sweet, sweet summertime

it's officially here for us!  the sweet, sweet summertime, that is.  monday marked my very first day as a stay at home mum and you know what i did?  i made a giant to-do list.  go figure.  i put everything on that list with little boxes to check off along the way.  we have a balcony herb garden to plant, i have way too many phone calls to make, and there are quite a few odds and ends that have been neglected and need to be taken care of before our little gent arrives in october.  the list kept growing and growing as i wrote it throughout the morning and before i knew it was a full page with two full columns! whew. 

so far, this new gig of mine has been a dream.  i already feel like stella has grown so much and i have gotten to know her on a deeper level.  i know i must sound silly since i've only been with her two days, but i swear she's a changed gal.  

and wouldn't you believe it?  my little alarm clock and is teaching me about the important virtue of patience as well.  after all, she is two.  ;)

we have started to communicate better and work together when trying to accomplishing tasks.  i have been amazed by her capabilities and realize i took a lot of what she is able to do for granted.  or i just did it myself to save time.  we are now taking the long road with no short cuts and learning how to do things together, one step at a time with a lot of repetition.  she loves trying what mama is doing and can handle much more than i gave her credit for.  i love seeing her prideful grin when she does something grown up all by herself.  it makes me feel so good.

and we have already done lots!  together we have ventured to the dog park with leon, played the matching animals game, had a puppet show, visited the pool with aunty ali, made lots of fresh meals, ate the juiciest melon, hunted for ants, organized baby brother's booties, and so much more.  

it's pretty awesome what one can accomplish during nap time!  those two hours she gives me each morning is a dream.  to be fair, the first day i took a nap, too.  our velvet couch just looked so inviting!  so i curled up and passed out for two hours.  i felt like a new woman when i woke up.  but today, i got more done on my list than i thought i could accomplish in one week.  it felt pretty darn good checking off those boxes.

currently, i am cheersing myself with a virgin bloody mary to our new way of life.  may it be full of excitement, cuddles, fresh fruit, new adventures, and lots more bug catching.  

ps.  stella is on the hunt right now!  i think there's a wee ant crawling around under her bed.  ;)