peekaboo, i see you

Seven Moons Ago

Katie-boo always loves when cousin Lydia comes over to play. Note that Lydia has also invited pink baby to play. In Lydia's most recent stay at our house, Lydia was a real mom to that baby doll. She let the baby eat, and then gave the baby some spanks. It's interesting to see her process her world by repeating things that she sees (or experiences for herself).



Kate discovered the fun of folding laundry with mom! Needless to say, she wasn't much help. I stacked the clothes on the coffee table, and she persisted in pulling them down about as fast as I could get them folded. She really wants to stand up now, so the laundry basket provided a perfect opportunity. Her falls were cushioned by fluffy, clean, baby clothes.



This is about as close as we get to crawling. She still can't manage to get her legs & her arms up at the same time. As I mentioned, she seems to be much more interested in pulling up and walking. Her personality develops each day. She loves me so much; it's enough to make your heart melt. Of course, at the end of the day when dad comes home and she's fussing because she still wants to be with me, it becomes less cute. She's growing more able to communicate with her body language what she wants. She plays on the floor most of the time, and if I walk by and she wants me to pick her up, she waves her arms in the air and sort of rocks her body, as though she were saying, "Hey, Look At Me!!!!!" She still takes 3 naps, 2 hours each in the morning and afternoon. The evening nap is undergoing construction, sometimes she'll take it, and sometimes she won't. Although she CAN say both mamama and dadada, she has moved on to practicing other sounds now, like papapapa, and bababa.

Best Friends Forever?

When I entered the mini-hallways of Alvarez Elementary as a first grader, I was already behind the curve. I had attended kindergarten elsewhere, and consequently was assigned my future best friend as a guide. She let me follow her around the kid-sized classrooms, bathrooms, halls, and right into her life. We did everything together at school, and I tried to spend as many hours playing Barbie or My Little Pony at Sandra's house as I could. A friendship that would last forever, or at least until the end of the fifth grade.
But, three years later I came abruptly face to face with the fact that friendships don't always last forever. The last day of school, I sat sweating under the covered basketball courts. Sandra walked up to me and declared the end of our relationship. No explanation given, no closure for a nine-year old.
I still have not grown accustomed to the fact that some friendships are seasonal. I have accrued long lists of high school friends, college friends, camp friends, and Sylvan friends. And each time, the transition period has been difficult for me. This is not to say that I am perfect at keeping up or calling or mailing. Even as I participate in the slow unraveling (or quick) of the friendship, I am sad.
However, it has been wonderful to know and experience several friendships which I hope will be life-long. In fact, two of my childhood friends are coming to visit this week. Our friendship remained unscathed during college and singlehood, as frequent trips back home made for wonderful reunions. These days, we have tried to make a point of seeing each other once a year for a Girl's Weekend -- just to make sure our friendship doesn't go into retirement.

Stolen: Some YouTube Video

Enjoy this short laugh-out-loud video.

H2O

Unbelievable! The pretty perfect cleaning solution has been dripping from my faucet, pouring out of my showerhead, and burning my hands as I wash dishes because I used water that's a smidgen too hot -- plain, unadulterated water. Yesterday, armed with spray bottle, HOT water from the tap, and terry cloth cover (that I already had and is 100% washable), I mopped my kitchen floor. It made the floor FEEL clean which is my number one must-have, and it didn't strip the floor of its natural sheen. Many thanks to Stephanie and Renee for letting me in on that secret.

Rain drops keep falling on my head!
And just like the guy whose feet were too big for his bed
Nothing seems to fit
Rain drops keep falling on my head
They keep falling
Because I'm free!

If you can make sense of this song -- let me know!

How Clean Can You Be?

Hello everyone. I'm looking for a little feedback about cleaning hardwood floors. I'm in the market for a vacuum that works well on hw and I have just started reading about dry/wet vacs that clean & dry hard floors. I currently sweep with two different brooms, and mop SUPER rarely because it's a third step! Also, I've bought two mops within the past 2 years because I couldn't find replacement mop heads (completely FRUSTRATING!)
So, my questions are:
If you have hardwoods, what do you use to clean them?
Do you have a vacuum that you use on hardwoods?
Have you used a Hard Floor Cleaner like this one? What did you think of it?
Thanks!