A New Year: 2011

I took a look back at my New Year post from last year, and these were the things on my to-do list for 2010...

A few things I'd like to cross off my list this year:

--get pregnant/stay pregnant (check)

--run the Flying Pig 5K with Jen in early May (didn't do because of #1 above)

--paint what needs painted in the house and finish reorganizing rooms/furniture (check)

--focus on better diet, ie: try to drink more water, eat more fruits & veggies, etc (still trying, but doing better)

--transition Emmy into a big girl room, with a big girl bed (check)

--read more for fun (check...amazing what you can do when you stop bringing work home with you!)

So, again, I have some overall goals for 2011 that would be lovely to accomplish. We'll see what 2011 has in store for us!

--deliver a healthy baby boy in May, and help Em with the transition to big sister

--breastfeed for what seems a reasonable length of time, and not feel (too) guilty when I'm ready to be done

--join Weight Watchers post-pregnancy

--plan to enter a Turkey Trot in 2011, and run the whole thing

--continue to focus on maintaining a reasonable work/home balance

--take an online photography course to really learn how to use my camera

--dedicate time on a regular basis to nurture my relationship with Keith (this will become even more challenging come May)

Friends & loved ones, here's hoping for a wonderful 2011 for you!

Merry Christmas Memories

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

I would like a

1. My little pony

2. Candy necklace

3. Cinderella Barbie

Emerson

Christmas Cookie Baking with Grammy!

My Mom came down for a visit, and "the girls" had a cookie baking & decorating afternoon yesterday. We doubled the recipe, but forgot to double the flour. It was the cookie bake-a-thon that almost wasn't! Em had a ball with her Grammy.

From the mouth of a 3 yr old...

Upon spying a house with smoke coming out of the chimney, "Hey look, that house has a tailpipe!"

"When I grow up, I was to be a girl fireman!"

When asked if she was excited about finding out whether she would have a baby brother or sister (when I have my ultrasound in a few weeks), "Nope, I'll find out later."

Big Girl Room

Em's big girl room came together this weekend, with the help of Keith and Grandpa, who was visiting from Indiana. She was very excited about sleeping in her new bed, with the girly sheets & bed linens. Lots of very cool touches in this room!

Fall Leaves

Two weekends ago, we did a little leaf raking in order to make a nice, large pile for Emerson to jump. She'd been pining away for a leaf pile, but not enough leaves had fallen yet. Finally, we had a dry spell, and nice weather. She got her little rake and helped Daddy (most of the time using the rake backwards, but it's the thought that counts, right?!). She was ecstatic to finally get to jump into a leaf pile!

My new favorite photo of Emerson

Guess Who's Becoming a Big Sister?

Our family is growing, and Emerson will become a big sister in May 2011!

"Olivia's Dead"

As we were driving down the road last night, heading to Panera Bread for dinner, followed by grocery shopping at Kroger, Emerson piped up from the backseat with this doosie..."Olivia's dead". Followed by dead silence in the car. Olivia, by the way, is Emerson's imaginary sister whom she's talked about for the last year. She literally mentions her daily. From what I can gather, she lives across the street at 8008 XX Road, she's either older or younger than Emerson (some days she's 2, some days she's 43 and drives...who knew?!). It's unclear who her parents are, and why she doesn't live with us. Olivia gets blamed for mishaps & misbehavior and is included in most of the silly conversations shared about the happenings at school.

Needless to say, we were a little taken aback to hear she was no longer with us. After a period of silence, we finally asked Em what happened. She explained that Olivia was out walking her dog and got "squooshed by a car". We asked her how she found out about this accident, and she mentioned that Olivia was at school today crying, and told her about it. "She's dead, but she'll be better on Monday...don't worry guys."

Thank goodness! Keith and I talked about it later, and were a little relieved that Em doesn't yet grasp the concept of death. We've seen dead squirrels "squooshed by a car" on our morning walks, so I suppose this is where the idea came from last night. We are also not totally ready to have this conversation with her, as we haven't figured out how we want to present it to her yet. I want to be honest, but not go into great detail about things. I don't want to use any of the explanations like, "sleeping" or "gone to Heaven". I think being honest & sticking to simple explanations is probably the best route.

Anyone out there have any great ideas about broaching this topic when the time comes?

Halloween Fun!

We carved our pumpkins last weekend, and Emmy decided pumpkin guts were not for her. She did like eating the pumpkin seeds that Keith toasted! We did trick-or-treating tonight, and Em got to walk around the neighborhood with the girls from across the street (her big girl buddies). It was so fun hearing her chatter excitedly with them, telling stories, cracking jokes, and just being silly & having a good time. Keith manned the homefront, handing out candy to the masses. We had taken a family walk earlier, scoping out the houses with great front porch decor. There were some really neat jack-o-lanterns out there tonight! Em decided her legs were getting tired, and she had enough candy, so we headed home after about an hour. She was impressed with her loot, and got to hand out some candy to neighbor kids who stopped by later. It was a fun night!

Pumpkin Season!

One of THOSE Moms...

Yes, I'll admit it, I'm one of THOSE Moms....you know, the ones the uber-on-top-of-it-Moms sort of shake theirs heads at while exchanging knowing glances. I'm the Mom who shows up to a play date without bringing snacks or drinks (I did feed her en route to said play date, but failed to plan ahead for what she'd be like after an hour of running around in 90 degree heat). I'm the Mom who heads out to the local park with the family and totally fails to have a change of clothes available when the kiddo has an episode of diarrhea on top of the climbing equipment (not a pretty scene driving home, let me assure you). I'm the Mom who forgets to pay the correct amount for daycare (the fee was reduced months ago, when Em aged up) and so is carrying a balance, much to the Director's dismay. I'm the Mom who's kid is covered in scars, because she can't figure out a way to get her to stop picking her scabs. I'm the Mom who lets her kid watch too many movies because sometimes, I just need some peace. It's days like these that I can really beat myself up for not planning ahead more, being better organized, or having more energy for being creative with the kid. When I really want to throw a guilt-trip party, I start adding up the hours she spends in daycare each week....oh, Lordy, it's really hard to go there.

Overall though, Emerson doesn't seem the least bit affected by my mothering gaffes. She's happy, energetic, creative, and lovable. She tells me I'm a "good Mama" and pats my shoulder affectionately. She laughs at my silly jokes, asks me to sing her night-night songs, and draws me lovely family portraits. She holds my hand regularly, whispers secrets in my ear and snuggles close on the couch. She's my kitchen helper, my morning walk partner and tells me I have cute underwear when I'm getting dressed. She cracks me up, breaks my heart and thoroughly amazes me in the span of a few short seconds.

I'll have to come to peace with occasionally dropping the ball big-time, but it's nice to know I have an automatic "pass" from the one person who matters the most.

What We've Been Up To...

Recent Stuff

There's a lot of talk around here about princesses & Cinderella. I found a beat up Cinderella dress (see above) at a kid's consignment sale for $2. Brought it home, repaired the ripped out seams, and it's now on my child daily. We checked out the Disney Cinderella DVD from the library over the weekend, and I've seen it about 5 times in 2 days. I'm just about Cinderella'd out. Little does Em know that she'll be eating breakfast with Cindy at her castle in Florida on her 4th birthday. She is aware that we're going to the big "D" but hasn't a clue what's there. Should be buckets of fun. I'll be sure to charge my camera battery the night before!!

Em has been working hard on her letters, and writing her name. Here's a sample from this weekend. She was on a card-making kick, and we mailed off 3 cards on Saturday to various relatives. One of my coworkers gave us 3 big bags of art supplies today (cleared out just days after her own daughter left for college...how's that for efficiency??). I have a feeling we'll have many creative moments around here with all that cool stuff!

L&L's

Loves:

--That my bestie, Jen, flew down for a (too short) Girl's Visit recently. Very fun to hang with her, and I wish she lived closer so we could do it more often.

--Em finished her swimming lessons this morning. After 5-10 minutes of persuasion, she got into the pool and loved it.

--Seeing Eat, Pray, Love with an old college buddy tonight.

--Em is starting dance classes in early September...she is thrilled.

--Going as a family to see The Wiggles tomorrow afternoon in Raleigh. Em doesn't know what we're doing yet, only that we're going on a "field trip".

--Slowly getting organized around here...reframing photos, etc.

--Got my proposal approved and will present at the national PA Educators Association conference in Baltimore in October. Co-presenting another with a coworker.

--making a point to run each Saturday & Sunday morning for the past 4-6 weeks. Feeling better, but not there yet

--making a batch of strawberries & cream ice cream today!

Loathes:

--being overwhelmed with the amount of "stuff" that needs done at home & work. Feel like taking a couple days off work to address the home stuff, but it's a really busy time @ work, and would be hard to do that

--flea bites, especially since the cats haven't stepped foot outdoors for 2 summers now!

--looking for another clinic assignment for 1 day/week, and not having much luck

--the extra 15 lbs I'm carrying around

--how darn hot it's been all summer (although it's only about 80 right now!)

Blueberries

Em and I went to a blueberry farm in Hillsborough weekend before last. The previous weekend was my initial choice to go picking, but it thunderstormed when the day arrived. So, last weekend was 100 degrees, and insane mama loaded up her kiddo and headed out. Lordy, it was hot & we were soaked with sweat within 5 minutes of arrival. I managed to snap some photos of Em before she was totally sweaty & miserable. I picked 4 lbs, and we hit a gas station on the way home to get a Popsicle.

Emmy-isms

The other day, Keith was on the floor of the living room shirtless, doing sit-ups. As he's aged, let's just say he's become a bit hairier on the chest & abdomen (and elsewhere, but we won't talk about that today). Emmy hopped down off the couch and crouched beside him, commenting, "Daddy has a moustache on his belly!".

Progress!

Emmy has finished 3 weeks of swimming lessons at the Sportsplex in Hillsborough. Week 1 was a disaster, as she cried hysterically and refused to get into the pool. She finally agreed to do it at the very end of the lesson...once. When she got out, she grabbed my leg and pointed to the instructor (a very nice, but very loud & large man) and said, "I don't like him!". She had her heart set on a "girl" instructor, and really didn't want anything to do with a male instructor. The next lesson, she was able to hook up with a nice, high school aged female instructor, and got into the pool after about 15 minutes of crying and saying she didn't want to go into the water. Keith threatened to just GO HOME, and she decided the water wasn't so bad. She did an okay job, but frequently came running over to us for reassurance. The 3rd lesson was this past Saturday. We arrived to find out that Miss Maureen was working with another group of kids, and Em's instructor would be Mr. Tyler...uh-oh, another new face and a BOY! The tears started flowing immediately, but the instructor was great...he was already in the pool, and in an effort to win Em over began tossing a pink ball back & forth with her. He inched her closer to the edge of the pool, and then asked her to sit down, practice her kicks & splash him in the face. Music to a 3 year old's ears! After that, she was hooked. It was like someone flipped a switch on this kid! She didn't come over to us at all, in fact, barely even looked at us for the entire lesson. She was totally focused, anticipating her next turn, watching the other kids. She did a fantastic job this week! Here's a little video Keith caught of her first solo swim!

L&L

Loves:
--Got home from a week of visiting family & friends in Indiana & Ohio last week...always so good to see everyone, but never enough time with anyone! Swinging on the porch swing with my 93 yr old Gram & my 3 yr old girl was pretty sweet!
--My best buddy is coming to NC for a quick visit in a couple weeks...girl time! Yay!
--Found a great pair of shoes at the Discount Shoes store in Asheville this week.
--Going to the Kids Exchange Sale at the State Fairgrounds this week...it's like one huge yard sale with only kids stuff...bargain hunter's paradise!
--Picking blueberries this weekend
--Swinging with Emerson on the new playset
--Watching the fat cats take turns sleeping in the shoe box I brought back from Asheville...comical.
--Got my Happy Burgery tenderloin and Sycamore ice cream fix while in Indiana. Also my A&W rootbeer in a frosted mug. Delish! (No, weight loss was not acheived while on vacation!)
--Our farm share this summer...goodies delivered to our back door weekly. Love it.
--That Keith and I are seeing Mary Chapin Carpenter in concert on Sunday...love her!

Loathes:
--Haven't started another knitting project since finishing Em's scarf...can't decide what to do next, and at this point, will probably have to relearn everything!
--How busy & stressful work is right now. Lots going on, too little time to finish projects...sigh.
--The bad attitude Em has these days. Very bossy, mean, and sassy. Not responding to the "1, 2, 3...timeout" so much these days (starts counting me when I count her...irritating!). But, alas, she is bipolar and a really sweet doll 5 minutes later.
--Weight gain and not fitting into my clothes
--Fertility treatments.
--How hard it is to fit exercise back into my life.
--That Lilith Fair in Raleigh was cancelled...rat bastards!


By the way, vacation photos are posted on our Flickr photo account...check them out!

Play set is Here!

We came home today from work/school to find a brand new play set installed in the back yard. It took 2 men literally all day to put this together, and we were so glad we didn't attempt this ourselves. We had a squealing-giggling-happy little girl tonight! We decided to grill dinner, as it was one of the few days this week with no humidity and temps below 90. Felt great!

Scarf is Done & Girlbaby is Happy!

How Dad Entertains the Kid When the Power Goes Out

First Project Knitted!

My first knitting project was this lovely dish cloth, which I promptly mailed to my Mama with a bar of goatmilk soap! Am finishing up Em's pink scarf (need to go get a crochet hook to add the fringe tomorrow). She's terribly excited to model it for a photoshoot!