falafels & a movie

Dear Em,
So far this year, Daddy & I have been much better at making time for date nights. We are so very thankful to have such willing family to look after you while your daddy & I take some time just for the two of us. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. In fact, most of my favorite date nights are nothing fancy at all.

Last year my best friend gave me the Hunger Games box set for my birthday. OMG, it was so good. It was the kind of good where I could not put the books down (even when we had guests over...whoops). I've passed on my love for the Hunger Games books to many people, our family, my best friends, my cousin, your nanny (in hindsight it could have been a mistake to introduce your nanny to a book that could not be put down when she was tasked with watching you. luckily it all worked out). When I heard they were making the book into a movie, I was psyched. Waiting almost a year to see the words come to life on the big screen was torture.

Your daddy hasn't read the books, but was happy to make any excuse to go to the movies. I also assured him it wasn't just another love story, & there would be lots of fighting & killing. So, he agreed to go with me & suggested we make a date night of it with dinner beforehand. We were going to catch the movie in South Kingstown. What did I want for dinner? Falafels of course.

Daddy & I drove over to our alma mater, the University of Rhode Island, to the place we have fondly referred to as the emporium for the past ten years. We parked in front of International Pockets Cafe. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It looks much like all the other college restaurants do in the emporium.

Yet, it is & always will be one of my favorite places. Where else can we go & feel a relaxed sense that not much has changed in ten years? Where else can you go where you're greeted with a smile & a freshly warm falafel while you wait to order? 

What is falafel? It is a yummy, delicious deep fried ball made from ground chickpeas, parsley, garlic, & fresh vegetables. It's typically served in a pita or a wrap. At International Pockets you have a wide range of hot sauces, tahini sauce, tabouleh, lettuce, tomato, grape leaves, cucumber, & peppers to add to the wrap. It's wicked good & wicked filling.

We bumped into & chatted with a past colleague of mine while waiting to order. While we ate, your daddy & I chatted about our past & our days at URI. We had so many fun adventures with our friends. I feel so fortunate to live just a short drive away from where we met & made so many great memories, especially because we can keep coming back for falafel.

When it's time to pay & leave International Pockets, they normally give you a small & sweet piece of baklava for dessert. They didn't this time, & I was sad they didn't. Sigh, I really didn't have any room for it since I demolished the falafel wrap (they're pretty large wraps). 

I saw this on Facebook & had to laugh.

We headed to the movie & both enjoyed it. I didn't think it was a good as the book, but I don't think it's possible without making a seven hour long movie. Daddy enjoyed it & is thinking of reading the books himself. 

It was a great date night. Dinner hit the spot. It's not an expensive place & certainly not fancy, but it's one of the best. The movie was fun. The night took us back to our college years for a few hours. Luckily you brought us straight back when you woke us up at your usual 6:30am the next morning.

I'm looking forward to summer picnics on the quad with you, Daddy, & some falafels.

I love you so,

Mommy

Nonnie's Beach Bag

Dear Em,
Remember the canvas tote bags we painted for your teachers for Christmas? Your Nonnie helped us make them & loved them. She remarked that she would like her very own bag, & I stored that in my brain for later. In the days that led up to Nonnie's birthday, I was excited for us to do something special for her. She always makes us feel so special for our birthdays. I planned to make Nonnie her very own bag, but I wanted to make a unique one just for her.

A few things about Nonnie. First, she is a beach bum. A perfect day for Nonnie is a whole day with her family at the beach. We pack up snacks & spend the whole day in the sunshine. We spalsh in the water. We go for long walks. We have a picnic. We play in the sand. We take lots of pictures. Nonnie is who I get my beachbumness from & who I hope you will get yours from.

If you ask Nonnie what her favorite color is, she doesn't have just one. Colors remind Nonnie of people. Purple is your Aunt Jennie's favorite, & when Nonnie is thinking of her she fills her home with purple. Pink is Aunt Gina's favorite, & pink always reminds Nonnie of her (pink is also your favorite & you will be fighting Aunt Gina because you are 2 & believe only one person can own a favorite color). Yellow is my favorite, & I love to dress you in yellow (a lot of people say yellow is your color). That's why when Nonnie sees the sun or bright daffodils, she thinks of us.

A sunshiney beach-bag is just what would be perfect for Nonnie, & we were going to make her just that. You get excited anytime I say the word paint. So, that was just a bonus. We used your handprints to make sunshines, & I wrote the words to a song that Nonnie loves to sing to you. I painted Nonnie's name so everyone knows it's her special bag.

When you saw the "E" at the end of "NONNIE," you said "E for Emma, let's write Emma too." I painted "LOVE, EMMA" on the back so Nonnie would always know who made her special sunshiney beach-bag.

I used a paint brush to fill in any spots that needed to be filled in & smooth out any globs. Since Nonnie couldn't help to make her own beach bag, Daddy helped washed you up while I dried each side with a blow drier before starting the next (& get the bathtub ready since you somehow got paint in your hair). We've gotten a lot better since last time (this time we had covered the table & were ready with paper towels), but it's still a three person job.

We ordered the bag from Amazon & already had the yellow craft paint (& your cute little hands). The whole project cost less than $15, & Nonnie has a wicked cute beach-bag to take on all of her beach trips this summer. We hope a lot of those beach-trips will be with us.

I'm kind of a crushing on Nonnie's sunshiney beach-bag. I kind of think I want one too. Good thing I have a daughter with the cutest little hands for sunshines.

I love you so,

Mommy

sounds like a typical morning

Dear Em,
This is what a typical morning can sound like in our house.

* Crash *

Me: (Upstairs getting dressed, calling downstairs to where the crash came from) "Em, what are you doing?"

Em: (In a very matter of fact, very loud yell) "She needs to take a bath!"

Me: (Knowing that the only two "she's" in our house are Em & I) "Who needs a bath?"

Em: (Exasperated) "Baby!"

Me: "Oh, Ok. Why don't you give baby a bath in the upstairs bathroom."

Em: (Sigh) "Ok, Mommy. Can you turn the water on?"

Me: "Why don't you give her a bath without any water?"

Em: (Sigh) "Ok."

* Moments pass. There is more crashing going on in the tub & then the sound of dresser drawers opening & shutting. *

Em: "Mommy, can you help me put her jammies on?"

Me: "Em, these are your jammies. They're big girl jammies. They're way too big for your baby. Why don't you put baby jammies on her?"

* Thumping down the stairs. More thumping & crashing. *

Em: (Calling loudly from downstairs) "I don't even have any baby jammies!"

* Moments pass. *

Em: "Baby, you're not even listening to me. You're making me very sad. You need to sit in timeout."

Sigh, I'm too young to be a grandma already. Where do you learn your mothering skills? Is that what I sound like? You may be little, but you sure do make getting dressed in the morning entertaining.

I love you so,

Mommy

April is for Birthdays

Dear Em,
For most people, April is a time of Easter celebrations. It's that time for us too, but it's also what I refer to as Birthday Palooza. So many people we love have birthdays that fall in April. Your Aunt Jennie, Aunt Andrea, Cousin Luke, Cousin Erin, Great Grandma, Nonnie, & Uncle Greg all have diamonds for birthstones. In fact, your Nonnie's birthday is today (I'm pretty sure we were the first ones to say Happy Birthday because our skype call woke her up).

In the past, I made signs & we took pictures to celebrate each birthday.

You're growing & interested in creating things now. Instead of the pictures, now we enjoying making things together. This April we were very busy making fun surprises to send in the mail. I decided we would send balloons to the birthday boys & girls. You love balloons. Sending regular balloons would be pretty tough. So, we decided to make special ones.

First, you painted a few master pieces.

It was my idea to make balloons, but you insisted every needs lots of hearts. So, we punched out some hearts together.

After your paintings dried, I folded the paper in half & drew balloon shapes with the fold at the top of the balloon. I cut them out & wrote a birthday message on the inside (you helped sign your name).

You glued your hearts on the insides of the balloons. 

Four birthday balloons almost ready to go.

I punched a hole in the bottom of each one & tied a ribbon. There you have it. Four birthday balloons ready to be mailed float to four very special birthday boys & girls.

I'm proud of our birthday balloons. You may not have made them completely by yourself, but you were the biggest contributer. It was fun to make them together, to let you create on your own (painting) & then work as a team to put it all together. Even your daddy helped. I hope they made everyone's day a little more special. They should all know that the hearts came from you.

I love you so,

Mommy

Happy Easter 2012

Dear Em,
Easter was a special day for you. You had so much fun finding your Easter basket & then hunting for eggs throughout the house. You had a mouth full of jelly beans as you hunted for more eggs. "I just want to eat them all," you said, almost unintelligible because you had a mouth full of jelly beans. Your Daddy & I smiled & laughed.

You had such a fun day at church & with your Daddy's side of the family. You were wicked cute running around & hunting for Easter Eggs with your two little cousins. Grandma & Papa were delighted to have Easter diner with you & you with them.

For pictures this year, I took them. Some outside & some inside. I asked you earlier in the week if you wanted to sit on the Easter Bunny's lap & you very excitedly said "yes!" Going after school on Good Friday was not a great choice. We waited in line for an hour. I almost said "forget it" & took you home, but you were excited. You were waving & calling "hi, Easter Bunny." You were oooooing & awwwwing over the other kids in their Easter outfits. The wait went by quick (for the most part), & you had a blast sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap.

I think we were all exhausted by the end of the day, but you still spent an hour singing & talking to your "friends" in your crib before falling asleep. I can't believe another year has gone by. I can't believe you just had your third Easter. I can't believe how much you've changed since your last Easter. Sigh, it truly does go by so fast.

I love you so,

Mommy

love letters

Dear Em,

 "'Jesus is alive.'"

- from The Story of Jesus: for young children retold by Heather Amery

We've had such a fun week celebrating the festivities & colors of Easter, but that's not what Easter is all about to me. In our house Easter isn't about a story of a bunny, it's about the story of Jesus. It's hard, though. The colors & the mascot make the bunny & candy part of Easter more fun & easier to teach. How do you teach a two year old about Jesus being beaten, nailed to a cross, dying, & rising from the dead? It's not easy, at least not for me.

When you were born, a dear friend sent us a book as a gift. I've cherished The Story of Jesus: for young children since. I cherish it partly because of who sent us the gift & the sweet words she wrote on the inside cover. I also cherish it because it has given me a way to teach you about Jesus since you were born. I can teach you about His love all day, but this book includes stories of His love & His hardships & struggles.

I love watching your brow furrow in concentration when we read the stories of Jesus stories together. I love that you ask questions. I hope you always will. I hope that as you grow, you always know that Jesus is the reason for this season.

I love you so,

Mommy

* Readers, how do you balance the commercial & religious sides to this season? *

hunting for eggs

Dear Em,
Yesterday you had a sweet little Easter Egg hunt with two of your adorable friends. The three of you were all born within a few months of each other and have been "playing" together since you were newborns. It's so fun to watch you play & see your individual personalities shine. Each of you do & process things so differently. It amazes me, because I remember when you all started out so very small.

The three of you got a running start on the egg hunting.

Each mommy brought 12 eggs. We all filled the eggs with something different. Mine were filled with grapes, blueberries, & jelly beans. Some were filled with organic teddy graham crackers. Some were filled with goldfish. You loved them all.

Little S was a champion egg finder. After the initial egg hunt was done, she was ready to find more eggs. So, we dumped the contents of the eggs & made a new egg hunt (although, we didn't fool her with the empty eggs).

After her bag was filled, little M just wanted to play.

You were happy to do whatever it was that your friends were doing.

It was such a fun time to gather as kids & mommies. You girls played & us mommies chatted. We all had a blast. The weather was so beautiful. It was so nice to be out in the sunshine & enjoying the fresh air.

We ended the day with the obligatory picture of the three of you. I hope when you're 18, we can go through years of obligatory pictures of you with your two sweet girlfriends.

I love you so,

Mommy

The Grandest Pictures of the Easter Parade

Dear Em,

"In your Easter Bonnet, 

with all the frills upon it,

You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade."

- Easter Parade by Irving Berlin

Ok, so you've never worn an Easter Bonnet & we haven't been in any parades, but that doesn't stop me from taking pictures like you were a cast member in the 1948 musical.

I bought your first Easter dress before you were even born, & I couldn't wait to sit you on the Easter Bunny's lap. You did really well. No real smiles, but no tears either. You were less than four months old & sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap probably thinking, "what is my crazy mom taking pictures of me doing now?"

As a reward for a job well done (or a job that was to come), I took you for a ride on the mall carousel. You were kind of nonchalant about that too, but I enjoyed it. It was your first carousel ride. Afterwards, we took you home, & then the real photo shoot began.

What's in your Easter Basket?

Dear Em,
For my very first Easter, your Nonnie really wanted me to have a Winnie the Pooh Easter basket. Papi kept telling her to wait until payday. When payday arrived, the baskets were sold out & Nonnie was heartbroken. Luckily, right before Easter she found a Winnie the Pooh basket filled with fruit at the grocery store. She was happy to have the Winnie the Pooh basket for me & the fruit was a nice addition to the Easter Day festivities. Ever since, I always found my basket filled with lots of fruit, some candy, & one special gift on Easter morning (I was shocked to learn not all kids find baskets full of fruit).

By the time you're reading this you will know that magical beings lived with you the whole time you were growing up. It's true. Santa, the Easter Bunny, & the Tooth Fairy all lived in your very own house. Of course that's because Daddy & I were those magical beings.

It's beginning to look a lot like...Easter

Dear Em,
I'm a Navy Brat. So, for most of my life, I moved at least every four years. We lived in the same house in Connecticut for 7 years, but that has been my longest stay in one place. When your Daddy & I began to look to buy our first home, a starter house was not what I wanted to look at. Yes, we were young & had just gotten married, but I wanted a home where we could put roots. I wanted a home we could grow into instead of out of. I wanted to stay in one place for more than a few years.

This April, we will have lived in our home for three amazing years. Recently, I've gotten this weird feeling. It's kind of like an itch. I need some change. Do, I want to pack up our things & relocate? No, I love our home & our location. I'm just getting a little bored. The kind of bored where you want to repaint your whole house & redecorate in a new color scheme. Unfortunately, if I did that every three years or so your Daddy would no longer want to live with us me (& we'd be very broke). I will have to settle for smaller touches & little projects here & there.