Idea inspired from Baby Center
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
A Phone Call and a Playdate
Just had to type up a quick entry about a phone call I received today. My sister-in-law, Lisa, rang in the later afternoon proclaiming boredom and a touch of cabin fever. We exchanged similar stories and before I knew it we had agreed that she would drive over to my place and we'd trek off to our local park.
I am so glad she picked up the phone to call me. I really enjoyed her visit and had a wonderful time picking up her children and giving them a cuddle when they obliged. I adore her children as I do my own and get so much from seeing them tot themselves around.
It was lovely too to see Maggie entertain them and see my sister-in-law interact with her. I think that Lisa must have set quite an impression with Maggie too as she detailed a rather fancy story at dinner time about a time when she and Lisa went blackberry picking in the forest and took all the strawberries away from the big bear.
Can't wait to do it again and Lisa, I finally got my laundry put away tonight. Well, most of it. Another load is spinning around in the dryer as I type.
I am so glad she picked up the phone to call me. I really enjoyed her visit and had a wonderful time picking up her children and giving them a cuddle when they obliged. I adore her children as I do my own and get so much from seeing them tot themselves around.
It was lovely too to see Maggie entertain them and see my sister-in-law interact with her. I think that Lisa must have set quite an impression with Maggie too as she detailed a rather fancy story at dinner time about a time when she and Lisa went blackberry picking in the forest and took all the strawberries away from the big bear.
Can't wait to do it again and Lisa, I finally got my laundry put away tonight. Well, most of it. Another load is spinning around in the dryer as I type.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
So Much To Be Happy About...
I've been busy. Busy with happy things and busy with things which need to be taken care of. Let me begin with my datenight last week. It was Wednesday night, the night off he planned for me for Mother's Day. It was a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful evening. Grandma J came over to look after the children around four in the afternoon which gave me time to get into a fresh pair of jeans (my uniform of choice) and a cute new top I purchased for the event. Hubby and I left at five, relaxed and happy to be out of the house together while the sun was still up. I can't remember the last time we were out alone without the kids when it was still light so this alone felt pretty darn special. We made it to our old familiar stomping ground in L.A. with enough time to enjoy dinner at a favorite Indian restaurant we used to frequent.
We sat and waited for our food to come and it was still light outside. I smile now as I write this and can see hubby's face with his goofy smile, along with slouched shoulders and seriously old but much loved tee-shirt. The food was up to its usual scrumalicious standard and it was a great treat not to be asking for the cheque to go before and entrees hit the table. Spending quality time with hubby and enjoy each others company as we did when we first met, if not more so, was the a biggest reward of the entire evening. It is a very comforting feeling to enjoy your partner of ten plus years without the chaos of life for distraction.
The show, "Wicked", was far from a disappointment too. Hubby went all out and got some super tickets. We were thirteen rows from the front and pretty much in the center of the front stage. There were a three little girls around Maggie's age sitting in front of us looking too cute for words, donned with their best dresses and hair pinned up -- sitting next to their equally cute L.A. style mothers. Eric and I looked at each other and I'm sure we were thinking the same thing -- We have to take Maggie to the theatre this summer. But the show, the show, the show. More about the show. It was a musical so had lots of singing and dancing and jumping about the stage with a little bit of flying and special effects thrown in. Overall it was a great show to see and it was interesting to see the how the plot unfolded if not a little predictable for my analytical mind. The singing was exemplary and some of the songs were particularly touching -- I can foresee many a high school putting on their own production. I think though, I may have outgrown my love for musicals and might just prefer to see a play instead but hey, I'm not complaining. We had a great time. It was a lot of fun and a great date night. One I shall not forget.
Moving on to this past weekend -- it was a lot of fun too. Hubby has been out of town and no, that is not as the reason why it was so much fun. One of the other trillion reasons I have a lot to be happy about is the graciousness of my in-laws. I really couldn't ask for a better pair. This weekend my father in-law fulfilled a promise he made to me on my birthday back in January. He came down to paint my bathroom. Let me say that again. My father-in-law came down to paint my bathroom, a bathroom that has been on out list to do for about three years now. We supplied the paint and all the tools and he did all the hard work of sanding, prep and painting. Wow! What a guy.
Though I couldn't do much to help out with the actual painting and prepping part of the bathroom it has been great to have his company. My children just adore him and its been truly splendid having him around. He bought out a different side to Maggie that I don't get to see that often and caused my son to spin around on his stomach with excitement just by knocking at the door in the mornings. And for me? For me, he has given and shown me so much more than a painted bathroom, so much more. I don't mean to sound so pathetically sappy here but my father-in-law has shown so much integrity and class it has been inspiring and quite frankly, a life learning experience. I am and always will be grateful for the love and respect he has shown me. I am truly honored.
Last week Maggie also had her own art show at her pre-school. This is her last week so it was quite a poignant moment to attend her school's annual art show. Maggie had four pieces on show complete with a little photo of herself next to each piece. Sparkling apple cider and lots of great finger food was provided by the parents of the pre-schoolers and overall it was a great evening with a chance to thank the people who had made Maggie's year of pre-school a memorable and positive one. I was also more than happy to part with my dollars to pay for Maggie's art work. Believe it or not, and with biased aside, her pieces are frame worthy. I'll be sure to look out for some good deals on frames and if I knew how to scan and upload photos I would be posting them on here too. Her collection consisted of a blue collage on canvas, a Pollock inspired canvas piece, a sand paint on black canvas piece, and a Picasso inspired portrait piece. It really was amazing to see what creativity the teachers were able to pull out of my little Maggie and the high level of art work many of the other kids showed. It was lovely. If I didn't think I was robbing another parent of their kids work I'd be buying some of the other kid's work too. This week is Maggie's last and final week of pre-school. I am sure it will whip round to Friday before I know it. I can tell already that I'm going to burst some water banks. My big girl is just growing up too fast.
We sat and waited for our food to come and it was still light outside. I smile now as I write this and can see hubby's face with his goofy smile, along with slouched shoulders and seriously old but much loved tee-shirt. The food was up to its usual scrumalicious standard and it was a great treat not to be asking for the cheque to go before and entrees hit the table. Spending quality time with hubby and enjoy each others company as we did when we first met, if not more so, was the a biggest reward of the entire evening. It is a very comforting feeling to enjoy your partner of ten plus years without the chaos of life for distraction.
The show, "Wicked", was far from a disappointment too. Hubby went all out and got some super tickets. We were thirteen rows from the front and pretty much in the center of the front stage. There were a three little girls around Maggie's age sitting in front of us looking too cute for words, donned with their best dresses and hair pinned up -- sitting next to their equally cute L.A. style mothers. Eric and I looked at each other and I'm sure we were thinking the same thing -- We have to take Maggie to the theatre this summer. But the show, the show, the show. More about the show. It was a musical so had lots of singing and dancing and jumping about the stage with a little bit of flying and special effects thrown in. Overall it was a great show to see and it was interesting to see the how the plot unfolded if not a little predictable for my analytical mind. The singing was exemplary and some of the songs were particularly touching -- I can foresee many a high school putting on their own production. I think though, I may have outgrown my love for musicals and might just prefer to see a play instead but hey, I'm not complaining. We had a great time. It was a lot of fun and a great date night. One I shall not forget.
Moving on to this past weekend -- it was a lot of fun too. Hubby has been out of town and no, that is not as the reason why it was so much fun. One of the other trillion reasons I have a lot to be happy about is the graciousness of my in-laws. I really couldn't ask for a better pair. This weekend my father in-law fulfilled a promise he made to me on my birthday back in January. He came down to paint my bathroom. Let me say that again. My father-in-law came down to paint my bathroom, a bathroom that has been on out list to do for about three years now. We supplied the paint and all the tools and he did all the hard work of sanding, prep and painting. Wow! What a guy.
Though I couldn't do much to help out with the actual painting and prepping part of the bathroom it has been great to have his company. My children just adore him and its been truly splendid having him around. He bought out a different side to Maggie that I don't get to see that often and caused my son to spin around on his stomach with excitement just by knocking at the door in the mornings. And for me? For me, he has given and shown me so much more than a painted bathroom, so much more. I don't mean to sound so pathetically sappy here but my father-in-law has shown so much integrity and class it has been inspiring and quite frankly, a life learning experience. I am and always will be grateful for the love and respect he has shown me. I am truly honored.
Last week Maggie also had her own art show at her pre-school. This is her last week so it was quite a poignant moment to attend her school's annual art show. Maggie had four pieces on show complete with a little photo of herself next to each piece. Sparkling apple cider and lots of great finger food was provided by the parents of the pre-schoolers and overall it was a great evening with a chance to thank the people who had made Maggie's year of pre-school a memorable and positive one. I was also more than happy to part with my dollars to pay for Maggie's art work. Believe it or not, and with biased aside, her pieces are frame worthy. I'll be sure to look out for some good deals on frames and if I knew how to scan and upload photos I would be posting them on here too. Her collection consisted of a blue collage on canvas, a Pollock inspired canvas piece, a sand paint on black canvas piece, and a Picasso inspired portrait piece. It really was amazing to see what creativity the teachers were able to pull out of my little Maggie and the high level of art work many of the other kids showed. It was lovely. If I didn't think I was robbing another parent of their kids work I'd be buying some of the other kid's work too. This week is Maggie's last and final week of pre-school. I am sure it will whip round to Friday before I know it. I can tell already that I'm going to burst some water banks. My big girl is just growing up too fast.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The Orange Juice Experiment
This is one of the many reasons why I am glad to stay at home with my children. My daughter took her time to get out of bed this morning (she is her mother's child) and I decided that as we were already running late for her pre-school we may as well just be late, slow down and enjoy the morning. After all, she will soon be out of pre-school and into kindergarten where leisurely mornings will be a thing of the past.
This is a small part of our morning -: The Orange Juice Experiment.
In getting breakfast together for my littlest one I cut up some orange pieces for him, made him some toast and gave him some yogurt with a glass of store bought O.J on the side. Breakfast is a big meal in our house -- well for the kids it is. I'm doing well if I have a bite of toast and a glass of something. As I was sitting with my sweet little boy, enjoying his smile, I was inspired.
I wondered -- had Maggie ever seen how to get juice from an orange? Lemons, yes, but orange juice? Does she even really understand the concept of orange juice from a bottle being squeezed out of an orange? Maybe, but probably not. So after Maggie finally got out of bed and dressed for the day (this is after playing in her room and reading two books with me and Ryan) we were in the kitchen and I told her I had something really cool to show her.
I opened the fridge door and pulled out an orange. I asked her, "What is this called?" She looked at me puzzled and said in a giggly voice, "It's an orange mummy." I then cut the orange in half and showed her the center, "Look at the inside Maggie, isn't it pretty? Do you see all the segments? These two halfs make one whole orange, look see -- two halfs make one orange."
"Oh yeah ..." she said, still a little perplexed about what was going to be so cool. "Now watch this." I pulled out my hand juicer put one half orange on top, pushed down and squeezed. The juice came pouring out like water from a tap. She giggled some more and let out an expletive "wow! Mummy! Look at all the juice! Be careful mummy. You're spilling some. Oh wow! So juicy."
She then helped me pour the juice we collected from the two half into a clean glass and we sampled it. It wasn't bad, a little tart. We then grabbed another glass and poured in the O.J. from the store. Maggie noticed they differed slightly in colour and declared that the store orange juice tasted much better and decided to extend the experiment further. "I know mummy. I've got a great idea. Lets mix the two up together." And so we did. The tartness of the fresh orange juice engulfed the flavor of the store bought juice and Maggie was no longer interested in sampling anything more other than the store's juice.
She was so cute and unbelievable excited about the whole experiment. She finished her breakfast, packed her "story bag" (a bag filled with toys to make up a story with) and we were off -- an hour later than what we were scheduled but it didn't matter. We made a super start to the day and had some fun of our own. Maggie learned where orange juice comes from and that two halfs make up one whole, that fresh squeezed has a slightly different colour to the bottled kind and most importantly -- the store bought kind with the added calcium just tasted better. Who'd have thought ...
This is a small part of our morning -: The Orange Juice Experiment.
In getting breakfast together for my littlest one I cut up some orange pieces for him, made him some toast and gave him some yogurt with a glass of store bought O.J on the side. Breakfast is a big meal in our house -- well for the kids it is. I'm doing well if I have a bite of toast and a glass of something. As I was sitting with my sweet little boy, enjoying his smile, I was inspired.
I wondered -- had Maggie ever seen how to get juice from an orange? Lemons, yes, but orange juice? Does she even really understand the concept of orange juice from a bottle being squeezed out of an orange? Maybe, but probably not. So after Maggie finally got out of bed and dressed for the day (this is after playing in her room and reading two books with me and Ryan) we were in the kitchen and I told her I had something really cool to show her.
I opened the fridge door and pulled out an orange. I asked her, "What is this called?" She looked at me puzzled and said in a giggly voice, "It's an orange mummy." I then cut the orange in half and showed her the center, "Look at the inside Maggie, isn't it pretty? Do you see all the segments? These two halfs make one whole orange, look see -- two halfs make one orange."
"Oh yeah ..." she said, still a little perplexed about what was going to be so cool. "Now watch this." I pulled out my hand juicer put one half orange on top, pushed down and squeezed. The juice came pouring out like water from a tap. She giggled some more and let out an expletive "wow! Mummy! Look at all the juice! Be careful mummy. You're spilling some. Oh wow! So juicy."
She then helped me pour the juice we collected from the two half into a clean glass and we sampled it. It wasn't bad, a little tart. We then grabbed another glass and poured in the O.J. from the store. Maggie noticed they differed slightly in colour and declared that the store orange juice tasted much better and decided to extend the experiment further. "I know mummy. I've got a great idea. Lets mix the two up together." And so we did. The tartness of the fresh orange juice engulfed the flavor of the store bought juice and Maggie was no longer interested in sampling anything more other than the store's juice.
She was so cute and unbelievable excited about the whole experiment. She finished her breakfast, packed her "story bag" (a bag filled with toys to make up a story with) and we were off -- an hour later than what we were scheduled but it didn't matter. We made a super start to the day and had some fun of our own. Maggie learned where orange juice comes from and that two halfs make up one whole, that fresh squeezed has a slightly different colour to the bottled kind and most importantly -- the store bought kind with the added calcium just tasted better. Who'd have thought ...
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Mother's Day Surprise
My husband, great man that he is, isn't all that great about gift giving. I'd say his skill in gift giving is right up there with his reluctance to do housework, cooking -- or gardening for that matter. For a little perspective, he choose to give me an electronic toothbrush for the first birthday as his wife; Walgreens was the only store open before 10am the morning of my birthday. As the years have passed I have sometimes gracefully and sometimes not so gracefully accepted this part of our relationship but ultimately always believed in the sanctity of it.
To give hubby credit, he has slowly improved over the years but he's never going to be a guy who showers me with gifts and lines up surprise parties no more than I'd want him to be that way that guy. However, since the arrival of our children I have felt the display of affection and note of appreciation is definitely one which should be displayed as an example for our children to model from; believing that through us they learn how to love and respect one another, themselves and us as parents.
Henceforth the email I sent to hubby on Friday about mid-day titled "Some Ideas for Mother's Day". In it I listed suggested a place to pick up a card with the kids, some light housework chores to do and some fun kid projects to do and some photos of the kids. Thankfully hubby was not offended and took it in his stride. Little did I know he had already made a start on honoring me for mother's day.
I got not one card on mother's day but three. One from each child and one from hubby. The three of them came huddling in my room after a lovely two hour solitary lay-in. The sight of all three happy and proud little faces at the end of my bed as they each handed me a card was picture perfect and bought me to tears. Maggie asked why I was crying and I got to tell her it was because I loved her, Ryan and Daddy so very much and was just really happy and so very proud. I'd say this was the moment of my mother's day which will stand the test of time the best. Their faces and warm bodies just melt my heart away and without anyone one of them I wouldn't be the mummy I am.
But, but, but... there is more. I also received two bouquets of flowers. A sneaky decoy from the market and another delivered my mail on Saturday with a hallmark worthy poem written by hubby and a wonderful box of choccies to share -- plus, plus, plus....a date night for next Wednesday to see the musical "Wicked". Oh what a lucky gal I am. I am. Oh what a lucky gal I am.
Tonight, I shall sleep well. Can't wait for tomorrow start. I feel so blessed and am so grateful for the love which surrounds me. I'll just work on the housework today and schedule that family portrait myself and count down the days to wednesday.
To give hubby credit, he has slowly improved over the years but he's never going to be a guy who showers me with gifts and lines up surprise parties no more than I'd want him to be that way that guy. However, since the arrival of our children I have felt the display of affection and note of appreciation is definitely one which should be displayed as an example for our children to model from; believing that through us they learn how to love and respect one another, themselves and us as parents.
Henceforth the email I sent to hubby on Friday about mid-day titled "Some Ideas for Mother's Day". In it I listed suggested a place to pick up a card with the kids, some light housework chores to do and some fun kid projects to do and some photos of the kids. Thankfully hubby was not offended and took it in his stride. Little did I know he had already made a start on honoring me for mother's day.
I got not one card on mother's day but three. One from each child and one from hubby. The three of them came huddling in my room after a lovely two hour solitary lay-in. The sight of all three happy and proud little faces at the end of my bed as they each handed me a card was picture perfect and bought me to tears. Maggie asked why I was crying and I got to tell her it was because I loved her, Ryan and Daddy so very much and was just really happy and so very proud. I'd say this was the moment of my mother's day which will stand the test of time the best. Their faces and warm bodies just melt my heart away and without anyone one of them I wouldn't be the mummy I am.
But, but, but... there is more. I also received two bouquets of flowers. A sneaky decoy from the market and another delivered my mail on Saturday with a hallmark worthy poem written by hubby and a wonderful box of choccies to share -- plus, plus, plus....a date night for next Wednesday to see the musical "Wicked". Oh what a lucky gal I am. I am. Oh what a lucky gal I am.
Tonight, I shall sleep well. Can't wait for tomorrow start. I feel so blessed and am so grateful for the love which surrounds me. I'll just work on the housework today and schedule that family portrait myself and count down the days to wednesday.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
A Sentiment to File Away
....I believe that you are really close to being the person you want to be....
This is what my husband said to me on Saturday as I was running over a few little minor blips in some of my past and current relationships with friends and family. It was so profound and just about the best compliment I have ever received at the most perfect time.
My husband knows me well enough to recognize that I can be my own worst critique in striving for ideals I can't always meet. Yet in his eyes -- as wife, mother and friend, I was getting pretty darn close. It was a wonderful, intimate and unforgettable moment on the 405 somewhere between Long Beach and El Segundo and I have filed the sentiment away in my mummy brain to bring out on an as need basis.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Five Things You Should Never Buy For Mother's Day
I caught this article on yahoo and it made me laugh.... To the mothers out there. I hope you don't get the "Man Cold" for a gift.
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