Starring - Daddy's Hat!

For some reason Daddy's hat entertained Jenna for a long time yesterday. See video here. She put it on her favorite doll - Woody as well as her own head. Then when the hat was boring, she chased Scruffles. We didn't get a really good chase scene (believe me, there are some where Scruffles runs in terror), but here is a funny one. You can see Scruffles appealing to us for help :).

I'm so excited that Christmas is coming. Next week will be devoted to Christmas cookies and candy. This year Jenna will be able to help but Erik still won't be able to get out of decorating Christmas cookies! No matter how hard he tries - he will be forced.

We watched the Da Vinci Code last night. It was actually good and followed the book remarkably well. It is a good fiction story :).

Lately Jenna has had 10-15 minute meltdowns in which she is completely inconsolable. These will be set off by something completely ordinary. For example, she spilled her bowl of corn flakes (dry - no milk) and started screaming. Dada and I tried to hold her and comfort her but to no avail. She was so upset about this. She wasn't mad at us or throwing a tantrum, she just had a meltdown. The meltdowns I prefer are the triple chocolate kind from Applebees (that was Missy's joke - I thought it was hilarious!).

Today in Quiddler I was left with J, B, D, Y, C. What words can I make with that?? I made by and lost the rest. I couldn't think of any others. So it was a pitiful Quiddler day!

Happy Giving!

This Thanksgiving holiday was absolutely wonderful - maybe the best ever! Why...because Erik and I appreciated our time together and treated it like gold or chocolate (whichever is more valuable to you - I'm with the chocolate). We left Jenna with my parents from Thursday through Sunday. We did miss her and on Sunday I couldn't wait to see her, but those few days to ourselves were precious! We went to J.Alexanders and ate a fancy dinner, went to see Casino Royale (great movie!), spent 2 hours in half price books, went out for coffee at Cup O Joe, played EverQuest, and just sat around and relaxed. It was wonderful!!!

Of course, my family showered Jenna with attention and gifts. Some of the gifts she received were a Jenna-size table and chairs, a big toy car she can ride in, a sit and spin, lots of clothes and crayons, a vacuum cleaner, and even a gift card from Max and Ermas! She loves all her new toys and gifts. Here is a picture of her sitting on one of her chairs. She kept moving from chair to chair. She loves them!

Erik and I received great gifts too. My mom got me a bird feeder and Erik hung it up outside our deck. It should drive Scruffles crazy!!

I used all my letters today in Quiddler and got a score of 71 AND got to make the word "laugh". Such a happy day to end a happy weekend!!

Friends?

Still friends despite the Ohio State - Michigan rivalry. Can you believe it? Nicole and I even went to Kroger together (decked out in our sweatshirts) and no one looked at us funny. Now we just have to get Mclaine (her new baby girl) to wear a Buckeye cheerleader outfit like Jenna... *smile*

Yesterday I went to an OSU basketball game with my Dad. We had a good time and the Buckeyes won 82-60. So it was a good Buckeye weekend overall! Then Mom and Dad and Jenna and I went to Scramblers today for breakfast. I ate so much that I only ate a banana for lunch. Jenna however still ate lunch. How can she fit so much food into that little body?

We put up the tree today and Jenna and Scruffles were very "hepful". She loved the beads we string on the tree as well as the snowflake ornaments. We'll see how long the tree lasts. It has survived Scruffles before but not a toddler. She can do some damage!

(warning - I am going to rant) I received an email from a student today with the following contents:

MS COOPER, CAN YOU PLEASE HELP ME! I can not get to my worksheets. I need help. I have to catch up. I can not fail this class. I so loss. I can not get to my email or anything.

It was from an email address something like "chichi9787@yahoo.com". Now first of all: who are you? what specific problems do you have? and what course are you taking? I receive 2-3 emails like this every semester. Do people have any knowledge of business communications?? I prefer a subject such as: Hello Ms. Cooper or Hello Gina even Hello goddess divine
then tell me what your specific problem is and especially your name for goodness sakes! What is the world coming to :).

Today in Quiddler I got -28 points since I lost half my cards. There just weren't enough vowels!!

We won!

We won the Michigan game and what a game that was! It was exciting from start to finish. We all went to Nicole's house to watch the game. They are big Michigan fans and were wearing blue and yellow. Of course we were all sporting our scarlet and gray. Nicole and I took a picture together of us - I'll post it later :). For now, on to more important things - our kitchen! I've uploaded a picture of our newly painted, stenciled kitchen complete with our new linoleum. In case you can't see (and actually do care) the design is a series of squares within squares with red, gold and green colors. We are going with a harvest fall type color scheme so this floor fits nicely. Erik painted the stencils on the walls - it looks so nice!!

Today I tried to get a video of Jenna telling us that she prays to God and Jesus and that Jesus is in her heart. However in the video the cat made a noise which distracted her. Distractions are terrible things with toddlers. Her attention span is surprisingly short. Check it out here.

Tomorrow night I'm going to a basketball game with my dad. It should be a fun father-daughter outing. We are going to see OSU play the San Francisco Dons. I hope we win :). Then it will be Thanksgiving! Yum!! Lots of food and fun and family! We are exchanging gifts at Thanksgiving with my side of the family. We have a secret santa gift exchange but since we're all so nosy it's not very secret. This Thanksgiving will be especially fun since we will be leaving Jenna with my parents and we will have the weekend to ourselves!!! I have so many plans of fun activities to do but Erik wants to paint Jenna's room and workout. AAAH! This is supposed to be a vacation - can someone please explain to him about fun??

Today I got 83 points on Quiddler and had to use QAT - what a great word!

Go Bucks - Beat Michigan

We are eagerly anticipating the game tomorrow. Jenna will be decked out in her OSU cheerleader out fit and and Erik and I will be donning our scarlet and gray as well. Rumors of cops being flown in and riots surround the festivities. My students were wearing Scarlet and Gray today also. I'm so excited for tomorrow! We're skipping church to watch the game - heathens!!

I tried to take a few videos of Jenna today but as soon as I get the camera out she wouldn't perform. Before we eat we tell her that we are going to pray. She says "pray God Jezzy". Then we say "where is Jesus?" and she says "book, heart". She knows Jesus is in the book (her Bible) and her heart - how cute!!

Today we were reading a book and I asked her to turn the pages. She waited and said "pease". She was waiting for me to say please!!! I usually want her to say please so she was mimicing me. I guess I need to have manners too.

I saw The Prestige Tuesday night and highly recommend it. The acting was excellent and the storyline was great. There was also a twist at the end (several actually) that I didn't pick up on. I'm glad I went to see that movie - it was fun.

71 on Quiddler today: feu is a word?? wonder what it means...

My little chef

Yesterday Jenna and I headed up to Cleveland to see Missy for her birthday. Of course today, Jenna has been saying "Happy Missy" all day - how cute. Amanda and my mom were also there and we went to Famous Dave's to eat. The five of us ordered the All American Sampler which feeds 4-5 (actually about 7!!). There were ribs, an entire chicken, pulled pork, corn on the cob, corn bread, baked beans, cole slaw and french fries. We took home two boxes of left overs. Jenna even loved the pulled pork. After lunch, we headed to Toys R Us where my mom and sisters spent tons of money on Jenna! My mom bought her this apron and chef's hat. She loves to cook with mama and always says she is being "hepful" (hepful to Jenna = not helpful to Mama but very cute). She helped me bake pumpkin bread today and wore her new apron. She loved it!!

In very exciting news for me - my paper was accepted to the CISSE 2006 conference in Vermont. Yea!! I do not have to attend but will present my paper via a webex. I'm so excited that it was accepted. The final manuscript is due the 24th so I had better get on the ball.

Today I made cheese and corn souffle for dinner. It only has 217 calories and is low fat as well. I thought it would be a great light dinner for Sunday night. Well Erik told me I should never make it again and couldn't even eat the amount I scooped on his plate. This was probably the worst cooking failure since potato pancakes several years ago. I didn't think it was THAT bad but then again - I like broccoli :).

Today I got 93 on Quiddler but it wouldn't let me play the word ORZO. Orzo is a word! It is a pasta that looks like rice. I make it all the time!!

Haircut

We gave Jenna her first haircut! Here is a picture of her with her bangs shorter. She didn't complain while we were cutting her hair. It is crazy curly!! At least now it won't be in her eyes and she'll be able to see.

My new semester is going well, and I've learned a good deal about VB.NET from my online class. I'm really enjoying this course. The courses I'm teaching are also going well and I've been researching podcasting them. I was hoping to start this semester but it looks like it will have to be later.

Today we took Jenna to vote. She didn't actually vote but had fun at the polls. I've had the election results up and refreshing on my computer. We'll see how things turn out.

Scruff had his teeth cleaned on Monday. He was pretty dazed when we picked him up and they even had to extract one of his teeth. I guess he needs to do a better job of brushing *smile*.

In a much smaller election we will be voting on trustees for our Homeowners Association on Thursday. I am not running. In fact, I quit my two year term 1 year early. I'm so glad too - there are too many angry neighbors (generally about stupid things like fences). I'm hoping there are some normal people in my neighborhood but I'm not sure. If we ever move it will be out in the country without a homeowners association!

I got 72 today in Quiddler and they wouldn't let me use "mux". That is a word!!!