4.28.2011

Sesame Street

Violet loves Sesame Street. In fact, as much as we have the tv on (because that's just the kind of rotten parents we are, sorry) Elmo and Co is the only thing Violet will actually stop and devote her attention to.

Violet is trying to physically climb into Elmo's World.

Her favorite segment is definitely Elmo's World. In fact, I'm wondering if I should go out and buy her an Elmo doll, seeing how much she loves him. I often find myself singing the theme song (la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, Elmo's World!) to distract Violet or cheer her up.

But there is one feature of Elmo's World that Violet decidedly does not like: Mr. Noodle.


I'm not exactly sure why... One of the first time's she saw him, he was wearing a snorkel and flippers, and the poor girl freaked. Since then, she does a little frightened whine and backs away whenever he appears (might not be a bad thing, considering how close she gets to the tv!) I guess I can't really blame her... he's a bit of a crazy.

4.27.2011

In My Easter Bonnet

Well, someone likes her Easter hat!

Such a ham. Easter ham!

Yet another egg hunt.

Hands are full. Guess the egg hunt is over!

Happy family, Easter Sunday.
After going to church Saturday night (mixed feelings on celebrating Easter one day early) we hosted our families for lunch and an egg hunt. Everyone brought something delicious and the grandmas promptly took over the kitchen, much to my delight. We feasted and feasted some more, then took Violet out in her Easter bonnet (aka Dollar Tree hat) for an egg hunt with the neighbors.

Violet hunting eggs is hilarious. She picks one up, good. Then finds another, excellent. But now her hands are full. And she refuses to let go of the first eggs in order to collect any others. When she spots another, she just gets confused. The grandmas did a good job of getting her to throw the eggs in a basket, and then I would promptly take them out and hide them all over again for her. Never ending fun!

4.26.2011

Birds in the 'Burbs

Getting so big!
Birds in our wreath update! They're still alive! And growing! And I have no idea how four of them are managing to cram in there these days! I tell you what, there's not a lot of room for mama. All through Easter lunch, I saw a blur going back and forth across the window, a busy mama out collecting food for her brood. Also, our front door is definitely going to have to be scrubbed/repainted once these Goodfeathers move out!

Whenever we arrive home from school, the birds (not just these ones, every bird in the neighborhood) are in full chorus. So each day I ask Violet if she hears the birds singing. Dutifully she repeats "buh" and then I make little chirping, tweeting noises to help her connect "buh" to the sounds we're hearing.

Yesterday when I got her out of the car, she beat me to it. "Buh!" she said before I even had her seatbelt off. Yes, birds, I agreed. Then she started making a noise I've never heard before, something like a high-pitched "tea... tea..." The girl was tweeting! Ha! She's so smart.

4.25.2011

Hidden Genius

I was reading The Runaway Bunny to Violet the other night and at each full-color page, I asked her to point to the bunny. She nailed every one! Even the abstract pictures where the bunny is a tree or hidden in the clouds.

Can you find the bunny?

Impressive! Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yep, Mensa Society.

Of course, the next day she discovered the joys of eating dirt, so maybe we shouldn't rush into anything. (And like a good mom, I had to grab a camera to capture the moment before rushing to dig the dirt out of her mouth. All in good time, my friends.)

Mmm, dirt...

Wait, this isn't Oreo...?
Ah, I meditate on the finer tastes in life.

The Runaway Bunny illustrations copyright Clement Hurd

4.23.2011

4.20.2011

Double Your Fun?

I read an article the other day that purported to have the magic number and gender combination of children to make the perfect family. Any guesses as to what it is?

Many people would probably say a boy and a girl, one of each, makes for a well-balanced, happy family. Actually, it's what I would say. 

But according to the survey conducted, the ideal family is actually composed of two daughters! The reasons include that two girls are "rarely noisy," they "help around the house," and "really like each other".

A boy and girl came in second, while two boys is the third most perfect setup. But if you're a glutton for punishment, you'll be hoping for four girls, the least favorable sibling combination. Four girls are trouble because you'll obviously have to "buy a bigger house," they will "take ages getting ready for school," and you can expect them to "fight and argue all the time".

Growing up for the majority of our lives, it was just my brother and me, and I think we were a pretty happy family. What about you? Any readers come from a family of four girls? Are sisters best? Rather have boys?

A boy would be fun, but I'd double this trouble any day!

4.18.2011

On the Hunt

Violet went to her first Easter egg hunt in the neighborhood and met the Easter bunny!

Finding her first egg! (She would go on to find this same egg several more times... we believe in recycling around here.)

Helping dad with the egg stash.

Carefully examining her find.

Sorting through the loot.

Enjoying the magic show. (Girlfriend was convinced the applause was for her.)

Here, mom, have an egg!

Sweet girl.

4.17.2011

Hatched



Guess what finally hatched in the front door wreath!

4.15.2011

At Home with Violet



So here's an update from pink eye central. The only pink spotted today is what you see on Violet's shirt (and all the cherry blossoms this wind advisory is intent on hurling to the ground behind our house). I thought pink eye was supposed to turn your eyes red... Violet's seem pretty normal to me. We've done a few rounds of antibiotic drops and they are doing their job.

So here's the thing about staying home with Violet. I just don't have the rhythm for it. I don't know how stay at home moms do it - maybe it takes a while to get into a routine? Here's how our day has gone so far: Violet insists I play with her. She follows me around as I attempt to get stuff done and cries if I move too fast. Finally I give up and devote myself 100 percent to her. We have fun and play for a while, and I manage to put in a load of laundry by pretending it's a game and giving her a snack (can't go in the laundry room/pantry (aka: snack repository) without coming out with some "nak! nak!" Bribery at its finest).

Violet insists on going outside. Which we do. Until I'm tired of it, but she is not. We come back inside, she wants out again. We go out again, since she refuses to do anything in the house except whine and point out the window and say "owdide wodide shuff shuff" which I translate into "take me outside, dern it, what kind of an idiot are you?" Because I'm tired and lazy, I finally put her on our porch swing and we have fun sitting and swinging until she decides it's "nigh nigh" and I jump on that cue and march her straight upstairs to her crib. She must have been legitimately tired (despite the fact that if she were at school today, not only would she have gotten up 30 minutes earlier, she wouldn't be due for her nap for another hour and a half - apparently I bore her) because she goes down without a fuss, one paci in her mouth and another clutched in her grubby little fist (because I didn't stop to wash her hands - I barely got her shoes off before I tiptoed myself out of there).

Now, I'm tired. I have a headache. All I want to do is sit and watch some DVRed American Idol and have my own "nak", but what do I do instead? I run around like a crazy woman, trying to take advantage of my kid-free time. I sweep the kitchen/sunroom floor, speed clean a bathroom, do some dust bustering, manage to get the clothes from washer to dryer, before finally grabbing a piece of bread with nutella and flopping into the chair to write this blog, one ear nervously perked up for sounds of Violet's awakening. I still desperately need to dust the living room, but it's suddenly very difficult to pull myself to my feet. And I know that as soon as this blessed nap is over, I'm going to be on again, the multi-tasking mom, cook, entertainer, housekeeper... And I'm only doing this for one day! Seriously, how do other SAHMs handle it?

And slightly off topic - I'm loving seeing how you're answering the poll! Sounds like most of you so far fall into my camp - once we find a good book, we'll read it over and over. If you haven't weighed in, jump on it! (And so far I'm relieved to report that all of you know how to read!) Also, I gained three new followers after yesterday's little pity party/plea. Welcome, friends! Hi Joyce and Jeanette! Keep 'em coming, folks, or I'll be forced to bore you with another request/demand/pathetic beg!

4.14.2011

Ay-ay-ay!

Or as I should have put it, eye-eye-eye. Violet and I will be staying home from school tomorrow because she has come down with (ba-dum-crshhh - that's the cymbal noise, duh) pink eye. I got the call after work today and while I tried to play it off like it was just her infected tear duct again, the pediatrician took one look and cheerily said "yep, looks like pink eye to me!" Which means no day care tomorrow, and therefore no work for me. Hello early weekend, it's so nice to meet you!

(The pediatrician, not our usual doc, also said there was no reason for Violet to still have clogged ducts and made me feel rather silly for not having the surgery done already, so I guess I'll be putting that on my to-do list here. And no, I don't mean to say that I felt pressured about it at all... it just confirmed what I've been slowly starting to realize.)

Staying home with Mommy? Aw yeah!

In other, random news, I put a new poll up on the blog. This one is unrelated to Violet or children in general, but I'm still rather interested in what you guys think. Personally, I'm the type of girl who rereads books. If I find a good one, not only am I oddly compelled to own a copy so I can display it on my shelf in a self-righteous manner (no Kindle for me! Paper all the way!), but I also will pick that same book up maybe a year, maybe a decade later and savor it all over again. But I know some people who never read a book twice. Which type are you?

One Day (Vintage Contemporaries Original)Speaking of books, I finished One Day (Vintage Contemporaries Original) about three days after I first blogged about it. SO. GOOD. If you don't remember, this book follows two characters through life, devoting each chapter to the same date, another year later. It took me exactly one chapter to get into the characters and voices, and then I was hooked. Sometimes British novels make me nervous because they seem to be trying so hard to sound all English and proper, dropping their slang and inside jokes. But this one didn't have that problem at all. At the end of each chapter I would eagerly turn the page to find out what happened next, forgetting that an entire year was about to flash by in the turn of a page. I'd start reading again, becoming instantly overjoyed or disappointed at where the characters had brought themselves over the year. And that's what makes good characters in my opinion - when they things they do make you so mad, or cause you to wish you could take them to a bar and laugh yourselves silly together. But as Reading Rainbow would say, "You don't have to take my word for it..."

And finally, my dear husband asked me the other day why I don't have more blog followers. I told him it's because you lurkers won't take the plunge and sign up. So if that's you (ahem, yes YOU) do me a solid and hit the follow button so Matt will actually believe that someone other than flesh and blood relatives read this thing. Sorry to beg. I feel weird asking and it's usually why I don't. But hey, the count has been stagnant for a while so I guess it doesn't hurt to drop an oh-so subtle hint hint. Alright, groveling over, back to your business folks. Nothing to see here!

4.08.2011

Serenity Be

The Inn at Serenbe, a renovated farmhouse and our B&B.
Well, our first night away from Violet was a fabulous success! Here's to many more in the future! But for right now, allow me to take you on a little tour of Serenbe. We dropped Violet off at her Mimi's in the early afternoon and headed off on our mini-vacay. I have to say, it wasn't so bad leaving her in the care of her wonderful grandmas... I knew Violet would be well entertained and cared for. Plus, leaving her every day while I head off to work has helped when it comes to working through our goodbyes. Anyway, in about 30 minutes, we had arrived at Serenbe and checked into our room. It was so cute! The best part was the huge window seat (seriously, I could have slept right there) with a beautiful view of the grounds.

My favorite feature - the window seat! Great for reading and relaxing before dinner.
Once we were all checked in, we decided to take a tour of the town. We stopped in a few shops and then headed into the greenspace that Serenbe is surrounded by and known for. The beautiful path you see below was just steps from the center of town, although it was so peaceful and serene, you wouldn't know it. The weather was perfect, all blue skies and cool breezes. After we wandered around enough, we headed back towards the town and bought some snacks at the Blue Eyed Daisy bakeshop, just enough to hold us over until dinner.

Exploring.

In town.

Pomegranate or clementine - it was hard to pick a favorite!
Once back at the Inn, we enjoyed afternoon tea on the wide porch that wraps around the building. Beyond the white picket fence is a private pool, and our room overlooked these same grounds.

The porch in the afternoon.

We wanted to explore a bit more before dinner, so we walked around the farm and stopped to visit with the animals, including two precious lambs named Pearl and Phil. We found our way to the labyrinth, which I thought was going to be a crazy maze of hedges like in The Shining, but which turned out to be a stone meditation garden. As you walk in, you are supposed to think about whatever problem is weighing on your mind that you need help with, as by the time you make it to the center stones, you should have your answer. To be honest, it was hard for anything to weigh heavily on my mind in a place as relaxing as Serenbe (the name is a combination of Serenity and Be, hello!) but it was cool to realize that when you sit on the center stones, your conversation has an echo. Perhaps we are meant to listen to that voice  inside ourselves?

The labyrinth. Find your way to the middle and listen for the echo.

Ah, vacation!
The rest of our stay included a scrumptious dinner (and breakfast) at the Farmhouse restaurant, which featured many ingredients grown right on the farm, and a hayride around the property to feed the animals (including Pearl and Phil, who were more excited to see their bottles of milk than Violet ever was!)

It was a wonderful little get-away, and as much as I missed my little girl... I didn't. I knew she was in good hands, and I was able to really relax and let my mind have a little vacation from the usual mom worries. We realized, however, that Serenbe is actually a great place for families. There were probably 15 kids staying on the property, ranging from a few months to five or six years old, and they were having a blast helping feed the horses and lambs and running around exploring the different tree houses on the grounds. We even hatched the idea of taking Violet on a return visit (when she's a little older and can really participate in everything). But it was a nice luxury to be on our own for once, and here's hoping the grandmas are up to babysitting again in the future!

Bathtime Nonsense



Violet loves bath time. But not, apparently, her mommy.

4.07.2011

Paint by Number

So I said I wanted to paint the bedroom over spring break. And success is ours! It only took two days and five different paint samples spread over three separate trips to Home Depot to fulfill this spring break promise of finally, finally painting our master bedroom. But all good things are worth the effort. Here's how it went down:

Our goal was a bluish-gray slatey color. Our original three samples colors (see below) were Arrowhead Lake (my original fav), Americana (in case Arrowhead dried too dark and ominous) and Regatta Bay (figured we'd hate it but wanted something really different to contrast).

Who names these things, anyway?
Well, it turned out that we did indeed hate Regatta Bay, Americana reminded us of a boy's nursery, and Arrowhead was just a little too purple. Sigh. Back to the drawing board. Perusing Home Depot's fine collection of color, I was a little freaked out by the purplish-ness of everything after our first failed attempt. Our previous samples had scarred me - I no longer trusted my own judgment. It didn't help that everything look so different once slapped on our walls. Every wall. Our bedroom was starting to resemble a crazy garage sale patchwork quilt, and not in a good way.

We grabbed English Channel, and on a whim, right before leaving the store, threw in a sample of Windsor Haze. Sure, this last one looked good. It seemed more gray than purple. Still had that dark, cozy feeling we were after. But I wasn't going to get my hopes up.

The winner? Windsor Haze, top left corner. Last paint purchased.
But darn it all, if it wasn't the very last paint we picked! After fifteen bucks in paint samples, we finally had our color. I hated spending the money, but it was worth it to try those little sample cans. (And now I have lots of leftover paint to play with should our next bambino be a boy! Someday. Not any time soon. Stop reading so much into things!)

Caution, wet paint!
I taped up the room one evening, and the next day we tackled the trim. It was during this very tedious task that I came to the disappointing conclusion that not only am I not very good at painting, I also don't really enjoy it. Matt echoed my sentiments completely. It was dull, painstaking work. One little shudder and you have blue paint all over the white trim - blerg!

Fortunately, once Violet took her afternoon nap, we tackled the walls with rollers. Now that is a painting method I can get behind! Much more fun! Matt manned the ladder while I loaded up the roller with paint and handed it up. We were so efficient, we got the entire room covered in the span of one nap! And once Violet was in bed for the night, we slapped up the second coat (while jamming out to the soothing tunes of Delila at Night - I've now met my lifetime Eric Clapton quota). And we actually had a good time while doing it, an extra bonus. My husband and I make a good team. There was no booing or hissing, no weeping or gnashing of teeth, and the only criticism came when my hubby sweetly informed me I was sporting a bit of plumber's butt.

Finished!
It's amazing how different the color can look in natural light versus interior light, near the window versus the darkest corner of the room. Even these pictures don't seem exactly like what you get in person. But regardless, I am quite pleased with the choice. And more importantly, I'm thrilled that we actually got done what we set out to do this spring break.

(As a side note you may notice that the lamp looks like an old electric meter - that's because it is one!  That's right, kids.  Once upon a time not everything was digital.  Here's the back story - my grandfather worked for many years at Ohio Power.  When he retired, in addition the gold watch & full pension (weren't THOSE the days!), they deemed it necessary to give him his desk (which is still, by the way, in use holding the very computer Kristine posts all these blogs with) as well as an electric meter refashioned into a lamp.  So, when we turn the lamp on the meter rotates & tells us how much power we're using.  Does it make me geeky to think this is insanely cool??).

Now the only problem is... a new bedroom leaves me wanting new furniture and bedding! And hopefully before next spring break! Matt and I took Violet out on a marathon shopping trip, hitting the mall plus four or five other stores, but to no avail. We have possibly found a bed, and at least figured out what look we want for the bedding, but actual purchases are still some ways away. Ah well, a girl can dream...

A little slap-happy from too many paint fumes. (Just kidding, no children were harmed in the painting of this bedroom.)

4.06.2011

Hello? Anybody?

I chose this week's winner based on the loudness of Matt's laugh when he read them all. And it was a tough call. Several of you had him cracking up. Second place (despite how wrong it is) would definitely have to be "Babies Gone Wild!! Spring Break 2011 - Panama City Beach, FL :-)" contributed by the lovely Joanna.

And because I linked to FB, many of you commented there are well, which I copied and pasted for you into the blog comments (since you guys are too freakin' lazy to do it yourselves! Shame. You know how I crave followers. But I digress.)

The ultimate winner is posted below. Again, so wrong. But Shelly has the distinct advantage of knowing us all too well. Thanks for playing, ya'll! It was fun!

"Is happy hour almost finished?" - Shelly
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