Funny Faces 2

These are priceless!

The "what you talking about Willis?" photo


The Bashful of the Seven Dwarfs photo


The baby ballerina photo


The why-do-I-nibble-on-your-toes-when-I-could-eat-your-cinnamon-bun-knees? photo


The cupid-shot-with-her-own-arrow photo

Snow Proposal

January 29th is also significant in that Jon proposed to me on Friday, January 29th, 1999 - our 7 year anniversary. Here's how it all went down:

A note taped to my bathroom door informed me that he had orchestrated an elaborate scavenger hunt for me that day. I had to solve riddles and follow clues that led me to several places in Bemidji: (I have the worst long term memory so I'm not positive this is the exact order) Ryan's trailer (mailbox), Jon's workstation in BSU's model lab, the auto parts store where Matt Bahl worked, and lastly the hospital cafeteria where Ryan worked. In addition, the clues included algebra problems that when solved determined the time Jon was picking me up and a word scramble to reveal our mystery destination. This obviously kept me busy for the day while Jon was at school.

He arrived with flowers and wine. Then we headed out for a romantic dinner at one of Bemidji's swankier restaurants. I don't remember the name of it, again no long term memory. It was next to or behind the truck stop? You'll have to help me out here, you Bemidji-ites. (Next to the truck stop, sounds swanky doesn't it?!)

Afterwards, Jon had a secret spot picked out for the proposal so I had to cover my eyes for the drive (I think there was a blindfold that I refused do to my hair!). We drove to some park on the back side of Lake Bemidji. Jon wanted to propose on the foot bridge overlooking the lake with the twinkling lights of the city as backdrop. The only problem was the path was covered two feet deep in snow. Even though he had thought to bring my boots, I still had a hard time maneuvering in my dress and with my eyes covered! Jon finally just gave me a piggy back ride to the bridge.

I honestly don't remember much of the actual proposal. I don't think he knelt down due to the conditions, but you'd have to double check with him. I remember he took out the ring and was saying lovely things, but in my mind all I could think was don't drop the ring - we'll never find it again in this snow! The important thing is I said yes. :)

J&S: The Early Years

Today is our 17th dating anniversary. I know you're thinking: who celebrates their dating anniversary? People whose wedding anniversary is on Sept. 11th, that's who! (Not that we're actually doing anything to celebrate it this year, Jon isn't even in FL at the moment, but I thought I should at least commemorate it with a blog.)

When people ask I always say that we've been dating since I was 16 and Jon was 15, but technically that is not accurate. We were both 15 when Jon asked me to go steady (is that what we were calling it then?), I didn't turn 16 until March.

I thought it would be fun to take a little trip down memory lane so I looked through our photos and scanned a couple into the computer. Yes, our relationship pre-dates digital photography (at least in our case - I have no idea when digital photography was invented... maybe you could ask Al Gore... he likes to credit for inventing things).

I didn't have that many to choose from and I'm pretty sure they'll look like crap from the scan, but I think you'll enjoy the fashions and hairdos (check out my perm and Jon's mullet) regardless.

Me and the boys from Immanuel Lutheran Church


I don't know if I was just trying on dresses or if I was attending a dance that Jon was too young to go to (I was a year ahead in school).


At the Polich household with Jon's sis, Laurie, and her then boyfriend, Tor.


I had to include this one of Jon. It reminds me of how he would pick me up in his truck every day before school.


These are the quintessential high school sweetheart photos (cheerleading, football and prom). Though I'm taking a little creative license with my cheerleading pic. I'm pretty sure that is actually from junior high as we did not wear those horrible sweaters in high school.








Maybe I'll do the college years another day. :)

Lemon Law

Carol requested more info on Barney's lemon law:

His idea was that you can tell in the first five minutes of meeting someone (in a blind date or Internet dating scenario for instance) if you are going to like them or not. Thus there should be a lemon law that allows either party to stop the date at that point (no hard feelings) so you don't have to waste your time by finishing the date (or fake the I-have-to-rush-out-due-to-an-emergency phone call). He spends the entire episode using this technique and telling the rejected women: "lemon law - it's a thing - tell your friends."

Plot twist: Robin thinks he's being a jerk and keeps dissing the idea so Barney sets her up with the worst date ever to try to force her to use the lemon law. When he calls her to see if she's ready to admit defeat and use the lemon law, her date assumes she's getting the fake emergency phone call. She insists she isn't and endures the date...

Plot twistier: ...until she receives the real emergency phone call about Lily being stabbed with the sword. Now her date is convinced she's faking it and chews her out in Klingon (sp? - sorry I'm not a Trekkie). She would have been better off to use the lemon law.

Plot resolution: Barney finally meets a girl he thinks is worthy, Jackie, but when he makes a lewd comment about her becoming Jackie-oh, she lemon laws him. He's ecstatic that the idea is taking off - except he wishes he would have named it the Barney Law. :)

The Duel

I should just dedicate all Tuesday posts to How I Met Your Mother quotes because I can't seem to help but recap all the funnies. (To already loyal followers Jess and Jenny, you can "lemon law" this post if you already watched last night.)

**********
Scene: In last night's repeat of season 1 episode, Ted and Marshall's argument over who will get the apartment (after Marshall and Lily get married) escalates into a sword fight. When Marshall breaks and falls off what appears to be an Ikea coffee table, Lily is the one who gets injured. In the hospital...

Doctor: She said she'd like to see 'the Knights of the poorly constructed round table.'

(Ted and Marshall entering...)
Lily: A sword fight? Really? On Monday, I'm going to have to tell my Kindergarten class, who I teach not to run with scissors, that my fiancee ran me threw with a frickin' broad sword!

Marshall: Well, just to be fair, it didn't go all the way through.

Lily: I'm sorry. Is this a discussion of the degree to which you stabbed me?
**********

I can't help but love all the quotes having to do with her Kindergarten class. :)

The rest of the episode was... wait for it...awesome as well: Barney's creation of the "lemon law" for dating, Lily's apartment converted into a Chinese restaurant (with all of her belongings worked in and the mix tape Marshall made for her playing in the background!).

This is must-see-TV people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Snapshot Sunday

I didn't have much blogging time this week so I have a bunch of backlogged photos that I never got the chance to post. Travel back in time with me...

This first one is a shot of the thermometer on our pool deck during the rare cold snap we had last week. In case you can't see, it's pointing to a mere 40 degrees.


Of course, it pales in comparison to this shot sent to me by my Dad from the previous weekend. No, you're eyes aren't deceiving you - that's a -30 degrees (without wind chill). I think I'll look at this photo whenever I start wishing I was living back in MN!



As promised, these are some of the photos from our girl's trip to Orlando last weekend:
Me and Mom


Carol and her Mom


Unfortunately, I don't have a group photo of Stacy, her Mom, and her daughter.
I do have the requisite Disney shot that includes Stacy and Emma though. Note Emma's mouse ears. They are pink fur! You can custom design your ears these days - no boring black felt anymore!


You'll have to travel way back for this one. It's actually from Christmas 2007. It had been trapped on my Mom's digital camera for over a year. She lost her USB cord and only recently found it (in her luggage when she was packing for the Orlando trip ironically). A cute pre-Rylee Polich Family photo or the good ole days in Rio's eyes! :)

Freyeday

Since I've started blogging I've had some weird reasons for one handed typing - holding and/or entertaining the baby... before that lying on my side during my bedrest phase. Tonight's reason rank's right up there too: holding a rice sock to my eye.

Let me back up. Today I woke up with a red and swollen eye that throbbed uncomfortably when I blinked. I've been having some issues off and on for a week or so and obviously it wasn't improving on its own. I snagged an appointment at the eye doctor, called Grandma over to babysit, grabbed one of the many books I've been dying to read (one reason to love the long wait at the doctor's office) and headed out.

The first part of the appointment went well - read the chart... yada yada. (Did you know they've added numbers into the chart now? Just trying to throw us off, I guess. It was a little like The Wheel of Fortune before. You could practically memorize the RSTLNE from visit to visit and pass for 20/20. Well anyway...)

My usual doctor was away on a skiing vacation so I saw someone else. While I was waiting in the 4th room (my office is weird - you go from waiting room to exam room with the tech to a different waiting room and then finally the exam room), I was checking out the doctor in his photographs. Okay, that sounded wrong. Not checking him out, but scoping him out let's say. He looked kind of eccentric in the pics. He didn't disappoint!

You had to be there to experience it and it was mostly little weird quirks so I'll spare you the whole story and just give you one example: I'm reading my book while I'm in the "chair" waiting for him to make his entrance (which is from behind in this office). It's not like I'm so engrossed that I can't hear him come in so I close the book and put it on my lap as he enters. I'm saying hi and introducing myself (hand outstretched and all), but he bypasses that and without saying anything picks the book up off my lap and sets it on a chair. Technically there's nothing wrong with that, but I guess I would have preferred to hand him the book rather than him scoop it from my lap - kinda off-putting. Maybe I have personal space issues?

He doesn't see anything in my eye, but since I keep telling him how tender the lower lid/ tear duct area was he unapologetically pokes around for several minutes and then shrugs. He says it might be a "?" (he said the now mystery word a couple of times during the appointment, but hours later my mind has morphed it into "crustacean" and I'm guessing that wasn't it), but he can't really tell. Whatever it is, it needs to be drawn out so that's why I have to stick some rice in a sock, heat it in the microwave, and hold it to my eye for 5-10 minutes several times a day.

Oh, and not wear my contacts for at least a week or more depending on how fast it heals. Great. I usually rock the hip librarian look in my purple specs, but with the increasingly red and swollen eye I'm looking more like squinty Popeye the Sailor Man. Add to that Rylee's grabby phase (she managed to knock them askew twice today) and I'm also beginning to doubt their survivability. :)

*Very long story, sorry. Luckily, I was able to type the majority of it two-handed and even went back to the top and fixed the one-handed part.

Rylee the Deceiver

Before I get into tonight's post, I must confess I pulled a Jon last night and went to bed at 8:30. I hadn't slept well, or continuously through the night, since before I left for the Orlando trip and I was wiped. It was delightful. I can see why he enjoys it so...

"Well anyway," back to Rylee the Deceiver. Mom and I went to a Pampered Chef party up in Coral Springs tonight and since Jon wasn't able to babysit, we brought Rylee with us. She was on her best company behavior. She ate peacefully with no screaming. She let everyone hold and snuggle her. She smiled and giggled and smiled some more. When she got tired I rocked her to sleep in the car seat - where she dosed until it was time for us to leave. She didn't even make a peep when I had to wake her up to get her actually strapped into her car seat and out to the car.

Everyone there thought she was a perfect angel and couldn't believe any of the stories we told about her opposite personality.

Little did they know that the minute we drove out of the driveway, she started her banshee scream... which continued for the entire 20 minute drive... and through the diaper changing and bottle making process at home!

Swag

For someone who didn't even attend the Orlando Girl's Weekend, Rylee sure made out like a rock star (or like Hanna Montana as little Emma might say). Here's a breakdown of her fabulous loot.

From Stacy and her daughter Emma:
- a hunted down eBay treasure... wait for it... a Vikings cheerleading outfit in a bigger size for next football season! Go Fight Win! clap clap kick kick :)

From Carol:
- a sleep CD with delta waves to encourage deep sleep (I'm listening to it right now via the baby monitor... let's hope I don't nod off on the keys)

- an adorable picture frame with various shades of pink and brown in dots and hearts

- a beautiful (non-scary) princess doll with a gorgeous pink dress and gold brocade accents (I say non-scary because it doesn't have a plastic face and eyes... I am terrified of true "dolls"... expect Barbie for some reason... maybe because her eyes don't roll around in her head... I shudder just thinking about it... for future reference: I hate clowns too)

From me:
- I couldn't help but get her a Disney souvenir, plus I found the perfect thing in the under $10 store... a Mickey Mouse in scuba gear

From Grandma:
Technically both gifts are going to be saved for Valentine's Day, but since Rylee (like Jon and Rio) never read my blog, I think I'm safe in spilling the... (I was going to say beans) candy hearts.

- monkey face footie jammies that match my robe (unfortunately 18 months was the only size we could find it in so you'll be waiting a while for those photos)

- the cutest Minnie Mouse in Valentine's garb ever (she's a brown mouse with pink dress and accents) that will look perfect in her nursery



*I still have some photos to post, but I'll save that for another day.

** I added some new photos to the slideshow (the one closer to the top of the page), but I stupidly didn't think to rearrange them so they were at the beginning. You'll have to watch to the end if you want to see them...sorry!

Brief

Great weekend (photos and details to come) + lack of sleep (Saturday - Mom's snoring :), Sunday - Rylee's wakefulness) + today's household "dechristmafying" = one exhausted blogger.

Sock Monkey

One of these days I have to remember to bring the camera upstairs with me when I go to get Rylee from her nap. I keep catching her doing the silliest things. Like yesterday when she was grabbing both her feet in her hands. One sock was already off and was laying next to her cheek (face cheek not butt cheek). It looked like she was grabbing the other to pull it off too. When she saw me she had this startled/guilty expression on her face. It was priceless! (You probably had to be there ... and be her mother to appreciate it...)

In other news, she had her 4 month checkup today. She now weighs in at 14 lbs 5 oz and is almost 26 inches long (75th percentile for both). I mentioned how she seems to be left dominant and that she holds her right arm hyper extended sometimes. Her shoulder is fine, but the doc thinks she needs to bulk up her muscle tone in her right arm so we're starting a little physical therapy here at home. I'm impressed with her commitment. She already did several reps of key banging in her high chair tonight. :)

Lastly, I won't be able to blog again until Monday. Mom and I are sneaking away for a girl's weekend in Orlando. We're meeting two of my friends (Azurite and Malachite & Mom 2 ET) and their moms. This will be my first overnight away from Rylee. I'm looking forward to it and worrying about Jon getting Rylee to sleep all at the same time. (Okay, mostly I'm just looking forward to it. Jon can take care of himself!)

I'll let you know how it all went when I get back...

Word of the Day Wednesday

I have a nasty (or charming depending on your view point) habit of making up my own words and/or using slang when I write. I stumbled across a cool slang site the other day and thought I'd share.

FYI: you might notice I'm a little psyched that our new AT&T U-verse service comes with the Boomerang Channel (Hanna-Barbera cartoons galore!).

smurf: A word that can be substituted for any other word.
Example: My computer was so smurfed that I had to hit it with a big smurf.

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smurf: Name used for a child.
Example: Awww, Rylee's such a l'il smurf!

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smurf brain: A blue foam dryer sheet that gets thread tangled around it. It comes out looking like a little blue brain.
Example: When I was folding clothes from the dryer, Rio ran away with the smurf brain.

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smurfey: The way a room or area feels when it is humid and sticky.
Example: I can't believe Jess can run when it's so smurfey outside.


Who knew there were so many ways to use the word smurf?!
BTW, I took the liberty of improving a few of their example sentences. :)

Skillz

Today when I was opening up a new pack of Q-tips, I actually took the time to read the back of the packaging. Did you know Q-tips could be used for other things... (I'm using my sarcastic voice here)... like cleaning your computer keyboard or (my personal favorite) the grout in your shower? It's gonna take a lot of Q-tips for that job! No disrespect - I love the Q-tip. Though using it for nail polish snafus seems a more practical usage than cleaning the entire bathroom.

It also reminded me of one of my favorite movie exchanges from Six Days, Seven Nights...

Anne Heche (upon learning they've crashed and the landing gear is damaged): "Can't you fix it?"

Harrison Ford: "Sure. I'll like glue it back on."

AH: "Aren't you one of those guys?"

HF: "What guys?"

AH: "You know those guy guys. Those guys with skills."

HF: "Skills?"

AH: "Yeah, you send them out into the wilderness with a pocketknife and a Q-tip and they build you a shopping mall. You can't do that?"

HF: "No, I can't do that. But I can do this (making a popping noise with his finger in his mouth). Does that help?" :)

Daredevil

Tonight Rylee didn't want to go to sleep (shocker!). She wanted to flip and roll and spit up. She spits up literally every time she's on her stomach. Not that it seems to bother her - she flips over and does it again immediately.

But I was ready for her to sleep (and just plain sick of wiping up spittle) so I took her upstairs anyway. I busted out my best moves, but I wasn't getting anything other than sweaty. I was right on the brink of getting frustrated. Then I dipped her down low, away from my body, and started to swing her side to side. It triggered her monkey-fall reflex and her little arms reached out to grab for me, but I kept on swinging.

And then the cutest thing happened. She looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes, threw her hands up over her head, arched her neck back so she was practically upside down and just smiled the biggest toothless grin ever while I swung her back and forth. I guess she inherited something from Jon after all - his no fear gene. If that had been me, I'm pretty sure I would have scared myself into a poopy diaper.

*BTW Jess, one of the songs that came up on Rylee's MP3 mix was True Love. :)

G'day Mate

Last night Mom and I escaped to the cheap theater to see Australia. It received mixed reviews from the critics and fans alike, but I loved it. I'm a Hugh Jackman fan from way back (ie his little known Australian film Paperback Hero ), but this was by far my favorite character he's played - definitely what a leading man should be. (I'm sure you all remember the shirtless scene from the trailer! Though the white tuxedo look wasn't too shabby either.) Anyway Drover has just joined Edward as one of my all time favorite fictional characters. (I've always been a sucker for an Australian accent.)

I've never been to this theater on a Saturday night before. The place was so packed we ended up sitting in the third row. I'm not sure if Nicole Kidman didn't hold the same appeal as Hugh Jackman or if it was the combination of late start time and laid back third row seating, but the two elderly gentleman sitting next to us both slept through the entire movie. They were snoring and everything. They finally woke up during the bombing sequence at the end.

There might have been more to this post, but I'm too distracted by Jon and Rylee to remember. Jon just had one of his I-need-to-eat-in-five-seconds-or-I'll-faint episodes. He said he needed sugar so he consumed an ice cream sundae, a chocolate chip cookie and a glass of chocolate milk, and a cup of tea all within in the last five minutes. Now he's complaining of a stomachache - go figure! I joked that he must be feeding his tapeworm like Rio.

And Rylee discovered how to flip over from her back to her front today and she refuses to do anything but that (including sleep). I'm sitting on the floor next to her trying to stay focused on my blogging, but every two seconds I have to flip her over to her back so she can do it again. Not too mention she gets stuck on her stomach with her nose pressed to the blanket and little arms and legs struggling - like a beetle bug in reverse.

There's altogether too much distraction around here. I think I'll sign off. :)

Little Piggies

The last couple of days I've been busy attacking a list of tasks and chores that piled up over the holidays and my Dad's visit. (I miss him already and he's only been gone 3 days!)

Nothing blogworthy to report other than Rylee's discovery of her feet. Today she even managed to pull her sock off. As if I didn't already have enough trouble keeping those things on!

Speaking of feet, Rylee has some interesting looking toes. She appears to have Jon's monster big toe and my squat pinkie toe. It's an odd combo. I'm not sure three piggies is enough to separate the big market goer from the wee wee one. :)

Monkey Business

The day Jon and I found out I was pregnant, we went out to buy a present for the baby (kind of a tradition in my family). We hadn't been to the doctor yet, we obviously had no idea what the sex of the baby was, we were basically wandering the baby aisles of Target feeling kind of awkward. Without saying anything, we both suddenly reached out for the same item on the shelf. We smiled, we laughed, we knew they were the gift. (Sorry for the Hallmark "shmaltzyness." You can stop gagging now Ryan.)

They were monkey slippers. I guess they reminded both of us of this ridiculous pair of gorilla slippers I bought Jon back in high school. Out of some misguided sense of nostalgia, he has refused to part with them even though he has only ever put them on as a joke (5 times in 17 years give or take). For some reason it seemed fitting that baby and Daddy have matching slippers so they were purchased.

Oddly, after Rylee was born I was out shopping for a new bathrobe and I subconsciously picked a pink furry robe with monkey faces on it (you know, the one Jon likes to wear occasionally, I mean use as a blanket). Guess what? For Christmas Jon and Rylee got me monkey slippers to match.

I guess you can say it's all monkey business over here...




* You can see a little bit of my robe in the photo. In case you're wondering why I didn't post a pic of my full ensemble, I'll be honest: when I wake up in the morning it looks like a monkey styled my hair. Thank God love is blind.

** Rylee is wearing her "zeebra" jammies... made by Carter's, the world's largest manufacturer of non-proofread baby clothes.

*** Merry Serbian Christmas to the bohunks on the Range!

Spellcheck

I was looking at Rylee's pjs before she went to bed. They have random alphabet letters all over one side. Hidden in the mix are animal names like monkey, bear, giraffe, lion and "zeebra."

Hmmm... last time I checked it was "zebra."

I guess it's okay since babies are notoriously bad spellers. (As are fabric designers apparently.)

Good Luck Vikings

My Dad is one of the biggest Vikings fans I know. He taught me well and we're starting on Rylee early!


Rylee looks like a linebackers uniform would be more fitting than this cheerleading outfit. :)


Vikes, please don't break our hearts (like usual).

Fiesta!

I was going to title this post "Ole!" but I didn't know how to get the little doohickey above the e so that you would know it is the Spanish word ole and not the Scandinavian name Ole.

If you haven't guessed, our Latin neighbors are at it again - another wedding in their backyard. There's no bounce house this time, but the Latin music is thumping as usual. It's a good thing I like Ricky Ricardo (I don't need to reference I Love Lucy in order for you to know who I'm talking about, do I?) as so far it's been like an hour long rendition of "Babalu."

Jon just walked in and said he was having flashbacks of our Spring Break in Cancun (when our hotel balcony was situated directly above a Senor Frogs that welcomed drunk college coeds till 4 am). Precisely what I had been thinking! Of course it is the loudest in our bedroom. I assume Jon and I will be playing rock, paper, scissors to see who will be sleeping on which couch. Ironically we were invited to this shindig. Since we've never really spoken to these neighbors (more on that in a bit), I assume it was a courtesy invite so that we wouldn't be calling the cops come midnight.

The reason we don't know them is because every time we've attempted to exchange pleasantries they give us the we-don't-understand-English stare. Even so, after we got the invitation I felt compelled to give a gift. I dropped it off the other day (armed with my "no hablo Espanol" - sadly I have no remembrance of anything I learned from Mr. Hendrich's 9th grade Spanish class). To my surprise the lady said thank you and asked if we were coming to the wedding. Apparently gift giving was what I needed in order for her to break out some English vocab. :)

Well Jon just called the couch and gave me a look of which I interpret to mean that I should stop blogging and move (since I am currently sprawled out on half of it). Since it's already 10:30 (way past his bedtime), I guess I'll be a good wife and comply. :)

New Year's Resolutions

1) Figure out Rylee's nap issues
Not only does she need to get into a better routine, but I'm thinking she needs to move from taking her naps downstairs to upstairs as I'm tired of being held "nap hostage" when she finally does fall asleep. The other day she napped for 2 hours which was awesome, but because they pack-n-play is in our bedroom and she is a bit of a light sleeper, I was forced to stay out. Of course, everything I needed or wanted to do was in there (ie getting dressed, fold and put away clothes etc).

2) Figure out what to do about my knees
I'm hoping this means glucosamine tablets and not horrific knee surgery like Ryan. My knees have been declining for years, but currently every time I bend or walk stairs they creak louder than the tin man without his oil. Not only is it a sound akin to fingernails on a chalk board, but it also has the power to wake Rylee from her naps (see # 1 above).

3) Use the video camera more
I have a feeling that I'm not really a video person. I mean who ever goes back and actually watches the footage you tape? Since I already own a nice video camera, I should at least learn how to use it. According to Jon, it is sooo simple - just turn it on and shoot. Yet the only time so far that I've actually wanted to record something (ie Rylee waking up Christmas morning - she is so adorable when she yawns and stretches), he managed to hit the wrong button and nothing taped! I guess I should have plenty of opportunities to shoot her waking up now that I'm going to be doing all that work on her naps. :)

4) Be more "ballsy"
Two examples of "ballsyness":

My Dad's Aunt had neighbors who let their dogs poop all over her lawn, her side walk, her house steps, everywhere. Do you think they would ever pick it up? No. She talked to them about it numerous times, asked them to pick up after their dogs, or at least confine the dogs so they would poop all over their own yard. Did they do this? No. So what did she do? The next time the dogs crapped in her yard, she scooped it up in a shovel and dropped it on their front steps!

My Grandpa saw a car full of people ("cityites") park on his property overlooking the lake. They had a picnic and threw their garbage all over the place. Before they drove off, he strolled over and struck up a friendly conversation. He even went so far as to ask for their address so he could send them some information about fishing on the lake. After he had their name and address in hand, he said he was going to be in the Twin Cities the next weekend and he was thinking of pulling up in front of their house, having a picnic, and then throwing his garbage all over their lawn!

So I know this one is probably an impossibility - I am too dang nice (and chicken!) to ever stand up for myself in that way - but a girl can dream right?