Photo of the day.....

Ready for swim class....

Sunday dinner

Zoe has been asking for collard greens and homemade macaroni and cheese. Nana taught me how to make collards but, I had never made mac and cheese from scratch. I had to email Grammy for that recipe and boy I’m glad I did – it was fantastic!!! Zoe has never really cared much for mac and cheese so when she asked for it, I was surprised. Shelli and Zoe were out all day at a basketball game so, I decided to make Zoe a special yummy Sunday dinner.

After dinner, I told Zoe I wanted to go check out the creek, and of course, she was more than willing to go. It’s still a little chilly out however, that didn’t stop us. We still took the brisk walk to the creek, skipped some rocks and just enjoyed an afternoon outside.

Camera

Zoe got a new digital camera last weekend. Here are a few of her 'best shots'...

Zoe's Yellow Belt

Wow, today Zoe tested for her yellow belt in her karate class. Big day for little Z, I hope you enjoy the video as much as I did watching it live. I think the smile at the end says it all! Ok, Zoe, you can officially STOP growing!

Dressing Room

For the first time ever, Zoe picked out three Easter dresses she wanted to try on. She has had her eye on these adorable dresses that have the matching dress for her baby too! She went through the rack and looked for all the ones she liked that had her size, and then we walked over to the fitting rooms. She told the lady she had THREE dresses she would like to try on, and off we went to the biggest dressing room we could find. I was told to sit on the ‘little bench’ while she tried on all her dresses. I sat there and watched her struggle to get in each dress, struggle to get her arms in, struggle to tie the bows behind her back, and of course the buttons – it was a given that she wouldn’t be able to do that. I asked to help several times but, she was in total control so I sat back and we just laughed together.

After she got each dress on, she would stand in front of the mirror and check it out. Then, she would dance around to make sure it had ‘movement’. All the while we were laughing so hard that people must of thought there were two nuts in the dressing room. Zoe cracks me up all the time. She always makes me laugh with the things she says. Being in the dressing room with her trying on dresses which as we all know, isn’t what has been at the top of her list, was so much fun. Total girl stuff!

After trying them all on, she picked the one she liked best… Stay tuned for Easter pictures. It’s a surprise. Have any idea which on she picked???

Happy

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hair

Looks like my tomboy is starting to enjoy girly things. I've caught Zoe in front of the mirror a few times playing with my flat iron. She gets a hoot out of pretending she is getting ready for 'work'.

(No, it's not plugged in!)

Tooth

Zoe just lost yet another tooth. This time on the top! She has been playing with it for a few weeks and last night, she asked Mimi to pull it out.

Tooth Fairy left $2.00

One Year

Tomorrow marks my one year anniversary that I have been back to work full-time since having Zoe. To say it’s been an easy year would be a complete lie. I feel extremely blessed to have a good job with people I like and have come to love as family over the past year however; it’s been a struggle – a huge struggle.

I've had a very hard time trying to get adjusted to not being with Zoe. Not taking her to school, going to school parties, field trips, and just being there. My commute is an hour – not to say that people don’t commute but, for me it’s something I don’t enjoy and I have not been able to get used to. By the time I pick her up at daycare, get home, make dinner, and do ‘homework’, it’s time for bath and bed. Our time together is limited, to say the least. By the end of the day, I find I’m trying to figure out shortcuts for an extra few precious minutes to spend with Zoe before bedtime. I can’t remember the last time I cooked a ‘real’ meal. I just don’t have the time or energy.

There are many mornings Zoe asks me on the way to daycare, “Mommy, why do you have to go to work?” Now, it’s “Is it almost the weekend so you can stay home with me?” All of this is very hard on me! She doesn’t understand why I go to work, why we rush around in the morning, why I have to be on time to work, and why we can’t sleep in, daily! From the time she was a year old, I’ve been home with her. It’s been an adjustment for all of us.

The reason I went back to work is because I felt it was time but, I question it daily. Was it the right time? I’m blessed Shelli has picked-up where I left off. She hasn’t skipped a beat and has been very supportive of my going back to work. She takes Zoe to swim class, Karate, and does all the school things. Am I jealous? Absolutely! I want to do all those things but, I’m so very thankful that Shelli is able to do it and is always there!

I cannot believe it’s been a year! It’s been hard, I’ve cried, I’ve pouted, I’ve driven in snow, rain, sleet, wind, and even in the dark. The one thing that remains the same is my love and devotion. I’m healthy, I have supportive friends, I have Shelli who never lets me down, I have a job, and best of all, I have a daughter who loves me no matter what.

Chinese food + more Tea

After this weekend, I think Zoe might have a new found love for tea. Tonight Zoe had a dinner date with her BFF, Jaylyn. I thought we were going to have to roll the girls out of the restaurant. They had white rice, veggie fried rice, and veggie lo-mein.

Mommy & Zoe

I had the most amazing morning with my daughter. Zoe and I went for tea at a local tea house. The whole experience was priceless.

When we got there, they sat us down and I watched Zoe take it all in. She was looking at the china, tea accessories, and all the beautiful tablecloths. We read through the menu and decided on the ‘Eye Opener’. Along with the tea, it came with scones, tea bread, preserves, and Devonshire cream. The menu of tea was never ending, Zoe and I finally decided on a white peach tea. Everything was delish! Zoe had three cups of tea with honey and we ate everything that was put in front of us.

We had the whole place to ourselves for the longest time then, a baby shower party came in and Zoe was in awe. She was extremely curious about the whole ‘baby shower’ concept. She saw people with so many gifts, diapers, car seats, etc. She just couldn’t figure out why if the baby wasn’t born yet did the baby need all that stuff? Then she wanted to know when she was a baby did we have a baby shower? I told her, boy did we! We had an amazing baby shower, and she wanted to know all the details. I went on to tell her how many people were at HER shower, the food served, the gifts we received, and how very special ours was because she was able to be there too. She just looked at me and said, “That is cool Mom, everyone was there just for me?”

After our conversation, we were out of tea and were ready to move upstairs where they had a dress-up room. Zoe was in all her ‘girl’ glory. She isn’t the ‘girly-est’ but, today she was! I couldn’t get her out of there. We tried on several outfits, played, laughed, strutted around, and just had a fantastic time.

While we were in the dress- up room, I was looking for the perfect hat to wear and Zoe grabbed my hand and said, “Thank you Mommy! This was so much fun – I love you!” I got a big kiss, my eyes got all teary, and I thought to myself, ‘No, thank you, my precious angel sent from above.’

Nachos

I cannot say enough about Trader Joe’s. It’s one of my most favorite stores in the whole wide world. I’m like a kid in a candy store every single time I go there. My newest favorite item is their flax seed tortilla chips. There are three different kinds of chips in the bag… carrots and tomato, spinach and garlic, and red beet and onion. All are simply delicious.

For dinner, we decided to try nachos with these fabulous chips and boy was it good. Zoe had a late lunch so she wasn’t very hungry and I wasn’t in the mood to cook anything so this worked out perfect. Zoe devoured the nachos. I was lucky to have as many as I did.

Speedo

As Zoe gets older her schedule is starting to get busier and busier. She started her swimming lessons and couldn’t be happier. Her first class was yesterday and she loved every second of it. Her favorite part of class was holding her breath under water for 10 seconds and swimming back and forth to the flags.

She is in a class of TWO. It’s only her and another little girl for 45 minutes. How’s that for semi-private lessons? Zoe will be good and ready for the pool/beach this summer, she even got a new Speedo to wear that makes her swim ‘real fast’ in the water.