Category Archives: Cate

the ways in which yesterday did not suck

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1. SNOW DAY!!!

family shot (thanks to the neighbors)

We had so much fun with the snow, Catie absolutely loved it. I thought she’d decide that it was too cold after a few minutes and want to go back inside, but no way. She really is a January girl, she had an absolute blast and cried when we dragged her inside after 45 minutes because Dave and I had had enough.

2. We got a new president. I don’t even know where to start in trying to describe how happy this makes me. As moving as Obama’s inauguration speech was, my absolute favorite image of the entire day was the photograph of Barack and Michelle Obama waving to George and Laura Bush’s helicopter as they left Washington, DC. Forever. ::happy sigh::

3. I beat Dave at Scrabble for the first time ever. He and I play each other on Facebook sometimes, because we’re nerds like that, and he usually obliterates me. It’s not that his vocabulary is that much better than mine; I think we’re pretty evenly matched in that department. But he’s got this whole strategy with triple-word and -letter scores, and he usually completely kicks my butt. Yesterday I beat him by 6 points, and I may never stop bragging about that. (Like I said, we’re nerds.)

4. Catie took her nap on time, which allowed me to do my “30-Day Shred” workout. This was the second day in a row, and it hurts like a mother-of-pearl (my new substitute swear word for little toddler ears that repeat everything). But I also feel really good, because I know that this means I’m doing something right.

The ways in which today also should not suck:
1. The season premiere of “Lost” comes on tonight. Oh, Sawyer, how I have missed your muscular, shirtless self.

2. The snow is just melty/icy enough that we ought to be able to make a real snowman. Yesterday it was too powdery, it wouldn’t stick together.

3. Day 3 of the “30-Day Shred.” My legs are killing me, but I sort of can’t wait. Weird, I know.

toddler party planning

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In a mere two and a half weeks, my little baby girl is going to be 2 years old. That alone is sort of mind-boggling, but I’ll leave that topic for a different post. For now, let’s talk about the thing that’s been occupying the majority of my brain space this weekend: the birthday party.

Under normal circumstances, I would think that it’s a bit silly and self-indulgent to have a huge party for a 2 year-old who isn’t old enough to understand or care that it’s her birthday, and who won’t even remember the party a year from now. For Catie’s first birthday, we had a mini-party that consisted of the three of us and some cupcakes. It felt like a party would’ve been more for us than for her, so we didn’t have one.

However, soon after we moved into this neighborhood and Catie started to get acquainted with the kids who live around here, they all started asking me when her birthday was, and what kind of party she was going to have. Um…? I guess it makes sense, nothing is a bigger deal than a birthday when you’re a little kid (except maybe Christmas). But since I was talking to little kids – who, let’s face it, don’t have much of a sense of tact – it quickly became obvious that they all expect to be invited to Catie’s birthday party. Hmm.

Here are the problems I’m facing:
(a) our guest list consists of about 12-15 kids, plus their parents – I know that probably seems like a ridiculous amount, but that’s actually leaving out some of the kids that we don’t know that well or who very rarely play with Catie. These kids range in age anywhere from one to 12 years old. Yikes.
(b) Catie’s birthday is on January 27th. Late January is typically not the best time of year for an outdoor party, so inviting the kids over for a big backyard shindig isn’t really an option.
(c) I don’t want all those kids (plus their parents) in my house. It’s too much, I would be ridiculously overwhelmed.

So that leaves me with only one option that I can see, and that’s to have the party somewhere else. After much investigation, we’re thinking about having it at Chick-Fil-A; it’s relatively cheap, there’s an enclosed play area, and they handle pretty much everything for you. They provide meals for each kid, decor (plates, hats, cups, etc.) based on the theme you choose (I don’t think Wonder Pets party supplies exist, so I’m torn between Winnie the Pooh and Thomas the Tank Engine, Catie’s other two favorites), balloons, cake, ice cream, everything. Oh, plus we get a visit from the Chick-Fil-A cow mascot, who I imagine will absolutely terrify Catie. But still, big scary cow mascot not withstanding, it’s a really good deal.

I was talking about this with Meredith, the mom next door, and she said that the kids usually love parties that take place anywhere outside of the neighborhood. There’s something about seeing their friends outside of their normal context (i.e., at each other’s houses) that gets them all jazzed and excited. So I think that’s probably what we’re going to do.

What do y’all think? Is it too white trash to have a birthday party at a fast food restaurant? Or too over the top to have a big birthday bash for a two year-old?

Random Updates

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Diet Update: I still haven’t cheated, while Dave is being much more lax about the whole no-sugar, no-white-flour thing. Which is fine for him – he’s a guy, he can probably drop ten pounds just by thinking about cutting sugar out of his diet. Grrr. (Ok, full disclosure: I did have one roll of Smarties, but I was getting the low blood sugar shakes, so I panicked and went for the candy.) Anyway, I’m starting to feel better, which I guess means my body is almost finished with this whole sugar detox process. And I’m coming up with some interesting dinner recipes, which has been challenging (no mashed potatoes or pasta on the side? what are we supposed to eat?!?!), but we’ve found some things that we really like, so that’s good.

Sippy Cup Update: I think I won this particular battle in the Toddler War. Yesterday and today, every time Catie was thirsty and asked for a drink, she took the sippy cup from me and drank it on her own with no objection at all. Awesome. Mommy FTW!

Weather Update: We’ve had this crazy wind/rain storm off and on all day today, and it knocked out our power for about two hours. I was bitching and moaning about it until I heard about the flooding out in Seattle, looked up road closures for King County, and found out that sure enough, if we were still in our old house, we’d be flooded in and not able to go anywhere. So now I’m shutting up because I am just ever so thankful that we don’t live there anymore.

Employment Update: I had a job interview today, which was for a job that I’d feel totally indifferent about (it’s fine, I wouldn’t hate it, but it isn’t my passion, so… meh?), but the salary is really impressive, so I’m sort of confused and trying to wrap my head around it. If I get the offer, I’m sure I’ll end up taking it, just because it would be a really good opportunity. But it’s kind of a moot point for now, because all I’ve had at this point is a preliminary interview with an HR person. If they decide they like me, I’ll still have two or three more rounds of interviews to get through, before I maybe, possibly, get an offer. So absolutely nothing is decided at this point. I’m trying not to worry about it, and just know that whatever is supposed to happen, will happen. You know, que sera sera or something like that.

The Sippy Cup Wars

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So far on this diet, I’m doing… ok. I’m managing. I mean, I haven’t cheated at all, but I feel like crap on a stick. I’m basically trying to re-train my brain to break some of the bad habits that I’ve gotten myself into. And it’s hard, because my brain is still trying to tell me, “no no, after breakfast, you need that oatmeal cookie.” And of course I don’t need it, so I don’t eat one. But that leaves me with the craving, which sucks. So until my brain gets out of these bad habits, I’m just feeling sort of scattered and very, very crabby. And a little weepy. Is this what it’s like when people quit smoking? Because it sort of feels like I’m trying to fix an addiction here. And I don’t even have Dr. Drew to pat me on the shoulder and tell me I’m doing a good job. (Hmmm, Dr. Drew and an oatmeal cookie, now that is something I could really go for right now… But I digress.)

Since I’m already grouchy and miserable, I decided to go ahead and take on another challenge that’s been annoying me for a while. Catie is off the bottle completely, and has been since she was about 15 months old. She is an all-sippy-cup, all-the-time kind of girl, and that’s honestly fine with me. Yes, I realize that she will soon be two years old, and I should be teaching her how to drink from a regular cup, but I’m procrastinating about that because I know it’s going to involve a lot of clean-up. And I’m lazy. She can drink from a cup with a straw, but she prefers the sippy.

The problem? She expects me to hold the sippy cup for her. She absolutely knows how to do it herself, she does it all the time when I’m not around, or say, when she’s in her car seat and I’m driving. I think she wants me to hold it because it’s her way of making sure she has my undivided attention. And you know, she already has my attention pretty much every waking minute of the day. As it stands now, every time the kiddo is thirsty, she expects me to stop what I’m doing and hold her sippy cup for her. I don’t mind doing it when she first wakes up, or before bedtime, because that’s our quiet snuggle time. But for every beverage requirement (approximately once an hour) all day long? No. Enough is enough.

So since yesterday, when she asks for her juice, I’ve been handing her the cup instead of holding it for her. She screams and throws the cup at me, and I ignore her and go about my business while she throws herself on the floor howling about what a horrible mommy I am. After a few minutes, she relents, picks up the cup and takes a drink all by herself. At which point I applaud, tell her what a big girl she is, give her a hug and a kiss on the head, and basically praise her like crazy for doing something she’s been able to do for the past year. Eh, whatever works, right?

After this, I might start working on teaching her how to drink from a regular cup. But I’m not looking forward to that at all. Can’t she learn how to do that in preschool or something?

first post of '09

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Ok, enough of all that sappiness. Y’all just want to see a hyper-after-her-bathtime toddler shake her groove thang to a Dixie Chicks song, don’t you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKWdoQkuI8g

You’re welcome.

(Oh, and apparently when I thought she said “funny” in the middle when she starts doing that floor-hop thing? Yeah, she actually said “bunny.” Which is why she was bouncing like that. Way to pay attention there, Mama.)

We had a lovely, lazy New Year’s Eve. We finally got Catie settled down and asleep around 11 p.m. (I know!) After she was finally out, Dave and I settled in on the couch to watch the countdown coverage and have a drink. (Ok, I had two. Or maybe 2 1/2, depending on how you measure. But I woke up today with no trace of a hangover whatsoever, so the point is that I didn’t overindulge.)

Dave and I managed to stay awake until midnight, at which point we gave each other a kiss and said happy new year – you know, as you do – and then we immediately clicked over to Noggin to make sure it was still there. Romantic, right?

Apparently Time Warner and Viacom settled their beef, although it’ll probably mean an extra $10 a month on our cable bill. Oh well, no matter. Those Time Warner people don’t know the kind of fury that they would’ve had to deal with if they took my Jon Stewart away from me. Not to mention that in Catie’s world, a day without the Wonder Pets is a day not worth living. So hooray, we have all of our channels. Oh, and we now have Bravo too! Yay! I’ve already recorded a Project Runway marathon, I can’t wait to catch up on most of this past season that I missed.

Today I’ve spent a good chunk of the day putting away Christmas decorations and trying to clean up the house. I’m sad to see it go, because it’s been such a fun holiday, but it’s nice to get the house back to normal. Catie came outside with me when I took our outside lights down, and she didn’t freak out and cry like I expected. In fact, she was pretty happy and adorable.

playing peekaboo around a tree

When she asked what I was doing with the lights, I told her that they had to go bye-bye for now, but we’d put them back up next Christmas. Of course, she has no concept of time so for all she knows that means they’ll be back tomorrow, but she accepted that and was fine with it. When we headed inside to get lunch, she said, “Bye, lights! Bye, Missmas! See you later!” Darn right, baby girl. Darn right.

a New Year's love letter to my husband

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Dear Dave,

I know this past year has been pretty rough on us. The moving expenses really hit us hard, and the stress from your job has been truly overwhelming for you – and by extension, Catie and me too. We’ve also had to deal with some pretty significant illnesses: Catie’s asthma diagnosis, the two different hospital stays that it’s entailed, plus all of the medications and doctor visits in between. Then there was also my mom’s chemotherapy and surgeries, your root canal, plus all of the other minor little things. And even though the move was something that we both wanted, it’s been hard on both of us, leaving our friends and all of the comforts that we had grown accustomed to in Washington.

But this has also been a really good year for us too. For one, we sold our house in the middle of a recession, which you have to admit was pretty damn fortunate. And even with as much as I miss Seattle and our friends there, I know without a doubt that we are exactly where we’re supposed to be. Every time Catie and I go outside and the neighborhood kids spot her and come running toward her screaming her name because they’re so happy to see her, I know that we are so lucky to have found this house in this neighborhood. (You know the livestock in Duvall was never that excited to see us. The horses would sometimes come to the fence to say hi, but it’s no comparison to the adulation that she gets now.) It’s been so easy for us to make friends here too, which has made the transition to a new state (heck, a new time zone) significantly nicer.

Another upside of 2008: I have loved watching Catie grow from a crawling, barely-speaking one year-old baby to a running, talking little girl with a full-on, headstrong personality of her own. I love seeing all of the various traits she picks up, some from me and some from you. I try to imagine what she’ll be like this time next year when she’s an almost-3 year-old. She’ll likely be a fluent English speaker, she probably won’t want us to carry her everywhere anymore, she’ll be sleeping in a big-girl bed, and who knows, she might even be potty-trained. It’s almost impossible to imagine, but I know that at this time last year, I couldn’t have guessed what she’d be like now. That little girl of ours amazes me every day, and I especially love watching the way she interacts with you. The way you two have your own little games, your little Daddy & Catie snuggle time in the morning, and how whenever she and I go out to run errands, the second we pull back into the driveway, the first thing she says is always, “Go see Daddy?” I couldn’t have asked for a better Daddy for her.

I really have been so proud of you this year: the way that you handled the move so easily; the way you supported me during my post-move freakout; the job stress you’ve dealt with that would’ve given lots of people a heart attack by now; the weight you’ve lost and how hard you’ve been working to get healthy; and the fantastic father and husband you’ve been. I know there’s a lot of stuff that we need to improve in the coming year, but I also know that we’ll deal with it and we’ll be fine. I read once that moving is the #2 most stressful thing a couple can go through. A death in the family is number one. Considering how well we dealt with our cross-country move (with a toddler and two cats, no less!), I think at this point we can handle just about anything.

I love you and Catie both so much, and I can’t wait to spend 2009 – and all my future years – with this little family that we’ve created.

Love,
Cindy
xoxox

[Editor’s Note: I started composing this in my head around 2 a.m. last night, and I was going to handwrite it, but then I thought: hey, blog fodder. Not like anything in here is all that private or secret. And this way it never gets lost.]