Attack of the '80s!

While surfing through my daily blog reads, I found a post by Nemesis that really brought back memories. She was weeding out old YA books at her library and came across loads of '80s teen dramas. And, sadly, I recall reading way too many of them. My favorite?

I Won't Let Them Hurt You, by Linda Barr. The story of a teenage babysitter who begins finding mysterious bruises on her young charge. She decides to stand up for the boy, believing his father has been abusive. Shocker: it's the mother! *gasp*

So then I started trying to remember other favorites. Check out this sweet list of YA crapola:

The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline B. Cooney (Who hasn't read that one?)

Homecoming, by Cynthia Voigt

Flowers in the Attic, by V.C. Andrews (almost all of the series, actually)

Why Did She Have to Die? by Lurlene McDaniel

Fear Street Series, by R.L. Stine

Don't Look Behind You, by Lois Duncan (The main character's name was April. Ooohhh!)

But one of my favorites that I still stand behind was Say Goodnight, Gracie, by Julie Reece Deaver. Still love it.

"I've got this great idea. Why don't we pitch it to the Frankling f***ing Mint?"

Update on my grandma: This past week has been highly stressful and difficult. Watching my grandma change so dramatically almost overnight from bubbly and forgetful to a woman void of energy, light, and recognition has been terrible. Worse yet has been seeing how my grandpa, a man of quick decisions and steady nerves, has been afraid and unsure of what to do.

Krista's mom, Sharon, advised me to make sure that at Grandma's doctor's appointment, she get checked for a urinary tract infection, which causes confusion in the elderly. The doctor's office called this morning and did confirm that Gram has a UTI. She will start antibiotics for it.

Now, I don't believe that the UTI is 100% responsible for Gram's current state of mind, but I'm fervently hoping and praying that it will help clear up the majority of this past week's mental decline. I just have to hold onto hope, I guess.

***********************************************************

In other news:

Kristen and I went to the Cranberry Fest in Warrens, WI with my aunt Barb and two of her friends. We split up once we got there with the intention of meeting up at 2 p.m. to head home. Kristen and I each bought rings at this sweet booth. Both are made out of sterling silver wire, and mine has two hematite stars. Love it! Kristen's has one ruby and pearl (or whatever they were) beads. I'm wishing now that we'd gone back to buy some more because they were pretty cheap.

I also got my brother a wooden frame with the name "Aaliyah" carved out of the wood, which is placed over a picture and put into a picture frame. I'm going to give it to him for Christmas. They didn't have one with Jersey's name, of course. :( I may have to look them up and order it or something.

We sampled many of the delights featured at the food booths. Cranberry cider and scones, cranberry iced tea, chicken sandwich and corndog, cheesecake on a stick, and, of course, Kettle corn. Mmmm.

Quotes from the weekend:
In Kmart, discussing what movie we should rent, Kristen loudly: Let's get Knocked Up!

From Knocked Up, when Ben finds that all of his roommates have pink eye: What did you do, give each other butterfly kisses?

Kristen, hitching up her pants: My bags are pantsy.

Also, we may or may not have come up with approximately 3 new "songs." And voiced our own commentary on our E! True Hollywood Story.

"But nothing's lost. Or else: all is translation / And every bit of us is lost in it ..."

So, I was going to write about how my grandparents drive me crazy with all their questions, and it was going to be funny, too. But then my grandma has been really disoriented and sick the past two days, and it just didn't seem very funny anymore.

She asked if my uncle Brad, who lives in California, was going to sing at her sister's funeral.

She kept looking around the room for Jersey, who wasn't even at the house.

She couldn't find the bathroom this morning, then couldn't remember which way to get back to her bedroom afterwards.

I can't imagine a worse ending to a life, losing one's memory. Every precious moment you've held dear, lost in blankness and confusion.

What fresh hell is this?

Dear Lord in Heaven,
Why did you create teenagers? Follow up question, why did you make them into sullen little bastards? And is it too much to ask that I don't have to single-handedly deal with an undead group of 30 or so sulky teens who give me dirty looks, swear at and push each other around, and all convene into my little library?
Whoops! Sorry, God. I have to cut this short. Apparently Hell Night isn't over, here comes another round of teens. You can recognize them by their over-indulgence in make-up, streaky hair, and/or donkey-like braying laughter.
Love,
April

Jerz-O-Rama*

Now for some overdue pictures of Jersey, who turned 3 in August.

A Jersey in motion stays in motion ... long after her aunt has been worn out.



Strawberry sundae from Dairy Queen. Jealous.



I love when her hair is fluffy like that. It always reminds of Season 4 American Idol contestant, Nadia Turner.



Jersey makes friends with everyone. This was at a garage sale about 2 weeks ago, where Jersey befriended twin girls and their two chihuahua puppies. She's seen here holding Chiquita.



Ah, Halloween. Here is Jersey in the costume/mask aisle at a store, trying on an Elvis pompadour and aviator glasses. She's attempting the famous Elvis lip-curl, but it becomes a cute pucker.



Dear Lord, don't let Jersey become a pimp. Love, April.



Don't you just want to rub her little spotted belly??

*Unfortunately, due to the unstable and volcanic relationship between my brother and his estranged wife, I have not seen my other beloved niece, Aaliyah, in over 2 months. Otherwise, I'd be plastering her adorable mug all over this blog as well.

Lord, beer me strength.

Last night I dreamed that I was in a race, and only the top 20 finishers who reached this shed would be saved. (Saved from what, I can't recall.) Anyway, I and someone I know in real life made it. We were breathing heavily from the race. I looked around the room to see who else had made it. This young woman with long, platinum blonde hair and too much make-up was flirting with some guy.

In a baby voice, she said to him, "I'm so gwad you wunned with me."

Narrowing my eyes in contempt, I said to her, "Uh, don't you mean 'wan with me'?"

Then I woke up laughing.

My birthday is coming soon.

In case you're wondering what in the world a classy gal like me could possibly want for my birthday, Christmas, or any other time of the year, I decided to create a wish list blog.

Interested persons click here: What This Girl Wants.

And even if you don't want to buy me anything, feel free to snoop.

"It's like with firemen. You don't leave your brothers behind. Even if you find out that there is a better fire in Connecticut."

My poor little pumpkin, Jersey, is really sick. :( She got off the little schoolbus yesterday and just laid in my arms for about an hour, tossing and turning. She had a bit of a fever and her breathing was pretty wheezy. I rubbed her back until she fell asleep.

She does like her school, though. Obviously, it's just a pre-school, but she's having fun. I asked her before she fell asleep if she made any friends. She nodded solemnly. "What are their names?" I asked. She quietly replied, "Joshua... Mackenzie... Just forget it." Thinking makes me feel tired and sick sometimes, too.

Earlier at work yesterday, my boss had come into the room where I was proofreading. He saw the stack of papers with his name on it that he had to correct. He sighed in exasperation. "Quit marking stuff wrong!" I quickly replied, "Quit making mistakes." Then he started laughing and said, "Good point."

I also suggested that we all dress as characters from "The Office" for Halloween. He thought it was an awesome idea. I wondered who would play Dwight. Just then a male co-worker walked past and gave me a nerdy grin and wildly waved. hahahaha It was hilarious. Obviously, I'd want to be Pam, which annoyed Kristen, who promptly claimed that she wanted to be Pam. (Ooh! Right after I wrote this, a woman named Pam came into the library! It's a sign, right?)

A friend, whom I will not name at this time, got in contact with me again after several months of silence. She was talking to me about her boyfriend and how they had talked about where they would be right now, if they weren't together. She joked that he'd still be living with his mother. He claimed that if he wasn't dating her, he'd be with me. I promptly threw up a little in my mouth. Apparently he also claimed that he and I have so much in common. Yet he doesn't notice that I don't talk to or look at him if he's around. Yeah, I'd really date him. *shudders* Anyway, I was trying to remain polite about this confession, so instead of ranting about my dislike, I simply said, "Oh, brother." Then she says, "I know! Delusions of grandeur." I pointed at myself and exclaimed, "And I'm the grandeur!" Then we laughed a lot. But seriously. Gross.

I was looking through old emails the other day, and I made myself laugh at some of the things I had written to friends. My favorite was from last fall, when Krista had asked if I had been hired at Bath & Body Works, where I had recently applied. I responded, "Bath and Body Works never called, those cherry blossom-scented bastards." hahahahaahahahahaha

This was another one that made me laugh, in an email to Kristen. "Life sucks. And then your grandma eats the slice of cherry pie that your mom left for you, even though she has her own freaking tray of pumpkin pie that you hate. Oh, wait. That's my Thanksgiving."

"A double kick drum by the river in the summer."

Wilco was, yet again, awesome as awesome can be. This time in freezing weather. The concert was held outdoors, right on Lake Superior. The fog rolled in, the mist misted us, and the wind was frightfully cold.

But we were ready to rock, regardless of the weather. Nay, in defiance of the weather! We huddled in our camp chairs, sipping on hot chocolate, awaiting the deliciousness that is Wilco. But first up was a Duluth band, Low. In honor of a fellow blogger who happens to be a big fan of Low, I took a couple pics for her.

Before I get to Wilco, I'd like to mention here that fellow concert-goers are rampant a-holes. They don't care if they are 2 feet taller than you, they will inevitablely stand directly in front of you, bobbing their hoodie-covered head so that you can never get a clear view of the stage. They don't care if there is only room enough between you and another person to comfortably take a deep breath, they will push right through, most likely spilling beer all over your coat, not bothering to apologize. And there will be lots and lots of smoke, a stinky combination of cigarettes, cigars, and, you guessed it, weed.

Also, if I were to write a letter to some of these concert-goers, it would probably go like this:

Dear Dudes,

Quit looking like a lady.

Love, April

(seriously, what is with guys wearing skinny jeans???)

Anyway. Wilco took the stage. As you may recall from my last post, I requested three songs: Either Way, Via Chicago, and Heavy Metal Drummer. I was very pleased that their first song was, indeed, Either Way.

Sadly, there was no Via Chicago. I did, however, get some terrible dancer's elbow slammed down onto my shoulder. That's something.

And during the encore performance, Wilco brought Low back out to play a song with them. I thought that was pretty cool of them.

Kristen and I were having a pretty rocking time.

Then, during the second encore, Wilco's penultimate song was what I had been waiting ever so impatiently for: Heavy Metal Drummer. If you still haven't listened to it, what the heck are you waiting for? Also, if you ever get the opportunity to see Wilco live, do not hesitate. They are so fun and lively and entertaining. You will not be disappointed, even if you're surrounded by girly-boys in dreadlocks and get beer spilled on you by slutty girls. Seriously. They're that good.

"Maybe you still love me, maybe you don't. Either you will or you won't."

Okay, Wilco. I'm fully prepared to be rocked, and you'd better be fully prepared to do the rocking.




Please play Via Chicago this time. And Heavy Metal Drummer, because it makes me laugh. OH! And Either Way off the new album. Oh, baby. I'm SO ready for this concert!

'L' is for lazy.

One of my bosses happens to have her own blog, and she introduced me to a fun idea for a post. So, being that I'm too lazy to write a real and/or meaningful post today, I'm going to copy her idea. Initially, someone is to give you a letter of the alphabet, and you then post your 10 favorite movies starting with that letter. For today's purpose, I'll choose a random letter and make my list. Anyone else who'd like to play may leave a comment asking for a letter, which I will choose for them.

Movies that start with the letter "L"

1. Labyrinth

2. Lord of the Rings trilogy

3. Lost in Translation (Apparently people either love this movie or hate it. I whole-heartedly love it.)

4. Love Actually

5. The Lost Boys

6. Legends of the Fall (I've actually given up count of how many times I've watched this one.)

7. The Last of the Mohicans

8. Liar Liar

9. Little Miss Sunshine

10. A Love Song for Bobby Long

And, just for a laugh, how about 5 of the worst movies that start with L?

1. Lady in the Water (horr.i.ble. only way to say it.)

2. The Last Kiss (I wanted so badly to love this one. So, so, so disappointing.)

3. Little Black Book

4. The Ladykillers

5. Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (I don't even have to watch this one to know it's deplorable.)

You've got no fear of the underdog. That's why you will not survive.

Kristen and I chatted yesterday afternoon. I didn't want you to feel left out, so I'm adding the text of the first half of the chat just for your pleasure. See how I think of you, dear reader?

April: Bastards broke into the library and vandalized the joint! Books everywhere!

Kristen: MF!!!
Did they destroy any books?

April: Yeah. Madness. The mofo cut himself, too. Blood all over the place.

Kristen: DNA!!!

April: Yeah, he ripped a kids book.

Kristen: Get CSI in there!!!
BASTARDS!!!!!

April: And stole a green stuffed dinosaur.

Kristen: But like your police department is going to do anything.
NOT the green dinosaur! DOUBLE BASTARD!

April: Actually, he took C's laptop, but then he dropped it on the ground when he was running away, so they have bloody fingerprints on it.

Kristen: GOOD!

April: He also broke into 2 other businesses* last night and totally smashed up the places.
We got lucky because a neighbor's dog started barking and the neighbor called the police.

Kristen: Do you know who it is?
Good neighbors!

April: No, I don't know if they caught him.** But they got a K-9 unit involved.
That's how they found out about the other places, the blood trail led to the feed mill.

Kristen: Don't tell me they have a K-9 unit involved when I'm drinking Diet Pepsi. I almost spit it out all over.
Lassie?

April: hahaha Why was that so funny?

Kristen: Someone is trapped in the feed mill.
It was funny because I instantly pictured the video cover for the movie K-9.

April: Oh, brother. Is that with Chuck Norris?

Kristen: I was going to say Jim Belushi.

April: Ah.

Kristen: hahaha
I just looked it up.
I'm right.
Sad.

April: Very sad indeed.
loser. ;)

Kristen: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097637/
Bitchface.
;)

April: Quit your smiling.

Kristen: How'd you know?!?!?!?!?!?

April: You made a smiley face, nerd.

Kristen: Dork.

April: I just checked in a book called "Peter and the Blue Witch Baby."

Kristen: Creepy?

April: I think it's funny.

Kristen: Quit your typin'.

April: By the way, the window is all smashed in and now boarded up. I keep thinking there's a curtain there, and I'm annoyed that I can't look out the window.
Quit your quittin'.

Kristen: lol
Stupid kids.
I'll punch him in his undescended testicles!

April: That's an uncomfortable thought.

Kristen: Ouchie on all accounts.

April: Uh-huh.

Kristen: You're planning a stake-out, aren't you? Or are you planning a steak out? ha ha ha ha ha
mmm...steak

April: Oh, you and your cop/food combos.

Kristen: Just call me Wiggums.

April: I will do no such thing.

Kristen: do it
do it
do it

April: Quit your chanting.

*Later found out it was 3 other businesses.
**They did not catch him. I'm also assuming there was more than one person involved in all of these burglaries.

"Where did he come from? Not from your womb."

I don't have much time for updating these days, so you'll have to take what you can get. Here are a few photos to illustrate the zanity that fills any visits between Kristen and I.

After going to see The Simpsons movie (meh), we walked out to see a large cardboard cut-out for this movie, Balls of Fury.



The cut-out had a bunch of ping pong players looking all mean and poised for a ping-pong attack. One character had a hole over the face, so that other people could stick their own face through for a silly effect. Exhibit A:



And Exhibit B:

Kristen and I tried a new Mexican restaurant in my town, and it was mighty delicious. Afterwards, we went to the bakery for a few goodies. On our way back to my place, Kristen decided to immediately eat a cookie.

Me: Do you want to sit on a park bench?

Kristen: Uh, no. I can eat and walk at the same time. *trips*

Later, after purchasing the ingredients and stuff for our snack foods that we were going to bring to Jolene's baby shower the next day, we decided to stop in at the library to check our email.

Kristen: Should we bring the bags inside?

Me: Sure. Why not?

Kristen: Yeah, the taco dip should be fine for a few minutes. *immediately drops bag and dents package of dip*

At Jolene's baby shower, we only played two games. In one, we were each handed a sheet of paper where we were supposed to fill out the names of famous TV show kids. Kristen sneered at me. "You know you're going to win this one." Well, I couldn't remember the names of 3 out of the 5 Huxtable kids. (For future reference, they are Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy.) Also, there were supposed to be three kids for Little House on the Prairie, which they said were Mary, Laura, and Carrie. But I asked if there hadn't been another girl, Grace, and someone agreed with me. So, I won that game by a mile. Jolene snickered, "I knew April would win that game." I won some delicious Ghiradelli chocolates.

In our next game, we were given another sheet of paper and asked to draw a picture of what we thought Jolene's baby was going to look like. Oh, and we had to draw with the paper on top of our heads. Here's mine.

And here's Kristen's.

We dubbed Kristen's picture Ghostbaby. We later made up a song to go with a Ghostbaby cartoon.

"Ghostbaby comes to you at night.

Ghostbaby, ain't he a beautiful sight?

Where did he come from? Not from your womb.

Where did he come from? Probably a tomb!"

Then Ghostbaby pops up and says in his baby squeak, "You're my new mommy!"

Damn, I wish I had an audio blog. You'd be peeing your pants right now.

Also, after making up our Ghostbaby tune, I asked Kristen, "Why do all of our songs sound like 'Cotton Eye Joe?'"

"Wow, that dinner smells good. Let me guess, meat?"

Dear Basterts,
(Yes, I'm calling you the misspelled version of my favorite curse word because you aren't only a bastard, you're deviant, immature thieves who don't deserve a correctly spelled insult.)
Stop breaking into the library.
Love,
April

Dear Wilco,
Who the hell gets adult chicken pox? Weren't you man enough to get it as a child? Hmph. Your rescheduled concert better be 2X as rockin'.
Love,
April

Dear Monday the 13th,
You were just sucky enough to wish I'd never gotten out of bed today. Woke up with a splitting headache. Spilled a bowlful of delicious Golden Grahams and milk down the front of my clothes. The dishrag I tried to use to clean up the mess jumped out of my hand. Mouse in garbage can at work. Smoothie place was closed, resulting in strawberry flavored shake at a different place, as opposed to actual strawberries in the shake. And, of course, Wilco cancelled their show for tomorrow. Well played, Monday the 13th. Well played.
Love,
April

Mom, at grocery store: Have you ever tried those raisin-covered yogurts?
Me: Uh, no. Never tried raisin-covered yogurts.
Mom: Oops! hahahaha Web that on your site!
Me: Yeah. I'll do that.

Krista, at the tractor pull: Ugh! Why do smokers always sit near us? Do I look like a smoker?? No, I look like an eater. Bring your popcorn near us!

Also at the tractor pull:
Krista's brother was super late, so by the time he was supposed to pull, his tractor had only been running for 5 minutes. Therefore, not allowing it enough time to warm up caused something to happen to his whatchamacallit. In other words, he broke down in the first round/class/whatever you call it.

Krista, after announcer repeated the name of a tractor about 8 times: Please stop saying El Champione.

Me: Uh, Krista? I can't decide if that person in front of us is a masculine woman or a feminine guy.
Krista: (staring silently) FG.
Me: I think you're right.

Driving through a small town:
Krista: I wonder what people do in Bruce.
Me: Bruce-type things.

Wilco may be cancelled, but I'm heading up to visit Kristen tomorrow anyway. I have a baby-shower present to buy, Barnes & Noble to drool over, Duluth Public Library and the UM-Duluth library to visit for the first time ever, and a couple of movies to watch. Ever hear of The Simpsons and Stardust?

Also, don't tell anyone this, but I haven't heard from a certain boy in a long time, so I got snoopy and looked up his name on the open criminal records. Ay yi yi! I think a warrant has been issued for his arrest!

My life in snippets

**This is my second week at my new workplace. I'm really enjoying it a lot, although I wish it were full time. I'm very happy to be using my degree again, though. And everyone has been really, really nice so far.

**Having three part-time jobs is highly stressful, chaotic, and demanding. Trying to maintain the number of hours I'd previously been working at the two libraries means that I have to rearrange my schedule even more. And since I will eventually be taking on more hours at the new job, this means my schedule is subject to change again. Ai yi yi.

**I stopped in at the newspaper where I used to work for the first time since I'd left there 2 years ago. They had undergone some pretty major renovations, so it was really strange to walk in and see such a big change. I talked to several former co-workers, though, and they all seemed happy to see me. But I've found that the place seems to have had bad luck in the front office staffing. After I left, F took my position. Then they hired M to help out F, when I had been doing the work of 2 people and had been told they wouldn't hire an additional person to help. Then F was fired, and T took her spot. Then MK, who had been my evil supervisor, quit. T took over MK's job, and D was hired to fill T's spot. Apparently they have now fired M, the part-time helper, and hired someone new for that position. I refuse to believe that my leaving that newspaper had been because of something I did wrong. And the fact that they've now gone through so many people in such a short amount of time just solidifies my belief.

**I visited Sharon last night and invited her out for dinner. She was the only person on my reference list that my new employer called, so I wanted to thank her for all the kind and enthusiastic words she'd spoken on my behalf. We went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner, then back to her house, where I snooped around her bookshelves. I actually spotted one that was my book! haha So I now have my copy of The Ghost Writer back on my own shelves. :)

**Over the weekend I watched all five hours of the BBC's Pride and Prejudice. I had just finished a fun and quirky book called Austenland the night before, so I needed another Austen fix. This is also a good article I found online today.

**Jersey gets to start a HeadStart program next month! Amanda met a representative of the school to go over particulars and such the other day. The woman revealed that after Jersey had visited the school (in May? June?), all the teachers had argued over who got to have her in their classroom! haha

**On Saturday, my dear friend Krista and her father will be coming up to my neck of the woods to cheer on Krista's brother, Justin, as he competes in a tractor-pull contest. So, for the first time ever, I'll be attending a tractor pull. Hmmm. Anyway, I'm very excited to hang out with Krista! I'm really hoping to get an opportunity to shut the lights off on her when she's in the bathroom!

**On Aug. 14, which is a Tuesday, I'll be driving up to Duluth, Minn., where Kristen and I will be attending our second Wilco concert! Woohoo! Jealous?

**Then that Friday, Kristen will be driving down to my house because on Saturday, we'll be heading over to Jolene's baby shower! Which reminds me, I need to do some more shopping. ;)

**And, as you may have noticed on Kristen's blog, she got us tickets to see Last Comic Standing when it comes to Minnesota in October! I hope Doug Benson will still be one of the contestants at that point. He make-a me laugh!

**Finally, I really, really, really, really hate when a song that I love starts being played on pop radio. I mean, sure thousands/millions of people have probably heard the song if they bought the artist's album, but if it's not on the radio, I can pretend I'm the only one who knows about it. So now, a song that has personal meaning and slices my heart open every time I hear it, is about to be shared with annoying girls the world over. I'll soon be numb.

"You'd think you'd never heard the Shpanthem before, Dude."

Go check out Arj and Poopy.

This one is my favorite.

Heartbreak in Minneapolis

A 40-year-old bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minn., during Wednesday evening rush hour.



What's being called the worst U.S. bridge collapse in more than 20 years has left us with four confirmed fatalities, a number that is sure to rise.



More than 50 vehicles fell 65 feet into the river or onto the debris on Interstate 35W. Some vehicles are still trapped beneath the concrete.



Hospital officials said that 79 people were injured. Around 30 more have been reported as missing. Search and rescue has become recovery.



Our hearts and prayers are with you, Minneapolis.

Because SHUT UP, that's why!

Above quote from a button that Krista just sent me. Have been terribly tempted to wear it to work.

The July heat must be making all of us cranky, as I've noted several blogs with annoyed letters posts. And since when am I not cranky? Therefore, I will join the masses with another edition of letters.

Dear boys age 11-22,
Cut your freaking hair. This isn't the 1970s.









Or are you trying to look like Kristy McNichol?





You look like a 14-year-old girl. Knock it off.
Love,
April

Dear Idiot Driver near the Kwik Trip at 8:30 this morning,
Quit being a douche. You can wait the 5 seconds for the car in front of me to turn left. You don't need to rush past me in a parking lane and then cut me off when I begin to drive. And don't give me that startled "Why's she honking at me?" look, dorkbreath. Learn the rules of the road, or I'll teach you the rules of my fist.
Love,
April

Dear Library Patrons,
Stop. Asking. Me. Stupid. Questions. Why are you bothering to get on a computer if you don't know how to use it? Why must I show you how to access the Internet? Why must I then show you how to find and/or use basic search engines, such as Yahoo! or Google? And no, I don't need to know your life history or what you need to make copies for. I don't care if you want to make 20 copies of the lyrics to "Endless Love." Just stop being stupid.
Love,
April

Dear Homer,
Save a seat and a doughnut for me.
Love,
April

Childhood and all its glory

Jersey tripped and smacked her head against the corner of a wall yesterday afternoon. We had to take her to the emergency room, where she received two stitches. However, she was amazingly wonderful during the entire process. Obviously, she was upset and crying for awhile after she first hit her head. But I got her calmed down, and the entire hospital visit was remarkably pleasant. Jersey was fantastic.

Today, though, she was a little rowdy. Her head didn't hurt, but her moods swung from pouty...

to angry and crazed (I threatened to eat her chicken strips if she didn't settle down and stop hitting people)...

to contemplative (She ate all her chicken strips, resulting in a full little tummy)...

to just plain giggly again. That girl wears me out.

Picture Time! Break it down!