Betty Homemaker

Last Christmas, my parents gave each of their children a wheat grinder. I looked at mine with interest, thought "Ooh, pretty!," and then placed it on the floor of my pantry next to all my other unused kitchen appliances. Until today when my mom instructed me in Breadmaking 101 (otherwise known as How To Be A Good Wife And Mother).
Today I learned how to grind my own wheat, make dough, shape dough, and turn it into delicious, healthy loaves. The only way this bread could be more homemade is if I harvested the wheat myself.
Voila! Two perfect loaves of wheat bread. Ellie got a little too excited about the bread on the counter, thus the gouges in the loaf on the left.

Crazy monkey

Ellie pulled out her old monkey costume from her closet today and insisted on wearing it. When it came time for nap, she wouldn't take it off so I just shut the door and left her to it. One hour later, I opened her door to check on her and discovered her fully clothed and fast asleep! She was naked under that monkey suit so apparently she took it off, opened up her shirt drawer and then her pants drawer, and somehow managed to correctly put on a whole new (yes, matching) outfit for the day. But what really impressed me was that her dresser drawers were closed and she didn't have clothes strewn all over her room! I really had no idea that my child could dress herself. I mean, yeah, she is two, but I guess I just always did it for her. I am so excited to discover one more way that I can be lazier.

Opossums, Sea World, Cousins, Wii!

We made a quick trip to San Antonio on Wednesday to stay at my oldest brother's house and go to Sea World. Dave and Ale's house is like a kid's paradise, I think. Between the playroom upstairs and all the fun stuff in the backyard, Ellie did not want to leave. In fact, she kept referring to their back yard as the park. But what really won her over was their pet possum. Yep, you read that right, they have a pet possum named Puddles. Ale found the tiny, blind baby possum half-dead in a puddle while she was out running 6 weeks ago. After a quick trip to the vet, he was brought home. He is a sweet little guy and quite cute despite the fact that he has no eyes. They are trying to teach him to find his own food and such so they can release him into their backyard. But for now, he sleeps in Andrea's closet.
We had a lot of fun hanging out at Dave's house, especially since Dave got a Wii for Father's Day. Man, my arm is sore from playing baseball and tennis with my niece, Abby!
Then, on Thursday we went to San Antonio. My niece, Andrea, came with us and boy am I glad she did. She is like the perfect little babysitter, chasing after Ellie in the 100 degree heat. She was also able to go on the kiddie rides with her so Tom and I didn't have to try to squeeze in them. Ellie really loved the Shamu show. She kept yelling "Dolphin!" and making the sign over and over again. Andrea bought Ellie her very own stuffed Shamu and she hasn't let go of it since. Because it was so hot, we spent the majority of the time in the water park area. Ellie especially loved the wave pool. I thought I would just sit in the shallow end and let the waves gently run over Ellie and I. Um, yeah, those waves are really hard! The first one knocked me back and pulled the top of my tankini all the way up (and I do mean all the way up). Ellie bobbed away in her life jacket, laughing hysterically.

We arrived home late last night, completely exhausted, but feeling really happy after our first official family adventure of the summer.

That's how I roll

Hugs to Aunt Tara for the cool new tee!

The men in my life

My Father

On the first Sunday of every month, my dad would meet with each of us kids individually. At that time, he would give us our allowance and then we would set goals. I would set a goal for that month, like to make straight A’s. And then he would set a goal, like to build some bookshelves for my room. And then he would tell me he loved me and give me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. For as long as I can remember, my dad never missed a father-daughter meeting. If he happened to be out of town on business that first Sunday, he would do it the very next Sunday. That’s just how my dad is. Family always comes first. Growing up, my dad and I didn’t always see eye to eye. He views the world in black and white and I was always looking for the shades of gray. But I hope my dad knows how much I admire and respect him. I feel so blessed to have a dad like him.

Tom

As soon as Ellie was born, I was whisked away to a recovery room and Tom went with Ellie. It was Tom who gave Ellie her first bottle and her first bath. Tom is the one who changed all the diapers while we were at the hospital. And when I went back to work seven weeks later, Tom was the one who stayed home with Ellie for the summer. And then he did it again the following summer. I think those moments helped forge the strong bond that Tom has with Ellie today. Sure, Ellie loves her mommy, but if Tom is around, then I am just chopped liver. It is always “Daddy’s turn.” Time for Ellie to take a bath? "Daddy’s turn." Who pushes the grocery cart? "Daddy’s turn." Who buckles Ellie into her carseat? "Daddy’s turn." I am so thankful that Tom is the type of father who doesn’t mind that it is always his turn.

Happy Father’s Day to the men in my life!

Discovery Green

Today was kind of a crazy day. I loaded Ellie up this morning and we headed downtown to check out the new Discovery Green park. I'd been on the road about 30 minutes when I received a call from Tom saying his car wouldn't start and he was stuck at a gas station. I was really looking forward to a day with Sheryl, Steph, and baby Tate, so I really, really didn't want to have to turn back around. Luckily, Sabrina saved the day and rescued Tom.
The park was pretty cool. The playground area was unique and interesting, but the real highlights of the park are the interactive fountains. Some creepy guy was taking Ellie's picture while she and Steph were playing in the water. Steph kept trying to block him and move Ellie away. He later approached us and gave us his business card. I guess he is a photographer and was trying to drum up some business. He said he was going to upload the pictures to a directory and to email him for the password. Um, wouldn't you ask the parent's permission before you start taking pictures of children in swimsuits? Anyway, Ellie loved playing in the water. I'm glad I packed her suit!

Unfortunately, the rest of the day wasn't so fun. We all got parking tickets even though we had paid the meter. Apparently it was the wrong meter. We are going to contest them next week because who wants to pay $55 for a supposedly free day at the park? Also, Tom's car repairs? $450. And I'm not even going to talk about what Ellie did in the living room when I thought she was watching Dora (let's just say I should have put a onesie on her). Then, we went grocery shopping in the evening and somehow managed to leave half the groceries in the car when we unloaded. 3 hours later I realized we were missing the milk. And the fish. And the sausage. And the cheese. I'd have to say the park and our girls' lunch afterwards were the only highlights of the day.

Tiptoeing into the world of potty training

You can't really tell from this picture, but Ellie is wearing big girl panties under that skirt! Well, technically, they are tiny Elmo panties, but you know what I mean. So far today, she has gone in the potty twice and on my carpet once (but pee is much easier to clean than that other word that I have used way too much on this blog). I haven't really committed to the whole potty training thing. Part of me wants to wait til she is back at school in the fall and just let them do it for me. I'm lazy like that. I only bought the panties because they were so freaking cute. As for Ellie's hair, I was trying to pull it back in a ponytail and she was wiggling around so much that she ended up with an I Dream of Jeannie look.

Sweet

Despite the poo drama, I really, really love the stage Ellie is at now. She is just so sweet! I love how she wraps her arms tight around my neck and kisses my cheek. And how she loves to play Kissing Monster, giving me lots and lots of kisses and giggling like crazy when I take my turn. She refers to me as “my mommy” and is oh so possessive of me. When I give her anything, she is quick to say, “Thank you, Mommy.” I love how she always adds "mommy" to the end. And lately she has taken to telling me, “Good job, Mommy!” in this very happy, proud tone. Don’t get me wrong, she still has her moments, but I just start counting to 3 and usually she stops and does what is asked of her. Of course, now she has started counting to three with me, “C’mere, Mommy, c’mere. One, two, three…” How could I have known that motherhood would be this sweet?

So grossed out

I was all set to blog about our trip to the pool today. I was so excited by her jumping off the edge to me (no hands!) and how she loved being thrown high in the air only to come crashing down into the water. I was even going to write about how she went down the water slide and came flying down it so fast that I was too scared to let her try it again even though she kept begging. No, I can't blog about that because I have much more pressing matters to discuss.

We are having major poo issues at naptime. I mentioned it once before, but shrugged it off as a daycare issue. Well, it is happening all too often at home now (and once at Sabrina's). I thought she was perhaps doing it in her sleep because it only happened during that naptimes where she actually fell asleep. And she always seemed alarmed and confused to wake up with her hands and face caked in dry poo (and usually the carpet and blankets surrounding her). But today, not only did she have poo all up her back, on her hands, on her face, and on the floor, but it was also on all the freaking toys she was playing with. It was like she had taken her feces and smeared them all over every part of her room. I went through a whole freaking can of Kids 'N' Pets. I had to throw away several toys because it just wasn't worth trying to clean them. And once again I am doing a load of poo laundry. This is becoming all too frequent (the last time it happened was yesterday) and I just don't know what to do. And it's not like I don't have the monitor going in her room. I listen carefully for sounds of her saying "poo" or crying. When she is awake and she goes poo, she tells us and usually brings us a diaper and wipes. Tomorrow, I am going to buy a whole bunch of onesies and make her wear them under all of her clothes despite that 90+ degree weather. You know, I was planning on potty training Ellie this summer, but now all I want to train her to do is not dig down the back of her diaper during naptime!

Possibilities

I love summer! This is the first summer I have had off since I was 15. I can hardly contain myself....the possibilities are endless. I am definitely planning on visiting the pool a lot this summer. Sabrina and I took the kids swimming this morning for a couple of hours. I have to be on high alert with Ellie every second because she has no fear of the water, more specifically, of going under the water. I won't lie, we had a couple close calls. All those years of lifeguarding were put to good use. Let's just say the kid is fast and leave it at that. But I still plan on taking her swimming several times a week because it is a great way to pass the time and it wears Ellie out so much that she actually naps! I also want to take her to the beach (if you can call Galveston the beach), Sea World, the Zoo, the Children's Museum, the new park they built downtown....like I said, the possibilities are endless!

Summertime

Yet more sleeping pics

Ellie is being rather difficult about naps these days. Most days, we put her in her room and she just plays happily for an hour before knocking loudly on her door proclaiming, "Open the door, Mommy! Ellie wake up! OPEN THE DOOR!" And then I go get her and find that she has completely trashed her room. But sometime I get lucky and she falls asleep after trashing her room. Like Monday when I walked in there to find her fast asleep in her clothes hamper.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Tom!

Today is my father in law's 60th (whoop!) birthday. To celebrate the momentous occasion, we all met up at his house for dinner. Although we were celebrating Grandpa Tom's birthday, it was at times, as he put it, "the Ellie show." The child was almost manic, running wild and doing this evil laugh. But she was clearly happy to be spending time with her family whom she doesn't get to see often enough. And they all shower her with attention, which she of course loves. Grandpa Tom, I hope you had a wonderful 60th (because we all know Ellie did!).

Modeling clay

Tom bought Ellie some modeling clay for Christmas. I think he forgot that she was18 months not 8 years. I didn't really want to deal with the mess or hassle, so I tucked it away in a drawer. This morning, I woke up not feeling well so I racked my brain for something non-Elmo related to keep Ellie entertained for awhile. I remembered the modeling clay and pulled it out. Dressed only in her pajama top and a diaper, with hair hastily pulled back from her face, my child played for over an hour with the clay. The stuff is like magic! And naturally I videotaped the magic...

Modeling Clay and ABC's from texasholly on Vimeo.