quips

my monkey is getting funny.


toooooooooooooooooot!
mommy: Avonlea! did you fart??!!
avonlea: I sure DID!!!

************

av: Mommy...I eat Merlin kitty?
mommy: no! you can't eat merlin! what are you talking about??
av: (rolls eyes) mommy....i was bein' funny!


************

Av: Give me more melon!!!
mommy: How do you ask mommy?
av: Give me more melon NOW.....damn it!!!

disclaimer: i have no idea where she got that from. no idea. at. all. nope.

************

speaking about our lawn guy, Dave.

av: mommy...Dave has sharp teeth.
mommy: Dave has no teeth.
av: sharp teeth! he will bite you!
mommy: no. dave will not bite you......i don't think.
av: (emphatically) he's MEAN! like a troll!
mommy: no. he isn't mean.
av: (considering it) he's a nice guy.


*************

:)

There's a new girl in town...

and then there were three....

this sweet little lady will be joining us on tuesday in our little house in the woods!
avonlea is so excited.
so is her momma!

she is an 8 week old silver labrador (yes, that's right...silver), and we can't wait to get to know her and love her up!
we named her stella. and as avonlea says "she has sharp teeth mama! she will bite you!!!"
we are excited for some puppy lovin'!

i'm sure there will be LOTS of adorable puppy pics to come!!! :)

A day at the park

We started the day sleeping late, then headed over to the park to some bullfrog watching, catfish spying, and doggie dodging before heading out for ice cream, napping, and then ending our glorious day at Nooney & Papa's house. This little monkey has been a happy, happy girl this week....great listener, full of fun and energy, using her words to fend off frustration, going on the potty, and hasn't gotten a single 'time-out' yet. Thus, the ice cream reward. :)

Summertime...and the livin's easy...

It's summertime in our little house in the woods....and that means sunshine, swimming, days at the park, long walks, ice cream, late bedtimes, smores, and lots and lots of family lovin'.
We stayed home this week, playing in the kiddie pool and relaxing...time waits for summer. I love working 3 days a week....but during the hot summer days, although it's hard to force myself to go into work, once i'm done with my shifts, EVERY day feels like vacation. Like that very first day of summer....full of endless possibility, freckles, pruned fingers, and late night conversations watching fireflies in the warm air.
And every day that I have with this gorgeous monkey, makes me experience that joy of being a kid all over again. My soul screeches with excitement at her face, full of every drop of fun that ever was.

Awakened the demons....

I'm afraid that I have awakened the demons. The "priss" demons.
I took Avonlea to get her first "professional" manicure at a local kids salon. It was pretty darn cute. They give the kids a prize, and a nailpolish to take home, and Avonlea got to sit and have her little nails soaked, massaged, and painted all for a well worth it $5 tab. We will be going back.
Suddenly, all she wants to wear are dresses, walk around in Mommy's heels, and get her nails done. :) It's ok. I don't mind. I'm sure Auntie Sarah will be having her throwing a ball around in no time. :)

Color Me Happy....

It was a cloudy day, but the air was warm and so we broke out the sidewalk chalk that I have been waiting to open since last fall. Then Papa stopped by to color on the driveway with us and play a short game of teeball with my little muffin. We finished this glorious evening covered in chalk, dirt, and slurping down not one, but TWO "pos-i-cals" after dinner. ;)

It's days like these that make me feel like the Mom that I want to be, in-between the to-do lists, grocery shopping, errands, chores.












Stay tuned....there is more where this came from....

embarrassing story #1

I knew that it would happen.
My parents have a slew of stories about my sister and me and how much we embarrassed them out in public. Truth: most of those stories were of Sarah doing the embarrassing....actually....I'm fairly certain ALL of those stories were of Sarah.

I digress....

I always knew it would happen. I have been blessed with a mostly very happy, very friendly, coy and flirty little babe, especially out in public. And so, I haven't really had a terrible we-are-leaving-this-store-right-now meltdown, and she just started stringing words together enough for her non-mommy and non-daddy relatives to finally understand. Thus, I thought I had a little more time. Just say'in. Wrong.

Cue story #1....

We are out to dinner at a favorite pizza place...my parents, my sister, and the babe and me. It is 2 hours post-bedtime. Babes is bordering freak-out mode, and after one injury-induced meltdown, and mommy's scolding about how we can not, in fact, leap from her high chair to her grandmother like a little flying squirrel, I attempt to distract.

mommy (wide eyed and feigning excitement): Avonlea, would you like to take a bath tonight or a shower with mommy in the morning???
* internal dialogue: please say shower, please say shower...its so late and (mommy needs a break) you need to go to bed. *

avonlea (thoughtful):..... hmm...shower...mommy.

m: good answer! remember the last time we took a shower, and we played with your alphabet letters in the tub?

a: yes.
*pause*
*pause*
and i wash mama's BUTT.

m: *blink...blink*
yes.
*pause*
yes. you did wash mommy's butt.

a: and 'gina!

m: *huge blink, stifling laughter as Avonlea beams with pride*
yes. yes, you did wash mommy's vagina. thank you. and thank you for sharing that.


there was a lot of oh-my-god-i-cant-breathe-from-laughing-so-hard minutes after that little gem.

let the fun begin!

and oh we will be a'bloomin'....

The babe is getting bigger. Soon, I wont be able to call her "the babe", and she will become "the girl". My heart already breaks for that change.
Things have been....I don't even know what to call them. Let's just say that we have all been getting used to things and this new way of life. And in the sadness, I haven't felt like taking many photographs.

Until spring came and whispered it's warm breath upon us last week, even with the sleepy snow still on the ground.
So, the babe and I went outside, sans jackets, to splash a bit in the puddles and revel in the sweet smell of wet earth and emerging crocuses.

When I uploaded the photographs tonight, I realized that I still had christmas photographs that I hadn't even looked at yet. And so I will share my two favorites of the babe, although there are some fine family moments on that upload. Maybe we will save those for another day.

We need a little spring in these parts... it's time to wash away the winter and melt away the snow and ice.
It's time for new beginnings.
New roots with gorgeous blooms.

*and oh, there will be some gorgeous bloomin' going on in these parts*

It's time.

We're getting there. We are holding our own, don't you worry about us.
And we feel these soft winds of love that you keep blowing our way. And it gets us through the hard days. And it gets us through the amazing days. So, thank you.

And so I say goodnight...it's time to get some sleep....I hear there's some sunshine coming our way.

:)

Avonlea meets Benji

We traveled up to see my friend Blair and her new baby, Benji.

Feast your eyes on this little butterball.

Avonlea's in love.

so am i.

I need more vacations like this. Blair is good for my soul, and the babies are good for our hearts.

Thank you, B. For lifting me up when I needed a little sunshine.

We can't wait to see you again.