Month: June 2011

Things That Shouldn’t Bug Me But Do

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1. When it’s too hot to open the doors or windows. Which means every time I make a meal, the house smells like it for hours. And change hours to days when it involves turkey tacos or Brussels Sprouts with bacon.

2. The inability of some parents to master the parachute at The Little Gym. It is not complicated: grab handle, lift up, step forward and pull parachute behind you, sit down on handle. The result? A super cool tent like thing that is supported by the air trapped under the parachute. Call me a 2-year-old for thinking it’s neat, but it totally is. Which means I get mad like a 2-year-old when a mom can’t figure out how to follow 5 steps, thus letting out all the air and ruining it for everyone.

3. Caillou the cartoon. Not only is the kid annoying, but Baylor is obsessed with watching it. While the main character, Caillou, is pretty whiny, my main issue is with his parents. They are model parents with infinite amounts of patience. They never get upset, yell, scold or do any other normal parenting thing. They make everything fun, ignore bad behavior and are always dropping what they are doing to appease Caillou. I am waiting for the day that the kiddo says to me “Caillou’s mommy wouldn’t say ‘your behavior makes mommy want to drink'”.

Again, another topic for Baylor to discuss in therapy some day.

What’s in Baylor’s Bag? – 9th Edition

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Sherri, this one is for you!

Wow, the kiddo was busy this week.

To start, Baylor’s bag of choice was a gift bag from her birthday. It lights up when you push the button and it took me 9 tries to get a picture where you can see the lights.

Contents:

1 sippy cup

1 soft picnic basket with food inside

goggles

her super silly glasses

her new Ariel shoes from Auntie Ali that she LOVES and wears any time she’s in the house

a bean bag

1 ball

Mouse

Sing-a-Ma-Jig

her Cubs hat

a rosary

play sized cooking utensils

play food pizza, bread, doughnut and hot dog

A Spot of Tea

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For the readers who don’t know, my mom and I own and manage a water company in Southern Arizona. Why? It’s a long story…

As we close in on the end of the month, I am scrambling to finish up deposits and customer changes and prep my documents to go read meters. It’s not complicated, but it does require some form of concentration. I.E. it is very difficult to do when my “assistant” is shuffling papers off the printer, climbing up my chair and simultaneously trying to draw on my documents.

I have perfected the art of Baylor entertainment so that I can steal a few minutes to and check items off my to do list. She has her own keyboard which she pretends to type emails, narrating her messages as she creates them. She gets a pad of paper and a pen. A coloring book and also my deposit stamps to play with. However Saturday morning the usual things weren’t keeping her busy. Trying to keep my frustration level to a minimum, I suggested she go brush her doll’s teeth (endlessly fascinating to a 2 year old) and then make some “tea”. We love tea parties and have them often. Bay happily ran off leaving me a few more precious moments to complete my tasks.

A few minutes later, a headband clad kiddo (making tea requires  Bene Hana style head wear) came running into the office with a cup of tea and a saucer for me. She then ran back to her room to get the tea-pot, filled up my cup with air,  shouted “KISS!!”, gave me a peck and was off again.

It’s hard to remember sometimes what’s important. It’s easy to get caught up in the grind of work, the endless to do list, and the stress of getting it all done. But all we need is a little cup of tea to remind us why we work like we do and also why it’s good to shut off the computer and go make some tea.

Happy Anniversary

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Six years ago today, PW and I said “I do”. Peter surprised me with my favorite flowers, Stargazer lilies to mark the occasion. Because Baylor’s birthday, my birthday, father’s day AND our anniversary fall in the same month, flowers are the only gift I want and that we can afford! My bouquet was one big bunch of lilies so a kitchen full of them is a scented and wonderful reminder of what an amazing day it was. Happy anniversary!

One of my favorites

My favorite part about this picture is the conversation that was happening went something like this:

“Are we DONE with pictures yet??”

“Almost. And if you don’t smile and look like you’re having a good time, it will take longer”

Yummy candy buffet

The Phis, showing off their best moves

This picture needs little description. But I think it’s important to point out how Chrissy on left has just had champagne dumped on her as Amy dove for the bouquet. Also Katya is making a run for the flowers as Melissa kicks it away from both of them. Those girls mean business.

Where’s the Tome – 1st edition

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In case you missed last week’s post, I will be illustrating the travels of Baylor’s Gnome – or Tome as she calls him. Get excited. He goes to some funny places.

I think I might be having more fun than Baylor with this story line. The kiddo had Tome going for a dip in her pool…I may or may not have suggested he talk to Barbie. And is it me, or is he smiling??

A Ghetto Fabulous Summer

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What do you do when you live in Arizona and you don’t have a pool to cool off in? You make a pool to cool off in. Because when the high is 114, there’s only so much pool-less-ness one can take.

Yes, this is our little backyard ghetto oasis. This is the only time of year that I would love the maintenance and cost of having a pool, but because the pool fairy hasn’t come yet, this is what we do to have some fun. And actually it is really fun. The hose going down the slide into the pool? Awesome. The mister under the shade of an umbrella? Surprisingly refreshing. “Tea” parties with Tome the Gnome and Barbie? Can’t beat it.

So while it may look a bit questionable, it is quite fun and refreshing. And some day when Baylor is in therapy describing how she had to play in a tiny pool where she had to roll around to get wet, at least she’ll have the money to pay for it since we didn’t blow her therapy money on a life-size pool.

What Should You Do?

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Peter, Baylor, our friend Cameron and myself all met at one of our favorite restaurants, Orange Table for breakfast on Sunday. Peter and Cameron had been out “killing clay” (i.e. at the shooting range) so B and I met them there.

As we were sitting on the over stuffed couches waiting, a little girl about 4 years old and her parents walked in. When the girl saw Bay, she immediately made a beeline for her, ripped the sun glasses off of Baylor’s face and proceeded to rifle through Bay’s bag of books and other entertainment. Baylor’s immediate response was a look at me like “why would she do that?!”. Annoyed, but not wanting to make a scene, I said to the girl “these are Baylor’s toys. You need to ask her if you would like to play with them”. As I finished this statement, I noticed the girl’s parents were watching me say this to their daughter and yet didn’t do anything. Thankfully the hostess showed them to their table.

Just when I thought the coast was clear, the girl came running back over to retrieve a toy she had left. Baylor saw her coming and politely held up the forgotten stuffed animal. Again, the girl ripped the toy out of Baylor’s hand and then made a swipe for Bay’s bracelets (she was well accessorized). This time the father followed the girl and sat down to WATCH her repeatedly grab at, pull on and steal from my daughter. He said hello and introduced himself but never said anything to his kid. At this point I’m getting to incredulous and about to say something like “could you please ask her to stop since she is not listening to me?” when Peter walked in.

PW gave me a strange look which I answered with a “I have no idea who these people are and yes, they are making me crazy too”  face. At the same time, he witnessed the little girl grab a book out of Baylor’s hand and shout “MINE!!” which Peter answered with “NO, no it’s not” and took the book back from the girl. All the time, her dad is sitting on the couch saying nothing, just smiling like an idiot. It was then that I noticed the mother was sitting right behind me, seeing all of this and also doing nothing.

We were finally shown to our table and got to leave the little terror behind. Sadly it didn’t stop her from running to our table at least 3 times to again try to take a toy, a phone or a bite of Baylor’s breakfast. And again, parents were right be hind her saying nothing.

Peter and Cameron were shocked. I was annoyed but this isn’t the first time we’ve encountered ill behaving children whose behavior is ignored by their parents. I hesitate to tell the parent’s how I really feel about these situations because I don’t want to run into these people later and learn that I burned potential clients for Peter or the family’s guest lodge or after I’ve accidentally rear ended them and they decide to call the police instead of just exchanging insurance.

So I am putting this out as a question: what do you do in these situations? How do you handle it when you cannot get away from a kid who is being a demon? Do you say something to the parents? Ignore it? I welcome any and all comments and I will post a follow-up in a few days with some of the responses. Bonus points for the funny, ridiculous and best of all, clever responses.

Happy Father’s Day

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We had a lovely Father’s Day weekend. Peter’s one request was no gifts so we went the home made route:

Just what every dad wants –  silly glasses! They were a big hit:

Baylor is clearly excited:

Please note the oh-so-cool-improvised wands on the sides. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Home Grown Deliciousness

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Some of our tomatoes are finally ready! Peter surprised me with a little appetizer the other night made of yellow tomatoes, shallots, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. The mixture was served both chilled and also toasted on sourdough – delicious!!

The yellow tomatoes are going crazy and the reds aren’t far behind

Happy Memories

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I love this picture

This is Mame and Ms.B last summer. Baylor was ready to give up bottles and Mame loved to snuggle B and feed her. She knew that their quiet moments drinking a bottle were limited so she was enjoying every minute of it. Mame hated taking pictures and she refused to look at the camera so I almost didn’t take it. But after I snapped it, I just loved the look of contentment on her face and realized it would be a picture we would cherish for years to come.