Being bold

We went to the mall last night (which wasn't as busy as I thought it would be), and while we were there, I decided to take a peek in The Children's Place and see if they were having any good sales. In the back of my mind, I was also hoping to find a Christmas dress for Ari. I didn't want to spend a lot of money, though--especially since she'd probably only be wearing the dress once.

Almost immediately, my eyes fell on this dress, and it was love at first sight.



There were only a few left, and as luck would have it, there was a 3T. As always, the first thing I did was to check the price. It was originally $29.50, marked down to $19.99. A salesgirl working nearby also told us that all sale items were an additional 30% off. Which made this lovely dress about $13.99. I was sold--that was a good price for a dress this pretty.

As I examined the dress, I found several little strings sticking out in various places. I tugged on all of them--a few came out, and others stayed, but none seemed to be a serious defect. And since I loved it so much, I knew I would end up buying it. I even found a cute pair of tights (white, with little red roses scattered on them), which were also on sale, to go with the dress.

When I got to the counter, I did something I normally never do. I assumed my kindest, most I'm-not-a-nasty-customer-I swear expression and told the cashier. "Look, I really love this dress, and this is the only one you have left in this size, but I noticed there's a lot of little strings hanging out." I pointed out a few to her as I continued. "I don't suppose you could maybe give me any extra discount on it?" I asked almost apologetically, figuring she would say no.

But she called her manager over and asked him. He took a quick look at the dress, shrugged and said, "Yeah, give her 30%."

I fought to remain cool and casual, but I couldn't believe it. I thought maybe, at best, they'd give me another 10%. I never would have expected 30%. So the dress rang up at $13.99, with an extra $4.20 taken off, which made the grand total... less than $10. (Yeh, I'm too lazy to do the math).

So the moral of the story here is... never be afraid to ask kindly for an extra discount, because you never know...

Awake for 28 hours (might be a personal record)

So, the all-nighter. It went well. Everyone survived, no one got hurt, and it seemed like everyone had a good time.

It started off with a hockey game and within the first 5 minutes, there was a good fight. And by "good fight" I mean the helmets came off and the refs just stood back and let it play out. To me, the only thing that makes hockey remotely interesting is the fights. Other than that, I couldn't care less about it. There was another fight in the first period, and then... nothing.

Once the game was over, the event truly began. They allowed a few minutes for everyone else to leave the arena, and for all the church groups to move to one end of the rink, and then the rally began. First up was the speaker, who spoke for about 20 minutes. When he was done, the crazy ice games began--everything from human bowling (pushing a person on a sled into giant inflatable pins) to tug-of-war to other games where the whole audience could participate. Plus, as always, they gave away awesome prizes such as a digital camera, a desktop computer, a Wii and a $100 Best Buy gift card. No one in our group won anything big, though.

After the rally, we had our pizza and soda at the ice rink and when we were done chowing down, we headed to our first activity--bowling. We had a lot of fun there. The people running the event ran a few little contests, and when they called for "the coolest bowling trick" we got right on it. We lined up several people--some standing with their legs apart, and others making a "bridge" out of their bodies by bending over and touching their hands to the floor. Then, one person grabbed a bowling ball, came running up, and slid on her belly underneath everyone. She actually got a strike once or twice during practice, but not when we "performed" for the judge. But we still got first place, so go us.

After that was over, we went to "open gym" at an indoor soccer building near our church. A couple fields were divided to be used for soccer, touch football, and dodgeball. In the center field, they had a bunch of inflatable activities--a mechanical bull, an obstacle course, a boxing ring, a jousting arena, a sumo wrestling ring, etc. Plus, there was still enough open space to some people to do their own activities--a few of our teens joined a circle of people bumping a volleyball around.

It was while we were at the open gym that I hit my "wall"--that moment where you're so tired, you feel like you could just collapse. But I soldiered through. It helped that it was kind of chilly in the building, plus I had a book to read (yeh, I'm a dork--a non-athletic dork).

We were back at the church shortly after 6, and shortly after that, one of the girls in my car zonked out completely. We waited for parents to arrive and once all the teens were gone, I went home. Tony stuck around--our church was running a craft fair that day and he had promised to help set up. I got my second (or third, or fourth--whatever) wind when I got home, and was not at all tired. I messed around online, did dishes, and got a few things done for church before I finally succumbed, around 10 AM, to napping on the couch. I figured Tony would be home any minute and could wake me up, since our plan was that I would go get Ari while he slept.

Instead, I woke up around 2:30 to the dogs barking at the door. I heard it open... then heard Ari's voice. I was confused, and when Tony saw me awake, he felt bad for waking me up. He had come home earlier to find me asleep, so rather than wake me, he decided to get Ari himself and even treated her to lunch at McDonald's just so I could sleep longer. (Isn't he the best?) Ari went down for her nap almost as soon as they got home, so we both slept while she did, and when she woke up, I took over Ari duty until her bedtime.

We went to bed slightly early that night, and rested a little yesterday afternoon, so I feel fully recovered. Tony's been achy and sore since that night--probably from playing touch football for over 2 hours at the open gym--so he's feeling a little rougher than I am. Of course, I haven't been able to resist teasing him about being old.

Anyway, here's a couple pictures from the night (in the interest of protecting the privacy of the teens, I'm not going to post any pictures of them). Here's me at the bowling alley at roughly 2 AM...



This one was taken at approximately 6 AM on Saturday morning, after I'd officially been awake for 24 hours. And I've discovered something... when I am overtired, I get really pale. I mean, look at me in this pic (and compare it to the previous one)--I'm like a ghost or something. When I said this to Tony later, he agreed and told me that sometimes I come home from work looking really pale, and he always knows that means I haven't been sleeping well. So a big "awww" at him for being so attentive, and without further ado, the picture...



And yes, we had a nice time at my parents' house last night, visiting with my sister and brother and their families. I'll probably write more about their visit after they all leave, since we'll be spending pretty much every free moment down there with them. But suffice it to say, my niece and nephew are as cute as ever, and all the kids got along famously. (Well, OK, Ari and Lyvi had a few scuffles, but that's to be expected when you have two 2-year-olds sharing toys.) I'm only working today and tomorrow, and then I have the rest of the week off--we're celebrating Christmas on Thanksgiving Day with the out-of-town siblings, so that should be a crazy, fun-filled day. Hooray for the holidays and all the madness that ensues.

10 bullets, and a bonus

10 things, in bullets...

* Had a lovely dinner last night at Friendly's. Ari was 99% angelic, and the other 1% was easily dealt with. Plus, yummy ice cream for dessert.

* The thermostat in Tony's car is fixed, which means the heater will now work (which is always a good thing in the wintertime).

* Walked into Wal-Mart last night and upon seeing the jewelry counter, Ari exclaimed, "Aww! Cute!" Yeh, I don't know either.

* Arrived home last night to discover that the power was out. Was supposed to come back around 8:30. Which was a lie.

* Missed a brand-new episode of "The Office" due to power failure. Boo, hiss.

* Went to bed at 10:30 (no, not a typo or a lie--it's true) because we were so bored.

* Power came back sometime during the night (hooray for having a clock that magically sets itself).

* Will not be sleeping tonight due to an all-night teen activity. Will be fun, but exhausting. I expect the next time I see my bed will be approximately 7 AM tomorrow morning.

* Just found out my beloved "Pushing Daisies" got cancelled. It will finish out the season (still about 6 or 7 episodes left to go), but will end on a cliffhanger. NOT fair.

* One brother and family are arriving tomorrow evening, and sister and family will be here Monday evening. Let the holidays begin!

---

And one more thing, as a bonus...

An Ari non sequitur (for your amusement/bewilderment)...

Tony: Ari, say, Now I lay me...

Ari: Nowa laymee.

Tony: Down to sleep...

Ari: Downa seep.

Tony: I pray the Lord...

Ari: I praya Lord.

Tony: My soul to keep.

Ari: An' don't get up!

[Choose your own title!]

I was watching Dancing with the Stars last week when a commercial came on advertising the tour. I was psyched--I got really into the show last year, but never heard anything about a tour (so I assume they don't do it every year). As soon as I found out they were coming to My Area, I dashed downstairs to check out ticket prices, thinking that this would make a fabulous birthday* gift for me.

Imagine, then, my disappointment when I learned that the lowest-price tickets are $65. The price skyrockets to $195 for the best seats in the house (though I'm sure you could pay even more than that for VIP treatment or something). I had no idea the show/tour was that popular, especially after so many seasons. I mean, let's think about this, people... I could see a Broadway show, in New York City, in the front row, for significantly LESS than the same conditions for the DWTS Tour. How does that make any sense?

* It's December 13, people.... start shopping now.

---

We were at a friend's house for dinner last night, and Ari surprised me by happily eating several bites of food. But once she was done, she wanted to get down--and though we reminded her that the rule at home is that she has to stay at the table until Mommy and Daddy are done too, she still threw a little tantrum. I crouched down beside her, trying to get her to chill out, and finally threatened, "Do you want to go in time-out?"

"Yes," she sobbed.

I couldn't help laughing. That's what I get for asking, I suppose.

In a related story, earlier that day, she was climbing on a chair and Tony told her to get down. She did--then she plopped her butt in the chair and told him, "Ari in time-out." I'm not sure if she's not understanding the purpose of a time-out, or just being a smart-aleck. Either way, this is not looking like an effective form of discipline for her.

---

Speaking of being smart, when we were at our friend's house last night, we asked Ari to tell them who she had dressed as for Halloween. She thought for a moment, then yelled, "Belle!" She started prattling on about getting candy, so we asked her what she had said to get the candy. I didn't expect her to get it, since she hardly remembered to say it on Halloween night, but then she blurted, "Trick or treat!" and grinned proudly.

I should also mention that we have not talked about Halloween or trick-or-treating or her candy in several days, maybe weeks. I'd like to be impressed by and proud of her stellar memory, but all I can think about is how this talent could easily end up backfiring on me.

---

My car was being a little hesitant about starting a few weeks back, so we changed the battery, which solved the problem for a while. Now it's being reticent again, which leaves only one issue--the starter must be going bad. I am starting to feel, about this car, the way one feels about an aging, ill grandparent--every little thing that goes wrong makes you catch your breath and wonder if this is IT. When I drive her, I find myself noticing (or, perhaps, imagining) odd smells, funny jerks, peculiar shakes and rattles that force me to rack my memory and wonder, "Has she been doing that for a while, or is this new?"

And with 230,000 miles to her name, it's probably a matter of months, not years, before she heads on up to that great Car Lot in the Sky. And when that happens, you can bet that I'll be writing a long, drawn-out eulogy in her memory. I owe her at least that.

My knee hurts (and other stuff)

My knee hurts. I was in the bathroom last night while Ari was getting ready for bed--I forget what I was doing, but I know I was squatting down. I whirled around quickly to reach for something, and wham!--my knee met the doorjamb in a most unpleasant way. It hurt so badly that I actually cried a little. There's no bruise, but that doesn't surprise me, since the pain feels like it's much deeper inside (if that makes any sense). I expected it to be stiff this morning when I woke up, but it felt fine. But now that I'm at work, I've noticed it's pretty painful when I go up and down stairs. I suppose this means I should take a night off from working out.

Tony went to a friend's house last night to watch football--a friend who happens to be our neighbor. He's not right next door or anything, but he is in the same apartment complex. I was laying on the couch reading when I heard a noise at the door--it sounded like someone coming in. The dogs went nuts, as they tend to do, and I told them to knock it off (didn't want Ari to wake up). I waited to hear the familiar creak of the door opening, but... nothing. After a few moments, I got up to investigate. No one was waiting at the door, and there was no package or anything sitting outside the door. Puzzled, I returned to my book. A few minutes later, Tony called, and I asked him if he'd been here a few minutes ago. Of course he said no, but told me he was on his way. I managed to convince myself that I'd imagined the noise, that it had been the neighbor's door I'd heard, that it had been Sasha leaning up against the door and making it creak--anything to keep from thinking the worst. But deep inside, I felt just a little more grateful for those 2 furry beasts.

Possibly-big news... Tony just called me, and informed me that Ari walked into the bathroom, pulled her stool over to the toilet, pulled down her pants and her Pull-Up, sat down on the toilet, and was in the middle of peeing when she yelled for him, saying, "Daddy, good girl, Ari!" (which is what caught his attention). Our potty-training efforts so far have been haphazard at best--it's been more like, when it's convenient for us, we'll put her on the toilet. Certain times of day are easy--like any time we're changing her diaper or right before bed. But we've never gone through an entire day trying to put her on the toilet at every possible chance. We've also, a few times, told her how she needs to tell us when she has to pee or poop--once in a while, she would, but not consistently. And now here she goes and recognizes that she has to pee and takes care of it all without any help.

Hmm. I wonder if she wiped.

Cutest little fat lip ever

I really have nothing of substance to say. Just one small story...

Ari's got a fat lower lip--she fell down before church today, and though I didn't see what happened, I'm guessing a tooth or two is what did the job. All her teeth are still intact, but her lip looks fully disgusting. Of course she was wearing a white shirt today too. Let me tell you, nothing is more fun than wrestling with a bleeding, unusually-strong 2-year-old. Let's just say it took quite a while to clean up all the blood. And she wanted nothing to do with the ice we offered her.

But once her wound stopped oozing, she was quickly back to her old self (and that probably had as much to do with me finally leaving her alone as it did with the blood flow stopping). I had to keep telling her not to touch it or bite it (she kept gnawing on it gently with her upper teeth), but luckily, it hasn't broken open again. And she's been eating and drinking normally (well, normal for her), so I think she'll pull through.

So that's my/our big excitement for the day. Poor little bugger.

I love being married...

"I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life." - Rita Rudner

Tony and I had a fun night last night. We were both in good moods and demonstrated that by ripping on each other constantly, in that way that only good friends can do--throwing all sorts of awful names at each other, picking on every little thing the other one said, and outright mocking each other, all in a mutually-understood, completely-joking way.

And I'm not saying that we normally don't get along. It's just that it's far too easy to get caught up in all the little to-do-list items of the day. There are full days sometimes where all we discuss are who's picking up Ari, what Ari ate, how many times Ari peed on the potty, "Oh my gosh, our kid is so cute!", what we want for dinner that night, which bill we're going to ignore this month, etc. etc. Sometimes we forget to just enjoy each other's company and be silly together.

There is a comfort in a long-term relationship, but it's far too easy to become complacent and grow bored or irritated with each other. Last night, the way we were acting made me feel like we were just a couple of goofy teenagers in love. Moments like that beat flowers and chocolate any day.

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love." ~Author Unknown

Soap opera drama in the land of Little People

We were at Kohl's yesterday, doing a bit of Christmas shopping, when we spied a Little People princess castle. Tony thought it would be great for Ari, since she already has a couple other Little People sets.

I can't remember its exact name, but a sticker on the box said it was "a special edition Kohl's exclusive." Hang on, I'm going to Google it... OK, it's the "Little People Dance 'n' Twirl Palace" and I found it at several other stores. Upon closer inspection, it seems that the "standard" castle set available at other retailers comes with a blond-haired, white prince. Here's a picture from the Toys R Us website...



The one we got boasted 2 bonus pieces (which were attached to the top, so you could see them)--a frog and an African-American prince.



I am now dying to crack open the box and see if ours also came with the standard set's white prince. And if so... now what? Do they fight to the death over her? And what happens if she kisses the frog (who holds a scepter and has a suspicious-looking crown on his head)--will she then have three princes vying for her love? I must know.

Later, in line...

Me: You know, you're only reinforcing her girliness by buying her princess stuff.

Tony: I know. But she's got plenty of time to be a tomboy.

Me: Oh, I see your game. You figure you'll overload her with princess stuff NOW, so she'll get sick of it quicker, and then she can be the tomboy you always dreamed of.

Tony: *grins wickedly*

I am so onto him.

And a completely unrelated text message conversation with Tony, from today...

Tony: I love you. :)

Me: Love you 2, so so very very much much

Tony: I LOVE LOVE YOU YOU YOU SO SO SO SO VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH!!!!!!! ;-)

Me: Oh, fine. Just one-up me, why don't you.

I only saw you for a moment today

I had the day off work today for Veterans Day. I assumed this was one of those holidays that most people get off, but surprisingly, it seems that most people don't. Silly unpatriotic companies.

Anyway, Tony and I decided to take Ari to the babysitter's anyway, to take advantage of the chance to spend some time alone. We ran a few errands, had lunch at Johnny Rockets (their chili fries are to DIE for), did a bit of Christmas shopping, and then came home to just chill for a while (which is why I'm here now, writing).

Since I don't have much else to say, I'll end with this. I was chatting with a friend the other day about some poetry we had written, and I remembered one poem in particular that I wanted to find. So I dragged out my Creative Writing Journal. It was a project I had to do for a Creative Writing class in college, but it also became a handy place to store all my writings, so I would always know where I could find them.





(See, I told you I was/am a Disney freak.)

Anyway, as I searched through the (now badly disorganized) volume, I came across all sorts of old things I'd written--stories, poems, pieces of poems, etc. Most are not fit to be read, but here's a short one I thought I'd share.... I wrote this April 23, 2002...

I only saw you for a moment today.
You were blow-drying your hair,
And I was walking by.
I stepped into the bathroom
And briefly threw my arms around your waist.
With your arms raised in the air,
My head fit neatly beneath them.
I gave a quick squeeze,
And you smiled.
That was all I needed;
I left without a word,
An echo of your smile dancing on my lips.

Valuable new skill

That saying, "You learn something new every day" must have been stated by someone who was the parent of a toddler. I mean, I know that kids learn quickly at this age, but I had no idea how literal a saying like that could be.

Tony and I went to bed late on Friday night--not because we were partying hard, but because we always go to bed late. Neither of us set our alarms, figuring that Ari would wake us up when she got up. I rolled over in bed the next morning, glanced at my clock, and was surprised to see it was after 10 AM. I listened for a moment, and sure enough, Ari was up, playing quietly in her room. I crawled out of bed, bracing myself for a disaster scene in her room. But then I remembered the new locks we had installed on her dresser drawers. So surely the damage couldn't be that bad.

I slipped my glasses on as I walked into the hallway and blinked to clear my bleary eyes. Then, I blinked again, to make sure I was really seeing what I thought I was seeing. Ari had her back to me, and was at her dresser, tugging in vain at the drawers... and she was stark naked.

I groaned a little inside, imagining a horrible scene where there was poop smeared all over the floor... but amazingly, there was no mess. Her soggy diaper lay in a neat lump on the floor, and nearby were her abandoned pants and shirt. She turned and gave me a huge grin. "Ari's diaper!" she declared, pointing at the floor. "I take it off."

"Yep, you sure did," I replied, scooping her up. "Let's get you dressed."

After clothing her, I went in to Tony and shared the good news. "So, apparently, now our kid can undress herself. AND remove her diaper." I let my words sink in, and let him get the same horrified expression on his face as he imagined the possible carnage before I added, "Don't worry--it wasn't a poopy diaper, and she didn't make a mess anywhere."

Of course, that was not entirely true. A few minutes later, as I followed Ari into her room, she paused in the doorway, pointed at the floor, and said, "Ari pee."

"Mm-hmm," I answered, not really paying attention. Then it suddenly sunk in. "Wait--what? Did you pee here?"

"Yes," she replied simply.

I leaned down to touch the carpet and sure enough, it was damp (though there was no visible spot). I took a deep breath, made a big deal about thanking her for telling me, and then gently reminded her that we only pee in a diaper or on the toilet. "Not on the floor," I added.

"Not on the carpet," she answered, referring to the one time (months ago) that she peed on our bathmat before getting in the tub.

"Right, not on the carpet either."

Other, less-gross, less-wordy Ari tales...

1. She is now starting to have an opinion about her clothes. I dressed her in pants-and-shirt pajamas last night, and when I was done, she specifically asked for her nightgown instead. (Can't say that I blame her, though--it's all girly and frilly and pretty. I'll have to remember to take a picture of her in it.)

2. We were getting ready to go out to eat last night, and I made some comment about her pretty clothes as I dressed her (I was putting a new shirt on her). Suddenly she asked, "Put a bow in Ari's hair?" Surprised, I said, "Uh, sure." And miracle of miracles, she actually let me, and she left it in. This delights me much more than it should.

3. I think I told you all how she recently named her baby doll Amanda. Well, that has become her "default" name for her other dolls and toys too. I asked her what her My Little Pony's name was, and she replied, "'Manda!" I informed Tony and he replied, "Oh, that's her lion's name too. And a bear, I think." I think we need to work on her creativity.

4. Her 2 favorite words lately are "I need." As in, "I need that" and "I need this" whenever she wants something. I suppose it's better than "Gimme" or "Mine!" She can be awfully dramatic about it, though, dragging out the word "need" as though her very life depends upon getting the object of her desire.

5. She gets so excited about going to church now--and I know it's because of all the kids she gets to play with. On our way there yesterday, we were asking her who she was going to see, and she rattled off all the names of her playmates. Then suddenly she started saying, "They're my friends. Ari going to see my friends." One of our teen girls kept Ari entertained before church started, and Ari went on and on about her the rest of the day, saying things like "I play Emma. Emma my friend."

6. Yesterday, for some reason, she took to calling me "my Mommy," emphasizing the word "my" as she chanted "MY Mommy, you're MY Mommy." I guess "my" was the secret word of the day or something.

7. She knows both of our first names--I don't remember ever teaching her this on purpose, but we may have told her once, and on top of that, she hears us say each other's names. Sometimes when I call, "Tony!" down the stairs or something, she'll holler, "Toooonyyyy!" along with me. Other times, she'll just randomly say our names. We tell her she's right, but we also add, "But what do YOU call us?" And then she'll sweetly answer with "Mommy" or "Daddy."

8. She also spells her name now. We've been trying to teach her just "A-R-I" and she's got that... but Miss Overachiever likes to add a few letters. Yesterday, it was something like, "A-R-I-A-R-E-N-R-I." The odd thing was, she spelled it that same way on 2 separate occasions, hours apart.

I think that's enough stories for today--that should hold you over for a while.

Deal or no deal

You guys... I think we just got the deal of a lifetime. Let me explain...

Tony's mom and his brother decided to go in together to get one big gift for Ari for Christmas, and Tony suggested a Radio Flyer wagon. We have a friend who has one for their kids, and we've always thought they are really neat. Tony described the kind we wanted--the large plastic one with the 2 seats that face each, with cup-holders.

Tony's mom called the other day and told us they had found one at Wal-Mart for $112. We thought nothing of that, because it sounded about right. She told us to look around up here, and if we could find it cheaper, let them know, and we'd work something out.

I hopped online, and found it on Wal-Mart's website for $84, though it was unavailable online. So we decided to go to the store in person. Tony also suggested that we try Toys R Us, and the way things worked out, we went there first. We found the aisle with all the wagons, and the first one we saw was the Radio Flyer Excursion. It had blue seats and an extra storage container attached to the back. It was priced at $99.99.



We liked it, but since it wasn't exactly like the one we'd seen, we looked a little further. A few feet down the aisle, I found the Radio Flyer Pathfinder.



This was the one we were thinking of--the exact one our friends have. I looked for a price, and didn't see a tag on the shelf. I turned the box, and saw "40.00" on a bar-code-ish looking tag. "Well, that can't be right," I said. We hunted down a salesperson, who directed us to one of those self-scanning price checkers. We scanned it, and sure enough, it rang up at $40. After she walked away, we just stared at each other in disbelief. "That can't be right," I said.

Tony shrugged. "It rang up that way. You want to buy it now?"

"Heck yeah!" I replied, not wanting to chance that they'd fix the price later.

So we bought it, no problem, and as soon as we got home, I looked up that exact model online...

Amazon: $78.52
Target: $79.99
Wal-Mart: $84.00
redwagons.com: $89.49
wagondepot.com: $128.36
Sports Authority: $139.99 (what in the world?!)

And, best of all....

Toys R Us website: $89.99

So by some miracle of mispricing, they were selling it for less than half of what they should have.

And if you're wondering, it was all in it original, unopened package, so it wasn't a return or anything like that.

All I have to say is... SCORE.

Oh, and also, I got bored last night...

That's all.

Young girl, don't cry, I'll be right here when your world starts to fall

Last night, mere minutes after I'd put Ari to bed, I heard her crying. It was a little more than just whiny or tantrum-y crying... she sounded really upset. I let it go for a while, refusing to let myself get suckered in by my toddler, but finally I decided I should check on her, in case something really was wrong.

I poked my head around her partially-shut door without her seeing me. I expected to find her out of bed, but she was still in bed, lying on her side, and I could swear her eyes were even closed. But yet she kept on sobbing--those tired, heart-breaking little cries that just sting your soul. I stood there for a few minutes, not moving, unsure of what to do. Was she asleep, and just crying in her sleep? There was no way to tell from my vantage point.

Finally, I took a chance, and called out, softly, but firmly, "Ari? Hey, baby... stop crying."

She twisted in bed so she could see me, which showed me she was awake. "Need help," she sobbed.

"What do you need help with?" I asked.

"Blankets." I noticed that a couple of her blankets were dangling over the side of her bed, and barely covering her.

"You can put your blankets on yourself," I replied, sounding a little more stern. "Now go to sleep." I turned to leave as her wails grew louder.

A few minutes later, I heard her rustling in her room and went to check again. This time, the door was flung open and the light was on. Yet she was already back in bed, lying on her side, sobbing about needing help again. I went in to her room to shut off the light (using the switch on the lamp itself, not the light switch, so that she couldn't turn it back on), and she cried even louder about needing help with her blankets.

I covered her up, telling her as I did so that she needed to stop crying and stay in bed, and I wasn't coming back in. That was the last time I was in her room--she fell asleep shortly after that.

Later that night, Tony and I were talking about the situation with her. (It started with one of us saying, "Well, I guess she's asleep--I don't hear her anymore.") I said, "I just don't know what her deal is. I'd almost think she was scared of the dark, the way she carries on, but that makes no sense. She has plenty of light in her room." (And she does--she has a dim lamp that serves as a nightlight, plus 2 light-up candles.)

Tony didn't say much and after a few more moments, I hesitantly said, "OK, this might sound a little weird, but bear with me. Maybe she just... maybe she doesn't want to grow up. I mean, we've been putting her through a lot of changes lately--taking away her binky, changing her crib into a bed, working on potty training. And we keep going on and on about what a 'big girl' she is. Maybe... she just doesn't want to be a big girl."

He considered my words, and added, "Maybe that's why she sometimes asks me to hold her like a baby and sing 'Rock-a-bye, Baby' to her."

"And maybe that's why she always wants us to carry her up and down the stairs, instead of walking herself."

Like I said, I know it sounds a little crazy--like I'm trying to psychoanalyze my 2-year-old. But she has always been a good sleeper and I am at a loss as to why that has changed. Sure, there are times when she's getting out of bed just because she can, and I have no doubt she's just taking advantage of the fact that she's big enough to get out of bed. But there are other nights, like last night, where she really and truly seems to be upset about something, and it breaks my heart to listen to her cry like that. She was fighting bedtime a little before we stole her binky and converted her crib, so I don't think my little Peter Pan theory is fully correct, but maybe that has a little something to do with it?

I know that consistency is the key when it comes to establishing rules and routines. I know I can't let myself get taken in by her crocodile tears. Truth be told, I'm pretty good at just ignoring her--turning up the TV a little louder to drown her out, and waiting for her to fall asleep, as I know she will. I keep telling myself it's just a phase, and that she'll soon be back to her normal self.

But so often I've heard people say that parenting is about instinct--that you shouldn't ignore your own inner urgings in favor of following some expert's recommendation about what's best for your child. And on nights like last night, in spite of the voice in my head shrieking, "Don't go in there! Then she's won! Don't give in! She's manipulating you!"... I just can't stop myself. Because I know all too soon, she'll be that grown-up little girl that we keep pushing her to be. That soon, she'll be reading me the bedtime stories rather than the other way around, and she'll be telling me she doesn't need a bedtime song, or that she can put her own blankets on. And maybe then, I'll be wishing I'd gone to her when she cried for me, wishing I'd taken the opportunity for one more late-night cuddle, one more kiss good-night, one more tuck-in.

Voting for change... in Ari's room *EDIT*

Let's see how I did with my To-Do List from yesterday, shall we?

1. Vote.

Check. I was really excited about going to vote last night, not only because it's my sacred right as an American citizen, but because I recently read a blog entry (I forget where) that really spoke to me. She wrote about how she's taken her son with her every single time she has voted for president--at first, it was out of necessity (she simply had nowhere else to leave him while she voted), and then it quickly became a tradition. She ended the entry by talking about how this year's election will be his first time voting all by himself. Anyway, inspired by her words, I decided to stop fretting about having to take a squirmy toddler to the polls with me, and to view it as a chance to start a similar tradition.

Naturally, the evening wasn't quite as magical as I might have hoped, despite my attempts to talk it up to her with stuff like, "Ari, we're going to go VOTE!" and "Ari, do you want to help Mommy VOTE?" She refused to stand silently with either of us, preferring instead to roam about, and when I held her while Tony voted, she writhed in my arms. But luckily, there were no lines, and we were done quickly. And then she got her very own "I voted" sticker.

But I'm not discouraged, because next time we need to vote for president, she'll be 6 years old, and this whole procedure will be slightly more meaningful to her.

2. Install child-proof lock things on Ari's drawers (and pray that she cannot figure them out).

Check, though it was really Tony who did it, while I kept the munchkin distracted and out of his way. Turns out the drawers on her dresser are not a style that's fully conducive to child locks, but we managed to rig them up. If you yank hard enough on the drawers, you can pop them out, but we're hoping the resistance will be enough of a deterrent for Ari. (What? Why are you laughing?)

3. Seriously look into the idea of finding out if her crib can actually convert into a toddler bed, instead of just musing about it out loud to each other.

I knew her crib was a convertible one, and that it could eventually convert into a full-size bed, but I wasn't sure if there was a transitional stage. It doesn't quite convert into a toddler bed--at least, not my idea of one--but it does convert into a day bed. Basically, all we did was remove the movable side railing (which was down all the time anyway) and install a small guardrail that ran about parallel with the top edge of the mattress.

And then we proceeded to make a huge deal about the bed. We encouraged her to climb in and out and filled her head with propoganda about her awesome "big-girl bed" and how "big girls stay in bed." We even both made a slightly bigger deal about bedtime--we both put her bed together, again singing the praises of her big-girl bed and reminding her of "the rules."

Of course, things did not go smoothly, as things with toddlers rarely do. She still sobbed at us to leave her door open (which we did, with our compromise of opening it halfway), and she still got out of bed once or twice. But it was not the worst night ever, and as Tony wisely pointed it, "If this is the worst issue we have to deal with at bedtime, we're pretty lucky." And he's right. I mean, at least she's not screaming down the house for hours every night.

The only problem is that the "guardrail" kind of fails in the "guard" department. I checked on Ari once last night, and she was lying with her back along the guardrail, and hanging slightly over the edge. I really don't know how she maintained that balance, because she looked like she should be toppling out. Luckily, it's not a long fall to the floor, but still--we may need to go search for a better guardrail.

4. If said crib will not turn into a toddler bed, go to walmart.com and order cute little toddler bed I found last night.

N/A. (See above.)

5. Eat chocolate.

Crap. I knew I forgot something.

---

***** EDIT *****

Just wanted to add a couple Ari pics. She had some crazy hair going on after her nap today, and I had to get photos for future blackmailing purposes.

By the way, she gets that insanely curly hair from me. Sure, it looks cute now, but wait until it starts to thicken like mine and get really unruly. Then it won't be quite so fun.



She and Ivan pretty much adore each other.



Oh, and also, here's a picture of her newly-revised bed, complete with the poser guardrail that really guards nothing. (Unless it's meant to only guard the mattress from sliding off the bed, in which case, it's doing a stellar job.)

Of course you realize, this means war

The Bedtime Battle continues... though now I am tempted to call it a war. Ari has just discovered that by pulling a stool or a chair up to the wall, she can reach the light switches. It was very cute when she was doing it downstairs--but not so cute when she decided to do it after being put to bed last night. Tony and I tag-teamed, taking turns going up and telling her to get back in bed. One time when Tony found her, she had the light on, and was sitting quietly on the floor, reading a book. He recounted the story to me with a smile. "It's a little hard to yell at her when she's being kind of good."

Fortunately for us, she made our job easier by pulling off the master of all pranks. It was Tony's turn to go up to her, and moments later, he hollered, "Saraaaa!" I groaned inwardly as I headed upstairs--if he needed my help for some reason, this was not a good sign.

I saw Tony standing at the top of the stairs, looking into her room with a grim expression on his face. As I turned the corner, I gasped. Her floor was covered in clothing, shoes, bibs and diapers. She had emptied out her entire dresser--all 3 drawers plus the "tower" portion on the side (where we keep spare diapers, all her old bibs, etc.). There have been times in the past where she's emptied just the tower, or dumped the contents of the baskets we keep on top of that tower (which, miraculously, were untouched this time). But she has never made this much of a mess.

We've been saying for a couple weeks now that we really need to install child-proof locks on her drawers. I grumbled to Tony, "I don't care what happens--we are definitely putting those locks on her drawers tomorrow night."

I honestly didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the mess--on the one hand, it was somewhat comical. But on the other hand, I had to clean it all up. I gave Ari a short lecture about how this was "very bad" and "very naughty," and then, in my harshest Stern-Mommy voice, "You are going to help me clean this all up NOW."

She immediately grabbed a handful of diapers, handed them to me, and sweetly said, "Here you go, Mommy." No sooner had I taken them from her when she grabbed another batch. Since my hands were full, she dumped them in my lap and turned to pick up more. I had to turn my head away from her to hide my laughter. How dare she be so adorable when I was trying so hard to be mad at her?

So, tonight's To-Do List is as follows...

1. Vote.

2. Install child-proof lock things on Ari's drawers (and pray that she cannot figure them out).

3. Seriously look into the idea of finding out if her crib can actually convert into a toddler bed, instead of just musing about it out loud to each other.

4. If said crib will not turn into a toddler bed, go to walmart.com and order cute little toddler bed I found last night.

5. Eat chocolate. (Hey, that's always on the To-Do List. Priorities? I haz them.)

"I Think..."

Writing prompt: Write a letter to your younger self.

---

DATE: October 16, 1994

I think about you every day,
And I can't help but smile;
I think of our deep friendship,
Though I've known you just a short while.

I think about your gentleness,
And how you've always cared about me;
I think about your sweet, kind heart--
You always know what's right to say to me.

I think about that look in your eyes,
And wonder what it might mean;
I think of that look's intensity,
And wonder if this is just a dream.

And through all this pensive wondering,
I've discovered something new--
And I could be wrong, but for now,
I think I'm falling in love with you.

I stared at the words I'd just written, and smirked a little. It was cheesy, I knew--I'd thrown those words on paper without a lot of thought. And besides the technical aspects of it, the very idea behind it was absurd. I'd only met Tony a little over a month ago--he was in my Biology lab, and he'd introduced himself to me on my first day and helped me find the teacher, since I had just added that class to my schedule. We'd very quickly become close friends. Through him, I met a lot of other people, and now, we had almost the same circle of friends. But "love"? Really? That was silly. Sure, he was a great friend, but there's no way I could be "in love" with him already. I'm only 17, I thought, shaking my head at my own foolishness. That's way too young to be seriously falling in love with someone.

I re-read my words, and almost crumpled up the sheet to throw it away. But something stopped me, and instead, I opened a drawer to find a notebook to put it into.

As I peeked in the drawer, I saw an unassuming white envelope sitting on top of my notebook. That wasn't there yesterday, I thought, ...was it? I filed the poem away in the notebook, and then pulled out the letter. It looked "fresh"--the envelope and paper were still crisp and white, and the ink was vibrant. I began to read.

Dear Sara,

OK, this is going to sound really weird, but bear with me. The person who wrote this letter is me. I mean, you. I mean, this is a future version of you. Don't ask me to explain, because there's no way I could. You're just going to have to have faith to accept that the Sara of the Future has found a way to communicate with the Sara of the Past. Well, "Present" to you. Whatever. Anyway, this is the Sara of 2008--your 31-year-old self.

I was given the task of writing a letter to my younger self, and I thought long and hard about who I would write to. Would I write to the broken-hearted 9-year-old girl who lost her grandmother to a battle with cancer? Would I write to the devastated 11-year-old who had just been told she was moving and leaving all her friends behind? Would I write to the shy 16-year-old whose world seemed to fall apart after her boyfriend turned his back on her? It could have been easy enough to write to you/myself at any sad moment of the past, and fill the letter with platitudes like, "You're going to get through this" and "Everything will be fine." But I honestly wasn't sure how much good that would do.

So I decided to write to you/myself at 17... and now you're probably wondering why. Well, see, it's about that poem you just wrote. Yes, I remember it. And I know it was about Tony. Maybe you're thinking, How in the world do you remember one poem you wrote over 14 years ago? And the only answer I can give you is... because you were right. You're struggling with these new feelings and trying to deny that you're in love, but you know what? You are in love. So don't fight it.

Of course, you still have a long way to go--after all, as you've often thought, you're only 17, which is far too young to get married. But you will marry him. Ad you're going to be happier than you ever dreamed possible.

Maybe you don't believe any of this, but if you've read this far, there must be some part of you that wonders if this is true. I'm not going to tell you anymore than this (and maybe I've already said too much), but I just wanted you to know that you're not crazy, and you should definitely keep that poem. You're going to love re-reading it over the years.

Love always,
Sara of 2008

Halloween pictures/videos

Trick-or-treating last night was a rousing success, if such success is measured in the amount of candy gained. Ari's bag was bulging by the time we were done, and she seemed to really enjoy herself this year. We still had to prompt her to say "trick or treat" and "thank you" but she definitely understood the concept (free candy!) this year.

So, here I am with Halloween pictures. All except the first one were taken today because someone (I'm not naming names, but it wasn't me, and it wasn't Ari) forgot the camera last night. But it actually works out fine, because now you can see her dress without the dorky long-sleeved shirt underneath.

First of all, here are the pumpkins Tony and Ari carved yesterday. Lit up last night... (yeah, I was too lazy to relight the small one)



And this morning...



They did a good job, huh?

Ari's making a weird face in this one, but it's the only shot I got where you can see her shoes. She wore more comfortable shoes to walk around in last night, but these shoes are the ones that actually match her dress (and conveniently, they are shoes she already owned).



Another weird face (*sigh*), but you can see her crown here. The crown was Tony's idea--he swiped it from a Belle doll Ari has. She actually didn't want to wear it last night, so I wore it instead.



She was way too excited about this popcorn ball. ($20 says she won't even eat the thing.)



Some people gave out full-size candy bars--score!



She was trying (in vain) to open her lollipop. (Notice the crown is gone.)



Then she unloaded her goody bag, proudly showing off all her candy.



I tried to get her to stand on her table so I could get a full-length shot of her dress, but she crawled up on the changing table instead and attempted to squirm out of her dress. So I took that as a sign that the photo session was over.



And last but not least... videos!


Ariana Halloween 1 from Sariana on Vimeo.


Ariana Halloween 2 from Sariana on Vimeo.

That's all, folks!

OK, for some reason, the link for "Comments" isn't showing up. I'm thinking it has something to do with the videos at the end? Who knows. I keep trying to fix it, and it seems fixed, and then the link disappears again. So, if you're having trouble leaving a comment... I don't really know how to help you. Which makes this a really pointless paragraph. ;)