Uninspired

Lately I haven't felt inspired to write. I've been busy, I haven't had time to take pictures (I hate to blog without pictures), I haven't had much to say. It makes me sad, because I love to write. I love to write so much I once wrote over 50,000 words in one month. And then did it again. And again. But these days I come home so brain dead that I can't seem to muster up anything worth saving. Maybe I'm worried that the mundane details of my life are too boring for anyone to care about. Lately I feel like I've been taking to the airwaves to complain about tantrums and mommy drama a little too often. Hopefully that will change soon. I mean, I hate to disappoint my 38 loyal fans and all. So I'll just leave you to feast your eyes on the cuteness that is Violet. Love that messy, crazy, lovely girl.

Click!

I love the camera I got for my birthday! I just need to figure out how to use it. Mind control perhaps?

Ooh, you look through the little windows, eh?

Hmm. Bad lighting.

Starring in photos is better than taking them, anyway!

Hanging with the Boys

The satisfied smile of a potty pee-er.

Well, she did it again. We had another successful trip to the potty. And I'll stop talking about it now lest you think this blog is going to spiral into some Bridget Jones' Diary-esque account of Violet's toilet training saga.

Well, it probably won't be the very last you hear on the subject, since we're just entering this uncharted territory and have all sorts of fun left before we can put a stamp of success on the matter. But I'll stop talking about it for now.

In other news, Violet got to hang out with a new crowd today! Usually she's the baby of the neighborhood, but this afternoon we got to visit with an old circle of friends (we're so old, we now have kids to bring to our events) and Violet was the oldest. It's so nice to have friends with kids. I used to be the only one stuck inside with a baby while everyone else got to live it up. But now we all get to hang out and swap war stories (and burp cloths) together. It's a little louder, but more fun. There's a whole new dynamic, a new level of what we have in common. Plus no one minds if there are crumbs on the floor or tears over spilled milk.

So here is Violet with her new buddies. Doesn't she look enormous in comparison to these boys? Granted, she's a year (or more) older, but still. Boys. Always boys! Someone around here needs to have a girl!

And speaking of new babies, two dear friends have both recently announced that they're expecting for the first time, so here's to new future playmates!

Hanging with the boys.

The cougar goes in for a kiss! (Jackson doesn't seem thrilled.)

A Good Day and a Milestone

Today was a good day. It's such a relief to be able to say that, especially since this space has been somewhat depressing lately. I can always tell when things get too gloomy around here because I start getting concerned phone calls from the grandmas and encouraging "hang in there" emails from dear readers. Sorry ya'll, just trying to tell it like it is. Thanks for sticking around.

But like I said, today was a good day. Weekends are always a bit of an unknown around here. We get frustrated, Violet gets frustrated, you get the picture. But today, I don't know... I had an extra measure of patience, perhaps. Or I planned an extra 30 minutes into our routine so no one felt rushed and frustrated. Or we were all on the same page finally. Whatever it was (okay, call it grace), it all added up to a relaxing, productive day.

We started with a birthday party. (Okay, we started with a 5:45 a.m. wake-up call, but let's skip to the positive parts of the story.) Violet's BFF Emma celebrated her second birthday at a cool place called Catch Air - an indoor playground full of inflatables and slides and giant balloons. It was so much fun to watch Violet playing with kids her own age. Around the neighborhood, Violet is the baby. But at the party with her school friends, she seemed so different, so grown up, calling for Emma to follow her and running around from toy to activity. It looked like everyone had a blast!

Of course, when I asked Violet what her favorite part of the party was, she said "cake".

I got some school work done (grades are almost almost finished!) and Violet played outside on this beautiful day. We had a pleasant trip running errands (can't always say that these days so I'm appreciating the small things) and then Matt went to the grocery store and cooked dinner (I'm so lucky!)

But perhaps the biggest news of all (insert drum roll here).... Violet went pee-pee in the potty! (Gaaa - can't believe I'm actually publishing these words out loud - sorry for the over-sharing, everyone - but it's big news around here.) She's been sitting on the potty at school now that she's switched to the early preschool room, and she'll sit on ours here while she waits for the tub to get filled for bath time. But until now, no results. Well, yesterday I explained that if she managed to produce, there would be an m&m reward (pediatrician endorsed). Well, you know Violet and the motivating force that a snack can be. And wouldn't you know it, today when I went to put her in the tub, there was something in the potty! So we gave her the m&m and did a big happy dance and promptly had to explain why there couldn't be any more m&ms right now, but she does seem motivated. We'll see if this is the start of the next big something.

Pizza Night

Even though we cook regularly with our neighbors, sometimes it's fun to have a spontaneous homemade pizza night.

Matt, the master dough-slinger, whips up some whole-wheat crust. We always get our fresh dough from Publix, but this is the first time trying whole wheat. It was surprisingly yummy.

Check out the fun candle we got for Christmas - a candle cork!

A feast in progress (we cooked the pizza in batches so there was always another pie coming out fresh from the oven).

Battlefield

It's been a rough parenting week, I'm not going to lie. Violet has been especially "two". She wails at bedtime. She puts Matt through the wringer every morning as he tries to get her ready for school. She pushes my buttons trying to climb into the car by herself. She wants to do everything herself. We spend our days trying to navigate around the minefield, never knowing where the next explosion will occur.

The other night we finally got her put to bed after a particularly nasty fight. And of course, putting Violet to bed is just the beginning of my evening. I still had papers to grade and the house to pick up. But it was just such a relief to have her safely out of our hair. Matt and I actually got to spend some time together. He started making a soup while I took care of some school work, then I jumped in to help stir the pot and chop ingredients. It was a wonderful little moment of calm and togetherness.

Which made up for the scene Violet and I created at daycare as I tried to alternately cajole, threaten and force her into her carseat as we blocked the driveway in the middle of the afternoon rush. She was screaming and doing the Exorcist arch, I was thisclose to losing it and just driving away, car seat be damned, and it all happened under the amused/horrified eyes of the daycare staff. Not my finest parenting hour.

I'm trying to keep calm and carry on. As wiser heads have pointed out, Violet's not doing it on purpose at this age. She  is growing and changing and just trying to express herself without a fully developed range of vocabulary or skills. She's going through some big transitions (moving to early preschool room at daycare - sniff!). And no doubt she picks up on the stress I've been carrying these last few weeks with school and grades and report cards and conferences and the nightmare that is Third Quarter.

So I'm cutting us both some slack. I'm making a real effort to be present in the time I have with her, especially on the weekends, instead of immediately getting annoyed when she needs some attention and I just really want to finish another episode of Downton Abby. (Note I didn't say I'm making an effort to enjoy every moment, because a lot of these moments aren't enjoyable no matter how you spin them. I'll settle for just acknowledging and accepting them.)

Be Still

Hi, it's me again. Remember me? It's been far too long since I last posted here and I apologize. I hate it when my favorite blogs don't update frequently and well, since I'm my favorite blog... sorry. I've been struggling to find a balance lately and writing here has fallen a bit further down the priority list than I would have liked. Between stress at work and parenting struggles, as soon as Violet is asleep for the night it's all I can do to drag myself to my chair and turn on Downton Abby. But I don't mean to complain. Life is good, when I take the time to be still and remember. Maybe that's a good plan for today - be still.