Monday, May 30, 2011

time with friends

My friend Laura lives in Scottsdale and my friend Lyndsay and I went to visit with her last weekend.

Laura had to work Friday morning so I slept in, then headed down to her pool and read my book.

She kept apologizing for having to work.

I kept trying to explain the act of sleeping in alone was vacation enough for me! Add in hours poolside with a book uninterrupted... well, I think I could have just done that all weekend.

We did a mini road trip to Sedona one day. It's so picturesque there.



Laura, Lyndsay (now 6 mo. pregnant) and I used to live in the Bay Area. We were among many other things, theatre buddies. Great theatre is one of the things I do miss about the City.

We saw everything from the pre-Broadway production of Wicked and Movin' Out (they aren't going to talk are they?) to the Producers, A Doll's House and more.

I love how kitchy everything is there. From the availability of maps to the Vortex to palm readers to the abundance of mystical crystals Sedona is a hodgepodge of spirituality.

Forgive the horrible picture quality but I loved the "scientific" explanation of how this particular crystal improved chakras (note the "quantum technologies" statement in the right hand text)

I'd actually love to go back with the family to hike around some more and explore the areas caves and caverns which have always fascinated me.

Next time.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

in the car

Katie (from the backseat): Dada, what’s your favorite thing to do with mommy?

Papa (driving and grinning): Oh, I just like being with her.

Katie: No, what’s your favorite thing to DO with her?

Papa (still grinning): I like to play with mom, you know wrestle.

Katie: I don’t think mom likes that.

Song: No, I don’t think she likes it either.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

up next: 1,000 cranes

Miyo made Katie a paper swan last year. Katie's eyes lit up and she has been filled with origami thoughts since.

Later, our friend Lyndsay got Katie some origami books and paper as a gift and Katie was plain giddy.

The problem: I pretty much suck at origami. Katie wanted to make things like an elephant that involved 40+ steps and I was at a loss.

We checked out some new books at the library that looked like they might be more promising for two uber-novices.

I attempted the first project in the "Origami for ages 4 and up" book... and FAILED.

The books sat around until Katie found a DVD in the Trash Origami book (awesome concept by the way).

And, it was like (heavenly) "Ahhhhh!"

I set her up on my computer and she was off to the origami races.

She's actually getting pretty good. Making little envelopes and her new favorite: jumping frogs.



Katie and her fleet of jumping frogs

So, in the end the key was not to get an easier book for mom, it was simply to bypass mom altogether.

Friday, May 13, 2011

why it's dangerous when your wife has a blog

because old school buddies can be crafty.

Got this in the mail last week from our friend Greg. The photo is from the post on Maddie's birthday party.

What he wrote inside was actually incredibly sweet and nice (thanks Gregory).

The best part was when the girls saw the card.

"Who dat?" Maddie asked.

"Who do you think it is?"

She answered, "Dada," but didn't seem entirely convinced.

Oh, I do miss you boys and your antics (sometimes).

Thursday, May 5, 2011

a day like today

Warning: This post is way wordy, but being performed as a therapeutic exercise.

Today was one of those days. There was so much crying, I ultimately had to laugh because it was so ridiculous.

Crying Fit #1
The Culprit: Mo
The Place: Early morning, the house
The Scenario: Mo wakes up cranky demanding to watch a show (told you I jinxed myself). Papa tells her to stop crying and to ask mom nicely as he is leaving for work. She continues to scream and cry for a long time. Finally out of nowhere she stops and comes over to cuddle with me.
The Ending: Eggs are made, no show is watched.
Total Crying Time: 15 minutes.

Crying Fit #2
The Culprit: Katie
The Place: Late morning, the park
The Scenario: I peek at the treasure Katie has been collecting and see a broken piece of glass amongst her finds. She tells me it looks like Cinderella’s ice skate. I agree, but inform her that sadly we can’t keep a broken piece of glass. Crying ensues. I am called a bad mom. She tells me she loves this piece of glass more than white bear, that I’m mean, etc.
The Ending: It’s lunchtime, I tell her I’ll take a picture of her treasure before I throw it away. She continues to sob all the way home.
Total Crying Time: 15-20 minutes

Cinderella's Ice Skate taken hastily with my phone

Crying Fit #3
The Culprit: Mo
The Place: Lunchtime, the house
The Scenario: I get lunch ready – I offer turkey and cheese or leftover tortellini. Katie begins to eat. Maddie demands soup. I tell her that we can have soup for dinner. She begins to cry. Katie finishes her meal, serenaded by Mo's screaming. Mo finally comes over to me and rests her head on my leg. I ask her if she wants turkey or tortellini. She says tortellini.
The Ending: She eats 8 pieces of tortellini (huge for Mo), takes her sippy cup half full of milk and leaves. I go looking for her a couple of minutes later and find her in bed.
Total Crying Time: 15-20 minutes

Crying Fit #4 - Part 1
The Culprit: Mo
The Place: After nap, the house
The Scenario: Maddie wakes up and Katie and her cuddle in her bed. I get Katie’s snack ready. Katie tries to leave to have her snack. Maddie cries when Katie tries to leave her.
The Ending: Food trumps her little sister, and Katie eats her snack.
Total Crying Time: 5-10 minutes

Crying Fit #4 - Part 2
The Culprit: Mo
The Place: After nap, the house
The Scenario: I tell Mo its time to get ready for ballet. She tells me she doesn’t want to go, she in fact wants to go swimming. Katie and I proceed to get ready to leave the house. Mo decides she wants to change (not into ballet clothes, mind you), but starts screaming when Katie attempts to help her. She lays down and cries. I go in to help. She demands a dress. I get one down, she says “no, I want dress with one button.” I show her another one, she says no “dat have three buttons, I want one button.”
The Ending: We find a dress with one button, go to ballet and everything is fine.
Total Crying Time: 10 minutes

Crying Fit #5
The Culprit: Katie
The Place: Late afternoon, the house
The Scenario: I walk over to find Katie, brown marker on her fingers and marker in hand writing directly on the craft table. She immediately says, Maddie did it (really?! I think, that's what you're going with on this one?). Words are exchanged, she tells me she doesn’t want me to be her mom, that she only wants dada, and screams to the point of coughing. I let her cry in her room. I try to talk with her where I explain that everyone makes mistakes, that the important thing is to admit when we make poor choices and apologize. She tells me she doesn’t even know how to do that and she won’t. As I’m leaving she is yelling “I’m going to cry for the rest of my life.” Sweet.
The Ending: Katie comes out and apologizes for writing on the table.
Total Crying Time: 25-30 minutes.

And in the end? It's now 9 p.m. and Mo is yelling about being hungry in the other room...