Royal Random Updates

The big buzz on TV lately (and Facebook) was about the Royal Wedding. Was I going to stay up/get up at some unsavory hour to watch said wedding? Um, no. Not when they would have highlights and reruns at a normal human hour of the day. Perhaps before I was pregnant and had a toddler to get up with I might have stayed up for viewing - but then again, perhaps not. Once in a long while I will get super girly and take part in stuff like that, but apparently the Royal Wedding was out of luck.

I did get to catch some highlights of the big event - enough to see what the bride was wearing and a quick glimpse of the church. She looked beautiful and her dress was just perfect, not too opulent or crazy. Some of those hats in the audience though? Whacky and tacky! And what is up with Prince William's bald spot? I couldn't stop staring at it.

So much for fairy tales and girly-ness. Ahem. Anyways.

We managed to get the rest of the backyard and the front all raked, bagged and shipped off. We're ready for some mowing! I was staring out the kitchen window today and was so glad to see green grass coming in. It's finally, for real spring.

Cailin of course, was a huge help. She carried stuff in from the truck and helped Daddy roll the winter tires to the shed for storage. We got the wagon fumigated and ready to turn wheels. For now all the "landmines" are picked up and it's safe for Cailin to play in the backyard. She helped with the raking as well, though she needs to work on her technique a bit.

We're kind of stuck with what to buy her for her birthday. I originally thought we'd get her a Powerwheels Cadillac Escalade (in pink!), but have since decided that maybe she's a bit too young. Don't get me wrong, she would figure out how to drive it and probably run the dog over or something but... I just think she would get frustrated with trying to steer. It's hard to say; there's a Powerwheels Jeep at Nana and Papa's for her to try out in the meantime.

But what else to get her? She loves being outside, so we figured something for the yard. A sandbox? A swingset? We want to get her a bouncy house for her birthday party, but to buy or rent? She would also love a water table. We have a number of ride-push cars and contraptions, but there's a neat one on sale right now that's like a tricycle. I'm really stuck with what to pick.

I finally managed to track down my photography teacher and get my assignments back today. It was with great consternation that I opened the envelopes to see my grading and his critiquing. I was pleasantly surprised at the higher than imagined marks. I had been so pressed for time at the end of the course that I was really rushed to finish up my assignments; I had to hand in photographs that (at least to me) were substandard. The teacher didn't agree, according to his critiquing. The highest mark he's ever given on one of the tests was 27/30. I got 26.5/30. My pride was a tiny bit puffed up today. I now need to track down my final grade from the college. They neglected to send it to me for some reason.

We went to the petstore again today, and Ryan (and Cailin) fell in love with a Chocolate Lab puppy. She is really sweet, and has the prettiest green eyes. Ryan picked her up from the pen and held her so Cailin and I could snuggle her. She loved Cailin of course, but who doesn't? After my snuggle, I was content to put her back and go on with life. The two sets of eyes looking at me (um, make that three) were telling me different. Uh oh.

Luckily it didn't take much convincing for them to put the dog back and "think about it for a while". We left the store without a puppy, thank the heavens. But the subject has been coming up an awful lot today since then. We had a serious conversation at dinner about getting a lab. With a new baby on the way, I couldn't handle a pet rock - and that's the truth. I'm going to have three charges at home with me, and a high maintenance puggle is about all I can stand.

Speaking of which, I will have had Bailey for SEVEN YEARS on Tuesday. It's a wonder one of us hasn't ended up in the puzzle factory yet. We got her two toys and some chewies at the petstore and you would have thought she'd won the lottery.

My weekly battle with Cailin concerns nail clipping. She is such a happy, sweet and laid back kid that you'd never know she was a closet nail clipping hater. The second I get those little kiddie clippers and turn towards her, she's running for the nearest hiding spot. I have to chase her, catch her and drag her kicking and screaming to a spot with enough light to see what I'm doing. She then bursts into heartbreaking sobs and squirms so violently that I can't clip her nails without a huge involved effort on my part.

If the clipping takes longer than she deems necessary (or if you dare clip her toenails as well - her own personal hell), her sobs turn into hiccups and she gets borderline hysterical. I hate it. But I hate the way she starts scratching us and her face with her talons more. I'm patient with her, and don't give in. She can go once all her nails are clipped and not before.

Today was no exception. I let her sit on the kitchen counter and waged war with the clippers. After one hand was done, she was more upset than normal. My back was killing me, bending over the counter like that and trying to keep her flailing limbs at bay so I said the first thing that popped into my mind. "Do you want to go outside?" She sobbed out a heartbroken, "Yyy-es!" I took her hand again and told her, "Then let me clip your nails and you can go outside."

Silence. No more crying. No more wiggling. I clipped the last few nails in complete peace and took her outside. I'm not sure whether I should feel good about bribing her - or the fact that it worked - or not. At least I didn't offer her a can of pop or something.

And no post would be complete without something gross to laugh at! Today I went in to get Cailin up from her nap and she quite seriously told me, "Uh oh!" when I opened the door. I asked her what was 'uh oh' and she put something in my hand. It was a booger. Well, I did a dance much akin to Nana's mouse dance and got rid of it pronto. Nice one, kid. Nice one.