Good Job, Madeline!

We try as much as we can to practice positive reinforcement. And I think it really helps. So Madeline often hears "Good job!" when she says please and thank you without prompting, or she picks up her toys, or eats all of her vegetables.

The funny thing about it is, she has no problems telling herself "Good job, Madeline!" When she puts something in the trash or gets into her car seat by herself, she will tell herself that she has done a good job. It is adorable.

But it gets me to thinking. At what point do we quit telling ourselves we have done a good job? When do we start to become our own worst critic?

I can think of many times when I have done things or received complements on something and I think to myself "I could have done that better" or "It's not really important." Why do I never tell myself "Good job!"?

I have done things that I am proud of. I recently made a couple of Christmas gifts that I think turned out very well. But I still find fault with them.

Is is the fact that we are taught as children not to brag?

Or is it the fact that often our accomplishments as wives and mothers go unnoticed? Someone told me the other day that if the kids are still alive at 5 o'clock, I've done my job. I'm certainly a better mother than that. Generally at the end of the day Madeline is fed, bathed and playing happily with her toys. Why do I not then at the end of the day tell myself "You're a great mother!"?

Some days I think we should all strive to be more like our children than have our children be like us.

A Little Engineering Humor

I thought I would share a few jokes with everyone. The sad part about it is I can identify with some of them...

To the optimist the glass is half full. To the pessimist the glass is half empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

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Normal people believe if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Engineers believe if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features.

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There was an engineer who was sentenced to die by guillotine along with a priest and a doctor. They walked to the village square and mounted the steps to The Madame, saw the blade poised high above, ready to drop when triggered.

The priest said "I am a man of God. I will go first as an example and to give courage to others. But I want to die on my back facing my Lord."

So they put him on his back, and the blade swished toward his neck. But a couple of feet from the bottom, it stopped. The crowd cheered wildly. "It's a miracle! Let him go!" So since he had satisfied the law, and they were really afraid of miracles, they cut him loose and he descended the steps.

Next came the doctor. He thought maybe the same would work for him, and he asked to be on his back and they complied. The blade swished down and stopped a couple feet from the bottom. Again the crowd called for his release. "Another miracle!"

So the engineer asked to be on his back. Just before the executioner triggered the release, he said "Wait a minute! I think I see the problem."

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Baby's First Quentin Tarantino Movie

Yes, you read that right. Quentin Tarantino. As in From Dusk til Dawn. Pulp Fiction. Kill Bill. And most recently Inglorious Basterds (excellent movie BTW).

Sunday morning Madeline and I had to do some shopping. We went to the local outdoor shopping center. I thought that the stores opened at 11 am on Sunday. But come to find out, they don't open until noon. No big deal. There was a restaurant open and Madeline had already asked for lunch, so I figured we could go eat lunch, walk around for a bit (the sun was actually shining), and then the stores would be open.

So we went to the bakery/sandwich shop at the local outdoor shopping center. I normally love this particular bakery. They have really good breakfast and their cookies are awesome. And, they have really great tea. This was my first experience with eating lunch at this establishment.

I looked over the menu and everything sounded great. I chose a pineapple and ham panini. The only problem with it was the mustard. I'm not a fan. Well, when I went to order my sandwich without the mustard, I got a blank stare from the adolescent boy behind the counter. After a few minutes, it seemed to finally sink in. And then I ordered a grilled cheese kid's meal for Madeline.

Well, I placed my order with the boy who was going to prepare my food. Then I went to the cash register. The food preparer didn't say anything to the second adolescent boy at the register, so I repeated my order for Boy 2.

If the youth of today don't lay off the weed, I hate to think what will happen to this planet. After repeating my order to Stoned Boy, he gave me a blank look for about 30 seconds and said "Uuuhhhh, you place your order at the other end." Direct quote.

I informed him that I had already placed my order, but would now like to pay for it. Then it clicked. Although I did have to repeat Milk several times for Madeline's drink.

Well, we got our drinks and found a seat. I just took the first seat I could where I could kind of keep Madeline corralled. I did not think there would be a television in this particular area of this particular restaurant.

A portion of our food was brought to our table. Of course it was not the portion that contained a kids meal. So Madeline got to eat her cookie before her sandwich, she was pretty hungry by this time. I informed the server (Stoned Boy 3) that I needed a grilled cheese.

They brought it quickly and we proceeded to eat. Madeline's meal was really good. The grilled cheese was good and it came with a cup of fruit which always makes her happy. And, they put 2 extra cookies in her bag, so that's good. Mine, not so great. I think they just took a pre-made sandwich and scraped the mustard off. I could definitely taste some. But not too bad.

As we were eating, I noticed the television on the wall in front of us. At this point on Sunday morning there aren't really sports on yet and the news shows are over. This particular tv was tuned to TBS. And playing on TBS was Jackie Brown.

Granted, this was a cable channel, the sound was turned off, and this is probably the least disturbing of Quentin's movies. But still not something I wanted my 2-year old to see. Most of the violence shots were zoomed in, so she didn't actually see Robert Deniro firing a gun multiple times in to some poor guy. Still...

I'm not saying I wouldn't go back to this particular establishment. But I would definitely think twice about picking a seat next to a tv. And hopefully the Stoner Boys find employment elsewhere before I go back.

Twelve Years Ago

Twelve years ago, I was a college freshman.

Twelve years ago today, my life was changed forever.

Twelve years ago today, I met the love of my life.

I never imagined my life this way. I never imagined a house in the suburbs with a family and a dog.

But I wouldn't change one minute of it. I have the best husband and we have created the sweetest, most beautiful child.

I love you, Bob!

I Have the Sweetest Baby Ever!!!

I know, I know. She really isn't a baby anymore. But she is my baby, and my only baby, and I will probably call her that when she's 42. But that's beside the point.

Tonight, I injured myself. I will live. Maybe. It certainly wouldn't hurt if someone wanted bake me some cookies. ;)

Now you are probably wondering what happened. I stubbed my toe. Now, before you start rolling your eyes, let me tell you about this toe...

While I was pregnant with the sweetest baby ever, I broke this toe. Not once, but twice. And how did I break this toe? By walking into a door. In our Tucson house we had a linen closet in the master bath. The door on the closet opened outward. And I am blind as a bat without the aid of contact lenses. So on two separate occasions, I stumbled out of bed, fighting morning sickness and blindness, go to get a towel to jump in a nice warm shower, and I would walk into the door.

My poor little toe turned the most disgusting shade of greenish-black. To this day, it starts to ache when the weather changes. (Shut up, I'm not that old.)

And yes, I stubbed the same toe this evening. As I was walking into the bathroom to give Madeline her bath, I caught my toe on her step stool. And instead of just scooting out of the way, the stool scooted into the cabinet. It hurt.

I'm very proud of myself, though. I did not utter any of the words that were running through my head in front of my child. I did however say "ow, ow, ow, ow."

After a minute of collecting myself, I sat down next to the tub. Madeline just looked at me and said, "Don't worry, Mommy. It'll be okay." Then she asked to hold my hand.

That one little phrase right there was worth the pain.

The Things They Don't Tell You

You would think that with all the millions and zillions of books out there, there are a few things they would tell you everything there is to know about motherhood. They tell you that you will be sleep deprived. That you will have to change diapers and clean up puke. That you will have to do mountains upon mountains of laundry. But I've learned quite a few things that I've never seen in a book or magazine.

They don't tell you that every trip to the store will turn into a lesson on numbers and colors. And yes, we had to count every orange pumpkin last night.

They don't tell you that you will cry over things that don't really warrant that much emotion. Like pee pee in the potty for the first time.

They don't tell you that you will have to watch Shrek at least once a day. And that every time your child wants to watch it, you will end up getting sucked in and watching it with your child.

They don't tell you that it's possible for a child to go from wearing at 24 month infant size to a size 3 toddler. Not too many 2Ts in this house.

They don't tell you how much it will break your heart to have to pack away clothes after each season, knowing she will never wear those cute little sundresses again.

They don't tell you that you will regret buying that really long, 12 days of Christmas book that will have to be read over and over and over and over, even in the middle of summer.

They don't tell you that you will get the songs from Dora the Explorer stuck in your head to the point you start to apply them to everyday life.

They don't tell you that your house will be overtaken by plastic and plush.

They don't tell you that trying to get a 2-year old ready for preschool and out the door in the mornings is enough to make you break a sweat.

They don't tell you that you will have to have three different kinds of graham crackers because one day we might like princess shapes, one day we might like car shapes, and another day we might like just good old-fashioned rectangles.

But most of all, they don't tell you how wonderful it is to be so wholly and unconditionally loved by another human being.

I finally did it!!!

What, you may ask, is so exciting that it requires three exclamation points? Is it a new hair color or finally getting around to painting my walls? Or maybe started on the looong path to finishing my master's degree?

No, I finally spent (a portion) of my Pottery Barn gift card from my parents for my birthday. In April.

I know, you're thinking "I would have spent that in a heartbeat" or "What's the big deal?" Well, let me tell you my story.

When my mom started asking me what I would like for my birthday, I had no idea what to tell her. Knowing about how much they usually spend on birthdays, I knew it wouldn't cover the things we need around the house (like furniture, a gas cooktop, etc.) I have plenty of clothing and more than enough "stuff." I have objets de cuisine coming out of my ears (I've been reading Julia Child's book), so I really don't need any of that stuff. So, I just couldn't think of a single thing that I wanted for my birthday.

Well, then I got the bright idea to ask for a Pottery Barn gift card. It seemed so ingenious. First of all, I ALWAYS ask for gift cards. Because really, is there anything better than the gift of shopping? I thought not. But then, I thought this would be even better, because I can never bring myself to spend money at PB. Don't get me wrong, I love the stuff. But it is pricey.

But, I thought if it wasn't my money, I would have no problem going in there and buying something to make my house pretty. Well, I was wrong.

I went a couple of weeks after my birthday. I walked through and saw a few things that I would like, but I hadn't really given much thought to which room I want to concentrate on next. My kitchen is pretty good and Madeline's room and bathroom are finished. That just leaves the rest of the house...

Well, I left that day thinking I would come home, take a look around, and develop a plan. (Yes, I need a plan. I AM an engineer people, that's what I do.)

Well, I thought I would start working on the master bedroom next. I saw some really cute pillow shams that would pair really well with a solid comforter and the chair that we already have in there. Then I started thinking. We really don't have furniture in there. Well, we have furniture, but it's mish-mash and consists of a lot of pieces that came out of a box and that are not real wood. So maybe I shouldn't spend a lot of money on bed linens and accessories until we get some furniture. What if I fall in love with furniture and the accessories that are only a couple of years old don't match?

Then I thought I could do the master bath. Really, I would just need a few towels and rugs. But, that was the one "department" that they just don't have anything I really like right now. There was a shower curtain, but no other printed accessories to go with it. I didn't want just solid colored towels. So that option was out.

Then I thought I would buy some beverage-ware for a cocktail party we were going to throw. Well, we scheduled it for a bad weekend for everyone else, so nobody was going to be there. And, I just couldn't bring myself to pay the prices for some of the stuff they had knowing I could get almost identical items at Target for less than half the price.

Then my final plan was a patio umbrella. Our patio table is setup for an umbrella and I found one that I liked. But, this was already at the end of the summer and we couldn't find the stand for the umbrella.

At this point, I decided to just wait awhile. This was turning into such an agonizing decision that I wasn't even having fun anymore.

Then, I had another stroke of genius. I would wait for holiday decorations. And I was not disappointed.

This week, I bought some of the cutest (and most ridiculously expensive) mini-pumpkin vase filler for my candle holders. Now I can start decorating for fall (I am jumping up and down right now). I love fall decorations.

And I even have money left over on my gift card. Maybe some Christmas decorations...