Tuesday, January 8

Take a Little Ride on the Short Bus

- I discovered a new pattern last night involving the Toddler bed: Lights On--Toddler gets in and out of bed 50 times by herself. Light Off--Toddler cannot get in or out the bed by herself. I feel like I should stand at the lamp and flip it on and off over and over just to see what she will do.

- You know it's been a rough week when I am ecstatic--ECSTATIC I tell you--that Alexis only woke up once last night. Even more exciting is the fact that the wake-up call came immediately after a thump loud enough to wake a Daddy. OK, so it's not cool that she fell out of bed, but it's totally cool that a little rolling and crashing was the only thing that woke her up. (She was totally fine, not a single mark anywhere.)

- This is NOT right:



While some people are running around all excited that it was in the mid-60's the past two days, I am not one of them. It's going to get cold again. It is, after all, January and Pittsburgh we're talking about here. It's going to feel 300 times worse when it happens than it would have if the temperature had just stayed steady. Ever go on vacation to the beach in the middle of winter then return home to freezing weather? That is what it's going to feel like. I'm not looking forward to the cold wind slapping me in the face and reminding me that I live in the North.

- Since a few of you asked a little while back, the new job is Training Manager for a big, international construction company. It's a new position and involves building the department from the ground up. Since I know you're curious, I think it's OK to reveal that I look smokin' in my hardhat, steel-toed boots, safety glasses, and bright orange vest. Especially when I'm up to my knees in mud. I'm headed to the World Trade Center work site next month; I'll try to get a picture so you can see just how big of a dork I can be.

- Alexis loves to sing. I mean, really loves to sing. Every moment that she spends in the car is a moment that she spends composing beautiful music. Sometimes she sings along with whatever I have playing on the stereo. The girl does "Maneater" WAY better than Nelly Furtado. Since she seldom convinces me to listen to crappy pop music, she frequently relies on her favorite Signing Time songs for material. But lately, she has started to sing kid songs she learned at daycare. I'm a big fan of "Circle, Circle Little Star" (please don't tell her those aren't the real words--I adore her version), but the tune she sang today was the BEST. It started out as your standard "Wheels on the Bus." She got the first and second verses right, but when she got to the third verse, she proved herself a genius by doing a little substitution for "baby":

"The Daddies on the bus go WAH WAH WAH
WAH WAH WAH
WAH WAH WAH
The Daddies on the bus go WAH WAH WAH
All through the town."

Truer words have never been sung by a one-year.

37 comments:

  1. Your new job sounds AWESOME! Be sure to post some photos.

    Punkin's a singer too. My favorite is when I catch her singing about "Down around the corner at the bakery shop." But whenever I watch her signing, she gets shy and won't sing anymore, so the back seat is really the best place for her to sing.

    Alexis' version of the Wheels on the Bus is priceless!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I totally concur the Daddies do go wah, wah, wah...way to much!

    A thump heard in the middle of the night is never a good thing, unless it wakes up the hubs, then it's okay.

    I hear you on the weather, we're sending cold and rain/snow your way enjoy your sun tanning while you can...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hopefully she sleeps through the night with no bumps and no WAH WAHs tonight.

    I am loving this weather personally. I know it'll be colder by comparison when it hits (and it WILL hit) but my only qualm is that warm winters usually extend further into spring. I'm NOT down with that.

    I'm lovin' that cute little pig-tailed girl rockin' that shirt. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. PLEASE don't curse yourself by saying she slept well. I did that ONCE. You can guess what happened.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Not a chance, Mamageek. I'm just appreciating the small accomplishments. There may not be another one for a very long time, so it'll be nice to look back and remember that one day in early January when it wasn't so bad.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Karen--Remember last year when we had rain for Christmas and snow for Easter? That's what's going to happen again, I'm afraid. I can't do snow when the Easter Bunny is hopping across my yard. If I could, I would still be living in North Dakota.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I can't wait to see that pic of you from work! Your job sounds great...wish I loved mine!

    I love the singing time - especially when they put their own fun words in there.

    Hopefully Alexis doesn't fall out of be tonight and you get to sleep all night!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I was thinking the exact same thing about the weather this morning, but by this afternoon when I was hanging with Dylan in the park I was loving it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. i encourage you to stand there and flick the light, with a video camera and blog it... some of us (me) are in desperate need of entertainment!

    and yes, my hubby would be on that bus too. wah wah wah...

    ReplyDelete
  10. your first comment is hillarious! You need to turn the light switch on and off. Thats great.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  12. You just got a nod for humor blog, too....

    My God! She's not even two & she knows all about men. The teenage years are going to be such a breeze for you!!

    The light thing is genius. I think you might be playing a little bit too close to the mad doctor with the flipping on & off thing, but lack of sleep does that. SLEEP ALEXIS!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. You mean . . . they actually do sleep through the night? Wow. Great blog!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I am so glad you got some good sleep! And admittedly REALLY jealous. Evie is currently squirming on my arm NOT sleeping and it's almost 1 am.

    Love the WAH WAH song.

    By the way, your titles lately are killing me!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I can just imagine you standing there flicking the switch up and down. Cruel mother. LOL

    How old is Alexis at the moment?

    ReplyDelete
  16. There are many times each winter when we wished we were still back in Alaska. The winters were winters to be sure, but when spring came it was gone in a matter of 2 weeks and never looked back.

    In my lifetime I remember having snow here in Somerset in June. Gotta love wishy-washy PA weather.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I didn't really mind the warm weather yesterday. I took the kids outside to shoot some hoops and opened all my windows to air out the house. Now the windows are shut and we're hoping for snow for ski club tomorrow.
    Can't wait to see your pictures at your new job.
    AND, boy are your kids cute.
    Maria

    ReplyDelete
  18. *peaks head around corner and whispers*

    Shh . . . don't say anything too loud, but the Toddler made it to 4:56 this morning without harrassing me.

    *returns to hiding*

    ReplyDelete
  19. How does such a cute, little thing give you such troubles at night?

    And, like you, I am a traditionalist with the weather: I like it to be cold in the winter, rainy in the spring, etc.

    God bless!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hey! 105.9 The X!!! Awesome!

    There's nothing that says Pittsburgh like a chick in a hard hat! I might have to pay you and your zexy yellow hard hat a personal visit when you're at the WTC site... Stalking is not beneath me, either!

    ReplyDelete
  21. (whispering) Yeah for sleeping most of the night! It must have been teething troubles.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I know what you mean about the weather. It was 62 degress here in Maine yesterday. That can only mean that a HUGE snowstorm is lurking around the corner!

    Kimmy

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous11:52 AM

    Your new job sounds so cool!!

    I cracked up at the Daddies and their wah wah wah-ing...she's young, but she knows!!

    I live in Upstate NY and while I'm loving the 60 degrees the last two days, I am dreading when it drops to 10 below and we get another 3 feet of snow. I've never gone on vacation in the winter--it's too depressing to return home from a beach in Aruba to 4 feet of snow and a wind that slaps you in the face.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous12:58 PM

    I'm sure you totally ROCK the orange vest. I would look like a nerd, but you? Probably look like orange vests are the it item for 2008, causing millions of women to want their own orange vest.

    And I love, love, love toddler versions of songs. Get it on video before she gets it right!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I'm totally the opposite on the weather. I LOVE the few days of warmth in the middle of winter, just like I love taking a nice beach vacation in the middle of winter. But I way prefer summer to winter, and I won't move further north than the DC area.

    I also LOVE Circle, Circle Little Star! You should record or video her signing it. I think it'll be a new hit in the kiddie song world.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Note to self: Try to videotape singing.

    Note to the rest of you: The problem with videotaping is that she stops whatever she's doing to try to steal the camera. She's a thief, I tell ya'.

    Luckysevn--Are there any other stations? I certainly haven't found any. Unless, of course, I suddenly grow to enjoy hearing the same crappy pop song over and over and over.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Yeah for baby sleeping so well! Were you able to sleep too, or did you stay awake listening for her cries?
    She is so cute, I wanna pinch those cheekies!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous3:13 PM

    Yeah, I haven't slept good since the nights before I bragged about Davey's sleeping through the night. Spit three times now!

    BTW: Linky love? I love you with linky! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Um, me? WAY awake. It was so windy last night I laid there waiting for the roof to blow off.

    Secret Agent Mama--Done! Thanks for the poke (I've been adding everyone to Reader instead of blogroll lately).

    ReplyDelete
  30. Yeah for baby, yeah for you. You need to get a video of the light on vs. off toddler activity. So cool that I read the blog of a big shot...that is what it is all about for me...living vicariously!

    ReplyDelete
  31. It was 75 degrees in DC yesterday. Totally wigged me out, too, since I know we still have January and February to get through.

    And YEAH ALEXIS! I would say that making it until a few minutes before 5am is sleeping through the night. I might not be pleased with such an early wakeup call, but it's a step in the right direction.
    And her alternate lyrics? I would love to hear them too! We have Gavin singing "tinker bell, tinker bell, eeeee alllll da way!" to the tune of Jingle Bells...and he was also nice enough to sing at the top of his lungs for the entire packed parking lot of Target on Sunday. He'll sing what he thinks are the correct lyrics...and then he'll just morph his own (http://www.wineplz.com/2007/12/21/oh-hi-im-back/)...we love his improv style. And judging by Alexis' Wheels on the Bus lyrics, she's got a great sense of improv, too. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  32. oh, and totally jealous that you like your new job...but very glad that you like it and are happy. :)

    ReplyDelete
  33. I know...what's up with the crazy weather? I enjoyed it even if you didn't. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Yeah, we think Caleb is pretty cute but I guess we're a little biased. Alexis is pretty dang cute too especially in her Steelers gear. I am still with you on the not sleeping thing. Hopefully that will be over soon so we don't lose our sanity!

    ReplyDelete
  34. I wish I could get my toddler to sleep in his own bed. :o(

    ReplyDelete
  35. Wow, new job sounds terrific!
    Alexis is such a hoot, I love stories about her! Try the light trick and let us know what happens :-) (evil mom laugh here)
    Okay... let's talk weather. 80 degrees here. WTH!!!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Good luck in the new job! In my prior-to-mom life, I was a product mgr for a company that made equipment used mainly by construction workers. I also got to wear the stylish hard hats and traveled to lots of glamorously dirty and noisy construction sites. But it was sort of cool sometimes - I did get to tour Heinz Field and PNC park during construction. I stood in the smack dab center of the Steeler's field (still dirt at the time) and thought I will never ever be able to stand here again. Kinda cool!

    ReplyDelete