Rockin' Out

I think Nashville might be rubbing off on her.

Vintage

The shirt that Harper is wearing today used to be mine when I was little. She pulls it off better than I did. Maybe it's the red nail polish.

Of Ducks And Men

Harper went to the park to feed the ducks the other day. On the way there, we had the following conversation.

Harper: When I grow up, I am going to be a duck.

Me: Well, you can't be a duck because you are already a person.

Harper: No, I'm going to be a duck.

Me: I thought you were going to be a doctor when you grow up.

Harper: Yeah, I'm going to be a doctor...(long thinking pause)... and a duck.

Me: Fair enough.

Remembering

I was watching the History Channel's documentary about the 9-11 attacks when Harper woke up from her nap. She came downstairs just as they were showing footage of the towers collapsing.

She watched it and then said, "Mom, what happened to those buildings?"

That's a tough one to answer.

Lately

Busy, busy, busy. That's what I've been. I know everyone is busy, so I won't elaborate on my own personal busyness. On a side note, that's one of my pet peeves - people who constantly complain about how busy they are. Venting once in a while is perfectly fine. But when every conversation you have with them includes some complaint about how incredibly busy they are (mixed with a healthy dose of self-importance), then I start to have a problem. We're all busy. Suck it up.

Ok, tangent over. Here's the rundown from the last week.

Out of the blue, Harper started having accidents at school. Her teachers thought it was because she just didn't want to stop playing in order to make it to the potty on time. This went on for about a week. Not cool. Her teachers and I agreed that she totally knew better and was just being lazy. So to get her back on track I made a deal with her. I told her that if she went one whole week with no accidents at school or at home, I would get her a Pillow Pet (she saw them on TV and has been bugging me to get her one all summer). I made a little chart for her so she could track her progress and see how many days she had left. And guess what. It totally worked. She's been accident free for 2 weeks now and has the Pillow Pet to prove it.

As I was dropping Harper off at school the other day, a dad was struggling with his kid in the parking lot. The kid was throwing a fit about going into school. His dad calmly picked him up and carried him inside. I dropped Harper off in her classroom and saw the dad again as I was leaving. He said to me, "When I told my dad that we were going to have a baby, he gave me one and only one piece of advice. We do not negotiate with terrorists." Truer words were never spoken. (By the way, I don't consider the Pillow Pet a negotiating tool. It was an object lesson about setting a goal and achieving it. So there.)

If you remember a few weeks ago, I told you I was contemplating applying for a new job. Well, I ended up sending in an application. The search committee is meeting today to start evaluating all of the (hundreds) of applicants. I think this job would really be a perfect fit for me and it would also be good for our family. So, if you are of the praying persuasion, I would appreciate your prayers that my application would be well received.

Good Music

A couple of my friends have posted this on Facebook and I thought it would be fun to do. The task was to list 15 albums off the top of your head that are meaningful to you. I only came up with 14. I probably could have forced one more, but that misses the point in my opinion. So here's my list in a rough chronological order. Don't judge me.

• Barbra Streisand - Memories: My mom and dad would play this on a huge record player in our living room when I was little.
• Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey: First cd I ever bought. I was about 10. Back then, she was good stuff.
• Tori Amos - Under The Pink: The soundtrack of high school
• U2 - Achtung Baby: Every song on this album is good.
• Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy: My first of many Sarah McLachlan albums
• Nirvana - MTV Unplugged: I didn't like Nirvana until I heard them unplugged.
• Neil Young - Harvest: Hands down one of the best singer/songwriters of all times
• Joni Mitchell - Blue: Her voice is an acquired taste and I love it.
• Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac: One of the best albums of all time
• Radiohead - The Bends: I used to work out to this album. I have no idea why, but it motivated me.
• Coldplay - Parachutes: I love all of Coldplay's stuff, but this is the one that got me hooked.
• John Mayer - Heavier Things: Whatever I may think about John Mayer personally, I can't deny that he makes great music.
• Ray LaMontagne - Trouble: I'm glad there are people out there like him making music.
• Gungor - Beautiful Things: I got this album at the beginning of the summer and I can't stop listening to it.

Ok, your turn. What albums still stick with you?

Cave Dweller

"I am going to eat my snack in my cave with my pen-gin."

And she did.