Weekend Update - Another Busy Weekend

This is the second and hopefully last crazy busy weekend for us.  On Friday, it was a typical evening - home, tv, bedtime.  On Saturday, we did another swimming lesson where Little Miss jumped in the water and got her face and head completely wet!  This is big progress.  She is not ready to do it outside of her lesson, but it's a start.  After, we rushed through lunch and a bath so we could walk to the nearby playground where her classmates met.  She had a great time playing with everyone.  Then, Husband picked us up and we head to Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law's.  Sister-in-Law hosted book club and the kids were invited this time.  So, the boys went to a nearby bar while we all ate some yummy food and briefly talked about a book some of us started.  The kids were super cute as always.

On Sunday, we had a family brunch.  Then, Little Miss took a very (very very) long nap.  When she woke up, she requested we clean her room because it was very messy.  So, we cleaned her room and her toys.  Then, we played a couple of games.  She beat me soundly during both of them.  Dinner and bedtime followed and thus ended another weekend and the month of April.

Weekend Update - Busy Bees

Last Friday, it was a quiet evening. We mostly just sat and watched the news like many others did that night. On Saturday, Little Miss had her first swimming lesson. It went well. Mostly the purpose was to get the kids in the water and having fun. I can't speak for all the kids, but ours had fun. After, we managed to survive lunch and a bath before Husband and Little Miss went to a birthday party. Little Miss had so much fun that she didn't want to leave. In the meantime, I went out with a friend to Sarah Pekkanen's booksigning. It was a lot of fun and Sarah Pekkanen was just as gracious and friendly as ever. Her new book, The Best of Us, looks and sounds great. After, we went to grab a quick bite and I ended up beating Husband and Little Miss home.

On Sunday, Little Miss lived up to her promise of waking up early and getting me up. Traditionally, Sundays are Husband's mornings with her. However, if she asks for the other, we accommodate her. So, we had brunch and then head to my parents' house. My sister came over to hang out with Little Miss. Then, Mom, Little Miss and I went and ran some errands before staying for dinner. Little Miss really loves the attention and spending time with them both and the cat. After dinner, we head home where Little Miss fell fast asleep. That concluded a super quick weekend.

Do You Let Your Kid Win?

Well, it's a tough question.  It was raised by an author I follow on Facebook.  I don't want Little Miss to lose all the time and lose morale when she's learning games and rules for the first time.  However, I don't want her to think everything comes easily.  Luckily, at this age, most of the games are games of chance.  We haven't quite made it to strategy building yet.  

The answer is a big gray.  I don't necessarily let Little Miss win.  If I see I may win quickly, I may not play my best move, but I won't let her win.  If it's a game of chance, there's not much I can do though.  You play the cards, literally, dealt to you.

The key is that we choose games that she needs to work on or that she mastered.  For instance, she tends to lose Candy Land by chance.  However, she rocks Memory.  It helps that I have little to no memory.  

The lesson is to be graceful.  Whether she wins or loses, there's no temper tantrum or outburst.  She is asked to shake hands and say "good game" though sometimes it's a little more forced than other times.  She's a much better winner and loser than I am.  I am such a poor winner yet quite a graceful loser.  I'm sure that says something about me.

Weekend Update - Weekend of Nothing

Last weekend, we did nothing.  That's not entirely true.  I think we did a bath on Friday night with Little Miss.  On Saturday, she went with the In-Laws to the carnival and had a sleepover with her cousin.  They do so love each other.  I read a book and Husband had sports on.  We watched Louis C.K. on HBO as our big date night.  On Sunday, we slept gloriously late.  Then, Little Miss came home to help me clean the apartment, take her bath, eat dinner and go to bed.  So, very quiet weekend which was lovely.  The next two are stuffed with plans so it was nice to be boring while we could.

Boston

We often see the Coastal Sunbelt Produce truck in our neighborhood. We live across the street from an Edible Arrangements so it delivers often. Little Miss and I joke that it's going to be a good day because we saw the giant strawberry. So, this morning, we see the truck and joy erupted in the car. Little Miss says, "Today is going to be a good day. Yesterday, we didn't see the giant strawberry truck and it was a sad day. Did you know someone exploded a bomb in Boston?" I said yes. Then, she said, "But then people ran to give blood to people who needed it and the ambulances drove to the people." 

We don't try to shield her from things in the world. She had heard about Boston before she came home to us. We talked briefly about it last night, but she likes to process information slowly. Last night, I went to change the news when she came home and she say that it was sad and we should watch something happy. She helpfully suggested Doc McStuffins. She's nothing if not helpful. I do feel it's important to spotlight good deeds and did tell her that sad things happen, but that's when we need to be better people and do good things on our level. Then, she proceeded to tell me that she did a good deed yesterday to help her grandfather. So, we celebrated the good.

Little Miss Manners

While we were at my parents' last weekend, Little Miss blew some bubbles on the deck.  She'd blow the bubbles and pop them.  Sometimes, the bubbles would burst on the deck before she could catch them.  At one point, she almost had the bubble before the deck claimed it.  She looked down and said, "Oh!  Well done, Deck!  Good job."

I thought it was super cute.  Plus, I love that she knows the difference between when to use "good" and "well".

Books Read in March 2013

1. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
2. Calculated in Death by J.D. Robb (NOTE: This is part of the In Death series. The order of which can be found here.)
3. Thrown by a Curve by Jaci Burton (NOTE: This is part of the Play by Play series. The order of which can be found here.)
4. Cherished by Maya Banks and Lauren Dane (NOTE: The Lauren Dane short story is part of the Delicious series, a spin-off of the Brown Siblings series. The order of which can be found here.)
5. Tart by Lauren Dane (NOTE: This is part of the Delicious series, a spin-off of the Brown Siblings series. The order of which can be found here.)
6. Close Enough to Touch by Victoria Dahl (NOTE: This is part of the Jackson Hole series. The order of which can be found here.)

I read nothing in February. It was sad. Then, I kicked it into high gear and finished Gillian Flynn for book club. It was her debut novel and showed, but it was a decent book. I liked Gone Girl better. The others were all solid books. For some reason, I always savor Victoria Dahl and then read like 4 in a row and then wonder why I took so long to read them. I hope to keep it up this month, but I seem to be reading a lot of books simultaneously which I rarely do. So, we'll see how many I finish and how many I just keep partially read.

Movies Watched in March 2013

1. Argo
2. Magic Mike
3. This Means War
4. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
5. Rock of Ages

Some of these are repeats, but I count everything if I do a full watch. Husband and I rented Argo because he hadn't seen it. I got a free rental of Magic Mike and it seemed a shame to let it go to waste. I suffered through This Is War on HBO Go. I fell in love with The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on YouTube. I haven't seen it all yet, but I watched 36 parts out of 100 in one night. Granted, each part is only 3-5 minutes. I got sucked into Rock of Ages on cable one night, too. I wouldn't watch it again, but I felt I had to stick it out.

Spring Break - Quick Trip

So, while it was getting warmer in northern Virginia, it was getting warmer in western Maryland where we went last weekend. On Friday, we had plans to get Little Miss's haircut, but we ran out of time when we hit traffic. So, instead, we just drove out to western Maryland with my parents. Little Miss stayed up late and enjoyed the time with my parents and the solo attention she received from them. On Saturday, she built the smallest snowman ever. She was going to go on the mountain coaster, but it was closed to help a panicked rider off and then closed before we could ride. We had a nice lunch and then all went to bed fairly early.

On Sunday, we woke up to ride the mountain coaster. Little Miss LOVED it. She loved going fast - which I do not. She rode twice with my dad and once with me. Then, she decided she wanted to go snow tubing. So, the four of us went a couple of times before eating lunch and heading home. It was nice to be able to play in the snow while it was so mild and warm outside. This marked the end of Spring Break. Sad, but we had a great week off. We're all struggling a little to get back into the routine this week!

Spring Break - New York, New York

The Monday after Easter, the three of us drove to New York. Husband miscalculated our departure time so we got held up in Washington Nationals traffic, but Little Miss was a champ during our 7 hour trip. We barely made it to our seats before the puck dropped at Madison Square Garden. However, because we were running late, we also had to eat in the stadium. On the plus side, we were in time to see the first goal. Little Miss was thrilled to sing the goal song and screamed whenever the Rangers scored. She had a blast. She was alert the entire time and cheered at all the appropriate times. She ate well and, as I keep joking, probably ordered the only milk Madison Square Garden ever served. I'd like to say we enforce a lot of milk drinking, but she's picky with her liquid intake and she polices herself nicely. She knows milk goes with lunch and dinner and will order when out for those meals. Tuesday, we had a nice lunch at the Husband's favorite restaurant. Little Miss was well-behaved for how snooty it is. Then, we got on the road for a long trip back as we hit DC rush hour traffic. 

On Wednesday, Little Miss and I met a friend in the city whose sister and nieces were in town. Little Miss loved playing with the girls even though I don't think any of the Air & Space Museum sank in with them. At least they had fun. She rode the carousel and had ice cream. Good day. Then, to top it off, we met Sister-in-Law at her work. She was nice enough to drive us home, too, so we didn't have to sit in rush hour on the train on the way home, too. I will say someone was nice enough to give Little Miss and me his seat though. Thursday, we had a relaxing day, much needed for all of us.

Weekend Update - Round Up

Let's see.  I'm many weeks behind on my updates.  

March 23 - March 24.  We can't remember anything.  It looks like I read a book and watched a movie.  I think it's safe to say we did nothing.  We may have gone grocery shopping and tidied up the apartment which seems to be the weekend default.  So, nothing else warranted space in my calendar.  I do remember we dyed eggs - according to my camera.

Easter weekend.  On Saturday, I met friends for lunch.  Both celebrated birthdays so we met and then did some shopping.  I took advantage of Old Navy's dress sale and bought two dresses and a pair of shorts and a cute vest for Little Miss for like $1.  The vest was $1.  Everything cost a bit more.  After, we went to the Inlaws' to celebrate Easter.  On Sunday, we opened presents that the Bunny left, had a mini Easter egg hunt, and hung around.