A Routine, a Cat and Some Lettuce

A Routine

I have been thoroughly enjoying this week–the week after vacation and before McBaby–it has been heavenly all the way around. Most of my joy come directly from having a spectacular time with MAM, all day, every day. We’re building a routine now that we’re home for the summer, and it’s going well. How well? Well enough that nap has been achieved every day since Tuesday and TV time has been limited to 2- 30minutes slots. As added bonuses:

MAM has been a winner on the potty–and staying dry through nap time.

She’s been responding to the phrase, “the rule is….”, because obviously, if I’ve consulted “the rules” it mus be true!

We’ve been to the library, the park and the pool with great success. I’m glad we are having a really good week, so that when things go a little crazy in the coming weeks, I can look back on this one and smile.

A Cat
She’s befriended a stray cat. Befriended to the point that a)she thinks it’s our cat, b) she apologizes to the cat that it can’t come inside and c), I googled and came up with this page.

Which is nuts. Because a)I’m allergic to cats b)she’s allergic to cats and c)she’ll be getting a new, similiar sized playmate next week. But man, are they cute together. It’s got a collar but no tag, no front claws and is incredibly social. The neighbor down the street is putting out food. Today at noontime I put out a dish of water.

What I should do is place a “found ad” in the paper. I know if we make room for it in our garage, MAM will tire of it quickly. Then I’ll be left with a cat that no one wants or should really even be touching (save BgK, who grew up as “an animal person”,if you know what I mean). And if I let a small animal into our garage, it’s only a matter of time before a small animal starts living inside our home. And that can’t happen. Any ideas???
**Updated to add: a neighbor did place a “found” ad in the local paper. Hopefully someone will come get their sweet kitty!**

Some Lettuce
In other, totally unrelated to our feline dilemma, MAM ate some lettuce today. Which probably isn’t a big deal if you’re a “vegetable person”. But since I’m not, this tickled me to no end at lunch time today. I was eating my field greens, and at some point, she started feeding me. Then she took a bite for herself. And I will tell you, that in 5 minutes she consumed more lettuce than I did in the whole of my childhood. My parents still have the letter I sent home from camp when I was working as a counselor one summer (when I was seventeen) announcing that I had finally eaten a salad and survived (the food was particularly bad that week-it was really a matter of survival). Anyway, the girl eats lettuce. I’m thrilled.

Fun in the Sun

I’m feeling some jet lag/hangover sort of feelings, despite traveling within just one time zone and not really drinking. Maybe it’s just post-vacation let down.

Where do I even begin?

Our trip was incredible and fun and went off without a hitch. We had a great time in Orlando, swimming and hanging out at the resort. MAM knows no fear in the water, as long as she’s armed with water wings. We found a pool with a gentle slide–she was thrilled to be able to do it “all by myself! I can do anything!” And yes, that is me, on the internet, in a swim suit. Just in case you were wondering.

Tuesday we headed out to Universal’s Islands of Adventure. The picture to the left is MAM and daddy on the train in Suess Landing.We spent a good portion of our time in Suess Landing, and my favorite part was the Cat in the Hat ride. I’d show you pictures, but big brother was watching, and announced over the speaker to BgK to put away his camera!

Conveniently, the Cat in the Hat ride exits straight into the Cat in the Hat gift shop. High on the spinning and the fun, we bought t-shirts for me, BgK, my dad, and MAM….and a bib for McBaby. My shirt actually says Thing 1 on the front, and Thing 2 on the back.

Next up: our crazy whirlwind weekend in NYC!

Two more cents about DST

So here we are two weeks away from the Summer Solstice, which means that it’s sort of like living in Alaska, land of the rising sun. It isn’t dark here this week until close to 10pm. Like I’ve said before, that rocks when you’re on vacation. It sucks when you have to keep some sort of schedule.
(I’m not keeping much of a schedule, but I am wrapping up at school this week and doing another zillion things)

MAM has started doing the crazy supreme-fit throwing thing she did last summer as bedtime approaches. In hindsight, I chalked up last summer’s sleep issues to the fact that she felt like crap due to her food allergies. This summer, we have no such excuse. So maybe it has more to do with the fact that she needs it to be dusk to unwind a little, and that it’s hard to sleep in a room that faces west as the sun is going down. Do they make Sleepy Time tea for toddlers???