RTT Catch Up

I have taken quite a blogging hiatus and now am back to attack you with more of my thoughts, ideas, loves and blunders.
1. Christmas Break:

Christmas break this year was amazing. The best ever. Ron has been so busy all year with football, swimming, and drivers ed that we very rarely see him for more than 3 waking hours a day so having him home all the time was quite a surprise. At first me and Addi didn't know what to do with him, but we quickly realized that it was awesome! Ron and bugs played like crazy and they are sure cute to watch. Ron is willing to be pummeled by her raging fists of fury and take head butt after head butt while mommy peacefully sits on the couch sipping hot cocoa. (Mommy doesn't play those games)

2. Why I should never buy gifts:

I was so very excited for Christmas, I thought I had every present that my little lady would want with all her heart. I bought her the adorable doll house...

This was her Phineas doll that her daddy gave her (notice the cheese lined lips)

These were her Mickey Mouse figures, notice the word 'were' I think we still own one chipmunk, Donald and Mickey with his nose cut off.
The awesome giant vat of cheese balls that she spent 10 minutes giving all her attention to.

I thought she would love the cool bike she got to rock, ride and race on...

But boy was I wrong. I don't know my daughter at all and what she really wanted I failed to get which led to a complete Jesus's Birthday melt-down! Her cute cousins both got little fairy outfits and barbies. I didn't know Addi was into fairy outfits and barbies. I am a bad mom and should have her taken away from me and given to a mother who knows best. Since she is the youngest, she eventually got her way and the other two had to forfeit their toys so the crying would stop.

3. New Year's Competition:

About 5 years our family came up with a new thing to do on New Years to bring a little more competition to the table for our family. We pick a theme and have ourselves an Iron Chef inspired feast. This years theme was appetizers because we usually have too much food and then we end up feeling bloated and too tired to stay up till midnight so this year we tried to scale back. It is also nice to have the bragging rights of the winner, and knowing who the judges were (nephews Greyson and Chase) I was gunning for the prize.

To the anger and disappointment of my brothers and sister-in-laws, I came home with the victory! IN YOUR FACE JERKS!!! It was my delicious meatloaf sliders with garlic-horseradish aioli and cheese fritters on focaccia that won. Nice wording hu?

4. Softball

So that was the Holidays, now that we are back to school we had to start open gyms. Suckiest time of softball ever. Seriously, why do kids who are afraid of the ball want to come to a place where balls are flying everywhere? I don't understand how they think it is fun. You cant tell them that they should go home or to a bomb shelter (due to their total lack of athleticism and they will get hurt in the world) because it is open gyms and anyone can show up. Which is awesome for a special ed teacher because they all think I wont cut them because I am their 'nice' teacher....they are wrong. Anyway, here we go!

RTT 12/11/08

1. Only two weeks till Christmas...poop.

I swear I have nothing done. No presents wrapped. No cards sent. No egg nogged. Nothing. I have two weeks to get it all in. Any tips on what to get all those people I have no idea what to get, just throw something out there, there is no such thing as a stupid idea for me.


2. Not meeting some peoples expectations.
Addi came up to me yesterday with three spherical objects, (a golf ball that glows in the dark mind you, a plastic apple and the top of a fake ice cream cone.) What does she want me to do with them you ask?

"Juggle." She requests.

"Juggle?" I question. Why the peeps does she want me to juggle these things for her. Does she not know that while I would like to be all knowing and brilliant in all things juggling is simply not one of the things that I can do (I did not graduate from Alta!)
So there I stupidly sit with the balls in my hands and fake juggle, you know, just move my arms up and down real fast and hum a circus song. Didn't fool her. So now I need to learn how to juggle so that the look of pure disappointment is finally wiped from her face.







3. I'm cold.
I know that we have not even gotten snow to speak of yet...but I'm cold. Very cold. I want summer back.

4. Procrastination kills.
At the start of November I saw this nativity for sale. Wanted it. Didn't get it. Now they are all out of stock unless I want to fork over like 3 times as much. Why didn't I just buy the damned baby Jesus?

Random Thought Thursday- Favorite things edition

First that crazy nun on Sound of Music talked about it, then Oprah tried to duplicate it...now it is the Random Thought turn.

These are just a few of my favorite things...well at least for today. I am a finicky person and change my mind at any moment so for today, here are my favorites.

1. Personality Profiles:

I remember watching the commercials about how different people eat Oreo's differently. I thought it was a clever idea, but really, does it mean anything when you eat it a certain way? That was before I watched my 19 month old figure her own way of eating the yummy concoction. Addi hates milk....unless it is accompanied by some cookies. As I was watching her the other day, I noticed that she was eating the cooking in a very specific manor. She did not get this from me...I am more of the soggy cooking sitting in the milk for a minute so it falls apart when it hits your tongue. Anyway, I thought this was an awesome way to look at someones personality. This is on the list because one of my favorite things is watching her develop her own way of doing thing. No imitations, just what she feels.Are you a dipper, are you a separate and licker, are you a straight up eater? Come on people, what is your personality?



2. Nativities...mostly the sheep.
I don't know where it came from, but I have always adored sheep. Not the real ones that have poop hanging from their wool (although they are cute too), but the fake kind that look like you could cuddle up to them and drink hot cocoa with. (I don't know why I want to drink cocoa with them...that is why it is random people!) Anyway, I love setting out my nativities each year to remember how cute the sheep are...Baby Jesus isn't bad either, but a close second (I will repent later)

3. Pajamas

If I had an addiction, an untamable compulsion to buy something it would be size 2T pajamas. How freakin' cute are they? I am not joking, while standing in the store, I have to talk myself out of buying them by telling myself mental messages like these:

"Ron is going to kill you if you take home one more pair"

"There are only 7 nights in a week, how many pairs do you need?"

"Don't you have at least 3 pairs like that at home?"

"Seriously, Ron is going to kill you and then send your remains to the loony bin!"

Most of the time these messages mean nothing and they end up in the cart. The Christmas ones alone have their own drawer. I know, how dumb is this. She wears them to bed, we get up and take them off...well unless we aren't doing and then...well you know those days. (I choose this picture because it also shows my above love:

4. Cottage Cheese
I swear, like 3 cartons a week. I could go through one a day if that didn't mean I would just have to go to the store the next day. I don't know what it is, the creamy chunks (I hope it is not the creamy chunks because that is just gross) but something about that is just so good.

5. Slippers
Sometimes in the middle of the day, I fantasize about when I get to go home and put on my slippers. I fantasize even more about putting them on over knee high socks and just being cozy for the day. Seriously, why are my toes made of small icebergs that only melt at like 3 in the morning when I am forced to strip off my knee highs and wipe the sweat from them. My favorite slippers are these (see below) because the hold on with the best of them and call my name in such a loving way.

6 Diluted Crystal Light
Good stuff, just too strong. Crystal Light is a good cool replacement when water tastes too watery and you just need some fake fruit taste. But straight up it is just too...I don't know...fake sugary. So I like to go 1/3 CL and 1/3 H2O. Good ratio if you are looking for one. I like to put it in my squirt bottle and go to town.

7. My most favorite things...
My family. Addison, my sweet Husbie, my mommy and dad and all the rest that make my life complete. This time of year is awesome because the whole world unites in celebration of giving and family. How cool is that? What would I do without them? They make me who I am and that is a pretty happy person. I'm sure everyone out there agrees that family is a pretty great favorite thing.

So what are your favorite things....Happy Thursday everyone! I also what to give a special shout out to one of my favorite RTT readers who just got engaged...Jodi, you rock and Tate is one lucky peanut! Love ya!

Random Thought Thursday

Thursday again....time for some random thoughts!

1. Much to much randomness in my head today! I have been going through a sleep deprivation program that my daughter has developed for me. For those who may not know, she is NOT a newborn, does not need to wake up to eat or be changed or soothed like newborns, but she is about 19 times crazier! Seriously, I am going nuts. I am a bad mother and basically let Addi rule to roost. Hence the backfire. She wakes up at about midnight each night and calls for me. I rush to her crib and give her kisses and tell her to go to sleep....but....she cant fall asleep unless she is holding my hand. She cant drive in the car unless she is holding my hand (it will kill us both.) She doesn't even like to just watch TV unless I am holding her hand. At first it was cute, she needed me so much that she just wanted to touch me all the time. Now I regret it. So there I am, drunk with sleep standing at her crib with her cute fingers wrapped around mine.

She is finally asleep....tiptoe out.....quietly climb into bed....breath sigh of relief......

"MOMMY!!!"

F-word.

So last night I let her cry. An hour later after calling for me, yelling "HELP" as loudly as possible, what finally did it in was when she started wanted a "Rock-a-bye" over and over. Crying makes me tired...it is like speed for her. She was wide awake and giddy to see me in hopes that we could play. At 2 am mommy is in no mood to play. I have failed at being a sleep momma and vow to make my next child (heaven help us) less needy.

2. How crafty am I? I had so much fun making her Halloween dress that I made a thanksgiving day dress that anyone could be thankful for...
There is something so satisfying to me sitting at a sewing machine. I used to be totally terrified of them, I vaguely remember making a crazy hot pad that I would rather be burnt with than use...it really was bad. I think the teacher felt bad for me and my total lack of homemaking skills.

3. For the love of deformities.

I love my job. Every other day I get to hang out with crazy teenagers and talk about whatever I want! Seriously, I show up, have a basic plan of what to do and we chat the day away. Sure I sometimes yell and them and call them morons and bastards (I really don't, but I want to) but all and all, I am shocked they pay me what they do for my job. So right now we are taking about heredity and genes and stuff. Today was genetic mutation. Just hearing the name you know you are in for a good time:

Who doesn't love a four legged duck?This is kinda awesome/kinda gross. This guy has his big belly because when he was in his mothers nice warm womb, his sweet twin brother died and his belly absorbed him...that's brotherly love. So he has his dead twin brother in his tummy. Nice.

This is the cyclops cat. Yep a good old fashioned one eyed cat.

I have no doubt that I am a demented freak for enjoying this lesson so much. I like freaky things, I'm sure there are quite a few of you freaks out there...admit it!

4. Damn dog...again.

Macie keeps getting me in trouble! We go outside to play and she follows us, until someone (who she is sure is a serial killer that will end our existence) comes by and Macie starts barking like a crazy person! I agree she is annoying, I want to punch her too, but come on, she weighs like 14 lbs. Really not scary. But the HOA guy came up and told me that I needed to control my dog. I blankly stared at him while thoughts of his lack of masculinity flooded my mind. Whatever dude. Then yesterday, a guy (what the hell men, get some cojones) and told me to get my dog on a leash or else....or else what? Who knows. I'm sick of getting in trouble for the silly white dog that just likes to hear her own voice, it that so bad?

Well everyone, thanks for letting me rant...until next week see ya later!

Random Thought Thursday Part Deux

Time for my second addition of Random Thought Thursday!

1. Damn Dog.

I remember the days prior Addi that my poodle filled the space in my heart that yearned for motherhood. I got to take care of her and feed her and do all the cute things that I wanted. That was a little over 18 months ago. Her bark didn't seem like the harsh piercing noise that it does now, of which she likes to use as frequently as possible. I don't remember her chasing people down the street like she does now (children are terrified!) I don't remember her constantly urinating on ever bit of carpet (I DO remember getting up at 2 in the morning to let her out.) Now I think I am just too tired. Too tired for her barking all hours of the day, too tired to take her on the random walks that we used to go on. Now she has a new ruler (Addi) and she no likie. When we eventually move into a new house (entirely different topic) she is no longer allowed at our house. I know this sounds amazingly horrible, and I agree, but my dad has seen the damage that she can do and says that he wont let her ruin a new home. I will miss her, I promise, but it will kinda be nice to not find the latest damage that she has created.

Look at this face, how could she be anything but sweet and puppylike?

2. Top Chef Time!

If you have the the Bravo channel, and you don't watch Top Chef, you are mildly retarded. I love this show, I have loved it since season one when I first laid eyes on Tom Colicchio and fell in love with the quirky cooking competition. I would love to someday be on it but I know I would start crying when I had to make my first thing and realized that I couldn't use a cookbook and the fact that everyone is mean and cocky and have a much higher self esteem than I. I am a little nervous for this season because there has yet to be a person that I am cheering for. Usually I can pick out someone that I root for but that person has not emerged yet.

3. Biggest loser

I do however have many people I HATE on this show. I want to know how many of you watch it and have grown to despise Vickie. She is pure evil. Where her soul is lies a giant stinky spider of death (I hate spiders so I just imagine that is what she is full of.) I was pumped to see her stupid lame old husband get kicked off, and I hope she gains all the weight back, (I know, I am bad, but seriously, you have to watch to know that she is just plain wrong!) She is just the start of it, I hate her husband, I hate Heba (what the hell parents, nice name!) and I hate that whole team. I love this show, I think it is motivating and awesome, but this year I just want them to shut up and go run a lap or something!

4. Addi has finally emerged from her funk! Happy days are here again! This is her new "camera" face. Cheese!

Free form Friday

It is the 7th of November and I am finally looking at the very few Halloween pictures we got. It was truly a miserable day. If she was not so young I would have been very depressed. I know I am to cherish each day with Addi, but sometimes I just wish she were a little older so she could curl up with me and watch scary (kinda scary at least) movies with me and eat junk and just enjoy the holiday...she is not bigger yet.

We have had a few rough times the last couple weeks. She seems so infinitely sad lately. We have to have our own little 'time outs' where I just stop everything and hold her tight and sing to her soft and easy so she can settle down and stop crying hysterically. What is she crying about? Nothing. Seriously, I will put on my shoes and she will lose it. She has become quite a homebody and when I mention doing something it usually leads to tears. She only wants to watch TV and the only time she really gets wound up is right before bed, (figures) and then she bounces off the wall for an hour before she passes out. I am barely hanging on most the day and feel like a total failure as a mommy. But this too shall pass.

Anyway, Halloween was not as fun as Halloween usually entails. We went to my mom's and got her costume on her for a total of 3 seconds before she screamed. It was very cute if she would just believe me on that!

We walked around the block and got her first loot. She loved when they let her pick and she would usually take what I psychically tell her to pick, (sometimes she is a good girl!)

On to other things.... those of you who know my deepest wishes know that I really didn't want to be a softball player in high school, I wanted to be a....wait for it....CHEERLEADER. Spirit fingers and all. I never had the legs for it though and I let the desire burn in me forever. So I love living vicariously through this wonderful show. The DCC! Who wouldn't want to wear sparkling white cowboy boots and have your boobs covered with stars! Count me in! It is on Saturdays so I only have to wait one more day! Addi wants to be one too, I just KNOW it!

Have a happy weekend everyone!

Random Thought Thursday

Many a thing floating through my noggin today so I will just proceed to tell all of my random thoughts....
1. Flu Shots: Me and Addi got ours yesterday and my arm has never hurt so badly in my life. Even after pitching like 8 games in a day, my arm felt better. What the pee pee? Did she inject anthrax into my bicep? I was trying to work out today (another cool thing, Turbo Jam...Most fun workout I have ever done...check it out here)
Anyway, the pain needs to stop!

This is what I probably looked like.



2. Sleeping habits: Addi has been driving me crazy lately! On Monday night she woke up at 2 am and proceeded to tell me all the things that she would rather be doing than sleeping. She named every show that she has ever watched...new favorite. She told me how hungry she was, that she needed like 5 drinks, the list never ended. Finally we gave up and went downstairs where she proceeded to watch TV and eat lots of food. She really was just hungry and board. Who wants sleep anyway? Certainly not her mother who had to work the next day! Finally at 5 am I told her that this had to end and sleep needed to be had.

So me and Ron made up our minds that she needed to be better about sleeping in her OWN bed for the night. She wakes up each night at about midnight and about every hour after that, always hoping that we will just bring her into our bed. So last night, she decided that there was better ideas than that. Ron had just went in there to try and calm her down and she was screaming for her daddy to come back when suddenly we heard it....THUD, more screaming!

She made the jump but is not entirely cat like and landing in who knows what position! All the thoughts of what she could have done to her poor little body rushed through my mind; concussions, contusions, liver rupture, spinabifida. All sorts of things. But she got what she always wanted and ended up being able to sleep in our bed. Why oh why did I want to put hardwood in her room? I am retarded and do not deserve to be a mother.

3. Midnight Sun: All you Edward lovers out there have most likely heard about the drama with this book and the sadness that it has brought on all of us. Here is the link if you haven't: midnight sun. I have been reading this and it brought back all the love of this wonderful man and more. I am not like most, I love the first book, got through the second, hated the third was not even sure if I wanted to read the fourth because of my utter hatred of Bella. She drove me nuts! I hated her indecision, her inability to see that Edward was the better choice (sorry Meg) and many other things about her that drove me nuts. I did read the fourth and was more than happy. She finally grew up (maybe having a vampire/human baby does that to you) and I guess the marriage and marriage night made up for her stupidity. Midnight sun is different, it is amazing. I never knew what Edward saw in Bella, now I do. To see it through his eyes is the best thing that ever happened to this series and if it does not get published I will hunt down the person who leaked it and beat them with a salami.


Murder weapon.

4. Halloween treats: I cant decide what to make for my family:
CAKE BALLS
or
Spider cakes

What would be more fun?
Happy Thursday Everyone!

Once there was a PUMPKIN!

Funny story, last year we had cute little halloween set up with bales of hay and pumpkins a plenty...

Then winter hit before we knew it and several pumpkins were slowly being frozen under the heaps and heaps of snow...

Slowly but surely spring came and melted away the snow to reveal some pretty sad, mushy, yucky pumpkins. (sorry, didnt have the foresite to take pictures) Ron was to dispose of them but apparently they were so mushy that they fell apart and he decided they would be natural fertilazer in our flowerbed.

Summer came and I started to notice weird plants growing in the flowerbed, Im no botinest, but I could tell that I hadnt planted these giant leafed beings, and they were resembling something pretty cool.

I was growing my very own pumpkins! Fancy that! That snow a few weeks ago pretty much stunted their growth, and they dont get a ton of sun where they were so they are little and green, but it still reminds me of the coolness of nature and its desire to grow...

Such cute little punkins!

Then we went for a photo shoot in the canyon, mostly to have an excuse to wear these boots! She really is cute!

Happy Fall Yall!

Martha Mandy

I just needed to brag about my new found ability in the world of creative crafting. Just look at this dress:




I know! It is really all because of an etsy dress that I saw but didn't want to pay the price (cheep-o) Anyway, my dear sweet mommy told me that it would be an easy dress to make and a few hours later wha-la! Her very own spider dress!


I am just so happy that I have been planning all sorts of cool dresses for her to model.





Anyway, she got to display her dress at Gardner Village last week. Sucky idea....UEA + Halloween time at GV= millions of tiny people running a muck. It was nothing short of insanity inducing weaving through people.





See the sadness that the day produced!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Loves and kisses!

Goose Girl

I have a wonderful neighbor that has a little gal one month older than Addi and every other day (my days off) we have fabulous play dates. Yesterday we decided to go feed the ducks. Now I am all for new things, I just need to remember to think through each plan.

Questions I need to ask myself....

1. Is there any sort of line (last week at the zoo she had a heart attack when we had to wait one turn for the carousel)

2. Does anything look tempting to eat (she will pick up rocks if they look delicious and any thing with a berry, poisonous or not, she will eat)

3. Does it resemble anything she loves (Duck pond= giant tub. This was a nightmare trying to keep her out of the awesome smelling duck poop water)

So we arrive with our bag of popcorn, this was much easier than the bread because that is just another thing Addi hates...stores. We go as seldom as possible so wasting the bread on some birds was out of the question.

Anyway, for ever piece she gave the duck, she ate 5 so at lease it was a yummy snack!

These ducks are on crack! As soon as they see any human with a form of food they swim faster than Michael Phelps to get at us. Sprint swimming over to pork out on our foods!

I am also writing to ask for advice. I want a new house. I am selfish and just sick of living in the town home lifestyle. So sick of having to invite Addi up or downstairs when I just need to pee (she has abandonment issues.) I want a big rambler with a garage (Ron wants a 3 car) I want a giant kitchen (why the poo did we buy a griddle, two blenders, a sandwich maker, and a George Forman when we have 3 cupboards!)

The problem is, we found an amazing house. AMAZING. Not so amazing price tag. Affordable...maybe. It would be something that would be so much more than we are paying. Which means that I would have to be MUCH better about not buying every little thing I wanted. Could we do it, I think. It is just the not knowing that is scary. This is the house...

Then there is this other house, still awesome, not quite as awesome but still pretty cool. Much more affordable but they want us to close in 30 days....we still have our house to sell.

So I am asking for advice, do you buy a house you can easily afford but want to go somewhere else in the future, or buy as much house as you can because you would never move again? What would you do?

The Big Comfy Craze

I know she is too young to be glued to the TV. I know all you 'good' moms out there will look down on me and say "Well I never!" But I'm telling you she is addicted!

The Big Comfy Couch. Have you guys ever heard of it?

It is this insanely goofy show about a town of clowns that emits some sort of brain washing rays that has sucked Addi in. Seriously, the first thing she says when she gets up is "Couch?" After playing outside, "Couch?" after eating, bathing, playing, dancing, pooping, basically anything that she does in the day, the plea for 'Couch' is soon to follow. Did I mention that this show is just goofy? Seriously, I would much rather watch the Wiggles or Mickey Mouse or that cute show with the speech impaired duck. But I am stuck with Couch. Did I also mention that it used to be on everyday and then they took it away! It is only on Sunday mornings now, which is the only thing about Sunday that I enjoy....that is another post in and of itself. Anyway, we have like 13 on our DVR and we cycle through them at a surprising speed. Oh heavens!

Now you may be thinking how lucky I am to have a half hour of free time to clean, bath, poop, all MY necessary things, but you would be wrong. My mandatory spot is three inches away from her on the couch.

It is not all bad, I haven't had this much reading time in forever. It made it possible to read Breaking Dawn very quickly (which I loved, all I needed was a little fornication between them and I would be happy, he he) I have read an adorable book called the Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls that was about the Ruby slippers in the Oz story. I have reread various books that I loved and wanted to experience again, and I guess I owe it all to Couch.

Again, judge me if you will. It is all about the happiness of the babe around here. Uh oh, I have strayed father than the couch and am being punished for it. What shows are your kids addicted to?