An Update Coming Soon

Her new favorite thing to do- silly face!

I apologize for the lack of updates. We ended up going to Charleston, after all. It was a very good decision. I will give details soon. I was going to do it tonight, but after dealing with a computer issue for the past couple of hours, I'm now too tired to write coherently, much less go through the bajillion pictures I took over the weekend and decide which ones I want to put on the blog. Hopefully by tomorrow night I'll be back on track....

Ashes on My Forehead

That's all Grace could talk about after we went to Ash Wednesday Mass. She couldn't stop staring at my forehead and kept trying to touch it. When it was time for bed she made sure to tell me, "Wash my head, Mama, because it has ashes on it." I should have taken a picture of her with the ashes, but I forgot about it until after I had already washed her face.

The rest of the day I spent in contemplation. I wish I could say it had to do with the beginning of Lent, but no, it had to do with our Charleston trip planned for this weekend. I've been looking forward to it for a long time, but last night, Mike warned me that he would have duty on Friday and Saturday was now a working day for them. So Grace and I would pretty much be on our own until Sunday. For goodness sake, I was planning on leaving Sunday! Now I'm not sure if it's even worth it to go at all.

Believe it or not, I have been trying really hard to stay positive about Farrah and the crazy mess she puts us through. Although some days, I have to admit she gets the best of me and leaves me shedding a few tears. And I absolutely HATE that. The only thing I don't mind shedding a few tears for is a cheesy Nicholas Sparks novel. Charleston is a beautiful place and it might be worth it to go, if only for a change of scenery. A mother/daughter weekend trip to Charleston- that could be fun, right?

Now back to Lent. I have decided to give up soda, candy, and Facebook until Easter. There is no more soda or candy in the house to tempt me and I have deactivated my Facebook account. Wish me luck that I can make it through without my little indulgences!

She begged me to wear her new bunny dress today and even told me, "Iron it, Mama!"

It was super windy this morning.

Cherry on Top Tuesday

A quick trip to HomeGoods, a Chick-fil-a lunch for Grace, a chocolate milkshake treat for me, and a long afternoon nap for Grace while I leisurely read made for a pretty great day. Dinner with Liezel and a nice uninterrupted evening of girl talk while Grace slept peacefully was the whipped cream and cherry on top.

My Little Jumping Monkey

One day, Grace will hopefully look back on these posts and see what kind of a toddler she was. So here's a little message for my sweet little monkey...

I was going to get you this:
Instead, you are getting this:I know the first option seems like a lot more fun, but it cannot be helped after your morning shenanigans.

I have been thinking about getting Grace a little trampoline. Ever since she learned to jump, the girl has been bouncing all over the place. She has been trying to jump off anything and everything, including her stools, the couch, the coffee table, my bed, her bed, and even the dining room table. The girl thinks she's Super Grover and will magically fly, no matter how many times I tell her otherwise!

Thankfully, I've been able to stop her before she attempted jumping off the high things, but I fear it's only a matter of time before she manages to hurt herself. Which is why I thought a little trampoline would be a good investment- a safe outlet where she could get her jump on whenever she wanted.

But after catching Grace in her latest shenanigan this morning, I have to postpone the trampoline purchase and use that money towards an extra wide gate for the kitchen.


I was gone for 30 seconds to go to the bathroom and when I came back out, that was what I found. Her goal was the container of brownies on the counter. Thankfully she was so focused on the sweets that she didn't notice the knife block. This time. But there will be no next time because the new gate is ordered and will be installed the moment it arrives.


Little monkey jumped all over my bed and thought it was hilarious that my pillows were in disarray.

Sweet Sunday

This has turned out to be a pretty awesome weekend. Yes, my favorite guy was out with his other woman, Farrah, but he was able to sneak a few phone calls to me. Grace was great at church, as long as you ignore the little incident where she fell to the floor in a quick tantrum when I wouldn't let her go racing up the altar to touch the baby Jesus statue during the middle of Communion. Thank goodness the girl is light because I was able to quickly scoop her up and silence her with bribes of lollipops. I'm sure the lollipop bribe goes against everything in those parenting books, but whatever- you do what you gotta do in the heat of the moment!

But the sweetest part of today was watching Grace play with another little girl, our beautiful neighbor, Grace. And while they played, I got to know her parents. We have been neighbors for almost a year now, but other than random waves when we would see each other outside, I sadly didn't take the initiative to take steps to further our relationship. I wanted to, I really did. I can't tell you how many times I had baked goods ready to go to drop off for them last summer. I don't know why I didn't. I blame Farrah- she really knows how to put me in a funk!

However, when my family calling cards came in the mail last week, I resolved to put an end to my antisocial ways. Grace and I whipped up some cupcakes and with a calling card in hand, walked over and delivered them. That led to a planned play date for our girls this afternoon.

I am kicking myself for waiting so long. They are such a lovely family and I hope today's play date was the first of many!



This little card led to this...

Grace and Grace!

It's Becoming an Addiction

Grace received a sweet surprise from her Ninang Glenda in the mail today! Thank you!

I never thought about going to consignment sales until my friend, Julie, kept talking about all these amazing things she found for her beautiful children. In fact, my mom is probably cringing every time I excitedly talk about all these 'used' clothes I'm getting for her grandbaby.

But here's the thing- I believe in dressing children like they are children. While it can be cute when little baby girls are dressed like mini grown-ups, I would much rather see them in those classic looks- smocked dresses and mary janes. They grow up fast enough as it is; why rush it with the way they look in clothing?

That said, it can be difficult looking for these classic styles in today's stores, and if you do happen to find something, they are exorbitantly priced. Hence my new addiction, consignment sales. You can pick up the sweetest little dresses for $3! And let's face it, toddlers aren't exactly careful with their clothes, so if she happens to stain it, rip it, etc., I'm not going to hyperventilate because I didn't pay $70 retail for the dress.

Grace and I went back to the consignment sale from the other evening because it was half-off day. I picked up a couple more dresses and a few small odds and ends. I know she doesn't really need any more dresses, but they were only $3 and I just couldn't resist them at that price. See what I mean about this consignment thing becoming an addiction?

Then it was off to Panera's for lunch where we sat next to this sweet grandma who doted on Grace and thought she was the cutest thing, even as she made a mess of her meal and kept trying to crawl under the table, nearly knocking the whole thing over. This child of mine can be such a handful, but the moment she gives her sweet smile and her shy little wave hello (picture a hesitant Miss America kind of wave), all is forgiven, even by strangers.

Next it was afternoon naps for the two of us, play time outside, a trip to the park, and then back home for dinner, bath, and bedtime. It was a fabulous Saturday!

I've been on the lookout for a basketball hoop at all these consignment sales, but I haven't had any luck yet. Until then, this ghetto version will have to do...


After breakfast I told her it was time to get dressed, and while I was cleaning up in the kitchen, she was in her room obediently following my instructions. She pulled clothes out of her drawers, managed to put on a pair of red pants (over the ones she already had on), and was on the search for a 'pretty dress' to go with it.

Good Kind of Tired

The only picture I took yesterday.

I am tired. But it's the good kind of tired. The kind of tired you don't mind being because you had the chance to spend quality time with quality people. I want to just crawl into bed and sleep in as late as my alarm clock, Grace, will let me. I was tempted to postpone a blog update for another night, but I don't want the grandparents to worry. So here's a quick recap of the past couple of days...

Thursday, Grace and I met our dear friend and fellow book lover, Liezel, at a huge bookstore. Not the Barnes and Noble kind, but the kind where the shelves are filled with dusty, antique, out of print and hard to find books. You could seriously get lost in there! In fact, if you wander in towards the very back of the store, there are arrows painted on the floor pointing you to the way out. I tried to browse, but it was a little difficult when Grace thought it would be great fun to try to run away from me and hide in the maze of aisles. I did manage to find an out of print book I had been searching for.

Then it was lunch at Chick-fil-a where Liezel and I were able to catch up with each other because Grace was busy making new friends in the play area. They were all a little older and helped her climb up to the tunnel area and slide down the twisty slide. I thought on the way home she would be knocked out from all the fun, but she talked nonstop about her new friends.

Tonight, we headed over to the Young's for pizza and movie night. Grace was in heaven playing with all the kids. And I felt the same way hanging out with Jenn and Alicia. All three of us have given up our husbands to Farrah for the time being, and it was nice commiserating with other ladies who truly understand how challenging this phase of our lives is right now.

I don't know why, but this picture cracks me up! Maybe because it illustrates how dang near impossible it is to take a group picture of little kids.