Milestones

Last night, after I tucked Little Guy in bed, I heard some rumbling around in his room. I went in and all the lights were on. He'd taken off his pj's and fully dressed himself, underwear, shirt, pants zipped, the whole enchilada.

I admonished him for getting out of bed, but I had to smile at the same time. My Little Guy had just completely dressed himself for the first time. It hit me, at some point, I won't have to pull his pants up. One day, he'll even be able to wipe himself. As I pulled on his pj's again, and tucked him back in, again, I let myself imagine all of the extra things I might be able to do with the time I'll gain. I might blow dry my hair, or put mascara on both eyes, or even eat breakfast sitting down.

Wow.

Of course this morning, it was back to the old routine. But still.

A year

This week marks a full year since I sold my store and hopped a plane to Phoenix the very next day. It is the longest I have gone without working in twenty years. Not that being at home full time with an almost two year old while juggling the after school needs of a seven year old isn't work. But you know what I mean.

We decided when we moved here that I would take some time off until Little Guy starts pre-K. Back in Georgia we had a steady supply of very reliable and relatively inexpensive childcare. I had an amazing woman who came 20 hours a week to give me time to work in the store and squeeze in a few errands. We also had tons of friends and family near by to rely on for pickups from school, drops offs at dance lessons, and the occasional night out. I popped in on Saturdays, worked on displays on Sundays, and caught up on paperwork at night. It was a juggling act, one often resulting in a poorly launched ball or two flying up to whack me in the face, but we made it work. When we got here, putting down new roots in a desert with two young children mixed into the planting, it seemed to make sense to just take some time to get everyone settled before figuring out what my next career move should be.

A year has passed. A year! I can tell how dramatically our lives have changed as I get us all ready to fly back to Georgia to visit our family. First off, I am organized, actually a little ahead of the game, and I won't be up until midnight the night before folding undies and finishing the laundry. I won't be scrambling to cut payroll checks early or pre-pay vendors. I won't be checking the store schedule to make sure everyone has a break. I won't be printing up lists of orders that might arrive in my absence. I already have snacks packed for the flight and enough diapers stashed in my carry on. I had time in the days leading up to this trip to swim with the kids and give the dog a bath. We even made it to the library to pick up books for our summer reading list. I will probably leave my house clean enough that I will want to come back to it. And I have actually been mostly pleasant to my family while packing a suitcase. Unchartered territory, I tell you.

So I don't have a job, but what I do have is time. Time with my kids, time to make our lives come together with a little less chaos, and, occasionally, even time for myself. And I have to admit, time is nice. Really, when I look at the big picture, I think I might actually be starting to like this whole stay at home mom thing.

But that's just between us. Don't tell anyone I said so.

That snot funny

Little Guy recently learned how to blow his nose. Since he has a cold, oh, every other day, I was pretty excited about this particular milestone. I hold the tissue up and say blow, and he does it. Sometimes he even holds the tissue himself. I thought back about how long it took Girlie to figure this out and thought it was nice that he picked this one up a little earlier.

Until he learned that it was so much more fun to just blow the snot out without a tissue in sight.

So now I chase him around the house, with the tissue in my hand, while he squeals in delight and blows snot everywhere.

Snot funny. Really.

A new stage

Girlie performed in her first grade school play last week. She belted out the songs with gusto, and didn't miss a line on her poem, all with a huge smile on her face. This, from my gal, who has always held back a little and never been the one to take center stage.

I watched her from the audience and was completely blown away by her presence.

Not in any my kid is gonna be a star kind of way, but more in the wow my daughter is an amazing person kind of thing. She was gorgeously unselfconscious and for just a moment I was a stage mother wanting to soak in all of that energy for myself.

Lucky number seven

Happy 7th birthday baby!

You were my first. You changed me irrevocably. You shaped and molded me into a real person, softening the edges and stretching and pulling until I finally became me. Though I am usually not a risk taker, this time I went all in and ran the table! Jackpot.

Today, you are my lucky number seven.

Love, Momma

Why I heart Trader Joe's

I love Trader Joe's.

First, for the the yummy prepackaged dinners and the delicious demonstration food that you actually want to make yourself. Second, because of the the smallish but perfect size and the little kid carts that make Girlie positively giddy when we have to shop. Third, fourth, and fifth would the the great prices on wine.

But now I love Trader Joe's even more. Today, I wanted to marry Trader Joe's, and pop out little organic chicken nugget babies. And this is why...



This afternoon, I got a call from Trader Joe himself, stating that Girlie had WON A COLORING CONTEST, and could we please come pick up our gift bag? Okay, so it is only a grocery store coloring contest, but you should have seen the look on my gals face when she found out that she was the winner! We zoomed off to pick it up and she practically skipped out of the store with a bag full of grocery goodies. Her art will be displayed near the exit and she could hardly contain herself as we called both of her Aunts to tell them the exciting news. And I felt pretty over the moon too. You see, on Friday, I raced down to the store to turn in her entry before the deadline. I didn't drop it off because I needed groceries. In fact I didn't even buy anything that time (I know, a miracle in impulse control). I dropped it off because I promised her I would, and because sometimes I am a good Mom after all.

Yes, I love Trader Joe's. And for the record, Girlie most hearts the gummy kid vitamins they included in our "prize."

Milestones

Girlie lost her first tooth today. It was a tough road for her. Both of her big teeth grew in before the little ones fell out, so she has had the discomfort of an extra set of bottom front teeth for a few weeks. I made a dentist appointment to have them pulled, but miraculously, one popped out on its own before we had to go in. We were all so excited.

She snuggled into my lap as we marveled over how quickly it had gone from barely wiggling to its new resting spot in the tooth fairy box. As we discussed what the tooth fairy might bring, I rested my chin on the top of her head, inhaling that sweet but sweaty kid smell. I wanted to freeze her at that moment in time, one tiny tooth gone. She is really growing up so fast. As she gets older, my little girl will have so many "firsts" to experience, some she might not be so willing to share with me.

I'm not ready.