I've sneaked over here a few times in the last week and a half to blog, only to get half way through a post and then delete it because it just sucks. So, I'm just going to do the snippets version.
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Mark is still having problems with the cluster headaches. It's been an almost every day thing. Thankfully, he's going to a new doctor on Monday, who we hope will refer him to a neurologist. Then, maybe, he can get on oxygen (several minutes of pure oxygen can often stop a cluster headache) and some better medication. We would really like something to help break this cycle, so life can get back to normal for a bit.
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We took Becca last week to see the Imagination Movers Live show up in Syracuse. I can't say enough about how amazing the show was. We were in the second row, right on the end of the row of chairs, at the center aisle. Becca was able to stand in the aisle and dance with the small group of other little girls. They were like little groupies. There was a wooded divider set up between the orchestra section (two rows of chairs up there) and where we were, and at one point Mover Rich walked right along the top of it, and was singing and dancing right above Becca. I pointed him out, but she wouldn't look. She was having too much fun dancing. So, finally, he hopped down, and knelt down right next to her. I was so happy to have my camera right there and ready.

She then tried to follow him back to the stage, and threw a small fit when we said no. And then she was over it, because they were playing another song she liked. :)
After the show, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese's, and we had a blast. Turns out none of us are very good with winning tickets, though. Even with everything combined, we still had fewer than 100 to turn in for Becca's prize. She just enjoyed going on the rides and having us help her with games. And then she fell asleep almost before we were out of the parking lot. It had been a very long day.
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I am participating in NaNoWriMo this year. National Novel Writing Month happens every November, and close to 100,000 people signed up to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I am starting to slip a bit behind (I'm at just over 18,000 words), but I hope to get caught up again next week. I'm writing a historical romance novel set in Ireland. This girl's father (the head of a clan) loses her in a card game to a man who's past three wives have died through "unfortunate accidents." She freaks, and runs away in a snow storm. Her horse gets scared, and she is thrown off, wanders a bit, and then collapses into a snow bank. Enter the hero, who rescues her, takes her home, and then decides she'd be a perfect match for his brother. It then turns out that, if she doesn't return home, her husband-to-be is going to attack her clan. So she has to return (she doesn't want to fight and risk lives) and marry this guy, after she is already falling in love with the man who rescued her. Of course, there's a happy ever after for them eventually. They (the characters) just need to quit changing around the story on me so that I can eventually get to it. Grr.
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In celebration of the nice weather (60 degrees yesterday. In NY. In the middle of November. Seriously.), Becca and I walked a few miles yesterday to JoAnn Fabrics. I need some Thanksgiving decorations (we're hosting two here), and I haven't been there in ages and I wanted the chance to look around a bit. All of there Halloween and Thanksgiving gear was 70% off, so I found some great buys. They also had everything Christmas on sale. I picked up a wreath, some wooden ornaments, paint and brushes (for the ornaments) and a few other things. I also got my chocolate dipping tools that I'll need for Christmas this year. I'm making truffles and other yummy things for everyone. (More on that in the next blurb) I loved getting the exercise, and Becca liked getting out of the house for a while. I'm really looking forward to painting the ornaments. We might even swing over today and pick up more. I told Mark we could decorate on the first weekend in December. He wants to decorate now. Can he at least put up lights? Please? PLEASE?! It's like having two children instead of one.
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Instead of buying presents for everyone on our list, I bake. Everyone gets a huge pile of cookies, fudge, candies, and whatever else. Last year I also made ornaments to go on the trays, hooked onto the tags. (I might try that again this year). This year, I am stepping it up a notch. I want to get into making artisan chocolates (just for fun), so I'm going to be adding a variety of truffles to the mix. I also do peanut butter balls, mints, a dozen different cookies, fudge, and (maybe) divinity. I also want to try making marshmallows this year. I'm thinking that I might flavor them, and then dip them in chocolate. Mint marshmallows covered in dark chocolate just sounds really, really good. I'll be making 20 trays this year, on top of what I need for the family Christmas party, visitors here, and for ourselves. That will mean starting a week from now, and not stopping baking until Christmas morning. FUN!! (I actually can't wait. This is the best time of the year.)
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That's really about it. There hasn't been a whole lot going on that I could go into with any real detail and make it an interesting read. I've been working a lot more than normal, trying to get ready for Christmas shopping. Mark has his eyes on a Zune. I just want some new pots and pans, a food processor, and a few other things for around the kitchen. I'm pretty exciting that way. I do, however, have the first season of GLEE shipping out to me a day or two after Christmas. *happy dancing*
And now? Off to find breakfast.

My little girl turned two yesterday.

It's hard to believe that it was just two short years ago that we were still hanging around in the hospital, marveling over our tiny creation. She is not so tiny anymore, but she is still pretty marvelous.

She has grown and changed so much in the past year. She can now talk in sentences, and knows hundreds of words. She also knows a dozen or so signs, that she pulls out for a few words she can't pronounce quiet yet. She is constantly surprising us with her vocabulary. The other day, she put on her new tutu (a birthday gift), and came up to me saying something that began with an M, and and an R (or maybe a Y) in there somewhere. After a few failed attempts at interpretation, I asked her to show me. Into the bedroom we went. She wanted to look at herself in the mirror.

One of Becca's favorite things to do (other than run around the house screaming like a crazy person) is to sing. There hasn't been a meal in the past several months that hasn't included at least a couple songs from her. A few we recognize; the rest are her own creations.
We celebrated on Sunday, having all of our family members from both sides over for lunch (Hot dogs, of course..) and cake and ice cream. I decorated the cake myself. Becca was a little unsure to begin with, but once she got used to everyone being there, and opening the gifts, she had a great time.

Her actual birthday (yesterday) was not as much fun. We had to wake her up to head out to Walmart so that I could get a new laptop power cord (mine had finally died the night before). Mark had a migraine, so while I worked to make up the cost of the cord, he had his mom over to watch Becca. I made banana pancakes for lunch (Becca's pick) and then Mark went back into the bedroom and rested.

Mark's mom is really great with Becca, and they had a great time playing. I always feel bad that I don't have more time to play with her, so I love it when someone else is willing to come over to play for a while.

After Mark's mom left, and after we had dinner, I put Becca down for a nap. She had managed to sneak out of it earlier. Mark headed off to work, and I curled up with a good book. An hour later, the front door opened, and then the bedroom door. Mark walked in, and asked me to take him to the hospital. The migraine was back full-force, and he needed something that would actually get rid of the pain.

So, I woke up Becca, and off we went. Even though the waiting room was full, they got us in fairly quickly. Mark was given pain meds, and then we waited.

Toddlers and small rooms (loaded with fun-looking medical equipment) don't mix. Waits longer than a few minutes and toddlers don't mix. Even though I had brought a toy, some books, paper and pens, and juice, the two hours in the hospital were painfully long for Becca. She was tired. She was not interested in her books, thank you. She was only a little interested in her toy. She wanted to play with all of the cool new toys in the room. She wanted to inspect daddy's IV. She wanted to pull the curtains, run around, and have a great time.

We settled for sitting with Daddy and watching cartoons or leading me around the room for a while. She was very happy to leave. Mark and I had been joking that she was now 2 for 3 on birthdays spent in the hospital (counting the day she was born). Mark is supposed to stay home today, so we'll be able to make up for some of it. He'll play with her while I work to make up the time he's taken off. He'll be able to play with her. And I think later, we're renting Monsters vs. Aliens.   

I loved our old apartment. Huge windows, carpeting, big kitchen... But I absolutely hated the bathroom. It was small, and there was no bath; only a shower stall. Which was fine, when we first moved in. But by the time I was in my last trimester with Becca, I wanted a bath. Badly. But we had a massaging shower head, so I got over it.

When Becca was born, we used her infant tub (with sling) for the first few months. Then we continued to use it, without the sling, up until a few days ago. We would just set the little tub into the shower, fill it up, and give her a bath that way. She still fit, technically, but there wasn't room to play. And she would take showers with me (more like intrude when I was already in the shower), but they weren't much fun.

One of the first things I fell in love with in this apartment was the bathrooms. There are three, two of which have actual bathtubs. Ever since we decided to move down here, there has been a lot of talk about Becca's first bath. Her first real bath.

We moved all weekend, and finally got our bed downstairs. We went out last night for a few groceries and dinner (all of my kitchen stuff is not down here, just yet), then came home and started filling up the tub. I poured in the bubble bath; Mark helped Becca take off her clothes and diaper. Becca watched in fascination as the bubbles formed. She had never had a bubble bath before.. No point in a tiny tub.

I picked her up, and set her down in the water. She sat there a second, assessing the situation. And then she went nuts. Kicking her feet, squealing, splashing around. At one point, she stuck her face into a big pile of bubbles, then sat up, sputtering. She then realized that she could put bubbles on us, so Mark and I had to take turns sticking our faces out for her to smear.

I took a few pictures, and some video, of her playing around. I'll post it as soon as I get my computer wires downstairs.

In other news, I tried my first sip of beer the other night. Mark decided that he is old enough to be responsible about drinking, and one every once in a while would be okay (he got a little wild when he was younger, and drank a LOT), so we picked him up a six-pack of flavored beer. I tried a little sip, and ewwww. It was supposed to be pumpkin flavored, and it did not taste like pumpkin. It was just gross.

A friend of mine suggested trying again sometime with a lighter, sweeter beer. We'll see. Usually if something is an acquired taste, and it's not good for me anyhow, I just pass. I prefer wine and mixed drinks, anyhow. And the Mike's Pomegranate Lemonade. Yum.