- It is perfectly acceptable to pick up your child and smell his butt.
- You are trying to discipline your son and are crying you are laughing so hard because he’s is spinning round and round in his ‘naughty chair’.
- You are not only in the midst of unpacking and settling into your new home, but also gearing up for the holidays and you stop everything to take your child to Disneyland!
- You are about to head out the door with a ‘To Do’ list a mile long only to find your tot asleep on the couch.
- You end up eating your meal with your hands because your son just has to have your utensils.
- No matter how close to the event (party, flight, etc) you dress your child, he still manages get something unexplainable on his shirt.
- You can’t wait for your child to go down for a nap but then also find yourself anxious for him to wake up so you can play.
Archives for December 2010
The Perfect Time Of Day
This post is for Wordless Wednesdays and if you want to link up or see some really beautiful photographs, visit Alicia at A Beautiful Mess.
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Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head
The day we moved into our new home, it was 80+ degrees and to keep Lucas occupied, we set up his water table in the backyard. He was in heaven!The spacious backyard was one of the main reasons we wanted this house. Sadly, it has done nothing but rain ever since move in day. As of yesterday, Southern California has received six inches of rain in four days and it is suppose to remain gloomy and wet through the rest of the week.
Lucas keeps looking out at the backyard, now a muddy mess, saying “park”. 🙁
I suppose it could be worse, we could live on the east coast and be dealing with snow and freezing temperatures. Us Californians just aren’t used to being this wet.
Here’s to a sunny, or at least dry Christmas Day.
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I Love It When…
I love it when Lucas is sitting on my lap for a story or next to me on the couch watching TV and his body goes limp and melts into mine. I love feeling him let his weight go. After a while, the rhythm of our breath is in time with each others.
He’s a toddler on the go, so these are fleeting moments that don’t last very long, but we are learning how to relax together.
I love when Lucas runs up to me with a big sparkling smile, arms open wide and gives me a hug. He is starting to be very affectionate, especially when he’s done something naughty. It must be his way of apologizing?
He’s a toddler but somehow already understands the power of touch and importance of affection.
I love overhearing Lucas try to sing along with me, the radio or television. He doesn’t yet know the words to any songs, but he tries his best and often gets the inflection spot on.
He’s a toddler and is already experimenting with his voice and musical abilities.
I love it when Lucas is playing with his “choo choos”, cars or stuffed animals and makes sweet sounds, dances as goes along and creates pathways that not only go all over the house, but up and down my arms and legs too.
He’s a toddler but is using his imagination to expand his world.
He’s a toddler and he is growing up right before my eyes.
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The Rush
Everything I know about surfing I learned from the 1991 movie Point Break*, which isn’t saying a lot. I live in one of the world’s most popular surf spots and I know nothing about it. I have never been on a board myself but I have always found surfing an intriguing sport, so I wasn’t surprised recently when I spent nearly an hour completely mesmerized by 55 surfers.I watched the tide go in and out dozens of times and I felt like somewhat of a voyeur.
My first observation was that surfers contort their bodies in the most peculiar ways getting in and out of their wet suits, carrying massive and very awkward shaped boards that they then attach to one of their feet. Bizarre. I sat at the water’s edge and thought, how can the ocean be so loud and rough, yet so calming and peaceful at the same time? I frequently walk on the beach and love to take in the sights and smells it offers, but my breath slowed and my body relaxed like it hadn’t in a long time as I positioned myself high on a rock with the beautiful view laid before me.
As the sun glistened on the water, anxious surfers paddled out to sea and there they waited.
And waited.
It was as if they were willing the perfect wave to propel them to shore. Not every wave has a crest capable of such a trip. Surfing is a lesson in patience. It’s a solitary sport.
Just you and the water.
So many factors play a role in providing the perfect wave; the wind, the swell direction and intensity, the time of the year, high or low tide, what’s underneath the water, etc.
Once the right wave appears, the ride and the movements the surfers made looked elegant and effortless from where I sat. Their bodies possessing a balance and ease that I found fascinating. Lyrical.
I didn’t need to question anyone as to why they do it. It’s obvious.
It’s the rush, being one with the water, escaping land and the pursuit of the perfect wave.
Maybe I’ll feel it for myself someday.
*A point break refers to the place where waves hit a point of land or rocks jutting out from the coastline.
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Week One
In our first week in Orange County we’ve been to Disneyland, the annual Newport Beach Boat Parade and a shopping trip to South Coast Plaza and have managed to settle in to our new home. There are still many boxes to unpack and a garage full of items to organize, but the basics are done.
I was five years old the first time I went to Disneyland in the Summer of 1977. How my parents managed to get this shot without another soul in it is beyond me. Fast forward to 2010 and this is what Sleeping Beauty’s Castle looks like today:Lucas loved his first visit to Disneyland or “the Mickey Mouse park”, as it has come to be known in our house. If you ever get the opportunity to visit during the holiday season, it is really worth it. The Happiest Place on Earth becomes the Merriest Place on Earth with holiday decorations abound and it even snows!
We took Lucas on the It’s a Small World ride and he was bright-eyed and excited the entire time bouncing along to the soundtrack and enjoyed being on the boat, even after waiting in line for 40 minutes.
I was pleasantly surprised that he sat through the entire “A Christmas Fantasy” Parade, which includes all the Disney characters and Santa Claus too, after waiting another 40 minutes. He was mesmerized by the lights and dancers.
Handing us the park map so we can find our way to the “choo choo”.
Way more interested in his Mickey balloon than meeting Minnie.
It was a memorable and magical first of many trips.
Back to unpacking…
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You’ve Got A Friend In Me
1. Thoughtful
2. Meticulous
3. Curious
4. Reserved
5. Loyal
When you first meet me, you might think I’m shy, quiet, obstinate, stuck-up, or even bitchy. And those five words describe me pretty well too.
Sometimes.
You see, I don’t let just anyone and everyone in. I have a very close knit circle of friends and only a very few get to ever know the real me, but once I decide to let down my guard and share myself, you will have a friend in me for life.
You can trust me to be faithful and true
You can trust me through and through
When you hurt, I hurt
I’m always here to comfort
I’m the friend you can call in the middle of the night
Tell me your troubles and I’ll help you see the light
I may not always have the best advice to give
But I’ll listen with an open mind and heart and always be supportive
When you need a friend, I’ll be there
This I promise, this I swear
This post is for Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop – Prompt #2 Describe yourself in five words. Choose one, and write a poem.
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You Know You’re A Mom When-sDaze
- You physically walk a toy out to the dumpster so you never have to hear it or trip over it again.
- You will never move a block, an hour or a state away with a toddler without booking a babysitter for 72 hours.
- You have been sneezed on hundreds of times. In the mouth.
- You swear you will never climb through the McDonald’s PlayPlace again. It may say that it is “suitable” for adults, but it’s really not.
- You consider the person who invented the sippy cup a genius and an idiot. Does one exist that doesn’t leak?!
- You start to sound like your child.
- You know for all the awful, annoying, patient-trying, frustrating roller coaster ride of moments, there are, every once in a while, scattered throughout the day, small moments that are pure magic in the life of being a mom.
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What A Difference A Year Makes
Complete stranger
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Anticipating 10 Great Things
As I busy myself with unpacking, organizing and getting to know my new surroundings, my sister Leah is guest posting for me today.
It has been three months since your aunt Leah visited Letters For Lucas and after spending several days with us celebrating Thanksgiving and keeping you occupied while we geared up for the big move, she has a list to share of all the things she’s looking forward to with you:
I just spent a few days with you and your parents over the Thanksgiving holiday so I got to see just how you are growing. You are starting to talk a lot more now and really develop your own cute little personality. It makes me wonder what you are going to be like when you are older and can really hold your own in a conversation. I am so excited to be apart of that life that you will create for yourself.
Here’s a list of 10 things that I’m especially excited for:
1. I look forward to hearing you say “I love you, aunt Leah” for the first time. : )
2. I’m a great listener so I look forward to you coming to me for relationship advice or any advice at all actually. I hope you want to talk to me about your first girlfriend!
3. On that note, I’m going to enjoy coming to you for advice too sometimes.
4. I can’t wait till you can spend an entire weekend alone with me in LA.
5. I’m excited for your many phone calls to tell me what you did that day.
6. I think we all are ready for the day when you can tell us what’s wrong, what hurts or what we are doing right.
7. I look forward to going to a bar and grabbing a beer together.
8. When you get your first e-mail account and e-mail me!
9. I am going to love introducing you to my favorite movies, books and music.
10. It will be so much fun when you take your mom and I out for dinner one day.
I look forward to all these things too. Watching my son with my sister and seeing their relationship grow and blossom is one of my very favorite things do.