Not really a heck of a lot going on.....

At least, not over the last couple of days.

The last few weeks, for the most part, have been rather stressful. DD seems to be approaching puberty with an intensity that'll blow a parent out of the water. We're talking screaming, crying hissy fits over the seemingly slightest of things. Last Saturday it was over getting her hockey gear on, for practice. We got to the rink, and DD decided that she didn't want ANY help, what-so-ever, in putting her gear on. On the other hand, she really wasn't able to get it on by herself. So, she resorted to yelling at DH & I because it was somehow OUR fault that she couldn't reach a strap here, or buckle a buckle there. And yet, she STILL didn't want any help. After half an hour of arguing, consoling, arguing some more, yelling, consoling..... We left. Without actually participating in practice. Sunday wasn't any better. Neither was Monday. Tuesday night, after work, we sat down & had a talk. Something about that talk seemed to finally get through DD's head. Tuesday night, Wednesday morning were fairly good, with only a slightly "snitty" moment here and there. Wednesday evening, though.... DD was peeved. She was sitting on her bed, pouting over how she didn't feel like being nice & easy to be around. It was kinda funny, really..... She was pouting because she hadn't been yelling for a couple of days. Well, reminders all around of how nice life is when we're not all yelling at each other, she got over her pouty-ness. Then we got on to spelling words, and math homework, and dinner making & eatting, and tooth brushing, and found time to play a round of Yatzee before bed. Since then.... still a "snitty moment" here and there, but otherwise fairly good behavior. Dang was she hyper yesterday, though!!!!! And she kept lapsing into "baby talk" and I had to remind her that at 9 years old, she is FAR too old to be speaking with a lisp (esp. one that isn't natural) and talking like a baby. Esp, when DH & I have NEVER spoken "baby talk" to her. Not even when she was an actual baby. (Not to say that we carried on full conversations, but we never felt the need to lisp & babble to her, like so many new parents. Or even like the MIL still insists on lisping & babbling to all 3 of her grandkids.)

I've set up a couple of appt.s for DD during the month. She'll be seeing her Ped. on the 16th for a check-up and blood-tests. We're going to have her cholesterol checked, seeing as how she's technically "overweight" and we need to keep an eye on her health. (Though, personally, she seems healthy as a horse, and this cholesterol check will probably come back as normal as the last one did, almost 5 years ago. But, just for monitoring purposes.) We're also going to have the lab check her hormone levels, and depending on what shows up, we may be taking her to a naturopathic practioner/RN for "meds" to even out hormone levels, if they're swinging horribly. We're wondering if that's possibly part of her nasty mood-swings lately..... Pubescent hormone levels so wildly out of control that they're causing these nasty mood swings.

She's also got her first eye appt. to have her vision checked. She's got problems recognizing letters & numbers properly, and we're hoping it's simply a sign that she's a bit farsighted (since she's certainly not nearsighted!). If it doesn't turn out that far-sighted-ness is the issue, we need to investigate the possibility of dyslexia or other "learning disorders". But, the first and most simple step is to have her regular vision tested. She's not thrilled about the possibility of having to wear reading glasses (if she IS far-sighted) but we reminded her that MOST of the family does (or should be) wearing glasses, that She & DH are the two odd-ones-out at this point (and even DH will probably get reading glasses in the next 10 years or so), and that at least she'd only need them for reading. She wouldn't have to wear them ALL the time, like I do. LOL

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I still haven't gotten around to trying my hand at creme brulee. Considering I still have one of those "frozen" dishes of creme brulee from the grocery, I don't quite yet have the push to make my own. But, I'll get to it here before too long, don't you worry about that. ;)

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I'm feeling SOOOO ready for winter to be over. I know we're on the down-slope, and we had a cloudy, overcast "GroundHog Day", so winter should end early..... Hopefully. But it snowed again last night, and the roads are slicker than snot.... And I'm just sooo ready to see green grass and flowers again.

I really want to get a couple of planters that my dad has, and get a couple of zucchini plants out front this year. DH said these black half-barrel planters are an eye-sore.... I don't see how it makes any difference as our whole front yard (and back yard, for that matter) is an eye-sore. At least the barrels will be producing something edible. And I have the urge to try strawberries this year. (Maybe hearing that California won't be producing a very good supply of them this year???) I figure that even if the half-barrels are an eye-sore, we can plant flowers around the bottom to discuise them a bit. And I really, really want to grow some veggies HERE this year, instead of only over at the inlaws. Then there is my south-side of my house, with my pea-patch and my rhubarb patch and my chive plant...... Ooooh..... *drool*

Last but not least, I really want to get the back yard fixed up. I don't know if it's even worth trying to have a lawn back there. But I want a deck off the back door, for Dh's grill. And I want a clothes line, or one of those round clothes-line "trees" (which means a small section of lawn, anyway, so the ground underneath the clothesline doesn't throw dust & dirt up on the clean clothes). And oh how I'd love to get another tree or two planted this year. Wondering whether a choke-cherry would be a hassle. First to improve the look of our front lawn (or lack of), and second to improve the view both OF the house, and FROM the house. As it is, all we've got is a stretch of half-wild lawn and a scrawny little birch tree that we transplanted from FIL's a couple of years ago. The other corner of the front lawn has a big cluster of willow that needs to be thinned (for it's own health and appearance). I'd like to have some chokecherries so I could try my hand at chokecherry jam, at some point, too.

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Well, I think that's it for now..... Just been busy with the every day, goings on of life. Which means that there's REALLY not much to tell, I guess.

Have a Blessed Day!