Wicked-ly Good

I am again in the UK to take care of more office stuff. As this trip ended up being over a weekend (went to the office Friday and will fiinish up with things Monday), I actually forced myself to do something besides stay in my cramped little hotel room.

To increase the certainty that I would really do something, I asked a couple of the office personnel to attend with me AND chose to go to a show by Victoria station, which is where I always stay. My colleagues chose Wicked. Good choice. I knew the basic concept of this show was in relation to the Wizard of Oz. That was my sole understanding. This was defnitely a new perspective on my knowledge of the Wizard of Oz gained from years and years of watching Dorothy and her friends, Told from the perspective of Glenda, the "good" witch, the many twists and turns (with their accompanying songs) kept me spellbound the entire time.

Was a great distraction to the office stuff that I faced on Friday and will face again on Monday.

As usual, I can't wait to venture home....though, will be faced with a house full of relatives and a fun filled weekend of eating and family stuff. Can't WAIT!!

My Favorite Things

Baby Bear is starting to express her opinions (yes, our aching ears have heard the screeching for things that she does not like). Tonight, however, we started a list of what Baby Bear likes:

Shape: Rectangle
Color: Red
Letter: Z
Animal: Possom...don't ask
Special Friend: Curios George (stuffed animal)
Food: Mac & Chees
Book: Snoopy

Of course, these will likely all change tomorrow.

Potty training is hit and miss but we are determined for this to be a successful endeavor. At school, she does great. At home, not so great. The first thing we do when arriving at school is visit the potty. Her teachers tell us that she will go when the other kids go and is also getting better about telling them when she needs to go. She goes through many school days without any accidents.

The complete opposite is true at home. When asked if she needs to go....nope. When we try to lead her to the potty to just sit...nope. Then, wet pants. Sigh. We have tried taking her into the potty against her will....which is not a good idea. We have tried bribing with chocolate, cookies, any thing...no go. The last few days, we have just backed off on this and just let the accidents happen. She gets to help clean up.

Tonight...eureka! Gold fish! Who da thunk!

What do you call it when....

your mother sends you a Facebook message telling you that you are being deliquent about updating your blog? OK...yes, it has been almost a week since Halloween. OK...yes, I have still not downloaded the photos from that most sacred event. OK...yes, I have been deliquent. So...here you go mom....here are a few photos from the big day.

Unfortunately, as I downloaded these. I realized that I actually did not take a photo of little one with her hood up. Sorry mom, you do not get the full effect of Baby Bear in full Lady Bug regalia.

Here also is Baby Bear with our Mr. Potato Head Pumpkin. As we discovered from our pumpkin caving party, carved pumpkins within days of carving are taken over by bugs and mold. (Yes, I have lived in Texas for 15 years...but...this is the first year we have actually carved a pumpkin.) Thus, the leftover pumpkins from the pumpkin party were made into Mr. Potato Head Pumpkins or decorated with drawn on faces or...just left al naturale.

For Halloween, we ventured part way around the block. Baby Bear would have happily stopped after the first house. The reason. Lollipops. She happily sucked on her lolli as the rest of houses we visited. (The only reason that we actually kept going were visiting friends, who were die hards about the candy colllection.) Baby Bear was reinigorated a bit when she discovered that she is now tall enough to reach most doorbells. Thus, she would run up to the door and start ringing the doorbell. If not stopped by me, she would keep ringing the doorbell even though the door had aleady been opened and the other kiddos were grabbing for the candy.

Oh yeah....she also was a princess earlier in the day. This outfit was given to us by a friend whose daughter was in ballet. Every now and again, Baby Bear will spy it in the closet and want to be a princess or a ballerina. Too much fun.

Look mom...boogies

One thing that has come out of having a clogged nose for weeks now is that Baby Bear has learned to blow her nose. Quite the excitement generated each time there is a load of new boogies in the tissue. Surely, if she blows enough out, her head has to clear at some point, right?

While her fever has gone away, she is still whiny and cranky...which makes Daddy Bear and Mommy Bear whiny and cranky too (not with her...but just in general).

What are we going to be for Halloween tomorrow? Happy parents of a little Ladybug!!

I'm Back

I am just back from China. Could not post there as they block many western internet sites - NPR, Facebook, this blogspot, etc. Going to other countries always make me appreciate what we have in the US. I believe the air quality is significantly worse than my last trip here, which was right before the Olynpics when they had shut down factories and limited car usage to improve the air quality. The smog is almost at ground level most of the day. The tops of most buildings are hidden in the haze. About 50% of the people where masks. Though, not sure if that is due to air quality or fear of the swine flu.

So glad to get back home to see colors. Beijing is just shades of gray - gray roads, gray buildings, gray air.

While I was away, Baby Bear once again spiked a fever. No flu...just general yuck. Since she did not feel like doing much, Daddy Bear went to the library and rented a few videos - one being Clifford's Big Adventures. This was our first full length video. The plot of the movie is that Clifford, the Big Red Dog, runs away to join the circus. When Emily Elizabeth discovers that Clifford is gond, we notice Baby Bear's bottom lip start quivering. Then the sobs came. How do you explain that this is just a movie and that Clifford would come back. So sad!!!

My theory on why this hit her so hard is that her Grandma and Grandpa were in from Kansas visiting for the last few days. They went home yesterday and I know she is missing them. Maybe Clifford going away struck this sore spot. Guess we are not ready for G movies yet....was is more gentler than G?

Pumpkin Party Overview

I was worried about the weather for our pumpkin party. Since it has been so hot lately (90s in October....what the heck!), I was imaging 20 hot, sweaty parents and kiddos running around with knives and pumpkin goo everywhere. In fact, it was a beautiful afternoon...with 20 parents and kiddos with knives and pumpkin goo. But fun was had by all.

Here is a layout that I was able to finish for this day. This is my first layout in a long time.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere

What does 16 pumpkins, 9 children under 5 and 12 adults add up to? A) a big mess with pumpkins guts everywhere B) a fun afternoon and evening enjoying our great weather or C) A Pumpkin pary for Baby Bear. The answer is, of course, all of the above.

What started out as a small gathering of a couple of friends ended up as a full blown party of all of our friends with kiddos. I will post some photos of the creative pumpkin carving tomorrow...as I cannot find my camera connection tonight.....and I am too tired to look for it.