Like Mother, Like Daughter

I have a mantra that I like to adhere to anytime I happen to get sick. If I'm going to be miserable, then you are going to be miserable. I will go out of my way to be snippy, mean, and do whatever it takes to bring you down with me. I will not once complain about being sick; I just make sure everybody's miserable.

Of all the personality traits to inherit, Alexis has this one. And now the student is becoming the teacher. I truly admire the lengths she went through last night to make sure that nobody, and I mean nobody, missed out on her misery.

Alexis started to get a runny nose last evening and it turned into full-fledged congestion around 10:00. I know that it was around 10:00 because she woke up just enough to scream her little head off for five solid minutes. Then she went back to sleep. And then at 10:30, she went through the little routine again. And then at 11:00. And 11:30. And 12:00. Honest to goodness, every 30 minutes or so she woke up, screamed bloody murder, then went back to sleep. At some point I went and grabbed her and took her back to bed with me. You know, so that I could hear her better. There's no better way to get a great night's rest than to put a screaming child right up next to your ear.

I am absolutely going to employ this tactic the next time I fall ill. While I regret that our neighbor likely got drug into the fun (our windows were open all night and his are always open), Alexis managed to teach me a neat trick. If you scream a lot all night long, Daddy will cower on his own side of the bed with a pillow over his head and the dogs will leave to go sleep somewhere else. That is awesome.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

I hereby declare myself a winner. I have fought the "Bear stays here" battle and I WON!

Ever since Bear came home from the Zoo with us, he has been going everywhere. He went to Eat 'n Park for dinner. He went for a car ride to the bank. He went to the grocery store. It's a wonder his ears are still attached to his head because he really has been drug to every possible locale. But no more.

I, the master of the one year-old universe, have managed to convince Alexis that Bear wants to sit in her chair when she's not playing with him. And she's taking me very seriously. Earlier today she realized she had left Bear on the deck. She ran as fast as she could to save him and put him back in his chair. (Well, OK, so the screen door was closed and she actually ran into the door, peeled herself off, opened it, and then ran as fast as she could to save Bear. But that's not the point.) When Bear fell on the floor, she dutifully picked him up and put him back in the chair. When I put Bear on the couch so I could clean her chair, she yelled at me then put Bear back in the chair. Bear even stayed in her chair when we ran to Dairy Queen earlier today. So, I win.

Now, if only I could figure out how to get Daddy to put his change, wallet, iPod, car keys, hammer, mail, clothes, shoes, notes, jackets, movies, or even his coffee cops away. I'd be willing to settle for any one of those items. Just one. Please?

One more thing, Bear needs a name. Alexis repeats "Bear," but she doesn't seem to think it should be his name. We are now accepting suggestions.

Good Job, Brent!

If you haven't seen this yet, you really should.

Obviously, Brent is the greatest actor of all time. He should be getting an Academy Award anytime now. (Pssst . . . Brent is the man behind the beak.) Oh, and did anybody else notice that Oliver Onion is a cannibal? That's just not right.