TreeGate 2010

Our lot backs up to another big wooded lot, and on Thursday, a tree I'd been keeping an eye on for a few days finally fell over.  It fell right onto the power lines that run down the side of our lot/house.

As soon as I noticed it, I called the power company and reported it.

Someone did come along and cut off the part of the tree that was actually overhanging the street, but the tree itself is still there.   It actually looks like it's been cut back two different times now.

There were some firemen pulled over and checking it out yesterday, but I can't see that they did anything to it, really.

Am I way off in thinking that this is an unsafe situation? How long should it be before something like this is corrected?

I should mention that we haven't lost power at all, which is really fortunate, especially given that it's been in the mid-high 90s the past few days.  Not having AC is not an option right now. 

sand table/water table

Ella's big birthday gift from Grandma and Pop was a water and sand table!  They brought it over last night, even though her birthday isn't for a few weeks.  No need to waste part of the summer when there's playing to be done :)

The rule of thumb is: if it says "Some assembly required", rest assured that it's more assembly than you probably want to do.

And it doesn't help when your electric screwdriver gives out halfway through the job.  Nevertheless, the men got it assembled and set up.

Once it was filled up, Ella jumped right in.

The water side definitely held her interest more than the sand side.  No surprise, since the kid loves taking a bath.  She was very particular about the toys actually being in the water, though.  All the little boats were in dry-dock.

But Mommy, this cup has HOLES in it.

We'll definitely be investing in a swimsuit or two, as she was pretty much soaked head to toe after just a few minutes of splashing around.  Great for a hot day -- not so great for right before bedtime :)

23 months!

Ella took her first real road trip this past weekend -- she, Mom, and I headed down to Georgia to visit family.   It was E's first time staying in a hotel (or sleeping in the same room with other people since she was about 5 months old), and she acted like she'd been doing it all her life -- an old pro.  She met a lot of new people this weekend, too -- not one of her favorite things, but she was a trooper.  Like me, she just tends to stay away from the people she doesn't like ;)

She's still picking up new words all the time, which is both good and bad (the bad, in case you're wondering, would be when she chose to scream out "SHIT!" in the middle of the Mexican restaurant).  She's working on her numbers and alphabet, and shocked me to death the other day when I asked her to spell her name for me to write, and she actually DID it.   Amazing.  She picks out things on the TV or in the store that Jon and I don't even notice, and names them correctly.

Independence is definitely starting to be asserted.  She has no problem saying "No!" -- often and loudly.  Usually, though, she's just testing, and will wind up being cooperative.  We've had very few full-blown tantrums as of yet (knock on wood). 

We did have this little exchange the other day, as she was playing with her pots and pans.

Mommy:  Whatcha cookin', Ella?

Ella: Food.

*face-palm*  Yep, I've got a smartypants in the making.  She gets it natural, anyway.

Why, no, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth...

...thank you for asking.

What's that?  You didn't ask?  Well, no matter!  I'm still here, nevertheless.

Update coming soon...