Isn't She Beautiful?

Above is a photo of my pretty girl. Below is her eating lunch in a box, because doesn't everybody eat lunch in a box? Puts new meaning to the word "Box Lunch" !! Ha ha ha, I couldn't resist that one!
Is it wrong of me to look at her little face and think she is the cutest thing ever? And even better, she has such a personality and has such a great sense of humor. She cracks me up every night......she cracks herself up also. Ahhhh, to appreciate your own sense of humor is a gift ;) So, the director at the daycare stopped me today to ask me if I thought she was a handfull. I believe her exact words were, "Do you think Regan is going to be a handfull her entire life?". Uh, yeah, I do. The director calls her "Raygee" and pretty much lets her run the office. The director took to taking her on walks and she says now when she stops in the room if she doesn't let Regan go on errands with her then Regan absolutely will not give her the time of day for the rest of the day. The director also adopted a little girl from China about 6 years ago and I think she has a soft spot for Regan. She likes to go in the director's office and watch the classrooms on the video monitors. She really, really wants me to go outside and wave to her from the camera that views the front door. I did it once, I put my foot down at going outside everyday to wave like a dork at the camera. Isn't it enough that I wave at myself for the camera everytime we go to Publix?!?!?

To back up, Regan got placed in the 3 year old room. Partly at my request, partly at her teacher's request. The first week was dicey. Regan's two year old teacher got moved this school year to teach the threes. I didn't want Regan switched again as she had had three teachers last year and I thought that was ridiculous. Because Regan is potty trained, the daycare made an exception and allowed her and one other little girl to move to the threes. I also wanted her to have older children to help her model better behavior (ha ha ha) and language.

I love how the classroom is more structured. They have circle time, a lesson plan, activities, circle time spots, etc. This daycare has a religious affliation to Lutheranism and they have a bible lesson everyday. I like that and feel it is a bonus to their curriculum. There is also a visual behavior chart consisting of a smiley face, straight face, and sad face. I like that they are backing up their expectations with visual supplements, even though I thought it would go right over Regan's head. Amazingly, it hasn't gone over her head and she puts the dogs on sad faces all the time when they do not act according to her expectations;)

Regan started back to school two weeks ago. The first week she had sad faces (really bad days) for three days! Her teacher was obviously upset with her because she wouldn't keep her shoes on, wouldn't clean up, wouldn't share, was crabby and kept running out the door. Regan and I had many talks about her behaviors, especially running out the door. She is not allowed anymore to even touch a doorknob and if this continued, I was going to have to say she wasn't allowed within ten feet of a door ;) Come to find out, she was running out the door when the teacher was changing the other kids. My thought was that if you had to go into a restroom and change a child, there should be another adult in the room. I had erroneously thought that if Regan had to be potty trained to make it into this class this meant that all the three year olds in the class were potty trained. Guess not.

Anyhoo, I am thrilled to say that she is getting the routine down. I am also pleased that she actually got stamps and stickers yesterday for helping everyone clean up their stations without even being asked. Who says rewards don't go a long way? She hasn't run out the door since Konnor told her that he was not happy with her choices (I have no idea why she chose to listen to him, but I'm not complaining!). The daycare also started a Parent Advisory Group and four other parents and myself were invited to join. I'm really glad as it shows the daycare is looking for support and parental input.

Our other big challenge continues to be drop offs. Regan has been going to this daycare for over a year now. When will she stop crying everytime I drop her off? It is so rough to see her upset like that even though I know she stops soon after I leave (I have been known to lurk to make sure it is alright!) Her teacher wants her to learn to sit still for circle time. I wish her luck on that one. She is only two after all, and one of the most busy little two year olds I've ever seen.

Oh, one other big milestone. Regan is really beginning to enjoy arts and crafts. I mean REALLY enjoy them. I craft whenever I can and she now has her little art box where she will color and draw for quite a long time (30 minutes or so). Her teacher says she worked on her painting today for 50 minutes! She is so proud to show me every afternoon what she finished in class and wants her artwork displayed on the refrigerator.

Things Just a Keep on Breakin'

The newest in the line of casualties seems to be my computer and possibly my clothes dryer. Both of which I would be lost without. I'll start with the dryer. I could dry my clothes faster by having Regan the whirling dervish hang on to them and run around like she is so good at doing. I LOVE this dryer and will be heartbroken if it doesn't work. It is a hand me down from my mom and is awesome. Nothing special, nothing fancy, but it does it's job:it dries clothes. Or at least it used to. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a laundry quirk. All of my clothes have to be dried and then ironed. Pretty much all of them. While in PT school, I actually burned a hole in a pair or soccer shorts because I thought they needed to be ironed. Silky soccer shorts and an iron do not mix.

Next: the computer. It must have been over a year ago, because Joel and I have been broken up for over a year now, a virus took over my computer and tried to destroy it. I still think somebody (not myself, hint hint) must have downloaded something with a virus. Anway, a friend of my mom's rebuilt my poor computer and it hasn't been the same since. Even though it got all of it's guts revamped, it still suffers. My email is always glitchy. If you haven't had a return email from me, now you know why! I have over 400 unread emails in my box because of my computer and it's haywire ways. I recently tried emailing a person who is adopting a little girl from the same orphanage where Regan lived. I was trying to attach pictures of the orphanage only to find out a couple of days later that I had actually sent pictures of random sightseeing. How embarrassing! So, now I have to double check all emails with attachments to make sure they are the correct attachments. That is if my email works at all. So, if I haven't emailed you back.....I'm trying! I am now going to attach some pictures and hope it works. Regan and Konnor both started school last week. Later this week, I 'll have to talk more about it, right now I"ll get on with the pictures before my crazy computer decides to boot me off (another wonderful trick it has learned.)

Tonight's Entertainment

It's hurricane season again... Bleh! Hurricane Fay has decided to come and party this evening. Luckily, it won't be as bad as Charley who came as a Category 5. That is the one hurricane I've been through that was really scary. It went from a 4 that would hit north of us to a 5 headed straight towards us. I'll never forget visiting my friend who lived in Port Charlotte (the city north of us), who got the worst of it........her neighbor's toilet was in her front yard tree. It's never a good sign when a toilet has beome a tree ornament. It was hard to drive around here in Cape Coral because all the signs and power lines were gone and so we had no landmarks to go by.....and I had no electricity for 2 weeks(that really sucked)! Regan's first hurricane and she was really hyped up with all the activity and bringing all the lawn stuff into the garage. She thought it was great fun. At least one of us did!!! If we have electricity, I"ll post tomorrow about the last couple of weeks....I am so behind!

2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony - Beijing***Updated*** See Below

One World, One Dream. The Great Wall.

Countdown Clock, Tiananmen Square.
Buildings in the Forbidden City getting a much needed paint job and face lift in preparation for the Olympics.

Our guide, Happy, who I so hope is enjoying the Olympic Opening Ceremony.


I just finished watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I am so in awe of the entire ceremony and the symbolism. One of the things Bob Costas said that really rung true (and this is just one that I am thinking about right, there were many more) was about the complete and soul deep pride the Chinese felt about hosting the Olympics. Our Beijing guide, Happy, talked on and on about the Olympics. She only got to see her parents once every year or two because of how expensive it was to travel. Her biggest dream was to go with her parents to see the opening ceremonies. Back in 2006 when I was in China, there were Olympic emblems everywhere, including the Great Wall. Back then, you could sense the pride that the Chinese people felt over the honor of hosting the Olympics. It is also mind boggling to me to think that Regan is a Chinese daughter who can also share the great pride in her heritage. It actually brought tears to my eyes to see this pride and to be able to relate and to look at Regan and see some of her heritage. As I said in my last post, I am unable to post new pictures. I enjoyed looking back on some of my pictures of Beijing and I so enjoyed being able to see in my mind the Bird's Nest Stadium. We drove by this awesome stadium on our trip to the Great Wall. Back then, it was little more than a shell. I looked back on old pictures and even though I know we took a picture, I can't find one. I am so ready to go back for a visit, China is such a beautiful country.

UPDATE:

I'm scared, People, scared! Regan is really on a roll! Last night, after I stayed up until 3 AM working on a craft, watching some Olympics, printing coupons, etc....I woke up at 5 AM because something just didn't "feel right". That feeling was finding Regan up, having turned on the tv and was happily watching the opening ceremonies that were being replayed on NBC. What did she have to say for herself? "Look mommy, firework". I didn't mention earlier that she was soooo upset with me because I made her go to bed before the ceremonies were over. If this is the kind of stuff she is doing at the age of 2, what in the world is in store for me when she is a teenager?!?!?!?

P.S. I do have a chain on my front door and a locking bar thing on the sliding glass door so that she can't get out. I think a trip to Target is in my future to buy every locking device known to man. And you know the real unfairness? Tricia, I am actually a goody two shoes, and always have been! I learned from my brother what things NOT to do. My brother was the one always in trouble, sneaking out (I only did that once and he was involved in that little escapade), and too many other things to mention. Konnor, his son, is the most well behaved little boy ever (except he is becoming class clown). When Konnor was two, you could look at him funny and he would cry. Tell him not to touch something once and he wouldn't go within ten feet of it, ever. Where is the justice in this?!?!? (I'm lucky that I took lessons from my mom and hopefully can stay one step ahead of Regan. Maybe I should take a note from my mom and go ahead and nail the windows shut now as opposed to waiting until she is sneaking out at 16?~?~?)

Bullets

I am so far behind on everything in life! I am going to bullet this post because otherwise it would be even worse than my usual rambling, meandering posts!

• On Sunday, we took a last minute road trip. Drove five hours to my grandparent's house. Dropped off my mom and nephew. Drove another hour to my friend Leslie who lives in St. Augustine. Met her new baby!!! FINALLY home from Guatemala. She was sooooooo cute (Maya that is, not Leslie!). The purpose of the trip was to drop off a bunch of baby stuff for Maya and Leslie since I won't be needing it any more :( My baby is growing up so fast! Spent a couple of hours with Leslie. Drove an hour back to my grandparents, ate dinner, visited for an hour or so and back on the road for another five hours! Regan was not so pleasant the following day, but I can't blame her since we had quite the trip!



• I lost the camera charger to my camera. Borrowed my mom's camera and lost the camera cord. End result: no pictures to put on post, so I am going to do past photos.
• I am so excited to see the Olympics! I have been to Beijing and am so excited to see again some of the places we visited! Our Beijing tour guide, Happy, said her greatest wish was to get tickets to see the Opening Ceremonies. I so hope she gets to go, she was an amazing person. In her words, "I crazy like the olympics!".
• Konnor got his Stanford Ten (standardized Kindergarten test) results. He did awesome! Scored in the 98th percentile for reading and the 95th percentile for math. Yeah!
• Regan has not had any more on purpose potty accidents since the incident in the library. I did the whole ignoring thing. I went back to praising her when she used the potty and it seems like it was a temporary thing...thank goodness!!!
• Regan is saying alot more words. She is now using time words: Today, later, now, etc. She picks up a new word just about everyday.
• When I bought my new refrigerator, I never thought about the fact that she can get in the freezer section. I was a little surprised the first time I caught her watching tv, totally naked, sitting on the couch eating an ice cream cone!
• Note to self: Buy refrigerator door locks.
• Regan's trick of the week is to climb the counters. She scared me to death a couple of weeks ago when I found her sitting on the stove. For all the obvious reasons that is not okay. She pulls out the bottom drawer, opens up the cabinet door that is next to the stove and climbs from one to the other.
• Note to self: Pull off the knobs on the stove, remove the bottom drawer.
• Regan's other trick of the week was to lock herself in the bathroom stall at Burger King. On the big Road Trip, we stopped and had breakfast at BK. I took her to the potty before breakfast. After breakfast, my mom took her to the potty and she ran in, ran to the first stall and locked herself in. She must have noticed what kinds of locks they used during her first visit and cooked up this scheme while walking to the bathroom. Fortunately, she unlocked the door herself although I would have almost paid to see my mom try to crawl under the stall door!!!!
• Regan learned to blow bubbles during swim lessons this year. The instructors always made a big deal whenever she would put her face in the water to blow the bubbles. I think they were a little too enthusiastic. Last night, I was getting her stuff together for bedtime. She was told to go potty before bed. I'm in the master bedroom, she is in the master bathroom and I hear a suspicious sound. It sounds suspiciously like bubble blowing. I walk in and her rear end is stuck up in the air as she is blowing bubbles in the dog's water dish. I know what everyone is thinking.....gross! I thought: thank goodness it wasn't the toilet!