Heeey … Macarena

Yay! David Cook won American Idol! I’m so happy it turned out that way. I think he’s going to be hugely famous. And he seriously seems nice. Like not arrogant at all and just sorta thoughtful and genuine. Like I know him at all. But really, you get a little bit of an idea of what people are like. And what a shocker. The judges were drooling all over David Archuleta last night. That kid’s going to be huge too though.

Anyway I will miss the show. It gave my sister and I a weekly thing to look forward to doing. Last night, she came over to my house for it. My little punkin was in bed, but before long she was clanging at our crib bars with full force. And we had just been talking about how she used to go to bed at 7 and I had two whole hours of me time, but recently it’s become 8 p.m. And I’ve adjusted. It’s not much time though. 1 hour a day to do what I want. But last night she got up and was up past, GULP, 9. Uh oh, as she would say. And that has happened a few times lately. Please, baby, I need that 1 hour! Although she was so sweet last night. I told her to go get her baby and she went to the other room, got her baby and brought her to me. I was so impressed she understood and also didn’t get distracted on the way there. Then she planted a sweet little kiss right on baby’s mouth. So cute. She must know that if she’s extra cute she can stay up late.

Whew, so, with the idol final and my niece’s concert on Tuesday night, there’s been a lot of singing this week. Yes, 3-year-old London got to flaunt her singing and dancing skills to the song Macarena, among others, to a packed crowd of parents and families at her daycare concert. Have you ever seen 20 three-year-olds do a song and dance together? Hilarious. Of course London was entertaining all on her own. She really got into the dance. She’s been practicing for weeks. She hopped out in front of the kids and showed off her moves, and of course, she wore her favorite leopard-print sundress, so she looked darling. The best part was when she saw my mother (grandma) and me and completely stopped to give us a huge wave and smile. When I wasn’t focusing on my niece I tried to just take in the whole scene because it was just funny. Kids just standing facing all directions, dance moves all out of sync, at one point one of them just stood there crying. It’s just so great because as we get older we care so much about how we’re perceived, but kids just let loose. Can you imagine if we just cried at work every time we were stressed out or upset?

I also watched American Idol that night with Sara. Although, we may have missed a lot of it because of a certain little singer/dancer that was harassing me. Lucky for her she also at one point tilted her head and said “I love you Aunt Eri.” OK, I can miss seeing David Cook sing for that.

From hot tubs to sprinklers

Oh I was so happy when Friday at 4 p.m. came. As you might remember last week was a little out of the norm – keeping Ella home all week to do a freakish outbreak of illnesses everywhere. So, I was BUSY at work Friday. Like busy write down my to do list with time amounts next to each item busy, so I don’t spend too much time on any specific task. By the time I left my shoulders were tensed up to my neck and my mind was just racing. On those days it’s hard to come home and switch to baby mode. The mode where I patiently wait while Ella tries to put the coins in the piggy bank but they just won’t seem to fit. I so want to just put them all in! It gets easier as the weekend progresses though.

Another great thing about the weekend – no Saturday night shift. I had worked the previous two and it’s tough. So, anyway. Friday night. We decided to do something different than our usual delivery pizza. We try again to hit the new restaurant Granite City. Steve had been home all day with Ella so I knew he’d be dying to go out. And since I wasn’t picking up Ella at the sitters she won’t be anxious from being in a car for thirty minutes. Conditions were just right. Boy, things used to be so much simpler. Anyway, we got there around 5 p.m., yes I know we might as well be senior citizens, but we’re on an early schedule people, so we’re HUNGRY by then. Plus, this is about the only time there isn’t a long wait at this new place. And toddlers and long waits do not mix.

The food was delicious … an appetizer of waffle fries with an awesome sour cream dip, olive proscuitto pizza chicken artichoke lasagne. Yum. We all just shared. I even had a margarita. Delicious. Ella was pretty good, but she’s definitely getting to the age where it’s getting tricky to keep her content for a whole meal at a restaurant, so we have to be prepared. Snacks, drinks, toys, hope they have crayons, and this place even had balloons. Ella’s patience was done though by the time the meal ended though. She and I waited in the lobby playing with the balloon while daddy waited on the check.

That night after Ella went to bed we watched Wes Anderson’s latest movie Darjeeling Limited with Adrian Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson. It was pretty funny. That director has a unique style, and really quirky characters. If you like one of his movies (Royal Tennenbaums, The Aquatic Life of Steve Zissou) I think you’d like them all.

So, the rest of the weekend was the usual … laundry, shopping, playing outside, weeding. Ella has been working on a great trick she picked up recently. We tell her to do a headstand and she bends over with her head on the floor and dies laughing. It’s so funny. She’s either really flexible or her upper half is oddly the same length as her lower half. See below.

First, the bend…

Then the laughter …

Then the look for approval. And I’m so proud.

I also squeezed in a lot of extra things around the house – like washing the guest bed sheets and making room in the guest closet for the stuff we keep accruing. Our annual Memorial Day barbecue is coming up and I’m so excited. It’s really the only time of year all our college friends and us get together. I’m just glad we even do it this once. It’s so hard now that most of us have kids. I’m glad we can be the ones to host too. We’re happy to throw parties. In California we had a walk-in bar, a screened in room with an inground hot tub, a big backyard with a firepit … we had some good parties. That seems like a million years ago. The party now includes a bouncy house, a sand and water table and sprinklers. It’s a little different. Fun though still. And I’m pretty sure I won’t wake up to my Christmas tree being covered with tampons.

Because there’s been no photos for awhile and I don’t want to go to bed

I found the rubberbands …

A bean burrito, green beans, milk and goldfish. What more could she want?

My first coloring book. I will color in it, then the carpet.

Home sweet home

I’ve had a great week this week. I thought it was going to be bad – an extremely busy work at week and I thought Ella was coming down with a virus.

Ella’s virus never developed, which I was really relieved about – unfortunately my babysitter and her daughter both caught the flu. So, we kept our plans of keeping Ella home all week and working some crazy hours. I stayed home with her during the day yesterday and today, and at night I left to take care of some projects at work.

Even though I was working at night, it was really nice to be home during the day. And we had really nice days. Nothing spectacular. The usual routine at home is like this:

7:30 – Ella wakes up. I pray that she sleeps another half hour. Sometimes she does.

8:00 – We have breakfast. Ella is starving and acts as if she hasn’t been fed in days in the morning. I cut her up a breakfast bar and get her a cup of milk as fast as I can. Sometimes she’ll eat a banana too. As she is content eating I usually straighten up the kitchen, get my coffee and my own bowl of cereal.

8:30 – Cartoon and couch time. I’ve realized Ella likes to just sit on my lap for awhile in the mornings – and that doesn’t happen much during the rest of the day anymore, so I take advantage of it and turn on a cartoon for awhile and we just watch and wake up a little – usually Curius George or Clifford the Big Red Dog is on.

9:00 – playtime. Ella’s up and at it. She’s running around like it’s her last day on earth and she wants to accomplish as many things as possible. She also usually has a morning snack. She’s pooped in about 30-45 minutes.

9:30 Nap #1. I do things that Ella doesn’t have the patience for – like get dressed, brush my teeth, fix my hair. or I read a book and catch up on a show I’ve Tivoed.

10:30. She’s up from her nap and it’s almost lunchtime. We play then get food around – again, it’s like I’ve never fed her before. She stands at my legs either holding on or raising her arms for me to pick her up.

11:00 EAT!

11:30 I get her dressed. I’ve learned if I don’t get her dressed until after lunch then I won’t be frustrated if lunch gets all over her outfit. Now’s the ideal time to go somewhere. She’s a few hours away from naptime, she’s full, my teeth are brushed. Yesterday we went to Dollar General. Sounds lame doesn’t it? Well, it wasn’t! It’s nice and new and big, and get this, everything there is ONE dollar! I know, you all know this. I just haven’t been there since I had Ella and there are so many kid toys that Ella might lose/break anyway that one dollar seems like the perfect price. I got her a play rake and shovel, a little set of spatulas, a coloring book, two puzzles. Very fun.

1:00 Playtime around the house or outside. Another snack.

2:00 Naptime. Again, I take care of some house things (i.e. lay on the couch. Just kidding. It’s really a mix.)

4:00 Where did the day go? See how that just sneaks up on you?

Anyway, I’ve been thinking it since before she was born and am realizing it more and more all the time. I want to be HOME with her more. I don’t know how it will happen, but I’ve finally decided I am going to make it happen one way or another … not sure if it will be working less, working more from home or not working at all (gasp), but I really do just want to not have to miss out on her for four whole days a week. Even if I do have the best babysitter in the world.