Tuesday, December 22, 2009

We Did It

This is to be sung to the Dora soundtrack:

"We flew on an airplane, the three of us, oh we did it, we did it, we did it, Yeah!"

Honestly, the trip to Ottawa was great. We had a lot of helpers along the way (the porter, the security man, the airline ticket taker, and the flight attendant). Interestingly, they were all male and I only had to tip one of them (the porter...of course). Sadly Air Canada has been moved to the reject crappy terminal at Reagan International which meant my husband had to drop us off at the curb, but it really wasn't that bad.

We had no major melt downs along the way and I was really proud of my little munchkins. Luckily the babe has this whole flying thing down and it's like she knows that she needs to be on her best behavior.

Honestly, since we've been here, we've pretty much been inside. Ottawa has been seriously chilly, and even when bundled up, you don't want to be out there for too long. The babe and I did make it out for a little adventure into the woods behind my folks place yesterday. We took out the sled and made our way through the trails...the whole time my daughter was yelling at me "Run, Mama, Run....faster, faster, faster!!!" The look on her face was priceless. I think she had a whole lot more fun than the little guy did when I dragged him shopping later in the afternoon.

Hope you're all enjoying things and eating as much sugar as I am. Happy Holidays!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Advancement

Every time I think the babe is really advanced...she goes and pulls a whammy just to remind me that she is, after all, only 3 years old.

Today she walked toward me with dripping hands. I asked why her hands were wet (we were upstairs at the time). She replied that she had stuck her hands in the toilet, which, as you may have guessed, had not been flushed since the last time she had gone pee in it.

I didn't handle it to well. There were drip marks leading from the toilet and across the hall into her room. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

We also had a bit of a poop accident in the evening...of the "oops here it comes" runny variety. I am looking forward to moving beyond the pee pee, poo poo days, or as they say at the babe's school, urinate and defecate.

Enough of this nonsense...gotta get to bed as our big travel to Canada day starts in T-8 hours. Wish me luck!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Why does Santa...

The holiday season has presented many opportunities for the babe to expand on her "why" questions.

Why does Santa have hair all over his face? (Some men have hair on their face and it helps keeps them warm)

Why is Santa stuck in that thing? (Santa is overweight and got stuck in the chimney delivering presents to good children)

Why does Santa have a bum? (Everyone has a bum)

Why does Santa have all the reindeer? (They help get him around)

Why does Santa only come to good kids? (Only good kids deserve presents at Christmas)

It is (mostly) funny.

This season has also provided her an opportunity to run around singing "Feliz Navidad" all day. It is pretty cute (except when I'm trying to put the little guy to bed).

The kids and I are off to Ottawa this Friday. The 5 hour door to door experience (our DC door to my parents Ottawa door) with a 3 year old and an almost 1 year old should be something special. I always feel like I have survived a battle of epic proportions by the time I get to my folks place at around 11 am (we have a 9:00 am flight which means we have to be at the airport by 7:30 am).

Friday's expected high of 13 below (CELSIUS) is slightly daunting. Time for the cozy holidays to begin (inside!).

Friday, December 11, 2009

My Little Picasso


Tuesday night was the babe's first art show.

Yes, a 3 year old with an art gallery opening.

The babe and her classmates have been studying Picasso this semester. She has been bringing home art which I believe is pretty typical of a preschooler. It's always fun to see what she's been up to and we tape her work up on our dining room wall in our personal "gallery."

I didn't expect to see much more at Tuesday's show than the kind of work I had already been seeing. But I was amazed at the creations these kids had come up with.

When I walked up to my daughter's piece, "The Flower," I was stunned. It truly is a piece of serious art, and as cliche as this may sound, it filled my heart with both pride and joy. She really is an artist! And I really am a proud Mama.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

House House House

There were 9 other offers on the house.

We didn't get it. Not that shocking!

I suppose it's another learning experience and it just wasn't meant to be.

I'm remarkably OK with it. It really was quite a boring street and a very car dependent area. And I do love my current hood.

We have the babe's "art show" this evening at her Montessori school. They have been studying Picasso which is pretty cool. We also have her 3 year well visit at the pediatrician this afternoon. Life carries on...

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Whoa...

Last weekend was crazy. Yesterday was crazy. Today is crazy. If you don't know me, you probably won't care to read anymore as it is really just me blabbing.

On Saturday the little guy and I got up at 6:15 am to go stand in line (in the rain) at the H1N1 vaccination clinic. My son needed a booster shot and I wasn't going to let our first dreadful H1N1 vaccination experience be for nothing. We were about 11th in line which felt really good. Everything was remarkably under control at the clinic (it helped that it was in a municipal building and not the yucky high school we were at last time). I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience and applaud the DC government for a well run operation. To find a local provider in the United States, click HERE. We were back home before 9:00 am which felt nice. So much already accomplished!

Upon our return, my husband ran off to help a friend move (the rain had turned to snow at this point).

The kids and I hung out and even ventured outside to play in the snow and build a snow man (how neat that it snowed in DC before my home town of Ottawa). The little guy got to sit in the snow for the first time. He thought it was awesome until he fell over in all his puffy gear and lost his mitten. Then it wasn't so awesome anymore. Time to go inside.

Got the kids to bed and our realtor showed up. Yes indeed, we are potentially buying our first home. We spent a chunk of time putting together an offer and felt like it was all under control. We have been battling with the fact that the house in 3 metro stops further than where we are now, but decided we were willing to make the sacrifice to be in a sweet little house near great schools (how responsible of us, eh?). Hello suburbs...good bye hipness (my father tried to console me by saying I shouldn't worry as I had lost my hipness a while ago).

We then raced off to my dear friend's house as her daughter, who was born the same day as the babe, was having her 3rd birthday party. Sugar and balloons!

Sunday had us driving around Bethesda checking out our potential neighborhood, and then darting off to meet out-of-town friends at the zoo. I must say that the National Zoo in December wasn't much to write home about. Where the heck was that giant panda, anyway??

Yesterday was crazy birthday day, and I must admit I was exhausted and slightly emotionally sloppy. Things were starting to get to me and I really needed sleep (and a chef, a cleaning lady, a driver, a hairdresser, a masseuse and a nail technician)!

And I'll wrap it up with today. I struggled to get both kids out the door (it's cold so the amount of outerwear required has multiplied dramatically), dropped the babe off, went to the post office, returned to my car to discover that it wouldn't start. This has never happened in our Honda. I called my husband, then called AAA, and before I knew it there was a lovely man helping me out and telling me my battery was done. He just happened to have a new battery to sell me and was able to install it right there. Good deal! Membership finally has it's privileges.

Rush home, change diaper and feed the little guy, then rush back to pick up the babe at school.

Get lunch sorted, get kids to nap (very difficult and involved too much yelling--the babe and I, of course).

Check email--our agent informs us there are 8 offers coming in on the house we are going after. Offers will be reviewed this evening at 7:30. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be, but this whole experience has caused so much stress and sleep loss that if it doesn't work out, I think I will be taking a break from the home hunting business.

Stay tuned!

Monday, December 7, 2009

The Babe Turns 3

Three years ago today I had my first child.

It was an unbelievable and surreal experience that resulted in a beautiful little girl. Our world changed for the better.

The babe, with her innocence, beauty and youth, has given me everything, and I in return, have tried to give her everything. Neither of us is perfect (granted she is a tad younger than me), but that's what makes it interesting. Our love and our bond is forever.

I am so very grateful to have an intelligent, beautiful, feisty daughter and although the past three years have been challenging, they have made me a better person. I am in love with my daughter and I celebrate our three years together. Here's to many, many more.