Last of the Summer Photos...

It was 65 degrees outside today. Yeah, it's August. I guess summer is over. Here are a few last summer pictures.

Mayberry

I have ex-city slicker friends that tease that their new suburban hamlet is a lot like Mayberry. We tend to tease the same thing about our particular hamlet. But all kidding aside - that's exactly what we were looking for when we decided to ditch big city.

The other day I saw a billboard for a new suburban subdivision that touts "Small town living at it's best" (or something along those lines) and it made me realize what a trendy little family we are. Apparently we're not the only ones searching for that Mayberry experience.

I really like the idea that Maggie will go to kindergarten and first grade with every single five year old in the community. And I love that while we were taking an evening walk around the neighborhood today, a police officer waved at us with a smile on her face. WAVED at us... SMILING! (meanwhile my first instinct is still to assume that I must be doing something worthy of jail time - what is wrong with me?)

Sticking with our new country-fied lifestyle, Jason and I decided to take Maggie to an apple orchard today. The particular orchard we chose happen to be closed on Sundays - and our back-up family farm destination wasn't so hot - but we finally made our way to a pick-your-own raspberries farm. And as Maggie ran down the aisles of raspberries, and insisted on holding the basket - and subsequently insisted on helping pick up all the raspberries that tumbled out of the basket - I thought to myself... this is soooo right for us. It is so right that we're spending an afternoon picking raspberries, and that we don't have to drive two hours to do it.

All that time in the city, and I guess I'm just a country girl at heart. Yee haw, ya'll!

Why Do Parents Torture Their Children?

The woman that lives across the street is a flute teacher. On weeknights and weekends she gives private lessons to the local teens and pre-teens. We often get a glimpse of very well rounded young ladies in headbands tromping out of the house to mom's minivan waiting in the driveway. And due to the unseasonably cool weather we also get to listen to flute music drifting out our neighbors open windows - sometimes beautiful, sometimes... err, not so much.

The other day I was cleaning up in the living room and could hear some particularly pathetic flutist attempt god only knows what song, stopping every couple of notes to regroup and try again, limping through the lesson. Ugh. This girl really should take up drums or something because the flute is not her friend.

Finally, the next student arrives signaling the end of nails on a chalkboard, and because I am a nosy neighbor I watch out the window to check out the poor girl who had just spent the last half hour unknowingly turning my fellow neighbors deaf. And out comes a skinny, 13-year-old, BOY... in a button down shirt... with his dad... who was yelling at him for not practicing. Well, not really yelling - you know when you're really ticked off but you're in a public place so you kind of whisper and yell at the same time? That's what the dad was doing. And that poor boy looked so helpless carrying his dainty little flute case and trying to hide in the backseat of the car.

Now before you get on my case about "boys can play flute too" let me just say that I am all for musical equality and if a boy WANTS to play the flute then by all means he should play the flute. However, in this case, that poor boy clearly did NOT want to play the flute. And I'm sorry, but if a boy doesn't want to play the flute then why would his DAD of all people insist on it? What is playing the flute going to do for your boy long term dad? Get him beat up by a football player? Get him a one way ticket to dorkland? Trust me, as a high school flutist myself, it takes a great deal of trickery to convince your peers that just because you're in the band does not make you a nerd - what are your chances if you're a boy with a flute? Nada. Why torture this kid? Get him some drum sticks and be done with it. Drummers are hot.

Fairly sure we'll be going to the fair next year...

99% sure we'll be doing this again. Maggie had so much fun at the Iowa State Fair, and what a nice tradition to start for her. Lemme tell you all about it...

These are all the animals Maggie got to "pet" while at the fair...

1. Cow
2. Horse
3. Goat
4. Baby Goat
5. Greyhound
6. Camel

And after the petting she was bathed in hand sanitizer. I have to hand it to the fair people actually, they had sanitizer stations all over the place.

These are all the delicious (fried) fair foods Maggie got to eat at the fair...

1. Fried mac 'n cheese nuggets
2. Corn dog
3. Tenderloin sandwich
4. Funnel Cake
5. French fries
6. Fried rice
7. Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream!

And here's a list of the top five parts of the fair for Maggie/Mommy...

1. Maggie got a plastic cow. It cost a dollar fifty. Maggie also got a big stuffed tiger that Daddy won playing midway games (which cost about $20). Can you guess which toy Maggie is still playing with? Oh, and you might think that cows go Moo, but you would be wrong. Cows go "RAWRRR!" (if you're Maggie).

2. Maggie is a trill seeker. The carousel wasn't much fun, but the airplane ride was freakin awesome (if you're Maggie). She was squealing and smiling, and Mommy was sitting next to her fighting back tears. Sometimes it's just so gratifying to see your kid having a good time - good, pointless, happy fun - it makes you so warm and fuzzy. So Mommy was a big loser on the kids ride and Maggie was super brave and having a great time.

3. Maggie got to show off her dance moves....again. Every time we passed an area playing music Maggie had to get down and bust a move. This is cute, mostly. Except when you're trying to get back to your hotel for nap time and every 20 feet a new tune disrupts your journey. Break it down kid, now let's get going!

4. Maggie is not a fraidy-cat. Do you remember going to Disney or Six Flags or somewhere similar and there is always that overly friendly giant dog or mouse (guy in a dog suit, girl in a mouse suit) and there is always some kid crying, and some parent trying to drag that kid to shake hands with (or horror - hug!) the giant terrifying mouse? Yeah, that kid is not my kid. My kid is the one standing next to that kid waiting to give the mouse a high-five.

5. Maggie has an awesome family. She may not remember this as part of her favorites (hell, she probably won't remember any of this) but Mama will. Aunties, uncles, cousins, grandmas, grandpas, great-grandmas, sooo many wonderful people in Maggie's life! I'm so glad she's relatively easy-going, it didn't take very long to warm up to everyone. Thank you everyone for helping us show Maggie the fair! She's a lucky girl.

Meet Me at the Fair

We just got home from the Iowa State Fair, Maggie (and my) first visit. I'm sure I have a story or two back there in my brain somewhere, but I'm way too tired tonight. So for now I'll just share a few pictures and promise a story for another day. Good night y'all!

The Good Husband

I was just thinking today, I have a good husband.

DON'T LET IT GO TO YOUR HEAD!

Seriously though, it's time I gave him some public props I think. I mean, I tell funny little stories about him all the time on this blog, but never really take the time to talk about what a genuinely nice guy he is... or what a great daddy he is.

Wow - now that I'm on this topic I just remembered that his birthday is like, next week! Holy crap!

Anyway...My husband Jason changes diapers all the time and never complains. I don't even have to to ask, he just does it. What a good daddy. And my husband Jason always asks me how our day was - and never complains when our day included spending money. And my husband Jason sings songs to our daughter and imitates her talking Elmo, just to make her (and me) laugh. Seriously, right now as I type this he is sitting behind me using Maggie's two "lovey" dolls as puppets acting out a "Lovey Battle Royale"... wait a minute, now the lovies are making out, seems the battle has turned into an orgy of sorts.

Nevermind - I take it all back. My husband is maybe not so great sometimes.

(just kidding, he's awesome)

Poop... and one potty story.

I'm giving you fair warning - this post revolves entirely around my daughter's bowels. Parental discretion is advised.

We seem to be learning this potty training thing a little backwards... literally. Jason and I have been taking a very casual approach so far, she is awfully young still after all. We simply ask periodically if she'd like to sit on the potty, or take her to the bathroom with us when we need to use it. We have yet to break down her "schedule" or put her in underpants or anything like that. But even with this lackadaisical effort she has shown some good progress... just not exactly the progress we expected.

We have skipped the whole "pee pee in the potty" thing and moved right on to poop - and by "we" I mean Maggie, because I sure as shit (pun intended) didn't want to deal with poop this early in the game. For the past few days Maggie has been telling us when she needs to poop by pointing to her nether regions and saying "Pee Pee". Sometimes she'll go stand by the bathroom door as well. Awesome! But she doesn't need to pee pee, she needs to poop. Gross! I don't know why this seems so backwards to me - I just assumed that babies learn to pee in the potty before they learn to poop in the potty. I would think that would be a more difficult lesson to learn. So, since we've skipped ahead in the lesson plan I've been trying to remix the song "Shoop" by Salt 'n Pepa into the obvious "Poop" as an aid to express my pride and glee to Maggie for a job well done. Poop poop-a-doop, poop-a-doop-a-poop-a-doop...

AND... while we're on this topic.... I had to tell Daddy that he MUST close the door when he pees so that Maggie can't see. We mistakenly thought any chance to see pee pee in action was a worthy field trip for the bean, but today I caught her standing in front of the toilet, seat up. She stood there for a moment then looked at me all satisfied and went to wash her hands. Yup, although fully clothed in a diaper and shorts, she peed like a boy. Some things you just don't want to see your kid mimic.

Done with Summer

The end of this week is supposed to be the hottest temps in over a month, but the past few days have me in an Autumn state of mind. Not only has it been wonderfully cool and clear, but the leaves are already beginning to change and all of Maggie's "summer" classes are coming to an end.

Yesterday I was sitting on the back deck with Maggie while she played in her swimming pool. I could faintly hear the high school band practicing in the football fields about a mile from our house, every so often interrupted by the band teacher shouting instructions through a megaphone. I just had to breath in deep and appreciate the moment. Finally feeling safe in our new home, finally doing the job I've been wanting to do for the past 17 months, it's a warm summer day and I'm recalling my own high school experience and thinking about what it will be like for Maggie in high school. Will she be a band geek like her mom? Or a jock like her dad? Will she build floats for the homecoming parade? Will she be homecoming queen?

And as I sit and listen to the familiar arrangements of every high school marching band, I can't help but think, "What did I ever do to deserve this?" And I mean that in the best possible way. What did I ever do that was so great, to deserve this perfect moment, with my perfect daughter? Can you clue me in?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

I love Autumn by the way - my FAVORITE season of them all :)