Nook

I'm addicted to my Nook. Seriously. Just a few months ago, I would have scoffed at the idea of having one. I have an English degree, I used to teach English, and I love the feel of a book in my hands. I thought that snuggling up with a Nook just wouldn't be the same.

And it's not. It's so much better! I do the majority of my reading in bed while lying down, and I prop my books up on a pillow. This was getting increasingly hard for me, because with the fibro, my hands get tired, especially with hardbacks.

But with the Nook? No problem. I also don't have to angle a book so I can get the best lighting, since it has its own light. It's easier for me to prop up on a pillow. And you can change the text size if you need to.

I have the Nook Color, and I asked for that one with the idea that DD would enjoy some of the children's books. I've been a little disappointed with that, though, since hardly any of them are free. In fact, most of the books aren't. I had thought that some of the classics would be cheap, maybe 99 cents, but most are not.

The good thing is that I have a few gift cards from Christmas, so I can read to my heart's content for now. When those run out...well, I'm not looking forward to going back to "real" books.

If you don't plan on using the Nook for children's books, you really don't need the Nook Color. But if you do, it's pretty cool. I've downloaded a couple of free ones for Audrey, and she really likes them. I think there's also an app that allows some books to be read by the Nook. I have to investigate that, especially for when I'm my voice is getting hoarse from reading! I also downloaded a book about sea creatures (above Audrey's level), but she enjoyed looking at the pictures. The colors look good and sharp.

Just hoping my gift cards last as long as possible, so I don't have to go "old school" again:) And I'm so glad my baby loves books as much as I do.

Funny things Audrey's been doing lately

1. She calls hiccups "pickups".

2. "Magazine" is "mazagine". We don't correct her because it's so darn cute.

3. She lines things up. She has this tiny set of Mickey Mouse books, and she will line them up in a row on the kitchen floor. She has the Leapfrog phonics fridge magnets, which are rounded at the top so they can fit in Scout's doghouse. The other night, Mom put the magnets in alphabetical order. After she was done, Audrey turned around the Z and the N, which Mom had misplaced because she didn't know about the round part.

4. She likes to call airplanes and helicopters "airplane-copters".

5. She's come to know my doctor/health care people's names. When I leave, she'll say the name of the person she thinks I'm going to see. Kind of cute, kind of sad.

6. She likes to poop in private, which is pretty common. But one night, she disappeared into the kitchen, and Mom went to check on her. She had gone in there to poop, and when she saw Mom, she said,"Go back in there!" (talking about the den). Hey, a girl needs her privacy.

Two-year letter (a bit late)

Dear Audrey,

I know I'm late on this one, but I know you'll forgive me. I don't think I was ready to accept that I have a two-year-old. Plus, one or the other of us has been sick since the first of November. It's been a trying time.

You have changed into a different person in the last year, although many things have stayed the same. You're still a wonderful, sweet, caring little girl. You just aren't as little now. Sometimes I wish I could reverse time and experience your babyhood again, but I know I'd miss the person you are now.

Your personality is so wonderful. You're easy-going, just like your daddy. You're cheerful and playful. You're funny. You're loving. You're everything I could ever hope for in a daughter.

And you're tall! I didn't realize that for a while, since you're not often around kids your own age. But I've been noticing it lately, and my thoughts were confirmed when we took you in for your 2-year checkup. You are in the 93rd percentile for height. Say what? To say I'm shocked would be an understatement. I mean, I'm 5'2" on a good day!

Once thing that hasn't changed too much is your eating habits. You started refusing meat about a year ago, and you're continuing that trend. In fact, you're very picky about food now, much to our frustration. I guess it's just a toddler thing.

You know so many words now, and you've been using complete sentences for a while. Your intelligence and skills of observation constantly amaze me. Your favorite activity is still reading books, which is great. I guess you take after me that way:)

You love your daddy to pieces, and he's often the only one who can soothe you when you're upset. In fact, I can hear you in your bedroom right now chattering happily about Daddy. He loves you so much.

And so do I, little angel. You're my miracle.

Love,
Mommy

Watch out below!

As I mentioned before, I gave David a mini helicopter for Christmas. Actually, I gave him two (not the plan, by the way). I ordered the first one on October 14, and every time I called the company to check on the order, they said it would be shipped out in 1-2 weeks. Every. time.

Finally, I asked if it was going to be delivered by Christmas. They said it would, but they didn't sound very confident. So I told them I wanted to cancel my order. The woman said okay, and she didn't even try to talk me out of it. I asked her for a confirmation email of my cancelled order, and she said they usually don't do that. Sketchy. The charge stayed on my bank statement, and I couldn't get in touch with them to save my life.

Sometimes when I called, I'd get this message from a girl saying they weren't available. Did I mention that the girl sounded like a high school kid, and she also seemed to be giggling at the beginning of the message? And sometimes when I called, I'd get a message saying the number had been disconnected. Ridiculous.

I decided to buy another helicopter for David, this time a Coast Guard one, since David wanted to be in the Coast Guard at one point in his life. It came quickly. I had it sent to Mom's, since I didn't want David to know.

Well, my brother opened it and flew it around for a while. Guess why? Because he had ordered one for himself, and he thought it was his. So my surprise for David was in less than pristine condition. Annoying.

Anyway, David was really excited on Christmas Day.



He doesn't really look that excited, but then again, he was sleep-deprived that day.

Now, these things are amazingly hard to control. His doesn't have a remote; he can use his iPod Touch to control it. He had a little trouble with it at first, but when I flew it for the first (and only) time, it was a fail. I kept hitting the ceiling, which David did as well, but mine was worse. Little bits of the ceiling were raining down all over the place. It was so bad that David had to do a major clean-up when it was all said and done. It was really fun, though. I'd like to fly it again, but I don't think David wants me to:)

The other helicopter, from GADGET TV (you suck, by the way), arrived at Mom's, even though I'd cancelled the order. David decided to keep it, too, since I owed him a birthday present or two. Complicated story for another time. Good times at our house, as Audrey and I duck for cover as David practices. Boys and their toys...

David back to work :(

Yeah, he had to go back on Monday. He was so bummed out about it, and I was, too (and still am). We had a great time during the holidays, except the last part when I got sick, and it's always so hard for him to go back after a break.

I went back to my homeopathic doctor last Thursday, and things aren't going as well as she expected. I had to take a Z pack a few weeks ago for a sinus infection, and that just allows the fungus that causes my pain to run rampant. The good news is that I'm getting rid of the plaque that's been building up in my arteries. The bad news is...I feel terrible. And, I have a viral and bacterial infection, which means the antibiotic wasn't entirely effective. Sigh.

Starting about Wednesday of last week, I felt like my fibro was back with a vengeance. Pain all over my body with even the slightest touch, no stamina, falling asleep at the drop of a hat. David's uncle had flown in from Connecticut for a few days after Christmas, and I only got to see him for about two minutes, literally. I was in bed when he came over to visit for a few hours, and I was also in bed when David's family had a post-Christmas lunch.

I'm trying not to feel sorry for myself, but it's really hard. Monday wasn't too awful, mainly because my mom came over in the afternoon. She had the day off, and she was supposed to be over here all day, but she's not been feeling well, either. Also, Audrey's got some kind of bug. Her temp's been averaging around 100, and she has a cough that doesn't sound good. At all. We've been using the humidifier in her room at night and during naps, though, and I think it's helped her symptoms. She probably got something during her 2-year checkup on Friday, ironically enough. Or who knows where she got it.

Yesterday was not fun. I was so sleepy and worn out, and I had to force myself to stay awake and take care of Audrey. She was irritable, and so was I, which isn't a great combination.

But, as much as David doesn't want to be back at school, he thinks he's going to have some good kids this semester. He's teaching his class using the Internet, where students can submit work, among other things. The students seem to like this, since they're so used to technology. I hope it's a great semester for him.

Now, I just have to get myself back in a schedule. And I have to pray fervently that I feel better. Audrey's gotten used to going places and being on the move during Christmas break, so she's got to adjust to mainly staying at home all day again. And so do I. Yuck.