Completely and Totally Busted

Abby wanted "Dora Snacks".  I said, "No".

Good thing she got the cinnamon.

PS How do you like them socks?  Hot, huh?
PSS the Dora "underroos" are rockin' in the potty training.  Day care prefers us to use these, so we've given cloth the boot for now.  Since she's doing well,  we don't use more than one, or the rare two, a day. 

In 50 Years.....

On the way to church in the morning, we pass two other churches along the way.  You can feel the sense of gathering and community as cars drive into lots and parishioners walk in.  Driving along Route 77, we always pass by a couple walking to the Methodist church.  Today I had the privileged of seeing them walk home. 

The 70+ year old couple faithfully has walked through the seasons to partake in this weekly ritual.  They walk on the correct side of the road, the elderly man walks on the outside (closest to the cars), they are always carrying something to share for coffee hour, and strikingly, they always hold hands.  Always. 

As I drove home today and I watched them walk home (on the other side of the road and STILL holding hands!), my mind flashed forward 50 years.  I sincerely hope Tim and I are that couple.  Although if we're walking, we'd have to move closer to our church...... but we still have a few years anyways.......

The First 2012 Beach Day!

Mother Nature has certainly surprised us in 2012.  Let's hope that the warm winter and warm spring don't result in a record breaking, A/C burning summer.  I like a nice hot beach day like the rest of them, but the heat can wreak havoc for tornadoes.

We hit Scratch Bakery prior to the beach and got a snack.  The BIGGEST chocolate chocolate chip cookie I've seen.  Abby loved it!  We spent just shy of an hour with our toes in the sand, testing the brisk cold water, and finding treasures.  We needed the cooker for fuel.   

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Almost Sox Time

With just 33 days to opening day, we've been talking a lot about the Red Sox.  How are the new GM, coach, players going to do, etc....Are we taking Abby to a game (of course!)....it's exciting!

Even Abby is excited as she tried on her hat, that has been on display since last fall.

Here's to the 2012 season and our own little Red Sox fan.

BIG girl bed

We took the plunge this weekend to move Abby from her safe, closed in, can't-get-out-of, crib to her full size bed.  We had actually attempted this a couple of weekends ago, but quickly learned the piece to her "toddler" bed was not the correct one.  With potty training well under way, I wanted Abby to be able to use the bathroom whenever she needed to. I know kiddos learn to hold overnight/nap pee until much later in the potty training stage, so this is a step in the right direction.

Nap time was a bit worrisome as she was soooooo excited for her big girl bed she wasn't into sleeping even though she was exhausted.  Tim ended up taking her for a quick ride in the car and transferred her.  Night time took an hour of stories, cuddling, and pretending to sleep and finally I talked her into falling asleep on her own.  She had all her friends to keep her safe, the night light to ward off any scary things in the dark, a book to read to her friends, a sip of water, and her 6 well-loved blankets.  She drifted off to dream land peacefully.  She slept through the night with the exception of once.  I heard a small thud, thinking it was her book, and got up to check.  She was just about to slide down from her bed with her lady bug blanket, but I convinced her it was too early to get up.  3:00am is not an ideal wake up time.  While it didn't take too much convincing, she snuggled right back into her new bedding and whale sheets. Ahhhhhhh.....sweet success!

I found the most perfect bedding at Land of Nod and was psyched to even get it on sale.  In the case you were wondering, we do have rails for the sides.  They are on loan to us from our good friends Chris and Kate and were given to us just in time!

Let's hope all goes well again tonight and the sleep fairy visits.

ABC's

What a fun weekend with lots of blog posts to come.  We've been practicing our ABC's and finally have a rendition to share.

Seriously how stinking cute is this kid.  Send your hugs and kisses and I'll be sure she gets them!!

Monday Madness brings Good Karma

Typical Monday.  I heard the word "no" 100 times before 7:30.  No, I don't want to you to brush my hair.  No, I don't wanna get dressed.  No, I don't wanna wear a diaper.  No, I don't wanna eat cereal.  No, I don't wanna put on my jacket.  No...no...no!  I told our day care provider it was a good thing she was taking care of Abby because one of us would have not survived the day.


While I normally nuke my coffee at least three times during the day, I finished my coffee on the drive in.  I scrounged change from my wallet and secret change stash in my office.  Barely enough to buy another cup, I headed to the cafe.  Hoping and praying one more small cup would do the trick.  I got up to the register and Malia (the awesome cafe attendant) reminded me that all hot beverages were free until 9:30.  I could have kissed her.  The reason was because prices were increasing, but at that precise moment, I didn't care.  That coffee saved my horrendous Monday.  Thankfully Abby is adorable and makes up for her "attitude" with snuggles, hugs, and kisses....on Tuesday.  Let's hope Karma is good to be tomorrow, too.

Dr. Seuss's Birthday!

We love Dr. Seuss in our family!  March 2nd is his birthday and we felt like celebrating tonight!  We read a bit of Cat in the Hat during story time and sported our Dr. Seuss hat.  My brother made it in sewing class a long, long, long time ago. 

Some of my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes:


“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

“If things start happening, don't worry, don't stew, just go right along and you'll start happening too.” 


“Today is your day, your mountain is waiting. So get on your way.”

“Oh, the thinks you can think!”

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

Flowers from the Boss

Last week was a challenging week with balancing work and home and by Friday I knew I had to have a conversation with my boss.  Luckily, I knew she would support me through the overwhelming week. We figured out which projects to delegate and she encouraged me to leave each day in a timely fashion.  We all know starting a new job can be crazy and the desire to prove yourself high. 

I immediately left our one on one feeling much better and had to hurry to my next meeting.  When I arrived back to my desk, I found a beautiful daffodil plant and a bouquet of sunflowers.  Two cards adorned the stems.  The plant and card for me and the sunflowers and second card for Abby.  Inside the second card, was a note that read, "Dear Abby, I know sometimes you miss Mommy when she goes to work, so I wanted you to know how I am thankful that you let Mommy come to work with me! I hope you like sunflowers!  :-) Deb at L.L.Bean.

Seriously?!  How awesome.  How awesome I have such wonderful support to be a working Mom. 

Here is Abby enjoying her FIRST bouquet of flowers!  We carefully unwrapped them and she said, "Oh Mumma, they are so pretty!" 

Yes, Abby they are.  And they're from a pretty fantastic boss and it's not me.  :-)