Michelangelo and the Aztecs

When we went to Italy and saw the Sistine Chapel, we were packed with hundreds of tourists in 100 degree heat and had we 10 minutes to soak it all in. Of course it wasn't enough time, but I have been thinking about him lately as I have been finishing the caulking on our windows.

This has been my view for the past couple of days. My back has been spasming because it is just impossible to put caulk on the bottoms of windows for hours on end. I can't even imagine trying to paint something like the sisine chapel on the ceiling? He was amazing.

We have also been cleaning up the mess (well, okay, mostly Steve) around our house which has been great :) It's nice to work outside in the sun! Today we are having sod delivered and I'm so excited to not have mud in the front of our house anymore.

In other news, my Dad came last week and it was soooo nice to have him here. He held Emilie for long periods of time and played with Maddie, we went to the park almost every day.... it was really nice. He also got some great news while he was here- his book which he published a couple of years ago will be featured and highlighted in a new exhibit in the British Musuem! I am so proud of him and hopefully we'll be able to go to London and see it in early September. (In a nutshell, his book recreates/explores what the Aztec's biggest temple would have looked like from an architects point of view.) The museum will use his book to create some sort of large scale model of the temple to show people how the Aztec's lived.

Anyway, this was Emilie on St. Patrick's day!

Some recent posts

As a request from Steve's mom, here are some recent pics of our girls...

Emilie is the cutest baby- she is a pleasure to wake up with in the middle of the night!! (I'm not being facetious). She recently started smiling and giggling which is my favorite stage. She is also UBER strong...

Maddie and I decided to paint eggs early this year and get some practice. It was super messy, but worth it.

This is our ghetto back yard that we need to clean up and start landscaping. I can't wait to have her play out there soon.

The serious pose when she was really tired yesterday.

Emilie playing on her little mat.

I couldn't resist this photo...

Tinman

Last week, I tied up my laces and hit the pavement for the first time since Emilie was born. Although every bit of my body was jiggling (sorry for the imagery) and my bones and organs were in all the wrong places, it felt awesome.

I also went yesterday and will try to get in some sort of routine from now on- although there really isn't a routine with a newborn.

To get me back into the spirit, I'm going to train for the Nike Women's Half Marathon on October 18th in San Francisco. It's long enough away, that I think I can reasonably do it... I just hope the route isn't up any hills, or I'll be walking for sure.

(I'm writing this in public, so I can't back out. It's all about the ego, you know!)

Um, never mind!

So, just in case you thought everything was free sailing at our house, let me backtrack.

The day after I posted that Maddie was a little angel in time out, we began to see the uglier, redder, louder Maddie: the Maddie that kicks, pushes, turns bright red, shrieks- not yells... it hasn't been that pretty.

Today I took her to deposit a check and was planning to drive to Costco. After depositing the check, she saw Safeway and wanted to ride the little car in front of the carts. After telling her that we weren't going to Safeway, but Costco, she completely transformed into the angriest little tomato you have ever met.

So angry, that I couldn't strap her into her carseat because she was kicking and punching me...once I got her in, she puts out her legs so I can't close the door. That was awesome. Then, she utterly loses control and starts to choke herself into throwing up. And, if that isn't bad enough, she somehow finds a way to get herself out of the carseat straps on her upper half, and hangs out on the side of her carseat trying to pull herself out of the seat while I'm driving.

I drive her home, put her in time out, go to the bathroom and splash cold water on my face.

This was the second time this happened today.

Of course I still love her! But, it is exhausting.

Time out?

Because Maddie has approached the toddler independant stage where she wants to do things her way, we have tried to institute "time out."

It has been really great-- we ask her to do what she needs to do- she says "no" and we tell her that she needs to take a time out. (you know the drill). As of a week ago, time out was in her crib.

But- her crib has been way too fun apparently, so we moved the time out to the most boring place I could think of in our house.

The corner of our unfurnished living room. Well, apparently, she loves it? But- not in a bad way?! Everytime she doesn't want me to brush her hair, eat her breakfast, put on her pants or fill in the blank... I tell her that she needs a time out, and when she is ready, to come and do the task.

She happily skips (?!) to time out and sits down, and then comes back and does whatever she wan't doing before. Is this for real? I was invisioning kicking, screaming, and the whole bit a la supernanny... but this has been the most effective parenting tool we have done so far.

I think the whole thing is just too good to be true, that I had to take a picture of her in time out:

Way too happy, right? At least it's working for the time being.