One of "Those" Days

Bonnie is amazing. A-maz-ing. She is so sweet and kind and thoughtful. When I'm snuggling her in the dark if she's had a bad dream or before bed, I often find her pushing the hair out of my face, telling me she loves me. No matter how sick she is, she always asks people if they're okay when they cough. She always tells me I did a good job. She's so wonderful.

But then there are those out-of-nowhere, where did I go wrong?, who took my sweet girl and left this little trouble-maker behind? days. Today was one of those. From the moment we got to work this morning she had to grab everything out everyone's hands, everytime I'd ask her to get dressed she'd run, she'd hit other kids and push them. At one point she was "washing her hands" and I found her filling her cup up with water and dumping it on the floor.

This. Is. Not. My. Kid. Okay, it is, but not how I normally see her. I almost think it's harder for me to deal with that kind of behavior because I hardly ever see it. Everything I have ever worried about has been a breeze for her: breastfeeding, weaning, potty training, doctor's visits (she asks all the time if she can go to the doctor!), moving apartments, moving from crib to bed, just about everything... But let me tell you, today was rough!

HOWEVER, it made me very thankful! Thankful that she behaves like this so rarely that I've never had to learn how to deal with it. Thankful that even though she was frustrating, she was still so sweet at bedtime tonight. And thankful that I can be pretty sure she'll wake up tomorrow and be back to her same sweet self. I know she's been sick, we've all been sick, and we've been home from work for 5 days, she had to wake up early, she didn't nap, that it was just an all around tough day for her. And that I have those kinds of days waaaaaay more often than she does!

So... here's to a new day tomorrow!

Here are a couple pics of me and my mini-me a couple weeks ago. I really do love her more than anything in the Universe... even when she's making trouble :)

Big Changes Around Here

There is definitely a bit of chaos in store for us in the coming weeks. Jake has to have surgery on his shoulder, if he puts it off any longer he may need a complete replacement. So he's getting it done on the 3rd of November. And I got a new job. I've been planning on staying with the nanny thing for a while, but have been worried about my school schedule, and I feel Bonnie is ready for some sort of preschool, but we can't afford it with me working as a nanny. But I couldn't find any jobs that paid enough for me to justify putting her in school, either. Then one day I saw something that looked promising while looking around craigslist for fun. I found an old resume and wrote a quick letter of interest and sent it off, thinking I would never hear from them. Then I got a call for an interview... and then a call saying they were interested the following week, and finally a job offer. It seemed like everything was working out too perfect for it not to be what I was supposed to do. So, it looks like I'll be the new Food Services Supervisor for the Oregon Child Development Coalition. I'm pretty excited about the company and what they provide to the community, and I think it's something I'll enjoy doing. And I think I'll be able to work the schedule out so that Bonnie can do a preschool type thing in the mornings, come home for nap, and then I'll be with her after nap for dinner and some special mommy-daughter time :) Thanks to Jake's parents who are helping her get to and from school and home for nap! I know it will be a bit of adjustment for everyone, with me back at a conventional job (for the first time in 3 1/2 years!!!), Jake home for a couple months for recovery, and Bonnie in school (but I know she's ready for it and will love it!), I'm just hoping it's a quick adjustment :)

Pumpkin Patch

I love Fall. I love the colors and the cooling of the weather, and I love the thought of holidays. I'm not a big fan of the nonstop rain, but I love the first rains of Fall. So far this year the weather has been pretty mild, but I can tell the rain is working its way in. We were lucky enough to make it to the pumpkin patch twice this year. I took Bonnie once with the kids I watch and we went this weekend with family. We've all been sick, but I figured on the days she was better than others that the pumpkin patch was a good activity to get her out of the house without much potential to get other kids sick. Here are a few pictures of the pumpkin bliss :)Here is Bonnie on her pumpkin stool :) We ran all over the field and looked at just about every pumpkin they had!

When we went this weekend they had face painting, so Bonnie wanted to be a butterfly. Well, she was more interested in the spider web stuff, but the girl doing it talked her into a butterfly :)

There was a really fun hay maze for the kids to run around in. When we went on the weekend it was really busy so we just did the pumpkins and face painting, but when I took all the kids there were only 5 or 6 other kids there, so they had lots of fun running around in there.

She just had to wear her boots this day :)

And of course the best part: the sucker at the end for good behavior :)

Pizza Chef in the Making

The other day the kids and I made our own pizzas for dinner. I really thought it would be a complete disaster (3 kids, 1 adult, and tomato sauce?!), but it actually came out really well and we had fun. It really struck me how big Bonnie is getting! Here are a couple pics and short video clips of our project. I had the kids take turns, so I will just post B's.

Notice she's only in her underwear? :)

She is a good sport. She has fun doing just about anything, and is a really good kid.

Beautiful Fall Walk

I live in Portland, Oregon. It rains here. A. LOT. Lucky for us, even though it's October, we're still being blessed with beautiful sunny days and the temperature is resting around 70 degrees. Perfection. Today we took a little walk (Bonnie, the two kids I nanny for, and myself).

Bonnie always collects these berry-flower-fruit thingies that grow on the tree outside her room. Anyone have any idea what they are?

My hope is that one day this girl will sit still while I take her picture. All I have is pictures of her on the move. I guess there is a lot to get done when you're 2 1/2.

The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

I love my kid. Seriously love her. How could you not? She's so smart and funny, thoughtful, empathetic, sweet, and absolutely beautiful. Sure she's a monster sometimes, but it only makes me love her more. Even when I tell her to leave her shoes on at the park...


...and she doesn't. She's independent and knows what she wants (at least that's what I tell myself when she does the exact opposite of what I ask). I figured: what's a little bare foot time going to hurt?



At least she knows she's a monster. Me: Whatcha doing munchkin? Bonnie: I not a munchkin, I just a monster. I Bonnie.

And I love her.



Just because I got so many good shots today, here are a couple more:

Lazy Sunday

There's nothing better than a lazy Sunday... except a lazy Sunday when you know you don't have to set your alarm for Monday morning :) We went to church this morning, then lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, then lounged around all afternoon. Nothing new, which is nice in a way.


Just a bunch of silly faces and relaxing :)