Bones

The Princess LOVES bones. The Princess' ONE Christmas request was for a Christmas Skeleton... (I went back to look for its inclusion in a blog post but it's missing. How did I not write about that?)

Every tree should have a Christmas Skeleton. 
Thanks Mamo!!

 This was not her first indication of this specific interest. She once spent 15 minutes looking over a giraffe skull at the zoo while the real life animal grazed and pranced behind her.

I can only express gratitude that I won't be that huge this summer!!!

In the last couple of weeks she's been requesting time to sit in front of the mirror after bath time so that we can talk about and point out all of the different bones in her body.

Imagine the excitement when Mamo showed up with an actual skeleton to put together!

 
So many bones...

Holding a skull is an experience every little girl should have.

Dressed up for the occasion...

A new friend!

Easter Aftermath

One of the Easter traditions I grew up with was a family Easter basket. I've always liked this idea rather than Easter baskets for each person stuffed with presents, candy and distractions from what the day is truly about. We had the fun of the candy "surprise" in the morning and plenty of sugar and chocolate to gorge on for the next few days and there was less junk hanging around afterwards.

(sidenote: after the community egg hunt at the park I saw an Easter basket in the trash...  So they bought a basket just for the hunt and then promptly threw it away afterwards??!!!)

The Princess was all over Easter this year and with two Easter egg hunts and a small basket from Mamo and Papa (that's Grandma and Grandpa for those of you not up on Princess lingo!) I decided that the family basket was a great tradition to carry into our family.

The basket was greeted with lots of enthusiasm. Sweetpea thought it was mildly interesting.

With strict instructions not to eat anything I left her alone to peruse the candy while I went to get dressed for church. A few minutes later we came downstairs to this.

A soft bed for kitty

Wrappers

Lionel gets the candy coated eggs.
And a festive skirt on his tail. (Easter finery!)

Bevo gets the chocolate.
Don't know if he was planning on sharing!

 No, she hadn't eaten even one single piece!

My Monday

A typical Monday morning involves me sneaking out of the house at 6am before anyone else is up so that I can get as many hours in at the office as possible for the week. It's a routine that works well, as long as it stays routine. However, if I veer from the routine watch out!

Today I veered from the routine which cascaded into a myriad of new decisions and consequences...

I got up late (6:20am) because Steve had to go in early. I got ready quickly and still had time to do some things before getting The Princess and Sweetpea out of bed. I picked a cute outfit to wear, I threw in a load of laundry, I ate breakfast, I packed my lunch.

The consequences of my excursions from routine?
Eating breakfast at home:

1. I decided to bring my purse to work instead of my backpack since I didn't have to schlep my breakfast to work. Less to carry but I did have to repack a bag!

Leaving at 7:30 instead of 6:00:

1. I had to fight my way through traffic and construction to the waterfront parking lot just as the shuttle pulled away. (Although, the sun was shining so I did walk to the tram.)

Changing from the backpack to purse:

1. No badge...  thought I was going to have to pay for my ride up the hill to the hospital. No, but they did have to look me up in the computer, enter my name into their "database for forgetful employees" and have an email sent to my boss (why he would care I'm not sure.) I did get a compliment on my cute outfit!
2. No keys... (badge and keys are a package deal)  Not normally an issue except that I'm the only one here today! Had to call security and promise my firstborn if it turned out I was a crazy person pretending to be an employee in order to get into my office and steal that ancient computer...

Cute outfit vs. "research mode" (ie jeans):

1. I'm wearing a dress. I'm a nursing mother. I have to use a pump. My cute outfit isn't "easy access"...  I will leave it at that.

Chicken with a cute side dish

Making dinner looks way more fun now, doesn't it?

Dreams of a farm with room to run...

So, I noticed that I've started saying something that's perhaps not entirely appropriate...

It's always an operation getting Sweetpea ready for sleep.  It's not just a matter of noticing that she's tired, that the clock is announcing the time or that my brain is screaming for a break and then putting her in the crib and walking away. There's a process involved.

1. find all of the "equipment"
2. lay out the swaddle blankets (yes, there are two. She's 7 months old and would bust out of one in 2 seconds flat.)
3. put on the hat. We keep our house cold. She ALWAYS sleeps with a hat, plus I hear that it helps calm babies and prevents overstimulation...I'll try anything to make sure my babies sleep!
4. get that pacifier into her mouth!!
5. swaddle those arms down by her sides as tightly as I can possibly manage without actually tearing the blanket
6. rock her a for a few minutes before laying her down.

There's not normally a struggle involved, she's usually very ready to sleep and as soon as that blanket is wrapped you can feel her whole body relax.

BUT

Since there are all these steps to get her to dreamland I keep finding myself saying "Let's put you to sleep!"

I know, I know...she's not a pet!  I could probably say "Let's get you ready for bed!" or "Time for night-night!" but with all of the steps involved 'putting her to sleep' has stuck...

But I cringe a little every time I say it, just so you know.

Wrapped so tight she can actually stand!

Evidence that the organizational/OCD tendencies are passed along genetically...

I had no hand in any of this organization.

I washed, she took care of the drying.

Yes, there are a lot of Cinderellas...they're very organized princesses...