Wedding Shower Wednesday: Baby to Bride

Dear Em,
Bridal showers can be beautiful, but they can also be awkward. Getting all the women in your life together in one room can be amazing but also a little weird. You're bound to invite one special lady who doesn't know any of the other ladies in the room. You're bound to be that special lady at some point at someone's shower. What can help to break the ice? Photographs (of course I'm going to say that).

One of my favorite parts of my own bridal shower was the Baby to Bride board my bridal party made me. It included pictures of me from the day I was born up until that day. There were family photographs, awkward high school photographs, photographs from when your daddy & I met, & photographs of special moments with friends. It was kind of like looking at my very own history & was so precious to me.

lilacs put a smile in my heart

Dear Em,
It's been a warm spring & the flowers have bloomed early. We've had very few April showers, but we do have plenty May flowers, just how I like it. Right now, the warm spring air is filled with the smell of lilacs, one of my very favorite parts of Spring. I love the beautiful smell & the deep purple colors that bloom into a light lavender. I love the way the sunlight filters through the branches.

The hint of the smell of lilacs makes me smile & think of a time when I was 8 weeks pregnant & every scent smelled awful to me...except for lilacs. Luckily, we have two lilac bushes in our yard. Your Papa trimmed a ton of lilacs for me, & we filled the house with them. Whenever I started to get nauseous, I would breathe the lilacs in.

One of my favorite things about Spring has become one of the things I love most about our home. When our windows our open, the spring breeze sends the amazing scent wafting through the rooms of our house.

I no longer fill the house with lilacs, but I like to trim some branches & arrange them in a couple vases each Spring. Our home is filled with the sweet scents for a week, & they're so lovely to look at (& they're free). Maybe that's why you've decided to your favorite color is purple now...well, purple with pink.

I love you so,
Mommy

on the other side of our first potty training weekend

Dear Em,
We did it! Well, you did it. You made it through your first two & a half days of potty training! You did great. You did better than great. Have I told you how amazing I think you are?

We started on Friday night at 5:30, right after dinner. You wanted to start before then. Dinner was ready & on the table, & your daddy & I were calling you to come eat. You had gone upstairs moments before. When we called for you, you shouted "not yet!" Daddy went upstairs to see what you were up to, & I heard him exclaim, "Em, what are you doing?!" Apparently, you had found your big-girl undies. You were naked from the waist down with your undies strew across the floor, trying to slide a pair up your legs. You diaper was laying on the floor next to your undies.

After dinner we rolled up the rug in the living room, moved your toys from the family room (which has wall to wall carpets), & barricaded the carpeted areas. Cleaning our wood floors is no biggie, but we weren't up for scrubbing rugs. We put your Sesame Street potty seat on top of our toilet & had you try to go potty. You smiled & told us you tried, but it was clear you didn't understand. We put your "special, big-girl undies" on (they are Minnie Mouse ones), let you go pant-less, told you that "pee-pee & poo-poo go in the potty, & set a timer for thirty minutes.

love letters

Dear Em,
God is someone that we talk to & talk about everyday. With that said, sometimes talking about God is hard. It's hard to explain His largeness, His awesomeness, His presence in the quietest of moments. This is why I'm so glad there are wonderfully written & beautifully illustrated books to help me out. One of my favorites is How Big is God?

In this book a little boy asks his mom "how big is God?" With the help of lovely illustrations, she explains that God can be big or small & that he is everywhere.

"'I'm glad that such a big God can still fit in my heart, Mom.'

'Me too. Out of all the places God is, That's his favorite place to be.'"

- from How Big is God? by Lisa Tawn Bergren

I'm glad that God made brilliant authors whose words help us learn & grow.

I love you so,
Mommy

all or nothing...

Dear Em,
This weekend is kinda a big deal.

We're going to do it.

We're going all in.

Are we going to the casino? Nope. Actually far from it, because we're spending the entire weekend at home (this almost never happens). We completely cleared our schedules & we're going to...wait for it...potty train.

Wedding Shower Wednesday: Project Wishing Well

Dear Em,
Have you ever heard of a Wishing Well? Of course you have, but I'm not talking about the kind you throw pennies into. I'm talking about the kind you find at a wedding shower. I had not heard of one until my best friend's wedding shower. I've been a maid of honor twice in my life, & unfortunately for both brides both times were before my wedding. I had no idea what I was doing.

So, years ago when my best friend's mom said "of course we'll have a wishing well at the shower," I was all like "what is a wishing well?" Her mom was all like, "you write the words wishing well on the shower invitations & people will bring an extra small gift to put in it." Huh? I think we used a laundry basket (supplied by my best friend's mom because I had mostly forgotten about it) & streamers to decorate the "wishing well," & it looked like a cross between a mummy & a large roll of toilet paper (sorry, Jayme, the one you made for my shower was beautiful).

So, now that I'm a little bit older & wiser, I've got this wishing well thing down. A bridal shower wishing well is a way of wishing the bride & new husband the best for their future as a married couple by supplying them with all the little things that are helpful to have in a home. The bridal shower wishing well represents a long- held tradition, but I've found that many women my age don't know what one is.

When we decided to have one for Erin's shower, I knew some people would be confused by merely including the words "wishing well" on the invitations. So, I again searched the web for ideas of how to announce the wishing well in the shower invites. There are a lot of cute ways to announce a wishing well. I took a little bit from a few different sites & then added my own touch. We printed these out to be half the size of the original invite (4 per 8x10 page) & included them in the invitations.

We will have a Wishing Well

For the very special bride.

A small, unwrapped household item

Is what you should drop inside.

It can be a dishcloth for the kitchen,

Cleanser for the sink,

Perhaps soap for the dishes,

Whatever you may think.

They will need items for the bath,

Perhaps some light bulbs too,

Potholders, tissues, soap,

The choice is up to you.

We would also like to ask you

For your favorite recipe.

It’s something Erin & Brian will treasure

For a lifetime of cooking, you’ll see.

The gifts will come in handy

For both the Bride & Groom,

And their cupboards will be stocked

In each & every room.

Now that the wishing well was announced, it needed to be made. We looked at the gifts they had registered for & found a trash can listed. Perfect for a well! It's like they say, one person's, uh,  trash can is another person's, uh, wishing well (or something like that).

We had ideas to wrap the trash can in white butcher paper, paint it, & glue shells & starfish all over it. In the end, I went with something a little more simple...tissue paper. I just started taping & layering it around the trash can & realized it looked simple & elegant & not like a trash can (plus, I got a TON of white tissue paper from Job Lot for wicked cheap)

I used the same scrap booking paper that I made the sand dollars for the shower invitations to make the bride & groom's first initials. I bought some starfish from A.C. Moore & lined the top with them to give it more of a well look.

Simple, elegant, & relatively easy. I was proud of my wishing well. In the end, I realized it probably doesn't matter if the well looks like a cross between a mummy & a large roll of toilet paper if you have amazing friends & family to fill it to the brim.

Want to know what we put in the wishing well? Ketchup. Erin loves ketchup. I've never seen a person put it on so many different foods. She should be covered for the next few months. We gave her three economy sized containers.

Come back next week & we'll talk about how baby goes to bride.

I love you so,

Mommy

what do you want to be when you grow up?

Dear Em,
Last week your teachers asked you what you want to be when you grow up. They read you a book about different things you could be. Afterwards, they went around the circle & asked you & each of your friends (classmates) what you wanted to be.

When they told me, I was a little embarrassed. We've never really talked to you about it, & I feel like we probably should have. Parenting fail. With Daddy working in insurance & me working in sales, we don't really talk to you about what we even do (not that either of us are convinced that we're grown up). I mean how do you tell a two year old that you talked to a doctor about prescribing more Alzheimer's medication or that you bartered with lawyers all day & finally came to an injury claim agreement? Instead, we just tell you that we work.

Back to circle time in the classroom. When asked what he would be when he grew up, the friend (classmate) in front of you confidently said he was going to be a dinosaur (I guess his parents have had the talk with him already). When it got to your turn, you were unsure. After some more questions & prodding, you said, "I'm going to be like Mommy." "Well, what does your mommy do," your teacher asked you. "She works and then she picks me up," you said in a very duh tone. "Well, what does your daddy do," your teacher asked you. I think you gave her a very perplexed & exasperated look like "she's clearly not getting it."

In the end you proclaimed you were going to be a "big strong" when you grow up. I'm not quite sure what that is, but it sounds pretty amazing to me.

As we drove home from school, I tried to do my parental duty of having the what-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up-talk. I named a bunch of different careers & told you that you could even be a mommy if you want. You very seriously & obviously replied, "No, you're Mommy. I'm going to be an Emma."

I don't know if you will ever understand the ways that you make me smile. I had to laugh a little bit when you gave me that answer. I don't know what you're going to be when you grow up, but you'll do it in your own, special Emma way. Whatever it is, it will be amazing, of that I'm sure.

I love you so,
Mommy

the bike path

Dear Em,
I didn't grow up in Rhode Island, but my great grandparents lived here. We used to drive up for family reunions, & I remember seeing funny biking signs & paths for bikers during the drive up. We didn't have anything like that where I grew up, & I remember thinking how lucky Rhode Islanders were to have such pretty paths.

Now that I live here, we try to take full advantage of the beautiful bike paths. While in college, your daddy & I would go for long roller blading trips (I'm not the best at stopping, but your daddy helped me out). After having you, I couldn't wait for the weather to be warm enough to take you for walks on the bike path & work off my baby weight. In an attempt to be more active, last summer we bought bikes & a bike trailer for you. Now, biking is one of our favorite outside activities in Rhode Island.

I am my mother's daughter, & I come to every bike ride prepared. For you we pack: a sippy of juice, at least 4 different snacks (last time it was granola, animal crackers, strawberries, & popcorn), a couple books, a baby doll or stuffed animal, sunglasses, & music (aka my IPhone). For Daddy & I, we fill up my Nalgene with water, & we're good to go.

Here you are ready for our bike ride. When you're not reading or singing, you tell me, "go faster! We can do it, Mommy!"

This is us, ready to bike 4 miles.

I'm not going to lie, your daddy is pretty cute on a bike.

We've only biked the South County Bike Path (although we're excited to also try the East Bay Bike Path this year), & it's a beautiful route. It connects South Kingstown to Narragansett. Along the mostly paved 8 miles, we pass tall trees, lots of benches for resting, wildlife observation, sections of swamp, Tri-Pond Park and Saugatucket River, & recreation fields. The trail starts at the historic Kingston Train Station & ends at Narragansett Beach. It's well maintained & frequented by walkers, runners, bikers, & roller-bladers, but I've never seen it over crowded. One of the best parts is that the path is free to use.

We start at the train station, but we've never made it all the way to Narragansett Beach with you.  By the four-mile mark you're typically getting a little cranky & want out of the trailer. That's typically fine for your daddy & I. As you continue to grow, it becomes a little more of a workout for Daddy & I to pull you in the trailer (especially with all the things I pack to take with us). Daddy & I look at the families who are all biking on their own bikes, & silently wonder when you will be old enough to ride your own bike. We also wonder how people pull two kids in a trailer. I guess we shouldn't sign up for the Tour de France anytime soon. Luckily, right around the four-mile mark is where we find Fagan Park.

It's not a big park. It has just a couple swings, a small playscape with one slide, a basketball court, & a couple picnic tables. It's the perfect size for a two-year old who wants out of the bike trailer. It's also never been busy, & it's right off the bike path. The park is the perfect spot for us to stop to rest, let you move around & let your sillies out, & sometimes we have a picnic in the grass.

After we've spent some time playing & laughing at the park, we turn around & bike the four-miles back. "We did it," you exclaim when we're done. I smile, wondering how much effort the eight mile bike ride was for you. We return home with smiles in our hearts after spending the morning being active in the sunshine & fresh air.

I remember thinking as we traveled home from our last ride that I was right growing up. Rhode Islanders are really lucky to have such pretty bike paths. How lucky are we to be Rhode Islanders & be able to enjoy them. I hope we'll have family bike rides on the bike path for as long as we're Rhode Islanders (even if it does get tougher to pull you in the trailer).

I love you so,

Mommy

* For this post I'm linking up with Design Mom & her series, Love the Place You Live. These were her first & second posts of the series. I linked up with this post about The Wall & this post about our family trip to New Hampshire. *

If you like my blog, click on this link to vote for me at Top Mommy Blogs or click the brown box in the top, right corner of the blog. One click a day equals your vote for Letters to my Little Love.

love letters

Dear Em,
Talking to you has become one of my favorite things to do. So, I'm pretty lucky that you're so very talkative. Every day your words are like rays of sunshine to me. And you know how I feel about sunshine.

Me: "Em, what do you want to eat."

Em: "Um...well...I think I want Cheerios."

Me: "Ok, want to help me pour the bowl?"

Em: "Yes! Mommy can we share the Cheerios?"

Me: "Sure, Em. Sharing Cheerios are my favorite kind."

Em: "They're my favorite kind too, Mommy."

I love you so,
Mommy

Luk Thai

Dear Em,
It's hard to believe the first time I had Thai food was less than a year ago. Since then, it's become a favorite for your daddy & I. It's filling but light, & we love a little spice.

We found a cute, little place in downtown Wakefield for our first Thai dinner. Your daddy & I went with one of my best friends for my birthday. Colleen was an experienced Thai food diner & was able to suggest some of her favorite dishes for our first Thai meal.

We've returned to Luk Thai many, many times over the past year. It has a new name (previously Thai Pepper), but it's still one of my favorites. When we talked about getting together with our friends H & M for dinner, Luk Thai was an obvious choice. It's a cute restaurant in the heart of downtown Wakefield. Although it's small, I've never felt overcrowded or cramped. It's BYOB, & I think half the fun is picking out a bottle of wine to bring for dinner (they uncork & pour it for you).

Their nime chow, which I think they call fresh rolls, are my favorite. I could eat just that for breakfast, lunch, & dinner. They're fresh, soft, rice skin rolls with noodle, shrimp,  vegetables served with peanut sauce. They're kind of like Egg Rolls without frying them. The best part of the nime chow at Luk Thai are the mint leaves included in the middle of the roll. It gives the nime chow a freshness that just perfectly completes the roll. My very amateur & very American advice to any Thai restaurant is to make sure to include mint leaves in your nime chow.

Now that your daddy & I have some experience under our belts, we were happily able to suggest some of our favorite dishes to H & M, who had never been to Luk Thai. H ordered one of my favorite dishes, Drunken Noodles.

The Drunken Noodles are pan fried thin rice noodles with broccoli, onion, fresh basil, fresh chili, & garlic. You can add your choice of vegetable or tofu, chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, squid, mussel, or scallops. H got the chicken, but my favorite is the squid. The dish is so flavorful but still quite mild (you can actually ask them to spice it up a notch). I love the combination of noodles & vegetables, & find myself ordering this dish again & again.

This time I wanted to try something different & a little spicey. So, I ordered the Green Curry. When I read the descriptions of the curries, I liked the mix of spice & vegetables listed for the Green Curry & decided to give it a try. The Green Curry included green curry spices, coconut milk with bamboo shoots, gren beans, bellpeppers, eggplant, basil & of course I got mine with squid (there was a choice of vegetable or tofu, chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, squid, mussel, duck, or scallop).

I was delighted when they brought out my rice in the shape of a heart. What a sweet extra touch. When you combine that with the vibrant colors of the curry, this dish was as fun to look at as it was to eat. I was a little wary of ordering a spicy dish, hoping it wouldn't be too spicy. It was perfect. Yes, my eyes watered a little, but it was still amazingly good. The spices, the fresh crispy vegetables, the squid, everything was so yummy until the last bite. The dish was a very large portion & I was happy to save half of my meal for lunch the next day. The Green Curry might be my new favorite dish.

Your daddy ordered the Red Curry. He's already had the Green Curry & the Massaman Curry (his favorite) & wanted to try something new. The Red Curry is filled with red curry spices, coconut milk with bamboo shoots, carrots, pineapple, bell pepper, basil, & he added chicken (although you can add any of the protein items I had listed for the Green Curry). The Red Curry is a little less spicy than the Green Curry, but I think he asked them to bump up the spice a notch.

He really liked it. He was a little wary of the pineapple when ordering. He doesn't really like to mix sweet with savory, but he said it was a perfect flavor pairing. His curry also came with the heart shaped rice & was a big portion.

M ordered the Massaman Curry which includes massaman curry spices, coconut milk, potato, carrot, onion, peanut, & chicken (or you can add any of protein items listed before). Um, potatoes? It's kind of like mixing Thai food with Irish food. I think I might have to try that one next time.

It was a great meal with great wine (& beer for the boys), great food, great conversation, &, most importantly, great friends.

So glad we got to share our fondness of Luk Thai with our good friends. For our next time out with them, we're planning to go to a place that has great beer selections & 10 different flavors of soft pretzels. Have you heard of Malted Barley in Westerly? I can't wait.

I love you so,

Mommy