Cereal Killer

Daniel is following in his daddy's example with a love of cereal. Thanks to a slick marketing campaign that has featured "Cars" on every box of cereal, he now thinks Frosted Mini Wheats are called "Cars" and wants them all the time. I eat cereal for dinner sometimes, so I guess it won't hurt him either. The only problem is that is my favorite cereal and I don't like to share.

Cleaning Out

I am purging lots of stuff to make room for our great house re-arranging. Today I threw away 20 pairs of pantyhose in all kinds of colors. When did I think that ship was going to sail again? I can only think of once or twice I have worn pantyhose in the last 3-5 years. They were a stupid nuisance and I'm glad we have moved beyond them!

I also found a Vera Bradley purse one of my great aunts gave me for my high school graduation. I've always loved it, and I just didn't know I was stylish before my time!

I'm going to keep purging until I can fit everything into our modest master bedroom closet. If you've ever been to our house you know that's a sarcastic statement- the closet is bigger than your extra bedroom. However I am determined it will not become a great dumping ground.

Father's Day

We almost took Daniel to see "Cars" for Father's Day, but decided 2 hours was just a little too long for him. I think we will go next weekend without him. I'm sure he will get to see it sometime in his future. Over and over again.

I have a painter coming tomorrow for the guest room so I've finished clearing it out. Dave is 3/4 of the way done with assembling the playset. It's nice to feel like we are getting some things done at home. The summer is going by too fast!

We went to a great wedding reception on Friday night- the bride and groom were planning to go to Hawaii to get married over the weekend, but they surprised everyone and got married at the reception. Congrats Mary Lynn and Chris!!

Dave had a great Father's Day, complete with an ice cream cake and lots of playtime with Daniel. Today is our wedding anniversary, but we aren't doing anything special. I'm just hoping Dave gets home in time for dinner (he did not on Valentine's Day).

I've also been researching a lot of trip options for various venues lately, and I started to look into Disneyworld. What a pandora's box that is. I found out what I need to know for now and closed it right back up! When I was little you just went to the park (or didn't go, since we didn't take vacations that cost money when I was a kid). My parents never took us to Disneyworld until I was in college. Don't worry, I actually had been to Disneyland several times so I wasn't completely deprived. I do still struggle with never having gotten the Barbie dream house. I need some counseling....

The Great Household Re-Arranging

The logistics are actually simple, but I am trying to coordinate some bedroom shifting that needs to take place. I sold everything from one of our guest rooms in the past week, and I am now trying to get that room painted. Once the room is painted, I will move the furniture from the other guest room into it and have an empty room for Daniel.

We have picked out what we want for Daniel and will be getting it mid-July from IKEA. I don't plan to move Daniel to his new room until the end of September-October, but I want to have the room ready for guests by Labor Day weekend. We haven't decided on a theme or color scheme yet, we are waiting on some inspiration. Perhaps it will come from IKEA and he will end up with a ultra-funky modern European room. Cool.

Let the Tantrums Begin

We are starting the "Terrible Twos", a time of irrational behavior and lots of temper tantrums. In the last week, Daniel has thrown major tantrums over the following:

• Not being able to open the door to where the trash can is kept
• Getting into his car seat
• Getting out of his car seat
• Not wanting to Eat
• Wanting to Eat
• Getting his diaper changed
• Saying goodbye at Mother's Day Out

I'm getting quite good at the "walk away and ignore them" technique, except for when I really need to go somewhere. We have had a lot of screaming going on, and I'm looking forward to some good kicking action in the months ahead.

Updates

I guess you'd like an update on if we survived being "Dave-less" for six days. While he's been gone, I've managed to:

• Put the furnishings of our 2nd guest room up for sale (anyone want to buy a queen mattress set?)
• Caught up on my recorded movie backlog (Collateral, Garden State, Scent of a Woman)
  
• Read Vince Flynn's Executive Power and part of Revolutionary Wealth
• Spotted two baby tomatoes in my growing garden
• Chased Daniel around at numerous public venues while trying not to pass out from exhaustion
  
• Worked on a weekend getaway for later this year (yes, I am going to invite Dave)
• Ordered a Father's Day gift which may or may not arrive by next Sunday.
  

I did not get the playset assembled or the yard mowed, so Dave will not be super surprised when he arrives home in the next 30 minutes.

nice drool! 

At the playground 

24 hours

We had about 24 hours without Daniel. It's only the second time we've been able to leave him that long, so we tried to make the most of it. We managed to fit in:

• An appreciation dinner at church for community group leaders
• Buying a playset and getting it home and unloaded
• Picking up a car that was at the mechanics'
• A trip to the library to browse in peace
• Lunch at the Cheesecake Factory
• A quick tour of the remodeled Green Hills Mall
• Shopping at the new Mt.Juliet shopping center

It was a great time for all of us (Daniel had a blast with the grandparents), but I am so tired today from all of the running around. Dave on the other hand is trying to assemble the playset before he leaves town for a six day trip (which I'm not looking forward to!!)