"Vacation" Day

I do a lot of nice things for Ella. I play games with her, color with her, read to her, take her places, pick up after her, (etc. etc. etc.) and somehow, even after all of those things - we still manage to fight like crazy. Maybe we're too similar, but I'm definitely not her favorite, no matter how many things I do for her. Today I decided that I would take the day off of work to spend some quality time together, just the two of us. Typically when you do something nice for her though, it ends up backfiring - so I knew going in that this would be no "vacation" day.

The morning started off pretty good. She took a bath while I cleaned up the house and afterwards we sat down to eat breakfast and watch Cars. Mornings are usually a good time for her, since she's not overtired and watching television makes her happy almost any time of the day.

I then gave her a makeover, which included curling her hair and putting on makeup so that we could head out to buy our Easter goodies. On the way to the store there was an argument of course. She didn't want to go to Target but to the mall instead. I tried to explain that we couldn't buy eggs to dye at the mall, but she didn't care. I finally was able to talk some sense into her and we continued on.

Getting into the store was okay. She wanted to head straight to the clothing section first because I had promised that Target not only carried eggs, but beautiful Easter dresses too! I bet we pulled up almost every dress in the girls section that she "really, really had to have!" After 20 minutes she finally settled on one and we were able to move on to look for Will's outfit.

That's when things went downhill. I should have known better - that activity wasn't focused on her and therefore she got bored and moved on. She was running back and forth looking for things, climbing in and out of the cart, trying to escape to the toy department, pushing the cart into things, etc. I ended up cutting it short, threw a shirt in for Will and headed to grab the supplies we needed to color eggs and get out of there.

We got up to the front, unloaded the goods, paid, were walking towards the door and then I remembered.....eggs! The main reason we were there and due to all the ruckus - I forgot them. I parked the cart and we walked (read: I drug her) back to get the eggs. We paid again and were about to leave and of course this time, she HAD to have a hot dog. It was lunch time so I thought I would kill two birds with one stone - fill her belly and close her mouth!

We sat down to eat the hot dog, the worlds easiest food to consume (after pudding) and somehow it was dismantled in two seconds. Ketchup & mustard everywhere and the bun was shred to pieces. Only Ella. I ended up having to piece it back together and hold it as she tried to eat the rest.
I wiped up her face (she had ketchup on her forehead) and it was finally time to go. As we went to leave the food area was like Grand Central Station and we were stuck behind a large group, preventing us from getting to the doors. We finally got outside and were heading home when I reached in my pockets to determine....there were no keys. I then went to reach for my purse to grab them from their usual spot and ...nothing!

Yep, sure enough - in the middle of fighting, I had left my entire purse behind. SO - back in we went. Thank goodness the purse was still there when we got back inside. As I grabbed the purse and was about to leave, again - Ella asked if we went back in so she could have another hot dog. I think she was trying to be funny, but I almost choked her!

We finally got back home where things improved. The sun was out today, making it the first really nice day of spring so we were able to go on a bike ride and we finally colored our eggs! After it was all said and done - I'm tired and it was definitely no vacation day, but spending time with Ella, even when it is frustrating - is well worth it and the most entertaining thing a mom could ask for!

Ella Chronicles

The path of this blog has twisted and turned so many times over the past few years that I have somehow deviated from why I started it in the first place. Initially it was meant to be an online journal that I could look back on to remember the hilarious stories of our life. While those stories are sometimes intertwined within my posts, most have become big picture, deep thought, analysis-type writing. While I enjoy writing of all styles, there are some journalistic posts that are pretty hilarious and require documentation.

It seems our 4-year-old has turned into a teenager overnight. I always say 4 going on 14, but lately she has taken it to a whole new level. Now, not only is she naughty, but she's devious too. Every night at bedtime she fills her water, grabs a snack (no judgement) and picks out about ten different books she'd like to read. The other night we got into bed, but she didn't get a snack - which immediately alerted me that something was up. As I went to pull up her covers she panicked and reached towards her legs to retrieve a crumpled kleenex. I asked her what it was and as she gripped it close to her chest she responded with, "just a kleenex. You know how my nose runs!" I then asked to see it and she said, "mom - it's time for bed." The flag was up, she has NEVER said something to effect of wanting to go to bed. I demanded that she hand over the goods and as I unwrapped it I discovered she had snuck a chocolate snack from the pantry. Not only had she lied, but she also was smart enough to unwrap it so that it wouldn't make noise as she tried to eat it.

We then spent the next 30 minutes talking about why it's so important to tell the truth and not hide things from our parents. She promised to never do it again and fell fast asleep. Problem solved, right? Wrong.

Two days ago she was given Starbursts for being a good girl while running errands. She had eaten three when I said she could have one more & we'd to save the rest for after lunch. Without a fight, she went to the kitchen and put them up on the counter. Again, red flag. In disbelief, I snuck around the corner to watch and she jumped as if I had startled her. I asked what she was doing and with a Starburst in mouth she said, "nothing!" I asked how many she had taken and she replied, "you said I could have one more." Still doubtful, I followed up with, "well why do you look like you're lying then?" At that same time one of the dogs needed to go outside so I had to turn and open the door. As I did I saw her grab something and then quickly place it on the counter and she said again, "I'm not lying." I walked over to the counter to find an unwrapped Starburst that she had snuck down her tights for later. In her tights!

As I yelled at her once again, she stomped away screaming, "it's not fair. I hate you mom!" I have always known that this day would come but I thought I had longer than 4 and a half years. I shouldn't be surprised, I did the same thing to my mom, but I feel like I never pulled the HATE card until I was at least a teenager.

What am I going to do with this girl? While these stories are comical now, what's it going to be like when she's actually a teen? If she hates me now I can only imagine how bad it might get. Please pray for us!

Worth the Wait

Most people follow life's path - find the perfect person, get married, go on a honeymoon, buy a home, have babies and live happily ever after. We aren't most people. Our life order is a bit different - we managed to get step one right by finding each other, but the remaining steps didn't go quite as planned. As most of you know, we went on to have a baby, bought a home, got married, had another baby and now we're finally taking the time to go on our honeymoon.

I've always thought age spacing between children was important. Since we shook things up by having a baby first, after we got married I wanted to try for our second as soon as possible. If that meant we'd have to wait for our honeymoon, than so be it!

The day we were finally going to book I thought it would be a good idea to take a pregnancy test just to be safe. Sure enough, it was positive and our trip was postponed. While I was looking forward to sand, sun and a screwdriver - it was worth the wait.

Not only have we booked our trip to Costa Rica for April but we now have a complete family with two beautiful children - who allow us to appreciate our upcoming vacation even more. While we might not have followed the typical plan, we're sure to live happily ever after - at least in Costa Rica where the drinks are free!

All Things to All People

I'm a people pleaser - always have been, always will be. I almost always take on too much, plan too many things and stress myself to the max - but somehow find a way to keep going. Outside of yoga, I've never been great at balancing it all but recently I feel I've become exceptionally bad. I try my hardest to be the best mother, career woman, wife, friend, daughter, sister, aunt, etc - that I can be but unfortunately right now I'm not sure that I've given 100% to any of those roles.

How do people do it all? More importantly, how do working mothers do it all? How can I be a contributing team member at work and still attend my daughters field trip? How do I make the time to visit my family & friends when I'm traveling around the world to meet with clients.

I'd love to the opportunity to stay home with my babies, but that's not everyone and we also need to eat & have a roof over our head. Luckily I have a fantastic husband who understands what it means to be a father. He's an equal contributor. He makes dinner, he helps clean the house, he drops the kids at daycare, he takes them to the doctor. He's the best and I can't imagine our days without him.

I will most likely continue to take on too much but I have learned the old saying, "you can't be all things to all people" is true. Now that traveling has slowed for a bit, I'm going to give my all to my husband & children - because that's all I can do right now. Thank goodness I have the most understanding friends & family - I promise I'll see you all soon!

Work Traveler

Growing up in an unincorporated town, I always hoped I could someday claim that I was a world traveler and while I have been up, up & away quite a lot - it seems my claim would have to be more of a work traveler than world.

If I sat down to make a list, I've probably "visited" the majority of the United States. Heck in the last month I've been to Seattle, Orlando, San Fran and their surrounding areas. Tomorrow I'm off to Phoenix for the remainder of the week. I can rattle off every work trip I've taken and I'd need at least all my fingers and toes to keep track, yet I couldn't tell you the last time I took a vacation and I'd be lucky if the list filled my hands.

When we got married we opted to try for a baby and if we were lucky enough to succeed, our Costa Rican honeymoon would be delayed. A year and a half later, we are the proud parents to a beautiful baby boy and I've seen no sign of the sun, sand or a screwdriver since!

Mark my words, I will put my passport to good use - even if it means I travel alone. Before springtime I will be kicked back on a beach, sipping a margarita and zipping through the rainforest. Until then, I guess the warmth of the Arizona sun will do.

High Expectations

On this Valentine's night it only seems fitting to post a tribute to the man who has changed my life. My best friend. My soul mate. The father of my children. The love of my life. My husband.

Growing up it was the norm to see the woman/mom doing all the work related to the home and raising children. Dinner, laundry, cleaning, diapers, bath time, doctor appointments - all handled by good 'ole mom. The man went to work, made the money and kicked his feet up when dinner was set. My whole life I watched this and thought, "no way!" No way was I ever going to let my mate get away with not contributing towards something he was 50% responsible for.

Now that I'm married I am happy to say I have realized this dream. I feel very lucky to have found a man who helps me in every sense of the word. Making dinner, picking up the house, dropping off the kids, sewing buttons - he does it all. Don't get me wrong, it's not always perfect and in times that I'm frustrated my mom is quick to remind me that Joe does way more than my father ever did for her.

They say a girl looks for characteristics of her father when choosing a husband, and while there are so many things I value about my father, I have very different expectations when it comes to being an equal partner. Times have changed and I set high expectations for Joe and I think he does the same for me. We aren't allowed to each give 50%. We give 100% of who we are, every single day - to our relationship, to our kids, to our home, to the life we are building together.

Happy Valentine's Day to the one I love! Thank you for all you do for our family - you don't know how much I appreciate it. I can't imagine spending the simple ordinary days with anyone else.

The Power of Technology

A while back I contemplated writing a post about whether or not social media was ruining lives, but decided against it since it wasn't exactly relevant to the general nature of the blog. At the time I felt like everything was so overly publicized and because they were protected behind the keyboard, people left their manners behind. Political debates, religious views and complaints from here to the moon & back - things most wouldn't dare talk about in an open setting - are now broadcasted in a public forum (and usually with misspellings).

Technology may hinder face to face communication but it definitely makes it easier to stay in touch and keep relationships going strong. While I wish life was simple enough that I had time to see all the people that matter on a regular basis, it's just not possible. 

Many argue that the internet makes it easier to say & do mean things to one another, but at the same time it makes it easier to do nice things too. As I have found recently people you'd never expect can reach out through the web to share compliments and nice thoughts. Sending a card can be cumbersome - you have go to the store, find the right card, buy a stamp and stick it in the mail. As a mom of two, a phone call takes time. After the day is complete and the kiddo's are finally asleep I just want to sit down for a second, before I have to do laundry, cleanup and prep for the next day. Most of the time, that one second on the couch turns into me falling asleep and never getting the chance to pick up the phone at all.

Not only are friendships still alive, that might have otherwise died, but crazy enough I have new friendships with people I've never even met. When we first found out about Ella's cleft we searched high and low to find resources to make us feel at ease. While we could find the basic information, we couldn't find things that mattered. We wanted to talk to people who had gone through it. We wanted to see pictures of before & after to prepare ourselves for what to expect. The internet made it possible for us to make it happen on our own. In 2010 we took to Facebook and created a network for the Cleft Awareness Foundation, with hopes of building a local support group. Less than three years later we have a group of almost 3,000 people spanning throughout the entire world! 

Love it or hate it, technology has become the way of life. Like most things, it's not perfect but for the most part I personally feel it's bettered my life and am grateful for all the ways it's help me stay connected and build relationships.