First Time Sledding

Last weekend I took Ryan home to see his Great-Grandpa just in case something were to happen before Christmas. It was a good visit. Ryan was good medecine for his sick Great-Grandpa. While we were there Aunt Heather brought over a sled and took Ryan for his first sledding adventure in the front yard. We did it in front of the picture window so everyone could watch. Ryan loved it and just asked today "Grandpa's? Zoom Again?"

Devastating News

This weekend started out exceptionally bad. Friday night my mom called to tell me that the doctors had finally figured out why my Grandpa Arnold is so tired all the time - he has a large tumor on his pancreas and nodules all over his lungs. They couldn't say for sure - but reading the handwriting on the wall - it is pancreatic cancer that has spread. They are going to the oncologist on Wednesday, but I'm guessing since Grandpa is 92.75 years old, he won't want to treat it. It is shocking - he is still sharp as a tack, lives on his own, mows his own lawn, etc. Needless to say, this is not good for anyone, and brings up a lot of horrible memories of my Grandma's long excrutiating battle with cancer 20 years ago.

I did not sleep well at all Friday night. Saturday Rachel and I were to take the boys to a Cookie Walk, but we decided to cancel. Ryan seemed to sense that we were trapped inside and was HYPER and NAUGHTY all day. It didn't help that I was on the phone a lot - my mom, my aunt, my sister, etc. At one point I was looking in the closet for something and noticed it was really quiet. I went out into the kitchen, and he was standing on the window ledge above the kitchen counter cleaning the window with a sponge. I screamed so loud that I startled him and he fell out of the window. I managed to catch him. Another time, I went to the bathroom and when I came back he was playing in his crib. He had scaled the side of it and dove in.

He was a lot tamer today and somehow this weekend I managed to get the tree up and 75% of my cards done. I only put 50% of our decorations out since he keeps moving them around. I estimate that Todd and I have about 175 ornaments plus the regular glass balls, and most of them are glass. Atleast I will have less to put away at the end of the month. He calls it "his tree" and the tiny ceramic one on the piano is "mommy's tree".

Well, time to sign off and go to bed. I have an IRS audit of Stein's to look forward to this week!
Yee-haw!

Some Cheery Pictures

Here are some cheery pictures from Thanksgiving Day. We stayed home for Thanksgiving because of Todd's schedule. We had planned to have Diane and Brian over for dinner, but Brian had emergency surgery the day before and had 2.5 feet of his intestine removed - so it was just us most of the day. It was pretty laid back. Todd slept until about 3 pm, so Ryan and I played both inside and outside most of the day. He is obsessed with Santa, particularly our inflatible Santa. Every morning we deflate it and he jumps around singing "Santa Nap! Santa Nap!". Then we drive to school and he tells every single kid "Santa Nap! Santa Nap!". Every night the only way I can get him to leave daycare is to say "It's time to wake up Santa!" . Then we go home and I plug Santa in, he inflates, and Ryan runs around saying "I see Santa! "I see Santa!" Thn I have to drag him inside kicking and screaming :)
Ryan was quite perplexed by the snow. He kept touching it with his mittens and saying "Wet! Wet!" Please note, we are not Raiders fans, but a free coat is a free coat.

About 1 pm I started cooking our turkey. I didn't have to put the sides in the oven until about 5 pm. Diane came over about 6 pm, and we ate. I went to move the turkey with the tongs from the roasting pan to cutting board, and the turkey fell apart and bounced on the counter. Stuffing squirted everywhere! It was messy, but dang that turkey was moist!

Christmas Kickoff

Friday night Rachel and I took the boys to Jordan Creek for the lighting of the Christmas tree. Luckily, it was a warm night. We got there 30 minutes early and parked. We had to walk quite a ways, but we were able to stake out a bench very close to the tree between On the Border and Joe's Crab Shack. Rachel fed the boys snacks (this bad mom forgot hers) and then Ryan and I walked almost the full lenght of the lake to find the free cookie booth. After the boys had their cookies, they ran around like crazy men in the grass next to Joe's with the other kids. I'm sure there were probably 1000's of people there, but it wasn't too crowded at our end since most of the people were at the opposite end by the bleachers. Finally, after the 30-minute Blenders concert, the started the countdown and lit the tree. It was very exciting. Then the fireworks started. They were awesome. They were almost more impressive than the 4th of July, and they lasted a really long time. At first, Ryan shook his head and said No! No!, and then he laid his head on my shoulder. But I noticed after a few minutes that he was watching them and smiling. They were really beautiful over the lake. We were right under them, which was a little scary. We decided the mall would be too crowded after them, so we went to McDonalds so the kids could play. They had so much fun going down the big pink slide. They played for about an hour. Ryan was all hot and sweaty. Then Rachel dropped us off, and I got Ryan ready for bed and he was out like a light. What a fun outing!

I've Been Tagged

Jen tagged me. Of course she tagged everyone I know, so I have no one to tag! Here's the deal:

THE RULES:1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Here are my 7 facts:

1. I have an unusually high pain threshold. I was off pain killers 3 days after my c-section. The nurses couldn't believe my chart.

2. The most disgusting taste in the world to me is almond flavoring. It triggers my gag reflex. I despise Dutch letters.

3. I am afraid of being buried alive or being put in prison for a crime I didn't commit.

4. I am traumatized by baking pie. We had to bake one and enter the 4-H pie baking contest each year. They auctioned them off, and after 8 years of seeing other peoples' pies sell for $200 (their parents were showoffs) and mine sell for $20, I can not bear to bake a pie. Except for pumpkin at Thanksgiving. Pumpkin was not allowed in the contest - so no trauma.

5. I have mud-wrestled a pig at the Buchanan County Fair.

6. My favorite food in the world is appetizers - any kind - but best are olives and foods containing mayo or cream cheese.

7. Sometimes I drink soy sauce straight from the bottle.

8. A bonus fact - I have asymmetrical optic nerves. They don't match. Apparently this is usually a sign of gluacoma, but in my case, it just means I'm a freak.

Stressed

As you can tell from my recent posts - I am stressed at work. So I have transferred my stress to obsessing about cleaning my house and baking birthday cakes. I scrubbed all the baseboards and walls in the dining room before Ryan's birthday and washed the curtains. I told my mom that I scrubbed the baseboards, and she said "And did all your guests comment on how clean your baseboards were?". Crap. She's right. I need to get some rest and focus on what really matters. My Aunt Kathy (ok, she's Todd's aunt, but she's my aunt now!) also sent me this:

Written on my chalk board in the kitchen I have " Elephants can't jump" & that is to remind me that no matter how magnifigant they are, with great stregnth, grace, power, balance, memory, emotion, etc -- they can't do it all -- which is why they can't jump. And we can't do it all either, even though we try very hard -- we are only human.

So - all you supermoms out there - remember that elephants can't jump and no one cares if your baseboards are dirty. Now go kiss your babies.

Crazy Week Ahead

I usually lead a pretty boring life, but this week is going to be nuts. Of course, this only happens 3 times a year - right before I go to an all day crop. Combined with my usual solo Mom gig (except for Monday) - I usually end up being totally exhausted by the time I get there. I will have to try to go to bed early all week. HA! HA! Like that's going to happen.

Monday - pretty calm - Todd's night off.
Tuesday - Halloween Party at Franklin library and trick-or-treating.
Wednesday - Halloween Party at work (I'm in charge of it), frantically clean and buy refreshments for P Chef party.
Thursday - All day meeting with Industry at work that I am in charge of. This requires panty hose. Pampered Chef party at 6:30 pm.
Friday - maybe babysit for 18 month old down the street. Maybe her mom forgot that I offered? Pack for crop
Saturday - crop 9 am - Midnight ( H and I are planning to quit after supper so I my in-laws can go home)
Sunday - babyshower 3 hours away at 1 pm (I might have to go up and back in one day! - 6 hrs in car -joy)
Monday - back to work

Ryan's 2nd Birthday

Ryan's 2nd 2nd birthday was great fun. Cake #2 turned out awesome - it is all homemade - the train is made out of chocolate. He loooooved it. The party was at 3 pm, but he was keyed up all day. The last guests left at 6:30, and he conked out about 15 minutes later.

Today I took him to get his 2 year pictures taken at Portrait Innovations. I was impressed that I got my pictures in 20 minutes, but I spent about 4 x what I usually spend at JcPenney's. This is the first time that Ryan has not cooperated. It was horrible - he cried, clung, ran away. They did manage to get some good ones though. The head-and-shoulder ones are his best ever. While we waited for them to print, we hit Archivers. It is sooo overwhelming. I spent this afternoon cleaning my craft area and ironing his Halloween costume and my kitchen curtains. I washed them so no one at my P Chef part would see the dust. Tomorrow is Ryan's Harvest party at school, and I am going to send him in a bear costume we got from Riley. I don't want his pirate one to get ruined!

Grandma and Grandpa Stein got Ryan an electric car for his birthday. He drove it around for about 15 minutes before the steering column broke :( I can't believe how fast he got the hang of it.

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.