6.24.2013

The Face and The Voice

Sad Face
I've been getting a lot of this face today. The Sad Face. The Whiny Face. The put-the-tv-on-for-me-again face. And as much as I love this face, and the child attached to it, seeing it brings out my Annoyed Voice. My Frustrated Voice. My you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me-if-I-hear-that-one-more-time voice.

So you can see why the following article I stumbled across brought a wry smile to my face. It read, in part:

"If you are a parent of small children, you know that there are moments of spectacular delight, and you can’t believe you get to be around these little people. But let me be the one who says the following things out loud:

You are not a terrible parent if you can’t figure out a way for your children to eat as healthy as your friend’s children do. She’s obviously using a bizarre and probably illegal form of hypnotism.

You are not a terrible parent if you yell at your kids sometimes. You have little dictators living in your house. If someone else talked to you like that, they’d be put in prison.

You are not a terrible parent if you can’t figure out how to calmly give them appropriate consequences in real time for every single act of terrorism that they so creatively devise.

You are not a terrible parent if you’d rather be at work.

You are not a terrible parent if you just can’t wait for them to go to bed.

You are not a terrible parent if the sound of their voices sometimes makes you want to drink and never stop.

You’re not a terrible parent."

It's always good to hear a voice of reason on days like today. Because we all know parenting can be hard. But sometimes it's just nice to have someone agree with you. They're not trying to make you feel better, or solve your problems, they're just listening, nodding, agreeing. It's good to be in it together.

That being said, excuse while I put the tv on and make myself a drink. (A non-alcoholic one, stop freaking out. Although if The Face shows up too much more today, that may change.)

(I jest.)

(But not really.)

Read the full article, To parents of small children: Let me be the one who says it out loud, here.

6.23.2013

How Does Your Garden Grow?

We have a cherry tree in our backyard. It's a beautiful tree, producing fluffy pink blossoms every spring, offering lovely shade in the summer, but alas, it's dying. We've had the tree doctor come out and take a look, but this thing is a goner and we're having it removed.

Which means we will have some new sunlit spaces in our yard. Which I have decided would be perfect for a garden. Despite the fact that I can't keep plants alive if my own life depended on it, never mind that we've missed the prime growing season, forgetting the fact that I'll need to harvest eight pints of cherry tomatoes to make the investment pay off, a vegetable garden is exactly what our yard needs. And I'm not talking just any pile of dirt with a few sprouts growing out of it. No, I want a raised garden bed.

As we've discussed it, Matt got really inspired by my vision, vague though it was, and starting doing some research on DIY garden beds. Before I knew it, he had a list of materials drawn up, he'd watched the helpful video instructions online, and Saturday morning found him bright and early, clearing the chosen space of it's rambling wilderness of shrubbery to make room for my new garden. (If you want to know step-by-step how he did it, you'll have to ask him.)

The "before" shot. Matt wages war against the land.
I proudly filled an entire yard bag with clippings and promptly decided I'd done enough. My manly man tamed the wilderness, borrowed the tools, bought the materials, and built me a lovely garden bed, all with plenty of time to make our vegetable run before dinner. (Sorry about the lack of in-progress pictures... I was busy staying nice and cool inside.)

Ready to dig in the dirt. Lots and lots of dirt.

Lots of growing going on.
We picked up a couple tomato plants, a couple bell peppers, a squash, and some herbs. Plus a little bulldog to guard the garden. Nothing too crazy for our first stab at this. Pretty professional looking, eh? Now I just have to keep these little guys alive long enough to produce something!

Introducing the "Fingers Crossed" garden.
After a hard day's work, we were happy to share a summer supper with our neighbors.
The evening concluded with the fire pit.


Matt can build raised garden beds, but I can build a pretty perfect s'more.

6.20.2013

Is There a Doctor in the House?

The graduate.

This weekend it was my distinct pleasure to travel down to Florida to applaud as my dad received his doctorate degree. That's right, there is now a doctor in the family. It was an amazing ceremony and I'm very proud of this guy. It was also fun to make the journey as a family. Sightings like the one above are rare these days, and the togetherness made the trip extra special.


Of course, the added bonus of a beach trip didn't hurt, either. We were hosted at a lovely waterfront home by my aunt and uncle, and spent Monday with our toes in the sand. Just don't tell Violet... she has been begging to go to the beach all summer and I just don't know how to tell her we went without her! (She had a blast at Grandma's house while we were gone so I don't feel too bad...)

Flagler Beach

It's not the size of the pole, it's how you use it... Right?

Night beach!

6.15.2013

Gymnastics Camp


Check out my little gymnast in action!

Future Gold Medalist

Violet had a blast at gymnastics camp this week!

She loved the "beautiful ribbons".

Taking on the bar.

Somersault time.

Violet and her partner in crime BFF.

6.13.2013

While the parents are away...

Wondering what Violet did at Mimi's house while we were in Colorado?

Violet fulfills her life-long dream of riding a real, live horse!

Best friends.
Strawberry picking!

Monkeying around at the playground.

Tea party!

Hanging out in her new room!
We weren't two minutes out of the driveway after collecting her when Violet announced that she wanted to "go to Mimi's house again!" A million thanks to my mom for keeping the Noodle so well entertained while we were gone. Apparently I have a lot to live up to after Camp Mimi!

6.12.2013

Killing Time in Colorado

After the wedding festivities, we jumped in the car (I feel like we drove a lot during this adventure... Colorado is full of wide open spaces!) and headed to Denver. Not only is this where we were flying out from, but conveniently it's also where Matt's aunt, uncle and cousin all live. We definitely wanted to take advantage of our time to do some visiting, as these are some of the most generous, gracious people I know.

Come Monday, we were left on our own with half a day to kill before our flight. We weren't sure exactly what to do, so we took a random gamble and headed to the Denver Botanic Gardens. What a pleasant surprise this place was! Despite the 100 degree weather (don't let all that Rocky Mountain snow fool you, Colorado is hot), we had a wonderful time exploring all the little nooks and winding paths this place holds.





After our day in the garden, there was just enough time left before our flight to take in another famous Denver sight, the Coors Brewery tour. It was a fun way to wrap up our trip, even if I couldn't make the most of the free samples.



The beer on the left in non-alcoholic Coors. Or as I like to call it, "not worth it".
This trip was a lovely little reminder of what it's like to be me, not just mommy-me. It was a refreshing break to not have to keep up with Violet, or worry about what she's eating, or having to entertain her. We wandered where we wanted, ate when we wanted, and didn't worry about anyone but ourselves. And of course, it's always nice to actually miss your kiddo. A rather refreshing change from being annoyed or frustrated with said kiddo. And as you'll see, she enjoyed herself thoroughly without us as well! But we were very happy to see each other again at the end of the trip.

6.11.2013

Colorado!

Matt's cousin Jason got married this past weekend in Colorado, and the hubby and I used it as a perfect excuse for a summer getaway sans Violet. Colorado, you never disappoint. The entire trip was one beautiful vista after another. The wedding itself wasn't bad, either!

Not a bad sight to wake up to every morning.

The day of the wedding, we got a little detour over to Aspen. And while there was no snow, it was still a lovely sight to take in. We rode the gondolas up to the top of the mountain and I'll be honest, I cannot imagine how people ski down those slopes. They were steep. I've never been skiing, so perhaps I don't know what I'm talking about, but it looked scary to me! The drive to Aspen was hair-raising in its own way - apparently native Coloradians don't see the need for guardrails!

On the road to Aspen.




Aspen gondola ride.

Jason and Dana's wedding was one of those wonderful, relaxed, totally personal affairs. Thanks to a Colorado law that apparently says just about anyone can legally marry you, the couple's parents performed the ceremony, which included a tree planting where we all got to contribute a shovel of dirt to help the couple "put down their roots". The reception was catered by two food trucks and there was even a fire pit complete with s'mores. So fun!

Another happy couple at the wedding.

6.05.2013

Let me check my schedule...

Here's the thing about summertime. As a teacher, I've been blessed (and I worked my butt off, thank you very much) to get 7 or 8 weeks off in the hottest months of the year. What, were you still under the misguided notion that summer vacation lasts three months? Hate to disappoint you. We teachers must voluntarily show back up at work at least a week before the official preplanning starts just to get our rooms/minds ready. But we'll deal with that when the time comes.

So like I said, I'm blessed to have the time off in the summer. Being a mom, this means I can save a load on daycare costs and get plenty of precious time with my kiddo at home while the rest of society continues the grind in cubicle-land.

Naturally, that is my official statement and I'm sticking to it.

But since this is my space to be honest and say what I like, and since most of the time I'm too tired/lazy/creatively tapped to be anything but honest anyway, let's get real. Summer scares me a little. All those hours. Alone. With my child. A child who happens to be going through a dramatic, wheeling-dealing, three-year-old, all I want is more snacks and more tv phase. A child who considers waking at seven a.m. to be sleeping in (today she crept down at 5:30) and can't be bothered to be begged/forced up to bed until at least nine o'clock.

Don't get me wrong. She is awesome. The other day she informed me that a butterfly's life cycle is: caterpillar, raccoon, butterfly. Oh, she makes me laugh.

And then makes me want to scream really, really loudly. And isn't that (plus a bottle of wine) just the perfect recipe for parenthood?

Anyway, knowing I'm not great at being a stay-at-home mom (hence the reason I got myself a job), I always look toward summer with a little trepidation. My main goal for this summer is not to let Violet's brain or teeth rot from over-consumption of snacks and television. And I need a way to accomplish this with a minimum of negotiating (this child could be a lawyer. Or a used car salesman). So I decided to take what I know in the classroom and apply it at home. What do all kids need? Schedules! And thus Violet's picture schedule board was born.

Let me just check my schedule...
On our magnetic board are a collection of pictures representing different activities throughout the day. Some are obligatory - nap time, breakfast, etc. The rest are the possibilities - coloring, reading  books, playing outside, pool time, etc. We talk about the choices available each day, then map out our schedule. I put some things in - tv time comes after nap time, there are only two snack time pictures (and one optimistically shows pictures of healthy fruit!) while Violet gets to plug in her choices too.

A craftier mom than me would have taken the time to snap photos of their child doing each activity. But for me, clipart will have to suffice. But I did use my own laminating machine, so take that!

Whenever she looks bored or asks for another snack, I tell her to check the board. Is is snack time? No. What time is it? Playroom time. Okay then, go play! As each activity is completed, Violet takes great joy in moving the picture to the other side of the board so show that it's done. Easy. And so far, it is working.

Although this is only day two, so don't count any chickens or pin this idea to pinterest yet. But it's been nice to start the first few days of summer with my sanity and patience (mostly) intact.

6.04.2013

Pizza Night

First you roll out the dough...

Then you put on the toppings...

Then you bake it and get ready to eat!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...