I have been feeling lately like I have not been spending enough "quality" time with Ivy. Genesis requires more attention just because she is younger/smaller and she and I usually have more one on one time because of nap times, feeding times... etc. It's so easy for me to consider Ivy a lot older than she really is when I am with her all day long and we have regular conversations about lifes situations and forget that she is this tiny human being as well! She is so little still and I need to drink it up while I can before she goes off to pre-school NEXT year... which is so crazy to me. She was just born yesterday, it seems. I blinked and she is almost 4 years old. I am trying to "live with no regrets" as a wise person (wink wink, you know who you are) once told me long ago with my children. I don't ever want to look back and think, "man, I wish I would have played more, I wish I would have paid more attention, gone to the park more, enjoyed bath-time more, snuggled more, read more... etc". My elderly neighbor is Branson (she was a mother of 5) told me to leave the house alone, leave the clutter alone because it will always be there, but your children will be gone before you know it. The house will always need to be cleaned, laundry to be done, beds to be made... but 18 years goes by so quickly. Makes me sad. :(
Anyway, so last night I told Ivy that she and I would have a "Mommy/Ivy" day today. We would spend as long as we wanted together- go the mall, some fun stores, get some lunch wherever she wanted... do whatever we wanted! She was so excited. My mother in law said that I could put Genesis down at her house for her morning nap and would watch her while Ivy and I were gone (Jake was going flying with his dad, bro and bro-in-law and would not be home most of the day). So Ivy's first words to me when she woke up this morning was "mommy, when are we going???" I fixed pancakes, got the girls dressed, cleaned the kitchen up and we were on our way... first to grandmas house to put Gen down and then to the mall in Peoria.
We parked in JC Penney's parking lot, walked through the doors, through the women's department and out the entry doors into the mall just in time to see SANTA. He was sitting in a big Santa chair with his two elves standing next to him, just waiting for a little girl to go sit in his lap. Ivy started running towards him and as she she was running, he stood up and turned away... walking away from her and down the corridor toward the bathrooms. Talk about breaking the heart of an excited little girl! I asked one of the elves if Santa was gone for the day, but she said he just had to go feed the reindeer and he'd be back at 2pm (it was 11:30). My heart sank. There was no way we were going to be able to find 2 1/2 hours worth of stuff to do in the mall to wait out the time before he came back. And now, that was all that Ivy could think about. So, we meandered into Build A Bear, a store that I can't stand because of the outrages prices they charge for cotton stuffing, little outfits, shoes and other accessories to make the perfect little stuffed animal. Then we found several other stores to look around in, and Ivy was starting to have fun. We went to the food court and I asked her where she wanted to eat. "Chinese!!!" is always her favorite, and mine as well, so we got in line where they were handing out samples of Bourbon chicken. The food turned out to be really disgusting (in my opinion), but Ivy loved every bit of it, so I kept my mouth shut. By that time, it was about 12:30, and all she wanted to do was to check and see if Santa was back. I told her he wouldn't be, and that we had a while to wait still. But she convinced me to just go look and see if he was there. And sure enough! He was and there was no line. Again, she raced over to him and this time, got on his lap. He asked her several questions and she giggled and answered. I asked her later what the questions were and she said that he asked her what she wanted for Christmas- to which she responded, "a monkey" and he said, "a real one?" and she said, "no! a pretend one!" He also asked her if she had been good this year and she said yes. Hmmmm, maybe I should have answered that question :) Then he gave her a candy cane and she was happy to be on her way.
Our next stop was Toys R Us. She loves that store. We had to stop and play with the train sets, the Leapsters, the bicycles, etc. She did not want to leave, but I did, so I won. Not too fond of that store myself... once again because of the overpriced toys that I know I can find at garage sales for $2 during the summer.
The Fresh Market. It is located next to Toys R Us and is the most awesome store ever. Today was our lucky day. It was sample day! They had cheese, cheesecake, ham, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry relish, wine, grapes, olives, coffee, cider, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Ivy loves the "sample people" at Walmart whenever we go, so she was really excited to see that there were lots of them at The Fresh Market today. We tried everything, and liked everything. :) A beautiful ending to a beautiful day with my beautiful daughter.
We finished up the day at my in-laws with pizza, cheeseburger soup, and a whole array of other snacky-type foods. My brother in law is home from college for the weekend, and he and Jake got to hang out most of the day... and he also babysat for me for a while later this afternoon when I needed to go and do some grocery shopping with his mother. The table conversation was fun and entertaining as usual tonight and I had to thank God one more time for bringing me to this spot in life, where I am just so happy and fulfilled. Life is good and we are so blessed!
Ivy has been hoping and wishing for a pink Christmas tree all year of her very own. Yesterday, Naomi and mom and I went to Kohl's to do some looking around and voila- I found the perfect tree for Ivy and Genesis. It is a pre-lit 3 footer (I think) and it is PURPLE... and it was half price! I can't wait to show Ivy and have her set it up upstairs between their rooms.
The weather is getting very very cold out and soon I am going to have to buy some serious winter clothing. I don't really own any because winters in Missouri are fairly mild compared to Illinois. I wore sandals year-round in Branson. Don't think I'll be doing that here. The girls are covered and have a pretty good winter wardrobe (thanks to garage sales this summer), and Jake's clothes are decent... but not mine. I am going on a girls only shopping trip on the weekend of December 4th to Chicago, so I need to buy before then. Cuz I'll freeze my patootie off up there while we are shopping.
Okay, man, I chattered on and on. I'll stop and go to bed. Goodnight!
Ivy and I made these Buttery Spritz Cookies the other day and they were so yummy. Here you go!
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
Colored decorating sugar
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the salt, egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix in the flour until thoroughly blended.
Gently form the dough into a log shape. Following the manufacturer's instructions, fill a cookie press with the dough (you will probably need to work in several batches) and dispense the cookies at least 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. Sprinkle with colored sugars and cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container, up to 3 days at room temperature, 1 week refrigerated or 1 month frozen.
No comments:
Post a Comment