My Yahtzee Lover

Kudos to Mario on your new high score! It's talent I never knew you had when I married you. Do they have Yahtzee in Vegas?

More Island Photos

At the park

Awestruck

Congratulations a 100x over to Emily and Alex! They are in the process of adopting a two year old baby girl in Virginia Beach, Va. After talking to Emily this afternoon to hear more of their story I am convinced that being pregnant and giving birth is much much easier than adoption. Good luck to both of them as they tackle the paper work and welcome their new daughter into their home.

Flying Thoughts

I do want a pilots license. How to get one is a bit of an issue. Lessons are $90/hour and you need about 40 hours with an instructor plus a written course. Overall, the license should cost about $5,000. And then there's a question of the plane. Do you rent? Buy part of one? Join a club? These are all things I'm trying to figure out.

And there's the old white southern male factor. Most of the instructors fall into this category and sadly there are not a lot of women pilots. I need to determine if there are any younger or female instructors in the area. I want an instructor that will respect my desire to learn and that can also explain things in a clear, precise manner.

Just the thoughts in my mind. I loved being in the air, flying over the islands, and would jump at the next chance to fly. I'm going to Madison, WI in June to attend an opera with my friend Fred. He owns an airplane so I expect that will be my next chance to fly.

Grandpa Love

Belly tickles for Clare.
She's a goner on the underarm tickle.
Lounging at the pool.
Bathtime fun with Grandpa

Do you do it?

The answer: Yes.

Would I do it again? No

Am I glad I did it? Yes

Hair Bows

Clare's first experience with a gadget in her hair. She didn't pull it out and it looked cute until we changed clothes and I forgot to put it back in. But there's lots of time to play with this stuff.

Grandpa Mike

Grandpa is here! Grandpa is here! Roughly translated: a grocery shopping companion for Clare now that she can ride in the cart, a built in duck caller, silly faces, an advocate for bagels and more solid foods, more hugs and kisses, and an occasional glimpse at the television.

And I am enjoying the respite. We decided to stay on St. Simons Island for another week to bond with Grandpa and it's nice to have a built in babysitter. I am at the Palm Coast Coffee Company tonight while Clare snoozes and feel very human after being splattered with green beans earlier this evening.

A question for the Moms out there. When and where do I insert Cheerios and those Gerber star things into Clare's diet? She's dying for some crack cheerio time and Bailey thinks he's waited long enough.

Reading

Love, Work, Children
by: Cheryl Mendelson

Just finished:
Jesus Land**
by: Julia Scheeres
**though my stomach hurts from reading it.

Post Birthday Update

A fabulous birthday! I'd do it again tomorrow I if I could. A few birthday links from the day.

Georgia Sea Grill
A beach read and this new book.
A cuisinart!
Salsa and chocolates.
Yellow tulips
Flying
The Red Envelope
Photos, Photos, Photos

Saturday Afternoon

Going for a walk to the beach.
Modelling practice on the King and Prince swings.
Daddy and Clare practice with cereal on the kitchen floor.
Grrrr goes the lion in the bath.
Clare tries on Daddy's Bills hat and makes squish the fish faces.

Just Flying

The Cloister Resort on Sea Island, Georgia.

Frank (the instructor) and me before takeoff.
Christmas Creek and Cumberland Island, Georgia.

The Horse

Before my birthday one year (somewhere between 8 - 12 years) my mom and Stan sat down with me to discuss my upcoming birthday gift.

'We found the perfect horse for you but want you to know it will require a lot of work.' They went on to explain that although the horse would live at the stables they reserved, I would have to spend part of my weekends taking care of the horse and riding it. They thought it was important that I understand the implications of owning my own horse in addition to the glamour of having a horse.

I remember feeling puzzled, but listened attentively to the discussion. At the end of the the horse talk they both smiled and looked at me with big bright expectant eyes and asked 'So what do you think?'

And I replied, 'But I don't want a horse!'

They were so dissapointed. They had this fabulous birthday gift lined up to blow me away but somehow overlooked that I'd never even been on a horse or expressed a desire to have a horse. So yesterday I had to laugh when Stan emailed to chat about my flying lesson. At the end of his message he wrote, 'Are you sure you don't just want a horse?'

Reading

The Almond Picker
by: Simonetta Agnello Hornby

Cupcakes, coffee and flying

Mario made me cupcakes last night so we'd have plenty on hand to eat throughout the day. My favorite part of being 30 so far: eating cupcakes for breakfast with a mug of great black coffee.

At 3:30 p.m. I am taking my first flying lesson! The instructor called last night and we made arrangements to meet at the St. Simons airport. And...Mario is coming with me for the ride (Clare's staying with our neighbor for the hour). I've always wanted to see the island from the air. It's a 30th birthday present to myself.

Random Thoughts

--I made a few collages and am looking forward to collecting bits for future ones on a walk tomorrow. I'm looking for things with bright colors and unusual textures that can be glued down.

--I bought one of these period charts to track my cycle (now that my period started again) so we can plan and be aware. I'm also all for supporting artists!

--2 days till my birthday. On my list I have 'take a flying lesson' and I'm in the process of lining one up. They cost about $90 an hour and there are few instructors here to choose from. I think I'm afraid that I'll like it a lot and then I'll be stuck with an expensive habit/hobby to fund. When I flew from WI to WY in a single engine airplane 2 summers ago I loved it...

--No, we haven't had sex in a car yet. Mario isn't here with me on SSI so unless I can count phone sex I have some work to do on that one.

--I use Clare's foaming bath stuff when I take a shower. I like it better than grown up scents.

--I'm in the mood for a new pen. Maybe that would inspire more journal writing around here. Sometimes a good one can make me write and write and write.

--Clare gobbled up a bit of cereal tonight, once we mixed it with bananas, for Miss Ann. Now I need to figure out how nursing plays into this. Do I drop feedings and substitute food? Does she just nurse less?

--Craving something sweet I mixed marshmellows and rice crispies in the microwave and ate it from a bowl. It tastes better when it's in a square shape and pressed.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Ben and Jerry's free scoop day is coming! Mark you calendar for Tuesday, April 25 and enjoy a totally free, no strings attached, ice cream treat. For more info (or if you don't believe me) click here! I am a such a sucker for a freebie.

Kimono Clare

Kimono Clare
Originally uploaded by scindiagirl.

I didn't think I would enjoy the baby clothes as much as I do. I sucked at Barbie play and I do admit having difficulty getting clothes on and off of Clare. But I surprise myself at how much of my 'allowance' I spend on fun new baby clothes for her.

Reading

She Got Up Off the Couch:
and other heroic acts from Mooreland, Indiana
by: Haven Kimmel

**One of my favorite things about SSI includes riding my beach bike (with the requiste basket) to the library in the village where I can 'rent' new books for 10 cents a day.

Take 2: Rice Cereal

It's going a little bit better. Some of it appears to stay in the mouth. And she likes to be naked while she eats.

Congrats!

Kudos to our cousins Mimi and Adam Arnold, proud parents of

Xander Jacob Arnold

7 lbs. 14 oz

20 1/4 inches

Born: 4-10-2006

Rockville, MD

Quiet

Our guests left this afternoon and a calm quiet surrounds the house. Clare is napping upstairs and I am tempted to join her in a few minutes in an adjoining room. Two babies and two mommies is exhausting. Coordinating schedules proved to be a challenge, just as Clare was up and ready to go baby #2 would be ready to nap or vice versa. We managed to get out for a few walks around the island and to lunch yesterday at the Fourth of May with a few logisitcal challenges. In the middle of one outing I wondered why we even bothered to go and had to remind myself that even the rough outings are worth it to avoid becoming a shut-in.

When we have our own BP#2 I mostly worry that I will become a shut in. I expressed this to a kind Indian gentleman next to me on a recent plane ride and he simply stated that 'humans are equipped to handle much more than we actually do; we don't know how much we can do until we put ourselves in challenging situations.' I hope he's right.

In the meantime I am going to enjoy the relative freedom of just one child. When Clare wakes up we are going out!

Clare's Date

Our friends Kate and Michael are visiting for a few days. Michael screamed the first time that Clare touched him/looked at him, but it looks like he's warming up to her.

Daddy Love

Solid Food 102

Happy Easter!

Easter means...

Real food for baby Clare! We're planning Clare's first meal with solid food for tomorrow. She wants us to skip ahead to yummy things like bananas and peas, but we explained that she had try the cardboard rice cereal first. Bailey is gearing up for the crack Cheerios.

Bathing Beauty

Go Bunny Go!

The easter bunny is ready! Mario and I made a quick trip into Brunswick to gather our easter supplies. We believe in 'reusable' containeres for baskets, so Clare's first basket double as her first beach pail and shovel! Mario said she was too young for candy but what's an easter basket without Peeps? I think I may have to make a run to the Winn-Dixie to find peeps and dark chocolate Dove eggs...

Vamos a la playa

Tomorrow we leave for St. Simons Island. Clare and I will be there for the week enjoying the island and all of the spring break tourists. Mario plans on returning in time to enjoy a day off of work and to celebrate my 3oth birthday on Friday! We have a babysitter lined up and reservations for the Georgia Sea Grill. A date. A real one.

And as an experiment I booked us for a trip to Mexico over Mother's Day weekend. Thus far most of our travel with Clare meant that we visited friends and family in house type structures. Travelling with a hotel room as our primary station will be a bit different and I want to make sure that we can do this well before booking a more expensive trip elsewhere. So, Mexico it will be and Clare can add another small stamp to her passport.

I have no idea what we will do after 7 p.m. when she goes to sleep but we can figure that out. Has anyone dealt with kids that go to bed before sunset on vacation? The hotel is a condo-hotel, but I think it's more along the lines of a room with a kitchen rather than separate rooms. Hmmm...but I know we'll be up early so maybe we will crash early too.

Love Triangles

I am selling our books on Amazon to clear the bookshelves for more exciting reads. This means that all of our college and graduate school texts are slowly dwindling and Clare's expanding book collection is taking over.

I do adore books but lately I am spending more time browsing at Barnes and Noble with my notebook in hand to record the books I want to find at the public library. This way I can read what I want and not empty my wallet.

In general I believe that most any problem can be fixed with a book. When my friend Caroline took at part time gig at Barnes and Noble they trained her that most folks coming into a bookstore are looking for something in particular (mainly help!). When we found out we were pregnant with Clare we bought LOTS of books and treated it as a research project. When I went to India I bought books to learn about the country. When I wanted to remodel the kitchen, I read books about home renovation. And when I had lots of questions about relationships I again turned to books to understand what was going on.

Yesterday an order for a particular relationship book that I hated (Dr. Phil?) came in. Along with the Amazon "Please Ship..." directive another arrived from the purchaser asking that I not send an invoice or packing slip. Basically, just package and send the book as an anonymous bundle. The address indicated that the relationship book was for an entirely different person than the buyer.

I wrapped the book, sent it today via Media Mail, and get the creepy feeling that I'm part now part of an odd love triangle.

Easter Fun

DesignerShoes.com

Clare and Gigi wait for the T to arrive to take us to Newbury Street.
Clare and Mommy hang out and try on shoes at the DesignerShoes.com showroom.
Clare gets down and dirty and practices her crawling. Apparently new shoes are good things to reach for. She mastered scooting backwards on her belly, here she makes a lunge forward for the shoe box.Enough shoes already! After this shot, Clare rolled back on her stomach and proceeded to suck her thumb indicating to us that we needed to wrap things up and head home.

I'm now the proud owner of new white sandals and a pair of lime green ballet skimmers. I fell in love with a $258 pair of baby blue loafers...I never should have tried them on. I'm pretty sure they'll haunt me for a few days.

I'm too sexy for my...

Pebbles!
Originally uploaded by scindiagirl.

Yes, my 7 month old has a leopard print bikini thanks to Gigi. It's a bit small even thought it's a 12 month size. Makes me feel a little better, looks like the battle with the 'right' size suit starts at an early age. The swimsuit people should really get on the same page as the 'nicer' brands that cut larger with smaller size numbers. They would sell many more swimsuits and everyone could feel better about bikini season.

Peeking

Peeking
Originally uploaded by scindiagirl.

Clare loved her night time stories!

Boston, New Hampshire, Boston

We're back in the city after a weekend at Clare's Cottage in Weare, NH.

Tonight Mom and I did a run to the new IKEA and my head continues to swirl with ideas for Clare's new big girl bedroom, kitchen shelves, bookcases, and beach bunk beds. We paused for dinner inside of the store and managed to check out 15 minute before closing.

Tomorrow the girls are going shopping on Newbury Street at the Designer Shoe store, 'for women who leave a larger footprint.' The small shoppe has to be my favorite in this city. I feel like a princess trying on the floor models in size 11. The concept of trying on a floor model boggles my mind and fills me with anticipation.

The weekend felt quick but quaint. I look forward to spending more time up in NH this summer. Clare enjoyed the attention from Gigi and PopPop along with swimming in the indoor pool at the Lake Shore Village Resort on Lake Horace. Such fun and a fish in the making.

Hippity Hoppity!

Hippity Hoppity!
Originally uploaded by scindiagirl.

Okay, the Easter Bunny has got to be even scarier than Santa Claus. And...who would pay $14.95 for a single 5x7? Killing time at the mall while we waited for the Picture People to finish Clare's 7 month portraits the Easter Bunny agreed to one digital picture. If I did it quickly so that nobody else would see. Aye.

But, the other pictures (see My Photos) from the Picture People turned out fabulous. I just got one pose and am happy with the results.

I wonder if the Easter Bunny will visit this year. And what would the Bunny bring a 7 month old?

Which Care Bear did you have?

Clare Bear 2
Originally uploaded by scindiagirl.

Aunt Rena made this shirt for Clare and we tried it on today for the first time. Gotta love the belly.

Bedtime Bear

Bedtime Bear
Originally uploaded by scindiagirl.

This is Clare's first Care Bear...her only Christmas gift from us this holiday season. She likes to eat his ears and play with the tag.