Maternal Imperfections

So, this morning, I'm at the kitchen sink, scrubbing away at the caked-on mud on Calla's shoes after her unauthorized romp through her dad's fledgling vegetable garden last night. I was feeling a little self-righteous, complimenting myself on my attention to this detail since it would have been the day care floors that would be getting all dirty today and not even my own. Clearly, I was one of the good moms, the mom who took the time to take care of the little details.

And then, after exchanging morning pleasantries at drop-off, what's the first thing Calla's favorite teacher, Ms Michelle says? "Calla! You have your shoes on the wrong feet!"

Aah yes. It's the little details.

Desperately Seeking Yogurt?

Our little gourmand is growing up. Calla's vocabulary seems to grow daily, and much of it deals with food. She's getting harder to placate with whatever I happen to have in the fridge and instead has definite favorites. Top on her list lately would be raisins, goldfish crackers, tomatoes, cheese and yogurt.

When she gets it in her head that she wants a particular snack, she starts off with a little whine.... "Yogurt? Yogurt?" - as if to say, hey mom - maybe a little yogurt? If yogurt doesn't immediately materialize, the whining will escalate quickly. The lower lip sticks out and wobbles a little. A few tears may glisten in her eyes as she cries plaintively "Yogurt?" Yogurt?" And again, if yogurt then isn't presented - say, because we're in the car for example - we quickly move into the panic stage... "Yogurt! Yogurt! Yoooog-uuuurrrrt!" This is screamed in the tone you might use, for example, if your favorite pet was being pulled out of your arms. It's rather heart-breaking.

Eventually, the yogurt (or raisins, or cheese, or crack-cracks (goldfish) shows up, and all's right with the world. Until the next snack time. Of course, what's really funny is that all of these favorites are relatively healthy - she doesn't actually like any of that bad stuff, like cookies or ice cream. So I really have few reasons to deprive her of her food loves except that I just can't always move fast enough.

Last night at dinner, we were having left-over pizza and as I reached for my third (fifth?) piece, Calla declared "Mama pizza eat." We think that might be one of her first three-word phrases. And of course, it was to call me out on my over-eating. Nothing gets by her.

Have a good week - and happy eating!

Oh dear. We did it again.

I'm just under the wire in a month-long lapse in this blog. Sorry about that. So much going on, most of which had to do with preparing for, living out, or unpacking from our week-long vacation in Mexico. It was a great trip, and we're grateful for my folks for their hospitality, and for Carrie & Brian, Jess & Ben, Eithne and Kim for all joining us. And we're especially grateful for all the people in the rows behind and in front of us on our various planes. Calla's not exactly a silent traveler, and she's not shy about voicing her displeasure. There was some kicking of seats, a little bit of squealing at times, and an occasional shreak or twelve. We all survived and my bruises have now nearly healed.


Calla and Joe enjoying the pool at the Sime Hacienda. Calla did OK in the pool, eventually loving it so much that she wanted to stay in despite blue lips and a full-body shiver.


Posing on the Terrace. Calla loved having the run of the place, pushing her baby in a stroller all over the house and playing in Grandma and Grandpa's bathroom - she loved their big tub, and apparently her baby did too considering the number of times Baby was given a bath.

A few highlights from our trip...

* Calla and her cousin Julia, who she now calls "Dewy." Julia was even more interactive than the last time we saw her, so the two cousins could play on the blanket together and listen to stories. Near the end of the visit, Calla made sure to let Carrie and Brian know when Julia needed a diaper change: "Dewy wet." "Dewy poop. Stinky!" I'm not sure how they're managing without Calla the Diaper Genie now that they're home.

* Calla and her grandfather. In previous visits, Calla took her time warming to my dad, but this time, she just took to him right away. "Boppa" was her name for him. She'd go the door looking into the garage and watch him puttering, trying to get his attention..."Boppa? Boppa?"

* Calla and her grandmother. They went on walks around the block, stopping to talk to the dogs they met. Calla acted as if she'd never met a dog before - it was the talk of her day. Somewhere in Mexico, Calla conformed to standard dog speak - dogs now say "Woof" instead of "Foof." It's more likely that she won't fail kindergarten now, but I'm still a little sad that we left our "foof" in Mexico.

There's more to share, but I'll try to do it in little snippets this coming week. Sorry for the lapse - hope we haven't lost you all in our down-time!