Thriving Mommies?

I apologize for not writing sooner. This month has proven to be both exhilarating and exhausting. For starters, Andrew and I are starting a new business. We have been laying the groundwork over the past few weeks and plan to launch everything by March 15th. We are also working on house #3 and would like to find a house in Rochester for ourselves.

Arianna is becoming so independent I can hardly stand it. I have to ambush her to get a hug. She doesn't slow down for anything. She is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine and she turns everyone and everything into a train character. When we delivered a bed to my mom's house yesterday and got stuck in the mud, it was the "naughty freight car" that knocked Gordon (daddy) the Engine into the mud so it could run away. Yes, that was loosely based on one of her favorite Thomas stories. She has a wonderful sense of humor and I love to laugh with her.

On a side note, Andrew and I will be interviewed by the local TV news anchor, Ginny Ryan, next week about how we juggle our business ventures and our family life and how we have been inspired by playing Rich Dad's Cash Flow 101 game. Ginny was so excited about our story; I can't wait to do the interview. Life as a stay-at-home and work-at-home mom is very interesting and fraught with difficulties, but I could never imagine going back to a 9 to 5 job again. There's nothing that can replace watching your child grow up by the second.

I'll let you know when the story is being aired, assuming it will be good enough to make the cut, that is!

Rebecca

Recent Quotes

Quote #1: It was 42 degrees up here near Rochester, NY yesterday. I went outside with Arianna, she said "Daddy, it's not winter any, its a summer day! We don't need are jackets anymore!" (For those of you who live in more southern climates, 42 is an exceptionally warm day for January, but still a little cool for summer.) We had a great time playing outside all day yesterday.

Quote #2: "Daddy, I'm blue, and I'm a little train, what's my name?" (The answer, for those of you not familiar with classic literature for toddlers, is Thomas, the Tank Engine). I was amazed that Arianna created a riddle of her own.

Quote #3: Arianna is always pretending she is a different character. Her favorites are Thomas the Tank Engine, Hilda Hippo, a miscellaneous monkey (one of the five who jump on the bed, and inevitably end up bumping their heads), Fox (from the Fox All Week stories), and Road Runner. She often asks me or Mommy to pick up another role, and even directs the plot: "You are the Daddy Road Runner, you run with me . . . No, no, you're NOT the coyote -- don't chase me, you're just the Daddy Road Runner."

Andrew

Family Fun Day

Sorry we haven't posted for so long. We have been very busy as new landlords, and I have been working many extra days covering a colleagues vacation time.

After working a long stretch of days, it has been very nice to just relax and spend time with my family over the last two days. Today we went to a newly renovated mall in Irondequoit (near Rochester) where they have built a new indoor playground. I have always thought that Rochester needs indoor playgrounds because for 6 months we have subzero weather with blowing snow, so young kids have little opportunity to play and run. The indoor playground was wonderful. It was an area about 200' x 50', all enclosed by a wall with a soft seated bench running around the inside perimeter. The equipment was all made out of strange rubbery plastic, and the floor was a carpet with a thick rubber pad underneath, decorated with fun patterns.

Arianna ran, jumped, hopped, climbed, crawled, danced, and laughed. She had a great time running around with the other kids and acting wild in a safe environment.

After playing in the playground we went shopping at discount bookstore in the new mall where we could buy new children's books for $1 (I won't tell you how much we spent. Suffice it to say that my arms still ache from carrying all the books back to the car).

Back in the summer, Rebecca and I had decided to have a family fun day every week. During the winter, over the busy holidays, it has been easy to forget our family fun. It was very nice to have another family fun, just relaxing together with simple activities.