Hay Happens and Hay's Happen

Muffin or Pancake? This is my usual breakfast choice for Tatum. I make delectable coconut muffins and pancakes…if I do say so myself! 🙂

This morning, I opted to see if she wanted eggs instead. She hopped on that wagon and I decided to make her scrambled eggs with fruit. Now, I partook of the same delicacy, but I always put this super hot Chalula sauce on my eggs. A little dab will do ya, yet I pour it all over. She saw me doing this and wanted to try it.
My warning did not faze her one bit. In fact, she asked for the bottle. I decided to give her plastic cup of just a touch. 

Then…she just reached for the bottle.  What do I have on my hands her? My Spice Girl? Holy Moly, I am in for a wild ride with Ms. Tatum…and I love it. 🙂

 

More Jocy! Tatum cannot get enough of my dear friend. Blessedly, I enjoyed a day with her one more time sans her girls (which was sad, but nice to be with her).

We went to the Scottsdale Arts Festival

without the dreaded stroller. Yes, it did work as she got to run a bit ahead. Jocy wanted to visit a few jewelry stops and some art booths. She almost bought this cool piece:

which was made of glass…way cool.

Tatum was more interested in the behind the scenes; LOVE! After I told her what it said, she leapt off! (Just kidding! 🙂 She had a blast just being in and out of this  wordy sculpture…and I had a fun time chasing her around. (well not really)
Time for a break and selfies:

(Love my giraffe shirt from Jocy!)

Then a silly one with mom. La La La.

Finally after Jocy found a gorgeous ring:

We made some wishes and plopped pennies in the fountain. Funny enough, I NEVER have pennies nor change, so I had to beg for them!

 

Plop Plop! We made two wishes. Wouldn’t you like to know!?

A teeny tiny time with Tatum getting to draw. The crayons at this stage are more fun to pour out of the cup than to utilize for drawing. Alas… the drawing ended in about 2 minutes.
Finally back to the car. Lucky me, I had to carry her back to the car, and again, lucky me, we were on the OPPOSITE side of where we parked. Got my workout in!

Jocy, I adore you. I adore you as a mommy, friend, daughter, and woman. You exude beauty in how you handle pressure, how you parent, and how you love others. Being in your life for over 30 years keeps me reminiscent of how special our friendship is. May you be blessed in your life with Joseph, Ella and Audrey. XOXO

 

Zoo-bound and ready to enjoy the animals!

We enjoyed seeing the lions and tigers, but they were sleeping. She was confused that they get to lay around all day. But then, the activity livened up when she saw the giraffes. Feeding them lettuce made her feel just like being with her mommy! LOL. 

Then I got to feel this monstrously long tongue come towards me. 

Jocy treated us to a ride on Crocket the Camel. She kept greeting him with “Hi Crocket!”  Lasting about 2 hours, she soaked it in as much as she could. I think the monkey pit freaked her out a bit as they jumped all over. Jocy made it fun since I did not have to be the 100% monitor. Love her..XOXO

 

Oh wait…HI TRAIN!!!!

 

The idea came from another, but I had to jump on it!
How can I help Tatum learn about the power of prayer unless I get her involved? We made a Prayer Pail, and proceeded to put all of the people in our lives on popsicle sticks. This way, we could pick people out each day and pray specifically a blessing over them. 

This morning, we chose Bob, Elizabeth, Nicholas and Coti! They received such love from her as she enjoyed participating in the picking!

 

I decided to buy her some Minnie panties. Why? Perhaps it would motivate her to forgo the diapers!?

Well, at least for now she is flashing her cuteness for all to see.

 

 

Of Tatum sitting on my lap as I read to her.

It’s a stormy day in Scottsdale; pouring rain and cold air. We just love it. More importantly, it’s been a bit torrential in the world of Tatum and mommy. Her will sometimes gets the best of her, and she sees who is going to win. “I love you too much to argue,” is what I say, and she realizes it is not worth the effort.

However, lunch today was stormy. The black cloud entered the kitchen and sat over our heads as we ate our lunch. She wanted help eating, but I refused for a short time while I ate my lunch. Yes, I usually help her, but she eats by herself with ease ALL OF THE TIME. She just wanted to try me. So out of frustration she tossed her bowl on the floor. I calmly cleaned it up as she cried asking for more lunch. After many somber refusals (I felt bad for her), she decided to sit on my lap and cry on me. I cuddled her and tried to comfort her with the discussion about the lesson learned here. She understood, still wanted lunch, but got the fact that she erred and needed to live with the consequence. It was HARD for me, but I knew I had to teach her that she just can’t act out like that; there are more fruitful ways to show disappointment and that is what we are working on. Deep breaths, saying, “OK, I understand, mommy,” and so on.

After we got upstairs she wanted to sit on my lap and we cuddled on the rocking chair, listened to the rain, and read books for one hour.

One full hour. 🙂