Every morning, there she is. I know I should put a stop to it, but I just can't seem to follow through. Dejan's out by 5:30am, only to be replaced by my sweet little lady (many days it's much sooner than 5:30). I suppose after some serious parenting fails, I can live with this one.

Mom finally gets to work

It's been five years since I last worked, and the time felt right when I accepted the position as Seton school's After School Program Director. I am opening the program from the ground up, & enjoying this mighty challenge to be successful. My first day was this past Monday, & who wouldn't love being in the same building as your child attends the worlds best preschool class. I was able to do tons of computer work, listened to music as I worked, was patted on the back numerous times, and was lucky to also catch glimpses of Ava being an independent little girl.

My family seems ok with this new transition. Ava gave me some sass on Monday morning when I reminded her of the help I was going to need from her every morning. Our "getting ready" routine would have to change. After sulking for half the morning, she suddenly decided helping & doing things herself rocked..."what else can I do, Mommy?" YAY!!!!! Watching her made me all warm & fuzzy. I'm so proud of who she is becoming, but, as so many Mom's know, it's also bitter sweet watching your children grow up.

Husband also gave me a little sass when I remind him I won't be able to do it alone anymore. He'll have to pick up Ava, he'll have to run her to swim lessons, he'll have to make some dinner sometimes, he'll have to leave work a little earlier a couple times a week.....GASP!!!! :) After a few grumbles, he's his usual charming, sarcastic self & says, ,"ok, no problem, I can do it all without complaining." Love him, but will I ever get a "no problem, I'd love to help" without the sarcasm!!?? I'm going with no. :)

This new chapter seems to be just what I need. I look forward to it's challenges, to earning my own money, & to making my family appreciate what I do around here a little more.... you see, the sarcasm is catchy around here.

The picture is Ava after she got herself dressed, made her bed, folded clothes to put away, brushed her teeth, helped pick out jewelry for me to wear, & finally, brushing her hair (which she hates). I think she pulled off a great look & was the best helper a Mommy could ask for...I think I forgot to tell her that & now feel like a bad mom... *sigh*.... will I ever get it right?

Ava's first story

"You are never going to believe this! Once there was nothing, no world, no grass, no dirt, no trees, NO people (I thought she was starting to tell me the creation story they teach at her school). Then, Mommy, there were 15 vampires walking around biting people & tearing up stuff (boy was i wrong about that creation story), then 15 trolls were flying around when 15 monsters came stomping in. They walked on only dirt"....at this point she lost me, I was staring at her in wonderment; wondering where the heck she got all that, yet proud of her creative, sick mind. :)

Cousins Rock

All the cousins (minus Sam-- he boycotts cameras) came for Ava's Spring Concert...

Four cousins get to spend the night together, and this is the point when the house finally became quiet... some chaos, some drama, lots of giggling, a few tears, a few 'just dance 4' competitions, egg hunt practice runs, high heels clicking around, singing, dancing, eating, jumping on the beds, "Cecca!!! Do Mamma Odie!!!", a few inappropriate things to make little kids laugh, & then it was quiet. i liked the loud, but cuddled in the quiet, on the floor, until all were fast asleep...but not before one kindly asked me, "why are you staying in here?" (Yamro, never afraid to speak her mind)  :-)

PS....that's the back of Sam's head on the left.  GOTCHA BUDDY

february funnies

hide and seek is more of a smelling game for ava. when she looks for you, her consistent remark is, "i can't see you, but i can smell you!!" huh!!??!! i start smelling myself while in hiding, then giggle so loud she finds me. i obviously had a complex, until she started doing it to other family members. whew! i'm not the only stinky one.

i asked her to please explain...

mom smells like perfume...REALLY!!! :-)
dad smells like the bathroom...funny, but it's his morning "getting ready" products she is referring to
nonno smells like stinky work...he has always smelled like a man who works with his hands
nonna smells like dinner...of course, right? my mom is the cooking queen
baba smells like the basement...this is certainly because baba always takes ava to get cookies there
deda smells like chickens...he did teach ava the importance of feeding chickens fresh picked grass

my dad and i both agree, kids have the best abilities in all senses. too bad we lose so much as we get older.

my favorite funny this time around, is from the other morning after we had a snow storm come through. she was, of course, in bed with me in the morning when she woke up. she looked at me super excited, and i was waiting for the "no school!!!" or "i love you so much mommy, thanks for letting me sleep in your bed, AGAIN!!", but instead she blurts out, "IT'S PAY DAY!!!!"

Yes, that's right, pay day.

We started a small chore list for her to earn money, and it didn't take her long to figure out how fun money is. You may recall, from a previous post, our ban from going shopping. She had obviously reached a point in her young life that meant it was time to teach her about money. She has worked hard at saving her money, and even bought her first toy (a barbie of course!), donated food to the animal shelter, and deposited enough money in the bank to earn two free dollars from the bank. She is quite proud of her money, and now, unfortunately, but hilariously, every time she does a chore she quietly says, "i’m really earning my money now."

that’s my girl. she keeps us laughing and adds such a sparkle to our days.


what's better than throwing a huge snowball at mom while she's trying to take a cute picture



stuff to not forget

she gives light kisses on the cheek to wake me up (at 3am--{sigh}) before asking to sleep in our bed

she gives accurate directions in the dark on how to get home

she rhymes duck with fuck

"mommy, i meant to tell you this...sometimes at bedtime, when i put my hand out, it's to cool it off, not for you to hold."  toddler honesty can't be beat.

ava told me for the first time after school she didn't miss me. then tried so hard not to cry when i took her to school today (her 'trying not to cry' is something i wish i could bottle up---the wet eyes, the red nose, the biting of the lip, the "nothing is wrong", she stands a little bit taller and holds her head high, but still needs me to hug her really tight and remind her how i will miss her and how i think she is the bravest little girl i know. her school friends seems to snap her back to happiness and mom is left feeling a tug at her heart--she needs me, but she is also starting that slow walk away from me)

a made up song--"the heart of the spirit goes to the presents" (clearly this was close to christmas)

she also shivered with excitement christmas morning after yelling, "SANTA!!!!" while scrambling out of bed faster than ever.

"i'm excavating the sand in the water to find destiny rocks."

ava wrapped a fake present for her friend hayden..."i'm teasing him, like daddy always teases me." (the sooner she learns the art of teasing, the sooner she can show her dad up)

"I spy something beautiful," Hayden
"Ava," said me, of course
"Yes," Hayden
Ava just stared at him

"BAM!" = Damn...Mom has since stopped saying damn

ava farts in her sleep and politely whispers "excuse me" ...sometimes we succeed at parenting when we least expect it.

there was excessive fear of the dark and night terrors. it was a hard few months that have seemed to come to an end. night terrors are scary for mom and dad, kids seem to never remember them. we have since learned to touch lightly in comfort, whisper something sweet, lots of "i love you'", and lots of "it's ok, go back to sleep now". never try to wake them and never yell at them to knock it off (i learned that one the hard way).

mom freaks out after the 100th time at the store with a toddler who cries every time she didn't get something. mom makes toddler give away six bags of toys (that is not a typo, it was six). our current record (after a short ban from going together to any store) is 3 out of 4 have ended in no crying. i believe i just taught my first lesson.

some days i rock as a mom, while other days, i am the worst ever. i am finding this is a common theme amongst every single parent in the world, along with the "mom guilt we all carry around like a load of bricks. whether we play for five minutes, five hours, or none, we are never good enough for ourselves" (thank you kind sister, who continued to remind me ... "you play and do more than sooo many mom's...you should feel really good about that and not worry about the times you really suck, those sucky days pale in comparison").

both of my sister's support through my mommy adventures have also brought me to a new feeling I said would never happen...it might be time to give ava a companion for life. the poor thing must not be left to grow up and deal with an aging mom and dad on her own...that is another funny blog post i could write about.

A walk around camp djordjevich...

After going through my photos, I discovered I didn't have a picture of the chickens...camp djordjevich without the chickens  {gasp}  at least you can hear them here...