When 'Walkers' Were Fun

In the 90's walkers were a big baby item, or so it seemed to my adolescent self. We can all remember the commercial with the baby in the walker running around (also featured on Hocus Pocus, which is why it is so easily recalled). But, are walkers really a thing anymore? I don't know. I'm sure some idiot allowed a child to walk it down the stairs and then the walker got a stigma...

I digress. I'm not really in the mood to have the walker debate. Short story is, Olive has one and she loves it.

She hasn't quite figured out the crawling thing. And, when I am cooking, she gets bored sitting in her highchair just watching me. So, Heath often puts her in the walker. She chases the dogs, tries to open cabinets and drawers, and grabs anything that she can possibly reach.

This results in me trying to unload and then reload the dishwasher, with someone trying to roll away with the empty bottom basket. I will roll her away, which only results in her running full speed into the dishwasher. Then, she starts grabbing again...

I end up using one leg to hold her at a distance while trying to load dirty dishes. I even tried distracting her with items across the room. No such luck.

That part, isn't even the biggest problem.

She rams my ankles. 

She starts at one end of the kitchen, gathers momentum, and gets 6 to 8 foot of speed....right into the back of my ankles. I don't even see it coming.

It hurts. It hurts real bad. That walker cuts right into my achilles. And, well, Olive seems oblivious.

It is the first time that I have actually said "No" to Olive.

"Olive, no-no, please."

I actually beg. "Olive, please, no."

It's like those less severe tortures...like the Chinese water torture or something.

"Okay, okay. I'll talk! Just don't hit me in the ankles again!"

The only reason I have allowed for the continuous use of this item, is that Olive loves it. She loves it so much. She runs all over. She has learned how to maneuver it really well too. I just don't know if I can take this pure joy from her. Heath has even suggested that I wear boots. I'm not sold on that one yet...

Perhaps I can find some kind of ankle protectors or braces - that I won't sweat in during the summer heat. If not, I can't promise that this thing won't find it's way to the donate pile...but, I continue to try.

The things I do for those little girls! :)

Gizzards = Fun

I eat chicken gizzards. They are probably the "weirdest" food that you will get me to eat. I'm not big on game, or rocky mountain oysters, or even plain oysters. But, give me fried chicken gizzards dipped in barbecue sauce and yum! About four times a year, my mom indulges me with home-battered chicken gizzards. Most of the time she even sends a bag home with me that I eat cold, straight out of the fridge.

But, that is all beside the point...this time, Lucy asked if she could help. She even pointed to her apron that my mom had hanging on the wall. Little did Lucy know how much she would actually get to "help."

  
Long story short - she made a mess! I guess what they say is true; you get more patience when you get older. I would have probably never allowed Lucy to make such a mess in our house, at least not without a drop-cloth, etc. My mom just let her be and let her play. I mean, "cook." The flour cleaned up rather easily though, although I admit that I just sat and watched. Lucy had such a fun time with that too, even trying to sweep.

During supper, Lucy tried a little bite of her batter gizzards. Not so much. That is okay. When she is older, we will try again. :)

Thank you Mimi for letting Lucy "cook" at your house. The gizzards (and sweet corn) were delicious! :)

Cabin Fever

I am not one to complain about the cold. I would much rather be cold than hot. It is so much easier to wrap up in a blanket, than it is to shake a heat headache and be all sweaty, without exercising.

I am not one to complain about the snow. I still get snow days, as an adult! It is so beautiful (until it gets all dirty along the side of the roads). And, for the holiday season, it is a must!

However, this year I am kind of getting sick of it - for the first time.....I think ever. I am not even sure why. I thought originally that it must be because we keep getting tastes of good weather and then it's cold again.  No....that isn't right....this is the Midwest; I should be used to that by now! Perhaps it is because I never leave the house. No...that isn't it either; I leave the house every single day and am hardly there sometimes! Hmmm, what is it?

It must be Lucy. I just keep thinking of all the fun things that I want to do with Lucy and you know what? Most of that is not inside the house.  There is only so much you can do in the house before you just want to bust out.

So, I decided to indulge my yearnings for spring, believe the groundhog, and wish for spring to be right around the corner.  Here are ten things that I can't wait to do this spring, in no particular order:

1) Plant flowers
The snow piled up so high on my mums that they died. :( So, I'm going to give winter a glare and a fist shake, tell him that he can't keep me down, and plant some more.  How do you like me now?  Side note: I thought long and hard, way harder than I should have, about if winter was a he or she just now. Mother nature? Jack Frost? Hmmmm....as you can see I settled on Jack. Anyway...

2) Hang up Lucy's Swing

She got a swing for her birthday (thanks Grandma!) and I can't wait to push her in it. She loves the one at daycare; so, I'm excited to spend evenings in the backyard pushing her.

3) Cook-Out

Heath and I enjoy cooking out, even sometimes the healthy stuff!  Yes - there is such thing, like grilled chicken. I'm sure Lucy will enjoy it too.

4) Open-Up the House

I know I just mentioned getting out of the house.  But, sometimes you just have chores to do! So, if I have to be in the house, at least I can open up the window, enjoy the fresh air, and watch the curtains blowing in the breeze.

5) Go for Walks/Runs

As I mentioned yesterday, I am starting to really enjoy running. I am looking forward to running outside several times a week and not depending on mother nature to set my warm or cold schedule.  Also, Lucy got a wagon for her birthday (thanks Abuelo!). We were able to take her out once this year already and she loved it. I can't wait to take her out again. I think we will be making lots of trips around town in it.

6) Spring Clean

I know what you are thinking, "Who wants to clean?" Alright, so it's less about the cleaning and more about the organizing. I thoroughly enjoy organizing things. I'm a freak. I envy those people on HGTV that come into people's homes and organize all of their stuff!  I do not envy, however, the organizers on Hoarders. Yuck.  I am looking forward to 'remodeling' our basement into a playroom, organizing everything, and putting it all back! Yay!  That includes cleaning out the closets and medicine cabinets. :)

7) Go Fly a Kite
No, not get out of town; but, actually fly a kite. Lucy got a kite for her birthday. I used to fly a kite every Easter with my family, when I was little. I am excited to do it again, and especially with Lucy. I imagine she'll be mesmerized.

8) Introduce Lucy to New Animals

Now that Lucy is older, she can appreciate things more. She will enjoy going to my mom's house to see the animals (cows, horses, chickens, cats). My grandparents even have a rabbit on their farm for her to meet. And, of course, she can see that not all dogs (or 'Chicos' as she calls them, because of our chihuahua named Chico) are chihuahuas and rat terriers. There are such things as big 'Chicos' too. Also, before it gets too hot, I want to take her to the zoo. She would just love that.

9) Get Jazzed up about Rain & Tornadoes
I, like many others, am petrified of the horrific capabilities of a tornado. I can't imagine the destruction. And, the only real tornado I've seen was like an EF1, or something pathetic.  So, I really am incapable of imagining it. However, I love a good storm. I've loved thunder, lightning, and rain for as long as I can remember. I think it's calming and I love sleeping while it rains. I also love the adrenaline rush of a good tornadic storm. And, you are right; "tornadic" doesn't sound like a word; but, it is one because the weather people drive me nuts with it! That and football announcers saying 'trickeration'. WTH?   

10) Easter!
This is kind of the kick-off to spring, in like a lion! It will be a lot of fun to dye eggs with Lucy and have her be able to somewhat collect them. Perhaps she will have more fun throwing plastic eggs and eating the real ones! Either way, anytime we get together with family is a good time!

By the way...at work today I saw a high schooler visiting, because of a special event. She must be yearning for spring as much as I!  She had shorts on today - not gym shorts like..."I just got done working out or I'm too cool to wear real pants because I'm so athletic."  They were like kahki Daisy Duke's!  Someone needs to calm down their excitment. It is still 32 degrees out and their is still snow on the ground, honey!

Anyway, happy 'winter to spring transition' everyone! What are you excited to do this spring?

Move the Dog Food

It officially happened. Lucy got into the dog food.

I had always been told that she would get into the dog food and undoubtedly eat it. So, we had prepared as best we could. We put the dog food on the other side of the baby gate allowing the chihuahuas to climb up and then back down the stairs for snacks and water. Then, Lucy also started climbing up and down the stairs; so, we had to move the dog food.

We decided the kitchen was a good place, over in the corner. Lucy hardly spent any time in the kitchen when she wasn't in her high chair - that was until I started making Christmas cookies. She was done with snack time and grew very impatient of 'the chair.' So, I pulled a few Tupperware bowls out of the cabinet, gave her a few wooden spoons, and let her bang away on them. It was a great past time for her, for about 10 minutes. Even Heath thought she would be fine playing while we worked on the cookies. Other things in the room became more interesting though, such as the heater vent or the door stop.

We had Christmas music playing and I think Spongebob was even on in the living room, which we could hear. But, that wasn't enough to dull the sound of the hard, dog food from clinking on the side of their shiny, silver bowl. I didn't even have to look; I knew it was Lucy!

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no........." I hollered, getting progressively louder and harsher, as I ran with peanut butter fingers to snatch up Lucy. I immediately pulled her hand out of her mouth and started digging for food. She thankfully only had one piece and it was placed directly between her four top teeth and four bottom teeth. At least she was going to try and chew it!

The look on her face? Surprised, at me that is. The taste? I've seen worse reactions to green beans and little licks of vanilla ice cream! Dog food however, was apparently not so bad.

I guess we will have to move the dog food again! She'll just have to stick with heater vents, door stops, and Tupperware!