Eli Magic

Peanut instantly connected with Eli (mom's dear one). She just adored him. We all took her to the Dinosaur Museum on the Friday after Thanksgiving. She stuck to him like glue. I tried in vain to capture those moments with my camera...grrr. I did get a couple of decent photos. I love sharing my daughter with people...especially when they are so giving and kind.

Let's Go Seminoles!?

Saturday the 24th of November was the FSU/UF game. We played on UF's home field (aka "the Swamp"). Not a good game...but we did have fun dressing up for it! Again, I just could not get a good photo of Peanut because standing still for "mommy" to take the picture is just no fun. I was surprised when she remembered the cheers though...Let's go Seminoles, fight team fight, scalp em!...or not as was the case on Saturday. :(

Blanket

It snowed in Albuquerque Friday morning and afternoon...didn't really stick, but it sure was fun watching it come down. Ever notice how quiet the world seems when snow first starts to fall? Like the earth just camly stops and waits to be covered. The same calm you get when you're putting a blanket on someone. Here are some photos taken from my mom's house. Her views of the mountains are great. Also there's a picture of a peace rose that bloomed outside her kitchen window. It was a stunner!

More White Balls Please!

Peanut has been calling my mom's matzo ball soup "white balls" since she was old enough to talk. The last time my mom was in Dallas she made extra soup and matzo balls for me to serve after she left. Peanut wouldn't eat them. The only time she'll eat them is when Nana Rose feeds them to her. I was unable to capture a good picture of the two of them together (camera issues), but I did get this cute one of her being fed. The hand feeding her is Nana's though! Matzo balls are pretty big . She ate two! I had three and could have had them all day long. Nobody makes matzo balls like my mom! Best feel good food on the planet...Jewish Penicillin.

Plane ride to Albuquerque

I took Peanut to Albuquerque to celebrate Thanksgiving with Nana Rose and Eli. Was a little nervous about the plane ride since it had been about a year and a half since the last time we traveled. I purchased a portable DVD player a few hours before our flight. I didn't think I had enough time to charge it up, but I did it anyway (for about an hour and you're supposed to charge the battery for at least 8 hours according to the instructions). I pulled it out while we were on the plane and told her that I wasn't sure how long it would work...it lasted for over an hour! She especially liked that the headphones fit ("Mommy, these fit me just right!"). Flying back was also a breeze and not just because we had the DVD player. We simply had fun. She made so many people smile along the way. It amazes me her capacity to spread sunshine. Here are a couple of photos of my traveling Peanut.

Happiness comes in a wrapper sometimes

Received these photos from Robert. They're from Halloween night at Mimi and Paw Paw's house. She really got into the candy this year. I love the "mmm" noises she makes when she's eating it. Pure happiness.

The Percy-nator

New table

I have been wanting a new table for my dining room for the last two years. Finally found one to match the sideboard (close enough). Amazing what a little furniture can do to lift a girl's spirits. Doesn't quite lift my spirits as Seattle, but it will have to do for now. ;)

Scarecrows a plenty

Had way too much fun decorating the front of our house this year for Halloween and Thanksgiving. In the spirit of "Autumn" I have decided to leave the decorations up until after Thanksgiving. Here are a couple of photos. Loved picking out the scarecrows. Some I found with Peanut and some were a surprise to her when Robert would drop her off to me on Saturday. I love Saturday drop off mornings. Such a treat to get the hugs from my sweet girl. Amazing how I always think she's grown in just the three days that we're apart...and how much she looks like Robert on Saturdays and leaves looking like me on Wednesdays.

Ever since the accident

Had my first car accident yesterday while on my lunch break. Was pretty scary and brought up all sorts of emotions. I was heading east on Alpha Rd and had the green light. Car that was coming from opposite direction and turning left didn't yield right of way. Didn't even see her until I hit her because she was trailing behind an 18 wheeler that had also just turned left. I was thinking to myself "wow, that truck is nervy for turning without an arrow" and BOOM!!! there was the other car. Apparently the lady assumed she had a green arrow since the truck just turned and she didn't slow down to make sure she could go. Her view of me was also blocked by the truck. Was amazing how many people stopped to make sure we were okay, including the lady who was behind the car that I hit. When she mentioned that it tugged on her heart b/c she too has a car seat in her back seat I started bawling...really hit that Peanut could have been in the car! Aaak...thankfully I was a block from the office and Sandi came to be with me. The lady whose car I hit was very nice, and I was so glad she wasn't hurt. The officer didn't issue a ticket to her, but she did acknowledge that she shouldn't have tried to turn. Her insurance should cover the damage, etc. By the time we were done giving our reports, exchanging info, etc we got to know each other pretty well...ended up giving her a hug before I left. I say any accident where (1) nobody gets hurt and (2) you can hug the person that you just had the accident with is a "good accident" (?) :)

Pictures are of my car (Charlie Brown) and the car I hit. I am so getting a Toyota again the next time around. My car is being fixed, but it is so tempting to get a new car now rather than waiting until my 40th birthday next year as planned.

Brings me to another story. There was this guy in high school named Robert Berezin. We were in drama and driver's ed together. Before I got to know him I always heard him start every sentence with "Ever since the accident...". Well naturally I thought the first couple of times that I heard it that there must have been some horrible accident that he was in...WRONG! He just thought it was cool to give that impression...a little wierd, but he was pretty darn funny most of the time. Fit right in with the drama crowd.

Trick or Treat Cutie

Peanut had a great time at school on Wednesday for Halloween and trick or treating later that evening. The little boy that she's walking with is Luke. They held hands for most of the parade. Very sweet boy and they've had a couple of fun play dates this past year. Trick or Treating at the in-laws was surprisingly easy. Felt no different than when I used to go over there with Robert...I guess b/c we just never really had an emotional connection with each other (Robert and me) before, so it is natural that no emotions were felt that night either. His parents were just wonderful, almost feel closer to them now.

"Sugar Me Up"

Peanut and I will be going to Mimi and Paw Paw's house for Trick-or-Treating this year. It's supposed to be her dad's year to have her for Trick-or-Treating, but we're already making great strides with this "co-parenting" stuff and he's invited me to come along...actually, it's quite possible his parents did the inviting, but what really matters is that Peanut gets both parents for Halloween. So...I was telling Peanut about our plans for Wednesday night and she said "Yeah, Mimi and Paw Paw are going to sugar me up on Halloween"...I think she's plenty sweet without the candy. Speaking of candy, she keeps asking to go to the "spooky store". We went to Party City to find my witch costume and they had candy bracelets. I got her one, and now she wants to go to the store all the time. She's definitely my daughter. I would do almost anything for candy/sweets when I was her age (still will! wink). Story goes that I used to ask everyone for cookies wherever we went. My mom told me that I wasn't allowed to do this...so we were visiting a friend and I said "It would be okay if you want to give me a cookie"...SEE! I didn't ask for it outright...kind of like asking to go to the spooky store.

One step closer

I am one step closer to my divorce being final
I am one step closer to understanding & accepting my part in this failure...& forgiving myself
I am one step closer to understanding his part in this failure...& letting go
I am one step closer to freedom it took losing to appreciate
I am one step closer to freely showing my new found love how much I love him
I am one step closer to linking my past with my present & learning from it
I am one step closer to myself

Last day of Soccer Tots - It was about the journey

Yesterday was the last Soccer Tots session for Peanut. She and Maddie were the only two girls in the class this time. I will never forget her face as the kids ran from one end of the field to the other...she'd skip and then look at me and smile and then skip some more. I decided for her it was not about the race...it was about the journey. I wonder if she'll get her dad's athletic ability...doesn't seem to be there just yet, but I hope so...much more athletic than I am. Whether she's good at sports or not, I just want to see her trying and having fun. Too many times I was told I wasn't good at sports as a kid and it kept me from trying. Very easy to say "I'm not going to be good at it, so why bother..." I think the best thing you can do for your kids is to expose them to sports and the arts, etc and just sit back and see what takes. No expectations. Now, should she decide to become an Ice Princess, I will be the happiest skating mom on the planet!...but no pressure. Would only want her to do that if it were her dream too.

Alphabet Surprise

It amazes me how differently children learn with their parents and with their teachers. I've been working on the letters of the alphabet with Peanut lately. Every time I ask her what a letter is I get "I don't know"...every now and then she'll throw me a bone, but not usually. Yesterday I picked Peanut up from school. She had her handwriting work that she had done in her folder. When we were in the car I told her what a great job she was doing with writing her letters. She asked for the paper so I gave it to her...then she starts rattling off all of the letters of her name. She got them all right except the "q" and the "t's" which she said were "g's" and "f's". Not bad considering her last name is 12 letters long! Told her she was a "stinker" for not coming clean about knowing her letters sooner...she thought that was pretty funny. What a fun surprise for me!

They really do listen

Sunday when we were at the pumpkin patch I had a quiet moment with Peanut. Thought it would be a good idea to talk with her about strangers since the place was pretty crowded. I've never really talked with her about that, so I told her what a stranger was and what she should do if she got lost or if a stranger tried to talk to her, etc. She was very quiet while I'll explained it, so I wasn't quite sure if she got it. Then this morning out of the blue (I'm lovin' these out of the blue comments) she said, "I'm not allowed to talk to strangers or leave with them..." Yes!!!!!! She does listen. Also found out that she's been learning the same thing in school. Very reassuring.

More photos from The Patch

Pumpkin Patch Gang

Took Peanut to the Pumpkin Patch in Flower Mound yesterday. It is becoming a tradition to go with Cecilie and Madeleine and this year we had "baby" Grey with us too! The girls had a lot of fun and it felt good to just let them run around barefoot and have a good time. Peanut especially enjoyed the cotton candy this year proving that she takes after me. We split a bag for the girls and she gobbled hers up in minutes...then she kept asking Maddie to "share" hers...thank goodness Maddie is good at sharing and not a huge fan of cotton candy (lucky Cecilie). One photo is of the girls playing in a wooden house. Peanut told me I had to be the wolf. I would knock and say "Little girls, little girls, please let me in" and Peanut would say, "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin". The second time I did that Peanut said, "This house is made of straw so you only have to 'foof' it" which is what I do when I blow on food that is too hot for her to eat. She cracks me up! We had the best time and she fell asleep in the car almost instantly on the way home. Think we were both tired out.

Fell off the soda wagon

Just had to have a little bit of soda, but still french fry free! I'm a junk food junkie. :(

9 Days Soda/ French Fry Free

I made the decision last week to cut out sodas and french fries from my diet. I was to a point where I wanted to drink a Coke with every meal and there was not a french fry in town that I would turn down. Goal is to cut the sodas and fries out and eventually ween myself off of fast food altogether...cravings are actually not so bad this time around...but oh how I wanted a coke this morning with a bagel...this also means that I'll probably give up pizza b/c I can't have a slice of pizza without a coke...they just go together...like S.D. and B.H. :)