*UPDATED* Lil gangsta

So, aside from plowing down old men in my SUV, I really haven't had much to blog about this week. Ellie and I have been keeping it low-key, mostly being homebodies except for the occasional trip to Target or the library. Ellie has this obsession with hoodies. You know what I mean, the zip up sweaters with the hoods? Anyway, she always wants to wear one completely zipped with the hood up. Although she looks cute as a lil gangsta, I feel really embarrassed when she insists on wearing it out and about. Because this is July and we live in Houston. I could fry an egg on the sidewalk and people might report me for child abuse when they see my daughter bundled up like an Eskimo. But today I just didn't have the energy to fight with her so she sported her gray and pink hoodie to Target and Quiznos. Hood up, of course. Such a stubborn child...she must get that from Tom.

I forgot to add that whenever I try to talk Ellie out of wearing her jacket, saying "It's too hot," she always responds by telling me, "I's cold, Mommy. Brrrr." So, I tried to get it on video this morning as she was making her hooded escape. It's hard to hear her, but you can clearly see her doing the sign for cold. Yeah, it's currently 97 degrees.

Lil gangsta from texasholly on Vimeo.

Back breaking work

I have a really big backyard that Ellie can't play in because it is like a poo minefield. I wanted to get a little wading pool for Ellie this summer, but knew the dogs would destroy it in a matter of minutes (like they did last year). I also dreamed of putting a swing set back there, but again....the dogs. So, I came up with this brilliant idea...fence off half the yard! The dogs can have one half and Ellie can have the other! And when we sell the house, we can say that we built them a pool fence and all they need to do is supply the pool. Genius, right? So, I called up my dad and younger brother and enlisted their help. Being the fence experts that they are, they thought they would arrive at 8 and be finished by noon. 5 trips to Lowe's later and they finished at 4. While all the men were busting their butts outside, my mom and I watched the kiddos in my nice air conditioned house. At one point, someone came by to pick up our entertainment center that I sold on Craiglist so I had to move the television to the floor. I don't think Ellie and Kolby even noticed. So, it was a long, hot day for the menfolk, but the important thing is that Ellie has her own play area! But now that we spent all of our money on the fence, Ellie will just have to be content with her lone little slide.

Circus, circus

First off, I want to thank all of you (except Alex) for your vindicating comments about Ellie's haircut. Rest assured that I read each and every one out loud to Tom. Plus, they were wonderfully reassuring when I was struck with a sudden attack of cutter's remorse.

Moving on. We took the bobbed princess to the circus today! Man, the circus is such a scam. Tickets are ridiculous, then you pay for parking ($8) and then popcorn ($5) which your child will promptly spill all over the floor and then you have to get some sort of souvenir so you buy an elephant shaped cup filled with ice ($10) which ends up down the front of your kid's shirt and all over the floor. But Ellie totally loved it all until it went on long past the length of her toddler attention span. So we left right before the human cannonball and beat everyone out of the parking lot. We're totally going again next year.

The controversial haircut

I was tired of Ellie's long, straggly, mullet-like hair so I took her to get her haircut this morning. It started off something of a disaster. While waiting for our turn, Ellie dropped a load and I didn't have her diaper bag with me. So, I took her to the restroom and just took off the diaper and left her commando under her jeans. I told her like 5 million times that she wasn't wearing a diaper and she could not, under any circumstance, go to the potty. But still, I worried that she would end up sitting in a puddle while getting her haircut and wouldn't that be oh so embarrassing. But, not to worry, she wouldn't even sit in the cool red fire engine so I ended up holding her on my lap for the whole haircut. She ended up getting this adorable bob and I was very pleased. Unfortunately, Tom was not so pleased. He took one look at her when we got home and informed me that it was not a little girls' haircut. I was all, of course it is a girls' haircut, it's a bob. He insisted he had never seen a little girl with that haircut. I was like, hello, Suri? But, no, he said Ellie has a bowl cut. So, I will leave it to the internets to decide. What say you?

In which you say, put some clothes on that child!

Yesterday morning Tom showed up with some oriental lilies for me and some yellow tulips for Ellie. Tom said he wanted to be the one to give Ellie her first flowers. It was so adorable, Ellie grabbed them and smelled them and proudly declared "MY flowers." Yeah, whatever kid, mine were prettier.

My mom watched Ellie overnight last night so Tom and I could celebrate his birthday some more. Originally we were going to go out of town, but we decided to just go to dinner and a movie and enjoy being able to stay up late and sleep in. It was awesome. We went to P.F. Chang's for dinner which is Tom's favorite place, but I have to say, we have gotten terrible service every time we have gone. We also went to see Dark Knight which was really awesome, but I wish I had re-watched Batman Begins before going.
Today the three of us have just been hanging out, taking it easy. Ellie started out the day dressed and looking cute, but somehow ended up running around outside with the dogs in only a diaper and runny nose. Reminds me of what she was doing this time last year except then she was playing on the linoleum floor with the dogs and not out in the dirt.

Let them eat cake

Today was a busy day for us. Ellie and I only went to the first hour of church because we had to get home and start partying. For birthday party #1, some of Tom's family came over and we grilled shish kabobs and hot dogs. Tom's mom brought a cookie cake for him, but since everything really is all about Ellie, she got her own little dog cake. Yes, Ellie got her own cake for Tom's birthday. And we wonder why she is so spoiled. After party #1 wrapped up, the birthday boy took a quick nap and then we headed over to my parents' house for party #2. This time he had a pink ice cream cake from Cold Stone. It was really a raspberry frosting/chocolate cake/cheesecake ice cream cake and it was delicious. Tom scored in the presents/gift card department at both parties. And then we went into sugar shock. The end.

The big 3-0

Every evening, after Ellie is sound asleep, Tom and I meet up in the living room to watch one of our DVR’d shows or a movie from our Netflix queue. This is my favorite time of the day, a time when I can just kick back, relax, and hang out with my best friend. He always smiles indulgently as I frequently pause the show to make my little comments, like “Ugh, why is her hair like that?” or “If I die, will you please make sure to burn my journal?” And he never complains when I ask him to go get me a glass of water even though I sit much closer to the kitchen. Oh, and he lets me put the subtitles on because he knows that I don’t like to miss a thing. During the school year, whenever I was having an especially rough day and on the verge of strangling one of my little thuglets, I would just remind myself that the day would be over soon and I could go home and swap horror stories with Tom.

Last year for Tom’s 29th birthday, I made a list of 29 reasons why I love Tom. So, here is one more for his 30th birthday: He is the one I want to spend my evenings with.
Happy birthday, babe.

Welcome back, Papas!

Ellie and I spent the past couple of days in Beaumont, Texas, helping my parents move into their new house. Although my mom and I stayed really busy unpacking, it still felt like a mini vacation for me. Ellie absolutely LOVED it there. My parents have dedicated one whole room to the grandkids' playroom and that was the first room I helped my mom unpack (priorities, people, priorites). Ellie also really loved the bathtub. It was this massive thing with steps leading up to it.
Of course the tub wasn't near as fun as the pool. Every evening while my mom was cooking us dinner (see? mini vacation) Ellie and I would go out back and play in the pool. Ellie likes to go underwater and pretend she is a sea turtle.In the mornings, my mom and I would put Ellie in the stroller and go for long walks around the neighborhood. Their house is in the Oaks Historic District and the homes are all so unique and interesting. I love looking at old homes, they just seem to have so much character. It's hard to tell in this picture, but the sidewalks are really neat. They are made out of read brick laid down in a pattern. And look at the old street lamp! But best of all are the big oak trees lining every street.
I am so glad to have my parents back home from Aruba and I really enjoyed spending the past few days with my mom. Ellie is so funny, she calls both of my parents "Papa." She can say the word grandma, but no matter how many times I correct her she still calls my mom "Papa." They are going to be splitting their time between their home in Cypress and their home in Beaumont so Ellie will be able to hang out with her papas a lot more now.

A visit to my old library

Ellie and I met up with Sabrina and the kids at my old library today to go to a marine animals program. Ellie's two favorite Diego episodes involve underwater adventures. Plus, she loves Finding Nemo so I thought she would really enjoy the program. Unfortunately, the program was at 3:00 so Ellie missed her nap (strike one). Then the program was 30 minutes late getting started (strike two). Finally, all the little kids were expected to sit inside these taped squares and not move or speak (strike three). I had to take Ellie outside for most of the program, but we came back at the end for her to touch the fish.
Here's Kolby posing before the program. Kolby is such a good kid, he sticks close to Sabrina and sits quietly. I keep hoping some of it will rub off on Ellie. Ellie is not in this picture because she is busy shelving books.
See? Future librarian. Well, librarians don't shelve books, but I think I will push Ellie to get a summer job shelving as soon as she turns 16. It is never too early to start her library career. It was nice being back at my old library and attempting to catch up with former coworkers while chasing Ellie around. I usually take Ellie to a different library closer to home and I think it is a good thing because being back at my old stomping grounds really made me homesick for my old job. It would be very tempting to quit teaching and go back to being a young adult librarian again, but I don't think I could go back to those late and weekend hours.

Our weekend in pictures (lots and lots of pictures)

I'll think I'll take my baby for a walk in the middle of the day. Hope her sweet, little plastic face doesn't melt in the hot, Texas sun.

I knew I should've taken the baby jogger. Darn, ghetto sidewalks.
Wow, what beautiful flowers!
Baby? What baby?

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Would you put away the camera and take us to the pool already?
This water is suspiciously warm
CHEEEEEEEESE!
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Mommy cut my bangs. I can finally see!
And what a pretty sight it is!
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Hey guys! Whatcha doin?

Mind if I join in?
*No children were harmed in the making of this blog*

Hey! You're squishing my leg!

Whew, we're exhausted!

Sunday Best

Parenting

My sister and I were comparing notes on tantrums the other day. Both our daughters have been throwing down with the best of them lately. I never know how to respond to tantrums. Do I ignore them? Do I try to comfort? Distract? Discipline? It is so tricky, this whole parenting thing. Usually I just tell her not to act like that and then ignore. But, my gosh, does it put me right on the edge to listen to her screaming because I put on the wrong episode of Diego. "No Diego turtles! Want Diego manatee! DIEGO MANATEE! MANATEE!" That's right, my daughter is very particular as to what she watches. And it is never the same thing. She was asking for "Barney in wagon" the other day. I played liked three different Barneys before hitting on the Sharing is Caring one where Barney is wheeled out in a wagon (thank heavens for Video on Demand).

That's another thing I worry about...letting Ellie watch too much TV. I grew up without television. As the story goes, my parents had a set long before I was born until my oldest brother knocked a glass of water down the back. My parents decided never to replace it. And I have to say, I am glad we didn't have it. My siblings and I invented so many fun games to play indoors and out. Plus, I think that is why I am such an avid reader. However, that doesn't stop me from turning on the TV for Ellie anytime I am trying to get something done. But now that she is demanding specific episodes, I wonder if perhaps she might be watching it a little too much.

Wordless Wednesday

Summer

I love the slow pace of summer. Ellie and I have slipped into a routine of sorts, usually going to the pool, or the library, or her cousins' house in the morning where I do my best to wear her out in the hopes that she will please, please, please take an afternoon nap. Then, after she "naps" we go outside for a walk. She likes to push her baby in the little doll stroller, pausing occasionally to bend down and ask sweetly, "You okay, baby? Is baby sad? Mommy's here." Inevitably she decides that she needs to carry the baby and thus it is up to me to carry the stroller as we slowly make our way home. Other times, we will take the dogs for a walk, with Ellie insisting on holding the leash (I hold closer up towards the collar). I am sure we make such a sight, two huge dogs on a tandem leash, followed by me, with Ellie bringing up the rear shouting at the dogs to "stop pulling!" I wish summer could go on forever.

4th of July pics

So, I didn't actually get a picture of Tom grilling, but I did get a picture of him cleaning the grill. We still have some kinks to work out in the grilling department, so I am glad we were able to practice on Alex. Speaking of, Ellie always loves to abuse Alex. I walked out of the kitchen to find Ellie on a float perched atop of Alex while watching TV. She looks like she is enjoying it much more than he is.

Happy Indecency Day

On Ellie's school calendar, today is listed as Indecency Day. While I am sure this is merely a typo, I can't help but picture people running through the streets naked.

I bought Tom a new grill for Father's Day (on the promise that he would cook AND clean up once a week). After two days of trying to assemble the sucker, he finally managed to put it together in time for a practice run last night. His hamburgers and hotdogs were pretty good and he is ready to add shish kabobs to the lineup tonight when Alex comes over. I really hope the newness of his grill doesn't wear off any time soon because I am sure enjoying my reprieve from the kitchen!

Girls Only

Last Christmas my mom, three sisters, and I began conspiring a way to go on a vacation together sans children or husbands. After many persuasive talks with husbands and massive amounts of emails to each other trying to coordinate dates, we finally decided to meet up in Bear Lake, Utah. This was the view from the back deck of our condo:

We had so much fun in Bear Lake doing all the touristy things. The second night we were there, we went to a western cookout and then watched Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Pickleville Playhouse. The food was actually pretty bad, but we really enjoyed the play.The next day we decided to get up early and go swim laps in the condo's pool. Then, we went to the beach where we did absolutely no swimming because that water was freezing. Instead, we contented ourselves with laying out, chatting, and getting sunburned.
Later that evening, we thought we would go for an hour-long bike ride around Bear Lake (we were really doing the touristy, cheesey thing up right). We rented a surrey that 4 people pedaled. We thought it would be this easy, casual ride, but let me tell you, that thing was a workout! There were a few times when I thought we wouldn't make it up a hill. Look at my little sis front left, 8 months pregnant and pedaling away like a champ!
We had so much fun at Bear Lake just talking and laughing. Oh, and did I mention the talking? You can just imagine when five girls get together.

The last night we spent at my sister's beautiful home in Preston, Idaho. And this was the view from her back deck:
I was a little obsessed with taking pictures of the view. As much as I love my Texas, we just don't get those kind of views. I arrived home yesterday to the cloying humidity and 100 degree weather, but most importantly, to the waiting arms of my husband and child. I had never been away from Ellie for more than a night before and I really missed the little monster. She insisted on holding my hand the whole way home, almost breaking my arm off as I stretched it from the front seat to the back. And as a bonus welcome home gift, Ellie woke up at 5:30 this morning (that's 4:30 Utah time). It's good to be home.