I am back from our road trip to Arkansas for a wedding.  I was ever so glad to sleep in my own bed Saturday night. We did a lot this weekend and L did really good.  She was a real trooper and I am really proud of her.  She's getting to be such a big girl!

We left Thursday morning and pretty much battled rain for half the drive to Northwestern Arkansas.  What is normally a six hour drive, turned into being almost eight or nine due to the weather and a toddler who discovered that if she told the adults in the car that she had to potty, they would frantically look for a gas station (which my toddler also added to her vocabulary this weekend) and she would, in turn, get to get out of her car seat and ransack every gas station from Illinois to Arkansas.

We got to our hotel about 8 in the evening, let L release some pent up energy in the indoor hotel pool, and promptly bathed her and put her to bed.......until she decided that she didn't want to go to bed until MIDNIGHT.  She had a brief moment in time where she was upset.  She wanted her bed and she missed Daddy and she wanted to go home.  It was very hard to make her understand why we couldn't just drive back home.  So.  I did what any mother who is delirious from a car ride with a toddler would do...

I proceeded to jump on the king sized hotel bed her and I would be sharing.  I told her that the best thing about trips is that we get to do things we normally wouldn't do...like jump on the bed.

She bought it.  Hook, line, and sinker.  I have video of my toddler jumping on a king sized bed in a hotel in Arkansas and I am proud of it.

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We woke up Friday morning with time to kill  before the wedding that evening so we took L to Build-A-Bear to build her a new bear.  Well, she chose a Princess Kitty...ya'll this thing is so sparkly....and she promptly named it "Kitty".

We went back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding (I'll have outfit deets later) and left with enough time to stop and let L see some "choo choo twains" before we had to be at the wedding.  She enjoyed the heck out of herself there and then we went to this beautiful chapel  and participated in a very intimate wedding.

We left the wedding, stopped for a bite to eat, headed back to the hotel, and promptly passed out.  It had been a long and exhausting day and I was more than happy to crawl into bed at 10:30.  Ha!

The next morning we got up, packed up, and left so we would have enough time to stop at the zoo in Springfield, Missouri so L could see some "ephants, jaffs, and hoppos". She had a blast and wore me the heck out!  I slept a lot on the way home while she slept, snacked, played on her LeapPad, and asked to stop at "gash shations".

We got home about 7 in the evening on Saturday and then I immediately got her in the tub so I could put her to bed.  After she went to bed, I had to assess the damage that The Hubbs had to deal with while L and I were gone.  Our basement sprung a leak while I was gone and he had to shop vac a bunch of water out of his man cave and the storage room next to it.  We spent Sunday cleaning up and moving a lot of stuff out to the sun porch  to be taken the curb on trash day the next two to three weeks.  We didn't lose anything valuable, monetarily or sentimentally, so we are thankful for that.  However, now we have to figure out what to do with a leaky basement. :-/  Joy.  Thrill.

And that, my readers, sums up my weekend!  I'll back tomorrow with another beauty post and the last post in my five key pieces for spring series will be coming later this week.  Be sure to be watching Facebook and Twitter for new post alerts!

Since we've been getting into the holiday spirit around here, I've been trying to come up with things to keep L busy indoors.  (It is freezing here in the Midwest!) I decided to check Pinterest and was suddenly reminded of all the Christmas crafts I used to make as a kid.  Reindeer hands, paper plate snowmen, Santa with the cotton ball beard....there was so much....and so many different variations!

Does anyone else's child go on food strikes?  L will do good for a while and then she stops eating everything she loved the previous few months.  As frustrating as this can be, all kids do it.  This is why I have back up recipes in my arsenal so I can avoid the fighting and the tears at meal time (from me, not my child...I kid, I kid!  Okay, well, maybe a little...)

When L denies chicken fries, these are some of my go-to recipes for her.  And, hey, they are actually pretty good for Mom, too!

Here I am again with another recipe from my kitchen!  This one is good for the kiddos and adults!  Because, seriously, who doesn't like little hot dogs wrapped in melted cheese and a lovely croissant?


I made these for L and I one day for a fun lunch.  In need of a change from our lunch meat/PBJ/Chicken Fingers rut, I started scouring the fridge.

Hmm...Turkey dogs....sliced cheese....a can of croissants...PIGS IN A BLANKET!

I quickly got to work creating the coolest pigs in a blanket I had ever created.

It has recently turned quite cooler here in the Midwest and we have also had quite a few days of rain.  On the days that it is just too chilly or rainy to go out, I have to have reinforcements for L.

It can be pretty difficult  to keep a toddler entertained.  I realized this last year when the weather turned cold and we couldn't get out as much.  So, I took to Pinterest and found ideas to make a rainy day basket.

A rainy day basket is a basket of things you bring out when there is just nothing else working to keep your kiddo entertained.

I thought today would be a good day to showcase some of what L has been reading lately.  I, of course, use the term "reading" loosely because she is just under two and a half years old. However, she knows what books are her favorites and we read them quite frequently throughout the week.

When L was born, I remember hearing "Enjoy it! It will go by so fast!" from countless people.  In the midst of three-four hour feedings, diaper changes, and getting to know our daughter; the last thing on my mind was enjoying the moment.

I was not the Mom that sat and rocked her baby for hours on end.  Did I rock her and stare at her cute little face and marvel that she was ours?  Yup!  Do I think I missed out on an important piece of motherhood by not doing that?  No.

I have watched our daughter sleep, I have paced with her in the wee hours of the morning to calm an ear ache, and I have celebrated milestones with her.  I have taught her things, I have loved her, nurtured her, praised her, secured her environment, and protected her from day one.

And in the midst of all of that mothering, I got a two year old.

What?

I was watching L play at the park the other day.  She had said,"I do it, Mommy," when it came to playing this particular day.  So, I took a seat on the playground ledge and watched my "big girl do big girl things." I watched the way she climbed the steps, carefully, yet with just enough comfort to not scare her.  I watched the way she made her way to the slide, stopping to yell, "HI MOMMY!" just before she ducked into the opening of the slide.  Lastly, I watched as her face lit up as she made her way down the slide.

Dear L,

You are 2 today!  I can't believe how much you have grown this past year.  It really does seem like only yesterday that we were waking up every 3-4 hours so you could eat and get a diaper change.  Those first six weeks went by so fast.  People told me they would, but I didn't really let it sink in, until now.

Some day's I sit and watch you play and I am amazed that you are even in the same room as me.  You came from me, something that I was told wasn't possible, but here you are!  You are incredibly active (okay, actually, you are non-stop most of the day. HA!) and you are learning how to talk.  You say so many things now and I am floored each time you say something new.  I talk to you as much as I can, because I know that is how you learn.



We read books together and we play with your dolls.  We watch Caillou and Spongebob and Clifford.  You like Elmo and Snow White.  Ellie is your constant companion through it all, as am I.  You're my constant companion.  We go everywhere together, L.  You love the grocery store and you like to "help" me pick out food and put things in the cart.

You love to be outside and explore.  I have fun watching you play outside.  It isn't that I don't want to play with you when we are outside-I just love watching you.  You help Mommy to remember all of those things I have forgotten.  One day you will understand what I mean.  Don't be in a hurry to grow up, L.  I know I will hear you say this countless times over the years, but trust me, it all goes so fast anyway.  Enjoy it while you can.



You are Daddy's favorite.  Any time you get to spend with Daddy is your favorite time.  There are so many thing's Daddy can't wait to do with you.  He's talked about them so much this past year.  Oh, the fun you and Daddy are going to have!  I can't wait for those memories for you.



You are the sunshine in a lot of people's lives, L, just by being yourself.  Don't ever stop being yourself.  I hope that as you get older, you will remain true to who you are.  That's what I am here for-to help you with that.  There are a lot of thing's Mommy knows about that she wants you to understand.  Some of those things you will have to learn on your own, I know this, but I will always be here to help you when you need it.

I can't believe you are 2, baby girl.  You are napping right now and you will probably wake up soon, so I need to end this here.  Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and we love you very much.  I can't wait to see all of the things you learn this year!

All my love,
Mommy

Disclaimer:  I'm whining today.  I'm whining about my child today.  This is my space, I do what I want, and today, I whine about having a toddler.

Oh boy.  The terrible two's have hit our house.  As in, I swear L just woke up one morning and decided that, for however long she deemed fit, she was going to give Mommy a run for her money.

I'm exhausted.

She's stopped sleeping through the night-sometimes waking up two or three times a night.  All she wants is to  be tucked back in.  This morning she wanted a story at 4am....um, no kiddo, Mommy was practically comatose and we do not read stories at 4am.  We sleep, thank you very much, I love you, good night.

She woke up again at 4:45 just to say HI!  Literally, I opened the door to her room, she said "HI!", ran back to her bed, crawled in, and waited for me to tuck her in.

Kiddo.....*sigh*

(Sidenote:  The only reason I get out of bed to check on her is because she is crying.  It's crying that worries me.  I don't like crying toddlers in the middle of the night, especially when they have had ear infections out the wazoo like our child has.  I always go to a crying kid in the middle of the night.  Especially if she has been a good sleeper up until this point.)

Oh and let's not forget to mention the full blown temper tantrums we have throughout the day over what's on TV, one of the cats is on the couch, Mommy goes to the bathroom, or her sippy is empty.