Haircut

I cut Mia's hair today. It has been growing unevenly and she sort of had a mullet with long sideburns. So I chopped off the back and the sides and it looks better now. This is not her first haircut. I trimmed her bangs and sides a few months ago and she looked like Liza Minelli. So cute! I hope it all grows out a little more evenly now.

Festival of Lights

Mia and I decided to go to the Festival of Lights tonight. We tried to go with the rest of the family last week, but it was so crowded that we ended up going to the mall instead, but tonight was less busy. Don't get me wrong, it was still REALLY busy, but not as crazy as last Saturday night. After getting lost on the way to the zoo (despite thet fact that 1-I go there about once a month and 2-I was using the navigation on my cell phone), we finally got there around 6PM. It was a little chilly, but not bad at all. I must admit, I was a little disappointed. There were a lot of lights, but they were pretty much all white ones. It was kind of boring, but Mia loved it. She was fascinated with the lights and mostly all of the crazy, screaming children.


Mia at the zoo


Mia doing something weird
on the bench b/c apparently,
she is too cool to just sit like a
normal person.

Here is another pic from a few days ago. Mia was reading with Jamie and she was having a great time. She loves books:

She also likes Barney...a LOT!

Video of Mia laughing

This is a link to a video I took of Mia laughing. Dad was showing her a pop-up spinning top and she loved it. Sorry for the poor quality, but I only had my phone cam at the time. You can still hear her laugh, at least:
http://s56.photobucket.com/albums/g191/mariredwine/?action=view&current=bd3982b4.flv

Homework finally DONE!

This has been a killer semester. I'm took 4 graduate English classes that were very reading and writing intensive. This is by far the hardest semester I have ever had. The end of the term was the hardest, since all of the classes had multiple, big assignments due. I am happy to announce that I finished my last paper at midnight (the due date cutoff) and I am now free for a month until the next term starts. And that is the last one---yippee! I am now relaxing and baking some cookies for Tricia's big party tomorrow. It will be great to have some fun instead of studying until my brain gets mushy.

It's a crazy week. Mia's been sick and grumpy, that kind of sick where she only wants to be held for hours and hours. That is SOOOO not me. I get too fidgety. Thankfully, Mom and Dad came over today and they took care of her for several hours. She was totally Grandpa's girl, and she slept for a long time in his arms. He has the calm demeanor that Mom and I lack. But she is sleeping a little better tonight, so I am hoping she is on the mend. I am also hoping for more than 5 hours of sleep.

I went to the ski slopes today to get my paperwork ready for this year and they are already making snow! Yay! I am looking forward to getting away from the house sometimes and hanging out with adults. It's always fun there.

The next few weeks are going to be very busy for me. Here is my list of final projects for my classes: 15 page lit. crit. paper, 12-15 page Restoration lit. paper, 20 poem portfolio including analysis, and fiction portfolio containing at least 40 pages of my own fiction. And so far all I have done is...nothing. Ack! Anyone who reads this who would like to volunteer to do my homework will be welcomed with open arms. :) I've already registered for next semester and I only have 3 classes, so it will be easier. Plus it is my last semester ever. Jamie says that he's heard that before, but it is true. There is no way I'd want to spend all of that time and money on a phD.

Well, off to bed, hopefully for more than a few hours.

Vacation

We had a great time on our surprise vacation last week. Jamie and I had been kicking around the idea of going somewhere, but we were worried about being stressed out if we went somewhere far away with a baby in tow. Thankfully my old boss offered us the use of his house on Marco Island, FL. It was great! It is a lot easier to take care of Mia with a stock of toys and some room for her to move around. And since there was a van there we could also use, all we had to do was pay for airfare. I figured there was no way we could drive 19 hours with a young child. She did very well on her first flight. She was wiggly, but managed to stay in a good mood the whole 2.5 hours.

The house had a pool, so we spent every evening before dinner swimming. She was so worn out that she slept all night, every night we were there, which is unusal. The house had a boat and jet skis for our use, so we went out on the gulf one sunny afternoon. Poor Jamie was kind of stressed out driving the boat, but Mia fell asleep and I had the chance to kick back on the prow and relax.

We brought her to the Residents' Beach one day and she saw the ocean for the first time. She didn't seem to care too much. Jamie said she probably thought of it as a giant sound machine (she sleeps with her sound machine on ocean sounds every night). She tried to eat some sand which freaked me out (I think sand is gross), but she did like all of the seagulls that were flying around us. We also went to the Naples Zoo and Mia made friends with a leopard. Well, actually, I'm pretty sure the leopard was trying to figure out to eat her, but whatever.

The flights home were good. We connected in ATL and on both legs we had a middle seat free to put her in. That made it a lot easier. Overall, it was a great time. The only way it could have had a better time was if I didn't have so much stupid homework to do all week, but even that was OK in the warm Florida sun!

The Election

Tonight has been an new and emotional experience for me. I've never cared for any particular candidates, and I always felt like I was choosing the lesser of two evils when I voted. But this time I was actually excited. I see in Barack Obama someone who has the amazing ability to bring people together, to excite people who have been disenfranchised. I'm watching the crowd in Chicago, and there is so much pure joy on the faces of those people. I hadn't even really thought much about how black people would react because I was more focused on the issues, but seeing them there, especially the older people who are crying quietly, has made me realize what an impact this will have. Not only will minority children have a black leader as a mentor, but he is a good person, one of the best natural leaders I have seen. That said, I feel sorry for Obama! What a mess he is inheriting. I wondering if John McCain is secretly letting out a sigh of relief now that the reality of the job is becoming clearer?

Speaking of McCain, I just watched his concession speech and it was very sincere and well-done. I thought it was especially nice that he offered condolences to Obama about his grandmother's death. Personally, I like McCain (the person, not the politics) and that is one reason I'm glad he lost. The job of President takes an awful toll on people. I look at poor George Bush now and he looks utterly miserable and worn out. Bill Clinton looked like death warmed over near the end of his last term. It takes them years to get their health back, and I think it would be harder for an older person to bounce back. I think it would have meant the end of his health. Of course, it may mean the end of Obama's health, too, with all of the crazy skinheads out there, so I guess you can never predict anything.

But tonight I am happy and proud that so many people who have never felt like they had a voice have finally spoken.

My First Time (and it didn't even hurt)

So I am giving into peer pressure and creating a blog. But, as those of you who know me know, I don't always have very much to say. I will try to come up with SOMETHING.

Halloween was fun! We visited family one night and spent another night with Tony, Heather, Sophia, and Daphne. Mia was a bumblebee. Here are pics:

She's wiped out tonight after developmental therapy at 1:30 and occupational therapy at 5:00. She's getting around pretty well, so it seems to be working.

I'm excited because I get to register for my last semester of classes next week. By June, I will have my Master's and be done with school forever...except the classes that I am teaching. I guess I won't ever really be done with school.

Jamie is finished with Holiday Inn. They can't afford to pay him anymore. It is pretty bad. The paychecks bounced a few weeks ago! Yikes. We knew it was coming with the massive decline in tourism, so he's already working on some possibilities. It will be nice to have him around more while he is looking for a new job. I'm planning on going back to the slopes again, as usual. I miss the company of the crazy ladies in the office! We have a lot of fun, and it is nice to have adult company. I still find myself randomly singing nursery rhymes and blowing raspberries when I am at work, but I guess that evens things out since I answer my home phone "Perfect North Slopes. This is Mari. May I help you?" during the ski season. I have problems seperating my home and work life.

Unlike Julie, I'm excited about tomorrow. I hope Obama's first action in January is to end the war so all of those hard-working men and women who have been in that sandy, hot, miserable place can finally come home. That would be a great start to the new year!