Monthly Archives: March 2010

Tonight, all I’m going to do is take a quote (slightly adapted) from an email I sent out earlier…and follow it up with some photos…

“I’ve had such a blast just being a ‘stay at home mom’….mopping, vacuuming, doing laundry, taking care of EG, and chilling out that I almost think I should fire Lorena, put in [cheap] white rocks instead of the flower garden, scrap the vegetable plot, sell the horses, and [forget about anything other than Ellie Graye and mommy]!…hmmm.”

Yep, I’ve enjoyed letting all the other stuff “go” and just being able to be HOME.  Poor horses. Poor garden. Happy Melissa.

Starting the morning with a talk with Jax

That being said………………………today we……

1. Made banana pancakes, fed the dogs, and fed the horses.

Pushing the food back to where she thinks it should belong

2. Went to a swim class to make up for the class we missed Tuesday.  Ellie did amazingly well – it was almost as if she was showing off for the new teacher!

3. Went to Michael’s in search of the perfect charms for a special order I received for Teacher Appreciation Week.  I think we managed to find something!  Discovered our Easter stickers.

Looking through her Easter stickers

4. Discovered that the wind had blown a whole stack of seed packets from under the patio cover into the rain.  Pondered whether or not I had to plant them, and decided that I’d dry them out later and see what happens instead of dealing with the whole mess.

5. Made a few attempts at going pee-pee on the potty.  Was generally successful with sitting, but EG hasn’t quite gotten it into her head that it’s ok to “dirty” the potty…..she thinks it’s better to do it on the floor!

6. Did laundry. Restocked diapers, wipes, toilet paper, and general necessities.

7. I moved furniture around in the living room, though I’m still not sure I like it.  Trying to figure out what the best situation is with the furniture we have…the pink carpet is a bitch.  Jeffrey’s first comment was that the L-shaped couch isn’t in the right place, but if it were up to him, we’d be buying new socks when ours were dirty, and eating out every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner….get my point?

I bought that mirror for $5 at the Fairfax Flea Market years ago. It's PLASTIC....shhhhhhh, don't tell anyone!

8. Gabby called to tell me that Avdoo had spooked at a blanket that got blown by the wind…he somehow wrapped himself around a post…has a big ol’ welt just in front of his flank.  Good thing is she got him all trimmed up – a HUGE feat considering 3 weeks ago he wouldn’t even let scissors in the vicinity of close to his face.

9. Cleaned, played, ate, laughed, showered, and just enjoyed each others’ company………then bedtime…………..

10. Bedtime came with pleadings to let EG sleep in her big girl bed……..we tried, but just like the potty training, desire isn’t as important as self-control! Anyway, she did decide that a pillow would be a good compromise in the situation – and while contesting the fact that she was still in her crib, she drifted off to sleep close to 9:30 pm, with her head on her pillow. Damn she’s cute.

look at those CHEEKS!

11. Jeffrey arrived from a long week of traveling and work.  He’ll be here 24 hours, and then have to leave again.  Man, oh man, oh man.

12.  I’ve finished a glass of wine and my eyes are closing uncontrollably…wish I had another few weeks of my “vacation”

NIGHTY NIGHT!

The ting-ting-plop-plop of the rain is fantabulous.  I was almost confused when I heard the rain start falling on the sunroof in the kitchen.  “What the heck is that???”  Oh. Yeah. I live in Oregon – I had forgotten for a few days!  When the sun went down, the sky was clear and beautiful, thus my puzzlement when I heard the raindrops hitting the glass.  Rain or no rain, I’m hitting the hay with a happy, fulfilled heart.

Today was our first full day without anyone else in the house.  My mother did come help in the morning, but she was only able to stay long enough for me to turn the horses out, replenish their hay, and muck the stalls.  I really am thankful that she’s willing and able to help.  I did, however, have a moment of genius the other day when I was trying to figure out how to have the horses in the aisle and still keep EG safe: a stall.  All the stalls in the barn are box stalls, which means they are completely enclosed, giving me the perfect little play area for a busy little toddler!   They are essentially 12′ x 12′ rooms with bars; all but two of them have doors that can be opened into outdoor runs.  The other beautiful thing is that by opening the top “window” of the the split doors (I know there is a name for them, I just can’t think straight right now), the fresh air and sunshine flow through.

So now…I have a new project: setting up a stall as a play room for her so that I can keep her safe while I take care of any needs that the horses may have.  I’m actually pretty excited about it, as I think it’s the perfect solution for many of the challenges that I have in regards to the horses’ care!

I learned something about my daughter today.  She hates Play-Doh.  It’s “grossssssssss” she said after adamantly telling me to put it in the “trashhhhhhh.”  She had discovered the box of 24 colors in the back of the hall closet while she was searching for her shoes (her “zah’s” as she calls them).  She had received it as a gift for her first birthday, but I hadn’t pulled the box out for the same reason that Ellie wanted me to put it in the rubbish bin: Play-Doh is gross.  It wasn’t bad when I was a kid, but as a nanny, I learned to detest it.  I would always find some dried up piece with teeth marks in it that was hidden in the bottom of the lego basket. Sometimes I’d happen upon a piece that had been smooshed into the grout of the 1920s 1-inch bathroom tiles. Worse yet, its favorite spot: attached to any thing that was expensive, white, irreplaceable, and/or extremely important to the child’s parents…and remember, it’s never the fault of the children’s – the nanny should have been watching more carefully! Ha. Yes, I think THAT was what tainted my enjoyment of the childhood classic.  At least Ellie Graye and I are on the same page!

Ellie Graye has grown…a LOT.  I am finally at the point where I actually have to buy clothes for her – she has her trusty leggings, but her shirts/tunics have stopped fitting her in the the shoulders. We had a million errands to run today, so while we were out, we picked up a few new items of clothing for the little one.  Here’s the thing: she’s 20 months old, right? Twenty months old, but she’s wearing a 3T…a 3T!!!!!  I know that everyone says she’s tall for her age, but seriously??? 3T???  Rocco was only wearing 2T at four years old, so this whole “tall” thing is something new to me!  She insisted on wearing one of her new tunics while she worked in the garden.  Simply irresistibly cute!

So, I think I’ve made it clear that I adore my little girl.  I also love to work, learn, and take care of my own mental health.  So, despite what it may seem like, I do make it a point to include her in things that I like myself.  For instance, the garden.  The weather was so incredibly gorgeous, that I couldn’t help but take her outside with me to the vegetable garden.  Because the garden is fenced, it’s the perfect place to “parallel play”!  I filled up the watering can, a few buckets, and gave her some empty cups and free rein to put the water any where!  Her only rule is that she can’t step on any of mommy’s plants.  She is incredibly conscientious about avoiding the plants – often times avoiding them with her feet, and therefore losing her balance, plopping onto her butt…….and onto another plant.  Aaaah, such is life while gardening with a 20 month old – I’m not sure my garlic is going to make it, but I certainly won’t be losing the memory of our time together!

While Ellie Graye was napping, the itch for spring cleaning hit.  My freezer in the garage was desperately needing some attention!  I’m not sure when the last time was that it had been defrosted and cleaned, but there’s no denying it needed a thorough scrubbing.  I wish I would have taken pictures before I cleaned, but then again, maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t! Ha! Until today, there was no REAL method to my madness.  I always wrapped my meats in freezer paper, then placed them in a plastic freezer bag after labeling them, but after that step, I just threw them wherever they fit.  Today I decided to use baskets to help me keep things handy – I’d seem a similar method recommended in Cooking Light sometime last year, and couldn’t get away from the appeal of having everything easily accessible!  We’ll see how it works out for me!

We ran a few more errands after visiting the barn for a bit, then came home, ate, showered, and now we’re all ready for some sleep.  Jax, our darling Chocolate Lab, is more than a little bit relaxed — I just wish I could look and feel as great as she seems to!

Pure joy!