Caramel Nut Fudge Balls

I made these for my sister's Christmas party last Friday. I thought they turned out so cute. They are very yummy, but very rich. I got the recipe from Paula Dean. The fudge has Velveeta in it. Weird huh? Then you dip them in caramel and I covered them with chopped peanuts. YUM!

Chocolate Cheese Fudge

Ingredients:
1/2 pound Velveeta cheese, sliced
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts
Two 16-ounce packages confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup cocoa

Directions: Melt cheese and butter together over medium heat in saucepan. Remove from heat, add vanilla and nuts. Sift together sugar and cocoa in large bowl. Add cheese mixture. Use hands for final mixing! Remove candy from bowl with hands and roll into balls. Add skewers. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and enjoy!

Tonight we are going to my sister's house for dinner. We are having a 7 course meal. I am in charge of the appetizers. It is always fun for Ryley to go there. Her and her cousin, Abby, have a lot of fun playing dress up. Abby has all of these really cute dress up shoes from Costco. I thought that would be a great present for Ryley for Christmas, but when I went to look, wouldn't you know they didn't have them. I was totally bummed out. I think I will continue looking through out the year though. I think she got 6 pair for $18!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!! I can't wait for Scott to open a particular present I got him!! And I can't wait for Ryley to see her presents. She got a tricycle that we have to put together tonight!! YEAH!!

Bad Santa Photos

Do any of you watch Ellen? It is one of my favorite shows. She is just so funny and always makes my day. So on her show she has people submit their bad Santa photos and then she shows everyone. Sometimes they are so sad, but so funny. Almost all of the kids are crying or giving Santa a weird look.
We took Ryley to see Santa last week and this was the photo Scott got:

I'm pretty sure this is the worst Santa photo ever!

Inch worm

I have an inch worm in my house. Kirye is inch-ing all over now. It is so cute. He has even started getting in to the dog food....just like Ryley did. Ew! I think I will definitely need to put the baby gate up soon so he won't fall down the stairs.

I went to the dr. with Kirye yesterday because he hasn't been feeling well. He had 3 teeth come in all at once and had a runny nose and was just not happy. So I took him in to the doctor because I suspected he might have an ear infection...and he did. So he is on antibiotics now. I am glad I actually took him in instead of just pushing it off like it was just a cold.

Ryley has been so funny lately. She is really in to changing her clothes. She likes to change her pants 2-3 times a day. It is actually quite annoying because there are clothes all over her floor and I don't know which ones are dirty and which ones are clean. It is funny because as soon as we get home from anywhere she will change out of her jeans and in to her "comfy" sweat bottoms or pj bottoms.

Does anyone watch The Biggest Loser? That is one of my favorite shows. It is so inspiring and I just love to see the transformations of the people. The finale was on last night and they all looked AMAZING!!! One of the ladies, Julie, looked so incredible. She went from 220 pounds to 121 pounds! I just couldn't believe how good she looked. And it is amazing how young most of the contestants were, but how the weight made them look so much older than they actually were.

Here is Julie's profile: http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/contestants/current_cast/julie/index.shtml

Maniac

This is my new favorite commercial. I have probably seen it about 5 times already and each time I end up laughing hysterically!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Okay, so for those of you who know me, you know I like to sing and dance around my house pretty much all day long (or even if you know me you might not know that about me). I'm sure my kids will always be annoyed by me when they are old enough to get annoyed.
Anyway, so I was dancing around my kitchen this morning singing, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, and I started thinking about the lyrics: "There'll be parties for hosting,marshmallows for toasting..." I don't know about you, but I have never roasted marshmallows at Christmas time. Have you? Another lyric I thought was interesting was "there'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago." I have never told scary ghost stories during the holidays. Weird huh? Maybe they just needed to find words to rhyme so they put those ones in.

First Snow Day

Scott was throwing snow on Obi. For some weird reason he loved it.

















We had our first snow day last week so I thought I would post some pictures of us playing in the snow. It snowed a couple of times, but it is completely gone now. This week has been in the 40's. Today was in the 30's and I think it is supposed to get colder next week. Anyway, since the snow was all gone Ryley and I were able to go outside and play on her jungle gym. She just LOVES that thing. I am so glad we have it. We also picked up dog poop today since we could see it. It was so gross, but at least it was competely frozen and came up pretty easy. I filled a whole Wal-Mart bag full. I guess it had been a while!




Today our family went roller skating! Yes, you heard me...roller skating. It was totally fun and Ryley loved it, even though she was pretty much just walking in her skates. She had to hold on to the sides or our hands, but it was fun. I don't think I have been roller skating since middle school. We used to go to this slimy place where all the kids would hang out and meet their boyfriends. I remember they would always do the "hokey pokey" song and everyone would get in a big circle and look like fools. I can't believe how young I was when I was last at a roller skating rink.




This picture reminded me of the kid in "A Christmas Story." The little brother who can't get up when he has fallen in his overly padded snow suit. Kirye was sitting on the floor and then just slowly fell over and I don't think he could move after that.












Ryley climbing up her swing set.

Going down the slide, regardless of all the snow.

Thoughts

A few things I've learned recently:

**Don't empty the dryer lint with wet hands

**Whoever invented Dora the Explorer is my hero (not because I like the show, but because it will keep my 2 year old entertained for at least 20-30 minutes)

**It doesn't matter if I put my kids to bed 30 minutes late the night before; they will still wake up at 7am.

**I have really learned to appreciate my warm house in 25 degree weather.

**Don't let a 2 year old try to shovel the driveway...trust me, it will never get done.

**Every year I think I just might like to try eggnog, but every year I can't stand the stuff

**Driving 4-6 hours to Grandmas house is definitely worth it

**Staying up late on a Friday night is just not the same after you've had kids. The next morning comes waaaayyy too fast.

**Gymnastics really is worth the $30/month just to see how much fun Ryley has doing it.

**Even though it's only the day after Thanksgiving, it's smart to put up your Christmas lights. Now we have to try to do it with all the snow. At least this year we have a pre lit fake Christmas tree! I am so excited...no mess on the floor for Kirye to try and eat.

Obsess Much?

I have realized that since I have been married and have a house of my own, I have acquired a few anal tendencies.
The first one is my kitchen. I HAVE to have a clean kitchen or I cannot function. This means there are never any dirty dishes left in the sink at night to wake up to in the morning.

I always have to have a clean dish cloth and it has to be white.

The sponge I use can not have any thing on the green scrubby part and it can only be used for doing dishes.

The counter tops have to be wiped down with anti bacterial spray every night. I can't stand that commercial that shows all the creepy crawly bacteria over everything (even though that is part of life).

My pantry has to be neat and organized and the cans all have to face the same way.

My bathroom sinks always have to be clean as well as the toilets, but I don't really like to clean the tub.

I am addicted to those anti bacterial wipes. I buy them in bulk...especially with 2 kids to make nice messes for me.

Then there are things that I could care less about, like dusting. I HATE dusting.

I also hate unloading the dishwasher.

Is this totally weird or what?

I wonder....

I wonder how many times a day I:

**Say "no" to my 2 year old

**Say "I love you" to my family

**Give my babies kisses

**Think about going on a vacation

**Try to decide what to make for dinner

**Say "poo poo", "pee pee", and "potty"

**Wish I was 20 again

**Want some alone time

**Do the dishes

**Go up and down my stairs

**Count my many blessings

Peepers

Peepers, Piffles and Turkey

We are at my mother in laws house for Thanksgiving. It is so nice to be here and relax a little. But my kids are definitely making sure I am only relaxing a little, that's for sure. Ryley didn't sleep great last night, and Kirye woke up at about 6:30am and hasn't napped well since he's been here. I suppose he is trying to adjust to a new place. Ryley slept in the spare room where my mother in law put a queen size mattress on the floor. I think Ryley was too excited to sleep and she kept waking up wanting to go "potty." After about the 5th time, and 1:00 in the morning, I finally woke up Scott and made him go in there and try to get her to sleep. There is also a train that runs by Dee's house, so at 12:30am she was screaming, "It's Thomas. It's Thomas." She now thinks all trains she hears or sees is Thomas the Tank Engine.

Dee has a black pug named Peepers and a cat named Piffles. Ryley is completely in love with the cat and chases it everywhere. Most of the time the cat has been hiding under the bed. She has also been chasing poor Peepers around like crazy. The dog has back leg problems so she can't really get away from Ryley very well.

I am just waiting around for dinner. I made a pecan pie and a coconut cream pie. I sure hope they are yummy! I can't wait for turkey...and for turkey leftovers. Yum Yum! I also made homemade rolls and cranberry relish (the good homemade kind, not the canned kind).

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and that you stuffed yourself silly!

I found this picture of Ryley on Dee's computer. I think she must've been about 8 months with her little spring dress on.

Bumper What?

The other day I saw a bumper sticker that said, "Testicle Festival. I had a ball." Now, let's examine this for a moment, shall we. I would personally like to know what kind of person decides to put bumper stickers on the back of their cars, and especially weird ones like this. Do they think it's funny and don't care what other people think? Do they want people to stare at them as they drive by? Oh, and don't even get me started on the license plate covers that say things like, "Spoiled brat...blah blah blah." I don't really know why someone would want to admit that, or admit other random things about themselves.
Have you ever had a bumper sticker? If so, what did it say?

Bad Hair Day

And you thought you were having a bad hair day!

Random Happenings

**Today I found $.50 in the street! That always makes me happy because usually I only find pennies...and I ALWAYS pick them up. My husband laughs at me, but hey, money is money.

**My son's poop was orange today. I guess he had a few too many sweet potatoes for dinner last night.

**Ryley loves to say, "what's that" to everything. And then she always wants to touch it no matter what it is or how far away it is. I always have to say, it's too high in the sky. So now she always says, "too high in the sky."

**Scott designed an Adirondack chair for a charity art auction. The final project looked so great and I'm sure it sold for thousands of dollars! :)

**A new Super Wal Mart opened up only 10 miles from my house. You do not even understand how happy this makes me. With 2 small children it is not easy going anywhere, but at least now it is a heck of a lot closer. We went today and it was so clean and nice. I wanted to just walk around and look at all of the Christmas decor, but with Ryley and Kirye I am always on a time crunch. I never know when either one of them will just fall apart and make shopping miserable for me. They did good though, and Ryley even used the restroom while we were there. No accidents! Hooray!

**Only 2 weeks until Thanksgiving and I am ecstatic! We are going to my mother in laws house just outside of Seattle. I always love going there and being able to relax and have some girlie time. My Thanksgiving duties this year: coconut cream pie, homemade rolls, and cranberry sauce. I am also considering making one more pie...probably banana cream since I use the same filling for the coconut cream.

Litterbug

Okay, so here is one of my pet peeves...littering. I can't stand it! I can't stand when I see people do it! To me, it is so rude and I just don't understand why people have to dump their garbage on the ground instead of holding on to it until they get to a garbage can. This time of year I especially start to notice all of the litter on the streets. Kids must think that because it is Halloween it gives them the right to throw their candy wrappers all over the streets and on the grass. I can not believe all of the candy wrappers I see when I am running. I have never been able to litter. Even when I was little, I always felt so guilty about it. One time I remember I threw something on the ground and I felt so bad that I went back and picked it up.
Anyway, just thought I would get on my soap box for the day!

Halloween Pictures

Here are a few pictures of Ryley on Halloween. She had such a fun night. We only went about a block or two because it was kind of chilly. She got half her pumpkin filled, which is plenty of candy for a 2 year old. We had so many kids come to our house. I think I bought 15-20 bags of candy and they are all gone. I remember last year was just as crazy. We had to turn off our porch light by 7:30.

Showing off her princess shoes

Enjoying her candy (her eyelashes look fake here!)

Kai Kai enjoying the wrappers

Scott's Celebrity Look Alikes

Scott has been told a lot that he looks like Luke Wilson. I don't think he's ever been told he looks like Cher.

My Celebrity Look Alikes

My sister showed me this and I thought it was so fun.

This little piggie...

We went to a Halloween party on Friday night and I got a few pictures of our little "piggie." It was the only costume I could find for him and was definitely a little tight. Ryley wore it when she was 2 months old and Kirye is 6 months old. Maybe I should go find something that fits him for Halloween.
We are taking Ryley out this year since we figure she is old enough to bask in the candy holiday. We will probably go about a block or so and come back home and drink some hot apple cider. I think it is only supposed to be about 40 degrees. I can just hear my Arizona and California friends snickering right now. I bet they've never had a Halloween where they had to wear a coat. I remember growing up in Montana; it would be sooo cold on Halloween, and most of the time there was snow. It didn't seem to bother us though...candy was definitely more important than getting frost bite.

Man it's cold!!

So, this morning I decided to take my normal inside treadmill run to the outdoors (thanks to a friendly reminder of how great running outside is from Patti). It helped that I had decided to do it the night before, so I had my alarm set and my clothes placed on the stairs so I wouldn't wake up Scott. I got up bright and early, about 5:45. This was definitely not by choice; I was planning on getting up at 6:30. Remember when I said Ryley could get out of her crib now? Well, she was up at 5:45 and thought it was time to wake up. After I put her back in her crib, I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't, so I just decided to start my day. Okay, so I didn't realize how freakin' cold it is that early in the morning! It was probably about 30 degrees out. Yikes. Once I got running though, it was okay. My hands got a little cold, but I couldn't find my gloves before I left.
ANYWAY, it was such a marvelous, wonderful, fantastic experience. Now, I have been an "outdoor" runner all through high school and college. But when I got married and had kids, I just did whatever was the most convenient, and what would let me sleep in the longest...and that meant I had to move to the treadmill. I don't necessarily love the treadmill, but I don't hate it and I can definitely tolerate it. So this morning when I was able to run outside it brought back all of these wonderful memories and I remembered why I love to run outside. I took the bike trail by my house that leads around the lake. It was so pristine and peaceful and the lake was so beautiful. There were even ducks floating about, and I couldn't help but wonder how they weren't freezing their butts off in that water. As I rounded the lake there was another jogger on the trail who said, "Looks like we're just missing the snow." I laughed like it was the funniest thing I had ever heard. Maybe I was just happy to be outside where it was so peaceful and I didn't have a 2 year old at my feet trying to "work out" with mommy.
On the way home I even saw a deer, who, no kidding, looked both ways before he crossed the street. It was so weird because he was in the middle of a residential area. When I got home my face was red and cold, and my muscles felt a little tight, but I loved it. I loved every minute of it. So, I am going to try to get off the treadmill at least twice a week and hit the bike trail outside. That might mean I will have to wake up a little earlier, but I think it will be so great for my mind, body and spirit to have that time to myself.

Obstacles

Here are a few obstacles that I have been dealing with lately:

* Ryley learned how to climb out of her crib, even on the lowest setting. So, what that means is I won't be able to sleep in EVER AGAIN! We converted her crib in to a bed last night and she was up for almost 2 hours getting in and out of bed, and then finally fell asleep in front of her door on the floor. Then this morning she was up at 6:30 and she normally doesn't get up until around 8!

* Since I thought Ryley was potty trained why not have her wear panties to gymnastics. Why? I'll tell you why. Because the minute you think they are potty trained, they aren't, and they poop in their leotard! What a mess.

* Working out. I try to work out. In fact, I have been doing really good and getting back up to almost an hour of cardio a day. But with a 2 year old it is not easy and it is so frustrating when she won't let me get in "me" time. I just need my exercise. It gives me energy, it helps me feel better about myself, and I just NEED it. So, when I don't get it, I get cranky.

* Money. I have none, therefore I cannot shop and that makes me sad.

* I took both my kids to the dr this week and Kirye is in the 95th percentile for height and Ryley is off the charts. So, by the third grade my kids will outgrow me, and once again I will be the short one in the group. I guess this isn't really an obstacle, but it reminds me that I am short and that I will always be short and there is nothing I will ever be able to do to change that.

Here are a few positives going on in my life:

* Ryley is pretty much potty trained, which means less money I have to spend on diapers.

* I can fit in to the smallest pair of jeans I have. I said I can fit in to them, I didn't say they looked great on! I still have a few baby weight pounds to lose, but overall I feel okay.

* Kirye is sleeping through the night, about 12 hours straight. We did sleep training a few weeks ago, and by the third night he was sleeping without waking up. We got rid of the pacifier. He will never be able to use it again for sleeping. It was just too much of a crutch and whenever he woke up and it wasn't there he would start crying. According to Ferber, it is as if you woke up and your pillow wasn't there. Well, what if you were handicapped and couldn't get it yourself. You would have to call for help right? That was what Kirye was doing.

* It's autumn time...one of my favorite times of the year. I love the crisp morning air and the beautiful colors of the changing leaves. I also love "fall" food like soup and pumpkin recipes. I have been making lots of soup lately and homemade all bran rolls. Sooo good!

I have put up all of my fall decorations and they are so cute and make me happy whenever I look at them. Here are a few pictures of them:

That's all really. If you have anything you want to complain about or something that is going good for you right now feel free to let me know. This blog is a good way for me to complain without Scott getting on me for being so "negative." I'm not negative, I'm just a realist!

AW SNAP!!

This is SOOO GROSS!! I am almost throwing up thinking about it. Okay, so I got out my Diet Cranberry Raspberry Snapple tonight , opened it up, and almost puked!! What might you ask did I find?? Here is a snippet of what I wrote to the Snapple company tonight:

I found something in my Diet Cranberry Raspberry Snapple tonight. I am not quite sure what it was, but it looked disgusting and at first I thought it was a condom. I took many pictures of it and dumped the contents of the bottle in to a plastic container. The more I looked at it and poked at it, I think it may have been a round piece of cardboard paper that sometimes sits at the top of lids. However, this type of Snapple does not have the cardboard paper on the top of the lids, so I don't really know where it came from.
I would really like to send you the pictures of this. Please get back to me as soon as possible. Oh, it also looked moldy and was pretty nauseating I might add.


I SWEAR to you, it was so gross looking (don't worry, I will post some lovely pictures for you to see). I made Scott poke it with a fork. I also made sure our hands were both washed for fear of mold spores infesting our house and our bodies!!

So, do you think Snapple will send me a year supply for free?

Need A Baby Sitter?

Save time! Call: The Babysitters Club and reach four experienced baby-sitters.
Kristy Thomas: President
Claudia Kish, Vice-President
Mary Anne Spier, Secretary
Stacey McGill, Treasurer

back to that in a minute...

i am in montana right now visiting my parents. i decided to drive over here and bring the kids with me so scott could get a break for a few days, have the house to himself, and de-stress. i'm sure he is loving a quiet, clean house, with no whiny kids to deal with. but i'm sure he also misses us...maybe. :)

so, i am at home in my old room and i found a great treasure...all of my babysitters club books. you all know what books i am talking about, even if you are older i'm sure your kids read them. those were the greatest books. i was so tempted to pick one up and start from book #1. remember how they were all numbered? here are just a few funny title's:

stacey's big crush #65
kristy and the snobs #11
claudia and mean janine #7
mary anne saves the day #4
dawn saves the planet #57

man, these tweeny bops sound like they have all sorts of super power. i am actually laughing at myself right now because i would probably really enjoy reading these books again! i remember i always wanted to be stacey because she was cute and had pretty long blond hair, and i ALWAYS wanted my name to be stacey, or cindy.

i also found the babysitters club post card book with "30 full-color postcards for you to collect or send"! it's funny how they say "full-color" like that is some crazy new phenomenon. so, if you want me to send you one just leave me your address.
oh, by the way, my parent's left shift key on the keyboard doesn't work, which is why nothing is capitalized. doh!

Licoripstick

So Jill has gone to Montana for the week with the kids, leaving me here to cook my own food, clean up after myself, and otherwise be responsible. I have to admit, (with a hint of man giggles in my voice, that I am enjoying every minute of it. If leaving dirty socks on the floor, eating licorice for dinner, then drinking straight from the juice jug is wrong...I dont want to be right!! I feel a hint of guilt for saying that, I do absolutly adore my family, and miss them, but it's true, I love it.

I've been staying at school and getting things done all week so that I can come home and really relax. Today I came home and watched a whole football game (Southern Miss. @ Boise State)....AND FELL ASLEEP!!! It was like being retired!! I had to get up though out of guilt. I did 6 push-ups, played with the dog for 6 seconds, ate 6 more pieces of licorice, then rocked out to Our Lady Peace for about 6 hours!! Sweet...just sweet. I miss my daughters "Daggy?" beckon though....

Baby Blue Eyes

How will I ever be able to get mad at a face like this!

Birthday Pictures

Here are a few pics from Ryley's birthday. She LOVED her Elmo cake....or at least the frosting. She must take after me because I love cake frosting too!

Popeye

I have my own little Popeye in the house. This morning I made Ryley a spinach smoothie. You heard it right folks...spinach, as in the leafy greens Popeye ate. It was so good too. I put ice, water, milk, a few frozen strawberries, a couple of Equal packets, half a scoop of protein powder, and some spinach. Ryley has been doing better eating her veggies, but I knew this method would work for sure.

Other random happenings:


Ryley can officially open the pantry door and the refrigerator. So, you know what that means:





AND



I know it looks totally tacky, but I am not ready to deal with this right now. So, the infamous child proof door knobs and lock on the fridge. Hey, maybe this will help my diet!!


My favorite song right now is Big Girls Don't Cry by Fergie. I just LOVE it. It puts me in such a good mood and I just want to run around and sing as loud as I can. I love blasting it in the car when I am without the kiddies.

Big Brother 8 is getting sooo good. I am addicted to that show. I will be so sad when it is over in a few weeks. But to ease my pain I'm sure I will quickly become attached to a new reality show or the new season of Grey's (hopefully if it doesn't flop...I am totally praying this year it will be as good as the first season, but I am definitely having my doubts).

Why is it that blogger NEVER remembers me? It says "remember me?" but it never does. How annoying.

Ellen has started her new season. I totally forgot until today. I love love love her. I record it every day and then try to watch it when I work out. I WILL get Kirye on with his crazy hair, or at least a picture of him. Wouldn't that be cool?

The View has also returned with new co hosts. Whoopi and Sherri Shepherd, who is freakin' hilarious! She is seriously one of the funniest female comedians. Every time I watch her I die laughing.

Okay, it totally sounds like I watch a lot of tv, but I don't. All of my shows are on my dvr and I pretty much just watch them when I can. I watch a lot of them when I work out. It really helps my time on the tread mill go by so much faster.

Battle Wound

All I hear is a blood curling scream and I run over to the baby. RYLEY! WHAT DID YOU DO???!!! Oh, for the love. (I suppose the baby could have done this by himself with his nails, but I just clipped them).

Look at that cute little face. I wish he could stay this innocent forever.

Oops

I didn't mean to send my last post because I wasn't finished, but I guess it saved and posted anyway. Oh well.
So, back to Seattle. Ryley got spoiled to death by Grandma. I'm not even kidding when I heard this at 9:30 in the morning..."Do you want an ice cream cone?" I about flipped a lid!! Grandma was insisting it was going to be just the cone, no ice cream...but still, come on!
This weekend we rented Wild Hogs and Blades of Glory. Both of them were hilarious. Scott especially loved Wild Hogs and now wants to go on a motorcycle trip across country with his best friend. I asked him if he has ever ridden a motorcycle before and he said no. Uh, okay man, go for it. Just don't get yourself killed and leave me at home a single mom with 2 little kids to raise.
Kai Kai is officially rolling over. He has rolled over about 4 times today. Tomorrow is his 5th month birthday. I went and saw my friend who just had a baby a week ago. I couldn't believe how small her baby was, but then I remembered Kirye used to be that small, and it was only 5 months ago! My little baby is growing up right before my eyes.
The Biggest Loser started last night, kind of. It was a recap of a lot of the popular people from past shows. It had them on to see if they had kept the weight off. Most of them had, kind of, but you could tell they had definitely gained back a little from the finale shows. The Biggest Loser is one of my favorite shows. It is so motivating. I am such a hypocrite though because I will be watching it while eating a big bowl of ice cream and thinking how nice it would be to live on a ranch and have 6 hours a day to work out!
Oh....one more thing about Seattle. I was AMAZED at all the people I saw wearing skinny leg jeans. I mean, I understand they are the "in" thing right now, but that doesn't mean that everyone should be wearing them. And I'm not just talking about girls here people. There were a lot of guys wearing them too. The majority of people did NOT look good in them. I just really don't understand how those jeans do anything for anyone besides little Asian girls or tall 6 foot models.

September

Well, we are back from Seattle. We had a lot of fun. Scott and I dropped the kids off at Grandmas and took off for downtown. We went out to dinner, we walked around the city, we went to a movie. It was so great and so rejuvinating. The next morning we walked around the city some more and did the Seattle underground tour, which was totally cool. We also went to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and got some really great chocolates. They had this ginormous peanut butter cup, and I'm not even kidding, it took us until tonight to finish! I just loved being downtown. There was so much to do and see. We could have stayed for another couple of nights.

YOU WHAT!!!!!!????

The other night my dear, lovely husband spilled part of his protein shake on our laptop and heard a "fizzle" sound. So, we let it dry out for a day but it still doesn't work. It turns on, but the screen is blank. Are you kidding me?? Now I have to go on his Apple laptop to do anything. It's not that I don't like Apple, it's just that I'm not used to it and the screen is so small I have a hard time typing. So I haven't blogged or looked at any blogs in a few days. Usually I am glued to my computer. I guess I better take it in and have it looked at. To top it all off, Ryley threw our new phone in a pool of water on our deck chair and now the screen doesnt work either! What is up with that?
Hooray for the 3 day weekend coming up! We are going to Seattle and hubby and I are going to stay in a hotel downtown on Friday WITHOUT the kids. Scott's mom is taking them for the night. I am positive I will need a sleeping pill since I am such a light sleeper now. And I am definitely not forgetting my ear plugs or eye mask, keep the darkness out, sleeper thing. Oh, and we made sure the hotel has a hot tub and gym. I seriously can't wait. We have been planning our itinerary for weeks now.
Okay, this is the funniest thing, or saddest thing, I have ever seen. Tell me what you think. I think we should help the children "in the Iraq" too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WALIARHHLII

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYLEY!

My daughter is 2 years old today! I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. It was just such a sweet day and I am crying just thinking about it. She was 3 days late, so I got induced. I remember being very scared because it was my first and I had no idea what to expect. Everything went very smooth and I thought she looked like a little angel when she came out. That day my mother in law gave me a dozen pink roses and I had them dried and in Ryley's room until a couple of weeks ago. Ryley decided she wanted to pull all the leaves and petals off. What a mess! But I was more sad that they were gone because of their sentimental value. I wonder if I have a picture of them somewhere. I'm sure I do. I will have to post it.

Here is the day we came home from the hospital. I can't believe how small she looks and how tired we both look.

Ryley hasn't had a very good day so far. She has had a little diarrhea and got stung by a bee at the park. We went to the park with a bunch of her friends for a joint party with her friend Ana. It was so cute. I brought rainbow chip cupcakes. Those were my childhood favorite and still are.
Tomorrow we are having some family over and having an Elmo cake. It should be fun and hopefully she will be feeling a little better. Happy birthday baby! I love you!!!

While I was looking at Ryley's baby pictures I found this one of my hottie husband! Nice huh?

It's JUST a Refill!!!!

Okay, remember when refills on your soda used to be like $.25!! I went to the gas station the other day to get my cup refilled because I LOVE fountain soda, and it was over $1.00! I was like, uh, hello, I have MY OWN cup and it only costs you guys like 2 cents for this crap. I even had to take a few pennies from the penny jar because I had what I thought was enough change. I felt like such a dork. So, today I went to this place right around the corner from me and they only charged me $.50. Whew! That is a little better.

Can you tell I have nothing exciting to blog about?

Oh, more poop and pee news. Ryley has been waking up at the crack of dawn lately (for me anyway); like around 7am. It is so early for me. So this morning she wakes up at 6:45 and I was like, uh, I don't think so. But I figured it out. She has to go to the bathroom and doesn't want to pee in her diaper. Personally, I would rather have her pee her bed just to get the extra sleep. Actually, she has done that plenty of times when she takes off her diaper (we had to start using duct tape) and it is way too much work to pull off all the sheets and blankets and wash them every day.

Here is the poop news: So we went swimming today with her little friend Ana (Ah-na). Next thing I know she has pooped in her stinkin' "swimmer" diaper. As you may or may not know, those diapers are like pull ups, so when you pull them down all the poop falls out. That is exactly what happened when I tried to change her. It was disgusting! So, some of the poop falls on the counter, and I am like, oh crap (no pun intended). So I have to get a paper towel and scoop up the poop. Then I felt really bad because I didn't have any of my handy sanitizing wipes with me, so I put a bunch of soap on the counter and tried to wash it. Then I had to put Ryley in the sink because there was poop all over her and....yuck yuck yuck!!!
This, my friends, is my life in a nutshell!!

Do you use the word "pop" or "soda" when describing a carbonated drink? Check out this survey.... http://popvssoda.com:2998/

I used to say pop until my good friend Swishy looked at me like I was crazy. According to her, the proper term is "soda."

Its Potty Time

I was tempted to have half of my leftover cheeseburger for breakfast, but instead I decided on half of the sugar cookie I bought Ryley. Pathetic! So much for my healthy eating habits for the day.

Here is what I have been dealing with lately, and maybe this can explain my stressed out eating habits:








.....A little girl who is potty training, but won't keep a diaper or panties on. So she pretty much walks around naked all day unless we have to go somewhere. Potty training is the worst! She does really well one minute and then the next she is peeing all over the kitchen floor (or pooping on the stairs). The other day she pooped once in the toilet, once on the stairs, once outside, and once in her diaper! I couldn't believe it. I have a pooping machine on my hands. Maybe I should stop giving her the Fiber Choice chewable strawberry tablets that we call vitamins, but she probably really thinks they are candy. Okay, so back to the pooping outside....I am SO embarassed. I hope the neighbors didn't see. At least it was in the back yard. She was probably trying to copy our dog, just like she eats out of his dog bowl and drinks his water just. like. a. dog!



BIG BROTHER IS ON TONIGHT!! GO DICK!

Mr. Sandman

Do you ever have such weird dreams that you wish you could connect an AV cable to your brain and replay them on TV? Oh man oh man, I had the weirdest dream last night. It was so embarrassing though I can't even repeat it. And how does our mind come up with these dreams anyway? I always remember my dreams too and they are very detailed.
Scott sleeps with his eyes half open sometimes. Whatever it is he sees he will be full on dreaming about it.
What is the weirdest dream you've ever had?

A Little Piece of Heaven

Yesterday Scott took the day off of work so that I could go out and do whatever I wanted WITHOUT THE KIDS!! Oh my gosh, I couldn't decide what to do first. Well, first actually I had to take Kirye in to get his ear checked out. He has had ear infection after ear infection. Poor little guy. So, this last one has cleared up, but if it is like the past, he will get another one in a few days. Both Scott and I had bad ear infections as kids, and I even had tubes. Hopefully he will outgrow this and won't have to get tubes. Anyway...where was I...oh, so I took him to the dr. and then we made a quick trip to Costco for mega packs of diapers and wipes. My life is so interesting. After that Scott met me and took the kids and I went to lunch by MYSELF. It was so nice. I just sat there and read the paper and enjoyed my meal without having to clean a messy 2 year old or cut up any food or get a sippy cup of juice. It was lovely. Then I went and got a pedicure. Oh my gosh...I haven't had one since Kirye was born, over 4 months ago. Oh, it was soooo relaxing. I just read People magazine and sat there in the awesome massage chair. I wish I could do that every week. My feet look so pretty now. I should take a picture. I think I will!

After my pedicure I went to the grocery store because anyone that has kids knows how hard it is to go grocery shopping with them. Ryley likes to open whatever I put in the cart (including brown sugar) and start eating it. So, I always end up hiding items on top of Kirye. I'm sure I am violating some kind of child abuse law.

After the grocery store I came home, put my ear plugs in and took a nap. Overall it was a great day. I did not, however, have a great night. I was in and out of bed at least 7 times in the night with the baby. I wish I knew what was going on with him!

So, here are some recent pictures of Kirye and Ryley. We had a friend come over on his motorcycle and Ryley tried his helmet on. It was so funny because she would tip over from the weight of it!

Ewww....I just clicked on the picture of my feet and you can see the dog hair on our carpet. I need to vacuum!

Hollah!!

Where are all my BB8 fans at? Can I just tell you how completely sad I am that Nick went home tonight! I can not believe it? People in that house are dumb sometimes. As my sister would say, "I am in depression right now."
Speaking of depression, I read an article on CNN talking about the depression that people might face after they finish reading Harry Potter. It gave me a good laugh. I am only on book 6 and I am dying to finish them. I want to know what happens and I live in fear everyday that I will hear or read something about book 7!!

Seattle

We're off to Seattle this weekend. I am pretty excited just to get away and go visit my mother in law. We are planning lots of fun things: the zoo, Harry Potter movie number 5, brick oven pizza place, possibly a Spokane Shock vs Everett Hawks arena football game, visiting my grandparents, teriyaki (they have the best teriyaki there!) and of course being able to do whatever because Grandma is a built in babysitter. I love it.
Have a good weekend everyone! Oh, by the way, if you are wondering, I am up with the baby which is why this post is at 2am!
T-I-R-E-D!

Baby Got Back

The following story is not a joke. Yesterday I was trying to make Kirye laugh. I was making all sorts of crazy noises and doing weird contortionistic (is that a real word?) things with my face. He was just smiling at me as if to say, "got anything better than that?" So, I thought of the Friends episode where Ross sings Baby Got Back to their daughter to make her laugh. Well I gave it a go and he totally laughed! It was so awesome. He already has a great sense of humor.
Oh, and we watched AVP Long Beach beach volleyball tournament all weekend and guess who one of the commentators was...Karch Kiraly (who Kirye is named after). We made sure Ryely and Kirye payed close attention. We already have Ryley practicing her run and jump volleyball approach. She is pretty good at it.