21 Months and some things on my mind

Adrianna just turned 21 months. She is still continuing to amaze us daily. It is just so funny to me how resilient children can be. I mean, we took her away from the comfort of her own room, house, crib and comfortable surroundings and brought her down to Florida. I fully expected more of a hardship in the adjustment department from her but I have to say she has not had a hard time at all! I keep hearing from different people that she is the calmest toddler they have ever seen. I can see where they would say that, Adrianna really doesn't fuss much at all when we are out. Even if she doesn't get a nap, she is still extremely good. I am afraid if people keep saying that to me they will jinx me! Or worse yet, our second child will be a terror! I am so thankful Adrianna has the laid back, happy go lucky personality she has...and I hope she never changes. On Sunday, we went out for some breakfast and did a little shopping...which always turns into an all day ordeal. We were suppose to meet up with Joe's coworkers at 2pm so we went straight from having lunch to their house. Adrianna had not napped at all so I was nervous. She did great! Played in the pool, with Joe's boss' children, and even by herself for a long time. She could care less if Joe and I were even there, she is very friendly. She even ate at the 'big kids' table! Joe's boss' daughter was helping to feed Adrianna and it was adorable! I should have taken a picture! No naps, no meltdowns, we left around 8:30pm and she went to bed around 9:30pm without fuss. She is incredible

Adrianna has been speaking a lot more lately. She wakes up and the first thing she is says is "Blues clues!" Or as she pronounces "clue clue." It is adorable. She loves TV. I just read an article about mommy guilt and it, of course, got my mind going about everything I feel guilty about. Adrianna watches TV every day...not just a little bit and it is always on in the background. We listen to music too but educational shows are always on. I am not sure how I feel about the whole TV debate, is it good or bad etc. I personally think TV has helped develop Adrianna's speech. I never let her watch TV with commercials, the last thing I need is for her to get commercials for sugary cereal, barbies and all sorts of ridiculous toys thrown at her every 10 minutes. I am not saying I wont buy them for her, I just don't think that it is good for her to stare at those sort of things. She watches only educational TV...not spongebob, not Phineas and Ferb (but I am not saying it is bad if your child watches that, I just don't like them personally). I think when it comes to raising your child, other moms should realize that everyone makes their own unique choices: whether that be in their style of dress, how they wear their hair, whether or not they work when they have children and how they raise their children. Just because you read a book that says giving a child Mac and Cheese correlates directly with low SAT scores (totally made that up) doesn't mean that it is 100% accurate for every single child. If pediatricians openly say that TV is completely OK that would make those parents that literally sit their children in front of the TV and never engage with their children think they are doing the right thing. I think everything is OK in moderation. MODERATION! I am guilty of feeling defeated when I speak to a fellow SAHM who does not allow a lot of the things I allow Adrianna to partake in. I mean, I have a lot of friends and acquaintances who have rules like no TV, no candy, only organic etc but they are my friends. They never make me feel awful for not following their standards in child rearing. I am talking about women from my mommy and me Little Gym class, or the looks I get when I open the car door and Adrianna is watching TV in the car, or when I give Adrianna a lollipop when we are grocery shopping. I am talking to the moms out there that, instead of understanding that not everyone is like them, make the rest of us feel terrible. Shouldn't we stand together as moms. We all know how hard it is to ALWAYS engage with your child. I know I am not the only one that gets sick and tired of coloring, reading the same book over and over again, or even puts extremely annoying toys away for a few weeks because you start to hear the sounds in your sleep. I still love to play with my daughter, I just know that realistically every mom is not eager to pick up the book TRUCKS and read it for the thousandth time that day. I just wish more moms were honest. I honestly love my baby girl more than words can even express. More than I can even begin to understand. I guess I just wanted to put it out there that I will not judge another mom, no matter what is said to me. I might think, "well that's just nuts" to myself but I will always understand that everyone is different and everyone has a different opinion about raising children. Nothing will surprise me, no not even the story I heard from a mom that kept her baby diaper free from infancy in order to help potty train her faster, she claimed to just 'know' when her baby was going to poop and pee. Really, people do that. But to each his own i guess. This rant stems from a post on Facebook about target coupons on their fan page where a mom basically called me and everyone else horrible for not using cloth diapers. I mean really? I am just so tired of feeling guilty, and no one will ever make me feel that way again. That feeling is optional, meaning you choose to feel guilty and I am choosing not to. I choose to feel the opposite of guilty, whatever that may be. I know Adrianna is healthy, growing, learning and just plain enjoying her little life. I thank Blue's clues for teaching her color recognition, Dora for teaching her a few spanish words, Team Umizoomi for teaching her to count, iPhone Apps for teaching her ABCs and some sight words, and I think my husband and I deserve to be praised for reinforcing all of these things she has learned. Adrianna never ceases to amaze us in what she has learned....I have always said it takes a village to raise a child and this is her "village." I'm sorry this post reads like a rant, I didn't think it would turn so far from speaking of Adrianna's 21 month old milestones but it did. 

Reading...

I am so glad I have gotten back into the habit of reading books again. I finally feel like I have time during the day to sit and read while Adrianna takes her long 3 hour nap. 3 HOURS! I am so spoiled :) I read for half the time and do chores and stuff the other half...it is wonderful. Within the past 3 weeks I read the Hunger Games trilogy and finished book one of 50 Shades of Grey. Hunger Games was amazing! I love books that make me question life and get me thinking about important aspects of our society. It was very well written and the movie was also amazing. I got caught up in the love story as well, so nice to escape into my imagination for a few hours a day. I even stayed up way past my bedtime to finish the books.
Yesterday I finished the first 50 Shades book. I have never been so..umm...moved by a book haha! For those that have read it, you can relate with me when I say I couldn't read this book during the day or in public. Holy cow there is a lot of detailed sex in that book! But besides that, I got very caught up in the 50 Shades of F#*ed up that is Mr. Grey. The psychologist in me was very intrigued and the previous CPS worker in me was investigating the snip-its of scenarios he vaguely describes and was putting the pieces together to figure out his up bringing. I can't wait to read book two. So if anyone is looking for a good read that is not all over the media and in the conversations of too many pre-teens for my liking, check out 50 Shades of Grey.

P.S. My inner goddess is hoping this book is turned into an HBO series... ;)

Sunday I'm in Love

Our first week with Joe in Tampa has been amazing! Adrianna and I got here last Saturday. Our flight was at 6am! Guess Joe couldn't wait all day to see his girls :) We got to Tampa a little after 9am, and started off our weekend with a trip to Waffle House (not as good as the ones in GA) and Busch Gardens. Adrianna had a blast walking around and seeing all of the animals. She even got to go on a kiddie ride all by herself, no adults allowed! (see video above) I was a little skeptical, but she had so much fun on it....she is such a big girl. We spent Sunday relaxing and just enjoying each others company, we missed Joe so much. The work week came way to soon and Joe was off to work his long 12 hour days while Adrianna and I tried to manage to keep ourselves entertained. We don't have a car because Joe needs his rental so thank goodness for a Target, Starbucks and Bayshore Blvd (long walking bridge along the water) within walking distance otherwise we would be very bored. The days flew by and we had a good first week here. Friday Joe got out of work super early and we headed to have early dinner and drinks at Bahama Breeze in Clearwater, FL. I remember going to this restaurant when my aunt lived in Tampa and it is still the best little hangout. Joe let me have one too many glasses of wine, we had a great time. Saturday we went to an Easter egg hunt at the University of South Florida. I have to say, that is the most beautiful college campus I have ever seen! They held an awesome event for the kids and Adrianna got her fair share of Easter eggs. We ended up, last minute, deciding to take a trip to Orlando to meet up with my aunt and uncle who were at Disney World. We didn't take Adrianna to the parks but we plan to in the next few weeks because she was so excited to see Disney and Mickey...she kept screaming that every time we passed a sign or picture, which is a lot when in Orlando :) Sunday was Easter and we had a wonderful dinner with some of Joe's co workers and even an old friend from Hanscom. All in all we have had the best week ever! Yesterday I realized how much I love this area and Joe and I were talking up plans to be here for our next PCS. Even if we don't end up in Tampa, Florida in general would be great. We talked possible house purchasing even...let's hope all works out. Here are some pictures from this week: