Memorial Day

(More Ari pics in previous entry. And lots of pics in this entry.)

On Memorial Day (yesterday), we spent the day with my parents and Pete at a nearby state park. It's become kind of a tradition to go there every year (weather permitting, of course). It's a beautiful and peaceful place--just the right setting to have a picnic lunch, lounge around on a beach towel, and walk the beautiful grounds.

Ari was in her glory--she had a great time last year, too, but now that she's older and more active, she really let loose and had a lot of fun. My mom brought along a birthday gift for Ari from my sister, and Tony insisted on opening it right away. Mom was trying to show Ari how to use the ball and bat correctly.



But Ari decided that she preferred to play this way. (Tony says that means she's going to be a golfer.)



Then Ari read her animal book to Gramma, showing off her animal-naming skills.



Pete spent most of the day in this chair, re-reading Eragon. But the fact that I got a picture of him looking at the camera without covering his face or glaring at me is quite an accomplishment.



After lunch, we went for a walk. Ari decided to take her Mr. Potato Head literally and try to eat him.



Later, she got a ride from Grampa. (As we were walking, she said to me, "Mommy! Ride! Grampa!" I love how she tells us "stories" like that now.)



She was not all that impressed with seeing the ocean close-up.



Another one for the "Faces I'll See A Lot When She's A Teenager" file.



One of my favorite pictures of the whole day...



I call this one "Where's Ari?" (You know... it's like "Where's Waldo?"... except with Ari.) This is proof that she has no qualms about wandering away from us in public places.



We tried to convince Ari that straddling this tree branch was like riding a horsie, but she didn't seem to buy it (especially when she tried to "rock" the tree branch and it didn't budge).



Gramma was trying to get Ari to look at the pretty flowers, but Ari wanted to find the airplane she heard. (I swear, this kid has her ears finely-tuned to the sounds of airplanes--I don't think she missed a single one all day long.)



Our walk took us past a field with horses in it, so Tony took Ari for a closer look.



On the grounds of this park is a huge mansion with beautiful gardens. My parents opted out of the walk a little early, so just Tony, Ari and I explored the gardens. What is the significance of this photo, you ask? Well, if you look closely, you'll notice that Ari is walking up those stairs all by herself--not holding on to anyone or anything.



She did it again, with another smaller set of stairs, and got a high-five from Daddy.



And then, feeling super-confident, she also went down the stairs unassisted. (Look how she has her arms all spread out to balance herself.)



I call this one "Where's Ari? Part 2." We told her it was time to go, and when she ignored us, we did the classic parent trick of walking away and saying good-bye. Unfazed, she squatted right where she was and prepared for the showdown.



We finally convinced her to come to us by telling her we were going back to see Gramma and Grampa. And once again, she handled the stairs all by herself.



We left the park around 4:45. We had wanted to stay for dinner, but the wind picked up and it was downright cold. Of course, I was in shorts and hadn't thought to bring pants or a jacket. It was a gorgeous day if you were in the sun, but as the wind kicked into high-gear at the end of the day, it was cold even in the sunlight. Leaving early worked out well, though--Ari fell asleep almost instantly in the car and was in a great mood when we got home. She didn't eat much for dinner, but she enjoyed our after-dinner walk and playground visit. And by the time bedtime rolled around, she was more than ready for bed.

And now it's Tuesday (though it feels like a Monday), and it's back to work.

The weekend so far

Saturday was my brother Dave's graduation party. I was hoping that Ari would take an early nap, and the little angel obliged by going down for a nap at noon and waking pleasantly around 1:40, which meant we arrived at the party around 2:15--not bad, considering it started at 2. Ari was in a perfect mood the entire time--it took her a little while to warm up to the crowd, but once she did, she made herself right at home. I completely forgot my camera, but one of Dave and Jess's friends took several pictures of Ari and then made a point of burning them onto a CD for me before we left (he even ran home to get his laptop so he could do so--how sweet is that?). So, without further rambling...

I love how when we take her to a new place, every single thing in the new environment is completely fascinating to her. One of her favorite things there was the rocks that surrounded the bushes and flower beds. I told Tony that we are so buying her a box of rocks for her birthday.



I have no idea what this face is about, but it cracks me up. I think I'll see this face a lot when she's a teenager.



On a mission...



Distracted (by an airplane, maybe?)



Distracted by Auntie Jess asking her where her butterfly was. (Hint: It's on her shirt.)



Scaling a mountain...



Acknowledging her audience...



And last but not least... my favorite. I love the expression on her face.



Today was church as usual, then home for naps (for all 3 of us), and then off to Matt and Kristin's house in the evening. Again, I forgot my camera. Ari spent a good while sitting in the kiddie pool they had set up in their yard. We didn't think to bring a bathing suit for her, but we mooched a swim diaper from someone and plopped her into the pool in just that. She played until she was literally shivering--I'm not sure why she was, since it was still plenty warm out. I dried her off and got her dressed, and she did a great job keeping herself occupied the entire time we were there. We didn't even leave until well past her bedtime, and she was still in a great mood.

Tomorrow we're spending most of the day with my parents and brother Pete... and hopefully I will remember my camera this time.

"Mommy, color!"

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So we bought Ari some of those Crayola Color Wonder markers--you know, the kind that only write on the magic Crayola Color Wonder paper instead of clothes, walls, skin, etc. We also got her a couple coloring books (The Princess and the Pea and Finding Nemo) as well as a full pad of blank paper if she really wants to be original.

So what does my creative genius do? She colors on the cardboard backing of the coloring book.



Then she spotted the camera, and said, "Mommy, color!"



And thus, picture-taking time was over.

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And now it's time for some randomness...

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Ari spent most of Wednesday afternoon begging to go to the mall (yes, we are training her well), so guess where we went when I got home? I didn't mind, though... especially when I snagged this awesome find in my old Disney Store...



Ignore my crazy hair and makeup-less face and doofy glasses, because, hello! Do you not see Johnny Depp on that shirt? Focus, people.

I consider that $3.99 well-spent.

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At the Disney Store, Ari scored herself a 3-ft-tall plush Cinderella doll. She carried a Giselle one around the store, but for some reason, Giselle was $15.99 and Cindy was only $6.39. I love that Ari is still at an age where you can pull the old bait-and-switch on her.

I should also mention that Tony wanted to spend around $30 on a Nemo plush that was as big as Ari. The man is nuts, people. And Ari didn't even want it--she only had eyes for Giselle. I put myself into stern Mommy-mode and gave him a firm "No." I swear, sometimes I think I have two kids.

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My brother has finished all his med-school classes and the graduation ceremony is today, when he will officially earn his M.D. I am immensely proud of him, but at the same time... dude. My dorky little brother is going to be a real, live doctor. Like, with actual patients with real problems and such. That is so weird.

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Speaking of my brother graduating, this weekend is going to be jam-packed with stuff, starting tonight. Tonight, our church has a ladies' fellowship. Then Saturday is Dave's graduation party. Sunday is church, and then we're going to Matt and Kristin's in the afternoon for a Memorial Day cookout. Then Monday we're joining my parents and Pete at a state park to hang out for the day. I'm going to need a weekend from my weekend.

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Joke of the Day:

What did the yogi say when he walked into the zen pizza parlor?

Make me one with everything.

Operation Dinner In

During one of his many phone calls to me yesterday (sometimes Tony gets in a goofy mood and will call/text me several times in a day, just to share random little stuff with me), Tony announced he was going to make dinner. Naturally, I didn't argue. So we agreed that I would pick up Ari from the babysitter's on my way home.

(Speaking of the babysitter, quick side note... she texted me yesterday to tell me how impressed she was with how many animals Ari can recognize and name, especially at her age. OK, bragging-mommy moment over...)

When I got home, the apartment smelled wonderful and Tony had just pulled the dish out of the oven.

"So what is it?" I asked, sliding into the kitchen for a closer look.

"I'm not telling," he replied, with a mischevious grin. But then he admitted he hadn't followed a recipe at all. So not only did he volunteer to make dinner without any hinting from me, he also made it from scratch? I could not have loved him more at that moment.

We dug in, and oh my gosh, people--it was amazing. It was a chicken casserole--several large pieces of chicken surrounded by pasta in a cheesy sauce, with diced tomatoes and chili peppers, and topped with bread crumbs. The chicken was perfectly cooked (tender, moist, not at all overdone), the pasta was delicious, and the flavor was incredible. He steamed some vegetables as a side dish to complete the meal. I raved about it, trying my best to assure him that I was not complimenting him just to be nice--it really was that good.

As I wolfed it down, I told him, "You know, you really didn't think this through."

"Huh?"

"Well, if it had come out badly, you would have been off the hook--I probably would have never wanted you to cook again. But since it came out so great, I think I might have to make you the official cook in the house now."

Of course, I was kidding. Maybe.

Shallow stuff to be happy about (and more)

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(Way too many Ari pics in previous entry...)

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Shallow stuff to be happy about:

1. An extra $1500 in our checking account, thanks to the government. (Yes, after resigning ourselves to the fact that we were doomed to get a paper check in July, lo and behold, the money got direct-deposited on Friday.)

2. Being able to pay off our cruise with this extra moolah.

3. Cute new shoes...



4. My scale saying 120 this morning. (Yay!)

5. Getting up early enough today to enjoy a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats before leaving, thereby skipping my usual Dunkin Donuts run. (And I still got to work 15 minutes early.)

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Moving on... Ari's rash is much better. Oddly, the rash on her bottom is nearly gone, but the screaming red marks on her thighs are still there. I told Tony it looks like we beat our child. Good thing we don't have to take her to the doctor anytime soon--we would probably be eyed suspiciously.

Tony visited the Disney Store I used to work at the other day, and found out from my old manager that they are being shut down. Right before I quit there, the Walt Disney Corporation sold the stores to The Children's Place--some kind of crap about how the stores weren't profitable for them and blah blah (it sounded ridiculous to me, but anyway). Well, now The Children's Place has declared bankruptcy--not on their entire company, just the Disney Store portion of it. So rather than let the stores disappear altogether, Disney decided to buy back the stores. But in doing so, they're going to be closing down 90-some stores nationwide. This whole decision came out of nowhere (at least, to people on the store-manager level, like my old boss), and they are moving quickly--the whole process should be completed by the end of June or so. Tony and I have made a point of going to the store a couple times recently, hoping to catch my boss, and we succeeded the other night. Of course, she is upset about it--she's been with the company for 13 years, and she truly loved her job. It breaks my heart to look around the store and see all those tacky "going out of business" signs. Of course, I'll probably take advantage of the great discounts they'll have as they draw closer to closing, but it still makes me sad that I'll never be able to visit my old workplace again.

Everybody's smiling, a sunshine day

Today was pretty much a perfect day.

Ari woke up around 8 AM. I actually didn't even hear her--it was Tony who nudged me awake and asked me to get her. He said he hadn't been able to sleep last night and had still been awake at 4 AM. I got Ari out of her crib, told her Daddy was sleeping when she asked for him, and then took her downstairs.

We ate breakfast together--she picked at a cereal bar and gobbled down some watermelon while I ate a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats. When we were done, it was back upstairs, where I caged her in her crib so I could take a shower. I feel bad doing that, but there are still enough things in her room she could get into trouble with, and when I'm in the shower, I obviously can't hear her or help her. As soon as I got out of the shower, I got her out of the crib, pulled the gate across her doorway, and let her play while I got ready.

Want to know what kept her occupied while I got ready?



Yup--2 shoeboxes. And a few colored pencils and her new pair of shoes. And once she got tired of putting those objects in the boxes and taking them back out, she moved on to other things.



This game kept her amused and quiet for probably about 45 minutes (what? It's a Saturday--I took my sweet old time getting ready). When I was done, I decided to take a few more pictures of her. Here she is "hugging" Mickey.



Then she climbed into the rocking chair. I asked her to smile and lo and behold, she did.



Then we headed off to Target. I took my time there, figuring Tony was probably appreciating the peace and quiet. He was awake when we got home--he said the dogs had been jumping up and down off the bed and barking at who-knows-what, so he really hadn't gotten any more sleep. The day was so gorgeous that we let Ari play on the back porch. As I've said before, she loves coloring, and Tony got her some sidewalk chalk, which she adores.

She is a Very Serious Artiste. (You have to say that phrase in a French accent, of course.)



Would you believe me if I told you she wrote her name all by herself? Would you also believe me if I told you the word "gullible" isn't in the dictionary?



I love the lighting on this shot.



Check it out, she wrote my name too!



After a quick break for lunch, we were back outside again. This time, Tony manned the camera.



I drew her a flower, and she knew what it was. Sweet.



As you can see, I am also a Very Serious Artiste.



She was doing a happy little dance for us.





Then she started shouting about an airplane. This is my Skeptical Face. (But it turns out, she was right.)



Just being insufferably cute...



Insufferably Cute, Part 2...



And one last picture. I know it looks like she's giggling, but she was really being fussy because it was naptime. (But check out her cool new shoes--Tony picked them out last night.)



So it was naptime for Ari, and hang-out time for me and Tony. We used the DVR to watch the season finale of Scrubs (which I hadn't seen), and last week's episode of "The Office" ("Job Fair," which Tony hadn't seen). Then I went on a lovely 30-minute walk, accompanied only by my iPod, while Tony worked on church stuff.

Ari woke up after a couple hours, still in a fabulous mood. I made dinner, we ate, and then we all went for a walk together. After one lap, Tony and Ari visited the playground while I did one more lap.

As we were walking home from the playground, Ari hesitated, squatted a little, and started whining, "Poopy." I thought nothing of it, because she is starting to be able to tell us when she's pooping. But as I carried her upstairs, she fussed and squirmed, and it all quickly turned into screaming when I got to her diaper. Sure, she had poop, but it was barely solid and had leaked down both her legs and was already leaving a blistery rash on her thighs. We were baffled--she ate nothing unusual today, and it wasn't like she'd been in that diaper for hours and hours. I felt horrible as I carefully wiped her while she screamed and writhed in protest. I took her naked little butt straight to the bathroom and got the tub ready. We had to coax her into sitting down in the water, and once she did, she seemed to feel a little better. We let her linger in the tub as long as possible, dried her very carefully, slathered Balmex all over her bottom and her thighs, and sent her to bed.

But other than that sad ending, this really was a perfect day.

2 quick Ari stories

A couple quick Ari stories. When I got home last night, she was standing at the top of the steps, calling "Hi" down to me. I returned the greeting, and then she glanced around, as though she was trying to decide what to do next. She grabbed the nearest object--a new box of diapers--and started tugging at it. She didn't get too far with it, since it was so bulky, and I asked her, "What are you doing, you nut?" She dropped the box and replied, "It's heavy." Later that night, I grunted a little as I picked her up, and she started saying "heavy" again. She is a little sponge when it comes to picking up words now.

When we were getting ready for supper, Ari came and poked her head in the fridge along with me, as she likes to do now. She grabbed a Tupperware container, and I swear, as she handed it to me, she said, "Can you open this for me?" twice in a row. She said it quickly, and of course not very clearly (it sounded more like "Coo ope dis f'me?"), but because she repeated it, I swear that's what I heard. Tony was standing right next to me, but wasn't paying attention, so I have no witnesses. I know it's crazy to think that a less-than-2-year-old could string that many words together so perfectly, but whatever it was she said, that's what I heard.

Also, the season finale of "The Office" is tonight! The suspense is killing me. I know something huge is going to happen, but those sneaky writers have a way of surprising the audience, and I can't wait to see what they've got up their sleeves.

13 things

Just some random stories/facts that I've been compiling for a while, waiting for the moment when I would be scraping for something interesting to write about... (And I totally didn't plan for it to be 13 things... it just worked out that way.)

1. When I worked at the Disney Store, we had to answer the phone using a particular "script" which changed almost daily. (For example, "Thank you for calling the Disney Store at Somewhereville Mall, where all of our plush is buy one, get one free. This is Sara. How may I help you?" Yes, it was ridiculously long.) I prided myself (and amazed my co-workers) on not only being able to fly through the script with ease and speed, but also being able to memorize it.

2. When I was a manager at the Disney Store, I was often on the closing shift, and the store manager would always call an hour or so before closing to see how things were going. And she always called on our third line (which is an unpublished number, so the only people that use it are employees... er, "cast members"). So one night, when I saw the phone light up with her call, I picked it up, and casually said, "Thank you for calling the Looney Tunes store, where right now all of our Bugs Bunny merchandise is on sale. This is Sara. How may I help you?" After a moment of stunned silence, she said, "What if it hadn't been me?" I just laughed and said, "Who else calls this line at this time of night?" I'm pretty sure she thought it was funny.

3. (Last Disney Store story, I promise.) I also impressed my co-workers there when I started singing along with a Donald Duck snowglobe that played Donald Duck's theme song. Yes, I watched a lot of classic Disney cartoons growing up. (Raise your hands--how many of you didn't know DD had a theme song? Because none of my co-workers did.)

OK, since I know someone will ask...

Who’s got the sweetest disposition?
One guess, guess who?
Who’d never, ever start an argument?
Who never shows a bit of temperament?
Who's never wrong but always right?
Who'd never dream of starting a fight?
Who gets stuck with all the bad luck?
No one but Donald Duck!

4. I've had my license since I was 16 (so... yikes, almost half my life!), and still suck at backing up and parallel parking. (Probably because I avoid either one as much as possible.)

5. I was born December 13, 1976, which was exactly 3 years after my parents had their first date.

6. I have never broken a bone or sprained anything. And my first overnight stay in a hospital was when I gave birth to Ariana.

7. My earliest memory (that I can recall clearly) is visiting my brother in the hospital. I had to look at him through a window (he was in ICU, I believe), and I asked my grandmother why he had all those "beepers" on him (referring to the monitors). I was 3 years old.

8. I am very hard of hearing in my right ear, due to many, many childhood ear infections which resulted in the ear drum rupturing, creating lots of scar tissue. Apparently, the scar tissue is so impressive that my ENT doctor once called in every resident and intern in the department (I think it was about 6 people) to come look at it. I'm not as peeved about being their guinea pig as I am about knowing there's no possible way I can see what they saw. I'm really curious.

9. I have to have my toenails painted at all times--even in winter, when they're covered all the time. Otherwise, it drives me nuts. Before I went to the hospital to deliver Ari, I made sure my toenails were freshly painted. (Hey, a girl's got to have her priorities, right?)

10. If I were rich and had loads of money to blow on sheer entertainment, I would want to go see nearly every Broadway show I possibly could. (And I'd see them in NYC too, because, hey, I'm rich!)

11. I have never been dumped by a guy. I had my silly little teenage heart "broken" many times by unrequited crushes, but as far as "official" boyfriends (and trust me, there really weren't that many), I've always been the one who broke up with the guy (sometimes just in an effort to dump him before he could dump me).

12. I hate wearing belts. I always feel like they just add extra bulk to my biggest problem area--my tummy and hips. However, I kind of wish I liked belts, because I own some really cute ones.

13. I always feel that when I wear skinny high heels, I burn more calories in my normal everyday walking around, because it takes a lot more effort for me to keep my balance in shoes like that, compared to flat shoes or chunky-heeled shoes. You really won't be able to convince me otherwise. (I mean, there's got to be some truth to that, right?)

What else can I title this but "Happy Mother's Day!"?

Saturday was a fairly lazy day--in the morning, anyway. Right after lunch, Dawn picked up me and Ari and we headed to her sister's flower shop to pick up flowers for our church's Mother's Day service. We got 50 single roses (a rose for every mom), and 3 special arrangements (1 for our ladies' ministry leader, 1 for the oldest mom, and 1 for the mom with the most kids/grandkids in church). It was a nice mini-girls' day, and Ari was really well-behaved in the shop. Dawn's sister had a couple cats, one of whom was really friendly, and Ari was in her glory, petting and snuggling with the kitty. We ended up being there for probably about an hour, and Ari only started getting whiny toward the end, and that was because it was well past naptime. She promptly conked out in the car on the way home.

Tony wanted to take me out to dinner for Mother's Day, and I suggested going out on Saturday night, to avoid the crazy crowds that would probably be out and about on Mother's Day. IHOP was my choice since I was craving their chocolate chips pancakes. Ari was fairly well-behaved--I mean, you can't really expect a toddler to be a perfect, polite dinner companion, can you? My dinner was delicious, though.

Today was church, of course, and all the busyness that went with that. In the afternoon we came home, had a quick lunch, and put Ari down for her nap. Tony and I watched some TV, but I fell asleep on his shoulder.

When Ari and I woke up from our naps, we headed to Pastor and Dawn's house for dinner. My mom is out of town (visiting my sister on her first Mother's Day), so Dawn invited us to come share her Mother's Day dinner. Meagan (her daughter) made lasagna, and Pastor ordered salad and breadsticks from Olive Garden. Meagan also made chocolate-chip cookie bars and bought a carrot cake for dessert. We ate until we were stuffed and then went for a nice, long walk in the cool evening air, stopping to let Ari play at a nearby playground.

I did get flowers for Mother's Day, but not from Tony. When we were at Dawn's sister's flower shop, she had a small bunch of flowers she was getting ready to throw out, but Dawn insisted on taking them. We split them, and I ended up with this lovely bouquet. (The purple rose in the center is the one I got at church today, but all the others are from the flower shop.)



And then I got my cards. Tony got me 2 because he's a nut like that--one is serious, and one is funny (I think you can figure out which is which). Notice on the card on the left, how a bunch of the words are underlined? That's Tony's special touch--he always does that with cards, and I love it. Inside the 2nd card, it ends with the words, "Happy Mother's Day, Sexy!" So I read it out loud because I thought it was funny, and as soon as I did, Ari carefully repeated, "Sexy?" I really have to watch what I say around her now.



And then there was the card from Ari. She helped decorate the envelope...



Here's the card itself...



And she added her special touch on the inside.



She absolutely loves coloring all of a sudden, so I'm sure she had a great time playing with this card.

So that was my Mother's Day--simple and sweet.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!