We're home!

And what am I doing instead of unpacking? Blogging, of course. It was a wonderful, if draining trip, and it is also really wonderful to be home. Flying into Portland on clear day is truly spectacular. Especially when your toddler has been really adorably cute the entire way. Mizz really shined on this trip except for some major sleep disruption which for lack of any other clear explanation I am going to blame on the high altitude and its affect on his sinuses. In any case, Mizz charmed everyone with his verbalness, willingness to give hugs and kisses, and his energy. That man was on the move with the exception of when a train set was pulled out. Needless to say, I think I know what we might get the Mizz for his birthday. I'll write more coherent details and pics of the trip later because my frozen pad thai is calling me.

Hola from CO!

We are nicely ensconced in the Rocky Mountains. It is quite beautiful when I remember to take a minute to look up at the scenery. Mizz is enraptured with all of his cousins and has been running around nonstop. My cell phone doesn't work up here, but I am thinking of everyone and will give a call soon.

Packing Light?

Forget it. I, for so long, have prided myself on packing really well, paring down to the bare essentials with just a few frills to not leave me feeling too deprived. And for the last two years I have tried to pare it down even more in attempt to balance the impact of having to cart around a toddler and his toddler stuff as well. But today, I am renouncing my packing light vows and fully embracing the "holy crap...are they moving into the airport" method. I am tired of making millions of decisions every minute and have simply decided to throw it all in and see what happens. So Colorado here we come! We brought stuff, lots of it!

Mizz's daycare report card

Table manners.....B+ much improved
Language Skills...B again much improvement
Building Safety...D

Why such a low grade? It seems that the Mizz has discovered that he can, of his own volition, turn the sinks ON at daycare and he is absolutely thrilled to do so over and over again...without regard to the water output or overflow potential. Which means, that his lucky teachers have the mostly thankless task of redirecting him 900 times to less wet pursuits. In discussing the situation with one of the teachers, we concluded that one of the challenges of going to school only two days a week is that you don't get used to things as quickly as other kids who attend full time. His peers are so like "been there, done that". Mizz is like, "let's get this flood started!"

It's freezing!

Ok it's 61 degrees, which even my cold blooded self will admit is not technically freezing. But. It didn't get that much warmer than that today and it is almost the end of June! I want sun and I want it now... and consistently! Not a sun shower here, a gray drizzle there. Yes, you can feel free to laugh at me when I am moaning in August about the unrelenting solar rays. At least I just have to get through the week and then I will be basking in the Colorado sun with a view of the Rockies. And let's be completely honest here, what really set me off is that I was too cold to eat my ice cream comfortably this evening. Oh the horror!

We're going to LA and several other vacation destinations of our choosing!

I think/hope we just got an amazing deal to get some nice weekend getaways for our family and even some opportunities for more of that Franny and Dave time.

It's 7:06

Mizz just asked for a cookie. I was able to manage to redirect his attention back to his toast, but it is only a matter of time before his powers of persuasion become too strong for me. At least maybe in the morning when my resistance is low.

A taste of the old life

If we manage to secure a babysitter for Saturday night, Dave and I will have managed to go out four nights this week! This is unprecendented (for us at least), and has been really wonderful. Since it is still such a rarity for us to have any alone time not "on duty" it initially feels really strange and then luxurious. But mainly it allows us a time to reconnect and experience the old Franny and Dave before the constant negotiations about who does what and when took over. Like those silly magazines and books suggest, time alone together is a relationship must.

Pics, Pics, Pics!

Mizz loved all of Uncle Sam's silliness!


We lucked out and got to see a whale doing whale things here! The whale isn't visible in the pic, and mostly we just saw it spouting.



Mizz loved running freely throughout all the outdoor paths in the aquarium. I loved the Rogue beer served at the Cafe.



What can I say? My parents are serious sports fans. Mizz netted a new Yankees and Redskins shirt and learned the signs for Touchdown, First Down, and Safe.

To the Kind Lady

...who loudly wondered aloud to her friend "(insert snarky voice here) Why would someone bring a child to this?", please try to think before you talk and maybe show some compassion instead of judgement. I realize that some parents do push the envelope too far and let their kids run wild creating a miserable environment for everyone. But, toddlers are not lepers or terrorists, or holy terrors despite what some might think. And parents that have them need to get out of the house occasionally or the OUTSIDE (which in our case, mainly involves me chasing Mizz non stop). So toddlers are going to be in malls and restaraunts and yes, airplanes. Cut them some slack will ya?

I win!

I never win anything which usually prevents me from even entering contests. But on a whim I filled in the necessary blanks recently and I was thrilled to learn yesterday that I won a gift certificate and book from one of the Parent Bloggers Network's giveaways. Thank you so much PBN and Alma for the posting that alerted me to the contest! I am really psyched to put the gift to use. I have been really creative recently and it will be great to get some new ideas and then, be able to cruise the shelves at Michael guilt free.

I think there are a couple of things driving me to create. While I think I am pretty excellent at playing creatively with the Mizz, let's face it, there are plenty of pretty mundane tasks that come with almost full time toddler care. When we are walking, playing on the swings, playing with playdoh for the nth to the billionth time, my mind occasionally wanders. As people like to say, this is a "win-win" type of situation because Mama gets to time to think and so does the Mizz. I can't be a running commentator "24-7" (another phrase that is disturbingly overused) and Mizz gets space to do his own thinking, which some day hopefully, I'll understand. Also as I grapple with the temporary loss of my professional identity and the satisfaction that comes from doing good work, I can transfer some of that need to hobbying. We'll see how this plays out. Someone please do an intervention if I suddenly start beading things that shouldn't be beaded or in the event that I become permanently attached to my knitting needles.

End of visit recap

Our visit with Grandpa and Gran just ended about an hour ago when they left for the airport. We had lots of fun and they were super generous with gifts, time, and helping out in general. Through the efforts of Dave and Janet, both Dad and I got to be surprised with exceptionally yummy birthday cakes. Also, Janet and Dad were so thrilled with one of our dinner recommendations, they came home with a gift certificate for us to use at some point. Which is really great because it is one of the restaurants I have driven by for, oh, six years or so and thought that I'd like to give it a try. Mizz struck gold with an early birthday present in the form of a righteous tricycle. He is just a little too short and uncoordinated (no offense, Mizz) but will soon be motoring around I'm sure. Fortunately for my back, it has a cool long handle that attaches to it so I can push him in the mean time.

Happy Birthday Franny!

Is it uncouth to wish yourself Happy Birthday on your blog? I actually think it's hilarious considering I keep forgetting and being reminded by everyone including the bank teller. It seems that I have sublimated, no overtly transferred all my birthday excitement to Mizz, whose big 2 year old birthday is just a mere three weeks away. But it has been a great birthday celebration for this ancient dinosaur. My dad was thrilled by my brother's surprise appearance and I as always, I love spending time with him. Bella Beach was awesome despite some less than favorable weather. We managed to do a lot in the two and a half days that we were there, including the fantastic Newport Aquarium and some serious, much needed hot tubbing. And of course, we have eaten some even more serious food. Dave and I even mangaged to sneak out for a romantic, ocean view dinner knowing that Mizz was in great hands. It was really spectacular and I will probably think about those fish tacos and coconut pie for a long time (not to mention the view and my wonderfully sweet husband). Last night, we pulled in one of Mizz's many cool babysitters and went to Higgins. While it was a little too hoity toity for Sam, Dave, and me, the steak was delicious and it was really fun to dine as a family again. My brother has not lost the ability to make me crack up at the most inopportune times (namely usually with a big mouthful of food). Being with him remind me of all the shenanigans we used to pull as children, many of which I am not entirely sure I am looking forward to as a parent. Mizz has had a blast with Ba Pa, Gra JJ and Unca Smah. Mizz had a particularly great time showing out his water management skills at the OMSI while my folks checked out in detail the Bodyworlds 3 exhibit.

Mizz gets frustrated

By everything I mean. It appears that he may be embracing his toddler self whole heartedly now and all the torment, conflict, and angst that goes with it.

Mizz: "Wow, Mom is serious when she says that she is going to take my juice away. WAH!" "Naptime is for babies, I am exhausted but want to keep truckin...WAH!" "I can't make this toy do what I want, WAH!"

I think you get the idea. I think for me one of the biggest challenges of parenting has been the constant changing nature of it. Just as I get comfortable with the current status quo whether it is adorable or *challenging*, it changes. But there is that period of transition where the change is happening that is really uncomfortable because it is hard to know what is driving it. Is it me? Is Mizz sick? Could I be doing something differently to help him/teach him better?

Currently though, it looks like I better get used to the power struggle game, at least before I could pretend like I was the boss.

Happy Monday!

Or in my case, Happy Friday. One of the main disadvantages of working only Mondays and Fridays is that I never really know for sure if the week is starting or ending. I realize that I cannot complain because working two days is way better than working five days where one may be excruciatingly aware of the turning of the calendar days down to the minute in some cases. As for me, I am really excited about this particular Friday because my folks are flying into town. Not only am I really looking forward to seeing them, but I can't wait for them to see the Mizz and all the growing up he has done in the last six months. It really continues to astound me how fast kids change. One of the many cool feature of working at a daycare is getting constant reminders of not only where Mizz has been but also, what the future holds. Frankly, from my current viewpoint, the kindergartners look and act like adults! But then I check out the infants and am reminded that there was a time not that long ago where Mizz would spit out food and refuse to feed himself...oh that was this evening...never mind. Actually, Mizz ate his first real meal in what seems like weeks. He actually ate pizza and applesauce and asked for more of both of them. This seems to be a major improvement from the recent days of a handful of crackers and some berries. Perhaps he thought he was a squirrel... In any case, his appetite appears to be back for the moment at least.

Dave and I both agreed to put a kibosh on most of our "have to/want to" list this weekend, and enjoyed playing outside, in the pool, and around the house. We also rented three movies and managed to watch two of them from start to finish. We both thoroughly enjoyed two radically different films: Casino Royale and Little Children. In fact the only thing in common with them is that, we weren't sure either of them were going to end.