Our Bilingual Pooch

There are times when my husband really gets on my nerves, and then there are times like this morning when we loaded A up in her stroller, lassoed the dog, and headed out for a walk. A little background on our dog, Preston...she is a 6 year old yellow lab that acts like a 6 month old on crack. She has always had A LOT of energy, to the point we would have to take her for at least four one-mile walks each day to have a somewhat subdued animal. A direct quote from my mom when I was pregnant with A was, "you better get rid of that dog before the baby comes or she will knock the baby down on the cement when she is 3 months old and kill it". We didn't know what kind of baby we were getting hence the "it" comment...but regardless, those were my mom's feelings regarding our dog. I admit it, our pooch is pretty crazy, but proved us wrong and is so sweet and gentle with A.

So back to my main point....we were just leaving our driveway for a nice long walk, when my husband turned to me and said...

Hubby: "Babe, I don't think Preston is purposely a bad dog who doesn't listen."
Me: "Okay, elaborate."
Hubby: "I think she just doesn't speak English!"

After telling her some commands in Spanish, French, and "Alaskan" (I told her to mush), with no response from the dog, we decided she maybe speaks German. Here's to learning a new language and pretending our dog is still perfect!

Xoxo
Daily Mom

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!

Today was a zoo day... Well at least that is what I thought as I was packing lunch, milk in A's newly arrived sippy cup (thank you amazon for your speedy delivery), getting us both cleaned up, dressed, and lubed up with sunscreen. We decided not to break from tradition today, so we met in our usual lot at 10am.

 I hauled our stroller out of the car (okay, fine...one of our strollers), crammed our lunch box underneath, and grabbed A from the car. That took me what, about 3 minutes? Yeah, about...and I had already sweat though my shirt! To say it was hot out today did not do the weather gods any justice. Sure, it was in the mid 80's at 10am, but the worst part was the 86% humidity that fell over you like a bomb shelter blanket. You know the nasty, scratchy, gray wool ones? Uh, it was gross.

But like the dedicated parents we are, we headed towards the zoo entrance anyway!

We made it to the petting zoo and let the kids out to play with the goats before whipping through "Africa" and yelling "hello" to the giraffes as we called it a day. I think it could go down in history as one of our shortest zoo trips yet. So, despite our best effort, we packed our sweaty kids in the car and headed back for lunch in the AC.

All I have to say is thank goodness we have a membership, so I didn't just wipe my actual sweat with my proverbial $20 bill.

xoxo

Daily Mom

Help, I Have a Problem!

Me: (standing up slowly) Umm, Hello. My name is Sarah, and I am a consumer. I recently wanted everything I found online, including this amazing, new diaper bag I saw at Nordstrom's, even though mine is still perfectly good.

Crowd: (applause) Hello, Sarah.

Me: (fidgeting with my hands) Thank you. There is one more thing...I have my credit card memorized. (looking down) The three digit security code, too.

Crowd: (more enthusiastic applause)

Me: Thank you. (sits slowly)

So this is the story of my life...I love afternoon nap-time because it gives me a chance to eat something, pee, and most importantly, shop online. I have posted my top three LUSTS as of today at 1:56pm. Notice I have to be very specific, because with this crazy internet world we live in, I am able to find new items every second.

Petunia Pickle Bottom Diaper Bag:

Completely adorable and practical because my PPB diaper bag is a messenger bag, which cuts right across my chest, making my shirts look very unattractive. Plus this one is larger AND can attach right to my stroller! (*see number 3 for a small disclaimer)  Downside: I already have a PPB diaper bag...but you heard my argument above :)

Water Table for A to splash in all summer!
 Hello! Baltimore in the summer is super hot, and you saw how much she loved playing in the water at Port Discovery. Couldn't this be justified over a membership to PD?!? Downside: We have a ton of mosquitoes in our yard.

City Select Double Stroller
 This stroller has it all. Two seats, tandem, to prevent little people from annoying each other, a billion positions for each seat to face, three seat options, regular seat, car seat, and bassinette, and it is so stinkin' cute! I think someone upstairs was trying to play a sick joke on me yesterday....when A and I were at Tiny Town, there was not one, but TWO City Selects (both doubles, I don't waste my time on a single) parked next to our stroller...really people?!? Downside: I do not have two children. Upside: it is essentially a single that you add a second seat onto, so could be good to get used to it with just A. Downside: I have A LOT of strollers already. Upside: I could sell them!

In short...Zulily is my death, Amazon Prime has cost me thousands, diapers.com is currently blocked from my computer, and gift cards actually speed up my pulse.

xoxo

Daily Mom (Consumer)

A Battle Lost...A War Won.

So we went over to my sister's house this weekend for a BBQ. We were having a blast, playing with bubbles, balls, and an assortment of her younger cousin's toys that we laid out on the blanket, when A spots her cousin's sippy cup. Now, don't think I was being a crappy mom this weekend and forgot her sippy cup, oh no, A's sippy cup was right in her hand when this all occurred.

 So, as A spots the new cup (one we shockingly do not have in our house) she went right for it. Since they are cousins and neither of us are too concerned with germs, the girls often share, which is exactly what A did...she went up and grabbed the cup out of her poor little cousin's hand and started chugging. Who cares right? Yeah, that is what I thought until I tried to pry the cup out of her tiny little fingers. She wanted nothing to do with her sippy cup, only her cousins.

No big deal I thought as I headed into my sister's kitchen and grabbed another identical sippy cup out of the drawer. Using her cousin's fancy new cup, A dominated her milk. She even double fisted her cup and her cousin's which is quite a skill to have acquired at such a young age...I don't think I could manage that till college!

Since it was getting pretty late I quickly packed up A, my husband, and my in-laws who were staying with us, and headed home without realizing A still had her cousin's cup in her hand. When we got home I cleaned up the remaining food and debris off A, threw the sippy cup in the dishwasher, and put her to bed.

The next morning, when A came downstairs for her milk and breakfast, she headed right over to the drawer where her sippy cups are located to pick out which one she wanted. This is something she does each morning, and again after nap time...she loves being in control of her choices (something that is already starting to come back and bit me in the a#$). After going through each cup, picking it up and shaking her head as she said "no", we were out of options. There was one stray cup in the dish rack from the day before so I presented that one to her too...again another "no". After explaining to a whining child that she was out of options, I remembered her cousin's cup in the dishwasher. I pulled out the still dirty cup and she yelled, "yeah!". So I washed it out and poured her milk into the cup. That was on saturday....A has not used another cup since! She refuses to touch any of her other sippy cups, so being the responsible mom that I am, and knowing I cannot keep hand washing her cup, I went onto Amazon and paid my $4.99 for a two pack of identical cups. Hey, if she will drink her milk, $4.99 is a small price to pay. 

Here's to losing all control, one sippy cup battle at a time :)

xoxo

Daily Mom

A New Twist on Date Night

My in-laws are in town this week, so naturally my husband and I took advantage of them being in our house and headed out for a date night last night. A few days ago the chatter around our house turned to finding something to do on date night. Typically we just go to dinner, since we are paying for a sitter at home, but with a free babysitting service we thought we should branch out and do something different!

Here is how our conversation went...

While doing the dishes:

Me: How about bowling?

Hubby: Really?

Me: No, I would rather go to dinner.

Brushing our teeth:

Hubby: How about going to see a movie?

Me: Too tired, I would fall asleep before the good previews started playing...you know when it is still the dumb trivia.

Walking the dog (and the baby of course)

Me: How about going to a bar?

Hubby: We would walk into an empty bar at 6:30 at night and want to go home when the first people started arriving at 9pm.

Me: I probably would want to leave before 9:00

Playing with A:

Me: How about getting wasted and finding some horses to ride?

Hubby: no acknowledgement

Me: Do we have any errands we need to do without a baby in tow?

Hubby: Nope

As we are feed A dinner on Friday night (aka date night)

Hubby: How about Kona Grill

Me: Dinner, perfect!

Seriously, we tried...but what is there to do when you are parents: meaning nothing that can involve jail time, too late of a night, anything permanent, or leaving the state? Yeah, I couldn't come up with anything either. We did have a great dinner though, and it was getting late so we brought dessert home to enjoy on the couch :)

xoxo

Daily Mom  

Who Am I To Judge

So I was driving home from my workout with my mom this morning, gazing off into the distance, trying to figure out my day in my head, when I look to my left and see a pick-up truck. Yeah, nothing too out of the ordinary, I agree. However, while I am glancing over I see a car seat out of the corner of my eye...no, way I think to myself. But as I am coasting gently along side of the truck there is no mistake. There is a car seat in the passenger seat, facing forward, carrying a giggling child who is no more than three.

At first I was in shock...I mean how many adds, doctors, and magazines are there that reiterate the fact that children under 11 years old (at least) are NOT safe in the front seat. But then I got thinking and figured what else are they to do. It was a dad driving, and he looked like he was headed for work (and not the kind where you wear a suit) and his little boy was probably off to daycare or a relative's house. There was no backseat in this truck, or even partial back seat, the window that overlooks the truck bed was directly behind their heads. So, yes, is it safe to transport a child like that...probably not...but who am I to judge a parent who is doing the best they can, and smiling and interacting with their kid at the same time.

Drive safe truck man, and keep laughing with your little boy!

xoxo

Daily Mom

Husband of the Year

I know I just blogged about my day today, but there was a very important, and traumatic part, I left out. If you know me, you know that I love my reusable Starbucks cup (the clear insulated kind) more than life. Well, not more than A's life, but you get my point. I always have it with me, filled with water, coffee, something sparkling (and non-alcoholic, get your mind out of the gutter, I look after a small child all day), coconut water with pineapple (my new obsession), or anything else liquid I am in the mood for. My husband jokes that I can no longer call my Starbucks runs "a treat" since I go 5 out of 7 days a week, but it does not stop me. Sometimes, I will even drive through the drive-through of Starbucks twice if A is asleep in the car...the first time to place my order and drop off my reusable cup and the second to collect my "treat" in my cup!

Well today the unthinkable happened, I went out to the car as usual (in the rain) and quickly got A in her car seat. Then our cute old-lady neighbor from across the street came out and talked to me for a few minutes. Since she is older, I didn't want her to have to come out into the rain from the protection of the big tree in her yard, so I shuffled a few yards towards her. After I could politely say good-bye I hustled back into my car, shaking the rain from my sweatshirt before getting into the driver seat. As A and I pull out from our house and head to our workout, I have a sneaky suspicion I forgot something. About 3 minutes later as I reach down to take a swig of water from my cup, I come up empty handed. CRAP....my cup, which I placed on the back bumper of my car like I do every day, is not in the car. Of course, I went around the front of my car (which I never do) because I was talking to Nana (that is what I call our neighbor) and left my cup on the back bumper. I gingerly pull the car over and hopefully jump out to check the bumper...but it is bare.

As I frantically call home and have my mother-in-law check around outside our house, I know it is a lost cause. A few minutes later, as my husband is leaving for work he sends me this picture with the caption, "I found your cup".

It wasn't originally this bad, he told me, but as he was pulling over to get a picture of my slightly cracked cup, a huge van roars past him and runs it over again, splintering the hard plastic and flinging the lid and straw. Obviously, I was super upset, and as I am trying to get through my workout (missing my water) and pissed at anyone who drives a van, I get another picture text.

This one said, "Found you a brand new one". My adorable husband went to Starbucks, a place I don't think he has ever been in without me, and bought me a brand new cup! He definitely gets Husband of the Year for this one!

xoxo

Daily Mom

My BIG Little Girl

So, I think I tell A what to do too way much. Today, we had our usual workout, and since it was raining out we stayed at the mall and went to tiny town with her buddy, E, and some other friends. As I was dodging kids and trying to keep up with A's new running pace, I listened to myself for a little bit. I know this seems weird, I mean how often do you actually listen to yourself actually talk, not just all the crazy thoughts that run through your head? Same, I think this was my first time. Anyway, as I was chasing A all around it dawned on me that I tell her what to do, and I tell her "no" a lot. Here is a breakdown of our conversation...

Me: Be carefully, babe.

A: yeah (she pretty much says this to whatever I ask her)

Me: A, watch out for that!

A: grunt, and dodge

Me: No, sweetie, we go up the stairs and down the slide...not up the slide.

A: ignores me

Me: Oop...slow down

A: crash

Me: No, A, we don't push

A: pushes

Me: Remember, we don't go up the slide

A: slips down the slide she has managed to climb partially up

Me: Why don't you come over here.

A: ignores me

Me: Look, A, want to go through the tunnel

A: runs over to the slide

Me: Watch out, the little boy wants to go down

A: ignores me

Me: Come on over here...No, no, that is not our stroller

A: grabbing some kids snack

Me: Sorry (to the mom), come on A, let's go play

A: having fun, annoyed with me being all up in her business

Me: Exhausted

So, needless-to-say the morning was so much fun, but I think more stressful than necessary. I think my little girl is growing up and needs to figure out life on her own (while being supervised, of course) a little bit more.

xoxo

Daily Mom

A Girls' Weekend!

This weekend we did a Mother's Day weekend with my two sisters and my mom. On Friday night we packed up, kissed the kids, and headed to St. Michael's on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, for a relaxing weekend full of girl time, catching up, and of course wine.

Our hotel was amazing...The Inn At Perry Cabin is beyond breathtaking, located right on the bend of the river, with sprawling lawns and Adirondack chairs laid out for lazy afternoons. The story behind the inn is it was home to Laura Ashley once, and supposedly she fell down the stairs and died somewhere in the inn's main house. Although no ghosts visited us at night, her china was visible daily during our morning cup of coffee and for our afternoon snack in the pub.

So we arrived Friday night, and prepared for our weekend of pampering. Let me share some highlights with you so you can have a sneak peak at our weekend escape. Saturday morning started off with a run in the fitness center. Yes, you might not think this sounds very exciting, but having a chance to wake up and go for a run without having to worry about feeding, changing, or watching a small child was pretty great! Below is the view from the second floor fitness center, as I jogged (slowly) and watched some rabbits chase each other around the vegetable garden below.

Then we toured two houses we might rent to stay in for my parents' anniversary in the fall...I am not sure YUCK accurately describes them. Let me make a comparison...You know when you have that feeling that something is not right with your kid as they are squirming where they are sitting with that tight expression on their face. Then you pick them up, only to find your arm suddenly feeling very warm, as a your head jerks to the side to avoid the stench that is coming from your child who is covered in poop. Oh, did I mention you are also at the grocery store, with a full cart, and no diaper bag? Yeah, well that is what these houses were like...you didn't know what to do or where to turn to avoid the disaster blowing up in your face.

After that adventure we headed into town to grab some lunch. We decided on this little sushi restaurant on main street, before we let the shopping spree begin. Now, my whole family loves sushi, even A gobbles up raw tuna and salmon once a week, so sushi was a logical choice for a yummy lunch. We ordered some sashimi, rolls, and tuna poki and started looking for more houses on our ipad. When the food arrived we all filled our soy sauce dishes and dug in. As I am putting the yummiest looking piece of salmon in my mouth, and laughing over my sisters recent comment, I am startled by my mom violently spiting her tuna into her napkin. Of course we all freeze and look over to her, assuming she is chocking or something serious. Well, apparently her tuna had gone bad.  I relent the decision to the my sister to try the "rotten" tuna, claiming I will puke on the table if I have to eat rotten fish. They both take small, timid bites, scrunching up their faces in the process, and made a unanimous decision that the tuna was fresh and my mom was crazy. Now, it is not that we don't love our mom, but sometimes she exaggerates. As I am watching her shake her head as she pushes away her dish, I grab that first piece of salmon, dip it in my soy, and slide it into my mouth. While I refocus my attention on my sisters, and let the salmon slide down my throat, it hits me...I just ate rotten fish. I gag, but it is too late, I have swallowed it! In between chugging my green tea and wiping my tongue with my napkin, I try to explain why I am about to vomit on our lunch. I think my direct quote was, "I hate you all, I just ate rotten fish...I am going to throw up and shit my pants". About two minutes later, with a stomach ache in the making and a frantic sushi restaurant staff, I head out of the restaurant with my mom, leaving my sisters behind with the rotten fish. I had enough...double yuck!

Humm...rereading this blog, my weekend escape doesn't sound quite so wonderful...it gets better, I promise.

At 3pm, with a gurgling tummy, I head to the spa for the most amazing massage of my life. If I lived closer to St. Michael's and had an unlimited bank account, I would go back weekly to let Sophie work her magic.

We finished the evening with a great dinner (yeah, still couldn't eat too much) and a fun night with my sisters and mom before we headed home early Sunday morning. Although I was pretty hesitant to leave A for two nights, I made it, and wouldn't trade the memories for anything...well maybe for a fresh sushi dinner :)

xoxo

Daily Mom

I'll Discover Your Port

No, I am not being a dirty bird...we went to Port Discovery for our weekly playdate with my GF's and their kids! I cannot even begin to describe how much fun we had, and I am so annoyed my blog about this got deleted (some problems with the blog site I guess) but I will try to sum it up...again.

Basically Port Discover (PD) is a huge three story building with rooms and rooms for kids to explore, discover, poke, pull, and climb. There even is a section specifically for kids two and under! I am not doing it any justice describing it, but A is starting to wake up from her nap and I want to get the pictures up!

First we went to the Water Room, which is made up of a giant water table for the kids to splash around and play in...obviously amazing for a small child. When they walked in, they got to pick out a raincoat to wear to avoid looking like little drown rats at the end of the day. While they were adorable and definitely added to the splashing, they had long since lost their waterproof powers. First the kids were a little hesitant, well A was at least, especially considering her recent trauma with the tub, I was pleased she even attempted to play in this room. That was a worry that was soon out the window as she was splashing and squealing up a storm! After about 40 minutes we dragged three sopping wet, and quite tuckered out, kids down to the second room.

Told you the raincoats were adorable!

Stop pointing at me...I am putting my hand in.

Oh, relax; it is just a little water! hehe.

See how much fun this is together!

I LOVE this place!

Next we went to the Tot Zone, which is another area for kids three and under. Here there is a mat area for them to play on, a fish tank, some ramps to explore, a tree house, a little library, a sandbox (we wouldn't let out still dripping kids near) and (lucky for us) they even had story time! They were so tired when we left for the morning, they could hardly stay awake through lunch.

A fish!

Here you go, buddy!

High-five to the cutest girl in the room!

Humm...what else is in here?

Mom, I found a giraffe!

Phew, all this playing is wearing me out.

A and her buddy E, were almost too tired to hold hand after their lunch by the water...which for these two is crazy because they feed each other snack and hold hand every chance they get! They are way too cute sometimes.

Lunch by the water.

"A, take my hand already!"

Hope you were able to catch the post about PD that vanished...I did a much better job explaining!

Have a great weekend!

xoxo

Daily Mom

A First for Everything

Kids are funny little humans. Most of my time with A is spent running around after her making sure she is not getting into something she shouldn't, or hurting herself in any way. Obviously we have so much fun in the process, but a lot of my day is spend a few heart beats above normal as I watch her tackle the world of walking (and falling). Then there are those sweet, tender moments that make spending the last half an hour chasing her around the house, cleaning up water after her tub, picking squished blueberries out of her hair, or gathering toys scattered all over the family room, so much better. Today we had one of those moments.

First, let me remind you that A is in no way a snuggle-bug. Ever since she was born she wanted pretty much nothing to do with being held like a baby. She was way to nosey for that! This little girl was here to see the world and everyone in it. She is the only kid I know who never fell asleep on my husband or I when we were out, simply because she couldn't close her eyes for a second and miss her favorite activity...people watching.

This being said, the theme of our last gym class was hugging. I kid you not when I say I fought a squirming kid, who just wanted to get down and play, into hugging me several times during class when the music would stop and the instructor would say, "let's practice hugging". While the other kids sort of had the idea of going to their mom and putting their arms around her neck, leg, tummy, or whatever else was close to their level, I would chase A across the mat, pick her up as she was whining and kicking, and place her arms around my neck. To say she was not a fan of this was an understatement. On the plus side, she did learn to run pretty quickly that gym class!

Then today it happened. As I was taking A out of her car seat this morning to get her into her stroller for our workout, she threw her tiny little bird arms around my neck, laid her head on my shoulder, and squeezed as she played with my hair. Granted, I nearly dropped her out of pure shock, but once I recovered it was one of the most rewarding moments of my mom-life. Have you read the Jenny McCarthy book about her son Evan, and how all she wanted when he was a baby was for him to be able to say "I love you" back...well today was my I love you from A!

She can do no wrong today, so live it up A!

Here are some pictures from the park, after I recovered from the shock of her hug.

xoxo

Daily Mom

ps...If you need a good beach read, that will instantly make you feel like you know what you are doing as a mom, read this book!
                                                                    

Happy Mother's Day!

I was looking back to pictures from a year ago, and I cannot believe how much A has changed (and how much she has stayed the same). Mother's Day did not seem very real last year; maybe because I was still in the fog of having a very small, not sleeping child. But this year, I couldn't wait! It is weird to think about how much I learned in one year, and how much we have accomplished as a family. This time last year, I could barely tell you how to put a diaper on correctly, and now I can recite A's schedule, food preferences, vocabulary, like and dislikes, and every little feature of her personality. I probably know more about this little human living in our house, than I do about myself...and I love it!

A and Mommy Mother's Day 2010

Since it was Mother's Day, and my call on what to do all day, I decided a trip to the zoo was in order! Okay, I admit it, I love the zoo as much as A does, and I don't care who knows :)  We had a great time walking around with the goats, even though she took a pretty good tumble (look at her forehead in the picture), watching the penguins splash in their pool, and of course feeding the giraffes. My husband was a little skeptical about feeding them, but I think he secretly loved it in the end!

Ouch!

Our Little Cowgirl!

A was a little sketched out being this close :)

Nap time was a bit shorter than planned!

This is a good distance to see the giraffes!

Cheers to a great Mother's Day!

xoxo

Daily Mom

Derby Day!

Every year my oldest sister has a crazy fun Derby party. Since this was the big tenth year, she went all out with pony rides, a petting zoo, bounce houses, and of course southsides! I couldn't wait till A got up from her afternoon nap (oh yeah, the one where she decided not to sleep..she must have been excited too) so we could get her to the party! She loved running around after her cousins, petting the ponies, bunnies, and the goat, and of course spending some quality time with daddy and in the swing!

Happy Derby Day!

xoxo

Daily Mom