Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The things parents do...

Today I had a very bad day at work. There is no way around it and no way to explain it except that nothing seemed to fall into place today.

After work I had a pretty tight schedule to keep. Dance sign ups were 4:30 - 7 and Gymnastics sign ups were 6-7:30 (and of course they are on opposite sides of town). I had heard that gymnastics only takes so many girls and then they get wait listed...eek!

So I picked Gillian up right on time (yes, it is possible) and I drove (almost the speed limit) over to the dance studio to register Gillian and get her new shoes. Her feet don't look very big but they are always growing.

From there we went to McDonald's drive thru, I had to explain to Gillian for the 3rd time that we are on a tight schedule so no we could not stop to go into play place.

From McDonald's I drove to the tattoo studio to drop off Gillian's foot print which will be permanent on my foot soon.

From the tattoo studio (where according to Gillian there are good people and bad people there) we headed over to the gymnastics studio. When I got there at 5:30 there were already two cars waiting. The car that pulled in after me started the line and I made sure to follow suit. Yup, second in line. Whoohoo! So yes I did get her signed up. It was hot and sweaty and the gym smells like feet, it will be a long season in there but if she likes it that is all that matters.

We got home at 6:30 and I gave Gillian a bath because she was dirty from playing outside (when I picked her up at daycare she was glistening from the sun and I could see her dirty feet in the crocs). She thanked me for driving all over to sign her up for stuff....that makes the whole evening worth it. At age 4 she does have some idea that Craig and I are going above and beyond what is required to be a parent and she thanks us....she makes me so proud.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Inherited Genes

It amazes me how much a child is like their parents and even grandparents. I have discussed Craig, Gillian and my always want to win attitude but she has another trait that stands out now. Gillian is very hard on herself. I have noticed it a few times but it really stood out today. I had gone upstairs to take a shower while Gillian watched a show. Prior to getting in the shower I could hear her crying so I went to the top of the stairs to see what was going on (I could only go so far as I was literally about to step in the shower. Gillian came to the landing hysterical. When she calmed down enough to explain she had wet her pants which I had figured by the fact that they were half on. They were jean capris and she has hard time with the button. She was so angry with herself. She told me she was 4 and 4 years going to the bathroom on the potty. I explained to her that it was an accident and even big kids and grown ups have accidents. I told her she could hop in the shower before me so we could clean her up. It wasn't until we were laughing in the shower that she cheered up. We made a mess as we were in my single shower stall with me on the outside and her under running water and me trying to clean her. If that was the worst thing that happened in her life I would be so thankful. Breaks my heart to see her that upset at herself.

Weekend Recap!

The weekend flew by so fast I'm not even sure what we did all weekend...lol. Friday night Craig, Gillian and I spent together because we knew wouldn't have tons of time with her this weekend with the motorcycle ride Sunday.

Saturday morning I got an apt with the chiropractor to have my back looked at. Two hours later I get to leave knowing that I have 4 pinched nerves and that it will take time to get me back to normal. I don't have time to deal with this but I guess I don't have a choice.

When I got back home we started getting Gillian ready to go to Grammie and Grampie Miner's house for a sleepover. Gillian looks very forward to the times that she gets to spend with her grandparents. To say she gets excited to go is an understatement.

Craig and I got to go on a date which was nice.

Sunday Craig's motorcycle club was helping with a Memorial ride so we had to be there at 9:30 to help. It was close to 90 degrees and was a long day. Everything went really well and it was a fun day but the heat was a little much. I'm trying to not complain but it's hard when you have to try to hide from the sun.

Going back to work after a fun week off with my two favorite people is going to be tough but I only have to make it through this week....

Friday, August 27, 2010

Photo Friday


I love this picture. To me it says,"Here I am! Ready to go!"

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Family Day

Craig and I are on vacation this week and we planned on keeping Gillian home a couple days with us. Then the next question is what to do?
Tuesday we took her to Parc Safari. Craig and I went there as children but neither of us remember it so we figured we would start there and look at other places for next year if we didn't like it. It was a good day but the park itself isn't all that great. I don't see us going back there but we had fun today together.




























Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Happy Wednesday!

I was brushing Gillian's hair in her bathroom and she said to me,"Mommy I can touch the top of my dresser because I'm 4."

I said,"Yes you can."

Gillian said,"I'm going to be as tall as this wall when I grow up."

I replied,"Probably not quite that tall but probably around the same height as Mom and Dad."

Gillian replied,"I want to be like Daddy when I grow up."

I asked her,"Why Daddy and not Mommy."

She replied,"Because Daddy is young and you are old."

I said,"Oh really. Where did you hear this?"

Gillian admits,"Daddy!"

BUSTED....lol She and I both giggled and then of course I went to confront my husband of these rumors he spreads....lol

Monday, August 23, 2010

Weekend Recap

It was a packed weekend with activities.


Friday night Gillian had a slumber party with her Grammie Brooks and cousins Emma and Zandra.


Saturday we had a Shamrock party to attend at the Bartlett's house. It was the normal crowd of families that we have been hanging out with and a couple new people. Gillian was slightly tired so she wasn't quite as social as she had been in the past(not that she is ever the center of attention). She said that she enjoyed herself which is all that matters. Two funny things that happened that humored me was -
1st Gillian really wanted a rice krispie treat and she said she didn't because the kids were all hanging out in the living room. She whispered to me but what if I make a mess or drop any, they don't have a chair like we have at home. Poor sweetie! I explained that if she made a mess to just pick it up or tell someone else about it so it can get cleaned up that kids make a mess and it's not a big deal. She immediately took a treat and on the way home told me that she didn't make a mess of it.

2nd I'm a huge fan of GPS so on the way to the Bartlett's I used it. It's a woman's voice and Gillian asked where the voice was coming from and I said my phone. And I didn't think anymore of it. Well when Gillian and I got in the car to go home she said,"Is Sue going to give us directions home too?" She thought Sue was in the phone giving us directions to her house! lol! I explained that it wasn't Sue giving us directions that it was coming from the phone. lol


Sunday we had plans to go to Pizza Putt then the NICU Grad party. We met up with the Bowers and headed over. Pizza Putt was not what I expected. In a couple years I think Gillian will enjoy it more but we made the most of it.



Then we headed over to the farm for the party. It was nice to watch Gillian this year. She made a necklace out of noodles, did a hand print for the NICU poster & for us to have plus we got to see the animals. But most of all....we got to see a family that was in the NICU with us. The girls hadn't been together since 18 months....











Friday, August 20, 2010

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Happy Wednesday!

I get hand me downs from Gillian's cousin Emma. Emma is a Tinker Bell fan...Gillian not so much. So Monday when we were having our try on/fashion show there were 2 pairs of Tinker Bell pjs. Now my child has no problem with hand me downs but she did have an issue with Ms. Tinker Bell. Here is our conversation.

Me: "We need to try on these pjs"

Gillian: "But they are Tinker Bell. I don't like Tinker Bell, Emma likes Tinker Bell."

Me: "I know you don't like Tinker Bell. These pjs were Emma's but they don't fit her anymore so you will be able to wear them."

Gillian: "But I don't like Tinker Bell."

Me: "Gillian they are free and no one is going to see you wear them except for Mom and Dad and you."

Gillian: "But I really don't like Tinker Bell."

Me: "We will put them in the pj drawer and only take them out when all other pjs are dirty."

Gillian: "Okay."

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Gymnastics

Gillian is already signed up for fall soccer, we plan on signing her up for dance class and since I have showed her what gymnastics entails....that's all I hear about. So I'm going tomorrow to see if I can find out more about getting her started in gymnastics. I'd like her to try stuff and decide what she likes and doesn't like. Although having all theses things going on at once may make Craig and I insane...I'm sure she will be thrilled.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Fall Clothes

Tonight I had Gillian try on all her clothes from last winter that I had left (I had only kept the clothes that weren't snug in the spring) and the clothes that I had already bought and hand me downs that I have accumulated. I didn't realize how much I had already gotten. I was excited that I was much more organized and ready for fall than I had thought. Gillian definitely enjoyed trying her clothes and strutting her stuff like she was on a cat walk....not quite where she learns this stuff...lol

Operation Exhaust Gillian

Craig and I have noticed in the last week that our daughter has gotten a lot of extra energy. We assumed it was just part of her growing up. Its a lot of energy...running around in circles kind of energy. It just dawned on me Saturday why she may have this extra energy. For the past 2 months she has been playing t-ball twice a week for an hour and a half and running a quarter mile on a different day plus her normal activities. These activities are now gone and her body has built up this extra energy that it just isn't using. So I made it my goal to try to tire out Gillian so she wasn't quite so wild. Try to imagine what it may take to tire her out....a 3 mile bike ride did the trick. I took her to the base and did a huge loop there. My Mom and I walked and Gillian rode her bike. Prior to this she had only rode 1.4 miles. She handled it like a champ and finished it riding. I'm sure the promise of a special treat at the end helped:) But needless to say she was pretty wiped out for the rest of the evening.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Family Day

Craig and I have been trying to come up with things to do with Gillian. So we had the family day at the Great Escape Tuesday and yesterday we decided to have family day at the beach. I'm not normally a beach goer due to my freakish problem with dirt/sand but I have to say that 3 hours at the beach was quite relaxing. We laid on our towels, tried to build stuff out of sand and crashed waves in the water. It was 3 hours filled with laughter and smiles. The perfect family day.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Home Sweet Home

I just realized yesterday that 7 years ago today, Craig and I became home owners. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago, the time is flying by. As much as I say I want to build another home it would be hard for me to leave this one. I'm emotionally attached. Craig and I took a house and we've made it our home. It's the only home Gillian, Pooh Bear and Gracie know. I found out I was pregnant here and spent 6 months on the couch while pregnant. We've had so many family gatherings here. Craig and I have so many memories here and continue to make new ones daily. It would be hard to walk away especially by choice. So for now I will continue to call this home sweet home.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Photo Friday


Future motorcycle owner!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

S'Mores Please













Gillian has been so excited to roast marshmallows. When we did this last year, she wouldn't eat them. This year she liked them. She definitely likes s'mores better than just the marshmallow. It was a nice change. Pooh learned quickly that Gillian was messy when eating her s'more so she followed her closely to pick up anything that fell.


Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Happy Wednesday!

I've said it before and I'll say it again...Craig and I are extremely competitive. Gillian is competitive. We are trying to teach her good sportsmanship.

Tonight was her last fun run. It took a while for them to get started, normally it is a few minutes behind but tonight it was running about 15 minutes. So needless to say that kids 4 and under struggled with remaining still for those 15 minutes. They were honestly like greyhounds in cages waiting to chase the rabbit but in their case it is running to get a popsicle.

Prior to the race there was some trash talking amongst the kids which is funny in itself because they are 4 and under.

Gillian's race didn't start the best as two kids fell in front of her and she became a deer in headlights not knowing exactly what to do. Craig and I are both screaming run...nice parents we are don't want her to see if these kids are okay...lol.

She ran well waiting up for her friend Jonathon a couple times and he waited up for her. Then about half way through the race Jonathon just stopped (not exactly sure why) and she kept on going. Gillian finished 5th with a time of 3:06. She got her popsicle and we waited for her friend Jonathon. I told her she did a good job and her response (extremely excited) was,"I beat Jonathon!" Craig and I immediately tell her it's not good sportsmanship to brag when you win. That everyone tried their best and that's all that matter.

Mean while you know Craig and I are like,"Yes, yes you did." But we can't tell her that....lol

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Family Day!

This summer has been flying by which means when we said oh we'll do this or that, our time is becoming limited. Over the weekend Craig and I discussed surprising Gillian with a day trip down to the Great Escape in Lake George. I got permission from work and got Gillian a vacation day from daycare and Craig was already off so we told Gillian she was getting a surprise. Her guess on what her surprise would be...a ball?! Lol!


We got on the road and headed down, Gillian constantly asking what the surprise was which when we gave her the option that we tell her she opted to wait it out. She fell asleep about a half hour before arrival.


We waited until we were parked to wake Gillian up and she was so excited. I don't think that we could walk to get in fast enough.


The day flew by, we arrived just before 11 and stayed until 6. It was a lot of fun. Gillian definitely enjoyed herself. I would have to say that the log ride and raging river were definitely her favorite as we rode both 3 times each. Her laugh and smile lasted all day long.


It is moments like these that are truly priceless.



Monday, August 9, 2010

Weekend Recap

Gillian went and spent Friday night with Grammie Miner. Normally I would use this time to clean the house or doing something productive. Not this time:) I laid on the couch and watched TV. I read a magazine. I stayed up late reading a book.

Saturday morning I got up and went for my pow wow walk with a friend. Then Craig and I went to the bike rally at the Fair Grounds, I got a vest but overall it was lame. Then Craig went to work and I was alone for the rest of the day. Gillian got home around 7. She always has a great time with her grandparents so she told me all about what she did and ate.

Normally I don't have an issue keeping myself busy and doing stuff that I can't done with Gillian around or stuff I would rather do when she isn't around so I have more time for her when Gillian is gone. This time I started to feel really lonely. I missed my girl.

Sunday morning Craig, Gillian and I spent together. We had breakfast together, went for a walk together. We all tried to get Gracie's kitty caps on together. It was more like Craig and I tried and Gillian supervised. Then Craig went to work and Gillian and I got ready to go to Ethan and Ellie's 4th birthday party. Gillian was pretty anti social at the party. She wouldn't talk to any adults or kids and she refused to play the game (this is definitely my child). She said she had fun and even asked to go visit Ethan again.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Photo Friday!


Wasn't that long ago....

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Runners to their mark!


Gillian has been going to the weekly fun runs since June 23rd. This week was her personal best - 2:57. She ran so awesome! She had her favorite running partner with her Jonathon. So proud of both of them for the great work they have done throughout this season.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Happy Wednesday!

Lately Gillian has become curious about something interesting....boobs. I don't know how else to explain it other than curiosity. She is starting to notice one of the many differences between boys and girls. I do have to say that she is really cracking me up with this.

I had mentioned to Craig that whenever I pick Gillian up she constantly feels my boobs and I have to ask her to stop. More recently she has been telling me how she is going to have boobs like me one day.

Most recently if Craig doesn't have a shirt on she wants to pull on his chest hair. Gillian informed him that she wouldn't have that when she is older and she will look like Mommy. Craig also told me that she has told him her chest will blow up like a balloon.

It is very hard not to laugh. After these few comments the next time we were alone I explained to her that it isn't nice to touch other people's chests, again she reminded me that she would look like me one day and I told her she was correct but that one day will be a little while away and in the mean time she should keep her hands to herself. So far so good.....

Monday, August 2, 2010

Weekend Recap!

I was looking so forward to this past weekend because I had such a rough week. Work was stressful, I gave up caffeine again and started limiting my soda intake. Withdrawal was not pretty so I was so looking forward to the weekend to relax. I cleaned like a maniac Friday night so I would be able to relax Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday
It was wonderful. Craig let me sleep in then my Mom brought Emma and Zandra over for a play date with Gillian in the afternoon. They played in the pool, on the swing set and went for a bike ride. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. You would think that would tire Gillian out but no, she still made it to her bed time.

Sunday
I got up with Gillian at 7:43am (UGH!) I shouldn't complain some parents are up much earlier. I took Gillian for a walk (which means I walk and she rides in a wagon) so Craig could get sleep. Gillian got to spend some time with Craig when we got back (he's been working doubles for days...) and then she played on her swing set while I read a book in the shade.

It was such a nice relaxing weekend. Although I don't want the weekend to end, I'm not dreading Monday like normal. I actually feel relaxed and ready to go to work.