Can She Hear, Or Does She Not Pay Attention

Picking Mini Me up from preschool today, her teacher pulled me aside and asked if she had ever had her hearing tested.

"No," I replied.

The teacher went on to say that several times she and her assistant have said something to Mini Me and Mini Me acted as if nothing was ever said to her.

Hmm. Could it be the stuffy head she recently came down with? Or, the fact that she's still relatively new to her school? Or even, could it be because she's four?

Maybe there really is something going on with her hearing--it would explain a lot of behavior.

She goes to the doctor for her regular check up in two weeks, so I'll bring it up then. In the meantime, I'm keeping an eye on her.

It's a good thing we learned sign language when she was younger (Signing Time).

I Love it When a Plan Comes Together

I'm a planner.

I need to have order amongst chaos...ok, I'm a control freak.

Since I launched Studio 722 Jewelry last year, I wanted a professional-looking website to direct customers to. Up until now, it was a fairly static site.

Now, it's a work-in-progress WordPress masterpiece!

But Lori, your Baltimore Housewife blog is on Blogger, what's up with that?

Yes, I love Blogger for it's ease of use and drag-and-drop interface, but I found out that WORDPRESS ROCKS when it comes to plug-ins and total customization. Maybe one day I'll move over there, but one step at a time.

Alright, enough of that, back to my masterpiece.

It took me a little while to formulate my website plan, but my plan has come together.

Please come over and check out my Studio 722 Jewelry site--don't worry, it's a blog, too, so you won't feel too out of place.

Stay tuned because I have the capability to go fully integrated with a shopping cart. (That's my next dastardly plan.)

Girl's Day: First Trip to the Movies

Today was unofficially Girl's Day.

Mini Me tagged along with me the whole day, and it was a good time. I was actually called "The Best Mommy Ever" by the kid who's so moody lately she makes me worry what she's going to be like as a teenager.

We started our day with a trip to the vet for the two pugs. Like a natural 4 year old, she talked non-stop the entire time we were there. We turned on the iPod while we waited for the dogs to come back from their blood draws and she danced (break danced, even!) in the the exam room.

After lunch, we went to our very first trip to the movie theatre. Mini Me had the choice between The Princess and the Frog or Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel, she chose the Disney movie.

She did wonderfully at the movies. She knew to stay quiet when the lights turned down and was "that kid" who shushed the kids around her when they started making noise.

There were a couple of times when she asked to go home, mainly because she was tired and it had already been a long day, but she enjoyed the movie.

I have to say, though, that The Princess and the Frog was a bit scarier than I had hoped--kind of like how I felt duped at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney World this past summer when I was told it was for "all ages" (*cough* liars *cough*). It was a good movie for both the kids and adults and like all good Disney movies, it had a happy ending.

Mini Me lasted through the entire movie and we are debating when to see our next flick.

We finished the day with playing outside and then dinner.

All in all, it was a pretty good Girl's Day and first trip to the movies.

The New Competition?

You may not know I have two dogs, pugs to be exact. Our oldest will be 9 in two months and she's completely the Alpha of the two (the other pug is a black male).

My daughter has taken to sleeping with a stuffed pug her Nana gave her a couple of years ago.

I'm pretty sure that my female dog wanted to bitch-slap the stuffed dog for trying to "invade" her turf of the Backyardigans chair. (Yeah, this dog has called the kid's chair as her own.)

The stuffed dog was allowed to live another day.

Boys: So Gross They Make Me Want to Laugh 'Til I Cry

I get that boys are weird and that they do gross things like touch bugs and eat things off the floor. I'm even amused most of the time at these behaviors I see my two-year old son exhibiting. Yes, he's a strange (but cute) little monkey man.

But today's event knocks them out of the park.

My four-year old daughter has gotten into the habit of leaving her dirty underpants laying around the house, but mostly in the bathroom. She happened to leave a "prize" in the bathroom today which I hadn't gotten around to pick up when "THE INCIDENT" occurred.

Do you remember how your parents would say "if I can't hear you, you must be doing something you shouldn't"? Yeah, well, case in point today.

I thought the Boy was doing one thing, which turns out it wasn't true so I went search for him and found him in our downstairs bathroom...

...elbow-deep in the toilet...

...with his sister's dirty underpants fully toilet-water soaked...

...and then SUCKING on the damn dirty fecal-covered underpants!!!!

He was soaked with toilet water from both sets of elbows and knees down, and a huge puddle of dripped toilet water all over the bathroom floor!

Gross? Yes, most definitely.

My reaction was a mixed one...should I laugh, cry or throw up because of the situation? I did none of the above, but instead threw his fecal-covered ass in the bathtub for a major scrub down followed by a thorough tooth brushing.

Bleh. I thought it was horrific that the kid would get on his hands and knees and drink out of the dog's water bowl...but this clearly takes the cake.

Perhaps he's part canine...

Housewife Rap: Weekends in the 'Burbs

Suzy Jenkins is back with her brutally honest take on being a housewife in the suburbs.

This time, as a sequel to her Suburban Housewife video, she's telling us how busy life is on the weekend.

Remember your Mother's Cure, ladies...



Has anyone seen my "iced tea"?

Now Available at Artfire

Studio 722 Jewelry celebrates its first year in business by expanding its selling platform to ArtFire: the "Artisan Marketplace home to artists from around the globe."

Check our new ArtFire location: http://Studio722Jewelry.artfire.com

As before, free shipping in the U.S. (for a limited time).

Yes, home shows and office shows are still available in the Maryland area! Please contact me to schedule a showing, or view our host rewards.