Kaylea's "Best Pick" DVD

Kaylea is absolutely in love with Enchanted. She saw it at the theater with Auntie M and Uncle Bob and then was lucky enough to receive two copies of the DVD for Easter. She has already watched it three times and can't seem to get enough of it. I have to say that it is a cute movie with a good message to all of the little princesses out there; they no longer need a prince to save them - they can be there own hero. Way to go Disney; you finally got it right!

If you haven't seen this one, add it to your must-see list. I will warn you though, if you have little ones the end might be a little scary and intense for them (typical Disney style i.e. evil queen, dragon, good vs. evil with good being triumphant).

The Easter Bunny

Kaylea has had an internal struggle over the past few years in regards to the Easter Bunny. You see, she wants to be BIG and mature and not believe in the Easter Bunny, but she still wants to get the Easter basket and all of the goodies on Easter morning. This all started when she was in 1st grade. We were discussing Easter and what she was hoping the Easter Bunny was going to bring her. In her very grown up voice she quickly told me that there was "no such thing as the Easter Bunny." I just replied with an, "Oh?" Then I proceeded to ask her if she wanted me to let her pick out an Easter gift or if she still wanted an Easter basket. She said she wanted to get some new clothes and she wanted to pick them out. I was ok with this little plan because I thought, "hey, less work for me!"

In the days before Easter we went shopping and she chose a cute pair of capris, a t-shirt and some matching shoes. All the while, I was reminding her that this was her Easter gift. Well, imagine my surprise when she awoke on Easter morning and immediately bolted for the living room to see what treasures she had in her Easter basket. She was quite traumatized when she did not find an Easter basket sitting in the usual spot on the fireplace hearth. She kept saying, "Did the Easter Bunny forget about me?" I was quick to remind her that SHE said she didn't believe in the Easter Bunny anymore and SHE chose to go shopping instead of having a basket. Unfortunately, this was of no comfort to my little darling. She hung her head and made her way to the bathroom to get ready for church. (I swear her lip was dragging the ground). Well, me being the softy that I am, I immediately started trying to figure out a way to make it all better. I switched gears into recovery mode and managed to scrounge together some jellybeans and M&Ms to fill some plastic eggs and put them in an old Easter basket along with a little Easter bunny snow globe that was sitting in the living room. I quickly ran to the bathroom and told her to hurry and come into the living room. I explained that the Easter Bunny just stopped by the house and he apologized for being late. She was thrilled with her basket even though she knew my story was about as lame as the Easter Basket was.

So, even though Kaylea knows that there is no big white bunny that bounces around leaving baskets filled with colored eggs and chocolates for all of the little boys and girls of the world; she will always find a basket filled with goodies sitting on the fireplace hearth waiting for her on Easter morning.

Kaylea Is Our Star!

This morning on the way to school Kaylea and I were having our normal little chit chat. It was about everything and nothing all at the same time. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she asks, "Mom, why is Pluto not a planet, anymore?"

Well, to be quite honest, I haven't kept up-to-date on the latest news in the astrological society, so I incorrectly told her I told her, "I think the scientist discovered that Pluto is really a star instead of a planet." Frankly, I don't feel quite so bad for being confused on this one, though. Especially after Googling it and finding that scientists can't even agree on what Pluto is. Anyway, because I hadn't had my cup of coffee yet AND I'm still feeling the effects of all of the flu medications, I told her she should go to the library and check out a book and we could see the difference between a star and a planet. (hmm...good research opportunity for her and little thinking for me). Well, Kaylea replied in one of her normal little quippy tones, "Mom, I don't need to look that up. I know the difference between a planet and a star. A planet is ROUND and a star is POINTY."

Now, I know I shouldn't laugh at my child, but this one about made me bust a gutt. I told her that a drawing of a star looked quite different than a "real" star. She was insistent that I was wrong. She even got a piece of paper out and drew me several stars just to show that she knew what one looked like. So, in an effort to get her to think this one through (yes, we have to do this a lot) I asked her, "well, if the stars in space have 5 points, like you are drawing, then why do they just look like little round lights in the sky?" I could tell by the proud smile on her face that she didn't think she needed to think this one through and she already had an answer for that question. She replied, "Because the stars are so far away in space you can't see there points from Earth." DOINK!

So, yes my friends, in your world the stars look like this:

But, in Kaylea's world they will always look like this:

Stat Counter Is A Wonderful Thing

I just wanted to share with our viewing audience some of the funny and weird statistics from our little Blog. You see, I set up StatCounter, a tracker / statistic thingy on Curiously Kaylea when I started the Blog. Basically, for those non-Bloggers out there, this tool allows me to see all sorts of statistics about who has been on the Blog. It lets me know the I.P. address of the person visiting; the city and state of the I.P. server they are using; the time of their visit; and the best part, how they found our Blog.



A lot of you find us because I know you and I gave you the Blog address. Others end up here because they see a link to Curiously Kaylea on another blog. So far, I can thank the following Blogs for adding us to their Blog Roll and sending readers our way: The House of Flying Monkeys; The Three Miracles; Overtly Trite and Not In Front of the Children. Additionally, I have found that a lot of readers end up on Curiously Kaylea because they have Googled a topic and we show up in the results. These Google searches crack me up sometimes. I just can't get over what people look for on the Internet. For example:

• Someone Googled, "school thumbs" ???? What?????? And this is where they landed when they hit Curiously Kaylea. For some reason, I don't think we were what they were looking for.


• Someone Googled, "Tah Dah". Why would you Google this? Hopefully, we had just the Tah Dah information they wanted. Ya think?


• Then, someone Googled, "Fashionista Sayings". I really doubt that this person wanted to read about Kaylea's closet; how 'bout you?

Then there are the reoccurring searches that send people to our little corner of the Internet. Our most frequent Google referrals come from the following searches:

• Lazy Eye / Amblyopia (I am hopeful that our story has helped others!)


• Science Fair Projects (I wonder how many have copied Kaylea's project?)


• Needs vs. Wants (I hope our post was everything The New York State Office of Mental Health was looking for.)


• Hey Kool Aid (Sorry folks, no Kool Aid pictures here. Maybe I should add one so their search wouldn't be in vain.)

Like I said, these are just humorous and fascinating to me. The Internet has such a vast amount of information and I am always surprised when I see that people from Spain, Dubai, Thailand, Africa, Germany and many other countries have been on our Blog. It is neat to be able to see how they ended up here.

Then of course there was that person from China that Googled "Camel Toe" and found this post of ours. Undoubtedly, we were in NO WAY what they were looking for. But, rather than assume that she/he was a perv or a freak, I like to think they were researching some sort of hoof fungus. People Google the darnedest things!!!!!!

Little Miss Fashionista

I am really looking forward to the arrival of Spring. It is beginning to tease us a little, by warming up for a day or two and then turning cold again. The bulbs are starting to peep through the soil. The birds have begun practicing their springtime songs. And the trees are covered with buds that are ready to burst into color. It is as if nature is rehearsing for opening day at its annual production.

Another sign of the upcoming season change is our semi-annual wardrobe check. You see, each year in the Spring and Fall, Kaylea and I go through all of her clothes and try on, sort through and evaluate her needs. I am not really looking forward to this task this year; it doesn't appear that the child will have anything left from last summer that will still fit her. Typically, she has several pieces that carry over from Summer into the next Spring and from Winter into the next Fall, but that's not the case this year. Last summer and at the beginning of school she was able to wear some 7's, but mostly 8's. Now, she is in 10's and 12's, depending on the cut. Oh, and did I mention that her foot has grown a full size since last summer, as well. Basically, for the first time since she was a newborn, we will be starting from scratch in building a wardrobe.

I guess I better get busy designing my eBay auction listings, because the shopping this Spring is going to break the bank. I have always consigned or used eBay to fund the purchase of Kaylea's new clothes; it's my way of recycling and generating a clothing allowance for her. Of course, Kaylea's grandparents and her Auntie M. like to shop for her, also. Needless to say, Kaylea has never been given a citation by the Fashion Police. Heck, she didn't receive her "Most Fashionable" awards in 1st and 2nd grade for no reason!

Yes, Kaylea is a clothes fiend. But, the shopping thing is not really her favorite. Her Memommy, Auntie M and I are still trying to convince her that it is really fun. Unfortunately, we haven't been successful in showing her joy and pleasure in hunting down and finding great bargains, though. She definitely hates the act, but loves the outcome!

Now, onto my eBaying. By the way, if you have a Little Miss Fashionista, as well, just let me know and I will send you a link to my auctions. Heck, if you're local you won't even have to pay the shipping; we can arrange for a pick-up.