Toast 2 Mom

Splash!

Hey, guess what?! I have a way to add video to my blog now! See below link for the first video post!

So, sure it's almost the Fourth of July. That means it's pretty hot just about everywhere in the U.S....from each person's own perspective. Our first summer in Texas is proving to have its own definitionof hot. We've been sitting in the 100's every day for well over three weeks now. The other day we picked Daddio up from the airport and it was 106. I said, "pretty much after it hit 100, I haven't noticed a difference from 101 to 108.

The good news is we've been taking full advantage of the swimming pool. Our once timid little minnow is developing into quite the nautical princess. She went from not even wanting to get her face wet about six months ago to going underwater, kicking like crazy, jumping in the water and just start wanting to dive!

To see a little clip of our most recent splash, check out the link below!

Click here for the big splash!

A morning climb...

Father's day would not have been complete in our household without a trip to the rocks. Daddio is a big rock climber (and a fine one at that). The girls and I gathered our gear for a morning trip to the seismic wall. It's a nice little wooded path down to the climbing area. Daddio had lots of assistance today.

 

Happy Father's Day to all the Daddios I know...!

A Thoughtful Interview

OK I'm no Barbara Walters, but I have been wanting to interview my three year old recently and see what are her favorites and interests. This would be WAY more interesting to have this conversation video-taped. However, Mama needs a new camcorder to make that happen. Because the thoughts of a three year old go by very, very quickly, the following is not verbatim - not a chance I could capture it all. However, here's a glimpse at the interests of my Sweet Syd...today anyway.

What is your favorite thing to eat? Ice cream - strawberry, chocolate chip and chocolate with sprinkles and marshmallows.

What's your favorite color? Pink marshmallow.

What is your favorite show? Ariel.

Who is your favorite princess? Ariel the mermaid (Duh, I know, dumb question, Mommy).

What do you want to be when you grow up? A mermaid....no, a fairy.

What is your favorite animal? A cat.

What do you like to do for fun? Work on the computer and do lots of fun stuff with Mommy like sing and work on my letters and play ball and go to the park.

What is your favorite number? Counting to 10 with my Daddy.

What is the best thing about having a sister? Loving her and watching shows with her.

What is your favorite thing to do? Swim in the pool.

What is your favorite thing to drink? Juice.

Do you like dresses or skirts? Dresses.

Do you like headbands or clippies? Clippies with hearts on them.

Do you like pizza or hot dogs? Hot dogs.

Do you like swinging or sliding? Swinging.

And then the interview abruptly ended because she was done. :)

Attention...please!

We have an ongoing challenge in our household; there is not enough attention to go around. I become more and more convinced that my Sydney will grow up and become an actress. When she is not requesting, "watch me," "watch this," or "look at me," she is providing me with a script detailing how I am to interact with her current performance.

"OK, Mommy. I'm going to crawl out from under the table and meow. Then you're going to say, 'awwww, there's my little baby kitten. Where have you been?'"

And if Mommy doesn't get the script right, or tries to improvise, we do it over again (and again) until I get it just right.

Probably the biggest challenge with our little thespian is her need to steal the spotlight away from her sister, especially when Daddio comes home from work. Eyes light up when the Daddio walks through the door - not just one set of eyes, but two sets of eyes. Sydney is trying to work her self by showing Daddio all the art work and projects she did for the day. Cheekers is trying to play "row-row" and the "spin around the room" game. The battle for attention never ends up being as cute as the battle began.

We struggle to find the balance between appreciating enthusiam and taking turns. The good news about this whole attention thing is we get to see a LOT of creativity (and it entertains us so). The bad news is, we just aren't a big enough audience. Maybe someday the spotlight will grow?

Will she be a runner or a climber?

Daddio is the most eager to know which one it'll be... Sydney is a very fast runner, we believe, for her age. She's not really into the climbing thing. (That may be more Natty's gig?) If you asked Syd her preference sport, she'd say dance. Though she's kind of making a close second out of swimming these days. We'll see... Or the girls will be like Mommy, in no sport, in the band and work on the yearbook committee! :)

 

It's a given...

It's now approaching my bedtime. I go to sleep later than I used to. My day with the kids and most house chores (as many as I care to do anyway) roughly ends around 9:30 p.m. I tend to do a bit of work on the computer, like a blog for instance, or emails. Then I resign to the couch. 

When I was working outside of the home, I went to bed around 10:30 at the latest. Now I end up staying up getting sucked into whatever is on television to "clear my mind". This results in me staying up until probably 11:30, sometimes midnight or after. This is all fine and dandy until my morning wake-up call.

Every morning. come 7:12 a.m., I hear the door open, then thump, thump, thump down the hall and into our room. First Sydney goes to Daddio's side of the bed. Some mornings she crawls in for about five minutes. Most mornings she crawls in for two minutes. Then I hear, "I'm going to go talk to Mommy now."

Around to my side, a lift of the pillow that is placed nicely over my head to block out the light and the same question every single morning, "Mommy I'm thirsty and hungry. Can you go downstairs and get me some juice and some Cheerios and then can you put on a little show for me....please...."

Every day, the same time, the same order, the same question... it's a given.

Ladies Night

Mommy had a date last night...with three beautiful girls - no, none of them my girls, but some new friends!

One of the things I was excited and nervous about moving to a new city was to meet new people. In Omaha I worked full time outside of the home. It was very challenging for me to make connections with people that had a similar work/home life scenario that I had. I often wished that I had opportunities to make new friends but meeting new people and making new friends after college is probably harder than dating.

After we moved here to our new home, I took some time to research some options for involvement. I knew one of the things I wanted to enroll Sydney in was dance. She was eager to put on those dance shoes. She began classes in January.

The dance studio is very small. It has two couches in the lobby and a bench. This is where is all began. Six moms, in a dance studio, all with a child or two in the class, some with kids in the lobby. We have one hour together a week to discuss it ALL - sleeping, eating, nursing, organic, injuries, pregnancy, illness, education, travel, backgrounds, husbands, interests, you name it. After several weeks of cramming ourselves into the studio, we decided the Moms need to hit the town sans kids.

Four of us joined up last night at a fantastic sushi restaurant. We all got gussied up - lipstick, earrings, and no ponytails! It was a lot of fun to hang out, drink wine, enjoy some great food with some great, funny, interesting women. I have not had a girl's night in quite some time. I can't wait for the next outings!

(And thanks Daddio for the night off! :)