Tantrum #1

Emma had her first real temper tantrum today. Fortunately for me, I was not there to enjoy it. She went to Lowe's with Grammy and Grandpa, and apparently became incensed when she wasn't allowed to roam through the store to her heart's content. Grammy picked her up - it was time to go, after all - and she arched her back and started howling. Ahhh...I wish I had been there...So now I have to figure out what to do when she has a tantrum. Ignore her? Redirect her attention? Hide my face behind my hand and run blindly out of the store, carrying her like a football under my arm?

The truth is, I'm excited that Emma is at this age. Not because of the tantrums, of course, but because she is clearly learning new things constantly. It's a beautiful sight. I can watch her and see her mind working. She has a book with animals in it, and I ask her, "Emma, where is the kitty." She starts to point at the kitty, pauses, smiles, and points at the dog. She knows which is which. She's just teasing me. What does it say about a 19 1/2 month child when they can think things through well enough to tease? I have to say, I'm completely impressed.

More happy news today...that paper I had to write for my history class (see my recent entry where I bitched about bibliographies) came back today with a big, fat A on it! Yahoo! And there wasn't a single mark on my footnotes or bibliography, which means I did all of that just right. It pays to obsess, clearly. That paper was the last assignment I had for the quarter. I have two finals next week, then I have three weeks off before the next quarter starts. Ahhh, three whole weeks to spend with my little girl...and her tantrums. Well, tantrums or no, I can't think of a better way to spend three weeks.

Thoughts on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a lovely day. Dan flew out from California, and so I got to spend another Thanksgiving with my little brother. He's doing fantastic, and I'm so proud of him. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend very much time together, since he flew out on Wednesday and left again on Friday.

The best part of the day (no offense to Dan!)...it snowed!!! Yep, we had a light dusting, but it was enough for me to scrape some up and throw a snowball at Dan. Well, it was a snow pinch, actually, not enough for an actual ball, but it was enough for me to peg him with it...yahoo! It drifted down in the prettiest little flakes; I tried to get video of the falling snow, but it doesn't show up much. But, being the kind of "wishing for snow" person I am, I actually ran outside in the morning in my jammies and slippers so that I could take pics and video. I was freezing! But it was my first snowfall since I was 13, so I didn't want to miss it.

Emma was wholly unimpressed with the snow. I bundled her up and took her outside so she could see it, and she stayed out for a minute, then started complaining about the cold, so Mom took her back in. I think that she'll like it more when there's lots on the ground and she can play in it. At least, I hope so, since it's going to happen!

Bibliographies...ugh!

I've been beating my head against the wall for weeks over this term paper I'm doing for my history class. The class teaches methods for historical research, citing sources, writing papers, etc. My paper is dealing with the role that outspokenness and non-conformist behavior played in the Salem witch trials (really, it's not as dull as it sounds!). I've finished the paper (and heaved a sigh of relief that was, no doubt, heard around the world) and now I'm trying to do my bibliography. Sources have to be cited correctly, using Chicago Manual Style, since that's part of what my professor has been teaching us.

Now, here's what's driving me nuts. I used a book that was originally published in 1867; my copy was part of the fourth printing in 1969. My professor says that I need to show the original printing in my bibliography, but my copy of the book doesn't mention the original printing. So I checked another book and got that information. Then I wondered, do I have to cite the book I got the bibliographical information from? And what would that look like, exactly? It's like math, I tell you: the more you try to think about a problem that doesn't make sense, the harder it gets to work through.

I think I'll have to just b.s. my way through that citation and hope for the best!

A trip to JoAnn's Fabrics

I had to go to JoAnn's today to pick up supplies for our Christmas card. Emma hates, hates, hates JoAnn's! It's almost like there's a sensor on the threshold of that store, because as soon as we step through the door, she's starting to complain. It doesn't matter what I do, how many graham crackers I give her, it always ends up the same: me holding her and trying to juggle her wiggly body, my wallet, my purchases...ugh.

Today was no different, of course, but I had to go there. I was desperate for a white ballpoint pen (which I found but, it turns out, I won't be using it for our cards. Uh-huh.). I was holding Emma, and she was squirming, wanting to get down and, no doubt, hightail it for the door and the freedom beyond. Christmas music was playing, I started bouncing her, she started to smile, and suddenly I was dancing in the aisle. Yep, for everyone to see, I was swing dancing with Emma to some random Christmas song. And the funny thing is, it was a blast! I didn't care who was looking (though I figure that most moms would just nod understandingly and keep on walkin'), and I didn't care how we looked. We were having fun together in JoAnn's, for the first time ever.

Opportunities for that kind of moment don't last forever. One day, Emma will not only still hate JoAnn's, but she'll also be bummed that she's stuck with me, bored out of her wits while I search for the perfect white pen. But today, I got to dance in the aisle with my baby, and that's bliss.

What's with the potty mouth??

I was in class the other day during our mid-class break, and I couldn't help but hear these boys who were sitting in the back of the class. One of them was cussing up a storm, as if he were out at a party or a sporting event or something. Now, I'm a big fan of a well-placed profanity, and I recognize that there are times in life when nothing feels better than saying f*** or sh** or any number of cuss words. But in the classroom? Come on, guy! I was thinking, and I told Mom later, that I wanted to walk up to him and say, "Young man, that's enough of that. The bathroom isn't so far away that I can't go get some soap and wash your mouth out!" Ack! Though it gave me a chuckle to imagine doing that.

You see, I'm older than almost all the other students in my classes. I'm finishing up some general ed, so there are lots of freshmen and sophomores in my classes. I suspect that this particular guy is one of those. He's also the kind that won't hold the door for you, and doesn't say thanks when you hold the door for him. So I figure him to be somewhere between 18 and 20. Since I'm 37, I am actually old enough to be his mom...ugh.

I think that the only thing about OSU that I'm not enjoying is the lack of older students there. It's possible that I'll meet up with some once I'm finished with this general ed stuff, but I suspect not, since it's rare that I see students on campus that look older than 30. I've looked for organizations for older students, and I haven't found one. I thought about creating one, but who am I kidding? I don't have time to attend meetings, let alone create a new group.

I think I mentioned that I made a friend in one of those general ed classes. Emma and I met her and her two adorable little boys at the zoo today, and we had a great time. Emma takes a little while to warm up sometimes, but once she did, she was thrilled to be with another little kid. And she got a kiss, too, her first kiss from a boy, so it was a big day!

How cute is this child?! 

Elmo again????

Lately, Emma loves Elmo. I don't know what that's about, or where this sudden fascination came from. She hasn't watched "Sesame Street" more than a few times, and most of those times were on Noggin, when they don't even show Elmo. So how does she know Elmo? And why does she suddenly love him? I know they say that Barney has subliminal messages. Did Sesame Street do the same with Elmo? I hate to think of my beloved "Sesame Street" doing that! Has my baby been brainwashed??? ;)

Speaking of Elmo, the other day, I took Emma to Toys R Us to play (she's old enough to have fun there, but too young to get the gimmes) and she saw Hokey Pokey Elmo. She froze, eyes wide, as if she were seeing a celebrity! She finally went up to the toy, and when I squeezed his hand to show her how it works, and that was it! She kept saying "more," over and over again, until I finally had to distract her with something else.

We're going to try (for the third time) to get some pictures for our Christmas cards today. The first attempt was a total bust. Emma was wearing her pretty dress, there was a fire in the fireplace, she had a rocking chair and a teddy bear...a total Picture People setting. But she wouldn't look at the camera, no matter what I did. The second time I tried, we went to a local park, and the pictures came out fantastic. But they don't look particularly Christmasy. So yesterday, I made hats and scarves from patterns on my favorite website (Lion Brands Yarn), and we're taking pics together today. If they don't come out, I have pics to use from our park session. I'm serious, these are adorable pics! In fact, here's the link: http://www.snapfish.com/home/t_=14050819 . My e-mail is emmasmama412@msn.com, and the password is emmyliz. But if I end up using one of those pics on our cards, try and be surprised, okay??

I'm trying to figure out how to add a permanent pic to my blog. So far, I've had no luck. As you can see, the pic I wanted to put up ended up in a post instead...ack! I think I have an idea of what to do, though, and I'm going to try it. Wish me luck!!!

So this is a blog!

I've been seeing this "blog" thing here and there, and was wondering what the heck it is. Then, on First Time Moms, Jen had a link to her blog, and I took a peek. A-ha! I like it! So here goes...

We've been living in Ohio for five months now...wow! It's getting colder, and I'm liking it, although I have these mini-panic moments, thinking 'you mean it's going to get colder??' When you have no point of reference, never having lived in temps lower than 40 degrees or so, it's hard to picture 20 degrees, 10 degrees, 0 degrees (gulp!). But I wanted cold weather, and I wanted snow, and I'm glad that I finally get to experience both.

I'm also glad for Emma. Ohio is a lovely state, and I'm finding more and more that it's a completely liveable state (despite the Republican leanings, LOL!). I mean liveable in terms of what I can afford, by the way. Imagine being able to buy something more than a mobile home for $100k! So Emma is going to grow up in a home of her own, in a room that is truly hers. She can paint the walls any color she wants! She'll have stability, something that I'm sure my mom wanted to give us, but had a hard time with, living in difficult-to-afford California.

Emma is getting to be a real toddler lately. There are moments of complete aggravation (for both of us) followed by moments of hilarity (also for both of us). I look back to my pregnancy-hormone mood swings, and they don't come close to the ups and downs of toddlerhood!

Lately, one of Emma's favorite things is to sit on Grandpa's lap and take his pen out of his pocket, put it back, take it out, put it back...you get the picture. She also loves to go on Playhouse Disney online and see all her Disney Channel friends, mainly Pooh, Clay, and Bear in the Big Blue House. We can't walk past the computer without her asking for "pew" or "eh" (Clay) or "bah" (Bear). She doesn't want to hit any keys herself; instead she wants Mama or Grammy or Grandpa to do the work, while she sits on our laps and shouts out commands like a princess!

She still doesn't say many words, and I'm trying to not worry too much. She understands an amazing amount of stuff. She knows that what she drinks, what she bathes in, and what is running through the stream in our favorite park are all water. She doesn't say the word; instead she pants, like she does when she's just taken a huge gulp. I guess language is language, and just because it's not in English doesn't make it not language, right? She's communicating, and she does say a number of words ("no" being a current favorite) so I'm not freaking out yet!

School is almost over for the quarter...hooray! I have very much not enjoyed having to take Philosophy. You think you know how to reason, and you think you're logical, and then you go to this class where they break it down for you and suddenly nothing makes sense! At least, that's what happened to me. I did make a friend in class, though, and I confess that I've learned things, so it's been worthwhile.

As for my other classes, again, I'll be glad when they're over. I'm taking a class on historical research, and the term paper assignment has been making me nuts. I'm also taking an American literature class, and while I love the material, and the teacher is knowledgable, that same teacher looks like she's 18 years old. She walked into class, and I thought to myself, 'you have got to be kidding!' She also says "um" a lot, which gets, um, distracting and makes it, um, hard to follow the, um, lecture.

I do like OSU a lot, and am proud to be going to such a great school. I love the history, and the sheer number of students is amazing! It's a little wierd, though, to walk on campus and see very few people over the age of 30. Sometimes I feel a little out of place, but I'm so grateful for the opportunity to get a college education, I quickly get over that feeling and I move right along.

Speaking of moving right along, it's time to move on and work on my English term paper. It's due tomorrow...yipes!

Here we are!