I don’t know what happened. Â It started out like any other day. Â We got up at the same time, we ate at the same time, and we left at the same time. Â There were no problems. Â It was grocery shopping day. Â I’ve come to like grocery shopping with Ellie now. Â Especially since she’s been riding shot gun in the buggy. Â It’s like our special time. Â She holds the grocery list and pen and I roll her around. Â But I don’t know what happened that day. Â The trip was so off I might as well have gone to Kroger.
WEAK AND WEARY
It’s the same old story. Ellie doesn’t nap well at all. This is not new information. But I’ve realized over the past few weeks that it’s been a long time since she’s had a normal nap in her crib. This is not good. I most often go for a drive which puts her to sleep. I’ll then tip-toe up the stairs with her still in her car seat. I’ll hold my breath while I set the car seat down and turn the monitor on. And then I disappear into the silence and make my way downstairs. It’s never a guaranteed nap, but it’s my best shot. I’ve realized I’ve been cheating the system. She’s going to outgrow that car seat, and soon, and then I’ll be stuck.
A VISITOR FROM THE BEYOND?
One evening I got a frantic phone call from my mom asking me if I had seen the e-mail my brother had just sent. Â When I told her no, she started to get excited and started explaining that when he was over at my house, he snapped a picture of Ellie and in the background you could see a ghost. Â Excited was an understatement. Â “Oh wow! Â This is SOOO cool! Â I wonder if it’s grandpa!?” Â Followed by, “don’t tell Aya, it’ll freak her out!” Â All of this information was coming at me so fast it took a while for it to register. Â A ghost? Â In my house? Â Captured on camera? Â What!?
BRUCE
Ever since my last stand off with the Reverse Tooth Fairy, I’ve been on my toes. I’ve been very watchful in anticipation of her return. I know it’s inevitable for her to return, but at least I can be prepared. This chick is getting pretty sneaky though. While I’ve been preoccupied looking out for her, she enlisted her older brother, Bruce the Molar King, to join her forces. This guy doesn’t let up and he’s just plain mean.
MACY’S MONDAYS
I’m always on the look-out for different things to do with Ellie. Especially during the winter. I think both of us get sick of staring at each other waiting for the other one to do something entertaining. I look at Ellie and think, peek-a-boo again? Really? Don’t you have any new tricks? And Ellie’s probably looking at me thinking, “Twinkle Twinkle Litte Star? Again? You still don’t even know the right lyrics. What else you got?” But luckily one of the moms from story time recommended Macy’s Monday at the Henry Ford Museum. Two hours of fun, games, and stories all within the context of giant airplanes, trains, and cars. Sounded like a good time to me.