Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Oh, Sweet Jesus

So we arrived after a 4am wake up and two plane rides to bright sun and two very excited grandparents! After a short trip back to our place, with A in an infant car seat (yeah, she thought it was pretty cool to lounge in the car) Gigi rushed A off to meet all her friends on the beach. A few minutes later...okay, maybe a bit more than a few, our bags were unpacked and a very excuted A rushed in yelling, "mommy, swimsuit please!"

Two hours later A had been in the ocean every five minutes, been tumbled by waves, dug sandcastles, and waved and hugged each person on the beach...twice. At 4pm on the nose when we were in the ocean with A yet again, we heard an actual bell (oh yeah, you read that right) calling us to happy hour at the beach bar. And don't worry...their two for one is you pay for one drink and you get two...umm lucky. So after a yummy cocktail and with an exhausted little red eyed girl, we headed upstairs to call it a day and have a quick tub.

Not even 30 minutes later we were sipping our drinks at the "Kings Crown" because yes, that is where Fancy Nancy eats, ordering dinner.

And now, with a glass of wine and a sleeping child I could not be happier listening to the waves crash outside our window with a delicious Guavaberry colada slipping through my lips.

Enjoy the cold :) heheh
Xoxo
Daily Mom

Monday, January 30, 2012

I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane...

Our dresses and bathing suits are all packed and we are ready to fly down to sunny St. Maarten in the morning! This trip is truly going to be the perfect, relaxing, family time that we all need so badly right now. And have I mentioned the weather...at a blissful 85 degrees today, the beach is calling my name!

So look out Gigi and Pop P, we are coming to invade!!!!

xoxo
Daily Mom

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Keep 'Em Zipped

Since I know you have all been on pins and needles wondering if my little nudist has been at it some more, you know stripping during nap time, you all can rest assured it was a onetime deal! Well, at least she has kept her clothes on since that incident. Come to think of it, it might have something to do with the very stern talk I gave her before bed that night that went a little like this…
Me: “A, who are the only people who can take off your jammies?”
A: “Me, Mommy.”
Me: “Nooooo. Only Mommy and Daddy can take off your jammies.”
A: “And Gigi?”
Me: “Well, yes, and Gigi.”
A: “And Cece.”
Me: “Fine, Cece.”
A: “And TT.”
Me: “Ugh, yes, and TT.”
A: “And Nana.”
Me: “Just keep ‘em zipped. Got it Pookie Bear?”
A: “Mommy, I’m A.”
Me: “Good night monster.”
A: “Night night, Mommy.”

Xoxo
Daily Mom

Friday, January 27, 2012

Oh No!

I feel like I am pretty prepared for the next stages of A's life...I bought her big girl underwear for her birthday so we can start potty training properly, I have answered so many "why" questions I think I have that down pat, and I have even stopped throwing a fit when she won't eat anything besides condiments for dinner.

But I am not ready for what happened this morning.

It was around 7:15 when A started to stir this morning, so I pulled the covers up and snuggled in knowing I would have about 15 more minutes before she was finished reading her books and ready to get up. And like every morning, after about 5 minutes I pulled back the covers and headed for the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for the day. As I was spitting out the last of the toothpaste, I heard her little, "mommy, come get me now" floating from her room. Now, I love mornings because A is always so cute and snuggly, which I rarely get any other time a day, so I quickly finished up and headed in to get my little peanut out of her crib. But when I walked through her door I had to blink twice. I mean, sure we had a glass of wine too many last night but I couldn't still be drunk...could I? There standing in her normal spot by the rail was my little girl....naked...holding her footed pj's in her hand.

When I asked her what happened and pointed to her jammies, she simply looked at them, then at me and said in her adorable little voice while shrugging her shoulders, "I don't know."

Of course I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, and encourage this behavior, but I also didn't want my hubby to miss this ridiculous situation. So I scooped A up, still clutching her jammies, and headed into our room to show daddy what I found. Of course he sort of blew it by cracking up the minute he saw her, but I think she missed the reason for his hysterics.  Phew.

But about 40 minutes ago, when I went to put A down for her nap, I could feel my heart racing. Please don't be that kid who gets naked each time in her crib, takes off her diaper, and "decorates" with poop...I am just not ready for that.

xoxo
Daily Mom

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Port Discovery

What A Day

It has been so long since we motivated to do anything just for the kids. I mean, sure we drag them to our workout then let them run around Tiny Town...but let's be honest, Tiny Town is like saying you are going to the Aquarium but take the kids to Petco instead. It just doesn't cut it.

So this morning, after meeting to pick tiles out for our bathroom (ugh!) we met up with E and Nicole and headed down to Port Discovery. And, since it is freezing outside and no one wants to go to the zoo, they give you half off the admission at Port Discovery  if you present your zoo membership. So for about 5 bucks we had the most amazing morning, running around the Clifford exhibit, playing with the digital pond, catching butterflies, collecting seashells, and of course playing in the sand.

Just before we were heading out to grab lunch, we ran into Clifford, the "real" Clifford, all dressed and oversized, which frankly terrified my little girl almost bringing her to tears. But hey, what is a fun morning adventure without a little psychological damage?

Enjoy some pictures from our morning of fun!
"OMG, Mom...it is Emily Elizabeth!!!!"

"Oh, hey Emily Elizabeth. You look pretty today, wink, wink."

"Clifford...Your paws are not comfortable!"

"I am sorry, that was rude. Would you like a treat?"

"Here, let me just pile some up for you. There you go!"

"So, you have a pretty cool dog..."

"E! Look over here...it is Cliffords dog house!"

"Sharing..."

"Now, how do you get the money out? I know it is in here somewhere, humm."

"A, what are you doing?"

"Hum, a seasell. That is weird, we are not at the beach."

"Oh look, one for me, and one more for me."

"Look, Mom, I picked flowers!"
"Oh, A, maybe we should plant them again?"

"This is not as fun as picking them."

"Time to water them. Grow nice and strong so I can pick you again."

"MOM...I am walking on water!"

"Oh, hello butterflies."

"Do I really look like a girl who would throw sand? Come on, mom."

"I found a giant Maple Leaf for Daddy!"

"Grrrrr"

"Mom, I am starving, can we go to lunch please?"

xoxo
Daily Mom

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Wordless Wednesday (Working Now)

Our Little Ham...











xoxo
Daily Mom

Duck Trouble

There are so many times in my life where I am pretty sure I should be constantly filmed for entertainment sake. Let's take yesterday for example...

It was about 3pm, the mail had just arrived and A was chatting happily in her crib after her nap. I grabbed the mail off the floor and headed for the kitchen as I started to leaf through the fliers promising everything from ten grapefruit for ten dollars, to "world's best" carpet cleaning service. Normally I just look for the good stuff, trashy magazine and any invitations, but today I decided to go through it all. As I pealed back what seemed like the fourteenth flier my eyes landed on a cream colored, legal sized envelope. I quickly put the rest of the mail on the counter and with shaking hands and a quick pep talk I carefully pealed the envelope open.

Skipping the boring intro that never reveals anything good, I looked right to the second paragraph and there it was..."We are very pleased to inform you that a space is being held for A in our world famous, very important, and utterly desirable preschool." Okay, so maybe I exaggerated a bit on the adjectives, but you get the gist...SHE GOT IN!

I know this might not seem like a big deal if you are not from Baltimore, but trust me Preschool is pretty cut throat around here. You need to have interviews scheduled for the September before your child would potentially attend, and all applications have to be postmarked before mid October. It is a little crazy, and has caused me some major panic attacks recently.

So naturally, I went sprinting upstairs into A's room to tell her the good news! After her initial shock of seeing mommy dancing around her room, she was able to shut her mouth and ask me why I was "being crazy".  After explaining what a great job she did at the interview and thanking her for carving the path for sibling some day (they get priority!) I decided we should do something special.

I didn't want our something special to be inside since the thermometer was climbing near 55 degrees, so I decided today would be the perfect day to bundle her and the dog and walk to the ponds to feed the ducks.

Now, this was the part of my plan that was a little less than fully thought out. For one, Preston is a lab whose father and mother were both champion hunters, but I thought nothing of leading her about 5 feet from the ponds with an entire Ziploc baggie of mini bagels. Secondly, I didn't take into account that since it is winter, and has been pretty cold recently, the ducks have not been privy to their usual hourly feedings from all the children. Oops.

As we crossed the lawn and headed for the ponds I didn't think twice of Preston's stance...head up and at attention, her tail perfectly pointed behind her and her feet delicately touching the ground. So when we were about 5 feet from the edge of the pond, I locked the brake on A's stroller and started to bend down to get the bagels. And that is when Preston charged. All 70 pounds of her went full speed towards the flock of ducks that were swimming our direction. As my feet flew out from under me, curse words poured out of my mouth, and the cold ripples of the pond were within reach, I panicked. I threw my body in the air in the hopes of stopping Preston, whose leash was firmly looped around my wrist, and waited for the inevitable splash, first of the dog, then of me. About 2 second later I opened my eyes, realizing  I am laying in a pile of mud and grass, somehow incredibly not in the pond. My eyes quickly dart to Preston who was once again at attention ready to pounce. I scrambled up as quickly as possible and tugged her back with all my remaining strength, before quickly looping her leash around the trunk of a pretty good size tree.

Although I am pretty muddy and a bit flustered, I brush myself off and get back to our plan of feeding the ducks.

Luckily A did not pick up on the fowl (pun intended) language that was pouring out of my mouth, or she just thought it would be nice to save it up for a time when I would least expect it, and then let the obscenities pour from her little 2 year old mouth. Either way, she was smiling, the dog was restrained, and we were ready to feed the ducks.

As we started to throw out little pieces of bagel for them to share we soon realized we were being surrounded. As we franticly threw pieces quicker and quicker I unhooked A's brake and backed us up right next to Preston's tree in the hopes that she would keep them at bay...but soon we were chucking all the bagels we had towards the pond, as far and as fast as possible, and I was frantically brushing the crumbs off A's stroller as the ducks now had us completely surrounded and were closing in.

In a rare burst of coordination and speed, I managed to unhook Preston from the tree, release A's brake, and throw the last bagel behind us as we ran screaming (yes, literally) from the center of this water fowl mob. If there is a next time, which I am sure there will be, I will need to work on my game plan and recruit some backup before throwing myself into the middle of that feeding frenzy again.

It was exhilarating, terrifying, and fantastic all at once but I wouldn't have traded that afternoon of complete chaos for anything else.


xoxo
Daily Mom

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Birthday Invitations!

So, I decided to compromise and make just an insert for A's Butterfly Birthday Party invitations. I kept with the whole butterfly theme (thank you Cricut) and wrote the address for the party on them. Not going to lie...I am getting pretty excited!
The invitations are Tiny Prints...how adorable!

xoxo
Daily Mom

Happy Monday!

Since A has been a bit under the weather, our weekend got switched around a bit, looking for activities that would keep her awake but not super active. So after some time playing on Sunday morning we took a family trip to the grocery store. I know, this totally threw off my schedule for the week so hang in there!

Here is our menu though...


This is the Super Scampi....so easy, one pot, and amazing!
xoxo
Daily Mom

Friday, January 20, 2012

Love Notes

Today, being Friday, was our weekly playdate with cousin, C, and since it was too cold to go outside, the germs in Tiny Town are at an all time high, and Friday's at the library are insane, I decided to head to Target before my workout this morning to pick up some supplies for a Valentine's craft. I got this amazing idea from And I Thought I Loved You Then , and we went to town.

So here is the basic idea...You get an inexpensive crafting project (preferable mailbox) from Target, Michael's or wherever you shop. Then you decorate it with lots of fun Valentine's shapes and letters. Now, here is the special part. Each day in February you write a love note to your child and put it in their special mailbox.

You can choose when you want to read your notes, but in our house, we are going to write A a note each day and when we are all snuggled in her room reading books before bedtime we will read her the special note. It can be about anything from how much you love them, to something great they did that day, as long as it a special note just for them telling them how great, wonderful, and proud of them you are...they will love it.

 I know A is a little too young to really get into this, but I can see us a few years down the road with hopefully a few special mailboxes lined up in the kitchen and each child getting so excited to hear their special note. Since I love Valentine's Day (I mean who doesn't like a holiday that encourages boys to buy chocolates and get gift cards for massages?) I am going to do this for A each day in February. I can't think of a more fun way to celebrate an otherwise cold month!


I put A's name in the sparkly letters at the bottom of this side to make it personalized!




xoxo
Daily Mom

PS: The mailbox plus the extra stickers and shapes were only $10 total at Target, so this is definitely a budget friendly craft to enjoy with your own kids.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Thank You

I am not sure how to express this properly, and because I can’t take a blood pressure test to show you how stressed out I was this morning, and how calm I am now, I will do the best I can to explain in words.
Here is what our day looked like this morning. Wake up at 6:45am to get showered and changed before A got up. Then it was downstairs to make her breakfast, grab a cup of coffee, and make and pack a lunch for us both. In between, I had to let the dog out who knows something is going on and stayed glued to my side, change A into something half decent, and get her ready to go. Finally I had to clean the remainder of the house, pack up everything that was on the kitchen counters and throw them all out of view of nosey eyes since we had a showing in the afternoon, oh yeah, and make sure the house looked and smelled inviting.
Then it was time to pack the car. I needed the diaper bag, naptime bag of blankets, bunny, paci, and noise maker, posters for the Winter Carnival this weekend, lunch box, water and coffee, and of course the dog.
Now, this seems very manageable, until I let you know it all had to be accomplished by 7:45.
At 7:49 with my blood pressure soaring, I bolted out the door to get the dog across town to the vet for her teeth cleaning by 8:15am. After hitting so much school traffic I had chugged all my coffee and was contemplating ways to make home-schooling more popular, we pulled into the vet’s parking lot. We got the dog all situated and as calmed down as possible, then raced back across town to drop the posters off at Anne’s house before we rushed to our workout.
After what seemed like the shortest workout in history it was time to run to the post office and mail a package to A’s Canadian Cousins. As my blood pressure was starting to decline after a nice workout, I glance at my phone and saw 5 missed text messages and 2 voicemails. Crap!
Apparently the vet had an opening in their morning and was able to take Preston early, which meant she would be coming off the anesthesia anytime now. For a normal dog this would be no problem, just stick her in the cage and pick her up when you had a second. But for our four legged monster, it was a huge deal. Preston has had a lot of intestinal issues in her life and is terrified, I repeat terrified of cages. In fact they forgot to call me right away after her last teeth cleaning and she smashed the cage so hard over and over with her face her entire nose was cut and bleeding.
So we flew out of the post office and jumped in the car to race back across town to get the dog. After guiding a very loopy animal out of the vet and lifting her into the car, it was 11am, and I still had one errand to do before lunch and naptime.  
With that last errand checked off my list I headed to my parents house to do lunch and naptime with A. Since they are out of town for a few months, I wasn’t quite sure what I would find. But because they know how crazy our lives can be they do an amazing job of stocking their house with everything we might need, which I am sure can be a challenge since the kids range from 8 years old to 1 year old. But true to form, I found a brand new apple juice waiting in the fridge, plates, forks, and sippy cups in the drawer, and a crib ready to go with the softest blankets folded at the bottom. Then it was time to change A and sit on the potty before nap time and I whipped out the potty seat they keep at their house, and found a bin with every size diaper and a fresh pack of wipes.
And as I got A all snuggled into the crib, turned out the lights, and kiss her head, I could feel my blood pressure falling back into the normal range. I know I have never fully appreciated it before, but there was nothing better than this home away from home today, stocked with everything I could possibly need, and even some peppermint tea to ensure Mommy is able to relax a little this naptime too!  
And as much as we joke about my mom buying out Babies R Us and Target, there was no greater feeling than the relief I felt when I arrived at their house and knew I didn’t have to stress for even one more second.
So, as I am sitting her at my mom's computer, sipping pepermint tea and listening to Somewhere Over the Rainbow floating through the monitor, I want to say thank you. Gigi and Pop P, thank you for never stopping to look out for your own three girls, even thought we are all grown with girls of our own. I guess what they say is really true: A daughter is a daughter for life…

Xoxo
Daily Mom

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Crafting Hell

Today, my love of crafting has almost put me over the top...one because I am not really that good at being super crafty yet, and two because I am lacking key information that is leaving gaping holes in my projects.

I really wanted to make A's birthday invitations this year. I mean how sweet would that be to receive a handmade invitation in the mail! Okay, fine, I know what some of you are thinking...who gives a hoot who make the invitations, and trust me I have always ordered invitations, but for some reason...ahem...Pinterest, I just really thought it would be special to make them.

But here is my dilemma. I don't currently have a printer, so how am I supposed to write a cute little birthday message on the invitation to attach to the card I just figured out how to make with my Cricut? And how can you put a 4 inch piece of paper through a printer, even a non-existent one? And then...oh boy, don't get me started.

Okay, fair enough, I will scrap making the invitations that will cost me four times as much in supplies since I have already wasted two sheets of nice cardstock, and focus on making the rest of her Butterfly Birthday a smashing hit!

Now, if I can just figure out how to make those DIY tutu's and lanterns we should be all set :)

xoxo
Dying in Craft Land
Daily Mom


PS: Super excited for all the people who are going to be joing the Blogging Book Club! Can't wait to hear your reactions to the book! Happy Reading <3

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Blogging Book Club

I have a proposal for you all...

I know everyone's life is crazy, because, well it is life. But I wanted to start a Blogging Book Club. Since the worst, and best, part of a Book Club is actually finding a time where everyone's' schedules align and it is possible to get together, I thought it would be fun to do one here, on my blog.

Here is how I see it working.

I will pick the first book and will give a date, about a month away, when I will write a little piece about it. Now, your part comes in...you have to read the book in the month or so allotted then read my post on the book and if you feel like it, leave a comment with your thoughts and views!

I know life is crazy with kids, work, houses, husbands, family obligation, and practices, but I think it is really important to spend some time reading, and I will try to pick books that are very catching, while at the same time meaningful and engaging.

Okay, I know I wasn't super convincing, but I hope you join me!

Here is the First Book of the Blogger Book Club!

What Alice Forgot is an engaging book about a 39 year old mother of three who takes a spill at the gym during her weekly Friday Spin Class. When she comes to, her memory has wiped away 10 years and she thinks it is 1998 where her free-spirited self and her perfect husband are renovating their first home, while eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child. As she starts to hear about the missing 10 years, Alice is realizing she did not become the person she thought she would be. In fact, she doesn't even recognize her gym-obsessed self who is in the middle of a nasty divorce from the husband she can only remember being madly in love with, and is terrified by the three children she has no recollection of having or raising. (Written by me...so if you want more insight check it out on Amazon)

What Alice Forgot is available on Amazon, Kindle, Barnes and Noble, and Nook, so I hope you take a second, have it delivered wirelessly to your favorite device and share Alice's journey with me! Please leave a comment or shoot me an email if you want to join my Blogging Book Club this month!

Hope to see you there!
xoxo
Daily Mom

Monday, January 16, 2012

Day Drinking

 There are few things that can make me day-drink, you know drink during the day, but one of those is certainly the Ravens. After finally squeezing into our fifth and final layer of clothing, kissing A good-bye, and thanking the babysitter, we piled into our car and headed down to watch the Ravens take on the Texans. It was a nail biter of a game as we came out poorly, but Flacco and the boys soon turned it around with some serious help from our defense, and lead us to victory!

But let me back up. I wasn't planning on drinking a lot, since I am getting older and can no longer drink all day and still function, but as we piled in the car and John pulled out the first round of beers (not for the driver, no worries!) I gave in. Six hours, a whole ton of yelling and cheering, a few delicious slices of pizza, and a few beers later and I was DONE. As we pulled back up in front of our house around 5:45pm, feeling like I had just been tackled by Ray Lewis, I was already counting down the time till I could go to bed. But when we walked in A was so excited we ended up playing with her well past bedtime. Finally, she was down, we had eaten some sushi for dinner, and I was making a tea, and was almost as excited to fall into bed, as I was from the victory earlier...well almost.

It did make me realize and cherish my early mornings with A, calm walks around the neighborhood, playing in the playroom, and snuggling in the chair reading books before bed. I might not be cut out for day-drinking anymore, but I am more than happy to close the chapter on that part of my life. Well, unless we kick some Patriot butt on Sunday and are in the Super Bowl, then somebody pour me a beer!

xoxo
Daily Mom

ps..here is our Menu for the week. Enjoy!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

5 Crazy Girls

Yesterday was all about the cousins, and it was fantastic! Saturday morning my sister called and decided she wanted to do something that a "stay at home mom would do" so naturally I suggested we go to an indoor play place! We met at Charm City Kids Club, and A and C had so much fun running all around, and playing "mommy". They even proved they really were our daughters as they headed straight for the Louis Vuitton purses and wouldn't put them down. Such cute little buggers!




Then after nap time we headed to my other sisters house for dinner and fun. The girls ran all over the house, putting on shows, dressing up, playing bride, and being crazy, while my sisters and I drank wine and chatted in the kitchen, and the boys wrangled the kids, refilled wine glasses, and watched some football.







It was the perfect unplanned get together!


xoxo
Daily Mom