Trash Diggers

If you looked to the left I follow a blog called Lauren Nicole Gifts. Denise's husband is an avid trash digger. He builds stuff out of all kinds of finds. Just this week he got a display table from a Coach store that was remodeling to give Denise a "packaging" center. Her husband's trash digging experiences always give me a chuckle. But more often than not I am jealous that we don't find cool stuff like that! Of course we don't excactly look....

But today is another story! I was driving through our neighborhood on the way to work and I spotted a bike with training wheels sitting next to a neighbors trashcan for pick up. I just got a glance at it, as I am that annoying neighbor driving way to fast through the neighborhood and never stopping at those pesky stop signs. But I immediatly dialed Michael and told him to check it out on the way to daycare. Notice I wasn't about to dig in the trash to get it. I mean that is just embarrassing.

When I called him to check on the status he said it was quite a find. Just needed to be cleaned up a bit but he was pleasantly suprised at how nice it was and couldn't believe they were just throwing it out. Of course our next door neighbor saw him trash digging on his morning walk. Oh well.

So Lily is the proud owner of her very own bike...including training wheels. Now all I need to do is buy her some pom poms for the handlebars. Of course there is always trash day next week to look for those!

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Training

My husband has had me training all week for Eadsfest 2009. Ugh. I am 10 pounds heavier from all the carb loaded beer and not any better at a game that involves a ping pong. Somebody shoot me or call AA. Seriously....save me.

But with that being said... I might be MIA this week. Don't look for any fun posts as I will be

a. chugging a beer
b. searching for the aspirin cabinet
c. cleaning so people don't have to sleep in dog tumble weeds
d. playing beerball in my garage
e. playing beer pong in my garage
f. practicing the art of flip cup
g. spinning around a bat
h. sitting in my garage after losing multiple rounds of d. e. and f. without the coordination to move.

The punishment of being on the defending champion team. My only encouragement? Knowing I helped win the competition last year without having drank hardly anything for over a year. See October of last year for a preview of what is to come!

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Marbles and Spirit Week!

I got a complaint from my husband this week. "The blog has not been talking about Lily enough...I really just like looking at pictures of Lily." Basically you are talking about yourself too much and who cares what you think! Well this is true...sorta. But this is about our FAMILY. Although our world seems to revolve around her these days we do have a life outside of her...somewhat. So this is for you my dear Hubby. But a little piece of advice...YOU could post something and quit complaining or I won't cook for a month.

We had a fun and busy weekend. On Friday our daycare had a swim party at a local pool from 7-9 after work. I forgot my camera so no pictures of Lily in her bikini but it was a lot of fun! I was disappointed that none of her teachers were there and not one child from her class but whatever the three of us were splashing with the older kids. Two of the three infant teachers were there so they doted on her since they miss there Lilybug! I only saw one of the infants there out of ten! I guess the time was too late for the younger kids but Lily is a Party Animal as I told the owner. Michael even took a few dives off the diving board. Lily floated around in her float and refused to be held in the pool. Miss Independent. I only float by myself you can't help me. Yes the monster I have created. She was waving at everyone and telling them "ByeBye" even when we weren't leaving. But by a little after 8PM she was barely holding her eyes open in the pool so we headed home not long after that. She never got fussy just droopy eyed.

On Saturday we went to Marbles, the local Kid's Museum. It was pretty cool and only five dollars a person to get in. First the bad...it was crazy busy. It was Saturday so it is expected. The good...Lily loved it! They had some cool, hands-on activities as well.

Some pics of our adventure. I remembered the Camera! Daddy and Lily in the parking garage.

Oh my a fish! The first thing she saw and she was pumped. We had to pull her away from the fish screaming to let her explore the rest of the museum. Fishy II is still blissfully swimming at home so we needed to see other special things.

I love this pic. There are tons of Lily's to love in it!

Daddy and Lily driving the Fire Truck. They have dress up clothes as well but those freaked me out. I put on a hat and then thought about childhood relapses of head lice. Yuck.

Vroom Vroom

Lily's first example of pretend play! She was rolling the car along these tracks. It was so adorable!

Then she off roaded it to the grass!

Mommy and Lily on the Pirate Ship!

This ship was crazy and I was pretty sure I was going to die by the hands of three year olds. I was lucky I made it out a live. You try going up and down with a small toddler while kids whiz past you. Scary!

Lily in the Peas and Carrots ball pit! She loved it!

Daddy and Lily playing with the "Bawl"

Giant Lego Land! Oh YAY! She loves her big leggos at home and these were huge! You could build small houses they had so many. Lily kept torturing this little boy and his Dad by taking off blocks of the fort they were building. She would steal them, walk it to me, then I would tell her to take it back and she would try to help them before stealing another piece when they weren't looking.

Wait a minute is that guy thinking of stealing my block?

Banging the drums in the world exhibit. Lily was quite the musician. This is the famous hat area! The hat was cute, the risk of head lice was not!

Overall Marbles was awesome with Lily. Worth the money. I can't wait to go back with Lily and Morgan. They will have so much fun!

This week is spirit week at Daycare! Remember that from back in the day.

Monday was silly hat day but alas I have no pic. I am turning into a horrible mother! No really what happens is that it is impossible to get a decent picture of the child! She is so fast and moves around like a mad woman. As you can see for Tuesday of Pajama Day. AKA Mommy just pulled you out of the crib and Viola...Beautiful. This is her new Old navy Owl pajamas.

Not sure what this pose is....Little Miss Thang.

Hoot Hoot I'm Cute!

Prime example of harder picture taking!

Wednesday was MisMatch Day. This was harder than I thought! And the sad part is that although this doesn't technically match it is still really really cute! I love this handmade top Kelly J got me for a baby shower. It is reversible with owls on the other side (but this side matched less). Who else could be so cute all mismatched!

She is getting so big! And her hair is so long. I could just eat her up every time I see her! This is her favorite toy of the week. Aunt Tammy got her these blocks for the Christmas she was till in Mommy's Tummy! I like to stack them and let her knock them over and act sad. She frowns and tries to fix it to make Mommy smile again! Too precious.

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Flawed Life: Just Mom

This week I missed a hair appointment because I got stuck at work and then preceded to get lost going to a place I have been at least four times. This is my life. I got there and of course she couldn't work me in. I was irate! I have been going to this lady for almost five years and you can't give me a break and work me in? I couldn't even reschedule because I didn't know Michael's work schedule, and what we had going on. I couldn't even plan when I had my next thirty minutes free!

I went back to my car and I admit I cried. That is what I do when I am mad. But as I drove home still pretty angry at her, my sense of direction, the lady that kept me the ten extra minutes at work, the traffic and the lady driving slow in front of me I asked myself what I was really mad about?

I wasn't really mad. I was disappointed. I may have took it out on the lady driving slow in front of me. I may have road her tail a little too close because eventually she flipped me off. In my defense she wasn't going the speed limit on the country road. But I shouldn't defend my actions. It is not her fault I have no time to decompress and hop straight into "Mom" mode when I get home. It is the disadvantage of being the early off parent.

Thirty minutes...that is all I need. I had been looking forward to the thirty minutes of peace for weeks. Thirty minutes of pampering, of someone else fixing my hair. Instead of a night brushing off the one year with one hand and stirring veggies with the other, while the dog is barking at a deer and my husband isn't home at his normal 6:30 after being home for two hours alone already. Just thirty minutes of peace. Thirty minutes of not feeling guilty that I didn't read Lily the story she was handing me because I was sweeping so when she sat on the living room floor she didn't rise up looking like a miniature version of our black lab. Is that too much to ask? So really was it thirty minutes without guilt that I was looking forward too?

I get two hours of uninterrupted time with Lily every weekday afternoon. I regret to say not everyday do I take advantage of that. In fact, more days I don't than I do. Two hours to snuggle and read stories and play outside with her that Daddy misses out on. But most days I am too bogged down with the house stuff, the dinner stuff and distracted with the TV and the dogs, and the phone and the computer. Don't I know how lucky I am? No all I think about is all the stuff I am not getting done.

But I have promised myself I will not do this anymore...okay as much. I mean we still have to eat! Maybe the decompress time I need isn't away from the individual things. Lily. The House. Job. Husband. It is the combination of them all. I need to learn to focus on one and not get overwhelmed with them all. As a new parents we all struggle with how to juggle our many responsibilities. I don't know if we ever learn how to get rid of the guilt and to manage to get it all done.

But we have got to try! So when I get home from now on I am Mom for at least an hour. Just Mom. Not maid, not chef, not auditor. Just Mom. The Mom that chases her little girl around the yard with a water hose, and reads the same Elmo book ten times in a row. Because this is her hour. No this is our hour and we can do whatever she wants to with that hour. And that is okay. Maybe then those thirty minutes of peace won't be longed for quite as much!

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Rave Review: Parents Magazine

I know a lot of Moms think this magazine is worthless but I recently started reading it and I love it! I got a really cheap subscribtion (12 dollars?) and am hooked. It makes me feel better that other Moms struggle with the same issues and oftern find solutions that work!

Each issue features a section split up into different age groups beginning during pregnancy through childhood years. This month Lily's age section focused on discipline. The funny thing is Michael and I have definitely been discussing how we need to start this process. This usually begins about the time your child melts down in Wal Mart over the Elmo you took out of her hands and continues well into college drinking ticket years. Oh what is a mother to do? This month's section focused on distraction as a tactic for Lily's age. Unfortunately acting like the child was not yours in Wal Mart was not an option.

I will say that I think new parents should definitely considering a subscription to this magazine pre-baby and well into the toddler years. With my new subscription I also got a Family Circle but I haven't read to many of those yet. The downside to getting them post baby is the lack of time to indulge in the magazine. I read my on my lunch break. I could probably get Michael to read them if I left them in the bathroom!

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