Everything that comes out of this kid's mouth is funny.

Today we were heading home from Davenport when Aria requested listening to her favorite song, Hey Soul Sister. I have it on my phone and so I handed my phone to her with the song playing. We had finished listening to Bad Romance and I got her going that Lady Gaga sings it. I asked her, "Who sings Hey Soul Sister?" She didn't know and so I said, "Train. Train sings Hey Soul Sister."

Aria then goes, "Thomas! Thomas sing it."

So she thinks that Thomas the Tank Engine sings Hey Soul Sister. I love this little stinker.

Funny Things Aria Says Now

Aria is saying all sorts of funny things now that makes me laugh. I wish I could remember even half of them so I am attempting to write some down today so that I won't forget.

The first thing that Aria said this morning when I went to her room to wake her up was, "Aria sleeping very very fast." She also says this when she wakes up from her nap.

Aria, Rod, and Alex were in the Quad Cities getting comic books and Rod had to go across several lanes of traffic. He said, "Now hold on because daddy has to go fast. Are you ready?" Well, he ended up not going as fast as he thought he was going to have to and Aria said in the most sarcastic little voice, "Daddy goes very very fast." Rod said that it was so funny he almost had to pull over cuz she sounded so sarcastic.

Today when Rod said he wanted to go to the Quads on Tuesday I reminded him that mom would be down to get groceries. He said yeah, that was fine and I said, "I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page." Aria then blurts out, "The next page!"

We were also at Drugtown and they had a big blow-up pumpkin in the parking lot. Aria asked me, "What do pumpkin balloons do?" I said, "I don't think they do anything, honey." She goes, "What do pumpkin balloons go?" I said, "I don't think they do anything, sweetie." Then she goes, "Pumpkin balloons go 'AHHHHHHHHHHHH!'!"

Family Fun Museum

Aria and I went to the Family Fun Museum in Bettendorf today. It's a lot like the children's museum in Coralridge Mall, but half the price! Both Aria and I got in for $12 total.

For some odd reason, Aria didn't want to go in at first. She cried and wanted to go back to the car. I did not understand that one at all because she's never done that before. I picked her up and carried her inside and once she saw all of the fun, she was okay.

Aria's favorite things were the little kitchen. She put all of the plastic food in a big pan and she was making soup. She'd then put the pan in the little refrigerator to cook it. She put her soup on plates-one for mama and one for Aria.

There was this thing set up on the floor that looked like a pond of fish and when you stepped on the lilypads or the flowers or anything, the butterflies would fly away and the fish would swim. The water would ripple. Aria liked that a lot and was stomping on it to try to make the fish move.

Aria's second favorite thing was the electric piano they had set up. She had a good time changing the sounds of the keys and playing it. She spent a long time playing that piano. She also spent a great deal of time banging on the xylophones that were set up. She wasn't really interested in the little grocery store or the drums. She just wanted to go back and forth from the piano and xylophones.

Mama is Aria's favorite playmate now. Even if she is around other kids, she doesn't want to play with them. She stares at them and then kind of stays away from them. I will sometimes talk to the other kid and encourage her to play with them, but she doesn't. I know it isn't because she's shy, because she's really not a very shy kid. She has her shy moments sometimes, but she quickly warms up to people. Right now she just wants to play with mama.

I was so very proud of my little girl. I went to the restroom and they had little kid potties in stalls. She wanted to go in one on her own and picked a little potty that had a yellow seat. She pulled down her pull-up and sat on it for a long time. She even wiped herself and flushed. At one point, Aria wanted mama out of the stall so she could shut the door and pee by herself. That was so awesome. I told her over and over how awesome it was she did that.

Random stuff:

Favorite song right now: Secrets-One Republic

Favorite ice cream: Blue Bunny Cherry and chocolate

Favorite facebook app: It Girl

I also went on a site where I could load up a pic of me and try on celebrity's hairstyles. I look best with Jennifer Aniston's hair and Gweneth Paltrow's hair.

Mole No More

Today I went to the dermatologist and got my mole taken off my chin. I also got one taken off my chest, but that one wasn't as important as the chin one because I didn't see it every single day. My mole has been there as long as I can remember and has been seen in school pictures as early as 1st grade. Therefore this mole has been a part of my identity for 25 years. Taking it off was kind of sad, like I was losing part of my body. Which, quite literally, I was, but you know what I mean.

But, seeing how skin cancer is prevalent in my family, how moley I am, and that I have health insurance, I thought that I should get that done since it was changing sizes, color, and hair was growing out of it. Same with the other mole that was also removed.

So that you know what having a mole removed is like, let me tell you in explicit detail!

First of all, they numb the area with an anasthetic. That's actually the most painful part of the whole ordeal. You feel like you are being pricked with a needle, which in fact you are. It's not a jumping pain or a clenching pain at all. Just a "Ow, that kinda hurts a little" type of pain. After that you are numb like you are at the dentist on novacaine.

After you are numb, they take this shaver that is not unlike the ones that you see for your feet when you have calluses. Your mole is then just shaved right off your face. It doesn't take very long at all, just a few seconds. It took them longer to get the one on my face than on my chest.

Once the mole is shaved off, they clean it with alcohol. Then they burn the skin so that it will stop bleeding. This also does not hurt at all but you do smell the burnt flesh. This is not as shocking or disturbing as it sounds. You just go, "Huh, I smell something burning." You don't even feel it as they do it. After it is burnt so that you don't keep bleeding, it is cleaned again, antibiotics put on it, and then the bandaid!

the whole thing takes about 10 minutes total.

I did not watch as they shaved the one off my chest. I just did not want to see that. I kept my eyes closed. What does my chin feel like now? It feels like I have a sticker on my face and it also itches where the bandaid is.

I can take the bandaid off tomorrow, but for two weeks I have to add antibiotics and wash the area with alcohol. The doc also told me that I will have scars. I told him no big deal. I'm used to something always being there anyway.

I Accomplish Something, I Swear

I have so much I need to do and the list seems never ending. I feel like I haven't really accomplished anything. Therefore to make myself feel better, I will write a list of what I accomplished today.

1. I took Grandpa his pictures from Vick.

2. I did a load of laundry.

3. I hung up the new mailbox and threw the other one away.

4. I did a load of laundry.

5. I sealed a few of the cracks in the basement.

6. I used remaining crack filler to try to paint over the graffiti on my sidewalk.

Wednesday Catch Up

Hmm...what have we been doing lately?

We've had a pretty busy summer being outside. Now anyone who knows me also knows that I don't like being outside. I think the outdoors is extremely overrated and I'd rather be doing just about anything at all in a temperature controlled indoor environment. Well, my daughter does not agree with my philosophy of "if it isn't done inside it's not worth doing." This means every day I end up outside.

We go to some kind of park every day. Maybe one day it's Weed Park, the next day Fuller, and the next day the Discovery Park. Aria will normally find at least one slightly older little girl who will play with her and she can follow around. Aria latches onto girls who are around 4-7 years old and blond. Maybe a red head once in awhile. For some reason those are the girls she wants to follow around. I am thankful for little girls who think Aria is cute and is perfectly happy to help her go down the slide or to swing with her. It also means I can sit down for a minute and not have to hover like a mama bear.

Our current schedule goes like this:
8am-9am: Wake up, eat breakfast, take a walk in the stroller or go to the park for about two hours.
11am-1pm: Eat lunch, color, play with legos. Go wake up daddy.
1pm-3pm: Play with daddy, then take a nap.
4pm-6pm: Wake up, have a snack. Play outside or at a park until dinner. Watch Wiggles while mommy makes dinner.
7:30pm-8:30pm: Eat dinner with daddy, then go to sleep.
Somewhere at random times baths will be had as well as diaper changes and other such fun stuff.

One bit of good news for me! Aria doesn't seem to be as sensitive to wipes anymore. I used to only be able to use the Member's Mark wipes as everything else gave her a rash. No more! I have been able to use something else and after careful testing have determined other wipes safe! This is so great!

Aria is also becoming a picky eater as well as eating less. She has decided that regular milk isn't good enough anymore and in order for her to have her 18 oz a day I have to make sure it is flavored and that it is cold. If it is not cold she also will not drink it. She has decided she doesnt' want things that she normally loves including peanut butter and carrots. She would be perfectly happy to eat apples and goldfish all day long. Unfortunately for her, she does not get this option. If I leave a bowl of cut up fruits in the living room she will snack on that all day. At least I know she is getting her fruit. She also has decided that bacon is the best thing ever. It is looking like every day is Bacon, fruit salad, goldfishes day.

About me:
Well, my hair needs cut again. I just hate it touching my neck.
I have completely stopped standing on the scale and checking my weight. I am already happier. I have decided that size 14 isn't too horrible after all.
I have also decided that if something is worth making, it is worth wrapping in foil and baking it the easiest way possible. My husband approves of this method wholeheartedly.
I have seen the Star Trek movie twice and would see it again in an instant. I was never a big Star Trek fan before, but now I am obsessed. I went to the movie to see Simon Pegg and came out with a huge crush on Zachary Quinto.
Every day I admire my yard. I take care of my yard better than I take care of anything now. I mow every Monday, which is more than I can say for my laundry.
Apologize is still my favorite song, but it is being edged out by You Found Me.

Sorry no pics this time. Not because I don't have any, but just because I am too lazy.

Friday Fence is Up!

Low and behold, the fence is finally done! This makes me all kinds of excited. Okay, so it isn't completely complete. There is a gate to be put up in the front, but for the most part, the important stuff is all done. There were quite a bit of problems on the way, such as even after we got those trees cut down, the stumps made it impossible to sink a hole there and so the posts have some creative spacing. It looks good, though, and even our gate's hinges are all pretty.

I bought a manual lawnmower at Menards. My thoughts were that if I was going to mow the lawn myself, our other lawnmower was broken, and I can barely start a lawnmower, then I would get a manual. It actually works pretty good. I mean, I don't expect it to be a walk in the park, unless that park is very bumpy and full of sticks. However, I would have more trouble with a pushmower and so it's all good. I don't have to worry about gas or oil or grass shooting at my legs and cutting them. Nor do I have to worry about bent or dull blades or grass bunching up in the catcher. An old man walking down the sidewalk saw me using it and said, "I haven't seen one of those in years. I learned to cut grass with one of those." His grandpa had one, hee hee.

I went to yard sales with Mom and Aria today here in town. We got some good deals. I got Aria a cute little trike for $2. I got her some books, about 5 outfits, and I got her a fisher price play camera and a weebles RV. Mom got some Megablocks to keep at her house and some cute clothes for Gannon in size 12 months. We ate at KFC and stopped when the baby started getting cranky. Tomorrow I plan to go with Misty, but we'll be taking the stroller because there should be quite a bit of walking going on. All in all, not a bad day. Today a lot was accomplished.