we got out of the house!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sarah called this morning warning me about the storm that was coming this way. Torrential rain, wind, lightening, thunder, egg sized hail!!! I've never cleaned out a garage faster! Well, the storm moved West before hitting us, but at least I have a nice new protected spot to park my car :)


Mia's still on her ball kick, so we played with her variety this afternoon while we waited for Livie to wake up from her nap. Then off to the mall for our first playdate in weeks! Oh, Mia picked out these pants and shirt this morning. What a fashion plate!


Lori and I learned not to plan on a playdate at the mall play area right after school or on a rainy day. There were a few older kids that were running around not caring who they crashed into. There moms? Oh, don't worry they were there on the bench visiting with each other. I put my ref hat on and stopped the kids from running after one boy ran Mia over. She was tough. Then I had to make sure they didn't push Mia down the slide. I actually intervened for a couple other smaller kids. Livie was accosted by a brute. Lori and I packed up our girls and hit the food court. When we went back, all was calm. There was one little boy a little older than the girls, but not much. He was great. His Dad was totally present and redirected him in such a loving way. The word of the day is Redirection. A fabulous tool for keeping your child alive and happy. The girls did have fun in the play car.









We ran into a couple of Mamas I knew...Han and Taz. I'm so glad I pried us out of the house! Thanks Lori & Livie, for a wonderful afternoon. Warm healing thoughts to Sarah and Co. They have the flu bug and not able to come out to play :(

“A man is about as happy as he makes up his mind to be.”- Abraham Lincoln

Mia and I are going to play with Sarah & Isabel and Lori & Livie today!!!!!

I'm ready to get back into everything....slowly :)

here are some snaps of the Snapper

Eventful day!

check out the Snapper showing off her walking skillz ----->

(she's VERY far away from any furniture!)

The sun broke through the clouds, and I took it as a sign. A sign to get that baby in the stroller and go for a walk! We ususally take Mia's nifty wagon, but the stroller has a visor/hood thingy, better to keep the baby dry. Off we went! A couple of blocks into it, I was debating on whether to take a short route or a long one, when the darkest rain cloud apeared. The very second we turned around for home, the sky opened up and DUMPED water on us! I started running, thankful that I had strapped Mia in. Ok. NOBODY builds houses with porches anymore!!! We found an open garage and hauled ass! We were soaked to the bone, and sharing the garage with an antsy pitbull in a crate. Thank goodness for the freakin crate! I guess they wouldn't let the dog roam, though. I knocked on the door to ask the home owners if we could use their garage as shelter. The lady was nice and we chatted till it was clear enough to head home. What an adventure!
Um, Naptime!

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing. Mia's really been into balls lately, so I'm glad we have so many of them :)

Mia then 'helped' me make dinner for Daddy. She kept finding babies in the reflection of the pot lids. Here's a snap of her trying to give the baby a kiss. Awwwwww.

This week so far....

... has been pretty interesting. Mia's walking about 20 % of the time and taking long crawling rests in between. The closest thing I can compare it to is learning a new sport...say snow skiing. It takes a while to get the nerve up and you fall a lot, but it's fun so you try again, then you're skiing! You get home, pass out and wake up sore as hell! I don't remember learning how to walk, but I think it's something like that :)

I've put the camera down for a little bit. I just noticed when I thought about blogging, but didn't have any new shots of Miss Mia. We've been a little under the weather lately, no need for more snot shots. Daryl and I aren't sure if Mia and I are sharing a slight cold or allergies. Oak is extremely high this week. I took some allergy meds this morning and am feeling pretty good, but a little shaky. At least it's given me plenty of energy to tackle some laundry :)

My mom and Mae are taking advantage of Mae's spring break and are off on a long cruise. I haven't talked with mom since Sunday, and am definitely feeling some major mama withdrawal symptoms. I miss her so much!!!! Some much needed R&R for both Mae and mom, but I can't wait till they get back and tell me all about their adventures.

I feel like I'm in the middle of some sort of transition. Not going to all playdates we're invited to.... Now that Mia's walking, I'm realizing that she just isn't a baby anymore. I've been lamenting a bit, but also realizing that a great big world is waiting for us to explore together...and Mia on her own. It's hard to explain properly. Daryl and I have noticed how much she's changed lately. Investigation is Mia's new favorite pastime. She's such a pleasure to be around, and I'm cherishing this time with her. We didn't go to a single activity this week. Now, I think we're getting a smidge of cabin fever and am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things next week...oh, swing. We did hit the park this week. Just a lot of mama and Mia time.

Now that GCS is settled into their new office, Daryl has been getting home earlier and we've had some sweet family moments. Ask him how he felt when Mia, while sitting in his lap, snuggled him forever. He loves being a Daddy, and it shows :)

Mia Walks!

Mia and I are sharing a little cold. That's why we were lounging around the house yesterday...well, I lounged. Mia decided that instead of getting on the floor, crawling, then pulling up to get something she had her eye on, that she'd walk across the room to get it!

She walked around the living room all afternoon then passed out for a looooooooong afternoon nap! Daddy caught a little bit of it, and we both agree that it's super special to watch, but she does look mighty strange walking around after seeing her down on the ground for so long.

Here main focus yesterday were her balls. She'd go across the room for her little polka dotted one, then she'd see her dark purple ball, then the larger polka dotted.....

Flower Child

Higbee Water Park

Suzy and Keith were gracious enough to share a resplendent afternoon with us. They had it goin on with finger paints, a water table & toys, hose & then sprinkler, bowl & buckets of water, and an extraordinary playscape. While the girls played in the water, the adults stayed cool with some frosty beer. Livie and Mia played so very together. Thanks Livie for sharing your toys, backyard and parents with us. After they were sufficiently filthy, the girls went up for baths then relaxed in the living room...well, Livie did. Mia was on baby crack or something. She was obviously exhausted, but she just wouldn't give up. Suzy compared it to trying to nap while at Disneyland! Daryl, Mia and I ended up going home sooner than we would have liked, but as soon as Mia hit her crib, she was OUT. Daryl and I were in bed and asleep by 9:30!

Suzy Explains the rules (even the dogs pay attention)

Mia & Livie make their own rules

Suzy blissed out....Mia adores her

Sprinkler fun

Ride 'em cowgirl!

Arrrg! Off with the hat!

Just a swingin'

Livie smack in the middle of the Terrific Twos!

Daddy, I'm flyyyyyying

Spinning with Daddy

You can do it Snapper

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Today's Soap Opera

Mia showered with her mama this morning. I'm preparing her for sprinkler park season :) While I was washing my hair, she was puttering around with her toys then she noticed Daddy's bar soap. Well, she HAD to inspect it. I thought she may even try to taste it, but I didn't realize I was showering with Jaws! She took a good chomp out of it. Luckily it was on the thin and small side. For the record, Mia was not too fond of it. She didn't cry or anything, just spit the piece out, threw the rest of the bar on the tub floor, and proceeded playing with her toys.

The Abuela has left the building :(

My mom left about an hour ago. It was hard to see her drive off, but the visit was so full of special moments that I went ahead and let her go :) I'm surprised how much stuff I can get done if I wake up before my little Mia alarm clock wakes me up anywhere between 8-9am. Snoozing the early morning away is great considering I've been going to bed so late...waiting up for my husband who's been working so hard, and did I mention late, moving and working on a difficult problem for a client. When he gets home, he's only up for about 5 min before starts snoring...but 5 min is something :) I've missed him so. Oh, Mia's missed him terribly, too. She started calling everyone, including the dogs, 'Dada'. My mom brought her to our bed Saturday morning... Dada was able to sleep til 8! Mia hit our bed, crawled over me like I was just a log in the way of her getting to her Dada. Then she cried 'MY DADA' and jumped in his awaiting arms :)
Back to the Uelita...
Mia was so happy to have her Uelita here for so long, since Wednesday! They played, my mom sang Yankee Doodle to her and Mia would sing for 'more' over and over, so what's a fabulous Uelita to do? Yankee Doodle went to town.... That song is what kept Mia happy on the ride home from seeing Daddy's new office on Saturday. My mom took Mia home and cared for her so Daryl and I could go out for dinner...all by ourselves! It sure was nice to look at each other, talk, hold hands without having to see what piece of food Mia's thrown on the floor for the imaginary dog. She 'feeds' Niles at home :) Wednesday, Mom drove up and I can't remember what time she got here and what we did. We probably chatted while she said hi to Mia. Max, my mom's dog, came along, too. Mia was ecstatic! She really enjoys playing tug 'o war with him. Thursday morning mom had her hair cut appt with Jessica, so I had Mia to myself. Oh, before that, we all went to the Little Gym, but I already wrote about that...so, never mind :)
Friday, Max and I had hair cut appts. Not at the same place :) I was able to do a little clothes shopping all by myself! I actually stopped to look at clothes for a while and didn't have to keep moving...if Mia's in her stroller, she likes to keep on movin' Then my hair cut with Jennifer. I hadn't seen her since Thanksgiving! Entirely too, long to go without a good cut. Actually, her cut grow out so well, I only had to ponytail it for about a week. Daryl worked so late that night. He didn't come in till almost 2am! I have a hard time sleeping without him, so I BAKED! The guys at the office got some choc choc chip cookies and choc banana bread.
Saturday morning my mom meet my Uncle Jorge to go over some of my Aunt's estate stuff. Mom's the executor. Mom did let me sleep until Mia was down for her nap. Yay! a couple of free hours. So, I chatted on the phone until I realized I was late for lunch with the fam. We all meet at NXNW to celebrate Melissa's birthday and apparently our anniversary (the official date, but we celebrate big on April 34..date of our bigger wedding)...oh and St. Patrick's day. Yay for green beer! My first, but don't worry, my mouth didn't turn green :) A concern I had. Along with my green beer..ok, two green beers, I had some yummy french toast, potatoes and shared my muffin and fruit with Mia. Tom noticed I was full and with much gratitude, I shared two pieces of my french toast :) My dad always did that, so it was sweet to me. It was a great lunch. Mia and I were able to sit by Daddy. Nana was able to play with Gwen a little, and then with Mia when we got outside. We were off to see the guys' new office! Dee rode in the back with Mia and had adventures of their own!

The office was still in a state of disarray, but they had come a long way! It's mighty impressive! They guys gave their parents a tour...the 'rents were obviously impressed :) They've been working so hard in general, then the move. It was great that they were able to stand back, breathe and shine in the spotlight.

Everyone left, but I didn't want to go home yet, so we went shopping at The Domain. We ran into Loren and her MIL at Neiman's. I hadn't seen her since Mia's birthday party. We've been invited over many times, and they want us to bring Mia, but now that she's way super mobile...well, babies and electronics/cds/dvds just don't mix! I think it may be time to give our awesome babysitter, Aimee a call :) Mom's given me so much freedom lately, that I'm not sure I want to give it all up :) Mamas need some time off with their husbands. We've been planning to drop Mia off with Nana and Grandpa some Saturday, so Daryl and I can have a date, but every one's been so damn busy lately. Back to Saturday, Mia played on huge yellow armadillo at The Domain's playscape/kid area. Um, a fountain with very low stone walls...perfect for practicing those climbing skills and wanting to try out her swimming skills. After Mia was denied, it was time to head back to the office where we met up with my mom. She was also very impressed with the office, but more so that when Mia saw her come in, she made a happy beeline towards her Uelita. That's when she took Mia home and sang Yankee Doodle all the way home and Daryl and I went out for dinner :)

Sunday was a lazy day, well for Uelita a Mia. I got a lot of stuff done around the house. I've been organizing each room head to toe, but it's a very slow process when the snapper keeps pulling things out of boxes and bags :) That's were Uelita comes in. Daryl came home and then we went to the Alamo Drafthouse for some dinner and a movie. Wild Hogs was funny. Daryl had been wanting to see it since he first saw the previews. Snuggled, ate yummy food and drank some very good beer. For a Thank You, we stopped off and picked up some mango ice cream...her fav (http://www.haagen-dazs.com/segicd.do?productId=2) We stayed up late talking about motorcycles (inspired my the movie). Daryl talked about learning how to ride on his dad's and mom always had them around and was riding when she was young. She actually had bike with hippie flowers painted on the gas tank when she was fresh out of college. My mom shared how her dad was into bikes, cbs and ham radios. I don't remember much about him. He died when I was about 2 years old. From what I've heard, he was full of life and adventure :)

Now, for today these are our very tentative plans:

1. lapsit at the library
2. Baby Bumpers at the Y
3. nap
4. hang out with Lori & Sarah (finally!) and Mia's friends Livie and the Bell

Let's see what happens...you never can tell with this little snapper!

Fun day with Abuelita and space bubbles

We started this beautiful day rushing (Mom's dog, Max wanted to explore the neighborhood before he was caught and put back inside. I know he's my brother, but we had places to go!) to our make-up class at The Little Gym (will forever more be referred to as 'LG')...well, Thursday's class starts 15 min later than our reg. Tuesday class. We were right on time :)

*Note: there will not be any pictures of Abuelita today bc she hadn't had her hair appt yet. This was her choice, and I respected it. Plus, we ended up with a fantastic photographer!

Mom was able to see what the fuss over LG is all about. Mia pretty much gets to climb on anything, go anywhere and do pretty much anything she wants. EXPLORE is the name of the game. There are some 'moves of the day' that we all participate in...or not, and they give us ideas of what we can try with our tots. Mom pointed out to me that the instructor gives us pointers and doesn't direct the children at all. That's our job. She goes around and makes sure we're all spotting correctly, but really focuses on teaching us how to encourage/facilitate exploration of their surroundings and testing out their ever changing boundaries.

Speaking of boundaries...later in the day, we hopped over to the mall for some shopping and a little break in the kids play area for Mia. Hangin' out in a carseat, stroller and a dressing room is fun for only so long. I'm not sure when it began, but Mia has a thing with personal space and not wanting it to be encroached upon. Imagine that :) I remember when she was about 6 months old, a sippy cup was hurled at her head by a kid who so desperately wanted his mama's attention, and decided that was the way to go about it. When she's teething or generally not feeling well is when most of these things happen. At our 2006AM playdate a couple of weeks ago, a couple of toys were taken from her, and she rightfully got upset. Daryl and I are finding that Mia isn't a 'hey, gimme that back' kinda girl. She likes her personal space bubble (term from Lora & Becka) and please stay away, thank you very much....oh, and if you don't hurt me, than all the better.

Back to what happened and how I struggle with this challenge. A little boy (18 months vs Mia's almost 14 months), Rick, was way sweet and wanted to hang with Mia at the mall play area. He kinda got up close to her, and backed her up into a corner. Mia visibly became flustered and when he went to touch her, she looked at me for help and cried. Hard. Now, where do I come in? This is what I did. I went over and sat next to the interesting activity stuff and plopped Mia not really in my lap, just on my knee/leg and started chatting with Rick and playing with the activity thingy hopefully showing Mia that this boy was there in peace. So we all played and chatted and all was good. Then Mia wanted to explore and Rick really wanted to play with her. He's not really at an age/stage where he can understand and respect her desire for a space bubble. When she cried, he was obviously shocked. Anyway, I spotted her semi-closely and was there to mediate their play a little.

Suzy is raising Livie with a 'no hands on' policy. You don't ever put your hands on another child. I wish more mamas could be like that. Imagine the world without pushing, hitting, scratching....even harmless pets don't seem so harmless to a person that doesn't want to be pet. That's just my MSOTD (Mama Struggle Of The Day). It's a work in progress.

Yes, it's 3am and I'm here blogging. I can't sleep anymore. Actually I can once I fall asleep...ahhh the elusive 'falling asleep'. Daryl actually got home a few minutes ago. Trouble with a client's (insert tech term of your choice here). So, he fell into bed then fell asleep before his sweet head hit the pillow. I, however, have the baking bug!

~More LG snaps in the Flikr area~

Recuperation

We're all still getting over this weekend. My back is so stiff and sore, Mia's naps are a little off and we're trying to catch up on sleep. The Y activities this week were postponed due to spring break stuff, so Mia and I are floundering a bit. Our schedule isn't set in stone, but consistency does help. Now the weather is yucky, so parks are out and school kids are probably all over the indoor play places. So, we're just chillin' at home waiting for a visit from Mia's Abuelita. She's coming tomorrow!!! I have plans to organize the house, get a haircut, massage....while she cares for Mia. Oh, Max is coming, too! Yay! A playmate for Mia and Niles :)


Speaking of Niles, he spent the weekend at a kennel. Daryl was so cute when we dropped him off. I stayed in the car with Mia and Daryl took Niles in. When he got back in the car he informed me that he's scheduled playdates for him on Saturday and Sunday :) What a great Daddy! So, while we were at the coast, Niles was maxin & relaxin at in his hotel room taking breaks for playdates and spa treatments (he went next door to Two Chicks Grooming on Monday before we picked him up). Very handsome!

Mia's New House

After Little gym today (which was fun and fabulous), we hopped over to Kid to Kid resale shop for a look around. Another mama was there with her little boy and his Grandma. They spied, on a very high shelf, a Fisher Price Laugh and Learn House...something that's been on our shopping list for months, but I just couldn't spend $65 on it. While they were checking it out, Mia and I were pretending we didn't want it and were looking at other toys. They underestimated our sneakiness! After deciding that $30 was too much for it (they had NO idea!), they went on to other things. As soon as they stepped out the door, I snatched it up! The shopkeeper and asst. knew how much it was worth, obviously, and praised me for my stealth shopping :) So, Mia has a new house!

Mia crashed for her nap right when we got home, but it was all ready to go when she got up. The house is very cool. It has a mailbox which she checked, and mail which she read. A working doorbell, shape sorter, window blind that goes up and down, a clock, working entry light with an on/off switch, a water drainage pipe where balls shoot out of.... and it plays music...oh, it also has an intercom that plays music and other stuff. I think Mia digs it as much as I do :)

Here's a pic of Mia checking the mail

First coast trip of the year!

I HAD to start this blog with pics of our Bull Reds!

We had a great drive to the coast. We started a little later than we would have liked, but better late than never. Mia had us pull over in Lockhart for some dinner, and we found out that buffets work well while on the road. Daryl sat with Mia while I fixed her a plate and went back for mine. Then Daryl went and got his stuff. Mia ate some broccoli, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, a meatball or two, a little pork roast with carrots, cottage cheese n pineapple and for dessert she had a nilla waffer. Variety is Mia's middle name. We hit POC around 11pm. Gpa and Memaw where already asleep, but Nana (Grandma Dee has adopted this name for herself, and Mia can already say it) was there to greet us with hugs n kisses! Mia went to bed pretty quickly so the rest of us got to hang out with a beer and chat.

Up early the next morning for some breakfast tacos compliments of Gpa. Mmmm he's a great cook. Mia loooooved her taco. Oh, we brought her little booster seat, so she was able to sit at the table with us like the big girl she is. After some little hints and tips on how to handle the wee wild one, we were off to the boat! We tried a couple of spots and used live crabs as bait...well, they were alive until we cut them in half :) I've never used crabs before, but didn't have much luck. We went over to the jetties...I LOVE driving that gorgeous powerful boat! I could do it all day. Daryl free shrimped while Tom and I used some light weights, um..we were wrong. About 10 sec after casting, Daryl's shrimp had passed him by in the current, and landed him a whopper of a Bull Red! It took about 10 min to get that baby in, and a lot out of Daryl. Tom grabbed the net and I grabbed the camera. It was a 30 incher! That's pretty much the limit on a keeper...bigger than that then they get wormy..but they're good to throw back and let 'em breed!

Then Tom was up next. We had to take turns, bc the fish were only biting on one side of the boat, and it took all of us to get 'em in! Tom caught a beauty and had a blast trying to get him in the boat. It kept taking out his line, then he'd have to reel him back in!

We ended up catching around 7, but only kept 3...one each, bc there's a limit to big one's you can keep, plus we only keep the meat me can eat. Those damn fish fought so hard! One time I had a HUGE one on my line, and I fought with him for a good 10 min before Tom came to my rescue and helped me pull back my rod, then he'd drop it down quickly as I raced to reel the red in before Tom helped me pull back again. The fish was so strong, he kept running out my reel to where I only had a few feet left before he took my whole line! That whopper ended up going under the prop and cutting himself loose! Oh, the one that got away! (there are BUNCHES of pics in the Flikr thing)



We got back hot, hungry, sore and tired! While the guys stayed back to fillet the catch of the day, I walked back to the house for some Ziploc bags and what did I see when I rounded the corner, but Little Miss Mia on the deck with her Nana waiting for us. Dee had seen the boat pull in and stood Mia up on a deck chair and played with the wind chimes until we came home. What a sweet thing to come home to. While we were gone all morning, they had some fun, too. Mia spied Memaw's piece of cheese, and stomped over to her and (I would hope) politely asked Memaw for some. Tom BBQ'd the fish and we had a feast. They were sweet enough to grill a burger for me in case I didn't dig the fish. I love them.

The next day, Tom and Daryl spent a lot of time waxing the boat and some other maintenance. The girls hung out inside eating some sweet buns that they bought from a local baker lady. Mmmm. Mia had a bath 'cuz she was stinky from all that playing, then after she brushed her hair, she and Nana had a duel...hairbrush vs packing tube!

Before we left, Mia was able to take a nice long nap. She woke up full of energy...not good for a 4 hr car ride...so up and down the stairs she went!

We got home last night safe and sound. Daryl and I loved climbing into bed, sinking in and hoping that our muscles would relax enough to let our sore bodies get some sleep!

BTW, I think Nana BROKE Mia! All she wants to do is play, play, play with me! We normally play some then she'll go play on her own with her books and toys, then we'll read, then she'll go off again. But not today! She was stuck to me like glue just wanting to play with me. I'm taking her back to Nana!