happy halloween (finally!)

On Wednesday, we received word that Halloween was postponed until Saturday night because of Hurricane Sandy beating up parts of Pennsylvania.  It has rained for over a week straight, and I admit that the last thing I wanted to do Wednesday night was to put on coats, rain boots, and carry umbrellas while trick-or-treating.  I was fine with the change to Saturday, plus with Memaw and PawPaw visiting they got to see Britton go trick-or-treating for the first time!

You might be asking yourself why it's Britton's first year trick-or-treating, see as how she is 3 years old.  Well, first of all she doesn't need the candy, but more importantly her bedtime has always been so early that we couldn't go trick-or-treating without ending up with a very tired kid.  With her friends chatting up trick-or-treating at school (damn you, peer pressure!) and a little later bedtime, we caved and tried it out.  Britton got her coat on because the Belle dress had been on all day - no need to get into "costume" since she spends all day every day in some sort of costume.

We left PawPaw on the couch screaming at the WVU football players on the television, and set out the candy on the stoop.  The blue bucket is labeled "peanut free," not because I was trying to be over-inclusive, but because I had bought it for Britton's class and forgot it, and dang it all some peanut-allergic kid was going to benefit from the Nerds I was secretly craving.

Trick-or-treating didn't last.  Britton didn't like the kids wearing masks, she didn't understand the whole "going up to the door and saying 'trick-or-treat' out loud and pick out candy" thing and she got frustrated because I got frustrated.  So Daddy enticed her home with the promise of being the candy keeper - Britton was definitely intrigued about being the one to hand out candy!

So Memaw, Britton, and I snuggled up on the front stoop with our blankets and candy (and for us, coffee) and handed out candy for an hour.  Britton loved it!  And it gave Memaw and me a chance to discuss landscaping changes and Christmas front-porch decor ideas.  Britton took over the peanut-free candy as her own bounty, and refused to give any candy to any kid wearing a mask.  I don't blame her there - some of those masks were downright creepy.  Memaw handed out candy two at a time so we wouldn't be out there all night!  We wrapped it up, and while the hub and I left to go do some Christmas shopping, Memaw and PawPaw brought Britton down from her sugar high and wrestled her into bed.

39 months old

Britton has had a major boom this month - imaginative role play.  This girl pretends to be any given princess, then lays out the entire scenario with accents, inflections, and multiple characters.  Our living room has become Belle's ballroom, Sadie has become an evil stepmother witch, and I apparently have the power of breaking sleeping spells.  Britton does not break character, and it's amazing to watch and be a part of the whole "production."

She's wearing winter clothes now, as it hasn't topped 45 degrees this entire week!  We've gotten her off of fighting to wear her princess dresses every day to school, but only because we've agreed she can wear them when she gets home.  It's a win-win.  We've all settled into a predictable routine, which is good since I started work last month.  Britton doesn't seem to mind the extra 20 minutes per day she spends at daycare, and the hub and I have teamed up to get dinner on the table when Britton is used to it.

Halloween festivities have introduced Britton to candy, and she is in love!  Her favorite candy is the classic lollipop, so I've bought her some Dum Dums.  Of course, I've got to constantly remind her that lollipops aren't for breakfast, but they do make a nice snack!

Likes:  dancing with Daddy, Starbucks cake pops, orange juice, an apple during her bath, helping her teachers, painting, playing on my dad's old guitar, Costco trips

Dislikes:  not being able to wear a princess dress every minute of every day

sorry i'm not sorry: an election tale

Dear Britton, 

 For the first time in your life, there is a presidential election. And despite Hurricane Sandy's best efforts, it's still on for next Tuesday. Your daddy and I aren't super-political. If anything, he's more politically-inclined than I am, and I ran for and served in office! Yes, fine, it was Vice-President of the law school, but it was elected.  But I mean that we're not knocking on doors asking people to vote, and we don't have any signs in our yard.  Probably because we don't want either sign in our yard.

I remember the first time I voted, Britton.  I was so excited, so ready to cast a ballot for the first time, a mere two weeks after turning 18.  I voted for Bill Clinton (this was before the whole Lewinsky thing, so quit judging).  But what I remember the best is what a big deal the whole thing was.  

In my old age, I've mellowed.  Britton, I used to be such a black-and-white judgmental socially-liberal bleeding heart.  Heck, I was a public defender!  And I had no money.  But as I've gotten older, and lost out on tax breaks and write-offs and seen more and more of my hard-earned paycheck (acquired through my paying-on-it-for-25-years student loan debt), the more bitter I've become.  I can no longer vote solely on my heart when I now have to factor in my wallet.

And your daddy and I don't fit in nice little boxes either.  We're not "Democrats" and we're not "Republicans."  We're somewhere in between, hovering in a place that wants less government.  Believes in a right to bear arms.  And agrees that I can use those firearms to protect my family and my castle. Thinks amending our Constitution to define "marriage" is a failure to fully appreciate the document which it is.  And, to that end, thinks men should be able to marry men and women should be able to marry women, and that these couples should be able to adopt children.  And know that social programs aren't working and are merely creating an entire generation that sees charity as entitlement and laziness as a career option.  And knows that pro-choice doesn't mean pro-abortion, that no woman wants to make that decision no matter how many men act as if it's a coin flip, and thinks if you're so pro-life then don't get one.  And wants domestic natural gas to finally receive its place in the spotlight where it belongs, not only for the longevity of our careers but for the end of our reliance on foreign oil.  

Britton, no candidate encompasses all of that.  Not even most.  I will go into that voting booth on Tuesday morning and make the wrong decision, no matter which way I vote.  So, I am sorry that your first election is this one.  But I'm not sorry that I'm voting, either way I end up voting.  

Love,
Mommy

delusions of childhood

When I was little, maybe seven or eight years old, I wanted to be the tightrope-walking cat from "Dumbo's Circus."  So much was I wrapped into this fantasy life that I wore my ballet leotard, tights, and ballet shoes on a daily basis, and tied jump ropes between any trees I could find close enough to each other.   Needless to say, I moved on, but I remember so badly wanting to be what I saw on television.

Hence, my daughter's obsession with Disney Princesses.  It helps that it's near Halloween, so no one thinks Britton wears a princess dress daily.  But, in all reality, she does.  Even if I convince her to wear real clothes to school, she's stripping her clothes off the minute she hits the door when we get home, in desperate search for her next Disney princess dress fix.  My house is covered in glitter.  So covered that I no longer bother trying to clean it up.

And she wants the hub to answer to "Prince" exclusively.  And waltz endlessly across the family room, just like all the other princes do.  It's cute, though.  And reminds me daily that a girl's first love is her father.

Snow White for Halloween?  Of course.  Tiana on the television screen?  Of course.  Has she changed her mind from Snow White to Cinderella back to Snow White then to Belle but no to Belle because the Belle dress is too big back to Snow White?  Hundreds of times this week.  Just one of the beautiful dreams and delusions of childhood!

i had it coming

Do you remember that car commercial where the dad puts the little girl into the car, and she doesn't stop talking the entire time? Britton has gotten to that point in life, and it's completely my fault because that is the way the universe works. Let me explain...

I started noticing that Britton had more to say on our drive home from daycare.  Instead of the usual one-word answers to my questions, she started expanding into whole stories.  Stories about her friends, by name, what each one said to the other, entire re-enactments of the trials and tribulations of the playground.  I admit, I loved it because it gave me an insight into her days.  But it's moved into another realm, and I don't know if I can handle it.

We've gotten into movies now.  Britton treats movies like long television shows, and doesn't mind only watching 30 minutes at a time.  It's fine, because all she really wants to watch is Disney Princesses now, and at least I don't have to listen to commercials.  Though, admittedly, I do find myself missing Dora, but that's neither here nor there.  The problem comes when Britton takes a deep breath at the opening credits, and DOESN'T STOP TALKING for the entire movie.  She's not chattering, no.  She's asking question after question after question after question.  It goes a little something like this:

B:  "Who is that man with Snow White?  Where are they going to?  Why is Snow White running away from that man?  Why does that tree look mean?  Why is Snow White crying?  Where is the Queen?  Where did the little rabbits come from?  Why are the animals showing Snow White that cottage?  Where are the seven dwarfs?  Why aren't they home from work yet?  Can I go to your work Mommy?  Why is Snow White cleaning?"

It's constant.  And if you don't answer or even dare to get a little fed up with it, Britton gets mad.  So it's just easier to answer.  And I've learned that if I want to stay sane, I just make up the answers as I go.  No need to be accurate.  It then becomes a little entertaining game for me.

B:  "Why did Snow White eat the apple?"

Me:  "Because she's not too bright, honey."

The hub informs me that I as well ask question after question after question while we watch movies, so I don't see Britton growing out of it soon.  I'm telling myself she didn't learn it from me, since we don't watch any movie I like together.  But who knows?  According to the hub, I had it coming.

Welcome Jason!

Mr. Jason Oliver is here!  I headed out to Virginia last Wednesday to meet Jessica and family at the hospital.  I think I had warned my bosses in my interview that this "vacation time" was a non-negotiable - when my sister had her baby I was going to be there.  I missed Emily's birth two years ago, unable to wait until the last minute to book a flight, and with the ability to drive this time I was going to be there.  

Well, I may have been a little over-anxious to get there!  I was running late because we had Britton's parent-teacher conference that morning (yes, for a 3 year old) and I wanted to be on the road already.  Two missed turns to get onto the turnpike, and by the time I was getting past Winchester my pedal was glued to the floorboard.  And I was of course distracted by some found years-old mixed CDs, which I felt the need to sing at full volume.  I got pulled over for speeding.   And I admitted my mistake the minute the trooper got to the window.  And I explained that my sister was in labor.  And he let me go with a warning.

Whoo who!  I was off (albeit, slower) to the hospital, where I arrived a mere two hours before Jessica gave birth.  The whole experience was so relaxed - we were even making Tori Spelling jokes with the OB/GYN!  Jason just joined us like he had been here the whole time.  Yes, it is always amazing when a new baby arrives, but it honestly feels like he's always been here.

I got to spend the night with Jessica on Thursday night, which reminded me why I had chosen to leave the hospital early when I had Britton.  A different nurse was in the room every hour, and the sleep was never good.  By Friday, everyone was ready for the new normal to commence.  I headed out ahead of Jessica and Tim so I could squeeze in some grocery shopping.  No pizza delivery for Jason's first night at home!

On Saturday we had Jason's pediatrician appointment.  I planned on taking Caroline to her softball game so that Jessica could get Jason home before he needed to be fed.  It was also a nice break for Jessica since the house would be empty, save for her and Jason.  We ended up having the wrong time for the game, so Caroline only got to play two innings.  But it turned out to be a bonus for Jessica, because the minute we got home she went to take a nap!

I've got to tell you a little story, because it's one of those things that I may not remember years from now, but if I do remember it, Jessica and I will be laughing ourselves silly about it.  When Jessica had Emily, it was almost Thanksgiving.  Now, the late-night television is usually bad, but at that time the Christmas movies were getting into heavy rotation.  We must have watched "The Family Stone" about eight times over those couple of nights.  It was always on!  So I ordered a copy of the movie and brought it with me for Jason's birth.  And come Saturday night, Caroline and I snuggled on the couch and watched "The Family Stone" while Jessica got some much-needed naptime.  She ended up joining us for the last twenty minutes of the movie.  I don't know why, but that is the perfect late-night movie, and it never gets old to me!

Britton's first fall leaves

"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile."

-William Cullen Bryant

When we moved to Pennsylvania, we knew that we were giving Britton the gift of seasons.  Memaw gave her the gift of raining leaves.  If Saturday was the only beautiful fall day we ever get this year, it will all have been worth it.