Pic of the Day ~ Becca’s Styling New Suit

I am feeling existential today. What is my role as a stay at home mom? Do I expect too much? Am I on the right track? What am I doing with MY life? Am I doing enough designing, creative things for my soul?

I have talked a lot today. JoAnne, my Dad and J have had to listen to my random thoughts on raising children, buying a future home, home-schooling, vaccinations…well random thoughts….everything, everywhere.

Becca had a doctor’s appointment this morning. Just the normal 2 year old check up and vaccination. Becca is healthy and well. She has grown half an inch in height and gained no weight. She was amazing when it came to the needle. We talked about it before we went and while we were there, that Becca would get a needle to make sure she did not get that kind of sick. She did not even cry!! She made an uber sad face and asked for Mommy! She held me so tight, it was amazing. J attended the appointment with me since last time we went Becca screamed the entire time we were there!

Becca’s doctor is an old school doctor, older, sweet and down to earth. I really like him and like how he interacts with Becca. He is not a “medicate her”, kind of doctor nor does he dismiss me as a crazy mom. He loves to talk to us about Canada, in fact friends of theirs invited them to a wedding in Toronto just last weekend (hehe). So I was surprised when he had a talk with us about Becca’s mature nature. He advised us to allow her to watch tv (something he & I discussed before and why I cut it out completely until recently) and take her to McDonald’s, not to eat, rather interact with other 2 year olds.

Now I know everyone’s first reaction is to be defensive and say Becca is happy and a laid back kind of kid so no worries AND I agree totally. However, to defend the Doctor (and J totally concurs with me) he knows we are here from Canada, he does not know if we are isolated and how much interaction Becca is getting with other children. I feel confident that Becca plays with, and is exposed to other children plenty for her development and age. She absolutely adores Ryan, and enjoys spending time with him. However, since the Doctor does not this it is fair to assume we may be isolated. That and I am a stay at home mom, J has his phd, and Becca lies on the floor and looks at books for an hour non-stop.

She is a laid back kid, always has been. Becca has always enjoyed choices and makes them well. She sleeps in her bed (since 16-17 months), drinks from a cup (never did the bottle thing), and now uses the potty (when naked from the waist down!) We have never pushed her to do anything. We roll with it and let Becca take the lead. I am not a crazed must learn x y z kind of mom. I do try to provide as many opportunities as I can for Becca to learn through natural experiences. I am in an unique position to do so, since I am at home and in southern California.

As a Mom, I am always questioning my position, actions, motivations, desires … guilt … However one thing I did realize today (thanks JoAnne) is that I would much rather live with guilt than apathy. I do not want Becca to be consumed by the tv and if I did not limit it, she would be. So I push forward deciding that what I am doing, how I feel in on target at the moment. Tomorrow I might change my mind!

As for designing and creativity….well I need to make more time for that, however I am really good at procrastinating and being a bum rather than utilizing my time efficiently. Nic I have been working on something for you. Trish you are not forgotten and there is something floating in my head for this place too. My pretty little ibook is just waiting for me to open her up and get working….but tonight I am going to go to bed….soon…hopefully….after reading a few more blogs….

Michelle & Kayla at Big Blueberry Eyes has “tagged” Becca to complete a Meme!! Since Becca is still learning to type hehe, I will give her a hand!

3 Things That Scare Me
1. Bugs. I like to watch them from a distance, if they hop or fly on me, I get freaked.
2. The Doctor. I love my eye doctor, regular doctor not so much. He always gives me a shot!
3. I am not really afraid of too much yet …

3 People That Make Me Laugh
1. Mommy when she sings silly songs.
2. Daddy when he dances.
3. Grandpa when he tickles me.

3 Things I Love
1. Mommy and Daddy.
2. Charisma, my cat.
3. Pooh Bear.

3 Things I Hate
1. Pea pods and onions.
2. Shots (just like Kayla!)
3. Being rushed out the door (Mommy always wants me to hurry not to let out the a/c!)

3 Things I Don’t Understand
1. Why Mommy & Daddy ever say “No!”
2. How far Canada is from California.
3. Why Charisma gets cranky (the cat!)

3 Things On My Floor
1. A Firefighters hat.
2. Pooh Bear.
3. My Little People.

3 Things I’m Doing Right Now
1. Sleeping.
2. Dreaming.
3. umm sleeping!

3 Things I Can Do
1. Hold my breath under water and swim a little.
2. Use the potty when not wearing pants!
3. Colour the parts of a picture, but not in the lines.

3 Things I Can’t Do
1. Climb stairs without help (apartment living!)
2. Sing the alphabet.
3. Pull down my pants by myself.

3 Ways to Describe My Personality
1. Laid back.
2. Curious.
3. Fun.

3 Things I Think You Should Listen To
1. The Tiki Room Soundtrack.
2. Jack Johnson.
3. Me when I sing “Twinkle Twinkle”.

3 Things I Think You Should Never Listen To
1. Mommy or Daddy singing (they try it is cute but no awards there!)
2. Babies crying.
3. Country music (or is that from Mommy?!?! hehe!)

3 Absolute Favorite Foods
1. Spagetti.
2. Eggs, scrambled.
3. Cheerios!

3 Things I’d Like to Learn
1. To jump with both feet (into the pool!)
2. Climb stairs up and down without help.
3. To draw a cat.

3 Beverages I Drink Regularly
1. Water
2. Milk
3. Juice (very rarely these days)

3 Shows I Watch On Occassion (once or twice a week tops!)
1. Dora the Explorer.
2. The Wonderpets.
3. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

3 Kids I Tag …

DJ at Days Like These! He is an amazing little toddler and getting to know him even better would be so cool!

N at A Day in the life of our Family. I so love reading updates on N!

Adam at Just the 6 of us, because I would like to get to know him better too!

First … Monitor Chain … Betty and the crew always have the most fun …. So here is Stale Betty’s blog on my Monitor (feel free to play along…it is fun! I had to take this pic in my bathroom so my camera’s flash would not go off!! hehe!)

How to play along … Photograph this blog post (including your monitor and its immediate surroundings), and post the resulting pic on your blog. Then the next person photographs your blog post and posts it, and so on. Leave your post URL in the comments so people will be able to follow the chain, and link your image to the post you photographed… this way people will be able to zoom into the monitors by clicking.

We had a fabulous weekend! It was darn tooting hat here, so we escaped to the beach on Saturday (always a good time) then on Sunday I was spoiled again.

Becca is getting more and more dark with a California tan (yes of course we douse Becca with sunscreen 50 SPF like constantly but we swim and are out and about everyday!) I remember when we drove down here last August. We saw these two kids that were so tanned it was crazy! J & I both noticed them and joked that Becca would be that dark the following summer. hehe Well, little did we know our very fair baby was going to be an very active, swimming fiend that would be browning just like those two little girls.

Becca is also getting uber comfortable in the ocean waves. She loves wading out into the water and running through the shallow water back and forth between J & I (great for gross motor skills running through moving water!!) Ultimately, Becca loves the beach for the sand and water. She gets down right dirty, covered in sand and water and loves it!!! I really need to start taking her during the week too! The beach being only an hour away will so not be the rest of our lives have to enjoy it while we can!! Besides I love it down there too!! So relaxing!! Even with a potty training toddler (who asked to sit on the potty there!! We set it up in her little half-tent shade thing!!)

OMG! So guess what everyone in Southern California does on the weekend when the weather is insane hot ……

They go shopping!

It was crazy busy in the outlet mall today (yeah double the amount of people since everything is on sale!) And the a/c not so much, one would think in the largest single story mall west of the Mississippi, they would have cranked out the coldness. I went shopping all by myself . No typo there. J stayed home with the sleeping kid, while I escaped to the mall all alone. It was weird yet oddly relaxing. Guess who I shopped for?!?! Did I buy one little itty bitty thing for myself!??!?!?! Nope. All for Becca and J got, of all things underwear….hehe! Becca was in need of a new bathing suit and since there has already been 4 weeks of summer that has passed, all retailers have decided that now is the time to sell out of summer gear and sell fall clothing. In CALIFORNIA. No bathing suits. ANYWHERE?!?!?! How can anyone shop for sweaters, jeans and boots in 110 F degree weather?!?!?! Dudes. This is lame.

I did find a cute suit for her at the Osh Kosh B’gosh outlet store for $5 so not all was lost. Geez, note to self make sure you have all that you need for the ENTIRE summer before July!??!?! Weird.

Hope you all stayed cool this weekend. Looking at the weather forecast, it looks like it is staying deliriously hot for awhile….How are you keeping it cool?

Pic of the Day ~ Ryan and Becca at the Santa Monica Beach

The Drive-In movie was great. We really enjoyed the Pirates of the Caribbean. When I say we, I mean all three of us, because our sweet angel of a daughter, never snoozed a bit. Yup she even stayed awake the entire ride home. She would start to drift off while at the movie then snap herself awake. I guess she did not want to miss anything!! Becca also did not want to miss anything this morning, since she did not sleep in despite her very late bedtime! Since it was $12 for all three of us to see the movie….it will definitely be something we do again!

Jimmy Crickets it is BLOODY HOT!!!!! How about this weather!!! I am told by the Californians that this weather is not normal, that there is usually lulls in the extreme 110 F frikin weather. The sun is frying our Canadian butts here people!! I was cranky today being out in that heat. Oh sure yes no snow and a mild winter is great but if one has to hibernate in the summer is it worth it?!?!?!?! So we are running away to the beach tomorrow to escape the insane heat and swim!!! Becca is totally excited (so am I!!!)

The Crazy Hip Blog Mamas have a new writing prompt. This time they ask, “If I could be any superhero, I would be…”

When over at Finding Yourself Despite Yourself I laughed at the bouncing super hero power Fidget wrote about. However it got me thinking, although I may not feel the need to bounce, what or which super hero power would I like. I want more time. More time to knit, design blogs, work on my art and illustrations, teach Becca to swim and the alphabet, work-out, cook, clean…..etc etc etc. So my super power would have to be the ability to move faster (yuck) or the ability to make more time. So I do not want to turn back time or speed up time, just make more. It is my fantasy and I am sticking to it . What would you do with more time?

Pic of the Day ~ Becca Chillin Out with Charisma

Ok I think Becca is officially a California kid. We were swimming this morning in our pool, when Becca looked up and asked “What’s THAT!?!?” She looked very concerned and confused. I looked up and saw a cloud. Yeah my kid doesn’t know what clouds are!!!! So not Canadian kid like….

We had an exciting day of cleaning the house! I know quite the adventure eh? That is what great blogging is about . We are however going to a Drive-In Movie tonight!!!! I am so excited, they are showing Pirates of the Caribbean! We are hoping that Becca zonks out in the car … keep your fingers crossed for us!!!