Whatever Happened to.......?

When I read blogs, I sometimes wonder how some things that the blogger wrote about ultimately turned out.

So here are some quick update of subjects I’ve discussed in previous posts to keep everyone informed of what’s happened since I first wrote about them:

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Videos from my China Trip.

When I first got back from China, I discovered that my brand new IMovie Mac software program would not import my hours and hours of High Definition video that I had taken with my brand new video camera during my trip. Net, net I can’t edit any of the video that I shot.

After a couple attempts to work around this issue and after talking to some people who are much more tech savvy than me, it looks like I have to go and get another editing software program. Some friends of my babysitter are figuring out the best one for me to use (not so sophisticated that I won’t be able to self-teach myself how to use it, but not so unsophisticated that I’ll have the same problems I have with IMovie).

This setback has been a real bummer. I spent a lot of money on the software program in December and LOTS of money on the High Definition video camera in January – I’m still amazed that these two items aren’t compatible – shouldn’t a brand new Apple editing software program be designed to work with High Definition???

Are you reading this, Stephen Jobs?

The Beach Bead Chain

In an attempt to get my chickadees out of the door by 7:15AM each morning, I instituted a Beach Bead incentive on Feb 25.

Every morning that we make it out of the door on time and without any hassles (whining, pouting, arguments about what to wear, etc), Zo Peep gets a bead that she adds to a string. When she accumulates 100 beads, I’ll take her (and Libby Doodle Doo and myself) on an incremental vacation to a beach.

We’ve been doing this for 14 days. So far, Zo Peep has earned 8 beads. Even on the 6 days in which she hasn’t earned a bead, we’ve gotten out of the house much earlier than we were before and with much less contention. So I think it’s been a great success.

I’ve counted out the 100 beads with her when we started and put them in a glass jar in the kitchen. When she earns it, Zo Peep really takes pleasure in picking her bead out of the jar and stringing it on her string. We have the string hanging on the back door of the kitchen.

When my sister came to visit us for Libby Doodle Doo’s birthday on March 2nd, Zo Peep told her about the Beach Bead Chain.

“And when I get 100 beads, mommy is going to take us to Hawaii.”

WHAT!!! Who said anything about Hawaii? I’m trying to manage Miss Peep’s expectation of exactly where this beach will be.


My Obsession with Teeth

For someone who is not in the dental profession, I write a lot about teeth – losing teeth, cutting teeth, brushing teeth etc.

Zo Peep still is waiting for her second tooth to fall out. I think we have about two or three more weeks to go before we face another traumatic night with the tooth fairy.

Maybe I can time the loss of her tooth to Easter and our annual visit from the Easter Bunny. That way I may ask Mr. Bunny to pick up the tooth and deliver it to the Tooth Fairy – so that the Peep doesn’t have to freak out again that Ms. Fairy is reaching under her pillow as she sleeps.

Libby Doodle Doo is still in cranky teething mode. Even daycare personnel - who usually talk about how pleasant she is - have been commenting on the Doodle’s very cranky behavior. Gee I hope these two lower teeth erupt soon—we could use the peace at home.

Miss Peep has fully embraced the need to brush and floss since learning about it twice in school last month. We are using individual flossers and she is doing it every morning and evening like clockwork. I still haven’t purchased a fluoride rinse for her yet. I always think about it at home, but never put it on a grocery list.

Friday Fish Fry

We’ve gone back once to the local church’s Lenten Fish Fry. The second time was even more pleasant than the first. My sister met us there and we had a really nice time. We were put at a table with a really nice lady and her daughter (age about 8 I’m guessing). They were a very nice family and we enjoyed getting to know them.

Libby Doodle Doo was in rare form that night and entertained the crowd a lot. One volunteer came over to talk to me about her and about adopting from China. She told me that she always dreamed of adopting from China, but with 7 children (yes, you read that correctly – 7 children) she was never able to save enough money to do it. God bless her – 7 children.

And I think 2 are overwhelming at times.

The Hen House on TV

Late last year I wrote a posting on how the HGTV show, “What you get for the Money” came in 07 and filmed the Hen House – plus the Peep and me – for a future segment of their show (I think it’s going to be the show about what you get for VERY LITTLE money – since it seems most of the homes featured on that show cost in excess of $500 thousand).

The production company wrote to me and told me that they aren’t going to air the shows in my series (My episode is 702) until 2009!!! I’m trying to convince them to send me the video (ideally the raw video, too) before then. They shot for 9.5 hours and took lots of video of the Peep who was very, very hammy that day. I’d love to see that.

Hey maybe I can edit it with the new software I’m getting!