Yep, She's Brilliant

Both of my children are brilliant. I am not just saying that because I am their mom either. They are a couple of smarty pants. And darling to boot (ok, maybe that's the mom talking).


Meg's 18 month well child check went well. {18 months already??? Did I blink? I think I missed something.} She weighs 22 lbs and is 33 1/2 inches tall. She's in the 15% for height and the 82% for weight. She's meeting all of her milestones and has more than made up for arriving on earth a little early. There are no concerns or complications. Here's where the brilliant part comes in.

My daughter talks, a lot. She is a chatter box. I thought my son had a lot of words at her age, but she is one super talker. A med student came in first and started the well child interview that went something like... Can your baby stack blocks? yes, three. Does your baby have a 20 word vocabulary? YES... more like 60. She speaks in sentences now. Can your baby undress herself? Does she scribble when given the chance? Can she climb and run? Yes, You should see my cabinets, Yes and yes. While we were going through all of this the Doctor came in. He knelt down to Meg's level and she walked over to him. He says to her, "Hi there, pretty girl, what's your name?" To which she answers as clear as day "Meggie." He about fell over. He looks at me and says "I didn't expect her to answer me." To which I reply "You asked her." At the end of the appointment they ask if there are further concerns and I tell them No, I think my child is brilliant. He said he was pretty impressed with her and thinks she's brilliant too. I told him to note it in her medical chart. Nothing like having brilliance in writing.

Just for fun, here are some of Meg's favorite phrases:


No Baby, Nope, Let me Out, I stuck, Muck, Muck Muck (Milk) cup, Mama, Daddy, Bugga, Brudda, go bus, Go Go, outside wee (swing), Elmo on, coat on, Gamma (grandma), eat, hungry, juice, and nana mama. She also knows some animals like cat, kitty, dog, bird, cow and some version of squirrel. This is not a comprehensive list, but enough to bore you.

Here's hoping for a lifetime of learning and brilliance. Who knows what The Plan is for her? Amazing things are coming her way and I am so grateful to be her mom.

I LOVE this

Here's my new favorite thing.... In an effort to not have my 18 month old yelling the world "NO" all of the time, I have really tried to be gentle in redirecting her. I consciously change my tone of voice and take her hand and look at her face and say "No, Baby" and then go on to tell her what she can do. She used to be pretty dis-tractable and that made it easier to not have to say "No" all of the time, but not so much anymore. So in the past week when I have asked her if she wants something or give her a choice she isn't happy with she pats my shoulder or my face and gently tells me "No, Baby". It cracks me up every time. Just another reason to watch that tone of voice. I love her sweet little eyes telling me "Thanks Mom, I know you think that's a good idea, but I don't." She's as stubborn as her mom. I never would have guessed my new favorite thing would be being told "No" by my baby.

The cutest red boots ever

I found these really cute red boots at a thrift shop a few days ago. Our little Meg has decided she's never taking them off. She hates it when I take them off to put on her jammies and at nap time today when she finally did drift off, I go in to find her sleeping with them (should have taken a photo of that). Reminds me of sweet Tomato and her pink boots.

So what do you do when it's rained outside and you have on the most perfect red boots in the world? Play in the puddles of course.

Look who popped up

While we didn't get to talk to him, or see him, we did get this picture the other day through the Family Support Group. How fun to see Justin working hard. At first I didn't think that was him, because he doesn't do topside watches often at all, but Adam convinced me and once we blew up the picture we knew it was him. (Pretty sad, huh, that I don't recognize my own husband in a photo...) I don't know when this was taken, besides sometime in the past few weeks. He looks happy to see the sunshine!

On another sad and tragic note, my heart and prayers go out to the Sailors and family of the USS Nebraska. They had a horrible tragedy this week where a Sailor died in the line of duty while underway. A brief article is here. The Submarine community is really a small community and while we don't know this family directly, we do know people aboard. We pray for Michael's family and for all of those involved. We pray for the safety of all of our deployed service men and women throughout the world.

My new favorite website

Ever wonder how to remove the tint from the windows on your car that block the ability to see well through the back window? How to make realistic Zombie makeup? How to build a 60 watt solar panel? Well, I have found the best website to tell you all of that and more. Next time your child asks you how to build a mousetrap car, direct them here. Instructables.com has tons of free and interesting things to do and lots of how-to's. Add your own directions or comment on how things worked out for you after you tried them. My new favorite website. Let me know what you think.

Garden Bounty

My sad little garden is finally happy. I hate to admit that I don’t like to garden, because I really do want to like it. I love the benefits of it, the time outside, the fresh vegetables during the summer. I have read books and asked friends but when it comes right down to it, I feel like I have no clue what it is I am really doing in my little garden.

This summer was harder than others to keep the garden going. It was really cold a lot longer than usual and then it was really hot for a while. We had landscaping issues and I couldn’t even get to the garden for about 3 weeks, so I sprayed it with the hose and hoped for the best. We went organic this year, mostly because I didn’t have time to figure out what kind of bugs and slugs were into the broccoli and I decided it was okay to share the zucchini with whatever creature wanted some. I did have an incident with a raccoon getting into the tomatoes though. Good thing there were 6 plants.

It’s getting to be the end of the season and I am finally, finally getting to harvest some things. Some of the tomatoes are turning red and are sweet and juicy and perfect. I got a beautiful cucumber the other day that was yummy. I remember my Big Grandma making cucumber and onion and vinegar slices. So good. Wish I knew the full recipe for that one. The zucchini has been coming, and coming and coming. Note for next year: Only 1 plant, no matter what. The onions are done, the carrots are yummy and I have found sweet little Meg more than once pulling broccoli tops off to snack on them while she’s playing. She likes her broccoli.

Overall, even though I don’t know what I am doing, I am reaping the benefits of trying anyway, and next year will be better.

In Loving Memory

Justin's Grandmother Evolyn passed away peacefully this morning after being ill for some time. She was happy and excited to "catch the train" as she put it. Our love and sympathy go out to her children, because while we have lost a grandmother, they have lost a mother. She was a no-nonsense woman who worked hard all of her life and took pride in her family. She is meeting her husband George at the station on the other side where I am sure there will be a glorious reunion.

She has requested no services be held and no fuss be made over her. If you are inclined to honor her memory anyway, as we are, you may made a contribution to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Her husband passed with leukemia a few years ago and further research in this field is needed. Our love and prayers attend her, in a quiet and non-fussy way.