S'mores

Since Mike was working today, plan was to head to the outlet mall with Grace and have a girls' day of shopping till we dropped.

Instead, we spent a good part of the day trying to perfect a recipe for S'mores cupcakes.

Our first batch seemed promising, but five minutes after I pulled them out of the oven, they turned into a deflated gooey mess. So I messed around with the second batch to see if I could do better. They looked good, but I still needed to work on the taste of the cupcake. At that point though, I was out of ingredients for another batch so Grace and I called it a day and used the leftover chocolate ganache as a dipping sauce for our strawberries and marshmallows.

I desperately need to get myself back to the gym.



Thankfully, my little taste tester is very forgiving. As long as it's covered in chocolate and toasted marshmallows, everything is all good.

Welcome to the Family, Max

Meet *Max, Mike's new ride. We adopted him for several reasons, but the main one is that I can actually drive Max unlike Catherine the Camaro. And it's a lot more family friendly (translation- it can comfortably fit a car seat or two).

Catherine's fate hangs in the balance. She is now sitting in a used car lot on base waiting for her next potential owner.

We started our Memorial Day celebration with an early morning church service. Grace behaved for about fifteen minutes out of the hour long Mass. She played drums on the pew, loudly sang her ABC's, and then announced during the most sacred part of the Mass, "I'll be right back. I gotta go potty!"

Then it was a quick trip to Walmart to pick up some charcoal for our BBQ lunch. I was excited (for Mike) to finally fire up the grill because it had been over two years since we've grilled a meal at home. It was fantastic! Our first batch of chicken was a little blackened, but after getting used to the new grill, Mike did an awesome job grilling our chicken, burgers, and hot dogs to perfection. In our excitement of grilling for the first time in a long time, we made way too much food. We'll be eating leftovers for the next few days.

After a picnic lunch on the lawn, it was naps for all of us. Then it was off to frolic on the beach until sunset. Absolute perfection.



*Grace had a hand in naming the new car. One of her favorite cartoons is Max and Ruby, and since the Volvo is named Ruby, she said we should name the new car Max.

Party Girl

Grace partied hard at a birthday celebration this afternoon and then conked out for a nice and long late afternoon nap.

After she woke up, we quickly headed to the commissary to get the stuff we need for our Memorial Day BBQ we're having tomorrow, a day early because Mike is working on Monday. When we arrived at the commissary, we were able to snag one of those coveted shopping carts that look like racing cars. I was so excited! I thought I might actually get a chance to get everything on my shopping list without resorting to bribery to get Grace to behave.

We weren't five minutes into our trip when an announcement was made that the commissary was closing in fifteen minutes. Of course this would happen when we finally snagged the Mack Daddy cart! Now that we actually have the cool cart, we can't even take full advantage of it because we have to be out of the store in fifteen minutes anyway.

Grace and I vroomed our way around the store and tried to grab as much as we could from our list. We made it to the register just in time. I was feeling good about getting in and out of the commissary in record time.

Until I was driving home and realized I had forgotten a key ingredient in the marinade I have to use on the chicken overnight. So we had to make a second grocery trip to Publix after we went home and put away all the groceries from our first trip. And for all that trouble, I decided to treat us to a container of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

Grace and I ended our evening snuggling on the couch eating Smores ice cream and watching Backyardigans- a perfect Saturday night!



**This little story should probably be added to yesterday's blog about the things Grace says:

At the birthday party, there was a tub of sidewalk chalk that Grace wanted to use, but I told her no, she couldn't use it until she ate some lunch. I went inside to fix her a plate. When I came back outside, she was already on her third color chalk just scribbling away. The birthday boy's mom told me that the moment I went inside, Grace immediately got into the chalk and told her, "My mama said no chalk"- all said with a sly grin. That girl!

From the Mouth of Babes

I am absolutely loving this phase of toddlerhood Grace is in. She is such a little person that I can actually have conversations with now. It's so much fun, and the things that come out of her mouth have me cracking up constantly. Here are a few snippets from recent days...

Me: Do you want some milk?
Grace: Just coffee, please.

(I've been going through a coffee phase lately and it looks like my baby has noticed.)


Me: Eat the raspberries! They're really good!
Grace: Then you eat them, Mama. They're really good!

(My method of convincing gone wrong. Especially since I hate raspberries and I was forced to eat them because I just told my child they were good.)


Grace: Hey, Babe! Can you come here in here/sit with me/etc.
Me: Why are you saying "Hey Babe"?
Grace: Because it means you want to have fun.

(Mike and I call for each other by saying, "Hey, Babe!" Usually it's because one of us, almost always me, needs something checked off the honey-do list. So it's a good thing Grace thinks 'Hey, Babe!' means you're going to do something fun because her daddy probably cringes when he hears that from me since it means more work for him.)

Grace: (standing up on her high chair and wanting to get down) Mama, I need some help!
Me: You better be careful! You might fall down and hurt yourself.
Grace: That's why I need some help!

(Duh!)

Grace: Hey, Babe, I like your butt.
Me: What?!? Where did you hear that?
Grace: Daddy....

(Nice job, Daddy. You now have our daughter complimenting my backside.)


Grace: (Bringing all kinds of her pretend food and holding it up to my belly)
Me: What are you doing?
Grace: I'm feeding the baby in your belly. (No, I'm not pregnant!)

(When your belly has gotten so paunchy that your child thinks you're pregnant, it's time to hit the gym. Hard. Hey, at least she likes my butt!)

Daddy Daughter Date Night

Our being housebound the past few days has wreaked havoc on the state of our house. It's a complete wreck! Toys are everywhere. There are blankets strewn all over from Grace's picnics and crumbs all over the floor from her snacks. On good days, I can usually keep up with it all, but when we are stuck at home with no entertainment other than each other and our imaginations, the mess overtaketh. I don't know why, it just does.

But knowing we all had dates tonight- a movie night for me and a friend and a trip to Chuck E. Cheese for daddy and daughter- I did my best to contain the chaos. It's still not perfect, but I won't die of embarrassment if someone decides to drop by last minute.

It was wonderful to get out for the night and enjoy a fun movie with a good friend, Liezel. Daddy and daughter date night was a success, too. I was told Grace stood up very well to a little boy who didn't understand the concept of 'wait your turn'. It's a good thing she's so assertive because her daddy was on the verge of yelling at the boy for trying to mess with his baby girl. Mike doesn't understand the concept of 'he's only 4 years old'.

My Little Corn Shucker

Grace loves to be my little helper in the kitchen, always asking "Can I help you, Mama?" and pulling up a stool to watch me prepare meals. I try to give her little tasks to keep her occupied and she loved the one I gave her today...



Nothing much exciting going on around here. Grace did sleep in until 8:30 this morning. Then she crawled into my bed and snuggled with me for a little while longer. We finally dragged ourselves out of bed right before 9. I felt a bit lazy for getting out of bed so late, but it was wonderful. It's a rare morning that Grace sleeps in for so long so I wanted to relish it for as long as I could.

Cuddle time with daddy before bed.

Resorting to Bribery

It is getting pretty hard to get Grace to look at the camera or smile on cue. Getting her to do both at the same time is darn near impossible. So I'm starting to resort to a little bit of bribery.

Please don't judge. If I don't coax her with an M&M or two, the poor grandparents might never see a smiling picture of their baby girl. Don't get me wrong, the girl smiles. Quite a lot, actually. I just can't seem to act fast enough to candidly capture it on camera.

Even with bribery, I get mixed results. Sometimes it comes out as sweet as can be, and other times, you can tell she is just humoring me so she can hurry up and eat her candy.




We have been laying low the past couple of days because Grace woke up yesterday morning with a cough. I pray it doesn't get any worse and clears up as quickly as possible. We're both starting to go stir crazy. She's dying to go to the pool. And I'm dying to get back to the gym.

(Just for the record, that last sentence makes me laugh because never did I think I would be craving gym time. Pre-baby, it used to be a chore for me- just a way for me to eat my dessert and still be able to squeeze into my clothes. Post-baby, it's my one hour of guaranteed 'ME' time. Because even my bathroom time is no longer sacred- my little shadow follows me everywhere!)

Elmo's World

We headed down to Tampa to visit Elmo at Busch Gardens this weekend. We left the house before 6am on Saturday morning; Grace wide awake since 5:30. I was hoping the four hour drive would put her back to sleep, but she must have been just as excited as we were because she stayed up the entire time. And when we finally arrived and she saw her Sesame Street friends and all the fun to be had at the park, I knew that her normal afternoon nap was going to be nonexistent. The lack of sleep didn't stop her from having an absolute blast.

She rode rides,





Met some Sesame Street pals and even danced with them,




Splashed around in the waterpark,



And then FINALLY fell asleep three hours past her naptime. While she slept, Mike and I walked around and reminisced on what it was like going to an amusement park pre-baby. In those days, it was more about the thrilling roller coaster rides and less about the shows. Shows were for our parents and old people! My, oh my, how times have changed. I would still love to ride a roller coaster, but who would watch the baby? So our day was planned around the show times. It was a great way to give Grace a break for half an hour and it was the perfect way to get out of the heat for a while. I guess you can officially call us parents, but hopefully not (too) old.


When she woke up, we went on a safari train ride and saw all her favorite animals and even had a close encounter with a baby rhino.



We ended the day with a sweet treat. In addition to this humongous lollipop, she scored herself an ice cream sundae with sprinkles and numerous toys and paraphernalia from the gift shops. Mike and I figured if we were going to break the rules, we might as well go all out.

Grace with Sucker #1...
and Sucker #2.

It was an incredibly hot and humid day and I was tired from the heat and the lack of sleep from the night before, but the look of wonder and excitement on her face was worth it all. The best part was at the end of the day when I was taking her out of the stroller to put her in the carseat and she hugged my neck and said, "I had a really GOOD day, Mama!"

Watermelon Dress

I have been dying to put Grace into my favorite consignment find, the watermelon dress, but I wanted to wait until the weather was good and hot. When we got in the car to run errands this morning and the temperature gauge read 115 degrees, I knew I was right to put her in the dress for the day. It eventually 'cooled down' to the 90's, but wow, it was a hot one today!

We are taking Grace on a surprise trip tomorrow to see one of her all-time favorite characters. I was trying to give her hints all throughout the day, but she just couldn't seem to figure it out.

Me: Grace, we are going to see someone very special tomorrow.
Grace: Who are we going to see, Mama?
Me: Who is your favorite character who is all red?
Grace: Who, Mama?
Me: You watch him on TV and he is furry and RED?
Grace: Who do I watch on TV and is furry and red, Mama?
Me: Never mind. We're going to see someone very special tomorrow.
Grace: I'm so excited!

Details about our surprise trip coming soon....

New Favorite Word

I think my girl is adorable and sweet. Of course, I'm her mother so I'm completely biased, I know. And I also know that she has her fair share of moments- the kind that land her time out and have me breathing heavily and counting to ten. Still, I absolutely adore her.

Her favorite word at the moment is "Mine!" said in a bossy manner with her eyebrows knit. Now, I don't mind so much when she says it at home because her daddy and I can find all kinds of things endearing. But out in public, I understand that people who are not related to her might find this kind of behavior less cute and more annoying. Those fancy family calling cards I had made up in hopes of passing them out to potential friends for play dates aren't going to do us any good if the mamas don't want their children associating with such a bossy little Miss.

So I have been desperately trying to curb her compulsion to proclaim everything hers.

At library craft time this morning, when she was trying to hog the communal box of embellishments at the table, I tried to explain that it most certainly wasn't all hers and it was there for everybody to share. She grudgingly let the others at the table get their share, but she made sure to stand guard over the box and give stares of disapproval to those she felt took something she might want to use on her picture.

To be fair, and not paint a completely unflattering picture of my child (because I will most certainly get in trouble with Lola if I do), she DID compliment the little girl next to her with, "I like your picture. It's pretty, isn't it?"

Thank goodness she saved herself with that last comment or else we may have had to lay low during library craft time for a while.

Naptime Wake Up

This is Grace right after she woke up from her nap. She usually either looks like this, still half asleep and very clingy, or she walks out of her room cheerily announcing that she had a nice nap.

While the second way definitely has it's charm, I actually prefer the first.

When she wakes up like this, she calls for me and immediately wants to be held. When I pick her up, she wraps her arms around me, buries her face in my neck, and is willing to stay there and be cuddled for a long, long time.

It's a moment that reminds me of when she was a sweet infant. And in her super independent toddler phase filled with lots of "I do it!" and the refusal of kisses coming more and more often because she has other more important and interesting things to do, it's a very welcome moment.