Wordless Wednesday: Pigtails!

And then they were removed by force and with a little bit of temper.

A Little Piece

When I first took Izzie to meet my Dad, he had his old rocking chair for Izzie to play with/on. Oh what joy she had with it. And what joy he had watching her.

It's light blue and has a picture of a kitten holding a ball. It's perfect for a kitty loving little girl.

We visited two more times. Once when Dad was really sick, and once more for his passing. Both times, the rocking chair was there.

When we last saw it, my stepmother promised to send the rocking chair our way. (My dad's best friend is the post master in their town and was happy to help.)

Flash forward to two weeks ago when we received a very large package. Inside was the rocking chair, in four pieces. My dad's friend had gently taken it apart so it would travel safely. He also wanted to give us the option of painting it.

Since the rocking chair was perfect as it is, it was glued together and set up. Then Izzie came down with the flu. Rocking was not high on her list.

Until today. While I was vacuuming, she climbed into the chair and...well, you can see from her face how much fun she had.
It's nice to have a little piece of my Dad around.

Dresses

It's almost that time of year again. Yup, wedding season will soon be upon us. And this season both Izzie and I have been called upon. I will be a Matron of Honour (sob! I can't be called a maid anymore) and Izzie will be a Flower Girl with her cousin W.

Last week I went to pick out my dress. And anyone who truly knows me knows that shopping for clothes is a special level of hell for me. Flat butt, round tummy, bodacious tah-tahs. It's not fun. But the lovely bride, she let every bridesmaid(matron) pick out her own dress. Now that is an awesome bride if you ask me!

Then today, we went flower girl dress shopping. Little girl dresses! Bliss. Here are the highlights:

So regal looking, then you notice the purple and green socks poking out from the bottom.

Just so sweet! This is the colour that B. the bride is looking for. Goes so well with Izzie's complexion if I do say so myself.

And this is when it started to go down hill. In the form of Daddy-hold-my-hand-while-I-climb-up-and-down-and-Mommy-tries-to-make-sure-that-I-don't-rip-the-dress.

Who cares if we don't end up getting any of these dresses. Just going and trying them on with my little one was fun enough!

Wordless Wednesday: Where Did She Get Those Glasses?

Not 100%....yet

Tired, droopy eyes, very pale, not eating as much as she should, pants falling down....

But getting better every day.

On The Mend

Sick.

And I mean uber stomach flu super duper gross sick.

We have been under the weather for the last week, and while it was not fun to be sick there was lots of family time and snuggles. (Izzie usually doesn't have time for lots of snuggles during the day, she's got things to do!)

I got better quickly, Izzie did not. (Phil got a bit of an upset stomach and some aches. I think his red hair may give him some sort of a sickness shield. I am wondering how to harness this power.)

Last night we took Izzie to the Children's Emergency and had her checked out. She was lethargic, having trouble maintaining eye contact and still couldn't keep anything down. We found out that her sugar levels had plummeted and after trying to raise her sugar levels orally, didn't work out, she was put on an IV. She was so tired and out of it that every poke and prod didn't even faze her. So from 1 am to 7 am she was hooked up and pumped full of sugary goodness.

And today? She has kept everything down, started bossing us around again and was annoyed with me when I snuggled her for longer than she deemed necessary.

There's my girl!

Painting with Children

I have a "bad mom" confession. I don't know what it is about painting, but I tend to lose my cool.

I'm by no means the super bestest mom on the planet, but I tend (try) to lean towards slightly mellow. Until the paints come out. Then I go completely coo-coo.

The mashing of paints into different paints, the soaking/bleeding/obliteration of said paints, the inability (or desire) to actually paint on the paper. Sadly, I have lost my cool more than once.

First I tried to paint with Izzie. That was a bad idea. While I was calmly creating she was creating havoc. Now she paints and I knit, or drink tea and try not to pay attention to the mess.

Where did this neat freak come from? I used to be a chaos cleaner/organizer. Where it landed, that's where it was meant to be. And now, not so much.

Yes, that is paint in her mouth. It's non-toxic.

Time to breathe. And time to let go.

First step, finger paints.

I know what you're thinking. Finger paints are so much messier. What you don't realize is that finger paints don't involve several tiny dried pots of paint, brushes and dipping water. Just paint and fingers.

It helps when you see the original super cleaner enjoying the mess of finger painting.

So I am grasping at my inner calm to help Izzie enjoy the fun of making a complete mess of things. And slowly letting go of the part of me that tries to be perfect at all times.

All a precursor for when we start with watercolour painting.

Candlemas

If candlemas day be fair and bright,

winter will take another flight.

If candlemas day be cloud and rain,

winter is gone and will not come again.

From Festivals Family and Food

Taking our first tentative steps towards being a Waldorf home. Happy Candlemas/Groundhog Day to you all.

Self Portraits

Should never take place when you've forgotten to shower...and brush your hair....and put on makeup. But I loved Izzies expressions so much that I couldn't resist.

She totally looks like she's telling me off. Brilliant.

UPDATED:

I may look like an unwashed freak sometimes, but I am getting better at this whole fort building thing! Case in point;

Bam, said the lady! (With an Izzie/Argyle hug for added cuteness.)