Seen and Heard

I'm stealing this blog topic from my friend Patria. Patria is the best at posting seen and heards about her kids - I always soak them up! Maggie's language is exploding and I don't want to forget this special time so here we go...

Heard: Maggie trying to push her play stroller past Lita (grandma) and with a little bit of impatience said "way",  meaning "get out of the way". Of course, in the nicest way possible coming from a toddler :-) She is becoming more clear with what she wants and we're hearing a few 2- and 3-word sentences spill out.

Seen: waking and sitting up in bed in the dark and being such a happy girl after a good night's sleep. With Christmas come and past, Maggie has acquired new shoes and she especially likes the pale pink patent leather mary janes and the Wizard of Oz Dorothy red glitter mary janes. She almost immediately runs to her shoe basket to look for them after waking and wants to put them on. She also likes to clomp around the house in my shoes or tell me what shoes to put on.

Heard: little screams of delight when she sees something that excites her. There has been a lot of this over the past week.

Seen: getting ready for bed with Duke and Howey. Duke is Maggie's new stuffed huskie dog that my sister's family got her. She loved him instantly and we taught her that Duke is Howey's dad and Howey is the baby. She lovingly hugged each dog before bed the other night, one by one, giving them kisses on their snout. Each dog now has a special place under her arms. She also likes to feed them her milk from her sippy before bed. It's unbelievably cute to watch.
 
Heard: Michael or I saying 1 or uno (which she will not say in either language) and Maggie following with 2-3-2 after 1 and dos after uno. She will also recite numbers 1-10 in Spanish with me. Her 2-3-2 is used in lots of ways, like before she takes off for a run while playing or counting things.
 
Seen: Maggie riding in her friend AJ's motorized jeep. It's a 2-seater and they cruise around our court in it like they are going on a date!
 
Heard: Maggie is really loving with her friends, so lots of hugs and kisses. I witnessed AJ and Maggie giving a kiss to eachother as we were leaving and AJ pulled away and said something like "ooh, that was wet!" Uh-oh...
 
Heard: reading to us in bed when usually we read to her and she dictates who reads what. She babbled about each page she turned to and she got some of the characters and storyline right! More unbelievable cuteness.

Comical Christmas

What a nutty week. I woke up yesterday amused by the craziness happening around me. Maybe I was amused because not only are these things out of my control, they are happening Christmas week when you want everything to go as planned. I've been listening to David Sedaris and his commentary is hilarious. It's put me in a good mood because it reminds me that crazy funny stuff happens to us all and it is what makes life lively.

Maggie caught a stomach bug. I've been thankful to be with her so much this week as I originally planned on working an extra day but it didn't feel right. I wanted to be home. Hubby also caught the bug and hearing him vomit in the dark is not something I enjoy. My poor family - I'm hoping I don't get sick and that we have a peaceful holiday. We had to cancel a few things but it was needed. Really, how many fun events can you cram into one week? Sometimes it's too much.

I baked this year. Not something I usually do around Christmas. It seems everyone around me baked too. I've felt energized by it knowing that my friends and family are all out there in their kitchens enjoying the holiday in this way. I had a major winner - Florentine bars. I clipped the recipe from a Sunset magazine. The picture in the recipe looked so yummy and the author said that when she didn't bake them one year for Christmas, she never heard the end of it. They are shortbread bars with a honey-coated mixture of almonds and dried fruit on top. I made almond macaroons for work that turned out tasty but dense. It's basically a mouthful of marzipan. They definitely need a cup of tea or coffee to go with.

Maggie is feeling much better but she had the biggest blow-out of her little life today. Thank goodness I'm prepared for the most part when we go out. This one required a shower afterwards :-)

I'm not mailing Christmas cards this year. Just didn't feel up to it. This has definitely been a year in my life where I'm making choices and decisions that are true for myself and my family. It's been a really good thing. Here are some shots from our family holiday shoot. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Gold and Green

I've been caught up with the holiday season and it's been wonderful. When I find myself getting a little run down that's when I go to sleep early or take a nap.

Knitting has taken a backseat. I just don't feel that interested in it, even though I would love some new handknits for myself during these winter months. I don't have much time for my own crafts as a mom; now that time is devoted to other things including devising toddler crafts. When I'm not tending to Maggie, I'm at work, doing endless errands, spending quality time with hubby, or sleeping. I hope my desire to knit comes back but I'm liking this break and it felt good to finally give in to it.

We visited the snow for the first time this season. I always like to take the time to just check it out before we make a ski day committment. I know, funny. Went up to Hope Valley/Sorenson's, a special place for us-home to where we got married. 

Maggie had fun, but she wasn't as thrilled with the snow as I thought she'd be. I imagined her frolicking through the snow but it was more like "Mom, I'm cold, you have me in an oversized pink snowsuit and boots, I hate wearing hats, and I just don't like this!" Stomp, stomp. 

It was a very peaceful drive which I appreciated. Lost in my thoughts, taking in the perfect snowy scenery. One of those get-away perfect days.

Maggie has officially sat on Santa's lap and in her Scottish plaid jumper to boot. She was hesitant at first but after seeing candy canes, she was putty in his lap :-) Wish I could share a picture but I haven't seen them myself! They are in the mail or soon to be...we did the free church picture during a busy street faire. While in the hustle and bustle on the street, Maggie was running around and a guy took one look at her and said, "That's a lot of plaid." At least I think that's what he said. Maybe he was referring to my outfit and said "That's a lot of black." Anyways, I laughed to myself. I remember my niece wearing this jumper at Christmas and it seemed like the perfect outfit for such an occasion.

I'm scrambling to put together presents and get ready for next week's busyness. I've got my weekend carefully planned out in order to maximize my efficiency with shopping, baking, cooking, and socializing. My present giving this year is heartfelt and creative and I'm looking for "green" wrapping ideas. Please share if you have any tips!

20 months and more

I gave Maggie her 3rd mini haircut. She keeps needing length taken off the top, sides, and bangs. It was a quick cut with my cheapy Sally Beauty Supply scizzors on the bathroom counter, just long enough to keep her distracted. It's cute, with a touch of mullet.

Allergies mild and continuing...dairy, wheat/gluten, wool, or just crazy parents making a big deal out of nothing? I've felt like a really lame detective.

Maggie isn't babbling so much anymore; instead it's lots of mimicking and talking. She can repeat her numbers in Spanish (1-10) after me. Those come out much clearer than her English numbers, but she is in love with "two" and "three". She said "Bye Nana" and "Adios!" as family left on Thanksgiving. It's really cool to hear her repeat most anything now and her pronounciation is getting much clearer. There are still lots of things she says that only a few of us understand.

Her favorite show is "Peep" - trying to keep that one under control :-) She loves to draw and I'm excited to be getting a few toddler play books soon. Activities save us! I scored a bunch of maps from work that are huge and only printed on one side. They will make great art paper for paint and anything else I can come up with.

Thanksgiving was wonderful - loved ones at our house in the chilly sunny weather to enjoy a potluck-style dinner. LOTS of food, happy faces, and great attitudes. I cooked my first turkey - a 25 pounder! Enough to give leftovers to everyone and we used our wedding china (given to us from a family friend that were gently used from her marriage) for the first time in 4 years!

Other Maggie facts at 20 months:
-takes routine long naps and sleeps through the night (it's been pretty good since turning 1)
-well mannered and says "Please" and "Thank you" correctly in her tiny soft voice
-fiery (with me at least) pretty often, a doll with others
-independent, likes to clean and use utensils by herself
-likes to make friends
-great in the car (as opposed to not so great from 0-1 yrs)

Maggie has many people in her life that have fallen in love with her from the minute they've met her and would do anything for her. It's really true. I can't imagine life without Maggie. She inspires me to have more kiddos (husband willing), no matter how hard it can be to be a parent sometimes. Just like hosting Thanksgiving, it's a lot of work but so worth it! he he

Thankful

Maggie went the week without dairy in her diet and by the weekend her allergic reactions were trickling away. So, we've introduced dairy slowly back into her diet and it's not affecting her. Hmm...

Last week was nuts, this week is much more peaceful. Just spent the morning with my sis and niece -a little shopping, storytime, and Indian food. Good times.

We needed helping hands this week with childcare and I was ever so grateful that our new friend who moved nearby started up a small childcare at her home and got licensed last week. We were lucky to get to know her and her daughter, who is 2 weeks older than Maggie, the past few months and now, have her watch Maggie on short notice. It was a relief! We had other childcare set up but this was a better fit. Maggie loved being there, and knowing that makes all the difference when you aren't with your child.

We're prepping for turkey day. It's our first time hosting Thanksgiving at our house and I'm excited to have our families over. Happy Thanksgiving to my family and friends near and far!

Allergies

Finishing Day 3 of our home science experiment. After a few rashy weeks of observing Maggie deal with some sort of allergy, we've narrowed it down but are still taking a guess. She's been off dairy this week and it seems to be helping clear up the rash, or at least keep the rash attacks from returning. Back in September, we thought it was mangoes. Whatever it is, she breaks out in an itchy rash and gets puffy red eyes. We're seriously trying to figure this out after taking her to her doctor a couple times and confirming what we already knew...that it's pretty hard to figure allergies out. They come and go. Allergy tests don't always tell the true story. So, it's really up to us to figure this out and we're on the case!

Maggie has never liked drinking milk like I see some toddlers drink it. I'd say we push it much more than she actually drinks it and the little containers of whole milk that I've brought home for her never get used up fast enough. She does like cheese, butter, and yogurt though. I've been pushing full-fat dairy on her a lot lately, thinking it was a good fat source, but I feel like I've been put in my place. Was she trying to tell us something all along?

Michael feels otherwise, but I'd hate to find out that our sweet cat Lily is causing the fuss. It's a possibility, we haven't ruled it out yet, but unlikely since Maggie hasn't always reacted this way and we've had Lily around the whole time. She loves animals too, wouldn't that be so sad?

Wish us luck and leave a comment if you have recommendations!

31

Today is my 31st birthday and I wanted to post this video my brother-in-law took of my niece Eden 1 year ago today. This needs to become a tradition!




Maggie and I have been watching this video over and over. Nerdy me, I actually had it on my list of things to do today. If I didn't get anything else done, I wanted to at least watch this once or twice to put a smile on my face and hers. Turns out Maggie doesn't want to take a nap today, which is very unusual but fine. It's just the two of us with the day free to do whatever we want and we're getting taken out to dinner by my dad!

It's a week's worth of celebrations when I didn't feel like celebrating my 31st this year. Go figure. Life is funny that way.

Thank you to all the people in my life that have left me a facebook post, sent a text, called me, mailed me a package or card, or treated me to something special already. You've all made my 31st pretty kick ass so far!

Appreciation for life



Tired eyes on the climb!

 This is a hard post to share because of the nature of the situation but I can't let it pass because it has affected me.

Yesterday hubby and I got back on our mountain bikes together, back to the same trail where we used to spend our early days falling in love with eachother and me with bikes (Michael was already in love with bikes way before I met him :-). We had family watch Maggie for the better part of the day so we set out to get a ride in after lunch. We were headed to one trail and then at the last minute opted for another that I knew would be a little easier on me, as I calculated it out afterwards but knew it in my mind all along - it'd been about 30 months since I did my last mountain bike ride. My last ride had been Downieville, first time I'd ever done that ride after hearing so much about it, and it was awesome. I fell kind of hard in a technical section, which pissed me off because I'd just seen a woman get through it, but all in all, it was a great ride with friends who we'd been camping with over the holiday weekend. I was a mess of hormones, as the following Monday I found out I was pregnant with Maggie. At that point, I was thankful to have done that ride as it looked like my life was about th change change:-)

Back to yesterday's ride - we parked, suited up, and headed out on the Clementine Loop, starting from the confluence. Michael knew something was off when we passed through the gate and it was open. I didn't notice. I did notice however the 4 or so police/State Parks vehicles parked up ahead on the trail with no one around. Michael scooted ahead of me and came across two packaged body bags (white with black zippers) on the trail. He moved them to the side and we proceeded slowly. It was then ahead that we saw a couple of the policemen and a few more down the embankment near the river. I remember at that moment looking up at the Foresthill Bridge, maybe Michael said something about it, and seeing groups of people staring down the 730 feet drop to where we stood. We were informed that someone had just jumped, committing suicide, landed right in front of where we stood, leaving a torso-sized imprint in the damp earth just to the side of the trail, and then tumbled down the embankment to the water from the force of the impact.

We think we rode up just after the police got there, so probably not too long after the incident actually happened. Michael tells me that it took about 20 seconds to happen, start to finish. 20 seconds to go from life to death. I gazed down by the water trying to make sense of the situation and saw the body of the young man that killed himself. I've never seen anything like this before and I felt calm, just taking it in and trying to get out of the way. Michael was ready to leave the scene and continue on the ride, saddened by the situation, and he eventually convinced me to move on...but I haven't stopped thinking about it since.

What is really wierd is that this happened about 2 minutes into our ride and so, for the rest of our ride, things felt surreal from what I'd just witnessed but I also felt grounded in what I was doing. I haven't given myself the chance to get in a good workout in ages and so I was doing something I used to do all the time and it felt so good to be alive and be doing this with someone I really cared about, knowing that our child was being well cared for at the same time. As I rode, I felt every rock and the damp firm soil under my knobby tires. I felt the resistence it created but also how easily I could maneveur around. It felt really natural.

What I had witnessed though put things in perspective right away and made me think about the value of life, what goes into nuturing life, and at the same time, wondering what that man who did this was thinking or living leading up to that choice. It boggles my mind. I am so grateful for what I have in my life and I am deeply saddened that there are people out there suffering so much that they end up making these choices.

By the time we finished our ride, the officials were cleaning up and leaving the scene. It began and ended during the time that our ride began and ended, at least from my point of view. I'm not sure what the meaning of this was, that we happened upon it like we did, but I am thankful for the time we had yesterday to get out and do something we loved together. I felt so alive, more so than I've felt in a long time, and I see this as an experience to show me how fragile life is and to not take it for granted ever.

Back to back

What October fun! Pumpkin patch (above) and Halloween nights. Went to Boo at the Zoo, where Maggie enjoyed a costume dance party and carousel ride (twice-once on the tiger with momma and once on the giraffe with daddy). 

Halloween day was spent visiting with family and trick-or-treating with neighbors. We had a great time. I had a ball getting into the kid-side of Halloween again.

Maggie totally picked up on t-o-t'ing right away and said the words to boot. She would stand for awhile in the doorway waiting for more candy to be dumped in her little plastic pumpkin and sometimes she would check out the inside of the houses, sometimes with dressed up dogs behind the owner which would really catch her attention. Michael found a few nawed pieces of candy on her lap and in her bucket through the night. She was the queen of lollipops and then "poof" - all of the candy disappeared after bedtime!

Sleeping hot

One of the differences between husband and wife in our household: body temperature.

With the temperatures dropping, I've added the down comforter to the bed. I love winter, but I hate being cold. So my solution is to always have a blanket, down comforter, sweater, fleece jacket, socks, and slippers on hand.

Michael hates the down comforter. He's not a fan of blankets. He sleeps with minimal wear and barely a sheet. And he wants the fan running all the time and no heater on. I'm on the other side of the bed with all the covers - inches thick up to my chin, with fllannel PJ pants and socks on.

This is one of those situations where we baffle eachother year after year. It makes me laugh. One thing I've noticed is that Maggie, very much like Michael in many ways, runs hot like he does. Go figure. I thought it was a girl thing.

Holy moly

Today is a suprise day at home. Maggie is the best kid a mom could ask for. Re-do playdate with a new friend and daughter Maggie's age at storytime. Babbling and eating snacks in the car. A calm lunch, no drama. Naptime for the kiddo. Relaxation for mom (reading, internet time, and listening to bluegrass).

Sunday was a blur. We headed out early in the morning to Half Moon Bay to visit the ocean and the pumpkin festival but I think about 10,000 other Northern Californian's had similar ideas. We made it within 3 miles of the seaside town and then turned around. Crazy it seems but it was going to be another hour in the car just to get there and park. We were hungry, had blown through the car snacks, and it was 1 pm. We thought we were going to be there by 11. I felt so many things in those moments before turning around...sorryness for Maggie being stuck in her seat so long, sorryness for myself because I was going nuts and felt like I had taken crazy pills, and sadness that I wasn't going to see the ocean because I really needed that mental release. I hated California in that moment for being so populated the City. We were in gridlock traffic much of our all-day drive. I think we made the best of it though and stopped for burgers and a run at the park in San Bruno. Large SF airport planes flew low and over our heads, Maggie excited by the noise and signing "airplane". The airplanes quickly became lost in the clouds. It was an unintentional road trip with no destination.

Once we hit home in the late afternoon, we picked up where we left off. A little dinner, playing and gardening outside in the damp grass with coats on. I was happy to see the rain arrive. The night before we enjoyed a fall dinner - pork chops with apple cider gravy, apples, and onions, spinach salad, mashed sweet potatoes with orange marmalade, and garlic bread. Red wine. Then apple crisp and ice cream for dessert using apples from my yearly trek to Apple Hill. Our neighbors enjoyed dinner with us and I was filled with joy being around good people and watching our kids love on eachother.

Last week Maggie kicked it up a notch. She had the biggest meltdown after leaving the park but it was delayed and caught me by suprise. It took me a few days to sort that out. As my sister puts it, another bunsen burner has been turned on inside dear little Maggie. Boy is this girl full of strong-willed personality and determination. It's awesome really. 

Maggie is now repeating any words or short phrases you throw at her. She is a ham and often cracks people up with her antics. We went to a wedding and she thankfully slept on my back in the ergo around dinner time after holding out all afternoon to nap, which then gave us the chance to stick around and see her dance.

Maggie has been falling a lot and is still putting things in her mouth that we don't want her to. It's just now she knows she isn't supposed to put that stuff in her mouth and makes a show of it. Michael thought she ate a little mushroom from the lawn. It was around bedtime. He looked for the mushroom cap and couldn't find it. I swear, those incidents happen so quickly, they never make sense in the end. We weren't sure if she ate it or what so after I put her to bed, I called poison control and had a nice chat. She never got sick but they gave us good advice and called us back twice to check on her. Amazing service, I was awed.

My parents have always told my sister and I the story of how I once collected lawn mushrooms in the backyard and gave them to my sister. She was a toddler and was cruising around the backyard in a walker with a tray. Mom was gone, dad was in charge. My dad assumed my sister ate one since they were on her tray and tried/or did make her throw up. Turns out, she didn't eat any mushrooms but I think that memory is seared in my dad's brain.

And last but not least, Michael and I went to a friend's bachelorette/bachelor party and played the best made up game ever. It was "internet speed dating" (since the couple met online) where each of us were given a secret persona to imitate and we speed dated with all of the party goers of the opposite sex. I was a "cougar". Not too far off from real life (ha ha). Not that I'm a cougar in real life, but I am a couple years older than hubby and I can't say I haven't been called that before. Hubby was a "pot smoker". I found that to be pretty funny because he is the opposite of one. I think he had fun with it and the party drinks helped. I found myself saying to the male speed daters: "Hey there, I've been watching you from across the room. Oh, you're retired? I'm not sure this is going to work, you're too old for me." I loved hearing all the aftermath once we were done, priceless. I can understand the draw to being an actress/actor, it's exciting to act like someone you're not.

Life is happening quickly. I don't have time to blog about all of it. I'm barely keeping my house clean, meals cooked, the laundry washed, the bank accounts balanced. Loving my family is my top priority. Knitting has taken a backseat temporarily I think. Reading and watching good shows has not. Anyone else in love with The Fabulous Beekman Boys and The Bucolic Plague?

Fall is here?

We felt it in Oregon, but I wasn't notified on any of my calendars. I was, however, kindly invited to enter the fall season at my knitting group last week. It still doesn't feel like fall but I'm stoked that it's here, it's my favorite season.

I want to post videos of Maggie but maybe they are too big for my blog? I need to upload them elsewhere and paste them in. I want to show Maggie imitating "cold". It makes you laugh every time. I know she started saying other words vaguely when she first starting talking, but I have to say that her favorite word is "shoe". She says it in her little voice and draws it out a bit. As we have a habit of leaving shoes everywhere around the house, she is pleasantly surprised when she comes across a pair of shoes. She always tries them on and parades around for a minute. She is really good at putting them on, even her flip-flops with the back strap (proud momma on that one). Last night we spent pre-bedtime in her room watching her go through her shoe drawer and her trying on one shoe after the next. It was entertaining. The last bit of the night was watching the potty training video I rented from the library. It was classic. She was glued to the skit, I mean really glued. I'm wondering how it's going to play out this week...

Random thoughts-

Take videos and pictures of your kids constantly. I was told to do this and we have, but I never really thought Maggie would change as much as she has or that I would forget all of the priceless things you want to remember.

I don't blog about everything in my life. I definitely pick and choose what I want to share but I can say that I share what I think is most interesting and relevant to my life. For the most part, I like talking about Maggie the most but also some of my pursuits outside of mothering.

I've been feeling lately that life is mysteriously beautiful.

Peanut

Maggie is a peanut. People are amazed at how nimble she is. She climbs over everything and isn't afraid of much. She loves to pull out her shoes and socks and put them on (except sometimes she is adamant about not putting on socks). The peanut part: she weighs around 20 pounds. Tiny little lady. It worries me sometimes but I know she is healthy. She eats a lot, drinks a lot, sleeps really well, has good dipes, and plays a lot. Here is the funny thing. She's got these long stick legs and size 6 feet. Her lita got her a new pair of mary jane shoes (cutest I've seen yet!) that are sturdy and have the look of adult dansko's. Imagine that on Maggie, it's a good laugh. Especially when we hear her clomping down the hall, either in her shoes or mine.

She is talking a lot and forming sentences where you think "did she really say that?" For the most part, yes. But she goes stoic around others, especially if she doesn't know them. She gets such a serious face. She was absolutely not willing to smile or move a muscle in the pediatrician's office. I had fun watching this different side of her.

We love this girl.

Solo

-Solo this weekend, almost over. Sleeping in bed alone and having the days/house to myself is nice and peaceful, but we miss DH!

-Mags was grumpy and cranky this weekend, boo. I'm getting tired of screaming fits. Are terrible twos starting early?

-3 hour naps rock.

-Piece of yesterday: I bought a bridal shower gift at Macys and was headed down the escalator with a stroller, purse, kid in my arms, and big shopping bag that was too small for what was inside. On the way down the escalator the bag crashed and burned. I watched in resignation and horror as the white bath towels were thrown out of the bag and scrunched up at the end of the escalator in all the black grease that keeps the escalator running smoothly. I wasn't really suprised this happened and couldn't do anything about it as it was happening, but jeez. Deep breath...then back up to the 3rd floor. It all ended well - the saleswoman helping me was grandma-age and very sweet with Maggie. She never gave me the look and I've gotten the look before due to cranky child. She exchanged the greasy towel, wiped off  grease on another package, told me where to find the elevator (duh!), and gave me a bigger bag so that I could actually carry it all out.  

-Ready for my own weekend away.

-Scored good finds yesterday. Library book sale and garage sales near my house. Maggie was excited to see this in her backyard (not the bucket :-). Someone also gave me a Trader Joe's reusable shopping bag, TJ's insulated cooler, and J Crew crochet granny square purse for free.

-I really hate flies buzzing around the house.

-Maggie was a champ today at the bridal shower. It was just what I needed. Thank you little one!

Like

*After trying multiple mascaras over the past month to see if my obsession with Aveda could be swayed, I found that it could not. I recommend this mascara to every girl out there. It does not come off during the day and it is not waterproof, so when you do want it to come off, it does really easily. That, and it's environmentally-friendly.

*I've read some really good books lately, see my sidebar. Best one yet? I'm going to have to say The Mermaid Chair by the same author who wrote The Secret Life of Bees. This is saying a lot because How to Make an American Quilt was really good but it lacked depth when I wanted more.

*After cancelling netflix earlier this year and resorting to the occasional Redbox, I realized I could start checking out DVDs from the library too (like older ones I can't get through Redbox). They don't have everything, but they have a lot. I'm also checking out CD's now. Very cool.

*Consignment stores of any kind. My two local favorites are Kids Trading Post and Marla Sue's.

*Coupons. Who doesn't like to save money?

Good stuff

I was touched by this story a few weeks ago as I was driving to work. Make sure to listen to the story, don't just read it.

Just returned from a really great vacation in Bend, Oregon. Pictures and highlights to come. It was a stretch for our family to go but we made it work and it was exactly what we needed and more. The week prior to leaving was a mess, one thing on top of another. I needed time away. I think all of us needed time away.

I feel so good now, ready to take whatever comes. I felt inspired waking up one morning in Oregon thinking I needed to start jogging again and ultimately run a half marathon as my goal. I've done a triathlon, 5k runs, mountain bike races...now I might shoot for this. It seems pretty achievable. It's something I can train for with Maggie if need be and jogging is something I've always liked to do since I was a teenager. I haven't put much time into regular exercise since I became preggers with Maggie and now it just feels like a good time to get back to something. 

Witnessed butterflies mating today in the garden. New one for me. Quite pretty. Maggie is drawn to bees (can you see the one caught flying in the picture?). They are in serious numbers right now enjoying the basil flowers. Maggie has been stung once and she was out there today just staring while bees zoomed around us. I repeatedly told her "hurt" so that she could understand what pinching a bee will do to her. She did understand and pulled her hand away but she still stands there staring. This is one part of loving being a parent - being able to teach but also just standing by watching a young mind take shape on it's own.

Something else ate most of my winter plantings while we were out of town. Grrr...

Apples and lemons

Our fuji apple tree I've posted about here dropped an apple this week. An insect had tasted a bit of it before we got to it, but most of it was delicious! I have a good memory of a huge apple tree in the backyard of a house I lived in up until kindergarden in San Jose. My great grandma was living with our family during that time and I remember her making chunky apple sauce with apples from that tree. Maybe that's what was in the back of my mind when we picked out her fruit tree. The fact that Maggie tried the first apple from the tree planted to celebrate her birth and life is perfect in my book.

As we pick our apples this fall, our lemon tree is gearing up for winter. I wish I saw blood oranges on the other tree, but nope, just lots of bright green new growth. We have lots of little green lemons and we're excited to watch them grow. Maggie was pointing to them, so she's taken notice. Michael is worried she will pick them before they are ready. On this note, our cherry tomato plants in the garden were a great tool for teaching ripe v.s. not ripe. For the most part Maggie got it right by picking ripe tomatoes but we made it tricky for her by planting yellow, red, and heirloom cherry tomatoes (the heirlooms are a beautiful mix of magenta/pink/green-they totally threw me off at first). Every now and then we find an unripe green one in her hands. A couple times I've been gardening and have lost track of her for a minute or two. It's unusually quiet, that's when I know to go looking. Then I find the evidence of where she has been and it makes me smile...a tomato seed or two have dripped onto her shirt. I love this girl.

Almost there

Sweet Maggie,

You are almost to another milestone -18 months old. You will always be my baby, but you are a little girl to most now. Your hair keeps lightening and is a mess of honey-blonde curls with tight ringlets in the back. We're not sure whether to give you a haircut or let it keep growing. You have beautiful skin like your dad. I love touching your soft skin, being close to you, and smelling your smells.

You are talking a lot but are kind of shy about it sometimes. Words you've said: papa, fish, shoe, mo (for more), nana, mama, dada, uh-oh, whoa, and more that you are working on. New words every week. You love using certain signs: more, milk, airplane, and fish.

You like to perform and get attention around friends and family. You love to dance and have funny hops, sideways walking, chin on your chest moves. Daddy lets you walk around with his Ipod playing your music and you love it, you look pretty groovy for such a young one. You love animals, squirrels are your fancy right now. It was horses a couple weeks ago. Your toy dog Howie just got a sister/girlfriend named Pinky.

You are long and lean. 18 month tops fit you, but not most bottoms. You have big feet and are moving into a size 6.

You do best on a routine. You take one 2-hr nap a day. You have an early bedtime at 7 and sleep through most nights. Your early rising in the morning is often hard on mom and dad.

You have been expressing interest in potty training, going #1 once and #2 once on your own. You like to sit on the adult toilet, not your toddler toilets, for a long time with a smile on your face and you tell me when you are done. You love using toilet paper and wipes.

You have a little play teacup that you like to fill up with water and drink from. You are big helper and you like to throw away trash. We think thats how we lost our remote control. You are imitating everything we do. Daddy has a cuss can so that he can clean up his language around you :-)

You are a great eater. No more baby puree, just finger foods. You love cheese, meat, peas, beans, blueberries, and watermelon to name a few. You are doing pretty good with the spoon.

You love swimming. People are amazed at how fearless you are with swimming and other things. You love to roll around in the water and dip your head under water. It always gives you a big burst of energy!

You get really excited about seeing certain people - cousin Eden, our neighbors - and your eyes light up when I tell you we are going to see grandparents.

Your dad is head over heels about you. After you go to sleep each night, he talks about how much he loves his little Maggie. We are really enjoying being your parents. It's amazing to watch you grow.

Luvs,

momma

Tomato humor

2 jokes for today:

Why did the tomato go out with the prune?

Because he couldn't find a date!


How do you fix a broken pizza?

With tomato paste!

Weeks in pictures

State Fair finale

Day in the Life

You know you are having a great day when everything just falls into place. Hubby stayed in with the kiddo twice this week so that I could go out and enjoy some time with friends. So, today he was home doing his thang and I stayed busy with the Magster. We had a suprise visit from his dad and I captured a nice moment, father and son style. The funniest thing happened this morning. Maggie woke up early, which is normal, and we often try to entice her to fall asleep for another hour or so if we bring her into our bed. After doing this and her fussing around a bit, in my half-sleep state I felt her sliding off our tall bed, which she needs help to get off of, but intead of waking up and walking off she layed on the carpet and put her head on the pillow on the floor. It was so trippy. She slept like that for almost a couple more hours.

We hit up Harvest Day at our local horticultural center/community garden. I had Maggie on my back in the ergo and we tasted a variety of grapes and tomatoes grown there. It's an awesome site, with an orchard full of ripe fruit, native/Mediterranean plantings in full bloom, and lots of vegi plants. I picked up some plants for our own garden that are hard to find. Romanesco, dwarf pomegranate, lemongrass, dinasour kale, and other fun ones. You should have seen me leaving, it was a sight. Toddler on my back whining, a full tray of plants in front, and bags hanging off of me. In the same area is our library and we scored lots of books before we left. Maggie is always drawn to the kid computers, not the toys or books. The little girl next to her was being such a sport.

After a few afternoon beers with the boys, some much needed grocery shopping, and a dinner made up of homemade pesto over asparagus ravioli, sauteed brussel sprouts, chicken sausage, garden bruchetta on ciabiatta, and white wine, I'm one happy girl.

Now off to do more laundry and maybe throw some chocolate chip cookies in the oven...

Random thoughts

I wish I could slash a line, like I would on one of my incessant lists, through a couple of the books I started and then stopped reading this year. Neither of these I ended up caring for: Circling My Mother and A Year in the World (both picked up from Friends of the Library for a $1 or so, no loss there). They are going back into goodwill circulation soon. I gave Circling My Mother a chance because it looked interesting but it was quite boring. A Year in the World is one of Frances Mayes newer books (remember Under the Tuscan Sun?) so I thought it would be good but it was hard to stick with. I found her to be a little full of herself. Maybe due to her fame as an author now? It's too bad because the places she goes are interesting in themselves but I had a hard time joining her on her journey. The cover of the book is attractive though.

I'm thankful for state furloughs again. I know many state workers would love a full paycheck, but I also know many of them got used to Fridays off and like having more free time. It just means Maggie gets to be with daddy again and it gives me more peace inside.

Some days I feel left behind, in the "I'm a parent now and have to put my family first" v.s. "I used to be able to get up and go whenever I wanted and it was a breeze" way of thinking. None of the getaways I had imagined for this summer are panning out. It's fine of course because there is always fun stuff to do (and relaxing at home is one of those fun things) but life has taken a different path and I'm adjusting.

I want to make white gazpacho this weekend, which will use up my cucumbers. I'm a gazpacho fan since growing up and enjoying my Aunt Kris's recipe (which she wrote down from her college years in Spain). It's the tomato version though, so this will be interesting...blanched almonds, green grapes... Hubby is not a fan of cold soups. I hope he eats his share of bruschetta and crusty bread this weekend. We have a load of tomatoes in our kitchen. I was so pleased to pick four beautiful heirloom tomatoes about a week ago, I've never had good luck with those. We have more on the way among all of the other tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and herbs.

Iced lattes are the perfect "keep it together" drink in summer with a kid in tow. One of my favorite stops is a coffee hut near our house. I drove up this week, on my way to lunch with a friend, ordered my drink and asked for a mini drink for Maggie. Just ice water, but I could tell when it was handed to her through the window that she felt special. There has been a lot of grunting when she wants a sip of momma's drink and sometimes it results in tears when she can't have the sip. Once she catches on, she might just need a steamer or some chocolate milk.

Chip

Maggie has a new nickname. Poor girl...even though she has mastered walking, she has been trying to go a little faster, pumping her arms, and letting her feet get ahead of her.

Maggie chipped her front tooth. Not bad, but it's jagged and the hour before bedtime was filled with crying, a bit of panic, and blood. In the moment that it happened, Michael scooped her up and grabbed the chip on the back patio. I've saved it and added it to her baby memories.

I'm going to have her checked out, but from what I hear, there's not much to do about a chipped baby tooth. Did it have to be in the front though? She's not even 2!

Mourning

Don't worry, it's nothing too serious. I'm just mourning the end of the Tour. It ended Sunday night and it was like dropping a friend off at the airport. I'm a Lance fan and it was great to see him out there and finish this year, but like they said, he did not have lady luck with him in his last year at the Tour. I enjoyed his interviews though, he has a funny sense of humor.

I quickly became a fan of Andy Schleck as he and Alberto Contador went head to head on the climbs. He didn't win overall this year but I'm excited to see what next year holds. Favorite commercial, see here. I'm also a fan of Tyler Farrar, a sprinter, and I'd love to see him beat Mark Cavendish one day.

I caught almost every day of the Tour and appreciated Versus looping the coverage every few hours. Very convienent when you have a life and don't have a DVR. We spent many nights over the past month watching the stages and they were all exciting. For a couple of cycling lovers (even though my getting out on a bike these days means hooking my bike up to the chariot and riding around the neighborhood), this is by far the best televised sporting event all year.

Humbug

We embarked on our first camping trip a couple weekends ago and what I hoped was going to be a ton of fun turned out to be a ton of work. Hubby says I have a "unicorns in the sky" way of thinking and I suppose I do, but come on, can't I look forward to getting away anymore? There were bits of fun interspersed with all of the parenting moments that left me exhausted by the end of of the weekend. Then came Monday, a week of hormones, followed by a cold on Friday, which Maggie caught and has carried on to today.

I need a break.

I've been wondering whether it's worth it to go anywhere besides home with a kiddo this age. Then I think I'm weak sauce compared to the other families we see out there with more than 1 kid.

We subjected our friend Ken to our "family fun". From the looks of it, he doesn't seem to have suffered too much.

He brought dark chocolate covered pretzel bark to share. I think Maggie enjoyed it.

It was nice to spend time with our friends, escape the heat, be in the mountains and smell all of the wonderful alpine smells, and see Maggie have a great time exploring. We heard lots of singing and talking to herself while she puttered around.

Maggie on the go

Michael and Maggie in rigged baby tube

Me knitting (gasp!) during her nap

I admit to liking being in control, making lists to stay organized, and all that jazz, but I also love spontaneity. Travelling with a toddler + spontaneity isn't a great combination. Bummer. So I try to be prepared as I can be but then one thing leads to another and I'm thrown for a loop. My friend Jessie said that she just looks at it this way: she expects the worst and then when the experience isn't the worst, it actually had tidbits of fun and was better than expected, she is pleasantly suprised. Oh jeez!

One thing is for sure. I've hit my 30's and I definitely need a good night's sleep. Maybe it's the fact that I'm a parent to a toddler and need a good night's sleep to keep up with her and not lose my marbles by the end of the day. Either way, I need a functioning aerobed (not one that has such a slow/small leak that you can't find it but by the wee hours of the morning it's 3/4th's deflated but I wait a few more hours trying to get some sleep trying not to move a muscle so that I don't wake the baby and the whole time I really had to pee) or I need a $100 3.5 inch camping thermarest to get me through the next few years of sleeping on the ground. Even better, how about we spring for one of those camping trailers everyone and their mom complains about? Those look just about my style these days. I'm starting to see why people do what they do, no matter how ridiculous it may seem. 10 years ago, I scoffed at so many of these things. Now I'm swallowing my words. You really can't judge until you've lived a day in another persons shoes.

Next time we go camping, I'm bringing new toys. I'm looking for the element of surprise. Bubbles, tonka truck, you get the idea. I'm pre-cooking her food and I'm not going to let her OD on fruit or juice. That only leads to suprise moments at the lake.

In other words, I'm going to be more prepared. See you later spontaneity. Ugh.

Ken wants to plan another camping trip so that makes me think it wasn't that bad but then again, he's not the mom. But it makes me realize I need to loosen up and lower my expectations. I know Michael is smiling right now.