Gee, thanks

Last night Addie poked my stomach and said, "pillow."

saturday morning

Such a precious little girl is my Addie-cake.

Let the Wild Rumpus Start!

Two wild blonde monkeys, after a long day of play, shared a tub of warm water, 3 ducks and some spray

"No Monkey Go Nigh Nigh," Miss Addie would say when we left Bubble Cat and Pink Bear at home far away.

After a good night's sleep, there is no need to get dressed. We can play in a wood house and wash up for our guests.

2 baby snow monkeys and 2 mamas too, splash in the tub and make a snow monkey stew

The very next day, where did we go? But to visit Mickey himself, wouldn't you know.

"No Mickey! Bye Bye Mickey!", Addie demanded. But we stayed for a photo, at least for a candid.

Happy Valentine's Day

Addie's Valentine to us, created at daycare.

I love getting artwork sent home in her diaper bag. Earlier in the week, Addie and I cut out hearts from construction paper (well, I did the cutting) and then Addie decorated them with purple crayons. We taped them to our front window for all the world to enjoy. I heart craft projects. Next year we'll bust out the glitter.

Pucker

Lemons and ice are our handy trick to keep Addie occupied at a restaurant long after she’s finished eating and we’re still downing Dos Equis. How she can handle sucking on freezing water and sour lemons I don't know.

My Bestest Didi

On Monday night my beloved, fluffy, sweet Didi cat passed away. Over the past several days, I have never been so sad or so scared. I am lucky to have been on the receiving end of such unconditional love for the past 13 years, and am glad that both Cap and I were able to be with her during her final moments, holding her, petting her and telling her how much we love her. I am also thankful that Addie got to know Didi. Just tonight Addie took down a photo magnet of Didi that we have on the fridge and fed her a potato chip.

I am amazed by how much of my heart was filled with loving Didi. If you have a pet, I know you can understand what a special and essential place they have in our hearts and our lives.

To Didi, my Super Deeds. I love you and miss you.

Unclear on the Concept

Addie, the fish go in the potty AFTER you eat them.

We haven't officially started potty training, but thought it was time to at least have the chamber pot around so Addie can get cozy with it at her leisure. Over Christmas she started announcing she need her diaper changed. She'd bring you a clean diaper and the wipes and say, "poo poo."

The other night while I was doing dishes (a rare occurance I assure you), I almost stepped on Miss A who was lying on her back, legs in the air, holding 2 clean diapers. Oh, I see you're ready for a diaper change. I can take a hint. Sometimes.

Save Yourself

Today I turn 29+5 and this is the best gift I could have given myself. Ladies - do yourself a favor and get the book (or the audio CD from the library like I did). There is nothing better I could do for myself, my daughter and my family than plan for my own retirement and put myself on the road to financial freedom. Treat yourself. Drink the koolaid.

Also, Didi is in surgery today for a subtotal colectomy. She's my bestest Deeds friend in the world so send her good thoughts.

Deeds Update: 3:06 PM. Didi's surgeon called before her surgery letting us know that her kidney levels were not improving and could pose a problem post-surgery. After a few calls and lots of tears on my part, everyone including our surgeon thought we should go ahead. Several hours later, the surgeon called again to say that Didi was waking up from the anesthesia but they had to abort the surgery because of sudden and very rapid heart rate that they could not control. So, she's resting now and we may get to take her home tonight. Tomorrow she's going in for a consult with a cardiologist and depending on the results, we might try the surgery again next Friday. Poor Deeds!

all quiet on the western front

The Pity Party is Over. The weekend has come (thank goodness!) and gone. Addie is sleeping in her bed, I've just finished doing some work, the laundry is done, the dishes are not (can't be too perfect here), crayons are in their tin. Addie and I have been entertained by friends and family for the last two days all of whom have taken good care of both of us.

Addie and I also have a new routine. We curl up on the coach together and share a bowl of cereal while watching TV. Sometimes it's her choice - Sesame Street, or mine - Pushing Daisies. She goes into the pantry, brings out the box announcing "cereal, cereal." Then she trots over to the sofa and waits patiently for me to prepare a bowl. Even Didi participates. She too climbs up on the couch and waits to lap up the milk. "Didi's milk, "Addie confirms.

I continue to be completely scatterbrained forgetting my cell phone almost ever time I leave the house, losing my wallet only to find it tucked away in the stroller, diligently refilling Addie's water bottle only to leave it on the counter as we head out the door. I even double paid my therapist. I have a feeling I do these things all the time, but I usually have a Po to remind me. I'm feeling very Blonde but am seriously considering going red. Perhaps it will make me smarter.

It's time to curl up in bed with Didi and my Dorothy Sayers mystery. "Mama's Book" as Addie would say.

Thanks everyone!

i stink at being a (temporary) single mom

How do single moms to it? Cap left for a work trip to NY and Sundance and order left with him.

I get home from work with Addie, change out of my work pants, hang up several other pairs that I find on the chair and then 15 minutes later, as I'm in the kitchen feeding that cat, I notice that I forgot to put on pants. I suppose Addie and the cat don't care if I'm walking around in a button down shirt and my undies but it would explain why I'm cold. I also had to wash our bedding because Didi left us 2 more turds which means that I won't have time to put the sheets back on the bed before Addie's bedtime. 20 minutes after her regular bedtime, poor gal was sitting on my sheetless bed with her milk crying "Books Books" while I desperately soak up what seems like liters of cat urine that I discover on the floor of the laundry room. Poor Didi. Addie calls her "Sick Deet" and tries to feed her fruit leather.

This morning I had to skip the shower for myself and Addie because we were running late. No Elmo, no shower. I put on her shoes and socks in the car because she refused to let me do it in the house. The only way I could get her out at all, while carrying my purse (won't notice I forgot my laptop for another hour) and the diaper bag (thankfully packed with food and diapers), was to let her take my silver locket and a headless turtle. She's so cute about the locket. Cap gave it to me in the hospital when Addie was born and now she loves to say "Mama's locket" demanding that I open it so she can point out "Mama, Dada, Addie."

Lessons learned: Give Addie a bath the night before. Ditto for myself even if it means having wonky hair the next morning. Put a protective sheet on our bed before I leave for work. At a minimum clean up the crayons so she doesn't draw on her stomach (she did that 2 nights ago but both Cap and I were home). Maybe I'll do the dishes, or maybe we'll just eat off paper plates tomorrow. Addie, can you say "discombobulated?"

Monkey See

The zoo just gets more and more fun as Addie gets older. Right now she's all about the monkeys. This photo perfectly captures Addie's face while watching the gibbons hoot and holler. "Monkey! Monkey!", she shouts. Our last trip she burst into tears at their screaming when it reached an ear-piercing crescendo, and I admit that when we visited the zoo when I was pregnant, I once burst into tears at the exact same time. This was a dry-eyed visit, and if I do say so myself, I do a darn good gibbon call. An embarrassed Dad passing by us admitted he thought my imitation was the real deal; "Oh, that was just that lady."


The zoo's gorillas, at home in the newly renovated Gorilla Reserve, clapped along with their admirers and sunbathed on a grassy plain. A stampeding Big Daddy gorilla made me grab on to Cap's arm in complete fear when he rounded the corner. One of those beasts could rip me apart like a bag of doritos.

My favorite though is the fuzzy headed orangutan baby. Those eyes! That hair!

multi-tasking

Already Addie is mastering the skill of multi-tasking. I'm gonna watch closely. Maybe I can learn a few things.

This picture is from before Christmas. We haven't been to the park in weeks. Michigan was just too cold and wet for slides and swings and LA has been too rainy. I'm not complaining about the rain; we need it. But Addie could use some serious park time. Poor Didi turned Jungle Gym agrees. Weather is supposed to be dry and mild this weekend so perhaps we'll celebrate with a trip to the zoo to visit the newly completed Gorilla Reserve. I noticed as I sat down to write this, that I haven't taken a single photo this month. My January folder is empty and here it is the 12th!

First Date

PGK Addie* and PK Casey** finally got to meet after a year and a half of being blogosphere buddies. Baby Casey and his Mom came over to my Dad's house in Michigan for a New Year's Eve playdate. Addie even busted out her best sharing skills handing Casey so many toys that he kept having to put one down to manage his armload. Addie cried when he left and we waved at them from the window. Be careful of PKs, Addie; they are trouble. I should know.

* Preacher's Grandkid
** Preacher's kid

Happy New Year!

We're home! And no frost here - mid 70s.

We flew back from Michigan last night with a very sleepy girl in tow, arriving home too tired to wait up to ring in the new year. Didi was excited to see us and as a christmas present of her own, she left a nice turd under the tree for us. Not kidding either. There it was on the tree skirt waiting for Addie to discover this morning.

We had a wonderful and relaxing time with my dad and family. Addie and I both got chest colds so we mainly stayed inside where it was cozy. In spite of all the r&r, I did manage to get out of the house a few times - once to see Santa and drink peppermint schnapps hot cocoa and twice to see football (pro and college), before driving Up North to stay at a lovely house on a lake.

For the last 10 days while trying to fall asleep at night, I've been composing oh so witty tales of our trip in my head but now that I have a few moments while Addie naps, I can't seem to recall what I wanted to share. Perhaps I'll just rely on a few photos to do the talking for me.

Christmas Morning Clutter - a Q. Family Tradition.

Defeated by Santa's generosity

Snow-eating snow angel

Um. Is that not the spookiest Santa ever? You can whisper a name to one of the lovely ladies dressed in ye old turn of the century attire and Santa will boom from his balcony, "Why, I see that Addie is here tonight."

Addie takes her first carousel ride. I wasn't sure if she was enjoying herself but when the ride was over she cried that she wanted to stay on it.

Cap, Dad and Addie relaxing at the lake house which was generously loaned to us by the senior pastor at my Dad's church.

Frozen, snowy Platte lake

Check out the slideshow of our trip to Michigan here. We already miss Pop Pop, Nana, Uncle Drew, Uncle Brother and Auntie Snorg and want to thank all of them for showering Miss A with lots of love and attention.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from cooooold Detroit. Addie reminds us of that every time we go outside. "Cold" she simply states. So true, so true.  We're all cozy in the house now, stockings stuffed, apple pie baking in the oven, turkey brining in the fridge. Kiddos (that's us I like to think) in the basement playing Guitar Hero on wii while Addie colors with crayons on the pull-out sofa. We went to the children's service at church and then I'm going to the 11:00 candlelight service with Pop Pop and Nana.  I can't wait for Santa and Christmas tomorrow and hope I can remember to leave out some milk and cookies for Old Saint Nick (I'll be hungry after all that singing).

Ho ho ho!

Tis the Season

Can Christmas really be next week? Wasn't I just eating turkey sandwiches leftover from thanksgiving? I love Christmas and this year I feel like I've been so busy that I barely had time to stop and sniff the evergreen. Actually I did do that two weeks ago when I bought a wreath for our door. We have a 5 foot silver tinsel tree as a nod to old hollywood (and the size of our apartment) so I do like to get a real sniff-worthy wreath. At the christmas tree lot the sales dude caught me meandering amongst the trees, nose in the air taking deep breaths. Can I help you? Nope, just smelling. He said he'd leave me to it.

We're off to Detroit on the red-eye Friday night to spend Christmas with my Dad and family, back on New Year's Eve possibly with time to watch the ball drop (or just go to bed). I'm excited for Addie to see snow, and I know Santa is bringing her a pair of pink polka dot snow boots. Sure, I realize she'll only wear them for 10 days max but that can be a long time in the world of baby clothes.

Merry Christmas and may all your holidays be bright.

(Addie's intent expression is a result of her new love. Elmo. Why is Elmo like muppet crack?)

H.B.G.M.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Mit!



Thanks for being our Monday night babysitter

CHiPs

Ponch and Jon welcome their newest recruit.

I'm trying to think of an appropriate segue to slip in that I got to mingle with Johnny Depp, Sasha Baron Cohen (Borat) and Tim Burton. Addie. CHiPs. California. Hollywood. Actors. Johnny Depp. Me. Hey, that works! Cap and I got a babysitter and went to the premiere of Sweeney Todd at Paramount on Wednesday. Cap wasn't sure if he was going to be able to sit through 2 hours of singing, but we both rather enjoyed the gory musical.

If you're familiar with the musical (which I wasn't until my Mom filled me in prior), then you know that the Demon Barber (Johnny Depp) and his Lady Friend (the ever lovely Helena Bonham Carter) chop up unsuspecting clients coming in for a shave and bake them in pies. Delightful! Thankfully the reception didn't have any tasty tidbits that resembled pies although I did gobble down a few sugar-coated jelly donut holes which could have turned my stomach if i used my imagination, which I didn't. I use the term mingle rather loosely. We all were in fact sipping cocktails within feet of each other at one point (after seeking out this situation) but there was no hope of casually interrupting to ask them if they liked my new red corduroy jacket or to show them a headshot of Addie and see if she can be in their next production. TSA should hire publicists for security.

Kelp to Toe

As expected I took a zillion photos and about half a zillion are of Addie looking down. She is a very intent and serious beach-goer focusing on the job at hand whether it's transfering sand from one bucket to the next or introducing her toes to a nice slimy kelp bulb.

I'm going through family withdrawal and so is Miss A. I must say I rather enjoyed a 5:1 Adult to Addie ratio over thanksgiving weekend. My mom, brother and sister were so wonderful with Addie and she adored them - after she got reacquainted with a little help from a stuffed walrus and chex mix bribery. We wish we had brought crayons with us because Gran taught her a new trick. Addie now insists that we draw her pictures that she can color in. All of us took turns drawing fish, bees, and owls so she could scribble on their eyes. This came in very handy at the fancy bistro we went to for my Mom's 60th birthday. Addie miraculously sat through 3 courses happily chomping on ice and coloring in my two dimensional fish and bubbles drawn on the paper tablecloth. Turns out she loves port-cured grapes and pumpkin cheesecake, and could take or leave pannecotta with an apricot puree. I've been practicing my drawings since we've been home adding an octopus, a duck and a Christmas tree with presents to my repertoire.

I've added the final shots from our trip to the slideshow or just head to our flickr account and peruse on your own. I'm game to renting a house in Cambria anytime - anyone interested?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Addie and all of us wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving from Cambria!


Gran, Cap, Addie, Uncle Brother and Auntie "Snorg" Jennifer.


The best brined turkey, hot off the bird.

We drove 4 hours with a 21.5 lb brined turkey in the trunk, cooked it for 6 hours and finally feasted a little later than expected after Miss A went to bed. We did sneak her a sliver before she turned in for the night and gave it the "All done." What a good vegetarian. The rest of us gobbled it up along with Cap's always yummy homemade apple pie.

Hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving. Here are a few more photos from our trip. I sure have lots to give thanks for!