All I Want is A Bouncy Cow

Friday was my Sweet Addie-Cake's birthday. Who knew three years could go so fast. No longer the chunky 8lbs 8oz babe, she is full of personality, happiness, and a mind of her own.

Did I mention that she knows what she wants? We're going to the farm again this year, where one of her favorite things to do is play with the bouncy cows. Silly thing.

So that's what she got. And she bounced all evening while she played with her cousins. What can I say, the girl likes to move.

It was more than a little difficult getting her here, but who could resist those chunky cheeks and rolly-polly legs. And that cute smile.

Those Pesky Consequences...

If I've learned anything from being a parent, it's that you frequently get bit in the be-hind. That does happen literally, but right now I'm speaking figuratively. Even the most innocent things you do and say will inevitably come and bite you. I'm thinking along the lines of letting the girls sleep in bed with me while Otterpop is out of town means an entire week of re-sleep training. Or giggling at a potty joke at home usually means embarrassment...nay, MORTIFICATION...when said child shouts to the world that same potty joke in the most inappropriate of places. 

I'm not especially a fan of "kid music". It kinda drives me nuts. Okay really drives me nuts. My sanity is hanging by a thread as it is, so why push it, right? I want my girls to cultivate an appreciation for music across all genres, which I feel means they need to be exposed to real music early on. Kid.z B.op doesn't count. I have my own feelings on that, mostly because I don't think a moderately edited song should receive a stamp of approval simply because a kid is singing it. In fact I think it makes it worse. There I go on tangent. Back to my point...

This has backfired on me more than once. The girls listening to adult music, that is. There was a time I heard Sweet Cheeks singing a very inappropriate Black Eyed Peas song while listening to my iPod. While I made it clear to her that song wasn't appropriate and turned it off she kept singing it for days. I could just imagine her doing it in public. I suppose it would serve me right. After all, I'm supposed to be the gate keeper.

Did I learn my lesson? A little. I am more vigilant than I was about the music in our home, but not as much as I ought to be. Consequently, as of late I am constantly being serenaded with somewhat less-than-appropriate songs by a 21/2 year old.

Okay, it's not so bad.  Full disclosure...I regularly put on "Single Ladies" for the girls. I think it's fun and basically harmless. But I hate La.dy Ga.ga. Even if her songs are catchy and not all are completely inappropriate, I think she is a horrible example to young girls. I'm not sure where Addie-Cakes picked up that song. Well, actually from her older sister. Who I think heard the Kid.z B.op version at the gym. Dang that Kid.z B.op.

I guess the consequence of children listening to adult music is children singing adult music. Yet I have not one bit of remorse. There is a lot of good music out there, and I want to teach them to choose good music as they grow up. Maybe I do need to be more careful about what they listen to. And nipping it in the bud rather than videoing it because it's funny. What can I say? It's my punishment.



 P.S. There are a few exceptions to the awful kid music. When Addie-Cakes was born my former boss gave me a kid music CD Barenaked Ladies wrote and produced, which is really good. The Curious George soundtrack by Jack Johnson is great, too. Who are we kidding, though? I would bet money those albums were inspired by their very own battle with kid-induced insanity. Thankfully they had the talent to do something about it and helped talk parents everywhere off the proverbial ledge. 

Music to My Ears

 
Scrubbing the toilet the other day wasn't quite the chore it typically is. Yes, I actually said that. Only because of the lovely background music, though.

You see, Sweet Cheeks was reading her sister a book. They hovered over a book all close and cozy-like the entire time I cleaned the bathroom. Crazy, right? Crazy and wonderful. Both that Sweet Cheeks is already reading, and that she's reading to her sister.

The girls have been playing incredibly well together lately. Of course there is the typical bickering, tattling, punching, kicking and hair pulling that all sisters put each other through. But more often than not they are best friends.

And those days when I'm not forced to referee every two minutes make me remember why staying at home to raise my girls is the best choice I've ever made. Until tomorrow when the truce is broken and Referee Mama is on duty. All day. Then I'll need another reminder.

There and Back Again

To Arizona. Back home, and some places in between - mostly this place called Life, really. That's where I've been. Somewhere along the road I lost my way. I once wondered how I would ever find enough material to supply a blog that's not a complete yawn fest. Then a transformation occurred and I began to see life as a series of potential blog posts. Well, that I saw the possibilities of blog posts in every day life is more accurate.

That's where I lost my way. Enough time passed between posts and I went from noticing a barrage of potential blog fodder to forgetting to even look for those things. Thus, the lapse in time. Worry aside - I have returned. The prodigal attempted blogger. Not that anyone but the nagging at the back of my conscious has even noticed the absence. At this point I wasn't planning to document our adventures. But then I was sifting through pictures remembering how much fun we had. I can't just pass by as if it never happened. I figure a glimpse will do. You can see pictures on my other blog.

• Arizona was wonderful albeit not as warm as I had hoped it would be
• I will admit to wishing we lived there on more than one occasion
• All of my siblings made it, though we were all together for just hours rather than days. At least we got family pictures.
• Ragnar was spectacular
• My parent's lemon tree was prolific. As in lemons the size of grapefruit. Seriously. I came home with 35lbs. Don't be jealous.
• Sweet Cheeks went to school at her Auntie Kenna's preschool
• And we visited Auntie LaNae's family in Yuma - what I've always called the armpit of Arizona. It's really not that bad. Once you get passed the smell of the lettuce plants. Plants, as in factories.

I had said I was going to visit Arizona to run Ragnar, but of course the real reason was so my girls could make actual memories of their family. Addie Cakes was an infant the last time we were there, so she was essentially meeting her cousins and some Aunties for the first time.

Before we left she had a hard time grasping the idea that she had cousins other than her "Virginia cousins", whom we see regularly. That is one of the hardest things about living far from family, which is actually why we are in Northern VA. Otter and I both wanted to make sure we were close to at least some family after we graduated from college in Utah. Virginia won. This was before we had children and the difficulty of ensuring meaningful relationships with my side of the family hadn't registered. Of course had we moved to Arizona instead the situation would just be reversed.

But now both of the girls have memories of their family. They see pictures and know names, and make associations that in all reality are probably just a vague recognition of a memory - for Addie Cakes, at least. But the associations are there. And for now that's all that matters. So while I miss my family every day, at least now I know it's not impossible. My girls love and miss my family - their family - more than the space that divides us.

A Fly On The Wall

Why is it that I always have ideas for a fab blog post only to find by the time I get my rear in gear to write the moment is gone? Yeah, that's pretty much the story of my life.

It's been one of those weeks, or two, that not a whole lot has happened, yet there's gobs to tell. If you were a fly on the wall in my life, this is what you would have seen:

1) It's official. I'm running another 26.2 miles April 9th. Now I really need to find someone to run the entire 26.2 with me. Or just someone that is insane enough to tag along for the long runs. A few friends of mine are running the half marathon which will be great fun for the first 13.1 miles we run together. But then they are done.  And that's really not helpful to me especially on those long, arduous runs this winter. Any takers?

2) I've realized yet again that I'm all or nothing. The past few weeks I've been an organizing maniac. Label maker and all. The result was a large pile-o-crap, a few tense moments between Otterpop and I while we negotiated what should stay or go. And of course our stuff is a great deal more organized than it was before. Why was it this experience that made me realized it's all or nothing for me? You see, in the time I was going through all that, everything else was neglected. Blog included.

3) Yard Sales really aren't for those who don't have mountains of crap to unload. I'm usually the sale-ee, but a few weeks ago Otterpop's sister's community was having their fall community sale and we tagged along with their sale. We tried to sell the crap from #2, and ended up with $40 in our pocket and a big carload to the Salvation Army. The kids, other the other hand, made $60 on their bake sale. Lesson learned: If you want some extra cash, load a table with goodies on the corner and set your kids out there to sell them. (The goodies, not the kids)

4) But...the trip to the Salvation Army made the scant $40 we got for hours of labor well worth it. You see, Serendipity occurred while I was dumping our junk. Another dump-ee pulled up the same time I did with a FABULOUS round, green ottoman. The kind I've coveted for not a short amount of time. Before I even asked if I could buy it off of him, the man offered to load it into my car. For free. I suppose you could say I was paid $40 to get a fabulous piece of furniture I've wanted for a long time.

5) With the end of the growing season comes the end of our CSA season. Bummer. I've really enjoyed our weekly box. The silver lining is that we now get to be gleaners. Last week I gleaned lots of green tomatoes, bell peppers and jalapenos and made a roasted tomato salsa. It's not my favorite, but it's not bad either. Oh yeah...and I canned it. How industrious am I? Madre y Padre are so proud.

6) Lester visited this weekend, and I was reminded how much I've let myself go this summer. I really haven't been running much, so when I went for a run with her Saturday I felt like a slug. I tell my self lately it's because I've had that nasty lung infection that everyone seems to have. However......I. Must. Run. More.

7) I've also been hearing the song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" sung over, and over, and over again by my favorite two year old. Lester got it on video.

8) Halloween is quickly approaching. I couldn't be more excited. While Lester was here I helped her make the patterns for her costume. It's going to be WONDERful. And Otterpop and I figured out our costumes. Last year I was Willy Wonka and Otter was my Oompa Loompa. It was FAB. And a lot of work. Luckily the work is cut in half this year because a friend is letting me borrow a costume. So now I just have to make Otterpop's. CAN'T WAIT!!!!! It's going to be epic.

Oh yeah....the girl's have their costumes picked out too.  But who ever said Halloween is about the kids?

9) Sweet Cheeks started preschool last week. Does it make me a bad mom if I don't bother bringing a camera to document her first day of preschool? I mean, this is her third year of preschool, and she went to the same school last year. So really it's nothing new. Okay. That's me justifying my laziness. Poor kid.

10) Otterpop is out of town. Again. Boo. But...Well, I was going to say there's something good about his traveling this time. Nothing comes to mind. It's another week without Daddy. Hours of Fun for Everyone.

I think that pretty much covers it. I'm trying to force productivity today. That's a pretty silly idea when I just got a book from the library that I've been waiting for over a month to get. You can bet what I'll be doing as soon as this is posted. Till we meet again, wish me happy reading.

Happy Birthday, My Sweet Addie-Cakes

Addie-Cakes is two today. Where did the time go?

I never understood why parents always lamented about how fast their kids grow, when it felt like it was taking forever to finally get out of the miserable place they call Junior High.

Now I get it. Otterpop travels a lot, and I always make fun of him when he says that the girls have grown so much in just a week. But after my weekend in NYC I saw what he meant. My baby is becoming a little girl.

It seems like just yesterday we brought her home. Yet it seems like she has always been with us. I had a really, really hard time getting her here. But I would do it all again in a heart beat. Life certainly wouldn't be the same without her.