Elayna at Daycare

I love to know what Elayna does at daycare all day.  Usually I get a glimpse of her activities when I stalk the class – kneeling below her classroom window observing before picking her up.  She’s often quiet (strange), playing with dolls or reading books.  Nice. 

Her 2-year teacher Ms. Juliana displays pictures, activities, and quotes around her room.  They are so funny, I had to steal some photos.

Of course this warms my heart – she wants to be with MOMMY!?  Over the park!?  Or maybe I should be distressed at her grammatical use of a person instead of a place?  Nah – I’m just tickled that she misses me!!

I’ve mentioned this Princess fascination before.  I am *pretty* sure she actually said “Princess Aluna” (not Princess Arianna).  We still don’t know who Princess Aluna (or Arianna) is.

<Wait …. not Mommy?>  I’m already replaced as her best friend?

This is funny because Elayna LOVES Aaron’s clothes.  She frequently picks out shirts for him to wear and is really bothered if he’s relaxing shirtless.

Days 2 and 3 of Single Motherhood

Aaron is settled into Toulouse and having a very productive week so far. He's over his jet lag, he's sampling wine, and he's sufficiently impressed by his French employees and their awe-inspiring offices. He's having a great time.

Elayna and I are missing him but getting by pretty well. Aside from Saturday's mommy-tantrum, I think I can do this. I can tackle single motherhood! Of course, my confidence comes from a few simple strategies:

(1) Have some good 'girl-time'. Friday night, I had great sushi with my friend Tammy; Saturday night I finally went out with my friend Shelle in Mesa. Great times. Of course, Elayna was asleep at Shelle's house (her niece babysat for us) by the time we got back so I had the joy of waking up a sleeping toddler and hauling her home late at night.

(2) Keep toddler out in the evenings as long as possible. (see above about Saturday night)  But then I tried it again on Sunday when we went to Brook Wiggin's welcome home celebration. Brook is Alicia's best friend and has been in Afghanistan for the last 18 months. We're very happy to have her home safely!!

   

(3) Outsource all my parenting. Elayna has been at daycare for the last 2 days. She eats better there, she's almost fully potty-trained there, and she spends most of her time with a new best friend, Riley.

(4) Introduce her to delicious fried food. This is on tap for tomorrow when we spend the afternoon at the State Fair. :)

So overall, we're managing fine in our little house of 2 women. And a dog. And a cat. But come home soon, Aaron!

For Sale …. Cheap

I can hear Elayna chatting away in her room.  She’s been in there for over 2-hours, refusing to take a nap.  I’ve been trying to slowly wear her down … politely reminding her to lay down.  Reapplying her way-ward diaper.  Or scolding her fiercely.  So far the only thing wearing down is Mom’s patience.

I write this all because Aaron has just flown out for a week-long work trip to Europe.  He’s just left Philadephia and the further away from us he gets, the more I’m realizing this is going to be the longest week of my life.

So if anyone would like to purchase a 2 1/2 year old who refuses to nap, please make your best offer.

October Craziness

I love October.  The temperature has finally dropped to a manageable level, football season is in full swing, and everyone is waking up after our summer slumber.  And in honor of this fall festiveness, I try to keep us as busy as humanly possible….

So far this month we’ve attended Alicia’s birthday party, Aaron’s bike race, a Cardinals football game, had our Christmas card pictures taken, and gone to both the Children’s museum AND the Arizona Mills Aquarium.  It’s been busy but fun.  I’m looking forward to a normal week before Aaron leaves for France on Saturday.

Here are a few pictures of our craziness from this last weekend:

At the Children’s Museum

At the Aquarium

Disco Roller Party

Happy 25th Birthday to my baby-sis, Alicia!! 

Today is her actual birthday but we celebrated all weekend long – first with a roller-disco skating party Saturday night and then with a, well, quieter dinner home last night.  Here are a few pictures of the festivities…..