Resolutions

I resolve -
1 - Not to have temper tantrums.
2 - Always to listen to my mommy.
3 - Not to want something every time we go shoppping.
4 - To get rid of my pacifier REALLY soon.
5 - To go on the potty by my next birthday.

Love, Samantha

What are you resolutions?

2nd Birthday

How did I not post about Samantha's 2nd birthday? I'm sorry. Here's some pics.

XMas Sidenote

Where can I find some of these? Do they sell them anywhere besides Ebay? Samantha saw them on youtube and is obsessed with them. Especially La La (who she thinks is the red one).

Little Miss Perfect

I read this blog sometimes: http://mooshinindy.com/
This post she just wrote make me think of Samantha so much, she says about her daughter:
"To the outside childless observer the moosh can make hearts palpitate and fallopian tubes to twitch. Especially when she’s in one of her “moods”. You know the mood, she dances, she sings, she even tells a few jokes. She uses her manners. She poses. She hugs liberally."

Go to her site and read her post, it's hilarious.

It's true, Samantha can be fantastic and so so cute... and then she can also be not so cute. The so cute times are much more than the not so cute times.

Which bring me to my point, last night Samantha woke up at 3 AM and asked, no insisted, that she go to her friend Will's house. And then that she read books, and then that she watch Dora on TV. She did not want to go back to sleep, and kept whining and saying, "No mommy, no sleep"

What do you do in these situations, when your child is practically 2 and you can't exactly leave them in their crib to cry (not that I ever did that).

We made a deal, 2 books, Samantha of course did not hold up her end of the bargain. More whining ensued. Oh, and did I mention she's calling me Taryn during all of this, I had to remind her to please call me Mommy.

We, of course, did not go to Will's house. Finally when we were really desperate, after I talked, told stories in bed, sang to her and nothing worked. We watched Barney (thank God for Sprout) and then she went to sleep.

Obviously I don't want my 2 year old to be in charge of the household, but in these situations, what do you do? Any ideas for next time (we're hoping they're won't be one but you never know.)? She's still a little young for me to really reason with her, but she does understand a lot. I'll tell her to hold off on doing this again until y'all get back to me.

Thanks. While you're thinking here she is in her ever so cute glory drawing a picture.

Cereal with Milk

" Mommy, I need more cereal please"

"With milk"

"Yes, mommy I need some milk too"


This exchange took place this morning in my kitchen with my daughter. Who is this little girl? Certainly not my baby. She has been breaking out the sentences more and more and somehow it still amazes me.

Last night she was playing with her dolls and I heard her say -
"Do you want to go on the potty baby bear"
Then answering for him, "No, no yet".

Just now she walked into the other room saying, "I'll be right there mommy".

She is so into pretending lately, and she has these real conversations with her dolls. Right now she loves, drawing, playing "mommy" with her dolls/bears, playing in her kitchen and making us food, coffee, and apple juice. She is really turning into her own little person.

Just one more quote for the day, she is holding her bear saying, "Oh no, you're crying?" Then she pats his back and says, "don't worry bear, I got you."
I think that one is exactly what I do to her when she's upset.

Where's my baby?

These aren't the best pictures, but doesn't she look like such a big girl!

Friends

How cute is this?

Day Off

Tim and I tend to overplan our days off. We are always so busy we never have time to rest. So Mondays are now our official day off where we try our hardest to not plan anything. Not leaving the house on Mondays if ideal. We were so hard over the weekend (we both do a 16 hour shift on Saturdays) and it takes days to recover. Tim now works 4 hours on Sundays and is then off on Mondays and Tuesdays. The weeks go by so quick with this schedule. On Wed/Th/and Fri Samantha and I have playgroups and music class, so I just feel like the week goes by so quick and then it is Saturday again when I work. Not that I'm complaining, I'm only working one day a week, and it is fun, but I just can't believe how quickly the week goes by. Hopefully this new day off plan will help. I never thought cutting down my work to one day a week would make me feel like I have less time to do things, but somehow it does. I still need to get a new camera, but here's a pic from Halloween that someone took for me.

Decisions...

I got a phone call at 8 AM today, and I was still sleeping, which of course was a miracle in itself. I couldn't find the phone and didn't get to it i time. When I got downstairs an checked the caller ID it was the person I used to babysit for. I figured it was an emergency since she lives down the street, but then I checked my messages. She wants me to babysit today at 12 so she can go into the city. I have had 6 blissful weeks babysitting free. I quit babysitting back in May, but then they got me to babysit for the month of August because I always feel guilty and I could use the money so I said yes. Now let me just say that last week I called her to see if she'd be interested in having dinner at Tims restaurant and she never called back.

So I called Tim this morning and said what do I say. I know it's weird but I do need help with these things, I feel so guilty about saying no. Tim said, "you don't babysit anymore, why would you say yes?". I said to help out a friend. Tim said, "really, she's a friend, it seems like she's only a friend when she needs something". So I guess that's all I'll just say no. I really don't like babysitting, it's for 3 kids and it's just too much.

And now at 8:32 my baby is finally waking up so I have to go get her.

Does anyone else get themselves in situations like these?

Boring...

I have to work like crazy this weekend. I'm going in at 7. Get a break from 2ish to 5ish. The go back from 5 to 11. The joys of sort of owning your own business. But seriously I don't mind. I'm looking forward to it. We are having dinners at the store every Saturday night. We close at 3, and then will have 2 seatings. It should really help us to get a lot of business next year for the restaurant. And Tim is a fantastic chef, once people eat his food I know they'll come back. And... I get tips! Yipee!

I still have not found my camera! How is this possible? I have no clue, it has to be somewhere. And I still have the pics from my sisters bachelorette party and a few other on there. It's been almost a month, and my house is really clean. So I'm thinking somehow it's gone. So sad... My baby is growing up before our eyes and we aren't even documenting it. Send good camera vibes my way.

Nothing else exciting to say, we went to music today, and had lunch with a friend, that's about it...

Oh shit!

You're allowed to curse on the internet, right? Is it weird that I felt a little weird about titling this post a curse word, or even using one? Hey, I'm the person who still VERY rarely curses in front of my parents.

A few weeks ago my mom said, "hey Samantha said 'Oh shit". I said no way. She hasn't even said that in front of us and besides that doesn't happen to be a four letter word that I use frequently. Well, it happened. Apparently, even though mommy doesn't say "Oh Sh*t" on a regular basis, it seems to be Samantha's curse of choice.
So now the inevitable, how do we handle this? Tim thinks the way to handle it to laugh uncontrollably and call me in to witness the act.
I decided that we completely ignore it, and I decided to start saying "Oh no" in a funny voice whenever I drop something. So maybe it will be more fun to say that.

Oh, did I mention that she uses it in the right context? We can't really be mad at that can we, at least she's smart, my future English major...

Overtime

I went over my email quote today, but that's because my sister emailed me the proofs from her wedding! All 500 hundred of them. So I had to analyze them and save them, I still have to order the ones I want. Her photographer was amazing, I'd highly recommend him but he doesn't come cheap, so now I have to carefully choose which pics I want. The ones I posted are some of my favorites. This is my favorite of Katie and Mike.

More Wedding

The Wedding

Update

I did pretty well today with my internet problem. I had a little insurance problem to take care of so I actually needed the internet for something other than fun.

I found out that my friend is having a little BOY this February! We are so excited and can't wait to meet him. So send some name ideas my way. I like Ascher and Brayden.

Addiction Notice

So, the first step to fixing a problem is to admit you have a problem, right? I am addicted to checking my email/blogs/general online stuff. I can't stop. My nice computer just sits here all day begging me to use it. When I started to think I might have a problem I thought maybe I would write down how many times in a day I used the computer. Then I thought that would be way too scary. So here is what I'm going to do. Starting tomorrow, I tried today but it didn't work, I will use the computer three times only. For no more than 15 minutes at a time. Don't people with addictions always say, I'll start tomorrow? Oh well. I'll start tonight, since I've definitely used up my quota for today after this post I will not check my email until...gasp... tomorrow. And it's only 6:16, and I'll be home for the rest of the night. Is it weird that that makes me a little nervous? Does anyone else have this addiction? I promise to use some of my first 15 minutes tomorrow updating you as to how I did (if anyone cares). I LOVE my computer, but I think I have to get my house is good working order before I can go back to my leisurely internet browsing days. Things to do before I get to spend more time on the internet: keep house really clean on a ongoing basis, get file cabinet organized. Everything else is okay, these are the two things that get forgotten due to my internet use. Oh, and I'll get to go to bed earlier, yipee! Okay, goodnight internet, until tomorrow. : (

Soul Searching

I read this today at Velveteen Mind. I thought it was well written and I hope the same for Samantha, no matter what financial situation we are in when she is in school. With Christmas and birthdays coming up, it is so easy to get caught up in all that. My intention for this year is to now get caught up in that, and to teach Samantha that family and friends, not money are most important. I have to remind myself of this when I find myself coveting that Bugaboo stroller or Volvo.

Here are Velveteen Minds words:

"My response to speculations about our financial situation is always the same. I am not my money.

I don't define myself by how much money I have in the bank or how stylish my clothes are. I don't see myself in how impressive my house is or by the model of my car.

But these things are not me, they are just my circumstances. And my circumstances don't begin to scratch my surface.

Despite my circumstances that suggest that my life is a bit in shambles, I am confident. I am confident in who I am and in who I will be. I am confident in my past decisions and my future plans. I have faith and I have hope.

I am a have in this world, but I just so happen to have not.

More than anything else, I hope I am teaching this perspective to my family. We are not our money.

But then what happens when your circumstances change from mental fortitude toward financial strength? The temptations of the GAP mom will rear their ugly heads and what keeps you from folding? What keeps you from succumbing to the power of the Volvo wagon and the day spa?

The difference is that when I have money again, when my circumstances change and I can breathe again, I want and plan to remember one thing: I am not my money.

As much as I don't define myself by my circumstances now, I do not want to define myself by my circumstances later, no matter how glossy and glittery.

If I do anything right as a mother, I want to raise children who view the world from the same financial perspective. We are not what we have materially.

I would love nothing more than for them to be able to seamlessly blend into groups of both the privileged and the struggling."

Wedding Photos

Here are a few from Katie's wedding this weekend. I lost my camera so have no pics, please send pics my way if you have some!

Dollhouse

I want Samantha to get a dollhouse for her birthday that she ca play with now. She has a beautiful one from her Aunt Katie, but that is when she is older. Tim and I try to limit plastic toys when we can, so are opting for a wooden dollhouse. These are the contenders. Tell me what you think.

They are from Kidcraft, Ryan's Room, and the wierd looking one is from Djeco. I had my heart set on a Ryan's Room house (the plain wood ones). But I think the Djeco one is kind of cool.

Blogging Hiatus

I've been on a blogging hiatus. I'm not sure when I'll return. My camera hasn't been charged in weeks, so I haven't taken any pics. I'll try to get better. Here are some Labor Day pics that someone else took and sent to me. (Thanks Heather!)

We had a busy weekend, but yesterday we did mostky nothing. It was a nice relaxing holiday.

Family Hiking Trip

Here's us hiking the other day, although they say you can use the Ergo on a 5 year old, I don't think I'll be using it when Samantha is five. Hiking uphill with a almost 2 year old on your back was quite a work out, I can't see myself doing still in another 3 years. We got a good workout on this hike. We hiked up the falls at a state park close by with Peter.

Just Woke Up

Pics from Lisa

My friend Lisa took these shots for me.

Sam

Never Trust a One Year Old

I'm having some friends over this weekend. I have a lot to do to prepare. I have to cook dinner for 8 people. And I have to clean, clean, clean 3 floors and the yard. I was very upset with the fact that Samantha napped on the way home from the store this morning and woke up when we got home. I was planning on cooking some things when she was napping. But I was surprised that she was being very well behaved, while I cooked for two hours. She was happily playing. I was jus thinking wow I was totally underestimating her, she doesn't need to be entertained all the time. I could see her playing, in the doorway to the bathroom. The toilet was closed so I wasn't really worried. Then I looked over. She had gotten a box of spaghetti out of the cupboard had it all scattered on the bathroom floor, and was attempting to open the toilet and put it in. I must remember next time, a quiet one year old usually means a naughty one year old.
Lesson learned.

We're getting visits this weekend from our favorite Met fan (little Jim) and our favorite Yankee fans, David & Peter. Tim was very upset that a picture was even taken of Samantha in a Met hat. I promise, it won't happen again.

So cute

I have nothing really to post about. We've been busy with summer stuff. But Sarah emailed me this and it is so cute I really want one for Samantha. She would look adorable. However they are ridiculously expensive. I can picture her in it, so cute...
You can find one of your own at oopsydaisybaby.com

Speaking of Sarah, she shared this news yesterday. Congratulations!

The Girls

Here's Sam, Ava, and Courtney!
Thanks for pic Peter.

Please Touch

These pictures are from the Please Touch museum in Philadelphia. It was so cute. A great museum for little ones. I think its up to age 6. Sam loved it. We are going to Long Island today for Emma Kate's and Sara's birthday parties. I am so tired of traveling. We just got back from a 4 hour trip Tues and now I'm leaving again.

oh, and Tim woke everyone up when he left today. 1 hour before I have to get up.

Pick My shoes

Pick my shoes for my sisters wedding, and Samantha's. My dress is brown and Sams is white.