A Day in the Life

High Flyin' Father's Day

2009-06-22T12:32:00.004-04:00

We spent our Father's Day morning soaring with the birds above the treeline. Don's dad, Dick, gave us a ride in his new plane. It's always great to see your city from 1,000 feet above. Everything seems so small.

We had a fun day. We tried to spoil Daddy. We fixed him breakfast burritos and grilled steaks for dinner. His big present was a tent. Every summer we say, "Let's go camping this weekend. Oh wait. We don't have a tent." Problem solved. We now have a 6 person tent that has room for 2 queen size air mattresses. I figure that's big enough for 2 adults, 2 kids and a Golden Retriever.

The weather was extremely hot and humid all weekend. Ivy and I were really tired and grumpy by the time lunch rolled around. One of us had an owie on our knee that we cried about for an hour (I'm better know, thanks. Kidding). We played in the pool and saw the grandpas to pass out candy and homemade cards.

Here is our hero, Daddy-

The river-

My dad and Don's dad in the plane -

Flying over my work -

Me and Dick coming in for the landing -

Our other baby

2009-06-08T12:57:00.005-04:00

Just four short months ago, our puppy was an adorable ball of yellow fuzz that weighed five pounds.

Now our puppy is a 35 pound jumping, licking, barking, eating ball of craziness. And she's only about half grown.

Here's a picture I took of Sasha last night. Once she gets all the puppy out of her, I think she'll be a great dog. She's really coming along nicely. She loves people (especially kids) and wants to say to everyone when we go for walks. She hasn't had any accidents in the house for at least 6 weeks now. Ivy can climb on her, pull her tail, smack her around and she doesn't mind a bit. She minds well, stays in the yard, never tries to run off. She even goes right in her cage every morning when I leave for work without complaining.

Sasha managed to get her paws on a bird last week. All that was left by the time we discovered it was a string of guts. I did not realize that a dog would devour a whole live bird. Silly me!

There are days after picking up a trail of shredded Kleenex, baby wipes and newspapers that I realize deep down I'm really a cat person.

Time for Change

2009-05-28T08:56:00.001-04:00

I got a new layout!

Our Weekend

2009-05-26T14:11:00.004-04:00

Our Memorial Day was relaxing and rather uneventful. We spent most of the weekend just hanging out at home and chasing Ivy around. We got out the sprinkler and the pool. My best friend Ashley gave us her daughter's bike seat and Don hooked it up to his bike (I am not coordinated enough to handle another person on the back of my bike. No way. I can barely keep myself on). We hung out with the grandparents and friends and did a lot of grilling.

Of course, pictures:

Yes, this is nasty!

Finally, an update!

2009-05-15T13:16:00.006-04:00

I have been neglecting my blog! Oh my. Time to catch up.

I hope all you moms out there had a happy Mother's Day. I know I did. I got the best gift the mother of a 2 year old could ask for- some peace and quiet. My darling huband's gift to me was money and a free afternoon to enjoy myself shopping.

My family is enjoying this warm spring weather. We've had a few bbq's and nights out by the fire pit. We got our backyard fenced in a few weeks ago. Now Ivy and the puppy can run around and we won't have to chase after them. My husband built us a little raised garden plot. We have a spot that gets sun 6 to 8 hours a day (the rest is shady). So far we've got tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, mint and sweet basil. I think we're going to do cucumbers too. I'm excited.

The most newsworthy thing to happen to me is I got all my hair chopped off a few weeks ago. I think the last time I had my hair this short was the late 90s. I vaguely recall taking a photo of Ellen DeGeneres to my stylist. I have been letting my hair grow since getting it cut chin length in Jan '08. My hair is super thick and very wavy. If I want to straighten it, it takes at least 30 mins on top of 20 mins of blowdrying. I just don't have that kind of time anymore with Ivy running around getting into things. I really like it. It does require some effort (no more just throwing it back in a pony), but it's a lot more managable than my long hair.

Our big 25 month old girl is starting to sit on the potty. She wants to sit on it all the time but only goes about 1 in 10 times. We are very proud of her. I am going to buy her some little underwear and see if that helps her.

Here are some photos I've recently taken-

Easter Weekend

2009-04-13T12:23:00.005-04:00

Saturday was a big day at our house. We had Ivy's 2nd birthday party. She is still a little too young to realize it was her party, but she had a great time. She got a ton of great gifts and cute clothes. We ended up with soooo much food leftover. We had three whole pizzas that no one touched. Needless to say, we've had pizza for our last four meals.

I was too busy at the party to take many pictures. We colored Easter eggs yesterday.

Don made this one-

Watching Bubby dip the eggs.

Cupcakes that Grandma made:

Ivy opened this present first, a new baby and stroller. She got too busy with that to care about opening the rest of her gifts. I had to open them for her. I had lots of help from her brother and other kids there.

This is my mom and the birthday princess.

Ivy trying out the party favors.

It's so hard to believe that she is 2 now. I can't even call her a baby anymore. Sniff, sniff. After the party we went outside and she tried out the bike that Don and I got her. She's about an inch away from reaching the pedals, but she loved Daddy pushing her up and down the driveway. She tried out her new baby stroller too. That wasn't too successful as the puppy kept pulling her baby out and running off with her.

Another year older.....

2009-03-30T12:44:00.005-04:00

I turned 29 years old on Monday. It's nearly impossible to believe I am in the last year of my twenties. For the most part, I do not dread getting older. I embrace it. Bring on the wrinkles! For nearly all my adult life, I have appeared years younger than I really am. To some people that might not sound so bad, but trust me, it gets really old. Every time I buy a bottle of wine at the grocery store, the check out lady gives me the side eye and says, "Um, honey, I need to see some ID." I get carded in every bar and restaurant I go to. They even started carding my husband. He must be appearing younger just by being in my presence.

Anyway, I had a great birthday this year. I had a nice dinner with Don's family on Friday night. Don and I went out by ourselves on Saturday, then on Monday we went out with my family. My coworkers had forgotten about my birthday, but someone ran out at lunch to get me a cake. I even got flowers from my bff, Ashley. It was an awesome day!

Ivy Lenore is sick right now and staying with her great-grandma today. I am taking the day off on Friday. Jaden is at our house for spring break and I'm going to hang out with the kids on Friday. I also need to start prepping for Ivy's party which is next Saturday. We have a friend's wedding this Saturday. Busy, busy, busy time of year.

Happy First Day of Spring

2009-03-20T12:30:00.005-04:00

Warm weather, flowers and leaves are here! OK, maybe not yet, but soon I hope. Here are some pictures I've taken over the last two weeks.

Ivy loves lying down and snuggling in blankies. Bubby played along with her.

I am going to plant some of these really soon! I love Morning Glories and I've got a spot on the fence where I'm planting them.

This is one of my budding lilacs. I have 3 in my yard. They are my favorite flower.

This is a bulb we planted in the fall. I took this last week and it's about 3 inches taller now. It's a daffodil I think.

Our puppy is growing!

Fresh from the bath

Silly Sasha

Learning to walk on a leash

Going for a stroll

Waiting for Spring

2009-03-04T13:06:00.002-05:00

I am chugging along each day, anxiously waiting for spring to arrive. The temp is supposed to be in the 60s on Friday and I'm hoping that will coax some of our crocuses, daffodils and tulips out of their wintry slumber.

At our house, spring is the favorite time of year. It means Easter, flowers, warm weather and birthdays. Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays. My birthday is always around, sometimes on Easter. Ivy was born on Easter. It's also the best holiday for candy - jellybeans, Peeps, truffle eggs. We have a lot of spring birthdays in the family - Don's brother and mom, me, Ivy, my grandpa and Jaden.

I am starting to make plans for Ivy's 2nd birthday party. I am thinking cupcakes this year. Maybe it will be warm enough for the kids to play outside. Don wants to get her a tiny tricyle this year. I'm going shopping soon for a little party dress that she can also wear for picture day.

Our puppy, Sasha, is doing great. She is used to the daily routine. She goes potty outside and only has an occasional accident. It will be great when the weather stays warm and we can go on walks or to the park every night.

The only sucky thing about this time of year is my work gets slow. I hate not being busy. I've been in a grumpy mood all week. I am trying to stay happy today. Idol is on tonight and it should be a good one!

Meet Sasha

2009-02-23T12:22:00.003-05:00

Last Thursday after work Don, Ivy and I went to pick out the newest member of our family. She is a 6 week old Golden Retriever. We got to see the mama dog and the dad too. We had two females to choose from. Apparently 6 weeks is a little too young to be weaned from mom, but I didn't find this out till the weekend. She is doing really well. She whined and cried the first couple nights, but last night we didn't hear a peep out of her. Housetraining is going great too. We take her out about every hour when we are home. We picked a rotten time of the year to be going outside every hour! We have snow on the ground right now, but she doesn't mind it. She is getting really frisky and playful. She'll chase after Ivy nipping at her heels. Ivy puts her finger up and tells her "No!"

I've been reading up on dog obedience. We've been introducing her to new people and other dogs so she'll get along with everyone when she is older. I've been working on teaching her her name and the sit command. We are trying to teach her good manners, like no sitting on the couch. It is hard now, because she is so little and cute. I let her sleep on my lap while I watched the Oscars last night. Pretty soon though, she'll be 70 pounds and I won't want her up there.

Here are some pics I took of Sasha and the kids this weekend.

A new member of the family?

2009-02-19T12:30:00.004-05:00

We had a great Valentine's Day on Saturday. We woke up with an inch of powdery snow on the ground. I got some nice gifts and flowers. The hubby even did some things around the house I've been bugging him to do. I made Don and Ivy a big Danish Puffcake for breakfast and we had dinner at home.

My grandpa got home from the hospital on Friday and we stopped by to see him Saturday. He is feeling better, but he still has several tests coming up to find out what is going on. I was downstairs talking to my grandma and we heard a car alarm go off. It kept at it for a few minutes and my grandma got up to look out the window to see whose car it might be. It was her car! She went upstairs to get her keys from her purse to shut the alarm off, and can you guess who had her keys? Ivy had found her purse and was pressing the buttons on her keyring. She loves digging through purses.

Ivy and I had a very trying time on Monday. She had not been feeling well since last Thursday. When I gave her a bath Saturday morning I noticed little bumps all over her back and tummy. On Sunday the bumps/rash was on her face and her cheeks were bright red. She was a running a fever too. I decided to make a doctor appointment first thing Monday morning. Our regular, awesome doctor was not in so we had to see the doctor on call. Ivy was terrified of him and she didn't want him to examine her. It took him and I 10 minutes to get her restrained so he could look in her ears. He was forceful with her and he told me there was no point in trying to reassure her, that I would just have to overpower her. I'm sure the people in the waiting room could hear her screaming and crying. The doctor ordered a blood test, so I had to hold her down all over again. He didn't really seem to care and he just thought I was overreacting over some bumps. He ended up prescribing her an antibiotic that she probably didn't even need. This was the first time she's ever had a prescription. Luckily she is a pretty healthy girl. I really hope we don't have to go back to the doctor for a long, long time.

Don and I might get a puppy!! We are animal lovers and we both had dogs growing up. We have wanted a dog for a long time now, but the timing was never right. I held back too because of my kitty. Her happiness is important to me, as she's been my loyal pet for almost 9 years. Even though Don and I work full time, we think we can provide a happy home for a pup. I want a puppy rather than an adult dog. I don't think I could fully trust a grown dog alone with Ivy. I've done a lot of research on breeds. Don really had his heart set on a Dachshund, but they are difficult to housebreak (and some are submissive pee-ers) and they are better with older children.

Our requirements are: no yapping, no snorting, not difficult to housebreak, easy to train, not fragile, laid back and good with kids. A Labrador and Golden Retriever match all those things perfectly. I have found and contacted a lady with Golden Retriever puppies about 40 minutes from us. Some people want anywhere from $600 to $1000 for a pup, but these were affordable.

Funny story about why I don't want a delicate, tiny dog. When my brother and I were young my mom got us a Chihuahua that we named Chow. One day when I was 4 years old, Jay and I were wearing capes and sitting on top of the dryer in the utility room playing superheroes. I wanted Chow up on the dryer with us, but after a few minutes he wanted back down. I lowered him down as far as I could reach and let him gently drop to the floor. Well, his fragile little Chihuahua leg snapped like a twig. He ended up wearing a cast for months. My mom and brother gave me hell about it for years. I always felt horrible and maintained that I did not throw him off the dryer maliciously like they accused me.

Next time I post I may have a new member of the family to introduce!!

My Big Girl

2009-02-11T12:29:00.003-05:00

I am so proud of my little girl this week. Ivy has given up her pacifier cold turkey. I think it's quite an accomplishment for such a little person. She had been chewing holes in them and I had to throw several in the trash. I decided I wasn't buying anymore new ones and it seems like Don and I are forever looking for lost pacis, so we took the last one away on Monday. On the first night it took her over 30 minutes to settle down at bedtime. She cried and cried for it before finally falling asleep then she woke up at 4:30 am. Last night she was so tired that she walked upstairs by herself to go to bed and fell asleep in a minute. She slept clear through the night too. If I knew it would be this easy, I would have had her give it up a long time ago.

It's been warm the past few days and Ivy has go to spend some time in the backyard. She went right over to her slide and climbed up. We went on a nice walk when I got home from work yesterday. Today it is warm but pouring rain and they are forecasting snow. There's nothing like Indiana weather.

Last night we put together Valentines for Ivy's daycare class. They are having a party tomorrow and I sent Don to the store today to buy cookies. Nothing like getting a bunch of toddlers loaded up on sugar! Last year I was able to keep all her candy for myself, but she'll be on to me this year.

My grandpa has been sick the past few weeks and he was admitted to the hospital on Monday. After running a CAT scan and MRI they still don't know what is wrong with him. They are currently running more tests and he's not sure how much longer he'll be there. My grandma doesn't drive so my mom is taking her to visit him every day. We are all hoping this is nothing serious and that he'll be home soon.

Here's a pic of Ivy on the swingset. I put her snowsuit on because it was so muddy.

I'm still around

2009-02-09T13:02:00.002-05:00

Man, I haven't posted in over a week! Last Sunday Ivy came down with the flu. I stayed home with her for a few days, then I got it (but not as bad). Now everyone is healthy and it's Monday afternoon already! I will have a proper post and maybe some pics in a few days.

Saturday Afternoon

2009-01-31T13:52:00.009-05:00

We got most of our tax documents back, so today I started filing our taxes. Don is in the process of ripping up old tile on our bathroom floor and putting new down. I bought a pretty new shower curtain today and maybe that inspired him to spruce up the floor.

Last week I was watching one of my favorite shows, The Dish (hosted by Danielle Fishel who played Topanga on Boy Meets World), and I they were making fun something from an infomercial called a Bumpit. I said out loud, "Oh my god, someone finally invented it!" Bumpits are plastic hair volumizing inserts that create the 60s teased up look that is popular right now. I never have any luck with teasing. No matter how much I tease or how much hairspray I use, it always falls flat by the time I leave the house. Anyway, I ordered a set and got it in the mail yesterday. Once I wash and straighten my hair, I'll try it out.

I got two big ones and two minis:

I made this really good soup last weekend. It's a creamy potato soup. The recipe called for ham, but I only had bacon. I added some cheddar cheese too and used cream to make it extra rich. Tonight I am making a beer and cheese soup. We both love beer and cheese so it's gotta be good.

Wishing for Spring

2009-01-28T12:41:00.004-05:00

Just as soon as the snow is beginning to melt and our thoughts are turning toward spring, the sky opens up and dumps another load down upon us. I awoke this morning with 4 or 5 inches on the ground and they are forecasting a few more! Thankfully Don had gotten up early and shoveled a path to my car. I was crossing my fingers that Ivy's daycare would have a 2 hour delay, so I stayed in bed a little longer than I should have. There was no delay, so I had to drag myself out of my warm, cozy bed. The local schools did close for the day. I imagine the hills of the park are trodden with sledders by now.

I grew up in the country, about 7 miles from town. Those 7 miles seemed more like 70 miles when we got a few inches of snow. My mom has always been wary of driving on any amount of snow, so that meant we hardly went anywhere in the winter months. Once I turned 16 I wasn't allowed to drive at all in the winter. All that has made me appreciate living in town and not having to travel very far for work or to go to the store.

In other news, I am so happy that American Idol has returned. It gives me something to do on these cooped-up winter evenings. I don't watch every episode religiously, but I always watch the auditions. I admit that I love laughing at people who are horrible and think they are awesome! I think the judges, especially Simon, are being awful nice this year. They have let a lot of people through that would not have gotten through in previous years (Bikini Girl!). I'm disappointed that they aren't showing as many train wreck auditions. I read that they are focusing on the positive ones this year. Where's the fun in that?

I missed the tail end of Idol last night when the phone rang. It was someone doing a very long, very thorough survey. I answered every single question and there must have been at least 50. They were mostly political questions. Examples: "Who did you vote for?" "Did Obama's inauguration speech make you tear up or cry?" "Do you believe the government should be allowed to use torture on terror suspects?" (I said no) "What if your immediate family were in danger, then would torture be okay?" The final question was, "Who do you think will win the Super Bowl?" I was hoping to get some sort of prize for staying on the line so long. It was very weird to say the least.

2009-01-23T12:20:00.003-05:00

Last night I stayed up later than usual engaged in a bidding war on eBay. I found this really awesome jacket that retails for $250 (in a petite small even, which is hard to find in stores) that I had to have. There was one other bidder that I kept going back and forth with over the last few days. I let her think she had won until about 2 minutes before the auction ended, then I emerged victorious. Ha.

Yesterday Ivy's teacher at daycare said she wouldn't drink any milk or juice. She only had one wet diaper all afternoon. I pushed the liquids on her last night and I'm hoping she's not getting sick. She was really grumpy this morning and wanted me to hold her. She still found it in her to do a dance to some MC Hammer.

I know that I talk about how smart my daughter is and how great my husband is, but I'm a very unpretentious person. I was just brought up that way. One thing that really annoys me is people who feel they constantly need to shove in your face how great they think they are. People who are always self-promoting. To me that is just a show of insecurity. If you truly believe you are that awesome, you wouldn't feel the need to tell everyone about it. They would already know. Everyone else simply does not care. Luckily I don't have to deal with people like that every day.

Dedicated to the One I Love

2009-01-18T10:31:00.012-05:00

Since I've had Ivy I have been reading a lot of "mommy blogs" that are out there on the web. There are many that are so funny and I love reading other moms' points of view on motherhood. One thing that has struck me is how little the dads deal with the day to day parenting. There are some stay at home moms out there that do everything themselves. I also know plenty of moms in real life as well who do it all while the dads go to work, come home and don't get up off the couch for the remainder of the evening.

This has made me realize how darn lucky I am! I wouldn't know what to do without my husband as far as raising our child. Don does an equal share of the parenting and some days more. Since we both work fulltime jobs, we have a pretty consistent schedule. He has to be out of the house before me (sometimes before I'm even out of bed), so I get Ivy up and get us both ready for the day. He usually gets off before me, and he picks her up and they have their time to hang out before I get home. Most week days he has dinner on the table, if not he takes us out. We take turns giving Ivy a bath and putting her to bed so the other can relax.

On most weekends we have Jaden with us. Don always makes sure to spend some quality time with him. In the summer they can usually be found outside riding bikes, playing soccer or wrestling. He always ends up taking a few neighborhood boys along to the park. I get knocks on my door and little boys asking, "Can Don come out and wrestle with us?"

I'm grateful too that my husband is not one to sit in front of a computer all day or watch much TV (well, OK, he's watching football right now). He's a very active outdoors type and I know that he'll teach our kids the importance of being outside in the fresh air.

I know I've mentioned before that Daddy is the favorite with Ivy. Daddy was one of her first words at 11 months and she just now says Mommy. This morning when she woke up the first thing out of her mouth was, "Where'd Daddy go?" when she saw his side of the bed was empty. When I have her say everyone's name that's in the room she says, "Mommy, Bubby, Kitty and DADDY!!!!"

I'm lucky to have married such a great man who is also a wonderful father.

(Here's a pic from the park this summer and one from a snowball fight a month ago. )

Froze

2009-01-16T13:16:00.005-05:00

I'm so glad today is Friday. It is currently very, very cold here in Indiana. The current temp is somewhere below zero. Schools were closed yesterday and today due to the extreme cold. Last night Don and I forgot to leave the kitchen sink drip and the pipes froze. He's going to work on unthawing it after work. Luckily the bathrooms are okay. I might have to wash dishes in tub tonight. Just kidding (or at least I hope I'm kidding).

I was talking to a customer in California today and he was telling me he had on shorts. Yeah. It is in the 70s there. One good thing about living in the midwest is you have seasons. I don't know if I could deal with the same temperature all year round. When the spring comes it gives you reason to be happy and get outside and watch everything come back to life.

I just bought some lingerie from Frederick's. They were having a sale and I couldn't resist. I need to be getting back to work.

2009-01-14T10:04:00.004-05:00

The ones in bold I have done.

1. Started your own blog.
I started my first blog around 2000 and I've kept one fairly regularly since then. There was a period of about 3 years when I did not blog.

2. Slept under the stars.

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower.

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland
I've been to Disneyworld. Does that count?

8. Climbed a mountain
Hiked in the Smokies

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped
Ashley and I did this when we were 18

12. Visited Paris
Yes! Although my fave place in France was Nice.

13. Watched a lightning storm

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of The Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
No, I chose to see the Pere LaChaise instead.

20. Slept on an overnight train.

21. Had a pillow fight.
Many with Jay

22. Hitch hiked.

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
Everyone needs a day off once in awhile.

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.

29. Seen a total eclipse.

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.

35. Seen an Amish community.
Indiana has a large Amish population

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbingIndoors and outdoors.

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen the Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa.

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance.

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Yes, on a 90 degree day! Took the steps all the way.

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theatre
Only about a thousand times. Good times at the drive-in!

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, etc.
Always wanted to but never weighed enough

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
Most of my dolls. Ivy plays with them now.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades.

75. Been fired from a job.
Twice. Once for merely being sick with the flu and the other time for calling someone an asshole.

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London.

77. Broken a bone
Collarbone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car
Still driving it! It's paid for, by golly.

83. Walked in Jerusalem.

84. Had your picture in the newspaper
Several times over the years

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
No, but I've witnessed the entire process many times

88. Had chickenpox
In first grade

89. Saved someone’s life?

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby.
Yep!

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit
Sort of. Over a car crash

98. Owned a mobile phone

99. Been stung by a bee.
Many times walking around barefoot in the country

100. Read an entire book in one day
Quite a few

2009-01-11T12:17:00.006-05:00

Every single day I never cease to be amazed at something my daughter does. We are always commenting to one another how smart Ivy is. Here are some of the things she's done in the last 3 or 4 weeks (at 21 months):

-She has figured out how to get over baby gates. We have one in the kitchen that blocks off the stairs going up and the stairs going down to the basement. She found out that she can drag a kitchen chair over to the gate, climb up on it and get over. Now I can no longer keep her confined to one room or one floor!

-Sits on her potty. I bought her a potty chair over a month ago and she has never wanted to sit on it. She acted as if she were afraid of it even. One day this week Don got her to sit on it after she said "Poopie" and touched her bottom. She hasn't gone in it yet, but I'm just happy she's willing to sit on it.

-Repeats almost any word we say. This morning we were eating breakfast at the table and Don stretched his arms up and yawned. Ivy decided she's do it too and I said, "Copy cat." Then she said it.

-One day she realized the pictures on our living room wall are of her. We have a bunch of pictures on our fridge plus a big bulletin board that's covered with family pictures mainly. Ivy can point out and say Ivy, Daddy, Mama, Bubby, Joe, kitty and any dogs. She can't say any words for grandma and grandpa yet, but she recognizes them too.

-She still dances and sings a lot. Every weekend her and Jaden will dance around and be silly. I have been singing Twinkle, Twinkle to her forever and she can sing one or two lines.

-She undresses herself! Yesterday she went downstairs by herself and came back up wearing only a diaper! She likes taking her clothes off now. I guess that will come in handy with the potty training.

There are still some things she has not done yet that I'm grateful for. She has never tried to climb out of her crib. Really she doesn't spend much time in it. We let her sleep with us if she wants to. I don't believe in the crying it out method.

Overall, we've got a happy healthy little toddler.

Some Holiday Pics

2009-01-07T12:21:00.008-05:00

This is Don and I on New Year's Eve. I had drank a bottle of champagne and several White Russians. We passed out shortly after this.

Ivy on New Years morning-

New Year's Eve again-

She loves music. She plays the harmonica and this drum.

Christmas morning. She loved this bag of Jelly Bellies more than anything else!

My brother in law, Joe, opened presents with us.

Daddy helping Ivy open her presents.

Jaden before unwrapping.

Ivy playing with her best friend.

These pics are from my in-laws house on Christmas day. The crown is from a "cracker" that we each opened.

My father in law Dick, Jaden, mother in law Susie, and Joe.

Susie right after opening the family tree plate I got her.

Joe holding up his loot.

Work Schmerk

2009-01-05T13:01:00.002-05:00

Today I returned to work after having so many lovely, leisurely days off. I had such a nice vacation hanging out with Ivy every day, seeing my brother in law and the rest of my family and friends. Still it was nice seeing all my coworkers today. I have a mountain of papers on my desk and orders to process. In a way I missed it all.

2009-01-03T22:45:00.004-05:00

Donald and I went to the movies on New Year's Day and saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It was an awesome movie. One of the best I've seen in awhile. Cate Blanchett is a wonderful actress and Brad Pitt ain't bad either (they were a great pair in Babel too). I cried and cried at the end. I can't wait to see it again when it's out on DVD.

The movie was very loosely based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald which I happened to read about 3 years ago. The movie was much better though. It was one of those movies that makes you really think about life and what you are doing with the time you are given. I've been recommending it to everyone! Go see it!

2008-12-30T15:55:00.004-05:00

It occured to me today that I have not posted on here in forever. I have been immensely enjoying my vacation. We had a very nice Christmas with lots of great gifts, meals and family get togethers. It has been so very nice to not stress over anything at all. The most difficult thing for me in a day is deciding what to fix for supper. I don't even have to worry about that tonight as we are going over to the in-law's.

I have been reading my new John Lennon biography and spending time with Ivy and Jaden. Ivy decided last week that she was no longer afraid to climb down the stairs, so all day long it's up and down. She does something new every day and adds words to her vocabulary. She is now very attached to her big brother and wants to sit by him all the time. She loves it when we all sit on the couch (which we do about every night) and watch TV or a movie and snuggle. She covers us up with a blanket.

She is very, very busy and I get very, very little rest. Ha. Today I started taking down my Xmas tree. Hopefully I'll finish that job tomorrow. We are having a few friends over for New Years Eve.
Don got me the Seinfeld edition of the boardgame Scene It and I plan on breaking that out at our party.

Hope everyone out there in bloggerland has a happy and safe new year!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2008-12-22T12:02:00.003-05:00

Today is my first official day of vacation. It's noon and I'm still not dressed. Ivy is down for her first nap so I can finally get a few things done. After I blog of course.

Lucky for me Ivy still very willingly goes down for two naps a day. The girl is in full throttle go mode from the second she wakes up. She doesn't sit down to rest until it's nap time or bed time. She is so energetic and active. She is also very observant and now knows where all the hiding places are for snacks and candy and other things that are a no-no. As soon as she's in the kitchen she is pulling a chair over to the counter in order to get something.

Last night she was drinking juice from her sippy and Don and I were on the couch. She drained her juice in a big gulp and said,"More." Then we watched her go into the kitchen, pull a big chair up to the counter, climb up and attempt to pour herself some more juice. The bottle was on the counter, but she never would have gotten the lid off. She was pretty determined she was gonna try.

We usually take a bath together a couple times a week and she loves mimicing everything I do. She watched me shave my legs and then held her own leg up and wanted the razor!

I can't believe Christmas is in a few days. Unfortunately my cheery holiday moods have already had a little damper put on them. There is a member of my family who hates Christmas and seems to set out to ruin it for everyone else. This person has succeeded in ruining it for me for a number of years, but I'm determined to not let that happen this year. There has already been an argument and a get together cancelled out of spite. Some people will never learn to just relax and enjoy their family and be grateful for the gifts they receive.

On another gloomy note, I was so glad that Caylee Anthony's remains were finally found. I have followed her story from the beginning, equally fascinated and disgusted. I cannot fathom how a mother could kill her own child. My own belief is that Casey wanted to party and have the social life of a childless young woman so she killed her daughter. Stupidly she thought she would get away with it. I think the only regret she has now is that she was caught.

Anyways, I need to get dressed and run some errands this afternoon. I made Buckeyes last night and today I'm going to make molasses cookies (my grandma requested them) and a new cookie that involves maraschino cherries. Yum yum.

School Pictures

2008-12-19T07:23:00.005-05:00

Twice every year a photographer comes to Ivy's daycare and takes pictures. Here are a few of the latest batch. I was really hoping for a big smile this time.

Compared to last year's picture she looks like such a big girl.

Last minute craziness

2008-12-17T12:44:00.003-05:00

Since I last posted the unthinkable happened. Ivy now has my conjunctivitis. My eyes were doing fine and I thought we were all out of the woods, but on Monday morning she woke up with the ol' yuck eye. I took her to the doctor who prescribed her some eye ointment. Daddy and I have to hold her down three times a day and force a ribbon of ointment in her eyes. Right now she is being spoiled by great-grandma and probably eating as many cookies as she wants. She can now say the word cookie, so grandma jumps up delighted every time.

Things are busy at work as Friday is our last day for a few weeks. We're busy getting last minute orders out. We are having a scaled down version of our annual Christmas party. Normally we do a ham or turkey with all the trimmings, but we are doing a little less extravagant dinner this year. I still have a million errands to run before Friday. I'm always in charge of getting the boss' gift cards.
I'm giving out handmade ornaments to coworkers and I need to finish those up.

I really need to clean my house too. I'm still not sure about holiday plans for my side of the family. I have the most room and a large dining room table, so I've offered to host a meal. We'll be having a house guest too over the holidays. I'm really just looking forward to having some time off to spend with my girl, family and friends.

Doctor, my eye!

2008-12-11T12:51:00.007-05:00

Just after I last blogged on Tuesday my left eye started bugging me. I took my contacts out at lunch and put my glasses on. About an hour later I kept having to wipe a mucusy discharge out of it and it started tearing up like crazy. By the time I went home at five it was starting to swell and I could hardly see out of it with all the drainage. Then after dinner it started throbbing and my eyeball hurt when I moved it. I looked like Rocky Balboa after fighting Mr. T. Don wanted me to go to the emergency room, but I don't have much faith in the competency of our local hospital. I didn't want to pay $150 just to be told to see my eye doctor the next day.

I did not go to work Wednesday morning, but I called my doctor the second they opened and got an appointment. It turns out that I have an eye infection of some kind. My doctor wasn't sure what caused it and she prescribed me some ointment. If feels a lot better today and the swelling went down. The only bad thing was this morning my other eye was stuck shut and all yucky. So now I'm putting the ointment in both eyes (I should also add that today is the only day in the 2 1/2 years that I've worked at my job that I have not worn any eye make up. I always, always wear make up to work, but today I just couldn't do it).

I'm being extra careful about not touching Ivy without having my hands scrubbed. I don't know if it's contagious, but I'm not taking any chances. I do not want to have to put eye drops in her eyes.

Our new bed was delivered yesterday and I got a great night's sleep last night. It's a tiny bit hard, but I guess we'll just have to break it in :)

2008-12-09T10:29:00.003-05:00

Not too much to blog about lately. I spent the weekend not feeling very well. Now I'm just counting down the days at work until I get some time off for Christmas. I still need to finish up shopping and sending out my cards.

In baby news, Ivy has been super whiney lately. She has really started repeating words like crazy. It seems like every day she says another new word. We discovered that she LOVES clementines. Last night she stood in the kitchen and begged for one, then another one. At least the girl's eating her fruit!

Tomorrow we finally get our new bed. We were promised that it would be delivered last week, so I called the furniture store yesterday to check on it. I got the impression it had been there for a day or so. I was going to set up a delivery time and I was told that they gave our frame away to someone else. I expressed my displeasure and the manager was able to find another one and promised to set everything up on Wednesday. This all wouldn't be so bad except Don and I took apart the frame of our current bed last Sunday thinking we'd have our new bed right away. We've been sleeping with the box springs and mattress on the floor for a week! It's kinda funny getting out of bed in the middle of the night and forgetting I don't have to step down.

Winter Fun

2008-12-01T12:49:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it is Monday already. That four day weekend really flew by.

We got a couple inches of snow yesterday and we all went outside to play in it. The boys were having a snow ball fight so I didn't get many good shots of them. I did take one of Ivy in her first snowsuit. She doesn't really look too happy here. She wasn't used to her snow boots and kept falling. When we went inside she cried and threw a little tantrum. We watched the boys from the window and she was happy.

I also got the kids in front of the tree for a picture for our Christmas card. It's so hard to get Ivy to smile or hold still for just a second and have both kids looking at the camera. I didn't get the perfect shot I wanted, but this will have to do. I ended up ordering my card online and used 3 different pictures. I've never done that before as it was pretty expensive. I hope they arrive in time to mail out before Christmas!

Happy Black Friday

2008-11-28T08:03:00.002-05:00

We had a great Thanksgiving yesterday. We didn't have our meal until dinner time, so we lounged around the house all day. I spent a little time in the kitchen making a sugar cream pie, brandied cranberries and caroling wine. We had a nice time with my family.

Today for lunch is my husband's family get together. More turkey, yes! The hubs is working until noon today. It's so nice not having to worry about what I'm going to fix for dinner!

I am not going to venture out to any stores or malls today. One thing I hate is waiting in line for half an hour with an armful of clothes. No thank you. Like I've mentioned already, I've got most of my shopping done.

Don bought us a new bed last weekend as an early Christmas present. I do have to go out and buy some king sized sheets and comforter. It is going to be delivered on Monday.

On my agenda this morning is cleaning. Ivy is up and wants her Cheerios. Better get started! Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!

2 more days till Turkey Time!

2008-11-25T12:26:00.002-05:00

Last night I spent a couple of hours painting the ornaments I made for Christmas gifts. There wasn't anything good on TV (I know I'm weird, I don't watch DWTS. I don't have that much time to devote to TV) so I ended up watching a documentary on PBS called The Rape of Europa. It was about the plundering of works of art by the Nazis during WW2. I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to history, especially WW2 stuff. It was so awesome learning about the great lengths people in the art world went to to save masterpieces by Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt and so on. Paris basically emptied out the Louvre and moved all the works to castles in France. Curators even encased the sculpture David in a brick tomb. Apparently art collecting was a prerequisite to being a high official in the Nazi party. Hitler aspired to be an artist at a young age and he collected (well, stole) art works from all over Europe and amassed a huge collection. This collection was discovered after the war ended hidden miles underground in a secret bunker. The Allies tried their best to return the masterpieces to their owners. Thousands of works are still unaccounted for and there are still battles going on over ownership of some famous paintings.

I went to Europe when I was 17 and I had the opportunity to see the Louvre. The adults with our group went and us kids chose to see the Pere LaChaise instead. I got to see the graves of Jim Morrison, Chopin and Edith Piaf. Maybe one day I will go back.

In other news Ivy's new favorite word is No. Most of the time when I tell her no, she turns the tables, points her finger at me and tells me no. She has started reprimanding her toys too and telling them no. She has also learned what Ow means. This morning when I combed her hair she said, "Ow. No!" Still she does not say mommy. She calls me daddy. She can say the word but doesn't apply it to me.

It is so nice that she can communicate now. She says more and more words every week. She seems to understand about 85% of what we tell her. She is also a major daredevil. The child knows no fear. She loves climbing up on things and jumping off. If there is something she wants, she goes to every length to get it. This morning I left her alone for a second while I went out to warm up my car. When I came back in the kitchen she had pulled a chair over to the counter and was trying to open a box of raisins. It's so hard to believe she will be 2 in April.

Only one more day at work and then a little break. It will be nice to hang out with the families and relax.

The Many Faces of Ivy

2008-11-23T15:50:00.003-05:00

Here we are eating lunch and hamming it up for mommy's camera. Blogger always manages to make my photos look like crap. I don't know why.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

2008-11-23T12:20:00.007-05:00

Christmas. I put up my tree Friday evening and finally finished getting all my decorations up today. I went all out this year, crazy like Martha. Last year I didn't have the time or patience to neatly bundle up all my lights, so Don and I spent at least 30 minutes untangling a mess of 7 strands.

Ivy looks at all the lights and says, "Hot." She's left the tree alone so far. I also made 3 batches of cinnamon dough ornaments and 2 batches of salt dough. Now we just need to paint them all.

It's so nice and cozy with the fireplace lit. That's one thing I love about winter.

Boo

2008-11-18T12:41:00.004-05:00

There was snow on the ground this morning! I had to dust off my car for the first time. I let Ivy sit on couch of the sunroom so she could watch me. She is still going through a whiney, hold me all the time phase. I have managed to be 15 mintues late to work every day the last 2 weeks. This is partly because of her tantrums (she throws a fit if I don't give her enough toothpaste) and getting stuck behind buses. My boss wants to talk to me about it. Yay.

I just found out that one of my part time coworkers is being laid off after this week. Her family has gone through some hard times lately and this is the last thing she needs. They plan on bringing her back this spring when business picks up. She is a good friend and I will miss her. She is the only person besides me that gets into the holidays for work. We always encourage everyone to bring in dishes for a Thanksgiving carry-in and exchange gifts at Christmas. I doubt we'll be doing any of that this year thanks to the state of the economy.

Monday, Monday

2008-11-17T12:27:00.003-05:00

Here it is Monday already. Boo. I had one of those weekends where I never sat down to relax. On Saturday I started seaching through boxes in my attic for cookie cutters. A few years ago I made dough ornaments and I want to make them again this year. I ended up going through lots of boxes and totes and making give away piles. I'm such a packrat it's ridiculous. I have clothes that are from when I was in high school that I've held onto for sentimental reasons.
I just have a hard time parting with my things (I blame this on my mother who is not sentimental at all and always threw my things away growing up).

After I was done rearranging the attic I spent the rest of the day in the kitchen. I made Don two pies for his birthday today. I made ham and potato soup too. It got good reviews from my stepson so it must have been good. We went out to dinner Saturday night and Don got to wear the birthday sombrero. Below is a pic of him and Ivy eating ice cream.

Ivy was Miss Whineypants all weekend. She wasn't happy at all unless she was being held. When she was running around she kept finding little things and putting them in her mouth. I think she has a few more teeth coming in. She cracked me up last night after her bath. Now as soon as she gets out of the tub she runs right into our bedroom to look at herself in the full length mirror. She makes faces and talks to herself. Silly.

Rambling

2008-11-13T12:31:00.004-05:00

I've gotten 95% of my Christmas shopping done and I'm so happy. I bought most of my gifts online. I still have some gift cards, stocking stuffers and toys for the kids to get. There are a few people on my list that I have no clue what to get. They will probably end up getting a WalMart gift card. Who doesn't shop there?

I still haven't decided if I should put my tree up in the normal spot or in another room. I'm afraid some little girl with busy fingers will pull the whole thing over on herself. My cat has succeeded in knocking it over a few times. She loves when the tree comes out. I used to have a bigger 9 foot tree and she would climb it, lay amongst the branches and sleep. Now she just likes to eat the fake needles and puke them up all over the house. I think I will still put up most of my collectible Hallmark ornaments and keep them toward the top of the tree.

I once had a coworker who had three boys under the age of 6. She put her artificial tree up one day and went to do some laundry or something. When she came back into the room her boys had taken apart the tree and were beating each other with the branches. She decided that they wouldn't have a tree that year. Another person I knew of had to put their tree in a play pen to keep the kids away from it.

Ivy is getting her picture taken at daycare today. They have a professional photog come in twice a year. I hope she smiles this year. Last year she had been crying right before the picture and her eyes looked all puffy. There is one little girl her age who was wearing a pretty puffy dress this morning. Another baby took the toy out of her hands and the little girl took off after him and tackled him. She was laying on top of him trying to pry the toy out of his hands in her pretty dress.

Bathtime Fun

2008-11-11T20:36:00.002-05:00

Our Weekend Getway

2008-11-10T08:41:00.016-05:00

The B & B Castle we stayed at this weekend

The ceiling in our room

Me on the bed

This is the stairway that led to the hot tub on the roof

Don and I had a great weekend. I'm so sad that it's Monday already. The bed and breakfast we stayed at was breathtaking. It's a hundred year old house that has over 25 rooms and has been remodeled exstensively. The guest rooms are all decorated with a foreign country theme: The Dutch Room, The French Room, The Italian Rroom and we had The Tibetan Room. There was a sauna, steam room and a hot tub up on the roof. Unfortunately the weather was rainy and snowy all weekend and they didn't let anyone use the hot tub. They had a murder mystery going on Saturday night that we didn't know about. We went out for dinner with my father in law and his friend. When we got back they waited for us downstairs so we could grab a few things from our room and go to the concert. When we got upstairs there were 35 people in period costumes in our room! We had left our bags laying out and I started stressing out. I had to use the bathroom and grab some stuff and I couldn't get in the room. I was really aggravated, but we got our stuff and I found another bathroom.

The concert was typical Dylan. You know all the stuff they make fun of him for? Well it's all true. He's an awful singer these days. He sings his old hits, but he changes the arrangment all around so you really have no idea what he's singing.

It was a fun atmosphere and we talked to some interesting people. We actually decided to head out before it was over (we're not used to staying up that late and we'd been up since before 7 that day). We didn't know exactly how to get back to the B & B and wanted to avoid all the post concert traffic. Due to my excellent map reading skills and Don's good instincts we made it back to our room.

Our breakfast the next morning was awesome. We were served in the fancy dining room on antique china. We sat in a breakfast nook and watched the year's first snowfall while sipping coffee. We got to meet a professor from South Africa who was a long term guest at the B & B. This man had some involvement in the apartheid movement.

I went to bed fairly early last night, but I am soooo tired today. At least my boss is on vacation this week.

Looking forward to the weekend....

2008-11-06T12:42:00.004-05:00

This weekend the husband and I are heading up to Kalamazoo. His birthday (the big 34) is coming up and his dad got us tickets to a Bob Dylan concert. We are staying in a really fancy bed and breakfast too. It will be a nice weekend getaway without the kiddos (Of course I will miss Ivy two hours into the trip and will ask Don repeatedly, "What do you think she is doing right now?").

This morning I ordered him a birthday present from my new fave website http://www.etsy.com/. I am keeping the the Bob Dylan theme as you can see. This is a print that will look lovely in our living room or dining room or wherever. Hopefully it gets here sometime next week.

My husband doesn't "do" the internet much so I don't have to worry about him finding this early. He has an email account which I check for him and that's about it. He would rather spend his free time outdoors or being productive otherwise. At least that way I don't have to share my computer with anyone.

Election Day

2008-11-04T12:18:00.003-05:00

Today I voted for the first time in a presidential election. I left a little early at lunch to go to my polling place. I was a little nervous about it. It turned out to be really easy. The worst thing that happened was I injured an old lady upon leaving the premises. There were two heavy double doors with no windows and I in a state of voter euphoria pushed them open a little too quickly and with a little too much force. Unfortunately there was a little old lady just on the other side about to grasp the door handle. The door hit her knee and I apologized profusely, but I think she was angry at me. Oh well. She was probably going to vote for McCain.

Another fall day

2008-11-02T13:03:00.007-05:00

This has been the longest hay ever. Don, Ivy and I were up at 6 this morning. Thank you daylight savings time. I haven't had a nap yet. I've been catching up on laundry all day.

The kids played in a leaf pile this afternoon. I went to the nearby cemetary and took some pictures. There are lots of beautiful trees there in different stages of losing their leaves.

Halloween Fun

2008-11-01T12:06:00.006-04:00

The busy little bee -

Jaden as Obi Wan Kenobi -

Don as a redneck (he's gonna miss the wig) -

Me and my friend Amy -

All of us -

Halloween Sneak Peak

2008-10-30T15:13:00.004-04:00

Today Miss Ivy and I called in sick and took the day off. We slept in and lounged around for a bit. I had her try on her costume to make sure it didn't need any last minute adjustments. I had to bribe her with raisins so she would hold still. That child is in a constant state of motion. It was quite the battle getting her hair up and the costume on.

This afternoon we went shopping with Grandma. I wanted to get Ivy some toys for Christmas. I ended up finding exactly what I wanted - a little rocking horse for her to ride. I'll have to take a picture. She lit up so much when I put it in the cart I might give it to her now. I got her a few other toys and a pretty Christmas dress.

Now I have gotten presents for two different people on my list. That's pretty good considering I usually don't start shopping until December 20th.

2008-10-28T12:43:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I gave Ivy her first haircut. It was more of a trim really. I wanted to let her bangs grow out, but they keep getting in her eyes. She was starting to look like an Old English Sheepdog. She hates having her hair messed with and it's just not worth it to fight with her every morning to get her bangs in a little top knot. And she loves to pull out her barrettes. They came out a little crooked because every time the scissors were about to close she moved. I didn't get a chance to take a picture.

Her and I both have colds again. It's my 3rd one this year and it's not even November yet. I was up til 12:30 coughing and Don finally went down to sleep on the couch. He's had to be up at 5 am lately and I'm sure he's feeling lousy today. Ivy was coughing too throughout the night and she woke up around 3 am and I put her in bed with me.

I wanted so badly to call in sick today, but here I am. Don fixed me chicken noodle soup for dinner last night and I just had some more for lunch. Hopefully Ivy and I both get over it soon.

A fall day

2008-10-26T19:21:00.004-04:00

Today we raked leaves in the backyard. Ivy got to jump in her first leaf pile. She got to check out the pumpkins too. I painted one to look like her. She likes trying to pull the paci out.

I had a really lazy weekend. We stayed home and watched a bunch of movies on TV. The highlghts: "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "Corpse Bride" and the "40 Year Old Virgin."

They are forcasting snow tomorrow. Eek. It's still October.

"Welcome to Theodores"

2008-10-23T12:35:00.003-04:00

With Halloween right around the corner I thought I'd post about one of my favorite topics: the paranormal. I started getting into paranormal science when I was still in grade school reading ghost stories and books from the library. About 10 years ago I discovered the website www.theshadowlands.net. It has tons of reader submitted stories, articles, pictures, etc. That site is where I first learned about paranormal investigations.

I am so happy that the paranormal has become so mainstream in the last 5 years. You can find so many TV shows on basic cables stations. Ghost Hunters (TAPS) on SciFi is my favorite. I never miss an episode. I love it so much I even talk about it in forums with other nerds. One of the reasons I love Jay and Grant so much is in every case they investigate, they use scientific equipment to establish hard evidence. If they don't gather any evidence, they don't classify the premises as being haunted.

I definitely believe in ghosts. There are things out there that can't be explained. I've had experiences and I know lots of other people that have had them. I've had the chance to visit a haunted house on a few occasions. I even worked at a place (that was over 100 years old)
that had something strange going on that I was lucky enough to experience.

The little town that I live in now has its own paranormal ivestigative group. I think that is awesome. I checked out their website recently and it looks like any person who is interested can accompany them on an investigation. Sign me up!!!

You can deep fry anything!

2008-10-21T12:03:00.002-04:00

This weekend I bought a deep fat fryer. The main reason I wanted to get one was to recreate a scrumptious fair treat- deep fried Snicker bars. I found a recipe online and last night for dessert I made them (I used mini Snickers so I wouldn't feel like we were being completely unhealthy). My husband isn't as big on sweets as I am (the words 'too sweet' and 'too rich' are not part of my vocabulary), and he even loved them. Then we got crazy and deep fried a banana and an apple. They were really good too!

Next I'm going to make doughnuts using refrigerated dinner rolls! Yum yum.

Infomercials

2008-10-20T13:54:00.006-04:00

I just ordered Proactive online. I normally don't buy anything hocked on TV, but their commercials seem awful convincing! Lord knows I need it. I've suffered acne for 16 years now. I've been on every prescription acne drug there is - creams, gels, daily antibiotics and even the controversial drug Accutane (that was supposed to be a permanent cure. My dermatologist said, "It was nice knowing you" when I saw her for the last time. Permanent turned out to be 4 years. It came back with a vengeance).

The only bad thing about ordering the Proactive was that my credit card may be automatically charged again for another 30 day supply next month. I need to look into that. It was fairly expensive, about $70 for 3 bottles and the shipping. Of course they throw in freebies.

2008-10-19T11:34:00.005-04:00

So last night was my 10 year high school reunion. It was great seeing friends I hadn't seen since graduation. There was only about 1/4 of our class that came. It was fun to see how people have changed over the years.

After the meal most of us headed to a local bar. We had even more fun there. I spent most of the evening with my BFF (that's her in the pictures) catching up. She only lives 10 minutes away, but since we both have husbands and kids now we don't always find the time to hang out. After several rounds of tequila her husband drove us home.

Now we are getting ready to head to my niece's 5th birthday party. I need to take my pumpkin bread out of the oven!

2008-10-15T13:07:00.004-04:00

Don and I went to our favorite bookstore a few days ago. I've been doing reading instead of blogging!

I found a book my one of my favorite authors, Cormac McCarthy, that the library does not have, so I purchased it. I've been reading that along with another book by Phillipa Gregory. I also picked up a copy of The Night Before Christmas. I want to start a tradition with Ivy and read it every year on Christmas Eve.

At the bookstore they had a display of Eclectic Favorites. It had so many of my alltime favorites that I first read back in high school - The Bell Jar, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, Fight Club and A Separate Peace (all of which I own).

I have a thing where I have to buy books that I love. We have a whole wall in our family room that is all shelves from floor to ceiling. My goal is to have them all filled some day. We are only about 1/4 filled up now. I'm a big spender at Amazon.com.

We have a really busy weekend ahead of us. Saturday is the Chili Cookoff and later that evening is my 10 year high school reunion. I need to remember to bring my camera!

Mississenewa 1812

2008-10-12T10:15:00.010-04:00

The reinactment was very hot and crowded yesterday. Here are some pics I took.

A camp along the river -

Yours truly -

My handsome husband -

A fiddler -

An Indian in the river -

An Indian in a loin cloth -

The sound of silence

2008-10-11T10:40:00.002-04:00

Listen, what's that I hear? Nothing! Total silence (except Ivy sucking on her paci a la Maggie Simpson). The husband is gone, the baby is napping and Jaden is playing his Nintendo DS.

I'm taking this opportunity to play with my new hot rollers. I watched some demos on Youtube and think I can get my hair to turn out halfway decent this time. The only problem is I have monstrously thick hair and I used all 12 rollers and still need about 5 more. My 10 year class reunion is next weekend and I'm gonna get all glammed up.

In in hour me and the kids are going to a local reinactment/1800's fair. We go every year. Don works in a booth with the church making fry bread and apple cider. It's so much fun to see people in period costume. My personal fave is the Indians wearing nothing but a loincloth.

Hopefully I'll have some pics to post.

Love

2008-10-10T12:23:00.006-04:00

It was around this time three years ago that I first met my husband, Don (at this point in our lives it feel like ten years ago!). My best friend Ashley was dating a guy at that time who had a single friend. Like all happy couples they wanted nothing more than to set up their single pathetic friends and spread the love around.

The first time we met, the two guys came over to Ashley's one evening. We sat out in her backyard around her firepit. (I should add that I knew of my husband years before. We went to the same high school. He was 5 years older and I don't really remember him, but I remembered his younger brother) Anyway, we enjoyed the chilly October evening and had some nice conversations. Ashley kept trying to embarrass me. We argued back and forth and Don told me later he found this quite amusing.

After that night the four of us went hiking 2 or 3 times. Don and I got to know each other a little bit walking in the forest. One of us asked the other on a date. He says it was me and I say it was him. Neither of us can remember. We went out to dinner on our first date and had a really good time. His Billy Bob Thorton "Sling Blade" impersonation won me over. He ordered a White Russian and spilled it on the table. After dinner we went to a little bar and had a drink. Then we headed off to a friend's and played Trivial Pursuit. When our night was over I dropped him off at home and he kissed me on the cheek.

We saw a lot of one another after that night. I was working 12 hour shifts at the time, 5 am to 5 pm. I would stay at his place until past midnight then have to be up at 4:15. I didn't mind though. I was blissfully happy.

I knew within a short time that he was the person I wanted to be with. Like all married couples we have our arguments (don't you just hate those couples that say they never argue? How boring is that?) We both entered the relastionship with the baggage of ex spouses. We are still working through our issues every day and probably always will be. I know we can both say that we learned some valuable lessons from our failed first marriages. We feel like we were given a second chance at love. Both of our parents have been married to one another for 30+ years and that inspires us.

Happy One and a Half Birthday, Baby Girl

2008-10-08T11:59:00.005-04:00

Today our baby is 18 months old. (Only 6 months until the terrible 2's start -ha ha.) It's so hard to believe that it has been that long since she made her debut in the early morning hours of Easter Sunday.

She is still my good little girl, always happy and cheerful. She loves exploring and discovering. Her newest trick is pulling her little rocking chair over to the bookshelves, climbing up on it and seeing what's on the shelves. She loves climbing on the kitchen and dining room chairs and up onto the table. I'm running out of places to put things that are out of her reach!

Her vocabulary is up to at least 12 words. She knows what at least 12 more mean but can't say them yet. Her favorite word is still Uh-oh. Now she is obsessed with anything that is hot. She knows mommy's flat iron, coffee cup and candles are hot. She sees pots cooking on the stove and says "Hot, hot." When I say the word "bath" she heads for the stairs. She went through a stage where she was afraid of the water, but I think the summer sprinkler and days at the pool cured her.

(One word that is still not part of her vocab is Mommy. She has said Daddy for at least 6 months. All day it's Daddy this, Daddy that.)

She can make animal noises too. She can do a rooster, kitty and doggy. She points out eyes, nose and hair.

Right now she is into playing with trucks and trains. There are mostly boys in her daycare class. I think she may just grow up a tomboy. Daddy is already teaching her to kick and throw a ball.

There are days when I really miss her being a tiny baby. It's true what they say about kids growing up too fast. Maybe in another year I will start thinking about having another one. The decision is mine to make (my hubs is great). Some couples we know who had babies when Ivy was born already have a second or are currently pregnant. I could not imagine having a newborn right now. No way.

It's chili weather!

2008-10-05T12:19:00.005-04:00

I put on a pot of chili first thing this morning and let it simmer until lunch time. The recipe is called Boilermaker Tailgate Chili. It called for 1/4 cup of chili powder and lots of hot sauce!! It's pretty darn good. Of course I tweaked it and added more beer and brown sugar because I like my chili sweet.

In two more weeks our town is having the annual chili cookoff. We'll be eating chili until our stomachs explode. I can't wait.

I think Ivy is feeling better. She slept in until 9:30 and layed down for her first nap at 11:30. I can't believe she's been sick twice already and it's not even winter yet. I think I'm going to get her a flu shot this year. Otherwise I foresee myself taking a lot of sick days.

We may go pick out some pumpkins later today at the local pumpkin patch. I'm thinking about putting my Halloween decorations up outside. Hubby thinks it's too early. He's gonna crap when I put up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving.

The Joys of Motherhood

2008-10-04T11:34:00.003-04:00

Last night about 2 am I heard Ivy crying. I stumbled across the hall into her bedroom. As soon as I entered I smelled the unmistakable smell of throw up. My poor little babydoll had thrown up in her bed, probably while asleep. She had it in her hair and on her jammies. I got her all cleaned up, told hubby he had to sleep on the couch, and put her in bed with me.

I thought she seemed better this morning. I was wrong. She threw up several more times. She had some chicken broth and Pedialyte and she's napping now. We had to cancel some lunch plans. We have dinner plans too and I think my mom is going to babysit. I do not want to risk having her barf in a restaurant. No thanks.

We turned on our furnace a few days ago. It's so chilly already. The leaves are starting to change color. It went from being in the 80s one week to being in the 60s the next.

That's what Indiana weather is all about they say.

Stuffs

2008-10-01T07:05:00.004-04:00

About a month ago I discovered www.etsy.com. It's a site where you can buy and sell things that are all handmade. I love it because most of the items are one of a kind and you are supporting artists and stay at home moms. There is jewelry, artwork, handmade dishes, knitting, quilts, housewares, handbags and about everything else you could imagine.

I love browsing the jewelry and I came across some necklaces that had antique typewriter keys for pendants. I had to have one. I love anything antique and anyone who knows me knows that I have a typewriter at work. It's kind of romantic thinking about all the love letters one may have typed out using this key.

I saw this sock monkey at the store and I couldn't pass it up. It was too cute. Ivy doesn't really play with it, but she will one day. Right now she's into catfood and tiny Lego pieces.

Sunday evening

2008-09-28T19:29:00.006-04:00

We spent the much of the weekend relaxing. We didn't do much. We watched movies last night. We rented "Baby Mama" and "La Vie en Rose." The latter is a biopic of Edith Piaf. It was really good. I couldn't believe she died when she was only in her 40s.

Today we did venture out and went to a nearby apple orchard. We took a hayride tour of the 100 acre orchard, ate some yummy food and sampled tons of apples. I bought an apple corer and made some baked apples when we got home. I sent Don to the store for vanilla ice cream because you just can't eat warm baked apples without it. It's just wrong.
Here are some pics. The apples, a still not feeling well me and my grumpy toddler, and my husband in the aforementioned mullet wig. He's doing a Joe Dirt pose. Sexy.

I still need to finish putting laundry away and then finally, after much anticipation, Fox has their new shows on tonight. The Simpsons, Family Guy and King of the Hill all new episodes.

It's a sad day.

2008-09-27T14:53:00.002-04:00

I just learned that Paul Newman lost his battle with cancer. He was one of the best actors this world has seen. He was also one of the best looking men to ever live. He will be missed.

Sick

2008-09-26T07:00:00.002-04:00

I have been sick the past two days. Fever, aches, chills, sore throat. The whole works. I went to work yesterday until noon and came home and slept the rest of the day. I'm dosing myself up with Tylenol and going in today. I get a certain amount of crap from a coworker for being sick and missing. Some people think everyone should be healthy every day of the year and should never, ever take time off work.

Anyway. It's Friday. There's a reason to be happy.

Life's a garden, dig it.

2008-09-24T10:50:00.002-04:00

Don and I were talking about Halloween costumes last night.

Me: "So are you going to get the mullett wig to wear trick or treating?"

Him: "Yeah."

Me: "I could use an eye pencil and give you the Joe Dirt facial hair."

Him: "My facial hair naturally grows in like Joe Dirt's."

Yes!

Our shadows longer than our souls

2008-09-24T07:11:00.006-04:00

I didn't sleep worth a crap last night. Neither did the hubby. I kept getting hot. I just went downstairs to get my coffee this morning and there is no coffee. Oh the humanity. I'm drinking a Monster instead.

After we ate the cornish hens Don made for supper we went down to the little park. It was so nice and warm that everyone else was down there too enjoying the evening. Ivy ran down the big hill all by herself without falling. We met some dogs and a couple little kids. I took some pics. After Ivy took her bath she fell asleep in about 3 minutes.

For the Love of Ivy

2008-09-23T15:54:00.001-04:00

I think Ivy is entering her terrible two's a little early. She doesn't throw tantrums very often (but it is kinda funny when she throws herself face down on the floor and screams), but she is becoming more than a handful. The last two nights she wouldn't go to sleep until past 10:00.

She is so much more fun now. She does these little dances. One is a tap dance. The other she bends her knees and crouches down and does steps. It reminds me of the dance Forest Gump does with the braces on his legs. She loves to entertain us. She loves when I play jokes on her. Her new favorite game is hiding her paci and saying. "Where'd it go?" Then, "There it is!" She doesn't pronounce the words perfectly, but she really tries.

It's hard to believe that she is almost a year and a half old. My sweet, good little baby has turned into a whiny, rambunctious toddler.

2008-09-22T15:36:00.001-04:00

One thing that has always interested me, being good or bad, is dieting. Maybe I shouldn't use the word dieting. It's basically being conscious of what I eat. Since I gave birth last year I was stuck at the same weight for a long time. I still had 10-15 pounds of leftover pregnancy fat distributed throughout my body. That doesn't sound like a lot, but when you are so petite it feels like every single pound is visible.

A few months ago I did some research on how many calories a day I should be consuming. I was taking in a lot more than I realized. I started keeping track and I set a limit for myself and I have lost 7 lbs and 2 inches off my hips. I was able to fit into some old size 3 jeans too.

I never really counted calories before and I hated it at first. Now it is just automatic and I even have an Excel spreadsheet set up at work that I use throughout the week. Counting calories as a means of a diet plan is easy and it's free. I have never understood why people spend tons of money on Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers. I guess the commercials can really suck you in and make you think you can be thin and beautiful if you just buy their products.

Being healthy is what is most important to me. I can't control genetics, but I can control my weight and prevent diseases related to being overweight. And of course I like looking hot for my husband. It makes me feel good too knowing that my 10 year high school reunion is coming up, and I'm only a few pounds heavier than I was back then.

Someone is feeling better

2008-09-21T18:55:00.001-04:00

Poor little girl felt awful yesterday. She threw up three times and slept most of the day.

We stayed home today and rested. She went outside before her bath and played on the slide, played with her mower and ran around like crazy.

Hopefully there is a new episode of The Simpsons on tonight. I think the Emmy's are on, but I'll have to watch it in the bedroom. Don hates watching that kind of stuff.

Bugs

2008-09-20T10:49:00.001-04:00

Last night I was filling up the birdfeeders and I happened to notice not one, but two praying mantis' right outside our front door. I took a couple of pictures. I was terrified one would fly into my hair and bite me with their huge mandibles. The one on the tree had to be the female. It was much larger. The smaller one is probably the male and is in her stomach right now.

Ivy is sick today. She was really grumpy and whiney last night and she is running a fever today. She got up at 8:30 and was taking her first nap by 10:00. Hopefully she will feel better.

Burn After Reading

2008-09-18T08:26:00.001-04:00

Don and I had a date night last night. We dropped Ivy off at Grandma's, had a nice dinner and a few drinks and saw the newest Coen Brothers flick 'Burn After Reading.' It wasn't a typical Coen film, but it was really good. It had an awesome cast - John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Tilda Swinton. They tend to use the same actors in a lot of their films. Frances' character was determined to get her plastic surgery paid for, Brad was a clueless airhead personal trainer. Tilda always does an excellent job of playing the bitch. George was a womanizer who built a sex device in his basement. All the characters' lives were intertwined and everyone was cheating on their spouse. In all it was a good movie.

First blog

2008-09-17T13:00:00.001-04:00

I have missed having a regular blog online so I decided to create one here. All the other kids are blogging, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon.

Every day it feels more and more like autumn. That makes me happy. Autumn is my favorite season. I am starting to look forward to the holidays and the cold weather. I am already making Christmas lists and thinking about turkey. I have Ivy's Halloween costume all ready to go.

The stupid air is still on at work. I keep thinking it is cooler than it acutally is outside. I get a lot of crap from coworkers for wearing a sweater in here.