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Emily's Night Night Antics

Emily did not want to go to sleep last night. Being the good baby that she is, she went to bed without crying. About 20 minutes later, I hear her in the crib making car noises.

"Beep, Beep"
"Honk, Honk"

I giggle, and turn my attention back to Law and Order. A few minutes later, I hear:

"Mommy!"
(pause)
"Daddy!"
(pause)

and finally...."Annie!" - who by the way is the dog! I guess she thought that if Mommy and Daddy wouldn't come rescue her, maybe the dog would?

And a few minutes later, we hear (by this point Jeremy had come to join me in listening at her door):

"Happy Birthday to my Emily, Emily"
"Happy Birthday to Emily"

We are laughing hysterically and calling family so they can join in the funniness.

And, then the crying started and the "My leg stuck" so I investigated, and sure enough, her leg was stuck. So, I got her out of bed, gave her some water, changed her diaper and let her stay up for a few minutes.

She won the battle - but we'll win the war!

It is a Fact

People who consume alcohol earn significantly more at their jobs than non-drinkers, according to a US study that highlighted "social capital" gained from drinking.

The study published in the Journal of Labor Research Thursday concluded that drinkers earn 10 to 14 percent more than teetotalers, and that men who drink socially bring home an additional seven percent in pay.

"Social drinking builds social capital," said Edward Stringham, an economics professor at San Jose State University and co-author of the study with fellow researcher Bethany Peters.

"Social drinkers are out networking, building relationships, and adding contacts to their BlackBerries that result in bigger paychecks."

The authors acknowledged their study, funded by the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank, contradicted research released in 2000 by the Harvard School of Public Health.

"We created our hypothesis through casual observation and examination of scholarly accounts," the authors said.

"Drinkers typically tend to be more social than abstainers."

The researchers said their empirical survey backed up the theory, and said the most likely explanation is that drinkers have a wider range of social contacts that help provide better job and business opportunities.

"Drinkers may be able to socialize more with clients and co-workers, giving drinkers an advantage in important relationships," the researchers said.

"Drinking may also provide individuals with opportunities to learn people, business, and social skills."

They also said these conclusions provide arguments against policies aimed at curbing alcohol use on university campuses and public venues.

"Not only do anti-alcohol policies reduce drinkers' fun, but they may also decrease earnings," the study said.

"One of the unintended consequences of alcohol restrictions is that they push drinking into private settings. This occurred during the Alcohol Prohibition of 1920-1933 and is happening on college campuses today. By preventing people from drinking in public, anti-alcohol policies eliminate one of the most important aspects of drinking: increased social capital."

The researchers found some differences in the economic effects of drinking among men and women. They concluded that men who drink earn 10 percent more than abstainers and women drinkers earn 14 percent more than non-drinkers.

However, unlike men, who get a seven percent income boost from drinking in bars, women who frequent bars at least once per month do not show higher earnings than women drinkers who do not visit bars.

"Perhaps women increase social capital apart from drinking in bars," the researchers said in an effort to explain the gender gap.

Karma is a Bizzle

Yes, Sekou it is, isn't it?

Paris Hilton is an Idiot

PROOF

Oh Really?

I log on to Yahoo tonight to check my email, and I see this tagline: "27 ways to know if you've found the right relationship for you"

Let's just see about that!

Questions:

At the right time and place, she suggests people exchange answers to the following questions:

1. Kids or no kids? Um, do we talk about that when the birth control fails
three months into our relationship?

2. Smoking or no smoking? That one seems like something that would be covered on the first date or two...

3. Drinking or no drinking? (Same for drugs) see above

4. Religious beliefs: Match? Blend? Clash?

5. Who works? Who stays home (especially when the kids come along)? Is this 1950, I thought we both had to work?

6. Who wants to live where?

7. Who controls the checkbook? Me, always ME

8. What is his/her personal relationship with his/her family? Too distant? Too close? If I would have started talking about my family too soon, Jeremy would have definitely bolted

9. How are holidays spent? At home? With family? Alone? Vacationing?

10. Windows opened or closed? Heat/AC on or off? Seriously? Is this a make or break a relationship question?

11. What side of the bed must you (he/she) sleep on?

12. Where to spend vacations? Leisure time?

13. Sick: Left alone or babied? If you need to be "babied" when sick, maybe you should still be living at Mom's

14. Appropriate gift giving: birthdays? Yuletide holidays? Special occasions? We need to discuss when to give PRESENTS???

15. Who does what around the house?

16. What is acceptable hygiene? Um, if it's not acceptable, why'd you accept the first date?

17. What are his/her hobbies, pastimes?

18. Preferences: Music? Movie? Book favorites?

19. Favorite foods?

20. Pets or no pets? What kind?

21. Decisions about the children: School, church, discipline, allowance,
extra curricular activities, friends, and curfew? Now I know that if I started asking a potential suitor about our future childrens curfews, he would NEVER call me again

22. Mealtimes: Early or late? Looking for an Early Bird special?

23. Furniture: Vintage or Contemporary? Seriously? I'm sorry honey, I can't date you because you like the purple leather couch and I'm partial to brown

24. Sleeping habits: Four hours or eight?


Three more compatibility factors
If this list is not enough to help you determine whether or not your new love is right for you, try these as additional ways to size up the compatibility factor: How does your new love handle a crisis? Behave in public places? Treat your friends and family?

I also think you can tell a great deal about your new mate by the way he treats his mother and how she treats her father. Observing how a person regards that parent is key in establishing how he or she will treat you!

If you are in love -- if you've finally met Mr. or Ms. Right -- step back from all that awe and wonderment for a moment and get answers to all of the above. You will find out whether or not this new relationship (the one you've been looking for all this time) is one that will or will not last. As they say, love can be blind, but if it is going to last, love also has to be practical!

Some Pics to Make You Smile

Or gag depending on how sick you are of seeing my child!!!



Emily and her Daddy



Yes, that is a diaper on her head



The only acceptable pic of me out of the 1000's we take, and I don't like it that much, but it's acceptable



The adorable winter coat I bought her when we lived in Ohio. She is almost outgrown it, so we let her wear it one day when it dipped below 90.

A True Story

I've often called our new town "the biggest small town". Here is a story to back that up:

On Sunday morning around 6:30 a.m. my Dad and Uncle Greg went down to the marina where my dad keeps my his boat. They immediately noticed a little girl about 2 years old wandering around. They assumed that her parents were nearby and went about the business of preparing the boat. A little while later when they put the boat in the water, they noticed that same little girl and took a closer look. She had no shoes on, and was crying. My dad went over to her and picked her up. They had no cell phone, so they knocked on the door of the police officer who happens to own the marina, but he didn't answer. A few minutes later, my mom showed up, and they used her cell phone to call 9-1-1. The police came and took the little girl into custody, and my parents went about their day.

All weekend our family pondered who that girl was, how she got out by the river, where her parents where, was she ok, and what happened?

This morning, as I was dropping Emily off at daycare, I saw that one of my favorite parents Lindsey was there at the same time. I like Lindsey because she is my age, she is a single mother, she is beautiful, nice, easy to talk to, and I need my nails done, and that's what she does for a living, so by running into her, I saved myself a phone call. Her daughter Malia, is almost the same age as Emily, so they play together well and we've often pondered a playdate.

Can anyone guess where this story is going?

I walked in and overheard Lindsey telling MiMi to make sure that she locks the doors, because Malia knows how to unlock them now. I asked her if she had heard the story about the little girl that they found this weekend by the water, and she said "Yes, that was Malia!!!"

Apparently, Malia had spent the night at her grandparents house and someone had not locked the door properly. Malia had woken up early and wandered out. She opened the bedroom door, the back door, and the gate to get outside. She walked several blocks along a canal, railroad tracks, a busy road and the river until she was found by my Dad.

What a lucky little girl and what a small world!!!