Miscellaneous

I miss "Famous Lily Quotes" I don't know if she's just growing out of this phase or I'm not listening as closely...but I just haven't come up with much from her lately...weird wise...well that isn't true, she's totally weird sometimes...anyway...

What the heck have we been up to lately???

I'd say nearly all of my free time latey has gone to either A) Looking for an apartment to rent online or B)driving all around town looking for an apartment to rent. This epic search for the perfect place to live is dragging on way longer than I ever imagined- though I am not giving up hope...yet. I tried lowering my standards...but then I was disgusted and almost threw up. Really.

Lily has been doing pretty well....adjusting slowly, but still adjusting to a more (for lack of a better word) "rigid" approach to discipline. I've been trying to give her lots of praise for her efforts in shaping up her bad attitude- and we definitely have struggles...but I think we are starting to find the balance.

I'm sure Martin will be embarassed.... me talking about him on here...but I just have to *gush* just a little on the way the two of them have been getting along.

When it was just the two of us (me and Lily) I took a very lax approach to parenting mostly because it was just the two of us and I didn't feel like fighting and also mommy guilt for you know....uh everything us single moms feel bad about. Anyway with Martin around it has been...like I said...an adjustment for her- for all of us. She can't get her way all the time anymore and she has to share me...but...

Martin is amazing...awesome...extraordinary... he doesn't take attitude from her and puts her in her place- regularly- and we team up on that for sure...and in the beginning I thought she would end up hating him for it. Now I am sure it is just the opposite... she adores him... wrote his name out in letters on the fridge, wanted to show him what she can do bouncing on the bed and her painted fingernails... cried when she was afraid he didn't like her anymore.

The other day I was folding laundry in the bedroom...eavesdropping I guess...a little on them in the living room. Martin was watching a discovery channel show called River Monsters. He called  her over to show her some giant nasty creature of the Amazon River- for no other reason than just to show her- to amaze and probably disgust her.

My heart filled to brimming...I realized that as much as single moms do for their kids (and I am in no way down-playing that) nothing can replace the positive MALE influence that men have on their kids. It is something special...something I want Lily to have more of.

Those of you who know me, know the struggles I have been through with Lily's Dad- who at the moment (thank goodness) is completly MIA. He was never a good influence- never what a daughter truly needs in a Dad.

I am so thankful that Martin is here with us...filling in an empty space that I didn't even know existed. And for everything else he does too...

After dinner last night I told Lily no more TV (OMG!) and she sulked for a minute until I reminded her that we were going to paint her finger and toe nails as soon as I was done unloading the dishwasher. She decided to wait right there (next to me) until I was done. So cute. But seriously, how old does she look in this picture???

Oh wait...she did say something funny last night as I was blow drying her painted nails:

Lily: Don't give me goosebumps Mommy. Goosebumps make me jay-red.
Mommy: What does jay-red mean?
Lily: It means tired.

So now we're just making up words. Nice.