Voyages in Parenthood

Last week, when I had to leave very early in the morning to keep my appointment for my mammogram, I had looked in on Leda before I was leaving and found her wide awake. She asked me where I was going and I told her the doctor's and she became very upset that she couldn't go too. I told her she'd laugh about this when it became her time to go get a mammogram...about how hysterical she got when she was told she couldn't come with Mommy to the doctor. She was beside herself with grief that I was leaving her home with her Daddy. It was a real scene. Anyway, on my way home from the appointment, I stopped at Wawa for some coffee and decided that it would be nice to bring home a donut or two for Brock and Leda (well, I couldn't very well go home with just a donut for me!) So when I got home, Leda was so excited to see me. I told her I got her a special treat and she was so excited to find a donut (with sprinkles!) just for her. This morning, I had a dentist appointment. So...

At the last moment last week, we decided to take a trip up to NY to see Grandpa and Nana. Well, not completely last moment - we made the decision on Wednesday when we were lamenting about not having anything to do this long holiday weekend! We had some dinner plans on Friday night with the Durhams and Karen, so we didn't leave until Saturday morning. The drive up was uneventful and we arrived mid afternoon. It was a beautiful day. We hung out with Grandpa and Nana and the dogs and we went for walks on the property and just enjoyed the day. Leda and I took a small late afternoon nap and after we got up, ran up to Wal-Mart for a game, because Leda got it in her head that she needed a game to play, since we wouldn't let her play with Scrabble (oh, wouldn't her Aunt Claire be happy to know that Leda REALLY wanted to play Scrabble!!). Missy came over with pizza for dinner and we had a fun evening of playing with Leda's new princess Memory game - you know, the one where you t...

Nope, will never. But I do admit, I have on occasion watched the show. Usually I am flipping through the channels during a commercial on another show I am actually into and I somehow get pulled in by something, usually the awful critiques by the judges. Could someone who watches the show on a regular basis tell me if Randy actually says anything different? By the second "Yo Yo, Dawg, listen," I just wanna scream! Anyway, I will admit I watched most of one season - I think the one with Fantasia (or whatever her name was). I can safely say I've never voted. I will never vote. Now, with that said, I did watch last nights finale. There was nothing else on. Oh, and yes, I watched most of the songs sung the night before. And let me tell you, I am not all that impressed by the younger kid. Sure, he's got a good voice, but do we really need another Michael Bolton? Or Clay Aiken (shudder)? Now, this other guy, he's pretty good. Of course, rock is my genre. I don't real...

Oh, please, don't let it be. So far this week, I've had a REALLY BAD Monday, and an EQUALLY BAD Tuesday, which pretty much renders it a Monday, based on the badness that was today! Work-wise, that is. Of course, starting off this morning with my first mammogram ever didn't help matters much! And what is with the name, MAM-mogram? Okay, yeah, I know, it's based on the 'scientific' name for the breasts - the mammary gland. But when you turn 40 and you have to face the routine mammogram, and you are up early in the morning and have had more coffee before 7:30 AM than you are used to, you tend to think that it's another 'you old lady' insult - you know, as in, "here you go, Mam!" Yeah, not so nice! Side note...maybe it's me, maybe it's because I've been through child birth, maybe a lot of things, but, ladies, it was as easy as pie, and, okay, yes, not something I would want to have happen on a daily basis, but it didn't hurt and...

I know that Memorial Day weekend, which is next weekend, ushers in the beginning of Summer officially, but around these parts, I believe the Dogwood Festival and Parade is the unofficial beginning of Summer! Thursday night we headed back to the fair to join the Flogaus family for a little fair food dinner (yeah, two nights in a row) and some rides and games. Leda loves hanging out with Danny! The two of them spent some time swinging in the swings and climbing on the playground...the free rides at the fairgrounds! After a little dinner and a little music from the kids from the Philadelphia School of Rock - they were pretty good - we headed off to the Ferris Wheel, where I held all the stuff and everyone else went on the ride! That's right, two nights in a row and I didn't have to get on the Ferris Wheel once! Woooo Hoooo! Yes, that would be my kid practically hanging out the cart - click on the picture and view large to see the scene that right after I took this picture made me ...

This is the week of Dogwood Festival. So down to the fair we went tonight to eat, drink and be merry. And lots of eating there was. Drinking was fair too, but of water and lemonade, and there was lots of merry. Until we had to leave. The first thing we did was head for the food trailers...since the lines for the tickets were the longest things around! We grabbed us some good fair food, grabbed a seat and had us a great dinner in the park. Then we told Leda we had to go buy tickets to ride the rides. She announced she wanted to ride the swing set! Well, awesome...that's free! So Leda got to ride on the swings for awhile, and then she decided she wanted to go on the Ferris wheel. So to one of the long lines to buy tickets we went and then Daddy and Leda got to ride the Ferris wheel. Without Mommy. Mommy felt pretty awesome about that. As long as she didn't think about her child so high up in a swinging tub. Oh, and yes, the bucket that Brock and Leda were in got stuck at the top ...

Well, finally! One Lap is over and I am no longer a single parent. This weekend was a busy one...On Saturday Leda and I were on the go from first thing in the morning until she went to bed! We had portraits taken in the morning (Leda's 3rd year pictures - I also got a picture of her with me, but not sure I am happy with me in the picture! blah!) and then we spent the afternoon in downtown Phoenixville with Aunt Rachel, Calean and Tristan. The 2nd annual Celtic Fest was held on Saturday, so that's were we went. It was a lot of fun, walking around and checking out the booths and getting some fish and chips and welsh cookies! We had so much fun. We came home and the kids played while Aunt Rachel and I chatted. Since it was such a busy day, Leda didn't get a nap - she didn't really seem to need one! She was having so much fun with her cousins. We had a pizza dinner and then our visitors went home and Leda practically keeled over! She was in bed without issue by 8PM! Does th...

This question is what I thought late last night as, tired as I am, I am flipping through the TV channels because I CAN"T GO TO SLEEP! I had come across one of those Time-Life music CD collections - Soft Rock - commercials. You know the commercials that last for like an hour and try to get you to buy the amazing collection of Soft Rock songs, for just 9.95 bucks for a 30 day trial. What they don't tell you is that you will more than likely pay 4 easy payments of 39.99 if you decide to keep them! Anyway, interspersed with interviews with 'real live people' who are just GUSHING wonderful things about the collection are little snippets of each song on the album. Then, there are these two old guys who are basically the 'stars' who are selling the collection - I know they are supposed to be somebodies, but I'm more interested in checking out the old videos they are showing along with the little snippets of music - which, by the way, are giving me fits because I a...

We had a pretty darn good weekend....albeit I didn't get too much sleep. We gardened, I mowed the backyard (all by myself!), we shopped, and we generally enjoyed each other. Oh, and yes, I was up at 6:30 on Sunday morning as well! But don't worry, it wasn't the cat who woke me up, but the kid. Both are still alive and haven't been harmed in the writing of this post! The cat, on the other hand, was just DARN lucky this morning when she woke me up at SIX AM! I was so darn tired, I couldn't get out of bed to wring her neck! Anyway, all was well over the weekend until just after dinner time Sunday night! Before dinner Leda had requested a lollipop. I told her after dinner. So, after we ate dinner, she immediately asked for the lollipop, which I gave to her, as she had eaten most of her dinner. Yes, the kid forgets NOTHING! Then, the meltdown occurred. I was on the phone with Brock, trying to get an update on One Lap and Leda was fooling around and after asking her MANY ...

Leda has been waking up pretty much no later than 6:30 ever since we gave up the binky. So, I shouldn't be too surprised that I was up at 6:30 every morning this week. I was, however, hoping against hope I might get to sleep until maybe 7 or 7:30 this morning, being that it is a weekend. It is Saturday. Who has anything to do early on Saturday morning?? Probably because my body is used to it, I woke up around 6:25 this morning. I thought maybe that Leda had actually woke me up so I sat there and listened for a few minutes. Feeling safe that the kid was still asleep, I rolled over and snuggled down with the dog for what I was hoping was another hour of sleep. Then, just as I was about to fall back to sleep, the cat erupted in song. Right outside the kid's room. Loudly. What good is a dog who sleeps through that? Seriously, isn't it a dog's job to go kill the cat if the cat wakes up THE ENTIRE HOUSE JUST SO SHE CAN GET HER BREAKFAST AT 6:30AM??? Yes, I did get up and give...

I was refreshing my memory about last year's One Lap when I was left alone with a two year old! Today daycare called and I had to go pick up Leda - she wasn't acting herself and she was spending a lot of time in the bathroom and complaining about a tummy ache. So, to err on the side of caution, I went and got her a little early. Turns out, she is fine. She had no fever, no temp and she barely spent any time in the bathroom here at home. It may have been just an off day for her at daycare. In any case, my daycare lady (whom we adore!) reminded me that practically the same thing happened last year...Brock goes away and the kid gets sick...only time she did in the past year, practically. So, I was refreshing my memory and I re-read this post . And I'm thinking, what a wimp I was! Although I am tired (and it's only been a few days so far), that has nothing to do with handling a three year old. That's more about how I really don't sleep well any more...man, that suck...

Had serious Birthday Party hangover for the past couple of days - and not the alcoholic kind either! I swear, Leda was starting to think that once you turn three, you basically celebrate your birthday EVERY DAY! I mean, it started last Wednesday when Grandma visited and lasted until Saturday night when the last guest left after the party! So, here's the recap... Friday after we came home from the zoo, we started preparing for the party on Saturday. While Leda napped, I ran out to the store to get the last minute stuff we needed and came home and baked a cake! Oh yes, I baked a cake. Again. This time, I used a different recipe and it turned out not too bad! I also decided not to use store bought icing but make my own buttercream icing! And then flavor it with rasberries as our daughter annouced she wanted a pink cake! Oh, the icing, turned out unbelieveablly good! Yum! Saturday was a big big day. I had to put together the cake and add the flavoring to the icing. What we ended up wit...

...to Def Leppard. Yeah! For some reason, that doesn't make me cringe! It probably should, but it doesn't! Okay, so the only reason it really should make me cringe doesn't have anything to do with how much I just love Def Leppard. Or that I actually saw them in concert back in the late eighties. Nor the crush I had on Joe Eliott or Phil Collen - darn it, Joe was absolutely HOT in that Union Jack T-shirt. Oh, heck, who am I kidding, I was a sucker for just about any guy in a Union Jack T-shirt with a leather vest back in the eighties! No, the only reason I should be cringing that I am admitting that I rocked out to Def Leppard is only because...wait for it...they were on Dancing with the Stars. Yes, it is an addiction I can't seem to break. I must watch Dancing with the Stars. But, hey, I can admit safely that I have not voted in any other season except when Apolo Ohno danced. Now, if anyone can explain to me what Def Leppard and Dancing with the Stars have in common, I ...

What a day we had yesterday. I'm beat! The zoo was a blast, although VERY crowded with school field trips. Well, we'll remember that for next time! ;-) Leda had a great time. We saw just about all the animals. We started off going to the G Lodge for breakfast. In the 15+ years I've lived in Phoenixville, the first time I've been - it's a cute little place for breakfast! We then spent the rest of the morning at the zoo. By the time we were on our way home, the kid, she passed out in the car...about three minutes in to the ride! It was a good day. Pictures here - not all of them yet...will add to it later. Got to prepare for the avalanche of adults and kids for Leda's birthday party!

Happy Birthday, Leda! As she did three years ago, Leda woke me/us up early on April 25th! Some how she knew there was something in the dining room for her! We had presents opened by 7AM! She REALLY likes her little princesses (the ones that Daddy just can't stand) and her new Little Mermaid bathing suit and beach cover up! The Art Easel, not so sure of...she likes it, but she can't dress it up in gowns and glass slippers! After we go out for a little birthday breakfast, we are off to the Zoo! Check back later for an update!

Yesterday morning, Brock was off early to work the polls, so Leda and I were getting ready together - she was having breakfast, and I was running around getting all the things done that Brock usually does in the morning, like feed the cat, let the dog out, etc. Duff was VERY interested in something outside - I assumed, as usual, there was a squirrel who had breached the backyard fence and Duff needed to chase it off. I let him out and watched to make sure he didn't actually catch the squirrel - with as fat as these guys are getting, sooner or later, Duff might actually win! I noticed that Duff was looking up, so I looked up as well, into the Holly tree, and sure enough, there was a squirrel, but he wasn't alone. The squirrel, it seems, had really made the blue jays mad and they were attacking him. The poor squirrel was trying to get away, but since I had let the dog out, he couldn't run down the tree! It was quite humorous - yeah, I'm a bit sadistic when it comes to squ...

Yesterday morning we noticed we had tenants moving in. It was pretty amazing...they've been building this nest for the past two days very diligently and with much care. The nest is three times this big now. They don't seem to mind us much now. At first, they seemed a little skittish, but have seemed to realize that if they plan on making house under our eaves and especially right above our patio, our main outdoor space, they had better get used to us! Hopefully we won't have any issues when the babies arrive. It hopefully will be a nice experience for Leda, and all of us.

Is this really the middle of April? We had a gorgeous day today. Warm and sunny. One of those days you don't want to spend anytime inside. Leda woke me up bright and early today (another 6 am morning...third one in a row this week, but who's counting?) I spent a few minutes in her bed with her trying to get her to see the error of her ways (it's too darn early) but to no avail. This morning was also the first morning (or any time) since we made Binky Kitty that Leda asked for a binky! Ready for this? I told her no, but she could hug Binky Kitty and I grabbed Binky Kitty from his corner of her bed only to find a big gapping hole in his back! Yes, my child, sometime in the past 12 hours or so, had opened the hole in the back of the cat where the binkys were placed with care before he was sown up. Both the binkys were still inside, but very accessible. I haven't a clue if she attempted to pull one out and suck on it, but she could have if she wanted to! Binky Kitty is curr...

We had a beautiful day here today. Of course, I was stuck inside working. Tonight, after a bit of a meltdown (no nap...apparently it was just too much fun at daycare today!) and a bath, then dinner, we headed outside to enjoy the evening as the sun set. I looked up into the trees and saw these doves, so I ran in and grabbed my camera and took some pictures. This one is better at full size...click on it to go to flickr.com, click on all sizes and select large or orignial. I do believe it might be sideways though! And Leda took some pictures of Daddy... That's it. Just a really nice night.

Leda is very into dress up right now. Loves her "glass slippers" she got from Auntie Joan for Christmas. Likes to wear them all the time, even in her nightgown... Oh, and in case you couldn't tell, those are the Disney Princesses on her nightgown...