Greetings From The Island

Ahh vacation!

Coming from the island of Oahu, the family has successfully traversed the great Pacific but not without a host of challenges. The little one came down with a nasty cold. Snot nose, coughing, fever and general misery in a presurrized cabin at 30K feet calls for two things: bottomless bloody mary's and Benadryl. I honestly felt like I was torturing the poor child, but what do you do when the vacation is already bought and payed for?

I think she has recovered from the experience as she is enjoying being with her cousin. They are 3 1/2 months apart and at a fun age where they are able to communicate in their own toddler way. It's funny how they seem to understand what the other is saying quite well but sometimes they just look at eachother in a half blank stare, half head-cocked curiosity.

There was quite a bit of action yesterday, marathon day. Although I wasn't running, I experienced a marathon of my own managing the two munchkins. It wouldn't have been so bad if we hadn't pulled them out of bed at 3am. They were troopers and thank goodness for LazyBoy style car seats and dvd players.
If only I had a second stroller the day would have been a breeze. I traded the typical post-marathon leg pain for bicep soreness from carrying a 30 pound two year old while napping through the mud and crowds during a downpour while pushing the other in the stroller. Oh, I was also carrying everyones gear in my pack on my back. (Excuse the Seussism, just read One Fish, Two Fish....)

So now it's time to relax. The kids have returned to their normal selves, mostly. The runny nose will not let up and the irritability is getting the best of my little one but we press on. I have high hopes that the salt water and humid air will provide the cure to all of our woes if only the rain will stop. If we don't make it to the beach there are hours of entertainment to be had for us proud parents as we watch the munchkins dance, play, interact and be silly. Afterall, we are in paradise.

Is anybody reading this? I think I have sufficiently diminished my audience to the always supportive girlfriend and obligatory read from the husband. You know who you are. So the pressures off and I will post when I darn well please. Actually that's not true at all. My desire is greater than one would think if only I could get the toddler to go play for a good half hour while I struggle to put a few cohesive, semi-interesting notes about her on the screen.

The little one is displaying more independence of late and it's bittersweet for Mom. The thought of my helpless little baby who depends on me for all life substance morphing into the head-strong, do-it myself little person breaks my heart a bit. Then I get over it, especially when the reality sets in that I just had my morning cup of coffee uninterrupted and washed all the dishes without a little person attached to my legs. And just when I think she can't get any cuter...sorry, I'll stop right there.

A favorite in the house right now is the Hulabaloo band. It's actual parent tolerable kid music. Although, with repetition all things become tired and so this CD is no longer met with the parent enthusiasm as it once was. Time to buy their other CD. It's funny that kids are the opposite. The more familiar and repetitive, the more attached they become.

The little one has mastered operating the play button on her CD player and thus has discovered new freedoms. We will be contently playing downstairs when out of the blue she says, "music (pause) on" and marches upstairs to her bedroom. When I don't hear from her for 10 minutes or so my curiosity brings me upstairs to find her laying on her floor or reading a book while swaying to the sounds of She'll be Coming Around the Mountain. Then she'll look up at me and say "whoa back" and "hi babe" and I just wish someone else was with me to share the moment.

And I Give You...The Ah Puh Tuss!

Yep, she picked it. If you haven't heard already at The Most Significant Thing, the little one picked her costume and it garnered her winner of the costume contest! Here is our little "ah-puh-tuss" receiving her award certificate from the nice girls at WeeStart

I'm still whirling from the fantastic Halloween festivities. It was a good one to be sure: the pumpkins were carved with skill, cute kids running around in equally cute costumes, fun friends, lots of sweets, and more rings on the doorbell than you get all year. I consider yesterday the primer for the "biggy" holidays that will soon be upon us and judging by the enthusiasm of the munchkin, it's going to be an exhausting, but beautiful Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I struggle to express how enjoyable it was to watch her figure out the whole trick or treat thing. I can imagine what she was thinking. I'm dressed in this funny costume, it's dark outside and we are going to knock on the neighbor's doors? From the moment the first familiar face opened the door and handed her a piece of candy, which she promptly placed in her bucket, she was hooked. It didn't take much coaxing to get her to the next house and although she had never had candy before, she knew it was something special. As her bucket got heavy, I thought I would help her carry it, no way. I was met with resistance as she tightened her death grip on the handle opting for me to carry her, bucket firmly held.

In an effort to be festive, the family dressed in theme, for the second year in a row. Bouncing of the marine motif from the octopus, we appropriately dressed as pirates. It seemed fitting since the pirate ship is already docked in the driveway of the house.

The little one seem thoroughly unimpressed by our pirate costumes. You win one contest and you become a costume snob.

So we cruise into November with only pictures to remind us of the good time and a little voice who from time to time exclaims, "Ah puh tuss" and "bucket" as she ingrains the memory a little bit deeper in her active little brain.

A Normal Day

Oh what a crazy week it's been! I've been hearing much of that as life returns to it's routine and the daily faces reappear. The funny thing is over the past five years I felt that we Americans are becoming too holed up in our own bubble and not interfacing with strangers enough, with our Internet shopping, cell phones in the car and on demand TV. This week I've realized how much I depend on the daily interaction with unfamiliar faces in the grocery store and the friendly conversation with the lady friends at Jazzercise. I've concluded that most of us our not the hermits I suspected us to be. We are social beings and will continue being such no matter how convenient modern inventions may become.


As for the little social being in my life, she is done with the sequestering. Poor thing just wants to go "owtsite". She wants to play, run around in the grass, climb in her swing, go to the park, and play with friends. Let life be normal, let the routine return. It's unfortunate when you spend a concentrated amount of effort in limiting TV time and encouraging the outside play and a week like this happens and you can't think of one good reason to not allow another viewing of Little Einsteins.


On a side note, Little Einsteins is good toddler TV! We've been pretty choosy when it comes to the shows we let the little tike watch. We have yet to expose her to Barney, Dora, Wiggles, or Teletubbies perhaps for the sole reason that we just can't stomach them ourselves but it's unanimous in our house, Little Einsteins is a hit. It's cute when the little one mimics the show at random moments while playing, she says, "pat, pat, pat" as she pats her legs and puts her hands in the air and yells, "blast off". "Mission", she says with a big smile. For those unfamiliar, each episode takes four characters on a mission with the aid of their pal Rocket. There is a piece of art and musical score of the day that appears throughout the show as they travel to historic landmarks and faraway lands composed in a combination of live stills, traditional and computer animation. No doubt one day she'll come home from a friends house and beg for the big purple dinosaur but until then, I win.


We are back to life as usual today. The office phone is ringing again and the Mom's group calendar no longer has red even cancelled lines through it. It's been an unforgettable week for our family and historic in it's own right. History is likely to repeat itself but we will all pray that it's less devastating the next time around.

It's the Yay Mommy Moments That Count

What a lousy, unreliable blogger I am. If you are reading this, I thank you for your tolerance and ask that you chalk it up to another person trying your patience. I only hope the content will be interesting enough to make it excusable. Now on to today's happenings.

It seems the little one fancies herself a comedian, thus more proof she is her Father's daughter. The latest phrase, "I'm fuh-nee," has brought even more smiles to the house. But like her Dad, what is "fuh-nee" to her, may not be so funny to Mommy. For example, during meals (which are a battle in themselves) the munchkin will put food item such as a grape tomato in her mouth, swish it around, and spit it out. After which, she says, "I'm fuh-nee" with a big giggle. However cute it is when she says it, I respond with the poker face and pretend like it never happened. Funny.

But it's not all bad. She's taken to celebrating her bowel movements by exclaiming, "Yay, poo poo", which I'm pretty sure she learned from Daddy. The other day while in the midst of the thankless chore of changing a stinky diaper, the little one says, "Yay, poo poo" followed by, "Yay, Mommy." Now that is appreciation! All the angst of a mundane chore was melted away and replaced with warm fuzzies. This is what being a Mommy is all about.

Hay!

Something about the holidays brings out the kid in me and never more now that the little tot is around. After attempting to explain Halloween for a couple weeks, I decided to have her pick out a costume online and boy was she excited when it arrived in the mail. Ask her what she is going to be for Halloween and she responds without hesitation (at least with Mommy and Daddy). I shall hold back revealing the actual costume for a future post, say Nov. 1st.

We figured no October is complete without a visit to the pumpkin patch and I've been hearing about Bates Nut Farms in Valley Center for quite some time. I dragged the family out there last Saturday and wow, what a place. If there ever is a definition of what a pumpkin patch should be, this is it! Pumpkins galore of every size, shape, variety and color. Somehow we went home with a 100 pound pumpkin, proudly displayed at The Most Significant Thing.

The little one had fun too. In her words, it was "aysiem". For the first time in her short life she was game for everything, which made the whole day entirely more enjoyable for all of us. She had a visit to the petting zoo which upon exiting she repeated, "Good bye goats, good bye pigs, etc. etc." I was not so sure about the pony rides since our first experience back in June was more of a torture session than fun, not even making it one time around the mini corral. In an effort to try and try again, I waited out the 1 hour pony ride line and placed the munchkin on a pretty white pony. She lit up! After a suspenseful wait while they loaded up, fed, and watered the animals, we were off and it sent her into giggles. As hoped, it was a perfect photo op as she smiled and waved to Daddy the camera man.

We couldn't keep her still through lunch with the super inflatable slide and jumper in sight. At first inspection, Daddy said he didn't think she was quite ready for it but her obvious enthusiasm won out. Father and daughter climbed the ladder and down they came, all smiles. By the second time she was going down by herself.

It was a memorable day.

We may have simply caught her on a "good" day but, if this is any indication of what is to be in the coming months, sign me up for every hay ride, tree lot, costume contest, and Santa visit. It's a joy to experience all of these things for the first time, again.

Of Concern

An interesting article sites that children no longer fear the parental role, or authority figures as a whole. Let me clarify by qualifying fear as equating to respect. This has troubled me for quite some time, ever since I experienced it first hand working at a middle school a few years back. The chaos that occurred in many of the classrooms was shocking. The students did not respect, nor fear, their teachers and punishment was regarded with a so-what attitude. I dismissed it with the understanding that this was an under performing school with low socio-economics and I didn't presume it to be a part of a larger trend. My fear is that this unruly attitude displayed by students is happening in vast numbers around the country.

Yesterday radio talk show host Dennis Prager referred back to the above mentioned article in an interview with David Klinghoffer, author of Shattered Tablets: Why We Ignore the Ten Commandments at Our Peril, as they attributed this phenomenon to that of a secular society. It was a terrific interview which I hate to butcher by attempting to paraphrase so if you have some time its well worth listening to or getting it on podcast or something. I was certainly compelled to pick up the book.

I mention this as I struggle with learning how to be a parent/disciplinarian of a toddler trying to establish her place in this family by testing her boundaries....constantly. Everyone has different ideas about parenting and I will not claim to know who is right and wrong. I attempt to do what is consistent with my value system, based on my Christian faith.

With that said, our intention (I will go out on a limb and speak for the Mr. as I believe us to be on the same page here) is to have a loving home, with clear boundaries and consequences where Mom and Dad do know best, and they don't let the kids win at games either. This is not to say I think we will always be right, but as long as we remain fairly reasonable people, respect is due on the shear notion that we are the adults. I hope to be as clear headed about it in the thick of the moment when the little one is trying and testing me beyond my patience. We shall see but I will keep the article by Patricia Dalton close by and hang the Ten Commandments in her room with "Honor thy Mother & Father" highlighted, underlined, and circled. I don't make the rules, God does.

Playing the Field

Yes, I'm back in the dating scene, not that I was ever any good at it the first time around. This time it's pursuing and being pursued by other Moms and oh, how great it is. It's surprising how aggressive women can be when looking for a play companion for their beautiful pride and joy. The secret truth is the child playmate line is a disguise for a desperate need to find other women to share in this joyous experience of child-rearing. The fact that they probably have a vocabulary greater than 100 words and talk in full sentences is icing on the cake.

When the little one was about 12 months old it became obvious that smiling at her while doing dishes or turning pages of a book while working at the computer just wasn't going to cut it. She demanded more and rightly so. It was clear that if we didn't get more structured activity, out of the house, we were going to make each other crazy. I found a local Mom's group online, enrolled in a kids play gym and scoped out all the local parks and now we have more activities than we can handle and it's made our relationship even better. Simply put, we have more fun!

I remember feeling that the playgroup thing just wasn't for me. Sounded too, I don't know, desperate. Seeking out what amounts to total strangers to play with your kid. How foolish I was. My only regret is not getting involved sooner. I enjoy chatting with other Mom's about the good, bad, and indifferent of having kids and what great resources! When you get 10 Mothers together in a room, it's safe to say there isn't much that they haven't seen as it pertains to the little tikes. Consequently, I've met some really wonderful women to which we have scheduled our own, smaller playdates. I love this picture from a recent park playdate with a little boy born 4 days before the little one, at the same hospital, delivered by the same doctors.

Thumbs up on the Mom's groups and having an abundance of opportunities to meet other parents and kids the same age. Anyone considering joining a playgroup, don't hesitate, it's well worth it!

Coming of Age...In Humor

The cat is 18 years old today. Wow! Of course to him this is just another day in the burbs, sleep on the area rug, eat dry food from dish, sip water, return to area rug, move to couch for some afternoon sun, and repeat until dinner time where the humans dish out the miniature rations of fatty can food. Little does he realize that today he's in for a treat. I've decided to double his dinner portion in celebration of his birth! Poor old cat.

The little one enjoys her kitty. She knows how to "pet nicely", mostly thanks to the cat himself who taught her what happens when you don't. This kid is learning all kinds of new things. To our great enjoyment, she found her sense of humor. Last week it was just laughter, laughter, laughter. She makes herself laugh too. I never considered myself particularly funny, (pause for wise cracks) but the little one thinks I'm hilarious. Her current favorite is "If your happy and you know it," I get to "do all three...clap, stomp hooray" and she loses it. It's a wonderful thing! I smile just thinking about her smile and laughter.

The new, more jovial side of the little one came as quite a relief. When she was itty bitty, from about 4 months on, I remember feeling like I was doing something wrong. This little baby just didn't seem happy. There was the occasional smile, but we really had to work for it and forget trying to get a laugh from her. She was quite serious. Showing no physical resemblance to myself, I figured she must have inherited this less than desirable trait. I'm pretty serious, or at least thats the way it appears. Even the Mr. gets frustrated because I never laugh at his jokes but what he doesn't realize is I internalize my laughter. It's there, it's just not so obvious.

Well, I hope that the little one is less serious and easier to humor than myself. This week's breakthrough has me much more hopeful. In response to her laughter, I'm laughing more too. Bonus!

Then and Now

I've been sufficiently rocked by the last week, something had to give and so it ended with silence from The Mundane Details. Either there was nothing mundane to report or all was just too mundane to record and heaven forbid others must hear about it. I believe it was the latter. The sum total of the last week was illness, work, chores, insomnia and a sickly child.

More importantly we reached a minor milestone last Friday (not so mundane) which insighted much reflection on my part. The little one turned 18 months on the 14th! It was eighteen months ago that my life was forever changed. When I was pregnant it was not uncommon for a parent to tell me, "Just wait, it will change your life." Always with the emphasis on the "Oh, you just wait." Like I was joining them in some painful punishment they have been sentenced to and I rarely heard the good stuff.

They were certainly right, life did change. My heart is bigger, I love more intensely, I have a greater appreciation for the littlest accomplishments, my faith is greater, I'm less selfish and I am an overall more fulfilled person. Life is a tremendous blessing and I appreciate this life more observing it through the eyes of someone experiencing it all for the first time. I remember how entertaining it was to watch the little one learn to sit. She would take tiny steps backward, feel her legs hit the object, then squat until her rear touched down. The fireplace hearth turned out to be the perfect height for her to practice and she would repeat the process over and over again, with a big smile. Such a simple task yet a tremendous concept.

Not to say it hasn't been difficult. The rough times are harder to remember, another way nature fools us into repeating the process I guess. But as in life, the pain and struggles that I have so far met in parenting have made me a wiser and more loving mom. I can't imagine returning to life as it was 19 months ago, nor would I ever wish to.

Another Overpriced Gadget?

Our friends at The Most Significant Thing have been singing the praises of the Appletv and it's time I (the significant other) weigh in on the subject. In one word, Awesome! I am an admitted naysayer of all things hyped as coolest gadget ever, mostly because we have too many gadgets as it is, but the little white box has proven it's worth and space it occupies in the house.

It was a difficult evening with the little one. No doubt a result of a nap cut too short therefore blessing our dinner table with a meltdown of cosmic proportions. At this point you just submit. No use in trying to placate in an effort to get those last few bites. Nope, straight to bath we go, followed by an abbreviated bedtime routine, a few last belly screams and dreamland she goes. I returned to dinner and kindly, the mister waited to finish his meal until the interruption was resolved, at which time we silently finished off our dinners. We adjourned to the tv room to re-live the last 5 years via the Appletv screensaver and that was that. No talking heads on FoxNews, no lame tv shows, just the relaxing tunes of our selected evening playlist with the scrolling scenes from our life. One hour later I was sufficiently wound down from the day and ready for bed.

The little one is probably the biggest fan of our newest gadget. She enjoys the pictures and calling out the names of the faces as they appear, "Daddy", "Nid-nee", "An-tee ____", "Wy-no". etc., but her greatest joy is still the home movies that she affectionately calls, "buh-dee". It's cute. For some reason she still can't, or won't, say movie so she walks around asking for her "buh-dee" with a firm grasp on the little white Appletv remote control. I'm quite sure she could sit for hours watching the same 5 short buh-dees. I will resist the temptation to let her.

So is the Appletv as great as it's cracked up to be, yes! Do we enjoy it everyday, yes! Would I recommend it to everyone, yes! Is it worth the $400 price tag, not really, but for the $150 we paid, it's a bargain. So thanks to the giver of Apple gift cards!

The Pain Of It All

Today is the day. Yep, today is the first official day of marathon training. No more excuses...no more procrastinating...only three months until the big run. It's a considerable commitment but with my desire to do the stupid, the little munchkin makes the bigger sacrifice. It means countless hours of sitting and watching the world go by from the confinement of the stroller, strapped in and all.

In an attempt to be sympathetic to the needs of the child, I gear up with snacks, sippy cup, toys, etc. Rice cakes work great to keep her occupied for a chunk of the time while providing a scant amount of nutrition. Inevitably I end up stopping mid-stride several times to collect flying debris from the front seat, most commonly, shoes, socks, and sippy cup. She must have sensed the struggle from the driver of the stroller today, or possibly heard the panting, because she really came through with the affirmations. It was "You look great" and "Awesome" for 42 minutes. It seems I subconsciously chose the toy that repeats one of three phrases or plays a musical interlude when the button is pressed and the munchkin played along.

The little one is starting to do a little more playing and a little less crying today. It's been a rough couple weeks with this teething business. Judging by the volume and frequency of the cries in the house lately, it hurts. It's been fevers, middle of the night choking/coughing fits and constant whining for too long. I feel for her and thankfully we have successfully completed all four canine tooth eruptions at once. Just the 2 year molars remaining, for awhile at least. At a family 6th birthday party this weekend, a mom kindly informed me that there are the 6 year molars. Oh for goodness sake, when will it end! Teething bites.

It's all part of growing up. In some ways, I feel a greater purpose during the trying times. When the pain and discomfort are too much to handle the little one really wants her Mommy. I pick her up, hold her in my arms and rock her until she falls asleep. I lay her in her crib and camp out on the floor next to her bed until the next coughing attack and repeat the same. It's what parents do.

Discipline for Dummies

In all the hours of preparing for baby classes, parenting classes, and breastfeeding classes there wasn't the slightest mention of how to discipline a toddler. Isn't this just as helpful to new parents as which breast pump has the most beats per minute? Not even a reader recommendation list!

We have definitely entered a new stage in parenting now that are once little baby uses the word "no" even when intending an obvious "yes". Do you want to go swimming and eats lots of candy and stay up past your bedtime...No! Yes, this is the beginning of the toddler phase. It seems my angry face "NO" does little to thwart the unwanted behavior. Quite the contrary. The little one just looks and laughs while continuing to do the act that just got her scolded. Since the "mean face" has been met with mockery, I figure it's time to try some more tested discipline methods. In an Amazon search of "toddler discipline", I came up with 183 books! No doubt there are more than twice as many theories on the subject, so trying to pick one based on who has the best looking book cover is not going to cut it.

Since I'm not a fan of The Supernanny tv show, I figured the best resource on the tried and proven is the actual Mommy network. Several Mom's I chatted with said they started implementing time out with their kids at 18 months with pretty good results. As a believer in this form of punishment I thought it was worth a go even though I questioned if she was too young for it to be effective.

I'm reminded of my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Hume. She would dish out "20 minute isolation" as regular punishment, but mostly for being disruptive in class. This meant you had to sit at a desk in the back of the room, back to the class, with one of those plastic kitchen timers set to 20 minutes. You could hear the low hum as the seconds ticked away. If you were lucky she would let you work on the current assignment otherwise, nothing, just staring at the back wall of the desk cubby, and no head on the desk naptime either. It's debateable whether it was actually effective in making long-term changes in the student's behavior, but one thing was for sure, the class proceeded without disruption if not just for the next 20 minutes. So I waited for the perfect opportunity to test it on the little one.

We are fortunate to have a Sparkletts water cooler at our home and get the delicious, crystal fresh water delivered right to our house. They even offer flouridated water so our child's teeth will grow strong and bright. In addition, they gave us two little faucet adapters to keep the little one from emptying the 5 gallon contents on our beautiful bamboo floors! Last week it happened. She figured out a way around the faucet lock as she says, "warfal." I immediately gave her a stern look accompanied with "NO", to which she thought, game on! After a few go arounds I pulled out my back pocket discipline plan, time out. The "experts" say 1 minute for each year of age. I held her in time out for a little over a minute while I explained what was going on, why she was being disciplined, and the whole concept of undesirable behavior leading to punishment. The crying started about 1/2 way into it and I thought, all the better, they're not suppose to enjoy it. This song and dance continued for another session and the third time, it worked. The threat of time-out actually deterred the behavior. Excellent!

This is not to say she doesn't still test her boundaries nor does she fully grasp the time-out discpline concept but I figure it certainly lays the foundation. It introduces the concept of consequences and it has empowered me as the disciplinarian. I just ask her "Do you want a time-out? and much of the time she replies, "no" and walks away from the situation. I've only had to use it a handful of times and hopefully it won't wear off as if it were the novelty of the week.

A minor success in what is sure to be a whole host of failures over the next seventeen years.

Let's Not Roll Out the Red Carpet Yet

Do we choose our careers or do they just happen to us? And if they just happen to us, why are we so passive as to let such a significant aspect of our life "just happen"? I suppose it's both, and shouldn't be stated so simply. I can't help but think that if my parents had just nurtured my natural aptitude as a receiver in the flag football league, maybe I would have become the first female in the NFL.

Going into this parenting stuff, I had lots of opinions about how it should be done. Some I still hold to and live by with the little one, some I obviously had no idea what I was thinking, and others I still feel strongly about, but have accepted that I must choose my battles. I do still believe that I have some responsibility in recognizing and encouraging the natural talents that someday may present themselves in the little one. These abilities may in fact lead to her being able to choose a career path to get excited about. Yes, it sounds silly making such a statement seeing as she is only ONE year old, but if she shows an affinity to all things animal, I'm going to make an effort to expose her to wildlife. Paraphrasing Dennis Prager, "You're not raising a toddler, you're raising an adult."

One of the little one's newest words is "movie" but it really sounds more like "buh-dee". This has been one of her most enthusiastic words yet. From the moment she gets up, its "buh-dee" "peess" "peess". She climbs up in Daddy's chair and points at his computer screen "buh-dee". From her perspective, this is where the magic happens, this is where the movies are made. Daddy, a much-loved filmmaker, spends countless hours in front of his computer making fantastic shorts. If the little one is lucky, he lets her help. So I ask myself, will she continue in the paternal footsteps and desire to please audiences through visual storytelling or is this the normal manifestation of a child's obsession with television? Do I encourage her by letting her watch Daddy's camp movies over, and over, and over again? Will she be intolerably vain if she watches herself being cute one more time? At least these are actual real life people and places. Not like Elmo.

I'm leaning towards moderation. You never know, she may become a great film director who receives worldwide praise and accolades, or she may be a silly salesperson or contractor who spends her evenings putting together fun nostalgic films to entertain her loved ones. Either way, it's a win!

A Happy Coincidence

My mornings use to consist of hopping out of bed (only after hitting snooze a couple times and trying to fool myself into believing it was Saturday), quick shower, dress and off to the car for the morning commute. Once in the office and completed the visual clock-in with the bossman, I would get that cup of coffee I've been hankering for all morning. Exchange kind words with co-workers and to the desk I go. This series of events is repeated by thousands everyday and for them I feel their pains.

Having our own business has allowed more freedom in this area. Most mornings begin by waking to the "joyful" noise of the little one, usually sometime around 6:15am. After tending to the basic baby needs, we go to the kitchen where she demands her morning 9oz of milk and I prepare a nice big pot of our house coffee for mommy and daddy. I catch up on the news and at 7am turn the tv on to Sunrise Earth in HD so I can ease into the day with the tranquil sights and sounds of nature. Sounds great, yeah?

This morning proceeded as normal. I turned on the tv wondering where in the world is the sunrising today. Yosemite! The little one's immediate response was "OOOHHH" followed by "warful warful"....mom's a genius. It was one of those fantastic mommy moments that you couldn't plan any better. Who knew?

I'm sure I will remember this morning much longer than she will. For it won't be long until the mommy "genius" moments dissipate and the little one will grow to be much smarter than I. For now I'll take it where I can get it.

Whoa, trees!

Wow! Just back from a wonderful family vacation in Yosemite/Fish Camp. The beauty of the place will capture anybody and it was not lost on the little one. The road through the National Park is lined with lush greenery and big trees to which the little narrator in the back repeats, "Whoa" and "Oh" and "trees" thus making the drive thoroughly entertaining. It pleases me to see her appreciation of nature at such a young age.

We spent several days just relaxing in the cabin which is met with a bit of angst from the little one come 3pm or so. Cabin fever sets in. With her best attempt she puts on her shoes and walks to the door chanting (in no particular order) "bye bye", "outside", "fishies" (after she discovered the local creek is filled with them). Fortunately for us this is new territory so a short walk around the cabin vicinity accounts for satisfying exploration. She displayed a great amount of tolerance for someone with so much energy and curiosity. Thankfully the other little one, her little buddy she appropriately refers to as "wino", and her seemed to enjoy each others company and the hugs and kisses flowed freely.

Outside of the hours in the cabin, we did find time to venture into nature and glorious it was. The little one busied herself moving rocks in the river and wading in not-so-swiftly, but enough to put mommy on edge, moving water. For me it was like watching a scary movie, every muscle is clenched, shoulders up to my ears from the tenseness but just can't take my eyes off the screen. I loved watching her regardless of how high the level of anxiety. Admittedly, I struggle with this idea quite often in my parental role. Do I pull her away from all potential danger or stand at arms length and allow her to have fun and be a kid. Hopefully more of the latter. I can't bear the thought of hindering her rightful desire to adventure because of my desire to shield her from all that is, or can be, dangerous in this world.

Our final great adventure for the weekend found us on a solid, moderately challenging hike to the top of Vernal Falls. The little one comfortably situated in the baby backpack with Daddy as her sherpa.

It was a beautiful trek through the forest and we learned a new word, "warful" translated as waterfall. Apparently the adventure made quite the impression on her because when she woke up the next morning in the hotel room, we heard the usual momentary half wimper/half cry followed by a very clearly stated, "warful", and she hasn't stopped since. Good thing we have lots of video footage since Oceanside is not known for its pristine waterfalls.

Routinely Speaking

The little one is sleeping contently, right on schedule. Wednesdays are busy mornings for us. Out of the house before 8am and off to my workout/baby babysitting(playtime), a quick errand and on to baby gymnastics class, a few more errands and home in time for 11:30 nap. Routine is very important to her. She finds happiness in knowing what to expect next and having a good amount of predictability in her life. I think there is a lesson to be learned here as this is obviously an insight to our human nature. Predictability equals contentment.

There was a period in my life where I changed jobs and residences as though I were in a bad witness protection program. Family and friends offered funny comments but we're secretly voicing concern to one another. I believed they feared I wouldn't be a desirable candidate because I switched jobs, and industries so often. Her future is doomed, and she had so much potential. "Hey, I'm smarter than that," I would smugly reply. "I never quit a job without having accepted another offer elsewhere." This is pretty normal stuff, post-college, as you find your way in this life. One thing is for sure, I was not any happier selling tv advertising than power tools or branded coffee mugs.

Life is much simpler now, however more complicated. I enjoy just being at home with my family and knowing we will all sit on the couch every morning and have our daily beverage of choice before we go off our seperate ways for the days agenda. Chasing the next best thing left me always wanting and never enjoying the best thing I already have.

The little ones understand this better than anyone. As long as mommy and daddy are both in the room, their world is complete. Not saying that she doesn't enjoy new and exciting things. You should have seen her face the first time she saw the Beluga whales at Sea World....priceless. The new expriences and thrills are great, as long as they don't interfere with the routine too much, too often and for too long.

Branching Off

I did not intend to become a regular blogger. It began as a farce. A way to humor my husband during a long and stressful couple of weeks at work. He had just started a fantastic blog which I look forward to reading everyday and there was much discussion among friends about it being "the" thing to do. Everyone should have a blog and I therefore lovingly imitated his title, set up my own blog and put together a few words, mostly about raising our daughter. Little did I know that I would actually enjoy it.



Many moms make some sort of scrap book or photo diary for their child to enjoy as they grow up but since the husband has a huge talent for filmmaking, I left this to him. I thought I would keep a journal for her that would be my personal gift for her to enjoy, especially when she becomes a mom. I have about 10 entries, she's 17 months old. Thats not even one a month! So my modern day answer to the journal is this blog. Therefore, if I decide to make this a somewhat regular hobby (I still question how often I will be able to commit to it), it's time I select a new title. We are no longer the most mundane thing, just the mundane details.

An Emotional Journey

I'm pretty sure I don't have the reputation of being a sensitive person. The reality is I lean towards the hardened closed-off side. I have consciously been working on being more sensitve and vulnerable my entire adult life, if nothing else for my loving husband's sake. Lord knows it's no fun giving affection to someone incapable of emoting. No doubt I'm a happier person for it.

With the birth of my daughter and entrance into motherhood there have been a number of noticeable differences in myself. I have become an emotional worrier, just to name a couple.

The worry thing is necessary for a mom, to a point. It's important to be aware of all the potential dangers in the room and be able to look at your child and in 2 seconds assess if they are about to hurl themselves backward in pure joy and smack their noggin on the corner of the flagstone hearth. That way you can anticipate and avoid the trip to the emergency room. I'm pretty sure it will happen sooner or later, I just hope it's not serious and doesn't happen soon.

Even more dibilitating than the worrying is the lack of control of emotions. My tear ducts are working over time. I feel as though their locked and loaded and ready to fire with the slightest nudging. This morning the little one kept pointing and asking for a book on the top shelf. One that we haven't pulled out yet for fear of eminent destruction. It's one of those soft cover normal paper page books, not like the more durable, fairly indestructable board books that are more suited for a curious toddler. Given to us by a family member and touted as one of their favorites I thought well as long as I'm holding it, it will be fine. I started to read the book titled, "Love You Always" and thought this is very sweet. It tells of a mom caring for her newborn who grows to become a young boy then teenager, young man, adult etc. all the while she continues to rock and sing him this lullaby:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

I'm getting choked up just typing it. Yikes. Well, the story ends with the son, now a man, rocking and singing to his frail, aging mother just before doing the same with his new baby girl. As sappy and silly as it sounds, all this was too much for me to handle and I had to put the book down opting for the more familiar animal picture book.

I suppose it's Gods way. The maternal nature is a sensitive, nurturing one. We all need that in our lives and who better to fit that bill then mommy. The other night after keeping the little one up way past bedtime to enjoy the company of friends, we started the normal bedtime routine; bath, quiet play, diaper and dress, read stories, say our prayers and lights out. We got to step 3 (diaper and dress) and the eyelids were getting to heavy for her to bear so I just picked her up in my arms and sang for a few minutes before putting her in bed. I whispered "i love you" (as I usually do) while turning to leave the room. I got to her door and heard in that cute little child voice "Yuvyou" and I walked out of the room.

It's no wonder why I've grown more emotional. My heart aches just thinking about it.

The Matter of Language

The first time the little one mimicked my "oooooo", I remember thinking houston we have a connection. It wasn't much but considering I hadn't slept more than a 4 hour stretch in 4 months (this inludes the last month of pregnancy with constant night wakings from discomfort in between the waddle to the bathroom every couple hours) and the only response I had gotten from the little thing was a good diaper full thanking me for the satisfying breastmilk, I was elated at this new development. It was shortlived as I immediately panicked at the thought of teaching her a whole language. How on earth do I teach her to talk. Real language. Yikes, I'm not prepared for this.

One of the first words the little one mastered was "uh-oh" and it is my understanding that this is pretty common in the tot world. Uh-oh refers to all things gravity. It can mean any and all of the following: uh oh I dropped something, uh oh I fell, and my favorite, uh oh I'm going to hurl this spoonful of yogurt across the room.

Another word that came a bit later was "ice". If I were in her head, I think it went something like this:

what's this? it's cold...and slippery. what does it taste like? Hmm, that feels
good and mommy seems to give it freely and at other peoples houses it
just comes flying out of the big door. what did she say again? ice. ok, got it.

So ice is a favorite. Imagine my delight when we found a few huge bags of it sitting next to the bar at a wedding we attended over the weekend. It can be challenging to feel a part of the festivities when your busy chasing the little one around and searching for anything that will keep her occupied for five minutes in hopes of catching the ceremonial toast or first dance. And here it was, next to the bar of all places! She couldn't have been more pleased if I handed her a 1 pound bag of m&m's.

Consequently, a new concept emerged, "wet".

The words flow more freely everyday as frustration becomes communication. What a joy to spout out a sentence or question in normal adult speak and without hesitation get an appropriate response. Apparently, if you just talk to your child, they will learn the language on their own.

Why? and Who Cares?

Why?

My husband recently started a blog and is really enjoying it. I must say I've been inspired and look forward to reading what he has to say.

If your looking for a philosophical and enlightening read a visit to The Most Significant Thing will fit that bill. This blog is about the mundane activities in life as experienced from a mommy perspective.

My life is not the same with out the big momentous occasions: my wedding day, birth of my child, day escrow closed on our first home purchase. Those are huge and significant things that have given me great joy and a greater sense of purpose. The problem is my everyday reality is a bit lackluster in comparison. Therefore, I feel compelled to find happiness in the little tasks, boring as they are, if I am to be a person worth spending five minutes with. This therefore is my tribute to the more mundane aspects in life.

The reality is, I may not even get around to making a second post. Thats how it goes. So many things I would like to do each day but struggle to find the time and energy to accomplish half of them. As long as my daughter wakes up with a smile on her face and gives me a kiss goodnight, the laundry list of to-do's will wait.

Who Cares?

Nobody. I don't expect anyone will actually read this (except my husband, maybe.), nor am I providing some big public service. Perhaps my daughter would be mildly interested if she were able to read. No, this is more an excercise for myself to recognize that the mundane can actually be significant.