Mommy! Hey Mommy! Mommy Hey!

This has been the constant stream of words coming out of my toddler's mouth.  I once had a teacher who told us that we had diarrhea of the mouth when we talked too much.  That is the situation in my house.  And the volume is constantly set on loud with the balance set on squealy-squeaky-high pitch!  It has almost sent me in search of a silent convent and a habit, and I am Jewish!!  Sunday night,  Doodle Skyped with The Bubbie and The Zayde, she was looking through Parenting magazine looking for Elmo.  They have an advertisement in the back.  She was so absorbed in her search for Elmo, that she almost ignored her doting grandparents.  Not only that, but for a few minutes, I didn't hear my name screamed.  It was beautiful.  And then I had a brilliant thought pop into my head.  I grabbed her magazine, and ran to the art supply drawer.  I took a couple sheets of Elmo stickers and put them in random places in the magazine.  Gave it back to her and told her to look for Elmo and his friends.  It worked!  There was peace and quiet for a good.... 10 minutes! I must remember this idea for later!

August 7 (16/365)

So I am a total slacker, and never remembered to get back to this posting.  I was feeling slightly guilty about this.  I was also trying to think about what else I could share with the world in future posts.  Thankfully, lightning struck twice and I had yet another brilliant mommy moment!  I know, don't have too much shock and surprise.  If you have recovered, I will now share my fantastic idea #2!

Doodle got a couple of foam puzzles for her 2nd birthday.  It was a thoughtful gift, Doodle loves puzzles.  And she has loved these puzzles since she got them.  She also hates them.  She can't quite figure them out.  I have tried to put them away but she always finds them.  Yesterday morning when she pulled them out, I sighed the big sigh.  Then, lightbulb!!!  I got the camera, and took a picture of each puzzle. ( yes, I am counting this as my picture for the day.  I know it is a copout and I will try and do better, but I took a picture so it counts!)  I printed the pictures and spent a little bit of time showing Doodle how to look at the picture and look at the puzzle.  Miracle of miracles she could put the puzzle together!  This was an even more important achievement because she didn't nap AGAIN which meant not TV AGAIN and she lost her "little friends" on of her favorite toys.  Between the magazine and the puzzle and a good dose of the angry Mommy eyes, we enjoyed a whine free afternoon!  So here is my copout picture of the puzzles and a copout picture of her playing with them this morning:)

August 8 (17/365)

August 9 (18/365)

Therapy

The past two weeks have been really long.  My Favoritest has worked really long hours, and as a result I have worked really long hours.  Last night when I tucked Doodle into bed, I told her we could spend the day with daddy tomorrow.  Her reply was "and the mommy, you go to work."  I told her that mommy went to work every day taking care of her and the pup-pups.  It flew right over her head!  After a long couple of weeks, I really wanted a beer, but we were out.  So to relax, I did the next best thing for me.  I got crafty/creative.  I have been working on several projects and if you walked into my craft area our spare bedroom you could see the mad ADD mind busy at multi-tasking work! Oh wait, I took a picture so you can see!

August  5 (15/365)

If you look closely you can see the makings of Doodle's birthday invitation, a baby announcement for a friends son, and some cards for me to keep on hand.  I love scrapbooking and making cards.  It is  my own personal therapy.  I can forget about all the things that need to be done and just focus on the project at hand!  I also feel like there is a little bit of love put into every hand made creation and I hope that good vibe travels along with the card to the person on the receiving end.

I ended up working on the baby announcements for a while and stayed up much later than I intended.  That left me cranky and tired this morning.  I also was feeling horrible for my sleep deprived hubby, so I got Doodle up and brought her downstairs to let him sleep a little extra.  (unfortunately our weekend ritual of snack cup and tv in mommy and daddy's bed was out of the picture because Doodle didn't nap and lost tv privileges until her next nap).  So anyway, being tired and cranky we had a lazy morning.   Doodle played with her toys and I half payed attention to her and half to Today.  One of the moments I was listening to her never ending chants of "hey mommy, hey mommy, mommy hey" she asked me to take her picture.  She then held up her "camera" and said "I take your picture and you take my picture at the same time.  Okay?  Ready! 1, 2, 3".  I think I am using my camera often if this is the pretend play!

August 6 (15/365)

Best. Dogs. Ever.

August 3 (13/365) & August 4 (14/365)


With this post, I am officially caught up on sharing my 365 pictures so far!  I am also really proud that I have actually taken a picture every say for 2 week!  Yeah me!!!  Like I said yesterday, this project is about sharing my life and learning to use my camera and eyes better.  That being said, here is my "artsy" photo for the weekish.  I have been wanting to take a picture of this tree for a while now.  Yesterday I thought about it when I actually had time!  I don't know what kind of tree it is.  But it is equal parts pretty and weird to me the way the bark peels off.  Anyway, here is the picture and then I will get to the fun part of the post.... my dogs!

August 4 (13/365)

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting on the couch with Doodle watching some singing cartoon.  I hear her talking to Lo-Lo telling him "just be still"  "Good Boy!"  "Now, you look bofull".  As I looked over at her, I simultaneously laughed out loud, tripped racing to get the camera, and begged her not to ruin Lo-Lo's "boofull" look.   

August 3 (13/365)

Seriously!  That dog better be thankful she is not into princesses, tu-tus and tiaras..... yet!  

Not to be outdone by her younger brother, Joey (Zoe) Girl got in on the photo action tonight.  She let Doodle lay all over her.  Hug her, pat her, and talk to her.  All she did was turn her head around to kiss her two legged sibling.  I couldn't pick just one of these because they were both so great.  Before I had kids I worried that they wouldn't know my Zoe.  After I had Doodle, I worried that she would not remember Zoe as being her dog.  Now, I worry about how devastated my Doodle will be when her Joey Girl is no longer with us (she's almost 12).   So, although they both make me crazy and I threaten to send one or both of them to the pound at least once a week, I love my dogs.  I love them even more because they love my daughter and she adores them back!

August 4 (14/365)

August 4 (14/365)

Snapshots of my 33rd Year- Day 12

August 2 (12/365)

Doing this photo challenge is about learning to use my camera and take better pictures, but it is also for me a way to document and share what's happening in our family.  We have some super fun days.  There are days that Doodle is so much fun to be around, I am sad to put her to bed.  There are days that are full of rainbows and daisies and chirping birdies.  Tuesday was not one of those days!  Not by a long shot.  Tuesday might have looked like all those things transported from a Disney movie straight into South Park.  It was that not-happy.   

We had a rough morning full of whining, crying, and complaining.  So, immediately following lunch, Doodle was tucked in for a nice restful nap.   At least that was the plan.  To make a long, frustrating, story and little shorter, I will give you a timeline of our non-nap

1:00  Doodle put to bed

1:30  Go upstairs to check on Doodle.  She is hiding Llama Llama Red Pajama under her pillows and blankets.  This means she has gotten out of bed to get the book.  The only rule for nap/night time is "do not get out of bed".  The penalty for breaking this rule is that all "friends and books go to time out for an entire day.  I take all friends and books out of bed, lay them outside the door and head downstairs.

1:45  Hear singing and talking on monitor.  Threaten to take paci away if she isn't going to sleep ( I know sounds like a rediculous threat, but she loves that thing so much it usually works.)

2:00  I said usually works.  Not today.  I take paci and lay it on top of friends in hallway.  I also leave the door cracked so I can check on Doodle easire.

2:15 I listen to the monitor only to hear the distinct sound of a toddler sucking on a paci!  I go upstairs and that little sneaky little booger had gotten out of bed, gone out of the room, took her paci back and gotten back in bed!  I took paci (and 3 friends she had also rescued) and moved them and those friends left in the hallway to my bed.

2:30  I listen to the monitor.  It is quiet.  I think I have succeeded.  Then I hear a strange thump.  A minute later, another thump.  I decide to go investigate.  I walk into her room to find her squatting down beside the drawer that holds her diapers.  I ask her what she is doing.  She scurries to the bed and tries to hide the 10-12 diapers that she has laid out on her bed.   At this point, I pop that tushie.   She finally gets the message that I am not happy and I am not playing.  I make her put the diapers away.  This is the aftermath of the diaper drawer.

I do not have a picture of the incident because my sneaky little tyke is also smart enough to know if I take a picture of it, I must think it is cute.  So I snuck in and took this picture later.  

By this time, Doodle is crying so hard and has her feelings so hurt she cannot calm herself down (remember paci is in timeout).  So I rock her until she falls asleep.  She sleeps for 30 short minutes.  That's all I got after that marathon of toddlerness!  

At dinner, Doodle and I were discussing why her friends were in time out.  She says "Becuase I make bad choices"  I ask "what was your bad choice?"  Doodle replies "I had lots of Elmo diapers and only one polka dots diaper in my bed!"  That kid new just what she was doing and that it was a bad idea!

Snapshots of My 33rd Year- Day 11

August 1 (11/365)


I LOVE LOVE LOVE bed head.  I have at least 2 scrapbook pages laid out dedicated to the BEDHEAD. So when Doodle woke up Monday morning with a perfect example of the ultimate bed head, I had to snap a few pictures.  And since you can't get the full effect from one direction, I am sharing with you what I like to think of as the BedHead mug shots.  Full frontal and profile!  For you enjoyment!
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Snapshots of My 33rd Year- Day 9-10

July 30 (9/365)


Still trying to catch up a little bit.  Life has been a little hectic since we got back from our trip.  It has been filled with lots of catching up in every area of my life.  This biggest catch up has been in the laundry/cleaning department.  Laundry and I have a hate-hate relationship.  We always have and I am pretty sure we always will. The closest I have come to not hating laundry was when I lived in the first townhouse I purchased.  The washer and dryer were in the closet.  In my mind that meant that I didn't have to put anything away.  The dryer in a sense became part of my storage system.   Anyway, I hate every part of it.  Sorting. Loading.  Remembering to switch from washer to dryer.  Remembering to get them out of the dryer.  Folding.  I hate it all.  What I hate the most is putting it all away.   So, usually after I am done folding the clothes, there they sit.  All neatly stacked on my counter.  And that is exactly what happened earlier this week.  The clothes sat, and they sat, and they sat some more.  Finally, I decided to take a picture of the undershirts all neatly stacked and ready to be put in a drawer.   Don't worry, they did get put away the next morning!

July 31 (10/365)

While I spent the weekend playing catchup on all things Stay at Home Mom, My Favoritest spent the weekend working his little tale off.  I jokingly told him that Doodle saw more of him via FaceTime while we were gone that she has since we got home.  I was joking, but it IS true.  I spent the weekend trying to feel bad for him without feeling sorry and frustrated for myself.  Not always an easy task when one spends all day with a 2 1/2 year old and 2 dogs.  When My Favoritest made it home Sunday before Doodle's nap, I was excited to spend some time with him.  Ha, ha, ha!  I should know better by now.  I should know that as soon as the glasses come off, sleep is coming!  At least I can say I spent time with him in the same room!  He was also kind enough to sleep so soundly that I got a fun shot of him and the beagle together!

PS- He will never know this picture exists because he doesn't read my deep and thoughtful blog:) jokes on him today!

Snapshots of My 33rd Year- Day 8

July 29 (8/365)


When I was pregnant with Doodle, I had visions of what I thought she would look like.  I never thought about her face or her height.  I didn't dream about the color of her hair or her eyes.  I never envisioned her is white peaceful baby spendor.  In fact, what I saw in my mind's eye was the Future Doodle.  Future Doodle had crooked pig tails with hair falling out from every angle.  Future Doodle had a little dirt left on her face.  Future Doodle was in such constant motion that I never got more than that little glimpse into whom this baby would become.  Of course the minute she was born, I stopped wondering and just stared in awe at her beauty (and her ability to cry non-stop).  But I never forgot that image of the toddler with the dirty face and crooked pig tails.   Friday afternoon, following a busy morning and a long nap, that toddler made a real live appearance.

Okay, so her face isn't dirty, but check out the pig tails and the wispy hair going in every direction!  When I look back on Doodle at this age, the second picture is what I will see.  My little girl deep in thought and play at her window sill.