TFGIFF!

That's Thank Freakin' Goodness It's Freakin' Friday!

What a week! We're finally starting to return to a normal week after getting over these colds, and here comes Friday!

I feel like it's been forever since I've written a really good Ellie story, but the inspiration just hasn't hit me in awhile. I think it's because every day is just filled with cuteness and Ellie-isms. Where would I begin?

She has also been unbelievably compliant lately. In spite of a few expected rough days while being sick, I've been able to take her anywhere and do almost anything with her. We can go to restaurants, grocery stores, toy stores. She loves browsing and won't argue with me to buy her things we can't afford. I chalk this up to us spending hours out and about, with very little spending money, just to stay busy.

And, in trying "just to stay busy," I've found that I really love my kid. I mean, of course I love her, but I actually enjoy spending time with her.

Yesterday, I took her to Starbucks, where the barista made her a special coffee -- half a shot of raspberry syrup in 2% milk with whipped cream on top. She was so happy, and even though I was ready to get back in the car and drive home, she insisted on grabbing a nearby table, sitting with her coffee, and talking about her day with me. She waved to every woman who came in the door and said, "Hello!" charming everyone she met. She chatted away and made me laugh. My little best friend!

She's had a few rough days going to day care, but as long as I tell her our plan for the afternoon, and as long as those plans enjoy browsing any toy store or going for a walk or to the park, she's happy.

Some of her latest words/phrases that really crack me up:

• Mama, what you dood? (instead of "What did you do?")
• Motor-detector (instead of metal-detector)
• That man has green shoes on! They're just so bee-yoo-tiful!
• Mommy!! Mommy! MAMA!!! Look!! Look, Mommy!! BIRDS!
• I don't want to do that. Do you? You do?? Why? Why would you do that?? (RE: going to the movies)
• Can we go to a restaurant?
• Will Bee be there? Nini? Grandpa?? (every time we go anywhere)
• Tell the story about Papa's lunch. (I've put our current run-down of stories at the bottom of this post.)

All day, every day, cuteness surrounds me. I feel so blessed.

ALSO! I finally got my bookshelves completed! Since my DIY (Do-It-Yourself) method failed miserably, I switched to my DIMS (Do-It-Martha-Stewart) method and bought a Martha Stewart brand bookcase from Home Depot. It was $45, but it saved me some time and energy, and I'm finally happy with how it looks! This is also the first "domino" in a long line of home-improvement dominoes in which I'm trying to make my home a place that I love to live in and keep clean. By doing this, I can move my craft stuff out of E's room.

Each bin in our new system is one craft project that we can take out, use, then put away. It means that we'll have fewer "mixed-media" messes to clean up. Of course, we'll still get mixed-media crazy sometimes, but I'm hoping that the cleanup and organization will be much easier with this process.

AND! Stay tuned in the coming weeks. I'm writing two new posts for the BVT Moms Blog! One is about How I Became a Mommy (should go live between May 4th and 11th). The second is about how E and I have learned to love having Toddler Lunch/Dinner Dates and will include some creative tips for taking your toddler(s) out to restaurants (should go live in the third week of May). I can't wait! I'm loving writing for that blog!

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For keepsies -- these are E's favorite Papa/Family stories that I tell her right now. These are shortened versions of the originals:

• Me: When Papa was a little boy, he went to his friend Amy's house for lunch. Amy's mom asked him if he wanted a peanut butter sandwich, and Papa said...
  Ellie: Mmmmhmmmm!!
  Me: So Amy's mom made Papa and Amy two peanut butter sandwiches and gave them a blanket so that they could go outside and have a...
  Ellie: Picnic!
  Me: That's right! So, Papa and Amy went outside and put down the blanket. Papa put his sandwich on the corner of the blanket, turned to talk to Amy, and when he looked back...
  Ellie: The swand-wich was all gone!! And who was eating it, Mama?? A doggie!!
  Me: That's right! Amy's dog had stolen Papa's sandwich! And the dog was going...
  Ellie: Om, nom, nom, nom!
  Me: So, Papa went back inside to tell Amy's mom, and she made Papa a new sandwich. Papa and Amy sat inside eating their sandwiches. Then Papa got peanut butter on his face, and he didn't have a napkin, so he wiped the peanut butter on Amy's Mom's new curtains... And Amy's mom said, "Don't wipe peanut butter on my curtains! Now you have to..."
  Ellie: "Go home!!"
• Me: When Papa was a little boy, he and his friend Bruce liked to climb trees. One day, they climbed a tall pine tree in town. From up high, they could see tiny houses below, and the street and sidewalk. They saw a man walking down the sidewalk, and Papa yelled to him, "Hey you!" The man didn't know where the voice was coming from, so he looked around and said, "Huh? Huh?" So, Papa yelled again, "Hey you!" And the man said, "Huh?? Huh?" Then Papa yelled, "Hey you with the hair on your head!!" The man said, "Huh?" then looked up to find Papa in the tall tree. The man said, "Hey, you get down out of that tree!" But Papa said...
  Ellie: No!
  Me: So, the man waited a long time, but Papa didn't come down from that tree. Eventually, the man left, and Papa climbed down and...
  Ellie: Went home!
• Me: When Aunt Jo-Jo and I were little, there was a big snowstorm. The snowbanks were as tall as me. So, Jo-Jo and I spent the entire winter climbing those snowbanks. One day, when she was climbing across the top of the snowbank, her leg fell through, and she got...
  Ellie: Stuck!!
  Me: That's right! She called to me, "Gretchin, come help me!" So, I ran over to help pull her out of the snowbank, but when I finally pulled her out, she was missing her:
  Ellie: Boot!
  Me: Yes! Her boot was still stuck way down in the snowbank. So, I went inside to get Papa, and he came out with a shovel and helped dig the boot out of the snow.

These are always followed by, "Again!" So, we tell them over and over. I never get bored with it, because I could watch her little face light up over and over again as she imagines the story unfolding.