We're in San Diego right now visiting family and meeting this little, and I do mean little, peanut for the first time. We've done it all...we almost got eaten here, we thought about moving there because of this, we got a little tipsy here, we've seen a lot of this, we watched him race in this, and today we are going here. Can't wait to get home so we can relax!
Dinner at our casa...note new paint color. Yippee!
Then to Jamie's folks in Stanwood for some nudity.
And some cute photo's of our girls. You can move home any time Jame!
How cute is my little valentine waiting for me to come home from work with a big ole' meal on the table? Our present to eachother was to paint the inside of our house some fun, new colors (photos to come). Guess it wasn't much of a 'present' per say, but more of an ultimatum. I told Ry we either paint or buy a new house. He just rolled his eyes...and I painted.
We read these FOUR books every single day, a bazillion times a day, one after another, over and over again....they go a little something like this:
'Hi. My name is Alice. I'm a fairy. I'm not a permanent fairy, I'm just a temporary fairy. You have to pass a lot of tests to be a permanent fairy. I have wings so I can fly. I can't fly very high yet, but I can fly real fast..."
"If you give a pig a party,she's going to ask for some balloons, when you give her the balloons, she'll want to decorate the house. When she's finished, she'll put on her favorite dress. Then she'll invite all her friends to the party..."
"I love being fancy. My favorite color is fuchsia. That's a fancy way of saying purple. I like to write my name with a pen that has a plume. That's a fancy way of saying feather. And I can't wait to learn French because everything in French sounds fancy..."
"In a big city high rise on the very top floor. Lives a pink fluffy poodle, Poodleena Pompadour. She wore on her head a pink mountain of hair, as light as a feather and mostly pink air. Days were spent teasing her fabulous fluff, shaving legs, painting toenails and other such stuff..."
I think these books are taking up brain space where my sanity used to be, or maybe I know a cure for cancer...but it's lost in the shuffle of this nonsense. Guess I'll have to give up on my dreams of accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, and instead be happy knowing, verbatim, my two year olds most favorite books and the joy she finds in reading.
We were at Zaide's the other day and Hadley spotted the new 'dress-up' dresses that Zaide bought for the girls and wanted it on her little body ASAP. Oh boy was she fancy! And I will definitely be showing her this picture when she's older and thinking about getting a tattoo (over my dead body) and how tacky it will look peeking through her wedding dress...especially if it's Strawberry Shortcake.
...you haven't lived. Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but it is mighty fabulous and low cal. Nothing better than being drunk AND skinny...double bonus.
I finally signed Hadley up to go to my work's Daycare. She's just one of the 'drop off' kids, nothing official, nothing fancy (she doesn't have her very own cubby or anything cool like that). But I think it's going to be the best thing ever. I just email them days I need, and they plug her in if space is available. It's great because to actually be a 'daycare kid' you have to pay for at least three days a week (which we don't need) and it's about a 2.5 year wait (who's got 2 years to wait?!)...so to be able to drop her off willy-nilly when I have childcare needs is perfect (and I can even drop her off for a full 13 hours, which is an entire shift, or an entire day of shopping with friends, lunch, a movie, and dinner...how would they ever know).
Then I realized why I might want my kid to be raised by other people, instead of her inept mother and father. After spending a few hours there last week (just to eeze her in for when I leave her there for an entire day) I realized my child is a complete failure. The kids in her 'class' know Spanish, the alphabet, sit in a circle 'criss-cross-applesauce' style, drink out of a big kid cup, and even raise their hands when they have questions. SAY WHAT?!?! This is all while my little derelict is running around, holding her crotch, yelling 'yuck poo-poo' at the top of her lungs and all the 'little einsteins' (literally) stare at her in disgust. Then to top it off, after I changed her 'yuck poo-poos', Sofia (a fellow toddler) very politely came up to me and reminded me to "wash my manos" (hands for you non Spanish speaking folk, and 'hi's' as Hadley calls them, because, appropriately enough, they are what we use to say 'hi'.). When we left I asked if maybe there was a remedial toddler group she could hang out with, or perhaps the 'infant' room would be a better fit, that might be a crowd she could excel with.
If this is ever my mini-van, or my family of six, or my three dogs and three cats, and if I ever have these decals on my mini van of my family of six, and three dogs, and three cats. Please just put me out of my misery and make it quick...actually make me suffer, I'd deserve it a little.
I let Hadley pick out her own clothes the other day (I know what you're thinking Val...I am stupid). She's kind of rockin' it. I, personally, have never been into the whole skirt/dress over the pants thing, but who am I to judge (actually, I judge everyone, just so you know). She's definitely someone else's kid, she ALWAYS wants tights and a skirt. I convinced her that Adidas warm pants were just loose tights. She bought it.
So I keep getting 'hit' to make a list on Facebook, and FB just ain't my thing yet...I'm partial to the blog world...and I can't possibly keep up with both (or just don't want to), so here's my list of: 25 random facts about me!
1. I love making lists.
2. I shoot a basketball, dribble, write on a chalkboard, and throw underhand left handed...everything else I do with my right.
3. I hold my pencil completely wrong.
4. I've never smoked a cigarette...faked it once in the woods with Lindsey and Chris K. in 8th grade (they were bad kids).
5. I've feel so completely vulnerable being a mom, and think about something bad happening to Hadley every single day...and wonder how I could ever go on.
6. If I drove a Land Rover I think my life would be perfect...Ryan says that makes me shallow.
7. I listen to my iPod every single day...loudly.
8. I hate TV as background noise and I abhor how loud commercials are.
9. My favorite time to run is early in the morning. I feel like I have a little secret before everyone else wakes up.
10. Getting Hadley up and putting her to bed are my favorite times of the day.
11. The people I work with are the most compassionate, intelligent, amazing people I know. They are also the most vulgar, completely inappropriate, most hilarious people I know. I don't think you could do what we do without being all of the above.
12. I love that Ryan still slaps my ass when I walk by...and I think it shakes a bit more than it used to.
13. I look like I have hives with any emotion change.
14. I am so glad I get to be a mom AND have a career, I don't think I could be successful in one without the other.
15. I often prostitute myself out to my husband for new clothes.
16. I used to want 4 kids, now I don't even want 2.
17. I don't know how to dive.
18. I am compulsively clean, yet super messy...go figure.
19. In my next life I want to be a magician.
20. I know every word to the movie 'A Few Good Men'...can you handle that truth?
21. Before Ryan and I got married we had a couple sessions about marriage with our officiant (this was not an optional thing...so we went), and he asked us why we wanted to get married...Ryan said 'nothing else is going on right now.' My jaw dropped and he got yelled at on the car ride home. He said I took it the wrong way, I said learn to lie.
22. I was suspended in high school for 10 days.
23. I wish you could buy patience on EBay, because I'm often lacking in them.
24. I want to be exactly like my mom, except not wear my pants so high.
25. I would rather be punched in the face than speak in public.
It snowed!!! I couldn't believe it when I walked out my door at 4:45am this morning to a blanket of white.
While I was on my blogging strike (for no good reason other than real life got in the way) I totally forgot that I took these pictures of Hayden and Hadley when we met Jon and Heidi for coffee and a run a few weeks ago. Hayden is a darling, adorable, crazy cute baby girl who was all smiles when she woke up from her nap. And Hadley was all smiles to be so close to a real live baby.
I got this book for Christmas from Val and couldn't wait to trick my vegetable-fearing family.
I bought these, for the first time ever!
Lily and Hadley's first meeting. I'm thinking they hit it off and Hads made a grand first impression. My little Lenny...we're working on gentle.
A few weeks ago we went to Utah to visit one of my very bestest friends, Jamie, who just had a baby girl, Lily Jay. I know, isn't that so stupid that she lives ALL the way in Utah?! So off Sarah, Hadley, and I went for an extended weekend of cooing over Lily, drinking with Jamie and Kenny, and chasing around Hadley. I think Sarah has officially been scared off of ever wanting kids...between HAVING to be home for nap time, Lily's every 3 hour feedings, the misery of having a two year old at any public dining establishment, and Hadley's early bedtime, we rarely left the confines of the Barton home. But we still managed to have a blast...just like we always do.
Sarah, an anxious little flyer, pounding one of our 8am beers...notice I said one. Nothing like a few cold beers and some anti-anxiety meds to create a happy flight. CHEERS!
The precious gal we couldn't wait to meet. Mohawk and all.
Glad to see mom-hood hasn't changed Jame a bit! Exactly why I love her.
Jame and Ken loaded their cupboards with junk for Hadley...and boy was she a happy camper.
Chillin' with Lil. She's such a content little bean. Made me wonder why I ever thought having a newborn was hard and then when I saw Jamie up at 8am with big bags under eyes after being up all night, I quickly remembered.
Good God, what a pasty little twosome.
Giving knucklebumps and blowing it up...over cinnamon Life cereal.
Are you kidding me? Edible.
Hadley was oh so helpful with Lily-pie.
More snacks. Sarah asked why I take her shirt off when she eats, I said...'just wait, you'll see.'
Hads was Sarah's little shadow. She followed her around constantly and was either begging to look at pictures of Max the kitty on Sar's cell phone, or dying to help Sar put on make-up. I mean seriously, like a parrot on speed...she wouldn't stop.
The girls.
Never too young to be taught about self pics.
Obsessed...she was OBSESSED with Lily's swing and shed a lot of tears when she was constantly yanked out to be put in 'time-out'. No means no kiddo, the quicker you learn the easier growing up will be.
Feeling pretty cool in Mama's slippers. By the way, Mama got these UGGs at REI on super clearance...regularly $90...on sale for $54...got em' for $25. Yep, still not over it.
The only time Hadley held still while dining out...ever.
Playing in the snow...it really was gorgeous outside.
Sar and Hadley's pathetic little snowman. They were both pretty proud.
A tired, haggard, mom and a tired, haggard kid. Don't know how single mom's do it, my hat is off to you. After chasing around an almost two year old by myself (I say by myself, not because Jame/Ken/Sarah weren't helpful, but because it's just differant having the other parent around...someone to blame things on, be annoyed with, pawn the kid off on, etc...) anyways, I thought about leaving her with the flight attendants, just for a week or so.
