Who sings that song, anyway?!
Most of the time, I am in denial about age. I think that all of my adult friends are the same age as I am, and we are all about 35. Every few years, my delusional age goes up a bit, but it's always several years behind reality. Tonight while I sat here blogging, I was eating a package of Fran's "fruit nuggets." She doesn't like the orange flavor, but likes the other flavors in the variety pack, so I was happily doing her a favor by getting rid of some orange fruit nuggets. (Note to self: Don't eat snacks that are marketed toward children and frowned upon by dentists.) All of a sudden, there was something a little bit hard in my mouth. I was thinking, "Man, one of those little nuggets must be kinda dry or something." Then I realized it was my temporary crown. The chewy fruit nuggets had caused it to pop off. Shoot. I went into the bathroom and looked into my mouth, then put the crown back onto my tooth. The temporary crown had gotten a little cold by this time, so when it hit the tooth surface, I just about went through the ceiling. Now there is a note on my purse for tomorrow morning, that says: "DON'T CHEW. Call the dentist." I hope I don't swallow it or choke on it during the night...
Monday, January 25, 2010
Why do YOU get a milkshake?
One of Frances' favorite treats is a cookie dough shake at Carl's Jr. (For those of you who live outside southern California, this is a hamburger chain. I like their burgers better than McD's. In some regions, they have joined up with Hardee's, but the products are not the same as they are here in SoCal. Come for a visit; I'll take you to lunch.)
Last Saturday, we stopped for an early lunch, and I decided that if Frances ate some chicken nuggets, then she could have one of the coveted milkshakes. Abigail did not notice at first, but then she became curious about what JieJie was drinking. Unfortunately for Fran, Abby was not in a high chair. You can see what was going on...
Last Saturday, we stopped for an early lunch, and I decided that if Frances ate some chicken nuggets, then she could have one of the coveted milkshakes. Abigail did not notice at first, but then she became curious about what JieJie was drinking. Unfortunately for Fran, Abby was not in a high chair. You can see what was going on...
Secrets
Abigail has started this game with Frances in the car, and when Franny plays along, it is really funny. Abby starts by announcing, "JieJie, I wan tell you somefin in you ear." Frances leans toward Abigail, who proceeds to use a loud whisper and tell Fran some random bit of information, such as who was at the sitter's house that day. Abigail wants Frances to respond in an incredulous manner, with a remark like, "No way!" or "Get outta town!" to which Abigail's comebacks are "Yes way!" or "Get out town YOU!"
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The "mean girls" are vanquished... with kindness
Okay, okay, I know that this is like the third post without any pictures. I'm workin' on it.
I had to share how proud I am of my daughter. Frances started at a new school almost three weeks ago. Long story. It is soooooo much bigger than her old school, and she had been used to being a big fish in a small pond. At her new school, she probably feels like plankton. It's been a tough adjustment, trying to make new friends while missing the old ones, and not being sure where she fits in. Last week, Frances started telling me about a few girls from another class who were following her and two buddies around at recess, whispering, and saying things that weren't true. Frances was getting frustrated with this, but wasn't sure how to handle it. I bought her an American Girl DVD, "Chrissa Stands Strong," about a girl who changes schools mid-year, and starts getting harrassed by the mean girls. Not sure if it was what helped, but today, Frances said that a bunch of girls were playing together, and she & the mean girls realized that they were all in the same group. Frances went up to the ringleader and spoke to her. Because Frances didn't have a clue as to what she'd done to irk this girl, but wanted to make things better, Franny apologized for being frustrated and said something about hoping they could be friends. And it worked! I told Frances that I am so proud of her! She is amazing.
I had to share how proud I am of my daughter. Frances started at a new school almost three weeks ago. Long story. It is soooooo much bigger than her old school, and she had been used to being a big fish in a small pond. At her new school, she probably feels like plankton. It's been a tough adjustment, trying to make new friends while missing the old ones, and not being sure where she fits in. Last week, Frances started telling me about a few girls from another class who were following her and two buddies around at recess, whispering, and saying things that weren't true. Frances was getting frustrated with this, but wasn't sure how to handle it. I bought her an American Girl DVD, "Chrissa Stands Strong," about a girl who changes schools mid-year, and starts getting harrassed by the mean girls. Not sure if it was what helped, but today, Frances said that a bunch of girls were playing together, and she & the mean girls realized that they were all in the same group. Frances went up to the ringleader and spoke to her. Because Frances didn't have a clue as to what she'd done to irk this girl, but wanted to make things better, Franny apologized for being frustrated and said something about hoping they could be friends. And it worked! I told Frances that I am so proud of her! She is amazing.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Plumbing woes...
I guess it's all part of being a homeowner. Our ongoing plumbing problems turned out to be due to my home's sewer line separating from the city main... out in the backyard.... under the concrete where my RV pad meets the alley. Ugh. So after only 24 hours without a toilet (we were the "potty pilgrims" at 6 a.m., visiting our neighbor's house before getting ready for school/work) the plumber used a concrete cutter and a jackhammer, dug a really deep hole, and was able to restore the line. Total cost of repairs? $6,700. The concrete was poured today, and it is all finished. I was blessed that my parents were able to give me a large chunk of money, so I didn't have to come up with all of it myself, but until I get that income tax refund, money is going to be really tight! I must say that it is a relief to be able to do laundry, run the dishwasher, and drain the bathtub without fear that the toilet will back up!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Language development takes an interesting turn
Today, in response to something Abigail did, Frances sarcastically remarked, "You're so amazing." Abigail gleefully responded, "I know I'm amazing!" Frances and I cracked up.
Abigail is also spontaneously generating phrases like, "You know what?" and "Never mind." When I ask her to do something, she sometimes responds with, "Hold on, hold on." She leaves out some of the smaller words, resulting in sentences like, "You want play me?" Today she asked me, "JieJie no behave?" (Fran had been reprimanded for something). When she comes into my room while I get dressed in the morning, Abby politely asks, "I play you duck?" (I have a big bookcase with books and toys on it, and her question refers to a wooden duck on wheels. She is not telling me to duck, although she does still throw things sometimes...)
The order of her words is also somewhat jumbled at times, as when she (belligerently) asserts her independence: "All by self ME."
Out in public, she asks every employee, "What you name?" and "What you doing?"
Now that she is toilet trained, Abigail is more aware of everyone else's toileting habits too. When I finish up in the bathroom, Abigail tells me, "You go potty? Good job, Mom!" In a public restroom, it's sometimes a little awkward...
On my first day back to work after the break, Abby had a hard time going with the sitters. She clung to my leg and wept quietly. When I picked her up, she told me "I waiting waiting waiting waiting waiting waiting waiting you!" Later she told me, "Mommy, I miss you much!"
Abigail is also spontaneously generating phrases like, "You know what?" and "Never mind." When I ask her to do something, she sometimes responds with, "Hold on, hold on." She leaves out some of the smaller words, resulting in sentences like, "You want play me?" Today she asked me, "JieJie no behave?" (Fran had been reprimanded for something). When she comes into my room while I get dressed in the morning, Abby politely asks, "I play you duck?" (I have a big bookcase with books and toys on it, and her question refers to a wooden duck on wheels. She is not telling me to duck, although she does still throw things sometimes...)
The order of her words is also somewhat jumbled at times, as when she (belligerently) asserts her independence: "All by self ME."
Out in public, she asks every employee, "What you name?" and "What you doing?"
Now that she is toilet trained, Abigail is more aware of everyone else's toileting habits too. When I finish up in the bathroom, Abigail tells me, "You go potty? Good job, Mom!" In a public restroom, it's sometimes a little awkward...
On my first day back to work after the break, Abby had a hard time going with the sitters. She clung to my leg and wept quietly. When I picked her up, she told me "I waiting waiting waiting waiting waiting waiting waiting you!" Later she told me, "Mommy, I miss you much!"
Sisters
Just look at those faces! When Abigail gets a little older, can you imagine the mischief she and Frances will get into?
I'm in for some serious trouble...
Slow growth...
Abigail's hair is growing, little by little. In the back and on the sides, it has grown quite a bit, although it is still somewhat wispy and flyaway. The hair above her forehead, which she abraded off during her time spent in the orphanage, is much slower to come back. After a full year, it is still fairly sparse, and less than an inch long. I keep the back and sides trimmed, and hope that the top will catch up someday. After her bath tonight, I held her up to the mirror, so she could watch me making a mohawk on her head. She thought it was fascinating and funny. We couldn't get a good picture of the high hair, but you can see that she really wanted to keep looking in the mirror!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
A new adventure for the Bushnell girls
It's the laundromat! or in my neighborhood, the Lavanderia.
Last week, the bathroom plumbing all backed up, which was a huge problem in a house with only one bathroom! The plumber came out after school, and was here for three hours. Apparently, there are roots in the pipes, from long-ago juniper bushes (I dug them out of all of the front flowerbeds when I bought the house 11 years ago) and these roots are wreaking havoc. In December, it was the kitchen sink that had the problem, but this time, the bathroom is affected. The plumber roto-rootered 67 feet, and had to do it three times to get things cleared out to that point. There is a big tangle of roots just beyond his reach, and he can't go further with the current clear-out. I need to install a new clear-out, but can't afford to do it until after I get my income tax refund. Until then, his suggestion was to not flush anything down the toilet except body fluids. Not even toilet paper. Eeeeew! Frances and I were having flashbacks to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in ZhengZhou. I told Frances that there were certain times that she could flush the toilet paper... if you understand my meaning. Today I put some laundry in the washing machine and then went out to work in the backyard, and all of a sudden, Frances came running out to tell me that the toilet was backing up! I ran as fast as I could into the kitchen to stop the washer. Great. I was planning on doing the big wash. You know, you get by for a few weeks just doing a few light loads here and there, but about once a month, all of the hampers in the house get emptied and you do lots of big loads. When Abigail woke up from her nap, I loaded the girls into the car, scrounged up all of the quarters I could find, put the sorted laundry into the car, and off we went to the laundromat.
We commandeered five washers in a row, and loaded the clothes into them. Both girls wanted to help put quarters into the machines. Prices have gone up since I last used a laundromat eleven years ago. It's now $2 a load. The girls had brought things to play with while we waited. Frances' friend Colby passed along these "Bakugan" things, that are like a combination of Pokemon and Transformers. Abigail brought her little Elmo "computer" from Christmas. A little boy with a scooter coasted by outside the window, and came in to hang out with us while his mom did their laundry. It only took about half an hour, and then I gathered up the wet clothes and loaded us all back into the car. I can still use the dryer part of my stacked washer/dryer. Because there were 5 loads of wet clothes, I hung up most of the clothes to dry, in the garage. Some people would say, "It looks like a Chinese laundry!" Well, I have not been inside a Chinese laundry, but I have had my clothing laundered in China, and I can honestly say that they do a way better job than I have done! When we were in China, we could drop off our laundry before noon, and by the following afternoon it was fresh & clean, folded neatly and packed into flat plastic bags. The stuff I have hanging in the garage..... hopefully it will be dry by the end of the day tomorrow, without too many spiders on it.
Last week, the bathroom plumbing all backed up, which was a huge problem in a house with only one bathroom! The plumber came out after school, and was here for three hours. Apparently, there are roots in the pipes, from long-ago juniper bushes (I dug them out of all of the front flowerbeds when I bought the house 11 years ago) and these roots are wreaking havoc. In December, it was the kitchen sink that had the problem, but this time, the bathroom is affected. The plumber roto-rootered 67 feet, and had to do it three times to get things cleared out to that point. There is a big tangle of roots just beyond his reach, and he can't go further with the current clear-out. I need to install a new clear-out, but can't afford to do it until after I get my income tax refund. Until then, his suggestion was to not flush anything down the toilet except body fluids. Not even toilet paper. Eeeeew! Frances and I were having flashbacks to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in ZhengZhou. I told Frances that there were certain times that she could flush the toilet paper... if you understand my meaning. Today I put some laundry in the washing machine and then went out to work in the backyard, and all of a sudden, Frances came running out to tell me that the toilet was backing up! I ran as fast as I could into the kitchen to stop the washer. Great. I was planning on doing the big wash. You know, you get by for a few weeks just doing a few light loads here and there, but about once a month, all of the hampers in the house get emptied and you do lots of big loads. When Abigail woke up from her nap, I loaded the girls into the car, scrounged up all of the quarters I could find, put the sorted laundry into the car, and off we went to the laundromat.
We commandeered five washers in a row, and loaded the clothes into them. Both girls wanted to help put quarters into the machines. Prices have gone up since I last used a laundromat eleven years ago. It's now $2 a load. The girls had brought things to play with while we waited. Frances' friend Colby passed along these "Bakugan" things, that are like a combination of Pokemon and Transformers. Abigail brought her little Elmo "computer" from Christmas. A little boy with a scooter coasted by outside the window, and came in to hang out with us while his mom did their laundry. It only took about half an hour, and then I gathered up the wet clothes and loaded us all back into the car. I can still use the dryer part of my stacked washer/dryer. Because there were 5 loads of wet clothes, I hung up most of the clothes to dry, in the garage. Some people would say, "It looks like a Chinese laundry!" Well, I have not been inside a Chinese laundry, but I have had my clothing laundered in China, and I can honestly say that they do a way better job than I have done! When we were in China, we could drop off our laundry before noon, and by the following afternoon it was fresh & clean, folded neatly and packed into flat plastic bags. The stuff I have hanging in the garage..... hopefully it will be dry by the end of the day tomorrow, without too many spiders on it.
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