Agate Lake Girl

One Liner

2012-01-26T20:34:00.002-05:00

So this quote from the little boy that I'm babysitting is a couple of weeks old, but it was too funny not to share.

It was after the first or second day when my Mom was still helping me. Brendan told his Mom: "Rylee's Mommy is very nice. Her other Mommy is very nice too." :)

Rylee Da Vinci

2012-01-24T15:54:00.001-05:00

Rylee drew her first recognizable object today: a portrait...

... of me!

Although I'm very impressed with Rylee's talent, I'm a little concerned about my appearance. I knew that this pregnancy hadn't been kind to me, but I didn't realize it was this bad. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Skate or Cry

2012-01-23T10:33:00.001-05:00

It looks like we might need to invest in some protective skating gear for Rylee. Here she is practicing her skillz with Daddy at the skate park yesterday.

In addition to skating, Rylee also likes to invent new words in her spare time. Her latest is a new contraction: amen't - as in "I amen't!"

Apparently it was taking too long to say "I am not" (which seems to be her favorite response to any observation we make these days)!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Baby Names?

2012-01-21T08:00:00.002-05:00

I am making this plea on Facebook and Blogger in hopes of turning up some good baby name ideas. Jon and I basically have no names at this point. I have a few I like that Jon has objections with. As of right now, I don't think Jon has offered up anything other than fake names.

The other night he walked in and declared that our son's name was going to be: Dylan Michael. I'm not super fond of the name Dylan (all the Dylan's in my Kindergarten classes were little sh*ts - no offense to those of you with little boys named Dylan... I'm sure your kiddo won't pee on the windows or start fights on the first day of K), but considering we have N-O-T-H-I-N-G, I was willing to go with it. About two hours later I asked, "So what is Dylan Michael's nursery going to look like?" Jon eloquently replied, "Who the f*ck is Dylan?" He'd already forgotten the name. He was just messing with me when he offered it up!

The only other two suggestions we have are: Bobba Fett (from Rylee's cousins) and Optimus Prime (from Jess). Optimus seems to be winning favor since OPP are such rocking initials.

But in case those two suggestions don't make the final cut, we could really use some help. Any ideas for names that sound good with the name Michael (their family middle name)?

Jessie Girl

2012-01-18T19:19:00.001-05:00

I bought Rylee "Jessie" pajamas and a doll for Christmas. Today, my Mom brought her the Woody and Bullseye doll. Now they're all snuggled up on the couch watching "Toy Story" (or 'Woody 1' as Rylee calls it.)

She's part of "Woody's Roundup" now! :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wrestle Mania

2012-01-15T15:12:00.000-05:00

Every night Jon and Rylee have a fight... a wrestling match in fact. Jon is teaching Rylee the finer moves from the good old pro wrestling circuit.

In tonight's main event, it's Jonny Fabulous vs Righteous Rylee!

Righteous Rylee comes out strong with a choke hold.

Then she uses the "you can't see me" sneak attack.

She really delivers a blow with her "flying nightmare!"

And to finish him off, a top rope jump to the chest. We have a new winner!

3 Day Weekend

2012-01-13T13:20:00.003-05:00

I'm making the most of my 3 day weekend:

Tonight, I'm headed up to Mizner Park for some yummy Tex-Mex with my Girl Scout pals. Tomorrow, I'm off to Bonita Springs for the day with my Mom. We're meeting some friends over there for some shopping and fun. On Sunday, I'd like to do something special with Rylee. As good as she's been with the kids, she is missing her one on one time with Mommy.

The best part is I'll still have Monday for grocery shopping and chores. If only they could all be three day weekends!

**********
Don't you just love how I'm already excited for a three day weekend when I've only been back to work for two weeks!

I suppose a special thanks should go to Jon for being Mr. Mom Friday night and Saturday while I'm out galivanting with friends. I don't normally schedule two things back to back, but one has been in the works for a while and the other was last minute. What could I do?! :)

Sidewalk Sideshow

2012-01-12T18:58:00.003-05:00

Week 2 with the kids has gone pretty well. My mom has dropped by to check in occasionally and watched the kids once while I was gone for an hour at a doctor's appointment, but other than that we've been managing on our own. I think I've got this three kids thing down. How I'm going to manage four kids is beyond my comprehension at this point. I'm trying not to think about it! :)

The only thing I miss is not being able to get out of the house. I wish there was a park or something to do within walking distance of our place. We try to get out for a walk every morning after breakfast. It's quite the spectacle. Rylee walks Rio, Brendan trails after them and I push Savannah in the stroller. When people drive by and see us (especially me with my pregnant belly), they have a look of sheer horror on their faces. One lady commented, "that looks like a nightmare."

We also try to get outside after the kids nap in the afternoon (if there's time before their Mom comes to pick them up). When it gets too hot for these brief outdoor reprieves I don't know what I'll do. Water toys perhaps?

New Blog Feature

2012-01-10T19:02:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to tell everyone that I added a new feature to the blog. It's a "follow by email" function. Instead of checking the blog for new posts, they would be automatically emailed to you.

I thought this would be handy for those readers that don't have a blog themselves. This way you don't have to waste time checking to see if I posted or not, you'll simply receive an email on the days that I do post.

If you're interested, there is a little box on the left hand side that says "follow by email." Type in your email address and submit. You'll have to enter a word verification. Then you'll receive an email from blogger with a link it. You have to click on the link just to verify the email address. After that, you're all set up.

So if you're interested, that feature is now available. :)

Screwed Up

2012-01-09T19:54:00.001-05:00

The other night I asked Jon to make me an orange juice and 7Up. I took a big gulp when he brought it to me and thought, "man this tastes good... really good... like vodka good."

Yep, you guessed it. Jon had decided to make himself a screwdriver at the same time and mixed the glasses up.

I only downed one gulp so I'm guessing the baby will be unharmed. However, the ultrasound tech told me that the baby can taste everything I eat and drink so maybe he'll come out with a liking for vodka!

1 Week Down

2012-01-08T15:53:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the blog break, but I returned to work this week so we were all adjusting to the new schedule. Plus it was my Dad's last few days so we tried to spend time with him in the evenings. We were sad to see him go back home. :(

As for work, I started providing day care for my friend's 2 kids: Brendan (2 1/2) and Savannah (turns 1 on Tuesday). So far it's been going well. The kids are really nice. Savannah is a challenge to put down for naps, but other than that she is a complete sweetie. "Brendat" (as Rylee calls him) and Rylee seem to like each other a lot. They only have one or two small issues a day, otherwise they play and giggle. They've already started to play house and pretend to be married - oh boy!

*The wedding dress was a Christmas present from Gaga. She made the veil and bouquet. So pretty!*

(Their Mom told me that Brendan tried to get her to go to work on Saturday just so he could see Rylee!)

A big shout out goes to my Mom who helped everyday last week. Hopefully we can phase her out this week or at least only use her part time so she can get some semblance of life back! She will be my back up when I get closer to delivery and of course will be helping daily after the new baby comes. She is the best!

The other big helper this week was Rylee. She is great at entertaining Savannah and letting Brendan play with all of her toys. She will be a big sister pro by the time our baby arrives.

Family

2012-01-03T20:00:00.000-05:00

I never had the chance to post some of our family Christmas pics so before we get any farther into 2012... :)

Twists

2012-01-01T19:40:00.002-05:00

Rylee likes to put an interesting spin on those traditional sayings we like to use.

Phrase: That's the spirit.

I was making a blanket fort for Rylee the other day and apparently was not doing a great job. She looked at me and groaned, "that's not the spirit."

Phrase: I can't believe it.

I don't remember what it was in reference to, but over the holidays Rylee was talking with Grandma Sandy and she exclaimed, "I can't wait to believe it!"

My silly girl makes me smile. :)

12th Day of Christmas

2011-12-30T14:01:00.002-05:00

On the 12th day of Christmas,
the Good Lord gave to me:
a baby brother for a sibling -
the perfect addition to our family!

So we'll have to wait awhile for baby brother's arrival, but at least now we can call it a "he," start seriously working on those baby names, and decorate the nursery!

I'll try to scan some of the ultrasound photos, but they aren't as good as our last ones so I'm not sure how they'll come out. In the meantime, here is a belly shot of baby boy Polich (referred to from now on as BBP).

In other news, I guess this is my 1001st post. It would have been cool if it had turned out to be 1000, but close enough! :)

Happy New Year everyone!

9th, 10th, 11th...

2011-12-29T16:25:00.001-05:00

On the 9th day of Christmas,
everyone gave to me:
lots of toys to play with-
like princesses and clothes for Barbie!

On the 10th day of Christmas,
Grandma Sandy gave to me:
my very own tooth pillow
so I'm ready for the Tooth Fairy!

On the 11th day of Christmas,
Santa gave to me:
a trampoline for jumping
to save those couch springs!

6th, 7th, 8th...

2011-12-28T19:03:00.000-05:00

On the 6th day of Christmas,
Gaga gave to me:
a special donut maker
(just don't tell me they're not as good as Crispy Creme!).

The donut maker is pretty sweet for a girl with lactose intolerance and donut envy. We made some cinnamon sugar ones on Christmas Eve and then Rylee wanted frosting and sprinkles on Christmas morning. The girl has been in donut heaven.

On the 7th day of Christmas,
everyone gave to me:
lots of new clothes and jammies
'cause I never stop growing!

Unlike her birthday, Rylee was very excited to get clothes. She tried most things on right when she opened them and fell in love with one pink t-shirt with bling on it (that Gaga bought for her) and wore it for three straight days.

On the 8th day of Christmas,
Auntie Laurie gave to me:
a silly Skippyjon Jones book
autographed by author Judy!

I was most excited for this gift. I have all the Skippyjon Jones books (my Kindergartners loved them). I couldn't believe how nicely the author signed the copy with name and sketch and all. Too cool!

3rd, 4th, 5th...

2011-12-27T19:40:00.002-05:00

On the 3rd day of Christmas,
Grandma Sandy gave to me:
3 little ponies &
2 little pony DVDs!

On the 4th day of Christmas,
Grandma Sandy gave to me:
4 Thomas the train cars
on railroad tracks for driving!

I'm not sure who's more excited by the train: Rylee or Jon. Either way they are both talking about more tracks, more train cars & tunnels of course. :)

On the 5th day of Christmas,
Grandma Sandy gave to me:
a ballerina music box
for my golden rings and jewelry!

Rylee adores her new jewelry box. She winds it up and lets the ballerina pirouette until "Fur Elise" plays out. (Sorry, I should have zoomed in or cropped the photo so you could see the music box better. It's pink with white polka dots and the ballerina dances in front of a heart-shaped mirror.)

1st & 2nd...

2011-12-26T20:30:00.000-05:00

On the 1st day of Christmas,
Gaga made for me:
a beautiful veil & bouquet
for when I pretend marry!

The silk bouquet is lovely, but I didn't have a great picture of it. My mom also bought Rylee an adorable play wedding dress, but she hasn't had the chance to try everything on together. Maybe she'll be in the mood to get married later this week so I can get a picture of the whole ensemble.

On the 2nd day of Christmas,
Gaga gave to me:
a stroller & twin babies
with knitted hats & booties!

Rylee actually got "Baby Elsie" from Grandma Sandy 2 years ago, but when Rylee started wanting twin babies she decided to add another Bitty Baby to Rylee's collection. "Baby Emily" looks more like Jon with dark hair and dark eyes. (My mom thought Rylee should prepare for the fact that the new baby might not look exactly like her!) To make them twins, my mom bought them matching jammies and knit them matching hats & booties. They are adorable! My mom also sewed them little blankies and made Rylee matching "chew blankies" as she calls them. As Rylee says, "Gaga is so talented!"

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T21:16:00.002-05:00

It was a bittersweet Christmas this year. After a couple of fun days, Grandma Sandy started to not feel well. At first we thought it was just side effects from her chemo on Tuesday and her oncologist recommended she go into the ER for fluids. When she got there, they found a bowel obstruction (a problem she's had before). Unfortunately, this meant they had to admit her to the hospital. She spent most of Friday and all of Saturday in the hospital. Not exactly how she envisioned her visit going. :(

The good news is that she was released early this morning and was able to spend Christmas Day with all of us! Rylee was especially excited to see her (since we hadn't brought her to the hospital to visit). Today when I asked Rylee what her "favorite Christmas gift" was she said "spending it with Grandma Sandy." :)

I have tons of pictures to go through so expect the "12 Days of Christmas" posting to commence soon. Merry Christmas everyone!

Safari

2011-12-23T07:10:00.000-05:00

We got Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Chip up early Thursday morning so we could head up to Lion Country Safari. We'd never been and had always wanted to check it out.

The first part of the park is an open safari-type zoo that you drive your car through. There are lots of warning signs to keep your doors locked, your windows rolled up, and to give the rhinos a wide berth. They forgot to warn us about the sneaky ostriches though. One pecked my bumper twice before we drove away! I never did remember to check for damage. :)

I'm not sure what Rylee enjoyed more - seeing the animals or roaming free about the vehicle (no car seat laws apply in the park since the speed limit is 8 mph). She was giddy! She sat on the center console, helped Jon drive the car a bit, and walked around in the back with Grandma and me.

The second part of the park has your usual rides, petting zoo, and other attractions. Rylee chose to stroll part of the time.

Before we left, "the kids" monkeyed around for some silly photos:

All and all, it was fun excursion!

Advent Stocking

2011-12-22T08:42:00.000-05:00

Yesterday when I was in the shower, I felt something run down my leg. It scared the bejeezus out of me. I looked down and saw that it was blue. I'm pretty blind without my contacts, but I felt confidant that it wasn't a spider. (Had it been a spider, I'm sure Jon would have found a cartoon-shaped Shannon cutout through the shower door when he came home.) Upon further (and more closeup) inspection, I determined it was a piece of Toy Story wrapping paper from Rylee's advent present that morning. She must have put a piece in my hair when I wasn't looking!

For those that might not know, my Mom made Rylee a huge advent stocking with pockets for presents. She's been opening one every morning all month. (Every night when she goes to bed she talks about waking up and getting her present.) They're mostly small, inexpensive gifts and this year I even put some practical things in there - like underwear. It was Barbie underwear so Rylee still thought I was a cool gift. I bought them the next size up because her other undies are getting a tad small, but when we really took them out to look at them, they were quite large.

When my Mom asked Rylee what she got that day, Rylee answered enthusiastically: "giant underwear!"

It cracked me up. Sorry for the granny panties Rylee...

Christmas Fun: Take 1, 2 & 3

2011-12-21T08:20:00.002-05:00

Take 1
On Sunday we wanted to take Rylee to see some Christmas lights. I knew Hyatt's Extreme Christmas (the house that has gained national fame and is only a few blocks from us would be crazy) so we timed it to get there right at 6 when they open for the night. We arrived and got a good parking spot, but they were running late that night. Way late! He said they would be open soon, but we waited until 6:45 and they still hadn't opened the gates. By that time, Rylee was bored and a little scared by the growing crowd so she asked to leave.

Then I wanted to drive past another house I had read about online. I didn't realize they had such a huge following as well. You had to park on one road and then one walk several blocks to their house. It was worth it (they have an amazing lights display electronically timed to music), but we should have brought a stroller for Rylee. Next time.

The whole lights experience was much more complicated and took a lot longer than expected. I had made the decision that we wait and eat dinner after (oops!). Everyone was a little cranky with me.

Take 2
I tried to redeem myself by suggesting a trip through Tradewinds on Monday night. Jon opted out, my Dad got sick and decided to skip it, so it was just the ladies (we took my Mom's new minivan - I have minivan envy! - never thought I'd be saying that). Rylee fell asleep in the car on the way there even though it was only 5:45. I had to shake her awake once we got to the park. She wasn't too happy at first, but she did enjoy the lights. We drove around a couple of other smaller neighborhoods, but Rylee was tired so we called it a night.

Take 3
Last night, we had planned to go to Maracas (my favorite Mexican restaurant) for dinner. We'd been talking about it for weeks. My Mom and Dad were really craving their melt in your mouth skirt steak. I even had a gift certificate (bonus!). An hour before we were to leave, I called them and it said their number was disconnected! Damn. I think they went out of business. We decided to go to Olive Garden instead. Again, not exactly the evening we had planned.

Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Chip get in today. We'll see if we have any better luck on our excursions with them. Oh well, a little holiday frustration is all part of the fun. :)

Random Rylee

2011-12-17T16:20:00.002-05:00

I love the way Rylee talks. Her sweet voice, the funny way she mispronounces words, and the crazy things she comes up sometimes. Here are a few recent examples for your amusement.

Storytelling
Rylee always asks for one more book at "bednight" (bedtime). I came up with a compromise - we turn out the lights and I tell her a story instead. Now she says: "Mommy, tell me a story in your mouth."

Cautionary Tales
Of course Rylee's at that age where we're constantly telling her what to do. Concrete examples of why to or why not to do something are the most effective for her. For instance, talking about Santa and the whole naughty vs nice thing was one thing, but telling her that her friend got a call from Santa when he was naughty was much more effective. She asked to hear the story about the phone call over and over. And now she'll say: "I don't want to get a call from Santa." :)

So when she was playing around in the bathtub and I was trying to explain how dangerous that could be, I told her the story about our friend falling in the shower. Ok, so Erin didn't fall because she was jumping around (she was pregnant at the time) but sometimes you have to take some liberties with the story. She asked me to tell it to several times a day for a week at least. Finally I asked her to tell me the story instead. Here is her version:

"When Baby Mason was big and he was pregnant with Erin. They both took a shower together and they slipped. They had to go the hospital but they were both okay. And they lived happily ever after."

I think I like her version better than mine. :)

Nap Nazi
Rylee hates when you try to sleep when she's playing. Even if she doesn't want your interaction, she wants you to be a captive audience. If Jon falls asleep on the couch, she will pounce on him or go right up and yell something in his ear. She tries to be a little kinder with me. The other day she came over, gave me a shake and yelled "shine and bright" (rise and shine).

Last week, we were all over at my parent's house watching a movie. My mom went upstairs to nap instead. After a while Rylee decided she wanted to go upstairs and wake my Mom up. I tried to dissuade her, but she was determined. A minute later she trudged back down the stairs and gave me a look and said: "she wasn't very happy about it." :)

Ho Ho Ho!

2011-12-16T16:06:00.001-05:00

I saw something special in Norah and Caleb's Santa picture the other day. No, it wasn't Santa... it was a rocking horse! Since I knew Rylee had absolutely no intention of sitting on Santa's lap (or making eye contact with him or managing anything above an incoherent whisper), I thought the rocking horse would be a good compromise.

We arrived at the mall (with Gaga and Papa in tow) shortly before it opened and were second in line to see the man in the red suit. As expected I was needed as a human Santa buffer, but then Rylee agreed to climb on the rocking horse and give the camera a smile.

So here we all are: Santa in his finery, me with my belly-bowl full of jelly and Rylee getting her sparkly Christmas shine on. :)

From there, we cruised up to Sugar Sand Park. Rylee rode the carousel, played in their Imaginarium for quite some time, and insisted on getting soaked in their splash pad area... even though it was overcast and somewhat chilly. Luckily I had planned ahead with towels and extra clothes as I know Rylee simply cannot resist the temptation of water.

Afterward Papa treated his girls to lunch at Olive Garden where Rylee devoured her "pascetti" and then promptly fell asleep in her car seat on the drive home. Sleeping in the car seat looks even more uncomfortable than sleeping on the airplane. Her head falls completely forward so her chin is resting on her chest. If I slept like that for an hour I would have a gawd awful neck cramp! (I've tried getting her to use those neck pillow things, but they are a no go.)

It was lots of ho...ho...holiday fun! :)

Sore Throat

2011-12-14T21:48:00.002-05:00

So Rylee's fever wasn't a fluke. She ran a temp all day yesterday and by bedtime I could barely keep it under 102.5 even with alternating meds every three hours. Today we ran into the doctors office for a quick throat culture (Rylee's least favorite procedure), but it came back negative for strep. Whatever it is just needs to run its course.

Luckily, her fever was down today and almost gone by bedtime. I'm going to let her (and me) sleep through the night tonight. We're both looking forward to that. Rylee basically kicked me out of her room tonight after books she was so tired.

So back to kids and sore throats. When we took Rylee to the doctor when she was little they would always say, "kids this age don't get sore throats." I always thought this was weird, like how would they know. It's not like we can ask them. Well today, Dr. M said that the rule of thumb used to be that kids under age three didn't get throat infections. Now he's seen kids as young as three months with strep. Ah ha! Doctors don't always know everything.

South Florida Snow Storm

2011-12-12T22:13:00.001-05:00

You never know what kind of weather you're going to get in South Florida. One minute it's cool and pleasant, then next it's raining, after that it's sweltering hot and then it snows! Ok so it might have been artificial snow, but it did snow on us tonight.

After a fun day riding the carousel and playing at the park, we all decided to take Rylee to the mall where it snows. It turns out snow is really foam (Jon and I were having Spring Break flashbacks), but Rylee and the other kids there loved it just the same.

It was most impressive when you looked up into the air (on the ground it was just a foamy puddle).

There was also an ice village that had an igloo room with some other kind of artificial snow. It wasn't wet or cold, but it was kind of sticky. Rylee enjoyed that snow even more. She could scoop it up and throw it in the air hence the intense dandruff look.

She also saw Santa, but refused to sit on his lap or take a picture with him. She mostly hid behind my back. She did manage to whisper what she wanted when he asked her: a wumby pillow. Whatever that is. I hope Santa knows. :)

Of course all this excitement meant that she got to bed about an hour and half later than normal. Worse than that, when I was getting her ready for bed I could tell that she was burning up. A quick forehead check confirmed a temp of 101.5. I don't know if she was just exhausted or coming down with something. Either way I feel like a pretty bad mommy!

Creepy Crawly

2011-12-11T19:24:00.002-05:00

I hate spiders. I mean I really hate spiders. It borders on true arachnophobia. I hate them so much that I can't kill them. I don't want to get that close!

Once when I worked from home in Houston, I discovered a giant, hairy spider in my office. I shut the doors to the room, pushed towels under the door jam, and called in sick. Then I spent the better part of a day watching the area of carpet outside the door to make sure it didn't escape. Miraculously, Jon found and killed the spider when he got home (I demanded proof) otherwise I may have had to quit. :)

Another time here in our Florida house, a nasty spider was crawling along the tile floor in our hallway. I didn't want Rio to eat it so I trapped it under a large glass measuring cup. It was running around the edge looking for an escape route and I was worried about the seal of the cup to the tile so I lugged over one of Jon's full 5 gallon aquarium water buckets and set it on top. I set up a folding chair several feet away so I could keep watch until Jon came home. My trap held and Jon disposed of the menace.

I realize these are not normal or logical reactions, but phobias are not logical I guess.

So back to last Wednesday. My mom was babysitting Rylee. I came out of Target and hopped into the SUV to find a big disgusting brown spider right on the steering wheel! I practically jumped back out of the car. I kept my eye on it, called my Mom and tried to come up with some courage and plan of attack. And then it scurried underneath the steering wheel and disappeared. Now what? My Mom feared (probably rightly so) that I'd crash the car if the spider decided to come back out and visit me while I was driving so she and Rylee drove over and swapped vehicles with me. Then we all went back to my Mom's to wait for my Dad (and later Jon) to arrive. Jon drove the SUV home later that night and by sheer luck saw the spider run across the windshield right as he was getting Rylee out of the car seat. He was able to smoosh it and, of course, showed me the remains so I wouldn't think he was pulling a fast one. He didn't agree with my assessment of "big spider," but he agreed it was "mean looking." :)

I'm not sure what the point of this post is other than giving you all a quick view into my kryptonite or lunacy depending on how you want to look at it. :)

Holiday Fun

2011-12-10T15:17:00.005-05:00

I've been too busy to blog lately because I've been having too much fun! My Dad arrived on Wednesday - yeah! We've been hanging out with my parents during the day and having dinner with them at night. It's been great. Last night Jon watched Rylee so my parents and I could sneak out to a movie ("New Year's Eve"). We even decided to hit Anthony's Pizza afterward. I owe Jon one!

My parents took today for themselves and then they are babysitting Rylee tonight so Jon and I can finish up our Christmas shopping and then meet our friends for a Christmas dinner. Grandparents are the best!

Except for my getting "attacked" by a rogue spider and my Mom witnessing a mugging while at the mall, it's been a blissful couple of days. More on those two stories later as I have to run for now...

Dentist, check

2011-12-06T13:50:00.002-05:00

Rylee had her first dentist visit today! We must have had the first appointment of the day. We got in right away and were the only ones there.

She was excellent for her xrays and was excited for her cleaning... until they leaned the chair back. She didn't fuss, but I could tell she was nervous because she was shaking a bit. I ended up holding her hand through the cleaning.

She did really well with all the tools. They did a quick count of her teeth (all there) and then a fluoride treatment.

The dentist gave her the all clear (no cavities). She does have a little cross bite on one side so I'll guess we'll have to keep an eye on that as her adult teeth come in.

She got stickers, a balloon, a pink ring, and a pink toothbrush. She was pretty excited when she left.

There was another 3 year old boy waiting when we left. He asked Rylee if she was scared in the dentist. She said no and showed him all her loot!

All in all, I think it was a pretty successful first visit.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

There's Something About Rylee

2011-12-05T13:50:00.002-05:00

I finally downloaded the Thanksgiving pics from my new camera. It seems like it's okay. I haven't figured out how to use it yet, but it's working as a point and shoot just fine. The best part was I found a couple of pics worth sharing.

Rylee had been playing outside with Jon and had gotten a little sweaty. She must have ran her hands through her hair. When she came inside she looked like this. Too funny!

A cute pic of the new babies in the group: Mason and Caleb.

Rylee trying out her big sister act on Mason.

Compliments

2011-12-04T19:30:00.002-05:00

I've had some busy and fun days.

Thursday night I hosted my book club - always a delightful time (we mostly eat and gossip, talking about the book is way down on our list). Jon even took Rylee out for dinner at Rainforest Cafe and then hung out at my Mom's to keep Rylee out of our hair. Or maybe it was to escape the noise? He teased me about how many conversations were going on at once and how loud we were. Hey, I said we had fun!

Friday night we went out with part of the book club crew and a few other teachers to see "Breaking Dawn." Then we went to Bahama Breeze for dinner. Two Rylee-free nights in a row! It was practically like being on vacation.

I spent the weekend getting Christmas chores done: shopping, wrapping presents, shipping out of town gifts, and getting the Christmas cards ready to mail. Rylee helped out quite a bit and was content to entertain herself other times. She put her foot down when it came to watching the Vikings game today though. Maybe she knew they were going to lose again? She opted to watch "A Bug's Life" in the other room. We are so spoiled with how independent she is right now. It will be so weird to have a new baby in the house again. :)

Before I go, I have to tell this quick Rylee story from last week:

I was helping Rylee get dressed when she said: "You're a good mom."

Me: Really? Why am I a good mom?

Rylee: Because I love you.

Me: But what do I do that makes me a good mom?

Rylee: Making salads... and making beds.

Me: Is there anything else that I do special for you?

Rylee: Let's talk about this later.

That's what I get fishing for compliments: making salads and beds! :)

Boy or Girl Poll

2011-12-01T14:47:00.000-05:00

"Are you having a boy or a girl?" If MBP2 cooperates we should know the answer to this question on Dec. 30th. Fingers crossed! In the meantime, we speculate.

I feel the same... it's a girl.

I'm carrying different... it's a boy.

The heartbeat is fast... it's a girl.

If you look at "the cousins" it's boy, girl, boy, girl so... we're due for a boy.

It goes on and on. I guess deep down I think it's a boy but there's that lingering doubt from our fortune cookie. The night after we found out, we celebrated our anniversary at PF Changs. And our fortune cookie read: "You are about to embark on a delightful journey." And when you flipped it over, the Chinese word on the back was "Girl."

I know you're thinking who puts any stock in fortune cookies? We do. Before we moved to Florida we received this fortune cookie message: "You are heading to the land of sunshine." So those wise cookies have been right before... hmmm... :)

Let's find out what you all think. I've added a poll to the blog (upper left hand side). You have up until the 30th (the ultrasound date) to place your vote. Thanks!

Telling People

2011-11-29T14:35:00.000-05:00

Then came the hard part of not telling anyone the news. This is also not my strong suit. We did manage to get through the birthday party and not look too guilty when our friends asked when we were having baby #2. I blabbed the news to our waiter at dinner on our anniversary. I find telling strangers helps me keep the secret with friends and family.

And then we made the mistake of starting to talk about babies in front of Rylee. It had all happened so quickly that we hadn't really prepared her. I guess talking about babies in the abstract with a 3 year old is more delicate than we realized. She got so excited that soon she was convinced there was a baby in my tummy already (which there was!). We managed to keep it a secret until Rylee went to school and blabbed the news to her teachers and all her friends.

Ah well, we really wanted to tell people too so we started making the calls. And the rest is history as they say...

Finding Out

2011-11-28T14:00:00.002-05:00

I was waiting to post some "baby stories" until after I was 12 weeks along and then we just plain got busy so now I'm over 15 weeks and I still haven't even had the chance to tell you how it all happened. :)

When I got back from MN in early August, Jon and I decided it was time to start trying for another baby. He had two work trips and then a trip back home to see his parents so let's just say there wasn't a lot of time for trying. Then at the beginning of September I was prescribed some medicine for an infection. Being the overly cautious person that I am, I read through the list of warnings on the label before taking it. Of course, one of them advised not to take if you are or could be pregnant. Considering it took us over two years to get pregnant with Rylee I didn't really think there was any chance, but I bought the pregnancy test anyway.

I woke up early that Saturday morning (it was the day of Rylee's birthday party) and took the test. I'm pretty sure my mouth dropped open like one of those cartoon characters when it came back positive. I found myself with a dilemma. The last time I found out I was pregnant it was also very early on a Saturday morning and I basically woke Jon from a dead sleep by shoving the stick under his nose. Not surprisingly, I've gotten a little flak for that moment over the last couple of years. If I could just keep this info to myself for one day then the next day would be our 12th wedding anniversary and I could tell him over dinner. It seemed like a more sophisticated idea. So I snuck out of the room and attempted to distract myself with other things. This lasted for all of about 30 minutes and then I ran back in, woke Jon up and told him I was pregnant. I didn't have the pee stick in his face so I guess it was a small improvement. :)

Naughty or Nice?

2011-11-27T20:12:00.002-05:00

This weekend, my Mom watched Rylee for a few hours so I could put up the Christmas tree (don't worry I saved the bottom fourth of the tree for Rylee to decorate) and Jon could put up all the outside decorations. When we brought Rylee home she was so excited she used the adjective "wow" at least 30 times in 3 minutes. She used a whole bunch of other adjectives too, but "wow" seems to be a favorite right now. She also declared the place "very Santa-y." It's really not that spectacular, Rylee is just easily impressed.

One Rylee story: Jon and I decided we're not buying each other Christmas presents this year. I just had to replace my camera and he had to replace his grill so those two purchases will have to suffice as our gifts. Anyway, tonight Jon joked that he didn't see his name on my Christmas list. So I teased him back by saying that we were both on the naughty list this year. All of sudden Rylee shouts: "No, you are both nice!" Ahh, what a sweetie.

Happy Turkey Day!

2011-11-24T07:48:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends! Jon and I have much to be thankful for this year with our new baby on the way. Rylee has been practicing her "I'm thankfuls" at bedtime all week. It will be interesting if she's brave enough to say any of them today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

*Sorry for the break in blog action, but I had that busy weekend and then our entire household decided to get sick early in the week. We're all on the mend now and the house has been "lysoled" to within an inch of its life in hopes of not infecting our Thanksgiving guests. I guess we can also be thankful for that! :)

GNO & GDO

2011-11-18T14:41:00.003-05:00

Girl's Night Out:
Tonight my Mom and I are heading out to see a friend's art exhibit and then we're taking in an Elvis impersonator show. My Mom joked that she wished we were seeing the "real Elvis" in concert (she was lucky enough to see him once as a teenager). I joked that if that were the case then we'd be paying a lot more than $17 a ticket! :)

Girl's Day Out:
Tomorrow is another fun girl's only activity. My friend, Venessa, is taking a bunch of us with her on her wedding dress shopping excursion in Miami. For those of you who have seen the movie "Bridesmaids," we aren't planning on eating in any hole in the wall establishments... just in case!

Wishy Washy (Dry-ey)

2011-11-16T17:34:00.002-05:00

I have to give a special shout out to my amazing parents who are always so good Jon and me. Upon hearing that our clothes dryer had died and our washing machine was on its last leg, they decided to buy us a new set for Christmas. And since they are extra sweet and didn't want to see their pregnant daughter lugging her laundry to her mommy's house every weekend (I did it once and that was enough!), they bought them last week and gave them to us early. I did our first loads over the weekend and both machines worked great. Thank you! Thank you!

In other dead electronic news, my camera was officially pronounced terminal a week or so ago. No idea what could have happened to it. It never got dropped or wet and I always took good care of it. Stupid black cat is all I have to say. Anyway, I ordered a new Canon T3 last night. Fingers crossed I like it as much as my XSi.

Picture Perfect

2011-11-13T17:47:00.002-05:00

Rylee had her Christmas card photo shoot yesterday (the upside to a broken camera is that I had a professional take them). I'm not sure if it was the photographer, my adorable kid, or the gorgeous dress that Gaga bought for her to wear, but the photos turned out great!

We got a couple of cute ones for the Christmas card, a couple that look like they should be in that fancy schmancy "Chasing Fireflies" catalog, and we even got a new family photo of the three of us.

I've already started mocking up some Christmas cards online! I guess I'll have to wait till after Thanksgiving to mail them out though.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas... :)

Dolphin Tale

2011-11-11T14:27:00.002-05:00

Gaga and I took Rylee to her first non-animated movie yesterday: Dolphin Tale (it was at the cheap theater). Rylee was very excited to go a "big girl" movie and she came prepared too: popcorn, skittles, gummies, water, sweater, blankie, pillow and most importantly, her sparkly pink dolphin (that Jon bought her on his Atlanta trip back in August).

We asked for a booster seat at the theater (for some reason I've never thought of asking before) and between that and the pillow, she was pretty comfortable. The first half of the movie she was occupied eating her snacks. Then she sat quietly, took a bathroom break and decided she wanted to stand for the remainder of the show. Even so, she was really well behaved and quiet.

The few times she made noise it was too cute to get mad at her. When the dolphin finally started liking his prosthetic tale, Rylee yelled out: "he's getting the hang of it!" Also in the end of the movie there is a swimming race and all the people in the stands are clapping and cheering. To Rylee it was like it was happening live. She was standing, clapping and saying, "Go Kyle!" It was adorable (and not too loud to really disturb anyone anyway).

I wasn't sure how much of the movie she would actually grasp. She knew that the dolphin was injured and that it needed a new tale etc, but I was surprised when she told Jon that with the new tale the dolphin could swim "up and down, up and down." This was important because the side to side swimming motion the dolphin made without the tale was causing damage to its spine.

For those who haven't seen it, the movie was really sweet. Of course I had to cry through about half of it for various happy and sad reasons, but I'm a sucker for those "based on a true story" motivational stories. :)

Toe Business

2011-11-09T20:41:00.002-05:00

It's always fun to look for aspects of yourself in your child. There are obvious physical things and quirky behavioral things. And then there are the unexpected discoveries... like toe talent.

I can spread my toes apart. Jon can put his big toe up and the rest of his toes down. It turns out Rylee can do both!

Weird, huh?

Elsie Remembered

2011-11-07T15:57:00.004-05:00

My Grandmother, Elsie Mooers, was inducted into The Founders Hall of the The North Star Museum of Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting on Saturday. Below is info from the press release about the honor.

"The Founders Hall is a special permanent exhibit that recognizes the extraordinary contributions of Scout Volunteers, from Boy Scout and Girl Scout troop leaders to board directors and others who have played a pivotal role in the on-going formation of Scouting. The museum will ensure that their contributions are remembered forever."

The museum describes as a Founder as: "someone who has played a substantial role in the advancement of the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts or the North Star Museum of Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting. A Founder is a visionary leader who has played a meaningful role in the creation, innovation or direction of these Scout institutions over a significant number of years."

That certainly describes my Grandmother who was active in the Scouts as a leader, trainer and coordinator for 55 years (beginning in 1949 and continuing up until the week she died). She was instrumental in forming the Land of Lakes Girl Scout Council and became its first president. She received all the highest of Girl Scout Awards and in 2002 an award was even named after her: the "Elsie Mooers Award" recognizes those who have spent at least 25 years in active service to the Scouts (kind of pales in comparison to her 55 years, but then they needed to actually find people to award it to!).

My Aunt Judy (along with others from our family) were able to attend the event. Below are her words about the ceremony:

"Elsie was honored with an "unveiling" of her photo on the "Founder's Wall of Fame." She was one of a half-dozen honorees, most of whom were there (I sure wish she'd have been there too - but I felt her "presence!").

Three women who had worked with her, came from up north to be there as her photo was "unveiled." One of them spoke about Elsie, remembering her leadership and her commitment to girl scouts-and even some funny stuff, like how she said when she got older: "things haven't changed too much, except now the brownies have to help me up when we work on the floor!"

Wow...was I crying buckets while they spoke about her! I almost couldn't see the picture for the tears in my eyes!

What a wonderful tribute to Elsie's life, and how perfect that it came just when we are wrapping up the sale of the resort and the house. I sort of feel like her blessing is on all our heads...we were sure lucky to have her as a mom, a mother-in-law, a grandma, and a great-grandma!

Brava...Elsie!!!!"

Fabulous Friday Fotos

2011-11-04T15:07:00.003-04:00

Today was a great photo day for "the kids."

Mini Baby Polich #2 (MBP2) makes his/her blog photo debut. :)

I had my 12 week high-risk ultrasound today (courtesy of my advanced age!). This ultrasound was very different from the one I had at 6.5 weeks. It's amazing how quickly they change from blob to actual little person. Everything looked good. The baby's heartbeat was 152 today. MBP2 was moving and kicking and thrashing all over. It was fun to watch.

The best news: we should have something special to toast for the New Year. My next ultrasound (to determine the sex of the baby - fingers crossed MBP2 cooperates) is scheduled for Dec 30. It makes a wonderful belated Christmas present too!

Not to be outshone, Rylee got her first ever school photos back today. (It's actually her first professional photo ever.) They all turned out very cute. Here they are from least to most favorite.

I only wish this last one was centered a little better, but it's still absolutely adorable. Who knew my kid was such a little model?! She won't even bother to look in the direction of my camera anymore. (I guess I shouldn't be so concerned about my camera breaking.)

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-02T06:26:00.000-04:00

The pics aren't the greatest (I am really going through camera withdrawal), but here's a quick look back at our night.

Here's Rylee praying to the candy gods prior to trick-or-treating: c'mon skittles and sugar candy, no chocolate, no whammies, big bucks.

(Sorry those last two are from "Press Your Luck" - not that I would have minded the big bucks).

The Witches Two: Rylee and Rio :)

After the photo session, we hit the pavement in search of "candy, candy, candy, candy" (read with your best Garfield impression). Not sure if it was the weather or the recession, but there weren't nearly as many houses giving out candy as compared to last year (like only 1 in every 8 houses or so). It was kind of depressing, but luckily Rylee didn't notice. She had a blast stopping at the few houses that were lit up, especially those that were spookified with lights and ghosts. Our neighbors had a spooky scarecrow with a mask that kind of creeped her out, but she managed to go up there and laugh about it when the lady showed her it was just stuffed. All in all, it was a good night.

And in the end, Rylee got over a half a pumpkin full of "her" candy. It looks like she was pretty happy with the haul.

Party, Party, Party!

2011-11-01T08:48:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, Rylee went to a party at "Miller and Mason's house" as she calls it. The kids looked super cute in their costumes as did the adults, but I didn't get any good pictures of them (stupid camera!).

With Captain America and Thor

Jon didn't get into the costume festivities this year, but Rylee wanted me to be a witch with her. Luckily the costume I bought had enough room for my growing belly!

Caleb aka "The Hangover Baby"

In true Halloween party fashion, there was nakedness and costume swapping as the evening progressed (except this year it was the kiddos not the adults). Norah and Rylee stripped down to play in the rain and Miller modeled James' fireman costume.

2011-11-01T08:47:00.000-04:00

Caleb rocking a second look as Baby Shrek. Ahhh...

Rylee loved the crafts Erin had prepared for them. Here she is showing off her treat basket and spooky spider!

As Rylee said it was "the best party ever!"

Halloween Parties

2011-10-30T19:27:00.001-04:00

Rylee has had several opportunities to wear her Halloween costume this year. Here she is at a costume-themed Ooopsy the Clown.

She picked this witch's costume all by herself. She really loved the broom. It reminded her of "The Room on the Broom" which is her favorite Halloween book this year.

Later that same day, she had another costume party with my mommies group. Unfortunately, I never caught any decent photos there.

On Friday, they had their Fall Festival at her school. Gaga and I picked her up, took her out for pizza and then took her back for the party.

She had a really good time. She painted a pumpkin picture, made a tissue paper candy corn, played stick the nose on the jack-o-lantern. There was even a petting zoo.

She loved seeing all her friends in their costumes. There was one older girl (that Rylee doesn't know) dressed as Strawberry Shortcake. She flipped out she was so excited. That wasn't a costume, it was Strawberry! :)

Yesterday she went to a party at the Froyds. I have those pics on the computer so I'll post about that tomorrow.

It's certainly been a Happy Halloween so far. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Preggo Problems

2011-10-28T21:30:00.001-04:00

It's been an interesting couple of days pregnancy-wise. First, my lab results showed that my TSH levels for my thyroid are really out of whack. Normally it reads under 5, but mine is currently 33! This kind of imbalance causes over-active appetite, weight gain and extreme fatigue. No wonder I've been such a zombie-mommy as of late.

Then last night I had a weird tingly sensation in both arms and legs. Kind of like poor circulation when your leg falls asleep, except it was constant no matter what position I was in (lying down, sitting up etc) and lasted all night and into today. I was a bit panicked last night and did call my ob's emergency line after several hours, but they seemed unconcerned. It was uncomfortable and stressful so I only managed to get three hours of sleep.

My regular doctor rushed me in this morning (he seemed concerned!). When they called me back, the receptionist literally began the conversation with "Shannon, are you dressed?" "Um, yeah." "Sorry, I just meant that Dr. M wants you to come in right away." :) His staff always tells me that I'm his favorite patient and it pays. They are so good to me there. I wish he delivered babies!

Anyway, my blood pressure was fine but I guess this circulation issue is another symptom of the thyroid problem so he ran my labs again. Hopefully I'll know more on Monday. I have felt better all day, but as I type this, I'm starting to go tingly in my feet again. :(

The good news is I had a similar problem with Rylee (though seemingly not as severe) and she turned out all right in the end. So fingers crossed we can get this under control ASAP and the baby will be none the worse for it.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Letter P

2011-10-24T20:45:00.004-04:00

This recap post is brought to you by the letter P.

- With the slightly cooler temps, my Mom, Rylee and I spent our weekend enjoying Parks, Pumpkin Patches, Picnics and Pony rides. Too bad I can't get to the Photos I took at the Pumpkin Patch (see camera conundrum)!

- We also watched the Pitiful Vikings lose yet another game. :)

- Today was my Pregnancy checkup. Everything looks good. The heartbeat was in the 160s though I forget what that means as far as gender Predicting! The Dr. found the heartbeat right away and said it was strong and that the baby was moving already. Just what I need - another mover and shaker!

- After some Practical errand running, I met my Mom at the movie Projection Place. :) We saw "Footloose" and it was Phenomenal! I love when remakes stay true to the original and this one did not disappoint. The casting was Perfect and they even worked in the original songs and choreography in many scenes. Honestly I can't wait to see it again either at the cheap theater or via rental.

- Now it's couch Potato time... :)

Camera Conundrum

2011-10-22T20:04:00.002-04:00

Today my Mom and I took advantage of the cooler temperatures and took Rylee out for some pumpkin patch fun. Of course this meant making Rylee crawl over pumpkins and haybales in search of the perfect fall photo op. It was all going well until...

... my camera wouldn't turn on. I had checked the battery before we left (it died midway through her birthday party this year so I'm a little hyper sensitive about it now) and it had plenty of life. I wasn't too panicked. I assumed I had misread something.

I charged it when we got home and put it in the camera... still no power. Now I'm starting to worry. I'm going to hustle out tomorrow and buy a new battery in hopes that something went awry with this one. 'Cuz if it's not a battery issue then I have no idea what's wrong. I guess I'll also pull out my extended warranty paperwork. I think I have a couple more months before it runs out - I hope!

In the meantime I'm bummed I can't see the pics I took before the camera drama. I think I got some cute shots...

Black Cat Mishap

2011-10-20T20:47:00.003-04:00

Today as Rylee and I were driving home from my Mom's a black retread suddenly flew out from underneath the truck in front of me. Half way through the air it turned into a black cat. Seriously... this is how my eyes registered it in like point-something seconds. It's scared the bejeezus out of me. Traffic was heavy so I slammed on the breaks as much as I could, swerved within my lane, and screamed. I didn't feel anything or hear anything so I think I managed to miss the cat. When I glanced in the rearview mirror I thought I saw it flop, run, whatever into the grass.

I was freaking still so my Mom suggested I call the Sunrise Police. Yeah, they don't care unless the animal is dead and blocking the roadway. My Mom was kind enough to do a drive by for me and she didn't see anything in the area so I'm hoping that this black cat still had a few of its nine lives and was able to claw away with only a harrowing story to tell.

Just out of curiosity what do you think the bad luck would be for hitting a black cat? I hear it's not good if they cross your path so I'm thinking flattening one wouldn't be good either...

Dance Fever

2011-10-18T20:37:00.001-04:00

Rylee was dancing along with a TV program the other night. She was very focused and following the steps very closely.

So I'm not sure how to explain this photo...

As one of my Cedar Crest mates, Dave, says: Dance like you've just crapped your pants.

Adam Sandler may have said it too... with a little more profanity. :)

Mini Maddie

2011-10-16T18:35:00.002-04:00

Rylee adores her cousin, Maddie. So when she received this treasured hand-me-down in the mail, she put it on that very day... and actually posed for the camera so I could capture the moment!

Maddie once received a dress with polka dots and exclaimed "just like Baby Rylee." And whenever we see sunflowers, we think of Maddie!

Re-enacting one of Maddie's favorite photo ops - the tree hugger pose. I love how she's hugging the tree's boo boo.

A squinty eyed portrait shot, but still lovely. :)

Happy 35th Birthday Jon!

2011-10-11T19:29:00.002-04:00

I wanted to do something special for Jon's birthday post but...

- I'm not allowed to tell stories about him on the blog

- I'm not allowed to post pictures of him (without Rylee) on the blog

- I've been expressly forbidden from ever again posting younger pictures of him on the blog (his co-workers make a few little posters and its all my fault?!).

So I guess this will have to suffice:
"Happy Birthday Daddy! And Anymore!" Love, Mommy & Rylee

P.S. In other news, Rylee had her first truly successful movie theater viewing today (as in we didn't leave early, didn't have to use the bathroom partway through, and she didn't fall asleep). We saw "The Smurfs" at the dollar theater. She seemed to like it. My Mom and I thought it was "ehh" but at least it was only a dollar. Had I paid more, I might have been disappointed. Though I'll sit through just about anything for Neil Patrick Harris!

Goofy Girl

2011-10-09T18:57:00.000-04:00

Rylee and her recent goofiness:

Rylee the Mermaid

Rylee was playing dress up with some items from the photo area at her birthday party. I actually took tons of pics, but she had a sea shell malfunction in most of them so they were too risque to post. :)

Sk8ter Girl

Rylee is obsessed with skate boarding now that Jon and his buddies (aka Old Man Militia) are getting back into it. She loves to go to the skate park and be their cheering section / board retrieval helper.

Jammin' Rylee

Rylee found these headphones the other day and remembered wearing them at Monster Jam. She insisted we 'You Tube' Monster Jam so she could watch it while wearing her protective eargear.

Swimfan

Rylee was such a big girl when Gaga took her to get her flu shot last week that she earned a trip to Walmart for a new baby. She picked this one that swims. She's pretty cool. Of course, she had to come home and do a couple laps with her in the pool that same day.

Happy Birthday Rio!

2011-10-08T20:39:00.001-04:00

Today was Rio's 9th birthday!

Of course, she didn't become a part of our family until Christmastime. I know we got her before the holiday. The first pics I have of her say 12/23 so that's what I'm going with. She was 2.2 pounds of lovable fluff from the beginning.

We potty trained her in three days. She would ring a bell at the back door when she had to go out. We only used the bell for a year or so if I remember correctly. She would scratch at the door instead. I know there was some discussion about not letting her sleep in the bed with us and she did have a crate for some time, but she's been sleeping by Jon's feet for as long as I can remember and we wouldn't have it any other way.

When we were looking for puppies Jon's only stipulation was that he didn't want some little, white, fluffy dog. Somehow I convinced him that brown and white was not the same as all white. Little did we know that the brown and whites lose most of their coloring after a year. Oops. Love you anyway "white dog."

White dog is just one of Rio's many nicknames. Let's see how many I can think of off the top of my head: the great white hunter, monster, Gizmo, Fizgig, Snaggletooth, Jose (as in "No way Jose"), ewok... I doubt that's even half of them. I know I'm missing some of Jon's favorites...

You might think Rio would get confused with so many monikers, but she is very astute at remembering names. Her greatest trick has always been that she knows most all of her toys by name (cool dude, cone guy, jungle monkey, etc) and she will sort through her toy box to find whatever one you call out. Smart doggie!

As part of her birthday celebration, Rio got waffles for breakfast, a new toy from Rylee and some new PB&J (peanut butter and jerky) treats from Gaga. We also watched the animated movie "Rio" in her honor. Not about dogs, but like the movie, she too was named after Rio de Janeiro. :) It would only have been better had it not rained all day. The poor thing never even got the chance to terrorize lizards in the backyard (one of her favorite daily activities). We don't call her the great white hunter for nothing!

Too Tired

2011-10-02T20:15:00.002-04:00

Another week has gone by with no posting by me. In my defense, I have been sick and tired...

...and pregnant!

It's been three whole weeks of keeping it hush hush which is apparently my and Rylee's limit for secret keeping. She started blabbing at it day care and I started getting busted by suspicious friends who received frantic phone calls inquiring about ob/gyns and one who caught me playing drink switcheroo (alcoholic to non-alcoholic). It's so much easier to just come out with it!

Here's what you need to know:

It's early, very early, but I already feel terrible. I forgot how much I didn't enjoy my first trimester with Rylee. I hate feeling nauseous. And this time I've had heart burn too. Great combo.

But feeling terrible does make you feel pregnant so I'm hoping that means that everything is brewing properly.

If all goes well, my due date is May 17th.

Nuthin'

2011-09-25T20:04:00.002-04:00

Nothing much to report. It was a busy week last week. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night I had to work late. Thursday night was Venessa's engagement party - what fun to hang out with the girls and look at bride magazines! Makes me wish I was planning a wedding. At least I can live vicariously through her.

This weekend Jon taught a dive class so Rylee and I basically hung out by the pool. Not too shabby! Gaga even joined us this morning until the rain drove us back inside.

Sorry for the boring post. Hopefully I'll have something more interesting to share soon.

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

2011-09-19T07:02:00.000-04:00

"Argh!"

Or if you prefer Jon's favorite: "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!"

Pirate Princess

2011-09-17T16:21:00.000-04:00

To wrap up, Rylee had a great bday party (or parties rather). In true fashion, we celebrated three times. First on Labor Day since we all had the day off, then the next day on her actual birthday and finally on her party day.

The weather was nice for the party so after the kids came in and forcibly got their picture taken, they hit the pools (big and little). Jon grilled up some hot dogs and my Mom made coney sauce for the adults for lunch. (A big thanks goes to my Mom who basically slaved through the whole party and didn't have any fun!) Then we did the cake and the pinata and the kids were out the door only five minutes later than we planned. Rylee was supposed to take a nap, but of course she wanted to open presents instead. Go figure! Between the present opening, the party, and the kids playing with all of Rylee's toys, the house was a wreck, but we were all picked up two hours later so it wasn't too bad. Although I believe both Jon and my Mom may have uttered "never again" in reference to hosting a house party. :)

Finally here are some last miscellaneous birthday shots...

Rylee in her new princess dress from Gaga and her Ariel shell necklace from her cousins (just like the one Ursula uses to trap Ariel's voice and it sings Ariel's melody). Rylee is pretending to sing - ah, ah, ah!

Trying on the boys pirate costume a few days before the party (it was something I had for my kiddos at school once upon a time).

Goofing around with Daddy in the photo area.

Wearing one of her new outfits from her friend, Shannon. The eye patch is fall's hottest new accessory! :)

Party Decore

2011-09-15T17:41:00.002-04:00

If you haven't already guessed from the other photos, Rylee picked an Ariel party for her birthday and we adapted it to a mermaids and pirates party since we had a couple of boys coming.

I thought the house looked adorable, but it's kind of hard to tell from the photos. We had fish and seaweed (green curling ribbon) everywhere. Here is the gift table area anyway.

This is a closer look at the Ariel drawing I made for Rylee. It's not perfect by any means (it looks like Ariel is about to "fork" Flounder and I'm pretty sure one of her arms is significantly shorter than the other), but I had a lot of fun working on it (even though I left it till the last minute and had to stay up until 2 in the morning three nights in a row to finish it!).

Here are the bakery pull apart cupcakes. Jon laughed hysterically when he went to pick them up because the Ariel figurine is quite well endowed (DD sea shells for sure)!

These are the milk-free cupcakes I made to go with it. Nothing too fancy this year, but I did borrow an Ariel figurine from Venessa to make Rylee's cupcake feel more special. :)

Rylee's 3rd Bday Party!

2011-09-12T20:50:00.000-04:00

Rylee had her 3rd birthday party on Saturday. She loved it! The weather was great (a little hot, but we were in the pool) and the kids seemed to have a good time. Here's a photographic look at the guest list. Some of the kids were more into getting their picture taken than others (mine included). :)

The birthday girl singing like Ariel (not exactly like Ariel...it sounds more like Scuttle!)

Shannon (and Carrie)

James (and Karen)

Norah and Caleb (with Jess and Jerry)

2011-09-12T20:48:00.001-04:00

Miller (and Ryan)

Jojo and Gigi (with Dominique)

Caitlin and Sean (with Morgan and Jenny)

Kaila and Ava (with Chad and Olivia)

Good Company

2011-09-07T22:25:00.002-04:00

It looks like Rylee will be sharing her birthday from now on. Ryan and Erin (really Erin, I don't know why men get any of the credit) had their son, Mason, on Sept. 6th! Congrats to them!

Jon saw the baby today and I hope to see him this weekend if I can work it out. I can't wait to hear what Miller thinks of his new baby brother. :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Rylee!

2011-09-06T17:12:00.000-04:00

I can't believe the "little pink burrito" I brought home from the hospital is now three years old! Congrats sweetie!

I was talking to Rylee about her birthday and how I carried her in my tummy so we pulled out her first baby albums. She loved looking through them. I decided to pull a few of her "favorite" pictures to show you. These were the ones she kept flipping back to see again.

The tummy photo. I didn't have many photos of a pregnant me in her baby book so this ultrasound reveal photo had to suffice.

She loved this one in her car seat: first ride home from the hospital.

This was probably her favorite favorite. :) She was quite enthralled with the notion of the umbilical cord. "They cut my boo boo off so I can grow a bee bo." :)

Rylee was quite taken with this Halloween photo as well. She's having a mermaids and pirates themed birthday party this weekend so she was excited to see us all in costume.

It's hard to believe that little mermaid is really my Rylee. I can't remember her being that small. It seems to me she came out walking and talking.

*Corny me, but I scheduled this to post at 5:12 pm the same time she was born. :)

CC - Week in Review

2011-09-05T16:15:00.001-04:00

Sat Jul 23 - drove up to CC (it took both my parent's vehicles to get all our stuff including mini fridge, microwave, toaster oven and 32 inch flat screen TV to watch all our favorite vacation movies!), unpacking and settling in, spaghetti night at the lodge, boys vs girls Catch Phrase tournament (I think we came out even in the end)

Sun Jul 24 - breakfast at the lodge, swimming, nap (for Rylee), gave Meg & Rylee mani/pedis, taco night at the lodge followed by a couple rounds of Farkle

Mon Jul 25 - swimming all day, happy hour, bingo (through the casino) at the lodge, dinner & ladder toss tourney

Tues Jul 26 - DL girls day for me, Mom, Penney, Heather & Meg (It was Meg's first ever back to school clothes shopping trip as she's always gone to a uniform school before. Heather and I used to always go into DL for back to school shopping too so it was great to carry on the tradition.), snacks at Zorbaz, Bart's fish fry (we had to eat up all the fish the guys had been catching), "Great Outdoors" movie night

Wed Jul 27 - rainy, loungey morning, swimming and sliding (Rylee got brave enough to try the slide), dinner at the lodge, "Rhinestone" movie night (Dave also left on Wed)

Here she is sitting at the top of the slide, contemplating whether she should go down by herself. In the end, she held Papa's hand and had Gaga catch her at the bottom. Even so, it was a fast and fun ride!

You can see the smile on her face as she walked away (she must have done it a dozen or so times during the trip - not bad!).

Thurs Jul 28 was an interesting day. We spent the day swimming and then the parents (my Mom and Dad, Bart and Penney) drove to DL to celebrate both their anniversaries. Rylee and I had dinner at the lodge with the crew and then I took her to get ready for bed while they all fished off the dock. All of sudden, Meg comes running in and tells me that Max got a fish hook in his finger and Heather and Vern were taking him to the ER in DL! I calmed Meg down and then called the parents so they could meet them at the ER. Max was trooper! He did great and requested two extra stickers for the girls waiting for him back at the resort. He also got to sign a poster where they keep track of all the fish hook removals. The other crazy thing was that while I was reading bedtime stories to the girls, Rylee rolled off the bed, hit her head on the night stand and fell on her back on the hard floor! We didn't have to head back in to the ER, but it was just one of those nights I guess.

Fri Jul 29 - swimming, bingo and buffet at the lodge (I was one number away from the coverall win, but my Dad won instead!), Bart and Penney left that night, "Out of Towners" movie night

Sat Jul 30 - packing in the rain, breakfast at the lodge, drive home, unpacking (which is never as much fun as packing!)

Ahh... what a great relaxing trip. I never mentioned that we had 5 out of the 6 motel units so we befriended the other couple so as not to annoy them. They are an older couple who are ironically moving to Ft Lauderdale this winter. My mom and the lady, Doris, exchanged info. Anyway, we booked all 6 units for next year in hopes that we could get Ted to come or we all joked we could just use the extra room for all our extra junk. :)

Let the countdown to Cedar Crest 2012 begin...

CC - The Kids

2011-09-04T21:37:00.000-04:00

Megan & Max (Heather and Vern's kids) with Rylee.

The kids got along great. Megan was such a big helper with Rylee. And Rylee herself was awesome. She didn't need to be attached to my hip, she would go off with the kids at the lodge and play video games and she was even brave enough to walk from unit to unit without me when she was looking for someone. She went to bed great and I had the monitor so I could sneak into another room and play games or watch TV. We called her "Vacation Rylee" all week, as in: "Don't you just love Vacation Rylee!"

Here the threesome is standing inside "Hogwarts Sandcastle." This is after three days worth of decay (and moments before they destroyed it), but it was pretty impressive. Vern, Megan & Max built it and Rylee decorated it with rocks. She took her job very seriously. She spent over an hour gathering rocks one at a time and bringing them to Vern for inspection before adding them to the castle. :)

I still need to post the actual breakdown of events for the week, but since I am focusing on the kids in this post I'll skip ahead to the night of Meg & Max's fashion show. I use the term fashion loosely. :)

Megan strikes a pose in the summer's hottest new hoop skirt made especially for the beach. Just remove the outer beach blanket to reveal a floating basketball hoop game.

Max as Upside Down man, wearing his shirt as shorts and shorts as shirt. It's the ultimate in mix and match.

On to the funny part: So Max struts out in his outfit which he's sort of holding together. He's bunched up his shirt and holding it at crotch level so there is a bulge of fabric in the anatomically correct place. Then all of a sudden, he starts twirling this piece of fabric and remarks, "I'm stirring the stew!" It was wacky and hilarious! "Stirring the stew" became the unofficial motto of CC 2011. :)

Cedar Crest - The Backstory

2011-09-03T19:40:00.000-04:00

In case you've missed my posts about the Johnston's or just don't remember who they are, here's the necessary backstory about our week-long resort getaway. When I was 4ish, my parents made the best decision of their lives (they'll agree with me, just ask) when they bought the house next door to the Johnstons. Bart and Penney are the nicest, sweetest, most fun people on the planet. They have three kids: Heather, Ted and Dave who were basically my siblings growing up (we all practically lived in each other's houses). All my best memories of childhood involve these wonderful people!

Early on, we started taking week long summer vacations together. (We couldn't stay at my grandparent's resort because it was too close to town and the men would have worked too much.) We stayed at Haze Haven on Pelican Lake for a few years (3?). It was fabulous, but they converted to seasonal rentals so we had to look for a new place. After that, we tried some place in Big Fork. The log cabins were amazing, but the lake was pond scum. When a tornado ripped through Crosby and forced my Dad back to his insurance office, we were all a little relieved to head home early. The next year we stayed at Hollywood's Resort (can't remember where that one was), but they didn't have a nice lake either so we spent the whole time in their pool.

A good lake is a necessity when you have four kids to please so the next year the parents drove up to check out the place we had rented before we got there and it was awful. We were in a bind and didn't know where we would go, when my Uncle Don told us about Cedar Crest. He had been there in the winter snow-mobiling so we took a chance. It turned out to be the mecca of all MN lake resorts. We loved it! We went there for 4 or 5 years after that. We started out in the cabins, but shifted over to the motel type units since the lodge restaurant was so much easier and cheaper than cooking.

Anyway by that time, we kids were getting into upper high school and it was harder to take a week away from our summer activities. I think the last time we were all there was my after my sophomore or junior year because my parents brought Jon along for me! :) My parents, Jon and I went back one more time for a long weekend, I think, when we were in college too.

And so Cedar Crest lived on in all of our memories and we all talked about how great it would be to all go back. Finally last year, the four parents drove up there for an anniversary road trip and booked the place. Boy, are we lucky they did... but I'm getting ahead of myself. :)

Here is the CC 2011 Crew...

My Mom, Heather (Rylee's Godmother), me, & Penney.

Bart, Dave, my Dad, and Vern (Heather's husband).

We were missing Jon, of course, Ted (who had another commitment), and Dave's girlfriend, Tanya (who was ironically in FL that week), but it wasn't too bad of a showing! (The kids will be getting their own post).

Blog Backlog

2011-09-02T21:11:00.003-04:00

I'm finally setting aside some time to blog about our last two weeks of MN vacation so let's travel back in time to...

Sat Jul 19th - was a cabin day (jet skiing and swimming), I also took Lilly out for a girl's adventure: pizza and shopping.

Sun Jul 20th - took Rylee and Lilly to the community pool, more swimming, jet skiing and they even got me out on the tube!

Mon Jul 21st - was one of the icky 98 degree days so again more swimming and also Rylee's last swimming lesson of the season.

Tues Jul 22nd - was still ungodly hot so again with the swimming, it was Rylee's last dance class and then a game night with my Mom, Ruthanne and Sara (I lost at both Pounce and Farkle, but it was fun!). P.S. That sweetie Ruthanne brought Rylee a "white kitty" build a bear and two adorable ballerina outfits that Rylee really wanted to wear instead of the kitty. :)

Wed Jul 23rd - Rylee's last story hour at the library (I think it was the magician show) and then we met Teffany and her girls at the park, but since it was still disgustingly hot we quickly abandoned that idea and went for treats at the DQ instead.

Thurs Jul 24th - Rylee's last gymnastics class, lunch and playtime with Grandma Sandy, and we finally took Rylee for that car wash we had been promising her all summer (my parents place is across the street so she asked often!).

Fri Jul 25th - was a quick trip to Aitkin for vacation supplies, a quick goodbye to Celia, and then packing. We did run out to see the Johnston's that night for a pre-vacation happy hour... we were all ridiculously excited for our week's vacay together.

Tune in tomorrow for the beginning of the Cedar Crest posts. Not sure how many there will be... :)

Mommy & Me Monday

2011-08-29T20:38:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted any photos of Rylee and I in a while so last week when we were all dressed up, I had my Mom snap a couple of pics. This was the best one of the bunch. Oh well, at least we're in it together!

I wish we had been dressed up for a fun outing. Sadly, we were on our way to a funeral. My neighbor's brother passed away. :(

2 More...

2011-08-26T16:07:00.000-04:00

...Rylee stories.

Rylee loves to yell "cheeseball" to get Rio to come inside. The other day as Rio ran inside she added: "one cheeseball coming right up." It was so cute both Jon and I burst out laughing.

This is a 'you had to be there story' but I'll tell it anyway. Jon, Rylee and I were in the car and Rylee had rolled up a receipt and was using it as a ball. She kept throwing it from her car seat up front to me and then I'd throw it back. Jon wasn't playing since he was driving, but he laid his arm down on the arm rest and as he opened his hand the receipt landed right in it. The timing was so perfect we all burst out laughing again. They couldn't have done it any better if they had tried! :)

Mary?

2011-08-25T15:54:00.000-04:00

I always joke that Rylee should have been named Mary in honor of "Mary, Mary, quite contrary," but maybe it's for another reason...

Rylee has been telling everyone she has a baby boy in her tummy ever since Jess & Erin became pregnant with baby boys. Sometimes she takes him out and holds him in her hand and then puts him back for safekeeping. :)

When we were on vacation, she asked me: "Mommy, do you know who my baby boy is going to be?"

"No, tell me," I answered.

"Baby Jesus," she smiled.

Okay then. :)

Then the other day she was playing with my phone and leaving me recorded messages with the microphone app.

Her first message says: "Hi Mommy, I love God. Bye!"

What a silly sweetie!

Plan?

2011-08-24T15:36:00.002-04:00

I decided to accept the third job offer at a creative arts school in Boca. The people are amazing and the job sounds fun (part teacher, part theater director, part service project & volunteer coordinator). The downside is that it's in Boca (45 commute - guess I'll be trying out some books on tape) and only part-time (25 - 30 hours to start). It's also a non-profit so the pay is certainly much less than I'm used to. On the upside, there is lots of vacation time: a week at Thanksgiving, three weeks at Christmas and their school year only runs Sept through early May. I think it's worth giving it a shot and seeing if I like it. I have some teacher planning stuff this Friday, Saturday and next Tuesday so I'll let you know how it goes... fingers crossed. :)

Busy Beaver

2011-08-21T16:55:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the blog break, but I forgot how time consuming looking for work can be. It's longer hours than actually working! :)

Here's a quick recap:

Wed - job hunting, dinner with friends

Thurs - first parents celebration at Rylee's school, both Jon and I were able to attend, it was cute to see Rylee in her school mode.

Rylee and I both had doctor appts in the afternoon. Gaga took Rylee to see "Dr. S's friend" (since Dr. S is no longer with the practice though Rylee still doesn't know that). She liked the guy fine, but he prescribed something that made her ten times worse! This always happens when we see someone other than Dr. S!

I went to my obgyn and my 2:30 appt got me in at 4:20. I guess they haven't improved their wait time in the years since I had Rylee. I also got the great news that it's time for my first mammo. Yeah! (In case you missed it, that was sarcasm.)

Friday - three job interviews resulted in three job offers, but I declined two and will probably decline the third. At least I haven't lost my interviewing acumen. :)

Sat - a lazy day at home

Today was a birthday party at Monkey Joes and then chores. Oh and stressing about the potential hurricane on it's way when my hubby will be out of town. If his last trip is any indication of my luck this time around then batten down the hatches. :(

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Some Dog Ate Rio!

2011-08-16T19:21:00.003-04:00

When Rylee and I came back from MN, we almost didn't recognize Rio (hence the "Friends" reference above).

Here's a pic of impostor Rio. Poor thing looks like she can't even see!

Turns out she was just in desperate need of a haircut and a bath. Nice to see you again Rio!

We're Gonna Score Tonight!

2011-08-14T18:51:00.001-04:00

Rylee's new favorite song from "Grease 2" is the above mentioned bowling song. She has been listening to it, watching it, and dancing to it nonstop since we came home. It was no surprise then when Rylee asked to go bowling this weekend. (I was excited to go too since I don't think I've bowled since I was pregnant with her.)

We met Miller and James at the lanes this morning for some toddler pin action. Rylee looked very cute in her bowling shoes with her green ball.

They had the ramp and bumpers up so the kids did really good. I know Rylee had one strike and a couple of spares.

I threw a strike my first ball - what a comeback! I managed to beat Jon 137 to 134 the first game, but then tired out and bombed my second game with a 94. Guess I was rustier than I thought. The kids all bowled in the eighties to make it even more embarrassing. :)

Rylee summed up the experience with a thumbs up (just like they do in the movie).

In other news, Rylee pooped in the potty three times today! She's been struggling with the poops so we were really proud. The first one was at Gaga's so the two of them went out to buy a mini baby (like Norah's) to celebrate. She promptly named it Baby Alive. Clearly Baby Alive will be to Rylee what the Barbie dream house was to me - the gift I always asked for but never got. :)

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1st Day of "School"

2011-08-12T19:01:00.003-04:00

Rylee had her first day of school today. She was very excited to go. She got up early and posed for a picture with Daddy before he drove her to school.

As expected, she had a major meltdown when he left. The teacher in me knew that she would probably get over it in a few minutes, but the parent in me was feeling awful (and a little bit relieved that I wasn't the one doing the drop off). Luckily, the sweetest boy in the world was there to look out for her and protect her. Miller helped calm her down by telling her all about school and what they were going to do that day. Then he got her to play with some blocks. A big thanks go to Ryan for helping prepare Miller for Rylee's first day and getting up early on his day off to make sure Miller was at school when Rylee got there! We owe those Froyd boys something special... toys for Miller, beer for Ryan? :)

When Jon brought Rylee home I got to hear about the rest of her day: she didn't have any potty accidents, learned some kind of jumping thing at Tumblebears, ate spaghetti for lunch, napped for an hour next to Miller (as far as I know there wasn't any spooning), had hummus for snack, and drew me a picture for the fridge.

I'm sure Monday morning will be hard during drop off again, but hopefully she'll keep having good days and will really start to like going to school. We're very proud of our big girl!

Luckily she's not so big that she can't get a celebratory twirl...

One More Book

2011-08-09T23:13:00.001-04:00

Reading books has been a part of Rylee's bedtime routine since the first night we brought her home from the hospital. Her asking for "one more book" has become a part of that routine as well. Being the book lover that I am, I most often indulge her request with an "okay, but this is the last one." To which she'll sweetly reply, "yes Mommy, I promise."

Tonight after the above exchange and reading of the last last book, Rylee asked me, "just one more book?" "Nope," I told her, "you already promised." To which she responded, "the deals off, Mommy."

It was hilarious! Not only because it was unexpected, but because she actually intended it to be a joke. She beamed when I laughed and then happily went to bed.

She's not always a Stinkerbell. :)

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Stick a Fork in Me...

2011-08-09T00:04:00.001-04:00

I'm done.

Before bed a cockroach ran across the carpet in the living room. I haven't seen a roach in our house in years (thank you Orkin). I had to catch it with a broom and sweep it outside. Yuck!

And just now Rio woke me up barking and clawing at the bedroom slider. It must have been something of the rodent variety because I could hear it squeaking. It was hard to tell but it ran up the side of the house and was thrashing around in the little ledge of the half moon window. I was too scared to look. It was like a Godzilla rat. My heart is still pounding.

It's been a helluva homecoming.

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Another Crisis

2011-08-08T22:01:00.002-04:00

I think I need to check my horoscope as my weird luck continues. Today I went outside to put the recycling out and got locked out of my house!

The crazy inspector people were in and out of the garage yesterday and they must have accidentally turned the lock on the laundry room door. Jon and I stopped locking it years ago because it's one of those locks that turns open from the inside, but is locked from the outside. Imagine my shock when I went to turn the handle and couldn't get back in!

Rylee was inside watching TV and was fine, but I did panic as to how to get back in. She wasn't in the living room where I could easily alert her to opening the door. I was afraid I'd scare her if I knocked on the front door or the bedroom slider (were she was) - I mean the doorbell the night before scared the bejeezus out of me.

Luckily my new neighbor was outside and she let me borrow her cell phone to call my Mom three times while we were figuring things out. I finally calmed down enough to figure out that I could get Rylee's attention at the laundry room door (which is close to our bedroom) and she came and let me in. Thank you Rylee!

Lessons learned:
I am not calm under pressure. Something to work on.
I need to hide a key in the garage.

Silver lining:
I decided to shower and put on clothes before I took the recycling out. I almost ran outside with my rat's nest hairdo and fuzzy, pink monkey robe! :)

P.S. I did bake my neighbor some chocolate chip cookies as a thank you for putting up with my craziness. Although she locked herself out in the exact same scenario this spring so at least I didn't feel too stupid.

Carpet Curse, Crazies & Cops

2011-08-07T22:33:00.003-04:00

It's been a weird weekend around here.

First, my carpet is either cursed or purposefully putting my stain-fighting super powers to the test for its perverse amusement. It all started when I knocked over a bottle of bright pink nail polish. One panicked phone call and Google search later (how did the human race survive B.G. - before Google), I emerged victorious. That hair spray and rubbing alcohol technique really saved my butt. It was a little stressful with Rylee yelling in my ear that "Daddy is going to be so mad at you when he comes home!" Then during the picking up process, I knocked over a bottle of nail polish remover too. WTF?

I thought my battles were over until Rio puked on the carpet today. And then, while I was cleaning that up, Rylee had a poo-splosion that managed to go everywhere including onto the carpet. That girl really needs to get her poop in the potty!

On to crazies... Our insurance company sent out an inspector who stood me up on Friday, then called to make an appointment for Sunday, then brought his mail order Russian bride and 3 year old son with him so our kids could play during his hour long inspection. Of course they were calling at the gate while I was decontaminating Rylee Silkwood style.

Then tonight, my door bell rang at 10 pm and scared the bejeezus out of me and Rio. When I got to the door, there was no one there. Not that I was planning on opening the door anyway. I called my Mom and she wanted me to get a gun (what good is a safe full of guns when I neither know the combo nor how to load any of them) and call the cops (and say that someone rang my doorbell? - arrest them please!).

But cops I did call... as in my neighbor. They had rung his doorbell too. We assumed it was pranksters, but he went and hunted them down. I can only imagine he scared the bejeezus out of them when he found them. I guess that's fair. :)

Book Blog

2011-08-05T21:52:00.002-04:00

I haven't even had a chance to look through my photos or collect my thoughts for a post so instead I thought I'd turn you on to a new blog I'm following: Book Journey. She covers everything from cookbooks to book club reads to addictive young adult series and everything in between. If you're looking for a new read, check it out. You can find the link in my sidebar on the right. Happy Reading!

We're Back!

2011-08-03T21:00:00.002-04:00

Rylee, Gaga and I arrived yesterday. It is nice to be back home. Besides Jon and Rio, I was most excited to see the new landscaping by the pool (nice work Jon!). Besides Daddy and Rio, Rylee was most excited to see every toy she hasn't played with in two months. She spent the entire evening looking in every room and pulling every toy out of its bin. She has a lot of toys so it was a BIG mess. As for things I missed the most: wireless Internet and a dishwasher. I need my modern conveniences.

Today I unpacked and started cleaning the house. Every piece of furniture in the house was fuzzy with dust and the bathroom made me cringe (so sorry for any house guests who've had to use that!). Next year I think I'll agree to Jon's request for a mistress provided she also does some light housekeeping. In Jon's defense, he has been working long hours and weekends all summer long so I know he didn't have time to clean. Although he did vacuum the night before I arrived. Apparently last year I pulled the vacuum out within fifteen minutes of getting home and this really annoyed him. :)

On the docket for tomorrow is more cleaning and chores so Rylee is going to spend the day at Gaga's house. She's itching to play with all the toys over there too! Once I get things organized over here, I have to sort through about a thousand photos and get to recapping the last couple of weeks of our trip: our resort vacation ROCKED!

Vacation Over...

2011-07-30T00:12:00.001-04:00

... Not Over Vacation :)

Our vacation to Cedar Crest is over. All that's left to do is check out tomorrow. It's been a great week. I have lots of photos to look through and stories to share. To sum it up quick: it's as much fun now as it was 20 years ago!

Our MN vacation is almost over as well. We leave Tues morning. The next couple of days will be busy ones- saying goodbye to family and packing- but then I should have some time to return to blogging.

I'm really looking forward to the return of wireless Internet... oh, and Jon. :)

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Silly Rylee

2011-07-22T16:05:00.001-04:00

Rylee cracks me up on a daily basis, but here are a couple one liners that I can actually remember.

To me while playing with her dollies: "I'll be the Mommy, you be the Gaga."

After running back to a public restroom to retrieve her forgotten 'moon' rock: "that was a close one, Mom."

Pretending to leave for the grocery store: "be back in a jiffies... maybe two jiffies."

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Catch Up

2011-07-20T21:52:00.001-04:00

I'm a week or so behind on blogging so I'm opting for a quick recap of events.

Sat July 9th was Jon's last day. His cousin, Heather, and her family spent the day with us all. We brought Rylee's bounce house and the six kids had a blast jumping, but didn't always love waiting for their turn. :)

Sun July 10th was an early day since Jon had to be at the airport by 4:30 am. We spent the day at the cabin pontooning and swimming. Howard and the kids were trying out some jet skis he was considering buying - he didn't. Don't worry, there's an update to that story later on.

Mon July 11th was the cousin's last day so we visited with them. Then Gaga and Papa came to Rylee's swimming lesson and took us out for Rafferty's pizza afterward.

Tues July 12th was a rest day so to speak - park, nap at the cabin, and dance class.

Wed July 13th was library story hour, more park play, and then some visiting with the Andrews (old family friends of my grandparents and Mom).

Thurs July 13th was Rylee's first gymnastics class. She loved it! She did front somersaults, back somersaults and even an assisted back walkover! That night we all drove up to Emily to deliver an apple pie and had dinner at the Bungalow (a very long dinner!).

Fri July 15th was planning day for our vacation (a vacation from my vacation!). Heather, Vern and the kids met us out at the cabin to swim and make lists. :) That night, the usual suspects (aka cabin crew) came up for the weekend.

More on that later since that's enough boring recap for one post. :)

Rylee's Summer Faves

2011-07-19T23:45:00.002-04:00

Favorite song:
"Drive it on Home" by Toby Keith (about truck drivers of eighteen wheelers) though Rylee calls it "White Cross" from a line in the song. Much like last year's obsession with "Party in the USA," she likes to listen to it on a continuous loop. Since it's Gaga's favorite song too, it's pretty much the only thing we get to listen to in the car. :)

Favorite treats:
It's a tie between Dairy Queen grape slushies and those red, white and blue popsicles. (The popsicles get my vote. I never knew they were so delicious - cherry, lime and blue raspberry in one - yummy! I think I'll go have one after I post.)

Favorite mispronunciations:
"Stub-er-en" (stubborn)
"ser-slee-ous" (serious)
"skun screen" (sun screen)

Favorite Papa routine:
Last year it was the "Papa's done with work" song. This year, it's "make me a lot of money, Papa!" and hug before work.

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Sibling Swim

2011-07-18T15:13:00.001-04:00

On Friday the 8th, Jon and Laurie decided they wanted to swim from their house across the bay to Deerwood. For Laurie, it was the chance to cross something off her bucket list. Jon was more interested in the bragging rights and celebratory beer. The rest of us followed along in the boat to cheer / heckle their progress. :)

It's a decent swim, over a half mile I'd guess.

Here are the sibs prior to the challenge.

It was more a leisurely swim than a race, if you can call a half mile swim leisurely!

A-OK

Swim Part 2

2011-07-18T15:12:00.001-04:00

We didn't have a watch to get their exact time, but I'm guessing it was a half hour or so.

The two back on dry land...

... and with their victory beer. :)

Lake Living

2011-07-16T06:28:00.000-04:00

The week after the 4th was all about the water. Tuesday was swimming on Serpent, Rylee's dance class thrown in, and then a big fish fry with the crew on Agate. Sara brought her jet ski so Howard, Ian, Carrie and Jon had a blast riding that.

Wednesday was my day without Rylee. The Agate Lake ladies spent the day gossiping while floating on noodles in the middle of the lake. Then my mom and I did a little clothes shopping and picked up a red box. Thanks to Jon for babysitting!

Thursday was movie day. We took all the cousins to Rafferty's for pizza and then to see Cars 2. Rylee didn't love the movie much. She loved the Toy Story short and was excited to see Stickers and Mater at first, but I think the spy theme was a little advanced for her. I kept entertained with snacks, took her out to the potty once and then she fell asleep in my arms for the last half hour or so. It's hard to say if I liked it or not, I was pretty distracted, but it didn't seem as good as the first one to me.

Thursday night was Jon and my night to go out with friends. We met Matt and Val at the Last Turn for drinks and then went out for Mexican. It was great fun just talking and gabbing. We are very excited that they moved to Brainerd.

On Friday, Jon finally got the opportunity to waterski. Rylee came on the boat to watch. She was very impressed with his slalom skills. It reminded me of the old days. Watching Jon waterski was how I spent many a summer day when we were first dating. :)

Getting Ready

Water skiing

July 4th Day

2011-07-14T15:52:00.000-04:00

Here are some more pics from the 4th. After the parade and our visit to the park, we spent the afternoon at the Polich's where we spent time:

boating...

swimming...

and picnicking.

After dinner, we watched the fireworks display at the cabin. Jon had to cut down one tree for better viewing, but it was worth it. It was a great show.

It looks like Rylee loves the 4th as much as her mommy does. :)

Parade Pics

2011-07-13T12:19:00.000-04:00

I guess I'll start back at the 4th. Here are some photos from the parade.

Rylee was very excited for the parade this year. She wanted to wear her patriotic outfit and wave her "brand old flag". Of course, she also kept asking "is candy here yet?" The only downside was the noise from the sirens again. She didn't cry, but she did look like this for the first ten minutes or so.

After the parade, we tried to get some photos of all the cousins. Even though they are getting older, it's still a challenge! There might be a pic where the adults jumped in too (can't see it on my phone). If so, I kind of ruined it since I hadn't changed into my shirt yet. Oops. :)

So Much To Say...

2011-07-11T21:20:00.001-04:00

... and so little time for blogging! We've had a whirlwind of fun the past week or so and I got way behind on blogging.

Jon left Sunday (we miss him already) and the cousins leave tomorrow (that will be sad too), but we are still booked solid for fun get togethers. And in a week and a half we leave for Cedar Crest!

I'll try to get some pics uploaded and start recaping soon. In the meantime, hope you're all having as much fun as we are. :)

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Late Summer Nights

2011-07-05T16:34:00.001-04:00

I might have to retire my "sleep nazi" nickname... at least for the summer. On Sunday, after spending the day celebrating Auntie Laurie's bday, we were supposed to stop at the cabin for a quick visit. Well we were having too much fun gabbing with Howard and Ian (and drinking Howard's homemade margarita mix) for that too happen. Then Rylee really wanted to drive the pontoon so we went for a late night boat ride. She loves to get behind the wheel and she's a pretty good driver. Sometimes she does the no hands approach and even the no look technique. Impressive! All this lead to another 10:30 bedtime.

Yesterday with the fireworks and all, it was an 11:30 bedtime! And she had no nap that day. Yowza! At least she slept in until 9 this morning as did Jon and I (that might be a sleeping in record for us in recent years).

Today I am attempting a return to my strict ways. Rylee is napping right now and will hopefully be in bed by 9 tonight. We do have the big fish fry with everyone at the cabin though so I hope I can hold myself to that.

Lack of sleep in toddlers probably stunts their growth or halts brain development or something. I guess if Rylee turns out to be a petite sized, poor speller I'll only have myself to blame. :)

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Fun in the Sun

2011-07-03T09:11:00.001-04:00

I wish I could upload some photos from the weekend, because I have some funny shots of Jon, Pablo, and the kids jumping off the pontoon on Agate Lake. I didn't catch Pablo pushing Jon off the pontoon into the muck, but it "all happened so quickly!" I have a few pics of Jon, his Dad, Anthony and the kids jumping off the dock on Serpent Lake too. It was a jumping weekend. :)

It was also a birthday weekend. Happy Birthday to Grandma Sandy (yesterday) and Auntie Laurie (today)! We celebrated with fireworks and S'mores. Having a birthday close to the 4th of July has its perks.

Speaking of the 4th, here's hoping yours is a good one. We have plans to watch the parade, sample some libations from the beer gardens in the park, over consume picnic food and ooh and aah over the fireworks display that my Uncle Howard will be launching on Agate (we're skipping the town fireworks this year). It gets me excited just thinking about it. Happy Independence Day everyone!

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Daddy!

2011-07-01T10:48:00.001-04:00

Yesterday Rylee was so excited to see Jon that she started asking, "Is Daddy here yet?" the moment she woke up. Unfortunately, we weren't picking him up until 3 so I heard that question repeated every minute... all...day...long. :)

She was very cute at the airport again. At Brainerd, the passengers exit the plane on the runway and then walk to the building. Rylee saw Jon through the glass and starting shouting and giggling and waving. She has pretty much been attached to his hip ever since (yeah break for me!).

Today we are headed out to the cabin to meet our friends, Pablo and Nicole, and their three kids for some fishing and boating. It's hot and humid here so maybe a little swimming too. :)

I keep forgetting to blog about Rylee's potty training. She's been wearing big girl panties for two weeks now. She hasn't had a pee accident since that first weekend and she hasn't had a poo accident for a couple of days so we're really proud of her!

I'll leave you with this pic of Rylee driving the pontoon the other day. She likes pretending to be Captain Hook.

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Times A Flyin'

2011-06-29T08:46:00.001-04:00

I can't believe the 4th is less than a week away. In many ways, it seems like we just got here. But we are very excited since that means Daddy will be here tomorrow! Rylee was very disappointed when she found out Rio wasn't coming with him this year though. Her mouth dropped open like a cartoon character and she said, "but I need my Rio dog!" in her pretend wail. :)

Let's see, what else do I have to update? Monday: we spent the day playing with the cousins and then Rylee and I had swimming lessons that night.

Yesterday: we spent the morning with my cousin, Sierra, and her 6 month old, Marley. Then Rylee went to evening dance class. That class has more kids in it (5) and they are a little older than Rylee too. She was a bit intimidated I think, but overall she did well keeping up and had a good time. Most importantly, she looked "adorbs" in her pink leo and new hello kitty tutu. Wish I had a picture for ya. Last night, Papa babysat so my mom and I could go to dinner with Chelsie, Linda and Glee. It was a great girls night out.

Today we have story hour and then plans to play at the park, followed by a boat ride and some playtime in Rylee's sandbox. Should be fun!

It's starting to feel a lot like summer up here ... finally!

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Cabin Fever

2011-06-26T22:44:00.001-04:00

We spent a very relaxing weekend at the cabin. Actually Papa, Rylee and I relaxed, Gaga cooked four meals and cleaned up the kitchen etc. :)

Saturday was beautiful and sunny so Rylee played in the kiddie pool, built castles in the newly cleaned up sand box, and was even brave enough to float out in the middle of the lake with Papa. I took two steps down the pontoon ladder and crawled right back up. That water was beyond cold! I guess a month of rain and cloud cover hasn't helped the water temperature much - shocker! (in more ways than one ha ha!)

Today was overcast and rainy, but we still managed to have fun. Greg and Sara came out and we were able to squeeze in a couple pontoon rides between the rain showers.

I had my camera with on Saturday, but haven't had any Internet access to upload photos yet. I guess you'll just have to wait. :)

Hope you all had a relaxing weekend too.

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Foto Friday

2011-06-24T23:44:00.001-04:00

After a week of nonstop rain, we finally had a sunny day today. We made the most of it by hanging out at the lake with Rylee's cousins (Nick, Maddie & Ben). Here are some silly Rylee shots from the day.

Her first tire swing ride. She looks like she's hanging on for dear life, doesn't she? She loved it though.

Lounging in the hammock. Again, she looks like she's about to get tossed out on her keister, but really she was just swinging.

My parents picked us up after work so we could fit in a pontoon ride on our lake as well. Here Rylee was forced to carry her fish toy creatively since her hands were full.

It was a fun day. Rylee and Ben really had fun playing together (they are only six or so months apart in age) much to Maddie's dismay. Maddie complained to her mom: "I've been waiting and waiting to see Rylee and now Ben stole her!" :)

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