Unexpected Fun at the Park

So we were off early this morning for some park time, out the door by 930 we were meeting jenn, kai, dax and jet there. When we left the house I am sure it was already 70 degrees and then when we got to the park the sprinklers were on and the kiddo's were in heaven.
And us moms rolled with it because that is what we do, that is how we roll, HA!
Well not really ha I mean I think at first I was like oh no this is going to be messy
but then after a millisecond I was like we have to start counting on this as the weather warms up it was water and park play all in one AND the wet sand that it left behind is more fun to work with.

It is always so interesting to me well two things first as an adult I have a hard time saying anything to people I know or am acquainted with, people I have not seen in ages and so I pretend I don't see them and hope that we don't look each others way at the same time. I don't know if I am just weird or if others are like that but it is always this internal conversation should I say hi should I wait for them blah blah blah silly really, really silly. Anyway Dakota gave me a great lesson today in we all love to be acknowledged, a little girl arrived at the park who is in the same dance class as dakota and I pointed her out and dakota goes running over saying her name, saying hi you want to play, what a greeting. I don't know why I am so weird but really is it that hard to say hi to people we have met even if they don't remember you.
So then the other thing I was thinking about at the park today is the whole climbing up the slide issue and I do say issue because I have seen some parents as strict enforcers of the slides are only for going down, I am not in that camp because it is something that kids really feel the need to do and it is a great challenge.

I mean really. Here is my feeling you teach your children to pay attention when a slide is not in use great climb up it all you want but when you see children at the top it is off limits.
It is funny to me because when I stand back and watch it seems so natural for them to want to climb up things, to climb up slides just like doing superman on the swings or going down the slide.
Those were my amazing thoughts at the park today.
Sleep update: Just like when she was in her toddler bed next to our bed she starts out in her room but sometime between 1130 and 200 she either calls for us, which has been her way the last few nights, or she comes walking into our room. I am fine with it although last night she was really restless for some reason and that made me have a restless night and I am sure randy as well but most nights I am ready by the time she is.

Cranberry Pasta Tea.

That is what dakota made for randy after dinner tonight. They were having some nice tea as I was cleaning the kitchen and when he asked what it was that was her answer, very interesting. Then he asked what she did today and she told him that she ran 10 miles (I was lazy today and didn't go sorry andi) but apparently she did and according to dakota's conversation with randy she was running "pretty fast" but at "half speed" her miles take about "1 minute". If only I were at here level.
I made an awesome dinner tonight that I have to share. My neighbor recently gave me a ton of different cooking magazines and so slowly I have been going through them and pulling recipes or just tagging them if there are several within. It has been great because I have been in such dinner doldrums and coming up with new yummy meals can be so difficult. I hate arriving at 430 with no dinner plans spins me right into a bad mood. I have found cuisine at home
to have some really great speedy meals. Tonight I made sun dried tomato crusted chicken and it was gooooood.

and then this yummy sauce.
Just a touch of butter, HA!
the picture doesn't do it justice my food photos are hit and miss.
Here is what I was thinking at dinner tonight, are you ready for the deep thought, I don't remember ever telling my mom that I didn't like something she cooked, that thought or those words were just not there. Dakota is an awesome eater and she will try anything for the most part but she doesn't hesitate to say that she doesn't like something and I don't know how I feel about that. Part of me thinks well that is fine we have a one bite rule so at least she is trying it. But the other part of me thinks no this is dinner this is what we are having it is not up for judgement. When I was a kid we ate what we were given and if we didn't like it well fine but you still ate it. I really don't know just thinking out loud as the title states! Hahahah.
Moving on we met up with our friends at the park today and it was so nice to see everyone and I think we are going to get back into the swing of things. We used to have a play group and we met once a week and we were really good about it but over this last summer new babies were born, and then sickness so it feels like ages but I think we are back on. Yay

A week ago this morning..

we were driving to sacramento and losing our minds with two hours still to go. Okay so we were really losing our minds but dakota had been up since 430 on the car ride she had taken about a 30 minute nap and she was in crazy land. All in all she was such a trooper and my mom and dad who were in the back seat with her did an awesome job of having a good time back there. So we were heading up for the wedding of my cousin Kevin to his sweet bride Stephanie, more on that later. On the drive there it struck me how lucky I am to have such an awesome family, I love laughing and hanging out with them. And boy do we laugh together. It wasn't until we were three quarters of the way up there that we realized that dakotas carseat was not centered and my mom had been squished for five hours and at that point in the drive of craziness we all just cracked up. So eventually we got there and we found our hotel that was beautiful lake natoma inn, set on the american river and downtown folsom. Upon getting to our room I quickly realized I am so not a good packer... I didn't have nice shoes for dakota to wear to the wedding, no toothpaste, no brush no clippies for dakotas hair. As you can see from this wedding photo she is a little raga muffin, a cute raga muffin but come on where is her mother to brush her hair I mean really. The wedding was awesome I mean just really touching and the love that was between the bride and groom and their families and their friends was so heartwarming. And on top of all that love was a ton of fun, during their first dance the music started to scratch and then "groove is in the heart" starts going and they start boogying, little fun funky touches like that were all over the place.
So I have noticed that I am way more into bugs then I ever really realized. And maybe it is because of dakota and maybe I always have been I really don't know but while going to dinner the first night we were there guess who we should happen upon...
yes a preying mantis just hanging out. We (really I mean Derek I am afraid to pick them up after the hissing incident. Anywho I had to look up what the preying mantis symbolizes because well because and this is what I found, interesting. I also saw while at the wedding a yellow jacket eating a worm and don't have a clue what I am supposed to get out of that but thought I would let you know. Other interesting notes about our trip for the sake of my remembering although this first one I am not sure if I want to remember... dakota had her first mcdonalds we stopped there for breakfast on the way there and I hope it is her last unless it is to get a milkshake because I do like their milkshakes. Next on the way home I saw probably ten or so trucks carrying tons and tons of tomatoes and all I could think was I love my garden and I love farmers market. Dakota was offered a mint after the dinner (forgot to mention not very good) we had that first night and I told her we were going to ice cream and she could either have the mint or ice cream and not both and this turned out to be a hard decision for her. She wanted it before we were in the parlor and I kept telling her to wait because she could change her mind about the mint she really wanted but she was insistent. She had about three licks of her mint and decided that she really wanted ice cream and she was running on fumes (this is the day of waking at 430, 20 minute nap and now it was like 830) so I didn't want to get into it and let her share with my mom and she was done.

she just about fell asleep on gaggi!

I have come to the realization also that I have no imagination! I used to play barbies for hours with whole ideas of this and that and it was awesome. Now if I am doing something that requires me to do that I can't and it is awful what happened to my imagination and how do I get it back, it really makes me sad. And I now know that it is ten times harder to sit in the back and entertain dakota than it is to just drive. What a great time.
On Monday before we left we went to breakfast with family friends, dropped off our present to the newlyweds and were on our way home and it is always so good to be home....

rehersal lunch

not so yummy dinner but good company.

dakota making avery good waitress (can you see the sassiness)