Who am I?

I am a wife, a mom, a Girl Scout volunteer, and a preschool teacher who hates going to school (no wonder I have not finished my degree after 3 tries)! Having a 3 year old daughter has been so much more than I ever could have imagined. I always said I wanted to skip the 2's and go right to the 3's. As a nanny and preschool teacher, it's always been my favorite age. 3 year-olds are so eager to learn and think that their teachers are the best things EVER! They get confused when they see you outside of the classroom, and they give hugs and words of love and cute crayon scribbles at a whim. I WANTED a 3 year old.

Now, with that in mind, there are struggles with having a 3 year old of my own. This one doesn't go home at the end of the day. This one wakes ME up in the middle of the night with nightmares and lost lovies. This one throws tantrums in the store that have me dragging her out kicking and screaming (with my cheeks flushed in embarrassment). And this one repeats the choice words I forget to sensor in front of her at the most inopportune of times.

But this one loves me more than anyone else. This one inspires me to be the best mom, wife and woman I can be. This one needs me to comfort her when she's sick, and to see her every drawing of me. This one makes me cry tears of utter joy just at the thought of her. This 3 year old is named Lily, and she is mine.

Being the mom of a 3 year old has brought out a certain amount of creativity in me. I've always been creative, but having a precocious 3 year old makes things interesting. We can't be home all day, ever. One, or both, of us will get antsy and crabby. Luckily, I like adventures, and I like discovering new things and new places and re-visiting places from my childhood and experiencing them for the first time again in her eyes. That's what this is all about, sharing some of our favorite adventures so that you too, can revel in the pure joy of being 3 in what I consider the coolest place to grow up (and I should know, I was born here too!).