Holiday Weekends Rule!

Saturday was a good, relaxing, get-stuff-done sort of a day. Jay and Ryan did some errands together and then played at home together to give me some time alone which I desperately needed. Then the three of us spent the afternoon playing together.
Sunday was nice. We went to church and heard a great sermon on parenting. Then we came home and had some down time before heading over to Jay's parents' house. We walked to Sherwood Gardens and enjoyed the fields for a while. Jay and his brother Ben played Frisbee. Ryan and Jay's dad even joined in the Frisbee fun:-) Ryan was hoisted into a tree and he pretended to be a bird. "tweet, tweet" Then he and Uncle Ben wrestled for a while. We brought Ben back home with us so he could hit DC with us on Monday.
We visited the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum and Natural history museum. We spent a little time in the American history museum, but not enough in my opinion. I'll write more about our trip to DC later. I need to tend to see what Ryan wants...I have a feeling it's just for me to get off the computer and pay attention to him.

Bath Gone Wrong

I got out the old baby pool we got to give the dogs baths this morning. Since Daisy is in desperate need of a bath, but I don't feel like cleaning the whole bathroom after she gets one. I was going to fill it with water and let it warm up. Boy was I wrong about how this would go. First Daisy went crazy because she likes to attack the water coming out of the hose. Whenever I would point it in the water she would bark at me to spray it in the yard for her to chase. Once I actually got some water in the pool Ryan thought it would be fun to splash in it. No harm in that. He soaked his front, still no big deal. We will just change him when we go inside. It turns out splashing was not enough, so he dove in. He seemed a little shocked that the water was ice cold, but after a couple seconds he didn't care. He just sat there splashing and giggling. He played, splashed, kicked and jumped around in the water for a while. I think we will be getting our baby pool quite a bit when it gets warmer!
Poor Daisy is still outside because she is wet and it's obvious that she is not getting a bath until nap time.
Wet Boy

Sleeping Like a Baby

Have you ever heard the mom or dad of a newborn tell you that old line about 'sleeping like a baby' isn't true? I would have been the first to tell you this for the past year and 8 months. Until today. I'm hear to tell you folks that it just might be based in truth. Yes babies wake up every few hours, but when they are out- they are OUT.
I was vacuuming upstairs toward the end of nap time, so I decided to go into Ryan's room and give it a once over since it is the least vacuumed room in the house. I just knew he would wake up screaming because he HATES the vacuum. I thought well if I get any at all done it's better than nothing and if he wakes up it's the end of nap time anyway. So I went in and vacuumed his entire room and he didn't budge. He slept right through the whole thing. This boy will hear me running the vacuum from downstairs, run up where I am and scream with his arms in the air until I turn off the vacuum and pick him up. I'm not sure why the vacuum scares him so much. He couldn't wait to get his hands on the drill when daddy was using it and he was very intrigued by the power saw grandpa was using, but the vacuum scares him to death. Just like a man;-)
So, apparently Ryan can sleep through a hurricane. I guess this means Ryan's room doesn't have to go unvacuumed until a time when he isn't home and I am anymore. Phew!

Tagged Again

I have to say I find this tag a little ordinary, along the lines of what's your sign and favorite color(sorry if you wrote it, I don't mean to offend). So I am going to be a bit of a party pooper here. I'll do the questions so as not to completely ruin the party, but I'm not going to tag anyone else. If you read my blog and would really like to be tagged to do this game be my guest. If you let me know I'll even officially tag you.

1) Total number of films I own on DVD/video: including my Disney collection, which in itself numbers over 50, I'd have to guess about 100.
2) The last film I bought: My hubby does most of the movie buying in our house, but the last one that *I* bought as probably Baby Shakespeare
3) The last film I watched: National Treasure on DVD, of course, because I don't think I've been to a movie theater since before Ryan was born.
4) Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me: Singin' in the Rain, Newsies, name a Disney movie, While You were Sleeping, Dude Where's My Car (I watch this when I just want to laugh)

I really liked the other tag game better. It gives you a chance to get more creative.
Okay and let's be honest. I don't have 6 bloggy friends who have not been tagged.

Inspired-*edited*

Inspired by Leslie's most recent post about finding time for everything I am going to be limiting my time for blogging. This shouldn't affect my posts too much since most of my blog time is spent reading other people's blogs. I think I am relying too much on reading about what other people are doing for my adult interaction. I get super disappointed when there are no updates since I read last, but I'm drawn to my computer way too easily to check. Then I'm checking everyone's blog hoping that they updated. It's time for me to get back to basics people. I'm going to make use of that old fashioned device where you punch in numbers and a person is actually at the other end! Maybe I'll even be able to think about something interesting to say. Okay I'm not asking for miracles here, just interaction. I figure if I limit my blog time and actually talk to people that might free up my hands to do more around the house. Maybe one day I'll even be able to invite people over without embarrassment! There I go again, hoping for miracles...I guess it can't hurt to dream, eh.
I know I need to seek out some more "real" adult interaction. It's hard because when I am with adults I often don't really feel like I'm really there because I always have to keep my eye on Ryan. Like this morning my small group met one last time before our summer break, but I missed lots of the conversation because I was going in the other room so often trying to stop Hurricane Ryan from destroying the house. I've found that play dates are a fairly good solution because everyone has something to do and we can hang out right with the kids if we need to. I'm really excited I've found a new play buddy for Ryan with older siblings about Zach's age. Zach gets along with just about anyone, so I have no worries that he will be able to play well with them. Plus I really like his buddy's mom. She is in my small group. So, here's to playmates for Ryan, Zach and ME:-)
*I'm not doing very well. It's cold and dreary outside, I'm tired and I'm BORED. Ugh, Dr. Phil would say, "Bored people are boring." Maybe this bored person is just too tired to muster up the energy to do anything productive. Then again, maybe I'm just boring like the ol' doc says. I think I am going to bed at 8:01-right after the boys are in bed!*

Sesame Street Fun

Today Ryan and I spent some time counting with The Count, finding shapes with Zoe and playing journey to Ernie with Big Bird and Ernie on the PBS Kids Sesame Street web site. We even printed out Ryan's name to color and put in his room. The pages are only up with double stick tape, so we'll see how long it lasts. It was fun though. After I hung them up Ryan would go down the line pointing and saying- R-Y-A-N and sometimes adding the character's names. He does think that Big Bird's name is Ernie. I guess he just thinks there are two Ernies because he knows Ernie. I'm pretty sure it is because of the Journey to Ernie game that Big Bird always plays.

R-Y-A-N


I really like that I can spend my morning in pjs playing with my Monkey. What a cool job I have:-)

Turnabout is Fair Play

So If you read my comments Thursday you saw the story about my dolphin petting experience. When I graduated from high school Christina gave me a sketchbook of memories. Most are also meant in a playful teasing way. The "copyright" page says, "All people places and situations in this book are absolutely true and may be used against Carrie-lyn(that's what she calls me) at any time for amusement, revenge, blackmail, etc." I'm sure that gives you an idea of the content. Most of the memories are stick figure drawings with some kind of explanation. This is one of the very few pictures in there.
"I'm gonna pet a dolphin!" 

This was on the page before the dolphin picture. It's a cartoon of the two of us on the bus ride from Virginia to Baltimore. If you can't tell that's Christina saying, "Oh look, It's a miniature Washington Monument!" To my recollection she said miniature pencil, but it was a long time ago. I guess she didn't realize we would be passing WASHINGTON DC between VA and MD.
Passing Washington DC 

Old Friends and New Babies

Yesterday we went down to Landon's house to hang out with Jay's high school crew. Jay, Landon and Andrew have been friends since high school. Andrew and his wife Julie live on the west coast, so we don't get to see them much. We saw their baby boy, Caleb for the first time yesterday. I think he is 4 months old give or take. He was such a cutie. Poor little guy has been sick, but he really was so quiet. Emily, Landon and Katie's baby, was able to play a little more with Ryan this visit. Pretty soon they will be chasing each other across the playground! Zach is a little old for the 2 and under set, so he spent a lot of his time outside. He really likes Uncle Landon's swing.
Caleb 

Emily and Ryan

Jump 

Where Did SPRING Go?!

We had some really nice days in April. I was wearing shorts and even packed away my winter stuff. Apparently that was a mistake. I always leave a few long pants/long sleeves outfits out for when it gets a little chilly, but I keep running out because it's so stinkin' cold so much of the time. Today it's going to be a high of 53*- 53 degrees people! - This is too much. I'm packing up and moving in with my parents in South Carolina until summer! Well, I would if they had a house. I hope the house hunting goes well because we need a warm place to plan on visiting so I can get through this miserable, rainy, cold weather!!! Gee, mom and dad, not only did you bring Belgium weather when you came, but you dumped it on our doorstep and left it here!
I really hope it gets nice for the weekend. I'm off to do laundry so I can have warm stuff to wear.

Tagged

I'm riding Erin's coat-tails to the cool kid's table;-)

The rules are simple when you're tagged.
Choose 5 items from the list to write about.
Tag 3 other individuals when you're done.

If I could be a scientist...I would be a marine biologist so I could train dolphins and go on whale watching on the company's dime:-)
If I could be a farmer...NO WAY! They get up way to early!
If I could be a doctor...
If I could be a painter...
If I could be a gardener...
If I could be a missionary...
If I could be an architect...
If I could be a linguist...
If I could be a psychologist...I could be. I just need three more years of school and the time to do the homework. Some day, maybe, just not today.
If I could be a librarian...
If I could be an athlete...
If I could be a lawyer...
If I could be an innkeeper...I would have a quaint little inn on a quiet beach in a warm southern area with a small town(the kind where everyone knows and loves each other) just up the road. I would take daily walks on the beach holding the hand of my wonderful husband while we watch our children frolic at the edge of the surf just ahead. I am really starting to like this idea...anyone know a place like this that is for sale?!
If I could be a professor...
If I could be a writer...
If I could be a llama rider...
If I could be a bonnie pirate...
If I could be an astronaut...
If I could be a world famous blogger...
If I could be a justice on any one court in the world...
If I could be married to any current famous political figure...I wouldn't. I'd take my Jay over any famous person-or any other person for that matter.

I tag Christina, Katie and Raven!

Confused Quacker

We took Jay to the Outback Steakhouse last night for his birthday dinner. I never realized how long it actually takes to eat out until I had Ryan. We got to there at about 6:15 and didn't leave until almost 8. 1 and 1/2 hours is a WAY LONG in toddler time. I brought a coloring book, but the allure of scribbling colors quickly faded. Ryan then turned his attention to another toddler in the table next to us. He spent some time going back and forth from Jay's side of the booth to mine. He found more toddlers and children to watch. Usually proclaiming his finds with a loud "BABY!" Once the food came it got a little easier. He ate a bit. Then he started plugging his ears and unplugging them. Jay is the one who realized he was experimenting and realizing the difference in the noise level when he plugs his ears. It's cool when you can figure out what their little minds are doing. After Zach and Ryan finished their milks we got them water. Ryan was standing on the booth next to me with his head bent down drinking from the straw.(sitting for 1 and 1/2 hours just isn't in the cards for my little Bean) In this position he is looking straight down into the cup. He paused from his sipping, cracked a great big smile and said, "Quack, quack!" He was quacking at the lemon in the water. I think that was the highlight of my evening. Well, besides being with the family that I love so dearly:-)

Happy Birthday to Jay!

Hooray for this day in 1977! The baby who was to be my husband was born. What a wonderful man he has become. I could get really sappy here, but I'll spare you the details;-)
Instead I'll share a story from yesterday.
Jay went to a meeting for the middle school ministry at our church. He was kind of checking it out to make sure he wants to get himself involved in the hormone driven insanity that is middle school life. He is actually pretty pumped about working with the kids. He was talking to some of the high school seniors that volunteer with the middle schoolers after the meeting. The seniors were comparing notes on the colleges they would be attending next year. One was saying he wanted to go to Maryland. Being a loyal UMd alum Jay cast a positive vote for his alma matter. The kids responded by asking if he goes to UMd :-D When he told them he had gone to UMd, but he is now 27 and married with kids I think a few chins dropped;-) I don't think he even told them that he was turning 28 the next day.

At least you still look 21 sweetie:-)

First haircut!

First haircut 

I forgot to mention that Ryan got his first real haircut last week! All his adorable little curls are gone. I thought I would miss them, but I love his little haircut! I think he looks so adorable. Very much like a little boy. He's growing up so fast!

Here are some after shots from today:
Cute Hair 

From the front- not much different;-) 

For those of you who are still with me...

Hello:-) It's been a while since I've really posted. Did you miss me? ;-) Well it's been a bit hard to post. I was sick for a few days and I just didn't feel up to posting. My parents are here too, so there have been many more things to do than post.

As usual my dad took on several projects while he was here. We now have a brick border to keep the rain from draining onto our porch. We also have 2 closets where there used to be a redundant staircase. This should prove to be a much better use of space. He also took out a good bit of the stump that was left from his last visit when he and Jay took down a giant tree in our back yard. He is a busy bee! He has also been getting Ryan in the mornings so we don't have to get up. I think he enjoys the alone time with his grandson.

My mom has been doing a lot of visiting with friends and family. She has also been doing a lot of babysitting for me so I could get some sleep. I can't tell you how much this has helped. I don't need to tell you if you are a mom!

Zach is doing a big project on cardinals for school. I guess he has developed an affection for them because of the cardinal that visits our yard. It used to be only a male, but today I noticed a female with him and what seemed to be a baby! I've been trying to get a picture ever since. They are skittish little things!

Ryan has had a few break throughs. He has done poopies on the potty once each of the past 3 days when he asked to use the potty. The first two times he had done a little in his diaper, but the last time it was ALL on the potty! Yay! I am so excited about this potty training thing. I totally didn't expect him to even start potty training until he was at least 2, but he has shown the interest and the initiative. Hooray!!! I think I am going to buy pull ups next time I go to get diapers because it seems like it would be easier to get them off in a hurry and back on without him having to lie down. Anyone have any thoughts on that? Good or bad, I'm not sure I'm going to do it yet.
Another breakthrough for Ryan was last week. He finally started calling "x" and "k" by he right names. He used to call "x" "y" and "k" "kite". Since he had mastered "dubba-u" the week before he had the whole alphabet down. That is until he started calling capital "E" "W". Now he gets the "E" right about half the time. I guess recognizing the whole alphabet, capital and lower case, is a pretty good accomplishment for a 20 month old. Even if you have to tell him "No, that's not a 'w'. What is this letter?" before you get the right answer sometimes.
Another thing he started doing in the past couple weeks is saying a true "mommy" it is music to my ears. Hearing his little voice call out "mommy" when he sees me is possibly the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. I love it. I love being a mommy and I love that he loves me so much.
I also love to hear him sing "Jesus loves little Ryan." I don't think most people would actually know what he is singing, but I know. It's something we sing to him every night when he goes to bed. I think it's important for him to grow up with the idea ingrained in him that he is loved not only by his family, but by Jesus and God as well. I hope someday this idea that started out as a song that he heard every night will grow into a wonderful faith and relationship with his savior and Lord. Little seeds growing into strong trees of faith, trust, hope and love.

Jay is busy helping my dad do some projects today because it's Saturday. I think he is in handyman heaven;-)

As for me, well, I am feeling better. Good enough to blog at least:-) I've really enjoyed having my parents around. I'm sad that they are leaving tomorrow. I am glad that they are not going back across the ocean. They will at least be on the east coast.

So lots of updates in one post. Sorry it jumps around so much. Congratulations if you got all the way through:-)

Cheating

For this post I am cheating. I have things I want to post about, but I'm not feeling very well. So, check out this post.

http://fromthemorning.blogspot.com/2005/05/she-was-too-strong-for-training-wheels.html

You'll have to copy and paste it because that site gets lots of traffic and I don't want to have that much coming through here. I like to fly under the radar so to speak.
I found it interesting. I hope you do too. It's long, but worth reading.

Gee-Pa and Bee-ma

Ryan has officially dubbed my parents Bee-ma and Gee-pa. At least for now, that's what he calls them. It's really cute.

Best Birthday Present!

Okay, so Jay did a FANTASTIC job with my birthday present! We went to Williamsburg which has special significance to me from my formative years. Jay knew this and arranged for my parents to watch the kids while we had some time in Virginia. It was AMAZING. I don't think couples truly enjoy couple time until they have kids. I know I have never treasured time alone with my husband as much as I did this weekend. It was so nice to sleep when I wanted to and as late as I wanted to. Getting ready only entailed getting ME ready! We went to a really nice dinner at the Williamsburg Inn. It was also fantastic. Candle light, music, ambiance. The best part was that it took two hours and there was no need to play peek-a-boo or pull magic tricks out of my purse, no bouncing and flipping the baby to keep him from fussing. A relaxed dinner with conversation and flirting;-) It couldn't have been better. The room we had was spectacular. I feel like a bit of a goober because I had to take pictures of it because it was so nice. The next morning we slept until our hearts content. We got up and ready and headed to Busch Gardens. We rode all adult rides- together! The Curse of DarkCastle is AWESOME, by the way. We had some good time to grow closer as a couple and rejuvenate as parents. It was great. I think I've told Jay 100 times that I LOVE my birthday gift, but I'll say one more time- I loved my birthday gift!

Home

Home...Happy...Going to bed. More tomorrow.

Woohoo

::tune of "Goin' to the Chapel"::
Goin' to Busch Gardens and I'm gonna get some slee-ee-ee-eep!
Today is the day Jay and I are taking our trip. My first night away from Ryan. An almost guaranteed full night's sleep! I'm excited about the sleep. I'm still nervous about leaving Ryan. He seems really comfortable with my parents and there are two of them, so they can take turns if they need to. Plus they did raise me...I managed to survive toddlerhood in tact. They are also staying in our house. This means it's fairly well child resistant and Ryan will feel comfortable here. I think these are the best circumstances I could hope for on my first night away. Although Ryan has been waking up in the night for the past few nights. The doctor says he doesn't have an ear infection. I still think he might.
Anyway, back to the good stuff. I get to go to Busch Gardens for the first time in along time. Jay and I have never been together. I can't wait to spend a day at an amusement park doing the fun adult things I did before I had kids! Standing next to a kiddie ride watching your little one enjoy himself is fun, but doing things yourself is a whole different kind of fun. Honestly it's a kind of fun that I miss. So this will be fun, but kind of strange. I'm sure I'll spend the whole day feeling like I forgot something ;-)
So I guess I'll check ya later(just for you Erin;-)).

Cute Moments

There was no shortage of cute moments this weekend with my family here. I thought I'd share a few pictures of the cuteness because it just makes me smile :-)
Cute moments

It Must Be Nice to Have a Wife

So, you remember my parents are visiting. This has prompted me to think about how nice it would be to have a wife. I wake up in the morning(after sleeping in because someone else got Ryan out of bed) and the dishes are done. I didn't even have to make dinner yesterday. I did help though-I guess I can't give it all up at once;-) It's amazing, while I'm not paying attention the grass gets mowed, the floor gets vacuumed and groceries appear in the fridge! Man, I am getting spoiled!!!

Livin' It Up

Since Erin asked SO nicely in her last comment...
As you may know my parents are in town. They arrived Saturday and are staying with us. We had a big party for them on Sunday, so the last few weeks have been spent getting ready for them and the party. It's been really busy around here! I've said before my parents and my brother are one of the main reasons I blog. Since they were all here this weekend it seemed like I should be enjoying them rather than blogging, especially if they are a big reason for the blog. You read that right...my brother showed up Sunday morning-from NEW MEXICO! He surprised us all. It was the first time in 15 years that my dad's whole family was together, so it was really extra special that he came. It was really great to see him. I miss having him around. I might not have said that 7 years ago when we were living in the same house, but he's pretty cool to have around. Even then I wouldn't have wanted him across the country or the ocean. I hope he at least moves back to the same state I'm in when he is done in the military.
I have another post to share all stored up in my brain, but I have to go do some bed time routine stuff for now.