too much

How do you know when your two-year-old has seen too many episodes of Dora the Explorer and Go! Diego, Go!?

#10. When she wants me to follow her somewhere, she says, "Come on, Momma! Vaminos!"

#9. She yells "Animal in trouble!" and "rescues" all the animals one by one off the floor and onto the table. (I use the term "animals" loosely. This is not just stuffed animals. It basically includes anything that is not too heavy for her to lift.)

#8. She insists that you call her Diego.

#7. She carries around her special camera, "Click", in her armpit. (Yeah. I don't know where the armpit thing came from.)

#6. Her longest sentence is, "Use our special camera, Click, [to] help find the animal in trouble." (And she can say it all pretty fast!)

#5. She counts all sorts of things at the hardware store...in Spanish.

#4. She is frequently demanding Travis and I do things in Spanish - salta, parada, vaminos, suba, etc. Most of the time, we have no idea what she is saying.

#3. She can't go up our stairs without holding someone's hand because they are too slippery. Even her Ikea train has to put on it's "sticky wheels" to go over the slippery hill. Thanks, Dora.

#2. She will pull items out of her toy baskets and ask us one thing at a time "Is this the flashlight?...No!...Is the flashlight?...No!...Is THIS the flashlight?...Yes!"

#1. And the number one reason I know Anna has seen it too much is because I know all the words to all the songs!

the date

Travis is taking me on a date tonight. I am excited, to say the least. We don't go out alone very often, and we rarely get a sitter. Ahhh. An evening where I don't have to feel like a tired mommy...where I can get out of the house without distraction...where I can feel a bit more like a young little thing on a hot date! Just me and my man! So, I took great care in getting dressed this morning, making sure my outfit was perfect (not the usual jeans and t-shirt) and that my accessories (which are neglected more and more these days) were laid out and ready. As I twisted and curled my hair into something other than a pony tail, I was looking in the mirror thinking, "Wow. Travis is going to be knocked out!" I finished the last touch of mascara, gave myself a "well, hello there" look in the mirror, and then my eyes locked on Owen. No, not on his beautiful, big blue eyes—which he has—but on his diaper. Now, I wouldn't say I am a seasoned mother, but I have had my share of blow-outs to filled the spectrum. Everything from, "oh, that onesie is still fine" to "Just put it all in the trash". This, however, surpassed them all. I even contemplated just throwing away the highchair in which he was sitting. Seriously. Owen was only wearing a diaper, and that could have been part of the problem. I won't go into more detail, but even Anna started dry-heaving and saying, "Make Anna sick!" over and over.

Now, forty-five minutes later, I am looking in the mirror again. My black dress pants are...let's just say...not clean, my hair is flat due to the small bit of perspiring that occurred during the ordeal, and my perfect makeup seems to have faded with all the futile attempts at keeping my hair out of my face. Needless to say, I don't feel the least bit hot and sexy anymore. Oh, well, I am a mom. And I am happy to know, that being is a mom is one thing that Travis loves about me. Even if I am not a knock-out—I am going out tonight with my man!

Missing Something...

Over the last nine months, I feel like I have been missing something...in many different ways.

First, I am missing the opportunity to record the precious and hilarious moments I share with my family each day. Like when Anna fell out of her big girl bed, and then claimed through the streams of tears that the "wall pull my hair". Now, I have been sleeping in a big girl bed for quite a number of years now, and I have never had the wall pull my hair. Or, when Anna starts telling me "good job" after I go potty. These are the things I don't want to forget. These are the things I don't want to have missed recording.

Second, I am starting to miss other things too. Like, one day, I couldn't find my wallet. I frantically retraced my steps of the day, calling the restaurant where we had lunch, searching the car...three times...and feeling the pit in my chest grow larger and larger as I thought of canceling my credit cards, getting a new driver's license, and on and on. Travis and I started searching the house again. I felt like I should check my closet. Why? I have no idea, but I checked anyway. And, behold, there behind all of Travis's hanging shirts was my wallet. Now, this little spot behind Trav's shirts is one of Anna's favorite hiding places. That little trickster!

A few days later, Travis came home from work and put his socks on the bed. After dinner we decided to go to the store. Travis went to get his socks...and they were gone! We started looking around, and Anna piped in "I find them!". She ran over to Trav's nightstand, opened up the top drawer, and pulled out his sock from the very back of the drawer. She held them up triumphantly, and you could tell she thought she was pretty hot stuff for finding the missing socks! Trickster!

Since then, I have noticed several other things missing... the keys to the mail box, several toys, sippy cups, etc. I have no doubt in my mind that our mischievous two-year-old knows exactly where all of the missing items are located. The trick is going to be getting her to talk. :) Let's just hope that the missing sippy cups aren't filled with rotting milk, that there is nothing important in the mailbox, and that the missing toys are nobody's favorites.

So, here is hoping I find all the missing items, and remember all the fading moments!