118 Bubbles

It seems like every child loves bubbles and Baby M is no exception. Today was overcast so, to brighten a dreary day, I blew bubbles while she danced around trying to pop them.

 I've decided to celebrate this Mother's Day month by including photos of me with the kids doing the things we do; celebrating and documenting my role, our relationship, and our activities. Self-portraits are not necessarily easy so let's all keep our fingers crossed that I make it to Mother's Day with this intention.

117 Glasses

For years I've been wearing contact. I have glasses to wear at night or when I travel, but few people ever see them. Well, this week everyone got to see me in my glasses. I had my annual eye exam a few weeks ago and my eye doctor decided to give me a new lens prescription. To save money, I bought a groupon. Well, the groupon company didn't quite expect the high level of demand and my lenses went on back order. "Okay," I thought, "I can wait a few weeks." Then I lost my right contact. I don't know how or when, but one morning I woke up and it wasn't in the case. Ugh! I ordered another pair of lenses from an online source (still cheaper than my eye doctor) and am waiting patiently. My new lenses are expected tomorrow. At the time I lost my lens, I really didn't think I could last wearing my glasses. I did end up buying a little clip-on, sunglasses thing that goes on my glasses to cut the glare when I'm outside. Living without sunglasses was the worst. All in all, I'm making it work, but I will definitely appreciate my contacts when they arrive!

116 Beach Morning

This morning, while the older girls had a music lesson, I took Baby M to North Beach to play on the swings and slide. I just needed a little beach time and the morning was so perfect. We played a little by the water's edge and, with sandy feet, we discovered the shower. Baby M really enjoyed rinsing her feet. I think that was the highlight of the morning.

115 Swinging All By Herself

Baby M is still working on potty training. She has made it 2 to 3 hours without an accident and we consider that progress. Baby M is working on sleeping in her own big girl bed all by herself. Most nights she makes it until dawn before crawling into bed with us and we consider that progress. Baby M has mastered swinging on the swing all by herself. She can pump her legs until she is high in the sky and we consider that success! Some things are easier to master than others.

114 A little of this and a little of that

Today's photos are random. I took Baby M with me to pick up Miss K's carpool. We played at the park while we waited for the big girls to get out of school.

Baby M and her unique fashion sense.

I just love the lines in this photo: vertical and horizontal. Baby M's arm echos the arch in the bridge.

Then at sunset Hubby and I were enjoying the first signs of spring in the beautiful golden light.

New tomatoes...yum.

And, my personal favorite, the happy little daisy reaching up to the sun. Definitely an expression of hope, joy and all things simply beautiful.

113 Storm Watch

Today, we were on storm watch. All day the weather man kept promising rain. We got a heavy mist until after sundown. What was nice was the warm weather. Hubby and I commented that it felt a little like Hawaii...a little. Maybe we're just missing Hawaii :o).

A couple of weeks ago our neighbor gave us these birds with spinning wings. Right after we got them, we had this crazy wind storm and those poor little birds nearly spun their wings right off. We watched them today for signs of the storm. Not much action just yet.

112 ipod generation

I love this photo because it's definitely a comment on technology in our modern life. Here is Baby M playing around with my iPod nano (which in iPod terms is sadly outdated) with an old-fashioned pen and paper on the desk. She's learning how to write her name and, I guess for now, she will need to know how to do that, but do you think in the not too distant future children will be learning how to type their name before they learn to write it? Lately, we've seen parents set up iPads on the dinner table at restaurants to keep young children busy while the adults enjoyed a dinner out. No more crayons and paper placemat to keep kids entertained. We don't own an iPad (gasp!) and, if we did, I wonder if I would use it that way. When minivans and SUVs started coming equipped with DVD players, I wondered what part of childhood children might be missing by not just looking out the window. Then I gave in and we bought a portable DVD player and tried it on a long trip, thinking maybe we would have some peace and quiet for a change. It didn't work for us. My kids got car sick and chose to listen to music and look out the window instead. We ended up entertaining them with travel bingo games. I'm no saint when it comes to technology in my kids' lives. They probably watch too much TV, but when they are in the car or a restaurant, I'm an old-fashioned (the kids might say "mean") kind of mom; only passing scenery and crayons and paper for my kids...at least for now :o).

111 A Good Laugh

Our Disneyland adventure left us all exhausted. Little D had swollen and painful knees from too much walking. She's has some dancing-related knee pain and the non-stop weekend just irritated them. Miss K awoke with a full-blown cold. So, needless to say, I kept them both home to heal and rest. Around 1:30 in the afternoon, we were all sitting around the table and Miss K got a serious case of the giggles. Actually, it was less giggle and more full-blown, tears-in-the-eyes laughing. We all joined in because it was so contagious. I don't even really know what we were laughing at but it sure felt good.

110 California Adventure

I have to admit visiting two theme parks in two days is not a task for the weak. My feet hurt and I was beyond tired, but the kids were ready to go. After breakfast and quickly packing our stuff, we hobbled back to the parks to visit California Adventure. We started the day by dividing and conquering. Hubby and Uncle E took the older girls to Tower of Terror and Baby M and I watched the Mickey Mouse Club House Show. We hit full speed after that and everyone got to ride their favorites at least once and sometimes twice. Baby M and I rode the undersea-inspired carousel three times while we waited for everyone else to ride Screaming. Our favorite new ride was The Little Mermaid. Because she was tired, Baby M was more clingy and less willing to let me take photos. Here are the highlights.

Baby M actually stood up to dance for part of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show.

Step-daughter and her family.

Riding a kiddy ride in Bug's Life

I took this while we were in line for Little Mermaid. The girls love the big roller coaster.



Just before we left the park I snapped this to remember Tower of Terror.

We always let the kids pick one item to buy before we leave Disneyland. This year they all bought clothes. Miss K and Little D bought t-shirts and Baby M picked out a princess nightgown. When we got home she put on her new nightgown and danced around the house saying over and over..."Thank you Mommy! Thank you Daddy! I love my new princess nightgown!" I was too done to take a photo but I have a sense it will be in many future blog posts.

109 Disneyland Adventure

Even though we live close to Disneyland, we typically only make the journey and the effort to go once a year. Sometimes, the kids get invited to go with friends, which I consider a bonus opportunity. This year we planned our trip to coincide with a visit from my step daughter, her boyfriend and our grandson. It had been nearly two years since we last saw them and we were excited to get to know our almost-two-year-old grandson. It feels really crazy to even write grandson, since I really don't consider myself "a grandmother" and he's only a year younger than Baby M.

We started our day checking into a hotel for one night. Our plan was to "do" Disneyland until we dropped on the first day, spend the night close to the park and then head over to California Adventure on the second day. And...that's just what we did! The first day we got in most of our favorite rides and a couple of new ones. The newly renovated Star Tours, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Small World, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Autotopia, and the Pooh Bear ride were the highlights. We met up with my stepdaughter and her family for dinner then returned to the park to watch the fireworks. In past years, we watched the Firework Spectacular from a distant location, but this year we were right on Main Street and I must admit it was "Spectacular."

This brief encounter with Peter Pan (pictured with Miss K) when we first entered the park set Baby M off. After simply passing him in the stroller she hid under her stroller cover and refused to ride any rides for over an hour.

Baby M came out from under the stroller to ride the Pooh Bear ride but refused to see Pooh Bear himself. We settled for a photo with a honey pot.

For two weeks leading up to our trip to Disneyland, Baby M talked all about being brave enough to go on Dumbo. When we actually reached the ride (soon after seeing Peter Pan) she refused! After the Pooh Bear ride warm up she was feeling brave again. Here we are in line.

Baby M victorious after her maiden Dumbo ride!

Waiting for the next ride!

Uncle E came with us on our Disneyland Adventure. Here we are waiting for the big kids and Hubby to get off Splash Mountain.

We met up with my step-daughter and her family for dinner. Here Baby M is conversing with her nephew.

Being the charmer that he is, Grandson was too cute for the mariachi lady to simply ignore.

Awestruck by fireworks

Baby M's silhouette (on the left) as she watches the fireworks from a perch on Hubby's shoulders.

After the fireworks, we hobbled back to the hotel room. The big girls were in one room with Uncle E as chaperon and Hubby, Baby M and I had another room. Baby M discovered she could call the girls on the hotel phone. Here she is at 11 p.m. making a call. It's so funny to see a phone with a cord.

108 It's not easy being small

Swinging is easy compared to the effort it takes to get on the swing.

Wooohooo....we are at the swings! 

Maybe I'll just try getting up this way...

ummm...let me re-think this...

Maybe if I just turn around...uugghh...nope.

There has GOT to be an easier way...

Let's try this way again...

Success!!! Wooohooo!

107 Free

We have had amazing weather the last couple of days. The beach calls to me! I took the girls down to the swings before dinner tonight. The city recently had a bulldozer come and push the sand up from the water line leaving giant sand piles. Little D saw the sand cliff as a jumping off point!

106 Easter isn't quite over

Yes, the Easter holiday has passed, but our enthusiasm for the egg hunt is stronger than ever.

105 I just need a few moments alone...

Of course I didn't take any photos during my brief 2-day illness last week, so to post the story I took some self photos yesterday. Well, I didn't really like the focus so I decided to retake the photos today. I declared..."I just need a few moments by myself to take these photos." But, since I can't do anything without several...um...helpers, my self-photo shoot got hijacked.

First, Baby M wanted to be in the photos too...

Then, she wanted to do it "All. By. Her. Self."

Next, she wanted to play on the bed...

Eventually, Little D came in...

And...finally...I gave up. Photo shoot over. The original photo will stay on that post and this little photo shoot on the bed is a new post and a true demonstration of motherhood. I'm sure you can only imagine how many "helpers" come to the bathroom with me.

104 Sisters

There is an 8 year age gap between Little D and Baby M. Eight years is a lot and makes for an interesting relationship. Little D is part "second mommy," part playmate and part tormentor. Because of their sweet relationship, Baby M has these funny expression that are so evident of her big sister's influence...the eye rolling, hand on hip and the "No Mom!" said with attitude. When Baby M dishes Little D's attitude right back at her I tell her, "She gets that from YOU!"

Little D was telling Baby M to play dead so she could take a photo!