Holiday getaway, countdown to departure, and much more!

I have so many things floating around in my head that I want to get out. I can't type fast enough or remember them all once I sit down to write. We took a day and half getaway to Panama City Beach since we had an extra day off. We figured we should take Kate to the beach one last time before we leave FL. We may never come back. The next beach I would like to see is in Hawaii. This last 36 hrs was relaxing even though I did not sleep well at the hotel. The room next door was very noisy and Kate was up at 5:40 CST.

We went to Margaritaville restaurant - way TOO noise! Would not recommend to families. Plus our food took about 30 mins to come out - way TOO long when you are with a 3 yr old. However we did go past a Merry Go Round so after we ate Kate had to have a ride. Two things happened to make me upset. First of all, we had to pay for Kate and Todd ($3 each) b/c she is over 3. I told the guy "look she just turned 3 two days ago and will not ride by herself" and he said "too bad, you have to buy 2 tickets". I mean really - he couldn't let that go, not to mention I think parents having to pay at all is ridiculous. It is a kiddie ride for crying out loud - do they think parents are trying to put one over on them? Like "woohoo, I fooled them. They thought my kid wants to ride the Merry Go Round but really it is me, the 30 or 40-something". Crazy!

Second thing was small but I thought showed a "great" example of our viewpoint in this country. A man in his 30s who was there with his wife and about 2 yr old daughter actually said the following (mind you we are in a totally public area - nothing belongs to anyone) - "Man, that really pisses me off. That old lady is going to take my seat." I look around to see what he could possibly be talking about. There is a nearby bench for onlookers to watch and wait for kids on the ride. His wife and daughter were on the ride and he had to get his lazy ass off the bench to come get his wife's purse. In the meanwhile, the "old lady" (who I am sure was viciously waiting in the wings for him to move) sat down on the bench. Mind you the bench had room for at least 2 people anyway. I could not believe it - this just blew me away. First of all, it wasn't his bench and why on earth should he be angry b/c someone else sat down. Second of all, he should have gotten up to give his seat to someone older and female in the first damn place. This is the kind of guy who would make a pregnant lady stand on the bus rather than offer his seat. Hold on folks, this soapbox is almost to the finish line. This kind of "me first, only me" mentality is what has this country all messed up in the first place. Maybe, just maybe, if people thought about others once in a while, this would be a nation at peace instead of at war. Ok, soapbox is put away for now. It is safe to continue reading. :)

Kate. One word, one totally unbelievable topic. She has been really amazing lately. We are working on some behaviors and I am seeing a difference. It is very exciting. Several times now over the last week or so, she says "yes, i will do that moma" when I tell her something such as "put your shoes in your closet" or "put your socks in the hamper". It is so exciting to hear her say "yes" instead of no and then whining if we persist. Now, we still have a ways to go but it is an improvement. Also, getting her to play by herself has been very challenging. We have spoiled her so with all our attention, all the time. Saturday - twice in one day - she played by herself for 45 mins at a time! I was actually able to get some work done while she was awake. It almost felt like a miracle. She was in her room and so quiet at one point, Todd says "what is she doing?" I said "playing I think". I peeked around the corner to see where she couldn't see me and she was playing with her birthday crown and some stickers. It was wonderful.

At first I felt guilty pushing her way to play alone, but I knew it had to be done. Plus I've discovered something. It doesn't matter how much time or attention I give her, she will always want more. In fact the more attention I give, the more she demands. I enjoy her more and I think she me, when we spend a bit less time together. I believe we are all happier.

Final topic, briefly, is our countdown to leaving FL. We are at T minus 10 and counting. It is very exciting. Look out KY, here we come, ready to start over fresh and set the world on fire!

The Painted Pony and other Sunday stuff

For an early birthday celebration we took Kate to The Painted Pony farm in Monticello (see picture). It is just east of Tallahassee. She had a blast. She got 2 pony rides, a hay ride, to play in a big sand pile, to put her handprint in paint on a pony, and ice cream. She came home with a t-shirt and a $3 raffle prize that is a small pony figure that she named Charlie and is currently sleeping with. Next weekend we are going to "really" celebrate her birthday with a cake and presents and a trip to Build-A-Bear to make her own pink unicorn. I can hardly wait - I just know she will love it.

This morning we went to church, like most Sundays. We actually like the Rev. at this Unity Church better than the one we had in Palm Harbor. He is very deep in his topics and talks. He really makes you think - I like it. I just love Unity. If it weren't for Unity, I wouldn't go to any church at all. I feel I am a spiritual person and like to think of what most people call God as an all-compassing universal "power" that is in and around all of us. We are all our own God, in a manner of speaking. God is within each of us, not some being "out there somewhere" to be feared and unknowable. Religion is not the same thing as spiritual. Religions cause war and hate and fear and separate people from one another. Just my two cents for today...

My Mother's Day

We got a sitter and Todd took me out last night - that was my Mother's Day present. We had a nice dinner where we took our time and I didn't have to cut up food for Kate. Then we caught the 8:45 pm showing of Wolverine - got to love Hugh Jackman [especially when he is running off naked :)]. Crazy us - didn't get to bed until almost midnight. Of course, just our luck Kate was up at 5:40 am this morning. Todd got up with her and let me sleep until 8:30 am. After I was up for a bit he went back to bed and I took Kate to WalMart. Now that Kate is in preschool we hardly ever go anywhere together, just the two of us. She used to do all the shopping with me, when I was home all day.

We skipped nap today and took her to the Tallahassee Museum, which is oddly named b/c it was nothing like a museum by my standards. It was more like a nature preserve with a few historical things thrown in. I would like to say it was fun but, for me, it was not really a good time. I am not much of an outdoor person anyway and it was hot today, about 90. We walked around in the heat for almost 3 hrs - I was totally wiped out. It was shady in many places and we sat down for a snack twice but still exhausting for me. Kate had fun - she loved the animals we saw - there was a bald eagle, panther, snakes, and farm animals.

Sweetie Belle has arrived

Sweetie Belle is Kate's reward for staying in bed at night, after lights out and we leave. Kate had to earn 10 stars on her "staying in bed" chart to earn Sweetie Belle, a My Little Pony 'doll'. Last night was star #10 - yay! After those couple of awful weeks, bedtime has improved. Kate actually seems tired and with not much fan-fair goes right to sleep. Thank God!! Not totally sure about her naps at school but from what I can gather, she is only napping about an hour to an hour and a half.

Other news - my mom is scouting out apartments for us. We sent her info on several places and she is going to see each one and reporting back. So far, so good. We sold our car yesterday - very exciting (and a bit scary). I figure other people live with only one car and we can too. Growing up we had only one car for at least the first seven years of my life.

We've given notice to Kate's preschool that we are leaving. They seem to think we are going to keep paying them until they find another child to fill her spot. This is their "policy". Like I told Todd and my mom, they can just come on up to KY and try to collect that tuition money. :) I can't wait to get her out of that school. Yesterday she came home with sand on her face, including all around her eyes, b/c one of the other kids threw sand in her face. I do not get these children - we never had issues like this at New Horizons. We will be very careful about her next preschool in KY.

Updates...

Kate was home early from school on Friday - woke up from her nap and had exploding diarrhea. Feel sorry for her teacher. I managed to get everything clean again except the underwear - it went straight in the trash. Todd went and picked her up - she had a fever for about 24 hrs and was more tired this weekend but is now feeling much better. Due to sleepiness from illness, she went to sleep very easily Friday night and a good nap on Saturday. Saturday night only got up twice and then was asleep. Sunday - refused to nap - but...Ta-da Sunday night after 10 mins of rocking went right to bed, did not get up once, and fell right to sleep. She was up at 6 am this morning - feeling good and ready to go. And she slept all night too - no getting up during the night. Todd feels very strongly that we are headed towards no more napping at all. I realize she is about to be 3 but I thought she would continue to nap for at least 6 more months or so. O'well - no napping isn't the worst thing - especially if she sleeps well at night.

On the move - we are making progress in the "selling our stuff" department. We've gotten rid of our patio furniture and lawn equipment - definitely won't need those in an apartment. Still working on selling the car. We may not be able to get the true value out of it and if that is the case, then it isn't worth selling. We will have to see. We've picked out five apartment complexes to have my mom go look at. They are all in KY. We feel the KY side has more to offer and prices are cheaper than OH. Several Internet city to city comparison websites have said we will pay 10% less for groceries in OH/KY than we do here in FL. Plus KY has lower taxes on gas, etc. than OH.

PS. This picture is Kate about two weeks ago, helping Daddy make playdough. She looks so grown up.