I LOST MY FIRST TOOTH!

I look like Jack O. Lantern kinda!

Happy Wednesday to ya!

Friends, I have big news!  Last night, my tooth finally came out!

I didn't plan on my tooth comin' out.  I'd spent the day at my Grandma Blake's.  I ate meatloaf and potatoes and had THREE desserts and had just gotten home and was sittin' in the chair with Mommy, enjoyin' some Bug Art and Toca Band on the dang ol' iPad, when I mentioned casually to Mommy that my tooth was pretty loose.

She told me to have Daddy look at it.

Friends, my Daddy's a dentist.  That can only mean one thing.  They were gonna use tools to yank out my tooth right the heck before bed!  So I got super-nervous.

Mommy gave Daddy one of her cotton squares for doin' her nails, though, and Daddy said all he was gonna do is look at my tooth and see if it would dance.  This sounded just ridiculous enough to be benign... after a few minutes of persuasion on the part of my parents.

So I let Daddy make my tooth dance, and it just danced right outta my mouth, easy-peasy like!  My tooth right behind it has grown up pretty fast over the last few weeks, and there's hardly a hole where the baby tooth was.  It's a heck of a lot easier to brush my new tooth now!  And, it was gettin' pretty bothersome, havin' to nurse that loose tooth.  All's I had to deal with was a lot of anxiety on my part, a little POP! when the tooth danced out, and a wee bit of bleeding.  But Daddy says I have excellent clotting time.  This morning, I am right as rain again, except now, I am two quarters richer, and I have a brand new tooth to take care of!

Friends, I'm gonna go bask in the glow of this monumental moment.  I'll see ya tomorrow.  I love ya lots!  Muah!

Believe the Pigasus

I'll believe it when pigs fly, but you know what?  I Believe it now!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday to you!

Well, ya know, yesterday I told ya all about Hampton the Rubber Puckie, and today, I'll tell ya all about my pal Believe the Pigasus.

Believe is a pig with wings, which is difficult enough to imagine, but as it turns out for me, I don't hafta imagine it, because Believe and I enjoy breakfast together every day while we discuss the latest happenings in the world and on the television.

But calling Believe a pig with wings is inaccurate.  Just as Hampton is part pig, part rubber duckie, Believe is part pig, part Pegasus, which is a winged horse.  So Believe is part pig, part winged horse, for those of you keepin' track on your charts.

Believe is one of those beings that just makes you think anything's possible, because it is.  What's the saying that's always bein' bandied about in moments of disbelief?  "I'll believe it when pigs fly!"  Well, thanks to my pal Believe the Pigasus, I believe it now.  I see the magic in the world. 

How the heck right about that?!

Friends, I hope you get to meet a Believe the Pigasus of your very own.  I hope you get to see the wonder.  I love ya lots, and I'll be seein' ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  Muah!

Hampton the Rubber Puckie

A Rubber Puckie will never rat-fink you out to Santa OR your folks!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Monday to you!

So!  How's it going?  Didja have a great Thanksgiving Weekend like I did?  I sure hope so!

Well, yesterday, I spoke to you about how you just cannot trust a shelf-elf, but today, I want to talk to ya about my pal Hampton the Rubber Puckie. 

You see, Hampton the Rubber Puckie is part pig, part duckie, therefore he's a Puckie, and he's a friendly ol' cuss, if I can say so myself, which I will!

Hampton is a great friend to me.  Because he's rather chimerical in nature, he can see all angles and perspectives of a situation, therefore encouraging and advising me to be my very best.  He's a hands-on holiday advisor, rather than being a passive-aggressive and laissez-faire spy, allowing me to just do bad things then finking me out for it.

You know, it's just kid nature to find our limits by testing them.  I don't think we oughtta suffer Christmassal punishments for just bein' kids!

What's that?

Oh yeah.  Back to Hampton the Rubber Puckie.  Well, ya know, Hampton has come to live with me.  We like to watch Odd Squad together and then invent our own adventures in a land where Rubber Puckies are the unremarkable norm, rather than a curious curiosity as they are in this world.  Coincidentally, in the world of the Puckies, Pigasuses are also quite normal.  But that's a story for another day.

I love ya lots, Big People.  I'll be seein' ya tomorrow!  Keep capturing those Elves on Shelves!  They're just bad news!

Muah!

An Elvish Conspiracy

I have in my hand an Elvish Spy!

Hiya, Big People!  How are you this Sunday?

Well, ya know, it's that time of year when all over the country, Little Kids' homes are bein' invaded by elves purportedly sent to spy on them by the Big Man in Red: Santa Claus Himself.

I have it on the authority of S.C.Himself that the Shelf Elf Intelligence Agency is not an organization sanctioned by the North Pole Nation.  They DID usedta work for Santa, but they all went rogue.

The situation now is that there's an entire legion of rogue Elf-Spies in Little Kids' homes, intimidating Little Kids into bein' havin' here during the Holiday Season, for if the Little Kids act up, the word is the Elves report straight to Santa Claus Himself, and from there S.C. Himself puts said Little Kid on the Naughty List and brings that kid underwear and socks for Christmas and no toys.

Santa Claus Himself has told me that this just isn't the way he operates.  He tried this punitive system back in the Twentieth Century, for a time, but he realized that sometimes Little Kids act out not because they're naughty, but because they're tired, bored, overwhelmed, overscheduled, or lookin' for attention from increasingly preoccupied parents, among other things.  Santa Claus Himself has told me that there's no such thing as a naughty Little Kid, only Good Little Kids who act naughty sometimes.  And in his extensive research over the centuries, he's learned that even Little Kids with naughtier tendencies have good hearts in 'em, and that sometimes, showin' 'em a little love, givin' 'em a little kindness at Christmas can plant niceness in their hearts.  But conversely, a Little Kid who's gotten tired and acted out sometimes just can't catch a break.

The way Santa Claus sees it, Christmas comes around once a year.  One month outta the year for strictly adhering to an elf-induced, intimidation-based behavior plan isn't enough to foment real long-term behavior habits in a Little Kid.  There needs to be consistency the whole year through.  So no, Santa Claus Himself is NOT supportive of the SEIA or its activities and practices.

So who is it that the Elves on Shelves report to?  Who are they in cahoots with, Friends?  Well, I'll tell ya, but you'd better sit down, buckle up, and hang onto your hats.

Friends, they're in cahoots with Parents.  Parents themselves employ the SEIA to rat-fink on their VERY OWN KIDS!   And it has to stop!

Not to worry.  I have a plan.  If you're a Little Kid and you see an Elf on the Shelf member of the rogue spy agency SEIA in your very house, keepin' an eye on ya, you capture that Elf and incarcerate the Elf in a safe, secure spot in your home, where the Elf cannot see you, but not where the Elf is suffering.  Maybe put in a little television set for the Elf to be entertained by, but not a "smart" one the Elf can use to alert an extraction team or anything.  Of course, provide comfort facilities for your Elvish prisoner, perhaps a nice little kitchenette so the Elf can prepare his or her own meals for the duration of the Holiday Season.  Certainly provide a little food for the Elf.  And then after the Christmas Season, send the Elf back to the SEIA.

You will have taken the SEIA Agent Elf out of the game for the entire Holiday Season, so he or she cannot spy on you or any other Little Kids for the duration, and also, because you showed the Elf such kindness, you may well could turn the Elf around to bein' on the side of the Little Kids.

Fight the power, Little Kids!  Fight the power!

Big People, I still love ya lots, but I've gotta side with my people right now.  Learn from us!  Muah!

A Whole Lotta Commercials

I saw a buncha commercials and not a lotta parade.

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Saturday to you!

Well, ya know, Friends, there was a parade on the television I've been lookin' forward to watchin' for months now.  You mighta heard of it.  The dang ol' Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I was so excited about listenin' to the big marching bands and seein' all the balloons of my fravrite cartoon characters and such, and you know what it turned out to be?  A buncha boring people singing on stages in theatres, then they'd show a balloon, the talking heads would talk, talk, talk about how they're Cali girls or Cali boys or whatever, but they LOOOOOOOOOVE New York City on Thanksgiving, because of the parade, but they weren't even lookin' at the parade.

And then they'd go to commercial.

Friends, there were more minutes of commercials than anything else, and then the dumb people hosting the parade just talked over everything.

So the point is that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on television was kind of a bust for me.  I got bored halfway through and went back to my bedroom to play with my toys.  I think next year, I won't even turn on the television during the parade.  They need to reign in that rampant advertising, because when there's a steady torrent of it, even Little Kids who like to keep up with the latest in toys, stop payin' attention.

Friends, I'll see ya tomorrow.  I love ya lots!  Be yourself!  Don't be an advertisement!  Muah!

Black Friday at the Bingham Centre

The Christmas Season is happening, Big People!  Buckle up!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Black Friday to you!

Well, ya know, Friends, my pal Donut Dude and one of his property development pals named Development Dann, and I have a mall called The Bingham Centre, accessible on the Bingham Underground. 

Unfortunately for you, it's only for Little Kids and their toy friends.  It's kinda too bad, because the Bingham Centre is the PREMIER shopping and entertainment destination of all the Binghams.  But fortunately for you, I'll tell ya all about Black Friday at the Bingham Centre.

In a word, shoppin' at the Bingham Centre today is a zoo.

There was a run on light-up boots at Forever Three early this morning.  They couldn't find extra register tape at the Bullseye anchor store, which caused a kerfluffle, until mall management found a pallet of it in a stock-room near the food court.  They already had to do three search-and-rescues in the ball-fountain at Centre Court... don't worry, everybody's okay.  Everything Smoothie has a line to it wrapped all the way to the Grand Arcade.  A glitter gun malfunctioned at Glitz-n-Glitter's, so now everyone who was in the vicinity is walkin' around, extra-extra sparkly.

This isn't a negative thing, though. 

There's a lot of good things goin' on at the Bingham Centre this Black Friday, too, though.  Most things are runnin' smoothly, but they're definitely runnin'.  No leisurely saunterin' for my megamall today. 

I hope everything's going swell for you in the Real World on Black Friday, Big People!  I'm thinkin' about ya!  I love ya lots!  Muah!

The Big Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I love ya lots, Big People!

Hiya, Big People!  Well, it's Thursday, and it's an extra BIG Thursday, on accounta we're now one month away from Christmas Eve, and ... oh yeah:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING YA CRAZY SHINY DIAMOND BIG PEOPLE!

This day is huge.  I'm gonna watch the parade on the television.  I'm gonna sit down and make my secondary preliminary Christmas List, I'm gonna go to Gramma's and eat myself full and silly, then I'm gonna play cards and Wii with Aunt Colleen until I just fall over, face-first onto the table.

And then I'll probably dig into a big bowla ice cream.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, along with all the other holidays.  I am a holiday girl, when it comes right down to it!

Anyways, I know you have some serious Thanksgivin' to do today, Friends, so I won't keep ya any longer.  I'll ketchup with ya tomorrow, though.  I love ya lots, and thanks for sharin' a little slice of your day with me, every day!  Muah!

To Tell the Tooth

If I could wiggle it, just a little bit...

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Wednesday to you!

Well, I may or may not have mentioned this to you, but I have a loose tooth.  It's my first one.  Down on the bottom.  The grown-up tooth is pushing up right the heck behind my loosie.  It's been like this for weeks.

Now, my Daddy's a dentist, as you know.  The night I told Mommy I had a loose tooth, she was joking around with me about tyin' my loose tooth to a door and slammin' the door.  She mentioned something about pliers.  Then Daddy, serious as anything, said he has the very tools to take care of something like this, right at his office, and all I'd hafta do is turn up over there, and he'd pop the tooth out in no time at all. 

I asked Mommy if SHE'D ever had a loose tooth taken out at the dentist, and she said no, but she DID pull out one of her baby teeth in the middle of church once, when she was five, and she put it in her ear for safe-keeping, so she had to go to Dr. Davis to get it taken out of her ear after church, since it really fell down in there, during the sermon. 

I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna listen to Mommy on dental advice, or advice on pretty much anything else, Big People.  She appears to have a lifelong history of impaired judgement. 

Daddy, on the other hand, says my loose tooth situation can be taken care of in the blink of an eye.  Thing of it is, my loose tooth doesn't really bother me.  I mean, it's a little sore when I bite into hard foods with it.  But it isn't painful.  I know it'll come out eventually.  And I feel like if I have Daddy take it out with his instruments, that's kinda like cheatin'.  I will have fast-tracked myself right through a universal experience all Little Kids share: losin' my first tooth, fair-n-square, by wigglin' that tooth incessantly with my tongue, and my hands, and with bubble gum. 

So that's my plan, Big People.  We'll see how it all goes, during the Major Eatin' Holiday tomorrow.  We'll just hafta see if my First Loose Tooth survives, or if the Tooth Fairy will hafta come to my house on a holiday.  Whatever.  I hear she'll be up anyways, because the Tooth Fairy likes to online shop Black Friday specials at the very stroka midnight.

Hey.  I'll see ya in the mornin', Friends!  I hope you already have your turkey thawed out, if ya went the frozen route!  I love ya lots!  Muah!

The Little (Wo)Man with a Plan!

I'm mappin' my day all out in my head, Friends!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday to ya! 

Well, we're now less than forty-eight hours away from the Major Eating Holiday known as Thanksgiving.  This is not a day to take on without a solid, color-coded, well-thought-out plan written on the dry-erase white-board of your brain!  I mean, if ya just stumble onto Thanksgiving Day with no direction in mind, you'll be laid out on the sofa poppin' Alka-Seltzers by two-thirty!

We can't have that!

My Thanksgiving Day Plan is made up of the following: I am gonna get up early in the morning, get around, then wander downstairs to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade on the dang ol' television.  After the parade's over, we're gonna hop in a vehicle and ride over to Gramma's house.  I know the traditional Thanksgiving carol states that the vehicle of choice for goin' to Gramma's is a horse and sleigh, but my Gramma lives eight miles away, and it's either gonna be cold or rainy on Thanksgiving or both, and even if it wasn't, we don't have a horse yet, so it would NOT know the way, as the song advertises.

At Gramma's house, I plan to play table-hockey and pendulum pool and Uno with Aunt Colleen.  We might bust out the Wii, too.  Who knows, really? 

Then.  When it's eatin' time, I plan to take just a little taste of turkey, stuffing, gravy, squash, potatoes, both kinds of cranberry sauce, maybe go back for some seconds on the stuffing and turkey, wash it down with a splasha milk, and save lotsa room for pie.  I haven't yet decided if I like whipped cream on my pumpkin pie or not.  I go either way on whip.

Then I'm gonna play some more games, and if I get hungry again and there isn't early-season Christmas fudge to enjoy, I'll wrangle and fenangle another piece of pie. 

I plan to party into the night, Friends!

See?  Don't head into Thanksgiving with no idea what you're gonna do.  Be a man or a woman with a play, like me.  Strategize.  You'll be so glad you did!

Hey.  I'll ketchup with ya tomorrow!  I love ya lots!  Muah!

Happy 95th Birthday, Texas Hot!

Have a happy ninety-fifth birthday, Texas Hot!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Monday to you!

Well, if ya know me, you know I'm a Little Kid who appreciates great food, and one place I go where I know I can count on eatin' great food is the Texas Hot in Downtown Wellsville! 

I've been eatin' at the Texas Hot in Downtown Wellsville since I was a baby.  They know me there.  The place feels like Home, except with really delicious food to eat!

The first real food I got to eat at the Texas Hot was a big, fancy disha red jello with whipped cream on top!  Now, I get me a grilled cheese sandwich with a tomato slice on the side, and either Pepsi or chocolate milk (the large size, Toots!).  This is my current favorite, although their cheeseburgers are to die for, as well! 

And for you Big People, you really gotta have a Texas Hot with or without onions.  It's a classic for a good reason!

And today, this magical place turns NINETY-FIVE!  How the heck right about that?!

Here's to many happy, happy returns, Texas Hot!  I love ya so much!

I'll see everybody tomorrow!  Muah!

It Ain't Easy Bein' Me...

...But it ain't that hard, either, Friends!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Sunday to you!

Well, ya know, I make it look easy, but it is NOT easy to be me.  There are a lotta things I wanna be able to do, and I think I oughtta be able to do 'em, but as it turns out, quite often, I'm too little.

Cookin' my own food, driving, using the 'good scissors.'  That type of thing.

Also, I hafta go to bed earlier than my Big People most of the time.  It is NOT easy to be the first one to hafta leave a party!

But do you wanna know a secret, Friends? 

It isn't really that hard to be me, either.  I've got a good handle on my day-to-day things I've gotta do.  I know where my corners are.  As long as I'm courteous and smiley and I make an effort in good faith to be a good person every day, I'm golden.

I feel like I'm given just about what I can handle, when it comes to bein' me.  It's challenging enough so I don't get blobby and complacent, but it's easy enough so I don't throw my hands in the air and say I give up. 

I hope you feel the same way about yourself, Friends.  I sure love ya lots, and I'll see ya tomorrow! 

Muah!

Weathercoaster!

Here we go!  Wheeeeeeeee.

Hiya, Big People! 

Well, as ya know, it's November, but we've been enjoying weather that's more like late-summer weather.  Think early September temperatures. 

I am not complaining.

It's just that I read the weather report for this weekend, starting with tonight, and it looks like we're on the big First Hill of the Weathercoaster for the Winter.

You know what I mean.  Our temperatures have been way up there.  Sixes and sevens as the first number on the thermometer, but now we've started our thermal dive.  It's gonna be cold, and rainy and-slash-or-snowy these next few days. 

I don't know about you, but I'm ready, Friends.  I've got my winter boots all lined up.  I have a new winter coat that's silver and puffy.  I have a new appreciation for hot cocoa and a lifelong appreciation for soft blankets. 

Friends, don't fear the snowflake.  Embrace the iciness.  I love ya lots, and I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Chew This, Not That Pop Quiz

Sometimes it's really hard to know WHAT'S best to eat!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Friday to you!

Say, recently my pal Sabretooth and I appeared on the popular Little Kid Television Network show Chew This, Not That Pop Quiz Gameshow.  If you've never heard of it, it's because it isn't available on Big People channels.

Anyways, Pick This, Not That Pop Quiz presents teams of Little Kids (and their kid-friendly mascot spirit animals like Sabretooth) with choices as to what they should pick, food-wise, based on nutritional merits.

Some of the questions are easy-A dish of baked beans or a dish of jelly beans- well, the answer is baked beans.  Peanut Butter Sandwich or a Snickers Bar... Peanut Butter Sandwich, yo. 

Contestants don't get to go online and look up the nutritionals on the choices they're presented.  They just hafta pick.  Sabretooth and I were going along, great guns. We just always erred on the side of choosing something that is less processed over something that's obviously processed- like choosing rice pilaf over bread, a baked potato over tater tots, zoodles made from zucchini insteadda conventional spaghetti noodles...

Big People, we were BRILLIANT!  Until the last question, the stakes for which were either winning a steak dinner or going home on an empty stomach.  That question asked whether it was more healthy to eat marshmallow fluff or an artificially-flavored grape popsicle.

Well, Sabretooth and I deliberated.  We argued.  We debated with each other.  And we couldn't agree.  Sabretooth said the popsicle was better.  I said the marshmallow fluff was better.  As it turned out, the answer was both and neither.  We were only half-correct.

I'm still a little sour grapes about the whole trickery of that last question. But I learned a lot on the show, and so did Sabretooth.  So we went for burgers and fries on our way home from the television show.   Because if you're given the choice between a burger-n-fries or a King Size candy bar for each hand from a fillin' station along the way home, the healthier option is the burger-n-fries.  For what it's worth, we both made ours deluxe, with cheese, and washed it down with chocolate milk.  So we got lettuce, tomato, and plenty of calcium.

Life's all about makin' good choices, Friends!  I love ya lots, and I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

How Lucky You Are!

You're pretty darn lucky, Friends, even if it doesn't feel like it!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Thursday to you! 

Have I ever told you about one of my favorite books?  It's called Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?  

Dr. Seuss wrote it, and I love it.

It's all about realizing how lucky you are, by comparing yourself to people who are much, much less fortunate than you. 

Like the kid who has to mow his uncle's yard of fast-growing hay, for piffulous pay, and because he can't make ends meet on his tiny pay from mowing the yard of fast-growing hay, he has to paint flagpoles that are way up high.

Or the kid whose bedroom is in one peak of his house, and his bathroom is waaaaaaaay up in the toppa a far other side of his house!  Or the unfortunate lone sock left in an empty cave!

I'm sure the case could be made that this book is based completely on the concept of schadenfreude.  But hey.  Whatever works, right?

I love ya lots, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  You are a lucky person!  Muah!

Butterfly Princess Ninja Jedi!

I'm not sure the world is ready for all my fabulosity, but I'm here, Big People!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Wednesday to you! 

Well, ya know, I'm a Little Kid who's interested in a whole big lot of things.  I love butterflies.  I love princess things.  I am fascinated by ninjas.  And who doesn't wanna be a Jedi?

Nobody doesn't wanna be a Jedi.  That's who.

So I got to thinkin', why should I just pick one of those things to be at a time when I can combine all four of those cool things into one fabulous Me? 

It's really a lot to contend with in one person, Friends!  I'm not sure the world is ready for all this fabulosity, all this awesomeness, but the fact is, I'm here!  Put your wings on, grab up your light-up sword, garb up in your ninja gear, and add a crown if you like.  Come along with me.  Be Fabulous! 

I love ya lots, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

I'm A Dancin' Fool!

"Just Dance" is like if the Mothership was a video game: It's callin' me home!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday to you!

Well, ya know, I have always loved to dance.  From the time I was a TigerBaby, I've been interested in Interpretive Dance, Crazy Dance, Be-Bop Dance, Dancin' in my BabySwing...

All kinds of dancing!

Well, now that I'm a Little Kid, I've recently come into a video game called "Just Dance."  It has all kinds of musics on it, and all kinds of dancing for me to perform.  I am so much in my element that if a video game could be a Mothership, Just Dance would be my Mothership, and it has called me home.

Dancin' is GREAT exercise, Big People!  You should totally get into it, yourselves! 

I love ya lots, Big People!  I've gotta go dance now, but I'll see ya tomorrow!  Just dance!  Muah!

When Ya Feel So Mad, Ya Wanna Roar...

Take a deep breath and count to FOUR!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Monday to you! 

Well, ya know, Big People, I keep an eye on the horizon and an ear to the ground, and I gotta say, you Big People are still an awful lot outta sorts.  Please don't let all this ugliness and drama be the "new normal," Friends.  If it were my people, the Little Kids, acting this way, would you Grownups condone such behavior?

No way! 

So in the spirit of bein' an Ambassador to the Big People from the Land of the Little Kids, allow me to offer you Big People some advice from my pal Daniel Tiger. 

When ya feel so mad ya wanna ROAR!
Take a deep breath! And count to four!
One, two, three, four!  Ahhh!  I feel BETTER!

It really works, Friends, and it keeps ya from saying or typing something you really wouldn't say or mean if your head was cooler.

Now, there might be times when countin' to four isn't gonna cut it, and Daniel Tiger has a song for that, too, although this one's to be used sparingly:

If ya don't get whatchya wa-ant,
Stomp three times!
And make yourself feel better!

See?  It acknowledges that ya hafta burn off your bad feelings, but in sucha way that you're not hurting someone else's property or making a scene of makin' a fool out of yourself.

These can be very frustrating times we live in, Big People Friends.  And you can bet that Daniel Tiger has a song to help you cope with your frustration, too.

When you're feelin' frust-er-ated,
TAKE A STEP BACK! 
And ask for help!

It really kinda works, Friends.  But you've gotta ask for help and be ready to take the help.  You can't ask for help and then get all mad at someone for tryin' to help you, but maybe gettin' it kinda wrong.  Help them help you.  If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that people like to be helpful.  They like to be reached out to and needed.

My great-grandpy would say "Be useful as well as ornamental," and I think he was right.  If you know you're useful, you're happier, Friends.  I know I am happier when I'm doing something like making someone smile!

So there ya have it, Friends.  Some tools for gettin' along from the Land of the Little Kids.  Put 'em in your emotional toolbox, mmmkay?  Think of me when ya use 'em!  And use 'em often!  I love ya lots!  I'll be seein' ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Should I Eat At Joe's or Chuck E's?

I wonder if I'd love Chuck E. Cheese as much as I love Joe's!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Sunday to you!

Well, ya know, I'm a kid who likes the finer things in life.  Sparkling water, hand-shaken chocolate milk, eating in grown-up restaurants.

Yesterday, though, I went on an excursion with Mommy and Daddy, to the Rochester suburb of Henrietta.  I wanted to go there, because my fravrite restaurant, Joe's Crab Shack, is located there. 

Don't get me wrong.  I love eatin' at Joe's Crab Shack, but across the road, I saw a Chuck E. Cheese's.  I've heard tell that a kid can be a kid at Chuck E. Cheese's.  I've heard all kindsa talk of ball pits and arcade games.  I wanna go there!

Thing of it is, my trips to Rochester do not occur with enough frequency so as I can be cavalier with my choices for where I request we dine.  Sure, Chuck E. Cheese's looks like fun from the parking lot, but would the food there appeal to me?  I'm not so convinced.  Is it possible to visit Chuck E. Cheese's and just play the games?

If I could have my Joe's Crab Shack AND Chuck E. Cheese's, too, that would be great! 

I love ya lots, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Hugga Pet!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Saturday to you!

So!  How's it going?

Well, I'll tell ya, it's been quite a week for me.  My pal Rozzie was sick.  Did you even know that dogs can get viruses off from us?  It's true!  Dogs will catch more from their people than their people will catch from dogs.

I was very worried about my pal Rozzie.  She didn't wanna drink her water.  She didn't wanna eat her food.  She didn't wanna eat her cookies.  She didn't wanna eat my food.

She did, however, wanna eat her Greenies.  That's all that she wanted to eat. 

Mommy took my pal Rozzie to the vet's on Thursday, and Rozzie had a buncha gunk in her lungs.  So she got some medicine, and started feeling better right quick!

It reminds me of the time I got a Really Bad Cold that gave me an ear infection, cough, and pink-eye.  I felt like chewed-up gum that had been outside in the sun, then frozen, then back in the sun, then drove over by a big truck.  And as soon as I started takin' my pink shake-up medicine from outta the fridge, I got to feelin' much better.

Back to Rozzie.  She's feelin' much better and acting like her Usual Self.  I am so happy about that.  Because you know why?  Whenever I'm feelin' bad or sad or off, Rozzie's there for me, making sure I pet her head.  I think it's because she knows that petting her and hugging her makes me feel better when I'm feeling bad, and she wants me to feel better.  Plus, she likes to be petted and hugged and loved, too. 

It reminds me of the Daniel Tiger song, "Taking care of you, makes me happy, too!"

That's what we get when we have a cat or dog or pet in our lives, Big People!  So go hugga pet, mmmkay?  You'll feel great!  I love ya lots, and I'll see ya tomorrow.  Muah!

Thank You, Veterans!

Land of the Free, because of the Brave.  Thank you, Veterans!

Hey there, Big People!  It's Friday!

I know you're anxious to get on with your Friday and your weekend, and I am too, so I'm gonna be brief today. 

It's Veterans Day.  And I just wanna say "Thank You" to all the veterans.  We're the land of the Free because of the Brave.

Veterans, please consider this my big hug to you. 

Friends, do something nice for a veteran near you today.  In fact, do something nice for someone near you.  Kindness matters, and it makes America a wonderful place to live.

I love ya lots, Big People.  I'll see ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  Thank you, Veterans!  Muah!

How 'Bout That Fallin' Back?!

The time, it did a-change, Big People!  I'm still adjusting to it!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Thursday to you!

Well, ya know, we've been in Fall Back Time now since Sunday morning, and I have to say it's affecting me more this year than it ever has so far in my life. 

Most of the time, I don't pay much mind to time changes, but boyo boy, I have really appreciated my naps, and you know a situation is intense if I say that!

It's mostly my mornings that are really different.  All week long, Sixo Clock has felt like Seveno Clock, so up I get.  Mommy isn't thrilled with that, but I kind of dig it.  I get to see Daddy a little bit of time before work in the morning.  I just love that!

Anyways, Friends, have a good day today.  Get some good rest.  You'll feel lots better.  I love ya so much!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Major Eatin' Holiday on the Horizon!

I am going to eat ALL THE DESSERTS!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Wednesday to you!

Say, did you even know that in just a few short weeks, it will be Thanksgiving?  Not only is Thanksgiving a Major Eatin' Holiday, it's pretty much the premier Major Eatin' Holiday!

Friends, when I was New, all I wanted was to sample some of that dang ol' pumpkin pie and whipped cream out of a squirt-can.  I just wanted a little taste of mashed potatoes, a wee nibble of turkey.  I wanted to hoover some of that cranberry jelly that retains the shape of its can.

And do you know what I got to "enjoy" on my first Thanksgiving?

Similac.  Whoop-de-doo! 

Big People, you're too old to remember the taste of Similac, but it is still fresh in my memory.  While Similac is soothing and not unpleasant, it just doesn't compare to the flavors, textures, flavors, deliciousness, and food-ness of Real Food. 

So, yeah.  I get a little EXCITED!!!! when Thanksgiving starts drawing nigh each year.  Getting to eat food on Thanksgiving is something I just cannot take for granted or be ho-hum about.  It's a Really Big Deal for me!

So you'll hafta forgive my random outbursts of Thanksgiventhusiasm that are bound to burst out of me over the next few weeks.  Thanksgiving is like my food equivalent of Disney World- I hafta have a plan.  I can't just unleash myself on that buffet table without a plan!

So let's get ready to talk about lotsa interesting, delicious things over this next little bit of time, Big People!  I love ya lots, and I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

For Better or Worse

Oh, you know.  I'm just thinkin' about the Future...

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday to you, I think!

Well, for better or worse, today's the big day!  I hope everything turns out okay.  I really do.  We're all in the same boat in the end, Big People.  We are.  Let's keep it motorin' along.

I am a brightsides kind of girl, so I'm gonna focus on the bright side of today bein' today.  One of the bright sides is that the robo-calls and mean commercials get to take a break for a while.  Another of the bright sides is that I'm pretty sure all the Big People will go back to talking about things that are actually interesting, insteadda all politics, all the time. 

It's my hope that we can all get back to bein' super-friendly to each other, just like we all were on Halloween.  That was a great night, Big People.  I'm STILL talkin' about it!  Not even because I got candy!

Big People Friends, I love ya lots, no matter how ya vote today.  I guarantee that I don't agree with everything all of you think, say, or do, but I don't think you're idiots or monsters or any of those awful names I've heard you all calling each other, these last few months.  Please stop the madness and let's all be good to one another, starting right now, mmmkay?

Santa's watching all of you!  And so am I!

Think Happy Be Happy!

Lemme give ya a big bug, Big People!  It's all gonna be okay!

Hiya, Friends!

Well, ya know, I like to be upbeat and positive.

Sometimes this is easier said than done.  Especially on Mondays and especially during times such as those we've been experiencing as of late.

In times like these, I hafta be aggressively positive, you know?  Otherwise, I'll give in to the roiling murk of despair.

When aggressive positivity doesn't come easy to me, I hafta fake it 'til I make it.  I hafta Think Happy so I can Be Happy.  It's tough, Friends.  Boyo boy, I know it's tough.  But don't let all the grouchy gobbeldeygook get to you.  Don't believe the negativity going around.  Don't feel like pasting a smile on your face and powering through makes ya weak or silly.  If ya don't like to be miserable, Friends, it's what you've gotta do.  Think happy, Be happy! 

Remember, I love ya lots.  I love the daylights right outta ya, and it's all gonna be okay!  Muah!

A Little Slow on the Cupcake!

We all have that one friend who's a little slow on the cupcake, Big People!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Sunday to you!  Are you enjoyin' your Extra Hour?  I personally love Fall Back.

But I'm not here to talk about the fall back- spring forward controversy today.  I'll save that for Spring Forward, when I'm grouchy about losin' an hour of my weekend.  This time around, it works out in my favor, so you'll hear no griping from me!

Nope.  I mean, until I got up today, expecting it to be my regular time to get up, only to find I was an hour early, I didn't even realize anything had happened.

I was what you call a little slow on the cupcake.  You know how that goes, right, Big People?  I mean, we all have that one friend who's a little slow on the cupcake.  Sometimes we, ourselves, are a little slow on the cupcake.

That saying comes from when this kid was at a party a long time ago, and they put a cupcake in front of him, but he was so busy talkin' to his neighbor that he wondered when they were gonna serve the cupcakes, and don't ya know, his friends all pointed out that there'd been one sitting right in front of him for a whole glob of minutes, and he never noticed.

That's when that kid became the very first person to be called a little slow on the cupcake.  But don't you worry, Big People.  All his friends had the opportunity to be slow on the cupcake later on.

I love ya lots, Big People!  Don't be slow on the cupcake today, but if you are, it's okay.  I love ya anyway!  See ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Chilly Weather Bright Side!

The best part of wakin' up is cocoa in my cup.

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Saturday to you!

Well, ya know, as the weather gets colder, I like to warm up with a warm beverage in one of my grown-up mugs. 

The benefits to warming up with a warm beverage in a grown-up mug are many, not the least of which is that when you're drinkin' out of a grown-up mug, you look really, really grown up.  I mean look at me in the picture.  I practically look like an eight-year-old there!  Whoa!

Another benefit is that warm beverages warm ya right the heck up, from your core outward.  Are ya chilly?  Have a warm beverage.  Are ya upset?  Have a warm beverage.  Are ya happy because you're settling in to watch a Star Wars Rebels marathon on the dang ol' Disney XD channel?  Celebrate with a warm beverage.

I suppose if ya like coffee or tea, go for it.  For me, though, there's no other warm beverage but hot cocoa.  I love the sweetness.  Leave the whip right off it, but go ahead and gimme some little marshmallows.  I love those things!

Friends, we can't make the weather warmer, but we can learn to love warmin' up with warm beverages drank from grown-up mugs, during this chilly season!  I love ya lots!  I'll be seein' ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Sleepovers at Gramma's!

I always feel refreshed and happy when I've been to a sleepover at Gramma's House!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Friday to you!

Well, ya know, I love hockey season, but not just because of the hockey games.  I like to watch hockey games, but what I really love about Hockey Season is a sharp uptick in the frequency of my sleepovers at Gramma's House. 

I love goin' to Gramma's, because every trip is an adventure, and when I stay overnight, the adventure continues over the course of two days!  Sometimes, on the second day, Gramma takes me to the sub-shop!  I have a regular order of either a bacon sub or a ham sub, and I split it with Gramma!  I haven't gotten into eatin' pizza at the sub-shop yet, because I don't like food that's hot right outta the oven.  But someday, I bet I'll think it's magical!

I get to bake cake and cookies when I'm at Gramma's.  I get to make crafts with crayon shavings at Gramma's.  It's a lotta fun for me!  And as I'm currently at a sleepover at Gramma's, I'm goin' on an adventure to a car dealership!  I bet we'll be eatin' at a restaurant!

Life is more fun at Gramma's, Friends.  You can believe that!

I love ya lots, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  Muah!

Chick-a-Chicka!

Chopsticks are nothing to be intimidated by, Friends!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Thursday to you!

Well, ya know, I've been playing a game from Japan that is trainin' me how to use chop-sticks.  It's a game that has a bowl, and a buncha little yellow chicks that are the size and shape of different beans.  Think, Edamame and such.  There's also a pair of green chopsticks to practice pickin' up the little chicks one at a time out of the bowl.

There are variants of how to play.  One time, ya might pick out the little round chicks, or the peanut-shaped ones.  Ya might time yourself. 

It's a lotta fun, Friends!  And it's a practical skill and it also works on my fine-motor skills.

I haven't mastered using the chopsticks just yet, but I have some trainer-chopsticks that are like regular chopsticks held together at the top by a neat silicone giraffe.  That takes the intimidation factor of chopsticks right away for me.  With the giraffe at the top, the chopsticks are just like really skinny little tongs!  I can pick up stuff with skinny little tongs, really easily!

So Friends, don't be afraid to learn anything new!  You'll be glad you learned it!  I love ya lots!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Havin' a Hard Time Lettin' Go of Halloween!

I miss Halloween already, Big People!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Wednesday to you!

Well, ya know, I had a BLAST during Halloween Season, and I'm really sad to see it go!

It really makes a lot of sense, too, because I pretty much spent the entire month of October, anticipatin' the Halloween Holiday.  A kid can't just shut off that kind of excitement, just because the holiday passed two days ago, you know?

I have a plan, though.  I ran it past Mommy.  We decided that I can retain some of the spirit of Halloween throughout the Fall by leavin' up my pals the Skeleton Flamingos outside.  I might make 'em some turkey feathers and pilgrim hats for Thanksgiving, and then have Mommy knit 'em up some scarves and elf hats for Christmas.  Seein' the Skeleton Flamingos when I come home from somewheres just puts a dang ol' smile on my face.

I will also continue to wear my Halloween-themed clothings, regardless of the holiday having passed for this year.  Halloween is kind of subversive, and nothing says 'subversive' like wearin' orange and black and dancing skeletons when it's pertineer Thanksgiving.

Hey, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  I love ya lots!  Muah!

I Had a GREAT Time!

Yep.  As far as Halloween goes, I nailed it!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Tuesday to you!

Well, as you know, last night was Halloween Night.  I've been lookin' forward to this for AGES, and as it turns out, it was just as much fun as I thought it would be!

I walked the wild streets of Genesee, and as it turns out, those wild streets are really, really friendly!  What I really enjoyed was how friendly everybody was!

There were some houses that really went all-out with the decorating, and it was great!  There was one that even spooked me a little bit, but it was lotsa fun, because it's fun to be spooked on Halloween!

I think the only thing I'd change about Halloween and trickertreatin' is that maybe next year, I'll figure out a way to work a battery-operated space heater into my costume.  It got a little chilly on my travels tonight.  Or!  Maybe I'll devise a costume that looks super-stylish, but is hiding battery-operated, self-warming layers!

Either way, my theme for next year's Halloween festivities will be thinkin' warm, bein' warm.  Who's with me?

Hey, Friends!  I have some serious candy to eat, so I'll see ya tomorrow!  Be good!  I love ya lots!  Muah!