confession time

I am so embarrassed. I lost my cool. There is no other way to say it. Here's what happened...

Ellie was up A LOT Monday night. Not sure what is going on there but it needs to stop. So Tuesday I was exhausted. I don't think I got any sleep. Ellie was tired too which just added to the all around tension and crabbiness in the house. All day long Ellie was just not listening and purposefully doing things she knows she shouldn't, and talking my ear off. In other words, she was being 2. I should mention that when she talks, you must let her know that you understand everything she says by repeating it, or she will keep saying it. This sounds like no big deal but it is really tiring. An example below:

Ellie - "I hears hairpain"

Me - busy doing something else

Ellie "I hears hairpain"

Me - still not paying attention

Ellie " Mommy! I hears hairpain!!"

Me - "You hear an airplane? Wow!"

Ellie - "Wow!"

This goes on all day long.

Chris called and asked if we wanted to meet for dinner. I thought that was a great idea because I wouldn't have to cook. But to get to dinner, I had to change Ellie (she was filthy), finish up the 14 projects I had going and get to the restaurant in 20 minutes. Slightly stressful.

As I was changing Ellie's diaper she saw a stuffed pig she wanted (we are very big on taking things when we go out now, drives me batty), so I get the pig and as I pull it down another pig falls down too. Now Ellie wants to take both pigs. I tell her we are just going to take one pig and all hell breaks loose. She lost it. I was so over the whole day by this point that (here is the embarrasing part) I threw it at her. Officially the worst mom ever. Now granted, it landed at her feet and she was just happy to get her way but I knew what I had done and felt horrible. To rub salt in the wound Ellie thanked me for the other pig. I then burst into tears and apologized. I think Ellie thought I was nuts.

As pennance, I posted a super close pic of myself above and you can see that I have crooked nostrils when I smile...

Today has been much better.

Ellie's 2nd year!

I did a little montage. Check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/treeddavis

I hope you like it! I can actually watch it now withoug crying...

a day in my life...

Just for fun...a typical day in my life. Times could vary...

7:25 - wake up to "mommy!!!"
7:27-745 - cuddle in bed
7:45-8:00 - ellie runs around upstairs while I try to wake up
8:00-8:10 - ellie whines for her breakfast while i make it and my much needed coffee
8:11 - "breakfast ready now mommy?"
8:12 - my first sip of the blessed coffee
8:15-8:30 - we eat breakfast. "mommy's coffee hot" "oatmeal yummy" "all done now"
8:30-8:35 - clean up the diaster under ellie's chair
8:35 - ellie askes for the first cookie of the day, sometimes she gets one, sometimes not
8:36 - 9:00 - ellie watches Dora while I check email and drink coffee
9:00-9:15 - get dressed, wrestle ellie into the day's outfit and torture her by brushing her mophead
9:15-12:00 - play, cry, fall, change diaper, walk around the block, go to Target, have a snack, go to the park, play with friends, spill milk, pet a dog, pick a dandelion, ride a bike, draw with chalk, ask for a cookie, watch tv, etc...
12-12:05 - convince ellie to come inside for lunch, not easy
12:05-12:20 - make and eat lunch...I don't go all out here...usually just cheese and crackers and fruit or leftovers. all during lunch it's "mommy has water" "ellie has milk" "I like cheese sandwiches"
12:20 - "one more cookie mommy?"
12:21-12:25 - clean up the diaster under ellie's chair
12:25-1:05 - try to convince ellie it is time for a nap...play quiet games, read books
1:05 - put ellie down
1:15 - go in and firmly remind ellie it is time for sleep
1:18 - hear ellie singing twinkle twinkle litte star
1:20 - hear ellie reciting "goodnight moon"
1:30 - all is quiet
1:30-3:15 - put a load in the washer, dust, get mail, clean out underwear drawers, cut asparagus for dinner, make a salad, scoop litter, weed flowerbeds, read a little for fun, check email, put toys away, put load in dryer, make grocery list, clean out the junk drawer, fold load from dryer, etc...
3:15 - ellie wakes up
3:15-3:30 - ellie talks and sings in her crib
3:30-4:45 - the hardest part of my day...I am tired...we play outside mostly, maybe watch a Diego if I am having a really rough day...ellie asks for another cookie.
4:45-5:00 - try to remain calm as ellie whines for dinner and wants to go back outside and is all around difficult. Make ellie's dinner
5:00-5:30 - ellie eats dinner, while I play good wifey and make dinner for Chris and me (most nights anyway)
5:30 - 5:35 - clean up the disaster under ellie's chair
5:35 - daddy home! YEA!!!!!
5:35-5:40 - ellie and daddy kiss and hug and cuddle and talk about their days..."Ellie played with Dommy!" or "Ellie talked to Grandpa!" or "Ellie saw Enzo today!" or whatever she did...ellie asks daddy for a cookie...she is so sneaky
5:40-6:15 - finish preparing my masterpiece dinner and chris and I eat with ellie playing nearby or bugging us to go BACK outside
6:15 - "can I have one more cookie mommy?"
6:16-6:25 - clean up and get in each other's way...chris changes out of work clothes while ellie asks repeatedly if "Daddy all done now?"
6:25-7:00 - back outside for more play time, usually a walk around the neighborhood in the wagon
7:00-7:15 - bathtime, get towel and jammies all ready
7:15-7:30 - wrestle ellie in said jammies and again do the torturous hair brushing
7:30 - 7:45 - watch Diego and wind down
7:45 - 8:00 - stories and rocking and put to bed
8:20 - ellie yells for mommy and I completely ignore her, because it is bedtime and I am settled on the couch...sometimes chris gives in and goes in and rocks her some more
9:00-11:00 - try desperately to keep my eyes open during tv/relax time
11:00 - bed for me!
2:14 - hear Ellie stir and cough
2:15-2:30 - worry she is coming down with a cold
2:35 - go check for a fever
2:36 - relieved there is no fever.
5:47 - wake up cold
5:47-5:50 - wonder if I locked the door the night before.
7:25 - wake up to "mommy!" and another day begins...

happy birthday sweet girl.

My baby is 2 today. I am not sure how that happened. I have heard that when you are raising a child the days are long but the years are short. That is so, so true. I am really scared at how fast time is going. So in honor of her birthday, here are my favorite things about her...

-every morning when we go to get her up from her crib she says "Good morning Mommy, Good morning, daddy." Melts my heart everytime.
-when I rub her back, she says "that feels good!"
-my kisses make even the most serious of all boo-boos go away.
-she calls Dora "dado". Although more and more frequently, she is getting it right. Makes me sad.
-Loves to be naked.
-Loves to be outside.
-Always asks for just "one more cookie, mommy?"
-makes great horse and monkey sounds. She know all the animal sounds, but these two are especially impressive.
-Eats a huge bowl of oatmeal almost every morning.
-is very sweet to our cat.
-sings Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star over and over and over.
-gives great good night kisses and hugs.
-can read "Goodnight Moon" cover to cover. Well, she has it memorized anyway...

We just love her so much. What did we ever do without her? Happy Birthday Ellie. You are the light of our lives.

my little monkeys

We live 5 minutes from the zoo so of course we are members and go ALLTHETIME in the summer and a few times in the winter. We went for the first time in awhile on Saturday to kick start Ellie's birthday extravaganza and let me tell you...it is going to be a fun summer at the zoo. She really gets it now and would say, "I want to see elleants (elephants)" or "Ellie see Monkeys!" So much fun. When we would leave an exhibit, she would always say "Bye Mama Gorilla" or whatever animal we happened to be viewing.

She is also a big fan of the choo choo that goes through the australian outback portion of the zoo. Of course that costs extra...

I snapped a quick pic of Chris with some distant family as well. They were so happy to be reunited. See below....

It was a good day.

spring is here and a true talent

The above pics prove to me that warm weather is coming. My daffodils are FINALLY blooming and the tulips are about to. Nothing says spring more to me than robins and spring flowers. The sunglasses and bubbles are proof that it is nice enough to be outside. I love spring. I love the colors, the smells, the first time you open your windows to air out your stinky winter house (today!), firing up the grill, and playing with your friends outside. I think I appreciate spring much more since I have moved to Cleveland. I mean, I grew up in Indiana where we definitely had winter, but winter here is something else completely. It is all encompassing and depressing as hell. I am glad it is over.

As for my true talent...it is falling down stairs. I do it at least once a week. When E was new, I was terrified to carry her on stairs. I would take one at a time and wait a little on each step. My family thinks it is hysterical. I fall down stairs at Paiges, I fall down my own stairs, I fall down steps at restaurants, I even tripped on a curb yesterday. I am cool. Last night I hit a new high (or low...) I fell UP the stairs. It was dark, I had just watched Idol and was coming to bed. Chris was already in bed, which is odd, he rarely goes to bed before me. I got to the top of the stairs, thought there was one more, and crashed into the wall. Luckily Ellie didn't wake up. I then burst out laughing at my stupidity and at how ridiculous I must have looked. I did wake Chris up with all my shenanigans and we had a good chuckle. He said I should put it in my blog, so there you have it. I am such a dill weed.

Drastic Measures

I remember the days where I would spend all day Masters Sunday on the couch watching the tournament. I would doze during the boring 4-10 holes and wake up in time to watch the leaders go through Amen Corner. Those days are long gone. The above picture shows what we have to do now to even get a glimpse of Amen Corner.

Besides the TV we:

played with every stuffed animal in our house. And we have ALOT.

threw a ball back and forth

had snacks

took a bath (which we can watch both her and the tv at the same time)

ate dinner in front of the tv

played with our little people and

the tickle monster came.

Needless to say, gone are my relaxing Masters weekends. I have a feeling though, in 10 or 15 years, when E is off doing her own thing, I will be longing for these days again.

Candy Molds

Chris, Ellie and I went to the worlds largest candy store today to get molds so I can make homemade suckers for her birthday party favors. They had "It's a girl" molds, and letter and number molds, and elephant molds, and little cap and gown molds, among about 50 others. What they did not have was any mold that had anything to do with birthdays. How is that even possible?

I was so mad.

Ellie has a cold and was coughing all over the candy and Chris was mad that I was taking so long. So what should have been a fun little morning out was a total disaster. I did get some melting chocolate to use in the heart molds I got around Valentines Day. I guess those will have to do.

As a side note, Chris and I watched "Into the Wild" this weekend. Spoiler Alert coming. Stop reading right now if you don't want any more details....

Great movie. Prepare yourself though. He dies at the end. I just want everyone to go into the movie knowing that so they are a little more prepared than I was. It is a true story and I guess I should have known but I didn't. Very sad!

More random Sunday thoughts:

There is still some coffee cake left. Not much, just a little.

Ellie was singing the theme song to "Go, Diego, Go" in her sleep last night. Is that a sign that she is watching too much tv?

I can't wait for Chris to get back with my lunch. I am hungry.

I have a bazillion things to do before Ellie's birthday party Sunday.

Time is flying. My baby is turning 2 :(

I would love to see Tiger make a comeback at the Masters this afternoon.

A little piece of heaven!

So I just made the worlds best cinnamon coffee cake. I mean, it is divine.

I would give you the recipe, but it is one of those Amish starter cake things. Only the Amish know how to start them and it takes 10 days of mushing and adding before it is even ready to bake. Plus, you make a starter for 4 other people, which is how I got mine (SHOUT OUT TO JO! YOU ROCK!!) It makes 2 huge dishes full. I gave one whole one away. The other one is going to go right on my hips and butt probably. I keep saying, "just one more bite" and 5 minutes later, I am still sitting there eating it. It is that good.

Idol Gives Back

For the second year in a row, this show has really gotten to me. You think you have "problems" and then see what real problems are. I know life isn't perfect, but I am relatively sure that there isn't going to be a drive by on our street, Ellie has a "googillion" books to read, and I don't have to worry about how I am going to afford any medications she may need. Everytime one of thhose little children came on, I wanted to go wake E up just to give her a hug. I am truly blessed.

We are so proud

Ellie picked her first booger and gave it to Daddy. Being first time parents, we documented it. Gross but necessary.

I love warm weather but...

I predict a problem. Since the last few days have been so nice, we have played lots and lots outside. Today, Ellie decided that was all she wanted to do. There was no nap, barely any food intake, and tears and screaming when I had to take her inside to change her poopy pants. Seriously. I predict lots of hours of sunshine this summer and tubes and tubes of sunscreen being used.

I think from now until bedtime is going to be touchy. Wish me luck.

Busy Life

So much for weekly. Ha! I got busy. There was that horrible cold that lasted for 3 weeks and then Easter, then the trip to Indiana, etc...

The trip home was busy! Ellie's nana threw her a birthday party, there was an Easter egg hunt and we went to Jerry's and had Pizza King pizza. What is a trip home without Jerry's? I got a diet cherry coke and a stawberry sundae with chocolate ice cream, thankyouverymuch!

Chris gets what I call "driving delirium" about the last 45 minutes of our long drive home. Drives me absoutely bananas. He talks and whistles and sings and is just altogether annoying. Fun times.

Random thoughts of the day:
I love to go home and I hate to go home. I miss my mom.
Kate from "Jon and Kate + 8 is my hero.
My eyebrows need waxed.
Ellie excused herself after a burp today. So polite.
I am not crafty. At all.