Long Time No Blog

Once again, it's been a while since my last post. Since wiping off the blue paint, 

here's what we've been up to...

We have a picky eater on our hands and since she has only gained 4 lbs in the last year, I am pulling out all the stops.  We call this the "Sample Tray".  My friend Courtney read about it in a Dr. Sears book and recommended we give it a shot.  She usually ends up eating much more food than normal with this method but there are still days when she goes to bed with nothing but milk in her stomach.  Makes for a great stall tactic at bed time. "Hungy!"

She got a runny nose in November which was about the extent of the cold but all that stuff started running out of her nose and into her hair. Gross!  So once it dried and we washed it and combed out the knots several times, I decided it was time for her first real haircut.  Chris was really against it because he loved her 2 stringy little curls, dried boogers or not.  When he was at work I put her in the booster chair in front of tv to zombify her and then I texted him a picture of all the hair that was cut off.  I think he was a little worried but we both agree it looks much better.

Then it was Lions turn, of course. Too bad she chewed all his hair off long ago.

After a fresh haircut she was ready for some baking, one of her favorite past times. Unfortunately, every time I turn my head she is either taking a bite out of the middle of the stick of butter that is softening on the counter (paper and all), or eating straight flour or baking powder.  So... we probably won't be delivering any baked goods to the neighbors this year. Why won't she just eat normal stuff? I think she is part goat.

 We threw an engagement party for my sister at Royal Palm Village Wine and Tapas so that our families could all meet for the first time.  Everyone got along great.  The wedding is still on.  

Oh, and the food was AMAZING! Check it out sometime. 

Nora has been obsessed with riding the horses at Amma and Papa's house.  We have been going out there a lot lately.  She helps feed and groom them and hasn't lost a finger yet. 

 Weaver and I have stayed to the bitter end of one too many Jags games.  Being "ALL IN" is overrated.

Nora has spent some quality time chilling with her dad, who apparently likes to dress her like a hoodlum, take her out in public, and snap pictures of her while driving. If you hear of any Father of the Year contests coming up please let me know.

We've spent many an afternoon crafting. This is not a messy craft, but sometimes it's just not worth the fighting with her.

Another example of not worth the fight...decorating the Christmas tree in pj's and rainboots. 

We've been riding the 4 wheelers a lot lately.  Nora calls them "Free Wheelers" which is certainly not the case.  Chris and his dad just can't seem to drive by a 4 wheeler for sale on the side of the road, so now there are three of them. I'm not gonna lie, they are really fun. I think my mom would agree, after I took her in the back woods through the brush on a tick hunt.

And last but not least, Chris has gone out to his parent's land twice in the last week to hunt down the pigs, hogs, boar, whatever, that are tearing up the land.  This involves getting up at 3:30 or 4 in the morning and sitting in a deer stand in the cold, wind, and rain, wearing some scent deterrent, hoping to spot a pig and kill it.  No such luck.  I think the pigs are on to him.  Meanwhile, he has been delirious from sleep deprivation.

In the midst of all this we have celebrated a few birthdays, including Nora's.  

Perhaps, that will be my next post. Until then...

Just Smurfy

There are days when I say to myself, "Whose child is this?!"  Halloween has yet to be one of those days.  Like her folks, Nora lives for Halloween. She stood still, holding the towel around her shoulders, as I sprayed painted her hair.  She carefully stepped into her jumper and never protested while having her face painted blue.  It was chilly outside and I made a last minute decision (an hour before getting dressed)  to dye a pair of tights blue instead of painting her bare legs.  My sister used a hair dryer on the tights just minutes before we put them on, and although the body paint that I used on the tights made them rather stiff, Nora climbed right into them.  I put the smurf hat on her head and there it stayed for the rest of the night. After typing this, it kind of does make me think, "Whose child is this?" Mine is not usually this cooperative. 

She was charged and ready to roll.  Gargamel set up the 4-wheeler and trailer with 2 bales of hay (hales of bay as I like to call them), a lawn chair, and a blanket. We were ready to go pick up some more trick or treaters and cruise the neighborhood.   

Gargamel's costume was made complete with a the pool net, filled with a few smurfs.  (See the little guys trapped in the net?)  Those were the ones I played with growing up.  Nora plays with them now and loves them.  She used to eat dinner with Papa Smurf.  Gargamel usually hangs out on her dresser, where he belongs.

We swung by the neighbors and picked up half of Jacksonville. Then we trick or treated via Gargamel's Hayride.  I wish I had a picture of the hayride because it was fully loaded. (I know someone out there captured one so please send it my way if you got a good one.)

 

Nora smurfed right up to the house with the pack of kids.  She was usually the smallest one trying to smurf her way through the crowd, but she said "Tick or Teet" every time.   

 

The bald cap brothers rode back to back on the 4 wheeler chatting it up.  I imagine they were discussing various Spirit Gum techniques. 

 Chris loves this picture because he says we were in perfect stride all night long. Every time Nora received candy she would start running back, yelling, "HAYRIDE!"  We would go to 3 or 4 houses at a time and then pile back into the hayride. She sat in the hay and would go through her pumpkin, pulling out her newest candy.  Then she would hold it up and say, "Poop Potty."  Apparently, she thinks that's the only way she's allowed to eat it. Fine by me! She has yet to "Poop potty" so we have a lot of Halloween candy left. Chris and I have started to put a dent in it, because we are potty trained.

Nora did pretty well, but since she has also been on a hunger strike lately, I doubt she will get to enjoy very much of it. I did let her pick 2 items to enjoy before being de-smurfed. She shared her Junior Mints with me and then shared several Sweet Tarts with Gargamel before we hit the shower. It was very Smurfy of her. What a fun night. I can't wait til next year!

O Canada

                                      

Our trip to Prince Edward Island was one we won't soon forget.  It took over 10 minutes to cross the 8 mile long Confederation Bridge  that connects New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island. The drive alone was one of the highlights of the trip. Once we reached the island we drove to the small west coast fishing village of Miminegash. The drive took us mudding down the long dirt roads that led to our cottage. We laughed about how glad we were that they gave us the "double-free upgrade" on the rental car and the fact that we had waived the insurance. Once we arrived, the vacation truly began.  We saw the sun rise (because Nora woke up at the crack of dawn) in the front of the cottage and set over the ocean in the back.  We could put Nora to bed and take the monitor outside by the fire. It was right after the high season and we were among the locals.  It felt like we had the whole place to ourselves wherever we went. 

Here is just a snapshot of what we did during our week on the island. This is post is heavy on the pictures and light on the ole words. I'm still incredibly sleep deprived from Nora's sleeping issues and I am not firing on all cylinders. 

 Nora took to skipping rocks right away. While they sunk instead of skipped, she still got a huge kick out watching the master.  The red sand beaches were covered in flat blue, green, and red rocks perfect for skipping and collecting.  They made our suitcases that much heavier on the trip home. 

Chris did his manly thing by gathering firewood to get the seaside fires going.  This was Nora's first experience roasting marshmallows.  

 

A few nights later we introduced the S'more. I'm pretty sure in was a life altering moment for her.

Hold on to your hat, cause next up was the Potato Museum.  We were the only ones there, learning all we could about one of the islands largest exports.  For some reason Nora thought this enormous potato was sleeping.  She kept telling us "Shhhh. Quiet. Potato sleeping." This was followed by snoring.  Even weeks later she tells me to be quiet around the potatoes in the grocery store.  Weird.

Inside the museum, Chris and Nora watch an informative video about the history of the potato, proving Nora's deep love for anything television. (One of the many reasons I try to limit it.)

We dropped the kid in the hiking backpack to climb to the top of a lighthouse. I'm not sure if this one time use of the backpack warranted bringing it on the trip but what's one more bag, right? 

Late afternoon beach picnic. Yep, she still kinda looks like her dad.

There's a little bit of me in there somewhere. Science says so. 

On the way home we swung by the docks where the lobstermen were unloading their catch.  We were able to pick up 2 lobsters totaling over 5 lbs. Total cost $16. 

We took the locals' advice and filled the pot with water (and sand) from the ocean.  We let Nora try some of our lobster that night and she loved it.  .

Two nights later the caretaker/lobsterman delivered 3 more lobsters to our door at $4 a pound.  I'm still in shock about the price, if you can't tell. Nora had a 3/4 pounder all to herself and she was up for the task.

She thought the shell tasted amazing, so you know she went to town when we actually cracked it open and poured lemon, butter, and garlic all over it.

Fist-fulls of lobster. That's what I dream about at night.

We found a state park on the North coast and we had it all to ourselves. 

Dandelions in Canada stick like glue. Don't even attempt to make a wish.

We tried to "go clamming". People told us they never had any luck because all the commercial "clammers" know the hot spots and clean them out.  

Nonetheless, I was determined.  I had read on the all-mighty internet what to look for.  Chris was the one who spotted the air bubbles and I was the one who started digging like a madman.   The toy shovel held up and we got our clam.  Then we threw it back, cause I don't really care for clams.

 We took a drive to Charlottetown, the capital of PEI, and the largest city on the island.  It reminded me a lot of historic St. Augustine.

    

A lot of people have asked us why we chose PEI for our vacation. There were a lot of factors.  It was somewhere we had never been, knew nothing about, we could still hang out after Nora went to bed, we LOVE lobster, and we only have 2 more months that Nora flies for free so we wanted to make it count. But really, we just picked a place on the map that seemed cool, and it was. 

This Too Shall Pass

There are a million and one reasons to be exhausted.  I can think of all the reasons some of my friends and family have to be just as tired, if not more so, than me.  One friend has a newborn and a 3 yr old. Another friend just had her 2nd and had her first day back at work this week.  She has to be there by 6am.  Several others are juggling 4 children and all the activities and doctors appointments that go with it. And sadly, I have a friend who just lost her husband and is faced with raising her 2 boys while working full time. I am constantly at awe at the way my friends and family make it look so easy.  I think to myself, "How do they do it?  Is coffee really that powerful? Maybe I should give in and start drinking it by the pot." They are my heroes.  So with that said, here's what's been going on with us and why I am so worn out.  

We just got back from an incredible week long trip to Canada. (My next post.) Last Friday, we woke up at 3:30 in the morning to catch our flight home.  The airlines had "tweaked" all of our flight itineraries since booking them back in May. Nora was wide awake until the moment they opened the plane door in Jacksonville.Then she conked out. She conveniently slept while we gathered our bags and for the drive home. Everyone on the shuttle commented on how lucky we were. They told us that most babies don't sleep like that. Once we got home Nora was re-energized and ready to roll. We put her to bed at her normal time thinking she must be wiped out.  We certainly were.  We were going to be driving to Tampa and back the next day for the service for our friend who had passed away and we were hoping to get a good night's sleep. No sooner had we shut the door to Nora's room did she climb out her crib (for the 1st time) and opened her bedroom door (for the first time). 

 I immediately got on the internet to see if there was a store still open where I could buy a tent for the crib.  Apparently they have been recalled because they cause death or injury. So we put the mattress on the floor, piled some pillows around it in case she rolled off, and sung her to sleep.  When we checked on her later that night we found her like this.  I went to craigslist and searched for another quick fix.  The first listing that pulled up was for a like new toddler bed, for next to nothing, and we could meet the sellers at a restaurant off the Daytona exit on our way to Tampa.  So that's what we did.  The next night was rough.  And each one since has been increasingly worse.

This pile of blankets is where Chris and I have been taking turns camping out after Nora wakes up in the middle of the night and refuses to go back to sleep.  She proclaims "All done!" and she means it. We have tried letting her cry it out but she is a willful one and has not broken yet.  It seems we have. As I write this blog she has been pounding on her bedroom door and has not stopped saying "Mommy" for the past 45 minutes, refusing to take a nap.  I have taken away Dora and all other TV privileges (shooting myself in the foot when it comes to dealing with an overtired toddler all day long). She has even been spanked a few times, which still has yet to phase her.

She likes her bed a lot during the day. She even pretends to nap, fake snoring and all.  Yesterday morning she woke up at 4am on the dot.  "All done!" Yesterday was also her first day going to Mothers Morning Out.  I was hoping that these milestones could be celebrated some. The big girl bed and first day of school are a blur.  I did get her to smile for the camera for the first time without saying cheese. As I dropped her off at school I told the teacher, "She's been up since 4. Good luck."

I had just enough time to grab a salted caramel frappuccino (AMAZING) and go to a doctor's appointment before I was back to pick her up.  The teacher said she did great and was giving hugs to all the kids.  When we got home there was another first.  She fell asleep in her highchair.  She looks the way I feel.  Now this might not seem like it's any different from anything you all experience on a daily basis, but throw in the fact that on Sunday she decided she also wanted to start potty training and I'm just about "All done" myself.   

Today my amazing friend brought over longer bed rails. She assembled everything for me while Nora tried to nap on the bed we were working on. Nora didn't even want to play with the two other kids playing in her room.  And yet, here we are at actual nap time and she is still screaming.  My friend also played with all the kids so I could take a shower.  She is one of my heroes.

So if you haven't heard from me since we got back, it's not because I don't want to return your calls.  It's because my daughter is screaming. It's OK though. This too shall pass.