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!