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Project Smile – October

Posted on October 31, 2010 Written by Tonya

October has become a notoriously bad month for me because it is the month my parents died three years ago and my plate right now is very full with lots of other stresses, but thanks to Alicia’s (A Beautiful Mess) Project Smile, here are 31 reasons I found to be happy this month:

1st – The kindness of strangers along the Susan G. Komen for the Cure route.
2nd – Walking across the Golden Gate Bridge. I got to cross #23 off my Buried List!
3rd – A celebratory dinner with Leah. We just walked 60 miles!!
4th – Home sweet home, coming home to Lucas. This was the longest I have ever been away from him.
5th – Pink toe nails.
6th – I made dinner!
7th – Blind (lunch) date with @surferwife.
8th – An impromptu overnight trip to Palm Springs.
9th – Coming home. Lucas didn’t fair very well in the hotel room, so none of us got any sleep.
10th – Watching Lucas’ face light up at all the trains at Travel Town in Griffith Park.
11th – Just a regular ole day where everything goes exactly according to plan.
12th – A great two-hour long workout! I love to sweat.
13th – After being in 102 degree heat at the pumpkin patch… air conditioner!
14th – A much overdue date night at one of my favorite restaurants.
15th – Five grown women making silly faces, funny noises and dancing around trying to get two toddlers to smile for pictures at the pumpkin patch and a champagne toast to two very special people.
16th – Finding a darling house with a nice big backyard and plenty of room to grow. Unfortunately, we had to let it go because we want our current house to sell first. But I know another one just like it or better is out there!
17th – Manicure, pedicure, lunch and shopping with a BFF.
18th – A jammy day! We played hookie from music class and spent the day in front of the TV.
19th – Leaving my therapist’s office after an eight month long hiatus and knowing that I’m going to be okay…eventually.
20th – Mommy & Me group mommies only get together. Where would I be without these women?
21st – I FINALLY got the oil changed in my car.
22nd – Finished one book and started and finished another!
23rd – A family bike ride. Lucas loves his helmet.
24th – We spent all day shopping for Lucas! He got new pants, shirts, shoes, bibs and a Thomas the Train set.
25th – A gift from a far away friend. Thank you, Sophie for the soap, it smells too pretty to use. xoxo
26th – A three hour long nap! Mommy was very productive today.
27th – Wine, wine and more wine with friends.
28th – Playing cars with Lucas. An entire hour flew by and I didn’t even realize it.
29th – Seeing Steeping Feet, a Dave Matthews Band tribute band.
30th – A husband who lets the mother of his child sleep in.
31st – My little Superman. And candy corn.

Be sure to link up at Alicia’s (A Beautiful Mess) Project Smile, or check out her reasons to smile this month. Her photographs are some of the most boo-tiful you will ever see. 🙂
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Pumpkin Patch Visits

Posted on October 24, 2010 Written by Tonya

We have been to the pumpkin patch twice this month, once with my Mommy & Me group and two days later with my sister, friend Colleen, her son, sister and niece.

The first visit was to Bates Nut Farm (the same place we went last year) and it was so hot that none of the toddlers were really up for picking or posing with pumpkins. Who could blame them? 102?! In October!

Lucas did get to ride his first pony, although he wasn’t that in to it. I’m blaming the heat.These were the only two decent photos out of 70 (!) that we got:

Two days later, it rained and was even chilly. Mother Nature, I’m not sure what you’re up to, but the cooler weather made for much happier photos, that’s for sure.

This time we went to the petting zoo first….

and then Lucas came face-to-face with his first scarecrow.

It’s hard enough to get one toddler to pose and smile for the camera and downright impossible to capture two. What you don’t see in this photo are four grown women jumping and dancing all around and making funny noises behind the lens.

Nothing worked, but it was a fun Fall outing anyway. Both trips.

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All Aboard

Posted on October 11, 2010 Written by Tonya

Yesterday, I took Lucas to LA to spend the day with his aunt Leah and her friend Tracy, who was visiting from New York.

The four of us went to the famed Griffith Park and enjoyed Travel Town, an outdoor train museum.

Lucas is obsessed with trains right now and loved playing conductor, riding on the miniature railroad and seeing all the old retired locomotives, passenger cars and street cars on display.

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My Shadow

Posted on September 7, 2010 Written by Tonya

At the park recently, I took this photo and as soon as I did, I was reminded of a poem that I learned in fifth grade.

My Shadow

Robert Louis Stevenson

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow–
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes goes so little that there’s none of him at all.

He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close behind me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

For good measure, I took this one:

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When You Mess With My Kid, You Mess With Me

Posted on September 1, 2010 Written by Tonya

Today Lucas and I spent another fun afternoon at Kidsville, also known as, my new favorite place for kids on the planet and I encountered something that I wasn’t expecting and still not sure how to handle in the future: rude children and parents that do nothing about it.

Kidsville is somewhat of a free for all in that children of all ages, I would say up to 6 can run around and play with all of the toys available. The older the child, the less supervision needed, so you’ll find moms and dads parked on sofas that border the facility tapping away on their smart phones. Or, you’ll find moms like me chasing after their tots ‘just in case’, but in all honesty there isn’t much Lucas could hurt himself with or on.

Or, so I thought, until today…

This one particular little girl, maybe a year older than Lucas followed us around for a while and whatever he had, she wanted and made it perfectly known by snatching it from him and knocking him down almost every time. I was right there, so luckily no one got hurt, but it definitely confused Lucas.

I was careful not to lose my cool and said things like: “that’s not very nice”, “okay, if she wants to play with it, let’s move on to something else” and “we need to share, Lucas, let’s give her a turn” all the while nonchalantly looking around for this child’s parents who never made themselves known.

Eventually, the little girl moved on to something else, however, I’m still puzzled. We have been working on the sharing concept with Lucas for a while now, which I know is a bound to be difficult to understand for young minds. Where were the girl’s parents and for future reference, what do you do when a parent doesn’t do anything about their child’s rude behavior beyond removing him from the situation? Should I have said something to management or sought the parents out and brought it to their attention?

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The Good The Bad And The Ugly

Posted on August 31, 2010 Written by Tonya

I have been thinking about my earlier post all day and it is now true confession time.

If I’m going to share my life with all of you and eventually Lucas himself, then I have to share the good, the bad and the ugly…

By and large, Sea World is one of those places that is great for busy toddlers; there is tons of open and safe places for them to roam around and explore, provided there aren’t swarms of people and you’re up for some exercise.

So, yes while we had a very fun day yesterday, Lucas has decided that the stroller is a torture chamber.

Full.

On.

Meltdown.

Every time I tried to get him into the stroller so that we could venture on to the next exhibit.

He wanted only to be on the ground and mobile, not strapped in or confined.

There were tears and sweat and head butts and one skinned knee.

It wasn’t pretty.

I have decided that I’m NOT cut out for these tantrums.

They are embarrassing and exhausting and leave me feeling completely helpless and awful. They make me want to package up my child, take him home and never leave the house with him again.

These fits of rage never last very long, but it is as though the devil himself possesses my son for four minutes and for me it is an excruciating 240 seconds. Seriously, it is the worst part of parenting… so far.

I am hoping these outbursts are just a phase. Somebody, please tell me that this is just a phase. Lucas has only been walking for three months, so I know that it is still very new and exciting to him.

So, there you have it. There were oh, four of these episodes yesterday. Luckily they got tamer as the day wore on because his little legs got tired, but nevertheless, they took their toll on both of us.

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Another Great Day In San Diego

Posted on August 31, 2010 Written by Tonya

We are so lucky to live in San Diego; home of the Padres, bountiful beaches, beautiful weather and plenty of amusement parks.

Yesterday, we tackled Sea World with our friends Jenn and Tristan.

It was a great day.

We saw penguins, sharks, sea lions, walrus, beluga whales, Shamu and met Elmo!

While I was mesmerized by the walrus, you couldn’t get enough of your favorite Sesame Street characters. It was fun to see you get so tickled over meeting Elmo. I was expecting you to be scared, but you hugged all of them and were all smiles. My brave boy.

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Kidsville

Posted on August 24, 2010 Written by Tonya

Today, Lucas and I spent the afternoon at Kidsville, a wonderful little city made just for children.
My Mommy & Me friend, Jenn told me about Kidsville and I was really excited to check it out, but I had no idea how much fun we were in for.
The place is huge and it is a child’s heaven. There’s a play kitchen, grocery store, school house, fire station, pet shop, castle, hospital, tons of toys, slides and tyke-size vehicles.
What a great way to keep cool, tire out the my little monkey and keep him safe while he explores, plays and makes new friends.
There is a $10 fee for a one day admission or $65 for a three month pass. Talk about a great deal!

File this under ‘I wish I had thought of that’.

The best is yet to be.

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Aquarium Of The Pacific

Posted on August 8, 2010 Written by Tonya

Last week, Lucas and I visited the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach for the first time with my friends Colleen and Wendi, their two little boys and my sister.

It was not my best mommy day.

I was on day four of Lucas’ dad being away and my patience was shot and nerves were fried. It was hot and very crowded and Lucas refused to eat and proceeded to scream his way through lunch. All he wanted to do was run around and be free of the stroller. Who can blame him, right?

Lucas loved being up close and personal with the sting rays and friendly sharks, but a 13 month old doesn’t quite understand the command “gentle, two fingers only”.

The water-squirting playground was a huge hit with all the boys, but next time, I’ll bring a towel and a change of clothes. For both of us!

It’s a beautiful aquarium and home to over 11,000 ocean animals and I highly recommend it if you are traveling to southern California.

The sea otter exhibit was our favorite. It was a lot of fun and dare I say, soothing to watch the silly energetic otters swim back and forth in their habitat.

The best is yet to be.

Walk The Walk

Posted on July 27, 2010 Written by Tonya

Almost every day, I walk 4-5 miles. Most of the time, weather permitting, it’s outside and Lucas is with me, but I have been known to get on the treadmill at 11:00 at night.

My favorite walks are the ones outside. I love our funky neighborhood, being so close to the beach and the fresh air and change of scenery seems to soothe us both.

Here are some random pictures of things in our neighbor that make our walks interesting, fun and worth every step.