Future Gold Medalist

My three year old started taking private swim lessons this week. She was three feet tall at age two, nice wide shoulders, so naturally, we've already planned her future as an Olympic swimmer. We'll settle for professional goalie of the Women's US team too, she's just too young to start soccer. I intend to keep her in that pool long past the "prune" stage, have her tread water for a good 30 minutes each day, you know, start her out slow.

I can't tell if she's swimming away in fear...nah, just keep swimming, you'll be Natalie Coughlin in no time.

(Disclaimer: the above is what's known as sarcasm.) 

The Day Penelope Became Pete

Last year we got a guinea pig as a pet for the Preschool. I tell you she was the cutest rodent (although I would never call her that to her face mind you) I had ever seen.

This photo really doesn't do her justice. What you can't see is her adorable all white behind.

This is the Bio posted on her home (okay, I made most of it up, but I'm sure she'd agree):
Full name: Penelope Jane
Born: June 13, 2012
Likes-apples, playing tag, water, being read to
Dislikes-People tapping on her glass house
Favorite Books: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Pride & Prejudice
Favorite Color: Blue

We all fell in love with her and wanted what was best for her, and according to the experts, it was another guinea pig. About six months later we welcomed another little girl guinea pig into our family and they even got a deluxe 50 gallon tank as a new home!

Here she is, Isabella, named after the little girl who loved her dearly & was sad to her go, but happy for us.

Full name: Isabella Corduroy
Born: December 29, 2012
Likes: playing hide and seek, traveling, dressing up
Dislikes: Being left all alone
Favorite Books: Olivia & the Fairy Princess, Diary of a Wombat
Favorite Color: Purple

The guineas seemed happy and started making all sorts of fun new noises and were constantly playing tag and hide and go seek, as previously mentioned in their Bio's. Life was great. Then on May 7th I walked into the classroom and saw this...

It turns out, those "experts" were right, guinea pigs do love company, unfortunately, they also didn't know how to properly sex a guinea pig. Oops. It has made for some fun classroom conversations. My favorite was from a four year old who when talking about how mommy's carry their babies in their tummy's, he replied, "Mine carried me in her shoe." I love my job.

Best Laid Plans

I had the day planned for months. Send the little one to grandma and papa's for the night, book a suite at The Andiron in Little River, CA, for our fifth anniversary of being a couple, seemed fitting since that's where we got married and I adore the place (You will too, go on, pick up the phone and reserve a cabin. We've stayed four times and have always chosen the William & Mildred Suite, for sentimental reasons, but I've been inside each cabin because we rented out the whole place for our wedding, & they are all uniquely charming). We arrived, only an hour late, not too bad for parents of a three year old, and immediately I sprawled out on the king size Sealy Posturepedic bed, champagne in one hand, and a book in the other. I planned to stay there until they kicked me out. Maids were going to have to knock, say housekeeping, turn the key and still find me in that bed, then roll me out whilst changing the sheets, shaking out the crumbs, books, champagne bottle, and empty Ben & Jerry's pint.

This is what I had in mind, and what I got to experience for about ten minutes...

Then all was changed by a ringing phone. There's no service out there, so when I heard the old fashioned black phone ringing in the other room I bolted out of bed, unsure of what was happening. Was it Scott up at the Inn's office, telling me we were fabulous and deserved a complimentary bottle of wine? Yes it was Scott! No. He was not offering wine. My in-laws were at the emergency room. Fear set in as I imagined our daughter needing stitches or a cast, but he calmed my nerves a bit when he said she was okay. Turns out something my mother-in-law ate did a number on her, so bad so that she was in excruciating pain and had to be taken to the ER. I retold the story to my partner who was in the shower-a shower later she would confide was the best shower she'd had in months. That's what a good shower comes down to when you have a child; no one peeking there head in, asking what you're doing ten times in a row. Then I dashed back to Fort Bragg, which is a good twenty minutes away. Once in the ER I found my father-in-law was managing to keep our daughter entertained, asked how grandma was, "No word as of yet," then headed back to the Andiron, feeling happy that my mother-in-law was not in a life or death situation, but feeling a little defeated. The rest of the day consisted of entertaining our daughter, but there was a little more lying in bed with my book, it wasn't uninterrupted, but I did get a foot rub (Yes!!) and more champagne (double Yes!!). 

Our daughter however had the time of her life...

I'd say that one day we too will get to have that big of a smile on our face from getting whisked away to a beautiful Inn, but the truth is, once you have a kid, nothing is certain or set in stone. On the bright side, she makes our heart smile everyday, so we're pretty damn lucky. I mean, how can you not feel okay with missing out on a romantic weekend when you see that scrunched up nose smile?

p.s. We'll always have The Andiron, July 10, 2010. And, Scott DID give us a bottle of wine in the end!

Finding the littlest Matryoshka

If you've read the title of this Blog then it should come as no surprise that I have a thing for Matryoshka's. It started when I was a little girl and shook a bright red Matryoshka that stood, red lipped and smiling, on a shelf in my grandmother's house. Her little wooden eyes encouraging me to pick her up, and upon hearing the rattle inside, I only found my curiosity peaked that much more. After a minute or so of forcefully shimmying her waistline to and fro, out popped another little red lipped beauty, and then another, and another, and just when you think there couldn't possible be one more, there she is, the littlest of the Matryoshka's, or as like to call her, la petite Matryoshka, which isn't really proper considering they originated in Russia, but my Russian needs some work, well, so does my French for that matter.

It wasn't until a trip to Ellis Island in 2011 that I finally purchased my very own set of nesting dolls. I walked into the section marked "Russia" and my little heart went all aflutter. Dozens of little nesting dolls in all shapes and colors! It took me a good twenty five minutes to finally decide on one.

From here on out I won't be bombarding you with images and tales of Matryoshka's, okay, well I probably will a few more times. I just wanted to start out by telling you how the idea got started and how I look forward to talking about all sorts of things, and unraveling the beautiful, comical, and interesting pieces of life, one little layer at a time.