I Miss Traveling!

Boy do I miss traveling!  We haven't taken a real trip since our trip to Hawaii a couple of years ago.  We've traveled but trips to Monterey, Ashland, or SF don't count in my book.  There are days I yearn for a new view, yearn to hear a different language as I walk down the street, or experience a different culture.  I miss the days where we sat in the London Starbucks (yes, they are everywhere!) with the steamed windows from the fresh coffee brewing and the many patrons.  Or the ritual of bundling up from head to toe before daring to take a step out our front door.  I miss seeing London, Rome, Venice, or Almeria at night.  Oh Almeria!  I miss sitting at our little bar on the beach having a beer and staring out at the ocean.  I miss shopping for something unique, inexpensive, yet special to bring home filled with memories that I will still recall when I'm 80.

These days my travels consist of House Hunters International :)

But all is not lost!  We now look forward to traveling with our baby, well not really baby anymore.  More like an almost 5 year old.  I look forward to seeing the new through her eyes.......I guess I have been traveling really.  I have been seeing the world through her eyes for almost 5 years now.  Seeing everything with innocence and a shiny newness to it like she does.  Its jus a different type of travel I suppose.  Wow, learn something from her everyday!  

'Winnie the Pooh'

Today we took our daughter to watch the new 'Winnie the Pooh' movie.  Technically, its not new any longer considering its been out for a month or so.  But, we finally made it and it was worth it.  It was refreshing to watch a kids movie that was actually developed for kids.  I did not leave the theatre worrying about nightmares or monsters in her room tonight, although we are up at least once with her every night anyway :)  That's a whole different post.  The characters were lovable and there is no better seal of approval for a movie than a child laughing out loud and feeling invested in the characters.  My daughter did both.  I can't say the same for our recent viewing of Cars 2.  Too many guns, violence, near death scene of beloved Mater for a 4 year old.  But, Winnie restored my faith in kids movies :)

Cherish the Moments

How many time have you listened to only parts of your child's conversation?  How many times a day do you find yourself telling your child 'hold on for one sec' or 'I'll be there in a minute'?  More often than you'd like I'm sure, especially with the numerous distractions at our fingertips (laptops, smartphones, etc.).  I know I am guilty.  The question I constantly ask myself is how can I change it?  I think we have to find our own way around this.  We have to find what works for us and our child.  I know that I now try to catch myself when those words begin to form in my mouth.  What I've realized is that my daughter knows when she doesn't have my full attention.  She knows when I am not truly listening to her.  I don't ever want her to feel that my laptop is more important than her, or that I'd rather be doing dishes then taking a minute to go look at what she wants to share with me.  But, this is exactly what I have done many many times.  I know its not easy because we are always multi-tasking and thinking about things we have to do tomorrow when we haven't even gotten through today.  I know this is one of my faults. And, there are some emails I have to respond to right away, I do have to do the dishes, the laundry, and the list goes on for all of us.  But, 99.9% of the time these things can wait for a few minutes.  The email, dishes, and laundry will still be there when we return, but the difference will be that we will have made our child feel important!  We'll have shown them they come first.  And what could be more important than that?  NOTHING.

'Mommy'

Well, finally getting around to writing my first blog.  Never thought I would be doing this, but yet here I am.  I figured this is a different form of journaling, especially since there won't be many followers, if any at all.  So, here goes nothing......

I absolutely love it when I hear my 4 year old daughter call for me.  "mommmmmmyyyy"  The word 'mommy' is the most heartwarming word in the world.  It fills my heart with warmth and love every single time I hear it.  Its the word itself, the way she says it, knowing that only I will ever answer to that name in her life, knowing the importance the word carries, and knowing 'mommy' means me EVERY SINGLE TIME.  Just one of the many many things I love about being her mom.

BTW - anyone catch the giants/phillies bench clearing action tonight?  At least they gave us something worth watching on the field :)