You can take the boy out of danger, but you can't take the danger out of the boy.

I believe this picture says it all.

And yes, I was a bad mother and took a picture before I made him get down!

Scenes from Birthday Party #1

Coloring with Uncle Kurt - Ryan adores him and asked where he was every time Kurt left the room.
Sticking his fingers in the cool aquarium cake Mommy made him (Grandma baked it, Mommy decorated it.)
Learning how to say I'm Two! from Aunt Heather.

Herding Cows with Grandpa in the truck. All of this happened up at the farm last weekend. I took Ryan up for the weekend, and we did all this fun stuff plus we went to the park and went out for Mexican. It was a lot of fun, and Ryan was very behaved. I think everyone got a kick out of how much he talks now. The cake turned out too - which I was very happy about.

Ads

In case you haven't noticed, I have let Blogger put ads on my blog. Supposedly you can earn a lot of money this way, but since there are only 7 people that read my blog on a regular basis (H, Mom, Kathy, the 3 Beymer ladies, and Rachel) I doubt I am earning much dough. However, I am getting a kick out of the ads. If I complain about my weight, the ads all switch to weight loss products. If I mention Ryan, they all switch to baby ads. Today they were all ads for Halloween costumes. It almost makes me want to post something really raunchy to see what they advertise for that!

Hi Aunt Kathy!

This post is for Aunt Kathy. She collects elephants and loves elephants so I have to post a pic of Ryan on the elephant for her. She also is an avid blog reader! She also has left me several nice messages that I have been too lazy to return (or too busy with Ryan?) and sent us a nice anniversary card. I'm sorry for being such a slacker niece!

Look What Was in My Can of Peanuts!

Look what crawled out of my can of peanuts! A curious little boy!

Tonight was Ryan's lucky night. Mommy was so tired that he got to watch 3 episodes of Curious George. Ryan is so warm and delicious, and I am so chilly that I almost hated to put him in bed.

Somehow I have managed to read the newest Stephanie Plum novel Lean Mean Thirteen and finish all of Ryan's costume except the sash in the past 24 hours. Plus we had a big public meeting today at work that I had to bake cookies for. I was bummed about the meeting - because of it I couldn't take time off to see the fire truck. Teri Ann got the Johnston Fire Dept to send over 3 firemen and a big fire truck to day care this morning. All of the kids got to climb up in the truck. I guess Ryan climbed up, got scared, and started crying. I am thinking this is what will happen at the farm this weekend. He will probably love watching the combine, but not want to get up in it. I am pretty impressed with Teri Ann though. The kids have been studying community helpers for the past two weeks, and last week she had someone from the Coast Guard come over in uniform and give a presentation. Ryan got a certificate saying he had completed Preschool Water Safety Training. I though that was pretty funny considering he still chugs bathwater on a regular basis.

I have to go to the shrink in the morning for my checkup. It is pretty lame. They ask you a series of really basic questions like are you sleeping? eating? feeling sad? looking forward to things? ok? - here's your prescription - see you in 4 months. I don't know how they can tell anything by your answers. It takes less than 10 minutes.

Uh-Oh

I just finished sewing the crotch in Ryan's pirate pants --- and one of the legs is inside out!!!
Crap. Off to find my seam ripper.

Average Saturday

Not much new to report. It's just an average Saturday for me. This morning Ryan and I vacuumed and then hit Target and the grocery store, and we've spent the rest of the day alternately playing and sitting in time-out. AAAH! He's lucky he's cute. You can't even tell I vacuumed this morning! Now when you say, "Ryan do you need a time out?" in your gruffest voice, he says "Yeah." and walks over to the wall. Once today he was so out of control, I asked him if he needed to go to bed. He said yes, so he sat in there for a while.

I make him sound worse than he is. He is good 90% of the time. He is hilarious. He repeats everything you say now but sometimes get things mixed up. He still thinks any kind of fruit is an apple, and tomatoes too.

I did start working on his pirate outfit during nap time. I have most of the pieces cut out. I still have to cut out the sleeves and then sew everything together. Maybe I will take Ryan out for supper tonite - I'm really hungry for salad or Chinese..... I did discover that I cant eat rice-a-roni. We had it for lunch, and my blood sugar was higher afterward than it has been in 4 years!

Where is Ryan?

Where is Ryan? Hiding in the neighbor's wiegela bushes of course! I lost him for a few minutes this weekend. He had crawled in the bushes looking for kitties.

Ryan continues to be his crazy self. He wants to walk around the block all the time, and if there are any kids outside on the block he has to go see them. He is going to become the neighborhood pest! He is still testing me all the time. I have started to crack down in the past week. After 5 time outs during one meal, I have almost broken him of getting out of his chair during supper. He is also talking a mile a minute in sentences, spends about 45 minutes a night in the bathtub, and we spend about an hour a night reading books. I'm exhausted.

Isn't it Gorgeous?

Happy 9th Anniversary today to me and Todd. Todd out did himself and got me the new Autumn Leaves Crop in Style bag from Archivers!!! And even more impressive, he found Archivers all by himself. He is not known for his sense of direction. I think I am going to use it as a purse so I can use it every single day. I have been salivating over it, but was too cheap to buy it, so he got it for me. It's so beautiful I had to take a picture.

We celebrated Monday. I took the afternoon off so we could have lunch and go to a movie. On the positive side, we enjoyed each other's company (after we agreed not to discuss the bar). On the negative side, we ate lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings and the ribs tasted like beef jerkey, and we saw the worst movie ever. By the time we made it to the mall, the only option available was Eastern Promises, a Russian mob movie. We like the Sopranos, so we figured what the heck. It was horrible. We almost walked out after the first 15 minutes. It was incredibly violent and incredibly boooooooring. It also featured an exceptionally bloody emergency c-section, which neither of us handled too well. And the much-touted male full-frontal nudity amounted to a naked man getting the crap beat out of him while his parts dangled in the breeze and blood dripped down his butt crack. Ugh. Back on the positive side, after the movie we went shopping for Ryan's birthday presents, which was fun.

Other than that, nothing much is new. I am drowning in greenhouse gas business at work. I have been so busy that I haven't even had time to talk to Diane since Friday!!! October is going to be crazy at work and home, which is amazing because I never have anything to do on the weekend. I have two birthday cakes to decorate, a trip to the farm, our first trick-or-treating, a trip to the pumpkin patch, a weddding, and I am in charge of the Halloween party at work. I am also sewing Ryan's costume. He is going to be a pirate. I even got him a fake parrot to sew on his shoulder!

I saw on dmmoms.com that there is going to be kids consignment sale at the Fairgrounds next weekend. Check it out:

http://www.take2.com/take2/Shop?Dsp=200010&PCR=1:31:311

I think if you sign up for their newsletter you can get early shopper passes.

Nice Weekend

My parents came down for a visit this weekend, which was very nice. We had a lot of fun with Ryan, although he had his moments. Friday night we had BLT's for supper, ran to Target and read lots and lots of books. Saturday we went to the craft show at the Fairgrounds and had a picnic at the Grey's Lake playground. Ryan didn't eat a bit of his lunch, but went down the tall slide lots of times. The picnic ended abruptly when Ryan took off towards the water. I yelled for his to stop, but he didn't listen. I finally caught the back of his shirt, knocking him down. We immediately went home because he was naughty. That afternoon my dad put up our new medicine cabinet - so WE FINALLY HAVE A LIGHT THAT WORKS in the bathroom. Poker ladies - no more peeing in the dark.

This morning we went to HyVee and Ryan actually ate part of a pancake. But then he ran the length of an aisle with me chasing him...... AAAH!

I have been attempting to crop this afternoon while Ryan sleeps, but I'm just not into it. I have been quite frazzled, so maybe I will just kick back.

Ryan: A Self-Portrait

Martha Stewart Eat Your Heart Out - Part 2

I am Martha - hear me ROAR! I won the chili/soup contest at work. I beat 11 other soups. Hee-hee. This is my 3rd victory. My name is mud around the office.

Chug-a Chug-a Choo-Choo!

Happy Week

The Bride and the "Wedding Coordinator".

Dancing Daddies - Chip and Todd with Caelin and Chaelinn Barbour.

This past week was much better. There were excellent test results for all, and the wedding went off without a hitch. You can get much better than finding out two of your favorite people just have lumps of dead tissue instead of cancer!


I was surprised to find out that Wedding Coordinators get corsages, get to have their picture taken with the bride, get to sit at the head table, and give toasts! It was a nice surprise. And of course, since I helped pick out all three kinds of cake I had to taste them again...


Sunday I drove to Chicago for a Climate Registry meeting on Monday. I picked Mom up in Iowa City, and she shopped while I was at the meeting. I got to go to IKEA but it seemed like a letdown, and I only spent $7. Let me tell you, driving to Chicago and back with no cruise control really SUCKS!


Today I have been trying to recover from Chicago. Todd gave Ryan a haircut tonight, which means I was in charge of holding him down. Now I need to peruse the Fisher Price web site for a birthday gift for Ryan. He destroyed my catalog.

Don't Forget

Don't forget to watch Britney at the VMA's tonight. I assume it will be like watching a train wreck. That crazy ho should have her kids taken away from her.

Crappy Week

Overall, it was a crappy week. I did get some croppin' done on Monday until Ryan got back from Oskaloosa, so that was nice. Ryan had a good time, but got worn out with Grandma and Grandpa and has been off his sleeping schedule and crabby all week. It also didn't help that the new kid at daycare screamed all thru nap time everyday. Ryan is also still cutting molars so that leads to extra crabbiness.

Yesterday I took him to a baby shower. He wasn't bad, but he ran around the hallway the entire time. I just can't get him to sit. If I would have made him, he would have screamed and disrupted everything. At lease he was quitely rambunctious. I always worry that people are judging me though.

Today he has been a very good boy. Since it is so nice I took him to Ashby Park this morning and ran him around so he will have a good, long nap. He was cute - he ran over to the wading pool and starting taking his shoes off before he realized the water was gone. He ran all over the pool testing it out saying "All Gone!" Of course he wasn't satisfied with the toddler equipment either. He had to climb all over the equipment for ages 5 - 12 and climb up the big ladder and go down the long spiral slide all by himself.

There are multiple reasons it was a crappy week - Ryan crabby, air conditioner broke, sump pump clogged, Todd sick, bar doing miserably etc, but the worst was that our good friend Brian aka Gilk almost died last Monday at his bachelor party. He had a blood infection, fever of 103, and a blood pressure so low that it couldn't be measured. Luckily Burke got him to the hospital on Monday afternoon (even though he had been sick since Saturday and none of the other bachelor partiers, including my husband, took him to the doctor even though they could tell he was sick). He was in the ICU for 5 days and it was very scary. Especially since he and Diane are getting married next Saturday! I saw him yesterday though and he looked and acted like himself. They are still waiting for some test results, but he may be able to get out on Tuesday. They still don't know what caused the infection. I was so worried about him and Diane. And, my mom is having some test results next week, so that has me worried too. One of the benefits to a crabby toddler is that he likes to be rocked, and rocking has settled my nerves.

Let's hope for a good week this week - good test results for all, cooler weather, and seeing Diane and a healthy Brian get married on Saturday!

Martha Stewart Eat Your Heart Out!

The inner-4H'er in me prevailed, and I was able to whip out my valances. I am Martha - hear me roar! I even managed to thread the machine and bobbin in record time. I wouldn't enter them in any sewing contests, but they will work, and they gave the dining room the little "umph" it needed. Okay, so may be I'm the one that needed the "umph". I have been itching to put in hardwood flooring and repaint the dining room, but sadly no $$$. So, I think if I wash the walls again (thanks for the jello stains Ryan) and shampoo the carpet, I can control the itch.

Now that the curtains are done, I am hoping to do some croppin'. Ryan is staying overnight with Grandpa and Grandma so I can have some time to myself, and Todd is camping out with AZX for the Brians' bachelor party. It is also the perfect time to crop, since all that stuff is upstairs where the window air conditioner is. Our central air is on the fritz. It works for a few hours at a time, but then the pipe freezes up, so we have turned it off for now.

Ooh - I forgot to tell you - these curtains are even better because the fabric was only $1 a yard. I bought it off the clearance rack months ago. I also got a pattern to make Ryan's Halloween costume. It should cost me less than $5 to make.

AAAAAAH!

I am attempting to make some valances for my dining room windows without using a pattern. It is not going well. Apparently I am incapable of cutting 6 pieces of fabric to the same size.
I may have to abandon ship.

This and a trip to the grocery store is all I have to do this weekend. Todd is working and going to the 2 Brians' bachelor weekend.

Blogger Has Video!

Since you can upload video to Blogger now, here is a video of my spinning baby from last year. You've got to watch the whole thing - he gets really fast at the end. And no, I did not speed this up. It is in real time.

Too Cute!!

Is this not the cutest thing ever? It is the "smore" that Ryan made at school (daycare). They are doing a unit on camping, so Teri Ann had them make smores out of cardboard, cotton balls, and brown tissue paper. It looks just like the real thing!

Ryan is doing well, but is cranky, cranky, cranky. He is cutting his 2-yr-old molars which caused him to have a 101.4 fever for three days. He is still obsessed with the doo-doos, but is also obsessed with coloring and sidewalk chalk. We have to follow a certain procedure when drawing. First, I have to draw him a choo-choo, then a kitty or as he says, "titty", then a fishy, next a bug, a happy face for Daddy, and a happy face for Mommy. Then Ryan scribbles all over them and we repeat. And repeat. And repeat. This all has to be done together as Ryan seems to have lost his ability to play by himself. He also wants to be rocked to sleep again, which I don't particulary mind! He is also living on pudding and not much else. He also begs for gookies (cookies). I let him have some juice when he was sick so now he keeps asking for duice.

When Rachel and the boys were over I picked my first big red tomato. Ryan yelled Apple! and bit the end out of it. Then he promptly spit it out!

Phooey!!

Crap. I accidentally deleted my pictures from the State Fair and from Ryan's playdate with Anthony and Chase last night. Crap. Crap. Crap.

Ryan and I are going to my parents' tomorrow afternoon for the weekend for my parents' 40th anniversary. I am really looking forward to it, but just once I would like a little help traveling with a toddler. By the time I get laundry done, the car packed, work on Friday, then drive up there, I am usually exhausted and just crash.

The playdate last night went well. Ryan and Anthony actually played together and acted like they liked each other. We are making progress! Chase was sweet as always, and I always have a good time with Rachel. We like to commiserate about the workload of motherhood. I also managed to pawn off an eggplant and some tomatoes on her!

Our trip to the State Fair on Monday was hot, hot, hot. I worked in the Discovery Garden from 12 - 4 and roasted. I forgot to take a hat and Ryan broke my sunglasses so I tried to stand in the shade. We did have a good time looking at animals and going to the new Knapp building before my shift. But the thing that Ryan was most impressed with was all the golf carts zipping about.

Weigh Loss Woes

I am really stuggling. After reaching a loss of 42 pounds in March, the weight is creeping back on. It is very upsetting to me. Basically, I slacked off and quit being vigilant about what I was eating and how much I was exercising. Then last month I started binging again at night. Oy.
Two weeks ago, I rededicated myself and have starting writing down what I eat, drinking more water, and being more careful. I am starting to get back on track. I have also been to my support group two weeks in a row and have even trekked upstairs to the nurse to get weighed. Now, if I can just start exercising again. I guess if you are like me, you have to be vigilant every single day. How frustrating.

I am also frustrated with Ryan. I have been very careful to (hopefully) teach him good eating habits, but now he doesn't eat anything except a granola bar in the morning, a few little snacks, and a few bites of yogurt for supper. Maybe it's just a phase ... he is very muscular though. I just don't want him to get diabetic like me and most of my family.

The good news is that I still have very tight control over my diabetes. I am down to two pills a day, and hopefully at my next appoinment they will lower the dosage. I would just like to know what it is like to not to obsess about my weight fifty times a day or associate my weight with my self-worth.

Onward and upward! We are going to the Fair tomorrow, so that should be a challenge.

I Can Be Such an Idiot!

During our vacation, I purchased my first new car since I got Old Blue in 1994. I got a 2005 Kia Spectra5, and I like it very much.

Yesterday was the first time that I have driven it out of Des Moines, and I discovered that it HAS NO CRUISE CONTROL!!!!! What kind of idiot buys a new car and doesn't check to make sure it has cruise control?? AAAAH!!!

Aching Back? Ryan Will Fix It!

Microsoft Class Action Settlement

Don't forget to file a claim against Microsoft. It is really easy. Just go to http://www.iowamicrosoftcase.com and fill it out online.

Every computer you buy has Windows preloaded, so you can file a claim for Windows which is worth$16. All you need to know for the first $100 in claims is the year you bought your computer and where you bought it.

July Photos

Great Vacation

We had a great week of vacation even though we didn't really go anywhere. We got a lot of family time in, which is rare for us. It was nice for Momma, Daddy, and Ryan to all hang out. Ryan was over the moon to have Daddy home all week. Of course now he isn't too happy.... and won't take his pajamas off or get out of the car in the morning at daycare... but that is a small price to pay for a good week.

We saw the Harry Potter movie, went to the Science Center, Hall of Pride, Trainland USA, the wading pool, ate out a few times, and mostly just played. Todd and I also watched movies every night.

Speaking of Trainland USA, it is in Colfax, and is really cool. (I can't believe I spent my vacation in Colfax.) It is a house that has a basement full of model trains. They are set up so you travel from the East Coast to the West Coast. Ryan looooooved it. We bought him some trains and he plays with them all the time. He calls them Doo-Doo's instead of Choo-Choo's. It is very cute. He is absolutely obsessed with doo-doo's now!

The Essence of Ryan

These two pictures perfectly describe my son: wild, crazy, fearless, determined, tempermental!

Weekend Update

I'd like to send a shout out to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Denny. Ryan and I had a marvelous time Friday night hanging out with them in their motel room downtown Friday night. Supper with Ryan was a little stressful, but he was all wound up and entertaining the rest of the night. He enjoyed standing on the air conditioner and looking at the cars on I-235 and also enjoyed climbing up on the king-size bed and jumping off the other side while Denny chased him. It was a nice visit. I had not been looking forward to a quiet, boring weekend at home without Todd, so it was a nice diversion. We didn't get home until 10 pm, so Ryan slept until 9:30 Saturday morning and then took a five hour nap in the afternoon! We spent the rest of the day outside getting wet. We were outside until 9:30 last night watering flowers. We also had another first for Ryan. We got fireflies and put them in a jar. He loved it! He kept saying, 'Bug! Bug! Bug!'

Today Ryan and I baked, played farm, visited the neighbors across the street, and basically hung out. He is just up from a 3-hour nap (I can hear him downstairs with Todd). I am going to go to Wal-Mart tonight to lay in supplies, because we are now officially on vacation! We are going to do stuff in Des Moines every day before nap time, and then hang out in the evenings. I can't wait!

HARRY POTTER MANIA!!

I am ready. I have pre-ordered my book from Amazon.com. It is guaranteed to be delivered on the release date of July 21. Monday Todd and I are going to see the movie. I can't wait. Ryan may be going to be early so I can read!

Oooh...I have so much to catch up on my blog...but no time. Since the last time I blogged I have read several books, survived a nasty stomach virus, hosted my sis overnight, had my parents down for a weekend, painted my living room green, gone wedding shopping with Diane, made signs for the raised bed at the Discovery Garden, put in lots of hours on the #$%ing Plant Book for the Discovery Garden, gardened and of course did my work-at-the DNR/be-a-mom gig. I'm tired.

Ryan is doing well. He is still busy, busy, busy, but is better behaved. He has started talking in sentences - It's stuck, I'm stuck, It's broke, and every 30 seconds points and says What's That? He gets to go to the preschool room at daycare for a little each day, so he is bringing home lots of crafts. He also pretends to play the flute and clarinet (they have music time every day) and knows a little sign language. I am very happy with my daycare provider. He is smart. His new obsession (besides electrical cords and hoses) is trains, or as he says, Doo-doos (aka choo-choos). He also puts his hands on top of his head every time an airplane goes overhead.

Next week we are on vacation here in Des Moines. We are doing the local attractions. Maybe boring, but we get to sleep in our own beds or cribs.

Groceries

Can I pay some one to buy my groceries for me? I despise grocery shopping. Especially since I have to do it at Wal-Mart because it is so cheap. Especially since I have to drag Ryan with me. Especially since I spend hundreds of dollars and then feel like there is nothing to eat. Did you know that you can buy groceries on Amazon.com? They have like a hundred flavors of jello.

Now that I have ranted, here is some good news. I have managed to lose 6 of the 8 pounds I regained in May, and I haven't eaten any chocolate today.

Ryan and the Winthrop Warrior at the All School Reunion

Playing Hard at Backbone State Park

Celebrating Daddy's Birthday at Happy Joe's

Sunday Night Lament

I wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow and leave my baby-boo with someone else. Sigh.

What a Week

What a week so far. Sunday afternoon Ryan did not want to take his nap, so he jumped out of his crib. I heard a thump! and found him face down on the carpet crying. We then went outside to play, and he started jumping off his Little Tykes climber. Head first. (Bad, very bad). He spend two nights in the pack n' play and tonight is zipped under his new crib tent.

Monday was a weird day. We found out Todd's car needs almost $3500 in repairs (Bad, very bad). I took the afternoon off so Todd and I could go out to eat at Shane's Rib Shack (very good) and see Oceans 13 (very good). Later that night I had a nightmare, woke up, went to the bathroom, puked, then went back to bed, and was fine the next morning (bad, very bad).

I guess that is it for news this week. I am very tired (gee I wonder why) and overwhelmed at work. We are going to the farm this weekend, tomorrow is Todd's birthday, and Sunday is Father's Day, so I have been trying to get gifts and cards together along with getting stuff ready for this weekend. Traveling with a toddler takes a lot of preparation. Usually what happens is we get to the farm and then I drag my butt around all day Saturday because I'm worn out. It should be fun though - my grandpa and great-uncle are riding in the Winthrop 15o Anniversary parade as two of the oldest living graduates!

Decked out for the Farmers Market

Uncle Kurt! Uncle Kurt!

Blissful Day

Two Saturdays ago, we had an awesome day. Heather and Kurt were here for the weekend, and my friend Angie was running the Dam to Dam. First we went to the Farmers Market and to find Angie at the race, then we came home and H&K babysat so I could go out to lunch with Angie and Jennifer Bos. Then we went to Glendale Cemetary to feed the ducks. That was quite the experience. There was bread everywhere and some of the ducks had eggs. We took oyster crackers, which the ducks liked, but Ryan would throw the cracker and then pick it up off the ground and eat it before the duck could. The area the ducks were at was very steep, so I had visions of Ryan running downhill straight into the lake, or being attacked by a momma duck. It was fun, but we weren't there long.

Then we went to the cupcake bakery in Valley Junction for cupcakes, to the Garden Barn, then to the Summerset Winery, then home. We had an hour before we were going out to supper and Ryan was going next door. It was the first time I had been out to supper without Ryan since October! We went to Dish and it was heavenly. I will have to post more on that lately. I set a goal for myself to eat everything on their menu by the end of the year. This contradicted the goal I set for myself earlier in the morning, which was to start running and run the Dam to Dam 5K next year.

Look Ma! I have no hair!

A week ago Monday, Todd gave Ryan his fourth haircut. The first three were all done at salons and were too expensive and not that great. Well this one was good, but it was way too short! Ryan now looks like he is about 4 years old. I almost bawled and Terri Ann at daycare almost bawled too. It is growing on me though...

Todd left the clippers on the dining room table, and of course Ryan found them and was over the moon that they had a cord. He loves cords.

Hold it Right There!

Stop! Or I will spray you down with Shout!

Profile

My mom has always said that Todd and Ryan have the same profile, and now I have photographic proof! But, since they finally changed color, he still has my eyes!

Ryan's First Trip to the Zoo

Ryan's first trip to the zoo wasn't as magical as we both expected, but it went fairly well. (I must point out that while Blank Park is ok, it is hard to have a magical anything there if you have been to any other zoo in the US!) His biggest thrill was watching the crows that hang around the snack bar. He is really into birds. He also enjoyed feeding the fish (I wouldn't let him anywhere near the open area - we stayed by the fence) and the aquariums. He liked watching the train, but was sleepy during the ride. Other than that, he couldn't have cared less about any of the animals. My daycare lady suggested next time we skip the zoo and just go feed the ducks in Glendale Cemetery. Not a bad idea since the cemetery is across the street from our house. Ryan only had one teeny tantrum and did a good job riding in the stroller. We also went to Applebee's and he actually sat and behaved the entire time.

The rest of Memorial Day Weekend was up and down. Ryan and I spent Friday night, Sunday afternoon/evening, and Monday evening outside, which was good (with all this time outside - my flower beds are really looking good!). Saturday we were trapped inside because of the rain, which was bad, so he helped me clean the house and we played with his John Deere barn. Actually, we play with his barn every single night and usually for several hours on the weekend - he looooooves it. Anyway, the other big entertainment was that he spent over 2 hours on Saturday morning playing with a bottle of Shout stain remover. Sunday we went to Church and shopping at Target, which was good, but other than that Ryan and I just hung out since Daddy was working & sleeping.

Funny thing - Saturday Ryan started high-stepping it around the kitchen, then looked at me and said "March! March!".

Car Man

Mother's Day 2007

The Little Gardener

Bad Day/Glorious Day

Thursday was not so good. I got home about 1 am from Raleigh, then Ryan had us up at 6 am. Sandy and I attempted to garage sale, but the "huge" sales they advertised were pretty puny. Ryan was out of control all day. He became hysterical ever time Sandy tried to leave and had lots of tantrums. She finally just left him screaming. He also bit me, leaving a big bruise. I guess he was punishing me for leaving him for four days. It worked. I ended up bawling. After his nap, he forgave me and has been nice ever since.

On the flip side, today was a great day. First I went out to the Discovery Garden this morning for planting day (Todd was in charge at home). Luckily Jean had gone out yesterday and planted the 100+ begonias, so all I had to do was plant the tri-color sage and becopa. The theme of our bed is cotton candy, so everything is pink and white. It only took me an hour to plant about 75 plants.

Then Ryan and I did a WalMart run. First I bought an entire cart of plants (whoops!) so we had to put them in the car before we could get the groceries. Then we got a cart of groceries and got them loaded into the car. Ryan fell asleep before we left the parking lot (with a donut hole in each hand) and slept for over 2 hours when we got home. When he woke up, he looked at me and said "Outside!". So, out we went.

We spent a glorious afternoon in the backyard. I worked on planting my flowers. He would watch me until he got bored, and then would go sit in his Fred Flinstone car that I got yesterday at a garage sale. I tried to teach him to plant flowers, but the only concept he caught on to was the watering part. I was so impressed though - he took the hose and sprayer and spent about 25 minutes carefully watering the plants. He even moved the sprayer back and forth! Unfortunately, he also watered himself quite a bit, so I finally made him come in and take a warm bath. I was not popular with him. After much screaming that woke up his father, I finally got him cleaned up.

The bad news of the day is #1) Ryan can open the gate in the backyard and escape #2) I'm pretty sure his ears are infected again. That means we are going to a specialist.

Greetings from North Carolina

Hi from Raleigh. One of our speakers didn't show up, so I am killing time for a few minutes. I miss Ryan, but it has been nice to get out of the house, go out to eat, and socialize. Unfortunately few of the questions from the list we brought with us have been answered :(
The weather has been nice and so is the hotel. I am leaving for the airport today at 4:30 pm and will be in Des Moines at 11:38 pm. Ugh.

Mahnie

Ryan keeps saying, Mahnie, Mahnie, Manhie, Manhie, Mahnie. As far as I can tell, he is either saying Marnie, Marnie, Marnie or money, money, money. I think it's Marnie, Marnie, Marnie! At least I'm not Ma any more.

We have been going for our nightly 2 mile constitutional. I am good for the first 1.75 miles, then I wonder how the hell I am going to get home. It's not too bad, but my back is starting to ache from hunching over the stroller. Ryan enjoys it, particulary if there are snacks involved. He has started kicking back and putting his feet up on the tray while I push. There are two carved bears about at an apartment complex about a block from our house, and he always points and laughs at them.

The other night we stopped by the library on the way home. I picked up some paperbacks to read on the plane, and paid my latest fines. You'd think with the library across the street from my house I would remember to take my books back!

Preschool

Some days Ryan gets out of the toddler room and does the preschool activities with the older kids. Yesterday they were studying ovals and the color yellow, and Ryan got to attend. He brought home a yellow bumble-bee (oval shaped) that he had colored. Amazing.

Also, when I went to pick him up, the remaining little kids were sitting quietly in their chairs watching the Grinch. I looked in the toddler room and in the highchair for Ryan, because it never occurred to me that he was one of the quiet kids in the chairs! The other kids were excited and kept saying 'Ryan is in the chair!'. I was shocked!

New word of the evening: elbow or as Ryan says, eb-oh.

Obsessed with the Sump Pump Hose

Getting Sprayed by the Sump Pump

Croppin' and Gardenin'

H missed one heck of a great crop yesterday in Ankeny. Jan generously went up Friday night and paid the $5 donation each for us so we could all sit together. I shared a table with Jen and her boss Ashley, who is very nice and just starting to crop, and was next to Roni and Steph. We always have a good time. The food was excellent, we won lots of door prizes, and we even did some shopping. I got a Pizza for 2 Basket in the silent auction (basket, classes, pop, candy, and 2 Dominos pizzas) for $23, and made some good pages. The most fun was that I made an alphabet book for Ryan. I cut 7 sheets of 12x12 paper into fourths, punched holes in them, and put them together with metal rings. Then I put a letter of the alphabet on each page and then put other stickers on the page that began with that letter. It went together fast and was so relaxing because I didn't have to make it fancy. It was also a good way to use up a lot of old stickers. I still have a few letters to fill in, but it was mostly done after an hour! I pooped out at 7 and went home. My back was locking up, but mostly I missed Ryan :)

Today Ryan and I have been gardening. Which really means I garden and Ryan plays with the sump pump hose. We have it hooked up to two sprinklers, and he got caught next to one of them when it went off. He just played in the water and laughed! Then things took a turn for the worse. He knocked the bird bath over on himself. It was full of icky water and leaves, which dumped all over him and went in his mouth. He screamed and screamed. I rushed him in and put him straight into the tub. Other than a red swollen eye where the bird bath whacke him, he cleaned right up.

Then Todd came home and we attempted to put Ryan's playground equipment together. We were having problems figureing it out, Ryan wouldn't get out of the way, and it was super hot (the trees have no leaves - so no shade) so we finally gave up at 2 and went in for a late lunch and a naps. Ryan dumped a bottle of water all over himself, so we got into outfit #3 before his nap.

While the Todd and Ryan napped, I went back out and worked at cleaning off my perennial bed and smoothing out my dirt pile. I also mudded in three plants that Ryan and I bought this morning at WalMart (you can never have enough plants - it's a sickness). I finally came in at 4 pm and showered again. I kind of feel like croppin', but I should probably get Ryan up since it is 5:15 and he goes to bed at 8:15!

Pardon the Pun

Pardon the pun, but Brokeback Mountain blew. Boring, boring, boring. I did get my pictures sorted though.

I'm feeling much better - but still icky. I am sure that by Saturday I will be raring to go.

Ryan's New Haircut Looks Great!

Chillin' in the Thomas Chair

Bronchitis - Day 12

It is now day 12 of my bronchitis extravaganza. There may be light at the end of the tunnel. I can actually breathe a little and I'm only coughing every 15 minutes as opposed to every 5. Maybe this new antibiotic will do the trick. All I know, is come hell or high water I am cropping on Saturday with the girls!

I'm going to pop Brokeback Mountain in the computer/dvd and sort pictures for Saturday. I have my own little oasis upstairs now. Sweet.

Freaked Out

Anybody else having nightmares about this Virginia Tech thing? I think my problem is two fold - 1) I watched too much news coverage when I was sick 2) it bothered me when I saw Laura Bush interviewed and she said she had met two families that had lost their only child - this freaked me out because Ryan might be an only child. It is not helping that MSNBC is now playing a constant loop of the pictures of himself with the guns that Cho sent to NBC. You would think that that we be very traumatic for all the families/students to see those pictures all over the place.

Uck. Poor Mommy. Poor Baby

Well, the uck got worse than Pink Eye. Sunday morning I had the sniffles which seemed typical since Ryan had snot pouring out of him. I got his eye prescription and things seemed ok. By Sunday night I was sick as a dog. Ryan and I both stayed home on Monday, and it was Todd's day off, and he wasn't feeling well. I went to the doctor in the morning and found out I had bronchitis. I kept getting sicker all day (but still took Ryan outside to play) and finally decided that if Ryan had the same symptoms as me and only felt half as bad, he must be miserable. So, I called the doctor's office at 2:55 and managed to get a 3:20 appointment! Turns out the little guy had pink eye, strep throat, and a double ear infection. Then we headed to HyVee and got his prescription. We finally got to the car, and I was beat. I had been to two doctor's appointments and two pharmacies that day, and I felt like crap. I just wanted to go home. I put the car in reverse, and backed into another car backing out! $%^! It was the old couple that was next to me in line at the pharmacy. There car had about a 6 inch scratch and a tiny, tiny quarter-sized dent. They acted like it was totally my fault. The corner of my bumper is caved in, but hey, my car is 13 years old, so I might not even fix it. What a day! Ryan had a horrible night and was up every 90 minutes. Luckily Todd took care of him, so I could sleep. Last night was the same way, and I swear he got me up every hour, coughing, poor baby.

We went back to work and daycare today. My ears still hurt and I still can't breathe, but Ryan is a new kid. I can tell he is better because he's got his attitude back. Apparently they spent the entire day outside at day care today, and even took shorter naps than usual. He had a complete melt down at Dahl's (my first grocery store tantrum) because I put milk in the cart and he wanted milk! He screamed all the way through the check out line and all the way home. But he was happy as soon as he got his milk.

Uck. Poor Baby.

I was looking forward to seeing if Rachel wanted to get together and take the boys to the park tomorrow, but Ryan has pink eye so he shouldn't be around other kids. I hope I don't get it.

Last night his nose was running and this morning his eyes were a little yucky, but by 7 pm they were red and oozing. I will have to call the doctor's office in the morning for a prescription. Pink eye is the one illness that you don't actually have to take the kid in for. Poor baby. I don't think that he feels that well. I know this because he hasn't been naughty for a few days and he didn't bolt out of the bathroom stark naked and run around like a crazy man after his bath tonight.

We have spent most of the weekend playing with his John Deere barn, and we went to WalMart this morning. I have been organizing my scrapping area (the end is almost near) while he has been napping or sleeping. Boring.

I Think I'm Insulted

After much media coverage that the Assesor raised the average price of a home in Des Moines 9.6%, we received notice that they raised our property value a whopping $100. I think I'm insulted. The house next door to us sold for more than that, and it's only a 2 bedroom! I guess I should be happy though, I'm not planning on moving anytime soon and this means our property taxes will still be ok.

The Mighty Hunter

Dyeing Eggs

Easter

Easter weekend was pretty good, but I was exhausted before we even got to Oskaloosa, and I had a headache (I have had it for almost a week despite a chiropractor visit).

It's a long story, but Todd brought home 9 dozen eggs that were left over from St. Patty's at the bar. So on Saturday I boiled eggs, made egg casserole, made an angel food cake, made homemade noodles, made chicken and noodles, and I still had 2 dozen left! Ryan was pretty good and played while I worked. I let him beat the eggs with the whisk (very messy) and he enjoyed watching the pasta roller and the mixer.

Sunday morning we awoke to see the Easter bunny had visited. Our neighbors have an annual egg hunt, so they expanded it to our front yard and put out all sorts of eggs for Ryan. We about froze to death while he played with the first two eggs he found and wouldn't hunt for them. We gave up on him and headed for their yard. They have 3 kids - one in high school and two in college - and they have an extreme Easter egg hunt. After they find them up, they all attack each other and try to rip their sacks open and steal each other's eggs. While all this chaos was going on Ryan found a golf ball, so he was in 7th heaven.

After that, we came in and dyed eggs. It was a risk, but he did very well. He used his hands and didn't make too much of a mess. His hands were all stained and he kept licking them and the eggs, but PAAS is non-toxic, so what the heck. Then we went to Todd's parents. We left at 12:45 and got back at 8:30 pm. The whole time I was driving back I was lamenting that I was missing the Sopranos. I stayed up and watched them at 11 pm on HBO West Coast. It was worth the wait. The show was very foreboding, and I kept waiting for something bad to happen.

Back to Easter, we had a lovely day which mostly involved Ryan being spoiled rotten and eating a lot of sugar. Todd's parents gave me a beautiful pink begonia plant which hopefully I won't kill. The flower bed that I am working on at the State Fair is going to be all pink begonias, so hopefully I won't kill this one. It would be an omen for the Fair.

I Can Finally Sleep At Night

Now that I know who is the father of Anna Nicole's baby, I can finally sleep at night! I just haven't been able to get any rest while THE WHOLE WORLD waited for the DNA results! Not.
Why is the media obsessed with that tramp? I am sooooooo sick of it.

Speaking of sleep, I finally did it. I quit rocking Ryan to sleep at night. After just 4 nights of crying, he goes down without a peep. I can't believe it! I can actually do stuff. I know, I know, I should have done it sooner, but I wasn't ready. He's too sweet :)

Motherhood Frustrations

Aaah! My sweet little boy has turned into a Holy Terror - or as my mom aptly put it - a One Toddler Demolition Derby. He has always had a little bit of a temper, but now if you tell him no he either throws something at you or throws a roaring fit on the floor for 10 - 20 minutes. He is also fearless and is climbing many more things and then jumping off.

Two weeks ago he knocked over our Tiffany floor lamp. It was quite spectacular. It hit the edge of the toy box at the base of the shade and sheared off the socket. The shade and the light bulb didn't shatter, but there were sparks and it blew the circuit so all the lights went out.

Last weekend I took him to Aurora for the weekend. It was icky weather all weekend, so we couldn't go outside. In the course of 48 hours he put cereal down H's humidifier, flipped the rocking chair and put two big black marks on Mom's wall, opened Mom's china cabinet - took out a candle holder and ran away, jumped from the footstool to the rocking chair, jumped from the couch into the chair, etc, etc. I was exhausted by the time I got home and starting to question my motherhood abilities. He also had several hellacious tantrums while we were there and was a real pain when we went out to eat.

Monday night Todd, Ryan, and I went to the Machine Shed. We had to take him out twice while we waited for the food, and he whipped a spoon across the table, narrowly missing my nose. It made for a miserable meal. Of course he cooed, and smiled and charmed the server whenever she paid attention to him.

Today at school he whacked Chance upside the head with a truck for absolutely no reason. He spent quite a bit of time in timeout for that one. It seems he is either a good, good, charming little boy or naughty, naughty, with no in between. He definitely has the Stein temper.

He has also been refusing to go to bed - rocking him just doesn't work that well anymore unless you wait until 10:30. So, Sunday night we started the tough love and put him in his crib and let him cry. Night 1 - 10 min of screaming, Night 2 - 45 min of screaming/wailing/hysteria, Night 3 - no screaming (fell asleep on my lap), Night 4 - 15 min of screaming. It has been hard, but not as hard as it would have been to do several months (or a year) ago. It still sucks. I miss rocking him.

Well, I should head downstairs, it's 12 am. I have been simultaneously downloading music to my iPod, doing email, and putting together my new paper shelves. Maybe that explains why two sides of the shelves were put together wrong!

Waving to Mommy

Striking a Pose

Sleezewad

A few weeks ago, a total sleezewad tried to pick me up. It scared the crap out of me. It was one of those really nice days in February, so I came home at lunch and decided to go for a walk. I was bundled up in my big winter coat, ear muffs, and gloves, and was walking a block from home by the library. A car went by, and the guy kind of turned and looked at me. I thought it was someone I knew, so I gave a little wave. The car went down the block and turned left. As I approached the end of the next block, the car came back and stopped at the end of the sidewalk. The guy rolled down the window and ....

Mr. Sleazewad: Where ya headed?
Me: I'm just walking.
Mr. Sleazewad: Do you need a ride?
Me (getting freaked out): No thanks.
Mr. Sleazewad: Are you sure? Because you sure are cute!

I turned on my heel and took off for home. Those are the fastest 2 blocks I have ever walked in my entire life!

Finally The !@#$%^ Works!

Errrrr! to the new version of Blogger!!!! Errr!!!! Finally, after days of searching the help groups, I finally figured out that the reason I couldn't log in to my blog is because for some users, when you see 'Click Here to Continue' you have to right-click and open it in a new window. Errr!! Also, when I converted to the new version and set up my Google log-in, you can't change your google email address, even if your regular email address has changed, or you can't get into your blog. Errr!!!!

Well, I see it has been almost 7 weeks since I have blogged. I won't even try to catch you up on what all has happened. Pretty much I am just working, being a mom, trying to stick to my meal and exercise plans, and basically trying to keep my head above water. Todd in the past two weeks, has increased, (yes - I said increased- his work hours) so that has added extra joy to my life. Errr!!! Errr!!! We did have one nice family evening last Tuesday, we took stroller and walked over to Marino's on Franklin for pizza then walked the long way home. It was very nice, but nights like that are few and far between.

Since the last blog, Mr. Ryan has started eating people food, has made the transition (finally) to a sippy cup, and has quit using the inflatible bathtub in the big bathtub. I am still rocking him to sleep and he still has his paci, but we are making progress. He has also turned into quite the little climber (dining room table, top rung of rocking chair, into the crib, etc) which gives me quite the workout and scares me to death because he has no fear of anything. I have finally caved a little, and let him watch PBS just so I can catch a breath now and then. He is still obsessed with the vacuum cleaner and is obsessed with books. We read, and read, and read, which is good. I also let Aunt Kathy give him m&m's which he LOVED!

Yesterday we went to Humboldt with Todd's parents to visit Todd's Grandpa and Aunt and Uncle. It was a fun day, but very long. Ryan was non-stop from 8 am to 8 pm with no nap and without eating much. Todd's aunt and I splurged at supper and had the Ultimate Humboldt Burger, which is a hamburger with cheese, pickles, bbq sauce, and homemade onion rings on it and we split an order of the onion rings & ranch dressing with Sandy. The bowl the onion rings came in was just glistening with grease, but it was I almost cried it was so good. And, I had a taco salad at lunch. I really don't eat like that anymore (except the to-die-for giant lasagna at the last crop) and really paid the price. I had horrible nightmares last night and indigestion all day, which wasn't helped by the burger and chips I had at Tami and Preston's today! I guess my body has really adjusted to my new eating habits and doesn't like the junk any more. The first 40 pounds was easy to lose, but this next 40 has been hell. I was hoping to get if off by my birthday, but I may just have to settle for another 20 by then.

Last weekend we went to Osky and surprised Todd's dad for his birthday which was very nice too. I guess that was another nice family day. Todd had to leave after a few hours to go to work, but Ryan and I stayed until 8 pm. Next weekend Ryan and I have no plans, and then the 31st we are going to the Farm for my dad's birthday, and the week after that is Todd's mom's birthday and Easter. Whew!

That's all I can think of for now, I was going to clean up my scrapping area, but I am ordering some paper shelves (a bonus for me from me) so I might as well wait until they come in to clean up.