Something To Strive For

Mike and I dropped Gwen off at her new daycare this morning.  She was a little shy at first but seemed okay.  She went to sit at a table for breakfast and there was no room with the other kids, so she sat alone.  It's bad enough that I dropped her off in a strange location with strange people, but she had to sit alone to eat???  I stayed with her for as long as I could but knew that I had to get to work.  When we walked away I heard her crying "mama".  My heart was literally ripped from my chest.  I am at work and can't think of anything but her. 

I know I am someone that can't be a stay at home mom.  As much as I LOVE Gwen I know I couldn't spend my life keeping her occupied and keeping the house clean.  I need intellectual stimulation and would go bonkers being at home all the time and dealing with other mom's and their competitiveness (and their bratty kids).  I wish I could live in a perfect world where I worked part time and was with Gwen part time.   I guess I do have something to strive for.

Father's Day 2010

A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty. ~Author Unknown

We had a great Father's Day weekend.  We held a BBQ at our house with friends on Saturday and went to brunch at Lola on Sunday.  It was a beautiful weekend and Gwen got to enjoy her new pool with friends while we enjoyed our friends with good food and good spirits.

In non-Father's Day News, Gwen starts her new daycare tomorrow.  I am a bit nervous as to what this week will bring.  She'll be in a new location on a completely new schedule, plus she will be sleeping on a cot, rather than in a crib.  I have no idea how that is going to go and am a bit nervous about the napping situation especially because she has been taking 3 hour naps lately.  I am hoping for the best, but anticipating the worst.  Wish us luck........but in the meantime enjoy some photos from this weekend.

I Can Put on My Own Shirt.......Sort of.

Gwen gave up on dressing herself and decided to ride her bike.

Deep Thoughts With Gwen

You’re in a relationship, but you don’t know the rules.
She’s often screaming at you, and you don’t know why.
You’re always committing infractions, and you still don’t know what you did wrong.
Sometimes she hits you, sometimes she kicks you.
Sometimes she hits you with objects, then laughs about it.
Occasionally you wonder if you’ll be found one day unconscious.
She shows no remorse.
You can’t use logic to reason with her, and you argue constantly.
When you think you’ve had enough, she’s suddenly the most charming person on earth.
She’ll throw her arms around you, tell you she loves you, and you know you’d never leave her.
Are you in an abusive relationship? No… you’re the parent of a toddler!

I Love You

Every night, as part of the bedtime routine,  I tell Gwen that I love her.  This normally happens on my way out of the bedroom before I shut the door.  Last night was no different, with one exception...........from the bedroom came a little voice that said, what sounded like, "I Love You".  It was a good night.

Pictures from Mexico

Here are some pictures from our trip to Cabo.  The first is the view from the beach.  The second and third are from our glass bottom boat trip to the Arch/Lover's Beach/Divorce Beach.   For the record I thought I would take a lovely ride to a beach, be dropped off, and picked up an hour later.  Nope.  It was a crazy ride in rough waters.  I was scared out of my mind.  The last picture is from our 5 Year Anniversary dinner.  If I look sickly, it is because I was.  Please see previous post about not being able to party like I used to :-)

Things Mexico Taught Me

I am back from our Gwen free vacation in Mexico.  We had an amazing time and truly enjoyed our freedom as a couple.  As Mike said "That's the beauty of it, I can do whatever the "f" I want".  I wanted to pass on some of my learnings from Mexico, so that maybe I could help another couple leaving their child for the first time:

1.  It's the act of leaving your child that is the hard part.  Once you get to your destination it is a breeze, or as I like to say "nothing takes your mind of missing your child like a beer chugging contest". 

2.  Nothing changes your booze tolerance like a child.  We can not drink like we used to, and we learned the hard way in Mexico.  One morning Mike asked me "do you think I was poisoned last night"..........nope, you are just old and lame. 

3.  I now see why people sit under an umbrella at the pool or on the beach.  My white stomach, that hadn't seen the light of day in over 2 years, got burned in a strange blotchy pattern.  At first we thought it was bad sunscreen, nope, we are just way too white and spend way too much time indoors.

4.  While spending alone time as a couple I was able to remember why we got married in the first place (5 years ago).  We didn't have any responsibility.  We didn't have anything to do but be the 2 of us.  We laughed a lot over the course of the week and enjoyed our time away.  I think every couple should do this at least once a year :-)

5 Years Ago.....................