Hard to say good bye

The other night we had a little impromptu playdate with A., our little downstairs neighbor and friend. Elizabeth was so happy to entertain her guest, but was very sad when it was time to say good bye. One thing about E that has always been, is she hates to end playdates. She is the one who is always crying when birthday parties are over, and has to be dragged out of people's houses crying, after hours of playing. She just hates when the party's over!

Swimming at the Y

We love to go swimming at the Y, especially in the cold weather months when outdoor pools and beaches aren't an option. Today we met up with E's BFF's family at the Y and had a great time.

Random

Just a few random pictures from Sunday.

In the afternoon, we went over to friends' house to play.

Patriots on in the background. Headed to the Supahbowl, woohoo!!!

Saturday recap

Today would have been a good day for pictures, but I didn't take any. Mainly out of laziness, and also because Elizabeth has taken to sticking her tongue out when I try to take her picture. Lovely...Anyway, today we had a little snow (about 4-5 inches), and it was kind of pretty, actually. Elizabeth hung out at Maria's house this morning while I went to the library and worked on taxes (fun!!)...Then this afternoon, E and I met E's BFF and Mom at the Y and we went swimming. So fun! E has a little cold, so she crashed early tonight. I think I'm not too far behind her :)

Hair Salon

Yesterday, I took Elizabeth to a much needed trip to the Hair Salon. The ladies were fabulous, and very patient with both of us :) Elizabeth had her moments of fussiness, but overall did great. I was very proud of her! At one point, the hair dresser asked if E had any allergies. I said no. Elizabeth piped up, "I'm allergic to combs!."

Finally a little snow!

This picture was taken when we first went outside Tuesday morning. Elizabeth was very surprised and excited to see the snow. We haven't had any so far this year, except for that little freak snow storm just before Halloween. Then, last night, we went to a fundraiser for E's Day Care at a Pizza Place. E had a great time hanging out with her little school buddies :)

Martin Luther King - I Have A Dream Speech - August 28, 1963

Another New Year's resolution

I mentioned in a previous post that one of my New Year's resolutions was to blog more. So far that's going pretty well. I have missed 2 days in this month, but that's not too bad. Another resolution I have is to get healthier and lose some weight. Original, I know...not! But I really need to pay more attention to my health. Up until about 5-6 years ago, I never really had a weight issue. But once I went into premature menopause (thank you, Turner Syndrome), my metabolism ground to a screeching halt, and I could no longer get away with eating the same crap I always had. So the pounds starting piling on...Especially since becoming a mom (stress eating, anyone?)...But here's the thing...aside from hating that I'm so heavy now, my main concern is, I don't want to develop all kinds of health issues. I don't want Elizabeth to have a mother who is sick, low energy, etc. I don't want her to have to take care of me by the time I'm 60, is what I'm saying. And I want to feel good about how I look. I want my old clothes to fit again! So, I'm feeling like now is the time to "get healthy." For Elizabeth, and for me!

Nice day, but no pics...

Today was such a fun day. We went for breakfast and a playdate at Elizabeth's BFF's house this morning. The girls play together so well, and I love hanging with the parents and their adorable new baby. We ended up staying for lunch, too! Lol... Then this afternoon, E and I went to the Y for a swim, which we both love. I actually really wanted to work out, too, but they only have babysitting on Saturday's in the morning, so I couldn't. Oh well...next time I'll plan better. That's about it for today!

Hugo

Today, Elizabeth went with Maria to see the new movie "Hugo." Elizabeth seemed to like it, even though probably a lot of it went over her head. I think her favorite part was the huge tub of popcorn they shared. :) Here is a (not very good) pic of her playing afterward at M's when I came to pick her up.

Update at four and a half

Today, my girl is 4.5. Hard to believe...Not to sound too cliche, but omg, they grow up fast. She is like a sponge, and picks up on everything. She is obsessed with her new favorite movie "The Wizard of Oz." She knows all the songs in it, and always acts out the movie with her bath dolls in the tub. Soooo cute...
She knows all her letters and enjoys books, and is getting more interested in "writing", but would still rather play ball or ride her bike. Her love of swimming continues, and I will be signing her up for swim lessons this February. She is a social butterfly, and makes new friends easily. She is alternately clingy and independent. In short, she is my amazing big girl. :) Happy 4.5 birthday, sweetie pie!

Mall rats

Once in a while, Elizabeth and I like to go to a nearby mall to walk around, go up and down (and up and down..) the escalaters and have a slice of Pizza. One of E's favorite things also is to visit the Crocodile in front of The Ra*n F*rest C*fe. For some reason, I was not a able to get a decent shot of her here...

One cool thing about this mall is that they have an indoor play area, which E also likes. Oops, I notice she's not wearing socks here...

Oops, missed a day...

Well, so much for blogging every day in January...I missed yesterday. I had every intention of blogging after Elizabeth went to bed, but I fell asleep along with her :) Oh well, I'll keep trying...

We had a great Sunday. Our friend Maria took E to Church, so I got a couple of hourse to myself :) The only problem was, Maria brought Elizabeth back about a half hour later than I was expecting. My mind automatically went into "worst possible case scenario" mode. Maria doesn't use a cell phone, so I couldn't call her. By the time they came back, I was convinced they were both unconscious in a hospital, with no way to identify E or how to reach me. Ugg...Let's just say, I was sooooo happy when I saw them pull up to Maria's house, where I was waiting.

Later, my mom and I took Elizabeth to a children's show that my mom had baught tickets for. It wasn't exactly what we expected, and was kind of slow, but E did ok, and it was fun to get out to do something different. Afterward, we went to my parents', where E got to ride her bike (still no snow here- amazing!!) and play with the neighbors' kids.

All in all, it was a great weekend!

It's fun to swim at the Y*M*C*A...

Elizabeth and I joined the Y*MCA near our house today- finally! Thanks to my sister and mom, who gave us a year's membership for Christmas (THANK YOU!!) We went this afternoon, and swam for about an hour, and then played in the gym for a bit. Sorry no pics...I plan to go regularly to work out and E can play in the Child Care.

Little chef :):

Another link (sorry!)...

This post is so spot on, I couldn't resist linking...

Why I won't read or watch "The Help"

Today's blog post on www.racialicious.com says it perfectly.

Sh^t White Girls Say to Black Girls

Found this video by Franchesca Ramsey on www.mybrownbaby.com. Wow...

Co sleeping

So...Elizabeth still sleeps with me. Mostly I don't mind it, sometimes I actually like it. The drawbacks are:
-I can't read in bed before going to sleep
-How can such a small person take up an entire queen sized bed??
-some nights E tosses and turns a lot, and I get elbowed and kicked
-I worry sometimes that I'm not fostering her "independence" enough
But the fact is, we don't see each other all day, so it's kind of nice to share that overnight time together (even if we're both sleeping!)
I've heard/read both sides of the argument for/against co sleeping. The truth is, you can always find some book or article to support your way of parenting. I think in the end you just have to do what feels right for you and your family. And right now, co sleeping feels right for us.

Back to school

Elizabeth had a great first day back at school after the holiday break. I know she missed her friends. I really do love her Day Care, and will miss it when we leave there in September. Hard to believe I will be soon registering my baby for Kindergarten...Yikes!! I have to admit, I'm pretty stressed about the thought of her entering real, actual school in the fall. I know she'll do fine, but it's going to be such a change from Preschool/Day Care. Logistically, too. I just envision myself always trying to patch together child care for her during the many days off, half days, vacations, etc. that the public schools seem to have. Ugg...But it's also kind of exciting to think she'll be learning to read, and all kinds of other cool things. Anyway, just my thoughts for today!

Fun, busy day

Today was the last day of Elizabeth's school vacation (her Day Care was closed all last week and today), so I wanted to make it fun. We started out by having a nice lazy morning at home. I don't even think we were out of our jammies before 10! When we finally got going, we started out with a visit to Petco, so E could visit with all the animals there. She loves it there, and is lobbying heavily to get if not a dog, than a Hamster. I'm thinking more along the lines of maybe a goldfish...

Then we went to E's favorite playground, which is in the same town her Day Care is in. It was sunny, but kinda cold...E didn't mind at all, though. She was very happy when a few girls around her age showed up, and she played with them for a while.

Then, I decided to take E out for her favorite lunch- Pizza:)

After that, we ended up going to visit my parents' neighbors, where E played with her friends plus a couple more kids who showed up for a play date. That was great for me, since it gave me a break from being "entertainment director." :)

All in all, it was a tiring, but fun day, and holiday week. I think E will be glad to be back in school tomorrow. She was telling me this morning that she missed her school friends. Hope you all had a great holiday, too!

New Year's resolutions

I'm usually not big on New Year's resolutions, but for some reason, this year I feel inspired to make a few, some of which I'll probably blog about in the coming weeks. But for right now, I want to say that one of my goals for 2012 is to be a better blogger, and to post more often. To start with, I'm trying to update my template, but I'm not too savvy about how to go about it, so I'm kind of figuring it out as I go along. I'm making a few tweaks to the blog design here and there, as you might notice. I may end up outsourcing, and getting someone else to do a complete blog makeover for me. It depends on how frustrated I get trying to do it myself :) The other thing I'm going to attempt to start the year is to post every day in January...I'm going to try!! Even if it's only a picture, I'm going to at least try to get something on here each day of this month. Wish me luck, lol! Ok, off to bed now...my cute little alarm clock goes off early in the morning :)

Welcome, 2012!!

We had a fun New Year's Eve! Miss E and I went into Boston with our friends. Here are the kiddos, riding on "the T" (Boston's Subway system).
Below, my friend Misty holding Elizabeth to give E a better view of all the festivities (Misty is a lot taller than me!)

In Boston at First Night, we saw a couple of ice sculptors, ate some expensive junk food and saw cool fireworks! They have fireworks early, at 7pm, so kids can enjoy them.

Here are the kids on the train ride back home, sharing a rather huge bag of Cotton Candy :)

Neither Elizabeth or I made it til midnight, but we came pretty close- 11pm!

Today, New year's Day, was (relatively) warm and sunny. E and I lazed around the apt. a bit this am, then went to the mall for lunch and to play in the indoor playground (love it!). Afterward, we went to my parents' to do laundry and so Elizabeth could ride her bike.

hangin' out with Grandpa

Wishing all of you a Happy New Year, filled with peace, joy, and love.