Toddler Heaven

I discovered this week that our new house is in walking distance to toddler heaven. There is a church blocks away that holds a bi-weekly play time for kids under 5 years-old. When we walked in I so wanted to be little again.

An entire gymnasium filled with toys, toys I’d never seen or knew existed. Jax couldn’t wait to get out of her stroller and explore the fun. She was excitedly overwhelmed and couldn’t spend more than a few seconds doing anything before she ran off to the next.

There is no better feeling in the world than seeing your child happy and flushed with sheer giddiness.

She took a long nap that afternoon. Bonus!

Soon

We moved over the weekend and I don’t think I have ever been more exhausted in my entire life. This was a tough change for me, mostly because I worried about how it would effect Jacquelyn. The house we left was  the home we brought her home too – it was the only home she has ever known in her year and a half, she knew it and it was comfortable for her.

I worried about the transition of being in a new place. And I was partly right to worry. She has been handling it like a boss, but she is a little clingier and whinier and more temperamental. As if that was needed from my super sassy gal. I am trying to keep her on her regular schedule – going to her activities, even though I would rather be at home organizing my boxed life. We’ve even been going out more and staying super busy doing fun things together so I can wear her out. The goal with t hat is to wear her out so that she doesn’t care that she is sleeping in a strange place. It’s been working – kinda. She won’t take a good nap during the day here at the new house so by the time bedtime rolls around, she is wiped. Then she wakes up earlier than usual and I am wiped from staying up late the night before unpacking! I am missing our usual old sleep-in super late days. I am hoping we will get back in to that routine.

I would really like to get back in to the swing of blogging regularly again. Sharing recipes and all. I have yet to even cook in this new house, besides Jax’s daily scrambled egg breakfast. Soon I will get back into the rhythm.

Soon.

Boxed

My whole life boxed.

The LOVE of my life boxed.

Violated!

Ugh – right now I am seething. I inadvertently left my car door unlocked over night and some really awesome person(s) took it upon themselves to rifle through my belongings. I first noticed my glove box open when I was positive I had not opened it for weeks, then I noticed the center console, the sunglass holder and all the storage compartments left wide open.

My bad for leaving it unlocked but who is to say they wouldn’t have broken windows to get what they wanted; which in this case wasn’t much – thankfully.

I’m especially irritated because they stole the backpack I use for Jax’s swim lessons – so they got her swim diaper, a pack of wipes and diapers, baby wash, her pool towel, six of her swim suits, my swim suit and her snack cup and sippy. They also took the Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses my husband gave me for our anniversary last year.

What creeps.

I particularly LOATHE thieves. I think there is a special place in hell for those who take what is not theirs – those who steal from honest people who make an honest living and work hard for the things they have.

The feeling of violation I feel is horrid. I feel invaded and disturbed that some lousy jackass or two or several opened my car door and put their filthy hands all over my things – touched Jax’s car seat and some of her clothes that were left in there and left the nastiness of their criminal deeds behind. I hate them for that – I hate them for thinking it is their right to take from me – to take from anybody! Despicable scum is the only way to describe these scoundrels. These sorry excuses for mankind. These thieves!

I am not new to being a victim of the violation of theft.

Years back, as I was pumping gas, some drug addicted imbecile jumped in my car and just drove away with it. I was left at the pump, still holding the nozzle, in total shock. Luckily, the idiot crossed paths with a dispatched officer and he took them on a two mile chase. Get this – he led a swarm of cops to his own home. I was not being harsh when I called him an idiot. Luckily, I got my car back within the hour but it creeped me out that such heinous riff-raff sat in my car – the car I’d saved up for! I immediately took my car for a wash and then went home and sanitized the steering wheel, floor mats and myself! Ugh!

A few years after that, my home was broken into and robbed. Totally ransacked. They left no room intact – I’m talking mattresses turned over, drawers dumped, contents of closets and cabinets strewn about. They walked away with my spare set of house/car keys and my trust in people. I never slept in that house again. My husband, who was just my boyfriend at the time, did not want me at that house anymore and I did not want to be there so I moved in with him and never set foot in that tainted abode again.

Crazy how the these selfish, thieving animals can change so much with their criminally bad choices. They can shatter a person’s sense of security and safety in minutes.

We move this week and it saddens me that our last weekend in this home, that I have loved so much, has been tainted by this act of gross violation.

I hope they enjoy the size 2T bikinis and the Disney Princess towel they scored.

Jerks.

18 Months of Awesome

My love bug is 18 months old today. A year and a half – I can’t even believe it!

• 18 months of hanging out with the coolest chick I know.
• 18 months of super sass packed in an adorable package.
• 18 months of sleeping within two feet of the sweetest thing in the world. I have never slept apart from her, never even slept in another room then the one she was in.
• 18 months of waking up to the most radiant smile and the happiest cooing. In 18 months I can’t recall a time when she woke up in the morning anything but cheerful and excited to start her day.

At 18 months old my bug weighs 30 pounds! My sweet, sweet chubette. She has too many teeth for me to count! If I try she bites my finger, that sticker!

She loves to babble endlessly. She clearly says “mama,” “dada,” “mommy,” “daddy,” “bye,” “hi,” “ball,” “no,” “caca” and “bus.” And has her own special way of saying “please” (bee or bees), “thank you” (ti too), “pizza” (pee-ta), “pasta” (pa-ta), “noodle” (nu-no), “Jax” (dah). Listening to her talk is one of my biggest joys and I love teaching her new words. I know I am leaving out at least a dozen other things she says. She is a chatter box!

She’s so awesome. So outgoing and fun. My days are never boring.

When I look at her I still see such a baby. My baby. Always.

Jax hijacked this quad ride-on from a two year-old boy at the park. She loved it. I see a pink one in her future.