The high was 100 degrees today.  And yesterday.  I KNOW that I live in Florida, but the heat just sneaks up on me every summer.  I feel like Spring is five seconds long and then we just zoom into four months of sticky, uncomfortable heat and humidity.  I know all my family and friends up north are laughing at me because I don’t like the cold either.  But the EXTREME summer heat is what gets me. 

It’s also a challenge with the kiddies.  It’s now too hot for our morning park play dates. It’s two hot for long bike rides. It’s too hot for strolling around the outdoor town center.  And when we ARE outdoors, I just chase them around with big hats, SPF 50, and bottles of water.

Thank goodness for our neighborhood pool, cold smoothies, our backyard baby pool, and slip ‘n slides.

 Pink is my FAVORITE color and Mmmm this pink Play-Doh smells so good…

 Should I taste it?…

Wait.  What’s that??…

I think I hear an AIRPLANE!…

Could it really be an AIRPLANE??…

Let me use my super fancy purple Play-Doh tool as my airplane telescope!…

 Yes, CONFIRMED.  It was an airplane!

I was lucky to get one photo of Annabel and it is so funny.  Please notice the pink plastic bracelet she is wearing that I bought her at JCPenney just hours before while Daniel was taking those sports and art classes.  She was my shopping buddy and she was an angel.  Daniel never stopped moving the entire day and he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.  We were all exhausted.  We all had a blast.  We spent Sunday just relaxing and playing around the house.  It was the perfect ending to a fun weekend.

PS: I really, really want/need an iPhone to improve my photo quality.  (Hmmm…Mother’s Day is coming soon…hmmmm)

But the amazing thing about this little pink umbrella….

… is that it was with me during a summer vacation in Venice, Italy.  That was when my little Bean was still just a *twinkle* in my eye.

Where does the time go?

But, not for me.  Not yet.

Nothing really changes in my world.  I still have the kiddies home with me all day.  I don’t have to look at the clock when we eat our oatmeal with bananas and chocolate chips.  I don’t have to rush around to get them dressed, comb their hair, or match their socks. I can brush their teeth when I remember to brush their teeth.  Sure, there are some schedules we like to follow like going to story time at the library or a walk around the block in the wagon.  But that’s about it. 

I think about the future when both of my little ones are in school full time.  I find myself smiling with the thought that the days will be ALL MINE again.  I will have some ALONE time.  I will have ME time.  I can go back to an office job where I can interact with ADULTS all day or I can work from home without interruption.  I can drink a cup of coffee without it going cold.  I can eat lunch without someone asking for something off my plate.

But that time will come.  It will come FAST.  So today, I will choose to live in the moment.  I will choose to enjoy it all.  I will remember why I wanted to be a stay-at-home mommy. I can be home with both of my amazing kids.  My kids who are NOT at school.  Not yet.

They are home with me – playing in the morning sunshine.

So I got a plastic box and filled it with “Dollar Store items” like measuring cups and small boxes and the same musical shakers, books and toys.  Then I saw a string of colorful ”Mardi Gras” beads.  I grabbed those too.

Well, TWO YEARS LATER, the most popular item from that busy box are still those beads:

These beads have provided Daniel, and now Annabel, with so many hours (and days!) of playtime fun.  They wear the beads and play dress up. They twirl the beads around in circles and sing.  Daniel uses the beads as gas to fill up his play car.  Annabel places the beads in and out of stacking cups.  They both use the beads as pretend food ingredients and mix them and cook them in pots and pans.  These beads allow them to be creative and use their imagination.  

(I think there used to be some red beads and gold beads too, but there is always one that breaks in a moment of chaos.)

So I learned with my kids, a dollar still does go a LONG WAY.

Bean playing with the beads - 17 months old.

Annabel playing with the beads - 17 months old.

 My husband says, “These better be the ONLY Mardi Gras beads she ever gets.”

Annabel was a happy baby.  Where Bean was a bit sensitive about his day-to-day routine, Annabel always seemed more mellow.  I’m sure half of that was her actual temperament. The other half was because I was a more relaxed Mommy the second time around.  Annabel would hang out in her bouncer seat and stare at her brother running around the house and just laugh and coo.  She was a great eater and sleeper and really meshed right into the family dynamic.

She has an amazing smile and big laugh.  She is always the center of attention when we go out in public.  She will smile at all the strangers and sometimes wave at them.  Someone always ends up stopping me at the grocery store or the mall just to tell me how adorable Annabel is and, of course, I wholeheartedly agree.

But the funniest thing has happened.  Ever since she started to walk about a month ago, she has developed this strong sense of independence and stubbornness.  She definitely knows what she wants and when she wants it. And she always wants it NOW.  She will speed past her brother to grab a ball or book first.  I remember when she would just sit there and allow her brother to take away her toy.  She would simply look at him and then move on to something else.  Well, no more.  She will not have any of it.  She will scream at him and snatch it back.  I’ve actually put her in “time out” a couple times already and she is only 16 months old!  She also has a little tomboy emerging.  She loves to steal Daniel’s trucks and cars.  She even fights him for the ball when they are outside with the T-ball set.

When we were at the library last week, she not only pushed by Daniel, but also a  bunch of the OLDER kids, to grab an egg shaker during music time. It really is so funny to watch.

I definitely discipline my kids, especially in public places, but Annabel has these big innocent blue eyes combined with a gorgeous head of curls and squeezable cheeks, it’s just so hard to get upset with her.  I find that other people often giggle at her too.

I was always emotional about having a daughter.  It’s such an enormous blessing and worry at the same time.  I look around at the images of teen girls on television, in movies, and on the Internet. I can’t imagine what it will be like in 10 or 15 years. I just want Annabel to be happy, but I want her to be super strong and secure.  I like that she is already bringing out her spicy side.  I hope she keeps it.

Well, then I had kids and two things happened.  First, my Mommy sympathy gene appeared and I am no longer annoyed if other people’s kids are screaming or acting up.  I actually feel bad for them because being a parent is hard.

But another thing happened.  I realized that there are still some things that you CAN control. You can discipline your child and teach them manners. It’s a lot of work and stress, but you can do it.   But some parents just DON’T.

I’ve already mentioned my non-judging rule.  It’s hard to do, but I try REALLY, REALLY hard not to judge other moms.   I don’t know their circumstances and they don’t know mine, so it’s best to leave it at that.

This wasn’t a problem when both of my children were babies.  But now I have a toddler boy who is months away from turning three.  He is at an age where he likes to interact and play with other kids.  Most of the time it is in a completely organized and controlled environment like a Gymboree class.  But there are times when we are out and I have to deal with other people’s kids, whether I like it or not.

One example is the train table at our local Barnes & Noble bookstore.  Bean really enjoys playing with the trains there and I have taught him to share with the other little boys or girls who also come over to play.  He gets a lot of  sharing practice at home with his little sister.  It was hard at first, but now he is definitely understanding that he can’t yank something out of someone’s hand or bop them on the head.

But what am I supposed to do when some other kid behaves badly?  On Friday morning, we were at the bookstore to meet Clifford the Big Red Dog** and Bean went to the train table.  A couple of little boys had grabbed up all the trains and were playing in one corner of the table by themselves.  Bean went over and tried to grab a train.  I told him to wait and please ask the boy for “one train PLEASE.”  Well, Bean asked and reached out for the train at the same time.  Those two little boys stopped and yelled “NO” in unison.  They shoved by Bean and kept playing.  The worst part?  Their moms said nothing.  Bean didn’t get upset.  He just looked at me and I said, “Let’s just go.”  He was fine with that because we went to get a chocolate milk. (Hey, I never said “bribe” wasn’t part of learning.)

On Saturday morning, we all went to the mall where we stopped to play in that germ-filled center court playzone.  My husband watched Bean while I played with Annabel.  There were a bunch of older kids running around as well.  Bean went to climb into the passenger seat of a play car.  A little girl was already in the driver’s seat.  When Bean hiked his leg over to get in, she said “NO!” and wouldn’t let him play.  Later, he went back to climb onto the car and some little boys actually SHOVED him off and said “NO!”  My husband stopped, and yelled at the boys, “Hey! No pushing! Do not push people.” It’s awful to have to discipline other people’s kids, but it’s even worse when their parents sit and watch you do it and do NOTHING.

This happens more than I like.  I don’t want my son to be pushed around and not stand up for himself, but I desperately want him to respect others and have manners.  It’s an interesting learning process with a boy versus a girl.  I feel like we should be teaching Daniel to defend himself a little more because he is a boy.  It’s not right, but I can’t help but to think that way.  It also makes me realize that we won’t always be there to protect him.  That’s really hard.

**So, Clifford the Big Red Dog was a Big Red Diva!  We had been counting down the days to his Big appearance at the book store.  We arrived and were told to sit and wait.  Thirty minutes later, he was finally escorted out from the back by a handler and walked up to a mini stage.  We were allowed to take photos of him for five minutes. 

Photos OF him. Not photos WITH him. 

They said ”No, Sorry” to personal photos because there was no time.  It was hilarious.  Who knew Clifford was such an A-Lister? Plus, I can download a photo of Clifford the Big Red Dog in two seconds from any website.  I don’t need a photo of him.  I want my kids to meet him so I can get a photo of that.  After five minutes, the handler told us to clear a path and stay to the side because Clifford was leaving.  Well, as Clifford walked by us, Bean ran up and gave him a high five!  And I got a photo!

I was so proud of my little boy. He didn’t follow the rules. Sometimes, there are exceptions

We also bought him a soccer ball.  He kicked that around the yard once in awhile, but there wasn’t a SPARK. 

Well, things have changed…he has discovered T-BALL! 

I am very excited that my little boy likes baseball (or rather a version of it).  We bought him this Little Tikes T-ball Set over the weekend and he has asked to play with it every day. 

The other exciting thing?  He’s pretty gosh darn good at it! 

(So I’ve started researching colleges with good Pre-Med AND baseball programs…)