Little Miss Independent

This is my daredevil, on the go, independent, willful, and fearless child. Holy Heck she's cute! When I was pregnant with her, I knew deep down in my heart that she was going to be all personality. I didn't realize how true that feeling was. Pip continues to amaze me with how much she learns and how eager she is to do everything by herself.



In the ocean for the first time. No, that isn't her crying as the waves hit her and yes, she kept running for the ocean.

Pip has taken a liking to cars. She's so fearless, she drives standing up. On a sidenote, I shaved off a bulging belly using photoshop. Love that liquefy!

I thought for sure she would go running when we took her to the petting zoo. NOPE! she went straight for the goats. Me-that was one too many times being next to a goat. Ducks and goats...I simply won't do! Just so you know, I am pulling her hand away from the goat.

I wish I had a picture to show her on the airplane. She is a hoot! We were lucky enough to have a free seat next to us on the plane ride home. Pip sat herself down, "buckled" herself in, and "read" a magazine on the flight.

I'm making a prediction now: Pip will be my "did you know that if you do ______, this will happen?" child. Pray for me.

Houston, we have a problem...

I think I'm in love.


This summer Bobby is completing an internship for CenterPoint Energy (an energy company in d'town Houston, TX). Living in Texas has always eluded us-we applied to UT for MBA school-so when Bob got this offer we were really excited. This past week I spent some time in Texas helping Bobby get settled into his new bachelor pad. I arrived on Saturday, but since we couldn't move in to his apartment until Monday, we stayed at a hotel. For the first 2 days I was there, I felt like a tourist. But after we "moved" into the apartment, Houston actually felt like "home". I kept thinking to myself, "I could see us living in Texas." I mean seriously (and this is total blasphemy), I can hear Pip going "Hook 'em horns!" (my Bama friends are going to kill me for that one). The heat and humidity are terrible (and it's only May) and they have concrete roads (everywhere, not just interstate) -combine that with the sun and you have a very hot, blinding surface. I got a headache every time we drove somewhere because it was so bright. Everywhere you go takes 30minutes or longer and traffic is downright scary. Other than that, it's fabulous! I'm sad that I'll be staying here in Bloomington and won't get to experience every facet of Houston, but what I saw made me excited at the idea of living there.

Another thing that shocked me about Houston was that I really thought of myself as a suburb type of person. Bobby's apartment is a city apartment-heavily gated to keep the riffraff out, surrounded by office buildings, and barely out of "the loop". After being in the thick of it, the burbs seem...boring.

Shhhh...

While this cutie has been sleeping:

I've been busy sewing this:

Piper's Very Own "Quiet Book"

It took me an entire week working roughly 4-6 hours a day to complete. I really enjoyed making the "Quiet Book" and look forward to adding more pages. The hardest part was cutting the actual canvases (it would've been easier if I had followed the directions more closely...) . My favorite pages are the "Counting buttons" page and the "Barn" page. I hope she enjoys playing with it on the plane ride to Houston, TX!

and this...

Summer Sleep sack for Piper

The sleep sack was a total PAIN! First, I didn't have a pattern so I cut one from a sleeper she already had. Secondly, I had to attach a zipper which I had only done under direct and constant supervision from my mommy. I am proud to say I attached a zipper- all by myself! The stitching isn't perfect, but thankfully Piper will only sleep in it.

I have more sewing plans this summer: a few skirts for myself, another sleep sack (which I will sew under direct supervision of my mom), and more pages for the "Quiet Book".

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye...

I made a carrot cake. I ate 2 pieces of it today. I went out for an hour. When I left, there was half a carrot cake. When I returned, I found this-

and then I saw her-

GOODBYE CARROT CAKE! I will miss you. I am so sad you aren't on Facebook or have a blog. Because if you did, I could continue to check on you and it won't be like you were ever really gone. I feel as though I never really got to say a proper goodbye. Maybe if I had taken a pic of us together or spent more time talking to you, I wouldn't feel this way. Sigh.

Seriously, though... GOODBYE MBA FRIENDS! I will miss you. I'm terrible at goodbyes and just rush through them as if I'll see you tomorrow. Thankfully, I can continue to blog stalk you and keep up with you on Facebook. To the MBA playgroup girls, you were my saving grace when I moved here and needed some friends. Our life will always be connected in some way. Good luck as you move forward in your new adventures. Sigh.

Pretentious Photo Critique

"I love the juxtaposition of the arch and looking through it, reminiscent of a window or perhaps a doorway to your education."

"I'm inspired by shadows-the dancing of light and shadow."

"I played a little with angles here."

"I wanted to capture the singularity of this sculpture."

Ever play Museum Critic? If so, then you get my comments. If not, you need to go to a local museum and pretend you know something about art, then with your Starbucks coffee mug in hand and tortoise shell glasses, rattle on about light and shadow or elaborate on the artist's motive or inspiration.

I went on a Campus Photo Safari-taking pics of beautiful things on campus. Not bad for a simple point and shoot. IU's campus is gorgeous and I wish I had taken pics of the buildings and their detail. Maybe another day...On a sunnier note, can you believe that it had been raining/cloudy for 3 days straight-including this morning and most of the afternoon?!?

Daddy's Home!

"I'm so glad when daddy comes home, glad as I can be!"

I can always tell when Bobby is walking up the front walkway because the girls will make a beeline for the front window. They jockey for position-pushing and shoving each other-and squeal/tail wag in delight at the sight of their favorite person: Daddy!

Once he's home...I'm chop liver. Mommy who?

On a side note: Piper has taken quite a liking to wearing Bob's hats backwards. The other day she kept going into our closet and taking a hat, putting it on backwards, and parading around the room. Of course, when I went to grab the camera...she was done.

Sprinklers and Popsicles

Nothing like a day playing in the sprinklers and eating Popsicles-who doesn't have that memory?

Getting in on the action!

Seriously, have you seen a happier kid?

Running for the sprinklers!

Popsicles---yummm!

The Latest Glaze

Last week while my mom and sister were here, we went to The Latest Glaze-a local pottery painting store. I decided it would be really fun to let Pip "help" paint a piece. I happen to think I have a budding artist on my hands.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail!

HoPpy Easter!

WOW! Holidays with a kid are so much fun. I feel like every holiday gets dragged out with at least a week of festivities. Easter was no different!

We dyed Easter eggs with our playgroup friends! Piper enjoyed licking the dye water and dunking the eggs. I was smart enough to pack a smock and bib for her and an apron for me. Piper ended up dyeing the tablecloth and her smock. My mom and sister also visited and brought Piper 2 Easter baskets filled with goodies. Piper also got an Easter card from my grandparents. We also had several Easter egg hunts, but I only remembered my camera for one of them. I'll just say that by the 2nd Easter egg hunt-she got the concept of finding and putting her eggs in her basket. Kelley Kids also hosted an Easter picnic that in my opinion was A-MAZING despite the freak rain storm! Here are some pics from our Easter fun:

"Don't drink the Kool-Aid!"

"Hmmm, which egg is heavier?"

"They even give you presents at Easter!"

"Is this one of those chocolate bunnies I keep hearing about?"

"I'm conducting random Egg Quality Checks."

"I found it, I found it!"

We hope you enjoyed your Easter as much as we did!

The Follow-Up

I've received so many comments to my SOS blog post-whether it's by personal email or on the actual blog. Thank you to those that responded-it helped me realize that my struggle is not a new one. I was commenting to my friend about how one of the things that made me a kick a** teacher was that I observed the good/bad teachers. I figured out what kind of teacher I wanted to be based on the examples that I saw. I took bits and pieces of each teacher-qualities I wanted and qualities that I could do without. I wasn't a perfect teacher to begin with, but over time, I developed into a pretty darn good teacher. I guess I need to look at being a mom like did being a teacher: beg, borrow, steal, and claim the awesome as your own.

Piper is my one and only. She's growing everyday. I will look back and be thankful I had all this time for her. I better make the most of it. NOW.

SOS

Last weekend, Bobby and I got to talking. I mentioned that I wanted to work again. I felt that I wasn't "stay at home" mom material and was a better mom/wife when I worked. He recognized that I have been less than present. He noticed my lack of organization, my lack of polish, my lack of being "on the ball", my inability to get a million things done in a short 24 hour day, my incapability to manage time, my lack of passion or drive, and the list goes on.

For those who have known me for years these characteristics are SHOCKING! Most people would describe me as: highly organized, accomplished, on the ball, structured, detailed, "a well oiled machine", the "hub", a go getter, eager, natural leader, time oriented, meticulous, put together, and...you get the point.

There are some women who dream of being a stay at home mom. There are some women who are "Super Mom". There are some women who can build a table, make arts and crafts, try a new recipe every night, blog, do their hair and makeup, exercise, have a clean house, and wiggle their nose.

I go to bed thinking, "What did I do that was so special today?" On top of that, I still haven't connected-kindred spirits- with anyone here. I always thought, "Once I have a kid, I'll join the mommy sorority. I'll be accepted by all those women. We will laugh, we will bake together, we will be best friends, and it will be great!"

It hasn't happened. Not in the slightest. Moving to Bloomington, was a huge transition for me- not the move or even living here. I love it here and I don't mind moving. The transition was going from a working woman to working mom to stay at home mom. When I worked, I had an instant set of friends/co-workers. I had a daily dose of adult conversation that didn't include talking incessantly about kids, actually it did since I was teacher. Okay-didn't include talking incessantly about your own kid or husband (I love my kid and your kid is cute, but I would like to know about YOU!). I also had a set schedule, I had goals that had to be met every day or I wasn't successful at my job, and I had a sense of self. When I moved to Bloomington, I figured I would be instantly embraced into the "Stay at Home Mommy Sorority". I wasn't and because I am so egocentric, at this point-I don't care. Okay, that's a lie. I do care. I care a lot. The point is...

I am not Super Mom. I will never be accepted into the Mommy Sorority. I struggle every single day-some days I don't shower. But what is so ironic about this entire post is that when I was talking with a working mom-she looked at me and said, "I want to hear your opinion on going from career woman to stay at home mom because to me...you look like you got it all together. I mean you're always just so..."

Guess I got you fooled.

Radio Flyer

For Christmas, Piper got a Winnie the Pooh walk and go "truck"-the kind where you sit on it and use your legs to push the truck around. Well, Piper is too short for it. Her legs never reached the ground. So we started looping a belt through the steering wheel and pulling her along while she steers and honks the horn. One sunny day, I had an idea to take the "truck" outside and pull her around. She LOVED it. She loved feeling the wind on her face, being able to look in all directions, waving "hello" to the plants, seeing the birds in the sky, and going really fast downhill. After seeing this love, we decided to buy her a red wagon.

She LOVES her red wagon. I LOVE that I can get her a red wagon. I LOVE making her very happy. Every kid needs a red wagon.