That crazy thing called life

I Found This Lobster In The Forest...

2010-01-16T08:44:00.000-05:00

Gracie has become little Marleigh's biggest fan. I am so proud of the big sister she has become! Every morning when Marleigh wakes up and I bring her out to the living room, Gracie yells out "Who's a waker bunnies. Who woke up?" Marleigh thinks this is just the funniest thing and she laughs and laughs. She defininitely is fascinated with her big sister. Jerime and I are second fiddle to this sisterly love. I wonder how long this will last? For Marleigh, probably forever. For Gracie, maybe another couple months until Marleigh is walking and able to get to all of her toys. Then the honeymoon will end. Marleigh will become competition. It's already beginning, Marleigh doesn't want anything to do with baby toys. She practically turns her nose up when presented with a rattle or soft block. Why do we think she has begun crawling so early? So she can get to Gracie's barbies, ponies, Hannah Montana guitar, stuffed animals, you name it. And Gracie doesn't want to share because Marleigh puts everything in her mouth. I wouldn't want to play with it either! Although, Gracie really wants to play with Marleigh. This morning I caught her dragging her little sister by the arms through the doorway of her play house. When I asked (ever so calmly) what she was doing, she informed me she wanted Marleigh to play in the house with her. So I picked her up and put her in the house. Gracie got really upset and it took me a few minutes to figure out that she wanted Marleigh to go through the doorway to get into the house. So there's mom, bouncing Marleigh into the playhouse to make Gracie happy. Marleigh is oblivious. Such is my morning.

Now about the title of my post. Little backstory: whenever Marleigh puts on her snowsuit Gracie always says, "Mommy where did you find this cute little bear?" (Marleigh's snowsuit has teddy bear ears) and I always reply, "Someone left her in the forest and I decided to bring her home!" So last night, Gracie was getting ready for her bath and she came running up to me, trying to drag/ half carry Marleigh into the bathroom. "Mommy, look at this cute little lobster! I found her in the forest!" Marleigh was in heaven, apparently not aware of the danger she was in of being dropped on her head. She was happily playing the part of the drooling lobster. I just didn't have the energy to explain that lobsters weren't found in the forest. Besides, these two sisters were having the time of their life.

Days of Snow

2010-01-06T18:35:00.002-05:00

I think when I look back upon this period in my life, I will be calling it "the days of snow". I am not your typical New England girl. I like my weather warm and my rain level to be none. Snow falling here in MA is beautiful, IF you don't need to be out in it. It is colder than an icee-cube (Gracie-ism)! Being the optimistic person that I am, I took Gracie out in the snow to play yesterday afternoon. Ok, actually I just needed to walk the dog and the only way I could drag Gracie away from Curious George was to promise her 10 minutes of snow time. She put on her boots and snow pants, and was ready to go! As I am walking outside with her, I realize how dirty the snow is around our apartment. To put it gently, there were dogs there recently. Why oh why does Gracie feel the need to tramp over the dirty parts of the snow? I have my hands full (dog pulling on leash, baby in twenty pound snowsuit, pile of mail that I should have picked up AFTER the walk) and I just shout in desperation, "Gracie! Please stay out of THAT snow!" As a three year old, she doesn't understand why one pile is better that the other. She looks at me in confusion as she lifts a handful of snow up to her mouth and asks, "why?" You would not believe how quickly I vaulted over the 10 foot pile of snow to shake the snow out of her hand. Don't worry, the snow was not consumed. I made it in time. Tonight, as I sit in my warm house, I am checking airfare to the tropics and day dreaming. But I guess, in a world of sand, you have to worry about cats...

Bring It On, 2010!

2010-01-01T08:31:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year from our corner of the world to yours! 2009 brought us many wonderful and amazing things and I can't wait to see what may happen in 2010. Quitting my job last January was one of the best decisions I have ever made, I am so thankful to have had this time enjoying my little family. All of you will appreciate the fact that I have learned to cook (especially my darling hubby), neccesity being the mother of invention. To prove my point, I made homemade mac and cheese the other night with no recipe! I am super woman! I have had time to be with my daughters, keep my house clean, entertain visiting family and support my husband. I truly feel as though we have gotten back to the role of the traditional family, thank you so much Jerime for providing for us and sacrificing to give us what we need.

Last spring we brought our newest daughter home. Marleigh, when daddy and I first saw you we knew you were a force to be reckoned with. Struggling through your breathing difficulties those first two hours showed us what a fighter you are. You have the sweetest smile, the most joyful laugh and the biggest bunch of determination I have seen.

This fall we visited friends and family at home in Seattle. I still cannot believe I traveled all the way there, with multiple stops by myself with two children. I did appreciate the many passengers who helped me along the way, the world is not as cold as it sometimes seems. After a joyful Thanksgiving we returned home and spent Christmas as a family. What a magical time of year. Even bah-humbug Jerime got into the spirit of the season and let me play Christmas music in the car!

Speaking of Jerime, let me take a moment to congratulate him for his huge accomplishments this year. Jerime made rank as an E-6 (First Class Petty Officer) by being capped by his command (this is where, instead of just making it on the test, your superiors get together and decide that your efforts have proved you should make rank). He also received a superior leadership award for the station of New England and was accepted into the AirCrew program, which entailed passing a detailed security clearance. Jerime, I am so proud of you for working so hard this past year and I know that with your drive and determination you will become exactly what you wish to be. The past five years together has seemed like the blink of an eye and I still love you just as much as when we first met.

I hope the new year brings all of you joy and happiness, properity and accomplishment. Bring it on, 2010!

Happy Labor Day!

2009-09-09T08:48:00.004-04:00

Summer is coming to a close here in Mass. What a busy couple months it has been! Moving to Salem, bringing Marleigh into the world and adjusting as a family of four are only the beginning. I am so thankful for all the help and support we have received from everyone and I want to show some appreciation for my husband. Jerime really stepped up this summer and seemed to anticipate the needs of our family even before we realized it ourselves. Your daughters are so lucky to have a Daddy like you and I am so blessed to have you as my husband. Love you honey!

The Jones family (East Coast chapter) had an amazing Labor Day weekend. Realizing that we might not be here much longer seemed to light a fire under us, prompting the need to get out and explore. We drove to Kennebunkport Maine on Friday (actually that was not supposed to be the destination, but we got lost) and walked through a wildlife preserve. We saw no wildlife. Apparently they had labor day weekend off as well. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed sharing our love of nature with the girls. Gracie was interested in all the plants around us and Jerime and I argued over whether the ferns were sword or lady ferns (I still maintain I was right). The day was awesome until we realized we were becoming bug snacks and we hightailed it to the car to splash bug spray all over. On our drive back home we found our way to our original destination, a rail-trail in New Hampshire. This trail was converted from an original rail road track to a walking trail. It was stunning! We walked through the trees and emerged by a little lake. Gracie had a fabulous time chasing Zeus (who was off-leash) and crashing through the grass. We saw birds and squirrels, a blue heron and some frogs. We also saw the characteristic stone walls all along the pathway. Gracie and Marleigh got some fresh air and Jerime and I felt like we were getting some good exercise!

Saturday we hung around the house, I napped (the holy grail of new motherhood) and Jerime and Gracie watched college football. Marleigh drooled and dozed and ate. Relaxing!

Sunday we drove to Rockport, MA with the rest of the population of Massachusetts. What a cute little town! I would have more details except Jerime wouldn't let me out to shop, he insisted we were there to hike. Our destination was Halibut Point state park, right on the beach. We packed Marleigh in the front carrier and Gracie walked. She picked up crabapples along the way (although she called them crapapples and Jerime and I kept making her say it and laughed hysterically). We walked along the rocks that led up to the ocean and discovered Zeus must have been a mountain goat in a past life, he hopped along like it was nothing! What a fun day!

Monday Jerime decided we should walk from our house in Salem to Marblehead. I agreed, not thnking his idea of a couple miles would turn into a 9 MILE WALK. To his credit, it was a nice walk. We saw some beautiful houses, walked along the beach and got Gracie a "smoovie" which she promptly spilled all over the stroller. It was nice to be together as a family, sharing some new experiences and laughing with each other.

Summer may be fading away, but I am so excited to see the new experiences that Fall will bring. Happy Labor Day everyone!

That dog will eat anything...

2009-08-19T09:59:00.003-04:00

It is a beautiful Tuesday morning and I am in the mood to count my blessings. I have two wonderful daughters, a great and loving husband and one crazy dog. I am truly lucky. During this current economy, one has time to sit back and think about those who do not have much. With me not working, we are relying on only Jerime's income and we are very fortunate that it covers all of our needs. However, we will slowly be making our way to the poor house if our dog does not stop eating everything in our house. The phrase I hear most often throughout the day is "Mom! Zeus has something!" Then begins the dance that Zeus and I have choreographed so well over the last year and a half. He runs. I run. He hides under Gracie's bed. I try to scoot my way under Gracie's bed to pull him out by his haunches. Sometimes he wins and escapes to some other hiding place. Sometimes I win and a soggy, wet item is pulled out of his mouth, while he tries visciously to clamp down and /or swallow it.

I just glanced over to check on him and he is going on a pacifier hunt, checking all the usual places: car seat, play mat, coffee table. This is what Gracie tried to explain yesterday to a man and his dog we met on a walk. She broached the subject first, "Our dog eats everything". To which the man replied, "What's his favorite food?" Gracie stared at him, "He doesn't eat food. He eats Mommy's make-up, Marleigh's toys, Daddy's shoes, toilet paper, coffee filters with old coffee grinds in them, markers, plastic jewelry, Hot Tamales. Everything." The man gave me a smile filled with pity and walked away, probably feeling superior about his "good" dog. But you know what? I'm thankful for our crazy dog and our wonderful family. If we were any different, we wouldn't be us. And that's worth all the money in the world.

Lazy Sunday

2009-08-09T11:26:00.002-04:00

A rare moment of peace and quiet prompted me to write. Of course the minute I start typing, Gracie needs help building her castle, Marleigh starts bumping against me with her face, looking for food (I can't help but think of the song " A'hunting we will go"), Zeus tries to jump into my lap so he can lick the crumbs from my peanut butter sandwich and my darling husband sits reading, oblivious to it all. In his defense, he gets up to help Gracie stack blocks after she asks him (instead of me). Days at the Jones house are never dull.

Things have calmed down a bit, Marleigh is fed and I can write for a few minutes. It is so interesting when you have your second child, because you can't help but compare them to the first (even though you know you shouldn't), just because your first child is the only experience you have had. Marleigh is nothing like Gracie. First off, she is much bigger than Gracie was at this age, she is close to 9 lbs at 6 weeks. She also adores her pacifier. Marleigh has quite the set of lungs and screams if you have not responded to her within 7 seconds. It's almost like she is telling the world of the injustice she is experiencing at the hands of her parents. The funniest quirk Marleigh has though, is her love of Bob Marley (hence her name). If she is crying, all one has to do is start singing "Three Little Birds" and she turns on her inner Zen. I'm pretty impressed with this ability to self-calm. I'm pretty sure it means she is a genius. Which brings me to the thought; do all parents dream about what their children will be when they grow up? Because I think about it a lot.

I'm almost positive Gracie will do something that explores her creative side. This could be American Idol (although in my dream I'm afraid she will be that girl who cries when they decline her because her MOTHER always said her voice was beautiful), or maybe she will be an artist. Her art work does have a certain something, just the way she draws lines for hair and circles for feet and hands (next Andy Warhol maybe?). Maybe she will be in a Mama Mia revival (she won't have to learn any lines, she already knows them all), she practices for this one daily, whether we are in the grocery store or the library. Although, if you ask Gracie, she will tell you she wants to be a mermaid that drives a fire truck. She asked me if she could put a fire truck on her wish list for her birthday. Of course you can Gracie...

A dog named Weenie

2009-08-05T14:51:00.002-04:00

Our life is now complete. Marleigh Elizabeth arrived on June 29th, 2009. Jerime and I have two beautiful daughters, and one crazy dog. It is a beautiful life.

Now for the updates on everyone. Gracie has responded really well to being a big sister. She has only made me nervous about 200 times in the past month, compared to the 500 I was estimating. She loves Marleigh and shows this by SQUEEZING her and kissing her very SOFT (by soft I mean pressing her lips to Marleigh's face until Marleigh's head is pushed back). She also loves to help, putting Marleigh's pacifier in her mouth if it falls out ( and not paying attention most of the time so it pokes her somewhere around the region of her mouth), and patting her back when she needs to burp. As a mother, you want to protect your newborn from her sister, but you also understand that big sister is just trying to help. It is complicated. Luckily, Marleigh seems to just go along with whatever.

Gracie and I have been haunting our local library. They have an enormous collection of children's videos and I must admit that, sleep deprived as I am, Gracie probably watches WAY too much tv. I do try to counteract this by only letting her watch shows that are fairly educational. Clifford is a favorite, as well as Sesame Street. I did let her borrow the movie Eloise in Hollywood last week (based on the children's book, Eloise at the Plaza) and in the movie Eloise has a dog named Weenie. Gracie of course decided this was a fabulous name for a dog and that became Zeus' new name. Later on that afternoon, Zeus was running frantically around the house and Gracie was yelling, "Go Weenie Go!" She also likes to call him Mashed Potato, but I don't know the story behind that one.

Well, I am off to help Gracie free Rocket from a trap (the laundry basket), hopefully we can figure it out together...

2009-05-21T09:25:00.003-04:00

Oh my it has been a long time since I posted! So much has been going on, we have been extremely busy. We finally moved into our new apartment in Salem Mass! We all love it, there is more space and so much more to do. Gracie and I can walk downtown for ice cream, head out to the Common to run around and explore the fascinating history of our new hometown. Jerime and I had a great time going out for dinner and wandering around Salem at night while my mom was here visiting.

Gracie has started two classes at our local YMCA, a dance class and a swimming class. She has so much fun playing with the other kids and I have enjoyed meeting new moms in the area. She had such a fantastic time swimming yesterday, she even jumped in the pool all by herself! Our pool at the apartment opens tomorrow and she is psyched to go swimming with daddy.

Then, there's the whole other thing that we have been preparing for, the arrival of Sophie! Only 7 and 1/2 more weeks until my due date (AAAHHHH) and the doctor thinks it may be earlier since I am measuring big. I finally have all the baby things prepared, just some more wash to finish. I am getting so excited to meet this little one! Gracie is pretty excited (as far as you can tell with a 3 year old). She loves talking to my belly and telling Sophie all about the things she will get to do when she is here such as:
- "I will hold her in the car and rock her when she cries"
- "I'll put her binky in her mouth"
- "She can sleep in my bed"
- "I will teach her how to play ponies (My Little Ponies)"
- "I will wash her hair in the bathtub"
- "I will share my popsicles with her"

She is going to be a fantastic big sister. I am anxious to see how long the helpful stage lasts...

Shoo Fly, Don't Bother ME

2009-04-16T09:26:00.002-04:00

Oh my, it'sbeen awhile since I have written. To all of you who sit and await the next chapter of our family life story, I'm sorry. We are anxiously awaiting our move to Salem. I am so excited to fnally be able to set up things for Sophie, it really hurts a pregnant woman's nesting instinct when she has nothing to nest in! Gracie has been such a big girl since turning 3. We still have some crazy days but they are beginning to get a little better. She has become quite the little helper around the house, always following me around and insisting she wants to help clean. I know, what have I done to deserve such a selfless child? As a matter of fact (and I know I will be kicking myself later) it is really hard to clean with a 3 year-old trailing after you as you are scrubbing the floor. I've been trying to give her small jobs to do to keep her out of my hair but she knows I'm just pawning her off. She wants the big jobs, like squirting the windex (at the dog) or dropping 4 cloths into my bucket of soapy water and then flinging them around the wood floor. Mostly, I just take big deep breaths and imagine I am somewhere tropical, sipping a Pina Colada (thanks mom for introducing me to these all those years ago when we were in Hawaii). Tropical is good. (Side note: Gracie is currently sitting by the front door, wearing sunglasses and "reading" my latest book after she put Kitty to "bed" wearing a headband and three hair clips in her fur)

The latest Gracie story is pretty funny and nervewracking at the same time. Yesterday a large, black fly happened into our house. I'm sure he was just looking for somewhere peaceful to wait out his days, aimlessly flying into the window in a desperate attempt to get back outside. What he was met with was something very different. I was making breakfast in the kitchen when I heard Gracie scream like her hand had been cut off. To all mothers out there, you know what I'm speaking of when I say I couldn't get to her fast enough. She was standing in the center of our living room screaming hysterically and all I could make out was "buggy!!!". For those of you who are not aware of Gracie's terror of bugs, I have never seen a child who is more scared of anything in her life (like 4 sugar ants at Jeanne's house in California, she wouldn't walk on the floor for an hour). If a speck of black fluff is in the bathwater, she will turn into Jesus to get out of the tub. Terror is the only way to describe it. With hugs and my insisting that the fly just wanted to see what kinds of toys she had, we were able to head out to Target.
At Target, Gracie was interested in a wire "bug cage" that she toted around with her. She informed me that she was going to catch the fly when we got home and carry it with her everywhere. She would give him a bath when he got muddy from playing. He would sit on the kitchen counter while she cooked his lunch, and he would accompany her on adventures. Great! I'm thinking. She's over the whole thing! Luckily the fly had perished while we were gone and there were no further incidents. However, this morning Jerime got to handle the buggy terror. He heard her screaming downstairs and I don't think I've ever seen him scale the steps the way he did. Apparently, Mr. Fly did not die, or he was a zombie. Jerime handled it very well, telling Gracie that flies were scared of Big Sisters and that he wouldn't come near her. She still made him carry her around the living room until he left for work.
I don't know if my nerves can take anymore screaming this morning. We haven't seen Mr. Fly for about an hour, hopefully he has gone somewhere to die quietly...

The Birthday Princess

2009-04-06T14:50:00.003-04:00

We made it! Gracie is officially 3. We took her out for dinner to one of her favorite places on Thursday. She loves the chicken wings at Salem Beer Works. Now, don't judge. She really does like them and we know all the wait staff there. All the waiters came over to sing her "Happy Birthday" and when they were done, Gracie blew out the candle and ate it. Seriously. She just popped it right in her mouth and chewed it all up. Jerime and I were so bust reveling in the gloriousness of our daughter, we didn't even notice. Our friend Lucas pointed out the candle bits clinging to her lips. We laughed about it all night!

We hosted Gracie's party on Sunday. Our closest friends came over for burgers and hot dogs, we had a great time. We didn't see Jerime much, he spent almost the whole party in the kitchen decorating the cake. This is a man who loves his daughter! She wanted a Rocket birthday cake and that's what he was going to give her, despite his wife who insisted on making the cake herself because she didn't want to spend money on a store bought cake. So what if he had to spend a couple hours fixing it so that it looked perfect? Anything for his daughter. The cake turned out really nice and tasted delicious, if I do say so myself!

I just have to say, thank goodness birthdays only come once a year. I could use a week to recover!
Happy 3rd Birthday Gracie! Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

A 3 year old and her pig

2009-04-01T09:00:00.003-04:00

The day is almost upon us. Gracie will be 3 years old tomorrow. I still can't believe it, 3 seems so old. She is definitely not a baby anymore, but neither is she so independent that she doesn't need us. Being able to be home with her these past few months has really been a blessing. We have become closer, and I am able to give her much more attention than I did when I was working full time. Listening to her play in the background with her "My Little Ponys" I am astounded at how smart she is. She doesn't miss a beat! I think my favorite thing is listening to her interact with her toys the way Jerime and I interact. We really have to watch what we say! We had a big discussion about "not polite words" the other day. She dropped something on the floor and huffed under her breath, "dam**t" (guilty.) I tried hard not to smile (first gut reaction, because it was so adult coming from her sweet little voice) and we began talking about not polite words. She wanted to know what she could say instead (3 or 10?) so we settled on "darn". As the week went on, she began informing Jerime and I about other things we did that were not polite. Jerime needed to wear socks on his feet because bare feet "aren't polite". I needed to get her a snack because it wasn't polite for her to wait. She has really taken this thing and turned it around on us! I must say, Jerime and I live in an almost constant state of confusion. Who is really the "boss"? Are we teaching her or is she whipping it around and re-training us? One thing we laughed about this morning was her ability to negotiate. She was explaining to us (at 7:20am) that Santa Claus was going to bring her a real pet pig for Christmas next year. Jerime and I (concerned and nervous because God knows we don't want a pet pig in our house) tried to talk some sense into the child. "Where will it sleep?" I asked her, thinking I had her. She just looked at me, "In my bed". "But what will it eat?" Jerime asked. "Milk" was the answer. Now Jerime and I were really nervous. We had visions of a little pig running about from room to room making a mess (I know he was thinking the same thing, the blank look on his face told me). All of a sudden, genius! I could solve this problem and prevent any in the future. "Gracie, Santa can't bring any real, live animals to children on Christmas because Mrs. Claus won't let him". "Why not?" she asks me, unconcerned. She wasn't about to let any measly Mrs. Claus ruin her plan. "because animals make Santa's sleigh all dirty with their muddy feet" I tried to explain to her. She was quiet for a minute and I let out the breath I was holding. "Or..." she began, "we could just wipe off their feet..." I groaned and looked at Jerime. "What can you say?" he asked me "she is a master negotiater". Keep posted next Christmas...

Things Big Sisters can do:

2009-03-18T17:31:00.003-04:00

Gracie is becoming more fascinated every day with the idea that she will be a big sister. She loves talking about it and informing everyone she meets. She also informs me every morning, "Yay! I'm going to be a big sister today!" This is news to me. I'm waiting until July, but if Gracie knows more, then who am I to disagree?

Because Jerime and I are a little nervous about bringing home a tiny, fragile baby to our rambunctious 3 year old, we have begun prepping her. She and I had a discussion last night about things she is allowed and not allowed to do. For example: "Gracie, are you allowed to hold the baby all by yourself?" "No mama, I have to wait for mommy and daddy to help me" (whew!) then Gracie asks one: "Mama, am I allowed to put pony tails in the baby's hair?" Me, (panicked) "No honey, she won't have much hair". She also asks me if she can put things in the baby's mouth (real panic, thank God she asked so I know it was on her mind!), which gets a definite NO. I know she will do just fine once the baby comes home. Please forgive my visions of Gracie carrying a crying newborn to me then way she carries the cat (you all have seen this before, cat's back legs are dragging on the ground and it is slowly being choked by the child's arms around it's neck). As I realize all the things I will have to start over, I notice how big this makes Gracie. It's amazing how little your child is until you need them to grow up a little. I'm missing my first baby, and excited to see who she will become. Bittersweet.

Runaway Train...

2009-03-14T18:42:00.003-04:00

I have realized that life comes at you faster than you can ever imagine it. One minute you are sitting down to enjoy a chapter of your book and the next minute the dog has 5 hair clips on his face and your child is all of a sudden not wearing the clothes you dressed her in that morning, just snow boots. Sigh. I don't understand how people can find time for themselves while they have children. It's just one more thing to be scheduled in. But to be honest, I will take the hugs and smiles over getting through my current book.

Let me clue you all in on the latest happening in our lives:
Gracie (for those of you who don't know) was raised a co-sleeping child. This wasn't a decision made consciously, we sort of just fell into it. It worked for us for awhile, and then when she was about 1 we moved her into her own bed (she slept in it occasionally). She is now almost 3 and we have come to the realization that we all need a change. I realized this myself when she woke up 5 times the other night because I left her bed and went back to my own. Needless to say, this set current events in motion. Over the past week Jerime and I have worked very hard (and slept a little) at getting her to this point. She is now able to fall asleep by herself in her bed with one of us sitting in the chair in her room. When she wakes up at night, we sit back in the chair until she falls alseep again. It's slow going, but we are beginning to see a pay off. She is sleeping for longer stretches of time and therefore getting more quality sleep. She is becoming such a big girl, nothing makes you prouder than seeing your child accomplish something and feel proud of herself. Although, the other night when she was crying for me to lay down with her she asked me (tearfully), "do you know why I have to lay with you?" I asked (somewhat irritated, this had been a long night) "No, why?" "Because I just love you so much, mama".

Sorry. My heart melted just a little...

Daylight Savings? More like Daylight Giving Up

2009-03-08T09:13:00.003-04:00

Ahhh. Sunday morning. Just like any other morning when you are home with your child every day... Although Daylight Savings makes getting up in the mornng just a little sweeter. Why do children wake up even earlier when they sense daylight savings day? As if 7am isn't early enough in the new time, it's actually only 6 o'clock. I need a nap.

Gracie and I discovered the Lexington library yesterday. Thank God for books. I forgot how distracting new books can be. We also checked out "Babar" and "Dumbo". I love free. Gracie found a book about being a big sister, she wanted to read that one a few times. She is getting ( I say this cautiously) excited... We also found the funniest book, BAD Kitty. Jerime and I laughed so hard reading it at bedtime that I'm surprised Gracie wasn't awake and wired all night. Definitely recommend it.

Now that the weather is nicer (holding my breath), we were actually able to get outside yesterday. 60 degrees! It's practically summer! Gracie probably wouldn't have noticed if I put her in shorts and a tank top. Now, there is no one to say you can't go outside when it's cold (if you bundle up), although it's impractical to scale small mountains of snow just to get to an icy sidewalk, only to come inside 10 minutes later because it's 15 degrees outside. Needless to say there were about 20 children and parents at the playground yesterday. Dads with glazed looks on their faces (the moms must have all been home recovering), and all any of us talked about was the fact that we can finally get the kids outside. It's nice to know other parents are feeling my pain.

2009-03-02T17:15:00.002-05:00

Craziness has a new definition. It is defined by a two year old and a dog not able to go outside because snow is blocking your door. You can tell your child is jaded when you announce (with feigned excitement), "it snowed last night!" and they reply with... a blank stare. Yes, our local news informed us this morning that in Concord we have received a record 68 inches of snowfall over the past 3 months. Holy moley. I am so tired of snow. The sight of it makes my stomach turn. Luckily, we have some amazing friends (Bob and Bruny) who showed up to shovel our walkway. We are very fortunate to have such great people in our lives!

Needless to say, Lulu and I had to invent some new ways of entertaining ourselves today. She actually left the tv off for the majority of the day (a shocker in our house). She preferred to just run shrieking through the house, chasing the dog, jumping off the couch, and other means of two-year-old fun. I made a dance cd for the crazy child, hoping to help her get rid of some energy. It worked for about 10 minutes.

I just heard a scream from across the room: "Daddy! Drop the baby! You can't bite her while she's taking her bath!" In any other house this statement would be cause for alarm, a reason to phone the local chapter of child protective services. But in our house it merely means that Zeus has been conscripted into the role of daddy and he and Lulu are playing in the dollhouse. Well, Lulu is playing in the dollhouse and Zeus is looking for his next snack.

Days such as today always make me wonder what families did before there was electricity, when they lived in one-room cabins and they were snowed in. That would be my idea of hell. What did mothers do with their children on days like these? Everything we have seen of the past leads us to believe that children were naturally well behaved. This just can't be true. Some mother somewhere had to have a child like mine. These are the women I feel deserve sainthood. At least I have movies, toys and books to entertain my child with. It helps to keep things in perspective...

Are we there yet?

2009-03-01T10:22:00.002-05:00

We are now officially counting the days until Jerime gets home from Seattle. I am getting a little weary of the "Where's Daddy?" questions from the Question Queen. She asks about him all day and refuses to talk to him when he calls... can she really already be onto the essence of being a girl? I've always said she is 3 going on 20. Lulu's imagination has really taken off over the past week. Her favorite game is pretending to be Zeus' (our dog) mommy. She spent the better part of an afternoon preparing him an elaborate meal of play food in her kitchen, cooking it in the play oven until it was "just right" and warning him that it was too hot, he needed to "blow on it". After his gourmet dinner was prepared (all while I was cleaning the kitchen and unaware) he grabbed piece after piece and ran under the foot stool to chew it into oblivion. Gracie screamed, (he was not following the rules and being a good baby) which resulted in me chasing the dog to pull slobbery strawberries and shrimp out of his mouth. Gracie was given a small cup of real dog food with which to play with Zeus. She carefully doled out two pieces of kibble into her princess bowls for the dog, who was delighted to play this new game.

I think I have finally settled into my life as a stay-at-home mom. It is so different from my crazy working life. I have more time for everything, although am unable to do some of the things I had dreamed of doing (watching my morning shows with a cup of coffee and a sleepy child playing quietly with her toys nearby), I haven't fixed any 3 course breakfasts in which my child gets all of her fruit and grain servings for the day, Gracie wears what she wants, including a bathing suit and snow boots, pajama tops with no pants, and flowery tutus. But... she is in bed by 8 o'clock every night, she is bathed, she eats the majority of the food I fix. Just as I get our life simplified, Jerime will be returning home and the days will get busier.

I better sign off, Gracie is trying to fit Zeus into her play kitchen sink to give him a bath...

2009-02-21T08:21:00.002-05:00

Ok, so here it is! The news you have all been waiting for... drumroll please... It's A Girl!

Jerime and Gracie came with me to my 20 week ultrasound appt. on Thursday. Since the office is small, Gracie and Jerime waited outside while the technician did all of the testing. First impression? My goodness this little one is already so big! It seems like I just found out I was pregnant, and now we are half way there. I was astounded at how much she was moving around, her little arms were waving and she can bend her knees and flex her feet. Although, unlike her big sister, she just lay there and let the technician take all the measurements, more like "fine, can we just do this please?" I admit, I did get teary looking at her.

Jerime brought Gracie in halfway through, we had been telling her that she could see "her" baby on the tv at the doctor's today. She came in and looked around, somewhat confused. "Where's the baby?" she didn't quite understand how this process would work. The technician was wonderful, she explained that she had a little camera on mommy's belly and that by looking at the screen Gracie could see her baby. She even played the heart rate for Gracie to hear (146 bpm in case you were wondering). As soon as we were done and I was getting up, Gracie informed the technician that it was "Daddy's turn". She was completely serious. We all laughed and as I walked out to the waiting room, I realized exactly what I had to look forward to in another 2 years and 10 months. Filing stickers were plastered all over the wall by the receptionist's desk (she had no clue). Jerime looked at me apologetically, "the lady gave her stickers". Sigh....

Brand new

2009-02-20T18:11:00.000-05:00

Well, this is blogging! As I journey into this new territory I hope you all will enjoy sharing our life as much as we enjoy living it, and please bear with me as I try to navigate my way through this!

Here it goes...