one of those nights

We has such a relaxing day yesterday, just kinda hung out, went to the zoo for a bit, organized a lot of stuff (that's a whole other post) and just chilled.

Ellie was fine all day and ate like a horse. She took a 3 hour nap even which is awesome! She went to bed around 9 and Chris and I watched a few episodes of our new fave show...Dirty Jobs. That guy is so funny. And cute!

At 12:22, just as I was about to fall asleep I hear "MOMMY!!!" and then lots of crying. As a mom, you quickly learn the "mommy?"s from the "MOMMY!!!"s. This was definitely a "MOMMY!" I swore under my breath (or out loud, maybe) and rush into her room. It was dark so all I feel at first was wet. I thought she was bleeding, maybe a nosebleed or something. I rush over to tun on the light. It was not blood. It was, you guessed it, vomit. Now, while vomit is much safer than pounds of blood, I still was not relieved. It was all over her pillow, her bed, her jammies, in her hair, everywhere. Of course, all she wants is to be comforted, and all I want is to not puke myself.

I start stripping her pajamas off and stripping her bed while Chris starts the bath. God bless my husband, he got in the tub with her to wash the chunks out. He wanted to make her feel better and not so scared. He is such a good daddy. Luckily I was down in the basement putting the barf covered stuff in the washer and missed all the chunks in the tub.

By 12:45 am she was clean. She still smelled a little funky, but what are you gonna do. We put her in her crib and said a prayer that there would be no repeat offense. There wasn't. The other good part was that none of her loveys (yellow sunshine, blue sunshine, or sherbert) were hit in barf-fest 2008. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful.

She woke up with fever though and now I am trying to decide if I should give her Tylenol even though she won't eat anything or wait til she eats to medicate her. This mom stuff is hard. Especially when vomit is involved.

1 hour has elapsed from above story to now...

Ok, gave her the tylenol at 8:42 and at 8:50 she wanted to go downstairs to play. My kid is a tylenol junkie.

wish me luck!

I can't believe I did it? Who do I think I am? Some super in shape super woman? I just signed up to do the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer 3-day walk. 60 miles in 3 days. I have 57 days to get my butt in shape and raise $2200.

My friend Megan (see godparents post) is doing it too and we start training next Tuesday. It is up to me to find a 12 mile course to start on. 12 miles. Please pray for me if you do that kinda thing. I also have to find good shoes. And I am gonna have to find a fanny pack to carry all my essentials on the walk. Those things are so sexy. Watch out for the huffing and puffing sunburned mom, with the cool shoes and the even cooler fanny pack.

In all seriousness, I am really looking forward to it. So many women are affected by breast cancer, either having it or knowing someone who has. It needs to stop. I went to a cheering station last year and encouraged the women walking and it was just so cool and I said to myself "Self! You are doing that next year!" So here I am. It's going to be a real journey.

To those reading, beware! I will probably be hitting you up for $$. I hate to do it, but it is for a good cause.

my favorite day

Every year Paige invites me to her guest day at the country club. I love it. It is the one day a year that I have Paige all to myself and we just visit, and golf, and gossip, and golf. I love it even more now that I don't get to play as often.


I should first mention that this place is GORGEOUS and you are treated like a queen here. I should also mention that you have to dress to play here. And I mean dress!! I wore heels to a golf course (to wear before and after of course)! I should also mention that the majority of these ladies are hoity-toity and have way too much time and money on their hands. I love to just listen to the conversations around me..."we can't decide where to vacation, the south of France or an African safari, what do you think?" Boy would I like to have tough decisions like that.


We start out with a nice breakfast of fresh muffins and some kind of eggy souffle thing. Delish. Then we head to our carts to start our round. How they remember my clubs and what cart they go on is amazing. I am sure they have some kind of system, but it sure is classy the way everything is taken care of for you.


They you go play your round. The course is hard. Almost too hard for a girl that plays 3 times a year these days. I struggled a lot but hit some good putts and did help my team. Along they way they have little refreshment stations set up for you with drinks and snacky stuff. Awesome.

Then you go have your "ladies lunch"on the patio and see who wins and have a raffle. Every year they give everyone a gift for attending. This year it was a cashmere pashmina. Ho hum. HA! This thing is awesome. Don't know if I will ever wear it but it sure is pretty.


Due to handicapping (to those non golfers reading, it is a system to make the game fair), our team came in second at -17. We won golf shoes! Of course I had just bought brand new golf shoes but it is still an awesome prize. I think I am gonna try and sell mine on Craigslist. Trashy? I don't know...


So another guest day has come and gone. My one day of the year to pretend I am filthy rich is over. It was fun.

small town girl

So Ellie and I went home for the fair this past weekend. We had such a good time. We did the cake walk (and won the special Mickey Mouse cake, BONUS!!), rode the train 456 times, ate an elephant ear, saw all our important people, ate at the fish fry, and just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. It was the first time I took her home by myself and I am very proud, and very tired. She went and went and went!

Every time I go home I want to move home more and more. There are so many things there that I want Ellie to know and be a part of her childhood. I want her to play t-ball with her cousins, go to Jerry's for a grape slush, visit on Linda's front porch, have Melissa and Carissa cut her hair, have her Grandpa take her golfing, swim at Lori's, ride her bike to Ann's for a drink of water and a bandaid (Hi Ann!!), let her Nana spoil her rotten, go to a school where the teachers know she is Chris and Tia's little girl, and so many more things. Little things that don't matter in the day to day, but are huge when looking back.

Now don't get me wrong, I love the life I have created here. I have awesome friends and there are huge benefits to living in the city. I am just a small town girl. I always will be.

So to my Indiana family, it was wonderful seeing you and I miss you and love you.

PS...this is my favorite pic of the weekend... Ellie with her hand on her heart during the National Anthem. Priceless.

times are a-changin

I don't know what has happened, but all of a sudden I have a little girl instead of a little baby. This is wonderful and awful at the same time. The last 2 years have flown by and it scares me to think of how fast the next 16 are gonna go. Clues to Ellie's new found "big girlness"...

She actually tried to splash me in the pool.
She requested cold cereal for breakfast. Not a big deal you think? I pride myself on her healthy hot breakfasts every morning and she finally said "no eggs and sausage, mama, I want big cereal!!" Her wish was my command.
She talks on the phone like she had been doing it for 15 years.
She plays pretend. This is so much fun to watch. Every morning, she refills my coffee, makes me a pie (cherry of course) and pops me some popcorn. I did not teach her any of this. In this particular picture, she is feeding all her babies (who are in their highchairs!) and she was going "and a bite for you, and a bite for you," etc...
She is a diva!! Must be wearing jewelry at all times.

There are a few other clues as well....She negotiates. She has painted toes and loves them!! Cute or trashy? I have no idea but the power went out the other day and I gave us pedis (to kill some time)!! She tries to make us laugh and is very good at it. She has to carry a purse when we go out filled with essentials like a car, a toy dog, 12cents, a book, and a little man. Like I don't have enough to carry...

Slow down honey! Don't grow up so fast!!

anniversary

Chris and I have been married for 7 years today! Of course, we have been together since the dawn of time so it seems like much longer (in a good way!!)


Ellie's godparents are babysitting tonight and we are either golfing and having dinner (weather permitting) or doing dinner and a movie. It has been A LONG time since we have had some alone time together and we are looking forward to it!!




In honor of my husband, here are some things I love about him...

he always gives me the first drink of his soda
he rubs my feet every night
he makes awesome scrambled eggs
he does a lot of Ellie duty when he comes home from work, even though I know he must be tired
he always cleans his whiskers out of the sink when he shaves...well, almost always
he is a great kisser
he is good to his mother
he loves that I am home with Ellie and works extra hard to make sure it is financially possible
he is home every night by 5:30 and spends most weekends with Ellie
he is very good about giving me some much needed alone time
he is a stone cold fox!!


He is so wonderful and I love him very, very much. Happy Anniversary honey!

the moms

I am so fortunate. I have the best group of friends in Cleveland. I mean it. They are awesome.

We all met through a new mom's group (except for one, and our hubby's work together) and have continued to hang out on Thursdays since we outgrew the group. All our kids are within 4 months in age so we really know what the others are going through and usually have advice to share.

Thank God for these women. They are my Cleveland family and I love each and every one of them.

And for those of you that just tune in to see pics of Ellie, here you go...my faves from the last few days...

Giving her friend the "E.T."

Caught her mid-blink...she looks stoned! Want some munchies??

My beauty!

Have a stupendous weekend!!

did you know?

Interesting and weird facts I somehow know.

Did you know...

a squirrel can't run and breathe at the same time?
banging your head against the wall burns 150 calories an hour?
right handed people live, on average, 9 years longer than left handed people?
pearls melt in vinegar?
turtles can breathe through their butts?
no word in the English language rhymes with "month, orange, silver, or purple"?
the average lifespan of a major league baseball is 7 pitches?
non-dairy creamer is flammable?
there are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball?

Don't know how I know these things...I just do!

his own fault

Sorry honey...you brought this on yourself by taking and then not deleting the pic. It must be shared with the world.

simple joys

Do you remember when you were a child how exciting a pool was? Even little baby pools held all kinds of adventures!! I pulled out the pool since it was 412 degrees on Friday and after a little trepidation, Ellie jumped right in. She loved it!! I see lots of pool time this summer. Luckily we have a shady backyard.

Of course, lunch in your undies always follows pool time!

in rememberance

My mother died 5 years ago today. It is impossible to believe that I have survived without her for this long. When we got the call that we needed to come home as soon as possible, I knew that life as I knew it was over. People said it was a blessing she went so fast. Bullshit. I never got to say goodbye.

5 years equals:

60 months

300 weeks

1825 days

43,800 minutes

2,628,000 seconds

5 Christmases

10 birthdays (hers and mine)

5 Mother's days

5 Memorial weekends

5 Easters

5 Valentines Days

5 Parker fairs

5 springs

5 summers

5 Masters tournaments

a move to our first house

a pregnancy

and a beautiful legacy named Ellie

I miss her like I lost her yesterday.

an heirloom

My grandmother made this dress for my mother and aunt and all the girls in our family have worn it. I just ran across it in the dark recesses of Ellie's closet and hoped and prayed it would fit so I could at least get some pics of her in it. It fit. Thank God.

I just love it. It has little thistles on it. I told Ellie that and to hear her try to say "thistle" is hilarious. It is a hard word to say.

As a side note, look at the goofy expression I caught while trying desperately to get a good pic. I caught her mid chuckle. You can also see the kind of day we are having in the background. It is kinda rainy so we are just hanging out and plyaing. My house is a disaster!

i said what? she said what?

Sentences that have actually come out of my mouth the last few weeks...

1. Cheese is not a crayon.
2. Don't pinch Mommy's bottom.
3. Stop drinking the bathwater. It is yucky!
4. Poop does not go on the wall.
5. I know Meow (our cat) has a pink butt.
6. Dora loves broccoli!
7. Rocks don't go to bed.
8. Here, give mommy your booger.
9. Sunshine cream (sunscreen) is not for eating.
10. Eat one more french fry and you can get down. (This coming from the mother that wasn't going to give her kid fries EVER!)

Funny things Ellie has said the last few weeks...

1. It's my hair. Don't touch it!
2. Come on guys! Apparently Mommy and Daddy are now "guys."
3. Kiss my butt. (She had a boo boo on it.)
4. Howler monkeys go "ooo ooo ahh ahh"
5. Mommy, I eat bubbles!
6. I has yellow hair.
7. I love my rock.
8. I needs a bath. I am stinky!
9. I see a car far away. I think I need my telescope. (This one blew me away!)
10. I need to get my poop out.

Life with a toddler is great. She is so much fun!