Playing Hookie...

Okay - who taught my daughter to play hookie from school at 2 years old????

I confess, sometimes the working from home gig is not so great for me...especially since Danika still has to go to daycare. I feel isolated a lot and sick of seeing my own walls. But sometimes, it is wonderful. One of the wonderful benefits is that when she is sick, I normally have the flexibility to keep her home with me. And sometimes...when I have a light work load, I keep her home with me just for fun and flex my hours around a little bit just so I can get some quality Danika & Mommy time.

Well....I think she is starting to figure all this out...because lately this has been the scenario in my home about one or two days a week:

Danika gets out of bed in the morning just ready for life....energetic and ready to go. She eats her morning breakfast of peanut butter toast, and then I clean her up and get ready to send her off to daycare, which we frequently refer to as school. ( In all honesty, most days she can't wait to get there...and some days when I keep her home with me, she cries that she isn't going to see "Nomy" and "Minny", two of her beloved daycare workers.) When I ask her if she is ready to go to school, she suddenly slumps forward and her shoulders sag and she grabs her belly with both hands and very slowly and sadly shakes her head back and forth.

"No, Mommy. I not go. My tummy hurts." And then she tilts her head up at me and gives me this pitiful, puppy-dog look and sticks her lower lip out just the slightest bit and just stares at me. Gone is the energy, the running, the playing...she is suddenly very "sick."

The first time, I bought it hook, line, and sinker. In the past she only behaved like this when she was getting ready to run a fever and really was sick...however, about 15 minutes after I made the decision to keep her home and rearranged my work load to accommodate that....my little faker was up and running all over the house. So I got down and looked her in the eye and asked her if she was ready to go now...and I got the same sudden "sick" routine. All day - anytime I asked if she wanted to go somewhere, she pretended to be "sick" and as soon as I relented and said she could stay with me, she was miraculously cured. :)

She is TWO YEARS OLD!

I can't believe she is playing me like this already. :) Oh well....I enjoy the time with her and it does crack me up. I guess I should just enjoy being wanted while it lasts. :)

Big girl pants!

I forgot to mention one of the Best Mother's Day gifts I got.... Danika is wearing "big girl pants"!!!!!

For the most part she is being pretty successful! We aren't out of the woods yet, but we are well on our way! I never thought hearing a little voice say, "I have to go potty" would make me so happy...but it does!

There are so many funny aspects to all of this...most of the humor occurs in public restrooms. First, there is the "cheering" I have to do in public restrooms in order to get her to go....

"Danika lets go potty. Good girl. Let Mommy help you pull your pants down. Okay, now Mommy will hold you while you sit on the big potty. (sound of little droplets hitting the water below) GOOD JOB DANIKA! Way to go! Mommy is so proud of you!" She proceeds to yell, "Yay! I did it! I a big girl Mommy! Mommy I did it!" and then claps for herself loudly. And as you emerge from the stall, there are 5 women at the sink washing their hands while they laugh to themselves having heard all of this...and each of them nods at me knowingly and then tells Danika what big girl she is. :) The kindness of strangers.

Then there are the times when mommy has to go potty herself...and Danika proceeds to stand next to me and wait for the tell-tale sound of "water" running...and then her eyes get as big as saucers and she YELLS "You did it Mommy! Good job! I proud of you!" and claps her little heart out. At these times, the women in the other parts of the restroom don't even try to stifle laughter...I can hear them all cracking up. :) Thank you, Danika, for your encouragement. :)

It's the little things in life.

That's the big news in our house.... :)

Mother's Day in Erie

Mother's Day - May 10, 2009
What a GREAT Mother's day - let me recap for you....

1. I got to wear a new dress! Love it! A gracious friend helped alter it so it would work for the giant pregnant woman, and it was perfect. Should work for all our weddings this summer. :) Always fun when you feel good!
   
2. We enjoyed an awesome morning at church. LOVED our class.
3. Danika was wearing big girl pants and went in the potty TWICE at church and didn't go in her pants at all! Yay!
   
4. We got to see fun friends and enjoy breakfast at church - it was great.
5. We got home with plenty of time to get lunch ready for our guests without stressing out.
6. I made one of my FAVORITE meals, and it all turned out fine and I didn't burn a single thing! (You may think this is minor, but I honestly can't remember a single dinner party I have ever had that I didn't screw up at least ONE menu item...this was truly a first!)
7. The food was ready when Doug's parents arrived and we were ALL able to enjoy lunch (even me!) - that is also a first.
8. Danika was well behaved, even though she never got a nap....BONUS.
9. Doug's Mom was feeling pretty good and we got to spend a GREAT afternoon laughing and hanging out.
10. Aunt Barbie was here to visit....another wonderful bonus! :)
11. Did I mention I love my in-law family? It was a great day with them.
    
12. It was sunny enough to go outside and play corn-hole for a while. The boards Doug built work great...and the bags my Mom made were perfect. :) Such wonderful "mid-west" fun. :)
13. When everyone went home, we got to enjoy the rest of the evening just chilling as our own little family unit.
    
14. ****DANIKA (my very NOT cuddly child) climbed up with me on the couch completely of her own accord, snuggled into my arms, wrapped her little hands around my hands and let me hold her for a full 45 minutes...and then fell asleep just like that. So completely out of character...and SO wonderful. It was the BEST part of the whole day. Happy Mother's Day to me!***
15. After putting Danika to bed, Doug and I got to sit by a fire in our backyard at our new firepit (Thanks Dana & Susan! Great gift!) and just talk and laugh...just the two of us...until we decided it was time for bed. Perfect ending to a perfect day. Bliss.
    

I love this little girl!





Susan (Doug's mom) and her sister Barbie who is visiting from Florida.

Susan showing Barbie up playing corn-hole.

Grandma showing everybody up. :)
Susan & Grandma chilling (literally) together...it got cold when the sun went behind the clouds! :)Doug and Barbie in some serious competition.
Great day. :)

"Mother's Day" in Ohio

The weekend before Mother's Day, we made a trip home to Ohio to celebrate with my parents and sister. It was such a wonderful, wonderful visit. We enjoyed wonderful time with each other...got to celebrate by eating at a FANTASTIC restaurant, and we laughed a lot. :) We even squeezed in a picnic and "photo-shoot" for the 3 grandkids as a gift to my Mom. Good times had by almost all. :) (Just dont ask the kids about how they liked getting pictures taken...)

I just can't express how much fun I had that weekend...it was just great. :)

Mom - Happy Mother's Day! I love you so much!

Here are some pics from the weekend....

Danika taking care of her "baby" - Bernis the Bunny


Brock in his "superhero" costume...
The photo-shoot....looks like fun, doesn't it???



The ONE AND ONLY good picture from the 30 we took.....

It was worth it! :)

6 years and counting...

A few weekends ago was our anniversary! April 25th - 6 years of wedded bliss. :) Sometimes it doesn't seem possible that it has been 6 years already....and then other times it doesn't seem possible that there was ever a time that Doug and I weren't together. Isn't it weird how both those things can be true at one time? Doug is so much a part of who I am and how I function that it is hard to remember life without him as the main character. :) I do know that I love my husband more than I could ever put into words. He is the most amazing man....and I am grateful every single day for all the ways he has changed my life. There is not a doubt in my mind that I am a better person on a daily basis because of him. I also know I couldn't ask for a better daddy for my kiddo(s) than the man that he is. I feel so blessed.

I have never been a "soul-mate" kind of person...I have never really bought into the romanticized idea that there is only one "right" person out there for each individual.... But I will say that I never in a million years could have dreamed someone who fits me as perfectly as Doug, and that after we got engaged and married, I have often thought that even though I don't necessarily believe in the idea of a "soul-mate", it is possible that I have found one anyway. :) I remember saying to friends when we were dating and engaged that he just seemed too good to be true. :) And after 6 years, when I run into friends I haven't seen since getting married, I still often describe him as a husband so wonderful that I don't deserve him. And it is still true.

For our anniversary weekend, we managed to sneak off and spend a couple days in a cabin down in Cook Forest all by ourselves. It was wonderful. In the whirlwind of life, I always find that I treasure any time we get to really connect without distractions. It is so rejuvenating and restoring....it always makes me feel like I can handle whatever is coming WAY better because I feel so strongly that we are handling it together....that we are on the same "team." It was such a wonderful and much-needed weekend. The weather could not have been more gorgeous, and the cabin was perfectly cozy and comfy. It was just a great time. And we owe a HUGE thank-you to my dear friend Elizabeth for watching Danika all weekend for us. Elizabeth...we owe you BIG. Thank you...thank you....thank you. :)

Anyway...it was just a lovely, wonderful weekend. I completely enjoyed it. I love you, Doug.

She's tired too....

If you have wondered why we haven't blogged for a while, we have had a lot going on! :) The last time it snowed (in April) we were bringing Danika home late at night from some event she was just so cute and soundly asleep that I snapped this pic. It was a pretty good representation of how we all have been feeling. TIRED!

Don't you like the hand in the pocket and the PJ leg rolled up? :) She is such a character. :)

Two baths a day keeps the doctor away???

OBSESSED.

She is obsessed with bathing. We are currently allowing two baths a day because that is the minimum I can hold her to....if it were up to Danika, she would get to bathe 4 or 5 times a day. I can't tell you how often that little creature has stripped herself naked and is running for the bathroom before I can stop her.

One of her favorite bath activities is coloring on the walls with her bath markers. We have the worlds oldest and ugliest tub, so it doesn't faze me. She can't possible make it look worse. :) So I guess there are benefits to not having a new home when your children are small.

I may not do lots of things as a mom well, but you have to say this....my kid is clean. :)