Halloween 2011!

Eek!  I meant to have this post up Monday night, but we've kind of been in sugar comas around here since then.  Hehe.  So Halloween was a blast this year!  Victoria* dressed as a princess, and boy, does she have the attitude down for that one!  She got more candy than we know what to do with, and had a great time doing it.

 *Tori has informed us (numerous times, because it hasn't sunk in yet) that she would prefer to be called 'Victoria' now, because it's prettier.  Her words, not mine.  Heh.

Photography and the five year old

Tori and I took our old, junky, thrift-store 35mm cameras downtown to the 'Market on Main Street' farmers' market today.  She just loves taking pictures, and I love that she's so interested in something I love.  I'm trying to teach her about composition and framing her shots, and I figured a busy street market would be a great place to practice that.  After we were done, we dropped our film off at CVS, to be picked up later.  We picked them up a little while ago, and I've got to say, I was pretty impressed with some of her shots.  Of course, there were a few blurry shots, and a couple of her finger, but on the whole, I was impressed.  I'll try to get some of them scanned and posted later. 
    In 'me' news, I just started a "365Project", which is pretty cool.  You take and upload a photo every day, for a whole year.  It's a challenge to myself.  If there's nothing interesting to photograph, I'll have to improvise.  It sounded pretty neat, so I thought I'd try it.  Ok.  I'll try to post those pics later.  Peace out!

Parent-teacher Conference SUCCESS!

So last night was our first parent-teacher conference.  We were understandably a little nervous.  I mean, with some of the stuff this kid comes out with, who knew what the teacher was going to say?  Well, it was all for nothing!  Apparently, she's doing great!  She's finished with the kindergarten reading program, and almost through the 1st grade level.  She'll be starting the 2nd grade level soon.  Her teacher says she thinks Tori might be one of the few who gets through the 5th grade level by the time kindergarten's over!  Wow!  Also, she said Tori's really good in class, and listens well.  Um...really?  Are we still talking about the same kid, here?  Huh.  Well, I guess she is picking some stuff up, though.  Lately, when two grownups are talking, and she wants to say something, she'll stand there and raise her hand.  Ha!  So cute! 

So, all in all, I'd call last night a success!  Peace out!

Unacceptable!

So, anyone who has read my previous posts knows that Tori says some pretty funny things sometimes.  But this...oh, this.  This is from a conversation between Jimmy and Tori:

     Tori:  Dad, let me take all your guitar picks from all your guitar cases, and put 'em in this box.
     Jimmy:  No, I need those in the cases.
     Tori:  But -- but, DAD!  How about this?  Today, I'll do this guitar case, then, next time, I'll do another one, and then next time, I'll do the other one.
     Jimmy:  No, just leave them alone.
     Tori:  Dad, that is UNACCEPTABLE! (Said glaring straight at him, with her little hand on her hip)

Hoo, boy.  Also, in other news, Tori has informed us (repeatedly, because I can't seem to break the habit) that she no longer wishes to be called 'Tori'.  She would rather be called 'Victoria', because she likes Victoria "more better".  Yeah.  Five years of calling the kid 'Tori', and now she wants me to change?  Sure.  That'll happen.  Hehe.  More later.  In the meantime, Peace out!

Soccer and the average 5 year old...

Oh, boy.  Saturday was Tori's soccer game, from the YMCA after-school, six-week soccer program.  It was for K-3rd grade, and these kids were adorable!  Tori was the youngest one, being the only kindergartener in the program, and it... kind of showed.  She did pretty good, for her age, but, well, there were times she sort of forgot she was in a soccer game or got bored or something.  Hee!  At one point, she started doing somersaults on the field!  But, she did good, running after the ball.  And at least she didn't get hurt!  I've got to say, though, that the guy who coached these kids for six weeks + game day must have the patience of a saint.
      Peace out!

Mom, this wind's from the north...

*sigh*  When did my little, tiny baby get so smart?  We go outside to walk over to my Granny's house, and it's kind of cold and windy.  Tori says, "You know, Mom, this wind is from the north, and that's why it's so cold, and if you stay out in the wind for too long, you might get an earache."  Um...wait, what?  The best part is, she was right.  The wind was coming from the north.  Way too smart.  It's sort of scary.  Hehe.
    More later.  In the meantime, Peace out!

Poor kid (or the first cold snap really sucks)

It got cool last night, so I had to turn the heat on for the first time in a while.  Unfortunately, I forgot to put York's vaporizer in her room.  So today, the poor kid's all hoarse and scratchy.  Hopefully, she'll get better soon.  She says she feels ok, but I still feel bad for her.

OMG! She's ALIVE!

So, yeah.  Kind of lost this blog in all the madness.  Update-in-a-nutshell time...
    So, Tori graduated from pre-K, Jimmy had surgery, I hurt my ankle, and Tori started Kindergarten.  Are we all caught up now?  Hehe.
    So, my baby's now a Kindergartener, at a real, big-kid, elementary school.  I'm finally starting to come to terms with that, I think.  She's learning to read, and she. is. amazing!  She was the first one in her class to finish the 'reading readiness' program, and she's almost halfway through her first reading folder.  This teacher she has?  Awesome!
    I can't even believe some of the stuff they're learning in Kindergarten, though.  Computers, science -- she can tell you ALL about invertebrates -- math, and logic... I didn't know some of this stuff until junior high!
    She also did the YMCA after-school soccer program, and loved it.  Her coach said she was faster than almost all of the other kids, which isn't all that impressive, until you realize that the program was for K-3rd grade.  Their end-of-program game is Saturday.  That...should be interesting.  Haha.
    Okay.  I'll try to remember to post here occasionally.  'Til then, Peace out!

That's complicated.

So, Tori and I were listening to my iPod in the car today, and the Glee version of 'Poker Face' came on.  Tori likes that song, so we turned it up, and she's singing along.  Then she stops, and says, "Hey, mama, what's a poker face?"  So, I launch into a five minute explanation about poker, and cards, and bluffing, and having a good poker face.  I get done, and she says, "Oh." ... Almost a full minute later, she goes, "Mama, that's complicated."  I'm fairly certain, however, that she'll remember some of the explanation later.  Like, the next time I tell her to do something, or else I'll *fill-in-the-blank*; she's going to bust out with, "Mama, you're just bluffing."

In other news, 'Courage the Cowardly Dog' is one messed-up show.  xD  We love it, though.  Peace out!

Wow! I'm alive!

Wow.  Been a while since I posted.  We've pretty much all been sick for the past couple of months.  It kind of goes in rotation.  One gets over it, another one gets it.  Ick.  But...I think we're finally starting to get rid of whatever bug this is.  Of course, it really doesn't help when the temperature changes by 40° within a few hours.  Wake up, it's 30°.  By noon, it's 70°.  Ugh.  Stupid Florida.

The last time Tori went to the doctor, we found out that she has asthma.  Ew.  Fortunately, it's not the scary, throat-closing, non-breathing kind of asthma.  Just the annoying, muscles-tightening-around-the-lungs kind, like I have.  Bronchospasms.  So now she's got an inhaler and nebulizer, and it seems to be helping.  That's why she's been getting all these chest/respiratory infections, so hopefully, once we get that under control, she won't get them as frequently.  *fingers crossed*

And I swear, that kid spends way too much time with me.  Now, every time I laugh at something she says or does, she goes, "Mama, you gotta put that on Facebook!"  I've created a monster.

Now that I'm feeling better, I'll try to start posting more often again.  Peace out!

Little artist

So, I know I may be a little bit biased, but I'm pretty sure my kid is an artistic genius.  Okay, maybe not, but I still think that she's not bad, for a 4 year old.  Here's some of her recent artwork.

    This first one, she tells me, before she starts painting, "I'm gonna paint a summer scene.  With a palm tree and the ocean and the sky and the sun.  It's gonna be the beach."  The result:

    Next up, we have beadwork.  She got into my bead box, and made me a pair of earrings.  Very, um, freeform.

    Finally, she moved on to pen and ink drawing.  She knows that my favorite animals are penguins (followed closely by the duck-billed platypus).  She's drawing away, and finally says, "Here, Mommy.  I drawed this for you, 'cause it's your favorite!"

    Remember, she's only four.  I figure that's not too bad.  xD  Peace out!

Poor little sickie...UPDATED

So Tori's sick, again.  I'm pretty sure it's just sinus issues, but I still feel bad for the poor kid.  She's coughing all night, and her poor little nose is just dripping.  Of course, she sleeps right through all the coughing; doesn't even wake up.  Me, on the other hand, I'm awake every time she makes the tiniest noise.  Ugh.  But, hopefully, she'll be better and back to school soon.

In other news, I really don't like it when it's this cold.  I mean, seriously, I live in Florida for a reason.  Even inside, with the heat on, I'm freezing.  Tori, on the other hand... I swear, I don't think she ever gets cold.  She'd run around half-naked all the time, if I let her!  And forget trying to get her to wear socks.  Not gonna happen.  Anyway, time to go pour more medicine down her throat. 

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UPDATE:  Well, I took Tori to the doctor this morning.  Turns out, she's got bronchitis.  Poor kid.  So the doctor prescribed azithromycin, and said to make sure she gets lots of rest and drinks plenty of fluids.  Hopefully she'll start getting better soon.  I really hate hearing her cough like that. 

ACK! What a couple of weeks!

Wow.  No time for blogging the past couple of weeks.  Tori's school closed, and we were very bummed about that.  But!  She's starting her new school tomorrow, and it seems like a pretty good one!  Okay, y'all.  I have a lot of cute to make up for.  So now, in no particular order, Tori:  Winter vacation edition.

We had a great Christmas, but nothing too exciting happened, other than pretty much everyone getting a cold.  Tori got some 'Zoobles', and let me just say, these are sooooo adorable.  They're little plastic animal thingys, that lock into the shape of a ball.  Then, when you put them on something metal, they pop open!  So cool.  So, Tori's outside with Jimmy, and she sticks the Zooble on the car.  Well, the car being metal, it pops open.  She yells, "Wow!  It even pops on the CAR!  Oh, I gotta put this on Facebook."  Yeah.  No lie, guys.  She's...yeah.

The little things lined up on the hood are the Zoobles.

Also, she likes looking through the scope.  xD

So, then yesterday, she's coloring with gel pens, and she gets done with a really pretty picture.  She goes, first to Jimmy, then to me, "There.  I'm done!  Log online and get your own picture to color!"  Yeah, we've really gotta cut down on her TV time.  *facepalm*  Peace out! 

What a weekend!

Our weekend started bright and early Saturday morning, getting up and ready to go to the Christmas Parade.  My dad, Aunt, and Uncle got there before us, and saved us spots.  We had a great time, even though by the end of the parade, we were freezing.  Tori had a blast, and got lots of candy and beads.  Of course, when my mom asked her later about the parade, all she had to say was, "The horses pooped!"  I took lots of pictures with my new camera, and I think it did a great job.

Later Saturday evening, we were on our way home from Wal-mart, and drove past some paintings on the side of the road.  Tori, looking out the window, says, "Mom!  Some of those paintings are paintings by Van Gogh!  Look, it's the 'Night painting'."  I looked, and sure enough, one of the paintings was a copy of 'Starry Night'.  Now, I know that she has the 'Baby Van Gogh' DVD, but for her to remember that painting and be able to recognize it from a moving vehicle, in near-darkness...?!  I...just don't know.  And when I asked her how she knew that, the first thing she said?  "'Cause I'm smart."

Fun with ice (or, guerilla warfare with frozen projectile missiles)

So my dad had this idea last year to leave the sprinklers on at night, when it was going to freeze.  Wow.  The result?  A really, really cool ice patch.  Especially since the grass in the garden area is pretty high.  Icicles and crystals everywhere.  We all had a blast playing in it last year, so he decided to do it again this year.  Last night was the night.  This afternoon, we frolicked in a wintery wonderland!  Well, right up until Tori and her Grampa formed an unholy alliance and started an all-out ice war!  Ice was chucked, bruises were received (okay, that one might be just me), and the battle raged on!  Or, at least until I couldn't feel my fingers.  So I did what any brave combatant would do in the face of out-numbered danger...I ran and hid behind my mommy.  My strategy was that my dad couldn't possibly be foolish enough to throw ice towards her.  Yeah.  Not so much.  He threw, she glared, and the two of us declared surrender and went inside to thaw out, leaving the two frostbite-loving lunatics out there to turn on each other.

For more pictures, check out the family album.

On a completely unrelated note, Tori, instead of going to sleep, is in her bed singing 'Funky Town'.  Whoever taught her that song, rest assured...some day, somehow, I will get you for this.  *Headdesk*  Peace out!

Junior Detective

So, Tori and I decided we wanted some sunflower kernals.  One problem.  Jimmy put them 'away' last night, and we didn't know where.  I had just sat down, so I really didn't want to get back up to lead a search across the entire house.  Tori says, "Well, I'll just look for them, then."  I told her good luck, and sent her on her way.  She replies, "Don't worry, mom.  I'll find 'em.  I'm a good de-tective."  Okay.  Wait...what?  Where'd she get that?  Then she continues with, "Remember when I found your car at the store?"  Ah.  Now I get it.  We were at the grocery store, and I couldn't remember exactly where I parked.  Tori spotted the car, and I told her she was a good detective.  But how?  How does she remember these little, one-off comments like that?  So now, she's telling everyone she's a 'good detective'.  I just have one question.  If she's such a good detective, how come she can't seem to find her bed at bedtime?  Actually, it is almost bedtime, so I'm off to get 'jammies on and teeth brushed.  Wish me luck.  Peace out!

Cold. Very, very cold.

So, winter is upon us.  Well, as close as 'winter' gets to Florida, anyway.  We've dug out the sweaters, sweatpants, coats, hats, and scarves.  And boots.  Can't forget the boots.  There's only one problem with this whole thing.  Tori, being a little kid, wants to go outside and play, and she doesn't plan to let a little thing like freezing stop her.  The rest of us, being Floridians, have no intentions of leaving our nice, warm houses for anything other than a quick run to the nice, preheated car.  Now, this poses a bit of a problem.  Tori just doesn't understand why the rest of us care so much about 'being warm', and 'not getting frostbite'.  She doesn't care about all that; she just wants to play on her swings, and we're all a bunch of meanie-heads for making her stay inside. 

Tori:  Mo-oooommm, can I play at my play yard?
Me:  Are you outta your cotton-pickin' mind?  It's freezing out there!
Tori:  But I want to!
Me:  No, sweetness.  It is way too cold to go outside right now.  Mommy doesn't like cold.
Tori:  But I do, and I'm going to my play yard.  (By this time, she's at the door, turning the knob.)
Me:  Freeze!  Step away from the door.  We are not going outside.
Tori:  (Cue tantrum)

I predict that this will be a daily occurrence during whatever cold season we have this year.  Peace out!

Out of Tune

Tori was in the living room with her dad, and she was playing her little guitar.  She said she was going to play guitar for her band.  Then, she got frustrated, because the tuning was off.  So she's strumming, and she says, "Well, I guess this sucker ran outta tune."

Cut to a little while later.  She comes into my room and asks me to tune it for her.  I do so, and she starts pushing on the strings.  Here's the conversation that followed:

Me:  Tori, don't push on the strings like that.  That's why it keeps going out of tune.

Tori:  No, it isn't!  I just play it to much, and then it runs out of tune.

Me:  I am so blogging this.

What am I supposed to say to that?

So, bedtime has become somewhat of an issue lately.  Tori uses every excuse she can think of to avoid it, and boy, can she think of excuses.  Tonight, she didn't want to go to bed, because, "I have to help Dora get through this forest."  (A game on her computer.  Yeah.  She's more computer literate than my mom.  Not that that's saying much, but still.)  So I told her that was the wrong answer, and that the right answer was, "Yes, Mommy.  I'm going right now."  Tori doesn't even miss a beat, and fires back with, "Well, the wrong answer is 'No, I'm doing my computer,' and that's what I'm telling you."  Seriously?  What do you say to that?  Then, her dad tells her she can play for a few more minutes, so that's that.  Until... her computer messes up.  She turns to him and says, "Dad, this stupid thing's not working.  Fix it."  He tells her he can't.  She promptly responds with, "Well, that's because your brain is dead.  Your batteries musta died."

Where in the world does this kid come up with this stuff?  She's only four!  Seriously, some of the stuff that comes out of her mouth just blows me away.  We have church tomorrow, so I'm sure I'll have more to blog about after that.  Peace out!

What to do with a preschool diva?

So, yesterday when I picked Tori up, her teacher had another 'Tori story' for me.  Oh, boy.  Tori's group was supposed to be playing with puzzles, at the table.  Tori didn't want to play at the table.  Oh, no.  She was sitting on the floor, throwing the puzzle pieces around.  Teacher tells her she needs to sit at the table, or whatever.  Tori yells, "No!  I don't want to do that!"  Long story -- er -- short-ish, she ends up sitting in the office for a while, then tells her teacher that she's better, and that she "threw the bad attitude away, outta my head."  *sigh*

Also, she was apparently the instigator in an incident where she ended up getting her whole group of friends to start saying they were going to 'tell on' the teacher.  To whom?  No clue.  So we had a little chat on the way home, but she'll find a loophole.  She always finds a loophole.

Time to pick her up.  I'm sure I'll have more to blog about, later.  Peace out!