leaving

Dino Dan,

I love you.

Ellie

E and I are heading home to Indiana to spend some time with my Dad.

We will be gone quite a spell.

I miss blogging already!

Don't forget about us in the land of Blog!

pony camp

I could live in a horse barn.

I love everything about it.

The smell of the horses.

The sound their hooves make.

The barn cats strolling about.

The hazy, humid air.

It is heaven right here on earth.

My girl feels the same I think.

She is smitten.

And is a bonafide natural around place.

Not to brag...

(ok, maybe a little)

but during their little show, they were posting

(which is what you do when the horse is in a trot)

and another mother tells me it took her daughter 5 pony camps to get as good as Ellie is now, and wasn't this just her first camp?

Why yes. Yes it was.

Thank you other mother.

You made my day.

If it were up to me...

We would have a horse.

Don't tell Chris I said that.

He is not as in love with the whole idea as I am.

Not even a little bit.

Ellie and I are chipping away...

Now, on to the pictures:

Ellie and Buttercup.   Buttercup is the oldest pony at the camp and a real sweetie.  She had cancer in her ear, so they just removed it. 

 Hugs for her pony.

 Here she is telling me to go with the other parents. I was embarrasing her with all my pictures.

 Riding to the show.

 Look at that posture!

 Listening to instructions.

 She looks sad here.  She knows it is about over.  Giving Butter some love.

 Thank you Buttercup for making Ellie's week.

And lastly, here is a little video of her posting abilities.

It was a great week.

I see another pony camp in our future.



what i know for sure: "it's freaking hot" edition

Photo:  Ellie on one of her very first hot days.

It is hot here people.

Burn the bottom of your feet on the pavement hot.

Too hot to go to the pool hot.

Fry an egg on the sidewalk hot.

I try very very hard not to complain.

I mean, we get like 6 weeks of warm weather a year.

But temps near the 100's are not fun.

So I am very passively aggressively complaining here.

So.

I thought I would share what I know for sure about it being hot and how to survive the dog days.

1.  Milkshakes are perfectly acceptable lunches.

2.  Underpants or naked sleeping is highly recommended on hot nights.

3.  Creeping to the basement to take a snooze at 1 in the afternoon is not being lazy.  It is being smart.

4.  TV and movie watching is a must.

5.  Shooing a kitty off you, cause it is too damn hot, is not animal cruelity.

6.  Sliced watermelon and iced tea is as good a dinner as any.

7.  Bearing the heat to pick 2 ripe tomatoes for a snack is totally worth it.

8.  Cool showers 3 or 4 times a day is nice.

9.  Not doing any house work is ok.  It will get done in the winter.

10.  Trying to explain to a 5 year old why it is to hot to go to the pool will get you nowhere.  Redirect her attention with ice cream.  Eaten in the cold basement.

So this is just a few tricks of the trade to beating the heat.

Basically, do as little as possible.

And try not to complain.

iphone pics

I got's nothing new to blog on.

So I sync'd my phone

(which i don't do often enough)

and thought I would share and explain my favorite pics from my phone.

If you are a facebook friend of mine,

you might have seen some of these before.

Waaaay back in April Jeff and Megan came to Ellie's trike a thon at school.

Love these guys.

Jeff and I leave Megan and Chris behind and sneak away to watch the Harry Potter movies.

Chris and Megan don't care enough to see them in the theatres.

Are they crazy?

I keep warning Jeff that I am going to be a mess at the end of the last one.

He promises to bring tissues.

We are going Thursday!

 Megan gets really involved in all she does.

Really gives it 100%.

She took a lap for Ellie.

 Ellie looks so much like my mother here it is astonishing.

For. Real.

 Playing in the yard.

 At the carnival.

 Cuddlebunny

 This is how we sleep at night.

I think Chris gets a little jealous.

 My golfer girl.

 Chris taking a dip in the sprinkler.

 Parental fail.

How does one not get a sunburn under the eyes when goggles are going on and off?

Do share if you have tips.

 Um, when did she turn 14? 

No more camis for this kid.

Every so often, I flip through my pics and find ones like this one.

Ellie thinks it's hysterical to leave me little surprise pics.

She's crafty, this one.

little corners

My life is full of little corners.

Corners filled with lots of different things.

 One little corner is full of Ellie.

And the fun we are having this summer.

When I thought of having a child,

this is what I imagined.

It is a good life I am leading these days.

And I am appreciative of it.

We have such fun together, she and I.

We explore, and lunch, and swim.

And read, and shop, and argue.

We walk, and play, and pretend.

And bake, and tickle, and cuddle.

Did I mention swim?

She has turned into a little fish, this one.

And all of a sudden gets it.

And is jumping into the deep end and getting herself to the side.

Brave little thing.

 Another little corner is filled with changes.

Change is upon us, my friends.

New school.

New job?

New routine.

New roles to be played.

 One corner is filled with worry.

My dad.

He is feeling great.

Which makes me happy.

But I can't be there like I want to be.

And I worry incessently about him.

I try and push this corner to the nether regions.

I don't like this corner.

A big corner is filled with joy.

I am amazed at my ability to see the silver lining.

The glass half full.

I have a lot of joy in my life.

And for that I am thankful.

(My sappy blog writing is about to come to an end.  I promise.  I am just feeling so introspective these days.  I can't help it.  My next post will be a little more mundane or humerous.  Pinky promise.)



growing

She's growing.

In all the ways that are good.

And sometimes sad for a mama.

Her legs are longer.

Her stories are funnier.

And we can see glimpses of the 7, 8, 9 year old she is going to be.

She reaches for my hand less.

And can get her own snack.

And has chores of her own.

She can play outside for awhile by herself,

is learning to read,

and thinks Animal Planet is the best thing ever.

She has become modest,

is talking back,

but still gives great kisses.

She picks her own clothes,

blows her own nose,

and wants her independence.

I love the new her.

But have moments of missing her baby self.

The pudgy hands.

The curls.

The "I do it's".

Cutting her fruit.

Picking her outfits.

And pushing a stroller.

She is about to start Kindergarten.

Excuse me for being dramatic.

But it feels like the beginning of the End.

She is so excited!

And I am so excited for her!

She can't wait for recess.

And to really learn to read.

She is desperate to make new friends.

And please her teacher.

But I know things she doesn't know.

Mean girls.

Little disappointments.

And being unsure of herself.

Playground bullies.

Being punished for too much talking.

And missing mama.

All these little hurts are in her immediate future.

And there is not one thing I can do about it.

But be there.

Help her be brave.

Remind her she is fantastic!

Be her mama.

saturday

Saturday found us out of doors.

And getting back to some semblance of normal.

Life is a titch crazy these days.

So a day in nature was just what we all needed.

I heart outside.

We travelled in a different direction this time.

To see what we could find.

We found:

Lily pads

and frogs and turtles and fish and tadpoles and geese and one lonely duck,

and the prettiest water lilies you ever did see.

We found funky tree trunks,

and field journals,

and walking sticks.

We found that someone has a better sense of direction than her mama

and fun little pathways.

 We found castles,

 and moments to reflect.

 We found places to dip our toes,

 frolick in the water,

 and get a fun ride from Daddy.

We found peace and sunshine and together time and love.

It was a good Saturday.

flower girl

The weekend before we left for vacation

(which already seems like 3 months ago)

Ellie was a flower girl in Uncle Mark's wedding.

 Girlfriend did a good job.

And spaced the petals perfectly.

 At the end of the line

she got a little hug.

 She wasn't nervous a bit.

I think she liked the attention.

 My handsome husband was in it too.

It was a fun wedding!

mexico

Well, we're back.

And none too happy about it.

Mexico was heaven.

All we did was

eat

drink

nap

read

and have marital relations.

(TMI?)

I didn't take many photos.

It didn't seem necessary when you do the same thing for 5 straight days.

But here is what I did get.

Our view from the room.

Lazy river, led right to the big pool.

 Relaxing on our patio.

 Breakfast served on the patio.

 Cheese!

 No place my toes would rather be.

 View from my poolside chair.

 Life imitating art.

 Sexiest man alive.

 Vacation essentials.

I took a book I had already read.

Who does that?

Luckily, I didn't remember much.

So I read it again.

 We did a lot of this.

Reading in the pool, with breaks to swim to the bar.

I think people should have access to this lifestyle anytime they want it.

 Tiki hut.

 Pretty view for lunch.

 Reason for vacation.

 Pretty shot.

 What I wanted to do when we had to leave.

It was seriously the best vacation ever.

The staff were fantastic.

The food was great.

The drinks were neverending.

The shower was todiefor.

The fact that it is 2:30 in the afternoon and I am not sightly tipsy on rum makes me sad.

Ellie had a great time too.

But she is sick with a fever now.

And exhausted!

So we are dealing with that.

And all the other stuff that comes with everyday life.

Boo.

Hiss.