marisa's ramblings

Inara learning to dive for rings

2011-05-12T00:00:00.000-06:00

After a 3 month delay, here's the latest & greatest from the Tomlinson fam

2011-03-26T11:38:00.011-06:00

Oh my goodness, how did I get so far behind on my blog? Am I really 3 months behind? Seriously, what happened to 2010 and how are we a fourth of the way through 2011? It could have a lil something to do with a busy 3 year old in the house, a very pregnant mommy who's tired most days and needs a nap, or it could be I've just gotten to lazy. Whatever the reason, it's time for a long overdue blog. I have so many funny stories and quotes from Inara to share and fun updates on baby boy too.

Inara's been all about being a big girl lately. I tease her and tell her I want her to stay my baby girl. She now retorts with "But I'm not a baby. I have to be a big girl because I'm going to be a big sister soon." Then the other day she said, "When I get bigger, I'm gonna be 33 just like Daddy." I replied, "Wow, that is big. Do you wanna be 66 like Nee Nee when you get bigger?" She quickly said, "NO! That's old and I don't want gray hair." I cracked up and couldn't stop laughing. She's so quick with her responses and seriously, how does the girl know what gray hair is? She's SO hilarious!

Some of her funniest jokes come at Nee Nee's expense lately. Shawn, Inara and I were at the park last weekend. Inara was of course running because the girl runs ALL day long and she always wants to be first. Shawn asked who's the fastest to which Inara replied, "I am." Prego mommy was taking her time and waddling in the back. Shawn asked who's the slowest. Inara quickly blurted out, "Nee Nee." (Poor Nee Nee.)

For some reason lately, Inara's been making references to pirates. One day when she and I were playing with her Barbies, she nonchalantly said, "Mommy, princesses don't marry pirates." I cracked up. Ummm...yes, you are correct, sweet pea. My favorite pirate comment came when we were having dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. Shawn and I were telling her she needed to eat more carrots. We had recently told her she needed to eat at least 2 carrots since she has 2 eyes. That night at dinner, she said, "If I only eat 1 carrot, I'll be like a pirate. Arrrgh!" I can't remember the last time Shawn and I laughed that hard. I just love how hilarious she is. She's got the best personality EVER!

One of my other favorite lines of hers was when I picked her up from school one day. They had a special lunch that day of hot dogs, baked beans, and lemonade. As we were driving home, she suddenly started coughing. I asked if she was ok and if she just got a froggy in her throat. She said she was ok. I think it's just a froggy. She paused for a second and then said, "Maybe my lemonade turned into a froggy and made me cough." The randomness of her thoughts are what makes them so priceless.

Because she gets so sad when Daddy leaves in the mornings, we've always told Inara that Daddy has to go to work to make money for her piggy bank. Her latest reply when sad that Daddy was leaving was adorable: "But Daddy, I have enough money in my piggy bank already." Shawn then explained he has to make money for his piggy bank too. She paused then asked where his is (because of course, she's never seen his in our house). He then told her about the bank we go to and that's where we keep Mommy & Daddy's piggy bank. "Well what color is your piggy bank?" "Um, it's brown." "Why isn't it blue? You like blue." Such conversations occur on a daily basis and amaze us because it shows how smart she is and how she processes every new thing. It's truly awesome to see her grow!

As many of you know, Inara has become quite the fan of Disney's movie Tangled and the main character Rapunzel. She frequently talks about Mama Gothel (as Inara calls her) from the movie as well. This is the character who kidnaps Rapunzel and holds her captive in the tower. One day, Inara comes to me and says, "Mama Gothel isn't very nice. She doesn't let Rapunzel leave the tower and go to school or My Gym. That's not very nice." It impressed me that she was able to rationalize the meanness of Mother Gothel's actions and the two things she keeps Rapunzel from are school and My Gym, obviously two things that are important in Inara's life.

Inara's developed quite the imagination too. It's not unheard of for her to personify inanimate objects. This is a daily case when I do her hair in the mornings. She loves to make her toothbrushes talk to each other. Or she creates voices for her brush & comb and hair clips. I'm continuously eavesdropping on her while she plays with her toys because I'm in awe of how much her imagination has grown. At times, I think she's much wiser beyond her 3 years. Recently, I was washing dishes when I looked over and saw her on her hands and knees looking under the coffee table with her flashlight. I was a bit taken by what I saw, so I asked her what she was doing. "Just looking for clues like Scooby-Doo," she said. I seriously wish I could have a camera on her at all times. She's a riot.

She's also becoming WAY too smart. If I think I'm in awe of her creativity and sense of humor, then I'm totally taken aback by her intelligence on a daily basis. A few weeks ago the three of us were shopping at Super Target. We were walking out of the store and she points to the big sign and says, "S. U. P. E. R." I gasped and hit Shawn on the arm to make sure he was paying attention. We both got the biggest smiles and congratulated her. She then continued spelling "T. A. R. G. E. T." Then on Thursday, she and I were driving around and I hear her from the backseat say, "F. O. R. D. F. O. R. D." It took me a sec to figure out what she was spelling. I started looking around and asked her where she saw those letters. She then pointed to a truck 3 lanes over. I had to squint to see the letters. So not only does she know her letters and can spell, but the girl has amazing eyesight too.

I just love how excited she is about baby brother and can't wait to be a big sister. This morning we snuggled on the couch and talked to "baby budder." We were asking him what name he wanted. We started with serious names and then ventured into silly names. If he kicked, then that meant he liked the name. At this point, it looks like brother wants to be named Mickey Mouse since that's the name that got the biggest kick.

My little girl loves to pamper mommy lately. She's always offering to put lotion on my back, which I don't turn down since I've developed a slight case of eczema on my back and need to put lotion on it every day. She also offers back massages now. We have a little hand massager that she loves to use on my back. She thinks it's so fun to play with. The other way she loves to pamper me is by brushing my hair. This morning I must have gotten a 20 min scalp massage and hair styling. She was even so gracious as to hand me a magazine so that I could read while getting my hair done. I LOVE our mommy-daughter time! And I'm trying to take full advantage of it right now since we have less than 10 more weeks till baby brother arrives, possible 8 weeks if he makes an early entrance like Inara did.

I'm happy to report that we made HUGE progress on home projects while Pop & Nee Nee were here a week ago. Shawn & Pop built shelves for the basement so we can get a lil more organized. Or at least Shawn thinks we will be more organized...in one corner of the basement. There's still a lot of "stuff" to organize in the rest of the basement. The best part was the old sheet Shawn hung to close off the new organized corner and even put a doormat in front of the curtain so we don't track any dirt into the newly cleaned up corner.

Pop also painted the nursery with help from Inara. She was SO excited to be helping Pop paint baby brother's room, and she did an awesome job. Honestly, she did a LOT better than I did with no major spills anywhere. It was the cutest thing watching her rolling paint and asking Pop to fill up the paint tray. She's such a hard worker and always wants to help out with any home projects. After we finished the nursery, she then asked if we were going to paint her room. I hadn't planned on doing it, but after she gave Pop & I her sad puppy dog look, we couldn't resist. So we went to Home Depot, picked out several paint colors, put swatches on the wall, decided on the color, and started painting her room the next day.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the colors we picked for both kids' rooms. They are perfect! I went with a soft sage-y green for baby boy's room. I think it goes perfectly with the brown furniture and the bedding, which has mocha brown, brick red and dark blue. I also got dark brown curtains, which really helps break up the green walls. It's such a peaceful, relaxing, yet boyish room. I couldn't be happier. Inara's room was a bit of a shock when we first started painting it because she chose purple...Rapunzel purple to be exact. Pop & Nee Nee bought her new bedding since we moved her into a twin bed and they surprised us with a huge Rapunzel mural. This, to me, is the perfect bedroom for a 3 year old little girl. I want her room! With the white furniture, purple paint, Rapunzel murals, and pink/purple sheets, I just love it!!!! She does too! The first night as she laid in bed, she rolled over and looked at Shawn and I and said, "I love my new room!" Doesn't matter how much work it was, hearing her say those words made it worth every second...and every penny. I just feel like she is only this little once and I want to do everything to make her childhood the best it can be. I truly adore her more than I ever thought I could love another person and want to spoil her as much as I can.

The other great compliment that made my long fight to win Shawn over to painting the kids' rooms was a few nights later when we were laying in Inara's room getting her ready for bed and he says to me, "I really like the colors you picked for the kids' rooms. I think they make the house. You guys did a great job painting. Makes me want to paint our room now." Holy cow! This was huge for me since Shawn has fought me since the day we moved into our house and all the times I've said I wanted to paint. He now has faith in my color choices and sees how color adds personality to a home. Score one for me!

It truly shocks me when I think baby boy will arrive in less than 10 short weeks. This pregnancy really flew by. It's been an easy pregnancy in that all my doctor visits have been positive and I haven't had any really bad issues. I did recently develop leg cramps at night, but I know how to deal with those since I had them with Inara too. My skin has been itchier this time around, so I've had to resort to putting heavy lotions and creams on every day to help alleviate the itching. I haven't had many food cravings. I did find this great ice cream that I annihilated in a couple days, then bought a second container and ate that one all to myself. Shawn was giving me a hard time about eating so many desserts. I was worried what the scale would show at my appointment this past week. Hooray! Only 15 pounds total gained at 30 weeks. Can't say that's so bad if I do say so myself.

One thing that's different about this pregnancy from Inara is what a kicker this boy is. I remember Inara kicking quite a bit, but baby boy kicks NON stop it seems like and he's got a super strong kick going already. It never fails that since I'm on the go most of the day with Inara and just doing my daily work that the second I sit down, he starts stretching and kicking. It gets really bad around 7pm and right when I lay down for the night. He just knows that Mama wants to rest and wham-o, he reminds me it's his turn to get some attention.

I've had a couple great dreams about baby boy. One was last week where I totally felt like I was starting labor. The contractions got stronger and stronger and then suddenly things went black and then I was holding baby boy. If only labor went like that, right? The other labor dream I had was so awesome and I could totally see baby boy's face plain as day. He had light eyes and brown hair. He was small like Inara and I just couldn't stop staring at him. Although we have stuff still to do before his arrival, I really do hope these next 10 weeks go fast because I just can't WAIT to meet him!!!

Inara the big sister and other funny stories

2010-12-04T09:26:00.005-07:00

Inara is so excited to be a big sister. She's started sharing our news with friends before I get a chance. One day when I picked her up from school, her teachers came running over and told me Inara shared some good news with them today. At first I was worried...what embarrassing story would she be sharing now? The teachers then told me Inara was so excited to tell them that she was going to be a big sister and that mommy had a baby "budder" (brother) in her tummy. I couldn't stop smiling. Yes, we were having a baby, but we don't know if it's a boy or girl yet. Both teachers gave me hugs and congratulated me and Inara. They agreed that Inara's going to be the best big sister.

At first, Inara kept saying she wanted a baby brother, but the past few weeks she is adamant that we are having a baby sister. I love talking with her about names for the baby. When she wanted a baby brother, she said we would name him Clifford. Sorry, but I'm gonna have to veto that one. I asked if we could name baby brother Wyatt. She looked confused and said, "But Mommy, Wyatt is in my class." Yes, she does have a classmate named Wyatt. Boo! Now I've got Shawn and Inara vetoing my name choices. When I would ask her about baby sister names, she always said we should call baby Mulan. This cracks me up because Inara's never seen the Disney movie Mulan nor does she have any Mulan toys, so how in the world does she know who Mulan is? That Disney brainwashing is amazing! Now all she ever talks about is her baby sister named Sissy. No matter what we name a baby girl, I have a feeling Inara will call her Sissy, which I think is quite cute.

Inara asks about baby all the time and loves talking and reading to my belly already, which can be a bad thing when we're out in public and she asks if she can talk to baby and starts to pull up my shirt. No need to be flashing the big belly to everyone, sweet pea. She's going to be the best big sister in the world! Although one day she told me, "I be Mommy #1 and you be Mommy #2." Brings me back to when Michael was born and how excited I was to be mommy's little helper with baby brother. Soon after we told her she was going to be a big sister, she laid a blanket down on the floor by her bed one night. When I asked her what she was doing, she said that baby could lay on it when she crawled into her room. She's already so concerned about baby's comfort. It's so adorable to see her brain working when asking about baby related things. She asked one day if she was in my tummy when she was "zero." I explained to her that yes, she was in my tummy growing before she was born just like our new baby is. She pondered for a sec and then asked, "Mommy, did I have toys when I was in your tummy?" Uh, no, sweet pea, but that's a great question. Had me chuckling for days.

One night at bedtime she asked where baby was going to sleep. Shawn and I explained that we would move her bed into baby's room and make it back into a crib and she would get a new bed to which she replied "yippee" and started jumping up and down in her bed. We did do some "window shopping" for a new bed for her one night. It was so darn cute watching her walk around the furniture store, feeling the softness of the mattresses, trying some of them out, and telling us which ones she liked. Shawn and I have had some disagreements about what kind of bed to get her. He said we should get her a double so we don't have to get one for her down the road when she's a teenager. I told him I don't want her in such a big bed yet...she's only 3! Plus, who said a teenager needs a double? I had a twin until I moved out, so she can have a twin til she goes to college too. Someone suggested that I tell Shawn that Inara definitely needs a double for when her boyfriend wants to spend the night...that should change his mind real quick.

Besides baby-related stories, Inara has many hilarious quotes and antics every day. I took her for her first dentist visit about a month ago. We've read the Dora book about going to the dentist and talked about what a dentist does to get her ready for her first visit. When we arrived at the office, she was in great spirits. The dental hygienist come out to the lobby to say hello and introduce herself: "Hi, my name is Erin." Inara got a big smile and said, "Just like my auntie Erin." I thought yes, this is going to be a piece of cake. She then held Erin's hand and walked back to the exam room. Then everything took a turn for the worse. Inara sat in the big chair but was speechless and looked frightened. I finally sat in the chair with her and had Inara sit on my lap. She refused to open her mouth for Erin to look at her teeth. Dr. Twiss came in and introduced himself. Inara barely cracked open her mouth for him to look inside. He said he doesn't like forcing kids to get examined. The first step is just getting them into the office and familiar with the setting. We'd try again in six months. Both of them said that she actually did pretty good considering that she didn't scream and cry like many kids do on their first visit. No, instead, she just sat there tight lipped refusing to open her mouth. My daughter's not stubborn is she? The real fit came when we got to the car and she asked if we were going to get Yogurtland now. I explained that she was only going to get yogurt if she did good at the dentist and she didn't let the dentist look at her teeth and clean them, so sorry, no Yogurtland. She screamed and cried. We called Shawn to tell him what happened. Again, I told him he needs to take her to her doctor appointments from now on. They are too stressful for mommy.

I always make fun of the the Shawn-isms that Inara picks up. It's crazy to me just how much she is like Shawn. It's bad enough that she has to look just like Daddy and not Mommy, but she now even acts like him and even laughs like him. Why can't my baby girl be more like me? haha. So as long as I've known Shawn, he's always driven me crazy by saying "my dogs are barking" when he takes his shoes off. Don't know why that saying drives me crazy, but it does. Of course, now Inara says it when she takes her shoes off. One night I asked her if she wanted her shoes off. She cracked us up when she said, "Daddy's dogs are barking, but my kitties are barking." Guess I don't mind that she's made the saying her own now.

I'm always on her to not turn lots of lights on because I know that it annoys Shawn. I've got her to understand that we don't want to waste electricity because it makes Daddy mad. One day when she and I were shopping at Super Target, she says rather loudly, "Mommy, Super Target is wasting electricity. Look at all the lights." Love it, sweet pea! Love it!

I love when she tells me stories about things she and Shawn do together. I cracked me up when one day she started laughing telling me stories about Daddy and says, "Mommy, Daddy always kidding me." Yes, sweet pea, your Daddy is a big kidder isn't he? Then yesterday, she was playing with her big blanket and got the biggest smile on her face and says, "Mommy, I'm gonna burrito you." She then laid the blanket on the floor and instructed me to lay on it, so she could wrap me up in it like a burrito, a favorite Inara-Daddy game.

She always misses Daddy when he's at work. We taught her long ago that Daddy has to go to work to make money for her piggy bank. One day when she was whining for Daddy to come home, I reminded her why he had to work. She sadly said, "But Daddy always works but never gives me money for my piggy bank." I texted Shawn that day and told him, so when he came home that night, he greeted her with several shiny coins to put in her piggy bank. She was happy to see him that night.

Shawn and I are both known to check caller-id and get annoyed when we see it's a sales person calling. When she's playing, I've caught Inara playing with her phone, getting upset, and saying "Ugh! Sales people." Gotta be careful what we say around her at all times because we never know what's going to be repeated later on.

Quite awhile ago, when we were driving by some new houses that were being built by our house, Inara told me that Pop should buy one of those. I've joked with my parents about that for awhile. Then out of the blue recently, as we were driving by the completed houses, Inara says in a stern, serious voice, "Pop didn't buy one of those new houses yet." Sorry, sweetie, I don't think Pop and Nee Nee will be moving out here any time soon, but I still had to share this one for Pop's sake.

I love the 3's so far. Yes, she has her temper tantrums and what not, but overall, the 3s have been much more mild than I thought they would be. I know I'm jinxing myself, right? One of my favorite things about this age is her love of role playing and her imagination. She's all into making up new games and telling us the rules for new games. During the summer, she fell in love with Red Light, Green Light. I used to love playing this game too when I was little. However, Inara added a new twist to her version of the game. She started adding new colored lights to the game along with new activities to go along with those colors. So the game is now Red Light, Green Light, Pink Light, Purple Light, Yellow Light, Black Light to which she has added falling to the ground, walking backwards, hopping, and jumping in place. She is also becoming quite the little mommy while playing with her baby dolls. She often times has sick babies to tend to and has to take them to the doctor. She reads them books and rocks them to sleep. Yesterday, when we were playing dolls, she told me she was a mommy and I was a mommy, and we were going to MOPS. I love that she knows what MOPS is and that it's something important enough to add to her role playing. So cute!!!

She's also quite the independent child now and wants to do EVERYTHING "all by myself." She now gets herself undressed and dressed for the most part. (She struggles a lil with getting her shirt on.) She loves getting her shoes and socks on all by herself. She can go potty all on her own, but still needs Mommy and Daddy to help her when she goes poopy. She always wants to get in her carseat and buckle herself without any help. It's a constant all day long to hear her say, "That's ok, Mommy. I can do it all by myself." She's always reminding us that she's a big girl now and can do or not do certain things. One night at dinner I asked if she wanted a bite of my pizza with bell peppers and tomatoes, she said, "I can't eat that pizza until I'm 5 years old." One day when I picked her up from school, she said she didn't want me to pick her up because she wanted to go in the yellow school bus. I was so shocked. I told her she was still too little to ride on the bus. "But mommy, I'm not little. I'm 3 years old now." She's growing up way too fast. I want her to stay my little baby girl forever. She's simply the coolest, most adorable thing in the world.

The one skill that still shocks me every day is her reading books to us. It amazes me how many books she has memorized now and can read them to us, almost word for her. She LOVES reading us "Green Eggs and Ham" and Berenstein Bears' "Inside Outside Upside Down." She's always loved the Mercer Meyer Little Critter stories. I was completely in awe one day when she started reading me the Little Critter collection book, which has at least 7 of the stories in it. She has every one of those stories memorized!!! I am continuously surprised by how smart she is. The best thing about her reading to us is her inflection and tone. She has such personality when she reads. It's so cute! It makes Shawn and I crack up every time she reads to us.

There was one incident recently that I know she will be embarrassed about me sharing when she's older. I was cleaning her room and noticed there was a row of Kleenex stuffed behind her bed on the floor. I called her over and asked her what that was. She said she didn't know. I didn't do that Mommy. I then had to collect at least 20 Kleenex from the floor. As I was squeezed up against the wall to clean up the mess, I noticed something on the wall. Oh my goodness...dried boogers!!! Inara Grace!!! I couldn't understand if she had stuffed 20 Kleenex down the back of her bed, then why not use them to wipe her boogies. So gross!!! When Shawn got home that night, I had her tell Daddy what we found. He was grossed out too, but later admitted he was kinda relieved that she wiped them on the wall rather than eat them. Leave it to Shawn to come up with that justification.

I love the funny things she says every day. One day she floored me when we were pulling out of the garage and she told me to close the garage so a skunk doesn't get in. Where in the world she came up with that one I have no idea. I've always said she was a gassy girl, but it cracks me up when she starts farting and says, "Mommy, I've got lots of toots in my booty."

Lately, she's become obsessed with learning Spanish. I have Dora and Diego to thank for that. We can be driving around and she suddenly will start asking me how to say random things in Spanish. "How do you say bus in Spanish? How do you say street in Spanish? How do you say horse in Spanish?" If I don't know it, she says, "I know how to say it. It's cocosaymana." Again, I have no idea where she comes up with these made-up Spanish words, but it's so hilarious. It's also impressive because the Spanish words she makes up sound like they could be a legit Spanish word. Sometimes if I don't know how to say the word in Spanish, she will tell me to call Nee Nee and ask her, and we have done that quite a few times because she's adamant about knowing how to say it right then and there. She loves the Shrek 2 soundtrack. One of her favorite songs is "Livin' La Vida Loca." She oftentimes tells me, "When donkey says livin' la vida loca, that's Spanish." I swear she is the greatest daughter in the world and I tell her that every day. I'm so excited to be bringing another child into the family and can't wait to start our journey all over again and to expand the journey we've started with Inara. I can't say it enough...she's going to be the best big sister a sibling could ask for.

How did my daughter get so smart?

2010-09-24T08:34:00.001-06:00

Here are so pretty funny things Inara's said over the last couple months.

Before I start this story, I have to give a little backstory. One of the lightbulbs in our main stairway blew out a few weeks ago. It's super high up and hard to get to. Shawn bought one of those long, claw-like devices to reach the lightbulb. Given Shawn's luck, the claw got stuck around the light fixture and won't come off. If he pulls on it, the whole darn fixture comes out of the ceiling. I now have a nice yellow claw stuck to my stairway light. Once in awhile, Inara likes to point it out to me and asks, "What did Daddy do to the light? Why did he leave that on there?" So the other day, Shawn, Inara and I were shopping at Ace Hardware. I stopped to look at paint, and the two of them went to go get popcorn, Inara's favorite reason for hanging out at Ace. They come walking back and Shawn says to me, "You'll never guess what your daughter just said to me." Oh boy, I brace myself. Shawn proceeds to tell me that as they were walking, Inara points to the tallest ladder in the store and says, "Daddy, there's a tall ladder for you to fix the light with the claw on it." We both stood there cracking up. She's so bossy and constantly reminding us of our foibles.

Before bedtime, I asked Inara to pick up the toys she had left in the hallway. When I went in her room, I stopped dead in my tracks because the toys she picked up were placed right in the middle of her room. I then asked, "Inara, why did you leave your toys right in the middle of the room? You know mommy or daddy can step on them and get hurt." She slyly responds, "Mommy, I lined them up and you can just walk around them. See."

I was putting laundry away when I called her into my bedroom. I pointed out that she left her super tiny baby doll comb on the floor where it's going to get lost. She flops down on the floor right next to the comb. I then start going on about how I've already asked her several times today to pick it up because she's going to forget where she left it and it's not my responsibility to pick up her toys. She abruptly interrupts me and says, "Yes. Yes. Yes" followed by a deep sigh. Oh I'm so sorry to sound like a broken record your highness. She's almost 3 but the sass sometimes comes across like a 12 year old. Seriously, where does she learn such things?

She likes to congratulate me for doing things I congratulate her on. She loves to see my empty lunch or dinner plates and will say to me, "Mommy, you ate all your lunch. I'm so proud of you." I'm always checking her panties when I take her to the bathroom to make sure she didn't have an accident. Well now she likes to see if I've had any accidents: "Let me check your panties. Good job, Mommy. You no pee in your panties."

The other day Shawn took Inara potty and she asked him to lock the door. She's very much about having her privacy. She then stated, "I don't want mommy to come in. Or Snowflake." Snowflake is her favorite baby doll. Shawn cracked up and had to come share this one with me immediately.

Last night, when she was going to bed, she asked me to sleep in her room with her. I told her I had to go to bed in my room. She said, "No, mommy. I want someone else to sleep in my room with me cuz I'm all alone." I knelt down and told her she was a brave girl, to not worry, and that she had friends in her room with her: Snowflake, Mickey, Minnie." She frowned and said, "Mommy, they're not real. I want a real person to sleep in here with me."

Boy, do I love this age. She's so smart it's surprising every day what comes up with. Man, do I love her!!!

Our trip to Wisconsin and Minnesota

2010-07-05T15:14:00.008-06:00

Figured I better do a blog update before I forget all the "adventures" from our trip to Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Barb & Ed wanted to have a family memorial for Erin and were already set to go back to Wisconsin at the end of July. Thane's family and our family headed out on June 24. We all know the wonderful luck that follows us, so, of course, this trip wasn't without its hurdles. We cut it close getting to the airport on that Thu. When Shawn checked us in, we were given security passes and had to get our boarding passes at the Southwest gate. We were lucky to get in line at the gate when we did, because by the time Thane and his gang got there, the flight was already full. We've never had an over-booking issue with Southwest, but there's a first for everything. The ticket agents started offering deals to anyone willing to give up their seats. Kristi had a seat, but they needed 2 more for Avery and Thane. One man was generous and gave up his seat, but they were still one seat short. No takers! Thane, Kristi, Avery and Jack had to wait 5 hours at Denver Airport for the next flight out to Minnesota. JACKED!!!! During the flight, James, one of the attendants, ended up coming over and talking with us and apologized for the situation. He said he felt horrible, especially when he started telling Thane "We're sorry, sir" to which Avery broke down and started balling. He said it killed him to see her crying and wished he could have helped in some way. We thanked him and explained our niece was crying because she is best buddies with our daughter and they hate to be separated. We all got a little chuckle outta that at least. When we got our luggage, we realized all of Thane's families' luggage was on our flight and spoke with the Southwest rep at the luggage carousel to make sure they were going to be able to get their stuff. She guaranteed she'd still be there when their flight arrived at 11pm. That night we stayed in one of the nicest hotel rooms at Hyatt Place just down the street from Mall of America. They had a pack & play for Inara even. It was hard leaving this hotel given what we knew was waiting us in Wisconsin.

The next morning after our free breakfast we met up with Thane's gang and enjoyed the hotel's pool. Thought we better take advantage of the amenities this place had to offer. We finally headed out for our 3 hour drive to Elroy, Wisconsin. We stopped to pick up some food for the next few days since we figured we were on our own for most meals and Elroy doesn't have much to offer. We finally arrived at the Elroy motel, complete opposite of our digs in Minnesota. The rooms looked like they were stuck in 1970. They had a definite smell to them. I was afraid to set things down on the ground since the carpet was rather dingy and dirty. No pack & plays for the kids, so we knew we were in for an adventure with Inara in a double bed. In the lot next to the motel, a carnival was going on, so I was also worried how loud thing would be at night. Not to mention the crew of bikers staying at our motel. (Thankfully, the rooms are rather sound proof and the carnival and bikers didn't keep us up at all. We did also have the window A/C blasting all night, so I'm sure that helped.) Barb, Ed, aunt Becky, and Grandma Esther met us at the motel that night. We ended up having dinner at the restaurant next to the motel. Too bad my tummy paid for the meal later. Ahhh yes, the joys of meals out in the boonies. After dinner, Thane's group and the three of us went to the park right by the motel. It was getting late, so it was kind of hard to see. Inara did very well at first, but then while climbing through a tunnel, she lost her footing and face planted. She ended up with a nice bruise on her right cheek. Ahh it's never a dull moment with kids around.

That night we learned that we had guests sharing our room: ANTS! Oh joyous! I was terrified given how dirty the room was. There was no telling what else besides ants were going to be in the room. I wasn't looking too closely because I knew I was already going to be freaking out all night sleeping in the place. When searching for where the ants were coming from, we saw the huge spiderwebs gathered behind the dresser. I SOOO wanted to leave right then. It broke my heart to hear my daughter freaking out: "Mommy, I no want ants seeping wif me." My poor baby girl. I was also repulsed when we started the bathtub for Inara only to find nice yellow water coming out. Yes, I know people lived in worse conditions in the past, but in today's modern world, there's no reason for a child to be subjected to such things. Things didn't get any better the rest of the trip. I had noticed our bathroom sink was leaky and there was a towel wrapped around the bottom of it. When I mentioned it to the manager one morning, that night I noticed all she did was wrap more towels around the base. I wasn't expecting the best service ever, but I was annoyed that Thane had to ask for more toilet paper, I had to ask for fresh towels after a couple days (considering I was using them to kill bugs), and our rooms were never once checked or cleaned. I mean we had to take our trash out several times a day, especially given our ant problem. Yes, this all prompted a nice fight between Shawn and I. Like I've been saying for years, there should never be any doubt in Shawn's mind how much I love him to make the sacrifices I've made. My new saying is I better get something pretty and sparkly that I can wear for my birthday this year.

Saturday morning was kinda slow going. I realized there weren't many plans set for the rest of our trip and just had to play things by ear. We did learn about the fun night Thane's gang had next door. Jack didn't like the sleep tent they had brought for him and cried for a couple hours straight. Then the towel rack in the bathroom came out of the wall. My favorite though was that morning when Thane was getting ready to take a shower. As he lifted his arm to take his shirt off, bang...he hit the lightbulb hanging from the ceiling and shattered it all over the bathroom floor. Guess the manager should have considered buying a cover for the lightbulb to avoid such accidents. Ahhh yes, the joys of our wonderful hotel experience in good ol Elroy.

We ended up heading over to Grandma and Grandpa's house on Saturday to hang out and show the kids around. Grandma brought out their 4-wheeler and took the kids for a ride around their yard. We didn't make it to Uncle Steve's farm that day. Lou, his mom Kathy, and Erin's best friend Wendy arrived that night, so we met up with them and walked around the carnival that was going on right next to the motel we were staying at. Inara had a blast going on rides and we walked around to see the livestock. Poor Wendy, a vegan, had a hard time seeing all the animals in the barns. She even pointed how the big sign that said BEEF in big ol letters. "They're not beef; they're cows," Wendy sobbed. It is hard for me to see the animals knowing most are going to slaughter some day. I can't imagine how hard that was for Wendy. At least the townsfolk were good for some fun people watching. Inara didn't nap that day, so I was worried what the night would be like. The whole trip her schedule was thrown outta whack. We struggled at night getting her to sleep and had some cranky situations, to be expected given she was out of her daily routines. Once I got her calmed down that night and guaranteed her there were no ants in her bed, I joined Shawn, Thane, Kristi, and Lou sitting outside the motel and chatted for a bit.

Sunday morning Thane's gang and Shawn went to the American Legion Hall to help get things ready for the memorial that afternoon. Inara and I stayed at the motel and played games, not that I wanted to stay in the motel, but I thought it might be good to have some down time for Inara since I knew it was going to be another day without a nap. We all then got ready and headed over to the Legion Hall at 1pm. We chatted with family for a bit. One of Erin's best friends, Kelly, happened to be in Wisconsin visiting family the same week, so she and her husband drove into Elroy for the memorial. It was wonderful to talk with her. It meant a lot that Erin's friends would make the trip to be with her family. The memorial was nice, different from the one in CA with all of her friends, but good for the family who had made it to learn more about Erin.

That afternoon we headed over to Uncle Steve's farm. I knew Inara would love to see all the cows, calves, pigs, and the silo. She always talks about the Curious George story when he gets lost and looks for landmarks, such as a silo, to find his way back home. Inara liked one of the cats that roams around the barn and got to hold her. Next Shawn took Inara for a ride on the 4-wheeler, which she loved. Then cousin Nicole asked if anyone would want to ride her horse. She brought Spock, the horse, out and Avery, Inara, Barb, Kathy, and Lou got a horseback ride. Inara LOVED riding. She went twice actually and after getting off said, "I want a horse." OK Daddy, better add that to her wish list. We had dinner at Esther's that night since the few restaurants Elroy has to offer are all closed early on Sundays.

Monday a big group of us headed out for a bicycle ride starting in a neighboring town called Kendall. It was quite a chore to pick out bikes and trailers for the kids. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride at least and such a scenic route. It was about 3 miles til we got to our first tunnel. The bike route is an old train path with a few tunnels along the way. It cracked me up when we stopped and took pictures outside the tunnel. Aunt Becky said there were monkeys in the tunnel and Inara and Avery were so enthralled. Becky then started making a "monkey" noise. It scared me and I thought it was more like a rat sound. It freaked me out. Thanks, Aunt Becky. We all had to walk our bikes through the tunnel, which got really dark at one point. You pretty much have to stay focused on the light coming through the other end of the tunnel in order to make your way through. We then got to riding again, enjoying the beautiful tree-lined path. The group in the front stopped to wait for the group in the back to catch up. This is when our trip became a typical Tomlinson trip: Thane blew a tire on his bike. We had to call the bike depot to have someone bring us another bike, which meant a good 30 min delay taking the trailer off the bike, waiting, then getting the trailer onto the new bike. Inara started getting cranky, so while everyone else continued on with their ride, Shawn, Inara and I headed back to the depot. She was so tired and tried falling asleep but bike trailers are bumpy and not the comfiest places to nap. (We later learned that Inara actually got a bruise on her back from the bike trailer. The girl was pushed more so on this trip than any other that's for sure.) By the time we got back to the depot, Inara got her second wind and was energized again. Figures. The three of us went back to the motel and napped. Lou, Kathy and Wendy were heading to the airport that evening, so we said our good-byes, which is never easy lately. It was wonderful that the three of them came out to Wisconsin with us, but it sucked having to say good-bye. That night Grandma fed us all dinner again. So much for needing all the food we had bought. We ended up just bringing most of it to Grandma's house and leaving it for them since we were heading back to Minnesota the next day anyways. Inara got cranky that night and wasn't having anything to do with saying good, so we decided we'd come back in the morning before heading out to say good-bye.

Tuesday morning was a glorious day since I knew we were finally leaving this god-awful motel. We packed up and headed to Grandma's to say our good-byes. We got on the road and stopped in Kendall to check out the Veteran's Memorial Grandma had told us all about. It's very nicely done. There is a brick with the Vlasak family name on it (Barb's maiden name). Uncle Steve and Roger are both represented as Vietnam veterans on one of the marble walls. We then got back on the road for another hour and stopped for lunch at a Red Robin. Since it was Shawn's birthday, he got a free lunch. Can't beat a free meal. Once back in Minnesota, my eyes lit up to see Hyatt Place once again. Oh glorious Hyatt how I love you! We went to cousin Erik & Beth's house for dinner. It was so nice to sit and chat with them and play with baby Maya for a few hours. We ordered pasta and pizza from a local restaurant. It was one of the best dinners we had our whole trip. Erik & Beth also picked up a cake. I really didn't want Shawn's birthday to go unnoticed. So thank you guys for getting the cake.

Wednesday morning we took our time getting up and getting ready. Our flight wasn't leaving until 6pm that night, so we had all day to spend at Mall of America. I really wanted to take Inara to the amusement park in the middle of the mall, so we could wear her out as much as possible and hopefully get a nap out of her later. She had a blast! They had so many fun rides she could go on. We bought an unlimited ride pass for $30. Since the height requirement for most of the rides was 36 inches and Inara's 37 inches, she got to go on many rides with an adult who got to ride for free. Nice! It's a Nickelodeon theme park, so we also got pictures with Dora & Diego and Tyrone & Pablo from Backyardigans. I ended up walking around the mall by myself for a bit while Shawn took Inara on rides. I can't believe how much cool stuff this mall has to offer. I could spend a whole weekend hanging out at this place. They even have a live-action role-playing place where you get to go through a maze with a wand and find treasures and stuff. We will definitely need to take another trip to Minnesota just for the Mall of America.

We headed to the airport to begin our journey home. Of course, two minutes before arriving at the car rental return Inara falls asleep in the car. So Shawn and I had to pull all 3 suitcases, deal with our carry-ons and the carseat, and push a sleeping Inara in the stroller. But we made it to the airport and we got boarding passes this time. But no Tomlinson trip goes without snaffews. Our departing flight got delayed because the air pressure light came on in the plane during the previous flight. While we are waiting, Kristi bought Jack a milk and gave some to Inara, which Shawn put in a regular cup without a lid. As luck would have it, Inara ended up dropping her cup, milk splashed on Jack and Thane, and both kids ended up in tears. Kristi had to change Jack's clothes and we had to calm Inara down because she was screaming over her lost milk. Finally, 30 min later we board the plane and all was well. Avery ended up falling asleep immediately, Inara watched a movie, and Jack finally fell asleep 10 minutes before we landed. Now it's like 9pm at this point and we are all exhausted, well except for Inara who seemed to be running on Red Bull or something the girl was so wired. We take the tram from the terminal back to baggage claim. As we get off, Shawn takes the stroller from me since Inara wanted to walk. Suddenly, he yells, "Where's the pully thing?" I don't know what he means at first (mind you because Shawn was in charge of the carry-on while I had Inara, the stroller, and her backpack). We turn and see our carry-on suitcase sitting all by itself on the tram. The doors close and our luggage takes off. Holy crap! Can we please just get HOME?!?! We end up having to talk to security to find out where our luggage is. And it's got my laptop in it, so I'm freaking out. Inara even yells at Shawn, "Daddy, why did you leave my luggage on the choo choo train?" Thane's gang, Inara and I head over to baggage claim to get our suitcases while Shawn waits with security to get our carry-on. Thane's gang heads out while I wait for Shawn. All is well after another 20 min delay. The three of us head to the shuttle to get to the off-site parking lot where our car is. Mind you, it's getting close to 11pm now and Inara is still on fire. We find our car with no problems and wonder if Inara will fall asleep in the car. Nope. She kept us entertained the whole ride home, well that is until she falls asleep 10 min away from home. What else would we have expected? I can't tell you how wonderful it was to enter my home. After a long, rough, exhausting week long trip, we were all thrilled to be home and to sleep in our comfy, ant-free beds. Hope we can get pictures posted soon to share with you all.

2 1/2 going on 10

2010-05-05T15:43:00.008-06:00

I am loving the 2's. Inara is such a riot these days. Yes, we have those typical rough 2 year old moments, but for the most part, they aren't as often as I had expected. I wonder how it is that kids know how to throw temper tantrums when I know for certain I never act out in such a way. Although, I would love to be able to pout my bottom lip, fold my arms across my chest, and stomp my feet when I don't get my way. Something tells me society would make fun of me if I did this though.

Inara's latest addition to her pouting routine is when she doesn't get her way or when she's being scolded, she says things like "I want da-da" or "I wanna go Avery's/Whitney's/Gammy's/Pop's house" as if these people won't tell her no or discipline her like mommy does. Or she will pout even more and go sit in another room. When I ask her what's wrong, she says, "I sad. Mommy yell at me." Boy, does she now how to work it good.

Her other favorite saying when I'm telling her to stop doing something is "But I love to do [fill in the blank]". Inara don't stand on the chair. But I love to stand on the chair. Inara stop kicking the back of my seat. But I love to kick the back of your seat. Inara that makes Mommy sad. But I love to make Mommy sad. Yes, that last one has been a conversation we've had. It was so hard to hear the first time. I ended up walking away from her because I was so frustrated, hurt, angry, etc. etc. She knew she was wrong and had hurt my feeling. After a few minutes, she found me and asked, "Mommy, will you talk to me now?" Even the silent treatment doesn't last long around here.

Many times after she's done something wrong, she will ask if I'm happy now. For example, we could be arguing about a meal. When she's finally given in and eaten, she will say, "Mommy, I ate my lunch. Are you happy now?" Oy vey. A good thing though is that Inara knows when she has hurt my feelings or done something wrong and always comes up to apologize for what she's done. It's good that she can empathize with other's feelings and knows when she's been wrong. Heck, I even know adults who can't do this still, so the fact that a 2 year old is in tune with other's feelings is very good.

As I'm sure all mommies and kids do, Inara and I have a lil game we play just the two of us. I will whisper in her ear and say, "I have a secret. I love you, sweet pea." She then gives me a hug and says, "I have a secret too. I love you, Mommy." Another lil thing she started doing is giving little hugs and little kisses. She will come up and say, "I give you little hug" and reaches in and very gently gives me the softest little hug ever. She then says, "I give you little kiss" and pouts out her bottom lip and leans in to ever so gently give me a kiss. I love when she does this. It's so adorable! In March I had gone back to CA for a girls' weekend. When I returned home, the whole next week, Inara would come up and give me a hug and say, "Mommy, I miss you at the airport." Nothing like a few days away to make you adore a child even more, if that's possible.

Every day there's something new she learns to do. Somedays I just can't seem to keep up with her. She's now big enough to get her own water out of the fridge. She goes in the cupboard, gets her own cup, and pushes it on the water spout. It floored me the first day she did it. I could just imagine water cups sitting all around the house. Thank goodness she hasn't done that yet. I've also started teaching her how to set the dinner table. She puts the napkins and silverware out, picks out her cup and plate for dinner, and sometimes I'll let her carry the salt & pepper to the table. It think it's important to start teaching kids responsibilities as early as possible. Plus, Inara loves being my big helper. She also loves helping with baking. She's getting quite good at cracking eggs, pouring ingredients into bowls, and stirring things up. It makes her feel so special when she gets to help out in the kitchen.

Back in February, we started potty training. She's been doing so well with using the big girl potty, even when out in public. This last weekend, though, we hit a few rough patches and she started peeing in her pull-ups. When I asked her why she did it, she said, "Cuz I love to pee in my pull-up." Guess how Mommy responded? I put her in big girl panties. Time for me to bite the bullet and I know she won't like having wet panties. She's done great the past 36 hours. She even used the public restroom at the park today. Let's hope she keeps it up. I seriously don't want pee stained rugs around the house.

It's easiest to show how cool Inara is by sharing some of the hilarious things she says. Today, as we were getting ready for naptime, I picked up a stack of books and tossed them to the corner of her room. She turns to me and says, "Mommy, don't throw my books. Use your manners." Doh! Boy, did she school me. I always tell her to take care of her toys and to use her manners. Shame on me for not following my own advice. I, of course, had to apologize to my little girl for not being disrespectful of her toys.

Today, we were talking about her love for books. I told her books are good for us because we can learn lots of new things from books and books make us smart. She joyfully said, "Yeah, mommy, books make us fart." You gotta love when kids struggle saying their s's, which end up sounding like f's.

Every night, Inara loves to lay on her bedroom floor and read books. The past few months she's been requesting that both mommy and daddy lay with her. After we read books, she yells "Family Hug!" and puts one arm around each of us. It's so cute. I love when she demands a family hug because it makes me smile to oblige.

One thing I really miss once I became a mom is privacy in the bathroom. Inara constantly has to follow me to the bathroom. The other day I told her I was going to go poopy, so for her to play in the playroom. Yeah right. Seconds later, she comes walking into the bathroom and says, "Mommy, I tell you a story while you go poopy." I guess she didn't want me to be bored and lonely. She's so sweet that way.

Inara loves to sing. She can frequently be heard belting out her ABC's. It cracks me up when she gets to the LMNOP part. She ends up saying L, M, N, N, N, O, P. It is kinda a tongue twister for little kids. She also loves singing Baa, Baa, Black Sheep or should I say yelling it. She get so into singing now that it ends up being more like yelling than singing. She's even been known to sing so loudly that she ends up stopping, coughing, and requesting water before continuing on. Maybe we have a future rock star on our hands. Hee hee. In school, they say a prayer before lunch and Inara loves to say it now throughout the day, not just at meal time: ABCDEFG Thank you God for feeding me.

Lately, she has become infatuated with marriage. We have a special wedding picture on the buffet in the dining room. She always tells me she loves mommy's pretty dress in the picture. She also likes to look at my wedding rings and says that's the ring daddy gave mommy when they got married. Her newest saying is she wants to get married. When I ask her, who she wants to marry, she says, "Daddy cuz I love my da-da." It's so cute that she loves her daddy so much and associates marriage with love as she should. She has also started calling herself a princess and Daddy a prince. Although, the other day she killed me when we were talking about the movie Shrek, and she said that I'm Princess Fiona. I asked who Daddy was from Shrek and she said, "Donkey." Gotta love that one!

She is so much like Shawn at times though it's scary. She now does this one laugh that kills me because it's seriously Shawn's laugh. I will ask her throughout the day how does Daddy laugh and she'll do it: hee hee hee. I love that she now imitates us. She also has a love of cereal just like her Daddy. Shawn's introduced her to Chocolate Chex, one of her absolute faves. As she was eating them one day, she says, "These are amazing!" Shawn and I were cracking up. She also loves the milk in her cereal bowl, especially after having a chocolate-y cereal. She tries slurping it with her straw but ends up making a mess, so some days I'll give her a straw to drink her cereal milk. The girl loves her cereal just like her Daddy. My favorite saying related to Daddy though is when I ask her why Daddy has to go to work and she says, "To make money for my piggy bank." Boy, does she have Daddy wrapped or what?

One night Inara and Shawn were pushing the strollers around the house, a nightly ritual. Suddenly, Shawn lets a fart rip. He says, "Oops, Daddy stepped on a frog." Inara says with a puzzled look, "Where's a frog?" Great Shawn. Can't wait til she uses that one in school one day.

Shawn was working from home one day, so I took Inara cruising around town to give him some quiet to work. We went to Ace Hardware, one of Inara's favorite places because they have kid size shopping carts that she loves to push around. I wanted to look at some paint colors. She asked what I was doing, so I explained to her. I then added I sure wish Pop was coming soon so he could help Mommy paint. Inara then starts looking at paint colors and saying, "Oh I like this one, Mommy. Oh no I like this one. I want to paint my room." "What color would you like to paint your room?" "Ummm Red. I want Pop to paint my room red." She's so funny. We then walked around Ace Hardware a bit more as she was carrying her favorite paint sample colors and saying, "Pop needs to paint my room, Mommy." Yes, my dear, I heard you the first 20 times. You've now got to be careful what you say around her because she repeats everything and seriously never forgets a thing.

She's becoming more and more into playing with her baby dolls. One funny thing she does when playing with them is telling me her baby is sick, so we have to take her to see Dr. Katz (her pediatrician). We start this whole dialogue: "Oh no. Baby is sick. What's wrong?" "She has a cough." "Oh no, a cough." "No, she has 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 coughs!" "Oh no, 5 coughs. I'll hold her and make her feel better." "We have to take her to the doctor right now. Let's go see Dr. Katz." "OK. Let's take her to the doctor's office." "I have a cough too. I need to see Dr. Katz too." "Oh my poor Inara Grace." Then I give her a big hug.

Inara's really starting to show her creativity more and more. I absolutely love this age because imaginative playing is so fun. I was in the kitchen yesterday and she was in the family room. She was playing with a calculator, which she calls her cell phone. She tells me, "Mommy, I have to make some phone calls." "OK. Sweetie go right ahead." She proceeds to walk in the playroom talking on her phone. This is what I heard: "Hi. What you doing? My name Inara. What's your name? Oh that's a nice name. What's your mommy's name? Oh wow. We both have mommies name Marisa. OK. Bye." I was cracking up listening to her. Boy does she have a great imagination. I love it!

My girls' weekend

2010-03-19T21:35:00.002-06:00

2 weekends ago I took a trip to CA on my own for a weekend away from mommy and wife duties. It's been the first time in over a year that I've had the chance to do this and thought I was long overdue. I fly in Thursday night and stayed at my parents' house. While the weekend was an excuse to spend time with my best girlfriends, it was also a chance for me to see my parents and brother.

Friday morning I had an appointment at Burke Williams. I'm embarrassed to say Kristi and Thane gave me a BW gift certificate oh about 5 years ago and I never used it. I figured what better way to start my weekend away than with a facial and visit to BW. This was the first time I've ever been to a spa and had a facial and let me tell ya I'm hooked! It was pure bliss! Nothing says time to relax like a few hours at a spa. I loved it!!! After my pampering and relaxing, I drove around Orange County for a bit, got to visit Michael at his Pier One store in HB, did some shopping at Trader Joes, and met up with Sierra at Barnes & Noble for a brief visit. It was so fun walking around Pier One and showing Michael all the things I want to buy once he transfers to a store in CO. That could be dangerous for me. I'd love to decorate my house with stuff from his store. You may be wondering why I shopped at Trader Joes. Well, we don't have a TJ in CO, and they have some of the best snack foods. I actually brought an extra duffle bag to load up on TJ goodies. I especially had to get a few boxes of TJ Fig Bars, which Inara, Avery and Jack LOVE!

For dinner that night, Mom, Michael and I went to one of my favorite restaurants: Lazy Dog Cafe. Boy do I miss that place. It was great to get some alone time with Mom and Michael. After dinner, they dropped me off at Bella Terra shopping center to meet up with my girls: Elizabeth, Sierra and Cami. They were dining at Cheesecake Factory, so we hung out there for awhile and chatted and, of course, indulged in a little cheesecake. Hey, I was on vacation, so I splurged. We then walked around our old stomping grounds, Barnes & Noble. Boy, has the store changed. It was fun looking at books with my best friends I met at the store what seems like a lifetime ago.

The next day the four of us girls met up with our other best friend Chara for lunch at Kabuki. It was great chatting with Chara and hearing all about her experiences student teaching. (She's getting her credential to become a health teacher. Way to go, Cbu.) We then went to a showing of Alice in Wonderland. It was perfect that I came into town the weekend this movie opened because Elizabeth is a huge Alice fan. I'm so happy I got to see it with the girls. It was a fun movie, weird, but fun. I headed home after the movie to rest a bit and have dinner with Michael and my parents. Later that night I headed over to Elizabeth and Cami's place for game night and hanging out. I have to send a big thank you to Mike, Sierra's hubby, for watching their baby girl Layla all weekend so Sierra could hang out with us as much as possible, which I know isn't easy to do with a 5 month old.

I had hoped to get in a trip to California Adventures to do a little Disney shopping, but (my luck) the weekend I was in So Cal was crummy weather. I was bummed to have to cancel my trip to CA Adventures because I was looking forward to getting time to see Diane (Jason's mom). I did get to chat with her on the phone for awhile though at least. Instead of a trip to Dland, Sunday morning I visited Sierra and Mike and got to see baby Layla. She's so adorable!!! I can't believe how big she is already. Sierra and Mike are such amazing parents, and it made my heart sing to see the two of them SO happy with their baby girl. I joined the three of them along with Cami and Sierra at Rockin' Crepes. They had warned me that they come to this place because of the food and the atmosphere, not the service. The restaurant was super cool looking with pictures of metal bands all over the place. The crepes were scrumptious too!

That afternoon we all got together at my parents' house for our Academy Awards celebration! The four of us used to always watch the Oscars together, so this was a big reason why I chose this particular weekend for my trip to OC to spend time with my girls. It was just like old times. We even had our ballots out, gabbed about who was wearing our favorite dresses, and munched on yummies. It was a perfect ending to my trip. I'm so grateful I got to spend time with my best gals. I miss them all so much. I love you girls!!!

Kylie's visit

2010-03-12T20:36:00.005-07:00

Lisa, Kyle and Kylie got to come out here two weekends ago. I was so excited to introduce them to our new "home" and show them around. Inara couldn't wait for Kylie to get here too. We had set up a toddler bed in the guestroom so Kylie could sleep in the room with her parents. Inara even helped put the bedding on for Kylie. Like I said, she couldn't wait for Kylie Bear to get here.

They flew in Thu afternoon. We laid low that night and hung out at the house. I had made dinner for us, and it was fun for all of us to sit down at the dinner table together. Friday, Inara had preschool, so I took Lisa and Kylie driving around and to Park Meadows Mall. Kylie was fighting a cold, so we came back to the house so she could take a nap. When I brought Inara home after school, she ran in looking for Kylie. When we told her she was sleeping, Inara kept asking if she could wake Kylie up. She was so eager to play with her cousin. That night we all went to The Counter (burger joint) for dinner. That night, I introduced Lisa to Glee and she was instantly hooked.

Saturday all 6 of us went to Red Rocks Amphitheater. It was kinda cold, but we all made sure to bundle up good. We then ventured to Golden. We had to take them to Woody's for the all you can eat pizza buffet. Afterwards, we walked around downtown Golden. The guys ended up going into a store when suddenly Lisa pointed out a crowd of people dressed up across the street. We hurried over to the crowd to show the girls the people in cowboy costumes and to find out what was going on. Come to find out it was the weekend of Buffalo Bill's birthday. There were a bunch of men dressed up like Buffalo Bill, women dressed in cowgirl gear, and a man in full Indian gear. Then one man was stopping cars and talking to the crowd gathering on the street. He spotted Lisa and asked her to come over to him. He introduced himself as Doc Holliday. He was super funny and chatted up Lisa and the crowd. He then mentioned that he was looking for a wife since he had to kill his last wife. He put his arm around Lisa and asked if she wanted to be his next wife. We were all cracking up. After the fun encounter with Doc and Bills, we headed over to the bridge and let the girls go down the slide a few dozen times. The 4 girls ended up heading home since it was naptime for the little ones. The guys decided to drive to downtown Denver so Kyle could see Mile High Stadium. On our drive home, I noticed a car in front of us with a license plate that read Abe Lcn. Huh? Wonder if the guy is an Abe Lincoln impersonator? So I pulled along side the truck to see the profile of honest Abe. Lisa and I were cracking up. She grabbed her camera and the driver noticed, so he took off his sunglasses and smiled. Too funny! I love random moments like that. Lisa and I are still laughing about this one.

I made dinner for us that night and began wondering where the guys were, when I finally heard from Shawn that they stopped at Best Buy so Kyle could go chat with General Manager. When they got home, Kyle said we couldn't be mad at him because he was chatting about a transfer. Well, guess Kyle really liked CO after just 2 days. Haha. The guys ended up watching the girls that night and putting them to bed so Lisa, Kristi, my girlfriend Jen, and I went to see the movie Valentine's Day. It was good to get out without the little ones in tow for some sisterly bonding. When we got home, Lisa and I then watched a few more episodes of Glee. We were determined to make it through the DVDs before Lisa left.

Shawn, Thane, and Ed took Kyle snowboarding that Sunday, while us 4 girls met up with Barb, Kristi, Avery and Jack for lunch. Boy was it exhausting trying to enjoy lunch all while managing the 4 kids. Not that they were overly rambunctious. They were just being 4, 2, and 1 year olds. Next, we headed over to Kristi's house so Lisa could see it. It was fun to see all 3 girls playing together again.

Shawn and Kyle were pretty pooped when they got home from snowboarding. Too bad we didn't let them rest because we needed to head out for dinner. Of course, we had to take them to our favorite Mexican restaurant, 3 Margaritas. We walked in and I greeted a few of our favorite employees. Kyle asked how often we go there and if we owned stock in the place. Funny guy. I had told Lisa about the elderly lady who works there that reminds me of Grandma Mary. As soon as she came to the table, Lisa had a big smile. Yep, she's so like Grandma. We had a great dinner and final night with the 3 of them. Lisa and I even got in a few more episodes of Glee, although we didn't make it to the finale. The best part of the night was when Kylie said, "Audie, I never never never want to leave. I love you!" During their visit, Kylie must have told me she loves me at least 10 times a day. She is such a sweet girl and has a heart of gold. She and Inara had a fantastic time playing together and played together very well. Also, it didn't take Inara any time to warm up to both Lisa and Kyle. I bet this is because we've chatted online with Lisa and Kylie a number of times and because I talk about them as often as possible. It was such a great visit with them, but way too short. They all seemed to love it here. I can only hope that someday they will find themselves moving out here too.

At least my daughter has her priorities straight

2010-02-07T21:08:00.003-07:00

I couldn't wait for the monthly update to share this one with everyone. On Wed, Inara and I were heading to My Gym for our weekly class. As we pulled in the parking lot, she said, "Mommy, I go fee mawgawitas for lunch." She LOVES our favorite Mexican restaurant 3 Margaritas and it's in the same strip mall as My Gym. I told her maybe we could go there for lunch since we were already planning on going to lunch with our best friends Jen and Addison. I then told her if she was really good at My Gym and at lunch, then we could go to Target afterwards and get a cookie. She was super excited now. We had a great class at My Gym. After class, she excitedly told Jen "we go fee magawitas." Jen and Addison were more than willing to oblige Inara's need for chips, salsa, and cheese enchiwadas.

The girls wanted to sit in the booth next to each other. Things were nice to start off with. Then Addison started standing on the booth, and before we knew it, she was jumping on the seat. Inara, always the serious child when it comes to food (especially 3 Margaritas), begins telling Addison to stop jumping and sit down. After a series of events, Jen and I split the girls up and sat with our respective daughters. Addison was refusing to eat and acting out, when all of a sudden Inara says, "Addison, be good and we get a cookie at Target." Jen and I couldn't stop laughing. My daughter the disciplinarian. At least she has her priorities right. Ahhh yes, it's always all about the cookies. I was so proud of her for so many reasons. That's my girl!

Inara is getting cooler and cooler by the minute

2010-01-31T15:55:00.005-07:00

I can't believe Inara is now 2 years and 4 months. She's quickly closing in on 2 1/2 already. Yikes that's scary to think about. I don't know her current weight, but she has officially hit the 36 inch mark. Yes, my baby girl is now 3 feet tall! She's growing like a weed lately. Every time I turn around I need to pull clothes out of her closet that she has outgrown. Ditto for shoes too. She's now in a 7 1/2 wide shoe. I think we're going to go broke just getting her new clothes and shoes every couple of months. It's tricky with clothes for her because her legs are average (she's in 2T), but she's got a rather long torso, so she has to wear at least 3T tops if not 4T. Thank goodness we can get so many hand-me-downs from Avery. Plus, consignment sales will start up again next month. Hallelujah because it kills me to have to pay full price on clothes for Inara since some she only wears a few times before they are too small. Boy, nobody every tells you just how expensive kids REALLY are. But they're SOOO worth it!!!

I swear I fall more and more in love with my little sweet pea. She's got the best demeanor and personality. You always hear about the terrible 2s, but honestly, I can't say we've hit that stage with Inara. I think she's pretty even tempered. Every kid has his/her moments, but for the most part, Inara is super easy to handle. I think part of it is that I just make a lot of time for her, I give her lots of attention, and yet, I'm getting better about setting boundaries with her and she knows what she should and shouldn't do. Watch...now that's I've said this all out loud she's going to take a turn for the worse. Haha. I find that hard to imagine though because she's such a great daughter in every way imaginable.

Every day I swear she learns something new. She can now take her own shoes off and puts them on the bench by the front door like I taught her. Most of the time she can take her own coat off. She loves to pick out her plate and cup at meal time. Shawn is teaching her how to set the table for dinner. She's getting to be a bigger and bigger helper all the time. She loves helping me dust, vacuum, do laundry, empty the dishwasher, and is getting better and better at these tasks. As I write this, she is helping Shawn make banana bread. She loves to be involved in whatever we are doing. And she always impresses me with what a great job she does.

We enrolled Inara in swim classes every Saturday morning at 8:30 the months of January and February. She's been loving it! Shawn gets in the pool with her, so it's a fun thing daddy gets to do with her. They've started teaching the kids how to blow bubbles under the water, back float, kicking their legs, how to use their arms to get out of the pool, and other basic skills. No surprise, most of the time, all Inara wants to do is jump in the pool like she does at Pop's pool. I've been very impressed with her fearlessness thus far in class. Now in the bathtub every night she loves to practice back float and laying on her tummy while kicking her legs. Let's just say after she's done, half the water is on the bathroom floor. It's so worth it though to watch her swim her little heart out.

Some of her favorite toys right now are puzzles. The kid rocks at putting puzzles together. We have about 7 now, and I think she's memorizing how they go together because she can do them so quickly. For Christmas, she got Candyland and loves to play it with Shawn. She even tells him what the picture on the card is: double yellow, one blue, Gingerbread man, etc. I love listening to Shawn and Inara play Candyland. It's the cutest!

Another of her favorite toys to play with are her baby dolls. She's becoming quite the little mommy. She will rock her babies when they are crying. Sometimes she will tell me her baby is sick, so we have to take her to see Dr. Katz (Inara's pediatrician). Along with this is her incredible imaginary play. For Christmas she got a couple Potato Heads, a mommy and a daddy. I found two little boy Potato Heads in the stuff my parents brought me that used to be mine and Michael's from when we were kids. She loves playing with all four of these, and it's a riot to watch and listen too. The brothers, as she calls the boys, love to play hide and seek, and the mommy and daddy Potato Heads go looking for them. I will hear her saying, "Mommy, watch me" from the playroom and I'll come in to see what's going on. She'll then tell me, "No mommy, brothers talking to mommy potato head." And I will see the brothers getting ready to go down the slide while mommy and daddy watch. It's so funny. She's also doing this with toy cars. She will say one is the mommy and one is the baby, and the mommy car will follow the baby and even hug the baby. I love watching her play like this, because it makes me think she's going to be a perfect big sister (someday hopefully).

I'm constantly getting compliments on how well spoken she is for only being 2. Her vocabulary is unbelieveable, and our conversations are very lengthy now. When people ask how old she is, they are always surprised because she and I can have quite mature conversations for her age. I promise I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary or even crazy. I just talk to her ALL the time, take the time to explain things to her, and we read non-stop. We read so much that Inara has begun memorizing books to an even greater extend. Just the other day I was folding laundry in my bedroom while she was reading in her room. I stood in the hallway and listened to her. The girl was able to tell the whole story from the book Pinkalicious because she remembers what happens on every page. I was in such shock. In the past, she has been able to tell us random sentences from books, but this time she was able to tell the whole story on her own. When I came into her room, I sat down and told her how proud I was of her reading her book. She then said so proudly, "Mommy, I read all by myself." She's starting to remind me of myself with her love of books and reading and takes such pride in reading all by herself. That's my girl.

Along with her love of reading is her love of ABCs. She sings the ABC song perfectly and loves to do so. She's also starting to learn her letters. We will be out and about, and she'll see a sign or billboard and say, "Mommy, there's D for Daddy." Or "There's an I for Inara." No matter how many times she says it, it still amazes me. I can't get over how smart she's getting. To practice her letters, she loves to "do letters" on the computer. This was something Shawn started with her. She will sit on his lap, and they practice letters on the keyboard. It cracks me up when she does this. She even loves to make happy faces and sad faces with the punctuation marks. The best part of her love for letters is that she can now spell her name! Yes, my 2 year old spells I N A R A. Again, to explain how this all came about it was just me taking the time with her to explain things. She made a handprint Christmas tree for us at school and on the bottom of it is her name. She knew it was her name, so when she would go up to it, she would point to the letters and I would tell her what they were. Before I knew it, she was starting to say the letters of her name on her own.

Along with singing ABCs, Inara is becoming quite the music aficionado. She LOVES to sing! No car ride is complete without my sweet pea singing me songs. Her favorites right now are from a Winnie the Pooh CD I believe I bought at a garage sale. She will even request certain tracks. "Mommy, I hear Rain Rain Rain." Or "I hear Tigger song now, peas." Yes, she has her own opinion and a strong one to boot. She also loves singing along with the Curious George soundtrack by Jack Johnson. She's always loved this CD, but now she sings the songs on her own. It's great to see how she has grown with this CD. First, it was just listening to it. Then it was recognizing the songs in the movie. Now it's singing the actual songs herself. I'll hear her sing "Reduce, reuse, recycle" from the back seat and totally crack up. So crazy how much she has grown in just the past 6 months. Of course, we also sing the Imagination Movers songs, some of mommy's favorites. What really cracks me up though is when my favorite song right now "Sometime Around Midnight" by Airborne Toxic Event comes on, and she says, "Mommy's favorite song." Guess this means she's heard this song a few times and knows that I love it. Her memory is incredible!

One characteristic of the 2s that we have seen is the ME/MINE phase. This is very typical of two year olds, and it's very true for Inara. The world revolves all around her. When playing with me or Shawn, she will randomly hold a toy and say "my toy" or "mine." This is true with people as well. We went shopping the other day for a birthday present for our friend Max. I asked Inara to help us find a gift for Max. Her response: "My Max?" Yes, sweetie, your Max. She says this for all of our family: my Avery, my daddy, my Pop. The Mine stage really showed it's head when Inara and I worked at the MOPS nursery. A little girl really took to me and wanted me to play with her the whole time. We sat down to read books and the little girl came to sit on my lap. Inara wasn't having any of that. She pushed her way onto my lap as well and was sure to let the little girl know "my mommy!" I then had to explain to Inara that while I was of course her mommy, I was playing with this little girl too because she was sad and missed her mommy. Inara finally eased down and the 3 of us had a fun time playing.

Given her extensive vocabulary and wonderful conversation skills, sometimes I can't help but crack up at the hilarious things she says. Whenever she drops a piece of food, regardless of whether we are indoors or out, she always says, "Uh oh mommy. I just leave it for the birds." I said this to her in the past when she dropped food while we were outside. Now this is the answer for EVERY time she drops food. Another funny thing she says is when she is trying to convince me to give her a certain snack, and usually after I've told her she doesn't need a snack. She will follow with "but mommy, it make my cough better." Ah yes, you must eat some Goldfish right now because it will help your "imaginary" cough. So smart she is. She's continuously asking to go to people's houses. More often than not, she's asking to go to Nee Nee and Pop's house or Mickey's house (aka Disneyland). Impressive how much the girl remembers Disneyland after only going two times thus far. The other day she asked if we could go to Grandma Di's house to play with Parker (the dog). At least once a day, she asks to go to Avery's house to play with Isti, Jack, Avery and Abby. Another funny thing she said was this past Sunday when she woke up in a fantastic mood. Shawn went in to get her as usual, and I heard them laughing up a storm. She came downstairs, ran to me, and said, "Mommy, I go get DONUTS!" Her favorite Curious George episode is about Man in the Yellow Hat going to get donuts with George. She's now got her daddy wrapped around her finger when it comes to donuts. It's a ritual when the two of them go get donuts early one weekend morning, with Inara still in her jammies even. One of our favorite things she said recently was when Shawn was getting her ready for bed and asked her what she wanted to do tomorrow. She thought for a second and then replied, "Eat pancakes and play toys." Hilarious!I love it when she says such adorable things. I mean seriously how can you not think she's the coolest kid in the world when she says things like this?

A frequent conversation we've been having is about birthdays. I taught her when her birthday is and it's so cute when you ask her when her birthday is and she says, "September fifteen." So one day she and I were driving in the car, and she randomly started asking about family member's birthdays. It's so funny how she kept asking: "Mommy, what's daddy's birthday called? What's Avery's birthday called?" And so on. Suddenly, she asked, "Mommy, what's Abby's birthday called?" Yes, she asked when Thane's dog's birthday is. I thought that was so smart of her to ask. Abby is part of the family too, so why not ask when the dog's birthday is? Another cute story about family pets. One day she was talking about going to Avery's house to play and talked about Abby and then asked what's the cat called. I told her Baylee. "No mommy, the udder cat." "What cat?" "The udder one." "Do you mean Keeta?" "Yeah mommy, Keeta." I felt so sad because Keeta passed away early in 2009, yet my daughter remembered her. She used to love watching Keeta when we all lived together, but I was so impressed that she actually remembered this cat given she was only 18 months old when Keeta died. Like I said, her memory always impresses me.

Along with her great vocabulary and conversation skills, I have to share two embarrassing moments. Shawn, Inara and I were shopping at Eddie Bauer one day. I was looking at some clothes while she was peeking inside the rack. Suddenly, she disappeared inside the hanging jeans. I asked her to come out. She peeked her head out and yelled, "Mommy, I go poopy!!!" Oh my gosh, was I ever embarrassed. I leaned down and told her not to yell so loud. Next thing I smell is this god-awful stench emanating from the jean rack. I look up at this woman shopping in the same area. She clenches her nose, holds her breath, and walks away. I was so mortified. I took Inara by the hand, found Shawn, and headed to the restroom. Too bad it was a mile away in the food court. As we were riding the escalator upstairs, Inara yells again, "Mommy, I go poopy." Thank you, sweet pea, I heard you the first time.

The other funny story took place in the restroom at the bookstore. She had a pee diaper, so I took her inside the restroom to change her before we left the store. For some reason, Inara loves to find the changing tables in public bathrooms. So we entered and she was yelling and so excited to see a changing table. I get her all situated and started changing her when a lady enters the restroom. Inara asks, "What that lady called, mommy?" "I don't know sweetie. I don't know that lady." "Oh I know her, mommy." I started laughing but tried to just keep my cool and change her as quickly as possible. Then Inara's eyes got huge, and she asked, "Mommy, what that noise?" I'm dying laughing now and answer, "It's just bathroom noises." "No mommy, someone going pee." Yes, my dear, someone is peeing. I'm crying now I'm laughing so much. She then asks, "Mommy, who peeing?" I couldn't answer because I was laughing. We suddenly hear from the bathroom stall "It's the lady you said you knew." I was officially laughing my ass off. I was a bit embarrassed but more so thought that was one of those moments that I was impressed by how smart my baby girl is. She rules!!!

Fun-filled Mommy and Daughter Day

2010-01-07T22:21:00.004-07:00

The last couple of days have been crazy fun that I must write about them to share with my readers and save for Inara to read about when she's older.

Inara was starting back at preschool on Friday, so I thought it would be good if we have a mommy and daughter day on Thu. Before I continue, I have to make a side note that this past week I thought we were starting the "all about daddy" phase because she's been wanting mroe and more of daddy and less of mommy. (Finally!) That all changed after she and I had a non-stop fun-filled day. I started it off with lots of art time. We did paint with water, watercolors, dot art (super fun...thank you Auntie Kristi for introducing this), and playdoh. She loves to sit in her high chair during art time even though she got a new art desk from Grammy for Christmas. So needless to say, my kitchen was full of art supplies and projects. We then had lunch and afterwards, continued playtime with puzzles, singing songs, and she pulled her Little People Christmas train while singing jingle bells. We then transitioned into her new favorite pasttime: playing Potato Head Family. We now have a Mr and Mrs Potato Head as well as two little boys. We had a blast playing with these for at least an hour. It was hilarious to me that these toys could be so entertaining to her. Of course, she found them entertaining because I created new games for them. The little boys played hide 'n seek while the mommy and daddy came to find them. As we started playing with these toys, she even acted like they were talking. One brother would say to the other: "Little broder, what are you doing?" As mommy and daddy found the boys' hiding place, the boys would yell, "Ahhhh they found us! Good job Mommy and Daddy." Then Inara decided the potato head family wanted to go swimming, so she had them jump in a bucket and pretend they were splashing about. Next the little boys rode on top of Hot Wheels like they were riding scooters. Of course, all this imaginary play produced endless laughs from Inara. After nap, she wanted to sit and watch a movie, so I turned on Toy Story and told her Mr. Potato Head was in the movie. She got so excited and grabbed the potato head boys to come watch the movie with her. She even held up one boy and said, "Look broder, Daddy is on tv." I can't believe she's old enough to start imaginary play already. It's mesmerizing to watch I must say.

After our funtastic mommy and daughter day, when Shawn got home last night, Inara made it very clear that she only wanted mommy. I felt really bad because Shawn's been hoping the daddy phase was beginning only to be relegated back to the number 2 position. Friday was the same thing. More on that in a minute.

Today was Inara's first day back at preschool after our 3 week break. Drop-off was no walk in the park. This morning as we were getting ready for school and I started talking about her teachers, Inara began crying and saying, "Mommy go too!!! Mommy no run errands." The car ride to school was filled with similar loud cries. She even began calling for daddy and Nee Nee to come get her. As we were walking into her classroom, Inara started crying even louder. Her teacher Ms. Kristina opened to door to greet her to which Inara turned around and started running out of the room. I ended up picking her up and consoling her in the hallway trying to calm her down. I noticed there were no other kids crying in the hallway besides mine. Just then our best buddy Addison came up to us with her daddy Andrew. Guess what? Addison was crying too! They seriously are 2 peas in a pod.

I never got called to come pick her up, so I figured she survived her first day back at school. When I arrived to pick her up, she was playing with her classmates and teachers having a great time. All that fuss for nothing. From the second I picked her up, she talked and talked and talked. On our way home, we stopped at the grocery store for a few items. As expected, she asked if she could get a cookie, if she could ride on the horsey, and on and on. I found us the obnoxiously monster sized car shopping cart that she loves. She incessantly asked to get a cookie. I quickly made our way to the produce department grabbing things I needed and headed back to the bakery to get her a cookie. Within seconds, she gobbled the thing up. Suddenly, I'm about knocked out by a horrific stench. I look down to see Inara leaning over in the car. This could only mean one thing...a poopy diaper. Seriously right now kid? Come on! She asked to get out of the car and I could see the turd protruding from her diaper. I asked an employee where the bathroom was and started heading to the back of the store when I realized I didn't have a diaper or wipes in my purse. (I took them out when I went to the gym. GREAT!!!) She wanted to get back into her car, but I told her she could walk like a big girl. I so didn't want her to squish the poo. I hurried and grabbed the last of the items I needed while she kept asking me to change her diaper. We headed to the checkout counter. Of course, she instantly spotted the horse ride. I tried to explain that the horsey was "broken" so she couldn't ride it. She began crying and asking for horsey. How do you explain to a 2 year old that she can't go on the ride because mommy doesn't want a smashed poo in her diaper? Ugh. The cashier was very friendly and tried to distract Inara's attention. Then Inara asked, "Mommy what's this shopping cart?" "Honey, the man took our other shopping cart so other kids can ride in it. We'll just use this regular one." Dum dum dum. Suddenly I remembered her adored brown monkey doll was sitting in the car with her. JACKED!!! I told her to hurry so we could go get brown monkey from the other shopping cart. "OH NO MOMMY. Where brown monkey? I go find him!!!" I worried this would produce another meltdown, but alas, it didn't. We hurried to the shopping cart area in hopes that nobody had taken the car cart yet. Phew! We found brown monkey! Inara grabbed him out of my hand and hugged him so tight. She then said the cutest thing: "Brown monkey was lost. I miss you." As we walked to the parking lot, Inara said, "Mommy, brown monkey waited for me in the car." "Yes, he did sweet pea. Yes, he did."

We still had the poopy diaper to take care of, so I unloaded the groceries in the back of the car, grabbed a diaper and wipe pack, and headed back to the store. We headed back to the restroom only to find there's no changing table. I had to change her stinky diaper with her standing up and, of course, pointing and trying to touch everything in sight. I did the best clean up job I could and we started heading back to the car. Inara then made me die laughing when she asked, "Mommy, horsey fixed now. I go ride it!" I threw the towel in and let her ride the horse after the craziness that we'd just survived. Yes, I spoil my daughter. Sometimes you just gotta let her have her way to avoid any more tears. On the ride home, I couldn't help but laugh at the chaos I had just gone through. Boy, how my life changes every day as my baby girl just keeps getting older and wiser.

Every day brings new adventures and fun new sayings. Here are some of my favorite new things Inara is saying and doing.

She loves to tell Shawn and I that we are doing a good job. The other night she even said, "Good job, Daddy. I so proud of you." I must say there is nothing like being congratulated by your 2 year old for doing a job well done.

The whole time we've lived here Inara has been so careful going up and down the stairs. Now that she's two though, she's trying to test her limits and has now fallen on the stairs three times. Nothing super major but still she's fallen. Yesterday, as we were heading downstairs, she asked me to carry her because she fall. Alright I'll carry you. As I picked her up, she grabbed my cheeks and in a super serious voice said, "Mommy be very careful." Yes, ma'am. She's becoming quite the bossy little thing I've gotta say.

Inara loves singing! For awhile now she's been singing Itsy Bitsy Spider, Ring around the Rosies, Twinkle Twinkle. Now she also sings songs from the Curious George soundtrack, the CD she listens to when she goes to sleep. She even asks for her favorite songs by title: "Mommy, I hear People Watching." "I wanna hear Talk of the Town." She also loves this Winnie the Pooh CD we have. Her favorite songs are the Tigger song and Rain, Rain, Rain. Today, I heard her sing Old McDonald on her own for the first time. Then tonight she started singing it but changed the lyrics a bit: "Old McDonald had a farm and bingo was his name oh. B. I. N. G. O. And bingo was his name oh." She really is starting to love all kinds of music. When I'm playing some of my music, she will ask me "What's this song called, mommy?" My favorite thing though is when the song "Sometime After Midnight" by Airborne Toxic Event comes on, Inara instantly says, "That's mommy's favorite song." Yep, I have been playing this song a lot lately, and she knows it the instant it comes on.

The next part my mom may want to skip since I know she's been crying when I write stories that relate back to her since she misses Inara so much. Consider yourself forewarned mom.

Inara's been asking for Nee Nee and Pop every day since they left. I've been talking to her about starting swim lessons on Saturday to which she replies, "I go swimming at Pop's pool." She sure does love her Pop. This is evident because this week on several occasions she's asked me when Pop coming home. It's hard trying to explain to her that Pop lives in CA. She will just keep asking when Pop coming home. Of course, this only makes me sad and I quickly try to change the subject to avoid me getting sad. When we go upstairs, she often likes to go into the spare room oh I mean Nee Nee's bedroom as she has named it and play. I love that she calls the room Nee Nee's room. Several times now I've started singing "Here we go loop de loop" but she scolds me and tells me "No sing that song Mommy. Only Nee Nee sing that." Not a day goes by that she doesn't talk about Nee Nee and Pop and her favorite things to do with them.

Hope these stories have entertained you all. Mom and Pop, hope the last part didn't make you too sad. Love to you all!!!

Christmas Joy Part 2

2009-12-31T13:55:00.005-07:00

This year Inara was much more aware of what Christmas is. She's been talking about Ho Ho (aka Santa) for quite a few weeks. When you ask her what Santa brings, she says "presents" followed by "I be good girl mommy." I was so excited for Inara to have her first real Christmas and even better that my parents would be here to share it with us.

Nee Nee and Pop arrived Friday and Inara took no time to start demanding their attention. Being the great grandparents they are, Nee Nee and Pop had no problem obliging her every demand. I can't say it enough: I just love watching my parents playing with my baby girl. Pop gets on the floor and lets her jump all over him, plays puzzles, and even let her race Hot Wheels down the track right into his noggin. She even started a new game of rolling Pop around by pushing him with her head. Yeah, I know. Sounds crazy but the girl loved it. Mom does coloring, reads books, plays marketplace, etc all day long too. The whole time they were here, all day long, I heard "Come on Nee Nee. Come on Pop. Come play." The second she got up in the morning it was "Where Nee Nee go? Where Pop go? Go downstairs and play." Before bedtime, she had to give Pop a hug and kiss, and Nee Nee had to come upstairs to read books, rock in the chair, and put Inara to bed. I always knew my parents were good with kids, but seriously, they are the best grandparents a girl could ask for. Inara's got it made. Partially because they love getting down on her level, rolling around on the floor, being big "silly butts" while unleashing their inner kids. Also, because they will do anything she wants. Mommy and Daddy don't do that. But Nee Nee and Pop sure will. It's a hoot to watch!

I made a big deal about Christmas traditions that I wanted to start with Inara this year. I had heard from another mom a tradition they started is every night after putting up the Christmas tree, the kids all lay down in front of the tree for bedtime stories. I decided to start this tradition too. Inara loved getting our pillows and laying them in front of the tree. I've only got a few Christmas books, but thankfully my mom got her Fancy Nancy's Splendiferous Christmas and I found Curious George Christmas Countdown to add to our holiday library. These were her two favorites to read at bedtime this holiday. It made me feel so good to lay in front of the Christmas tree and read my baby girl stories. She's also been asking about baby Jesus since she's learned about him in preschool. I bought her a board book about the birth of Jesus, and this was the other book she loved reading every night. I am so impressed to share that the girl has memorized the book! She knows every line of it and can tell me the story now. She can even say Bethlehem very well. I'm in such awe of how smart she is and am blown away by such skills she has. It's truly amazing to think she's now 2 years old and growing up so fast.

The other big traditions I introduced are those on Christmas Eve. I bought us a special plate for Santa's cookies. I've also talked to her about leaving reindeer food on the front lawn. After she was all dressed for bed on Christmas Eve, mom, pop, Inara and I got all bundled up to go outside. We had to because it was freezing cold that night and there was still tons of snow out. Yes, my first white Christmas. The four of us stood outside and left special reindeer food on the snow-covered lawn for Santa's reindeer to eat. This was one of the most special moments this year. My baby girl, dressed in her Christmas jammies, snowcap on, holding onto her Minnie Mouse doll in one arm, sprinkling reindeer food on the lawn as mom helped her and pop took pictures. It was such an awesome experience, one that made me realize my baby girl ain't a baby any more. Once we finished leaving the reindeer food, we all came inside and chose cookies to put on the plate for Santa with his glass of milk. Needless to say, rocking her before bedtime that night was extra special. She and I talked a lot about Santa coming and opening presents in the morning. I was highly anticipating the excitement of the next morning.

When we started hearing Inara making noise on the monitor, I was so pumped for the day's festivities to begin. Shawn, Inara and I made our way downstairs to be greeted by Nee Nee and Pop and lots of presents under the Christmas tree. I had a feeling we'd have to open gifts in shifts, because what 2 year old has that long of an attention span? She was super excited to see the big wheel from Santa. She's still a bit too small to reach the pedals, but she figured out how to scoot herself around. Santa also brought her an inflatable climber & tunnel (which takes up half of the playroom) and a Leap Frog Tag Junior set. (Throughout their visit, Pop kept showing Inara new things to do with the climber, like lining her slide up and rolling balls down the slide into the foot holes on the climber. See, Pop unleashing the kid in him all the time.) After opening a few presents, it was breakfast time, so we took a break. Inara was kinda acting out of sorts that morning, which continued on for a few hours. She ended up having some tummy issues, but she bucked up and would open presents a few at a time throughout the morning and afternoon. Yes, I need to do some major toy shifting and put away some that she's outgrown, but I've gotta tell you from the look of my house right now, she is LOVING every gift she got. There are books, dolls, puzzles spread throughout the house. Heck, I figure let the girl have fun for awhile. I can clean up the house later.

As for family celebrations, the Sunday before Christmas we had our gift exchange with Kristi's gang since they were heading to Oklahoma to spend Christmas with her parents. The best part of the whole night was listening to Inara and Avery singing on the microphone Avery has. I love watching the girls playing together. It totally takes me back to my childhood and playing with April, Michael, and Lisa. Such good memories. I did get some great videos of the three kids that night and will have them posted soon. Unfortunately, with the snowstorm that came in, Kristi and the gang ended up not leaving until Christmas day, but they at least got to come over here for Barb's Christmas Eve get together. Since they're still in an apartment, Barb asked if she could host a dinner at our house. Then I did Christmas dinner here for us, Barb & Ed, and Erin & Lou, her new boyfriend. Pop cooked a fantastic prime rib and turkey while I did all the side dishes. Such a scrumptious dinner I must say. (Kristi, I did miss you and your family though. Mikey, next year I promise I'll celebrate Christmas with you, little brother!!!)

I have to tell a sad story now. My parents packed up to head home on Monday. I already knew it was going to be a tough good-bye because I loved having them both here to celebrate Christmas with us and because I know how much Inara loves having them here. As Pop was putting the last of their stuff in the car, Inara wanted to sit in Pop's car, so I let her sit in the driver's seat for a bit. I then told her it was time to get out and she asked, "Where I sit? I go Nee Nee and Pop's house." Let the tears begin. Mom started crying. I started crying. Inara started crying and kept saying, "I go Nee Nee and Pop's house." Yes, it's official. Inara is of age to be sad when my parents leave. Ugh. I wasn't looking forward to this at all. It was a tough good-bye because more than anything, I wish I could have my parents living here with us. I just absolutely love watching them playing with Inara. And they seriously are the best parents/grandparents!!! When Inara and I went back into the house, I tried to get her busy playing, but I sat there still sobbing. She then came up and asked, "Mommy, what happened?" "I'm just sad baby girl because Nee Nee and Pop had to go home." "Mommy, I sad too." Neither one of us had much energy to do anything that day, so we watched a couple movies and lounged around the rest of the day. Sometimes holidays are the best, but then they have to come to an end and that's just not fun at all, especially the good-bye part. (Sorry Mom and Pop. I'm not trying to give you a guilt trip. I know I was the one who moved, but seriously when are you moving out here? Haha.)

In response to my question to my parents, I must end on a funny part to their trip: the weather. It was so cold the week my parents were here. We got some good snow even. I loved that my dad went out and shoveled the driveway twice without me even asking. See what a great Pop he is. I got some great pictures of Pop and Inara shoveling the snow. She's definitely getting better about going outside in the snow and even says, "Mommy, I no crying." Also, I loved watching my dad get all his gear on to go outside and smoke. I noticed his cigarette breaks were getting shorter and shorter as it got colder and colder outside. What's your saying Pop, "It ain't fit for man nor beast out there." Mom didn't fair so well out in the cold either, or should I say in the chilly house. She even offered to give Shawn money so that we could turn the heater up. I swear Shawn is hot blooded because he never thinks it's cold in the house when everyone else is freezing their tooshes off. Pop and Shawn worked on organizing the garage a couple days, and Pop kept saying it was too damn cold out there. Guess we need to get him a floor heater for when he's doing projects in the garage next winter or only plan indoor projects during this time of year. And we need several electric blankets for the guest rooms before Mom & Pop will come out again in the winter. I'll be more prepared next time I promise. I love you guys and am so very grateful that you endured freezing temps to come celebrate Christmas with us. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for everything! You guys rock!!!

Christmas joy

2009-12-28T10:00:00.005-07:00

I can't believe how long it's been since I've written a blog. I've been slacking big time. Figure since I'm sitting here sulking because my parents left, I could cheer myself up by writing a blog. So much has gone on lately, so I'll do my best to write about all of it and not write a 500 page novel.

The day after Thanksgiving Inara and I flew to CA to surprise my mom for her 65th birthday. Inara did rather well on the flight, but it's still pretty stressful flying just me and her. However, I did get a very nice compliment from a lady in the terminal. She said I was a great mom, and she loved listening to me talk to my daughter. Boy, did I need that compliment as I was stressed out flying solo with a 2 year old. Michael and Pop were in on the surprise all along, but when mom got home from running errands with Lisa that afternoon, she was totally SHOCKED. We got a super funny video of her reaction. We flew in on Fri and left the following Wed. It was a short trip packed with lots of visits and fun times (and of course a few trips to Yogurtland and Golden Spoon too). We went to see Grandma Mary at the home and ended up running into my Uncle Danny too. Jason & Lilli came by to see Inara, and I went to dinner with them. I gave them their Christmas gifts early and Jason finally got me the new pictures of Inara he made me for my birthday. He was even so kind to make a copy for my mom's birthday too. That night I got to hear stories about their trip to Japan. They are such a cute couple. I'm so happy Jason is happy and in love. Inara and I got to visit Grandma Di one day too and deliver her Christmas present. I also got to spend time with my best girlfriends and finally meet Sierra's baby girl Layla. We got some adorable pictures of Inara holding Layla too. She really is great with babies. Yeah, maybe someday she'll be a big sis, but we'll just have to wait and see on that one. Somedays a 2 year old is all I think I can handle. Kylie and Lisa came over a few times. It was a blast watching Inara and Kylie playing. They had the most fun playing "airport" with Pop. It's crazy what things kids will do to entertain themselves. We even squeezed in a trip to Disneyland on Tue for Mom's birthday. Inara LOVED Small World. It was all decorated for Christmas and so pretty. I loved watching Inara's expressions, and she was clapping along with the music the whole time. So darn cute! Inara had a good time playing with Toby too. She even got comfortable enough to pet him. Shawn take note: we just might need to get Inara a puppy when she's old enough to take care of it. Mikey and I got to spend some time together just the two of us. It meant a lot to me to spend time with him, my best friend. I miss my lil brother so much, and it was great to meet the new person in his life. The best part of the trip though was just getting to spend time watching Inara play with Nee Nee and Pop as usual. Boy, does she love her grandparents!

Unfortunately, I started getting sick the last couple days we were in CA, but I had to suck it up because the week we got back was packed. I worked a MOPS fundraising event I helped organize. We offered a special Santa photo opportunity for moms in our group and their friends. We only charged $15 for kids to take photos with Santa. The kids got to spend some time chatting with Santa, take pictures, and make a craft. We burned the pictures to disc rather than print out a few copies. This way the parents can print their own pics and as many as they needed. Most families got at least 10 shots. One family got something like 30 shots of the 2 kids with Santa, then each kid alone, and the mom got in a few too. What a deal for $15. I didn't end up taking Inara because she really hasn't had interested in taking pics with Santa and has cried when I've tried getting her to take a pic with him. Figured why spend money on a pic of her crying. I can take those pics for free myself. Plus, I would have had to take her at 8:30am, made her cry, then drop her off at preschool. Not a good way to start off the day. I figure maybe next year she'll be more open to taking pics with Santa.

That night was our Hometown Holiday Celebration at Town Center. Inara and I braved the cold and enjoyed the festivities. We got to see Santa come in on the horsedrawn carriage, and Inara got to ride her favorite train they have at every town event. It was super cold that night, so we didn't stay too long. Shawn met us there and we headed to 3 Margaritas for dinner. Inara was acting out of sorts and rightly so, the next day she ended up getting sick. She was down and out for a week with croup. She never ran a fever but and never had restless nights, which is unusual for croup, but she had a runny nose, loss of appetite, and a cough for over a week.

This worried me because Friday, Dec. 11 was Inara's first Christmas program at preschool. She had be learning 2 songs and I didn't want her to miss the program. After what ended up as one of those "I feel like a bad mommy" mornings, Inara made it to school and was in her Christmas program. I had some issues with my camera working, so I didn't get a video of the first song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She, however, pretty much just stood up there on stage like a deer in headlights not quite know what all was going on. But it was still dang adorable watching her up there. She did great shaking the bells for the second song though. I got a video of that at least. I'm still kicking myself in the butt for what was a rather disappointing mommy experience that day due to various factors. Yes, I know I'm too hard on myself and need to learn to let things go. But I just want to be the best mom to Inara every day and I let myself down that morning. I won't let something like that happen again that's for sure.

The next week was also packed with playdates and Christmas parties. Inara and I went to 2 playdates on Mon, which was a good distraction from my bad weekend. Tuesday we went to My Gym and saw our great friends Jen and Addison. We ended up going to Target and hanging out with the girls for awhile. I just absolutely LOVE watching Inara and Addison together. I so hope they will be best friends forever. Inara just adores Jen too. I had another bad mommy moment that day though when I realized I left my wallet on the checkout counter at Target. We were almost home and Inara was so exhausted but I had to keep her awake so I could go get my wallet. Instead of crying about it all though, Inara made me laugh at the whole situation by saying "Mommy, so silly. She left wallet at Target." Thanks baby girl, for putting mommy's boneheaded moment in perspective and making me laugh about it.

Wed was the best day I could have asked for. That morning Michael Skyped me early in the morning to break the good news: Mom and Pop were coming to CO for Christmas!!! After the hectic and week and a half I had and how depressed I was that my family wasn't going to be here with me, this was all I could have ever asked for for Christmas. Then that afternoon I had our closest friends over for a Christmas potluck lunch. We finally got to see Owen and his new baby sister. The other kids all had fun playing with Inara's toys, while Inara, as usual, mainly wanted to sit on my lap. She's still so clingy and doesn't like playing with the other kids most of the time. Just don't know when she'll out grow this stage. Oh well. When it was just Whitney and Tatum left though, she seemed to come out of her shell and ran around playing with the girls. I'm thinking maybe it's the big groups of kids that scare her. Guess I'll just have to do smaller group playdates in the future. All-in-all, we had a great time celebrating Christmas with our friends and I was SOOO excited to share with all of them the great news about my parents coming out here.

A group of us took a trip to Hammond's Candy Factory on Thu. I was thrilled it was the 3rd day in a row we got to spend time with Jen and Addison. I sure do love hanging out with those girls. Kristi and her gang along with Eetung and William joined us as well. I thought the candy factory was a lot of fun. I got to entertain the kids being my silly, goofy self. All the kids did so well that day too. I ended up getting a big box of candies for when my parents were here too. Afterwards, we all went to a mall close by to grab some lunch and let the kids run around in the play area. Needless to say, Inara crashed on the car ride home that day. Again, it was another great way to celebrate Christmas with friends and get me in the holiday spirit.

Friday my parents arrived and I couldn't have been happier. I'll write another blog about their visit when Inara naps today. Her movie is over and wants me to come play, so I better wrap this blog up for now.

Consider yourself warned

2009-11-15T15:58:00.001-07:00

For those readers that don't like to read my novel-like blogs, I am warning you that the next blog is rather long. If you want the condensed version, Inara is getting so grown up. The end.

What a big girl we have on our hands

2009-11-14T20:56:00.010-07:00

It's the 15th of the month, so it's time for Inara's birthday blog. So much fun stuff to write about. The most important came yesterday when Inara went potty on the toilet for the first time. She's been so interested in the potty the past few weeks, so I decided to bite the bullet and start the training process. To prepare her, we've been reading lots of books about using the potty for about a month now. I had bought a pack of pull-ups a few weeks ago, and got a padded seat for the toilet. Supplies in hand, we took the big leap. I took some suggestions I got from other moms and set out to get this gig started. She and I ran an errand in the morning, so I told her if she was good, we would get a hot cocoa on the way home. I was told to encourage a child to drink a lot to help them go potty more. As we were getting back in the car, she yelled out, "No go home. Get hot cocoa." I explained that we were going to get some on the way home. We drove through Starbucks and luckily because we had waited so long, we got our hot cocoa for free. Sweet deal. When we got home, she was thrilled to get hot cocoa in her special cup. I then set the timer for 20 min and took Inara to the bathroom all morning from that moment on. We implemented the reward system with stickers rather than candy. Figure she already loves candy enough, so we should do something else besides sugar. It was a fun day all-in-all, but Shawn and I know we are in for a rough few weeks while we get Inara used to using the big girl potty. We were very proud of her when she went pee and poop and didn't seem uncomfortable using the toilet at all. She loves wiping herself and flushing the toilet. Makes her feel like a big girl I'm sure. She even said, "Mommy, I do it like Avery and Whitney." Boy, does she want to be like the older girls she knows.

The other big landmark came today: Inara played in the snow. Shawn bought her a small shovel so she could come outside with us when we snow and, hopefully, overcome her dislike of the snow. So we tested things out this morning. At first, she didn't seem interested at all and just stood there. Then after a little prompting from daddy, Inara walked out into the snow and started shoveling. So cute to watch. Then Shawn encouraged her to put her foot in the snow. Before we knew it, Inara kept putting her foot in the snow, walked down the driveway and even headed down the sidewalk toward the mailboxes. We were so shocked to see her playing in the snow and excited too! She's officially getting to be a big girl now.

She has begun the independent stage in full force. All day long I hear "I do mommy" from her. She wants to do everything herself from putting her shoes on, to turning the bedroom light on, to pouring milk in her cup. I think it's important to let her learn how to do things, so I encourage her independence all day long. Yes, this can be challenging, but I just have to make time for it so she can learn. It's so cute to watch her try to do things on her own, like taking her jacket off. She will struggle with it for a few minutes, when she will finally give in and say "Mommy I need help." I always congratulate her for trying and then thank her for asking for my help because I like to help my little girl. I don't want her to feel like she's failing but just not quite ready to go at everything on her own.

Inara is really becoming more and more aware of who she is. At My Gym, they always go around the circle and ask the kids to say their name. I love that Inara always says Inara Grace. She's always going to identify herself by both names and I love that because I think her name is so precious. She now knows her last name and says Tomlinson very well. She starting to understand relationships more too. In order to teach her about couples, I've always said things like "Lilli is Jason's honey" since she knows I call daddy honey, so I thought that made the most sense to me. Once when she asked where her My Gym teacher Miss Morgan was, I told her she's probably at home today. Inara surprised me with "At home with her honey." "Yes, sweetie, she's probably at home with her honey." Now she always identifies someone's significant other as a honey. I love that. She knows who aunts, uncles, cousins are and can identify who Avery's mommy and daddy are, who Kylie's mommy is, etc. One morning she was playing in the bathroom while Shawn and I were getting ready. She picked up the floormat and laid it down again and said, "Daughter do it." When I asked her to repeat it, she said, "I daughter." I think this is something she learned in school because I don't remember introducing that concept to her, but so cool that she got it. I've introduced it in the past, but this week was the first time that she said on her own "My house on Whitford." Yes, she now knows her street. I can't tell you how much she changes and grows on a daily basis. It's awesome and a bit sad because she's growing too fast for me right now. I want her to stay this age forever.

As you well know, Inara loves books. We have hit a new stage with books though. She now tries reading books on her own. This is most common with Curious George books since those are the ones we read over and over again. She and I were at the library on Thu. We always have to hang out in the George section. She found the book about George visiting the chocolate factory, one we have at home. I was busy looking at other books, when I heard her start telling the story. "The chocolates come faster and faster. Bring more boxes say man in tall white hat." Holy cow. She's totally memorizing books and able to repeat the stories to herself. She does this with Pinkalicious and Fancy Nancy books as well. I love this new trait because it totally reminds me of me and my passion for books when I was younger. We have now begun a whole new relationship with books and I'm so proud of her.

Inara is becoming quite the little singer. She now can sing a few songs in their entirety, well according to her version I should say. It all started with Baa Baa Black Sheep awhile ago. Shawn changed the lyrics a little, and she loves singing daddy's version. Now, she sings Itsy Bitsy Spider with the hand movements and all. Then the other day in the car I hear her start singing Twinkle Twinkle followed by Humpty Dumpty. I was so surprised to hear her singing and was so proud of her too. I have a feeling she's getting more into singing because of her music class at school. Then today Shawn and I were working in the basement, and Inara was playing with an alphabet toy I got out for her. Suddenly, Shawn and I stop and look at each other because Inara is saying her ABC's. She noticed we were watching her and stopped. We encouraged her to say them, so she started again. Hooray! Then one time when we were finishing in the bathroom, Inara and I started saying the alphabet, and she did so great. I can't tell you how proud I am of my baby girl every day.

Although she still cries a bit when I drop her off at school, she sure loves being there. Last week, she must have asked me about school and Miss Steph every day. As soon as we got in the car to go somewhere, she'd ask, "Mommy, go school. See Miss Steph. Miss Stina." I would then have to explain to her where we were going and apologize that we weren't going to school. I figured this was a good way to start teaching her the days of the week, so when she asked on Tue, I went through the days of the week and told her Friday is when she sees Miss Steph. Each time, she seemed so sad that it wasn't Friday yet. Then when she woke up on Fri morning, I said, "Sweet Pea, today's Fri" to which she jumped up in bed and said, "Go school!" One day, when she was asking if she was going to school that day and I said on Fri she can go to school, she followed with "Bus pick me up and go school." Boy, she's really trying to grow up too fast now.

Inara's becoming quite the loving little girl and isn't afraid to show it. Often during lunch or dinner, she will thank me for making her dinner. "Mommy, thank you for making mac n cheese." Or "Mommy, thank you for making yogurt." That's one of my faves. So darn adorable. When I was sick last week, Inara was so very concerned about me and my health. One day as we were getting ready for nap, I told her I could only read her one book because my throat was hurting. Then when I went in to get her after her nap, she stood up in her crib and asked, "Mommy, you feel better?" Boy, if that doesn't make you feel better, then I don't know what can. She's so caring and sympathetic. I love this about her. She's also always telling me she loves me and gives hugs all day long. It's awesome because most of the time it will be unprompted and unexpected. I absolutely LOVE it when she does this. One night Kristi and the kids joined Inara and I for dinner since the boys had to work late. Inara and Avery sat next to each other at the table. Out of nowhere, Inara says, "Avery, I love you" and leaned over to give Avery a hug. It was so cute to see the happy look on Avery's face as she leaned in to hug Inara. Avery was very excited to hear Inara say that because she too sees how big Inara is getting. Another new thing that demonstrates Inara's loving personality is her caring for her baby dolls. I was secretly watching her play with her Darby doll the other day, and it was so cute because she laid Darby on a blanket, acted like she was taking off her diaper, wiped the baby, and put a new diaper on. Then she picked up the doll, wrapped her in a blanket, and hugged on her. She's now a little mommy caring for her babies. Can she get any cuter?

As the saying goes, kids do say the darnest things. One morning she asked Shawn if she could go to the pool. Shawn asked when she wanted to go. Inara responded with "Um Tuesday." Friday after school, I decided to spend some time outside since I knew it's going to snow this weekend. I told her we were going to help daddy and rake the leaves. She was so intrigued and, of course, always my little helper, was right there offering a lending hand. As I would scoop up a pile of leaves to dump in the trash, here she would come with a handful of leaves she had picked up. It was so cute because she would say, "Woo mommy, big pile" and reach over and drop the leaves in the trash. Sometimes when she says things, it amazes me how she was able to put such ideas together. For example, when we were leaving the pumpkin patch, she asked what mommy was doing. Shawn said I was putting the wagon in the trunk. Inara then kinda giggled and said, "No daddy. Elephant nose." I cracked up. Very smart baby girl. A trunk is an elephant's nose. So cute how she can rationalize such thoughts and so quickly too. It's truly amazing how a child's mind develops. I'm in constant awe of her.

I once thought I'd end up bored with no friends

2009-11-06T21:23:00.003-07:00

20 months ago we moved to Colorado. I can't believe time has flown so fast. I remember back to when Shawn first introduced the idea of moving and some of my concerns. I once thought I'd be bored as a stay-at-home mom and would struggle to meet new people. I now have to think back and chuckle at myself. I find myself rather busy lately because I was determined to get out there, meet people, and make myself happy with new roles in life.

It all first started with joining the mom's group. I have met some wonderful moms and started developing good friendships. I am so so so very happy that I made that step and joined the group because all the other groups I'm involved with stem from the mom's group. Also, I am now a co-organizer for the group and regularly host playdates.

Next, Inara and I started going to My Gym. I can't say it enough: WE LOVE MY GYM! We've had nothing but fantastic experiences and have met some wonderful people. Every week Inara and I both look forward to going to our weekly class and seeing our friends.

One thing I've fallen in love with here in CO are consignment sales. I had never heard of a consignment sale until I moved here and started talking to moms about ways to get good deals on kids' clothes and toys. I have found so many fantastic deals and fallen in love with shopping these sales. I love them so much that I volunteered to work the Just Between Friends sale because it's my favorite and because I know the woman who runs it. Before I knew it, she asked me to be a team lead and I accepted. It was a little bit of outside work, well at least less than I had expected and I had to work 2 shifts at the sale. I had a blast and enjoyed working with the other women involved with JBF.

Then, we started discussing enrolling Inara in preschool. Based on advice and research I did, we ended up enrolling Inara at St. Andrews Children's Learning Center and I'm so excited that we did. I've started talking to other moms and hope to have a playdate or two with some of Inara's classmates and their moms. Now, I have become active with the fundraising committee, particularly being a lead for the holiday silent auction. Inara and I have both started growing into our new roles as student and school mom.

After hearing such wonderful things from other moms I'd met, I decided to join MOPS at Cherry Hills Community Church. We have meetings every other week, and boy, do I look forward to those weeks. I love getting to spend a couple hours with other adult women when Inara's in the nursery since even at playdates, Inara wants me to play with her. MOPS allows me to hear about other moms and their journeys through motherhood. During out meetings, we are divided up into tables of 8 moms, and each month our table gets together for playdates and moms' night out. I've absolutely loved this group and am so glad I joined. I love it so much that I have now joined the fundraising committee for MOPS as well. One reason I joined this committee is because MOPS also has a consignment sale, so I thought I could use what I learned from the Just Between Friends sale and help with the MOPS sale. Plus, I have a few extra hours on my schedule, so why not join another group?

Besides the mom group, I've also joined a babysitting co-op as a way to meet new moms to make friends and also moms to watch Inara once in awhile. The moms in the group are all so nice and welcoming. I've watched a few kids from the group and have had one of the moms watch Inara so far with another mom watching her in a week. This group has monthly meetings, playdates and a moms' night out.

Looking back on this list, I again laugh when I think I was a little worried I might have a hard time meeting people since I wouldn't be working and would be bored with too much time on my hands. I've always been one that likes to be busy all the time. I mean I worked 3 jobs at times when I was in college and taught at 3 schools once I graduated, so it's not a surprise that I now find myself with a busy social calendar and taking on additional roles with the groups I've joined. And I have to remind myself it's best to be busy now before another baby comes because I'm sure I'll have to back off a bit once we have 2 kids running around the house. For now, I will enjoy all the different groups I'm involved with and the wonderful women I've met along the way.

Welcome Octizard

2009-10-30T20:22:00.005-06:00

So I'm stealing the phrase Thane used the other day to describe our blizzard in October. Yes, we survived our first blizzard of the year. It was awesome. We had 2 days of non-stop snow and some mighty gusty winds at times too. I'm not sure what the final count is, but I would estimate it to be well over 2 feet, maybe closer to 3 feet. We have so much snow on our roof and frontyard it's unbelievable. Our backyard got hit pretty hard too but because of the winds, the snow mainly accumulated at the back of the yard right in front of the trees. For those of you that saw the video of Shawn jumping into the snow pile, that was taken in our backyard. Yes, Shawn is one crazy puppy. He was so excited to jump in the pile. He's still a kid at heart I tell ya.

In case you were wondering, yes, I did help with shoveling the driveway. I actually enjoyed doing it. It's a good workout really. Plus, Shawn had to work from home, so I thought I could help him out by doing some of the shoveling too. We tried to get Inara to come out and play with us, but she wasn't having any of it. I think the fact that the snow was so high that she got a little scared. I mean it would have come up well past her waist at times, so I understand where she's coming from. While Shawn and I shoveled, Inara sat on the steps in the garage and watched us instead. Hey, at least we got her outside, and she stayed out there for awhile why we worked. I think we just need to take small steps with her before she gets used to playing in it.

This morning I decided to take a short drive to the grocery store with Inara to get out of the house for a bit and to give Shawn a lil quiet time so he could work in peace. I was cracking up driving around and looking at ALL the snow everywhere. I mean really it's a ton of snow! I love seeing the ginormous piles on corners left from the snowplows. It makes me smile to see such mounds of snow. Then when we got to the grocery store parking lot, I was shocked by the number of cars that were completely buried under snow. What happened to these people that they decided to abandon their cars for the last 3 days? Just seems so weird to me. Then I love to see parking spots taken over by mounds of snow that they have plowed. This all seems so foreign to me because I've never lived anywhere where it snows like this, so it's just such a novelty still. As we got out of the car, Inara and I stopped to watch the maintenance people hit the awnings from underneath to make the snow come down. Guess I never would have thought about that. When we were driving back home, I decided to drive around our neighborhood a bit and drove by the school to see if families were sledding on the killer hill located just behind the school. There were already about 6 groups of kids sledding. I was so jealous because I really wanted to go sledding too. As we were driving around, we were greeted by many people outside shoveling their sidewalks and driveways. I was shocked to see some people shoveling with actual garden shovels rather than snow shovels. Hmm...seems like that would make things harder, but to each his own. All-in-all it was a fun little 60 min drive around our little area to see what the damage was from the storm.

Late this afternoon, Thane invited us over to go sledding, so as soon as Inara woke up from her nap, we packed up and headed over to the other Tomlinson house. Fingers were crossed that Inara would be more receptive to checking out the snow this time. Also, I was anxious to finally go sledding. The 7 of us headed across the street of Thane and Kristi's house to this private but perfect hill for sledding. Inara didn't want to try it, so I had her stand on some sort of sewage pipe cover that was free of snow. She pretty much stood there the whole time. Shawn sled down the hill as Thane took Avery for a run. Finally, I braved it and went down myself. I LOVED IT! It was so much fun I couldn't wait to do it again. We all took turns going down the hill. Kristi stayed at the top of the hill with Jack and Inara. Shawn and I kept asking Inara if she wanted to go down too, but she adamantly said NO! At one point, I stopped at the top of the hill to re-tie my shoe. Thank goodness I had Inara in the corner of my eye, because the girl leaned forward to see what I was doing and was going head first into the snow when I reached over and caught her. Of course, she got scared and started crying. I tried consoling her, but she wanted daddy. He held her for a bit and got her to stop crying. At this point, we asked her if she wanted to go down the hill with daddy and she wimpered no. We decided it wouldn't kill her to go down with Shawn, so he got situated on the sled and went down with her. She didn't cry sledding down. She started whining once they were at the bottom, but I think that's because she had already been crying and not because of the sledding. I was so proud of her for at least going with Shawn and not throwing a fit. I'm also so proud of the fact that she was outside in the snow for as long as she was. Way to go baby girl. At this point, she wanted to go back inside Kristi's house. A HUGE thank you to Auntie Kristi for offering to take Inara inside with her and Jack so that I could stay out and sled a bit more. (I owe you one sis.) Avery went inside too, so it was me and the boys still left. Thane started working on shaping the slope and adding a bump so we could catch some air as we went down hill. Boy was that insane! They then just kept adding a bit more snow to the bump to get more air. That they did indeed. We got some great videos of Shawn and Thane eating crap. We'll get those posted on our photo gallery soon for everyone's enjoyment. It was the best ending to 3 cold days of wintery weather in October.

Oh and I can't forget the entertainment center built-in. During the whole snow storm, we also had our contractor Mark and painters here finishing up on the built-in. Thank goodness it's complete. Shawn posted before and after pictures at www.shawnandmarisa.com for everyone to check out our first big home improvement project. We're so excited it's done. I know this was something Shawn wanted to upgrade since before we moved in, so hooray to Shawn for getting his dream TV center completed. Now if we can ever save up for that basement completion, we'd be golden.

The best way I can save my marriage

2009-10-26T15:03:00.002-06:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33425617/ns/technology_and_science-games//

So Shawn sent me this article today and I seriously was laughing so hard reading it I even got tears in my eyes. First, I love the comments about having a 2 year old. But this story hit home even more because this game is Shawn's new obsession. Yes, obsession I say. So much so that he has sacrificed sleep a few nights to play this game. Last night, I rolled over to find an empty spot in the bed next to me. I moved the pillow to see the clock and was shocked to see 2:30 in bright green numbers. I got up, marched down to the basement, and looked at him with the wife/mom look. "Really Shawn? Really? Come on!!! It's 2:30!!!" I walked away scoffing, "You're ridiculous. Seriously ridiculous." He came up a few minutes later and laughingly said, "I'm sorry. But Jason's a bad influence." Oh yes, blame it on the unmarried friend without children. Whatever. Now after reading this article though, I guess I'm gonna have to make some time to play Borderlands to work out our marital spats by blowing up zombies and other apocalyptic creatures. Hope you enjoy reading the article.

Inara sure does love Annie!

2009-10-20T16:16:00.002-06:00

My 2 year old can read and other fun stories

2009-10-12T14:59:00.004-06:00

I thought since things have been tough around here the past week, it was a good time to sit and reflect on how awesome Inara is, especially when she's not sick.

It's truly unbelieveable how much she talks now. The girl can carry one heck of a conversation with me now. And she's so smart. It shocks me all the time when she says things out of the blue. I know a lot of her smarts are due to things I teach her, but I really do see a big change since she's started school too. She's getting her colors down really well. When she plays with toys and reads books, she likes to label things by their colors and gets them right more often now. She's also learning her shapes. I was so impressed one day when she and I were reading this book with shapes and she started getting them all right. We've read this book a number of times before and she never got the shapes down. Now she knows triangle, oval, and circle. Yes, she's only 2 and knows soooo much! It's truly because I take the time every day to sit down and read books with her, talk to her when we are out and about and describe things to her non-stop. I've said it before and I'll say it again, people in stores probably think I'm a little loopy, but it has made a world of difference in what Inara knows. Talk to kids all the time and they will start to blossom like you'd never expected.

Inara is starting to become quite the music connoisseur. She's always loved music, but now she's starting to sing along with songs. Her favorite song to sing would have to be Ring Around the Rosies. She first started singing it at My Gym when playing on the trampoline after hearing another little girl sing the song while playing. Now Inara does Ring Around the Rosies all the time. I love hearing her sing the song too. She's getting better at singing along with Itsy Bitsy Spider now as well. She also dances a lot more. I know they have music class at preschool, so I'm guessing they encourage the kids to dance along. Instead of just bending her knees and turning in circles, now Inara moves her shoulders and bounces her head. She plays the Leapfrog Fridge Magnet toy that plays songs and will skip until she gets to She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain because it's her favorite song to dance to. It's so cute to watch.

Based on what she's been doing at school, I figured it's time to get her doing more arts and crafts things at home too. A couple weeks ago I introduced her to paint with water and she loved it. Today we painted for the first time. It was hilarious watching her paint because she is very slow and careful at it. It's also cute to watch her paint with her left hand, but when she wants to paint something on the right side of the page, she will switch the brush to her right hand. Hmm...I'm thinking she just might be ambidextrous.

Another big landmark was when Inara learned how to jump with both feet at the same time. For the longest time, when you told her to jump, she'd do more of a gallop since she couldn't get her feet to come off the ground at the same time. Now though, she's doing a lot better and bends her knees too so she can get some air. It's so cute, and she was so proud of herself when she finally got it. I love hearing her say, "I did it!"

Shawn and Inara have a lot of fun games they like to play. For the longest time, Shawn's been doing High 5 with her. Well, the other day she got Daddy good when they were playing High 5, and she pulled her hand back and said, "too slow Daddy." Shawn and I couldn't stop laughing. It was so cute. The other game they play is Red Light, Green Light. Shawn will say Red Light and Inara will say random colors like Purple Light. Then he plays along and says, "No purple light." She thinks this is so funny as if she's pulling a fast one on Daddy. It's so cute to hear them when they have their own inside jokes and games.

And if there was ever any doubt that Inara is a Daddy's girl, let me share a funny story with you. Shawn is a HUGE chocolate milk drinker. He loves it! I might even say that's his favorite drink. Of course, he had to introduce Inara to chocolate milk, and as to be expected, she loves it. The other day I asked her if she wanted some chocolate milk with her lunch, she got so excited and yelled, "Yay my favorite!" I looked at her and had her repeat it because I couldn't believe she said it. I don't remember teaching her what favorite means, but she picked it up somewhere and now uses it to describe her love of chocolate milk. Ahhh, just like Daddy.

It's amazing how kids pick up on things so easily and will use them correctly too. Usually when I have to go potty during the day, she must follow me into the bathroom and sit on her little potty while I go. The other day she and I were playing and I told her I had to go potty. She looked at me very seriously and said, "One minute." "Excuse me baby girl. What did you say?" "One minute mommy." "Do you want mommy to hurry and be back in one minute?" "Yes." This conversation cracked me up. I know she got that from me, because when I need to do something, I always say, I'll be back in one minute. Now she's telling me I can take a break, but only for one minute. I swear she's too smart.

Inara and I always have different inside jokes/games we play when we're in the car. She loves to point out cars, busses, etc. She also loves to point out UPS trucks. Yes, I've taught her what a UPS truck is. She also looks for cars that look like family member's cars. She points out Mikey's car, Isti's car, Grammy's car, etc. all the time. She got me the other day when she spotted a car that looked like Auntie Kristi's car, and she said, "Follow it Mommy." What? When did she learn follow it? So now at random times whenever we see a bus, a UPS truck, a mail truck, etc. she will tell me to follow it. Might I add when I don't, she gets a bit ticked off that I didn't do as instructed. Oh the 2's can rear their heads at some of the craziest times.

Another inside games of ours is playing chase. She now will ask me to chase her on purpose. In the past when I've started chasing her, I will call out Fee Fi Fo Fum. This morning while I was getting dressed while she was playing in my bedroom, I suddenly hear Fi Fi Fo Fum. Then she came running into the walkin closet and said, "I get mommy." So dang funny. Another chase related game we play is gotcha. There is an Imagination Movers song about Wherehouse Mouse and they sing gotcha. When we listen to this song in the car, I will reach back and grab her foot and say gotcha and she laughs hystericallly. The other day when we were playing, I was chasing after her. Suddenly she turned around and said, "Gotcha mommy." Seriously how can you not laugh all day long when you have a 2 year old in the house? She's so much fun!

A daily conversation we have is "Mommy a Daddy go?" "Sweet pea, where is Daddy?" She solemnly replies, "At work." Lately, she's been saying, "Daddy at work. Hane (Thane) at work. Greg at work. Marco at work." Then she pauses and says, "No, Marco golfing" and she laughs. Marco is one of Shawn's best friends who he plays soccer and goes golfing with. I think it's so humorous that she has started saying Marco's not working because he's golfing as if she's always going to associate Marco with golf.

Our nighttime ritual now involves listing all the things that are asleep. It goes like this. "OK sweet pea. Time to close our eyes and go to sleep." "Mommy, sun sleeping?" "Yep. What else is sleeping?" "Moon is sleeping. Stars are sleeping. Cows sleeping. Rhinos sleeping. Horses sleeping. Diggers sleeping." And so on and so on. Some nights this goes on for 30 seconds. Others it's at least 3 minutes. However long it goes, it never gets dull. I find it pretty darn cute.

I saved the best story for last because it truly is the best and most impressive story yet. Inara has started reading books. Well kinda. More like she's memorized a book. Of course, it's a Curious George book since that's what we read most. She got Curious George and the Hot Air Balloon Race for her birthday. Ever since we've had to read it every night before bedtime. In the book, George visits Mt. Rushmore and goes to see a hot air balloon race. One night she completely shocked me when she pointed to a picture in the book and said, "Mount Rushmore." Then she pointed to the presidents' faces and listed their names. WHAT? My daughter can say Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln? I couldn't believe it. I then started pausing when reading the story, and to my amazement, Inara started completing the sentences. I would read "Everyone had seen the rescue." And she would finish "George was a hero." I would read "The rope had come undone and there was only one place to go." She followed with, "Up up up and away went balloon. George went with it." This shocked me so much, and when I told Shawn, he didn't seem too shocked until he read the book to her one night, and she was looking through another book but was still tuned in enough to complete the sentences. Yes, the girl is awesome! I know part of this is the power of repetition, but it also shows to me the power of reading. She LOVES books and it shows how important it is to read to kids because Inara pays attention to the stories and has now shown how she can memorize things from books with repetition. I can't say it enough: Inara rocks!!!

Pop Does!

2009-09-29T15:13:00.004-06:00

In my haste to wrap up the last "novel"...uh I mean blog...I forgot to write about the things Inara says now that she learned from Pop. What I love is that Shawn or I try to say something Pop says, and Inara gets upset and yells, "NO Pop does." For instance, we will do the running gag "Inara do you want punch schnauzwola?" "No Pop does. "Do you want knuckle sandwich?" "No Pop does." "Do you want tickle bone?" "No Pop does." "Do you want tickle feet?" "No Pop does."

Here are few things Inara says all the time now that she learned from Pop:

When acting silly, she calls herself Silly Butt.

When she makes a mistake, she says wubba wubba.

When getting into her carseat, she sings "buckle up safety." (I remember Pop singing this song to Kylie. I love that Inara sings it now. Great lesson for her to learn too.)

Oompa Sumpa. (Pop's infamous saying is Oompa Sharumpa. Shawn and I say it ALL the time too. Seriously, where does my dad get these funny sayings?)

Sorry I forgot these in the last blog, Pop. Don't think this means I love you any less than I do. Look forward to see my family Oct. 10. I miss you guys lots and lots!!!

Boy do I miss my parents

2009-09-20T20:11:00.005-06:00

When Shawn first told me he was going on his 10 day canoe trip this year, I freaked out. What the heck am I going to do without help for that long? Shawn suggested for my mom to come out and help. I am so grateful that my mom was able to come out for 2 weeks. I was counting down the days til she got here. Although Inara wasn't that difficult, I was sad being home alone. Plus, I'm a super big baby and hate being by myself at night.

Mom, Inara and I had a great week together. Even though we were just in CA, Inara has changed so much that my mom got spoiled watching all the new things she does. Plus, mom got Inara doing some new things too. My favorite was watching the two of them sit at the base of the stairs and play Wheels on the Bus. They pretended they got into a bus, started it up, and mom would start singing the kids' song when Inara would start bumping around with mom following suit. Mom also got her fill of playing marketplace. I swear Inara LOVES playing grocery store at least 3 times a day. It's a whole 30 minute process too, so it seems most of our playing time is dedicated to pretending we're grocery shopping. It was so wonderful to have my mom here so I could get a break from playing it for awhile.

As to be expected, my mom also taught Inara to say some new things. I think it was the first day or two and Inara said booby after my mom had said it. Before I know it, Inara was saying aye chi wawa. She loves saying it and now says it all the time. Thanks mom.

The first night mom was here was open house at Inara's preschool. I knew my mom would love going with us and would want to see the school Inara's going to. Then that Friday Inara started school. I'm SOOO glad my mom was here to go with me. It was rather tough dropping Inara off, especially since she was crying for me. Mom wanted to go in and get her after the first 30 seconds of her crying. But Inara stopped after only a couple minutes, and I was at peace. Mom and I ran a couple errands and then came back to the house. We sat and talked for 3 hours. Now I know my male readers are thinking "What? Talk for 3 hours? That's crazy." But it was great to have that time just mom and I. Plus, time went by so fast that I wasn't sitting at home worrying about Inara. Thanks mom for helping me make it through a tough day.

That night to honor Inara's first day of school we went to dinner at 3 Margaritas, Inara's favorite Mexican restaurant. Mom had fun watching Inara scarf down her cheese enchilada and rice. That night Inara decided she was going to become friends with the older Mexican lady who works there. She always comes over to our table and brings Inara a spoon and says hello. This night Inara kept turning around and looking for "nice lady" as she has so nicely named her. Inara had mom and I in stitches, and yes, the nice lady came over and talked to us as she always does.

The next day the 3 of us went to Boulder. I knew mom would love walking around Pearl Street and I was right. We had a great time shopping and walking around. We packed a sack lunch, so we found a nice shady spot and ate our lunch. There was a man playing a harp right next to us, and he was fantastic. Inara had fun teasing my mom and avoiding eating her lunch. It was beautiful weather and a perfect outing for us girls.

Shawn flew back home on Monday night. Inara was very excited to see him as was I. He ended up working from home on Tuesday so he could see Inara a bit more. Mom and I did take Inara to My Gym that day so Shawn could have some quiet to get work done. More on My Gym later.

A week after my mom was here, my dad flew in so he could be here for Inara's birthday. I'm so lucky that both my parents have been able to make it for her birthday two years in a row. I hope this will be the trend for every year to come. I can't imagine not having them here to celebrate her birthday. And she sure does love having NeeNee and Pop around. I love hearing them play with her. They can get her giggling so much. I love hearing Inara say "Come on NeeNee. Come on Pop. Come play." They are such great grandparents because they oblige her ever wish and play with her all the time. It's the best feeling knowing how much Inara loves them. And how couldn't she...they are awesome!

To back up for a sec, when we picked my mom up at the airport, as soon as she got in the car, Inara says "A Pop go?" Then when we picked my dad up at the airport, Inara sees him through the window and says "Where Toby?" She cracks me up when she does such things.

My mom thought it might take Inara a day to warm up to Pop. Not true at all. As soon as we got back to the house, she had Pop running around and playing. She did the same thing with NeeNee. Phew. It was so wonderful getting a break from being her one and only playmate.

Friday morning Pop went with me to take Inara to preschool. I wanted him to see the school she's going to and see her classroom. On the way to school, Pop and I were talking when all of a sudden Inara says Colorado. Huh? I wasn't sure where this came from and if I heard her correctly. I asked Pop and he said he heard the same thing. I then noticed in front of us was a Colorado state flag. Wow! I was so impressed that she remembered that was the state flag and that she said Colorado on her own without my prompting her. She really is sooo darn smart. As we got to the school, Inara had a hard time leaving me this week. Pop pretty much stood in the hallway because he could see the chaos with all the moms and screaming kids. One mom was even practically dragging her son who was yelling so loud. It took everything in me not to cry. I hate to see my baby girl crying. Again, thank goodness one of my parents was with me to help me throught it. Although Pop did mention that was a mess in there. Yep, it's hard seeing and hearing all those kids crying. I swear preschool teachers are amazing people! I don't know if I could ever do it that's for sure.

That night we went to 3 Margaritas for dinner again as a treat for Inara for doing well in school and for my parents since they love this restaurant as much as we do. Again, Inara had to say hello to nice lady and kept looking for her throughout dinner.

The next day was Inara's birthday party. We all were busy getting things ready that morning. I had ordered sandwiches from Corner Bakery and made mac & cheese (Inara's favorite). Kristi and Barb helped by bringing dishes too. Of course the party was Curious George theme. Pop even made Inara a banner with George on it. By the way, it's still hung up in the playroom, where I plan to keep it as long as possible. It's too cute to take down. I also got the crazy idea to make a tree out of streamers in the dining room entry and hung one of her monkeys so it looked like he was hanging out of the tree. We had a great party with family and the good friends we've made since moving here. All the kids seemed to have a great time as did all the grown-ups. Inara made out with some fantastic new gifts. Thanks to everyone.

Sunday we headed to Sweet Tomatoes (our Souplantation) for their Sunday brunch. Inara was picky that day and didn't want any scrambled eggs or french toast. All was well though when Pop got her cheese. I swear that kid is gonna turn into a big block of cheese. Hey, maybe that's what she should be for Halloween? JK.

Tuesday was Inara's actual birthday. Shawn took the day off so he could spend some time with my parents before they left and celebrate our little munchkin. Mom, Pop, Shawn and I all took Inara to her weekly My Gym class. It was great getting to show Inara's new skills off to all 3 of them. I know Mom & Pop were impressed with all the new things she does since they last saw her in class in April. She does A LOT better sitting during circle time when we sing songs, do stretches, and dance. She was all over the gym this day too, showing us how she jumps on the trampoline (which is more like a gallop still), climbs all over the apparatuses, and goes down the slides all on her own now. Afterwards, we went to The Counter for lunch. I knew Mom wanted sweet potato fries before she left and my parents both really seemed to like this restaurant when we went last time. Inara, however, didn't want to sit and have lunch. Instead, she wanted to look in the pond they have at the mall and look for fish. The girl loves aquatic animals. Wonder if that's because we chose the aquatic theme for her bedroom or because she loves Nemo? Either way, she didn't want to sit and eat her birthday lunch. Oh well, at least the rest of us got to enjoy our burgers and fries.

Wednesday morning Mom & Pop flew home super early in the morning. So early that I had to get up at 4am!! Yikes! I know mom was sad to leave and I'm pretty sure Pop was too although he always tries to play it cool. I know deep down inside he was sad to leave his Pahrumpa.One of the coolest things about this trip is what Pop introduced Inara too: Fly to the Moon (when he throws her into the air and catches her). She thought it was the greatest game. It's funny to watch because she seemed a bit hesitant at first, but after a few times, she kept saying, "Again, again, Pop." This is something Pop does with all the kids, so I was so excited he finally got to introduce my baby girl to it. Like I said, Inara sure does love her NeeNee and Pop. Understandably so, they rock!!! I miss you guys and hope you can come out again soon. (Christmas time maybe? Hint, hint.)

My baby girl is turning 2 years old!

2009-09-14T21:15:00.003-06:00

I'm sitting here on the eve of Inara's second birthday thinking back to when I was pregnant, how much I LOVED being preggo, how anxious I was to meet my daughter, and how scared I was that I wouldn't know how to raise a child. Here I am now about to celebrate my baby girl turning 2. Has it really been 2 years already? All I can say is I am in awe. In awe of how amazing Inara Grace is. In awe of how comfortable I feel now as a mom. In awe that 2 years have already gone by. In awe of how much I 100% adore my daughter. She truly is the coolest person I've ever met.

During the last couple weeks, I've really taken the time to sit back and enjoy Inara and our relationship. 2 years have flown by. I can't imagine how fast the next 16 years are going to go. Before I know it, she's going to be graduating high school and going off to college and my baby will no longer be a baby. Well, I know I'm always going to call her my baby, but our lives will never been as simple as they are right now.

Inara has really started to blossom into an independent girl. She wants to do so much on her own, yet also wants to be just like mommy. She really is my shadow day in and day out, continuously wanting to help me with chores and daily tasks. Whether it be doing the laundry, sweeping, or picking out groceries, she's always eager to help. Along with this desire to help, Inara is also really starting to become more and more independent. Just the other day I had picked out an outfit for her, which she scoffed at and, instead, asked to wear her Mickey Mouse shirt. I then proceeded to find a pair of pants to go with the shirt and she responded with, "No mommy. Different pants." I obliged and asked her if another pair of pants met her approval. Finally after the third pair of pants, she accepted. This was a first! Inara picked out her first outfit. I didn't get frustrated but instead welcomed her expressing her own opinion. I was actually so excited that this happened. I want her to feel like she has a say in some things. I will reserve the battles for other more important issues, clothes not being one of them.

Inara has officially started imaginative play. For awhile now, we've been playing marketplace. She loves when I push her toy shopping cart and come grocery shopping at her little Fisher Price food stand. She's really starting to get more and more into playing kitchen and making food for me. When I'm making dinner, she loves to bring me something she's made in her kitchen. I always make a big deal about it and act surprised that she made me something. It's so important to encourage such play. The other big imaginative play she's getting into is babies. She loves to bathe her babies, feed them, rock them, etc. I'm so glad she got a few new babies for her birthday, because now is the time for her to really get into using her imagination, particularly with babies. I've also noticed when we play together, she's starting to show more and more concern for the well-being of her toys/babies and along with this me as well. If I hurt myself, she's so concerned and wants to know what happened. I LOVE that she's becoming such a caring, compassionate person. This is one of the most important characteristics to me and love watching her grow in this way.

A huge milestone was met two weeks ago when Inara started preschool. Yes, I know she's only two, but I strongly believe this will be a wonderful experience for her. She will be going one day a week from 9:30am-2:30pm. There are 10 students in the class. They have arts & crafts, music class, storytime, playtime outside and in the classroom, snack, lunch, and naptime. It's a longer day than I had initially wanted to start her off with, but the school she got into comes highly recommended, and we got called from the wait list, so I didn't want to pass it up. On her first day of school, I walked in the class with her and played for a few minutes in hopes of helping ease the crying. She did cry for a few minutes, but as I stood in the hall, I could hear her stop crying and the teacher's assistant peered through the door and told me all was well. When I picked her up after school, I could tell she had been crying, but she survived her first day as did I. I had forgot to mention to the teachers that Inara takes a pacifier during naptime, but Miss Kristina told me, "Oh Inara came up to us as we were getting ready for nap and said binky please." Thank goodness I had remembered to pack one in her backpack. (It's been about a month now that Inara is only allowed a pacifier for nap and bedtime and she's doing fantastic transitioning.)

Last Friday I took Inara for her 2nd day of preschool. This drop-off was much more tear-filled, but I had to just walk away and know she was in good hands. When I picked her up this time, she sobbed a bit when she say me, but then she gave her teacher Miss Steph and the assistant Miss Kristina hugs and waved good-bye to all her classmates. Both teachers reassured me and said she did fantastic this week and was getting much better. Hallelujah! Then Friday night something amazing happened. We were driving back from dinner when suddenly Inara says, "Papa Bear. Papa Bear." I asked her who was Papa Bear. She then told me, "Miss Steph read Papa Bear book." I was soooo excited: Inara was sharing with me something she learned in school. I couldn't have been prouder of her than I was at that moment. And I couldn't have been prouder of myself either for enrolling her in preschool. I think this experience is going to be fantastic for her.

Inara and I have been working on quite a lot of skills at home as well. I am so impressed that she can count to 10 before turning 2. This seems like such a huge skill for her to have at such a young age. I could be wrong, but I'm really impressed. We work on colors and the alphabet all the time. She's getting better and starting to memorize some colors and letters. Pink and yellow seem to be her favorite colors to call out. She can also tell me people's names that begin with specific letters. One thing we've been working on for awhile that I'm most proud of is manners. I love that Inara says please and thank you so often. When she makes a mistake, she always apologizes too, even if for the smallest thing. I'd rather her acknowledge her mistake and apologize, then not even be phased by it and be rude. Lastly, as to be expected, Inara's vocabulary is booming. I know a lot of this has to do with the fact that I talk to her non-stop and teacher her new words. I think it's important to take the time to sit and tell her what things are called. She totally surprised me the other day when she called out Colorado in the car. I then noticed the state flag was on a flagpole in front of us. I've been pointing out the US and Colorado flags for awhile now. This was the first time she identified the state flag all on her own. I was so proud of her. It's little things like this that truly amaze me. Inara is SO smart! Her range of knowledge seems so impressive to me. When we talk, we can have little conversations now and she demonstrates all day long that she comprehends new things she's learning every day.

I keep saying it and will say it again. I once thought that a lot happens from birth to one year old, but there's a thousand times more growth from one to two years old. I have absolutely loved all the changes Inara has gone through this past year and am excited for all the new experiences the upcoming year holds. I can't say it enough...I'm in complete awe of my baby girl. She is growing up so fast and becoming a truly beautiful girl inside and out. I feel so lucky and blessed to have brought such a wonderful person into the world and can't wait to see what amazing things she's going to do in her life. Happy birthday sweet pea. Know that Mommy loves you more than you could ever imagine. Thank you for being such an amazing daughter. Hugs and kisses forever and ever.

Some pictures my brother took during our CA trip

2009-09-08T20:59:00.003-06:00

I love this pic of my mom, Inara, me, Kylie and Lisa.
Inara and Kylie hanging out at the OC Fair.

Who knew It's a Small World could be that fun again?

Happy belated birthday to me

2009-09-08T20:36:00.002-06:00

I had a great 36 birthday, especially since our adopted brother/best friend Jason was in town that weekend along with his mom, Grandma Di as she's known in my house, and his girlfriend Lilli. I was so happy that we got to spend some time with Lilli and get to know her better. I can tell she's a very important person in Jason's life, so it's only fitting that we all get to know her better. I think she's a pretty cool lady if I do say so myself. Inara had fun playing with Yee-Yee as she called her. We introduced them to our favorite game, Survive, and now have one more couple I need to find a copy of the game for. We did our usual trip to Golden, lunched at Woody's Pizza, and got to take the Coors tour.

More importantly, I was so grateful that Diane was able to come out too given the tragedy she recently went through with the passing of her mom after her parents' house burned down. I knew this trip would be a good thing for her because what better way to de-stress and laugh a bit than to spend time with kids. Inara LOVED playing with Grandma Di. Plus, Grandma Di is a really good reader. Inara had her reading books all weekend long.

As they usually do, Jason and Diane spoiled Inara and bought her her birthday presents while they were here. They really do go above and beyond for my daughter. I greatly appreciate everything they do for her. Inara loves the baby doll and accessories and has to bathe and feed her babies all the time now. Jason found Inara Darby and Buster the dog dolls from My Friends Tigger & Pooh. I couldn't believe it when she started playing "catch" with Buster the other day. (She's really too smart I tell ya.) Thank you guys so much for coming out to see us, helping me celebrate my birthday, and for all the gifts you got Inara for her birthday. It meant so much to have you guys here. I miss you lots!

Our trip to CA...the final chapter

2009-09-08T20:20:00.004-06:00

I've been sorely lacking on the blog updates, so I am determined to sit down and write the final chapter of our adventures in CA.

I'm so grateful we got to see a lot of family on our trip. I took Inara one day to go see Grandma Mary. I'm not sure if she knew who I was, but she was in a very good mood that day and seemed happy to see us. She kept saying how cute Inara was. We also got to see my aunt Jeri and uncle Dave and spend some time with them, along with cousin Kim and her daughter Mady, who has gotten so big in the last year. I swear kids really do grow up way too fast! Cousins Rob, Kelli and Alex planned a trip to CA the same time we were there, so we got to see them again. I just adore Alex and am surprised to see that she's no longer the little flower girl from my wedding but a beautiful young woman. I'm so glad she got to hang out with us a few days since Inara sure loves playing with her. Of course, we got to hang out a lot with Lisa and Kylie too.

The Saturday before we left the fam went to the OC Fair: mom, pop, Mikey, Lisa, Kylie, Shawn, Inara, and I. We had so much fun watching the two girls play together. Inara, of course, enjoyed looking at the farm animals, but she really loved going on her first carnival rides. She went on a kiddie roller coaster, which she wasn't scared of. Yay baby girl! I even got Shawn to take her on a couple. It was funny to see him scrunched inside the kiddie seats. I felt bad that Kylie got scared a few times on the rides. I hope Inara never becomes the big chicken I am when it comes to amusement park rides. Inara did well the whole morning and didn't get cranky until after lunch, which is when Shawn finally threw down the gauntlet and said time to go.

Honestly, the best part of the trip to CA was playing in the pool with pop. I loved watching Kylie jump from the diving board. You can definitely tell how much she loves swimming with Pop. Inara was more adventurous than she's been in the past, probably because she was watching Kylie and wanted to be just like her. Hanging out at Pop's pool totally reminded me of my childhood and hanging out at Nana & Paka's house in the summer. Boy do I miss them. My parents' house is definitely the fun place for the family to get together and hang out. I know Inara really loved getting to spend time with my parents and still talks about all the things we did on vacation. Several times now she's asked if we can go to Mickey's house again with NeeNee, Pop, and Mikey. Guess we need to plan our next trip out to CA soon. :-)

Happy 23rd Month Birthday Sweet Pea

2009-08-14T19:02:00.004-06:00

A letter to Inara as she inches closer to turning 2

It's the eve of your 23rd month birthday, and I find myself thinking about how big you are. One more month, and you'll be turning 2. I can't believe that. I swear you were still in my tummy just 6 months ago. But when I look at you and all the things you do and say now, I realize you're not that little baby girl you once were, but now you're growing up to be a big girl.

Some of the things you love doing right now are playing hide and seek (especially with daddy), playing marketplace (this is when mommy comes to the food stand with the shopping cart and asks you for food I need and you get it for me), playing little people, and reading lots and lots of books. You've become quite the avid reader lately. Mommy reads to you at least 3 different times a day, plus before bedtime. Of course, you love reading Curious George books. But you have started liking Berenstein Bears, Pooh books, and a Finding Nemo book all about school. You also still love helping mommy around the house. When we come home from grocery shopping, you now like to put the fruits and veggies in the fridge for me. When I make dinner, you want to see what I'm doing, so I will pick you up and show you what's cooking in the pots and pans. One day I even had you help me make dinner. I made homemade pizza and salad for daddy and I. You helped me sprinkle the cheese and toppings on the pizza, as well as add shredded carrot to the salad. I encourage you to explore and try new things, with my help of course.

Last month we took a big family vacation and went to CA. We stayed at NeeNee and Pop's house for 12 days. During that time, you became infatuated with Toby the dog. You now say "sit down" to Daddy and I just like you did to Toby. Also on our trip, I think you really started to build a strong bond with Uncle Mikey. He helped so much with you on the trip, and I think you loved spending the time with him. Our big adventure on this trip was taking you to Disneyland for the first time. Now all you talk about is Mickey, Minnie, and Donald. Pop bought you a Mickey Mouse doll, which you have to carry with you all the time. You even put him in your stroller and push him around the house. When you look at the pictures, you ask to go again and always talk about the rides. I can't wait to take you again because you really loved visiting Mickey's house. Of course at Pop's house we went swimming a lot too. You started jumping from the side into mommy's arms and loved doing this over and over again. You would count "1, 2, 3, 4" then jump and immediately say "Again!" Also, when we watched other people jump off the diving board into the pool you kept saying, "Me too!" You so want to learn how to jump off the diving board. I better get you enrolled in swim classes asap. You don't show much fear and want to do everything. That's my girl!

In the past month, you've started building quite the vocabulary and becoming the never-ending chatter box. Just today you said microwave for the first time, and I was shocked to hear such a big word from you. Some of my other favorite things that you've started saying are "you're welcome," "cantalope," "watch Nemo," and one courtesy of Pop "oompa sharumpa." I absolutely love hearing you say the last one. You started saying it after we were in CA, and I got you to say it on the phone for Pop. He chuckled. I know he's proud of that one.

One thing that really amazes me is that you can count to 10 already. I know I always count when we walk up the stairs and various times through an average day. But it really surprised me when I heard you start counting along with me and made it to 10. And you're not even 2 yet. I'm so proud of you. Mommy continues to work on colors with you and we will next start on our ABC's. I can't say it enough: our baby girl is getting so big.

You have really shown a huge growth in your conversation skills these past few weeks. I now feel like when we talk it's becoming more like a conversation. You ask a lot of questions, and I explain things to you, which prompts more questions. One of our routine conversations is when we are in the car. You often ask to see the cows. You call out for them and moo like cows do. We then go back and forth on which type of animals we are looking for: horses, chickens, rabbits. I then ask if we can look for monkeys, and you giddily respond, "no mommy." We continue this for most of our trip. When in the car, you also like to look for objects such as busses, flags, doggies, diggers, and continuously ask for more. Car rides, even really short ones, are always fun when you're in the car with me.

There have been a couple instances when you've said something that has really shocked me. You're starting to form sentences, and I'm very very impressed. Last week, I asked you to play by yourself for a minute so mommy could go potty. You ran after me yelling your usual "Me too!" I told you when you get a little older you can go on big girl potty too. To that you replied, "Mommy, no diaper. Big girl potty." My mouth dropped open. Did she just say what I think she said? Yep, you are definitely showing signs of being ready for the big girl potty. Guess this means you and mommy are going to start potty training soon. Gulp! I have no idea what to do, but I'll figure it out.

Back in CA, you kept playing with Pop's special cell phone. He was showing you how to play songs on it, but you struggled a bit to figure it out on your own. One day, as you were playing with the phone, you got it to play a song. You were so happy and yelled, "I did it, Pop." We were all surprised and humored by this statement. Now you say it all the time when you complete a challenging task. Way to go, sweet pea.

We are working on manners and asking for things nicely. You've been saying please (or peas as you say it) for quite awhile. Now that you can form sentences, you can ask for more things and politely as well. The other day you and I were eating cantalope with our lunch. You suddenly said, "Mommy, give me more cantalope." I looked up at you, and without hesitating you said, "peas." I also love that you reply "welcome" when someone says thank you to you. It's the cutest thing to hear you be polite and use your manners. I'm so proud of you.

Another thing you've been saying for awhile now is sorry. I've been explaining to you that you need to apologize when you hurt someone or make a mistake. For the first time though you showed empathy. I was too close to the kitchen counter when I tried to get up and smacked my head on the bottom of the counter. I yelled "ouch" and sat on the floor holding my head when suddenly you came running to my side and said, "what happened?" I explained what I had done. You were so concerned about me. "Mommy owey." You leaned over, hugged me, and said, "kiss." I asked if you wanted to kiss mommy's owey. "Yes," and you kissed the boo boo on my head. It totally brought tears to my eyes to see my daughter have such concern and care and want to make me feel better. I hope this is because I've shown you how to be a caring, loving person. This meant so much to me baby girl. Add this to the list of all the reasons I love you.

Along with showing concern for your mommy, you always talk about your friends. When we were in CA, several times I asked who we were going to see that day, and you would replay with "Whitney. Tamum (Tatum). Owen. A (Avery)." I get the feeling that you love spending time with your friends and look forward to seeing them. Now that we're back home in Colorado, you ask me every day if we're going to see Pop, NeeNee, Mikey, Toby, or your new buddy Kylie, who you now call Kylie Bear. I love that you ask to see friends and loved ones. It makes me so happy to know that my daughter looks forward to seeing all these people. At one time I was concerned about you being overly shy, but now I'm really starting to see you blossom and grow into a social butterfly. You got to stay with Miss Jen and Addison one day this week and did wonderfully playing with them. Then you did fantastic this week playing with Avery, Kristi and Jack when mommy went to work at the consignment sale. It makes me feel that when you start preschool, you will have an easier time adjusting and will enjoy playing with new friends and teachers.

I don't want to forget something else you said to me this week that totally made me cry. I volunteered to work at the consignment sale two times this week. I know you really missed me because of something you said. When I got you up in the morning and said we needed to get ready to go to Auntie Kristi's house so mommy could go work for awhile, you said, "Mommy no work." You totally got me baby girl. My heart sank and all I wanted to do was squeeze you tight. I can't imagine ever having to go to work every day and not spending all my time with you. I adore you so much and never want you to feel that way again. Yes, sometimes mommy will leave for a few hours, but know that I will always come back to you. I'm so grateful that I don't have to work and be away from you. I wish all moms could have this opportunity. I never take it for granted. You truly are the most precious, amazing child in the world, and Mommy loves you more than you could ever know. Sweet pea, happy 23rd month birthday. I can't wait to celebrate your 2nd birthday next month. You deserve the world!

Our CA Vacation Chapter 2

2009-08-08T14:09:00.004-06:00

Inara is napping and Shawn is doing yardwork, so I thought I'd try to finish the blog on our trip to CA. I'll do my best.

Our flight out was an adventure, as all flights with a child are. Inara had her own seat but hardly sat in it for more than 5 minutes at a time. She moved all around. "See out window" was an often heard quote from the little one. Thank goodness Shawn took the window seat, so she would crawl on him the most. Shawn also played Curious George on the new Netbook he bought specifically for the flight. She didn't seem all that interested. We both tried to get her to nap, but she kept resisting. The last 20 minutes of the flight were the roughest because she started getting cranky. Of course, she finally gave in and fell asleep just as we touched ground. Yes, the girl fell asleep when we landed. Figures. Poor Shawn had to do some stealth moving off the plane to avoid waking her. When we got to baggage claim, we were greeted with a big sign that said "Welcome home Tomlinsons" my mom was holding. So cute! I was so excited to see my parents. We got all our luggage and started getting into the car when Inara woke up. She started crying at first until she realized NeeNee and Pop were in the car too. Then she seemed pretty happy. That night for dinner mom made us homemade enchiladas and sopa. It was the perfect homecoming meal. Lisa and Kylie came over too. I can't believe how big Kylie is, but then again she is 3 1/2. Inara and Kylie spent a lot of time together while we were in CA. I'm so grateful for that. She gets to see her cousin Avery all the time, so I was hoping she'd get to build a friendship with Kylie too. Don't think she'll ever forget that spitfire now that she got to spend a week and a half with her. Later that night, Shawn drove up to Santa Maria to spend a few days with Mike & Nina and to see Erin, who has now relocated up there. Plus, Shawn got to be the first family member to meet Erin's new boyfriend. We were all excited to hear the scoop on the new guy, who has luckily passed the big brother test.

Friday, Mom, Mikey, Inara and I had to do some running around so I could get things ready for Sierra's baby shower on Saturday. Saturday, Mom and I went to Sierra's baby shower. It was so great to see Sierra and to be there to participate in this special day. I can't wait for her to have her baby girl. Auntie Marisa loves spoiling her nieces and nephews. I also got to see my other BFF Elizabeth and catch up with her.

After the shower, Shawn, Inara and I headed down to Foothill Ranch to have dinner with some old Blockbuster Video friends of ours. We probably haven't seen Scott and Jenna in 10 years, so it was a long overdue visit. Scott is now married and has a daughter who is 4 months older than Inara. Jenna is also married and has a 3 year old daughter. Funny that all of us had girls first. It was so easy to talk to them and their spouses as if no time had passed in our friendships. They are both great people, people I truly want to have in my life forever. I so hope we can all stay in touch and would love to have them out to CO to visit sometime.

Sunday night Erin came over to spend the night at my parents' house. It was great to see Erin and get to catch up with her.

Sunday was a lazy day in the morning with some much needed pool time. Erin stayed and had lunch with us, then headed back up to LA. Sunday night, Shawn and I got to go out without child in tow to have dinner with Toby, Tony, Katherine, Elizabeth, Tom & Diane, Jason and the infamous girlfriend Lilli. I was super excited to meet Jason's girlfriend. I can't believe they've been together for a year now, and we're just now meeting her considering Jason is like a brother to us. It felt like I've known her for a long time though since we've been talking on Facebook already. She's adorable. And I can tell Jason is really happy. We went out for a drink afterwards so we could talk some more. It was a much needed night of catching up.

Shawn had to work Monday through Thursday, so Inara and I got in a lot of visiting and family time during the week. We visited my Grandma Mary one day. It was so good to see her. She seemed to know who I was and was rather excited to see Inara, who didn't sit still for very long. It was a short visit, but a much needed one. We also got to spend some time with Grandma Di and Grandpa Tom, Jason's parents. They are such wonderful, special people. Inara even calls them Grandma and Grandpa. It's so cute. Diane had lots of toys for Inara to play with, and she wasn't shy with either one of them. She even gave Tom a hug good-bye, which is impressive considering she's usually a little scared of men. It was so good to chat with them. We didn't get to visit with them again during our trip like we had hoped as they had a death in the family. I wish we could have seen them one more time so I could have given Diane a big hug. I'm so sorry for their loss and wish them my deepest condolences.

One day we also got to see Sara McCarthy and her two daughters. Boy have they gotten big. I can't believe Stephanie is entering 1st grade already. Jeez, time flies. I haven't got to talk to Sara much since moving, so our short but sweet visit was long overdue.

We got to visit with lots of family too while we were there. My cousins Rob, Kelli and Alex flew in from WA the week we were in town, so we got to see them for the second time this year. I love getting to see them. They couldn't believe how much Inara has changed in the few months since we've last seen them. Trust me, I understand. The girl changes every day. My aunt Jeri and uncle Dave came into town as did my cousin Kim and her daughter Madison. There's always lots of laughter when they are around. I last saw Madison when she was just a few weeks old. I can't believe she just turned 1 year old. Yikes!!! I swear Inara may only have about an inch or two on Mady. She's so tall! It was so cute watching the girls play together, especially once Kylie got there too. We had all 3 girls playing in the pool. I'm sure Pop was in heaven seeing all the kids playing, just like we used to do at Nana & Paka's house back in the day when I was part of the kid squad. It's hilarious watching Kylie jump into the pool. One of the best quotes of the trip was whenever Kylie jumped into the pool (or anyone else for that matter), Inara would yell "Me too" because she wanted to jump off the diving board too. Sorry baby girl. Maybe next summer.

One night we got to go see our friend Jenna's house and spend some more time with her family. Her daughter Amelia and Inara really played well together, shocking since Inara can be very shy with new kids, but she really took to Amelia, and they seemed to have a great time. I loved that I got to spend this time with Jenna's daughter. Jenna meant a lot to me and now that we've reconnected, I hope we can further our friendship again. One reason I was really eager to go to Jenna's house is because she lives next door to the house I loved the most growing up, the one on Amy Street. This house meant so much to me growing up because it was the house Michael came home to, the house where Mom and I would water the backyard and see frogs jumping in the water fountain, the house where Pop and I would play Prices is Right and I would run down the hallway when dad would call my name as if I was the next contestant on the show, and it was the house with the LARGEST backyard of all the houses we ever lived in. I even specifically remember my cousin April and I having our Easter egg hunts in this backyard. Plus, it was the house I would walk to and from elementary school with my mom and Michael. I just love this house. What a small world that my friend Jenna would end up living right next door, and she knows the family that lives there, so we were able to walk through the house. Boy, they've done a lot of changes to it, but it's still the house I remember growing up, except now my old bedroom is the laundry room. Jacked. They've added on two new bedrooms, updated the master bathroom, and even added a family room and the backyard is STILL huge. It was cool to be able to walk through it and flashback to all my fond memories of it. Think I'll end this chapter of our vacation here. I still have so much more I want to write about, especially all the fun we had with my parents and Mikey. I'm sure all you are asking for a break for your eyes' sake, so until the next chapter I'll say good-bye for now.

Our CA Vacation Chapter 1

2009-08-04T20:35:00.003-06:00

We are now back in CO after 12 days in CA and boy am I tired. I think I'll need a vacation to recuperate from all the visiting we did. I figure with all the stories I have to share that I better break up the blog into chapters, so we'll start with the end of the vacation first and our trip to Disneyland.

Mom, Pop, Mikey, Shawn, Inara and I headed to Disneyland this past Sunday and are so very grateful for the passes we got from Grandma Di and Grandpa Tom, our dear friend Jason's parents. I can't thank you guys enough for helping us out. We got to the park around 9:30. On our way there, Pop was asking questions about where we park. I realized that my dad hasn't been there for a LONG time even before California Adventures was opened. This made me so excited to have him join us, especially given it was Inara's first trip. Let me tell you the girl did fantastic! Better than I could have ever imagined honestly. She was pretty excited to be at Mickey's house as I kept calling it for the past few weeks. We stopped at City Hall right when we got there so we could get her button that says First Visit. Have to get any freebies we can. Our first ride was Small World. Inara loved it. I died laughing when she would point to things and say George. Yes, sweetie, Curious George is friends with a panda bear. Yes, George does have a rug like the magic carpet Aladdin was flying on. Too funny. I'll confess at one point I totally got all teary-eyed and fought back the tears when I realized I was now sharing Disneyland for the first time with my daughter, and she was thrilled to be there. Yes, I'm sappy that way. Pop didn't go on the ride with us. When we met up with him afterwards, he had a surprise for Inara: he bought her a little Mickey Mouse doll, which she then carried around with her the rest of the day and has been sleeping with every night too. This made me sappy again. I loved that my dad got her her first Mickey doll. Funny side note: Pop bought a bag of Cheetos which Inara ended up eating half of. Too bad Mickey got dirtied with Cheetos crumbs throughout the day.

Next we went to Toontown and rode the Roger Rabbit ride. Of all the rides Inara went on that day, this was the only one she kinda got scared on. I understand. It is a weird ride even for me. We then walked around Toontown and saw Goofy. I tried to get her close enough to get her picture with him, but he was walking away. He did turn around to see Inara. When he put her hands on her face, she shivered and buried her head in my chest. I had a feeling she'd get scared with the costumed characters. This was proven after we walked through Mickey's house and got to meet Mickey Mouse. The second I got close to him to get our picture taken, she started screaming. Needless to say, I have a classic pic of me smiling with Mickey and my daughter crying. Poor baby girl.

Then we went on Autopia, which Shawn was excited to take her on. I must say those cars are small for 2 1/2 people. It was starting to get hot at this time, but not too bad that we couldn't stand being there. Also, I didn't think it was as crowded as I've seen it in the past. We had to wait in lines, but nothing obnoxiously long.

Next we had lunch at the Mexican restaurant. Tasty food but boy was it expensive.

We then headed to Pirates of the Carribean. Shawn really wanted to take Inara on Pirates. I wasn't sure how she'd do, but was willing to go along with his idea. All 5 of us went on this ride. Inara did surprisingly well and then suddenly Shawn nudged me to tell me Inara was asleep. The kid had fallen asleep on Pirates. Classic! I guess I understand: dark, slow, cool...perfect recipe for a nap. So right before our boat goes up the hill at the end of the ride, it paused and freakily the couple in the row in front of us jumped out of the boat and started running along the side on the actually ride. What the f? I got so pissed! Of course, a voice comes over the loud speaker to not leave the boat but the couple was long gone. They stopped the ride while security searched for them to no avail. The good news: this stalled us a little so Inara could get a bit of a nap in, so it kinda all worked out.

I really wanted Inara to go on the Winnie the Pooh ride, so we went to Critter Country and she was thrilled to see Pooh and the gang. I think this was her favorite ride. She kept yelling out the character's names and was smiling, having a grand old time. We then watched the costumed characters of Tigger and Eeyore from a far for a few minutes.

Next Pop, Shawn, Inara and I went on Jungle Cruise. She liked seeing the animals and even did her elephant impression as we passed them. We then checked out Fantasyland. Mom, Inara and I rode the carousel, which Inara always loves. It's the cutest thing watching her wave as she passes you. Then we rode on Casey Jr. Train. You know how much Inara loves trains. I really wanted Inara to see a parade, so after the train, I hussled to the area just outside the castle so we could catch the new parade, Celebrate. Inara was super excited to see Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, and the rest of the gang. She started bouncing in my arms as I held her and clapped after the songs were over. I just knew she'd love the music and dancing. We did a bit of souvenir shopping and by this time it was nearing 5pm, so we headed home. Like I said, the only time she napped the whole day was on Pirates, but she wasn't cranky and did fantastic. I was so excited! Even better was the fact that Mom, Pop and Mikey got to be there with Inara on her first trip to Disneyland. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day!

Is Inara really 2 months shy of turning 2?

2009-07-19T14:41:00.005-06:00

I'm a few days late on the 22 month birthday blog, so I thought I better use nap time today to wish my sweet girl a happy birthday. I seriously can't believe that Inara is 22 months and will be reaching the 2 year mark in just a couple short months. Man, time flies exponentially faster when kids are around. I mean, I always feel old but I feel even older now that my baby is getting so big.

Life as usual has been a roller coaster ride, mostly on the up swing though. We've hit a few road bumps as Inara just does not do well at all with teething. The poor girl has been running slight fevers and drooling like crazy, along with the usual teething cranks. On days like this, she usually just wants more of mommy's attention and to be held and snuggled. It can be hard on me, but I just have to remember this too shall pass. I've turned to giving her an assortment of pain relievers that she is now, thankfully, taking. After a few moms suggested it, I am going to try Motrin tonight since I'm not sure if the Tylenol is working. She is taking the Hylands Herbal Tablets finally and those seem to help too. I'm just concerned about the fevers though, since she's never been one to run a fever in the past. And this all comes in perfect timing too as we are preparing for our trip to CA in 5 more days. More on that in a sec.

Let's see what else is new with Inara. The talking and vocabulary are out of control now. She amazes me every day with all the new things she says. The other night I asked her if she was done with dinner so I could clear her plate, and she boldly responded, "Wait a minute." I commended her because I use that phrase with her all the time, and she used it appropriately. She is definitely a girl who has her own opinion. This is most reflected at meals, unfortunately. I say unfortunately because she's developing some picky eating habits. This could be due to her teething or her turning 2 soon. Foods that she ate just a couple months ago are now turned down with a wrinkled nose. Once she loved strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, bananas, but not so much lately. The one thing she always seems to eat though is cheese. That girl could eat cheese for all 3 meals and snacks in between. This means most meals consist of a grilled cheese sandwich, mac & cheese, or cheese quesadilla. I'm going to start mixing things into these three staples to see if I can get more vitamins into her diet. We'll see how that works.

One of our daily rituals is playing outside. She absolutely loves the outdoors. She's gotten so brave when we go to the park and now goes down slides all on her own, without me waiting for her at the bottom. It's amazing to see how much she's grown by observing such behaviors. One thing that cracks me up (and totally reminds me of me) is she always has to clear the wood chips off the steps before she can climb up, and if there is dirt or debris on the slide, she will politely point it out to me and have me clear it before she can slide down. She's so concerned about things being clean and orderly that's for sure. (She does this with her hands to. When eating, she continously asks me to clean her hands. She doesn't like to be dirty for long.) I've recently taken her to the outdoor pool at the rec center, and she does fairly well in the water. Most of the time, she'll play here and there with friends, but she'd much rather sit on mommy's lap and be an observer. I try not to push her too much, but sometimes I would really love to see play more with other kids and have fun rather than be the passive observer. Again, this so reminds me of me though. I've always wished I was a more active player vs. the calm observer.

Another of our daily rituals is taking walks. I bought her a little buggie/car that I can push her around the neighborhood in. Most of the time, this is her toy of choice after dinner when Daddy is home, but she and I have taken many walks too. I find it amusing to walk with her because she loves to point things out to me. Of course, we have to look for airplanes, and when we do see them, she always says "NeeNee" and I respond, "Yes, soon we'll go on an airplane to see NeeNee." She then quickly follows with "Toby?" Jacked. Toby has now taken the #2 spot, pushing Pop and Spanky to #3 and #4. (Actually, I think this is kinda cute since she only knows Toby from web calls.) When walking, we also look for flags. The girl is fascinated with flags, particularly the American flag. We also look for flowers, birds, kids, bikes, dogs, rabbits, etc.

One thing that truly amazes me is Inara's ability to recognize similar objects. For example, our friend with the little boy Owen drives a white SUV, a Trailblazer I believe. So any time we see a car that looks like this car, Inara will yell out Owen. The same goes for a black SUV like Kristi's. Inara will point it out and call out A for Avery. We have a couple Fisher Price Little People books and one of the little boys has short blonde hair, who she instantly associates with her friend Owen. Unbelieveable what a great memory she has and how she can associate various things with people she knows. Of course, this is also true with Curious George. She associates so many things to her favorite monkey: carrots, rainbows, boats. She may watch too much TV, but I've said it before and I'll say it again, Inara has learned SO much from George.

I swear Inara has the happiest, bubbliest personality that is so adorable. She does the funniest little things all the time. Something she started when my parents were here is she makes beeping noises when she walks backwards like the beeping trucks and vans make. Now she does it all the time, not just when she's walking backwards but even when she moves cars, strollers, etc. backwards. So funny. Also, her responses to questions can be so cute. We often ask her "Whose silly?" when she's being funny. Her response now is "ME!" Yes, she now can use the pronouns me and you, and she uses them correctly. She also has to mimic so much of what I do. If I'm sweeping, then she goes into the cupboard and gets her little broom and dustpan. And if she sees me wearing my apron while cooking, then she has to put hers on too. I love that I have a mini me running around her. It's one of the coolest feelings in the world.

One conversation we have numerous times throughout the day is when we go see NeeNee and Pop and all the fun things we're going to do. She can't wait to swim in Pop's big pool, even more so now that she saw videos of Kylie jumping in the pool. I've also told her about going to the fair with Kylie and all the farm animals we're going to see. She gets so excited. But she gets even more excited when I talk to her about going to Mickey Mouse's house called Disneyland. She always asks if we're going to ride the train with NeeNee. Yes, sweet pea, we're going to ride the train at Disneyland. I think she's going to have the time of her life when we go to CA. But I know for SURE that my parents are also going to have the time of their lives with this little munchkin. Even though they just saw her in April, she really has changed so much in just a few months that they are going to have a blast. So 5 more days, NeeNee, Pop, and Spanky, so be prepared because you're going to have your hands full for 12 days. We can't wait!

The girl has a gas problem

2009-07-09T20:25:00.003-06:00

So this will be one of those blogs that when Inara is older she will find out I wrote this and seriously want to hurt me for telling the world about her gas issues. But what are moms for if not to embarrass their children?

For the past few months, Inara has found great humor when she toots. Yes, it can be rather cute when a little kid lets one slip, but Inara lets them go all day long. When she does, she usually giggles, and I then have to prompt her to say excuse me. I know she's not quite two years old yet, but I want her to learn now that it's not polite to fart in public, especially if she doesn't excuse herself. Last night was one of the funniest things she's ever done. She was taking a bath while Shawn and I sat and watched her splash around and be her usual silly self. Suddenly, she puts one hand down, leans over, and seriously let out the loudest toot she's ever done. Of course, it was even louder because it vibrated off the bathtub. This startled her at first, but then sent her into giggle mode. So she then had to do it again. Shawn and I died laughing, which didn't help matters much because if mom and dad get a kick out of it, then it must be good to do. She did this at least 4 more times. I then became worried she'd poo in the bathtub, so I told her to stop. I could tell she wanted to continue making mommy and daddy laugh, but I was grateful that she listened and stopped.

Then after lunch today, she outdid herself once more. She was sitting in her highchair trying to go poopy. Her new thing is she covers her face when trying to relieve herself as if to ask for some privacy. I saw her do this, so I said my usual "Mommy will leave you alone so you can go poopy." I started cleaning up lunch dishes when all of a sudden I hear her go, "Mommy. Ta da. Stinky." I looked up at her and asked what she said. She then obligingly replied, "Ta da. Stinky." My daughter was so proud of the fact that she had done her business that she had to announce it with a congratulatory ta da. I lost it. I laid on the counter and died laughing, tears streaming down my face. Not the best response because again she's going to think this is acceptable and do it again in the future I'm sure. But it was honestly one of the most hysterical things she's ever done.

I'm worried now though. Why is my daughter so fascinated, entertained, whatever you want to call it with bodily functions? Is this normal? I mean come on. Where does she learn these things? It's not like Shawn and I walk around tooting and saying ta da when we go poo. Oh boy. I can't wait to hear what the preschool teacher says when Inara starts her class. "Um excuse me, Mrs. Tomlinson. Can we speak about Inara's infatuation with expressing herself so freely by tooting up a storm in class?" I can just see it now. And the worst part is most of the time I encourage it because I laugh when she does such things. But really how do you not laugh and who knew a toot could be so adorable? Sorry baby girl, but I had to share this one. I love you though.

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T14:25:00.004-06:00

Thought I'd take advantage of Inara napping, so I can get caught up on the blog. I have to tell everyone about my great job last weekend. Shawn's birthday was Mon the 29th. About a month ago I was trying to come up with a great gift idea for him since he's so impossible to buy for any more. He really needs to find less expensive hobbies. I realized the best gift would be a visit from his good friend, Greg. I emailed Greg and threw out the idea. He said he and his wife were in need of a vacation, so he'd get back to me. I wanna say the very next day their tickets were booked and plans were in motion. I was excited to surprise Shawn with one of his BFFs coming to visit but also was super excited to finally get to meet Greg and Tracy's daughter Kate.

Last Friday, Kristi came over in the morning to install Inara's old car seat since I'd need an extra one for little 9 month old Kate. That afternoon I went to the airport to pick up the surprise guests. I had been coordinating with Thane for a few weeks too so he could make sure to get Shawn home after I got back with our guests. One thing my brother-in-law is great for: he's a perfect partner in crime. We pulled it off perfectly. We had been home about 10 min by the time Shawn and Thane got home from work. When Shawn entered, I yelled from the kitchen, "Honey, you better come here. We need to talk." He slowly came around the corner to see me feeding a baby in the high chair. I told him, "Honey, I found this baby at the park. I already called the cops. Don't worry." He paused for a brief moment and said, "That's Kate! Where's Greg?" Greg and Tracy came out from their hiding spot to greet a super excited Shawn. He was totally surprised and thrilled. That night Shawn told me I was "good." Usually he picks up on surprises, but I never lead on that something was brewing. He was so happy to have Greg and his family here to celebrate his birthday. Ahhh, it's the least I can do for a great hubby.

Greg was here a year ago before we bought the house, so it was great to show him and Tracy around HR. We took them to one of the rec centers and played in the pool. Both Kate and Inara love the water, so this was a perfect outing. We had a bbq Saturday night for Shawn's birthday and had some other friends over along with the Tomlinsons. Sunday Greg wanted to go see the REI flagship store, so we went to Denver, shopped, and walked around 16th Street mall for a bit. Of course, we had to introduce Greg and Tracy to Survive, our favorite board game. We now have another family hooked on the game. Hope we can find a few Survives for sale at garage sales soon. All in all, I've gotta say Shawn had a perfect birthday. All the stress I've been going through planning the surprise was well worth it.

Can't do a blog update without Inara news. Our biggest recent milestone is Inara finally says her name. A week ago she started saying Inara Grace. I think it's hilarious that she doesn't just say Inara but has to say her full name. I have always loved the flow of her name, so the fact that she says Inara Grace makes me so happy. I realize now that I more often call her by her full name than just her first name and frequently do it when I'm trying to reprimand her. Guess it stuck because she says Inara Grace all the time now.

I've been thinking alot about our trip out to CA lately. It's now less than 3 weeks away, and I'm so excited to be going. I know my parents and brother were just out here, but seriously, the girl has changed so much in just the past 2 months that I can't wait for them to see her. As for all the friends and family that I want to see, they are going to get a kick out of how fun Inara is now. She's got the best personality ever. She's so funny and full of life. She asks me at least once a day when we hear an airplane if NeeNee's on it. I've been telling her that Inara, Daddy and Mommy are going on an airplane to OC to see NeeNee, Pop, Spanky and Toby (because she's always referencing Michael's dog now). She always responds with her enthusiastic, Curious George-like "Ooooooooh!" Given the planner I am, I've already started looking into all the things I want to do while we're there. (Why do so many of them revolve around food though? There are a bunch of our favorite restaurants we're hoping we can get to while visiting. Mainly, we can't wait to get us some frozen yogurt!) Of course, we'll go to the beach one day. I definitely want to take her to the OC Fair. She will love going on the rides and seeing the farm animals. I'm debating whether to go to the Long Beach Aquarium or the Santa Ana Zoo. The aquarium is so expensive any more, but I think she'd love to see the fish and aquatic animals. But then again, the kid loves zoo animals, so that's always an option. We're heading up to Bakersfield Aug 1 and 2 to see Kim, Danny and Mady along with all our Bako friends too. I've also been thinking a lot about taking Inara to Disneyland. I used to always be so against taking kids to Dland until they are old enough to really get it, but I think Inara would really love going. She knows who Mickey and the gang are, plus she's a huge Pooh fan and knows other characters like Nemo, Boo and Sully from Monsters Inc, and of course, the Disney princesses. I recently told Sierra no matter how much you try to keep your daughter away from the princesses, she is going to learn who they are from friends and seeing them in the stores. Plus, Inara would absolutely love riding the train, the cars, and some of the kid rides. I'm hoping we can go even for just a half day. Shawn's definitely in too. Shocking since he generally hates going to Disneyland in the summer: too hot and too many darn people. Anything for his little sweetheart though. The one great thing about my parents living in CA (although I would kill to have them move to CO) is SoCal is a great place for vacationing. There are so many touristy things to do, even with a 22 month old. I will be sure to take TONS of pictures to share our trip out to CA with all 5 of my readers. Well maybe I have 7 or 8 readers now. Ha ha.

Hope everyone has a fantastic 4th of July. We love you all!

Happy 21 Month Birthday Inara Grace

2009-06-16T14:38:00.005-06:00

Inara turned 21 months yesterday. Only 3 more months till she turns 2! I can't believe it!!! To commemorate Inara's monthly birthdays, I usually like to write about new things she's doing. For this post, I decided to write about Inara's friends, real and imaginative.

In the past few weeks, I have noticed Inara's really starting to bond with several friends. I think her favorite friend would have to be a little boy named O. She will say his name at least once a day if not more. O is the son of the Stroller Fit instructor, who I used to work out with weekly. She's pregnant and can't teach SF any more, but we have been hanging out on a fairly regular basis. When Inara wakes up in the morning, I will ask her, "Who are we going to see today?" She almost always responds, "O." Whenever we drive down Broadway and pass the church where we used to meet to do our SF workouts, Inara always yells out her best friend's name. Then yesterday we were driving to the post office and Inara starts yelling out, "Mommy, Owen car." It took me a few beats to figure out what she was trying to say. I noticed in the next lane in front of us was a white Ford Explorer, which looks a lot like the car his mommy drives. I started laughing and asked, "Inara does that look like O's car?" "Yeah, mommy," she replied. So cute (and impressive that she is able to connect a white SUV/truck with her friend...so smart!) I really think Inara has started building a friendship with this little guy, and I'm so happy about it because I adore O too. K was one of the first moms I met when I moved here, and I am so glad we did. She and I get along great, and obviously Inara has a liking for Owen, who is only 2 weeks older than Inara. As I've commented before, Inara has a hard time warming up to other adults and often pulls away when moms at playgroups try talking to her, but not with K. Inara will talk to Kr and even sit on her lap on some occasions. The more time we spend with the two of them, I can see Inara warming up more and more to K. She obviously has a special place in her heart for O too.

The other friends Inara has really grown to like are Jen and Addison. Jen is the real estate agent who helped us find our house and one of the moms from the group I joined. I love spending time with Jen and have really felt like she and I have started building a strong friendship. Her hubby Andrew and Shawn get along great too, so we hope to have them in our lives for a very long time. As for the girls, Addison and Inara are only a few months apart and from the get-go seemed to really click. The last 4 weeks we've been able to hang out more one-on-one with the two of them and that has really worked best for Inara who tends to be really shy when in large group playdates. Last week, the 4 of us joined the mom's group at Wildlife Experience, and Inara and Addison were like 2 peas in a pod. They even held hands and walked together. So precious! I love hearing Addison say Nara when she's trying to get her attention. The other great part about this friendship, again, is Inara gets along great with Jen too. At WE, Addison wanted me to hold her hand, and Inara didn't seem to mind too much because she cozied up to Jen and held her hand. The 4 of us had a fantastic time at Wildlife Experience. Jen and I had even discussed getting an annual pass so the 4 of us can visit regularly. Yesterday, we met up with the two of them at the park and had a great time hanging out, playing, and having snacks. I absolutely love watching the two girls play together and can only hope they will be the best of friends forever.

I had asked one of the moms from the group, Jill, to babysit Inara so I could go to two dentist appointments. The first time was rough going, and Inara cried most of the time. The second time, however, it was a totally different story. Inara had a great time with Jill and her little one McKenna, who recently turned 2. When I came to pick Inara up the first time, I could hear her sobbing and calling for me. The second time she was sitting at the table doing Play-doh with McKenna and was having a grand ol time. On Saturday, I co-hosted a baby shower for the mom's group leader Laura. When Shawn and Inara got back from My Gym that day, Inara walked in to see a living room full of women. I could tell she was a bit hesitant to enter, but she walked right up to Jill and gave her a hug. I was so proud of my little girl for recognizing and being so sweet to Jill. She is another mom I just love talking with and enjoy spending time with. I keep saying we've got to get our hubbies together since her husband coaches soccer, and we all know how much Shawn loves to play soccer.

When driving around or walking through stores, Inara always loves to point out other kids and is fascinated watching what they do, especially older kids. Our neighbors across the street have two older girls, Ashley and Kayla, and Inara just loves seeing the girls. The other week they were having a garage sale, and Inara waved at them when we pulled into our driveway after running a few errands. I closed the garage door once inside only to be greeted with a horrible scream. When I asked Inara what was wrong, she cried, "Kids, mommy." Oh I'm so sorry. She didn't want me to close the garage door yet because she wanted to see the kids. We walked to the end of the driveway so she could wave hi to the two girls. I should have known that's what she wanted to do. Haha.

As you would expect, Inara's other best friend would be her cousin Avery. I can remember back to last year when we lived with them, and Avery would want to play with Inara who was still too little to do much of anything besides lay there and watch her cousin run around and have fun. The other week Kristi and the kids came over here to hang out and have lunch. It was so special to me watching Inara run after her cousin and listening to the two girls giggling. Avery likes to play house with Inara and calls her honey. So cute! It makes me think back to playing with my cousin April when we were younger and how special my childhood was once my brother came along. Boy, do I have great memories of playing with the two of them, my best friends growing up. I also love watching Inara when she's around Jack. She loves to kiss him lately, and I'm careful to make sure she touches him gently with soft hands. It's things like this that remind me why Inara has to have a sibling. Yes, she will always be close to Avery and Jack, but I want her to have the same experiences I had growing up with a best friend in the house. Well, a best friend until she is old enough to have a love/hate relationship like Michael and I did. I love you little brother and am so glad mom didn't get rid of you when I had wished she would. Hee hee.

Along with the real friendships Inara has started building, she also has several friendships with a couple toys in particular. When my parents were here in April, Pop had bought Inara a blue monkey at the mall. From that day forward, we have to take baby monkey with us practically every day when we leave the house. She even tried to put him in her car seat strap yesterday. Usually he sits right next to her in the car seat all snuggly close. I'm afraid she'll lose him if we bring him inside stores with us, but sometimes if I even mention leaving him in the car, I get a scream of protest in return. So sorry baby girl.

And of course, a blog about Inara's friends wouldn't be complete if we didn't mention Curious George. Inara LOVES LOVES LOVES Curious George. She is obsessed with watching his cartoons every day. I now have at least 32 episodes recorded on our DVR so we have options when it comes time to watch an episode of "Ah ah" as George is referred to around here. What really cracks me up now when she watches the show is how she will laugh when George does silly things. She's really getting to where she understands what's going on in the show. During the opening credits, she also has to yell out the names of the other characters that come on screen: hat (for man in the yellow hat), bird (for Compass the pigeon), Hunley (for Huntley the weiner dog), cat (for Gnocchi the cat), her eating squirrel sound effect (for Jumpy the squirrel), and her favorite of all Charkie (the trouble-making dog). It cracks me up how so many things on a daily basis can be related back to George stories. It could be the simplest thing like seeing a worm outside in the yard, and she'll say, "Ah ah, mommy." "Yes, sweet pea, George raced worms with his friend Bill, didn't he?" "Yeah." This is a typical anecdotal conversation we'll share relating back to George. I can't say it enough: she absolutely loves Curious George, and I'm totally cool with it because not only does she learn a ton from his cartoons, but Shawn and I have also grown to love watching George too.

Happy 21 month birthday baby girl. Mommy loves you so very much!!!

I'm more in love with my house every day

2009-06-13T15:28:00.004-06:00

I was reading my cousin Kim's blog the other day about all the renovations/upgrades she and Danny are doing to their house and it got me to thinking about our house. We've been so busy working on things lately that I've forgot to step back and look at all that we've done to it since we moved in, so I thought I'd share some of the new things with you all. Plus, I wanted to let my husband know just how much I appreciate all the hard work he's been doing to make our house beautiful.

Shawn's big project the past few months as been the backyard. He has become obsessed with making it perfect. OK. Maybe not perfect but it sure does look a 1000% times better than it did when we bought the house. He did get some help from my dad, of course, on his last trip out here since Shawn's never had such a big yard to take care of. Shawn finally got all the weeds and flowers taken out and put sod in those areas along the concrete patio, along the flowerbed, and around the tree off the dining room. He also filled in patches around the yard that were dead. At first we were a little sketchy on whether or not the sod was going to grow, but after a few weeks of Shawn watering it and tending to it almost every day, it's all thriving and looks great. We've been having a lot of rain here lately in the afternoons, so the lawn is super green and growing so fast that Shawn has to mow it every week. Joyous would be his response. Shawn also trimmed the Aspen trees in our backyard that were looking a bit dead. There were also two trees, one on each end of the flower bed, that were growing out of control and, come to find out, thorny little buggers, so Shawn dug them up. The back of the yard along the fence looks so much better now and not all overgrown. He's also becoming the weed fanatic and continuously sprays Round Up along the walking paths on both sides of the house. Like I said, the yard is looking pretty fantastic in my opinion. I know it's been a lot of work for him lately, so I want Shawn to know it hasn't gone unnoticed. It's been so awesome getting to sit in the backyard on our new patio set and have our dinners out there. Inara and I have even taken advantage of this during lunch on several occasions. I really love having my own backyard, barbecuing and having a family dinner, and looking out at the mountains in the distant. It's a bonus of homeownership I've gotta say.

While Shawn's been tending to the yardwork, I've been dabbling in planting flowers. I must say it ain't no easy task growing flowers. I've had several die on my already. But I'm plugging away trying to add some color to our front and back yards. I bought two really large flower pots to put in front along the single car garage and planted purple and pink flowers that are doing well so far. I've also got several other potted flowers along the driveway and two terra cotta pots along the ledge outside the dining room window that I'm trying to grow flowers in. I am determined to get better at gardening even if it kills me and the plants too.

When you walk into our house, you walk into a large foyer where there are 7 windows at the very top of two of the walls. I've noticed that when the sun starts beating down in the late afternoon, those windows get a lot of sunlight and glare. I had gone to a home expo and met a rep from a local window film company. We had them come out to do an estimate and learned a lot about their company and product. One thing we had to consider was the position of the windows directly hits the thermostat, so it might make the AC turn on more frequently throughout the summer. I also knew, and the man confirmed, that the sun coming in was beating on the hardwood entry, which could lead to damaging the floor. We decided to have the window film installed since it wasn't going to cost an arm and a leg. I noticed a difference on the glare immediately, especially when standing in Shawn's computer nook at the top of the stairs. I'm so glad we chose that upgrade already.

To also help keep the afternoon heat out, we installed new curtains in the front living room/playroom. I wanted something bold and colorful, so I got red silk curtains, although Shawn said they look too nice to be in Inara's playroom. I say just because Inara plays in there doesn't mean we can't have nice things like curtains in there. The color also brightens up that room a lot since before it was all beige.

In the front foyer, I also started a family photo collage on the wall above the bench. I love the HGTV show Dear Genevieve, and one of the things she's always recommending homeowners to use are family pictures when you walk in a house because it gives the entry a very personal touch. Funny thing is when my mom and brother were here they were both telling me to put the picture of Shawn, Inara and I from a few months after she was born up on that wall. Guess they knew what they were talking about.

In the family room, Shawn's other big project was installing a ceiling fan. It was already prewired, but Shawn was still a bit nervous about installing the fan. After my suggestion, he took one of those free classes at Home Depot and came home confident he could do it, and he did a fantastic job. I love our new fan, and it's made a huge difference in that room. Yes, more reasons for us to not have to run the AC when the weather gets warm.

One project we both would love to do now but know we have to wait on is finishing the basement. We were having a hard time imagining where to place the rooms, so we went ahead and had a contractor come out to take a look and give us some suggestions. I had met this man Mark at the home expo and was really impressed by him. He was super nice, and Shawn liked him as well when he came to the house. He took the time to walk through the basement and give us ideas on how to finish it. One thing he suggested was to hang old sheets where walls would be so we can see if we like the layout. I really liked his ideas because he allowed for lots of storage space and left a lot of open space as well. Shawn also asked him about doing a built-in entertainment center in the family room. We both really liked his ideas for this as well and will more than likely have him do this before we are anywhere near finishing the basement, unless we win a large jackpot soon or something. It still felt good to talk to Mark about the basement and get an idea for a layout.

The other night Shawn and I started reminiscing about searching for houses and how we fell in love with this house from the get-go. Next month will be one year that we signed the papers and bought our first house. Hard to believe it's already been a year. But each day that we live here, I fall in love with my home more and more. We sat and talked about all the things we love and dislike about the house. Not hard to believe that our love list was miles longer than our dislike list. All the things I first fell in love with our house have all held true: the location, the open circular floorplan on the main floor, the family room opening into the kitchen, the large front living room, the guest room and bathroom on the main floor, the laundry room on the main floor, the large master bedroom and bathroom, Inara's room and bathroom, the backyard and patio. I love it all! Today I hosted a baby shower and several moms who had never been here before commented on how beautiful my house was. This made me so proud to call this my home. It's no easy task caring for a house, nor is paying for one, but I can honestly say that I want to live here for as long as possible. It has everything we want and need and love. I feel so lucky to have such an amazing house. So Shawn, thank you for giving Inara and I this awesome home. We love it!

The latest and greatest adventures of Inara Grace

2009-06-08T20:16:00.003-06:00

Before I started this blog, I scrolled through and read some of my previous entries. I realized something, besides the fact that I can be long-winded, I gush a lot about my daughter. Some of the stories get so mushy sweet. Guess what? I love every word of it. I want to gush about my daughter to everyone I come in contact with. Wanna know why? The girl rocks! I seriously think she is the coolest chick I've ever hung out with. Sorry to all my girlfriends past and present, but seriously, she is the greatest girl in the world. This has made the discussion of when to try for another baby a rather difficult subject. It's hard to imagine loving another baby as much as I love Inara. She is so darn cool! How could a second child be as cool if not cooler than her? I know this may sound silly, but it's the honest truth. I even told Shawn we shouldn't mess with perfection because Inara really is perfect. Yes, I know that I've had many really rough days in the past, but they've all lead me to this awesome stage with her and I'm so grateful for them. Plus, I absolutely love getting to spend so much time with her and watching her grow every day. I worry that once I have another child, I won't have the same one-on-one time and relationship I have with her that I love so much. I want to give her my undivided attention as long as possible, so when is the right time to have another child? Let's all face it, I'm not getting any younger and starting to hit the high-risk pregnancy stage, so if we're going to have another baby, we really should start trying soon. But I hate the idea of only giving Inara half of my time when right now I love giving her everything I've got. Yes, she's spoiled and I'm damn proud of it. She's worth it!

As always, I have to share some of the funny stories with all my readers. Yeah, all 5 of you I'm sure, but even if nobody reads this, I have to throw these stories out there in hopes that some day Inara will get to read them when she's older.

So the other day Shawn, Inara and I were shopping at Sports Authority. Shawn was looking for some new shoes, and I was trying to keep Inara busy walking around looking at things so as not to disturb Shawn too much. I started walking back to the shoe department with Inara in tow talking away to her as usual. I said, "Where is daddy? Let's call him. Daddy. Where are you?" Like the obedient daughter she is, Inara cupped her hand around her mouth and started yelling out for him too. But she didn't yell Daddy. Instead, she yelled Shawn. I turned around, flabbergasted that I heard her call him by his name for the first time. Shawn, two aisles away, also heard her, came around the corner, and asked, "Did she just say Shawn?" The two of us cracked up. The rest of the time we were in the store Inara proceeded to call him Shawn as he kept correcting her, "NO! It's Daddy!" Obviously she hears me call him by his name. Good thing I've refrained from calling him some of the others names I have for him in her presence. That's all I need is for her to walk around the store calling out for Butthead or other colorful names.

Inara is quickly learning the art of negotiation. She can be heard throughout the day saying, "One more." This can be in reference to pretty much anything: one more french fry, one more glass of chocolate milk, one more episode of Curious George, one more book before bedtime. It's so hilarious that she tries to get her way by asking for just one more of something she wants, which of course is followed by several more rounds of "just one more" until Shawn and I say no more.

I keep telling myself that now that I'm a mom I need to come up with a million dollar invention for some gadget moms can't live without. My all-time favorite right now is the crazy monstrosity shopping carts that have cars attached to them for kids to sit and play in. Whoever invented this is a pure genius! For awhile there, shopping with Inara was a total nightmare. Several times I was tempted to leave her in the middle of the store as she proceeded to scream at the top of her lungs. I swear I'd never do it but on several occasions, I grabbed an item off the shelf, opened it, and gave it to her. At least it was only crackers and string cheese, but still, I was so embarrassed to do it, but anything to get her to quiet down. Well now the girl has a grand old time driving around in the car shopping carts. The second we step foot into the grocery store, she asks for the car. She loves it! Yes, I agree they are obnoxiously large and impossible to maneuver through a store, but I don't care. Whatever I have to do to get my groceries in some peace and quiet, I'll do it. It's hilarious to watch her play in the car too. She turns the steering wheel, honks the horn, goes VROOM VROOM, and waves at people as we "drive" passed them. We have gotten many a smiles and chuckles from passers-by. I mean really, how can you not smile and laugh as a 20 month old drives pass you and waves? It's a beautiful sight to see.

One thing that has been hard for me to adjust to these past 20 months is the fact that I'm not working. I loved teaching and have struggled at various times adjusting to my stay-at-home status because I miss the classroom. Recently though, I've fully embraced my new role as a full time mommy and am more at ease with myself. Even Shawn has noticed my new relaxed demeanor. And there are certain moments that I get to revel in the fact that I'm a stay-at-home mom. Last night we went to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner. There were two ladies in the booth next to us. I heard them talking about Inara several times during our meals. As we were getting ready to leave, one of the ladies asked how old Inara is. When I told her 20 months, she seemed shocked and said, "Wow. She's got a great vocabulary and really does understand a lot for such a young age." I could do nothing but smile. It made me feel so good to hear such great compliments about my daughter. I think it has a lot to do with me being home with her to teach her. I know she really does thrive in a one-on-one setting and might get lost if she were in a daycare with a handful of other kids. On several occasions, even Kristi has commented that she wouldn't be surprised if my kid was the one reading before she was 3. I love comments like this because it offers me rewards that no other job has offered. I love to see Inara thrive in such ways. She's starting to learn her colors and her letters, which I think is impressive for a child under the age of 2. All of this is because I'm home playing with her and trying to offer her learning opportunities whenever I can. Yes, this means you can hear me talking away all day long, in the car, while walking through stores, on walks, everywhere. I've gotten many a funny look from people as they hear me talking away to her, but I don't care if it means she's having fun learning something new every day. True, I might not have a paycheck job, but now after 20 months, I wouldn't change my job as a mommy for anything in the world.

It's all about NeeNee and Pop

2009-05-24T09:22:00.003-06:00

Lately, it seems like so many of my conversations with Inara revolve around Grandma NeeNee and Pop. When they were here last month, Inara picked up two sayings: wubba wubba and yippee skippy. Every time I use these sayings, Inara gets a big smile and says "Pop" for wubba wubba and "NeeNee" for yippe skippy. It's so funny that she instantly associates these sayings with my parents. This past week she has started watching the cartoon Backyardigans, and as soon as the theme song comes on, she giggles and says "PayPee" (Spanky). When my brother was here, he played a couple episodes for her on his laptop and now she loves the show. The second she hears the theme song, she gets all excited and calls out PayPee. It's hilarious.

Lately, she's become obsessed with finding airplanes in the sky. It's a game we play when in the car: lets look for cows, horses, dogs, bicycles, birds and airplanes. She must have super sonic hearing because even indoors she can hear the airplanes outside and yells out "airpane." I figured why not start telling her about flying and airplanes, so I've been telling her that mommy, daddy, and Inara are going in an airplane to see NeeNee, Pop and PayPee soon. She totally gets it because the other night I was putting her to bed, and I asked her what are we going to do in the morning, trying to get her to say go to My Gym. Instead, she said "airpane NeeNee Pop." I asked, "Do you want to go on an airplane to see NeeNee and Pop tomorrow?" She responded with an exuberant "Yeah!" I couldn't stop laughing because one she understands that we're going on an airplane to see the family but also because she misses my parents and brother. When I ask her if she misses NeeNee, Pop and PayPee, she gets a big sulking lip and closes her eyes. That's her way of show sadness.

I'm telling you she's getting way too smart for her age. The other morning I was reading email on my laptop when she came over, pointed and said, "Pop pewper." I was shocked. I asked, "Do you want to talk to Pop on mommy's computer?" "Yeah. Yeah. Yeah," she said with an vigorous head shake. I had to reward that, so I called my parents' house, but nobody was home. I called Pop on his cell, and he told me they were all out and about, so we'd have to skype later in the afternoon. I, of course, had to try to explain that to a 20 month old. It ended with a lot of sobbing and whining. When she woke from her nap that day, the first thing she wanted, even before snacks, was to call NeeNee and Pop on pewper. She was so excited to skype with them that afternoon. When she talks to them on the webcam, she leans in and gives kisses and obligingly performs for them. I know my parents love it.

As I've mentioned before, I can never go to the bathroom without an audience. This morning she came into the bathroom, gave me her usual "Hi Mommy," then went to the guest room door and said "NeeNee Pop." I asked her if NeeNee and Pop slept in the guest room. "Yeah," she said and then opened the door. When there was nobody inside, she came out with a sad expression and asked, "NeeNee? Pop?" I felt so sad because she looked thoroughly disappointed to see the room empty. I explained that we would see NeeNee and Pop soon when we go on an airplane and see them in OC, and we can play in Pop's pool. She seemed to approve this explanation and went on her merry way.

Although my family may live hundreds of miles away, Inara sure does know and love her NeeNee, Pop, PayPee and everyone else I talk about back in CA. This summer will be a blast for her to get to see everyone she asks about every day. Only 2 months left til we go in an aipane and see you all. Love you guys. Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

Is she really getting this old?

2009-05-10T19:39:00.003-06:00

This week Inara will turn 20 months. I can't believe it. She is getting to be quite the big girl now and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I love her being my baby girl, but she's showing signs of independence and an opinion, which is both good and bad. But she is still very much a mommy's girl. After the past 2 weeks of crying out for daddy all day long, tonight she wanted only mommy. Shawn tried to sit down next to us as we were reading, and she yelled out no. Shawn then asked do you want daddy to leave, and she shook her head yes. The rest of the night it was just the two of us. Guess she really wanted it to be Mother's Day.

Our bedtime rituals are changing every day it seems like. I think it has to do with the fact that she is taking long naps during the day now. She's been averaging 2 hours most days. Weekends I noticed are a bit of a challenge because daddy is home and we're out and about more, but for the most part, I get at least 90 minutes to 2 full hours. This means that she isn't going to bed until 8pm though. That's kinda tough because I like to have some time to finish up projects and unwind. I'll have to figure out a new routine for myself I guess. When I put Inara to bed, she now wants me to rub her back. It's cute but kinda painful for me to hunch over her crib and rub her back for too long. I swear the sacrifices we make for our kids. Tonight I rubbed her back for 20 minutes. She was so cute laying there, and if I moved away, she opened her eyes and said mommy back. So I obliged. It totally reminded me of when Nana would rub my arms, back and face to help relax me to sleep. Too bad I still can't get my back rubbed to sleep.

She's getting to be quite the smart little girl too. The other day we were playing, and I started counting: one...Then she said two, tree. I was so shocked. She has started learning to count. I realize it's because when we are playing, particularly running or going down slides, I always say, "OK. Inara, ready. One. Two. Three. Go." I'm guessing she's picking up on it and learning how to count. I've also been going through letters with her a lot. I show her a D and ask her whose name starts with this letter. She then replies, "Daddy." She has several letters down already: M is for Mommy, P is for Pop, K is for Kristi.

Inara loves to do puzzles lately. We have an assortment of wooden peg puzzles as they are called, and she has mastered putting the shapes, letters, vehicles, animals in their appropriate place. From these puzzles, I've also started teaching her we get milk from cows and eggs from chickens. Tonight, I was watching her do the puzzles and decided to challenge her with two at once. Successfully was able to put two puzzles together simultaneously. This was tough because we have two that have farm animals, and she figured out which cow went on which puzzle, etc. I gave her big hugs and kisses after each one to praise her. She smiled and clapped for herself too. I was so super impressed that I even called her a genius. Hey, positive praise is important, right?

We have a new ritual when in the car too. Whenever we get to an area of large open land, she yells out, "Mommy, moo." This means mommy lets look for the cows and horses. We also look out the windows to see if we can spot beep beeps (that's Inara's tweet tweet for birds), airplanes, bikes, and dogs, aka. doggies, ruff ruffs, and Abby's (most dogs are often called Abby's after Uncle Thane's dog Abby who she now asks for all the time). As for airplanes, the kid amazes me when she can hear the faintest sound of an airplane off in the distance. We can even be in the house, and she'll suddenly say, "mommy, airplane" and I'll have to listen really close to hear the airplane outside. At least we know her hearing is perfect.

As I've mentioned before, she loves being mommy's helper. Well, this week Inara started helping me water the flowers and plants outside. I got her a little watering can at Target, and she now follows me as I water the pots in the yard. She says, "Mommy wawa plant." And I say, "Yes, can Inara please help me?" She then points to herself and says, "Wawa." That's her way of saying Inara wants to wawa too. I love this new routine we have. It's the cutest thing ever. I remember when I was little that I would help my mom water the lawn in the backyard, and we'd look for the frogs. This is one of my fondest childhood memories, and I love that I'm starting a similar routine with my daughter. Too weird how things come full circle like this.

This wouldn't be a blog without a horror story to round out the image of my independent, opinionated daughter. She is now starting to voice her opinion much more about things. I was hoping this wouldn't start until she hit 2, but alas, it is happening now. The other day I grabbed a sweatshirt out of the closet to put on her, and she started yelling no. I asked her what was wrong, and she pointed to another sweatshirt in the closet. I asked, "Do you want to wear the brown one instead?" She happily shook her head yes. Oh boy. Now she's telling me what she wants to wear. She has done similar things with shoes and dresses. Also, I will start putting her hair up in a ponytail, and she'll say, "No mommy, two." "Do you want 2 ponytails, Inara?" I again get an exuberant yeah, yeah, yeah. I can see many a disagreements in the near future. Oh boy.

The other funny but scary story I have to share is about the biggest fit Inara has ever thrown. The other day we were in the kitche when I noticed she had gotten a hold of a chapstick and started putting it on her lips, then her cheeks, nose, etc. I told her no and took it away from her. She threw a holy terror. Stomped her feet. Started walking away from me. Looked back at me and screamed. Continued walking to the cupboard and then put her arm up on the door and rested her head on it as she continued to scream and cry. Oh the drama. I stood there in awe at the spectacle that was taking place all over a chapstick. I was angry with her but found myself laughing at the same time. Could my baby girl be starting the acting out expected of a 2 year old? Again, oh boy, do I have a handful to deal with now? The best medicine for me to survive what's coming (besides a daily pitcher of margaritas) is to read back through blogs like this to remember how truly amazing this little girl is, regardless of the days I want to leave her on the doorstep for my mom to come get her.

Daddy? Daddy? Daddy!

2009-05-01T15:20:00.003-06:00

I believe Inara has officially begun the daddy stage. She has been asking for him a lot more than usual ,and the second he gets home, it's as if mommy doesn't exist. Trust me, I'm happy to get a lil break from the never-ending mommy mode. Along with this new stage, Inara did two things she's never done before this week. First on Monday, when Shawn was leaving for work, Inara followed him to the garage door, put her hands and head on it, and cried "Daddy! Daddy!" I've never seen her do this as the only time she has cried when someone leaves was when I have left. It broke my heart to see her so sad, but I also thought it was funny to watch and so innocent and sweet. Then Wednesday, when Shawn was leaving for work, he picked her up to give her a hug and kiss. I came up and put my arms around the two of them only to be met with a push from Inara and a stern "NO." She did not like me infringing on her daddy time I guess. I did it a second time and had the same results. I loved it! I think it's so cute when kids do this because they want their daddy all to themselves. I totally get it.

Bedtime has been a challenge now that the daddy stage has started. Shawn put her to bed a couple nights in a row and faced a battle. In the past, we have laid her in bed, rubbed her back and hair for a short bit, said our good-byes, and left the room with no problem. Not this week. The second daddy leaves the room, Inara stands up and screams for him to come back. So Shawn figured out that he needs to stay in the room until she falls asleep. He sits in the rocking chair right next to her crib so she can see him. One night she still kept getting up even with daddy sitting in the rocker right next to her. So he figured out she wanted daddy to hold her. Althought it made for a long bedtime process, Shawn said he loved it because she's not one to cuddle very often, so it felt so awesome to hold her and rock her to sleep. Wednesday night when I put her to sleep and today at naptime, Inara struggled a bit because she kept standing up in the crib, pointing to the rocking chair, and saying "Daddy?" I have had to explain to her mommy was here for her, and daddy was working. Today, every time she stood up and asked for Shawn and I replied, "Daddy's at work," she responded with the saddest, most pathetic "oh" as if I had just squashed her dream or something. It takes at least 5 or 6 times of softly asking for daddy that she gets that he's not coming in to see her off to sleep. It's one of the sweetest moments to see. She really loves her daddy and misses him lots. It's a good thing they are having a father-daughter day tomorrow. I know she will love having him all to herself. (Mommy is excited too because I have a whole day all to myself. I've forgotten what that is like. Hope I can enjoy myself without my shadow in tow.)

Is it really possible to love somebody this much?

2009-04-21T21:43:00.002-06:00

I LOVE MY DAUGHTER! She is growing so fast and getting more and more adorable by the second. Yes, my patience is tried numerous times every day, but honestly, my life is perfect now with my daughter in it. I just had one of those days that I thought, "Boy how my life has changed in the past 2 years, but I wouldn't change it for the world because I have the most amazing daughter in the whole world." She is getting so big, and I have to remind myself that I really do need to stop and enjoy every minute I have with her because I know someday she's not going to want me around and that's going to break my heart. She's becoming this independent little girl, and I get to see it every day. Man, am I lucky or what? So here are some funny little stories from today for your enjoyment.

We went to the grocery store today, and she was really good. She chatted away to anyone and no one. I got her a piece of cheese from the deli, and her face lit up like I just gave her a Tiffany bracelet or something. We had a fun time goofing around and giggling the whole time we were in the store. As we were getting back in the car, I heard an airplane flying overhead, so I pointed it out to her, and she got all excited and yelled airplane. I then started to put her in her carseat, but not before I bumped my head on the side of the car. I yelled out "OW" which prompted her to start laughing hysterically. I then, of course, found her laugh amusing, so I started laughing too and forgot about the bonk on my head. Good use of distraction, Inara.

After we got home, Inara helped me put the groceries away, because she loves to be mommy's little helper. I then asked if she wanted to walk outside, so we took a short stroll in the front yard. It was super bright outside. I stated that mommy should have got her sunglasses. Inara then stopped, pointed to herself and said sunglasses. I asked, "Does Inara want sunglasses too?" She replied yes. My little girl is getting so smart, and we are able to have conversations now. It's so awesome! Also during our walk, she was fascinated watching the water run down the gutter. I explained to her that the water was from the snow melting. She then stood there and said bath. Yes, the water is going down the drain like it does in the bath. I was impressed that she was able to associate the two. She's going to be a genius I can already tell. :-)

Now that all our guests are gone, I put the kid potty we're borrowing from Avery in the downstairs bathroom. So today when I went potty, Inara came in, lifted the cover on her potty, and sat right now. It was funny because while she sat on the potty, she also drank wawa from her cup. After mommy got up, she got up, put the cover down, and flushed her potty just like I had done. It's crazy to watch her do so many things that I do. I get to see her become a little girl, following mommy's lead, and most impressive, is that she understands exactly what she's doing. This is the part of parenting that I am in total awe of every day. I was so happy to see her back to her bubbly self today because she had been under the weather and ran a fever for 3 days all due to teething I'm pretty certain. So today was a fantastic mommy and Inara day, one of those days that I wish I could have videotaped everything she did. Let's face it: my sweet pea rocks!

Bon voyage to my parents and brother

2009-04-18T14:20:00.006-06:00

My parents and brother headed back to CA today despite the horrible weather. It's been snowing here for the past two days and doesn't seem like it's going to let up regardless of what the weather reporters say. I'm worried about them leaving in the snow because their car is rear wheel drive, but I'm sure everything is going to be OK. It's not like my dad is an inexperienced driver or something. They are going to have to go the long boring way down toward New Mexico and Arizona rather than head up toward Vail and go through Utah now because of the snow in the mountains. This only means another long drive with nothing to look out at. I hope the three of them don't end up wanting to kill each other again since it took them 18 hours to get here, and by then, they were finished with each other.

Our week with my parents and brother was less eventful than I had hoped. I feel bad because it seems like whenever my parents are here all we do are projects on the house, which I can tell my mom is getting bored with. I don't think my dad dislikes it as much because he hates just sitting around and is one that prefers keeping busy even on vacation. Plus, I'm always worried about all my guests and think I should be planning all these outings, but it's kinda hard since my dad doesn't like tourist-y things, my brother is on a budget, and my mom gets car sick (so much for taking them to Red Rocks or Lookout Mountain). My brother, mom, Inara and I did get some shopping in at the outlet mall. I also got to take them to 3 Margaritas, which they all LOVED, and The Counter, the build your own burger place. I was really excited the 3 of them went with Inara and I to My Gym on Thursday so they got to see all the new things she does like climbing all over the apparatuses. Of course, they also got to see how she hates sitting down for circle time and fights me because she wants to run and jump all around instead. I don't blame her. What 19 month old wants to sit still for 10 minutes? I know my dad and brother got some good pics and videos of her playing, so I hope to share them with you all soon.

Pop was quite the busy guy while he was here. First off, he painted the coolest mural in my kitchen. It says "The Kitchen is the Heart of My Home" and has various fruits and veggies in the background. It's awesome! Now my kitchen has some personality, especially since this is MY room and it was so drab before and didn't reflect my personality in my opinion. So thanks so much Pop for doing that. I know it wasn't an easy job. He hung two big lights in our garage, which was greatly needed since lighting in there sucked. He also helped with yard work (again!) and hung some pictures I really wanted up. Funny that they have nothing in them yet, but at least they are hung up and that was the hard part for me since I'm so darn short. Pop went with me when I bought our patio set since there was no way I could load all the boxes myself in my CRV. I can't wait to put it together and set it up once the weather clears up. He also went to Home Depot with Shawn to get our lawnmower and other odds 'n ends we needed. He also puttied the front walk where there was a crack between the house and the porch. That was really bugging me, so I'm thrilled it's fixed. He helped me spray paint the shelf for Inara's room and installed her curtain tiebacks. Another project I really wanted to finish was the wood bench in my foyer. I bought it awhile ago at a garage sale for $7. It was unfinished wood and needed a little cleaning up, so Pop showed me how to sand it and put a semi-gloss finish on it. Now, in Shawn's words "It looks like a $100 bench." I swear after my dad is here my house looks better and better every time.

My mom's big task was washing Inara's summer clothes. I got a box of clothes from a friend of mine back in CA and also went through all of Avery's 18-24 month clothes. Plus, I had bought some stuff at consignment sales and on clearance at Old Navy. My poor mom was doing laundry for 3 days I think. Given, she is very particular about the way she does laundry, so it does take her longer. But now Inara is set for whenever the sun comes out and the snow decides to go away. So many cute sun dresses. This alone makes me excited for warm weather.

Back to weather...I've been waiting for a snow storm like this all winter. Funny that we're getting it in mid-April. I begged Shawn to go outside with me yesterday to play. We threw snow balls at each other and my brother, who was a real sport about it. Then Shawn tried to show me how to use the boogie board in our backyard. I failed miserably and did a belly flop from hell. Think I bruised a rib even. Michael got video, so I'm sure he'll post it on facebook to embarrass his big sister. Inara in no way liked it when Shawn and I were playing outside. She cried pretty much the whole time. The girl hates the snow! My mom stayed inside with her since she wasn't about to go play in it either. This morning I even went outside and helped Shawn shovel snow. Now he can't hold that over me any more. My dad was out there shoveling too. I asked him if he ever thought he'd see me shovel snow. He said hell no. Too funny. I know some people hate the cold, but honestly, I love it!

Besides the horrible drive out here, the one bad day of my family's visit was Tuesday night when Inara decided at 10pm she didn't want to sleep any more and was up until 3am. Shawn and I were so frustrated and then got to the total exhaustion point and laughed about it all. I don't know what got into her, but Inara was wide awake and playing in the middle of the night, waking everyone at various times. Shawn even took her downstairs to the basement to play with her kitchen and new pots and pans that Grandma NeeNee had just bought her. When he brought her back upstairs to our room, we turned the tv on hoping that would relax her. Unfortunately, Barney was the only thing on, which drove me crazy. You just can't sleep with Barney on in the background. Then when Sesame Street came on, she was going "Uh oh" as loud as should could when Elmo was hiding. Ugh. Needless to say, Shawn and I only got a couple hours sleep. Poor Shawn struggled at work that day. He made up for it a couple other nights when he crashed on the couch though.

The best part of their visit though was getting to watch Inara interact with my parents and brother. She does love her NeeNee, Pop, and Paypee (Spanky). Everywhere she went, she would look for my mom and yell "NeeNee." When we were at Park Meadows mall, she walked with Pop along the waterfall area and even got to throw rocks in the water. She also loved doing her wood puzzles with NeeNee and Pop. Mom also got her to sit down quite a bit and color with her. Paypee introduced her to Backyardigans, which she really seemed to like, and chased her non-stop. On the downside, I think all three of them are burned out with watching Curious George cartoons every day. Hope they will DVR some for when we come out there. The girl cannot live without watching her "Ahh ahh ahh." I guarantee she's going to miss having the three of them around. Let's hope next time they come out we will have better weather and I can come up with more fun things for them to do so they don't get cabin fever and bored in the house after a week.

Fun stories from Hotel Tomlinson

2009-04-08T17:00:00.004-06:00

Life here has been pretty busy with visitors. The last weekend of April Shawn went to Vegas and returned Monday with Mike & Nina in tow. We last saw them in Nov, but they hadn't seen Inara since last May. Boy were they in for a treat with all that she does now. They had a great time playing with Inara. I was surprised to see just how good Mike is with little ones and how well Inara was playing with people she doesn't see all the time. She went right up to the two of them and gave hugs from the get-go. It was great to catch up with them since Shawn and I haven't had much time to talk with them like we used to. We ventured out to Golden on Wednesday while Barb watched Inara. We visited Red Rocks Amphitheater, one of our favorite places to drive to, and had lunch at Woody's Wood-fired Pizza. We then headed to the Coors factory for a tour only to find out they're closed on Tue and Wed. Jacked! Our luck. We decided to drive to downtown Denver and then ended up at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. What a great place! We all loved it. I can't wait to take my parents. They have great animal displays with various animals such as polar bears, walrus, penguins. And the displays look fantastic. I was happy to learn the animals aren't stuffed but are man-made.

For one dinner we took them to 3 Margaritas, our favorite Mexican restaurant, and had our friends Brian and Tracy meet up with us. Another night for dinner we had Brian and Tracy over here along with Shawn's old high school buddy Marco. It was fun to have a houseful of dinner guests.

Practically every night Mike and Nina were here we played board games, especially an old one from Shawn's childhood that we all fell in love with called Survive. Basically the gist is to surround Shawn's players and attack them with sharks, whales, and sea serpents. "That's just nasty," was Shawn favorite saying of their visit. Mike and Nina flew out Friday morning and Rob, Kelli and Alex flew in that night. I'm tellin' ya Hotel Tomlinson is a popular place these days.

I was sooo excited to have Rob and the girls come visit. This meant so much to me to share my new Colorado adventure with Rob. One of the reasons I fell in love with my house is the "guest suite" on the main floor, which worked out perfect for Rob. Kelli and Shawn picked up a couple pieces of plywood to get him in the front door and given how open our main floor is, Rob had plenty of room to get around. Inara loved watching Rob rolling around too. It was so adorable watching her watch Rob. She would walk around the house looking for him too and yell out "Rob" very well. She wouldn't sit on his lap, but we did get some great pics, which Shawn is uploading tonight.

Even though they were only here for a few days, we sure packed in a lot of things. Saturday we laid low, and the three of them got to see Inara in action. That night we went to dinner at 3 Margaritas (gotta introduce all our guests to this place!) for Kristi's birthday dinner. Then back to their house for cake and ice cream and for Rob, Kelli and Alex to see Kristi and Thane's house. Sunday we did the drive to Golden stopping at Red Rocks and lunching at Woody's. It was getting close to Inara's nap time, so she and I headed home while Shawn drove the threesome around to see where he grew up and through Downtown Denver. Monday the guys worked from home and us girls went to Park Meadows Mall for some shopping. We did pick up a late lunch on the way back home so we could also introduce them to Noodles & Co. Shawn went into the office on Tuesday, so I got to be the tour guide and show the cousins around. They wanted to see one of the rec centers we have here in Highlands Ranch, so we first went to Southridge only to find out it is closed for maintenance this week. We then went to Eastridge and walked around. I had never noticed, but Kelli pointed out the chair lift in the hot tub, so I asked the lifeguard if they have one in a pool at any of the rec centers and found out there is one in the lap pool at this center too. Perfect for Rob's next visit. They all were really impressed with how nice our centers are and how much they offer. After this, Kelli started talking about moving out here and having Alex apply for college here. Wouldn't that be awesome!!! I'm determined to get some of my family moved out here if it kills me.

Of course during their stay we also had to introduce them to Survive. Alex is now hooked and asked me to keep an eye out for one at garage sales. We also played a couple other board games. I can't remember the last time I played a game with Rob, so this was a lot of fun. Many laughs every night. The best part of their visit, though, was getting to just sit and talk with the three of them. Rob & I had some great talks about our family, especially in light of our grandpa's recent passing. I felt like I learned even more about him and the family, which was awesome. Kelli's fantastic too. We talked about inlaws, kids, everything. And Alex...I just love that Alex! She's growing up to be such a beautiful young woman. Too fast though of course. I feel like just last year she was the flower girl in my wedding. Now she's in high school. Crazy! Inara also had a blast playing with Alex, and Al (as I like to call her...hee hee) did a great job helping me with Inara wherever we went. She's a pro now at getting Inara in and out of her car seat and stroller. We kept joking that Alex is going to come out this summer to be the nanny, but honestly, I would love to have that girl come out here whenever she wants and not just as the nanny. She's a special young lady and I'm lucky to be able to call her my cousin. She's so cute and asked Rob if they could go to CA this summer when the three of us are going to be there. I hope they can work out a trip to SoCal the same time we're there so we can see them again this year. Sadly, Rob, Kelli and Alex headed back to WA today. It was fantastic having them here 5 days and getting to share my new "home" with my cousins. It was so special to be able to do this, especially with Rob. I love you guys and hope to see you soon!!!

Inara's 18 Month Checkup

2009-03-27T11:40:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we went to the doc for Inara's 18 month checkup. She loves the Lego table they have in the waiting room. She played there for a bit and seemed very happy. Then she started walking down the hall and must have had a flashback because the crying started and didn't stop for pretty much the rest of the visit. I think she remembers the nurse too. Nurse=pain from a shot! She practically climbed up me the whole time the nurse did her measurements, etc. So Inara weighs 23 pounds 14 1/2 ounces, putting her in the 45th percentile, and measures 32 inches, putting her in the 50th percentile. I got her calmed down until the doctor came into the room and all hell broke loose again. He said she looked fantastic and told me I was doing a great job considering how good her checkup was. It might be small, but it really means a lot to me to hear such a compliment from a doc because there are many days that I feel like I'm not doing a good enough job. I'm sure lots of moms feel this way, but some days just seem harder than others. She calmed down again once the doc left but screamed bloody murder when the nurse came back for the shots. I seriously HATE taking her to the doctor any more and wish I could have someone else do it once in awhile. It's so not fun for either of us.

My biggest question for the doctor was about Inara's weigh because she eats soooo much at many meals. I feel like her belly is too big and protrudes out way too far. When I brought up those concerns to the doc, he checked her belly to see if he felt anything out of the order, but he said he felt nothing. He then pointed out that her height and weight are perfectly matched, so there is no concern that she is overweight for her age. I guess I'm just always worried about that because of my weight problems through the years. I then asked him how much should I give her at a meal. He said let her eat until she's full. I swear she never says she's full though and I have to stop the food because she'd keep eating. He said that as far as portions that she can have as many fruits and veggies as she wants, but to limit her starch, carbs and protein. He said with all her climbing, running, etc., that she's burning her calories off pretty fast considering she's in the 45 percentile for weight. He also said she just might have a great metabolism. That's the best news. So overall, besides the screaming fits, her doc visit went very well.

In case you heard, we did have a blizzard yesterday and had snow all day long. It was so awesome! I love watching the snow falling. Winds got a little crazy at times, but we were indoors the rest of the day, so no concerns for us. This morning, Shawn and Erin went out to shovel the driveway and I had hoped to take Inara out to play in the snow. I've come to realize she's just not that into the snow yet. I know she's still pretty little, so maybe next winter she'll show more interest in playing in it. Instead, she and I stood in the garage and watched Shawn and Erin shoveling away. We must have gotten at least a foot of snow yesterday, so they had their work cut out for them. I took pictures and hope that someday Shawn won't have to work and can post pics for me. He's been working like a slave lately. I'm beginning to feel like a single mom. Just kidding honey. All I can say is I can't wait for my parents and Michael to come visit in a few weeks so I can actually get an extra set of hands to help out once in awhile. It's been a long time since I've had a helper, so Pop, pack up the car and head out here soon!

Happy Spring everyone!

Inara's newest obsession

2009-03-24T21:02:00.002-06:00

For the longest time, all Inara ever wanted to watch on tv was Imagination Movers and an occasional episode of My Friends Tigger & Pooh. Well, this week she has become obsessed with Curious George. Last week I turned on an episode for her, and the girl was glued. Well, as glued as an 18 month old can be. She generally watches about 10 minutes of a show uninterrupted. Then she'll start wandering around the house, playing with toys, visiting mommy, and will venture back into the tv room to watch a couple scenes here and there. For Movers, she would run into the room when they sang a song, her favorite parts of the show. She really seemed to enjoy watching Curious George, so I recorded a couple episodes. Now, after nap, she has a new routine. She asks for cracker, which means she wants a snack. Then she walks into the tv room, points to the tv and says, "Ah ah ah peas." How can I say no to the cutest monkey sound followed by a polite please? It's so cute! However, today in the car while running errands, she started with her "Ah ah ah" and was rather sad when I told her no George in the car only at home. Don't know if she realizes George is not on command everywhere we go. Still it's pretty cute to hear her monkey sounds at all times of the day.

Happy 18 Month Birthday

2009-03-14T19:57:00.014-06:00

Is she really 18 months old now? Holy cow. That seems so crazy to me. But then I watch her and see how much she has grown and know she is definitely a year and a half. So what's new in Inara's world you ask. Lots! We've got quite the active schedule lately now that I'm doing StrollerFit Mon & Wed. Then we have My Gym on Thursdays and tumbling class on Fridays. I'm glad I enrolled her in tumbling again because she really loves it. I'm bummed that we don't have any of the kids from the previous class because we seemed to have had a great group of kids and parents. Hopefully, this class will get better. Here's a pic of Inara bouncing on the trampoline. It's hard to believe she once hated this apparatus. She still hasn't figured out how to bounce or jump but is getting better at bending her knees. She does love to fall though, which is what she's doing in this picture.

She sure loves mommy! My new psychology to help me through those days that I can't go anywhere without her glued to my side is "I guess I'm just awesome!" She can't stand to be without me for long periods of time. I'm beginning to forget what it's like to go pee without an audience. I attended a MOPS meeting (Mothers of Preschoolers), and she actually did pretty well in the nursery considering it was her first time in such a setting. I stayed with her for the first 15 min. Then got called in about 15 min later. She was in the nursery for about an hour all together when one of the teachers brought her to me because she wouldn't stop crying. Needless to say, I had to sit with her on my lap for the last 45 min or so. Again, guess I'm just that awesome. I've started looking into preschools for the fall. We're considering putting her in a class for one day a week. Figure that will help her socialize more with kids and learn it's OK if mommy isn't right by her side. Plus, it would give me a few hours a week to get some things done without my shadow in tow. Oh how I wish my parents were here to help with Inara more. I'm so jealous of Lisa's cushy situation with mom & pop living down the street. Here's a pic of Inara giving me a kiss. I got her to start holding my cheeks when she gives me a kiss. It's so cute!

Given how much she loves me, it's no real surprise she's starting to follow in my footsteps. She is quite the little helper. I can give her some junk mail and ask her to throw it in the trash, and she's happy to help out. She loves to put her sippy cups in her cupboard after I take them out of the dishwasher. She has also been known to get a towel and sweep her crubs onto the floor after snack time. She also LOVES helping mommy with laundry. Whenever I'm in the laundry room, she comes running in and begs to help out. So I'll hand her wet clothes, and she puts them in the dryer. Then when they're done drying, she loves to help pull them out and put them in the laundry basket. I can't wait til she can start doing the chores all on her own. Here is a picture of her helping mommy dust. She loves to watch me clean, and with this little cavegirl in the house, I've got messes to clean up all day long. (Note the shaggy do she's got going on. I'm trying to let her hair grow to one length without bangs. Not sure how long I'll be able to take the shaggy look though.)

This does not mean she dislikes daddy. Quite the contrary. As soon as daddy is home, she frequently blurts out hide, hide, hide. She and daddy play hide and seek every night, most often in the basement. She thinks this is the greatest game in the world. She also loves to hide in the hall closet or better yet, to close the door on mommy or daddy so we have to hide. We also hide in the tent that has become a permanent fixture in the front living room. Shawn has also starting a row, row, row your boat game with her. She sits on his lap and they sway side to side as he sings row, row, row your boat. Then the boat crashes and Inara falls to daddy's side. Laughter erupts. And the game starts again. I love that daddy is teaching her how to crash boats.

Another song and game Inara loves is Wheels on the Bus. She never tires of this song. We sing it throughout the day, and daddy now sings it when he gives her a bath. She's gotten good at doing a lot of the hand motions to accompany the song, such as pointing to her nose for the horn on the bus part, moving her hands side to side for the wipers go swish, swish, swish part, etc. She also likes I'm a little teapot and puts one hand on her side for the handle and leans over for the tip me over part. I really love teaching her such songs because they allow her to be interactive. Plus, it's so cute watching her do the motions.

A big way Inara has blossomed lately is with language. She's really starting to try to say a ton of new words. She calls out daddy a lot during the day, so I'll ask her where's daddy and she'll respond, "Daddy work." Yes, a 2 word sentence! Another word game we play is where is NeeNee and Pop. I'll ask her where's NeeNee and Pop, and I'm teaching her to respond with OC. I figured California may be too tough for her right now. However, she does say avocado pretty well. When we're in the car, she loves to point things out like bicycle, truck, dog, cow...Yes, we have been known to see a cow grazing on the side of the road once in awhile. She also calls out for crackers and wawa when we're in the car. She sure does love her snacks, which is what crackers refers to. Throughout the day, she frequently whines for me to pick her up, so I've taught her to say, "Up please." What's so cute about this is whenever she says please she points to herself and smiles. It's so funny. I thought it was time to start teaching her manners too. We're working on saying please and thank you, but more importantly, since she's such a gassy girl and toots all day long, I'm working on getting her to say excuse me after she toots. I figured since we're out and about so much, it's only polite for her to start excusing herself after letting one rip. I know she'll hate me when she gets older for sharing this one with the world. Just remember Inara, mommy is awesome!

Guess we picked a pretty good place to live

2009-03-12T15:04:00.003-06:00

Money magazine listed the Top 100 places to live and Highlands Ranch was ranked #12. Woo hoo! I was so excited to see my new hometown listed. I'm tellin' ya'all, we do have a lot to offer, particularly good home prices, great schools, lots of parks and walking paths, and a relatively safe neighborhood. Heck, I guess anything seems safe now compared to the crazy stuff we experienced back in Huntington Beach. Other good news, Ft. Collins, CO was listed as #2. Guess when we went there last weekend, we didn't get to see the appealing areas, but I have heard great things about it. I was surprised to see Irvine ranked at #4 given the median home price is $650,000. Would be nice if we could live there, but too bad we'd never be able to afford a house. Here's the link to see the list.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/snapshots/PL0836410.html

Here's our new dining room set

2009-03-10T20:50:00.001-06:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to post the pics of our new dining room set, but here they are...finally! This is the table set up with the leaf so you can see how big it is. We also bought the buffet, which I absolutely love. I put nearly all my pewter serving platters, serving utensils, and placements. I also put out the Mikasa vase we got as a wedding gift on the buffet. It's far enough out of Inara's reach and we can showcase it finally.

My week with the girls

2009-03-09T18:48:00.003-06:00

Saturday, Feb. 28 my girlfriends Sierra and Elizabeth flew in to for a visit. Sierra's brother in law lives in CO and her niece's 5th birthday party was scheduled for March 7, so Sierra thought what better time to come see the Tomlinsons and invited Elizabeth to join her. I'm soooo thrilled they came out. Sierra was out last July and Elizabeth was out in Sept for Inara's 1st birthday. It was perfect timing having them come into town because I've been homesick and knew this week would be tough since it was going to be my one year anniversary of moving away.

We pretty much just hung out at the house Saturday night and did lots of talking. Sierra is expecting her first baby and we all couldn't be happier. She and her hubby Mike have been trying for quite a few years, so this baby is a total blessing. I hope Elizabeth wasn't bored cuz us girls did a lot of baby talking. Plus, it was good for Sierra to see Inara and how tiring she is; a total joy but an exhausting one too.

Sunday we took a trip to Lakewood to shop at one of the outlet malls around here. We had a blast and I introduced Sierra to Motherhood Maternity, an expectant mom's dream store for maternity clothes since they aren't outrageously priced. That night we went to Kristi and Thane's new house for dinner since Monday was Thane's birthday. The girls got to see the new house and, more importantly, meet the newest Tomlinson, baby Jack. It was so cute when Elizabeth told me she and Sierra were sad because Jack is the first Tomlinson baby they didn't get to be there for the birth. They were in the hallway waiting outside the door with me when Avery was born, and they were there for the long haul when Inara was born. Poor little Jack.

Monday was a lazy day. The girls got to play with Inara all day long and Inara loved every minute of it. From the moment they got here, Inara was warm and affectionate and gave lots of hugs. I was so happy to see this. I was a bit worried she may be shy around them, but she was thrilled to break them in quick.

Tuesday Barb offered to watch Inara so us girls could have a day without baby in tow. We decided to go to Downtown Denver and walked around the 16th Street Mall. We had lunch at Paramount Cafe and hung out at Hard Rock Cafe chatting for about an hour with the manager of the store. He was super nice and told us all about the Hard Rock pins he designs and the charity t-shirts they are selling right now. And we discussed our favorite concerts. He told me I MUST see a show at Red Rocks. I'm so going this summer!

Wednesday the girls, Inara and I met up with Kristi and her two and Eetung and William at the Wildlife Experience in Parker. Inara and I haven't been there yet, so I thought this might be a fun outing and not too far from the houses if the kids got feisty. The kids loved this one room where you can simulate an avalanche. Then we played in the toddler room where the kids put on costumes, put on a puppet show for us, and colored for quite awhile.

Inara and I took Elizabeth with us Thursday to our usual My Gym class while Sierra packed her bags since her hubby was coming to get her that afternoon. Elizabeth had a good time watching Inara run around like a crazy woman, but she was rather pooped by the time we got home. Ahhh...now the girls understand why I'm exhausted every day and fall asleep on the couch at 8pm every night. Mike got to see our new house and was impressed with the man lounge that Shawn has started putting together in the basement. He's got his new TV finally and now goes down there to play XBox and other video game systems. Yes, he hooked up old systems like N64 and Playstation. I can still hear the noise upstairs, but definitely not as loud as before.

Friday was Inara's 1st tumbling class for the new session. There was a subtitute teacher for that class whom I was less than impressed with. I'll see how class goes this week before I decide if we're going to drop the class. That afternoon Elizabeth was pooped and needed a nap. I so know why. Unfortunately, I had Inara to watch, so no nap for me.

Saturday Elizabeth, Inara and I drove up to Ft. Collins for Sierra's niece's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. It was a 90 min drive, which I was worried about since Inara's not one to sit in the car for very long. The ride out there wasn't too bad. We had fun at the party since Inara LOVES riding the rides at CCE. However, she got scared when the costumed Chuck E. Cheese came up to say hi to her. And this is why I am in no hurry to take Inara to Disneyland. I'm guessing I'll be up for taking her when she's closer to 3 or 4. The drive home was not as pleasant since Inara didn't eat much at lunch and we ended up pulling off the road to feed her. She refused the food I tried to give her, so we got back on the road and listened to her cry for a bit. She finally ate some of the crackers/snacks I brought with me. She didn't nap at all on the way home. I had high hopes of a quiet ride home. Oh well.

Sunday I took Elizabeth to the airport where she met up with Sierra and the rest of her family. I was really sad to see them go. This week was awesome having my BFFs here. I got spoiled having someone to talk to all day long besides a 17 month old. Plus, at dinnertime, the girls kept Inara busy so I could cook without a child wrapped around my legs screaming to be picked up. Now that was a wonderful break! Since Sierra is pregnant, I've already talked to Shawn about going out to CA for 2 weeks this summer. I can't miss the baby shower. Our trip to Oregon may be pushed back to next year now. Just depends what we can afford. But I absolutely have to be there to celebrate Sierra's little one. And now we will be able to schedule trips to see a lot of other friends as well. Hey Saiki family, will you guys be up for introducing Kate and Inara this July or August? We can't wait to see our CA friends and family this summer. Thank you to Elizabeth and Sierra for coming out to see us. I miss you girls already!!!

My Night With Oscar

2009-02-22T22:28:00.002-07:00

Yes, it's late, but I know I won't have the time with the wee one running around in the morning, so I figured I best write my Oscar comments now and lose a few more minutes of sleep. First, this was a lonely Oscar night without my BFFs here. I texted back and forth with Mikey a few times, but it's just not the same as giggling and gossiping with the crew in my living room. Maybe next year ladies.

As for the awards show, I really loved Hugh Jackman as the host and loved the new format. It was different and fresh. The comments from past winners for the acting nominees totally made me tear up all night long. Yes, I'm that weepy and emotional during the show. I also got totally choked up when Heath Ledger's family accepted his award. How tough that must have been for his mom and dad to go up there. They held together better than I did though.

For someone who doesn't get to see many movies any more, I am so stoked that I got to see the big winners: Slumdog Millionaire for Best Picture, Heath for Supporting Actor in The Dark Knight (well-deserved because he made that movie and was the creepiest villian in a long time), Penelope Cruz for Supporting Actress in Vicky Christina Barcelona (which I highly recommend...too bad the hunky Javier Bardem wasn't nominated), Sean Penn for Actor in Milk (Sean is one of my all-time faves and was brilliant in this role), and my favorite Kate Winslet for Actress in The Reader (I loved this movie! Not my favorite role of Kate's. Clementine in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is my fave, but I did love her in this role too.).

I didn't get to watch much of the red carpet hubbub since Inara was still up and I had to get dinner ready, so no comment on dresses besides I loved Kate's dress. I want to be her friend. She seems so genuine. Plus, her husband director Sam Mendes is cool too! Enough gabbing about the movies. Off to dream land I go.

Painting portraits of Inara Grace

2009-02-20T14:51:00.007-07:00

Last week was a rough one for me, for various reasons. It was primarily due to Inara's 5 days of diarrhea and the diaper rash from hell. I swear I've reached my poopy diaper quota for the next few months. This week was a total 180 in that she and I had a great week together. Every day she does something new, which are the positive things I need to keep focused on to get me through the rough days. So let me paint a few portraits for you to imagine and hopefully get a chuckle out of.

I've been going to a morning exercise class two days a week with my shadow in tow. She does well in the stroller for the first 30 minutes as long as I keep her snacks coming. You see Inara's new rule is whenever she's sitting in the stroller or a shopping cart for an extended period of time, she must be compensated with snacks. Her snack of choice this week was graham cracker sticks. For the second half of the exercise class, it's time for the kids to get out and play. However, Inara can be found glued to my side. She loves to watch the other kids playing, but rarely ventures out to join them. Instead, she uses mom as a human jungle gym. She loves to jump on me when I'm doing ab workouts, which makes for a very difficult exercise routine. I do my best and try to maneuver around her. I know this is partly due to the get mommy game we play where I lay on my back and she jumps on my tummy. So it's only natural that when she sees me laying down, she thinks it's play time. When we leave, she always says bye to the other moms and kids, and she loves to give her friend Owen a hug. She will even take the binky out of her mouth to give him kisses if he's accepting them that day.

Since Monday was a holiday, Shawn joined us girls at My Gym. It's been awhile since he's gone, so it was a surprise for him to see all that she can do now. She loves to walk up the slide. Yes, walk up the slide. Then go down. Then walk back up. Then go down again. She also loves playing on the trampoline. She hasn't quite figured out how to bounce yet, but she bends her knees really really fast, which makes her think she's bouncing up and down. Inara has figured out how fun climbing on anything and everything is. The funny thing is she really doesn't do much climbing at home. I'd like to think that she rationalizes climbing with My Gym and not at home. Only time will tell on that theory.

One of our nightly rituals after dinner is play time with Daddy and bath. She loves to hide in the tent from Daddy. She will direct me to hide with her. Once inside the tent, she says "Shhh. Hide." Then Daddy has to come find us. She loves doing this and has even on occasion asked me to hide with her during the day. The only problem is Daddy doesn't ever seem to come find us. Perhaps it's because he's working. After playtime, it's time to move upstairs and get ready for bed. She has grown to love taking a bath and even asked to do this during the day now as well. She has figured out splashing in the water is lots of fun. She recently learned how to pick up the cup with water and pour it on her face. She gets a big giggle out of doing this too. While most nights Shawn gives Inara her bath, I at least get to watch from my office chair while I try to get some work done, which is usually short lived because watching Inara is much more fun than reading joke emails.

Besides being my shadow, Inara also loves to be my helper. She's becoming quite the mimic of mommy. For instance, today as I was vacuuming she was walking around dusting. She gets such a thrill out of helping me, and of course, I encourage it. For awhile now, she's loved helping me empty the dishwasher by putting her cups away. I think she'll be a big helper as she gets older. I know she watches me clean up all day long, so it's only natural that she starts doing the same. The other day she even went as far as cleaning up her own crumbs. She was eating a snack in the living room and spilled a few crumbs on the ottoman. She went to the drawer and got a dish towel, wiped the crumbs off (which of course meant they went onto the carpet but so what), and put the towel back in the drawer. I was so impressed with this that I praised her and even made sure to tell Daddy about it when he got home. I love watching her in action doing such things. It truly shows just how much she is growing and learning too. This age may have its challenges, but I must remember to focus on all the amazing leaps she's made as well.

Slumdog Millionaire

2009-02-16T15:43:00.002-07:00

Just got back from seeing Slumdog Millionaire. Figured if I see any movies before the Oscars I better see this one since it seems to be the top contender for Best Picture. I see why. I loved it! This was exactly what I needed to see too. It made me cry, laugh, and bite my nails in suspense. The acting is great, especially the little kids. I wanted to adopt the 3 of them; they were so darn sweet. I loved the music too! I walked out of the theater dancing. Although I haven't seen many of the big nominated films, this is my pic for best pic. I have seen Milk and The Reader and hope to watch The Wrestler, which Jason downloaded for me, and I'm going to rent Changeling on Tuesday. Can't wait to watch the Oscars on Sunday!!!

I'm obsessed with my house

2009-02-11T20:41:00.005-07:00

One bad thing about being a new home owner is I want to always do things to my house. There are still pictures that need to be hung, rooms to be decorated, accent walls to be painted, etc. and I'm continuously thinking about which project to start next. It doesn't help that I'm obsessed with HGTV, and when watching shows, I think, "Heck that seems easy. I bet I could do that." Which I then follow up with, I'll just wait until my dad visits again so we can do that project together. Ha ha. Maybe that's why he hasn't come to visit again: he knows I'm gonna have lots of work for him. Not really, because I have to pace myself since I don't have all the money in the world to do all the things I want to do.

One great story about our house though is we just bought a dining room set. We've had an old crappy set for quite awhile now, and when we moved in, we agreed that we absolutely were going to replace that set as soon as possible. Friday Shawn got a wild hair that we should go window furniture shopping. I think this was also spawned by the fact that Thane & Kristi just went window furniture shopping. So Saturday afternoon we went and looked at a couple places. We then found a set we really liked, and Shawn said he'd go back on Sunday to order it. He called me from the store Sunday to say he found another set he liked better, so I needed to come down and take a look at that one too. I still loved the first set better, so we got it. We got a table with a self-storing leaf, 6 chairs, and a side buffett, something I've always wanted and now that our dining room is so big, we finally have the room for one. Hooray. The best way to describe the look of the set is rustic, Tuscan, maybe even a little farm house. It has natural dings and dents, which I thought would be perfect with kids around. The seats are solid wood, no upholstery, again good with kids around. I took some pictures of the set and will have Shawn put them up this weekend. The label that came with the furniture states the pieces are made from reclaimed timbers to create a genuine old world charm. The finish is created by hand rubbing high performance polishing oils to create a genuine aged patina. Basically, it's awesome!

Now I can't stop thinking what I want to do next in the house. I think I'm gonna try spray painting the chandelier in the dining room because right now it's gold and I think a matte black would look a lot nicer with the new furniture. I still really want to replace the other chandeliers, but again, I have to pace myself financially. I can't wait for garage sales to start up again this spring, so I can go look for other items I want to get for the house. I really want a cool piece of art to go above the buffet and still need to find something to go in the art niche along the stairs.

This weekend we will be getting the bookcases and desk we bought from the previous owners of the house Thane & Kristi bought. You see, the previous owners are moving to Pennsylvania and wanted to sell all their furniture, so the Tomlinsons went through and picked out some of the items we thought were in the best condition. Along with the bookcases and desk, we also bought the futon for the basement, so Shawn can have a place to sit once he gets a new tv so he can play his video games downstairs and not drive me crazy any more. Can't wait for that new tv to get worked into the budget. Ha ha. Anyways, so now next week I'll work on getting my office organized. Of course, this is all worked around Inara and her napping. Wish me luck that this project doesn't take me 2 months.

As I stated earlier, I'm obsessed with HGTV. I love the shows What's My House Worth, House Hunters, Property Virgins, The Stagers, etc. So I thought I'd share this fun quiz with you all. I took the style quiz on HGTV.com, which Eetung had told me about. She is a fellow HGTV addict. Here's what my style is according to the quiz:

Your style is Mid-Century Mod
Open, airy, organic spaces, all about form and function. Sophisticated and sleek yet approachable, alluring.

This coudn't be more accurate. I love simple, sleek, nothing too gaudy, and functional. And I hate cluttery, kitschy, and please no Southwest or country! Ugh! If you're interested in taking the quiz, here's the link. You do have to sign up to be an HGTV member first. http://my.hgtv.com/style-finder/stylefinder.esi

I'll be sure to write once my next project is completed or we get more work done on the house.

Inara's 17 Month Birthday

2009-02-09T12:32:00.006-07:00

This weekend Inara turns 17 months old. Since my week is pretty busy, I thought I'd do her birthday update today. I'm babysitting Avery tomorrow and Saturday and my friend Jill's little one, McKenna, on Friday, so yes, the week is pretty busy.

So what's new with Inara? SO MUCH!!! Some big news is Inara has more than just 2 teeth...FINALLY!!! Unfortunately, she has had about 5 teeth come in all at once, which makes for some discomfort for her. Her two top front ones are peaking through. She has several on the side that have broken through as well. Nights have been off and on in that she's been waking up more than usual, but it's understandable. At least, she will be able to chew her food better now though.

Inara is learning more about herself. I taught Inara to hold up one finger when someone asks her how old she is. Today, I'm so excited...she said her name for the first time. Hooray!!! I pointed to her and asked "who's this?" She replied, "Nar." I pointed to myself and asked the same thing and she replied, "Mommy." I then pointed to her again and asked, "who's this?" She said so matter-of-factly "Nar." I am so proud of her. This one will go in her baby book for sure!!

Inara's hair has gotten so long and I'm debating whether to cut her bangs. I want her hair to grow one length though, so right now her bangs get in her eyes as I'm letting them grow out. She had finally gotten used to having a ponytail and actually looks forward to it every morning. I sit her on the bathroom counter and do her hair. I then stand her up and say "Look at how cute you are." She then has to kiss herself in the mirror. Needless to say, the bathroom mirror has smudges all over. It's so cute watching this morning ritual though and worth the messy mirror.

She loves her tumbling class on Wed afternoons. She is getting really good at bending her knees so she can bounce on the trampoline. Inara climbs on all the tubes and stuff they have out. She's also getting to like swinging on the gymnastic rings and bars. The one skill she's picked up that I'm super excited about is she's great on the balance beam. This is so important to me because I have HORRIBLE balance and hope that my kids don't pick up that trait. So we practice the balance beam every class, and she's really good at it. She can even walk on the beam and kick the balls we've place on it as she comes to them. Hooray for Inara Grace!

Along with our weekly tumbling class, I've been trying to consistently take her to the Thursday morning My Gym class. It's awesome thinking back at how much she has grown and improved from when we first started her in My Gym almost 6 months ago. When we started going, she couldn't crawl yet. Now she RUNS all over the place and tries to do things on her own: climbing on the ladders, getting onto the trampoline, climbing over the tubes, and even walking up the slides. It's incredible seeing how much she's grown in just a few months. She has even gotten better about letting the teachers pick her up and do different activities. She's not one to sit very long during circle time. That's understandable because the toys are way too much fun. I do love watching her clap during the songs, and she's starting to get the hang of the arm/leg movements during the Hi Hi song.

Remember back to when Inara would only grunt and couldn't say any words? She's improving a ton lately with all her new words. One of my favorites is avocado, which sounds more like a gutteral gurgle, but I know what she's trying to say. The same is true for Africa. Grammy gave her a little monkey that says a few words, one of which is Africa, so Inara started saying that. I figured why not introduce her to continents and countries, so I'll just start listing various countries, and she tries to say them. It's pretty funny how these words come out though. In our StrollerFit class, we sing songs and say words, so she's now being introduced to months and days of the week, which she tries to say but nothing quite sounds right yet. She does say baby very clearly now, but sometimes it can be mistaken for binky, which she has just started saying this past week. I'm still working with her on names. She says A for Avery, O for her friend Owen, Whit for her friend Whitney, Pay-pee for Spanky, Ist for Kristi, Yak for Jack, and now says Nee Nee for Grandma Nee Nee so clearly. Hooray. She's been saying Pop, Mommy, and Daddy for quite some time now. She also said Kylie very clearly one day, which surprised me because it's not a name I practice often, but I swear she got it from the times we've talked to Kylie on the webcam. Oh, and she says Yace for Jason.

She's started getting a whole new slew of animal sounds too. She says ribbit, tweet, chomp-chomp for alligator, and quack. I also ask her how a squirrel eats, and she holds one hand up to her mouth to eat like a squirrel. It's super cute. She definitely knows a ton of animals since I can lay all her flash cards out in front of her and ask her to show me X and 90% of the time she'll point to the correct card. It's awesome to see her do this. She also says vroom for car and started saying truck the other day. She can even point to things in books. We have a Little People farm book that we read all the time. She can point out the balloon, the orange juice, hat, sun, and a ton of other things. Like I've been saying all along, she may not be able to say a ton of words, but the kid knows a lot.

Inara's newest obsession is dancing, thanks in part to the toy mom got her for Christmas. She loves to listen to the songs, bend her knees and turn around to dance. When she hears "Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes", she points to her body parts. It's so cute. The other night she surprised me when Shawn was reading her the Little Teapot book, and she put her arm on her hip to form the teapot handle, then shook, and leaned over for the "pour me out" part. I've sang that song to her for months, but this was the first time I've seen her do the motions. So cool! She also still loves watching the Imagination Movers on Disney and we now listen to the Disney Choo Choo Soul CD in the car. One of my favorite things is she knows the introduction song for Movers so well that she can be occupied doing something, but turns around at just the right part to wave at the character Nina. She also loves to clap when songs are over. Music is so important for kids. I think we're going to enroll in a music class next through the rec centers here.

As for food, as many of you have already heard, the kid loves cheese! Most days, I have to argue with her "No More Cheese!" I think she'd eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I've gotten her eating quite a few vegetarian/soy products, like veggie patties and soy corn dogs. Usually, she will push meats away when we try to feed them to her. I can give her a bite of chicken mixed with other things, and she will more often then not, pick out the meat and hand it to me. Some of her favorite things to eat are edamame, quesadillas, grapes, kiwis, scrambled eggs and tortillas, tomatoes, oatmeal, and daddy's homemade banana bread. She loves daddy bread as I call it. At breakfast, whatever cereal Shawn and I are eating she wants too. So we end up sharing our bowls of cereal with her. But her absolute favorite thing to eat is Mac & Cheese, particularly the one from Noodles & Co. She can eat a whole small serving herself and will still ask for more afterwards.

Although Inara has been thriving lately, I've been a bit down in the dumps. I know a lot of it is self-inflicted mommy anxiety. I'm the kinda person who loves to accomplish lots of projects each week and likes to feel successful at accomplishments. I love to keep a clean house and cook nice dinners every night. I love getting time to scrapbook. I love (and really miss reading). Unfortunately, most nights I'm so exhausted that I'm crashed my 8pm. Yes, I'm old and pathetic. Some days I get absolutely nothing done and that's a hard shift for me. One week it was impossible to get any laundry done, so one Sunday I had 8 loads to do. Shawn said there was no way I could get them all done, and he was right. Things like that drive me crazy though because I hate projects and chores to linger and because I feel that's what I do for my family while Shawn brings home the bacon. I know as a mom of an active toddler I have to learn to let things go, but this is difficult for me at times and sometimes even depressing. But I have to remember that Inara is my number one priority and if things don't get done, so be it. Honestly, that's a hard thing to accept for me, but I'm really working on it. And when I do just let my to do list go and sit down with Inara, I find myself enthralled by her and instantly remind myself this is what my life is about right now, not cooking gourmet meals, doing crafts, and keeping a clean organized house. So be it. Because look at this amazing daughter I have to help me see the world anew again. Happy 17 Month Birthday, Sweet Pea!

Second guessing

2009-02-05T13:40:00.007-07:00

It's no real surprise I've started second guessing our move to Colorado for the first time given we are approaching the one year mark. Yes, Colorado has plenty to offer us, but there's a lot of sacrifices that came with the move. The biggest being my family, especially my parents and brother. I miss them so much. I hate that I can't just pop on over to see them and mooch free meals whenever I want. I miss my dad stopping over to check on me and bringing me fresh fruits. Oh how I'll miss the big batches of strawberries. Also, my grandpa was diagnosed with cancer this week, and I feel bad that I'm not there for my mom. Not that she needs it because we all know what a rock my mom is. I hate that I don't have my brother here to take me to the theater. I have been thinking about going to a play in Denver to get me a little culture, by my self of course. Mikey, please hurry and move here! The second biggest is my best friends. Yes, we've started meeting people and, hopefully, growing friendships, but it's impossible to replace 8, 10, 15 year friendships. It's almost Oscar time and I hate that I'm going to see as many of the Oscar nominees by myself. I know some of you may be saying, "But Marisa, you got a house." It's a beautiful house and I love it, but it's big, which means lots of cleaning. And with a toddler running around making messes all day long, it's hard to keep up with it. Hence, one of the reasons I'm all about taking her out of the house as often as possible so she doesn't destroy my house. Our apartment in HB had many problems, but guess what, it was a heck of a lot cheaper in the long run considering we now have a mortgage. In the 10 years I've been with Shawn, I've never seen him crunching as many numbers as he has since we bought a house. Owning a home ages you with all the bills and things that need to be done. It's like having another job, I swear. True, we have more space for Inara to play in and no shootings happening down the street from us and we don't see the cops on our block on a daily basis and I don't have to walk in the alley to get to my laundry room, but don't all these things build character? I do see the benefits of our move. Plus, owning a house is a tax benefit. I get it. But with homeownership comes adult responsibilities and who likes those? Also, if we were still back in CA, I could work a couple days a week to give me a little break from mommy duties, and I'd have a built in babysitter like Lisa has had for years: Mom and Pop. As if they would ever turn away the chance to watch Inara. I miss having them here to help out with her in times of desperation. For example, I went to get my eyebrows waxed yesterday (the first time in over a month may I add) and got to lay there fo 15 minutes listening to my daughter whine and scream and say "Mommy! Mommy!" as many times as should could in a short span. Yes, Mom and Pop are invaluable. As much as I will say it's impossible to replace long lasting friendships, I will tell you it's nearly impossible to replace my parents (aka the world's best babysitters...I mean parents). And darn it I thought moving to CO was going to give me seasons...what's with all the sunshine and where's the snow? I feel like I'm in HB again. Except I don't hear police sirens screeching out my window or smell cigarette smoke coming from my neighbor's front yard. Instead, I hear my daughter banging her toys and yelling "Mommy" as I steal away for a little creative writing for the day.

My Trip to New Orleans

2009-02-02T15:30:00.008-07:00

I have to start this blog off by telling Elizabeth how sorry I am for her loss. As some of you know one of my BFFs, Elizabeth, lost her sister Wendy last month. Wendy was shot and killed by two 15year old boys and one 14 year old boy during an attempted armed robbery in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Because Elizabeth is like a sister to me, I flew to N.O. to be there for her at the memorial the community had planned for Wendy, and I'm so grateful that I was there because I learned a lot: Wendy was an amazing person that was taken too soon, and although we may stereotype that all people in N.O. are "bad" people after hearing about this and other horrible events, we met some truly wonderful people.

I flew in Friday evening and stayed up late that night with Sierra and Elizabeth to hear what had been going on with the detectives and the suspects and to hear about the people they had already met. Saturday morning we went to pick up Cami and Joanna at the airport and headed back to The 9th Circle, a bar we came to frequent the short time we were there. You see the owner, Irish Mike, was Wendy's best friend and although there wasn't that much of an age gap between them, she had asked Mike to give her away at her wedding. Yes, Wendy was planning her first wedding and had finally found love. That's probably the part that gets me the most: it's wrong that she had to be taken (and so violently) as she was about to start a new life with a man she loved. They had even decided to buy a house in Georgia. It's hard not to hate the boys who took Wendy from us and all the people who loved her.

Saturday afternoon was the Second Line parade. Wendy wasn't much of a church-goer, so the community memorialized her by hosting a parade in her honor. This was the best "funeral" I've ever been too and I've been to a few in my days. The band played music as we walked the streets behind the horse-drawn carriage and danced in the streets of the Quarter. Instead of a sad memorial, a Second Line Parade is supposed to be a time to celebrate one's life. Basically, it's a party in the streets. Now that's the way to go in my opinion. I don't want people to be sad when I die. Instead, I want people to drink, party and remember all the good times we shared. And that exactly what the people of the Quarter did. Whether they knew Wendy or not, people came to celebrate. I swear though there must have been close to a thousand people in the parade. So awesome to see! Especially since we all know that's what Wendy would have wanted. After the parade, everyone went back to one of the bars Wendy worked at called Aunt Tiki's for a late lunch. People came up to Kris and Wendy to introduce themselves and tell them stories of how they knew Wendy and what she meant to them. It was funny hearing some of the stories because Wendy was known to be a rebellious woman who took no shit and freely spoke her mind. (Boy, do I need to take a few lessons from her life.) Late that night Elizabeth, Sierra and Joanna went to the drag show that some of Wendy's friends put together to honor her. I heard it was a blast. Unfortunately, I was exhausted and knew I couldn't stay up til midnight, so I took Cami home and crashed that night. Hopefully, Elizabeth will write stories about it on her FB page to share with everyone. :-)

Sunday we got to spend more time with Kris (Elizabeth's older sister), Kris's boyfriend Speedy (aka Israel) who I came to love (Kris, don't let this one get away...he's awesome!), Elizabeth's aunt Marcy, Irish Mike, and the girls. I had asked that while we were there if one meal we could try some Southern food. I got my wish. I was polite and tried what Irish Mike ordered for us to try: fried pickles (which I've had before at The Counter), chicken livers (they aren't so bad covered in the sauce they're served with), turkey neck (which was like tender dark meat), greens (collard and mustard...not my cup of tea), and I ordered candied yams (which I already love) and crab cakes. I was proud that Elizabeth even tried most of these considering she generally doesn't like to try new things. But she did and Irish was proud of her. At least she didn't order the spaghetti and meatballs. Ha ha. We then had to go back to Wendy's apartment so Elizabeth could pick up some things she wanted to keep. I can't imagine how hard that must have been for Elizabeth, but she's such a rock and didn't breakdown as much as I would have (or did for that matter it seems like). We then walked around the Quarter a bit and saw a few art galleries and antique stores, but since everyone told us not to walk the streets pass dark, we headed back to the hotel early. We ordered room service for dinner (which was way overpriced and not very tasty) and Sierra and Elizabeth washed some of their clothes because they reeked of smoke from all the bars we'd been into.

It was great to be able to see my girlfriends, but obviously I would have preferred if it had been under better circumstances. I knew I had to be there for Elizabeth and am so glad I went. It was weird being away from Inara for 3 1/2 days and I missed her greatly, but this was a trip I knew I would regret if I didn't make it. I'm also so glad that I got to meet Irish Mike. This man is a godsend. He did a lot to help Elizabeth and Kris out and he's vowed to represent them during the court trial. I know I couldn't be in the same room as those punk kids, so I'm so grateful that he's doing that for them. He is seriously one of the nicest guys I've ever had the chance to meet. I know how close he and Wendy were, so this has been a difficult situation for him to, but he was so strong for Elizabeth and Kris. He was rather protective of them too. For example, during the parade, we started going by the corner where Wendy was shot and he warned them in case they didn't want to see it. The whole day he kept telling people this was not a day for politics but a day for remembering Wendy. He's like the big brother the girls never had. I can't say enough great things about him. Plus, he's from Ireland, so you know he's cool. He also told us funny stories about his previous career: he was an artificial inseminator for dairy cows. That's just plain crazy, but it sure makes for some good stories. It was hard to say good-bye to him, especially since he has to constantly hear about Wendy on the news and see the street memorials everywhere for her. My heart breaks every time I think about Elizabeth, Kris, and Irish Mike. I just wish there was more I could do to ease the pain. All I can do is offer my help any way I can. I love you guys!!!

I love reservations for Hotel Tomlinson

2009-01-14T22:08:00.002-07:00

We got the best phone calls tonight. It looks like Rob, Kelli, and Alex are going to come visit during Alex's spring break. They asked her where she wanted to go for her break, and she chose Colorado. Hooray! The girl knows the perfect vacation destination. She's the bestest cousin. The other good news is one of my best friends Sierra is looking to come visit the first week of March for 5 days. That's awesome! Plus, our friends Mike & Nina are hoping to come out the last week of March/beginning of April. This makes me so happy. I love visitors, especially right now since I miss everyone sooo much. Plus, I can't wait for everyone to see Inara and how much she has grown since they've all seen her. We have plenty of other open weekends, so if anyone else wants to reserve a guest room or two, please let me know and I'll mark you down on the reservation calendar. My week just got a 1000 times better.

Why moms can't get sick

2009-01-12T19:09:00.002-07:00

I think I wrote about Inara getting sick on New Years Day. I thought she was fully recovered, so we ventured out a couple days this last week. The most fun was our tumbling class on Wed night. I enrolled her in this new class even though we do My Gym once a week to give her another outlet for getting all her energy out. Sometimes, moms just need this. Anyways, Thursday night she started acting cranky and was refusing food again. Friday, she was full on sick again. Even threw up once and had some bad diapers. She seemed better Saturday morning, but then I ended up getting a really bad headache and didn't feel good. By that evening I had diarrhea and vomiting, which lasted until 7am Sunday morning. I HATE BEING SICK!!! And as a mom, I can't get sick. I have a little one to tend to and a house to run, so no sickness allowed. It wore me out though. Hugging the toilet 7 times will do that to a person. Thank goodness Shawn was here to take care of Inara. I sooo couldn't have survived without him. And the poor guy had a horrible night's sleep on Saturday with me getting up every 30 minutes running to the bathroom. I suggested he sleep in the guest room, but he said no, he wanted to be upstairs in case I needed him. He was almost ready to drive my butt to the ER, but I refused to start the year off with a trip to the ER and a nice medical bill to boot. I was finally able to keep some liquids down after Kristi graciously went to the store and got me some Immodium. Thank you soooo much, Kristi! Shawn was worried if I would be able to run after Inara today, so he called out sick for work and thank the lord he did. I wasn't feeling 100% yet, and Inara had some horrible diarrhea explosions today. Lets just say her sheets and about 4 pairs of jammies are freshly cleaned now. Why can't my mom live closer to help in times of need? Lets just hope we are on the mend and that Shawn's great immune system prevents him from coming down with this horrible bug. And to top it all off, Jason comes into town in a couple days, so I really hope our house isn't contaminated come Thu so we can spend some time with Uncle Jason.

Good news for the Tomlinson clan

2009-01-08T16:44:00.002-07:00

Since Kristi posted it on Facebook, I figured it was OK for me to share the good news: Thane & Kristi are officially under contract to buy a house!!! They got a killer price on a 5 bedroom/4 bath house. The one bad thing about this place, in my opinion, is it's not in Highlands Ranch. It's in a neighboring city called Castle Pines North. Honestly, it's super close to us; only about a 4 minute drive. But since it's not in HR, our kids will never go to the same school. Not that that's a bad thing, but Shawn & I always thought it would be fun if the kids all went to school together. The other drawback for us (because it's all about me, right?) is since they aren't residents of HR, if they want to use the rec centers, they will have to pay an extra fee, and eventually, an ordinance may be passed that prohibits non-residents from using the centers. Again, these are minor things. But to end on a positive note, the house is very nice looking, newer so fewer maintenance to be done up front, and there is plenty of space for their growing family and Kristi's parents to come visit. Great choice guys. We're so happy for you! Let the fun and scary parts of homeownership begin. Ha ha!

Update on new law

2009-01-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

From my mom's group message board:

Looks like some of those letters are helping! The CPSC issued a press relase a few minutes ago saying sellers of used children's products are not required to certify that their products meet the new lead/phthalate testing standards. However, if a reseller does happen to sell a product that doesn't comply with the new standards, they "could face civil and/or criminal penalties." http://www.cpsc.gov/c...Which basically means if you're selling a used children's product, you won't be required to spend the many thousands of dollars that sellers of new products will have to spend to test for lead..... but you could be in deep doo if the old baby crib you sell ends up having an unacceptable level of lead in it.Looks like a step in the right direction, although a lot of owners of consignment stores may not think it's worth risking "civil and/or criminal penalties" in order to continue selling used children's products.

Computers...Grrrr!

2009-01-08T08:59:00.002-07:00

I kept trying to post the video of Inara saying names here on my blog, but it wasn't working. Maybe the file is too big? Anyways, Shawn said he posted it on our Phanfare site, which you can access through www.shawnandmarisa.com. Click on Photo Gallery up top. Hope you enjoy all the new pics and videos of the cutest kid in the world. Yes, I might be biased, but oh well.

Add this to the list of why I hate politicians

2009-01-07T21:43:00.002-07:00

This message was posted on my mom's group message board. I had no idea about this law being passed, so I'm helping others get informed. I can't believe how ridiculous this law is and how it couldn't come at a worse time as many of us buy used goods to save money during this economic headache. Ugh! I urge you all to write to your Congressman. The ones listed in the below message are for CO obviously. Sorry to send such bad news. Grrr!!!

I received this email today from my cousin who lives here in Denver. When I read the email I didnt believe it so I called Once Upon a Child here in Littleton and sure enough, this is true! The woman on the phone said that the government still doesnt really have a process in place on how to sell used kid stuff but it looks like they will have to send everything they receive to a facility that scans (clothes included!) for lead. If they come out clean, each peice of clothing and each toy will be labeled. I'm not sure how they are going to prevent people from selling things on Craigslist.
I dont know about you but just about everything I buy is used! I think their intentions were good but this law just doesnt seem realistic.
Here is the info:
Congress recently passed the CPSIA law, which is set to go into effect on Feb 10 of this year. This law will, in effect, shut down all second-hand sales of children's clothing, toys, or gear. This includes second hand stores (like Once Upon a Child, Childish Things, Salvation Army, etc) and sales on craigslist or ebay. This law will also prevent individuals from selling any handmade baby goods (toys, clothes, etc) without first going through lead testing, impacting many small businesses throughout the nation.
This law was passed quickly by Congress last year in response to all of the lead based, made-in-China toy recalls. Many stores/organizations are confused as to what the law actually means. The LA Times wrote a good article on this: http://www.latimes.co... Some secondhand stores are sending out information hoping that their patrons will write to their congressmen to call for the wording of the law to be changed before it goes into effect on Feb 10.
If you are concerned (as I am), and would like to contact you congressman, for convenience, I've included the text of the letter I'm sending. Copy/change at will!!
Dear
I am writing about the CPSIA Law. In theory this new law is a good idea, but it does not take into consideration the consequences it will have on all of us in these already financially trying times. I am new mom and have relied on secondhand goods from Ebay, Craigslist and local second hand stores to alleviate the financial burden of a new baby. Additionally, I was also planning to donate gently used baby goods to help other mothers in need. By restricting the sale of used baby goods, this law forces those of us who would donate to simply throw items away, an environmentally and socially unsound move. This law must be amended by NOT making the new lead requirement retroactive. I am also concerned that the new law will prevent individuals from selling handmade clothes and toys. I love shopping on sites like etsy.com, where you can find local, handmade clothing and toys for kids that are well made and unique! This law is putting these individuals at a huge disadvantage! We should have a choice in what our children wear and play with -- I do not believe that the American spirit is best achieved when all are forced to shop at large chain stores. Not to mention the impact this will have on the environment. I believe that the current CPSIA simply forgot to exclude the class of toys and other handmade items that have earned and kept the public's trust. The result, unless the law is modified, is that handmade toys, clothes, and other children's items will no longer be legal in the US. Please work to amend the CPSIA law.
Thank you,
(Your name)
Here is a list of people to contact:Member Name DC Phone DC FAX Electronic CorrespondenceSenator Ken Salazar (D- CO) 202-224-5852 202-228-5036 http://salazar.senate...Senator Mark Udall (D- CO) 202-224-5941 202-224-6471 Senator_Mark_Udall@markudall.senate.govRepresentative Diana DeGette (D - 01) 202-225-4431 202-225-5657 http://www.house.gov/...Representative Jared Polis (D - 02) 202-225-2161 202-226-7840 https://forms.house.g...Representative John Salazar (D - 03) 202-225-4761 202-226-9669 http://www.house.gov/...Representative Betsy Markey (D - 04) 202-225-4676 202-225-5870 https://forms.house.g...Representative Doug Lamborn (R - 05) 202-225-4422 202-226-2638 http://lamborn.house....Representative Mike Coffman (R - 06) 202-225-7882 202-226-4623 https://forms.house.g...Representative Ed Perlmutter (D - 07) 202-225-2645 202-225-5278 http://perlmutter.hou...

Here's some more info I found online. All I have to say is SERIOUSLY???

The United States Congress rightly recognized that the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) lacked the authority and staffing to prevent dangerous toys from being imported into the US. So, they passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August 2008. Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in children's products, mandates third party testing and certification, and requires manufacturers of all goods for children under the age of 12, to permanently label each item with a date and batch number.All of these changes will be fairly easy for large, multinational companies to comply with. Large manufacturers who make thousands of units of each item have very little incremental cost to pay for testing and updating their systems to include batch labels. Small businesses however, will likely be driven out of business by the costs of mandatory testing, to the tune of as much as $4,000 or more per item. And the few larger manufacturers who still employ workers in the United States face increased costs to comply with the CPSIA, even though American-made toys had nothing to do with the toy safety problems of 2007.

Anyone who produces or sells any of the following new or used items will be required to comply with the law: toys, books, clothing, art, educational supplies, materials for the learning disabled, bicycles, and more. Any uncertified item intended for children under the age of 12 will be considered contraband after February 10, 2009. It will be illegal to sell or give these items away to charities, and the government will require their destruction or permanent disposal, resulting in millions of tons of unnecessary waste, and placing an enormous strain on our landfills.

Photos from Christmas time

2009-01-06T22:10:00.006-07:00

I love this picture of Inara and my mom. This was just after Inara was throwing a fit in the mall. Hence, the pacifier to quiet her down.

Is it just me or does Inara look like an elf in this picture?

This is the tent/tunnel/teepee set Shawn got Inara for Christmas. You can see her little head peaking through the top of the tent.

Christmas Morning

Here are two of Inara's new favorite toys: her stroller and her Curious George doll.

My daughter loves monkeys!

2009-01-06T09:12:00.002-07:00

Hopefully I can type fast so Inara doesn't come and start slamming on the keyboard. It's official: Inara loves monkeys! She got a small monkey doll from Uncle Jason way back, and she's always had to sleep with this little one. There's a bedtime ritual involving mommy and daddy giving monkey hugs and then offering up one of Inara's pacifiers to monkey. It's so cute. The other night Shawn and I went in to say goodnight, and she was on all fours butt up in the air with what looked like a monkey coming out her butt. It was hilarious, but the point is she's always got monkey close to her in the crib. For Christmas, Kristi's parents, Tom & Sandy, got Inara a large Curious George doll. She now carries this doll all around. She has even had to start bringing him to nap with her. Yesterday, she had a bit of a fall. (I was cleaning the downstairs shower, and she came charging into the bathroom. I think she thought the glass door was still closed because she leaned forward and fell into the shower. It all happened so fast that I couldn't stop her. She has two bruises on her shin now from where she fell on the metal railing at the base of the shower. Jacked!) Anyways, after the spill, she was, of course, screaming crying. I picked her up and walked into the living room where I saw George. She instantly grabbed for him and hugged onto him. I think George has become her comfort toy. During naps, after naps, everywhere she goes practically, George is in town. It's too funny.

The other big news is Inara is starting to say more words. Last night she said milk at dinner when I asked her if she wanted water or milk. I was so shocked! It was milk, clear as day. I cheered, and then she kept saying it. After dinner, she and I sat down and started chatting away. I've been practicing names with her, and she's getting good at them. She says baby Jack very well and has started saying (her versions of) Spanky, Erin, Max, Avery (which is a hearty A) and, more importantly, Pop. I got a video of her going through the names so everyone can hear her. I'm so proud of my little girl. Hopefully, someday Shawn will get all the pictures and videos from December transferred for everyone to see. We have a ton, so I'm urging him to get them up by this weekend.

I'll write more about Inara's adventures later today hopefully if she takes a solid nap. Gotta go since she's pulled out all her jammies from her dresser drawer and is now walking around with an old pair of Shawn's reading glasses. If it's within her reach, the kid will play with it. I do love watching her try to put glasses on, although I'm worried about her poking her eye out. Oopsy!

Welcome 2009

2009-01-01T15:12:00.002-07:00

Just a quick entry to wish everyone a happy new year. Unfortunately, it hasn't started off quite like I had hoped. I could tell the past two days that Inara wasn't 100%. First, she wasn't eating as much as usual, and we all know how much the kid loves to eat. I knew it could just be her teeth bothering her, but I wanted to rule out all possibilities of sickness, so I took her to see the doc yesterday. He said she didn't have an ear infection, wasn't running a fever, did have a slight red throat, so he ran a strep throat test just to be sure, and that came back negative. At least I felt better knowing she wasn't sick. Last night she went to bed regular time 7:30. But this morning was a different story. She didn't wake up until 11:15 when Shawn and I went in there to check on her. She seemed a bit lethargic, which I just chalked up to her teething. Then the storm began. She wasn't hungry and ended up sitting on my lap and cuddling with me, very unusual behavior for her. Then suddenly she sat up and puked all down her jammies, on my pants, and on the carpet. The poor thing. My heart broke immediately. This is the first time she's ever thrown up besides baby spit up, so this was a bit scary for me I've gotta admit. Then about an hour later, we were walking up the stairs and she ended up puking again. She seems better now and is napping after she got down some crackers and Gatorade. Let's hope it's only a 24 hour bug and she'll be back to her usual self by tomorrow. Great start to '09. I hate seeing my baby girl sick and not her usual perky self. It just reminds me how truly blessed I am with an amazing daughter. I love you sweet pea! Get better soon!

Our first Christmas in our new house

2008-12-26T10:33:00.002-07:00

The holidays have been so much fun. Christmas Eve mom and I took Inara to see Santa at the mall. Too bad the line was atrocious. We waited for 45 min and weren't halfway through the line, so we gave up. I was really bummed because Inara's into Santa this year, so I hoped she'd get a pic with him, but I kinda waited to the last minute so mom could go with me and Shawn didn't seem too interested in going earlier. Oh well. At least Inara got to see him and waved and blew kisses to him. We walked around Park Meadows Mall for a bit and I took mom to this super cool Christmas store. They have some of the prettiest decorations. If I only had extra money to buy ornaments from this place. Maybe someday.

That night we went to the Tomlinson house and had dinner. The night started off on a bad note when Barb's puppy snapped at Avery. It didn't break skin, but it really scared Avery and Thane too. I guess it's just hard to have puppies around little ones. Dinner and all the snacks were good. Poor Inara was pretty tired that night since she got to bed a little later than usual. Then the fun began. Inara ended up waking up 4 times that night screaming super loud. I got up with her twice and Shawn got her the other 2 times. I really think it's her teeth because it was a pain cry and not a scared kinda cry. The first time I got up with her, I struggled to get back to sleep, so I ended up finishing my Christmas letter to Inara, looked up info online for cooking a prime rib, and put the presents in the stockings. One time Shawn got up, he struggled for about an hour to get back to sleep. Ugh. So needless to say, Shawn and I had a rough night of sleep. Perfect for Christmas morning.

Shawn and I ended up waking up around 7ish. Inara finally woke up at 8:30. Not a surprise considering the rough night of sleep she had. Shawn made breakfast for us. After a slight mishap, he ended up making both french toast and waffles along with bacon. Sometimes mistakes can be good since it meant we got a hearty breakfast. We then started opening presents with Inara. I was so happy mom was hear to watch her. We had a blast. Inara really started getting into it. She's so delicate when she opens presents and doesn't rip away like most kids. She loved the musical toy mom and dad got her. She was rocking out and dancing. It was too cute. Shawn bought her a tunnel/teepee/tent set that she loved crawling through too. Of course, I got her lots of books (so I can get more variety when reading to her...haha). Grandma Di and Uncle Jason sent her a zoo train and an animal bowling set that I know she's gonna love playing with. Thankfully, we got some new clothes for Inara too. I swear that kid is growing too fast that I can't keep her closet stocked. She got pretty pooped after opening presents, so she did take a good morning nap. Thank goodness considering we knew she wouldn't get an afternoon one.

Dinner turned out fantastic! The Tomlinsons and Myatts (Kristi's parents) arrived around 2:30. I cooked my first prime rib, and honestly, I have to say I'm impressed with it. I thought it tasted perfect! Especially for my first one. I also cooked green beans with almonds, mashed potatoes, rolls, and mom did her candied yams which I love. I also baked a black forest cake. I've decided I follow in the Tomaselli chef skills but not the baking skills. I'm never 100% pleased with my baked goods. The cake was alright, but I will try something different next year for sure. Kristi and her mom cooked the turkey, which was perfect! Super moist and flavorful. They also brought the gravy and cornbread stuffing (super tasty too). I'm not a big cranberry fan, but they make this great cranberry and orange sauce that's excellent on turkey. Gonna have to get the recipe for that one. I was so happy with how the dinner turned out. I loved getting to use so many of my serving dishes and china that we got as wedding gifts. After dinner, we opened presents with the Tomlinsons. Kristi and Thane really spoiled Inara with so many great gifts. Thank you guys!!! It was cute when Avery opened our presents, she'd come and give me a hug and thank me. She's getting so grown up. Our friends and family really out did themselves with all the wonderful gifts we got. I have to say the best part of the day was hosting my first Christmas in my first house. Everyone seemed to have a good time. The day would have been perfect had my dad and brother been here, but I felt better knowing they weren't alone and got to have their own dinner, but I'd still rather they had been here with me. I'm selfish that way. Ha ha. I hope everyone had a wonderful day and I promise to get caught up on all the calls I missed yesterday. I love you all so very much!!!

It's almost Christmas!

2008-12-23T22:24:00.002-07:00

Where has the time gone? Can't believe I'm so far behind on updating the 'ol blog. Well it's getting late, so I'll make it short. My mom arrived safely on Friday. Inara couldn't wait to get out of the stroller and hug Grandma NeeNee. They've been having a great time playing. I've loved showing my mom all the new things Inara does and I know my mom's been enjoying every minute with her angel as she calls Inara. Well except maybe for Monday when we went for Inara's 15 month checkup. She's doing great. She's 22 pounds, which puts her in the 45th percentile, so she's not overweight even though she eats non-stop. The doctor said not to worry about her eating unless her height and weight suddenly get totally disproportionate. She's actually the perfect weight for her height, 45th percentile for both. Her head circumference is still in the 85th percentile. She's always gonna have a big noggin. The bad part of the visit was Inara pretty much screamed most of the time we were there. When I tried to lay her down to take her clothes off, she screamed. When the nurse weighed and measured her, she screamed. When the doctor listened to her heart, checked her eyes/ears/throat, she screamed. And when she got all her shots, she really screamed. Poor thing. My mom had to console both of us. I swear Shawn's taking Inara for her next checkup.

I've been scrambling around getting last minute Christmas stuff done and other projects I hoped to work on while mom was here. How does a week go by so darn fast? I haven't gotten half the things done I had hoped to. Guess mom's gonna have to start staying for two weeks or have both my parents here for a week. Then I'd put Pop to work and we'd get more accomplished. Ha ha. At least I got the shelf in the kitchen hung up, clothes Inara's outgrown packed away, Monster Cookies baked, and all my Christmas projects completed.

For holiday fun, tonight we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. A friend had told me about one insane house, so we went and checked that one out. Wow! Shawn sure has a lot to live up to if he's gonna try to keep up with this neighbor. They had a ski lift with stuffed bears in the chairs, a roller coaster, a ferris wheel, and Santa and his reindeer circling a pole. That's one heck of a job, but it was so beautiful to see. We saw some other nice ones, but nothing compared to this one.

Well, tomorrow Mom and I are taking Inara to see Santa and hope to get a good pic of her first Santa visit. She's been a bit out of sorts since Monday's doc visit, so cross my fingers she'll be ok tomorrow. Then we get together with the Tomlinson's for Christmas Eve snacks, do our own thing Christmas morning, and reconvene with the Tomlinson fam for Christmas dinner. I'll try to post more stories this weekend. I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas. I love you all very much and miss all my California friends and family soooo much!!! Hugs to all!!!

Why Shawn needs to get more side jobs

2008-12-10T15:32:00.002-07:00

Inara is seriously going to eat us out of house and home. The kid eats non stop. I'm starting to get worried because the other night after dinner her belly was so huge and hard as a rock. How can such a little thing pack away so much? Here's what she had for breakfast today: a handful of Cheerios, a Yo Baby yogurt, 3/4 of a banana, a jar of Gerber oatmeal with pears, and a cup of milk. Then for lunch she had half a container of chicken and carrot raviolis, some more Cheerios, 2 slices of avocado, and she wanted some of my leftover homemade pizza with mushrooms and bell peppers. For snack she ate two cheese and crackers, a couple mini Quaker Quakes (rice cakes) and a handful of Goldfish. Plus, she's had a couple cups of water throughout the day. When she wakes up from her afternoon nap, she'll have another snack and then dinner tonight. I feel like I'm constantly feeding her. Throughout the day, she'll walk up to the pantry and point for food. I don't want to starve the kid, but I'm starting to worry that she's gonna end up "husky" if I don't watch it. Thank goodness her 15 month doc appt is in less than 2 weeks. One good thing is she has no problems with pooping. That's for sure. The girl pretty much craps after every meal like clock work. I know that her first poopy will be around 9am and boy is it a doozy of a poozy. It's funny because I know when she's pooping because she's stops what she's doing, stares at me, and gets a big shit ass grin on her face when she's finished. It kills me! At least we know she should't have any bowel problems in the near future, so that's a blessing. But again, with all the diapers I go through, she's gonna break us.

And why is it that I find her tooting so darn cute? I'm not alone, because Shawn has said the same thing. She always looks at us after farting and smiles as if she's so proud of herself and wants to be congratulated. Some times she even giggles when she does it. It cracks me up! I love Inara so much that I even find her gas adorable. Call me crazy, but parenthood is so weird. I never thought I'd say that about any person passing gas. But my daughter's farts are cute and I'm not afraid to admit it.

Weekend Update

2008-12-07T20:55:00.002-07:00

This weekend was a busy one. What am I talking about? Every weekend is a busy one. Friday was the Highlands Ranch Holiday Celebration at Town Center. There was a children's choir performing Christmas songs, a tree lighting ceremony, carriage rides, reindeers, and pictures with Santa. There was also a lot of free food. Shawn and Thane weren't able to get off work as early as we had hoped, but the rest of the fam got to enjoy the festivities. By the time the guys got there, it was getting a little chilly and Inara was hungry, so we had to cut the night short. All in all, it was a fun event and definitely something I'll check out again next year. Hopefully, we'll be able to get Inara's pic with Santa next year. I was hoping to get her pic with Jolly Ol Saint Nick this year since she really seems to be into him, but the mall charges an arm and a leg come to find out, so we'll have to pass on that one.

Then Saturday, we ventured out to find us a Christmas tree. The first two places we stopped started at $50 and up for a tree. We happened to pull into the grocery store parking lot and were surprised to see they had trees for sale and they were only $30! Bingo bango! We got a beautiful tree. Shawn said it's his favorite one yet. It looks perfect in our front living room too. Inara is already fascinated with it, as I knew she would be. The kid is all into Christmas things. She loves looking at lights and decorations. It's like rediscovering Christmas all over again now that we have a child to share it with.

Saturday night we hosted our first dinner party and game night. I had invited two couples from my mom's group over for pasta and games. Shawn keeps saying how everyone he's met from the group is so nice. I couldn't agree more. We had a fun time talking to the other couples and getting to know them better. Come to find out one of the couples is in their early twenties. Wow! Do I feel old? Given how much I love playing board games, the night was perfect, even though I sucked at the two games we played. The night ended relatively early at around 10:30. Much earlier than our game nights used to end, but the others had to get back home to relieve the babysitters. My how our lives are changing. No more drunken sloppy game nights until 2am here.

Today, Inara and I finished decorating the christmas tree. I put most of the ornaments on the top half out of Inara's reach. I did put a couple little ornaments on the bottom half for her to play with. I figured if I give her some to play with, then she won't try to get the other nicer ones up top. Let's see if that strategy works. Unfortunately, we already had one casualty tonight. A Boo from Monster's Inc. ornament got beheaded. Man, how does a 14 month old cause such havoc in a few short seconds? Oh well. It was one of the lesser important ones, so I'm not too upset. We'll try to save it with some crazy glue.

On a sad note, I got eliminated from our fantasy football playoffs tonight. I was in such a good position to at least make it to the playoffs until the worst team in the division whipped me. That makes the lose even worse.

But to end on a super great note, only 12 more days til my mom arrives. In case you didn't know, my mom will be spending Christmas with us. I couldn't be more ecstatic!!! With the holidays here, this is the most homesick I've been since we moved, so knowing my mom is coming makes things a little brighter. I wish my dad was coming too, but he can't take time off work. I knew Michael wouldn't be able to make it because of retail work, but I had hoped Pop could, but I understand. Hopefully next year we can all be together to celebrate with the little munchkin, otherwise known as Inara Grace.

Keeping up with Lyle

2008-11-30T20:29:00.003-07:00

You've all heard the saying "Keeping up with the Joneses." My new saying for Shawn is "Keeping up with Lyle." You see Shawn's been bit by the Christmas bug along with the neighbor envy bug. Last weekend Shawn decided he was going to put up Christmas light, which just happened to be after our neighbor across the street, Lyle, put his up. You see Lyle is the manly man on our block. (To remind you, he was the one who came over and helped me with the pipes when I was worried about them freezing.) So Shawn went to Ace Hardware and I was heading to Target anyways, so while on our respective shopping trips, we called each other and compared prices on lights. Of course, Target's were cheaper, but Shawn was already at Ace and from what he read on the packaging, he thought theirs would be better (even though they were $17 a box and Target's were $12). When Inara and I got back from our trip to Target, Shawn was busy working away on the lights. As the observer, of course, I had to throw in my two cents on how I thought he should do things, but he went about doing his own thing. I kept going outside to check on him because this simple project sure did take a long time. As he was hanging the lights, he was annoyed by the fact that some of them were poorly constructed and the icicle strands were unevenly distributed and poorly twisted so that Shawn had to mickey mouse them. He then had to figure out a way to pull the extension cord up out of the way so you wouldn't see it dangling down. Thank goodness Pop introduced Shawn to tie straps. They sure do come in handy for just about every project. As Pop says, there are two things you need: tie straps and RoundUp (weed killer). That night, the three of us went outside after dark to observe the pretty lights. Huh? Why do the two strands on the ends look bluish and the other three strands look yellowish? Shawn was pissed, but he left the lights up for time being. He's such a perfectionist and obviously trying to keep up with Lyle that he was so irritated and determined to get more lights from Ace the next day. Monday night he returned home with the last three boxes of that brand of lights they had.

This last Friday, Shawn decided to return to his Christmas light project. First, he tested the lights in the house to make sure they were all yellow. We were so annoyed to find that one of the strands had a bluish tint again. Mind you, we've read every inch of the boxes and packaging and the strands are all the same, or so they are supposed to be. At least he had the two other strands that were yellow so he could replace the two blue ones still hung up. He unraveled the strands to make sure these weren't poorly twisted and strung together before he hung them up. Jacked! These were even worst than the other strands he'd already hung up. One of the icicles hung down about three feet while the others were barely a foot. "That's it! I'm taking them all back!" Shawn yelled. "I'm going to Target to get new ones. Wanna go?" Oh wait. Did I just hear him say he wanted to go to Target to get new lights, the place I had originally told him to get the lights? Wow. What a concept? Yes, I'm being sarcastic, but as I told him, if he would have just listened to the wife in the first place, all this hassle could have been avoided, but NOOO, he's the man and he knows best. Ha ha. Shawn did admit later that from now on he's just going to listen to me because it will save a lot of time. Hooray. He's learned the secret to a happy marriage: just listen to me. Yay! I digress.

We pack Inara up and head to Target where Shawn then spends the next 40 MINUTES reviewing all the Christmas lights. Yes, I understand there are a TON of lights to choose from, but 40 minutes? You see Shawn had to inspect and read all the boxes to figure out which ones were LED, which color he wanted to go with, which had the best bulb count and length, and which ones had white and not green wires because he didn't want the green to stick out along the white eaves of the house. I was dying laughing because just as he would decide on a light to get, he'd go to get the right amount of boxes only to find out he was one short. Pure comedy I'm tellin' ya! He then decides he wants to get lights for the windows in the single car garage to one up Lyle I'm sure. (Oh by the way, Lyle even put lights around all the trees in his backyard too. So much to keep up with. Ha ha.) Once home, Shawn puts the new lights up in record time and they look awesome. White icicle lights around the front of the garages and red lights framing the windows in the one garage. Who would have thunk that Target brand lights would be this perfect? Hee hee. Shawn was so proud of his job that he asked Kristi and Thane to do a drive-by after we all had dinner together Friday night. He had to show them off to someone. The silly man even went outside that night in socks and flip-flops to take a picture. Too bad it was snowing and he skidded and got his sock wet. Aye carumba. That night we talked about getting some nights for the two trees in the front yard too. But there are no close electrical outlets, so we walked around trying to figure out how to get power to the trees. Shawn's thinking of rigging something up from the outlet by the garage door opener, string wire up the rafter, down the side of the garage and then to the trees. He's such a man and loves these challenges.

Well then, Saturday night I hear Shawn say, "That bastard." I go to the front windows to see what Shawn's looking at. Lyle switched out the two lights on either side of the garage so one is now red and the other is green. Shawn was mad. Does Lyle think of everything? I swear I don't know my husband any more. You see, he used to always make fun of me when I'd put up decorations in our apartment. Now this guy is thinking of new ways he can decorate his house and one up the neighbor. He's killing me!

Lyle really is the super man of the block. His lawn is so perfectly manicured every week. Shawn even pointed out that there is never a stray leaf on his lawn. Then this morning as we are enjoying watching the snow falling, Shawn dies when he sees Lyle shoveling the driveway and then brings out the snow blower to clear the sidewalk around his house and the neighbors. Shawn walks away shaking his head saying, "Whatever, man, whatever." I've seen a whole new side of my husband. And I love it!

Last story before I bore you all: Shawn and I worked on the basement today. He went to Home Depot and got more of the storage shelving units that he and Pop bought for the garage. He was upset to see that it looks like they are blowing them out and possibly not going to carry them any more, so he bought four sets. I thought that seemed overboard, but once we started organizing the basement, we used all four and could actually use a couple more. Anyhow, the basement is now super organized into sections: Inara's stuff, Shawn's electronic stuff, Marisa's books, stuff for a garage sale, holiday decorations, and leftover tiles and other supplies for the house. I even have a crafting corner all to myself. Yippee skippy! Then Shawn rolled out the extra carpet and padding the builders had left and arranged the extra TV stand and tower we have. Too bad we don't have an extra TV to hook up downstairs and a couch, but maybe someday we will. Then we situated the bar Jason made us so we can actually use it if we wanted. It's a great idea that we put the extra carpet out so now if I want to go downstairs to work, Inara has a carpeted area to play rather than have her play on the concrete. It looks so great down there and I'm most impressed that we got it done in under 3 hours. Shawn did most of the work, so I've gotta give him all the credit. Honey, it looks awesome!!! And for all the hard work you've been doing in the house lately, I'll give you a pat on the back and shout out, "Good job, buddy."

New reasons why I won't sell Inara on ebay...yet

2008-11-25T21:39:00.003-07:00

Every day I'm amazed by how fast Inara is growing. She's such the little sponge right now and learning new things every time I turn around. She's still not saying any new words besides mama, dada, and uh-oh. I'm actually surprised she's not speaking more considering HOW much I read to her every day. The kid loves books! It's cute when she wants me to read to her, she'll bring me a book, I sit down with my legs crossed, and she backs up to me and sits down. It's hilarious. She could use some new books though because I'm getting bored reading the same ones every day. I'm about to pack away Goodnight Gorilla actually. It's a good book, but we read it at least 5 times a day. The latest fave is one about Christmas that we checked out from the library, and she loves looking at pictures of Santa. It's my goal to teach her to say, "Ho ho ho!" No luck yet, but I'm gonna keep trying.

Inara has also become infatuated with Pooh Bear and friends. She loves wearing the shirt Kristi got her with Darby and Pooh bear on it because all day long she walks around pointing at her tummy and smiling. I took the shirt out of the dryer yesterday and she came charging over when she saw the shirt and got so excited. She loves reading the one My Friend Tigger and Pooh book we have, so I checked out another Pooh book from the library. I'm thrilled that she loves these characters so much. They're some of my faves too.

Shawn and I are always teaching her animal sounds, but nothing has stuck yet, which we're also surprised by. However, she does do her elephant sound, which kills us every time. I've also tried teaching her to wiggle her nose like a rabbit does. Somehow it got translated into her winking her right eye. It's the cutest thing ever. She gets a kick out of it too.

One thing Inara has gotten very good at is congratulating herself when she does something. She's always clapping and cheering. I know that's because Shawn and I are always congratulating her when she does something. Positive reinforcement is so important.

Yesterday, Inara made me so proud when she became mommy's big helper. She loves to get in the way when I'm emptying the dishwasher, which makes me nervous because I don't want her to fall on the dishwasher door and hurt herself. So yesterday, I decided to get her involved in the chore. I took out some of her sippy cups and handed them to her. I then said, "Inara, help mommy and put these in the cupboard. You know where they go. You're special cupboard." She took the cup from me, stared back oddly for a sec, then turned around and put them in the correct cupboard. I was so proud and cheered for her. Of course, she clapped and cheered for herself too. We did this with all the cups and snack bowls that are hers and she put them all in the cupboard. Then I decided to try the plastic storage bowls that she plays with. She took them from me and knew exactly where to put them. She even surprised me when she put the small bowl inside the bigger bowls and then put them in the cupboard. I'm tellin ya, she might not be able to say any words, but the kid knows SOOO much!

My favorite new thing she does though has to be her kisses. I'll say, "Give mama kisses," and she'll lean over and kiss me. And she's starting to close her lips now, so they aren't big slobbery kisses any more. Yay! The other day I was trying to get her to say, "Love you." It was so cute because every time I would say "Love you" she would lean over and kiss me, so now when I say that, she comes right up and kisses me. Too adorable!!! So I guess I'll hold off listing her for sale on ebay for another few weeks, but as children go, the tides can change so fast that she just might end up for sale tomorrow. Ha ha!

Baby Jack is Here!

2008-11-20T14:07:00.002-07:00

Congrats to Kristi, Thane and Avery for adding one more to the fam. Jack Christopher Myatt Tomlinson joined us this morning at 6am. Kudos to Kristi for barely making it in time to the hospital before only pushing 3 times and getting that little guy out. That's amazing! And of course, all natural for her second time. I swear she just keeps upping that bar more and more. And poor Thane even had to scrape ice of the windshield early this morning before they could head out. What a good guy!

I was so excited to be their first visitor. I wasn't waiting any longer to hold my nephew. It was different this time in that there wasn't a room full of people, so I got to hold him for awhile why the new parents got to eat something for breakfast. He's so adorable!

It was also super special watching Avery once she got to the hospital. She even asked Kristi how she was feeling. It was so sweet. I had brought Avery a little surprise too. I had packed it a few weeks ago with some snacks, crayons and coloring books just in case we were at the hospital waiting for awhile. Avery was rather excited to get her bag of goodies and thanked me several times. As she was sitting on the bed with Kristi, she said, "Isa, I love you!" That was so special to me. I love her too! I can't wait to watch Avery, Inara and Jack grow up together. Boy, does Jack have his hands full. Congrats to the four of them. Shawn, Inara and I are so lucky to have you as our family and best friends. We love you guys!

Motherhood is the most humbling job

2008-11-18T22:01:00.002-07:00

There has been so much going on in the Tomlinson household with Miss Inara lately. The past couple weeks have presented many new challenges for mom. As the title of this blog states, motherhood will surely humble the most confident woman around. I consider myself to be up for most challenges presented to me, but I've recently come to realize that my new career as a mom has presented me with the greatest learning curve. I fancy myself a pretty smart lady most of the time and have always strived to be the best at everything I do. Boy, do I feel like a fish out of water more so than ever before. It is a constant learning process. Just when you think you have a child figured out...BAM! She starts something new.

When Inara was first born, I struggled for awhile with all the new processes (breastfeeding, midnight feedings, bathing a newborn, etc.), but relatively speaking, she was an easy baby. She slept in noisy places such as restaurants and at parties. She was easy to put to bed. No 2 hour process to speak of. Yes, she had some feeding problems, but once we got that all figured out, she was easy to handle. Then, the mobility started. Everything changes once a child learns to roll over. I could no longer sit her in her rocking chair or swing and move about on my own. She got her first two teeth at 10 months and while it was tough for a few days, it went rather quickly in hindsight. Then, my world was rocked when she learned to crawl and even more so when she started walking, as I had expected. Oh, how I miss the good old days of an immobile child who napped throughout the day.

Lately, one if my struggles has been the napping schedule. Or the lack thereof. Some days Inara wants to take a morning and an afternoon nap. Others I can barely get her to take a catnap the entire day. Some days I can exhaust her by being out and about. Other days, the busier we are, the less chance I have of getting her to nap at all. The inconsistency (or maybe the better word is the unpredictability) is what kills me the most. By 3 in the afternoon, I can read the sleepiness on her face, but she will refuse a nap with all her might. She is one strong-willed child. Who would have predicted that from my daughter?

In the last two weeks, Inara has been showing all the signs of teething, but do you think one of those little boogers would peak through to offer us some relief? She rugs her ear, lays her head toward one shoulder as if to relieve pain, wakes up screaming bloody murder, gnaws on pretty much anything she can get her hands on but refuses all things made to help in such situations, has been abnormally irritable, and, according to my mommy radar, is just not herself. What I find myself doing on the really tough days is sitting with her in my arms, cuddling, rubbing her head, and giving her as much love as I can. This obviously means the days of me being productive are out the door, and I can finally say, I'm fine with this. It's a hard thing to admit and even more difficult to accept, but mommy duties call.

Along with this though comes the loss of time for me. No, I'm not talking about the bigger "me time" of going to the movies or shopping or getting a pedicure. What I mean is the little bits of time for myself throughout the day. For example, getting to go pee without having someone follow me into the bathroom. I know this is payback for all the years that Michael and I would sit outside the bathroom where I now understand my mother was trying to find a few seconds to herself each day. Michael and I would so obnoxiously pester my mom so much that we would even resort to passing notes to her under the door: "Mom, can we watch TV? Please mark Yes or No." Payback is a bitch. Moms sacrifice every ounce of independence there is. Sorry Mom. I totally get it now!

Here's a great story to illustrate my point. Yesterday, Inara and I were playing in the living room. She seemed to be content playing with her Little People, so I thought, "Hey, I'm thirsty. I'll get me a glass of water." I got up, and no sooner had I started filling a glass, do I hear her scream and within seconds, she comes running around the corner with tears streaming down her face. Yes, all I had done was get up to get a glass of water. That's a no-no because that meant I was not in her direct line of sight. Silly mommy. What was I thinking? Yes, I now have a permanent growth attached to my side at all times. First, I called her my shadow, but now I feel that we are much closer than that.

Another new "skill" Inara has developed is her dinosaur screech. It is the most annoying sound in the world. The high pitched frequency is heard by all the dogs in the neighborhood. It is her way of letting me know that she wants something. What she wants I have NO idea. She will let out this sound and point. I will go through everything that is within 5 feet of her pointing finger to no avail. Baby girl, just tell me what you want! I can tell that she is getting more and more frustrated with the fact that she can't communicate clearly with me, which is where the world's most obnoxious sound comes from: pure frustration! The other new vocal development is her screaming mom. I was on the phone with Erin the other night, and Inara wanted my attention, so she let out a loud MOM! Even Erin heard it and was shocked by the clarity of Inara expressing my name. Yes, she wants attention. No, she will have to wait two more minutes. Daddy, please help!

However, with all the roller coaster twists and turns I've been dealing with, I am in total awe of this amazing child. She can now say mama/mom, dada, and even says uh-oh. It's cute when she says uh-oh even if it's after she has thrown a handful of food over the side of her high chair. Grr...but so cute. I'm super impressed with just how many words she can recognize and is getting great at pointing to things when we ask her to show us. She can point to hair, eyes, ears, nose, belly, toes, feet, hands, socks, shoes, pants, and a slew of animals. She makes the cutest elephant sound. It's more like a raspberry, but it's her version of an elephant blowing its trunk and I love it. I tried to teach her to wiggle her nose like a rabbit. For some reason, her interpretation is winking her right eye but I'll take it. It's so dang adorable! Speaking of animals, we have a resident squirrel who's been eating the berries out of the tree just outside our dining room. Inara and I just sit there and watch him munching away. She will even lay her head on the windowsill as she watches. My heart melts when I see her do this.

Other new things she does to entertain herself is she loves to turn around in circles. This all came about because of the closing song on the Imagination Movers. She turns around and around and around, of course getting herself dizzy. Then she tries to walk. Yes, I follow her around so she doesn't crash. When I'm in the kitchen, she loves playing in the cupboards I've designated fair game. She especially loves taking all and I mean all the tupperware type containers out and carrying them all around the house. She then likes to put other things into the cupboards. The other day I searched all over for the home phone and low and behold I found it in the tupperware cupboard. The first place I should have looked. It was there with her shoes and her water cup. It's amazing how fast kids can do things even when you're standing there right next to them. I hope this blog made you all smile and giggle a bit. I love sharing the latest mommy and Inara adventures with you all. Wow how time flies. She is now 14 months old, going on 5 years it seems like. Just kidding. I'll get Shawn to post new pics and videos this weekend. Good night!

Art partnership I'm so excited about

2008-11-18T21:59:00.001-07:00

I recently learned that one of my favorite authors, Gris Grimly, is about to partner with one of my favorite directors, Guillermo Del Toro, on a stop-motion film version of Grimly's Pinocchio and perhaps other ideas down the road. Check out this article http://joblo.com/del-toros-puppets. Thanks Jason.

It's about time

2008-11-14T07:03:00.002-07:00

Finally I wake up to snow. Just woke up and everything's turning white. Hooray! Can't wait to take Inara out to play in it. Hope more falls throughout the day. I'm so excited right now.

Inara's first big bruises

2008-11-09T12:07:00.002-07:00

Friday was a rather traumatic day for Inara and I as she got her first real bruises. The first one came after her morning nap. I could hear her playing in her crib over the monitor, so I didn't rush upstairs to get her. I was actually cleaning up the kitchen, so I wanted to finish before we messed it all up again with lunch. Then, suddenly, she lets out a scream. I ran upstairs to find her standing in the crib, tears streaming down her face, and a nice red mark on her forehead. I'm guessing she was probably trying to reach down to pick up a toy and misgauged how close the side railing was. She's done this in the past, but never quite this hard given the big red mark. I swooped her up, and she hugged onto me as she tried to stop crying. Poor baby girl.

We then went downstairs, played, and had lunch. After lunch, we started playing with her Little People circus train. She loves pushing the button to make it go and follows it around the kitchen and entryway. I was sitting there watching here, thinking "boy, she's getting so big. Look at how cute she is walking after this toy, thrilled as can be." I then see the train stop as Inara keeps going. She ended up tripping on the train, fell on top of it, hit her head on the round front end of it, bounced and hit the hardwood floor. In total slow motion, as I see her fall, I lept up and tried to get to her in time. Noooo, baby girl! Of course, I'm not that fast and could only hold my breath as I watched her fall. I grabbed her quickly and ran into the kitchen telling her to breath, blowing in her face to get her to breath. I could tell she was in pain, and finally, she let out the loudest scream I've ever heard from her. I grabbed an ice pack out of the freezer, but she wanted nothing to do with it. Since she was still screaming, I took her outside to see the trees. That usually calms her down. Not this time. She finally stopped screaming and was then just crying, so I called Shawn to see if she heard daddy's voice if that would calm her down. No go on that one. About 15 min later, she finally stopped crying and had about a 2 1/2 inch imprint on her forehead from the round front of the train and another bruise on hair line probably from where she hit the floor, along with the first bruise from the crib incident. I felt so horrible! My baby girl now has her first real bruises and I feel awful about it! I know this will be the first of many more to come, but it still doesn't make it any easier to see my precious daughter banged up.

Will.I.Am video for Yes We Can

2008-11-06T09:30:00.001-07:00

In case you haven't seen this video yet, here's the link. It's so inspiring to me to hear these words and music. Hope you enjoy it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY

Rove's conceding already?

2008-11-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

From cnn.com

Rove predicts Obama landslide

Posted: 10:17 AM ET

From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Karl Rove's Electoral prediction

(CNN) – John McCain and his aides are still banking on a come-from-behind victory Tuesday, but the GOP's most famous political strategist has already called the race for Barack Obama.

Karl Rove, the man widely credited with engineering President Bush's two successful White House bids, is predicting the Illinois senator will take the White House in an Electoral College landslide, winning 338 votes to John McCain's 200. That would be the largest Electoral College victory since 1996, when Bill Clinton defeated Bob Dole in a 379-159 rout.

In an Electoral Map posted on Rove's Web site, the Republican mastermind predicts Obama victories in several key battlegrounds, including virtually all of the states where polls suggest he currently enjoys a slim advantage. In fact, Rove believes Missouri is the only crucial battleground state McCain will carry, while Obama scores victories in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota, and Iowa. Rove also thinks Obama will win traditionally-Republican Virginia.

Hanging out with Michelle Obama

2008-11-03T20:13:00.004-07:00

I kept debating this morning whether or not I should go see Michelle Obama speak at a local high school. Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone to go with me, and I kept thinking it would be right around dinner time, and I should be here to feed Inara. But another little voice in my head kept saying, "Marisa, how many times in your life may you get this chance? You already missed out on the DNC. Don't miss this opportunity." So I asked Barb to watch Inara, and I went. I was a bit scared when I got there because there was a HUGE line waiting to get in. I couldn't find a place to park the place was so packed, but I didn't let this deter me. Heck, I had already driven 25 minutes. Once in line, I was worried that I might not get in because there were already so many people in front of me. My worries didn't fail me. I didn't get in the auditorium. Instead, I went to the overflow area where they had speakers set up so we could still hear her speech. A woman I met in line said Michelle and Barack always come speak to the overflow areas at the rallies. She was correct. Out comes Michelle Obama. She said a few words to all of us who couldn't get in and then she came over to the railing and started shaking people's hands. I was close enough that I got to shake her hand. I was super excited. I could have just shaken the next first lady's hand. How cool is that. Then all 400 of us in the overflow area stuck around in the cold and listened to her speech, cheered her on, and got a little more pumped for tomorrow's election. One of the best parts of this whole experience though was looking around at all the people standing there, enthused by Michelle's words, but more importantly, exercising their right. It's times like these that make me so proud to be an American and privileged to know that we have this amazing right to vote. It's something many take for granted, and we should never do so.

Am I a bad mom?

2008-10-29T20:00:00.002-06:00

So yesterday was one of those days where as soon as Shawn walked in the door, I threw my hands up and said I'm clocking out. Inara and I went to a park playdate with the moms group. I had a great time talking to a couple of moms I haven't had the chance to talk to much. Inara had a fun time playing with the kids, especially in the sand play area. She started getting fussy because it was time for a nap, so we headed out and she fell asleep on the car ride home. When we got home, I placed her in the crib and she crashed for about an hour. When she woke up, boy did I feel like the world's worst mom. I hadn't even considered the possibility of this happening. When I went in to get her, I noticed her crib was covered in sand. What the? JACKED!!! I scooped her up and started taking her clothes off only to find sand sprinkled all over her body, even in her diaper. Please explain to me how does that happen! I know she fell in the sand once, but she had a long sleeve shirt on, socks and shoes, and pants, so how in the world did she get sand in her butt?

Anyways, I got her changed and let her run around upstairs after I closed off the hallway with the gate. I then proceeded to clean up her changing table, which now had sand on it, and brought the vacuum up to clean her crib. For my second surprise, my vacuum wasn't working. So I went and got a new bag, cleaned the vacuum, and tried again. No luck. Mind you, this whole time Inara is up in my business because she can't be more than 5 inches away from me most of the time. So I realize I'm going to have to take off the crib sheet without spilling sand all over the place. With my bad back, I can't pull the crib out from the wall to get the damn bumper pad off. Yes, I said damn. So I finally get the sheet off the bed. Gather up all the dirty laundry and Inara, and we head downstairs. My luck, one corner of the wad of stuff comes undone and sand starts trickling out as we're heading downstairs. Just great! So I now have spots of sand in her room and on the stairs and no vacuum to get it up. Oh and Inara had a nice little rash at the top of her diaper area around her waist where sand must have been rubbing on her when she was sleeping on her belly. Ugh! I now understand what a "Calgon take me away" day is.

How does my inbox get so full?

2008-10-28T09:29:00.005-06:00

Things have been pretty busy around here lately that's how. Plus, as you all know Inara sure keeps me super busy every day. Last week was kinda a whirlwind. I hosted a craft playdate on Tue. We had 10 moms and 10 kids here. It was super crazy, loud, messy...I loved it! Inara got so wore out that day that she ended up taking 3 naps! Funny thing about Inara at the playdate: she didn't seem to into the socializing, playing with other kids aspect until one of the moms got snacks out for her little girl and Inara was right there wanting some. My daughter sure loves to eat lately. Then Thu we went to a playdate at our friend Laura and Whitney's house. Inara seemed to do a little better playing that day, but not much. The girl just loves to observe all the kids playing instead. My guess is she's learning by observing that way when she's ready to walk and play, she'll be a pro. This playdate was fun because it was an Iron Chef cook-off of sorts in that all the moms had to bring a dish using pumpkin. I brought pumpkin pancakes, which were not very good. Only after the playdate did I realize that in the madness of doubling the recipe, I forgot to add to eggs instead of just the one. Oops. At least I now know why they turned out thick and doughy.

On Saturday we hosted a small shower for Thane and Kristi and baby Jack who is due to arrive in less than a month now. Our good friend Eeutung made a ton of food, which I was very grateful for. It was a small gathering, but fun to catch up with old and new friends. I was super excited to give Kristi the scrapbook I've been making her for the past few months. What I did was make up all the pages so all Kristi has to do is add the pictures and write any text she wants to include. Each page is a letter of the alphabet, so like U is for Uncle Shawn, I is for Inara, S is for sister, etc. It was super fun making this book. There were some panic attacks along the way, but it was all worth it because I knew Kristi would love the book. As friends know, I love giving gifts, especially when it's something special that I've put a lot of thought into. Plus, I know this will make life easier for Kristi when it comes to scrapbooking and documenting Jack's first year.

Saturday night, Shawn and I got a bit of a surprise. It was about 7:30 when all of a sudden there's a knock at the door. When Shawn went to answer it, there was nobody there. However, there was a gift bag left on the porch. Shawn brought it in and opened the scroll that was inside. We were Boo'd! I've never heard of this, but one of our neighbors boo'd us, and we then had to boo two of our neighbors. Basically, what it is is we have to put some candies and surprises in a bag, make copies of the Halloween letter and the ghost that's to be posted on our front door once we're boo'd, then we have to do the same for two neighbors, but you have to knock on the door and run so they don't know who it's from. That's part of the fun of it. I thought this was totally cute and a fun way to get in the Halloween spirit. I swear I love our neighborhood. We are so lucky to have such cool people around us.

Sunday was another fun-filled day. We went to see Shawn's cousin Cari who sings kids songs. She and her partner were doing a Halloween performance in Boulder, so Barb and the 3 of us went out there and met Eetung and William. The auditorium was packed and kids were all dressed up. Duh, I didn't even think about putting Inara in her costume. Oh well. Inara loved the first two songs and even clapped along with one of the songs. However, after that, she was done and just wanted to walk around. I took her for a bit, then Shawn took the second shift. At one point, she almost walked onto the stage through the side door. Too funny. We then went to dinner at The Med, a yummy Mediterranean restaurant. Inara and William sat next to each other. It was pretty funny that Inara kept taking Goldfish out of her mouth and wanting to hand them to William, who was clearly puzzled by her gross kindness. Glad she wants to share, but really with soggy goldfish? Yuck! By the time we left, the floor was covered with Inara's dropped food. I picked some of it up, because I hate to be that mom who leaves a disaster. I remember what that was like when I worked at Olive Garden. It would make me so mad. I know she can't help it though, so I just picked up some of the mess.

Well, Inara is getting pissed that I'm on the computer, so I better jam. Pretty impressive it only took me less than 20 min. to write this long ass blog. So glad I can type fast with a toddling toddler around. I'll be sure to write about the Mom's Night Out I went to last night later. (Sorry if there's any typing errors. No time to proofread this one.)