We're under attack. Quick Isaac we need your help! More info coming October 31st.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Three Months Late, and A Pair of Shorts, Short
Last year I wrote about an annual tradition Todd and I started when we were dating. You can go back and read about it here. For those that don't want to go back and read it, that's okay, I'll give a brief synopsis now.
Each year, Todd and I drive out to Canyon Lake, hike up a small mountain, and take a picture in the same spot overlooking the lake. Each year, there has been some sort of change that has happened in our lives. First, we were dating, then married, then pregnant, then Dylan and pregnant, then Dylan and Isaac. That's 5 different pictures. Luckily (or not) there is no major change, we're all just a year older.
This year, we made the trip up the mountain again, only three months later than normal. I actually liked the trip much better today than in years passed. This year, the weather was gorgeous and not too hot. We took a water bottle with us, and didn't even really need it. Dylan was able to walk for most of the trail (even though she didn't) and we made great time up the mountain. And, as luck would have it, we took our best family picture on our first shot. It all went downhill after the first shot was captured.
We had a minor issue when we got to the top of the mountain and Dylan needed to go potty. There's nothing like squatting next to a cactus on a mountain top! Of course, there was a slight issue with not being able to control her urine stream so we ended up with wet shorts. And of course, I didn't have an alternate pair to change her into. Then there was Dylan wearing her water shoes in place of tennis shoes. I haven't updated her sneakers this year. And of course, she's already outgrown her shoes from last year. Isaac was a trooper and Todd carried both kids most of the way. That left me to take quite a few pictures. It was a great morning!
All I could think about was how much easier this tradition was going to keep getting. Next year, both the kids will be able to walk and I should have better listeners for our picture.
Go back and look at the previous post, if you still haven't. You can see the pictures from our first 5 years. Here is our family picture this year. Seriously, not a bad shot at all.
Each year, Todd and I drive out to Canyon Lake, hike up a small mountain, and take a picture in the same spot overlooking the lake. Each year, there has been some sort of change that has happened in our lives. First, we were dating, then married, then pregnant, then Dylan and pregnant, then Dylan and Isaac. That's 5 different pictures. Luckily (or not) there is no major change, we're all just a year older.
This year, we made the trip up the mountain again, only three months later than normal. I actually liked the trip much better today than in years passed. This year, the weather was gorgeous and not too hot. We took a water bottle with us, and didn't even really need it. Dylan was able to walk for most of the trail (even though she didn't) and we made great time up the mountain. And, as luck would have it, we took our best family picture on our first shot. It all went downhill after the first shot was captured.
We had a minor issue when we got to the top of the mountain and Dylan needed to go potty. There's nothing like squatting next to a cactus on a mountain top! Of course, there was a slight issue with not being able to control her urine stream so we ended up with wet shorts. And of course, I didn't have an alternate pair to change her into. Then there was Dylan wearing her water shoes in place of tennis shoes. I haven't updated her sneakers this year. And of course, she's already outgrown her shoes from last year. Isaac was a trooper and Todd carried both kids most of the way. That left me to take quite a few pictures. It was a great morning!
All I could think about was how much easier this tradition was going to keep getting. Next year, both the kids will be able to walk and I should have better listeners for our picture.
Go back and look at the previous post, if you still haven't. You can see the pictures from our first 5 years. Here is our family picture this year. Seriously, not a bad shot at all.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Cinderella
Earlier this month Dylan and I were invited to go see a children's production of Cinderella with Todd's mom, Diana. The show started at 11 and I wasn't sure how Dylan would do. We've been to movies before and Dylan has made it through about an hour of the show before she's restless and ready to do something else. We had no idea how long the production was going to be, but hoped not too long so Dylan wouldn't cause a scene.
We found out once we got there that the show was only about 1 hour and 15 minutes, including a short intermission. That was just perfect. We found our seats and soon realized the theater was full of kids and many of the girls were wearing their princess dresses and waving wands. The show started and Diana and I quickly realized that this production didn't follow along with the Disney version of the movie. The songs were different, the storyline was slightly different and there were some different characters than in the movie. I worried that Dylan wouldn't understand what was going on, but once again, she surprised me and took it all in. It was almost more fun to watch her expression as she experienced her first theater production than watching the actual show. She just took everything in, wide-eyed and in awe.
We made it through the entire show without a problem. Almost. We had a minor meltdown during the last song of the show because Dylan wanted to stand in the aisle to finish watching and I would let her. You see, the cast entered and exited the stage using the aisles so Dylan quite possibly would have been in the way. So, when I wouldn't let her stand in the aisle, the tears and screams quickly started, and loudly, and I rushed her up the stairs and out the door before she interrupted too many around us. She was done crying and requesting to go back in before the song even ended, so all in all, not too bad. Afterward, Diana took her to meet the cast and I was able to snap a few pictures. The king told Dylan she had beautiful, blue eyes, and Cinderella sat down on a bench to pose for a picture.
Dylan understood the entire show, but she did have two slight problems with the production. There was no Jaq and Gus (the mice in the Disney movie), but there was a dog instead that played the main role of Cinderella's friend. The other was the fact that Cinderella's fancy ball gown was pink. Not blue or white like the movie, but pink. That was a tough one for Dylan, because she knew that Cinderella doesn't wear pink...Sleeping Beauty does. So funny.
After the show we went to lunch at Streamers and let Dylan order whatever she wanted, including dessert. We enjoyed lunch and Dylan was so good. I realized that my little girl is growing up, and that these Girl's Day Outs need to happen more often. I'm already looking forward to taking her to her next show. I suppose soon enough Todd will be off the hook because Dylan can start seeing the plays with me instead of me having to drag him.
We found out once we got there that the show was only about 1 hour and 15 minutes, including a short intermission. That was just perfect. We found our seats and soon realized the theater was full of kids and many of the girls were wearing their princess dresses and waving wands. The show started and Diana and I quickly realized that this production didn't follow along with the Disney version of the movie. The songs were different, the storyline was slightly different and there were some different characters than in the movie. I worried that Dylan wouldn't understand what was going on, but once again, she surprised me and took it all in. It was almost more fun to watch her expression as she experienced her first theater production than watching the actual show. She just took everything in, wide-eyed and in awe.
We made it through the entire show without a problem. Almost. We had a minor meltdown during the last song of the show because Dylan wanted to stand in the aisle to finish watching and I would let her. You see, the cast entered and exited the stage using the aisles so Dylan quite possibly would have been in the way. So, when I wouldn't let her stand in the aisle, the tears and screams quickly started, and loudly, and I rushed her up the stairs and out the door before she interrupted too many around us. She was done crying and requesting to go back in before the song even ended, so all in all, not too bad. Afterward, Diana took her to meet the cast and I was able to snap a few pictures. The king told Dylan she had beautiful, blue eyes, and Cinderella sat down on a bench to pose for a picture.
Dylan understood the entire show, but she did have two slight problems with the production. There was no Jaq and Gus (the mice in the Disney movie), but there was a dog instead that played the main role of Cinderella's friend. The other was the fact that Cinderella's fancy ball gown was pink. Not blue or white like the movie, but pink. That was a tough one for Dylan, because she knew that Cinderella doesn't wear pink...Sleeping Beauty does. So funny.
After the show we went to lunch at Streamers and let Dylan order whatever she wanted, including dessert. We enjoyed lunch and Dylan was so good. I realized that my little girl is growing up, and that these Girl's Day Outs need to happen more often. I'm already looking forward to taking her to her next show. I suppose soon enough Todd will be off the hook because Dylan can start seeing the plays with me instead of me having to drag him.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Homemade Gifts...
I'm not crafty. I've said it before. I'm saying it again. I'm just not. I try to be. I'm rarely successful. Part of my problem is my eyes are bigger than my skill level. Part of my problem is I'm really critical of myself.
Regardless of this, I made my niece a birthday gift this year. I found a really great idea in a book, and decided I wanted to try to replicate it. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the book, but I think it was a BH&G Christmas book. I asked my sister Jennifer for some help and guidance, and she showed me a MUCH easier way to get my gift underway.
And I'm happy to say, I'm pretty excited with the way it turned out. I certainly have things I would have done differently, and parts that I am unhappy with, but all in all, I'm thrilled to have it finished, and for Gwyneth to have her little hands on it. It's just too bad that once it was finished, I realized it would probably be a little too difficult for her right now.
This all might make more sense if I mentioned what I made. I made Gwen a cube puzzle. I see versions of them floating around the blog world all the time. I thought I'd try my hand at it, but with the twist from the book. Mine were hand (and stencil) painted. Most of the ones I see use pictures from books and mod podge them onto the blocks. I used craft paint for mine.
They turned out cute, but they're fairly hard to put together. I used Isaac as my gauge because he's only a few months younger than Gwen, and Isaac was only interested in stacking the wooden cubes. Dylan on the other hand, tried to put the puzzle together. I figure Gwen's big sister Gabriella will try out the puzzle aspect of the gift. Just in case they have a hard time figuring out how each picture is supposed to look, I took pictures to add.
And, because I realized Gwen would have a tough time using the gift as intended, I also made her a handmade memory game I found here. I think I'll make another for Isaac and Dylan for Christmas too.
So, without further rambling, here are the six sides to Gwen's puzzle cube, and a quick snapshot of her memory game. Happy birthday Gwen!
Regardless of this, I made my niece a birthday gift this year. I found a really great idea in a book, and decided I wanted to try to replicate it. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the book, but I think it was a BH&G Christmas book. I asked my sister Jennifer for some help and guidance, and she showed me a MUCH easier way to get my gift underway.
And I'm happy to say, I'm pretty excited with the way it turned out. I certainly have things I would have done differently, and parts that I am unhappy with, but all in all, I'm thrilled to have it finished, and for Gwyneth to have her little hands on it. It's just too bad that once it was finished, I realized it would probably be a little too difficult for her right now.
This all might make more sense if I mentioned what I made. I made Gwen a cube puzzle. I see versions of them floating around the blog world all the time. I thought I'd try my hand at it, but with the twist from the book. Mine were hand (and stencil) painted. Most of the ones I see use pictures from books and mod podge them onto the blocks. I used craft paint for mine.
They turned out cute, but they're fairly hard to put together. I used Isaac as my gauge because he's only a few months younger than Gwen, and Isaac was only interested in stacking the wooden cubes. Dylan on the other hand, tried to put the puzzle together. I figure Gwen's big sister Gabriella will try out the puzzle aspect of the gift. Just in case they have a hard time figuring out how each picture is supposed to look, I took pictures to add.
And, because I realized Gwen would have a tough time using the gift as intended, I also made her a handmade memory game I found here. I think I'll make another for Isaac and Dylan for Christmas too.
So, without further rambling, here are the six sides to Gwen's puzzle cube, and a quick snapshot of her memory game. Happy birthday Gwen!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
My New Motto
Last year I realized we got the kids WAY too much for Christmas. Things they didn't need, toys that weren't opened until July. That's right, July.
My sister Shanen has a Christmas gift "rule" in her house that I thought was a good idea. It's simply, something they need, something they want, and a new pair of shoes. That's it. I think that's great.
Last night I was blog hopping as usual, and came across a great web site called 100 days to Christmas. It basically helps you plan and prepare through this crazy holiday season. It gives you ideas and tips and tricks to organize your planning, not just for Christmas, but through Halloween and Thanksgiving too.
I'm sad that I didn't find this site from the beginning because I'm now playing catch up. But, one of the first things I found was a cute little poem that was used for the Christmas shopping for kids. And I've decided my sister had it right all along, and this new poem will now be our "Bailey Christmas Motto."
Here it is:
My sister Shanen has a Christmas gift "rule" in her house that I thought was a good idea. It's simply, something they need, something they want, and a new pair of shoes. That's it. I think that's great.
Last night I was blog hopping as usual, and came across a great web site called 100 days to Christmas. It basically helps you plan and prepare through this crazy holiday season. It gives you ideas and tips and tricks to organize your planning, not just for Christmas, but through Halloween and Thanksgiving too.
I'm sad that I didn't find this site from the beginning because I'm now playing catch up. But, one of the first things I found was a cute little poem that was used for the Christmas shopping for kids. And I've decided my sister had it right all along, and this new poem will now be our "Bailey Christmas Motto."
Here it is:
Something They Want,
Something They Need,
Some Kind of Toy,
And Something to Read.
Something They Need,
Some Kind of Toy,
And Something to Read.
It doesn't get much easier than that. It should make planning so much easier. And, to top it all off, I found a great list of stocking stuffer ideas that I can plan ahead for. I'm usually the one racing to the store three days before Christmas looking for those darn things.
But, not this year.
But, not this year.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Tag
Is this one of the drawbacks (or perks) of making your blog public?? When my blog was private I always felt like I could ignore those pesky little "tags" that were circulating in the blogging world. Now that I've gone public, it's my duty to respond when I've been tagged. Ha! Actually, I got tagged twice this week from my friends Cheryl and Katie with the same tag, so it's time to respond now.
The tricky part here is to come up with 7 little known, weird or random facts about me.
Hmmm. Let's see.
1) I hate socks. Absolutely hate them. After spending almost 15 years of my life in socks and cleats or tennis shoes, I now try to wear them as little as possible. I like my feet to breathe and wearing socks does not allow that. I wear flip flops or sandals all year round, rain or shine. Socks are confining and as soon as I put them on, they need to come off again so I can scratch my feet and stretch my toes. Then they go back on again and into my shoes.
2) I played on the inaugural softball team for the University of Florida. Because of this, our team got to create all of the school records for the future teams. I was the first player to hit a walk-off home run in our stadium. It was my senior year against Arkansas. It was such a cool feeling. Also, since there were no teams before us, I was the first Gator to make it into the NCAA record book my junior year. But, don't be too impressed. It was for hitting the most (three) doubles in a game...and I was tied with something like 67 other players (past and present) in the country. But, I was still the first Gator!
3) Before my freshman year of college, my mom and I were watching the Olympics in Atlanta on tv. We were watching swimming and they were talking about a swimmer who was going to be a freshman at UF in August. My mom and I talked about how funny it would be if I met this swimmer. I thought it was highly unlikely and put it out of my mind. Little did I know that three months later, she and I would both be switched from our original dorm rooms and end up suite mates. I lived with her my freshman and junior years, and she's still my best friend to this day.
4) When Todd and I were dating we enjoyed Geocaching quite a bit. That's how we spend a lot of our time. We would drive to remote locations and find "buried treasure." That's actually how Todd proposed. He created his own Geocache for us to find. Typically he signs the log as I look through the booty to see what we'd like to take with us. When we found our "WYMM" Geocache, Todd got on one knee to sign the log as I stood and looked through the trinkets. It took me a while to choose and finally found the box with the ring. Todd was writing in the log about how long it was taking me to find the ring so he could finally propose. He asked me to marry him (and I said yes) and afterward we were talking about him hiding his cache and being afraid that someone would find it at the park where it was hidden. I wasn't sure he had much to worry about because I had assumed he had planted the ring when we unearthed the box. He sheepishly responded that that would have been a good idea, but he had left the box, and the ring, unattended in the park when he went back to his house to pick me up. He's crazy!
5) I'm the middle of five girls. There were quite a few years between my older sisters and I, and I recently discovered that one of the reasons my mom decided to have another one after me was so I would have a friend. Instead, she went ahead and had twins...so I was still a lonely, (and now middle) child! =)
6) I love to travel. I know, it's not random or weird, but I absolutely love it. I've been to 3 continents (is Central America part of North or South America? If it's South, then I've been to 4) and it's my goal to hit all seven continents. It'll be tough, but I plan on keeping this goal. Poor Todd, I have a list of places and things I want to do all over the world that I expect to fulfill once he retires...oh the places we'll go!
7) I am really shy. No one will really believe that because my shyness has a stipulation. I don't meet people well. I don't make the first move and approach people I don't know to introduce myself. Once I'm introduced to someone, I don't shut up. My life is an open book and I have no problems with that. I just don't make the first move. That makes it hard to have good friends too, because I don't EVER call people to do things.
Alright, so nothing wonderful or exciting...I even had to stretch to get seven. But here they are.
Now this is the part about tagging that I don't like...tagging others. Because of this, I'll only tag a few.
Shanen
Jamie
Whitney and
Bryn
You're it!
The tricky part here is to come up with 7 little known, weird or random facts about me.
Hmmm. Let's see.
1) I hate socks. Absolutely hate them. After spending almost 15 years of my life in socks and cleats or tennis shoes, I now try to wear them as little as possible. I like my feet to breathe and wearing socks does not allow that. I wear flip flops or sandals all year round, rain or shine. Socks are confining and as soon as I put them on, they need to come off again so I can scratch my feet and stretch my toes. Then they go back on again and into my shoes.
2) I played on the inaugural softball team for the University of Florida. Because of this, our team got to create all of the school records for the future teams. I was the first player to hit a walk-off home run in our stadium. It was my senior year against Arkansas. It was such a cool feeling. Also, since there were no teams before us, I was the first Gator to make it into the NCAA record book my junior year. But, don't be too impressed. It was for hitting the most (three) doubles in a game...and I was tied with something like 67 other players (past and present) in the country. But, I was still the first Gator!
3) Before my freshman year of college, my mom and I were watching the Olympics in Atlanta on tv. We were watching swimming and they were talking about a swimmer who was going to be a freshman at UF in August. My mom and I talked about how funny it would be if I met this swimmer. I thought it was highly unlikely and put it out of my mind. Little did I know that three months later, she and I would both be switched from our original dorm rooms and end up suite mates. I lived with her my freshman and junior years, and she's still my best friend to this day.
4) When Todd and I were dating we enjoyed Geocaching quite a bit. That's how we spend a lot of our time. We would drive to remote locations and find "buried treasure." That's actually how Todd proposed. He created his own Geocache for us to find. Typically he signs the log as I look through the booty to see what we'd like to take with us. When we found our "WYMM" Geocache, Todd got on one knee to sign the log as I stood and looked through the trinkets. It took me a while to choose and finally found the box with the ring. Todd was writing in the log about how long it was taking me to find the ring so he could finally propose. He asked me to marry him (and I said yes) and afterward we were talking about him hiding his cache and being afraid that someone would find it at the park where it was hidden. I wasn't sure he had much to worry about because I had assumed he had planted the ring when we unearthed the box. He sheepishly responded that that would have been a good idea, but he had left the box, and the ring, unattended in the park when he went back to his house to pick me up. He's crazy!
5) I'm the middle of five girls. There were quite a few years between my older sisters and I, and I recently discovered that one of the reasons my mom decided to have another one after me was so I would have a friend. Instead, she went ahead and had twins...so I was still a lonely, (and now middle) child! =)
6) I love to travel. I know, it's not random or weird, but I absolutely love it. I've been to 3 continents (is Central America part of North or South America? If it's South, then I've been to 4) and it's my goal to hit all seven continents. It'll be tough, but I plan on keeping this goal. Poor Todd, I have a list of places and things I want to do all over the world that I expect to fulfill once he retires...oh the places we'll go!
7) I am really shy. No one will really believe that because my shyness has a stipulation. I don't meet people well. I don't make the first move and approach people I don't know to introduce myself. Once I'm introduced to someone, I don't shut up. My life is an open book and I have no problems with that. I just don't make the first move. That makes it hard to have good friends too, because I don't EVER call people to do things.
Alright, so nothing wonderful or exciting...I even had to stretch to get seven. But here they are.
Now this is the part about tagging that I don't like...tagging others. Because of this, I'll only tag a few.
Shanen
Jamie
Whitney and
Bryn
You're it!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Some things never change?
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