No Phone Zone

Madeline, 15 months, chatting on her phone - and driving! What a poor influence her momma is on her!

My teen's cell phone is like another appendage for her and it is the thing I worry about most when she begins driving. I warn her about the dangers of texting or talking on her cell phone when she does get her license, probably later this spring, and yet I'm a big offender myself.

I normally don't text and drive, but I have done it a handful of times, not something I care to admit. Since I have a 30-minute drive to work each way, I have gotten in the habit of being on my phone for most of that time, which is not good. After watching Oprah last week about the dangers of texting and driving, I've decided I need to make a change, if only to show my teenage daughter the importance of staying off your phone while driving. And, oh yeah, so I don't kill anyone or myself because of my distracted driving.

So I am cutting down the amount of time I'm on the phone in the car - to only make necessary and brief calls if I have to. For sure, I will not talk on the phone when I have either of my children in my car. No phone call is worth their lives. I know I should take Oprah's "No Phone Zone" pledge but I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet. Cold turkey is probably the way to go but .... I don't know.

I think going phoneless in the car might be a freeing experience, a way to unwind, think things through and to actually enjoy the scenery. I drive by several lakes each day and I actually don't remember if there are a lot of fishhouses out there right now or not.

I'll have to check that out tomorrow.

Passing the bugs

Madeline hasn't been feeling well the last several days - runny nose, fever, etc. - and now, when I thought the worst of it was over, it appears she's given it to me. I have a feeling she caught the bug from her ECFE class last Monday since she started getting symptoms on Wednesday. Plus, she's not around any other kids and Erika's feeling OK. Oh well, the price you pay to socialize and educate your kiddo. :)

I stayed home from work today and have spent the day with a headache, coughing, sore throat, runny nose, fever, etc. I feel terrible. And of course Nels is rubbing it in my face that I have had both the H1N1 and seasonal flu shots and here I get sick. I don't know if it's the flu or not - I like to think it's another annoying virus. Nels is sort of anti-flu shots so this has given him a lot of ammunition. Gah...stubborn men.

But he said he's starting to get a sore throat so I guess he's next at bat for this thing. I'm thankful he's been taking care of Maddy today because I've felt so weak.

Well, I better get back to my coughing.

Oops, I did it again...

I think I have to give up on cutting Maddy's hair...she always ends up looking like a child out of the 1950s! She's going to hate me for it later on, but hey, what can you do? It almost looks like a perfect bowl cut, really...This was her second haircut.

Here she's eating with a spoon, and doing a good job!  She's been sort of obessed with spoons. She has a  play tea set from Christmas that has spoons with it and today she was trying to feed our dog, Daisy, tea with a spoon. It was pretty cute until Daisy got annoyed and walked away.

Maddy has her second ECFE class Monday and two of her cousins, Lila and Ruby, are in it! Lila just joined this week. I'm sure they'll have a great time! Maddy had a fever the last couple of days and I wasn't sure if I should bring her to ECFE (where she probably got sick in the first place), but there's no sign of a fever today and she's running around like a wild woman.

So, game on.

Madeline is saying so many words now. She loves to brush her "teeth" and she says "kitty" "momma" and "dada," among others. When we read her "Chicka Chicka ABC" book she's recognizing which letters are the "A," "B" and "C."

It's so fun to watch her learn and develop into the little girl she's destined to be.

Maddy is 15 months old

Here is our Madeline.

She may look sweet - and she is! But she's also very sneaky and mischievous.

She loves to help out in the kitchen.

She's a fabulous cook - just ask her!

She's a free spirit - definitely not a germaphobe!

She loves a good challenge.

And when the odds seems stacked against her...

She always comes out on top.

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