It went like this...

Daddy said
"If you argue too much when you're 5 years old, when you turn 6 your hair will turn yellow."

Bubba said
"No it won't."

Daddy said
"Yes it will. I saw it happen to a girl."

Bubba said
"Oh yeah, what girl?"

Daddy said
"A girl I used to know."

"What was her name?"
"Beulah"
"That's a made-up name. Where did she live?"

This would have gone on for hours had Sy and I not started laughing so hard we cried. You cannot pull the wool over Bubba Lou's eyes. No matter how hard we try to convince her chocolate is made of broccoli, or blueberries are just big rain drops, she never believes us. And I mean NEVER. It's impossible to fool her, she has a natural, built-in bullshit sensor (and she's happy to call you on it.) She knows what she knows and we cannot convince her otherwise.

She's going to grow up to interrogate prisoners. People will beg her to stop. They will confess all their sins just to shut her up. I can only imagine what's going to happen when she turns 13.

Sy and I have said (as I'm sure any parent of a girl has) that all you need to do to get prisoners or terrorists to confess is put them in a locked room with a few pre-teen/teenage girls (friends or not, doesn't matter) and only give one of them a cell phone. Set it to receive only, text only, no calls. People will give up anything to get out of that room.

Sheep in Rabbit's Clothes

Baa, Baa black sheep
Have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir
Three bags full.

One for a sweater, one for a hat
One for an intrelac, felted door-mat.

(Hence the reason I wasn't busting into them for a little sheep marionette. We made due with cotton/angora leftovers.)

Isn't he cute? Started this morning. Finished this afternoon (with lots of laundry and visit from Dad in between the knitting.) Love instant gratification.

Ivory cotton/angora friend has already been requested. Maybe tomorrow.

Life

Sitting on the sofa last week (?), knitting-check, snack-check, blanket-check, correct channel-check. I was much anticipating the new Discovery Channel mini-series, Life. I was imagining the greatness I saw during Planet Earth, the rich, melodic voice of Sigourney Weaver describing things more amazing than any special effect.

Oh, the horror and dismay when the opening credits of Life finished and Oprah Winfrey's voice fell over the images that flowed across my screen. Really? Discovery couldn't do better? I'm not knocking Oprah, but she's a talk-show host with a talk-show host voice (and I usually like her show.) However, her voice is not what I would call resonant or rich and melodic. I found it distracting. Ruined the show for me, tried watching in mute, couldn't get Oprah's voice out of my ears, had to turn it off. Damn it. I guess I should have paid more attention to the previews.

I don't know what the critics are saying (don't care) but when you spend that much $$ and that much time on filming images that, while they speak for themselves, need a little voice-over...you pick a voice that doesn't take away from your film. You pick a voice that flows with it.

Imagine Morgan Freeman's (yeah, I know he did March of the Penguins) voice instead.
Lovely, mesmerizing, captivating, adding a subtle dimension to the stunning imagery.

But maybe I'm wrong and everyone loves Oprah's voice-over.

Bubba's Ears

Sy and I have been a little concerned about Bubba Lou's hearing. Well, I'll be honest...it was Sy more than me. I just figured BL was being a 5 year old and not listening to me. By her choice.

Brought our concerns to her 5 year check up (and to her teachers.) She "failed" the hearing test. I was told I could wait a year and see if it changed. Thankfully, followed my maternal instincts and said "no, I want to see a specialist. She's starting to read and loves school, I do not want even a slight hearing issue to affect that. I want a more exact exam and diagnosis."

Once I mentioned it, BL's teachers noticed that when they called the class to line up, BL didn't always seem to hear them unless there was direct line-of-sight. They started making a point to get her eye contact and found it helped immensely. We do the same thing at home. We've been making a point to get her attention and make sure she's looking at us...ears pointed at us tend to hear much better. Her teachers are so very helpful and supportive.

Saw the specialist 2 weeks ago. One of BL's eardrums was "amber" colored, a sign that fluid had been built up in her ear for an extended time. I was also informed that her pediatrician should have seen it and recommended treatment (BL's dark circles are also a sign of extended congestion in the sinuses and ears...not lack of sleep.) BL's hearing was tested by playing games in a sound-proof box through a head set. They also by-passed the fluid in her ear to measure nerve movement (normal in our case, which is what you want.) One of BL's little ears has mild hearing loss, the other moderate. They told me it's like people are whispering at her all day. Can you imagine? Add that to the single-mindedness of a 5 year old, and of course she doesn't hear me.

BL will see an ear/nose/throat specialist in early March to determine the best treatment. Could be medicine for allergies, could be tubes. At this point, I'm just so happy this is reversible, I'll do whatever they tell me to. I wish I could get in sooner, but that's the earliest they could do.

The specialist actually thanked me for listening to my own instincts, since left untreated, the hearing loss could be permanent. How many kids out there are labeled as "stupid", "unmotivated", "distracted", that teachers say are a problem and don't pay attention, that have trouble learning to read simply can't hear at a level that is considered normal?

BL has only had 2 ear infections in 5 years. Caught and treated. No high fevers, no complaints of ear pain, none of the typical signs that say "ear infection." Just chronic fluid build-up that seems normal to her, doesn't cause pain, but doesn't go away or flare up so Mama and Daddy go to the doctor.

Even if you think it's silly, or you think your kid just doesn't listen...get their hearing checked. And see the specialist, the test they do doesn't rely on knowing right from left, or coordinating the sound you're hearing with the correct hand. By Easter, BL should be hearing a pin drop, sleeping better, and shouldn't have dark circles under her sweet little eyes.

I guess I'll really have to start watching my language.

Been awhile

The holidays were busy (as usual.) I cannot begin to describe how happy I am that they are over. Less than 365 days before I have to do it all over again, unless I decide that holiday dinner will not be at my house in 2010.

On a more fun note, check out BL's new hat:Soft pink, lavender, dark pink, cream. Makes me think of taffy, or frosting, or sorbet. Fluffy, girlie colors. 100%wool, OnLine is the manufacturer, lost the label so no idea what the name of this yarn is, my own pattern, size 10 needles, super quick knit. I think I cast on 60 stitches and it fits my 5 year old perfectly with a little grow room. BL gets to channel her inner Elmer-Fudd with the earflaps up. She's also very pro-pompom. Have I ever mentioned how much I am anti-pompom? Especially when you take the time to make the shaping of the crown of a hat spiral around and close tightly.It's hard to see, but I also have a purl stitches spiralling around the hat to give a little extra interest, especially while knitting it.

Next, please check out my little snowshoer:Yukon Charlie snowshoes...in metallic pink. These will fit her for several years and I love that all the straps are adjustable with big, easy to use with mittens, buckles. I was lucky enough to pick these up at OR last winter. She only got to use them a couple of times last winter and went around our property like a pro yesterday. She loved not sinking into the soft snow like Mama. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up some snowshoes for myself this trip to OR.

The sunglasses are by Julbo. Another OR luck-out. I think I just saw them on the LLBean site. These are truly the best kid's sunglasses I've ever encountered. They fit well, actually protect her eyes from UV and bright light, and are pretty flexible (meaning she can't break them as easy as the cheap ones.) I must say, I also love the pair I have from them.

Next is my little figure skater:
BL's 2nd day on the ice this year, and her 2nd day on single blade skates. Day one she used milk crates to help her balance, day two no milk crates in sight. The warming hut (with all the free skate rentals) was unexpected closed, but another family had an extra pair of skates in BL's size we could borrow. Very nice of them and greatly appreciated. The warming hut finally opened and Mama got skates. Yesterday I took a hard fall on my left knee-cap (skating for the first time in over 20 years), the bruise is just starting to show up tonight and the swelling is going down. Got right back on the skates today, but the ice was very rough, bumpy and chopped up due to our January thaw this weekend. I skated very slowly and carefully. Temps have been in the mid-high 30's since Friday, so ice conditions today are pretty bad.

Perfect snowman snow now. I hope to have a snowman in my front yard tomorrow, carrot nose, red scarf and all. BL and Sy are both home from school for Civil Rights Day (that's what they call it in NH.) We're expecting 5-9" of fresh snow tonight that's supposed to be snowman snow also. My yard will finally look clean again!

A little update

BL's Fancy Nancy birthday party was a huge success. All the little girls loved the lavender boas, bejeweled rings, and glow bracelets. The little boys enjoyed their embellished top hats and bow ties. Everyone loved decorating the white wooden frames with glue dots and flat-backed jewels. I took a picture of all the kids on the sofa, printed while they ate cake, and popped the picture in their frame before they went home. I will try to post pictures, I just have to get them off Mum's memory card.

My blogger ornament exchange partner was Sharrie. I received the prettiest little mittens and a carved starfish. Delightful. I can't wait to turn the starfish into a summer necklace, I just have to find the right beads to pair with it. I have no picture of it to show you...I put it in a safe place that is unreachable at the moment.Don't you love the (almost) Native American feeling these evoke? I also love that they're not red and green. Just so pretty and bright. Thank you so much Sharrie!

Thanksgiving weekend was filled with too much eating, my birthday, and a shopping trip with my sister to the Tilton outlet stores at midnight Thanksgiving night. We could not believe how busy it was and one woman told us it had never been that busy before. We had oodles of fun and after missing a turn to get back home, ended up taking the "scenic" route and back home at 5:30am. Not too bad. Pretty good bargains, but we decided next year we'll go to bed early and hit the outlets around 4am when there's plenty left, good deals, more parking and we're not turkey-drunk.

I'm headed to Utah again in January for the Outdoor Retailer show. I know it's over a month away, but I'm looking forward to it. I've made a few friends out there that I have fun connecting with twice a year and I enjoy spending time with our national sales manager. She and I get along really well and have a great time. It also doesn't hurt that we both have kids to bring goodies home for and look out for each other when a deal is to had (or free stickers!)

I have a feeling this will be another mostly handmade holiday as money is very tight again this year. I guess that means I ought to stop blogging and get knitting.

If I don't have time to post again, Happy Holidays to one and all.

Ornament Exchange 2009

Like I don't have enough to do already, but this looked like a lot of fun. Especially since the fun is all in the surprise that will brighten your mailbox.Thank you, Beki.