Miss Independent

This afternoon I was out in the garden trying best I could to plant my vegetables. Not an easy task, planting, when you can't bend over.

I hear the lock click on the sliding door, it opens and out walks Madeleine. She picks up her pail and shovel and starts heading down the hill, waving at me as she goes by. I make a mental note to determine why she is wearing different pants. Door opens again a minute or so later and out comes David, yelling to her. Apparently he didn't know I was out there.

Last I knew she was headed downstairs to play in her playroom while he was working on finishing some plugs in our little storage room. I went outside to plant my vegetables. He asked her to get him a soda, and she did, somehow managing to spill it on her pants. Not a problem in Madeleine's world. She went upstairs, got new pants, put the dirty ones in the washer machine on the 2 hours sanitary cycle (yes, by themselves, no soap). She must have decided she was done playing inside, so she went out. Apparently she knows how to unlock the sliding door in the basement. That can't be a good thing.

Yesterday I was cleaning up after supper to turn around and see her IN the refrigerator. She had pulled up a chair to get some grapes, which I had all washed in a container for her. She always wants to get things for herself, so I try and keep her snacks in easy reach. She saw the yogurt I bought on the top shelf, couldn't reach it and decided that she had to move it down so it was within her reach when she opened the refrigerator. In order to do that though she had to step up on the freezer (we have the freezer in the bottom) and climb up on one of the drawers to pull the yogurt down and move it 'so Ma'line can reach it mommy'.

Are these escapades what I have to look forward to as she turns 3?

One step closer to a van!!

We finally received word that the state was going to pick up the tab for the modifications that David would need to have made to any van he would get - the biggie being the lowering of the floor so he can wheel in. While a truck would be easier for him, he needs to have something he can transport kids in. Huge relief as the cost of the modifications is almost as much as the base price of the van itself.

Frustrating though, since they (being The State) don't tell you everything you need to get together. For example, he needs a doctor's note saying he is OK to drive BUT then he gets another form that the doctor also needs to fill out. Could we not get everything the doctor needed to sign and fill out at the same time to save us a trip or two?

So ... fingers crossed that this all comes together in the next 5 weeks or so. We are supposed to be meeting the guy from The State at the car dealership one day this week to see what is available.

In baby news, a bit less than 6 weeks to go for me. Doctor appointment today showed that my blood pressure has decided to climb up a bit. They hooked me up for a non-stress test and all looked good with the baby so I got sent home (or back to work). Rather than go every other week, I have now earned myself an appointment and a non-stress test every week for the duration. Despite the fact I am ready to be done, this little one does need to stay put for a few more weeks until the lungs are fully developed. Of course, I still have a gazillion things to do before its' arrival!

Cream cheese fanatic

Madeleine loves her cream cheese, that's for sure.

We went grocery shopping this morning. I usually go on Friday after work (i.e., ALONE) but I've been working late all week and didn't want to deal with it. So, I went this morning and somehow ended up taking Madeleine with me.

Our grocery store has those carts that look like cars. I HATE them. They are hard to steer and you can't fit all that much in the basket. If you get the wrong bagger, they won't let you take it out to the parking lot (although we always bring them back). Many a time I have been left with a 2 yr old and all my bags w/ no cart (they don't seem to think you need a replacement).

So ... after an uneventful run through the store we were in the checkout lane. We didn't buy all that much and the cashier rang up everything pretty quickly. I was getting ready to swipe my debit card when the bagger said:

"Ma'am, are you going to pay for your cream cheese?"

I pointed to the tub that was sitting on the end of the belt, "I did. It already went through."

"No," he said, "I mean the cream cheese that your daughter has."

I walk to the front of the cart and look in. There sits Madeleine with 3 boxes of cream cheese, trying to wrap them all up in the piece of wax paper she got her slice of cheese in from the deli.

"Madeleine, what are you doing?"

"We NEED cream cheese mommy. We have no more."

I wonder if we would have be detained for shoplifting if we had made it out the front door of the store.