Archive for the ‘Everyday Stuff’ Category
Ahhh, there’s nothing – and I mean nothing – like that first really perfect spring day after a long, cold winter.
So we reached out and grabbed the morning with all of our hands then ran like mad for the hills. Well, for the local park, anyway. There aren’t that many hills around here.
We got started after a slight (loud) meltdown by Ava. She saw a pinecone.
Yes, that caused much drama. I have it on video but I can’t post it because all you hear is me laughing at her drama queen-ness and her screaming louder and louder because now she’s not only traumatized by the pinecone but she’s getting madder and madder at me for laughing. I figure if the screaming didn’t scare you off of the blog then my clearly poor parenting skills would.
J finally went and got her then stuck her in the backpack after she 1)refused to walk past anymore pinecones and 2)fell tush over tea kettle for some unknown reason probably relating to aforementioned pinecones.
We’re finally off:
Giddy-up, Daddy:
I was trying to get her to look at me for a picture so I asked her to show me her beautiful eyes.
She did. Literally. Smart-aleck.
We found a geocache (from memory, actually) since J didn’t bring his GPS and we only had my iPhone which will get you close but no cigar.
We did let her walk when she asked to…
but she got tired after 4 feet or so and had to take a break for a rest and a rousing rendition of Mary Had A Yittle Yam.
And a few tickles from Mama.
(Straightened hair courtesy of my hairdresser who apparently wanted a (futile) challenge and had some spare time on her hands.)
After all of us had some time to catch our breath and prepare for the trek out (it always seems like a good idea to hike the whole trail…until I get about halfway in and realize what I’ve actually committed to) Ava decided that she’d really rather ride so J loaded her up in the backpack and I took one of the sweetest pictures ever. Totally unplanned and unposed, by the way.
Is that pure cane sugar sweetness or what?
When I was little my parents used to watch the Lawrence Welk show every week. I grouched and grumbled every time it came on but secretly enjoyed it – the women were sooooo pretty, got to wear fancy dresses, and they could sing. What more could you ask for? Oh, and bubbles. Yep, they had plenty of those too.
Did y’all know that the LW show is still on the air thanks to syndication and public broadcasting? Yep, already we’re finding ourselves regularly settling in to watch at 7PM on Saturday nights. And yes, I am aware of how pathetic and boring that sounds but Ava loves the show and is entranced with the music and the dancing. J grumbles about it since it is invariably interrupting yet another Cops marathon but I’m convinced he secretly enjoys it, too – even though watching and listening with much older and experienced ears makes us realize that some of the acts were, ummmm, not so good after all.
Really though, how could he not enjoy it when Ava just wants to dancedancedance with Daddy every single time a (arguably) good song comes on. Since tonight’s show’s theme was Love Songs and was originally recorded in 1980 there were plenty of dancing opportunities even though J’s ears were near to bleeding from the massacre of a much loved Beatles song. Do you know how freakin’ cute it is when Ava shows us how to tap dance just like the people on TV?
Almost as cute as watching Daddy teaching Ava how to samba. He was successful, btw. Sooooo cute!
Shopping:
Sticker Shock:
And finally, waiting very patiently in the check out line:
As we approached the cash register I asked her who was paying and she looked at me and said, clear as a bell, “I need you debit card, Mama.” So I gave it to her and she held tight to it all the way up to the counter where the checkout guy completely and totally ignored her. Good thing she was fascinated with the teeny cart and didn’t notice his lack of pint-sized customer service.
With rings bells on her fingers wrists,
and bells cow slippers (that moo) on her toes;
she shall have music wherever she goes bounces:
Up…
and down.
Bouncing, bouncing, bouncing on that darned horse screeching, “Mama – look at meeeeee” and “turn around” and “take peek-chur” until I finally do because, my heavens, she can’t STAND it if I actually have the audacity to try and do something else if we’re in the same room.
Thank you, freecycle. This has been one of the best and most loved toys EVER.
And yes, I’m totally embarrassed about the strip of unpainted trim behind her. I could lie and tell you that it’s a new project nearing completion, however that would be totally false since it, and its corresponding baseboard trim, has been unpainted for at least 3 (and maybe even 4) years now. I’d also like to say it will be painted soon but that’s probably not likely to happen either.
Would you believe I got NO flowers after my surgery? I got plenty of get well wishes and even a few get well gifts but not even one bouquet of flowers – which actually would have been nice seeing that I was pretty much confined to one part of my house for a long while. Apparently I protested too well to folks: “No, no – don’t spend your money on me” and “Flowers just die in a couple of days anyway,” I said. Hmmph, won’t do that again.
The get well gifts were very thoughtful. Spa sets, a cheese basket (still puzzling over this one a bit but I LOVE the basket it came in – it was repurposed right away to hold Ava’s hairbows), and even a snack bouquet.
The snack bouquet was very cute but I think J enjoyed it even more than I did. I had to near fight him for the KitKat bar and he somehow managed to snag the oreos when I wasn’t looking. Although, in all seriousness, food wasn’t even the slightest bit interesting or appetizing at this point anyway (except for KitKat bars). I love the snack bouquet idea though and will definitely use this in the future. It looks pretty easy to make – sticks glued on to the backs of the packages and stuck into florist foam with a little bit of green cellophane arranged to look like grass.
But the best gift?
My visits with this little thing (especially once she decided she liked me again):
That’s the best medicine on Earth.