My Runaway Bunny

Every kid threatens it. I know I did. I just didn't think my kid would do it so soon.

She was begging for some chocolate milk this evening, but I didn't want it to ruin her appetite so I told her she could have some after she ate her dinner. She whined. I said no. She produced some crocodile tears. My answer was still no. She 'pretty pleased' me several times. Still no.

"Well, I guess I'll have to run away then."

I laughed. And, still, I didn't give her the chocolate milk. Am I a mean mama or what?

Later, we had a Skype session with Lola and Lolo. I told them the story of my runaway bunny and Lola asked where she was running away to. Grace said, "Virginia Beach." Smart girl! That's where the grandparents are. If she was in Virginia Beach, I know my girl would have been chugging on some chocolate milk long before threats of running away had to be issued.

Sparkly Toes

I never would have bought Grace these pink, glittery shoes. They are cute, but I don't like to buy her clothing or shoes that light up or are covered in glitter. She loved them so much though that her daddy couldn't resist. Now she wants to wear them ALL. THE. TIME.

She calls them her 'sparkly toes' and when I tell her that the outfit she is wearing doesn't match the shoes, she refuses to wear it and will try to look for one that does match. Only two years old and already has an opinion on her wardrobe.

Overdue Update

I know I have been totally slacking with the updates. I wish I had a better excuse, but I just don't have any energy lately. None. Zero. Zip. I would be mortified if anyone came over to my house right now because it is a wreck. Seriously. I managed to sweep the floor the other day, but didn't get around to mopping it like it desperately needs. Toys are everywhere, but I just step over them and do my best to ignore it all instead of picking up like I should. I finally went to the grocery store, but only because we were out of just about every single staple, and the threat of Hurricane Irene possibly passing by this way made stocking up a necessity.

But I can say that the little energy I do have, I reserve to play with my girl. My house may be a mess, but at least my baby is happy. I asked her tonight as I was putting her to bed what her favorite part of the day was and she said, "Playing with you, Mama." Hearing that is totally worth every dust bunny hiding under the couch, the dirty dishes in the sink, and the crumbs and sticky fingerprints all over the furniture.

A few highlights from the past few days:

***Grace went back to the dentist on Wednesday to fix that little cavity and she did fantastic. She even said, "Woohoo!" when she climbed up into that seat. I was afraid the enthusiasm for the dentist would wane after the procedure was done, but she didn't mind it at all. The dentist and hygienist worked so fast it was over before I even had a chance to get all nervous. The whole thing took about five minutes! We waited in the waiting area longer than the process actually took.

***I took a photography class on Saturday to finally figure out once and for all how to work my fancy DSLR camera. I was tired of always resorting to the auto modes when I knew the camera was capable of so much more. I had the best time and I wish I had known all I know now when I first got this camera two and a half years ago.

The class was in Georgia and it was an all day event. It was the first time I had been away from Grace for that long, and the first time Mike had her all by himself for that long. I told him to send me texts and pictures to keep me updated on how their day was going. He took her to the zoo in an outfit that made me cringe (I knew I should have laid clothes out for her! But I wanted him to get the whole experience of taking care of her from beginning to end), but they both had a great time.

***We took Mike to the ship before the sun was up this morning since they are going underway for a little while. Grace and I crawled back into bed the moment we came home and then slept so long we almost missed church this morning. We made it, a few minutes late, and Grace behaved herself really, really well. Mostly because it was free donut week and I threatened her with leaving church without a treat if she didn't behave herself.

She picked a chocolate glazed Krispy Kreme donut, my favorite! Grace ate half and said she was full. I was drooling and thought I would finish it myself because it hurts my feelings to have a perfectly good Krispy Kreme donut go to waste. I took a bite and I couldn't eat it! It was too sweet for me!! What is up with that? I ended up tossing the half eaten donut in the trash and I have been thinking about it all day long. Poor donut.

Birthday Weekend Getaway

We celebrated Mike's birthday with a weekend getaway to Tampa and Bradenton.

On Saturday we visited with the Neu Family, our dear friends we met in Japan, who now live in Tampa. The last time we had our girls together, they were all still babies! Even though we spent a good part of the day checking out the Florida Aquarium and catching up on the last two years, it wasn't nearly enough time. Thankfully, we are just a few short hours away from each other now so visiting every once in a while is possible.

Then for Mike's birthday dinner, we went to The Columbia, supposedly the oldest restaurant in Florida, where we enjoyed an awesome meal and a flamengco dancing show. Grace was mesmerized by the dancing and sang along to every "Happy Birthday" that was sung that night. Apparently, almost every single table had a birthday celebrant, and all the waiters had to go around and sing their greeting. Even though we had a birthday celebrant at our table, we were spared the singing because I knew the birthday boy doesn't enjoy that kind of attention. In the end though, I wish I had gone ahead and let them sing because Grace would have gotten such a kick out of it.





Tired from the day at the aquarium. Even though the photo is blurry, this is my favorite picture of the day.


After sleeping in Sunday morning, we traveled down to Bradenton to have lunch with Mike's cousin, Cole, and his sweet daughter, Cora. Grace was so excited to see her 'cousin friend' who she hadn't seen since they played in the snow together back in January when the whole Augustine family was in Ohio celebrating Grandpa Augustine's birthday.

We let the two girls frolic on the beautiful beach for a while before we said our goodbyes and headed back home. Of course, the outlet center in Orlando was calling my name so we couldn't pass it by without stopping in for a couple of hours. It might very well have been my quickest time spent at an outlet mall, but it was lots of fun anyway.

We finally made it home a half hour shy of midnight and I put an exhausted and soundly sleeping Grace straight to bed without even bothering to change her into pajamas. She did wake up to go to the bathroom at one in the morning and sleepily asked me, "Are we still on vacation?" I told her that Daddy didn't have to go back to work for another couple of days, so we were technically still on vacation.

Loving all the time we get to spend with our birthday boy!

Sweet and Sassy

My girl is a whole lot of sweet and a little bit sassy. Getting sassier by the day, it seems.

This morning, I caught her trying to jump off the back of the couch. She tried to tell me, "I'm stroooong!" I told her to get down anyway. She listened to me, but to let me know she didn't like it one bit, she said, "Mama, I love you, but don't talk to me."

While we were out running errands this morning, I told her I would treat her to Chick-fil-a for lunch, to which she said, "Mama, you made me so excited!" But when I told her I needed to pick up my new glasses first, she informed me, "Your glasses are not broken. You don't need new glasses. Let's just go to Chick-fil-a NOW."

We ended up getting my glasses first, despite Grace's protests, but she redeemed herself by saying, "You're gorgeous" when I asked her how I looked in my new glasses.

And then guess who got into my lipgloss again...

First Visit to the Dentist

I was nervous about Grace's first visit to the dentist. Mostly because I dread going to the dentist. I'd rather go to an ob/gyn appointment than go see the dentist. That's how bad the fear is. Don't ask me why. That's just the way it is.

To help Grace prepare and make the appointment go smoothly, we bought her a book about Dora going to the dentist. In the days leading up to the appointment, I read it constantly and with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. By the time this morning rolled around, she was practically begging to see the dentist.

The good news? Grace did AWESOME! She followed directions beautifully, and it was so cute to see her so comfortable in that big chair. The dental hygienist and the dentist were very impressed with her, as I was with them. They, too, were AWESOME!

When Grace asked the hygienist where Dora was, without skipping a beat, she said, "I haven't seen her around today, but maybe she's on TV right now." She then turned the TV, which was in the ceiling (how cool is that?), to Dora.

Then when the dentist came out, he introduced himself to Grace, noticed she had a giraffe on her dress, went back to his office and came back with a giraffe puppet and a picture of him kissing a giraffe. Once Grace saw that, she thought he was the coolest thing. And then when he asked if she'd like to hold the giraffe while he looked into her mouth- that was it, Dr. Love and Grace were friends for life.

When we left the office, I asked Grace what she thought about going to the dentist and she said, "I LOVE the dentist!"

And now for the bad news...Grace has a cavity in one of her bottom molars. I feel horrible because I brush her teeth all the time. The dentist reassured me and said there was probably nothing I could have done because Grace has very deep grooves in her molars, too narrow for the bristles of a toothbrush to get to. Maybe he was trying to prevent a waterworks session from a concerned mama, but it made me feel slightly better. Nevertheless, I have cut out M&M and lollipop treats.

It's a good thing Grace likes going to the dentist because we will be back in exactly a week to fix up that cavity.



Showing off her newly polished princess smile.

I Want Him Back

Mike's work schedule isn't as intense as it was during the first half of the year, but he's never home before 6:30, and that's with a 5 minute commute, so it's not like he has tons of free time either. Include duty days and underway time when we don't get to see him at all and there are definitely times when Grace misses her daddy.

When Mike is fortunate enough to get the elusive work-free weekend, you can bet that Grace will wake up Monday morning looking for him. She gets used to having him around for two consecutive days and she goes through a little bit of withdrawal on Monday morning. She climbs into my bed and asks me, "Where's my daddy?" When I tell her he's on the ship, she often follows with, "Is he coming home later?"

We stayed home today so I could work on some projects- mainly preschool research and household chores. Grace asked me to play with her several times and I happily obliged, but there were a couple times when I just wanted to finish up with what I was doing so I told her I would be there in a bit. I heard her murmur to herself, "Daddy's going to play with me when he gets home." It was the sweetest thing.

Then this evening when we were eating dinner, Grace asked when Mike was coming home. I told her that he had to sleep on the ship tonight because he had duty. She started whimpering and saying, "But I want him back!"

I felt so sorry for her that I gave her an extra scoop of ice cream for dessert. She was still missing her daddy, but that ice cream did help put a big ol' smile on her face.

Still trying to master the art of winking...

Ready for School?

If it were up to Grace, she would be ready to ride that big yellow bus tomorrow morning. The girl is so ready to start school. She sees the school supplies on display at the stores and gets all excited, thinking she's headed off to school soon, too.

I hate to break it to her, but when the kids here go back to school next week, she'll still be stuck hanging out with her mama.

However, Mike and I have started the conversation about Grace's preschool. Mike would be okay with her starting preschool at 2 years old. I think it's a little young. He thinks I just have separation anxiety. He might be correct.

Still, why rush the process? She can most certainly wait until she is at least three. Besides, I have a Master's degree in education. I know I've been out of the classroom for a few years, but I think I can handle teaching numbers, colors, shapes, and the alphabet.

Mike would like her to attend a Catholic school. I agree with him. I would love to put her in an environment that would foster her faith and love of God. And the earliest age they accept students is three years old here in the local Jacksonville area, so it works out perfectly with my timeline.

But here's a little confession that will make me seem like the most shallow person in the world. The Catholic schools that we were looking into have their students wear uniforms. Now usually I'm all about school uniforms, and I think young kids look quite adorable in them. But I also have visions of my child wearing cute smocked dresses in seasonal and educational themes, complete with a matching bow and mary jane shoes. In fact, I've already begun to buy her back-to-school outfits in anticipation for her first day of school next year.

Which is why just a teeny-wheensy part of me wishes Grace just attend a regular preschool so I can put her in the darling outfits. This outfit she so willingly modeled for me today is part of her back-to-school wardrobe. Although seeing how much she loved it and how sweet she looked wearing it, I don't know if I can wait that long before I put the outfit into her clothing rotation.

She Was Really Good

After Grace went to bed tonight, Mike said, "She was really good today." And she was.

She slept in until after 8. She was awesome at church this morning. She didn't whine or complain when we did the boring kind of shopping (clothes for mama) before lunch. She devoured her lunchtime meal of spaghetti and garlic breadsticks. She hung out and watched some old car movie with Mike while I went to the gym in the afternoon. Then she kept Mike company while he grilled steaks for dinner.

There are some days when she really makes me earn every single pretend penny of my stay-at-home mama paycheck. Then there are days like this when she is the easiest child to parent. But no matter what, I love my girl and I love my job!

All ready for school. She is dying to start. I told her she can't attend school until she turns three years old. She then holds up three fingers and tells me she's already three years old. Not quite, baby girl, not quite. Mama isn't ready to give you up to preschool yet.

She came out of the bathroom looking like this- dress tucked into her underwear which was inside out and backwards. It was hilarious to me and Mike, but she was so proud of herself.

I'm Not Scared of Worms

We went to check on Grace last night before we went to bed and found her like this- sleeping like a darling little angel.

I'm sure the lady in the stall next to us at a Target restroom didn't find her darling at all. First, Grace tried to take a peek under the stall and informed me that there was indeed a lady next to us using the potty. Then Grace proceeded to make commentary on the lady's bodily functions, even going so far as to say, "Eeeew, that stinks! That's insgusting (disgusting)!"

No matter how many times I tried to quiet the girl or told her to mind her own business, she kept rattling on inappropriately. I could have died!

Then when it was time to wash her hands, she spotted a toilet plunger nearby and nearly grabbed the nasty thing. I very sternly told her that she was not to touch it because it was covered in germs and tiny worms. Her response? "That's okay, Mama, I'm not scared of worms."

Goodness gracious, this girl of mine!

At least we ended the day with a bright spot. We went out to dinner with the Rinas family and the two Grace's were so well behaved that we received compliments from the table behind us. My Grace's dinnertime behavior is definitely hit or miss, but it does make for a lovely evening when it's a hit.

Awesomeness Day

Today was the Farragut Family and Friends Awesomeness Day. We had a steel beach picnic on the flight deck. There were even a couple of ice sculptures! Of course, it melted away in about thirty minutes in this Florida heat, but it was beautiful while it lasted.

Grace's favorite activities were the face painting, checking out the various guns, and hanging out in the combat information center (CIC). The moment she stepped into the CIC, which was a dimly lit room filled with rows of computer screens, she climbed into a chair in front of a radar screen and dubbed herself 'Policeman Grace' who was ready to 'rescue all the animals', just like on the show Go, Diego, Go.

It was such an awesome time that Grace completely skipped her afternoon nap. It was worth it though. What a great opportunity to hang out with daddy on the ship during a workday!

She loved the face painting and specifically requested a pink butterfly.




My tough girl- making daddy proud!




Enjoying one of her goodies, a pinwheel. She also scored a balloon dog and was quite upset when she was playing with it and it became untwisted, saying, "Daddy, fix it! My dog turned into a dinosaur!" And with it's long neck, it really DID look like her dog turned into a brontosaurus. But it didn't matter whether or not it was a dog or a dinosaur, nothing could fix the thing when she accidentally popped it later in the evening.

I'm Getting Married

Grace dug into her stash of dress up clothes- all of two outfits, really- and proclaimed, "I'm getting married!"

Grace will be a flower girl in the fall and we have already begun prepping her for the role by practicing the walk down the aisle and watching our wedding video. Hence her current fascination with all things wedding related. She hasn't seen 'Say Yes to the Dress' yet, but I'd be willing to bet she would enjoy it.

The only other big news of the day was Grace's last ballet class for the summer. For the past six weeks when it came time for her class, I would stand behind the glass looking into her dance studio and sweat.

I was so stressed out about the fact that my child was twirling around the room when all the other girls were seated. Or hanging from the bar like a monkey when the other girls were doing plies. Or snaking her way between the teacher's legs as the poor lady was trying to demonstrate a dance move. The most mortifying moment was when they were doing stretches on the floor and Grace leaned over and sniffed the teacher's feet! I thought for sure that at the end of every class I would get called into a conference and be told to reconsider Grace's enrollment in ballet.

But she made it all the way through the summer session without getting kicked out, and although it was very slight, there was some progress. So we went ahead and signed her up for ballet for the year, two classes a week. Grace loves it, but her poor teachers....

We made sure to give Miss Amanda a thank you present for being so very, very patient with our easily distracted ballerina.


I ended the evening with a rare girls' night out. While daddy and daughter were having their date night, I dined with some lovely ladies from the Farragut. It was wonderful!