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And The Natural Bath and Beauty Winners Are…
9 years ago
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Happy Birthday Aunt Sheila
Today is my younger sister's birthday! Happy Birthday Sheila DeMartino...weird to type that...also known around here as Aunt Sheila or Lala. My sister is an incredible woman who I am proud to know and admire. I can't wait to see her this weekend in one of our joint favoritest locations - Sea Isle City! Happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy BIRTHDAY!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Earthquakes, and Hurricanes, and Tornadoes, oh my!
Completing the trifecta of natural disasters in the Philadelphia and suburban region for the week, in addition to Hurricane Irene, we were also under tornado warnings through the night on Saturday. This following our brush with am earthquake on Tuesday. But, as Jeff pointed out, "Ellen had NO trouble sleeping.". And, in fact, I did not. I did everything I could to prepare for possible power outages and I was exhausted. Among the preparations:
*Getting all FOUR of our flashlights ready as well as any, and all candles, including the favors still leftover from our wedding...five years ago.
*Running all our electrical appliances, washing dishes, and clothes in case we wouldn't be able to for Mayor Nutter's predicted two weeks
*Charging my phone non-stop. It has a short battery life, so I figured if the power went out, then I would stop using it except for in an emergency, and it would have a fully charged battery.
*Filling up every possible water bottle, of ours and Cece's just in case clean water stopped running.
*Moving Cece's bed. First, I pulled it across the room away from the window. Then, I decided that she could roll out and find herself in any part of the room. So, I turned her bed so that it was facing the closet and door. This way, if anything fell in her room, a TREE for example, then it would brace on top of her bed and not strike her. And, if she rolled out of bed, she would only have the space between her bed and the closet to get into. Unless she wanted to be the most dangerously defiant child on the east coast and situate herself elsewhere in the room. Which would be just my luck. The only reports of deaths at that time were of children (if I understand correctly) being hit by trees in their houses. It is completely possible that I misconstrued these stories and irrationally set up a feat of engineering genius (if I do say so myself) in my daughter's room. Here's what I do know. She made it through the night in one piece and I had peace of mind that she was far safer than her father and I in that daybed structure. We do have beautiful, sheltering, huge, old trees, and any time there are strong winds, they can appear mugh more menacing. The first floor worries about flooding, we worry about the trees.
*Bathing Cece, again as if it might be the last time for a while.
*Then deciding a post- Cece sleeping bath would not be a bad idea for myself at all either. So, I did. When Jeff got home from work... Did I mention that Jeff had to work!?! When Jeff got home from work, he asked if this was our bathtub full of drinking water. Noooo. I did NOT think of that. But I was feeling relaxed and at peace. Also, if there was a tornado, I'm pretty sure one of the places you're supposed to go is a bathtub, just probably not filled with water. Technicalities.
*I also "saved" any activities that I could do just as well IF the power went out, like putting away all the laundry, and....well, that was about it. Still waiting for the power to go out.
*In the meantime, while we had power, I made a dinner necessitating the oven and stovetop, because I could, and watched TV, because I could.
And, when the time came, I went to bed, because I could. And slept quite well, because I could. And when I woke up, the world wasn't all that different than it was the night before. Some people are angry at this. At all the hype of the weather reports. I'm not angry. I feel lucky that we haven't (yet, anyway) lost power. That we didn't experience water damage in our home. That a tree did not fall on our home, or car. I feel lucky that, upon preliminary check anyway, most people I know can report the same. Or that damage they have experienced, or power they did lose can be fixed, or will return.
I feel lucky to have felt prepared for the worst and surprised by the best.
*Getting all FOUR of our flashlights ready as well as any, and all candles, including the favors still leftover from our wedding...five years ago.
*Running all our electrical appliances, washing dishes, and clothes in case we wouldn't be able to for Mayor Nutter's predicted two weeks
*Charging my phone non-stop. It has a short battery life, so I figured if the power went out, then I would stop using it except for in an emergency, and it would have a fully charged battery.
*Filling up every possible water bottle, of ours and Cece's just in case clean water stopped running.
*Moving Cece's bed. First, I pulled it across the room away from the window. Then, I decided that she could roll out and find herself in any part of the room. So, I turned her bed so that it was facing the closet and door. This way, if anything fell in her room, a TREE for example, then it would brace on top of her bed and not strike her. And, if she rolled out of bed, she would only have the space between her bed and the closet to get into. Unless she wanted to be the most dangerously defiant child on the east coast and situate herself elsewhere in the room. Which would be just my luck. The only reports of deaths at that time were of children (if I understand correctly) being hit by trees in their houses. It is completely possible that I misconstrued these stories and irrationally set up a feat of engineering genius (if I do say so myself) in my daughter's room. Here's what I do know. She made it through the night in one piece and I had peace of mind that she was far safer than her father and I in that daybed structure. We do have beautiful, sheltering, huge, old trees, and any time there are strong winds, they can appear mugh more menacing. The first floor worries about flooding, we worry about the trees.
*Bathing Cece, again as if it might be the last time for a while.
*Then deciding a post- Cece sleeping bath would not be a bad idea for myself at all either. So, I did. When Jeff got home from work... Did I mention that Jeff had to work!?! When Jeff got home from work, he asked if this was our bathtub full of drinking water. Noooo. I did NOT think of that. But I was feeling relaxed and at peace. Also, if there was a tornado, I'm pretty sure one of the places you're supposed to go is a bathtub, just probably not filled with water. Technicalities.
*I also "saved" any activities that I could do just as well IF the power went out, like putting away all the laundry, and....well, that was about it. Still waiting for the power to go out.
*In the meantime, while we had power, I made a dinner necessitating the oven and stovetop, because I could, and watched TV, because I could.
And, when the time came, I went to bed, because I could. And slept quite well, because I could. And when I woke up, the world wasn't all that different than it was the night before. Some people are angry at this. At all the hype of the weather reports. I'm not angry. I feel lucky that we haven't (yet, anyway) lost power. That we didn't experience water damage in our home. That a tree did not fall on our home, or car. I feel lucky that, upon preliminary check anyway, most people I know can report the same. Or that damage they have experienced, or power they did lose can be fixed, or will return.
I feel lucky to have felt prepared for the worst and surprised by the best.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Earthquake in the Library
Cross posting from ontheshelf4kids: http://ontheshelf4kids.blogspot.com/2011/08/earthquake-in-library.html
Tuesday, August 23rd, sometime around 2:00ish in the Pine Road Library, I find myself perched on a ladder. With the transfer student meet and greet in the library, I decided to spiff things up a bit and make the place look welcoming and put together, and so commenced, with the help of a nesting Mrs. Abramson, the chores of displaying books, re-affixing any posters or wall decoration that had fallen toward the end of the school year or over the summer, organizing the student's work supplies, and picking up stray pencils and crayons. So, while hanging a poster on the top step of a ladder next to a wall bookcase that probably is not affixed to the wall, Mrs. A looked at me and asked, "What's that?". To which I replied, "What?". I heard the noise. There are four pillars in the library which contain, I believe support beams that I can hear jangle around in high wind, so I began to explain this when we heard noise above as if someone was walking in the ceiling. That was new. Then I looked outside expecting high winds but not a leaf was out of place on any of the trees. Then it stopped. So we got back to work. I never left the top of the ladder. It never occurred to me to do so. A few minutes later, one of the custodians came in and asked, "Did you feel the earthquake?". The what-quake. We are in Pennsylvania, folks. No fault lines here. But he confirmed that he had just gotten off the phone with his daughter who had felt it too. As it turns out, lots of people did. From South Carolina all the way North to Canada. And I was on the top of a ladder. I'll bet that's not a strategy in any earthquake emergency preparedness literature.
*Additional family info: I called home to Jeff to check in, he had been getting Cece ready to nap. He reacted as many out here did. That was an earthquake? Huh.
Tuesday, August 23rd, sometime around 2:00ish in the Pine Road Library, I find myself perched on a ladder. With the transfer student meet and greet in the library, I decided to spiff things up a bit and make the place look welcoming and put together, and so commenced, with the help of a nesting Mrs. Abramson, the chores of displaying books, re-affixing any posters or wall decoration that had fallen toward the end of the school year or over the summer, organizing the student's work supplies, and picking up stray pencils and crayons. So, while hanging a poster on the top step of a ladder next to a wall bookcase that probably is not affixed to the wall, Mrs. A looked at me and asked, "What's that?". To which I replied, "What?". I heard the noise. There are four pillars in the library which contain, I believe support beams that I can hear jangle around in high wind, so I began to explain this when we heard noise above as if someone was walking in the ceiling. That was new. Then I looked outside expecting high winds but not a leaf was out of place on any of the trees. Then it stopped. So we got back to work. I never left the top of the ladder. It never occurred to me to do so. A few minutes later, one of the custodians came in and asked, "Did you feel the earthquake?". The what-quake. We are in Pennsylvania, folks. No fault lines here. But he confirmed that he had just gotten off the phone with his daughter who had felt it too. As it turns out, lots of people did. From South Carolina all the way North to Canada. And I was on the top of a ladder. I'll bet that's not a strategy in any earthquake emergency preparedness literature.
*Additional family info: I called home to Jeff to check in, he had been getting Cece ready to nap. He reacted as many out here did. That was an earthquake? Huh.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Letter Recognition
For a while now, every letter has been 'd' but recently, Cece has added 'b' and 'e' in to the mix. But her default is still 'd.'. When singing the alphabet, you might hear, "d, d, d, d, d, d, d...". Sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Or, if Cece is watching Super Readers (great show in my opinion) and Wyatt asks the viewer to identify a letter, Cece enthusiastically replies, "D!!!"
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Sentence Structure
Cece has begun to string together short, but legitimate sentences, such as but not limited to:
"I goooooooo"
"Bye-bye daddy" (said with enough of a pause between to sound awkward but intentionally strung together)
"No, me" (we hear this a lot)
"I goooooooo"
"Bye-bye daddy" (said with enough of a pause between to sound awkward but intentionally strung together)
"No, me" (we hear this a lot)
Friday, August 26, 2011
Big Girl Bed
Cece's bed transformed Sunday evening into a big girl bed. Her crib is convertible in four different fashions and this reincarnation is as a daybed. Since we just love living on the edge around here, we did not utilize a bed rail. The stories that have emerged from this change are fabulous. At least to me. And I'd like to preserve them here. Especially tonight's memory.
The first night, once Cece was well into REM sleep and before I turned in for the night, I wanted to check on her positioning. Cece likes to do veritable cartwheels in her sleep, so there was concern that she would fall out of her bed. It is a mere 1/2 foot or so from the ground, but still, a concern nonetheless. I was also concerned that she would turn the knob, walk right out of her room and do who knows what in the middle of the night. So, the first night I went in to find Cece rotated so that she was perpendicular in the bed with her head by the wall, arms up with her palms clasped behind her head and her feet dangling off the edge of the bed. Since she was in a deep sleep I was able to move her back to a "normal" sleeping position.
Two nights later, when I went in, she looked to be clinging on to the side of the bed closest to the wall so as to stay as far away as possible from the edge.
The first and maybe second morning, upon waking, Cece stayed in her bed as if she was still confined to do so. By the third morning, she was knocking on the inside of her door (very politely) upon morning waking and following naps as well.
Tonight was the night. We didn't hear anything, but when I went to check on her, Cece had rolled off the bed and across the room close to her changing table. She was sprawled on her back, with arms and legs in the position you might see if you imagine a police drawn chalk outline on the sidewalk. Again, she was in a deep sleep and I was able to swiftly pick her up and place her back in bed with only a slight stirring. But as I sat down to write this, wanting to preserve this memory, I just heard a thud. Better to sleep on the floor, or possibly fall again?
*UPDATE*
When I went in to check on Cece following the ominous thud, she was back in bed. Which indicates to me that she got back up, climbed into bed, and fell back asleep by herself. Sigh. She really is all grown up now....
The first night, once Cece was well into REM sleep and before I turned in for the night, I wanted to check on her positioning. Cece likes to do veritable cartwheels in her sleep, so there was concern that she would fall out of her bed. It is a mere 1/2 foot or so from the ground, but still, a concern nonetheless. I was also concerned that she would turn the knob, walk right out of her room and do who knows what in the middle of the night. So, the first night I went in to find Cece rotated so that she was perpendicular in the bed with her head by the wall, arms up with her palms clasped behind her head and her feet dangling off the edge of the bed. Since she was in a deep sleep I was able to move her back to a "normal" sleeping position.
Two nights later, when I went in, she looked to be clinging on to the side of the bed closest to the wall so as to stay as far away as possible from the edge.
The first and maybe second morning, upon waking, Cece stayed in her bed as if she was still confined to do so. By the third morning, she was knocking on the inside of her door (very politely) upon morning waking and following naps as well.
Tonight was the night. We didn't hear anything, but when I went to check on her, Cece had rolled off the bed and across the room close to her changing table. She was sprawled on her back, with arms and legs in the position you might see if you imagine a police drawn chalk outline on the sidewalk. Again, she was in a deep sleep and I was able to swiftly pick her up and place her back in bed with only a slight stirring. But as I sat down to write this, wanting to preserve this memory, I just heard a thud. Better to sleep on the floor, or possibly fall again?
*UPDATE*
When I went in to check on Cece following the ominous thud, she was back in bed. Which indicates to me that she got back up, climbed into bed, and fell back asleep by herself. Sigh. She really is all grown up now....
Thursday, August 25, 2011
The Help
Many moons ago, my book club read The Help. It is, simply, an amazing book. It will make you laugh, cry, and open your eyes. I saw this morning that there is some controversy over the portrayal of characters and, particularly, Skeeter's character for standing up for the rights of others. When it comes down to it, this is one story of many from the time of the Civil Rights movement. This is one perspective. And it's a darn good story. But I digress. Our book club had the opportunity to see the movie in a preview this past Tuesday night at The AMC Plymouth Meeting 12 movie theater. One of the book club members had gone to the website for the movie and a 1-800 nu,ber was listed along with information on the showtimes for previews. Once you call the number, you pay over the phone and a ticket is sent via email, which you print and take to the theater. What an awesome experience, to not only get tomsee the movie early, to get to do so with other people who care deeply about the story, and at a discounted rate too!
For other movies in the future that I am planning to see in theaters, I will try to remember to check the website for a special preview. And you should too!
For other movies in the future that I am planning to see in theaters, I will try to remember to check the website for a special preview. And you should too!
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