It's been raining around here lately. A LOT. In fact I think that April and May actually switched themselves around because all of those April showers that are supposed to bring May flowers? Totally backwards this year. All of the flowers that bloomed in April have now died a soggy death.
But I'm not complaining, truly. I love the rain. I love the clouds, the filtered light (the sun is WAY too bright!), the different types of wet drops that fall, the clean smell of the air, the way my skin feels; all moist and happy. I could go on and on... (much to the chagrin of most people I know - even though we live in the Pacific Northwest...Hello! It's SUPPOSED to rain around here!) But, with a little one around I will admit that the rain makes the days a little more challenging, especially when you've been sick and are trying not to catch pneumonia. We've had to be creative with the different activities we've done in the past few weeks in order to get out of the house and not go completely crazy!
Which means that we've done some pretty fun stuff and some stuff that is really fun when you're 2 1/2 years old (and therefore fun for Mommy since that means a good nap is on the horizon.). Library trips, walking the mall and crawling on all of those mechanical toys (which cost 75 cents now! Outrageous!), swinging and sliding in the rain (I'm the mom that brings the towel to wipe down the playground - I've had a lot of practice at this point...and a couple pairs of wet jeans from sliding down first before I came up with the brilliant idea.).
We've also haunted a decrepit old shopping center with only 2 stores still open in order to get a ride on the carousel (I wasn't the only one, let me tell you. The old couple sitting at the ratty table scratching lottery tickets one after the other without a word of conversation between the two of them will attest to that...) and craft time at the kitchen table (Yay for washable markers and glue!).
One of these days the sun is going to come out, it's going to get blisteringly hot and my skin is going to dry out and crack and I will look back and remember these late May days with fondness.
I just want you to know that even in the upcoming haze of your adorableness and my sleeplessness I will not be forgetting how you've been treating my bladder these past few months...
I assume that you are using it as a pseudo soccer ball for the time being which means that we will spend a lot of time practicing when you are a little older.
And when I kick the ball to you I'm not going to hold back. AT ALL!!!
Love,
Your mother who will never have bladder control again
When I was pregnant I desperately wanted a bald baby. The first thing Gretchen told me when The Princess finally made her appearance was "Don't worry. She doesn't have hair!" and I was all "Oh, thank goodness!" And we both ignored the nurses giving us weird looks and wondering why we weren't bothering to count her fingers and toes...
The Princess then proceeded to NOT grow hair for almost 2 years! No big deal - she has has such a beautiful head plus it made the morning routine super easy and bath time was a breeze! But I was starting to wonder just a little bit if the hair gene was actually going to kick in. I mean, it's one of the guaranteed good genes Steve and I are passing on; other than the blue eyed thing which I will probably rapture about at some other time.
Then...her two year birthday came (and the lack of an actual photographed celebration could be another post, but perhaps we won't go there...It makes me look bad!) and suddenly those genes kicked in and she's been growing hair like nobodies business. It just occurred to me the other day that maybe those tiny little rubberbands might actually be useful now.
The Princess got this little Polly Pocket Cinderella from my Mom the other day. Cinderella is her MOST FAVORITE princess of all the princesses and her eyes lit up as soon as she saw the package.
She came with two dresses, two pairs of shoes and a little bird friend. The clothes are super cool - they're made out of rubber so they stretch when little hands are trying to yank them on and off. The shoes are so cute and SO SMALL! A pink pair and a "glass slipper" pair. Once we got her out of the package Mom and Sister were lamenting that they hadn't gotten the other princesses too!
What this has meant for me is that I have been changing the dresses at least, bare minimum, probably WAY more than 15 times a day! Oh, and the shoes! But I'm not complaining, I really haven't minded...(It's one of the bonuses to having kids - you actually get to play with cool toys again! Well, I think they're cool - it's a whole new princess world for Steve!)
But can I go back to the shoes? I don't think I adequately described HOW tiny these shoes are. They get lost in the little corners of the small bag that Mom made to keep everything in. They fall down and are practically swallowed by the tufts of carpet. You could swallow one in your drink (if it happened to drop in there...) and never even notice!
With the pink shoes - no problem. Pink stands out and The Princess can find them right away. BUT...the "glass slippers" are a completely different story! The glass slippers are "glass" and therefore see-through. TINY and SEE-THROUGH! This means that I have also been down on my hands and knees desperately searching for one tiny little slipper wedged in between two tufts of beige carpet while the refrain "Where's my other glass slipper?" is repeated constantly until I once again find it!
We still have two glass slippers at the moment... I can't guarantee how much longer they're going to stay around. I haven't given in to my urge to just vacuum them up and be done with it because, seriously, they're the cutest things!! But...my luck has GOT to be running out for finding those minuscule high heels!
We made a quick trip to Eastern Washington for my Dad's birthday this weekend. The Princess has a well deserved reputation as a horrible traveler. She's outgrown the incessant screaming (i.e. 6 hour trip = 5.5 hours of screaming!) but she still doesn't sleep in the car. We hopped in the torture chamber anyway and she survived admirably - minimal whining and that was only on the way back. Sticker books help A LOT!
We had a wonderful time with Mars, the dog. He and The Princess have had a love affair going on since they were babies. She never forgets to include him in the list when we're talking about who we're going to see.
Oh yeah, we saw the rest of the family too and had lots of laughter, conversation, food and cake.
I think I have made my first step into the nesting mode... The first time around I'm pretty sure that it took me about this long to really grasp that life is about to change. I'm right on schedule!
Here is my new book from Anna Maria Horner and my current baby paraphernalia fabric stash that I'm making plans with. I haven't bought anything new yet. Yes, I have this much fabric sitting around waiting for a designated use. Now I've just got to flesh it out a bit more. Yay! A trip to the fabric store!
On my list so far:
Crib skirt
Crib bumper
"Diaper" Bag (or a tote that's big enough to haul around all that crap!)
Mother Hen and 6 chicks
Now... can I get all of this done? Before I went downstairs to look over what I already have in stock I would have said "No Way!". My sewing motivation and output has been virtually nil for the last year. But it's amazing how energizing just looking through fabric is! So, I pulled it all out, did a little thinking and now have an actual plan and a pattern already cut out and ready to sew!
Maybe I can even add that cute skirt, blouse and the crib quilt to the list!
This year we got our act together and signed up for a plot in the community garden at the top of the hill. We liked the idea of growing some of our own food and thought it would be a fun experience for The Precious - a chance to dig in the dirt and look for worms and bugs. You know, good kid stuff!
I had a few doubts though about doing it this particular year...
1) Steve is really busy with work and doesn't get home before 6:30 on most nights but he assured me that he would help with it and do all of the hard work of planting.
2) When we actually had a backyard we tried gardening. Thankfully I don't have photographic evidence of our handiwork - it's too disturbing to think about. I think we may have gotten 2 tomatoes and a half a carrot out of the deal..
3) We like the farmers market so much we could just continue buying produce there and support the local farmers - who know what they're doing!
4)I'm pregnant and due in August. That's right, AUGUST! Which means that I'm not getting any smaller or bendable as the weather heats up. (please don't let it hit 108 degrees like it did last year!).
But...I was convinced in spite of my doubts and we now have a lovely plot.
The leaves are wilting inside...
Steve came through and helped plant everything. We planted tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries, carrots, cucumbers, beans, squash, pumpkins and corn. Sounds impressive! In actuality it is the most pathetic little garden EVER! The tomato plants were beautifully healthy when they went into the ground - they've slowly shriveled each day... I think they're as embarrassed as I am since they have to sit next to this Russian guy's plot. His plot looks like he's planning on feeding his entire family for the whole year with produce that is worthy of a magazine spread. I sort of want to curl up and die too whenever he walks over to chat and look over my sorry attempts (he's really friendly but I can just see him shaking his head in...dismay and amusement as he walks away.).
We had a freeze warning this week so I knew I had to go wrap those suckers up (I'm concentrating on the tomatoes...if we get anything else it'll be a miracle because they're on their own! I got you into the ground, now do your thing or die - whatever!). I didn't make it there for the first night - that's right The Precious and I got a little sidetracked and couldn't make it to play with the bugs and worms! When I arrived before the second night there were the Russian Tomatoes all cozy in their plastic covered cages (hand made, by the way). My tomato plants just waved the white flag and begged to be put out of their misery. BUT, the nursery lady had shared her secret with me and I was prepared! "Just wrap the entire cage in plastic wrap and poke a few holes in it for ventilation." she told me. So I had my roll of plastic wrap and was ready to wrap...
1) It was windy - not a light breeze but a hurricane gale that was dropping the temperature each minute as it pushed the black rain clouds our way.
2) We've been to the garden plot all of 5 times which means it's no longer very interesting and The Precious has seen every worm and bug there is to see so she kept migrating back to the parking lot to see which car wanted to play Chicken with her!
3) I'm pregnant and getting bigger.
4) I bought the only roll of plastic wrap that has ever actually stuck to itself on the roll... Of course it didn't want to stick once I was actually wrapping - no need to poke holes for ventilation, they're getting plenty of air...
The Result: I share a picture with you in complete humiliation... Ours is the plot in the foreground. I'm going to make Steve go up and release the tomatoes from their torture chambers - I'm too embarrassed to face The Russian right now!
Notice the trellis' in the background and the tilled dirt compared to our DRY and flat soil
Look what arrived at my door this afternoon! Lovely tulips - my second most favorite flower! (Don't think that the husband is unobservant. Lilacs just moved to the top of the list in the last year but I don't think I've ever actually told anyone that... I mean, how often does your favorite flower question come up once you've stopped dating...?)
Every time a romantic holiday or my birthday (or just some random day when I could use a pick me up) came around I used to daydream that someone would send me flowers (or candy grams when I was younger) for all the world to see. I would be sitting at my desk, at school or work, and someone would come strolling over with a gorgeous bouquet (or crumbly cookie) that caused every head to turn as it passed by, hoping that it was for them but knowing that it was actually for the most important person in the room - ME!
I can tell you that although I may periodically be the most important person in someone else's life, I have NEVER gotten that coveted delivery... until now. How exciting! How thoughtful! What a dream come true! Although, since I'm no longer working in an office I probably should have waited until some random neighbor was outside to actually witness my public display of importance!
Oh well, I'm sure when The Precious wakes up from her nap she'll be properly reverent about the whole affair for a solid 5 seconds before reminding me that she's usurped my position of being the most important one!
Thank you sweet husband and daughter for the beautiful gift. I love it!
