Family Fun time

My brother and his family came to visit this past weekend. Maysie had such a good time playing with her cousins. All of them were so sweet to her; I could tell they have an older sibling instinct. We spent as much time as we could with them for the day and a half they were here. So much so, that Maysie did not want to come home with me after they had all left Monday. Now it's back to the Mom show: All Mom, all the time!

My daughter, the artist

Maysie likes to draw and paint. She always requests that I trace her hands or draw Santa Clause when faced with a blank canvas. I recently invested in a sturdy, plastic picnic table and umbrella so we can paint outside without worrying about a big mess... I can just hose the table down.



She also likes to pretend. She likes to pretend to make me cry; I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. She used to tell me to "fry, Mama", then offer me a pretend binky once I got going. At times she'll tell me she needs a glove or a hat and I'll offer her a pretend whatever... sometimes she comes back with, "no, a real _____, not a pretend _____." I'm glad she has an imagination. And quite a flare for the dramatic, too.

Hot Fun in the Summer time...

Today was my first official day of summer vacation. It was also the first day of my second whack at potty training my 2 year old daughter. I had tried over Spring break, but she was taking an antibiotic for an ear infection. It was so strong it caused her to have diarrhea and a raging yeast infection; I decided it was best to wait. Now that school's out, things will be calm for me for another few days. I'm going to be working half days, four days a week at a program for school-aged kids at the facility where Maysie goes. I'll be earning extra money and getting a nice employee discount on her tuition! For a few weeks I'll be spending my mornings helping out at a friend's performance studio for their summer camp sessions. July is packed with professional workshops AND I'll be starting my online Masters program at the end of June... so summer is not much of a vacation for me; just a vacation from my primary profession. I like to stay busy, though. And it will keep me from wanting to take a cue from my friends and go somewhere fun and then feeling jealous because I can't. I am trying to plan fun activities for the Mays and myself, and Chadi when he's visiting. We plan to go see Toy Story 3 when it comes out; Maysie's first movie in the theatre- should be an adventure! I also want to take a day trip to Turpentine Creek- a large cat sanctuary. Not to mention the potty training adventure....
I've brought home a handful of young adult books from my classroom library to read before my literacy workshop in July (where I plan to pickup more books to read before school starts). There are a few side projects I want to work on too, when I get the chance - in other words, during nap times....
So, already my summer is booked. I'm trying to make a conscious effort not to start thinking about the next school year until July, but I'm meeting my new intern tomorrow -just for introductions and visiting- though I'm sure school will come up.
Oh well..