How long does it take to know an area?

Sigh. We've lived in northeast Ohio for 2 years now and I still don't feel like I'm a confident navigator of the area. I'm directionally-challenged and would be an entertaining competitor on The Amazing Race. :)

My generous and thoughtful in-laws bought us a GPS navigator as an anniversary gift but yesterday it failed me. We've named our GPS system Franco; just because that name seemed to fit the smooth GPS voice. Yesterday Franco deserted me!

Here's the story. Chloe and I woke up with the sun so we could drop Matt off at school by 7:30 a.m. We then took the car and Franco on an exploring adventure! Franco successfully navigated us to a McDonald's, and after a quick breakfast, I programmed him to take us to a state park where we were scheduled to meet up with a friend for a playdate. So far, so good. I plugged him into the car lighter and waited for him to boot up. And I waited and waited and waited. When I tried to turn him off to restart him, Franco gave me a mean old nasty fatal error message and refused to do anything! Grrrrr.

The worst part was now I had very little clue how to get to the park! I knew which direction I was supposed to go in, so I headed that way and prayed God would lead us. After some wrong turns, God brought us to the park 5 minutes early! Whew, that was a close one.

Getting home from the park was not quite so smooth.

Do any of you own a GPS navigation system? If so, what brand would you recommend? I'm taking Franco back this weekend (he's a MIO navigator) and hope to replace him with something of equal value.

On a related issue, how long has it taken you to really get to know the area you live in?

Cute food

Last night I pulled out my baby/toddler cookbook to find some inspiration for a fun-for-Chloe mini pizza. And voila! This is what I came up with, an odd looking pizza bear. She really liked it and kept pointing and saying, "funny bear".

This week I added another blog to my google reader list: goodyblog.com. It's a spin-off of Parents magazine and contains some interesting articles and giveaways. Cons: most of the "goodies" are way out of our price range and the author posts several times a day so it can fill up your reading list. Pros: posts are short and my curious soul enjoys seeing newest kid trends and unique toys (even if we can't afford them).




All that to say that goodyblog has recently featured some weekly posts on cute food:
Cute bread girls and hot dog octopi
Cute pancakes(be sure to click on the photo gallery)
Cute train cupcakes

Funny pizza bear didn't take much extra time so I might try my hand at some other cute foods. What novelty shapes/animals have you made with food for your children's pleasure?

Chart mania

Starting tomorrow, two new charts will be actively used in our household. After a few slack weeks of what I like to call "potty awareness training"; we'll start afresh tomorrow with a brand new motivational chart. I'm hoping shiny star stickers will be just the push Chloe needs to begin this potty training adventure.

So far, Chloe's sat on the potty several times, but she's not successful gone potty. I didn't push her or pressure her because I didn't want to make the potty chair a battle zone. We want positive vibes to surround the potty chair. :)

Since Chloe's has never even experienced a tinkle on the potty, her star stickers will be to reward her just for sitting on the potty. I'll encourage after breakfast, after lunch, after nap, and after dinner potty-sitting times.

Not only did Chloe get a new chart this afternoon, but so did Matt and I. As a visual learner, I need to see my progress at something to keep me motivated. Right now my gym membership is a new novelty so I'm using it regularly. But I know myself and I know that beginning motivation will wear off quickly. So, I whipped up a swimming chart so I can aim to swim at least 4 days a week (with Sundays as a day of rest).

I combined Matt's chart with my swimming one. This husband of mine is NOTORIOUS for staying up late and getting up late. I don't blame him for using the quiet late-night hours for intensive studying, but tomorrow he starts back to teaching freshman English and he won't be able to sleep until 9 every day. He's also very hard to rouse in the mornings after a late-night study session; it's not fun to have him be a grumpy bear for breakfast before he goes off to a full day of teaching. Matt's chart lists specific bedtime goals for each evening.

I know this probably sounds juvenile (and rather anal on my part), but I really want our family to get disciplined in these areas. What tips/suggestions do you have for keeping family goals?

And please give feedback on my potty-training plan. I want to make this transition a smooth one for all of us!

In need of a cheap pen

One of my hubby's pet peeves involves pens. Yes, pens. He insists that we use roller ball pens in our home. No big deal to me since I prefer roller ball pens to most others. We both like how smoothly the ink rolls off a good quality pen.

But sometimes you need a cheap pen to do the job. For example, last night I wanted to write out some thank you notes for Chloe's birthday gifts and the cards I bought from the dollar store are made of glossy paper. Roller ball ink slides right off. I also made some photo postcards recently and had the same problem. I've searched miscellaneous drawers, purses, and diapers bags but I can NOT find a cheap bic pen anywhere in our house!

So now I either have to actually buy a package of cheap pens or swipe one from somewhere. Anyone have a cheap pen I could borrow? I thought about going over to my neighbor's and asking to borrow one from her, but how do I explain myself?

What strange pet peeves do you or your husband have?

My daughter: a natural artist

This evening I was working online, Matt was doing the dishes, and Chloe was quietly drawing with markers while listening to music. I turned around to ask her what she was drawing and was pleasantly surprised! Her drawing actually slightly resembled what she said she was drawing!

See for yourself . . .


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Maternity Suit and Gym Membership

I found my perfect maternity swimsuit from the world of ebay. It's a plain (but modest) black suit that's made from fairly thick material. The best part is that I don't feel like a lumbering pregnant cow in this suit. It very discreetly covers my growing belly and upper thighs (YAY!). And it only cost $8.60 total - including shipping and handling. I heart ebay. What good-deal ebay purchases have you made lately?

With my new suit raring to go, we purchased an annual membership for me and Chloe at the natatorium. It's a city-run gym, pool, and exercise facility. The huge pool is what drew me in. There are lap lanes, a big kid-friendly area, a current channel, and a fun-looking waterslide.

Yesterday I paid my dues and Chloe and I started right away. I let her play in their kiddie tree house, dropped her off at the nursery (it's free!), and then I headed to the pool for some laps. Whoa, I'd forgotten how hard it is to do continual swimming laps! After about 4 in a row my heart was racing and my face was flushed with exertion. I did a few backstroke laps to rest and then finished up for a total of 11 laps.

Then I fetched Chloe from the nursery and she came swimming with me in the kids' pool. My girl is so brave! She said, "I walk" right away and did not want to hold my hand. I think she would have kept right on walking into the deep end if I would have let her.

Overall, it was a fun and worthwhile experience but I have some learning to do about how to pack for a gym excursion. :) I'll leave it at that and not embarrass myself by divulging how many things I forgot.

Today I headed out again and did a few more laps. In the fall their exercise/swimming classes begin and I'm pumped about doing one of those. I'm thinking yoga or low-impact aerobics for me and a beginning swim class for Chloe.

What do you do to stay fit in the fall and winter? Do any of you workout at a gym? Any tips from gym-goers would be much appreciated!

Chloe turns two!

We held Chloe's big birthday bash this past Sunday afternoon. What a blast! Thankfully, my mom, grandma, and dear husband helped me with all the last minute preparations. We invited 5 of Chloe's little friends and they all had a very fun time.

The festivities began with some preliminary gift opening (we split it up since there were so many presents). Then came the big event - smashing the piñata! I made a flower shaped piñata and my mom, the piñata queen with years of experience, did the decorating for me. I'm so glad she did; my plans for the piñata were unrealistic and would have made for one sad looking flower. The guests ranged in age from 20 mos. to almost 3 so needless-to-say, they didn't have the oomph necessary to break the piñata. It sure was cute to watch them try though! And when Matt broke it and candy spilled out, they knew exactly what to do. :)

Next was the candle blowing out and cake time. I baked a flower shaped cake and tried my hand at cake decorating for the first time. I decided early on that I was not going to follow the wilton cake instructions for decorating - talk about complicated! We all sang happy birthday and Chloe tried her best to blow out the candle.

I think we were all a little relieved and a lot tired when the whole shebang was over with. Not that it was a long shindig, but it took so much energy to put together and 5 kids and parents in our little home made for a loud crowded party. We ate a low-key supper together and went to bed early (Chloe was too excited to sleep well unfortunately).

Overall though, it was a great party and we made some fantastic birthday memories!

Fun times with gramma and nana

My mom and gramma flew in for a quick weekend visit to help celebrate Chloe's momentous 2 year birthday. God worked the timing out perfectly! They were a huge help with Chloe and a distraction to us while Matt was out of town.

Friday morning we all went to the appt. with my midwife. It was so fun to have everyone there to hear the baby's heartbeat with me! The midwife was so kind and friendly to them and explained a lot to us all.

Next, we hit the locally-famous burger joint where (supposedly) the hamburger was invented. The restaurant overlooked the Akron Aeros Stadium. Chloe kept busy by watching the lawn mowers and continually pointing and saying, "There's Tiger!" I guess the bright green reminded her of pga golf.

Friday night we ventured to Hudson for what else - cupcakes! The grandmas were impressed. And Chloe got to try a new flavor - mint chocolate chip. Hers was way better than my cup of java cupcake.

On the way home, we stopped at a park we'd never been to. It turned out to be a really unique park with all wooden play equipment and tires integrated throughout. We'll definitely be going back.

Saturday I had hoped to try out our new gps system to find a beach. No such luck. The weather was cold and crummy. Instead we went shopping! The weather's always perfect for shopping and my mom wanted to buy Chloe a special birthday outfit. And boy did she find the perfect party dress (you'll have to wait until my post about Chloe's party to see it)! After lots of shopping and spoiling of Chloe with new clothes (thanks ma!) we hit McD's and the playplace for lunch. We rarely go to McD's, but now that we have Chloe, those playplaces are so alluring. Wouldn't it be grand if someone made kid-friendly coffee shops or delis?

Saturday night we vegged at home. The highlight of the evening though was webcamming with my sis who lives overseas. As soon as Chloe heard my sister's voice on the computer, she said "Auntie Shauna email!" excitedly. :) We opened my sister's bday gift to Chloe (a very cool ice cream ball maker thingy - thanks Shaun!) and chatted.

It was so much wonderful fun to share Chloe with my mom and gramma! Thanks again for spending the moola to come visit us!

Happy 5th Anniversary to us!

Yesterday marked our five year wedding anniversary!

Unfortunately, since Matt was out of town we weren't able to be together. BUT, thanks to my pal Melinda, we did get an anniversary date night. We went out for a steak dinner (cheap but good), did some shopping, and saw a movie. It was so much fun to spend time together alone. Almost felt like we were dating again!







Matt surprised me with some gorgeous roses and an awesome pancake griddle. I know a griddle doesn't sound very romantic, but it's what I asked for and what I really wanted. I guess 5 years numbs the romantic senses. :)
















Here's a silly shot of the new Packer shirt I got for Matt as an anniversary gift. Go Pack, go!













I can hardly believe it's been 5 years already. Below is a little slide show of a few pictures from our lovely wedding day 5 years ago. Here's to 55 more wonderful years!

Projects

During the last few weeks, our family has accomplished a bunch of projects around the house. I keep mentioning said projects here on the blog with a promise of pictures . . . so, here they are finally!

At left is my newly sewn shirt. Cute, eh? It's not a maternity top; it's one of those big flowing trendy shirts. I really love it and it's extremely comfy. Now I just need a chunky wooden necklace to go with it.







Project #2 at right is a nightgown I sewed for Chloe's birthday gift. It's hard to see in the photo, but the material is chocked full of ants, spiders, and caterpillars (and yes, I'll certainly be teaching her that those are NOT all bugs; it's a pet peeve of mine that people call spiders bugs. They aren't bugs at all they're arachnids - totally different class altogether). I made it a little big so that she can wear it this winter and next winter - that's a valuable tip from my mom-in-law.













The next project was done almost single-handedly by my father-in-law during their July visit. He painted our front porch!!!!! Ever since we moved into our home 2 years ago, the wooden front porch was bear-naked and ugly. The new coat of paint makes the entire house look nicer! Thanks, Mr. Horn!










Last, but certainly not least, is the upholstering project my mom-in-law completed so beautifully. It rained for an entire week of our visit with the Horns, so Mrs. Horn kept herself busy by recovering our living room chair. We found the material dirt cheap at a local Joann's which is closing ($10 for 4 yards). And then the sewing-extraordinaire went to work. She did all this in the period of 3 afternoons WITHOUT a pattern. I'm still in an fog of amazement over the spectacular and speedy job she did.

Speaking of projects, I better get back to my last minute frantic cleaning. My mom and grandma arrive is t minus 6 hours and I've got lots to do.








What projects (sewing or otherwise) have you accomplished recently?

Bye-bye, Matt :(

Bright and early this morning (6:30 a.m. to be exact) Chloe and I dropped Matt off at the airport for his flight to the east coast. Sigh. I miss him already!

Matt's off to a conference at Dartmouth this weekend where he'll be presenting a paper. We're exceedingly proud of him!

Thankfully I'm only a single mom until my mom and gramma come to visit tomorrow night. The morning was challenging enough to make me vvvvvvvvvvery grateful that I'm not alone in this parenting adventure.

At lunch today, Chloe was especially endearing. She plays this little game where she leans over and says "Love you!" quickly back and forth between Matt and I. Even though daddy wasn't sitting in his regular place, she still said "I love you daddy!" to his empty chair. It was so sweet, I teared right up. She ruined the moment of course by laughing hysterically at her own little joke and then she proceeded totalk to daddy when he wasn't there. :) What a 2 year old.

Where'd my little baby go?

Today is Chloe's big day. Today she turns 2.

I'm practically speechless (but not totally) as I observe her and wonder at the immense changes she's experienced in the last 2 years.

My little wiggling totally-dependent baby girl has developed into a very busy curious independent toddler. About the only thing "baby" left is her set of massive chubby cheeks. Sigh.

We have a busy week ahead and her big party is Sunday, so we're not doing much today to celebrate. She did get her favorite meal ever for breakfast (banana pancakes topped with blueberries), a few bday phone calls, some family gifts, and a hoops & yoyo ecard from gramma (she LOVES those guys and points them out by name now).

Chloe's 2 year stats:
Height: 38.25 inches
Weight: 35 lbs.
Looking more like: Daddy!
Favorite toy: Changes daily but she especially likes her teddy, kangaroo, chalkboard, and doll house
Favorite activities: Reading books, singing, pretending

I'll let you see for yourself . . .


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Where did the last 2 years go?

Why is it so hard to find a cheap maternity swimming suit?!?

I know it's the end of swimming season, so why am I having such a hard time finding a nice plain cheap modest maternity suit?!?

Answer: Probably because I think $20 is too much to pay for a suit I'll only use for 4 more months.

Matt and I are seriously considering purchasing an annual membership to a wonderful nearby health club for me and Chloe. That way I can swim during the fall/winter months of the pregnancy and try to stay somewhat fit. But to do that, I need a real maternity suit.

Thus far I've tried Target, Old Navy, Gap, and our local children's resale shop. I think I'll have to venture online but then I'll have to pay for shipping - yuck. And I hate to buy a suit online without being able to try it on first. Any suggestions?

Busy days

I've been a delinquent blogger as of late; forgive me. What with Chloe's birthday in 3 days, Matt flying out to Dartmouth for a conference, my mom and grandma flying in for a visit, and preparing for Chloe's big 2 year old bash next Sunday, I've got my hands full!

Besides that I've just completed another sewing project - a new shirt for me. Yay! It turned out nicely but is a tad too big. Good thing I'm a growing girl. :)

My part-time job has been picking up speed as the fall college term approaches rapidly. I'm trying to work a little each day so I'm not bogged down next week when all the activity is in full swing.

What have you been up to this past week?

Rainy muggy day activities

Since today was another horribly humid rainy day, we decided to stay indoors and enjoy the air-conditioned coolness. What a perfect day to begin potty awareness!

We only have one bathroom in our home and it's on the second floor. So, for first floor pottying, we bought a portable seat. After breakfast and lunch today Chloe sat for awhile on the potty - getting used to the feel of it sans diaper. Chloe is crazy about books, so it wasn't hard to motivate her to stay on the potty while one of us reads.

My strategy is to keep the potty seat out and available but not to pressure her in this first week. We'll do regular potty times after breakfast and lunch. I also plan to leave the faucet running to inspire her to tinkle. :) Good plan, eh?

Today Chloe did some serious drawing. Lately she's been determined to draw airplanes. She's doing a fine job too! She starts by drawing a long oval and then tries to do windows and wings (I know this because I ask her as she's in the drawing process). Of course her works of art don't much resemble airplanes, but even Renoir had to start somewhere!

My next ambitious project was to begin Chloe's birthday piñata. I'm doing a flower theme for her party (cake, piñata, and bean bag toss). I naively thought Chloe would do this craft project with me. She did . . . . for about 5 minutes. This photo is of Chloe stirring the plaster goo for the newspaper strips. Chloe got bored and decided instead to go up and watch Macbeth (which she continually called "Aunt Beth") with daddy. She must have been extremely bored to have been driven to that activity! :)

How are you passing these humid hot days?

Think she looks Mexican?

My sis-in-law, Diane, bought this darling dress for Chloe from Mexico last year. I've been trying to email these photos to her but alas, Diane's computer is a dinosaur and refuses to open anything I send. Mean old computer! (It probably knows how much I bad-mouth it).

Instead I thought I'd post these photos for Diane to view and for you all to judge Chloe's inherited Mexican-ness. My mom-in-law says Chloe looks like a blond little Mexican (yes, there are blond Mexicans).

Please continue to post your comments below regarding the inheritance debate. I'm curious to hear your feedback!

Heritage question

Ok, here's the deal. I have an ongoing debate going on with my sister about Chloe's inherited ethnicity. Since my dad is 100% Mexican, I'm half Mexican. Oddly enough, Matt's mom is also from Mexico so he's half Mexican also.

So, Chloe's got a 1/2 Mexican mommy and a 1/2 Mexican daddy. Both Matt and I reason that Chloe is then 1/4 Mexican since the amount of ethnicity a parent contributes should be multiplied together not added (1/2 times 1/2 equals 1/4). This works out in the example of two full-blooded Mexican parents (1 times 1 equals 1; if you added 1 + 1 you couldn't get a doubly Mexican child).

According to my sister's analysis, we each gave Chloe 1/4 of our Mexican-ness so that adds up to 1/2. She makes a good point.

What do you think? Which is it, adding or multiplying? And where can I find out the answer to this question? I tried googling several different topics and came up with nothing.

Bye-bye Gramps and Buelita

Today my dear in-laws hit the road back to Michigan. They spend the summer traveling between their childrens' homes visiting and these last 2 weeks was our yearly visit.

Chloe REALLY took to her gramps and buelita this summer. Every day she expressed her love for them in her unique endearing ways.

This morning as they left, I couldn't help crying a bit (and those tears weren't pregnancy induced) as Chloe hugged her buelita from the back and said spontaneously "I love you!" Chloe obviously didn't comprehend that they were leaving (though I've tried explaining it to her) and wouldn't be back for a long while. It made me melancholy to think that Chloe was so innocently joyful at saying goodbye to her grandparents who she might not see for an entire year. She's so full of love for them that sadness doesn't enter into her little heart.

I'm so inexpressibly grateful for the influence of grandparents and great-grandparent in Chloe's life. This is probably more poignant for me than others because we live far away from all of our extended family; each visit is a very special one. Each grandparent adds a new and rich dimension to Chloe's life and I'm so thankful that they all want to invest themselves in her small little existence.

Any one else out there in the same boat as us (with long-distance grandparents)? How do you cope and keep your little one connected? We've used Skype with my mom and sister which has worked extremely well for Chloe (though now when I say we're going to call gramma she says "computer").

Queen of the rails!

One of our annual tradition during Matt's folks' visit is to play a round of the game EuroRails. It's a very involved game and usually takes us 4-5 evenings to complete. We love it though!

This year Matt convinced us all to increase the number of allowed moves per turn so that the game would move quicker. This time we finished it in only 3 nights!

And I'm happy to report that this year's champion is yours truly! I'm now the reigning Queen of the Rails. Matt's mom has won the past two summers and I've dethroned her. Female railway domination continues. :)

The funny thing about our EuroRails games is that we all end up helping Matt's mom because there are so many details to keep straight in order to play. I was her personal adviser this year and helped her with almost every move and strategy. She did much better this year and said she was tired of always winning. :)

We make such good memories together from these game nights. My side of the family does the same with Scrabble and Cribbage. What family games do you play together?

A full day at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens

Much thanks to all of you for your well wishes and advice! I'm finally on the mend and feeling much better. Matt's also feeling more energetic and recovering quickly.

Now that we've got more energy (and the sun has started shining into our previously rainy area), we are jam packing these last few days with Matt's folks. Today we visited the national historic landmark, the Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens, built by Goodyear founder F.A. Sieberling. It's a 1917 mansion built in the Tudor style with expansive gardens, fountains and conservatory.

Since this is the 50th anniversary of the museum, a special treehouse exhibit including 12 different structures was built. As you'll see from the photos below, the treehouses vary greatly in design. The coolest part was that each treehouse was totally sturdy and kid-friendly so Chloe could get out and play.

We had a wonderful wonderful time! The Lord gave us a beautiful sunny day and He helped Chloe to behave well despite a much-delayed naptime. And God protected all those expensive antiques in the mansion from Chloe's curiosity. :)