Happy Holidays

The holidays came and went all too quickly this year. For some reason, the month of December seems to have gone by in a blur! I enjoyed all parts of it; it's just that when looking back on it so much of it seems to run together. I'm sure a great deal of that is because school ended for me the month before and eight hours of work aside, I had few commitments past "spoil and love on my little girl." It was a blissful start to the holidays and kept me a cheerful mood through out them.

One of my best friends, Emily, and her son, Sebastian were able to come up from Florida and spend the week before Christmas here with us. Gracie (after some adjusting) enjoyed having a live-in playmate and I, of course was happy for the opportunity to catch up with someone who I don't get to see nearly enough! We did some shopping in Cincinnati, made gingerbread houses on our own and with the kiddos, visited the children's museum and looked at bridesmaid dresses. I'm pretty sure with Emily's and my sisters input I've chosen the style that will be used in my wedding. It was a busy, but extremely enjoyable week!

Gracie's loved every minute of this Christmas season. Brian and I did our best to make it special for her. We started the month by taking her to see Santa and go for a carriage ride through the Greene, a local outdoor mall. We made a big to-do about decorating our tree, went and looked at Christmas lights a few times, made and decorated numerous batches of Christmas cookies and of course sipped a lot of hot cocoa. This was such a magical year for her and it was so much fun to watch.

Christmas Eve Gracie took a red bubble bath, put her Christmas PJ's on, and opened her presents from her Daddy. Afterwards (in addition to her regular night-night stories) we read the night before Christmas and finally, we laid out some treats for Santa and his reindeer. I tucked Gracie in and laid out the presents. Then, I moved her to my bed and decorated her room. Her "new big girl room" was B and I's gift to her. After I was done I moved her back to her room and she woke up in awe.

Christmas Morning went perfectly. Gracie was thrilled to see Santa and the reindeer had nibbled on the treats she left, and was amazed Santa brought the Mickey shoes she asked for. It was so much fun to watch her and I am now more convinced then ever that there are more things more pure and beautiful then my little girl's belief in Santa.

Tomorrow will mark the end of this year. It's brought so many wonderful and unexpected things and I can hardly wait to see what the coming year has in store!

Happily Ever After!

The wedding will be in May of 2010!

Totally Content.

What an amazing day!

It started this morning when Gracie and I boarded a train in Mason to go meet Curious George. It was just under a 2 hour event, and was filled with Gracie laughter! She loved every moment of it. Afterward we had lunch at my all time favorite restaurant, and hit up Jungle Jim's to stock up on coffees, vegetarian"meats" and dried fruits. When we got back into town Gracie went to Gemma and Poppy's, and I went to dinner and a Dragon's game with Brian. Everything today was so much fun!

From the time I woke up this morning, until now as I am moments away from crawling into bed, I've been smiling.

I'd say with the start of summer, things are looking up again!

Mother's Day 2009

Gracie loves me. Really, she does. So much in fact that while I worked yesterday she went with Poppy and bought me presents. Accordingly, for Mother's Day today, I got some lovely roses, a set of drill bits, and tickets to see Thomas the Train live. I am the luckiest Mommy ever!

... Really, I feel like I am though. I got the biggest hug ever as she presented them the morning and the cutest " I love you Mommy" I had ever, ever heard. And though, flowers aside, the gifts were a tad bit unusual I love, love, love my Daddy for even thinking of picking something up for me!

It was a good day.

Celebrating at Bounce U today.

But Until Then...

Gracie turned two last month. Officially gone are her baby days, I'm now a mommy to a little girl! Truthfully, it still hasn't really set in. Habit still leads me to the baby section at Gymboree, and I constantly have to remind myself to let her try things on her own! It's unreal to me how fast time has gone by. Somehow, in what seems like no time at all, the helpless infant I first held in my arms has matured into an independent child. She's no longer 7 pounds and looking to me for everything, she's now a little girl three times that size, who knows it all, and is making her own mark on the world!

Everyday brings something new. Sometimes it's a joyful addition, like a new word or the mastering of a simple life skill, other times it's a challenge, like excessive use of the word no, or a skinned up knee. Regardless of the specifics each day holds -- they are all amazing. So many times I have looked at Gracie and thought that life can't get any better -- but it always does. Each night when I tuck her in I think "I couldn't love this child any more," but by the next night, I always do. What I need to do is measure life in those bed time moments -- then for sure I would keep up with her age!

Every stage Gracie has gone through so far has come with its own set of challenges and delights. One thing has remained constant -- they've always brought more smiles then the one before. Though a large part of me is sad knowing that I am now past the babyhood of my little girl I couldn't be more excited for all the wonderful things I know this coming year has in store!

Spring Time

As holidays draw near, or stress intensifies, I generally find myself writing here.
I’m late on both counts – life has been crazy.

Mom was released from the hospital Saturday after a nearly two week stay for a cosmetic procedure that was supposed to be “same day.” Things with my mom are never that simple. She had complications with blood loss and infection. Despite being home now, she still requires a lot of care. She has a PIC line in her and receives IV antibiotics through it twice a day. Thank god for home health care – the nurses are a god send! The nurses have also reshaped Gracie’s career goals. My child, who previously wanted to be a doughnut, has now settled on a future career as a nurse. She practices on her baby dolls and reports that through her stethoscope she hears their hearts go “muah muah muah [kissing noises]”

Easter was Sunday. Gracie loved it. She was all about the Easter Bunny! Her video from Easter morning can be found here. Sunday afternoon Gracie went to an Easter Egg hunt at Young’s Dairy. The place was a mad house, but she had a competitive edge. All of my siblings were out there with her. Auntie Angeleah and Auntie Catlin both grabbed a Gracie arm and “flew” her through the masses of kids to the center of the field where she gathered eggs. At the end, Gracie shared her eggs with another little girl who hadn’t gotten any and made her way into the Springfield newspaper.

Better Then an Update...

Gracie's Second Year... So Far.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I thought wrong.

When I was pregnant John and I agreed we'd wait until Gracie was old enough to make the decision herself before pericing her ears. It made sense at the time but lately I'd been thinking it would make more sense to do it now, while she's younger, because she wouldn't be so afraid. It's been on my mind -- but I didn't plan to act on it.

I went to the mall today to redeem Gymbucks, and return a pair of pants at Children's Place. Children's Place is across from Claire's. I ended up walking in there on a whim, and asking Gracie if she wanted pretty earrings. She agreed and hopped right up in the chair. I checked to make sure everything was sterile and signed the paperwork. The employee went to put the dots on Gracie's ears and she FLIPPED. She was screaming "stop, mommmy -- noooo!" So I took her down, got her calm, and sat in the chair with her. Again as soon as the lady got close, she flipped. I asked the lady to stop. I was still in the chair, holding her in my arms cuddling when some lady on her way out said "that's horrible you know." I stared for a moment and said "excuse me?" She said "what you're doing to that little girl is horrible" I took a deep breath and said "I don't think I asked what you thought." She said "well someone needed to tell you." So having already tried to take the high road with the self righteous bitch once I responded with "and so is dressing your child like the wal mart clearance rack..." She then stormed off.

Gracie's ears didn't get periced. I wasn't going to do something that she was clearly afraid of. But we sat in the chair until the crazy lady and her sorry looking offspring were long out of sight.

We'll try again in a few years.

Here we go, Again.

Over the summer my car got broken into twice. A couple of guests staying here also had their cars broken into, as did nuemerous hospital employees from across the street. Last fall the person responsible for all the break-in's was prosecuted and went to jail. We didn't have a single problem after that! He got out December 31st. Monday morning I woke up to find this:

The person who broke into my car, broke into 3 others the same night. He's currently back in jail -- but won't be for long. Despite having him on camera commiting the crime, all the police could pick him up for was recieving stolen properrty.

What property you might wonder?
Well, at least that part of the story is kind of funny.

For Christmas Gracie got a customized CD from a kiosk in the mall. It came in a pink sparkly case, and had "Graciebelle" printed on the actual CD.On the CD was 16 songs, each with Gracie's name inserted a couple of times through out them. The CD was found in a trash can at the residence where the bastard who stole my stuff lives. He claims it was his brother who took it. The police were unable to get a warrant because it was his Mom's house, but if they had I bet they would have found my stereo (minus the face plate... which I had,) Carseats (seriously... they're the most expensive thing he stole) and a bag of brand new Gymboree clothes.

The worst part is I can't even feel safe with him locked up because as soon as he gets out I know he'll be back here and doing it all over again.

That, with school starting, more work hours, and cold weather has made it a generally lousy week.