growing too fast

Lila Addison, 

I cannot believe you are two today. As I stand over your crib, looking at this tall, constantly moving, head full of hair child, I can barely believe that you are mine. Two years seems like a grown up, and yet still my baby. One minute you are dancing around in circles to the Fresh Beats Band, holding hands with your daddy while you twirl, and the next minute you are snuggled up in my lap with your Grinch. You repeat every word we say now and will just make up your own words when you cannot find the right one, babbling to anyone who will listen to you. You are fiercely in love with your family, asking to call them the minute you wake up in the morning and running into their arms when you see them. You have such a sweet heart, wrapping your babies up in dish towel "blankets" and rocking them to sleep. 

Some times you just stop and stare straight into my eyes like you are trying to figure out how God knit us together that tightly. And those moments when you cry out in your sleep for your momma and daddy just melt our hearts, that even in your dreams you know we will come running to you. 

I can see how your child grows in a moment, a snap of your fingers...one day I was holding you in my arms, covered in goo, smushed nose and that little tiny cry of protest at the cold, bright world. And the next you are asking me for blueberries and following Zaxby the dog around to give her hugs. In an instant, two years has flashed by. No matter how fast you grow up little one, always know that you are never too big for my lap, never too independent for me to hold your hand and never too far away for me to come running. Happy birthday my first born, my littlest one, my love. 

pink is my favorite color

I will spare you photo documentation, but pink eye has infested the house. Lila has been cutting her two year old molars and had a runny nose earlier this week. Then on Tuesday, I of course had to drive down to Wilmington (about a two and a half hour drive) for a work meeting. I got a call from my mom half way through the day "not to scare me, but Lila has green gunk coming out of both of her eyes, a swollen face and a low grade fever." I tried very hard to stay at the speed limit on my drive back. 

Once we were loaded up with eye drops and oral antibiotics (for the double pink eye AND ear infection), we have hunkered down at home to wait out the sickness. I have washed every fabric surface in the house and wiped down everything else in Lysol. So far, Brian and I have been spared. 

Lila has been very snugly these last few days since she feels so lousy. Which is just fine with me since she is usually doing acrobatics out of my arms when I try to hug her. It has also given me plenty of time to laugh at her newest silly toddler sayings:

• When Zaxby the dog tries to steal her crackers out of her hand, she looks very seriously at her and says "No ma'am"
• Our favorite part of the ABC song, which is repeated over and over, is "M&M&M and P" 
• We spent 15 minutes yesterday changing Oo-Ee the Grinch's diaper and wiping his bottom with wipes since Oo-Ee had a poopy
• Lila likes to repeatedly stand and squat down in front of our fireplace glass, looking at her reflection and saying, "Oh hi Lila!" as if surprised that her best friend just showed up 

Hopefully we are on the mend today and will be cleared to go back to day care tomorrow. Since SOMEONE has her second birthday on Saturday! And clearly it is time to get back to our pigtail wearing, strawberry chomping self. 

get it my belly: pinterest edition

I have found Pinterest to be my favorite place in years for recipes. No other blog or cookbook (other than the Bible...our Father, who art in the crockpot, hallowed be thy Make It Fast, Cook It Slow cookbook) even comes close to giving me this much inspiration. No, this is not a sponsored post. I love finding fast recipes with only a handful of ingredients which are good for my family and make big portions. Here are my favorites I have found so far on Pinterest/my daily crack. 

Source: skinnytaste.com via Lindsay on Pinterest

Skinny Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken: I actually just tried this recipe for the first thing this week and it was fabulous! The green onion and cilantro was genius. We actually just scooped it up with tortilla chips instead of rice.

Source: cookiesandcups.com via Lindsay on Pinterest

Pumpkin Dump Cake: I am pretty sure I have posted this on the blog before. Eh, sue me. It is just that delicious. I love any dessert this easy. Especially if it has my favorite holiday themed orange vegetable in it.

Source: chichoskitchen.blogspot.com via Lindsay on Pinterest

Penne with Artichokes: Shut your mouth, this was the best recipe I have ever stolen off the internet. It was one of those, "Huh, that has all my favorite things in it...why didn't I think of it?" recipes. Make it tonight. Now.

Source: cookingwithmykid.com via Lindsay on Pinterest

Mediterranean Seven Layer Dip: I love Mexican 7 Layer Dip but I always feel like a poser when I bring it to potlucks. "I brought this great di...oh wait, you've had this before? Oh at every other potluck ever since Moses? Oh..." So this was a great way to sub the easy for a whole new taste. Delicious!

Source: alexandracooks.com via Lindsay on Pinterest

Zucchini Fritters: I am posting these on here as a challenge to myself to actually make them this weekend. I have been looking at this recipe longingly for months now but the idea of a fritter makes me feel all nervous and sweaty, like it sounds super complicated even though it only has like 7 ingredients. Well now I have posted it and have to actually try it. I will post a recap on Monday and let you know how it goes (accountability! haha, take that!)

nutso for potty time

Yes, I am certifiable. I decided to potty train a 23 month old while working full time, planning a massive 2 year birthday party, starting an IVF cycle (more on that later this week), juggling Brian's new job and being generally crazy busy. But hey, who doesn't like a challenge? 

And ya'll, Lila is working her little butt off (no pun intended) at this potty training business. Sister be all about the potty treats! Here are the details on the things that have and have not worked for us in potty training so far: 

• Spend all weekend in the house ala the Potty Training In 3 Days Method.
•  Keep Lila naked from the waist down. This allows her to feel when she is going pee, as opposed to diapers which make it harder to notice. She hates it running down her leg (duh, who wouldn't?)
• Let her roam about the house like she normally would, playing and moving around. We just laid towels all over the carpet in our living room so accidents were not a big deal.
• Have her sit on the potty as often as possible. We watched TV on the potty, read books on the potty, ate snacks on the potty, etc. The first couple of times she actually peed in the potty were purely coincidental since she happened to be sitting there. 
• Act like it is the biggest moment since your first Backstreet Boys concert when she finally goes. We screamed, we laughed, we pointed, we clapped. We told her how proud we were and immediately gave her a "Potty Treat". 
• We used M&M's as "Potty Treats." At first, every time she sat on the potty for a few minutes, we gave her one and clapped about sitting on the potty. Then we just gave her one when she went potty, whether or not it was in the actual potty. Then we only gave her one when she went in the right place. 
• Never make them feel bad for accidents. As soon as she started peeing while standing up, we would run with her to the potty (usually peeing while she ran) and sit down. Eventually she learned to stop if she started, run to the potty and finish there. This is happening less and less. 
• After she went in the potty, we ran to the toilet together, dumped it in the toilet, flushed it and waved bye-bye to the potty and danced around clapping. Yes, we looked crazy but she thought she had just won a Nobel Peace Price. 
• We stayed in the house for two solid days doing this and only put a diaper on for nap and bed. The third day was at daycare and we asked them to do the same. We have slowly been working in more time wearing panties so she gets used to having to give us enough notice to run to the bathroom and pull them down.

Have we put spots all over our carpet? Absolutely. Did she pee while sitting on our bed today? Unfortunately yes. But we are glad we started before she got too old and realized she had a choice in the whole matter. And we realize this age is not the right age for everyone. Lila was giving us lots of signs before we considered it: staying dry in her diapers 2-3 hours at a time (sometimes throughout her whole nap), telling us before she would poop, going to get a clean diaper when she had peed or pooped, and spending lots of time sitting on her potty that was just out to get her used to it. And the day I stop paying half of my salary to Pampers is going to be a beautiful thing. Plus it means I get to eat M&M's all day for "quality control."

spilling onto the screen

Life gets busy. And I get overwhelmed. And I have a choice to make. Do I give up this thing that has brought me such solace and community and strength? Or do I forge ahead, letting my brain spill out onto the screen and knowing that anytime I open my heart it helps me grow a little? 

I choose to forge. I cannot promise it will always be meaningful or insightful or witty. But hopefully it will be some of the time. One of my favorite bloggers Adriel started a second blog where she sets a timer every day and writes for five minutes, unedited, until the timer dings and she prints "Publish." I like it. I like the challenge that exists from letting yourself write freely without any constraints, or worrying that you left a post out from some important event. And then you chide yourself for not blogging your birthday, because what kind of blogger doesn't blog about a day entirely devoted to her? And then you put it off for 2 days or 4 days or a week and then 30 other things have happened and you don't know where to start. So I will write about what I feel like. And hopefully my community will still exist. Here is the recap:

I successfully made it through my biggest event of the year. As a fundraiser, it takes all year to plan one night, one night where 420 people all gather together in a room to eat dinner and dance and bid on auction items and donate money. And you hope they love it and are generous and you kind of have one eye half closed all night waiting for it to be over and to see if all those late nights were worth it. They were. $253,000 raised for my nonprofit, 420 happy guests, lots of sleep for Lindsay. 

My brother had his birthday and it was awesome and I love him so much. He also has a cute new girlfriend that we all get to meet this weekend and I am excited to embarrass him and hopefully not be too embarrassed myself. 

Valentine's Day was super fun, as my sister and her husband and my parents all got together, made our best dishes and had the fanciest potluck ever. Crab cakes, steak, lasagna, and on it went. So much better than being rushed out of a $50 fixed price dinner at a restaurant.

Lila refused to wear pants today. It took 15 minutes, two parents, a dancing Grinch doll singing about how wearing pants was fun, and a YouTube video on my phone distracting her to get them successfully on and buttoned. Oh the joys of toddlerhood.

I surprised Brian and whisked him away for a weekend in Asheville all by ourselves. No dogs. No Lila. No Goldfish crackers filling the bottom of purse. It was delightful and I can barely stand to be back to real life today.

my favorite birthday things

I have been loving all my fabulous new items I got for birthday gifts. I must confess, it was really hard for me to think of birthday gifts for myself this year. Maybe because it was so close to Christmas? Not sure but I am super glad my family knows me and did not listen to my "umms" and "wellll". 

 Grey Area from Sally Hansen

I am in love with this nail polish that I got for myself as a little birthday gift. I saw it on my sister, who is of course 5 million times more fashionable than me, and loved it because it was warmer than a basic black polish. Make sure to cut your nails short or they will look like talons...never a good idea. 

 Skin Sense Massage Gift Certificate

Ya'll know how I feel about massages. And luckily, my husband does too and knows my favorite local spa. I am purposely holding on to this baby until my GIANT 420 person gala is finished next Friday. Then I might move into the spa for a week. Sounds like a good idea to me. 

Dexas Popware Over-the-Sink Collapsible Strainer with Cutting Board
Okay, I am a kitchen nerd. Brian heard me talking about how cool this was one day and when I opened it on my birthday I flipped out more than Kristen Bell and her sloth birthday surprise. Cutting and rinsing at the same time! It is like tuna and macaroni & cheese. Oh wait, those two don't go together you say? Then I am pretty sure we can't be friends. 

 

 Tweezerman Deluxe Metal Eyelash Curler

Oh eyelash curler, where have you been my whole life? Thank God my sister tried to keep me pretty because I am working hard against her with my flat lifeless eye lashes. I cannot believe how much this brightens up my eyes with just 30 seconds.  

Brother PT-80 Label Maker

My inner dork is coming to light. And I like it a lot. Who is up for labeled plastic cups at Lila's birthday party in March???

grilled cheesy goodness

Some evenings you need to feel comforted and remember simpler days. Days of swing sets and mud puddles, with Hello Kitty bandaids on your knee and a warm bath at the end of the evening. Hot tomato soup and grilled cheese may seem simple when served at a dinner table, but it tastes like home and comfort to my family. My daughter, barreling towards two and the independent streak that it ushers in, considers these evenings her favorites. My husband and I know that sitting at our table, practicing dipping the cheesy buttered bread into red broth, teach her more than how to fill her tummy; it teaches her that we are willing to stop in our busyness and celebrate the everyday moments with her. She will only be little for so long, singing “Twinkle Twinkle” in between bites and willingly letting us wipe her hands. Before long, evening dinners at home will be replaced with ballet practice and tutoring. But last night, our family stopped and celebrated our successful day of life with laughter and tomato soup.