Knot Head

I've been keeping you all updated on the progress of Mallory and her mobility, and, my subsequent concern of her being this mobile at such a young age.

And I've said that Jenna didn't even start crawling until 10 months, walking at 14 months. Granted, Mallory is a bit smaller than Jenna so there's less of her to move.

But I had read in the past that the longer a baby waits to walk, the better. Vision is better, reflexes are better, muscles are stronger.

People think it's a good thing that Mallory is walking.

No, no it isn't.

Mainly it's becuase she's growing up too quickly. With Jenna we wanted her to grow up so we could watch it. With Mallory we want her to slow waaaaaaaaay down. Alas, tis not meant to be.

So here is physical proof that children should not walk until after they've turned a year old. The oldest one (on her right/your left) happened last week when she lost her balance at daycare and whacked her head on the end of the rocking chair. The newest one (on her left/your right) happened Sunday when she was walking down the hall and lost her balance and whacked her head on the corner of a door frame. Steve had his back turned and heard it, but I saw it.

It wasn't a pretty sight.

Steve chimes in, all perky, "So can I call her 'Knot Head' now??"

*sigh* "Yes, Steve.....you may now call her 'Knot Head'."

Weekend Wrap-up

NetFlix Movie of the Weekend: "Mr. Brooks" (2007) Kevin Costner stars in this film as a serial killer and his alter ego, Marshall (played by William Hurt), and his daily battles of resisting the urge to kill again. I liked his thougth process and converstaions with Marshall, but the ending was weak and very bizare. I was hoping for a more creepy Kevin Costner, but I think he does better in the you-want-me-but-can't-have-me roles.
~~
Caption Contest Winner: Out of default this week's winner is Nadine with, "You put both hands in and you shake them all about...you do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself about...That's what it's all about!"
~~
Weight Watchers Update: At the end of Week 9 I dropped another 1.8# giving me a total of 22.6#. However, after this weekend, I know I put all of that back on and more. Last night I stuffed a chicken with home made pesto between the skin and meat and cooked it on the grill for a couple of hours along with some corn on the cob.

Damn. Thems some guuuud eats!
~~
Not much else to report this weekend....can't believe that schools around here start back this week. When I was in school we didn't go back until the week before Labor Day. But the middle of August?? That's just nuts.

Mallory is pretty much walking exclusively. Stay tuned to tomorrow's post.

Caption Contest!!

NetFlix Movie of the Week: "The Queen" (2006) Helen Mirren stars in this movie as QE2 (and hauntingly looks exactly like her) and how the Monarchy responded to the death of Diana in 1997. I'm not sure how much of it was Hollywood and how much of it was actual but you really got a sense of the tradition of the Monarchy in contrast to the modern ideas of Tony Blair.


It was the better part of four days before Britain heard from her Queen. Raised in the Monarchy and brought up to be private and strong, QE2 had a difficult decision to make about making an appearance and altering the traditions of Britain that were centuries old. Because Diana was no longer part of the Royal Family it was her decision to not have a public funeral and left that matter up to the Spencer's.


But with face of the Royal Family on the line with her people, QE2 relents and attends the funeral though is clearly uncomfortable with it. It's a conflict of time-honored tradition against progressiveness. At one point she threw her hands in the air and exclained that perhaps the Monarchy should go away.


Good rental, if not for the plot but rather for Mirren's Oscar winning performance of QE2.
~~
Sorry for the absence this week; nothing exciting to report other than Mallory is wlaking almost exclusively now and has finally cut her fourth tooth. Though the way she chews on her hand there are more to come.


In honor and spirit of the Olympics opening tonight I submit yet other Olympic-themed photo for the contest. Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!!

Weekend Wrap-up

Caption Contest Winner!! This week's nod goes back to Aynde with her, "The garrote for self use has been tested and researchers agree it works a little too well."
~~
Netflix Movie of the Weekend: "Freedom Writers" (2007) Stacy gave me the heads-up about this movie in one of her previous posts. Hillary Swank stars as Erin Gruwell, a first-time teacher in Long Beach in 1994 after the Rodney King Riots. Again, this is another modern-day "Dead Poets" where the teacher rallies her students to work together for the greater cause.

I think one of the most profound moments in the movie was "The Line Game" where Gruwell put a tape line down the center of the room and had those students approach if a question pertained to them. At first you could see the posturing and intimidating stares of rivals when they approached the line. Then the questions started getting more personal, "How many have lost a friend to gang violence?" Now instead of posturing and intimidating, these kids, whom have seen and experienced more than anyone should at the tender age of 15, these kids start to see each other as a bit more human instead of the enemy.

I didn't want this movie to end. I really enjoyed this movie so I Googled Erin Gruwell and her Freedom Writer's Foundation. There's a CNN clip about a teacher in Indiana who was suspended for 1.5 years, without pay, for using the book, even though the book is in their library. If you haven't already, I recommend this movie. I think I'll have to check out the Freedom Writers' Diary as well.
~~
Weight Watcher's Update: Only down 0.2# this weel but I had *ahem* female issues to contend with. It's still a loss so I'll take it! This puts me down 20.8# in 8 weeks.
~~
Didn't do much this weekend as it was too blasted hot. Yup, it's August. Nebraska gets hot but rarely does it reach 100. On average we reach 100 maybe 5 days in the summer. But with our high humidity the heat index easily surpasses 110. I did grill both Saturday and Sunday as I'm not outside for very long. It's supposed to break and get back down in the 80s mid-week.

Caption Contest!!

Hooray! We've made it to another Friday!! So it's now time for this week's installment of the Contest!! I figured with the Olympics coming up next week this would be a nice intro. This week's contest is open; either CAPTION or HEADLINE!! Have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday!

Facebook

NetFlix Movie of the Week: "The Bucket List" (2007). I think I'm going to have to go with Ebert's assessment of the movie. It shouldn't have been Morgan Freeman opening the movie in monologue, but rather Jack Nicholson, bestowing the virtues of Morgan's character instead of Jack's. Some funny lines and scenes, but atrocious blue screen; akin to 70s TV.
~~
Ok, once again, I'm behind the times....Friends have been pushing me to get onto Facebook for some time and I finally did yesterday.

HOLY SHEEPDIP, BATMAN!!!

I've found more people that I realized I was looking for! Bunch of people from high school, friends from college; most of which I haven't seen in 15 years or more.

Some people say that Facebook is a college thing and is creepy when adults get on it. Eh, whatever...

I was getting a headache with all the crap you can put on your page. I'm having wars with throwing things at other people; like lobbing Justin Timberlake or Paris Hilton, getting wrapped in bubblewrap, tossing polar bears and octopi. This is nuts!

And annoyingly addictive.....

Name Change

J. Geil's 1983 old version: "My Angel Is A Centerfold"

Jenna's 2008 new version: "My Angel Has A Cell Phone"