Question of the Day

Does just being around books really make you any smarter?

Unfortunately for my cat that got himself shut in the closet again yesterday, I don't think proximity is going to do the job.

Things I Love: August Edition

1.  Watching my husband put his time and effort into training and raising money for a cause that is close to his heart.

Zach and his friend, Shyam, running in the St. Jude Washington to Peoria Run

2.  Fresh garden tomatoes

3.  School starting back up...because that selfishly means that places like the zoo, Farm Park, and playgrounds are less crowded.

Farm Park fun

4.  I may be less than impressed with the carnival folk, but apparently their old, rickety, dirty, questionably-safe rides delight this 2-year old.  So we'll go ahead and put festivals on the list.

As always, the carousel was a favorite.

5.  My infant who is still content to hang out and go with the flow.

6. Training camp and preseason Bear's football

7. Baseball games and my little girls who love them...or at least love being out and about.

Enjoying the action with Aunt Carrie

Staley's favorite thing about the game?  

"The dancing dog."  (a.k.a. the mascot)

8.  Spending time outdoors...whether it's a picnic on the porch or washing the cars in the driveway or just playing in the yard.  Outside fun is always good!!

Hanging out with Papa and Uma

9.  Fitting in the 'one lasts' of summer.  One last time to the pool.  One last visit to the Farm Park.  One last opportunity to wear those summer clothes my girls are outgrowing.

10.  And, of course, the thing I love most any day, any month, any time of the year is...

...my girls!!

Two Year Old Honesty

Today as Staley was watching her after-nap television show, she crawled onto my lap.  She sat on my lap while holding her blanket and her Yellow Bear for only a minute or two before climbing off.  She then proceeded to put her blanket on my lap.  Touched by her sweetness, I said, "Thank you for sharing your blanket with me."  She responded, "I'm putting my blanket on your scratchy legs so they don't hurt me."  Then she crawled back onto my lap, protected from my scratchy legs by her blanket, and watched the rest of her show.

There's nothing like the honesty of a two year old to keep you humble...and remind you that you need to shave a little more often.

Girl's Week-end

Kids change things.  It's a fact.  When kids enter the equation of life, priorities shift.  Our time, our efforts, our focus centers around them, not us.  And when this happens, we have to decide what from our pre-kid lives is important to hang onto and what can be let go.  Weekly movie night, happy hour, motorcycle trips, marathon training, concerts, poker nights, exotic vacations.  Some things just have be pushed aside to allow the time and energy required to create a healthy family.

Unfortunately, time with friends is one of those things that becomes harder and harder to maintain.  As life changes, our friendships often shift.  We hang out more with the friends who have kids the same age as our kids, whose paths in life mirror our own.  Friendships of convenience (neighborhood friends, local friends, playgroup friends) emerge, and friendships become more about play dates and less about chick flicks and margaritas.  And while there is nothing wrong with enjoying the company of someone who is walking in your shoes, there is a sadness when we drift away from friends that were once a big part of our lives.

There is something comforting in our old friends.  Friends who knew who we were before we became who we are.  Friends who walked beside us through major milestones in our lives.  Friends who have seen us through bad boyfriends, bad haircuts, and bad choices...and who can laugh with us about those now.  Friends who love us for who we were and who we are.  And that is why I cherish my annual Girl's Week-end.

Girl's Week-end is when my college friends and I make time in our busy schedules to spend a week-end together.  And whether we are on a cruise ship or at the Eureka Sesquicentennial, in Vegas or St. Louis, dancing at a club or sipping wine, wearing pajamas or 80's prom dresses...no matter where we are or what we are doing, we are together.  We are catching up.  We are reminiscing.  We are laughing.  We are sharing our lives.  And we are having a great time doing it.

I so look forward to Girl's Week-end every year.  My friends and I met at college when we all ran cross country and track together.  We trained together.  We traveled together.  We lived together.  And now we have husbands and kids and careers and homes.  Our week-ends together have evolved over time.  We travel less, dance less, and go to bed earlier.  But we still have a great time together.  And this past week-end was no exception.  Most of the group (we missed you Tara and Christie!!) came to Eureka (since I'm nursing and couldn't really leave for the week-end.)  We had a low-key week-end of eating out, shopping, catching up, and enjoying some live music and wine at a local winery.

I am so blessed by my friends.  We may not talk as much as we should.  We may not get together with each other often enough, even when we live close.  We may have busy lives.  But one week-end each year, it's all about us.  And even though we are older and our week-ends together are tamer, being together is still fun...and it still involves dancing.

Too Smart For Our Good

Staley has not been napping very consistently over the past two weeks.  (Not due to pooping.  Thankfully that's been going well.  Just another no-napping phase, I guess.)  On Friday, I was trying to convince my wide awake, talking, singing girl to quiet down and sleep.  I told her that if she didn't nap, she might be too tired to go to the Eureka Festival that evening.  After an hour of talking and singing, I got her up and later that evening, we did attend the festival.  So yesterday, Zach put Staley down for her nap and again, she wasn't sleeping.  Zach went into Staley's room to remind her that she needed to sleep.

Zach:  "Staley, I really want you to take a good nap today so that you won't be too tired to go to the Family Fun Day [which is what Staley was calling the Community Bash at Aunt Jill's church]."
Staley:  "Well, we went to the festival last night and I didn't nap yesterday, sooo....."

Staley definitely built a compelling case.  She knew her facts.  She linked her current situation to a past situation.  And, as she assumed, she DID get to go to both the festival and the community bash without napping.

Then today, Staley wanted to play zoo.  This is a game she created where she empties all her card games into her backpack as 'tickets' to the zoo.  I don't like this game as the sorting and returning cards to their appropriate packages is a time-consuming effort.  So I told Staley that we could play zoo, but she was going to have to help put away her 'tickets' when she was done playing.  Staley was agreeable to this contingency...until it came time to put away the tickets.  Then my overly tired girl (that I am definitely NOT blaming on my husband not getting her to bed until 9:00 last night) had a melt-down about putting away the cards.  During her melt-down, I told her that we would not be playing zoo anymore today because of the tears.  After her nap today, we had this conversation:

Staley:  "Let's go in the playroom and play zoo."  (Looking at me expectantly to see if I was going to remember my earlier punishment.)
Me:  "You are not allowed to play zoo anymore today because you cried about putting your tickets away."
Staley:  "I have a great idea.  Let's play festival."
Me:  "Okay.  We can play festival."
Staley:  "I will need to go in the playroom and get my festival tickets."

For the record, she did not get to play any games with 'tickets' today.  But that doesn't change the fact that she is quick on her feet.  I love that my daughter is smart...but sometimes she's too smart for our own good.

Five Months

Five months ago today, our little Adelie was born.  Oh, how time flies.  Adelie is now weighing over 14 lbs.  She is still in size 2 diapers, her 3-6 month clothes, and her 6-9 month pajamas.  She eats 5-6 times/day, takes 2-3 naps, and sleeps 5-8 hours at night, although lately has been throwing some 4 hour stints in there, just for fun.

Likes:  Adelie is still the happiest baby ever.  She loves people, attention, music, being outside, her feet, bath time, having things to grab, and her big sister.  Books are still fun, and her current favorites are books with flaps, books with textures, and books with sounds.  Her treasure chest toy and her sea creature toy are top of the toy list, and she loves her apple rattle.  She still enjoys watching her mobile and her ceiling fan, and works very hard to look at the television or the computer screen anytime they are on.  If we are out and about, Adelie isn't afraid to skip a nap so she can soak in the excitement.  Her thumb is pretty okay too.

Adelie and her thumb enjoying some quality time

Dislikes:  Adelie's dislike list remains short...and relatively the same.  She doesn't like being hungry, tired, or cold.  Being strapped in her carseat when it's not moving (especially when she is hungry or tired) is not fun.  And when she is feeling bored or lonely, she will let us know.

Skills:  Adelie is my little mover.  She is a proficient roller (primarily to the left) and will roll across the room quickly.  She can also scoot a little on her belly using her legs.  She can sit for a minute or two at a time, but still falls over when she reaches too far or gets too excited.  She loves to stand up when held.

Pretty pleased to have rolled under Grammie and Grandpa's bed

Playing with her feet is one of Adelie's favorite past-times.  Adelie will grab anything she can get her hands on (including hair, jewelry, noses, glasses, and napkins) and, if possible, will then try to put it in her mouth.  She can activate her cause and effect toys, and has even turned on her own mobile once.  She is starting to try to turn pages of books.  She is a super-star when it comes to splashing water all over the bathroom floor during bath time.  Adelie can 'talk', laugh, and squeal...and her smile can't be beat.

Feet are awesome!!

There is nothing I love more than seeing my baby smile.  I can't imagine my life without this little ball of joy.  My heart is full!

My little five month old

Scared

As I was getting ready to put Staley down for her nap the other day, she walked across the room and shut her door.  We had this conversation:

Staley:  "I need to shut my door so nothing comes into my room and scares me."
Me:  "What do you think is going to scare you?"
Staley:  "Monsters."
Me:  "Monsters are just pretend.  Sometimes they talk about monsters in movies and books, but they aren't real.  You don't need to be scared of monsters."
Staley:  "Then tigers.  I shut my door so tigers don't come into my room."

I guess you can never be too careful.