The Armadillo Tales

My Favorite Hero

Ooooh ... I want one!    I want one for sure.    My very own Jack Bauer doll, sorry not doll, action figure.   Unfortunately they are not slated for release until the latter half of 2007.   When I get my own Jack Bauer doll ... I am not sharing!

How Observant of You

Usually after the armadillo's Gymboree class I drive on over to the nearby Krispy Kreme for my regular order.   Two large diet cokes for me and two chocolate iced w/sprinkles (donuts) for B-Dad and the armadillo.    Yesterday on our way over, i was just starting to pull into the drive-thru, not yet at the menu board, and the armadillo, perceptive fellow that he is, exclaims ...

"Donuts mommy.  Donuts!"

Now either Mommy goes to Krispy Kreme too many times or my armadillo has a photographic memory.   I am leaning towards the first.   

Talkback

I remember counting the days when the armadillo and I would be able to have our first conversation.   Where he would say one thing and then me, then the armadillo, etc ... you get the picture.   I pictured it happening like this ... we would be at the park, the armadillo would be frolicking around.   Suddenly he stops.   Something catches his eye.

"Mommy!"   The armadillo calls for me.

I saunter over.   "Yes Armadillo"

"Look." (pointing to a bunch of flowers on the ground)     "What this?" He asks.

"Those are flowers.   Go ahead and pick one.     Be gentle please."   The armadillo picks a couple of flowers ... puts them to his nose and takes a deep breath.   "Mmmmmmm ..."

Screeech!   Hold it.   I'm still dreaming.  Those are not the type of conversations we've been having lately.    They seem to go like this ...

"Mommy I want this."

"No Armadillo.    No more candy."

"Mommy I want this."

"No Armadillo.   Mommy said no more candy.   It's almost time for nene (sleep)."

"No Mommy!   No nene!   No Mommy.    I want this NOW!   NOW Mommy, NOW!    Mommy get candy now!"

We all can dream, can't we?

2 Gummi Bears Please

Well this has been a month of "I Did It"s for the armadillo.    First it was school, ... now it's the potty.  Yes people, we got shi shi (rhymes with pee pee) in the potty.    I don't know if it was the school influence but the armadillo surprised us all by going shi shi in his potty.   Of course bribing the armadillo with 2 gummi bears for every shi shi in the potty helped somewhat.    Probably a bit more than we bargained for.   The beautiful creature that he is, he is as smart as he is adorable.   Now we fear that his eagerness for going to the potty is most in part to a gummi bear persuasion.   The armadillo wants so bad to eat a couple of gummi bears that he wants to go potty every 10 minutes.   Serious.   What have we done?    I'm afraid that we created a gummi bear addict.   

I'm not too concerned though ... yet.   The armadillo still has yet to go poo poo in the potty so that hurdle is still in front of us.   I think we have to keep the gummi bear trade treaty in effect until then.   

But aside from that we are most proud of you my little, um not-so-little armadillo.

It Was a Good Day

Today was a good day.   Whew.     Another day of preschool for the armadillo without any anguish.    We went this morning and instead of playing outside, morning play was inside.   The weather was freezing.   It was just below 40 degrees according to my auto temperature gauge when I parked my car.    To make it worst it was very windy too.   Windburn on the cheeks ... ouch.   The armadillo's teacher was keeping everyone occupied with some rocks and shells.   There was a magnifying glass that the children could use to get a closer look.   The armadillo took off his jacket and dove right in.   He sat down on one of the chairs and took out a few rocks.    I took that as my cue to leave.   I told the armadillo that I would be going and that I would return soon.  I reminded him that it was like the "schoolbus" (gym daycare).   I kissed his chilly cheek and gave him a hug.  I said goodbye and started to walk out.   No crying ... no screaming "Mommy!" ...  I closed the door and that was that.   I had to drop off the armadillo's tuition check at the school office.   The office happens to be right next to the armadillo's classroom.   One thing I love about this school is that there are open spaces from one room to the next.    While waiting for someone I could easily sneak a peek at the armadillo in his classroom.   He was doing great.  He was following his teacher to another activity, just like his other classmates.   Sweet.

When I went to pick him up the children were playing outside.   The weather warmed up a little bit since this morning.   Instead of the high 30's it was now in the high 40's.   Wow.   I walked up to him and he gave me a resounding "Hi Mommy" with his trademark sweet smile.    Then he went on about his business playing with a dump truck he has grown very fond of.   It took me about 5 minutes to convince him that it was time to go.  We were meeting some friends for lunch so we were on a time crunch.   I finally persuaded the armadillo to start moving away from the toys and we said our goodbyes to the teachers and his friends.   The armadillo quietly said "bye" and waved as he walked away.   I couldn't complain too much about having to pull him away from his playtime.  At least it's better than the armadillo wanted to leave as soon as I took a step outside.   He was enjoying himself and was happy.    When he's happy, mama is happy.   Sweet.

Big Dogs are Good

Meet Buffy.   Buffy is a 7-year old German Shepherd and a hero.   In my eyes, and to many others this magnificent canine is a hero by any definition.   On Wednesday night, Buffy jumped in between her owner and an armed robber when her owner was being robbed.    She lurched at the gunman and was shot in the process.    Buffy is recovering nicely in an animal hospital but may unfortunately lose a leg due to her injuries.   

I am pleased to find our local newspaper and news programs tell this story.   All we hear lately whenever a news story includes a dog is that the dog either mauled someone or fatally attacked them.    I'm tired of stories putting big dog breeds in such a negative light.    This story should support my theory that it's not the breed, it's the dog.

If you wish to contribute towards Buffy's medical care (which I will) you can write a check to Bay Area Veterinary Specialists, 14790 Washington Ave., San Leandro, CA 94578 or call #510.483.7387 with bank card information.

Photo credit: SFGate

I Did It!

He did it.   Yes he did.    The armadillo's first day at school went off without a hitch.   Whew!   I am so relieved.    Last night I was tossing and turning, dreading the time when I had to say goodbye to the armadillo.  But as it turned out, the armadillo handled it better than I thought he would.   Better than me in fact.   

I first heard of this preschool of sorts from another mommy friend.    Both our boys are in the same Little Gym class and she mentioned that her son was going to school.    They are both close in age so of course, my curiosity was sparked.   She raved about the school and how great the teachers were, etc ...    I liked the schedule her son was on, 3 days a week for the morning session only.   How convenient I thought.   What I wouldn't give for 3 hours with just the sumo baby.     Of course I love my armadillo dearly but one less kid for 3 hours, I'd be willing to give that a try.   In talking with other mamas I came across several glowing recommendations on this school so I talked with B-Dad.   ...  Should we do it?   Is he ready?     After a brief conversation we decided to take a tour and see if they had any openings.   

It's a pretty good size school.   They accept children from 18 months up to 6 years (after school program only), I think.      The facility was not spanking sparkly new, but it was homey, comfortable.     The school offered a great outside play area and the armadillo's class room was filled with toys, art supplies, books, tables, chairs, washroom, etc ...   It just looked snug and cozy.     What I really liked was that the area where the armadillo would be in was not completely closed off.    There were open sections in the walls that lead to another classroom and the school office.    That made me think that my armadillo would not be unheard in this school ... someone would have to hear him, as I'm sure his voice would carry throughout.   

After finding out that there were only a couple of openings for the schedule we wanted, 3 days a week, morning sessions, I was desperate to secure a spot.   We put down a deposit and jumped right into previewing the school.   I took the armadillo and sumo baby to the school in the mornings so the armadillo would become acclimated to his new surroundings.   The armadillo's morning would look something like this ... outside play during drop off time, snack time, circle time (story reading, share time, etc ...), art activities, free play inside, then back outside for more play time.    That's when I would come to pick him up.    How fun is that?!     I wished my day would look like that once in a while.   

But getting back to this morning.     I got up early, nervous as hell.     All morning I was thinking, "I hope the armadillo will be okay ... I hope the armadillo will be okay ... I hope the armadillo will be okay ..."     Then I started telling myself to relax ... stop worrying.   I didn't want the armadillo to pick up on that.    After everyone had their breakfast and put their jackets on to brave the cold weather, we drove to school.    Once there we went outside so that the armadillo could enjoy his play time.  I saw my mama friend with her son, who happens to be in the same class as the armadillo.   I was ecstatic about that.   The armadillo quickly left my side to play with the toys in the sand.   After about 10 minutes I told the armadillo that mama was going to leave soon but that I would be back to pick him up.  I kept referring to the "schoolbus" (what the armadillo's calls the gym's daycare) and that it was going to be the same thing.     The armadillo stays here, mama leaves and mama comes back.   He was too focused on the toys to really listen to what I was saying.   So I gave him a hug and kiss, told him that I love him, and that I would be back later.     He said bye and I started walking away.    Nothing ... no crying ... no running after me.   I went into the classroom and looked out the window and the armadillo was busy playing with his toys.   Wow.   

I called the school about a half hour later and his teacher said that he was doing great.    She mentioned that the armadillo asked where I was once, she told him that I was doing errands and that I would be back, and that was that.   Wow.   Both his teachers said that he did very well today.   This will be one of the happiest days in my life.   I am so proud of the armadillo.     After I picked him up I asked him if he had fun today and he answered with a resounding "Yes!".   Nice.

To quote my beautiful armadillo ...

"I did it!  I did it!   I did it by myself!"

More Christmas Photos

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I'm trying out a new site called PhotoShow.   This site allows me to upload photos and create a "video" of sorts.   Nice tool to use.   

Enjoy the show!

That's Not a Baby

Okay I love my dogs too but this is just strange.  Check out the video.

No Dating Allowed

I'm not going to get into this too much but bottom line my team lost.   Damn, it was so painful to watch ... the end that is.   Our savior during the season became the thorn that popped the dream to pieces.    I'm sure I'm not alone when I ask what the H-E-double hockey sticks happened?    After a number of screw ups it looked as if the Cowboys could actually pull out a post-season win.   But I guess it's not over until it's over.    The fans at Seattle must have been squeezing hard for a miracle because they got it.     They were able to get Tony Romo to fumble the snap during the play that would have given the Cowboys the lead ... with less than 2 minutes left in the game.   Suffice to say that that was when the season ended.   This has led me to one conclusion.

To the Cowboys coaching staff:

Please sirs, please, I implore you to not allow Tony Romo to date during the football season.   It appears that those of the opposite sex have a somewhat kryptonite effect on the once Superman-like figure, Tony Romo.    I would suggest that you add this clause to his contract so as to ensure his mind does not wander during the games.    Take for example, the painful playoff loss to Seattle.    

Sincerely,

"A loyal and devote Cowboys fan for over 30 years"

Photo credit: Yahoo