So Far

This is how we're celebrating our holiday weekend. Lots of fun.

A walk

As the spring turns into hot, hot summer, it becomes more and more apparent how big my baby girl is getting. Instead of taking the stroller, she insisted on walking the dog. So R rode solo and B did her best to maneuver a dog weighing more than she does.

Rules for Survival

(Stolen from: http://www.modernparentsmessykids.com/2012/04/poyel-more-on-our-daily-routines.html)

This is my goal as a mom (note: #2 is pretty weak. I'd make this more like a couple of hours)

....I better get started

Ughh to Being Three

3 

Unfortunately this is only round 1. In a year and a half I'll be repeating this stage with R. B has hit 3 fast and hard. She cries/whines about everything and nothing.
She's turned into a bossy girl, which despite popular belief, is not cute or funny.
She thinks that listening is optional. This kid was super agreeable until a few weeks ago. Now it's "no mommy" or "I can't" or "I don't want to". Seriously if I weren't a better parent her butt would be a lot redder than it is. She seems to have inherited a bit of OCD from Carlos. I can't emphasize enough that this quality trait does not come from me. Things have to be a certain way. If they're not how she likes them she gets upset and whiny. It's the best.
 So you don't think I spend all day everyday waiting for bedtime to roll around just to rid myself of my frizzy haired monster, perhaps I should point out the silver lining to this age. Her vocab is huge. She can tell me how she feels and talk to me about things she wants or doesn't want. She can use descriptions when talking about something or someone. It really is refreshing considering this is a kid that had very little to no vocab at the age of 2.5. She plays by herself which is great. It's not "mommy, come play with me" anymore. She loves bugs. OK not bugs, but caterpillars (which she calls petepillars and I've decided to never correct this mispronunciation because it's so adorable) and worms. She talks about them non-stop and anytime we're outside this is what she wants me to help her hunt for. I love that this kid will get dirty and touch slimy things. I know it won't always be that way but for now, i'm loving it!
She loves her new rain boots and puddle jumping. And what's cuter than a toddler in rain boots....?
And finally, she loves her father. She can't get enough play time and silliness with him. It makes my heart melt to watch her need him and want him in ways that only a child with a loving father would.
A few nights ago we were sitting in bed and Carlos was talking to Bela and told her "Bela I made you." and she looked at him and said "No, papi, God made me." That He did my dear, that He did.

(Photo by Madison Martin)

Hail

My house has the mixed scent of freshly baked sweet potato bread and just brewed coffee. My kids are playing nicely but separately. B is painting at the kitchen table and R is working on chasing plastic golf balls around the house with his clubs. In a quick glance you could say that so far it's been a good start to our week....

What you can't see is the damage and frustration that came from this weekends hail storm. In our garage is parked one brand new Hyundai Sonata with a near shattered windshield and 6 dozen golf ball-base ball size dents. In the parking lot of the hubby's work is my loved and in otherwise perfect condition 07 Mazda with almost the same description in damage. It's a bit less cracked which why it is the one being driven and not the Sonata.

The storm rolled in fast and fierce on Sat. around 5pm. The kids and I were at a party with my MIL. We could see the giant hail balls hitting down in the yard. Admittedly they were gigantic and for a storm lover like myself, quite fascinating. However it was the sound that stuck out the most. It wasn't just that common noise that hail makes when hitting the roof or the pavement. There was this extra resonance that followed the usual clinking of the ice chunks. Once the hail stopped and we were able to step outside to view the damage we realized what that sound was. Broken Glass. The force of the storm and ridiculous size of hail cracked, dented and shattered almost all the windshields of the vehicles parked outside. To see dents on your car from hail is one thing, but to have your entire windshield sprawling with lines of cracks brings down a whole other level of anger.

But that's the thing about storms. There is really no point in getting angry. I mean with whom are you going to be angry? Yourself for leaving your car outside? That's often unavoidable, as it was in my case. Angry at God for causing storms?...That's just stupid. Mad again at yourself for even owning a car that's now going to cost you a few hundred dollars on new windshields and dent repair?....Again, stupid. There's nothing to be done, other than, if you were smart enough to fork over the extra dough for full coverage, wait for your insurance adjuster to come and survey the damages so you can get your repairs done and get back to driving without fear of the whole glass panel shattering in on top of you.

C'est la vie.