What's Going On?

I don't know what it was like where you live but this weekend's weather was awesome on the Jersey shore! I actually got to spend some time outside with the fam. because it was neither too hot or too humid to have Stella out with us! Saturday we spent the later half of the afternoon at Justin's grandparent's house. It is one of our favorite places to be not only because Mom Mom and Pop Pop are two amazing people who we love dearly but also because they have a killer home! It is at the end of a lagoon so we get to smell the salt air and watch boats cruise by and they also have an awesome pool that Madison spends tons of time in. While we were there the idea of riding a tricycle really clicked with Madison. The tiny, pink Schwinn that she got last Christmas has now become her new favorite toy. This really shows how much she has grown because at Christmas her legs couldn't reach the pedals. Every time she would get on the bike she would get really frustrated because she wasn't able to make it move by herself. Now she is a cruising maniac that only has one speed!. FAST! I know the pic I posted has her not wearing a helmet but before I get any responses to that affect, she does have one and she does wear it along with her other safety gear. She was just posing for this pic so I didn't make her put it on!

As for Sunday, we got up and actually out of the house by 8:00 and headed to the beach. There was a cool breeze so Stella actually spent the morning bundled in a blanket to stay warm. Madison could care less about the temp. She was all about using her boogie board, crushing Daddy's sand castles and catching sand crabs. The afternoon was filled with thunder storms so we just hung at a friend's house and had a great time!

Unfortunately my digital camera decided to crap out so know I'm stuck using my 35mm. It is a very high end 35mm but still a hassle buying film, getting it developed . . . I'm so pissed 'cause this was my second Canon digital in 1 1/2 years. Both cameras worked great at first and out of the blue started giving me this weird E18 error message. After researching online I found out this is a common problem. Needless to say Canon will be hearing from me. We'll see what their response is. Hopefully it is a positive one 'cause I've been looking at the Canon Rebels but there is NO WAY I'm going to drop that kind of money with the chance of the camera just deciding not to work like the one I have now. GRRRRRRRRRRR!

Oh well Stella just woke up and after caring for her I'm off to clean Madison's room. Wish me luck 'cause I'm gonna need it in that disaster area!

P.S. Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a copy of "Divine Color When Color Sings" by Gretchen Schauffler. Contest ends Wednesday, August 13th.

Updates, more updates and a dilemma

Hi all! So I promised updates and here they are.



Bathroom- The goal was to have the tub installed and functioning by Sunday afternoon. It is now Tuesday afternoon and when you walk into my bathroom you can see straight down into the crawl space. Why? When the tub was pulled out we discovered several rotting beams in the walls and also on the floor. Instead of replacing them on Sunday Justin "had" to spend the afternoon with his friend Dave while I was at his fiance's shower. After work yesterday Justin did as much as he could but there is still a lot left to do before getting a tub. Complete bathroom in two weeks? Riiiiiiiiiiiight!!!



Pool- We've attempted to get Madison in the pool several times but it was a little chilly. Instead of a happy preschooler splashing around it looked like a cat fighting to stay out of the water. At one point she was just about sitting on my head to stay high and dry! Yesterday after much effort she got in and stayed in for 2 1/2 hours until I dragged her out!!!! Yay! Mental note - Do NOT put pressure on the side of the pool 'cause it will fold over and let the water out!



Baby- No c-section date but everything is going well. I think she has dropped and if anyone else tells me how big I've gotten all of the sudden at that I don't look only 32 weeks I may scream! I also just want to make a note here that the name Stella was chosen way before it became trendy. I care more about liking my kids' names than their popularity BUT this time around I thought I found something that was different without being weird. If you haven't heard Tori Spelling had a little girl yesterday and named her Stella and I just feel the name getting trendier by the second!



Now for the dilemma with Madison. When we got to school she went over to play with two little girls who were sitting on a bench. There was plenty of space for Madison but the one little girl said "You can't sit here. You aren't cool enough to be in our club." Madison stood there staring at them on the verge of tears not knowing what to do. She is THREE! My little girl should not have to deal with rejection already! Anyway I fought the urge to yank the little girl out of the seat by her pigtails and tell her how "not nice" she had been but I decided to call Madison over instead. I asked her what was going on. Her response was that "Barbie (real name hidden) isn't my friend. She doesn't like me anymore". She then proceeded to cling to me with her head on my shoulder. At this point I'm not sure who was more crushed. It took all I had not to run away with Madison in tow and spend the day making her feel super special. I decided to remind her how smart, friendly and beautiful she is. I then told her that what the girl did was not nice and when people aren't nice like that they are not good friends. Did she get it? I'm not really sure 'cause she is only three and I sometimes have trouble remembering that she is still a baby. I asked her if she saw any kids in the class that are fun to play with and she pointed out her little buddy Connor. I asked her if Connor was nice to her and she said "Yes, mommy he's my friend!" If fought the urge to just hold her all day and put her down. She ran off to play with him as happy as could be. There is only 1 day left of school so I decided to not mention it to the teacher. The mom of the little brat also works at the school and is super sweet. I know she would be crushed if she knew what her daughter was doing ans one of her older sisters (she is the youngest of 6 so obviously we know where she learned this) is a student of mine. Bottom line is if there were more time in school left I would mention it but for one more day what will be solved? I did check on Madison throughout the say and she was fine. When I picked her up she mentioned that this girl was not her friend but she had others so she did not forget. Madison even had me call Justin at work so she could tell him how this girl was no longer her friend.

I was just wondering what you would have done in this situation? I feel like what I said to Madison was a way to make her feel better about herself and to help her develop coping skills. Unfortunately Mommy will not always be there to step in so the next best thing will be to have a daughter strong enough to deal with these situations on her own. BUUUUUUUUT Did I mention that she is only THREE? I know kids can be mean but knowing my daughter has to learn this at such an early age is really heartbreaking. Oh well enough rambling. Let me know what you think.