I'm going to see my sister today!
I'm leaving work at 2 in order to get home, finish packing, and allow plenty of time to get to the airport in plenty of time. My flight leaves around 6, stops in Cincinnati, and ends in Dayton, Ohio, where hopefully someone will be waiting to pick me up.
I absolutely cannot wait to go. I think I'm almost as excited about the flying itself as I am about seeing my sister--there's something so thrilling about being sucked back into your seat and listening to the roar of the engine as the plane leaves the ground. But who am I kidding--there's no way the experience of flying is going to compare to seeing my sister, my brother-in-law, and best of all, my brand-new little nephew.
More than likely, I won't have the chance to do any blogging while I'm gone, since I'll be busy having oodles of fun with my sister and snuggling with my nephew. So you all will have to struggle along without me for a few days. Don't do anything exciting while I'm gone.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
The last half of the weekend
So, when we last left off, it was Saturday night, and I was just settling down from my Weekend of Productivity to watch Sweeney Todd. Anyway, I enjoyed the movie. I don't know that I'd watch it over and over, but I would definitely listen to the soundtrack. It was as gory as everyone said (I found myself covering my eyes and peeking through my fingers a lot), but in the same way, the gore was very surreal. For example, the blood was this very fake red color, and at times, some of the bloody scenes seemed almost comical. I know that sounds like a weird thing to say, but if you've seen the movie, maybe you know what I mean. I did like the way it ended too--a couple twists that I didn't see coming. And I've always been a big Tim Burton fan, so despite my squeamishness, I enjoyed the camera work and the artistic touches and such. And, people... Johnny Depp can sing. *swoon*
Tony and Ari made it home safely on Saturday night (around 10:30 PM)--and considering the shape Tony was in when they got home, I'll say it was definitely an answer to prayer. He told me he felt so sick for the last half of their trip (about 3 hours) that at one point (when Ari was sleeping), he pulled into a McDonald's and caught a quick nap. He thought it was just extreme exhaustion, but once he got home, a horrid migraine kicked in. Yesterday, he was complaining about his whole head aching, just like it did when he had that sinus infection. So please keep him in your thoughts/prayers. That last sinus infection knocked him out pretty badly, and I'd hate to see him have to suffer like that.
All in all, his trip went well. He said Ari had her moments, but then, what toddler doesn't? I asked him how he felt now about traveling alone with a toddler--was it all right, or would he never do it again? He said it was all right and he could do it again. He is so amazing. I don't think even I could handle taking such a long trip alone with Ari.
I got Ari out of her carseat when they got home on Saturday night, and as she woke up, she started crying, "Daddy, Daddy!" It was almost like she was disoriented and didn't know where she was. She kept up the sobbing all the way into the house and up to her room, until Tony came in and showed her he was there. Then she settled and went right back to sleep. She's been really clingy with him all weekend--I keep joking that you'd think Tony was the one she hasn't seen in 4 days, not me. But it makes sense. She's been in a strange environment the past few days, and Tony has been the only familiarity she's had.
Yesterday, we went to my parents' house in the afternoon and ended up leaving Ari there overnight, as is becoming our usual routine. My mom gave me my Mother's Day gift yesterday, since I'll be away this weekend and they will be away next weekend. She made a collage for me with 2 pictures of Ari and 2 pictures of me when I was about Ari's age. In the first pair of pictures, Ari looks just like me, and I was floored. This is the first time I've ever seen myself in her. Sure, we have different color hair, eyes, and even skin tone, but there's no mistaking we are related. I'm going to try to figure out a way to scan it into my computer so I can show you all.
I told Tony last night that I feel like I don't even have a daughter anymore. The last I saw Ari before their trip was last Tuesday night when I put her to bed. Then I saw her for all of 5 minutes Saturday night when I transferred her from the car to her crib. Sunday was church, and I never get to see her much during church. Then we went to my parents, where I spent a little quality time with her. But we left around 4, and I won't see her again until about 6 PM tonight, when we meet my parents and Pete for dinner. Then, of course, Wednesday I leave to visit my sister, and I won't be back until the following Monday afternoon. By then, I'll surely have forgotten that I ever had a kid.
OK, I have to confess to you all that I am a little nervous about flying. Not about the flying itself--I love flying--but about the whole process of checking in, getting through security, navigating the airport, etc. I literally have not flown in 10 years, which also means I haven't flown in this post-9/11 world. I won't be checking any baggage--since it's such a short trip, I am just packing one carry-on (from our new luggage set). But that also means I have to be extra-vigilant about what I pack, since I can't just say "Oh, I'll just put that in my checked luggage." I've already talked to my sister and I plan to mooch a lot of stuff off her--shampoo, soap, razors, etc.--so that I don't have to deal with getting any of that stuff through security. But if any of you have any info/tips/advice that would help me along, please do share.
Tony and Ari made it home safely on Saturday night (around 10:30 PM)--and considering the shape Tony was in when they got home, I'll say it was definitely an answer to prayer. He told me he felt so sick for the last half of their trip (about 3 hours) that at one point (when Ari was sleeping), he pulled into a McDonald's and caught a quick nap. He thought it was just extreme exhaustion, but once he got home, a horrid migraine kicked in. Yesterday, he was complaining about his whole head aching, just like it did when he had that sinus infection. So please keep him in your thoughts/prayers. That last sinus infection knocked him out pretty badly, and I'd hate to see him have to suffer like that.
All in all, his trip went well. He said Ari had her moments, but then, what toddler doesn't? I asked him how he felt now about traveling alone with a toddler--was it all right, or would he never do it again? He said it was all right and he could do it again. He is so amazing. I don't think even I could handle taking such a long trip alone with Ari.
I got Ari out of her carseat when they got home on Saturday night, and as she woke up, she started crying, "Daddy, Daddy!" It was almost like she was disoriented and didn't know where she was. She kept up the sobbing all the way into the house and up to her room, until Tony came in and showed her he was there. Then she settled and went right back to sleep. She's been really clingy with him all weekend--I keep joking that you'd think Tony was the one she hasn't seen in 4 days, not me. But it makes sense. She's been in a strange environment the past few days, and Tony has been the only familiarity she's had.
Yesterday, we went to my parents' house in the afternoon and ended up leaving Ari there overnight, as is becoming our usual routine. My mom gave me my Mother's Day gift yesterday, since I'll be away this weekend and they will be away next weekend. She made a collage for me with 2 pictures of Ari and 2 pictures of me when I was about Ari's age. In the first pair of pictures, Ari looks just like me, and I was floored. This is the first time I've ever seen myself in her. Sure, we have different color hair, eyes, and even skin tone, but there's no mistaking we are related. I'm going to try to figure out a way to scan it into my computer so I can show you all.
I told Tony last night that I feel like I don't even have a daughter anymore. The last I saw Ari before their trip was last Tuesday night when I put her to bed. Then I saw her for all of 5 minutes Saturday night when I transferred her from the car to her crib. Sunday was church, and I never get to see her much during church. Then we went to my parents, where I spent a little quality time with her. But we left around 4, and I won't see her again until about 6 PM tonight, when we meet my parents and Pete for dinner. Then, of course, Wednesday I leave to visit my sister, and I won't be back until the following Monday afternoon. By then, I'll surely have forgotten that I ever had a kid.
OK, I have to confess to you all that I am a little nervous about flying. Not about the flying itself--I love flying--but about the whole process of checking in, getting through security, navigating the airport, etc. I literally have not flown in 10 years, which also means I haven't flown in this post-9/11 world. I won't be checking any baggage--since it's such a short trip, I am just packing one carry-on (from our new luggage set). But that also means I have to be extra-vigilant about what I pack, since I can't just say "Oh, I'll just put that in my checked luggage." I've already talked to my sister and I plan to mooch a lot of stuff off her--shampoo, soap, razors, etc.--so that I don't have to deal with getting any of that stuff through security. But if any of you have any info/tips/advice that would help me along, please do share.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Live From Right Here, It's Friday Night! *EDIT x2*
(2nd entry today...)
What's a wife/mother to do when she finds herself husbandless/childless on a Friday night? Why, get down with her bad self, of course.
CAUTION: The following entry may contain information that may shock or alarm sensitive readers. The entry may also contain an overabundance of CAPITAL LETTERS and bold print. Please proceed with caution.
Upon arriving home from work, I:
1. Let both dogs outside to pee at the same time, managing to scare away all killer bees in the immediate vicinity with the sheer power of my mind.
2. Ate a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats for supper. Yes, I ate breakfast for dinner. (The rebellion begins.)
3. Did one load of laundry and mixed darks and lights without a smidgen of guilt or remorse. (The rebellion continues.)
4. Went for a walk, ALONE, with naught but my trusty house key to fend off any would-be attackers (killer bees included).
5. Wore the same shirt I sweat (sweated?) in on yesterday's walk. (I am attempting to [in the immortal words of Gill from Finding Nemo] "be as gross as possible" while I have no one around to impress.)
6. Successfully evaded 2 particularly vicious killer bees intent on ganging up on me and killing me (slowly and brutally, I'm sure) by walking faster and once again repelling them with pure mind-power.
7. Dealt with the dead mouse by resisting Plan A (putting the trap and mouse in a sealed plastic bag and leaving it in freezer for husband to deal with when he comes home) and Plan B (throwing both mouse and trap in the trash, thereby avoiding dealing with the carcass) and putting into action Plan C (calling my husband and asking him again how to release the dead mouse from the mousetrap), only screaming like a terrified little girl approximately 7 times in the course of a 4-minute conversation.
8. Reset mousetrap and proceeded to put it back in place, but accidentally set it off, resulting in one last terrified-little-girl scream but, miraculously, no injured or severed fingers.
9. Reset mousetrap AGAIN and successfully put it back in place, silently daring any mice to dare to mess with ME, Master and Commander of the Mousetrap.
And, folks, it is only 7:30. The night is young, and who knows what other wild and wondrous adventures await me in the coming hours. Check back later for the thrilling results of One Enchanted [Friday] Evening.
***** EDIT *****
Well, the rest of my evening went as follows. I:
10. Spent 2 hours battling my way through one very boring report, chock full of numbers (and we all know how I hate math). I have one more equally boring report to muddle through, and then my freelance work will be done.
11. Worked hard on church stuff (including editing and printing the bulletins, writing and printing the order of service, burning a CD, and getting a jump on music for next week since I will be away).
12. Fought the urge to rent a movie and park my lazy butt on the couch.
13. Fought the urge to make a late-night run to the grocery store for ice cream (which I totally deserved, though).
14. Cleaned the downstairs. (... What? You were expecting more? Isn't the fact that I'm cleaning willingly enough of a shocker?)
I got to bed late (don't ask). And now it's Saturday. I slept in a bit, but whatever this bizarre motivation that has taken over me is, it hasn't faded. So far today, I've taken a 30-minute walk, done dishes, straightened and vacuumed Ari's room, vacuumed the hallway, partially straightened and vacuumed our bedroom, and cleaned the entire upstairs bathroom. I even washed all of Ari's bath toys, and got on my hands and knees to clean the baseboards and scrub the floor in the bathroom. I don't even know who I am anymore, people.
I'm taking a break for lunch, then it's off to finish the bathroom, vacuum the stairs, and finish my freelance work. Oh, and I still have to do PowerPoint slideshows for church tomorrow. Then, after all of that is done, if there is any time left in the day (and if I'm still alive), maybe we'll see about that movie.
I think Tony may pass out from all the cleanness when he gets home. And he'll probably look at me suspiciously and say, "Who are you and what have you done with my wife?"
PS Ow ow ow, my back and my arms and my knees and my legs hurt. This is why I don't clean.
***** EDIT #2 *****
It's almost 8 PM. I finished all my freelance work, finished cleaning, and did the PowerPoint stuff for church. I even had time to chat on the phone with Tony and run a couple errands (for some very important items which I will tell you about in just a moment).
I just got out of the shower (I worked up a lovely sweat doing all that housework), I'm in my pajamas, and as soon as I post this, I am scooping myself up a big bowl of Edy's Loaded Cookies and Cream and parking myself in front of the TV to immerse myself in the crazy world of Sweeney Todd.
I so totally earned this.
What's a wife/mother to do when she finds herself husbandless/childless on a Friday night? Why, get down with her bad self, of course.
CAUTION: The following entry may contain information that may shock or alarm sensitive readers. The entry may also contain an overabundance of CAPITAL LETTERS and bold print. Please proceed with caution.
Upon arriving home from work, I:
1. Let both dogs outside to pee at the same time, managing to scare away all killer bees in the immediate vicinity with the sheer power of my mind.
2. Ate a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats for supper. Yes, I ate breakfast for dinner. (The rebellion begins.)
3. Did one load of laundry and mixed darks and lights without a smidgen of guilt or remorse. (The rebellion continues.)
4. Went for a walk, ALONE, with naught but my trusty house key to fend off any would-be attackers (killer bees included).
5. Wore the same shirt I sweat (sweated?) in on yesterday's walk. (I am attempting to [in the immortal words of Gill from Finding Nemo] "be as gross as possible" while I have no one around to impress.)
6. Successfully evaded 2 particularly vicious killer bees intent on ganging up on me and killing me (slowly and brutally, I'm sure) by walking faster and once again repelling them with pure mind-power.
7. Dealt with the dead mouse by resisting Plan A (putting the trap and mouse in a sealed plastic bag and leaving it in freezer for husband to deal with when he comes home) and Plan B (throwing both mouse and trap in the trash, thereby avoiding dealing with the carcass) and putting into action Plan C (calling my husband and asking him again how to release the dead mouse from the mousetrap), only screaming like a terrified little girl approximately 7 times in the course of a 4-minute conversation.
8. Reset mousetrap and proceeded to put it back in place, but accidentally set it off, resulting in one last terrified-little-girl scream but, miraculously, no injured or severed fingers.
9. Reset mousetrap AGAIN and successfully put it back in place, silently daring any mice to dare to mess with ME, Master and Commander of the Mousetrap.
And, folks, it is only 7:30. The night is young, and who knows what other wild and wondrous adventures await me in the coming hours. Check back later for the thrilling results of One Enchanted [Friday] Evening.
***** EDIT *****
Well, the rest of my evening went as follows. I:
10. Spent 2 hours battling my way through one very boring report, chock full of numbers (and we all know how I hate math). I have one more equally boring report to muddle through, and then my freelance work will be done.
11. Worked hard on church stuff (including editing and printing the bulletins, writing and printing the order of service, burning a CD, and getting a jump on music for next week since I will be away).
12. Fought the urge to rent a movie and park my lazy butt on the couch.
13. Fought the urge to make a late-night run to the grocery store for ice cream (which I totally deserved, though).
14. Cleaned the downstairs. (... What? You were expecting more? Isn't the fact that I'm cleaning willingly enough of a shocker?)
I got to bed late (don't ask). And now it's Saturday. I slept in a bit, but whatever this bizarre motivation that has taken over me is, it hasn't faded. So far today, I've taken a 30-minute walk, done dishes, straightened and vacuumed Ari's room, vacuumed the hallway, partially straightened and vacuumed our bedroom, and cleaned the entire upstairs bathroom. I even washed all of Ari's bath toys, and got on my hands and knees to clean the baseboards and scrub the floor in the bathroom. I don't even know who I am anymore, people.
I'm taking a break for lunch, then it's off to finish the bathroom, vacuum the stairs, and finish my freelance work. Oh, and I still have to do PowerPoint slideshows for church tomorrow. Then, after all of that is done, if there is any time left in the day (and if I'm still alive), maybe we'll see about that movie.
I think Tony may pass out from all the cleanness when he gets home. And he'll probably look at me suspiciously and say, "Who are you and what have you done with my wife?"
PS Ow ow ow, my back and my arms and my knees and my legs hurt. This is why I don't clean.
***** EDIT #2 *****
It's almost 8 PM. I finished all my freelance work, finished cleaning, and did the PowerPoint stuff for church. I even had time to chat on the phone with Tony and run a couple errands (for some very important items which I will tell you about in just a moment).
I just got out of the shower (I worked up a lovely sweat doing all that housework), I'm in my pajamas, and as soon as I post this, I am scooping myself up a big bowl of Edy's Loaded Cookies and Cream and parking myself in front of the TV to immerse myself in the crazy world of Sweeney Todd.
I so totally earned this.
Wood bees, killer bees--same thing
I could have sworn I mentioned that Tony and Ari were leaving for a few days, but a quick skim of my past few entries tells me that's not the case. Anyway, he wanted to go down and see his mom for her birthday, and of course he couldn't make a trip to see his family without bringing Ari. I didn't have enough vacation time from work to join him, so that's why I'm home alone. I'm sure you all figured that out already, though, so on with the entry.
I only saw one killer bee (I know they're "wood bees" but I'm going to keep calling them killer bees) yesterday, and he merely swooped by my head before soaring up over the roof and out of sight. I swear I heard him laughing maniacally as he zoomed away.
In other critter news... I heard an odd snapping noise last night, and thought nothing of it until I saw Ivan staring at the closet door, alert and still. This is the closet where we keep the dog food. And the closet where we set the mousetrap. I waited a little while, then investigated with a flashlight, and sure enough, the trap had caught its prey. I called Tony to ask him how to dispose of the mouse--it's a quick-death trap, but the kind that's all enclosed so that you don't have to touch the carcass. Tony gave me a long, detailed explanation which made no sense to me (and I was too lazy to try doing it while I was on the phone with him). I know I have to do something, though, because dead mice get stinky really fast.
I am totally expecting a plague of locusts next.
In family news, Tony had a bit of a rough day yesterday. Well, Ari had a rough day, which of course carries over to Tony. She's running a slight fever--most likely related to teething--so she was not in the greatest of moods yesterday. Plus, the battery light came on in Tony's car--kind of. It flickered a lot and then finally went out altogether, so Tony is waiting to see how this pans out. He's pretty sure it's not the alternator because we just had that replaced at the end of December. He's getting it checked out today. I just hope he's able to make it home on Saturday without any problems.
My day yesterday was pretty good (aside from the pest problems). When I got home from work, I realized I needed a few things from the grocery store, and since it's right across the street from our apartment complex and it was such a gorgeous day, I walked. I underestimated how hot it was, and had worked up a good sweat by the time I got there. After I made dinner (chocolate-chip pancakes--yum), I went for my regular walk. It was only an hour later than the last time I'd walked, and the temperature had dropped so much. It was still comfortable--just noticeably cooler.
As far as the other things on my to-do list... well, of course I watched "The Office" (I have to say Ryan was my favorite part of last night's show). I did work a little on church stuff--didn't get it all done, but I made enough progress to make me feel like I wasn't a complete slacker. I didn't clean at all, but I thought about it a little, so if "it's the thought that counts" philosophy applies to cleaning, then my house is sparkling. Actually, I'm planning to tackle some of that tomorrow, since it's supposed to be a bit chillier than it's been and possibly rainy. Also, I have more freelance work to do, so that will probably take up a good chunk of my day. It will be interesting to see which task I procrastinate on more--the cleaning or the work. Maybe I can alternate between the 2 so that I don't get sick of either one.
Tony asked me on the phone yesterday what I've been up to, and my honest answer was, "Not much." I really haven't strayed much from my normal routine, and I haven't gone out shopping or anything like that. I did tell him that the apartment has been awfully quiet the past couple days. He talked to me today, and seemed surprised when I told him I missed them. Silly boy. I enjoy my solitude, but that doesn't mean I don't miss them. Ari had better brace herself for lots of hugs and kisses when they got home. Oh, yeh, and Tony too.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Fight of the Bumblebee(s)*
Random Tony Story of the Day:
Whenever Tony loses his train of thought and mutters, "What was I going to say?", I reply, "That you love me. Can't live without me." Which always derails his train of thought even further. I have such fun at his expense.
Our apartment is being stalked by killer bumblebees. I say "killer" because these are the biggest bees I have ever seen in my life. I'm not even entirely sure they're bumblebees--I've never stuck around long enough to get a close look. I hate stinging insects--HATE them--and these giant ones are the worst. I swear, each one is at least 2 inches long, and super-fat. We bought some foamy spray stuff that's supposed to shoot over 20 feet so you can kill them from a distance. A few days ago, Tony sprayed it all around the outside of our windows, to keep them from building nests.
Yesterday when I got home, I heard a loud buzz around my head as I was opening the door. I ducked and ran inside, not even stopping to think that that might have been unwise (because what if he'd flown in after me?). I grabbed the can of foamy spray stuff (yes, that is the technical name for it--didn't you know?) and lurked inside the storm door, gazing at the sky and waiting for him to reappear. Seconds later, he did, and I pushed the door open and let the foam fly. I was waiting to see the body drop out of the sky, but no such luck. But the foam was making a mess, so maybe I just didn't notice.
Next order of business was letting the dogs out in the backyard. As I was standing there with them, I heard another buzz and freaked. I literally dragged my confused dogs inside ("What? I thought we were supposed to be going potty here. What's the deal?" I'm sure they were thinking), grabbed the can of foam, and headed back outside, awkwardly holding both of their leashes in one hand and the can in the other, keeping a wary eye out.
I didn't see the bee again, so I hurried the dogs inside and waited inside the sliding door. Sure enough, he reappeared, and I slid the door open to begin spraying. He flew up and I continued following him with the spray, only to realize that I was now shooting straight up. I mentioned this was foam, right? I somehow managed to duck inside the door and close it without getting any foam on me. Again, I don't know if I got him, but here's hoping.
In the aftermath of that little war, I suddenly realized that I missed Tony. Killing vicious insects is his department, not mine.
***** EDIT *****
I have been informed that these bees are called wood bees/carpenter bees, and that they bore holes in wood. Which does not make me feel any better, because all our windows are framed in wood.
*sigh* Anyone want to come live with me for a few days and kill some bees while you're at it? I'll make you some luscious desserts...
***** END EDIT *****
He called me yesterday evening to let me know he had arrived safe and sound. Ari only slept about 15 minutes in the car--his A/C isn't working, so he had to have the windows open, which means that noisy trucks and such kept her awake. But he said she was really good in the car--she had her whiny moments, but no real meltdowns. When he got ready to say good-bye to me, he coached Ari into saying "bye-bye" and "love you."
He called me again later at night, and we talked a little longer. He said she was doing great warming up to everyone and had gone to bed perfectly. He had taken a picture of her on his cell phone when she was getting ready for bed, but kept having issues sending it to me. That last time that Tony was away without me and Ari (I think it was for Snow Camp?), I remember trying to send him pictures of Ari at night, and having the same issue. But it's sweet to know he was thinking of me.
I kept myself busy until bedtime last night, and when I went to bed, I left the TV on quietly. I often do that when I go to bed before Tony--not only because I like the soft noise in the background, but also so that it gives him some light when he does come to bed. I set the TV on one of the music channels--the Showtunes one--and drifted off to the sound of Bernadette Peters singing "Something Good" from The Sound of Music. I vaguely remember hearing "Memory" (no, I don't want to talk about how dreadlock-boy butchered it on American Idol on Tuesday night) and a song from "Cinderella" in between hitting the snooze button this morning.
And so today is Thursday--another gorgeous summer-like day (which makes, I think, at least the 11th day in a row). Agenda for tonight (the absolute musts): take a long walk and watch "The Office." Other possibilities on the agenda: work on church stuff (I'm such a procrastinator), clean the house (hahahaha), make a quick grocery-store run (need munchies), fight off killer bees (armed with my trusty foam spray and my superior brain power).
Monday, April 21, 2008
I love you more
Our weekend flew by. Friday night, our church had a ladies' fellowship, so I was home for literally all of 15 minutes after work before heading back out. Tony had been out with Ari at the park (not the one in our apartment complex), but he made a point of being home when I was there, so I could see Ari.
Saturday morning, we participated in a walk-a-thon for a local organization that provides help and services to pregnant girls/women--everything from legal and medical help to providing clothes and supplies. The weather was perfect for it--a bright, sunny day, warm without being too hot. It took us about an hour to do the walk, and Ari was content to take in the sights from her stroller. She even scored a balloon, which she was thrilled about.
We got home, had lunch, and put Ari down for a nap. After she woke up, we headed to Matt and Kristin's house. It's been a while since we've been there--they've been coming to our place lately. We let the kids play outside for a while--they had a blast drawing on the driveway with chalk and playing with Nicholas's millions of balls. Matt made dinner and dessert, and after we had digested for a little bit, we all went for a walk around their neighborhood. The kids rode in Nick's wagon, which I pulled for about half the walk. There was one small hill, too, so I got a good workout lugging the wagon up that hill. After the kids went to bed, Tony and Kristin (the horror-movie lovers) managed to convince me and Matt (obviously, the horror-movie haters) to watch a vampire movie called "30 Days of Night." I closed my eyes for most of the gruesome scenes, and then tried to amuse myself by making fun of the characters for stupid things they did, or trying to guess what the characters were going to say before they said it. I hope this means that next time, Matt and I get to pick the movie.
Then Sunday was church as usual, and in the evening, we dropped Ari off with my parents for another overnight stay, then spent some time hanging out with Pastor, Dawn, Brandon and Kerry. Dawn and I went for a walk after Brandon and Kerry left, while Pastor and Tony watched the end of the John Adams miniseries (which they are both in love with). We walked for a good 45 minutes, but it didn't feel like it. Of course, we chatted non-stop, which was great. Sometimes you just need a good gab session with a girlfriend, even if it's just chatter about unimportant stuff. It was a good end to a busy weekend.
Hmm, well that was a pretty boring recap, huh? Will Ari pictures make up for it?
I had to get some pictures of Ari in the dress she wore to church yesterday, because it was just too cute. She was wearing tights, but she stumbled on the pavement and ripped a small hole in one knee. Then during the car ride to church, she stuck her finger in the hole and made it much worse, so I just took the tights off.
Something about this picture makes her seem so prim and proper. She can be such a prissy little girl sometimes, and then at other moments, she's a total tomboy. It's a good balance, I think.
She found a fascinating stick in the yard.
I'll end with this comic that cracked me up, because Tony and I do this all the time--we'll go back and forth with "I love you" and "I love you more" and "I love you the most" (you get the idea) until one of us gives in and just says, "Yeah, you're right." (I know the image looks cut off, but you're not missing anything--that's the last frame.)
Saturday morning, we participated in a walk-a-thon for a local organization that provides help and services to pregnant girls/women--everything from legal and medical help to providing clothes and supplies. The weather was perfect for it--a bright, sunny day, warm without being too hot. It took us about an hour to do the walk, and Ari was content to take in the sights from her stroller. She even scored a balloon, which she was thrilled about.
We got home, had lunch, and put Ari down for a nap. After she woke up, we headed to Matt and Kristin's house. It's been a while since we've been there--they've been coming to our place lately. We let the kids play outside for a while--they had a blast drawing on the driveway with chalk and playing with Nicholas's millions of balls. Matt made dinner and dessert, and after we had digested for a little bit, we all went for a walk around their neighborhood. The kids rode in Nick's wagon, which I pulled for about half the walk. There was one small hill, too, so I got a good workout lugging the wagon up that hill. After the kids went to bed, Tony and Kristin (the horror-movie lovers) managed to convince me and Matt (obviously, the horror-movie haters) to watch a vampire movie called "30 Days of Night." I closed my eyes for most of the gruesome scenes, and then tried to amuse myself by making fun of the characters for stupid things they did, or trying to guess what the characters were going to say before they said it. I hope this means that next time, Matt and I get to pick the movie.
Then Sunday was church as usual, and in the evening, we dropped Ari off with my parents for another overnight stay, then spent some time hanging out with Pastor, Dawn, Brandon and Kerry. Dawn and I went for a walk after Brandon and Kerry left, while Pastor and Tony watched the end of the John Adams miniseries (which they are both in love with). We walked for a good 45 minutes, but it didn't feel like it. Of course, we chatted non-stop, which was great. Sometimes you just need a good gab session with a girlfriend, even if it's just chatter about unimportant stuff. It was a good end to a busy weekend.
Hmm, well that was a pretty boring recap, huh? Will Ari pictures make up for it?
I had to get some pictures of Ari in the dress she wore to church yesterday, because it was just too cute. She was wearing tights, but she stumbled on the pavement and ripped a small hole in one knee. Then during the car ride to church, she stuck her finger in the hole and made it much worse, so I just took the tights off.
Something about this picture makes her seem so prim and proper. She can be such a prissy little girl sometimes, and then at other moments, she's a total tomboy. It's a good balance, I think.
She found a fascinating stick in the yard.
I'll end with this comic that cracked me up, because Tony and I do this all the time--we'll go back and forth with "I love you" and "I love you more" and "I love you the most" (you get the idea) until one of us gives in and just says, "Yeah, you're right." (I know the image looks cut off, but you're not missing anything--that's the last frame.)
Friday, April 18, 2008
You're just here for the videos, right?
It is supposed to be in the high 70s today, maybe even touching 80. I'm loving this warm weather, but I also wouldn't mind if it cools off a little. I'd like to see a little bit of spring before we dive into summer. I'm wearing my fabulous new Skechers shoes today. It's probably more of a sandal/flip-flop day, but you know how it is when you get something new--you take advantage of the first opportunity to wear it.
"The Office" last night... oh. my. gosh! Don't worry, I'm not going to spoil the show for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. But I loved nearly every minute of it. I was doing sit-ups during the show (which means I was mostly just laying on the floor), and there were several moments where I popped up and yelled/exclaimed at the TV, despite the fact that I was watching it alone. When Tony got home, I made him watch the entire episode with me--and I had to bite my tongue to keep from giving away key scenes (and to keep from squealing again at certain scenes). I love this show.
I got together with Dawn last night to hang out and go for a walk. I had Ari with me, and Dawn was watching Brandon's 2 kids so he could get some work done around the house. We walked for about half an hour or so with the kids in the strollers, and then took them to a nearby playground. Ari's face as we approached the playground was priceless--it was one of those "wow, look at this place!" kinds of faces. She had a great time, and especially loved the biggest slide in the place. This slide had to be about 12 feet high, with a set of steep stairs leading up to the top. With no hesitation, she grabbed the railings and launched herself up the steps, while I climbed up nervously behind her (because I am afraid of heights, and that's how tall/steep this slide was). She whizzed down the slide, and then went on it several more times. I actually had to drag her away from it when it was time to leave. My little daredevil.
Here are a couple of Ari videos from a couple weeks ago. The funny thing to me when I watch these videos is that they don't really capture how much this kid actually talks. You know how it is--the camera comes out, and the kid refuses to "perform." But they at least give you an idea of some of the words she's saying.
Here she's reading one of her books to us. Don't ask me to interpret everything she's saying, because there are lots of words in there that I don't recognize. When I ask her what the bird says, she answers "Caw, caw" and then repeats it a bunch of times, getting higher-pitched each time.
And this is that animal book I was telling you about--the one that's her favorite. (And yes, I know the TV is kind of loud in the background--my bad.) You can hear her say "doggie" really clearly. Oh, and that lame joke that Tony tries to make? He was just showing off for the camera. (I swear, sometimes I think I have two kids...) And then when Ari finally finds the fish, she says "shower" and "bubbles" (and "water," I think?) but not "fishy." Go figure.
That's really all I've got. Tomorrow is supposed to be another beautiful, summer-like day, and we're getting together with Matt, Kristin and Nick, so maybe I'll be back after the weekend with some pictures.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Green pepper and onion love *EDIT*
Just some stuff about Ari (now with bold-print, for those of you who prefer the Cliff's Notes version). I'm going to add a small disclaimer: I am not trying to brag and be all "Look, my kid is the smartest kid since the invention of kids!" I just want to keep a record of what she's doing/saying/learning. For all I know, this is all within the limits of "normal"--I mean, this is my first kid, so what do I know?
Tony and I did a quick count the other day, and realized that Ari easily knows about 100 different words. Some of her latest ones are "color" ("cuh-rurr"), "balloon" ("boon"), and "shower" (she actually says this one really clearly). She's also learned a few new body parts, one of them being "cheeks." And it's not enough for her to point at just one cheek--she has to show you both. (Same rule applies to eyes and ears, too--if you ask her where your ears are, she has to stick a finger in each ear before she's done.)
But more amazing than that to me is the way she is learning the meanings behind these words. I mean, it's one thing for her to know that our 2 dogs are dogs--but for her to realize that other dogs (even ones that look completely different than Sasha and Ivan) are also dogs is a pretty big step. She loves all the fish in Finding Nemo, but she also knows that her bath toys are fish, that pictures in a book are fish, that an image on her sippy cup is a fish. In the car the other day, I suddenly heard her yelling, "Color, color!" Knowing she didn't have any crayons or paper, I turned to see what she was talking about. One of the tags on her Taggies blanket had a picture of a crayon on it, which she was pointing at.
She is even starting to learn more abstract concepts in relation to words--for example, hot and cold. Tony taught her "cold" by using snow as an example, and of course we use the word "hot" in reference to stoves, heaters and anything else she's not supposed to touch. I was walking with her the other night, and when a stiff breeze blew right in her face, she announced, "Cold." And I really think she knew what she meant. Tony swears her heard her say the word "happy" the other day when she saw a picture in a magazine of a woman smiling.
She is in love with animals right now, and is getting pretty good at knowing her animal sounds. Her default animal sound is "woof"--meaning that if you ask her what sound an animal makes and she doesn't know or doesn't stop to think about it, her reflexive reply is "woof." But right now, she knows dogs say "woof," cats say "meow" (which she says as "mow" [rhymes with "wow"] in this sweet, high-pitched tone), sheep say "baa," cows say "moo," and lions and tigers say "roar." I've been teaching her that birds say "tweet" but her usual reply is something like "caw" (again in the high-pitched tone). I had no clue where she got that from until Tony told me that she knows ducks say "quack" and that she pronounces "quack" like "caw" sometimes. So I'm not sure if she's saying "quack" or if she thinks she's making something up.
She has a book full of animals--wild animals, farm animals, and household pets--that was a gift from my aunt, and she adores this book. I swear she "reads" it every day, happily pointing out the animals she knows. And then we in turn are attempting to teach her the ones she doesn't yet know. Though I'm not at all surprised she's still having a little trouble with ones like "chimpanzee" and "chameleon." (I am resisting the temptation to take the easy way out by just telling her to say "monkey" or "lizard.")
We also find her saying words that we have yet to decipher. The latest one is something like "ka" or "kye" and we are baffled as to its meaning. It sounds a lot like the word "kite" to us, but to our knowledge she's never seen a kite or had one pointed out to her by us, so who knows. It means something to her--that much is obvious. There are moments where she'll ramble on in her own little language. It's almost like she's talking to herself, because she usually does it when she's absorbed in something, rather than speaking directly to a person. You can hear her voice rise and fall, you hear just about every vowel sound and vowel combination, yet you can't decipher more than one or 2 words in the whole speech.
She's started speaking in small sentences--typical ones like "Bye, Mommy" or "Hi, Daddy" as well as more unusual ones like "I touch it!" and "I color!" We've been stringing together 2-word sentences for her to repeat after us, to help her learn how to put words together.
She seems to recognize herself in pictures now, but she calls herself "you." Which makes sense, since that's what we say to her ("It's you!"). We've been trying to teach her her own name, by adding, "That's Ari" but she doesn't seem to be catching on to that one yet (not on her own anyway). But anytime she sees the picture of herself that is the wallpaper on our laptop, she points and happily yells, "You!"
Kristin brought Nick over to play in the playground with Ari yesterday, and when Ari discovered a ratty little tennis-ball-sized ball lying on the ground, they started a rousing game of catch on their own. Ari made a few attempts before she figured out how to throw it correctly--she would cock her arm behind her head, but then end up dropping the ball right before she flung her arm forward, so that the ball dropped behind her. Even once she figured out how to get the ball to go forward, she kept releasing it too early, so there wasn't much power behind it. On the other hand, Nick was able to throw hard--and long. They spent several minutes throwing the ball back and forth--Ari would throw it just a foot or 2 with her girly little throw, Nick would chuck it well past her, and Ari would happily chase after it to start the whole routine again.
It's just amazing to me that she's becoming such a little person now--so self-sufficient, so independent, so good at communicating. I know I probably sound like I'm sad about it, but I'm really not. Sure, sometimes I miss the days when she would take 2 naps every day, or when I knew I could put her in a spot and she would stay put, but I am enjoying watching her grow up. It's so thrilling and humbling at the same time to know that I have had a part in teaching her some of these things she knows.
We had pizza for dinner last night, and she turned up her nose at Tony's sausage pizza in favor of my green pepper and onion one. And I couldn't help but feel a surge of "that's my girl!" pride. (And besides that, I'm happy to have found another person in my circle of friends/family that likes the same kind of pizza I do.) I think right now, that is my favorite thing about being a mom--seeing little flashes and glimpses of myself in her. Even if it is something as inconsequential and harmless as an affinity for green-pepper-and-onion pizza.
EDIT: Written several days ago (just forgot to post, but it seems to fit here)...
With about a half-hour to kill before bedtime, I chose to do something I rarely do--I put a movie on for Ari. No, not Nemo--she needs to branch out. Instead, I selected Enchanted, thinking she'd probably love the animation at the beginning. She started chanting, "Eat, eat, eat" as the movie began, so I cut up some watermelon for her. While I was doing that, the Disney logo appeared on the screen and she changed her chanting to "Mee-mo, Mee-mo, Mee-mo!"
She sat in her princess chair, and I pulled up some rug right beside her. I offered to hold the bowl for her, but she insisted on holding it herself, and did a commendable job holding it upright and eating from it while keeping her eyes glued to the TV. She was as enamored with the movie as I had hoped, joyously pointing out horsies, birds (why she doesn't say "birdie," I don't know), and "Belle" (right now, every Disney princess is "Belle," and I can't blame her--names like "Cinderella" are a mouthful, and "Giselle" does sound an awful lot like "Belle").
I refilled her watermelon bowl a couple times, and each time, she returned happily to her chair, munching away and drinking in the lush animation on the TV screen. Then suddenly, she stood up. Her eyes never left the screen as she shuffled a few steps to her left, backed up until her heels made contact with my legs, and gently set herself down in my lap, all while still managing to not spill her watermelon or miss a second of the movie. And she stayed there, quite content, turning up to look at me every so often with commentary on the movie or just a smile.
I kissed her on the head, closed my eyes for a moment, and thought to myself, This. This is what I dreamed of when I found out I was having a daughter.
Tony and I did a quick count the other day, and realized that Ari easily knows about 100 different words. Some of her latest ones are "color" ("cuh-rurr"), "balloon" ("boon"), and "shower" (she actually says this one really clearly). She's also learned a few new body parts, one of them being "cheeks." And it's not enough for her to point at just one cheek--she has to show you both. (Same rule applies to eyes and ears, too--if you ask her where your ears are, she has to stick a finger in each ear before she's done.)
But more amazing than that to me is the way she is learning the meanings behind these words. I mean, it's one thing for her to know that our 2 dogs are dogs--but for her to realize that other dogs (even ones that look completely different than Sasha and Ivan) are also dogs is a pretty big step. She loves all the fish in Finding Nemo, but she also knows that her bath toys are fish, that pictures in a book are fish, that an image on her sippy cup is a fish. In the car the other day, I suddenly heard her yelling, "Color, color!" Knowing she didn't have any crayons or paper, I turned to see what she was talking about. One of the tags on her Taggies blanket had a picture of a crayon on it, which she was pointing at.
She is even starting to learn more abstract concepts in relation to words--for example, hot and cold. Tony taught her "cold" by using snow as an example, and of course we use the word "hot" in reference to stoves, heaters and anything else she's not supposed to touch. I was walking with her the other night, and when a stiff breeze blew right in her face, she announced, "Cold." And I really think she knew what she meant. Tony swears her heard her say the word "happy" the other day when she saw a picture in a magazine of a woman smiling.
She is in love with animals right now, and is getting pretty good at knowing her animal sounds. Her default animal sound is "woof"--meaning that if you ask her what sound an animal makes and she doesn't know or doesn't stop to think about it, her reflexive reply is "woof." But right now, she knows dogs say "woof," cats say "meow" (which she says as "mow" [rhymes with "wow"] in this sweet, high-pitched tone), sheep say "baa," cows say "moo," and lions and tigers say "roar." I've been teaching her that birds say "tweet" but her usual reply is something like "caw" (again in the high-pitched tone). I had no clue where she got that from until Tony told me that she knows ducks say "quack" and that she pronounces "quack" like "caw" sometimes. So I'm not sure if she's saying "quack" or if she thinks she's making something up.
She has a book full of animals--wild animals, farm animals, and household pets--that was a gift from my aunt, and she adores this book. I swear she "reads" it every day, happily pointing out the animals she knows. And then we in turn are attempting to teach her the ones she doesn't yet know. Though I'm not at all surprised she's still having a little trouble with ones like "chimpanzee" and "chameleon." (I am resisting the temptation to take the easy way out by just telling her to say "monkey" or "lizard.")
We also find her saying words that we have yet to decipher. The latest one is something like "ka" or "kye" and we are baffled as to its meaning. It sounds a lot like the word "kite" to us, but to our knowledge she's never seen a kite or had one pointed out to her by us, so who knows. It means something to her--that much is obvious. There are moments where she'll ramble on in her own little language. It's almost like she's talking to herself, because she usually does it when she's absorbed in something, rather than speaking directly to a person. You can hear her voice rise and fall, you hear just about every vowel sound and vowel combination, yet you can't decipher more than one or 2 words in the whole speech.
She's started speaking in small sentences--typical ones like "Bye, Mommy" or "Hi, Daddy" as well as more unusual ones like "I touch it!" and "I color!" We've been stringing together 2-word sentences for her to repeat after us, to help her learn how to put words together.
She seems to recognize herself in pictures now, but she calls herself "you." Which makes sense, since that's what we say to her ("It's you!"). We've been trying to teach her her own name, by adding, "That's Ari" but she doesn't seem to be catching on to that one yet (not on her own anyway). But anytime she sees the picture of herself that is the wallpaper on our laptop, she points and happily yells, "You!"
Kristin brought Nick over to play in the playground with Ari yesterday, and when Ari discovered a ratty little tennis-ball-sized ball lying on the ground, they started a rousing game of catch on their own. Ari made a few attempts before she figured out how to throw it correctly--she would cock her arm behind her head, but then end up dropping the ball right before she flung her arm forward, so that the ball dropped behind her. Even once she figured out how to get the ball to go forward, she kept releasing it too early, so there wasn't much power behind it. On the other hand, Nick was able to throw hard--and long. They spent several minutes throwing the ball back and forth--Ari would throw it just a foot or 2 with her girly little throw, Nick would chuck it well past her, and Ari would happily chase after it to start the whole routine again.
It's just amazing to me that she's becoming such a little person now--so self-sufficient, so independent, so good at communicating. I know I probably sound like I'm sad about it, but I'm really not. Sure, sometimes I miss the days when she would take 2 naps every day, or when I knew I could put her in a spot and she would stay put, but I am enjoying watching her grow up. It's so thrilling and humbling at the same time to know that I have had a part in teaching her some of these things she knows.
We had pizza for dinner last night, and she turned up her nose at Tony's sausage pizza in favor of my green pepper and onion one. And I couldn't help but feel a surge of "that's my girl!" pride. (And besides that, I'm happy to have found another person in my circle of friends/family that likes the same kind of pizza I do.) I think right now, that is my favorite thing about being a mom--seeing little flashes and glimpses of myself in her. Even if it is something as inconsequential and harmless as an affinity for green-pepper-and-onion pizza.
EDIT: Written several days ago (just forgot to post, but it seems to fit here)...
With about a half-hour to kill before bedtime, I chose to do something I rarely do--I put a movie on for Ari. No, not Nemo--she needs to branch out. Instead, I selected Enchanted, thinking she'd probably love the animation at the beginning. She started chanting, "Eat, eat, eat" as the movie began, so I cut up some watermelon for her. While I was doing that, the Disney logo appeared on the screen and she changed her chanting to "Mee-mo, Mee-mo, Mee-mo!"
She sat in her princess chair, and I pulled up some rug right beside her. I offered to hold the bowl for her, but she insisted on holding it herself, and did a commendable job holding it upright and eating from it while keeping her eyes glued to the TV. She was as enamored with the movie as I had hoped, joyously pointing out horsies, birds (why she doesn't say "birdie," I don't know), and "Belle" (right now, every Disney princess is "Belle," and I can't blame her--names like "Cinderella" are a mouthful, and "Giselle" does sound an awful lot like "Belle").
I refilled her watermelon bowl a couple times, and each time, she returned happily to her chair, munching away and drinking in the lush animation on the TV screen. Then suddenly, she stood up. Her eyes never left the screen as she shuffled a few steps to her left, backed up until her heels made contact with my legs, and gently set herself down in my lap, all while still managing to not spill her watermelon or miss a second of the movie. And she stayed there, quite content, turning up to look at me every so often with commentary on the movie or just a smile.
I kissed her on the head, closed my eyes for a moment, and thought to myself, This. This is what I dreamed of when I found out I was having a daughter.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Kooza and Kohl's *EDIT for pics*
Last night, we went to see Cirque du Soleil's Kooza. As always, the show was incredible. We had fantastic seats too--pretty much dead center, both side-to-side and front-to-back. I think if we would have been any closer, it would have been uncomfortable, because we would have been craning our necks too much to see some of the bigger acts.
I found a few pictures from the show online--here's a generic one of pretty much the whole cast...
These were the contortionists--simultaneously awe-inspiring and cringe-inducing. At one point, one the girls had her head, chest and arms lying on the floor and was running circles around her own head. Yes, it was just as creepy-looking as it sounds.
This was one of my favorite acts--the Wheel of Death. I know this isn't the greatest picture, but basically, these 2 guys kept this wheel contraption spinning, and then did all sorts of tricks and jumps, both inside and outside their own circles. At one point they were even jump-roping on the outside. I gasped more times during this act than anything else.
The clowns were great, too. They always do several bits where they pull volunteers from the audience, yet the trick is figuring out which one are truly ordinary, unsuspecting audience members, and which ones are just "plants." For example, they called up one woman and did all sorts of silly stuff with her, but at the end of the bit, they made her disappear, so obviously, she had to be in on it. But up until then, we were sitting there trying to figure out whether or not she was "one of them." Those plants are definitely good actors.
Ari was with the babysitter for the night, and since the show got out so late, we arranged to have Ari spend the night at their house. I didn't think of it until it was too late, but Tony was dropping Ari off at the babysitter's house right around the same time I was driving home yesterday afternoon--I should have stopped in to see her. She was still asleep when I left for work on Tuesday morning, so that means I haven't seen her since Monday night at bedtime, and won't see her until I get home from work tonight. I heard she slept through the night, though, and woke up at a decent hour, so that was good news to hear. I mean, I know she's an excellent sleeper, but you never know when she's going to have a rough night, and I always worry it's going to happen when she's at someone else's house.
My package from Kohl's arrived yesterday, and I made time in my busy evening schedule to try everything on. As predicted, there were a few things I liked and a few I didn't like. I mean, you know how it is in a store--something looks cute on the hanger, but you try it on, and it doesn't fit or just doesn't hang right. And shopping online, with only photos to go by, multiplies that effect even more. I'm not as in love with the purple dress in person as I was with the picture online, but it's still cute, so I'll keep it. The other dress has some crazy sleeves, but I think they could grow on me if I give it a few days. One of the shirts was a huge no, one was a huge yes, and the other is a maybe. My plan is to model all the stuff and have Tony take pictures, so that I can get all your expert opinions.
The 2 pajama sets I got for Ari look really small--I get that they're supposed to be snug-fitting, but I think once they're washed, they'll be too small on her. I might keep one, but I'm definitely returning the other one--no sense keeping both since they're not going to last her long. But the capris I got for her are really cute--they're nothing fancy, just plain jean, but they will go with everything.
It feels like it should be at least Thursday by now--probably because yesterday was such an odd day. But I suppose I should be happy to have an "extra day," since we have a packed-out weekend coming up.
***** EDIT *****
OK, here are the pictures I promised, of me modeling some of my new clothes. I'll post the picture first, and then my comments afterwards. Ready? OK, let's go...
Oh, also, I got my hair cut last week, so you can see that, too.
^ I love this shirt--will definitely be keeping it.
^ The only thing I don't like about this dress is... well, see that black band on the front? It doesn't continue around the back--on the back, it's just elastic. Kinda hard to explain. But I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping this one, because that's the only thing I don't like, and it's pretty minor. I love the length.
^ OK, this is the one I really need your help with. I think what bugs me about it is the sleeves. I think the poofiness of them makes me look... wider? I don't know. Sometimes I look at it and think it's groovy and cool, and other times I think it's totally lame. The other thing I'm not sure I like is the wide neckline--I have a feeling those heavy sleeves are going to fall off my shoulders. In other words, it seems like one of those dresses I'll constantly be tugging at and readjusting, which is the kind of pain-in-the-butt thing you can't figure out until you actually wear it. So what are your thoughts?
I found a few pictures from the show online--here's a generic one of pretty much the whole cast...
These were the contortionists--simultaneously awe-inspiring and cringe-inducing. At one point, one the girls had her head, chest and arms lying on the floor and was running circles around her own head. Yes, it was just as creepy-looking as it sounds.
This was one of my favorite acts--the Wheel of Death. I know this isn't the greatest picture, but basically, these 2 guys kept this wheel contraption spinning, and then did all sorts of tricks and jumps, both inside and outside their own circles. At one point they were even jump-roping on the outside. I gasped more times during this act than anything else.
The clowns were great, too. They always do several bits where they pull volunteers from the audience, yet the trick is figuring out which one are truly ordinary, unsuspecting audience members, and which ones are just "plants." For example, they called up one woman and did all sorts of silly stuff with her, but at the end of the bit, they made her disappear, so obviously, she had to be in on it. But up until then, we were sitting there trying to figure out whether or not she was "one of them." Those plants are definitely good actors.
Ari was with the babysitter for the night, and since the show got out so late, we arranged to have Ari spend the night at their house. I didn't think of it until it was too late, but Tony was dropping Ari off at the babysitter's house right around the same time I was driving home yesterday afternoon--I should have stopped in to see her. She was still asleep when I left for work on Tuesday morning, so that means I haven't seen her since Monday night at bedtime, and won't see her until I get home from work tonight. I heard she slept through the night, though, and woke up at a decent hour, so that was good news to hear. I mean, I know she's an excellent sleeper, but you never know when she's going to have a rough night, and I always worry it's going to happen when she's at someone else's house.
My package from Kohl's arrived yesterday, and I made time in my busy evening schedule to try everything on. As predicted, there were a few things I liked and a few I didn't like. I mean, you know how it is in a store--something looks cute on the hanger, but you try it on, and it doesn't fit or just doesn't hang right. And shopping online, with only photos to go by, multiplies that effect even more. I'm not as in love with the purple dress in person as I was with the picture online, but it's still cute, so I'll keep it. The other dress has some crazy sleeves, but I think they could grow on me if I give it a few days. One of the shirts was a huge no, one was a huge yes, and the other is a maybe. My plan is to model all the stuff and have Tony take pictures, so that I can get all your expert opinions.
The 2 pajama sets I got for Ari look really small--I get that they're supposed to be snug-fitting, but I think once they're washed, they'll be too small on her. I might keep one, but I'm definitely returning the other one--no sense keeping both since they're not going to last her long. But the capris I got for her are really cute--they're nothing fancy, just plain jean, but they will go with everything.
It feels like it should be at least Thursday by now--probably because yesterday was such an odd day. But I suppose I should be happy to have an "extra day," since we have a packed-out weekend coming up.
***** EDIT *****
OK, here are the pictures I promised, of me modeling some of my new clothes. I'll post the picture first, and then my comments afterwards. Ready? OK, let's go...
Oh, also, I got my hair cut last week, so you can see that, too.
^ I love this shirt--will definitely be keeping it.
^ The only thing I don't like about this dress is... well, see that black band on the front? It doesn't continue around the back--on the back, it's just elastic. Kinda hard to explain. But I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping this one, because that's the only thing I don't like, and it's pretty minor. I love the length.
^ OK, this is the one I really need your help with. I think what bugs me about it is the sleeves. I think the poofiness of them makes me look... wider? I don't know. Sometimes I look at it and think it's groovy and cool, and other times I think it's totally lame. The other thing I'm not sure I like is the wide neckline--I have a feeling those heavy sleeves are going to fall off my shoulders. In other words, it seems like one of those dresses I'll constantly be tugging at and readjusting, which is the kind of pain-in-the-butt thing you can't figure out until you actually wear it. So what are your thoughts?
Monday, April 14, 2008
Topped with chocolatey goodness
(Ari pics in previous entry.)
Last night, Ari spent the night at my parents' house, for the 2nd or 3rd Sunday night in a row. Mom usually watches her Mondays, which entails us meeting at a point roughly halfway between our houses at 7:30 AM. Not a bad situation, but it's easier in so many ways to just bring Ari down the night before. Then my dad gets to spend some time with her too (since we usually pick her up on Monday evening before he gets home). Anyway, I love that Ari is getting the chance to spend some extra time with my parents. It's not that I need a break from her so badly or anything, but I think the more she gets used to spending the night there, the better off she'll be when we go on our cruise and she spends a whole week there.
The biggest thing I miss about her when she's overnight somewhere is peeking in on her when she sleeps. I don't realize how much of a habit that is for me until she's gone. It feels so odd to walk upstairs at night and see her bedroom door wide open, and her bed empty. One of my bedtime rituals is to sneak into her room to stare at her for a few moments. Nothing relaxes me and gets me ready to sleep myself better than a glimpse of her peaceful face.
I got an e-mail telling my that my Kohl's order has been shipped, and it said I should have the package tomorrow. I am so excited. Sure, I splurged a little, but I'm betting I'll end up returning about half the things I bought. You know how it goes--something looks cute on the rack, and it's your size, but once you try it on, all you can think is "eww." And seeing as I was shopping online with only tiny pictures to go by, I'm sure the chances of that happening are even greater. But I'm hoping I'll get at least 1 or 2 decent pieces of clothing out of this little spree.
And this reminds me... it's probably about time I cleaned out my closet a bit. I'm such a packrat. I have lots of clothes that are too big for me since I've lost weight, but I can't bear to part with them, because what if I gain weight again? Or what if I get pregnant again, and need some clothes in that awkward stage when maternity clothes are still too big? Being of "child-bearing age" makes it so much harder to part with clothes. And then of course I am the typical female who hangs on to things that are too small because I am determined to fit into them again. Really what I need to do is sort out some of the really outdated and/or threadbare stuff. (It's like I have this mindset of "if it fits, you cannot get rid of it," which is ridiculous.) So that's my goal for... well, sometime in the somewhat-near future. (How's that for a completely vague deadline?)
I went on a baking binge last night--I made fudge, using my sister-in-law's 3-ingredient recipe (thanks, Jess!) and then when Tony complained (jokingly) about how I don't make desserts that he likes, I made blueberry muffins (just out of a box, nothing exciting).
In case anyone wants the fudge recipe, here it is:
3-Ingredient Fudge
1 bag of semisweet chocolate chips
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbsp butter
Melt all in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently so it doesn't burn. (Me, I stirred without stopping because I was so afraid of scorching my precious chocolate.) Pour into a well-greased pan and chill in fridge until firm. (And don't neglect licking the spoon and scraping out the chocolatey remains in the saucepan, because you can't just go wasting perfectly good chocolate.)
I added crushed-up Oreos to the top, since I had a handful leftover from my latest Oreo truffle-making adventure. (So I guess, technically, that makes it 4-ingredient fudge.) I sampled a teeny tiny bite before bed last night (it was mostly firm, but not completely), and I nearly died, it was so delicious. I will definitely be bringing it in to work tomorrow so that I don't eat it all myself. My co-workers are going to love me.
And on that sweet note, I bid you adieu.
Last night, Ari spent the night at my parents' house, for the 2nd or 3rd Sunday night in a row. Mom usually watches her Mondays, which entails us meeting at a point roughly halfway between our houses at 7:30 AM. Not a bad situation, but it's easier in so many ways to just bring Ari down the night before. Then my dad gets to spend some time with her too (since we usually pick her up on Monday evening before he gets home). Anyway, I love that Ari is getting the chance to spend some extra time with my parents. It's not that I need a break from her so badly or anything, but I think the more she gets used to spending the night there, the better off she'll be when we go on our cruise and she spends a whole week there.
The biggest thing I miss about her when she's overnight somewhere is peeking in on her when she sleeps. I don't realize how much of a habit that is for me until she's gone. It feels so odd to walk upstairs at night and see her bedroom door wide open, and her bed empty. One of my bedtime rituals is to sneak into her room to stare at her for a few moments. Nothing relaxes me and gets me ready to sleep myself better than a glimpse of her peaceful face.
I got an e-mail telling my that my Kohl's order has been shipped, and it said I should have the package tomorrow. I am so excited. Sure, I splurged a little, but I'm betting I'll end up returning about half the things I bought. You know how it goes--something looks cute on the rack, and it's your size, but once you try it on, all you can think is "eww." And seeing as I was shopping online with only tiny pictures to go by, I'm sure the chances of that happening are even greater. But I'm hoping I'll get at least 1 or 2 decent pieces of clothing out of this little spree.
And this reminds me... it's probably about time I cleaned out my closet a bit. I'm such a packrat. I have lots of clothes that are too big for me since I've lost weight, but I can't bear to part with them, because what if I gain weight again? Or what if I get pregnant again, and need some clothes in that awkward stage when maternity clothes are still too big? Being of "child-bearing age" makes it so much harder to part with clothes. And then of course I am the typical female who hangs on to things that are too small because I am determined to fit into them again. Really what I need to do is sort out some of the really outdated and/or threadbare stuff. (It's like I have this mindset of "if it fits, you cannot get rid of it," which is ridiculous.) So that's my goal for... well, sometime in the somewhat-near future. (How's that for a completely vague deadline?)
I went on a baking binge last night--I made fudge, using my sister-in-law's 3-ingredient recipe (thanks, Jess!) and then when Tony complained (jokingly) about how I don't make desserts that he likes, I made blueberry muffins (just out of a box, nothing exciting).
In case anyone wants the fudge recipe, here it is:
3-Ingredient Fudge
1 bag of semisweet chocolate chips
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbsp butter
Melt all in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently so it doesn't burn. (Me, I stirred without stopping because I was so afraid of scorching my precious chocolate.) Pour into a well-greased pan and chill in fridge until firm. (And don't neglect licking the spoon and scraping out the chocolatey remains in the saucepan, because you can't just go wasting perfectly good chocolate.)
I added crushed-up Oreos to the top, since I had a handful leftover from my latest Oreo truffle-making adventure. (So I guess, technically, that makes it 4-ingredient fudge.) I sampled a teeny tiny bite before bed last night (it was mostly firm, but not completely), and I nearly died, it was so delicious. I will definitely be bringing it in to work tomorrow so that I don't eat it all myself. My co-workers are going to love me.
And on that sweet note, I bid you adieu.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
In Just-spring when the world is mud-luscious
The weather forecast on Saturday was calling for cloudy/rainy skies with a high in the mid-50s. So imagine my surprise when I woke up to a sunny day. And imagine my even greater surprise when I let the dogs out and discovered it was really warm outside. So we took full advantage of the unexpected weather and spent some time outside with Ari. This girl just loves being outside, and I'm glad the weather is finally getting warm enough that I don't mind being out there with her. The cold weather in winter never seemed to faze her, but I sure wasn't a fan of it. Anyway, we took her to the playground, and I brought my camera, so brace yourself.
I tried to get her to play on the playground first, but she insisted on the swings first. I know she looks a little distressed in this picture, but I think she was just squinting in the sun.
Here's a short video of her enjoying the swings. I swear you can hear her say "Faster" and "She's high."
Once she was done with the swings (which she let us know by declaring, "All done"), we hit the playground. She loves playing with this steering wheel, and calls it a car. I have no clue where she got that from, because neither of us have told her it's a car.
I think she was pointing toward the slide in this shot.
On her way to the slide, she got distracted by these climbing bars. Every time she goes near them, she has to pause and say "boo boo" because Tony told her she would get hurt if she tried to go down them. It's nice to know she's paying attention. (I love her eyelashes and her windswept hair in this picture.)
But Tony decided that today would be a good day to show her how to climb the bars. And Ari was more than happy to learn.
The steps were a little far apart for her, so Tony had to help her lift her leg high enough.
Once she got to the top, she was thrilled with herself, and immediately said "Hep me" ("help me"), wanting Tony to help her again.
So Tony helped her up again, but this time, from the top.
She's getting the hang of climbing...
See the tongue hanging out? She does that when she's concentrating on something--it cracks me up.
She's quite the pro at going down the slide (all by herself, too), as you can see in this video. She momentarily freaks out about the dirt on her shoe (yeh, I don't know), and then hesitates as though she's purposely posing for the camera.
Then she decided to try something new with the slide--climbing up it.
But she didn't get very far.
So she decided to just go ahead and slide down on her belly, like that was her plan all along.
Then Tony had to join the fun. (I love this shot--look at their faces.)
She stood up on the end of the slide, and was quite pleased with herself.
Tony's been trying to teach her to jump into his arms, but she still needs a little persuading, so he holds her hands while she sorta-kinda jumps.
She likes to sit on the edge of the playground (there's the tongue thing again)...
She loves all the trees and bushes, and constantly wants to touch them--and she really does touch them now, the brave little thing. She'll yell, "I touch!" or "I touch it!" then walk over the bush, swat the branches just once, and be done. She spent several minutes walking around touching all the bushes in sight. She was especially thrilled when Tony lifted her up to touch this tree.
Tony taught her how to ride piggyback, and now she constantly asks him for a ride.
How sweet is this?
She was good and worn out from all the playing, so while she napped, I grabbed the iPod and went for a nice, long walk. I love having the iPod--walking alone, in the same loop around the apartment complex, can be so boring, but with the iPod to listen to, the time just flies. I walked for 45 minutes and even broke a decent sweat, that's how warm it was. I love being able to walk outside again--not that I don't love my Gazelle, but that's a pretty monotonous workout routine. It's nice to change things up by doing some real walking.
When I got home, Tony was hard at work in the kitchen making chili. He made some for our church's men's fellowship a couple weeks ago, and decided to encore it for our church's potluck dinner (which was today). I didn't get to try his chili last time, so I sneaked a small bowl of it for supper, and it was delicious. I told him he definitely needs to make it more often.
We were supposed to get together with Matt, Kristin and Nick in the afternoon, but Nick woke up with a stomach bug, so they had to cancel. So we got to spend the whole day together as a family. We all slept in until 10, Tony and I did some laundry, we spent plenty of time outside in the gorgeous weather, and then Tony and I watched a movie after Ari went to bed.
It was a good day.
I tried to get her to play on the playground first, but she insisted on the swings first. I know she looks a little distressed in this picture, but I think she was just squinting in the sun.
Here's a short video of her enjoying the swings. I swear you can hear her say "Faster" and "She's high."
Once she was done with the swings (which she let us know by declaring, "All done"), we hit the playground. She loves playing with this steering wheel, and calls it a car. I have no clue where she got that from, because neither of us have told her it's a car.
I think she was pointing toward the slide in this shot.
On her way to the slide, she got distracted by these climbing bars. Every time she goes near them, she has to pause and say "boo boo" because Tony told her she would get hurt if she tried to go down them. It's nice to know she's paying attention. (I love her eyelashes and her windswept hair in this picture.)
But Tony decided that today would be a good day to show her how to climb the bars. And Ari was more than happy to learn.
The steps were a little far apart for her, so Tony had to help her lift her leg high enough.
Once she got to the top, she was thrilled with herself, and immediately said "Hep me" ("help me"), wanting Tony to help her again.
So Tony helped her up again, but this time, from the top.
She's getting the hang of climbing...
See the tongue hanging out? She does that when she's concentrating on something--it cracks me up.
She's quite the pro at going down the slide (all by herself, too), as you can see in this video. She momentarily freaks out about the dirt on her shoe (yeh, I don't know), and then hesitates as though she's purposely posing for the camera.
Then she decided to try something new with the slide--climbing up it.
But she didn't get very far.
So she decided to just go ahead and slide down on her belly, like that was her plan all along.
Then Tony had to join the fun. (I love this shot--look at their faces.)
She stood up on the end of the slide, and was quite pleased with herself.
Tony's been trying to teach her to jump into his arms, but she still needs a little persuading, so he holds her hands while she sorta-kinda jumps.
She likes to sit on the edge of the playground (there's the tongue thing again)...
She loves all the trees and bushes, and constantly wants to touch them--and she really does touch them now, the brave little thing. She'll yell, "I touch!" or "I touch it!" then walk over the bush, swat the branches just once, and be done. She spent several minutes walking around touching all the bushes in sight. She was especially thrilled when Tony lifted her up to touch this tree.
Tony taught her how to ride piggyback, and now she constantly asks him for a ride.
How sweet is this?
She was good and worn out from all the playing, so while she napped, I grabbed the iPod and went for a nice, long walk. I love having the iPod--walking alone, in the same loop around the apartment complex, can be so boring, but with the iPod to listen to, the time just flies. I walked for 45 minutes and even broke a decent sweat, that's how warm it was. I love being able to walk outside again--not that I don't love my Gazelle, but that's a pretty monotonous workout routine. It's nice to change things up by doing some real walking.
When I got home, Tony was hard at work in the kitchen making chili. He made some for our church's men's fellowship a couple weeks ago, and decided to encore it for our church's potluck dinner (which was today). I didn't get to try his chili last time, so I sneaked a small bowl of it for supper, and it was delicious. I told him he definitely needs to make it more often.
We were supposed to get together with Matt, Kristin and Nick in the afternoon, but Nick woke up with a stomach bug, so they had to cancel. So we got to spend the whole day together as a family. We all slept in until 10, Tony and I did some laundry, we spent plenty of time outside in the gorgeous weather, and then Tony and I watched a movie after Ari went to bed.
It was a good day.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Art show *EDIT x2*
The latest exhibit from my little Picasso:
Yes, folks, that is permanent marker.
At least she didn't pry off any of the keyboard keys this time. I suppose someday we'll look back on this and laugh?
*sigh*
***** EDIT *****
Please notice that the little genius managed to accomplish this without getting any marker on her precious little hands. And I would also like to add, that this did not happen on my watch. Not that I'm blaming anybody or anything. I was merely the photographer after the fact. That's all. As you were.
***** EDIT #2 *****
I didn't even think to ask anyone for suggestions on how to get out permanent marker, because I figured it was hopeless. But oh me of little faith... it turns out the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser truly is magic.
And like I told Tony, it could have been worse--what if she had spilled a glass of water on the laptop? The laptop may be scarred for life (I'm hesitant to use the Magic Eraser's powers anywhere near the touchpad), but at least it is still functional.
Yes, folks, that is permanent marker.
At least she didn't pry off any of the keyboard keys this time. I suppose someday we'll look back on this and laugh?
*sigh*
***** EDIT *****
Please notice that the little genius managed to accomplish this without getting any marker on her precious little hands. And I would also like to add, that this did not happen on my watch. Not that I'm blaming anybody or anything. I was merely the photographer after the fact. That's all. As you were.
***** EDIT #2 *****
I didn't even think to ask anyone for suggestions on how to get out permanent marker, because I figured it was hopeless. But oh me of little faith... it turns out the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser truly is magic.
And like I told Tony, it could have been worse--what if she had spilled a glass of water on the laptop? The laptop may be scarred for life (I'm hesitant to use the Magic Eraser's powers anywhere near the touchpad), but at least it is still functional.
Monitor-shopping
(^ Is that what you call it when you're window-shopping online?)
I was browsing the Kohl's website, and they've added a bunch of new stuff to their clearance section. Help me decide... Which dress do you like better?
or
They are both on sale for the same price: $11.80. I usually hate shopping for clothes online because I'm so bad at knowing my size, but I figure I can't mess up too badly with a dress. Maybe I'll just get both... *whistles innocently*
I'm digging this shirt...
... and this one.
Or, if I want to go for the preppy look, there's this...
And then I made the mistake of browsing the children's section...
Seriously, how cute is that dress? Only $4.40!
And this dress is pretty cute too--I'm a sucker for polka dots on kids...
Let's just say I narrowed it down to these dresses, because I pretty much love every single toddler dress on this site. I also found a couple 3-piece (shirt, shorts and pants) pajama sets for about $5 each, which I might get. Ari does need pajamas.
OK, back to work. No, really.
I was browsing the Kohl's website, and they've added a bunch of new stuff to their clearance section. Help me decide... Which dress do you like better?
or
They are both on sale for the same price: $11.80. I usually hate shopping for clothes online because I'm so bad at knowing my size, but I figure I can't mess up too badly with a dress. Maybe I'll just get both... *whistles innocently*
I'm digging this shirt...
... and this one.
Or, if I want to go for the preppy look, there's this...
And then I made the mistake of browsing the children's section...
Seriously, how cute is that dress? Only $4.40!
And this dress is pretty cute too--I'm a sucker for polka dots on kids...
Let's just say I narrowed it down to these dresses, because I pretty much love every single toddler dress on this site. I also found a couple 3-piece (shirt, shorts and pants) pajama sets for about $5 each, which I might get. Ari does need pajamas.
OK, back to work. No, really.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Needs her own reality show
Conversations With A Toddler: A short play in 3 acts
Act I, Scene 1: Not the brightest crayon in the box...
Ari: (discovers a piece of paper on the table) I color! I color? I color!
Me: Baby, you can't color without crayons.
Ari: I color! I color!
Me: That's nice, but there's nothing to write with.
Ari: I color! I color! I color!
Me: Honey, you don't have any crayons.
Ari: (falls silent, looks at her hands, then puts the paper down and walks away)
Act I, Scene 2: Still not the brightest crayon in the box...
Ari: (grabbing a piece of paper) I color! I color!
Me: (handing her a pen) Here you go.
Ari: (promptly writes on her hand, stares at it, then gets upset) Mess! Mess! Uuunnnhhhh!
Me: (attempts to spit-scrub it off, with only slight results)
Ari: (clearly disgruntled at my feeble attempt) Mess! Meeeeeeess!
Me: It's fine, baby. Here, color on the paper. (demonstrates the art of writing on paper)
Ari: (sufficiently distracted) I color!
Me: Yes, you color. Good job.
Act II: Already attempting to delay bedtime...
Me: Ari, go say good night to Daddy.
Ari: (ignoring me, and running to the closet where we keep the dog treats) Treat? Treat!
Me: You can give the doggies treats after you say good night to Daddy.
Ari: (throws herself on the floor dramatically, wailing incomprehensibly about the unfairness that is her life)
Me: (ignores her)
Literally 2 seconds later...
Ari: (picks herself up off the floor and wanders over to Daddy) Nuh-night, Daddy.
Tony: (hugging her) Good night, baby. I love you.
Ari: Uv ooh. (makes a beeline for the closet) Treat? Treat!
Me: OK, now you can give the doggies treats.
Act III: Morning hellos and goodbyes...
Ari: Hi, Daddy!
Tony: Hey, baby.
Ari: (to the dog on the bed) Hi, Sasha!
Me: No, that's Ivan.
Ari: (without missing a beat) Hi, Ivan!
Me: Say bye to Daddy.
Ari: Bye, Daddy! Bye-bye, Daddy!
A few minutes later, as I back the car out of the parking spot...
Ari: Bye, Daddy! Byyyyyyye, Daddy! (blowing him kisses) Mwah!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Cooking, coats, and conversations
Random bits from the weekend...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I was a cooking goddess this weekend. Well, OK, I didn't make anything spectacular, but they very fact that I cooked! voluntarily! more than once! and it came out good! is a pretty big deal.
For dinner on Saturday, I made Impossibly Easy Cheesburger Pie. The recipe came off the back of a Bisquick box:
1 lb. lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup) (I left this out, since Tony doesn't like onion)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz.)
1/2 cup Original Bisquick mix (I used the Heart Healthy Bisquick)
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1. Heat oven to 400*F. Spray 9" glass pie plate with cooking spray.
2. In 10" skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in salt. Spread in pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese.
3. In small bowl, stir remaining ingredients with fork or wire whisk until blended. Pour into pie plate.
4. Bake about 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
Tony liked his topped with ketchup, which makes sense, but I thought it was fine without. Also, even though you're supposed to put it in a pie plate, I'm sure any casserole dish would work. It was really delicious, and so easy to make. Oh, and it also tasted good reheated (we ate leftovers for lunch on Sunday).
I also attempted fudge, which was a disaster, since it never hardened (note to self: try Jess's 3-ingredient fudge next time). I ended up pouring the gooey mess into the trash. But then I attempted Oreo truffles, and they came out fabulous. The recipe I used wasn't very exact, but it worked out fine for me. Again, it's super easy--it seemed a little complicated, just reading the instructions (melting things? waiting for things to firm up? dipping things?), but it was really easy. And it didn't take as long as I thought it would waiting for things to chill in the fridge.
Oreo Truffles
1 package of Oreos
1 med. tub of cream cheese (about 8 oz.), softened
1 bag of semisweet chocolate chips
1. Crush the Oreos (however you want--food processor, in a Ziploc bag, etc.) until they are all crumbs. Stir in cream cheese until well-mixed. (The mixture should be really thick and gooey, and hard to stir. Not sure if an electric mixer would make it easier, or if it would be no help--I mixed by hand.)
2. Roll into balls and place on a wax-paper-lined cookie sheet. Chill in fridge until firm.
3. Melt chocolate chips in microwave, adding a little bit of butter as you melt them to make a "dippable" consistency.
4. Dip the balls in the melted chocolate until coated, and return to the wax paper. Chill again until firm.
5. Store leftovers (ha!) in the fridge, covered.
I'm thinking you could probably substitute mint Oreos or some other variation of Oreos for a different flavor. Also, if you were feeling really creative, you could always melt a little bit of white chocolate and drizzle it over the tops of the finished balls, to make them prettier.
Ha, look at me sharing recipes--I'm like a regular little Suzie Homemaker. But seriously, I hate cooking (though I love baking, go figure), so I'm always happy to come across super-simple, quick recipes. I mean, by the time I get home from work, the last thing I want to do is spend an hour or 2 in the kitchen slaving over a complicated dinner. And trust me when I say I wouldn't be sharing these recipes unless they were wicked easy.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I am still on the hunt for a spring jacket. I checked a few places this weekend, but with no luck. I even tried Burlington Coat Factory, which has an entire department dedicated to coats, but most of their selection was winter coats. It's April--that makes no sense. I may check back in another week or so and see if they have more selection. I mean, they can't seriously carry winter coats year-round, can they?
I am also on the hunt for a new purse (shh, don't tell Tony). I was thinking that as much as I despise giant purses, it might be a good idea to upgrade to something larger than my usual, for traveling purposes. For example, when I go see my sister in 23 days!, I'm only going to bring my purse and one carry-on, so that I don't have to check any luggage. So it would make sense to have a purse large enough to accommodate my normal purse paraphernalia, as well as a good book to read, and any other miscellaneous stuff I'd rather not pack in my suitcase-y carry-on (for example, my airline-regulation-sized liquids). The same principle applies to when we fly for our cruise later in the year. So, see, a new purse makes perfect sense. Surely Tony cannot argue in the face of such pure logic.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Conversations with a toddler, while driving down the road...
Ari: Car! Car! Car!
Me: Yes, baby, I see. It's a car.
Ari: Car! Car! Car!
Me: Yup, you're right. There's a car.
Ari: Car! Car! Car!
Me: I know, sweetie.
Ari: Car! Car! Car!
Me: You know, we're driving on the highway. There are lots of cars.
Ari: Car! Car! Car!
Me: You're kidding--a car? Where?
Ari: Car! Car! Car!
Me: Yes, sweet pea. A car. I get it.
Ari: Car! Car! Car!
Me: *sigh*
Ari: Car! Car! Car! . . . . [repeat at least 50 more times]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I was a cooking goddess this weekend. Well, OK, I didn't make anything spectacular, but they very fact that I cooked! voluntarily! more than once! and it came out good! is a pretty big deal.
For dinner on Saturday, I made Impossibly Easy Cheesburger Pie. The recipe came off the back of a Bisquick box:
1 lb. lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup) (I left this out, since Tony doesn't like onion)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz.)
1/2 cup Original Bisquick mix (I used the Heart Healthy Bisquick)
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1. Heat oven to 400*F. Spray 9" glass pie plate with cooking spray.
2. In 10" skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in salt. Spread in pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese.
3. In small bowl, stir remaining ingredients with fork or wire whisk until blended. Pour into pie plate.
4. Bake about 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
Tony liked his topped with ketchup, which makes sense, but I thought it was fine without. Also, even though you're supposed to put it in a pie plate, I'm sure any casserole dish would work. It was really delicious, and so easy to make. Oh, and it also tasted good reheated (we ate leftovers for lunch on Sunday).
I also attempted fudge, which was a disaster, since it never hardened (note to self: try Jess's 3-ingredient fudge next time). I ended up pouring the gooey mess into the trash. But then I attempted Oreo truffles, and they came out fabulous. The recipe I used wasn't very exact, but it worked out fine for me. Again, it's super easy--it seemed a little complicated, just reading the instructions (melting things? waiting for things to firm up? dipping things?), but it was really easy. And it didn't take as long as I thought it would waiting for things to chill in the fridge.
Oreo Truffles
1 package of Oreos
1 med. tub of cream cheese (about 8 oz.), softened
1 bag of semisweet chocolate chips
1. Crush the Oreos (however you want--food processor, in a Ziploc bag, etc.) until they are all crumbs. Stir in cream cheese until well-mixed. (The mixture should be really thick and gooey, and hard to stir. Not sure if an electric mixer would make it easier, or if it would be no help--I mixed by hand.)
2. Roll into balls and place on a wax-paper-lined cookie sheet. Chill in fridge until firm.
3. Melt chocolate chips in microwave, adding a little bit of butter as you melt them to make a "dippable" consistency.
4. Dip the balls in the melted chocolate until coated, and return to the wax paper. Chill again until firm.
5. Store leftovers (ha!) in the fridge, covered.
I'm thinking you could probably substitute mint Oreos or some other variation of Oreos for a different flavor. Also, if you were feeling really creative, you could always melt a little bit of white chocolate and drizzle it over the tops of the finished balls, to make them prettier.
Ha, look at me sharing recipes--I'm like a regular little Suzie Homemaker. But seriously, I hate cooking (though I love baking, go figure), so I'm always happy to come across super-simple, quick recipes. I mean, by the time I get home from work, the last thing I want to do is spend an hour or 2 in the kitchen slaving over a complicated dinner. And trust me when I say I wouldn't be sharing these recipes unless they were wicked easy.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I am still on the hunt for a spring jacket. I checked a few places this weekend, but with no luck. I even tried Burlington Coat Factory, which has an entire department dedicated to coats, but most of their selection was winter coats. It's April--that makes no sense. I may check back in another week or so and see if they have more selection. I mean, they can't seriously carry winter coats year-round, can they?
I am also on the hunt for a new purse (shh, don't tell Tony). I was thinking that as much as I despise giant purses, it might be a good idea to upgrade to something larger than my usual, for traveling purposes. For example, when I go see my sister in 23 days!, I'm only going to bring my purse and one carry-on, so that I don't have to check any luggage. So it would make sense to have a purse large enough to accommodate my normal purse paraphernalia, as well as a good book to read, and any other miscellaneous stuff I'd rather not pack in my suitcase-y carry-on (for example, my airline-regulation-sized liquids). The same principle applies to when we fly for our cruise later in the year. So, see, a new purse makes perfect sense. Surely Tony cannot argue in the face of such pure logic.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Conversations with a toddler, while driving down the road...
Ari: Car! Car! Car!
Me: Yes, baby, I see. It's a car.
Ari: Car! Car! Car!
Me: Yup, you're right. There's a car.
Ari: Car! Car! Car!
Me: I know, sweetie.
Ari: Car! Car! Car!
Me: You know, we're driving on the highway. There are lots of cars.
Ari: Car! Car! Car!
Me: You're kidding--a car? Where?
Ari: Car! Car! Car!
Me: Yes, sweet pea. A car. I get it.
Ari: Car! Car! Car!
Me: *sigh*
Ari: Car! Car! Car! . . . . [repeat at least 50 more times]
Friday, April 4, 2008
Things to be happy about
You know it's not going to be a stellar day when you wake up and realize you overslept and/or your alarms didn't go off. So to counteract the rough start to my day, I present...
Things to be happy about:
1. Tony made dinner last night. He told me that Greg and Wayne were coming over to watch a movie, and the conversation naturally turned to figuring out what to do for dinner. Before I knew it, he was digging through my recipes and eagerly volunteering to make dinner himself. Naturally, I did not argue. It came out delicious, too. And it was so nice to come home and not have to worry about barricading myself in the kitchen. (Not that I make dinner every night. Or even most nights. But it was still nice not to have to stress about it.)
2. That it's only rain today, not snow/sleet/freezing rain/the next Ice Age.
3. That I don't have to make sure I'm in my house every night before darkness falls, with nothing but my German Shepherd to keep me company, praying that the bloodthirsty infected people don't find me. (Who wants to guess what movie the boys were watching last night?)
4. That it's Friday. (No-brainer.)
5. That my scale is still saying 125, despite my lousy eating habits as of late. (Note to self: Knock it off with the junk food already! Sheesh.)
6. Tony telling me that the jeans I'm wearing today make me look really skinny.
7. Ariana.
^ Can't beat that one, can I? So I guess my list is done.
And speaking of the little devil...
In an attempt to get Ari to get used to the idea of barrettes, I played around with this hair bow. I tried to get some pictures of Ari wearing it, but she was too fast for me. She would hold still and let me put it in, but by the time I reached for my camera, she'd have already taken it out. Observe:
(Don't mind the yellow stains on her shirt--she'd been coloring with a yellow marker. Note to self: must find Crayola Color Wonder markers and hide all other markers.)
Caught her in the act of yanking it out...
Huh? No, I'm not taking out the bow. Honest!
And then she attempted to put it in a box. Uh, Kim, I think this means she does not approve of your gift.
This shot cracks me up. She was laughing because Tony was tickling her, but I think I caught her between giggles, so she looks a little dazed.
She has entire make-believe conversations on the phone now, starting with "Hi" and ending with "Bye."
Playing peekaboo with Daddy...
Enough with the pictures already, Mom!
As you wish.
Things to be happy about:
1. Tony made dinner last night. He told me that Greg and Wayne were coming over to watch a movie, and the conversation naturally turned to figuring out what to do for dinner. Before I knew it, he was digging through my recipes and eagerly volunteering to make dinner himself. Naturally, I did not argue. It came out delicious, too. And it was so nice to come home and not have to worry about barricading myself in the kitchen. (Not that I make dinner every night. Or even most nights. But it was still nice not to have to stress about it.)
2. That it's only rain today, not snow/sleet/freezing rain/the next Ice Age.
3. That I don't have to make sure I'm in my house every night before darkness falls, with nothing but my German Shepherd to keep me company, praying that the bloodthirsty infected people don't find me. (Who wants to guess what movie the boys were watching last night?)
4. That it's Friday. (No-brainer.)
5. That my scale is still saying 125, despite my lousy eating habits as of late. (Note to self: Knock it off with the junk food already! Sheesh.)
6. Tony telling me that the jeans I'm wearing today make me look really skinny.
7. Ariana.
^ Can't beat that one, can I? So I guess my list is done.
And speaking of the little devil...
In an attempt to get Ari to get used to the idea of barrettes, I played around with this hair bow. I tried to get some pictures of Ari wearing it, but she was too fast for me. She would hold still and let me put it in, but by the time I reached for my camera, she'd have already taken it out. Observe:
(Don't mind the yellow stains on her shirt--she'd been coloring with a yellow marker. Note to self: must find Crayola Color Wonder markers and hide all other markers.)
Caught her in the act of yanking it out...
Huh? No, I'm not taking out the bow. Honest!
And then she attempted to put it in a box. Uh, Kim, I think this means she does not approve of your gift.
This shot cracks me up. She was laughing because Tony was tickling her, but I think I caught her between giggles, so she looks a little dazed.
She has entire make-believe conversations on the phone now, starting with "Hi" and ending with "Bye."
Playing peekaboo with Daddy...
Enough with the pictures already, Mom!
As you wish.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
21 months
(Yeh, I forgot to take pictures last night, so I took one after she fell asleep. Maybe if you all behave yourselves today, I'll take some tonight [because that way if I forget again, I can blame it on you guys instead of myself].)
Today, Ari is 21 months old. Which means we're only 3 months away from the Great and Terrible Twos.
She is becoming so much more social now--it's like she is starting to understand the way people interact with each other and the way people play together. For example, it used to always be one of us initiating a game with her, but now, she starts the game herself. She flop onto the floor and stare at you until you realize that she wants you to tickle her or wrestle with her. She'll cover her face with her hands, waiting patiently for you to say, "Where's Ari?" so she can squeal, "Boo!" (She doesn't always get the "Peek-a-" before the "boo" but we're working on that.)
She loves people--and especially babies. Any time she sees a baby, she has to yell "bee-bee!" She's hit-or-miss with saying hi to people, but she'll almost always say bye. She still seems to be shy when someone else makes the first move--in other words, if an adult says hi to her first, she'll just stare and sometimes even draw back a little. But then there are times where she'll see a person who's a fairly good distance away, and she'll shout an enthusiastic "Hi!", sometimes repeating it until she gets the person to look at her or say hi back. So she's social--on her own terms.
She is also slowly but surely learning her manners. She says "please" quite often now without any prompting. Sometimes she'll even say it before we've figured out what she's asking for, as though adding a sweet "peez" onto the end of her rambling will help us get what she's saying. We're still working on "thank you" ("ank oo"), and even though she doesn't always say it when we ask her to, she'll jump out with it randomly (like repeating it after me when I say it to the cashier in the fast-food drive-thru).
We've taught her the concept of whispering and saying "shh" when someone is sleeping, and she now applies that to anyone with their eyes closed. She has a new picture book with animal pictures in it, and there is a kitten with its eyes closed. Every time she comes to that page, she says "shh." Yes, because you know, if we're not quiet enough, we just might wake that kitten up.
Tony took her to the mall the other day, and in the family restroom/lounge area, there is a carpet with a bunch of kids' faces on it. Ari spent a few minutes carefully pointing out the eyes, noses and mouths on the faces, and said "shh" anytime she found a face with its eyes closed. Then, before Tony could stop her, she bent down and kissed one of the faces. I tried to focus on how cute that was, instead of "Oh, nooooo, germs!"
She still loves Nemo, and even though she doesn't watch it every day, she still loves to talk about it. I woke her up from a nap the other day and as I was changing her, she started chanting, "Ahh ohh ahh eee" and saying "mine, mine." She hadn't watched the movie at all that day, and I wasn't saying anything about it to her. I guess she's just becoming like all the rest of us who quote movie lines as part of normal conversation.
She also sings to herself. Not sure what she's singing, but sometimes it sounds like she's singing her vowel sounds: "Ahh, eee, eye, ohhh, oooh." The other day in the car, I was singing along with "La Vie Boheme" from Rent and during the part of song where they sing "La vie Boheme" over and over, I could have sworn I heard Ari trying to sing/say that phrase. A couple days later, I made a point of putting that CD in again, and she did it again. I suppose this means I need to start listening to kid-friendly CDs in my car.
She loves being outside, and could care less that it's barely spring and still pretty chilly outside. She loves the playground, but also doesn't mind just riding in her stroller and pointing out trees and birds to me. As we walk, when she sees a tree close to the sidewalk, she'll yell, "Touch it!" or "I touch it!" while extending her arm. But every time I slow down and bring her close to the tree, she'll yank her arm back quickly and murmur, "No." And of course I call her a sissy.
She's learning new words all the time, and is quite proud to show them off. Right now she's calling all dogs "Sasha" (which sounds more like "shah-shah"), which is pretty funny to us, since Ivan is her favorite dog and Sasha pretty much ignores her. Another favorite word is "fishy" (pronounced "shishy") and she loves to point out the fish on her sippy cup, and the toy fish she has in her pile of bath toys. And she insists on getting the proper recognition for identifying objects like that--meaning she will repeat the word over and over until she's sure you have understood exactly what she's talking about.
This morning I dropped her off with the babysitter, and when I leaned down to ask for my goodbye hug, instead of making me beg, she came right over and buried her head in my shoulder. Then she kissed me twice, hugged me again, kissed me a few more times. Then she said "eye" (as she poked me in the eye) and "nose" while touching my nose, as though this was all part of the normal goodbye routine. When I stood up, she promptly said "goodbye," waved (in the very precise new way that she does), and hustled me out the door by trying to close the door on me.
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