Grasshoppers, Lemon Pledge, Sticky Name Tags & Colored Place Mats

Well yesterday, despite the slow start was a very full day. Once again Grace and I found ourselves wasting away the morning waiting for and then dealing with Shea Homes and their vendors. Thankfully, this week they showed up. So... our phones are once again working and the vent in Grace's bathroom is running again... Enter the Grasshopper...

The vent in Grace's bathroom mysteriously stopped working a few weeks back. We called Marcie and told her to send someone out here to take a look (three weeks later... but that is not the topic of this story now is it?) So the Sonoran Air tech came out to fix it and after dismantling the vent, asked if I would like to see what the problem had been. Of course if asked... I would want to know, so Grace and I made our way to the bathroom where we found a large, dead Grasshopper. Poor thing had crawled into the fan and when the vent was turned on, got lodged in the motor and burned the motor out... The poor dead Grasshopper fell from the techs hand and onto the floor; where Grace's first instinct was to STOMP on it! I have taught her well!! There are a great number of creepy crawlies that make their way into our home from the desert, and I am sure Grace has witnessed some hysterical stomping (and probably swearing) from me at times... But a harmless Grasshopper?? Good thing the poor fellow was already dead.

Next came the Lemon Pledge. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a big fan of housecleaning. I have a woman who comes in every other week to do the cleaning for me. I know, I know, I should be ashamed... but this is just to demonstrate how infrequently it is that I "clean", not tidy up, but "clean". So... I am polishing the living room furniture and Grace begins to have a small tantrum. I quickly realize she is asking for a rag so that she can wipe the furniture off herself. I get a spare rag and continue on with my chore with Grace following right behind, wiping and acting quite the big girl. (This getting the kids to do the cleaning thing bodes well for me!) So after I have polished all of the furniture I put the can of Pledge down and focus my attention on picture frames. Grace promptly walks over, picks up the can of Pledge and walks away. This cannot be good right? That's what I was thinking, until she stops at the coffee table, tips the can of Pledge upside down and says "Cshhhhhhh" (mimicking the noise the Pledge makes when you spray it) then proceeds to wipe up the imaginary Pledge... Is this kid a gas or what? I only wish that I had caught it on video. For those of you who are thinking right now... "Guess you must have had to have been there." Maybe you are right, but speaking from the only witness to this event, it was priceless!

After the Pledge episode was done and as I putting a few loads of laundry away Grace discovered her Name Tag from Gymboree in the laundry room trash. It is one of those sticky "HELLO my name is:" type of name tags. Grace spend the better part of 40 minutes experimenting with the sticker. Sticking it to walls, furniture, pillows, herself, stuffed animals, anything she came across. She had the look of a scientist deep in the midst of an experiment to find out what things the tag will and won't stick to. I was so proud! Not just that she was exploring the world around her, but that she did this entire experiment with out checking in with me. She was independent and engaged and completely okay with being "alone". This is the first real step we have taken towards Independence! I am thankful every day that I have the ability to stay home and be with her, but more than that I am thankful that I get to experience the world through her eyes... it really is an amazing place when you get down on the floor/ground and experience life through the eyes of a 16 month old!

Yes, after all of this there is still more. Grace and I made the trek back down to Scottsdale to pick up my car, drop off Aunt Dottie's truck and have dinner with Dottie and UB. Again, Grace and great strides with Molly, eventually walking right up to her and patting her head, I would not say fearlessly, but with a lot of bravery. And again Grace and Dottie were fast friends and I was just an after thought. Which is fine with me, I've always wanted Dottie and Grace to be close. But Grace's favorite part of the night was the colored place mats at the table. Forget the food, or her toys, all Grace wanted all dinner long was to get her hands on the place mats, so after dinner, Dottie got on the floor with Grace and they practiced her colors (Grace said that every mat was "YELLOW!!"). Grace spread them out, stacked them back up, handed them to Dottie, took them back... This truly is a kid that does not need toys, give her an empty box, a pot, a spoon, and some colored place mats and watch her go!

And when all was said and done, when we walked in the door last night, we were greeted by Dad-dee!! Home again from another long week on the road.

It was a great day!