Just some random stuff...
I was late to work this morning due to traffic caused by a 5-car pile-up. Which reminded me... when I was a little kid, I used to take the word "pile-up" literally--in my head, I pictured cars literally stacked one on top of the other. So it always amazed me when they would talk about a huge number, like a 10-car pile-up, because I couldn't imagine how that many cars could get all stacked up like that.
Yeh, I was a super-smart kid.
I downloaded Pandora to my BlackBerry a couple days ago (if you don't know what it is, it's an online radio station/program/thing) and I love it. I've been having fun playing with it--you create your own stations, and you can thumbs-up or thumbs-down the songs, and it will remember and try to pick songs that it thinks you will like. Anyway, my point is, it's nice to have music when I'm working out now. There's a little nook on the treadmill that holds my BlackBerry perfectly and what's better, it even amplifies the sound. I am a happy girl.
I was trying to get Ari to hurry and do something the other day (walk up the stairs, I think?), so I said to her, "Come on, let's go." Then I found myself chanting, "Let's go, let's go, let's really go, let's fight, let's fight, let's really fight, let's win, let's win, let's really win, let's go, fight, win!"... an old cheer I learned when I was a cheerleader in high school. It came out so automatically that it made me laugh. And then it made me sad because there are probably a lot of important things I should be remembering that my brain has obviously rejected in favor of that super-lame cheer.
Ari asked me for some paper to color on a few nights ago. Then when she was done, she marched her little self right into the kitchen and hung all 3 sheets on the fridge by herself. I don't know if it was her way of saying we're bad parents who never hang her artwork on the fridge, or if she was just saving us the trouble, but either way, it made me chuckle.
Since we're talking about her... a couple Ari conversations...
Me: Ari, how did you get that boo-boo on your knee?
Ari: I fall down later. I kinda tripped a little bit. But don't touch it because it very, very hurt.
* * * * * * * * * *
During a playdate...
Ari: But yesterday, Abby wouldn't let me have a turn!
Me: Um, that just happened 5 minutes ago.
* * * * * * * * * *
In the car last night...
Ari: Mommy, have you ever been to a volcano?
Me: Nope.
Ari: Maybe sometime I can give you a ride, in Daddy's car, in the front seat, and we can go to one.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Turkey Day, a little early
Saturday, we had my parents over for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, since we'll all be traveling over the real holiday weekend and won't see each other. Ari woke us both up fairly early, but we lazed around in bed for a little bit. When I finally got up, I told Tony that I'd need his help with the turkey when I got out. But when I was done my shower, he was already downstairs, doing this...
Basically, he was 2 seconds away from putting it in the oven. Which means he dealt with all the icky crap inside the turkey as well as handling the raw turkey itself. (I'm weirdly squeamish about dealing with food that looks too much like it did when it was alive.) I heart him.
I realized, after the fact, that I really know nothing more about cooking a turkey now than I did before, because the only thing I did with it was baste it obsessively and obsess over why the stupid built-in timer didn't pop when it was supposed to.
Anyway, I took over the food prep after that, while Tony and Ari took charge of cleaning up. Ari is in love with our Swiffer mops and actually asks if she can mop. Wonder how long that will last?
Somehow, "cleaning" also seemed to mean "playing the Wii." Hmm...
It's OK, though--I took a break at one point to play a quick game of Memory with Ari. In the end, she had 5 pairs and I had 3, so I explained to her that she won, but she replied, "No, I should have 3 because I'm 3 years old." Obviously we have a lot to teach her about how games work.
My first order of business in the kitchen was peeling a gajillion potatoes, which I'm glad I started on early, because it took me forever. Ari wandered in every now and then wanting to help, but there was nothing for her to do. So I enlisted her help later with the green bean casserole.
Ahh, nothing beats free child labor...
I kept sneaking little handfuls of the onions. Man, I love those things.
Mom and Dad arrived with this little gift for Ari, and she posed for me with her super-fake smile.
Like I kind of mentioned before, the turkey took forever to cook. According to the instructions on the wrapper, it should have only taken 4 hours to cook, but it took more like 6. That was the only point where I got a little stressed, because that's what I hate about cooking--trying to coordinate everything to be done at the same time. Ugh. But it finally finished cooking, and here's what it looked like before we hacked it all up.
Mmmmmmm.
Tony and my dad were in charge of carving the bird, while Mom and I got the rest of the sides ready.
And then finally--finally--it was time to eat. Here's the spread...
And then Mom offered to take a shot with me in it.
And then we ate... and ate and ate and ate. Everything tasted good to me, and everyone else concurred, so I guess it was a success. Well, Ari didn't really have an opinion, because I don't think she ate a single thing on her plate. She cut things up (that's her newest thing-to-do with her food, rather than eat it) and moved things around, but I don't remember seeing a single bite go in her mouth.
I had to take this picture of my lovely potatoes.
Think that's a lot? That's just the leftovers. Remember I said I peeled a gajillion potatoes? Well, by "a gajillion" I meant "2 bags." See, we bought 2 bags, and I could have sworn that we did that because Tony said I should use them all, but he insists he only grabbed 2 because they were buy one, get one free. Oh well. Guess we'll be eating a lot of potatoes in the next week or so.
Then it was time to clean up--ugh. The least fun part of cooking. Tony took the rest of the meat off the turkey....
...and the rest of us cleared off the table, packed up leftovers, etc. I washed the 2 pots the potatoes had been in, because I didn't want the potato gunk to harden.
After cleaning up a little, we all chilled for a bit. We played Wii bowling (and I totally won--go me) and watched a video of a magic show my parents went to see. Then we all somehow managed to find a little room for dessert--apple and pumpkin pies, brownies, and gingerbread cookies.
My dad offered to do some dishes and I told him he didn't need to do them all, but because he is awesome, not only did he wash them all, he also cleaned out our microwave for us (which was no small task, let me tell you). I heart him, too.
And now I have a fridge filled with leftover turkey, potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole and other miscellaneous foodstuffs. Anyone want to come over for dinner?
Basically, he was 2 seconds away from putting it in the oven. Which means he dealt with all the icky crap inside the turkey as well as handling the raw turkey itself. (I'm weirdly squeamish about dealing with food that looks too much like it did when it was alive.) I heart him.
I realized, after the fact, that I really know nothing more about cooking a turkey now than I did before, because the only thing I did with it was baste it obsessively and obsess over why the stupid built-in timer didn't pop when it was supposed to.
Anyway, I took over the food prep after that, while Tony and Ari took charge of cleaning up. Ari is in love with our Swiffer mops and actually asks if she can mop. Wonder how long that will last?
Somehow, "cleaning" also seemed to mean "playing the Wii." Hmm...
It's OK, though--I took a break at one point to play a quick game of Memory with Ari. In the end, she had 5 pairs and I had 3, so I explained to her that she won, but she replied, "No, I should have 3 because I'm 3 years old." Obviously we have a lot to teach her about how games work.
My first order of business in the kitchen was peeling a gajillion potatoes, which I'm glad I started on early, because it took me forever. Ari wandered in every now and then wanting to help, but there was nothing for her to do. So I enlisted her help later with the green bean casserole.
Ahh, nothing beats free child labor...
I kept sneaking little handfuls of the onions. Man, I love those things.
Mom and Dad arrived with this little gift for Ari, and she posed for me with her super-fake smile.
Like I kind of mentioned before, the turkey took forever to cook. According to the instructions on the wrapper, it should have only taken 4 hours to cook, but it took more like 6. That was the only point where I got a little stressed, because that's what I hate about cooking--trying to coordinate everything to be done at the same time. Ugh. But it finally finished cooking, and here's what it looked like before we hacked it all up.
Mmmmmmm.
Tony and my dad were in charge of carving the bird, while Mom and I got the rest of the sides ready.
And then finally--finally--it was time to eat. Here's the spread...
And then Mom offered to take a shot with me in it.
And then we ate... and ate and ate and ate. Everything tasted good to me, and everyone else concurred, so I guess it was a success. Well, Ari didn't really have an opinion, because I don't think she ate a single thing on her plate. She cut things up (that's her newest thing-to-do with her food, rather than eat it) and moved things around, but I don't remember seeing a single bite go in her mouth.
I had to take this picture of my lovely potatoes.
Think that's a lot? That's just the leftovers. Remember I said I peeled a gajillion potatoes? Well, by "a gajillion" I meant "2 bags." See, we bought 2 bags, and I could have sworn that we did that because Tony said I should use them all, but he insists he only grabbed 2 because they were buy one, get one free. Oh well. Guess we'll be eating a lot of potatoes in the next week or so.
Then it was time to clean up--ugh. The least fun part of cooking. Tony took the rest of the meat off the turkey....
...and the rest of us cleared off the table, packed up leftovers, etc. I washed the 2 pots the potatoes had been in, because I didn't want the potato gunk to harden.
After cleaning up a little, we all chilled for a bit. We played Wii bowling (and I totally won--go me) and watched a video of a magic show my parents went to see. Then we all somehow managed to find a little room for dessert--apple and pumpkin pies, brownies, and gingerbread cookies.
My dad offered to do some dishes and I told him he didn't need to do them all, but because he is awesome, not only did he wash them all, he also cleaned out our microwave for us (which was no small task, let me tell you). I heart him, too.
And now I have a fridge filled with leftover turkey, potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole and other miscellaneous foodstuffs. Anyone want to come over for dinner?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Conversations with the nut-burger
Just an entry starring Ari, with special guest stars me and Tony...
Ari: Do you know what I'm thinking?
Tony: What?
Ari: That Mommy loves me.
Tony: Aw, does Mommy love you?
Ari: No, the doggies love me.
(Apparently, not even SHE knows what she's thinking...)
Me: Ari, you're silly.
Ari: No I amn't!
Me: "Amn't"? *laughs* Ari, you're silly!
Ari: No I amn't!
Me: *laughs*
(Repeat at least 2 more times, for my own entertainment.)
Ari: At church, I sat next to Megan.
Me: You mean Miss Megan, or your friend Megan?
Ari: My friend Megan. Mommy, can you say "Megan"?
Me: Uh... Megan.
Ari (proudly): Good job, Mommy!
(I guess she failed to notice I'd said it twice already?)
Ari: Mommy, can I sing "Mamma Mia"?
Me: Sure, go for it.
Ari: I'm gonna sing it all by myself!
Me: OK, sweets.
Ari: *pause* Um, Mommy, can you sing it with me?
Me: Ari, you're a nut-burger.
Ari: No, I'm not!
Me: Yes, you are.
Ari: Yes, I--no, I'm not!
(Ahh, the old Looney Tunes switcheroo...)
Me (to Ari): On Saturday, Gramma and Grampa are coming over for a Thanksgiving dinner.
Ari: What's Thessgibbin?
Me: Thanksgiving is a special day where you eat a lot of food and talk about the things you're thankful for.
Ari (without missing a beat): I'm thankful for my doggies.
Tony: Well, I'm thankful for Mommy and Ari.
Ari: And I'm thankful for my toys.
Tony: Are you thankful for Mommy too?
Ari: And I'm thankful for my toybox...
(I'm going to pretend she simply didn't hear him...)
Ari: Do you know what I'm thinking?
Tony: What?
Ari: That Mommy loves me.
Tony: Aw, does Mommy love you?
Ari: No, the doggies love me.
(Apparently, not even SHE knows what she's thinking...)
Me: Ari, you're silly.
Ari: No I amn't!
Me: "Amn't"? *laughs* Ari, you're silly!
Ari: No I amn't!
Me: *laughs*
(Repeat at least 2 more times, for my own entertainment.)
Ari: At church, I sat next to Megan.
Me: You mean Miss Megan, or your friend Megan?
Ari: My friend Megan. Mommy, can you say "Megan"?
Me: Uh... Megan.
Ari (proudly): Good job, Mommy!
(I guess she failed to notice I'd said it twice already?)
Ari: Mommy, can I sing "Mamma Mia"?
Me: Sure, go for it.
Ari: I'm gonna sing it all by myself!
Me: OK, sweets.
Ari: *pause* Um, Mommy, can you sing it with me?
Me: Ari, you're a nut-burger.
Ari: No, I'm not!
Me: Yes, you are.
Ari: Yes, I--no, I'm not!
(Ahh, the old Looney Tunes switcheroo...)
Me (to Ari): On Saturday, Gramma and Grampa are coming over for a Thanksgiving dinner.
Ari: What's Thessgibbin?
Me: Thanksgiving is a special day where you eat a lot of food and talk about the things you're thankful for.
Ari (without missing a beat): I'm thankful for my doggies.
Tony: Well, I'm thankful for Mommy and Ari.
Ari: And I'm thankful for my toys.
Tony: Are you thankful for Mommy too?
Ari: And I'm thankful for my toybox...
(I'm going to pretend she simply didn't hear him...)
Friday, November 6, 2009
Videos of that kid of mine
Just a couple of Ari videos because we realized it's been forever since we've gotten video of her...
Ari talking to the camera and me reading a story to her...
Ari playing with the dogs. Ivan is so HER dog. I swear, if it weren't for how much she loves him, I'd have killed him by now. Or at least opened the door to let him out to go potty and then locked it behind him...
Ari talking to the camera and me reading a story to her...
Ariana 11-5-09-1 from Sariana on Vimeo.
Ari playing with the dogs. Ivan is so HER dog. I swear, if it weren't for how much she loves him, I'd have killed him by now. Or at least opened the door to let him out to go potty and then locked it behind him...
Ariana 11-5-09-2 from Sariana on Vimeo.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Pumpkin picking and trick-or-treating
Lots of pictures, starting with some from last Monday. We were supposed to go pumpkin picking last Saturday with Matt and Kristin and their kids, as has become our tradition. But we got rained out, so we rescheduled to Monday afternoon. Of course, Matt and I were at work, so it was just Tony and Kristin with Ari and Nick, but they had a fun time.
The place has a little play area for the kids, right outside the corn maze. Ari and Nick loved this little playhouse, even if they were too big for it.
Getting ready to go down the slide. I'm sure she's just blocking the sun from her eyes, but it kind of looks like she's shielding her face from the paparazzi... ha ha.
Tony thought this picture was cool--that's his shadow.
There are a lot of pictures of them in this firetruck...
Ari wanted to get on the very top of the truck. I don't think she succeeded, though.
Hiding from Nick...
Peekaboo!
Tony said he and Kristin were talking, and suddenly realized they couldn't see either of the kids. They peeked in the window, and this is what they saw. Oy, this girl is going to be trouble...
They came home with one large pumpkin and 2 small ones. And we never did get around to carving them. But we at least had them out on our front porch, as a decoration. So that's something.
And now, Halloween. Ari dressed as Cinderella. She already had the dress (a Christmas gift from my mom last year) and since she already has the blonde hair, I figured, why not?
We went trick-or-treating with some friends that we've gone with for the past few years--it's become a tradition now, and it's a lot of fun to walk around in a huge group. Here's Ari and her friend Molly. This picture cracks me up--we didn't tell them to pose that way, but Molly decided to wave and Ari decided to hug her.
You can kind of see what I did with Ari's hair here--I was trying to complete the Cinderella look by putting it up. It kinda sorta worked, but by the end of the night, it was a wreck. Those barrettes look cute, but they do nothing to hold her wispy hair.
And here's the whole crew--Tyler and Julianna in the back, and Izabel (Julianna's sister) and Molly (Tyler's sister) and Ari in the front. Molly had wings that went with her outfit, but she didn't want to wear them, because she wanted to be a princess like all the other girls.
And the 2 Cinderellas...
We had good weather for trick-or-treating... it was windy, but weirdly muggy, so it wasn't all that cold. And the rain held off, too--it drizzled on and off throughout the day, but stayed dry for us at night. We were only out for about an hour and a half, but holy cow, Ari made out like a bandit. And of course you know I'll have to help her eat it. Just one of the many sacrifices of parenthood.
Right now, a bunch of the guys are over, watching football, and I spent a good bit of time making appetizers for them (gotta love those Friday's frozen appetizers), not to mention the brownies I baked beforehand. Now it's about time to get a certain someone into the bathtub and ready for bed, and then it's time for some Me Time.
The place has a little play area for the kids, right outside the corn maze. Ari and Nick loved this little playhouse, even if they were too big for it.
Getting ready to go down the slide. I'm sure she's just blocking the sun from her eyes, but it kind of looks like she's shielding her face from the paparazzi... ha ha.
Tony thought this picture was cool--that's his shadow.
There are a lot of pictures of them in this firetruck...
Ari wanted to get on the very top of the truck. I don't think she succeeded, though.
Hiding from Nick...
Peekaboo!
Tony said he and Kristin were talking, and suddenly realized they couldn't see either of the kids. They peeked in the window, and this is what they saw. Oy, this girl is going to be trouble...
They came home with one large pumpkin and 2 small ones. And we never did get around to carving them. But we at least had them out on our front porch, as a decoration. So that's something.
And now, Halloween. Ari dressed as Cinderella. She already had the dress (a Christmas gift from my mom last year) and since she already has the blonde hair, I figured, why not?
We went trick-or-treating with some friends that we've gone with for the past few years--it's become a tradition now, and it's a lot of fun to walk around in a huge group. Here's Ari and her friend Molly. This picture cracks me up--we didn't tell them to pose that way, but Molly decided to wave and Ari decided to hug her.
You can kind of see what I did with Ari's hair here--I was trying to complete the Cinderella look by putting it up. It kinda sorta worked, but by the end of the night, it was a wreck. Those barrettes look cute, but they do nothing to hold her wispy hair.
And here's the whole crew--Tyler and Julianna in the back, and Izabel (Julianna's sister) and Molly (Tyler's sister) and Ari in the front. Molly had wings that went with her outfit, but she didn't want to wear them, because she wanted to be a princess like all the other girls.
And the 2 Cinderellas...
We had good weather for trick-or-treating... it was windy, but weirdly muggy, so it wasn't all that cold. And the rain held off, too--it drizzled on and off throughout the day, but stayed dry for us at night. We were only out for about an hour and a half, but holy cow, Ari made out like a bandit. And of course you know I'll have to help her eat it. Just one of the many sacrifices of parenthood.
Right now, a bunch of the guys are over, watching football, and I spent a good bit of time making appetizers for them (gotta love those Friday's frozen appetizers), not to mention the brownies I baked beforehand. Now it's about time to get a certain someone into the bathtub and ready for bed, and then it's time for some Me Time.
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