks into Jadzia in the process and pandemonium ensues and the moment is over. Shattered. Nope, can't do it. Besides, as I've joked before - we'd manage to end up with fluke twin girls and have five girls.

Anya, true to form, finally decided that the nice old lady was, in fact, evil or something and started wailing which meant it was time to make our escape. We darted for the check out and headed back to the car. The whole point of going was to get the packing tape so I could tape up some books and mail them - so I sat in the car with the munchkins and taped up my books. Thankfully, Anya had calmed down not long after we were away from the would-be-evil nice old lady.

Anya has serious stranger/separation issues. Last night, our neighbors came over for a couple minutes and both attempted to hold Anya - she was perfectly happy in my lap and I was sitting right next to them but the moment she left my arms, she totally flipped out.

The line at the post office was long but Jadzia and Inara found two young boys to run around with - weaving in and out of people momentarily before I could stop them and get them rounded to an area with fewer people in. When I finally got to the window it was a new person so I actually had to give instructions for mailing this time, the others all know my routines.

Somehow we made it all the way home with Anya still calm and it was way past time for her to nap so I got her to sleep and put her down, where she slept for THREE hours! It was crazy but nice.

The rest of the day was uneventful really. Inara brought me her baby doll to change its diaper a few dozen times before I'd had enough. Jadzia kept insisting that her baby doll was pooping and peeing so she NEEDED a diaper change, which is why Inara thought her doll needed a change and so on and so forth.

Like Mommy, Like Daughter, Like Sister

Today, Jadzia wrapped her baby doll up in a blanket, then lifted her shirt to feed the baby with her "boobie" (yeah, yeah - no comments from the gallery about the vocab choices around here! ;)) After that, she put the baby doll in the cradle in their Rose Petal Cottage and told me all about what she had done. Jadzia wants to be just like mommy.

Then, Inara did the same thing with a stuffed animal. Now she's done this before, back when Anya was a newborn but hasn't done it in awhile. Today, I could tell it was specifically because of Jadzia doing it. She likes to do everything Jadzia does.

It's a bird, it's a plane...no it's...

Cami! In a picture...OMG!
And now for a few others of the munchkins...

Bribary or Allowance?

If 4 years old too young for an "allowance"? Or am I just bribing her? As I've mentioned before, Jadzia's "chore" each day is cleaning up the play room at the end of the day. She always does it but often with some reluctance or painstakingly slowly. But she does it. When my dad sent her 5$ for Valentines Day she was so thrilled to have this money and so excited to "spend" it. She made sure to give it to me when we checked out and everything. It was awesome.

So today I decided to "encourage" her to clean up the playroom fairly quickly and well. I told her if she cleaned it up really well and quickly, she'd get a star or check or happy face for the day and if at the end of the week she had at least 5 stars (etc), she'd get 2$. Then I added that if she had them for all 7 days she'd get 3$. She was very excited about this prospect and she cleaned up the playroom so well tonight. It wasn't super fast but she did a good job. So she got a star. I made a little chart for her to see her progress and everything. It is a chore so she deserves a reward for it I think. Is 4 too young for such an allowance? :) Oh well, it worked for now so onward, now I guess I need to get cash out of an ATM so I have dollars to give her.