Why I Blog

This blog is not an update for family and friends around the country.  Actually none of my family or friends even know that I do this, nor do I want them to.  I don't have a need to share the minutiae of my life with the world.  This blog does serve as a means to document Evie's childhood, but it's about me too. 

If someone asked me, "So, why do you blog?" the answer would be relatively simple.  I love to write.  I may not be great at it, but I've always enjoyed writing.  I used to keep a journal, from the time that I was 13 all the way through college and those tricky first years after college.  I love to look back at it and read about the things that were SO amazing/devastating/dramatic at the time.  (My favorite entry is about the first time that M told me he loved me...January 16, 2002.  Yup, I'm a sap like that.)

In high school, I had a knot in my stomach turning in English papers, afraid that my teacher would judge me for my thoughts.  I got over that my senior year because of an amazing English teacher who was incredibly hard on his students, but also believed that each of us could live up to his expectations.  As a teacher myself, I have even more respect for him now.

In college, I enjoyed writing papers.  I actually looked forward to writing my 40-page master's thesis last year. (I'm also a nerd like that.)  Researching was not my favorite, but putting all of my findings and ideas down on paper was a great experience.   I love to tweak and edit.  I often publish a post, and then go back and change it 5 or 6 times because I decide I don't like a certain word or the way I originally phrased something.

In another life, I think I was meant to be a writer.  Blogging is my way of putting my thoughts down on "paper" with the added bonus of reading others' thoughts about similar topics.  I have been surprised by some of the connections that I have found in the blogging world.  I never thought that this could help me through a tough time or make me laugh the way it has.  Blogging will definitely be a part of my life in 2012!!

One funny story:  Once, I actually even said in a job interview, when the interviewer asked what my dream job would be, that I would love to be a travel writer.  The interview was not for a teaching job, but for a position as a receptionist at a bank.  What was I supposed to say???  "I want to answer your phone for the rest of my life."  What a terrible interview question!!!  I got the job, and promptly left it 6 months later for my first teaching job.  ;)

17 months (and 5 days)

Because Evie's 17 month-iversary was on Christmas Eve, I'm just getting around to posting this now.  17 months doesn't feel like much of a milestone with 18 months being right around the corner and all, but she has changed so much since 16 months.

Christmas 2010 at my parent's house

The biggest change has been in language ability.  We've had a language explosion at our house!!  She is repeating so many words now (M and I have really had to clean up our language...well we're trying at least), and she understand so much of what we are saying.  As a language teacher, it's amazing for me to watch language acquisition as it happens from birth, but I'm a dork like that.  ;)

At 17 months:

• Evie has added many new words including cow, good (when you ask her how she's doing), no way, yes, banana (sounds like bah-nah), car, bath, and there are so many more!  She's going to be a jabbering fool just like her mom any day now. 
• Tantrums are becoming a bit of an issue.  I feel like we are handling them pretty well mostly by ignoring/distracting her.  They haven't lasted very long.  We still haven't had a major blow up in public.  ::fingers crossed::
• Evie can find her tummy if you ask her, but she points to her eye/ear/head when you ask her where her nose is.  I always laugh when she does this, so I'm probably encouraging her.  I'm sure she'll figure it out eventually.  
• Evie has her second Christmas, but this one was much more fun.  She did a pretty good job of opening presents and she handled the crazy schedule and extra people really well.  We are going to M's family Christmas this weekend, so hopefully that goes as well as my family's did last weekend.

Hanging out with Grandpa!

• She has been sleeping very well at night for the past few weeks.  A cold threw us off right after Thanksgiving, but I'm hoping that we've gotten past that.
• She understands so much of what we say.  It amazes me!!!  She even walked to her room on her own earlier today when I asked if she was ready for her nap.  Of course, she fell asleep in my arms and woke up screaming as soon as she hit the mattress, but I was impressed that she went to her room like that!  (Focus on the positives, right!?!?!!?!?!)
• Evie's favorite game is "scaring" people.  She covers her face, then quickly uncovers it and says "Boo!"  I scream like she scared me to death and we laugh and laugh.  She really like playing that game with her aunts, uncles and grandparents at Christmas.  

Christmas 2011 at my aunt and uncle's house

Wordless Wednesday - First Time Sledding

I know I just posted last week about the lack of snow in Wisconsin, but some did arrive in time to make it a white Christmas at my parent's house up north.  Actually, it made it just in time to make the roads a nightmare for the drive up there.  Luckily, we all made it in one piece!! 

We woke up Christmas Eve morning to a winter wonderland.  My sister gave Evie a sled for Christmas.  She let her have it a little early so that we could try it out.  Evie loved it, obviously.  ;)

My parent's house (where this video is from) is on a hill that my sisters and I used to sled down all the time when we were kids.  We even used to play "Cool Runnings" and pretend we were the Jamaican bobsled team like in the movie with John Candy.  M, my sisters and their husbands, and my parents were all outside to watch Evie sled for the first time.  It brought back some great memories.  I can't wait for more Christmases like this one. 

P.S.  Sorry the video is sideways.  I'm sure you get the idea! :)

Traveling with a Toddler

We don't travel as far as some people do for the holidays, but we definitely have our share of time in the car.  My parents live about 2 and 1/2 hours away near Green Bay, and M's parents live in the completely opposite direction about 1 1/2 hours from our house(near the Iowa/WI border).

Each Christmas since we've been serious enough to attend each other's family Christmas events M and I have done the grand tour of Wisconsin between Christmas and New Year's.  Until a few years ago, we would even drive the 4 hours from  my parent's to M's parent's house on Christmas morning.  One year, we even slid off the road and went in the ditch on the way...glad we don't do that anymore!!! 

Evie was only 6 weeks old the first time she made the trip to my parent's house.  She used to just fall asleep.  As she's gotten bigger, it's become a little more challenging to entertain her.  I keep a stack of graham crackers handy to send back to her if she starts to get fussy.  I'm also probably a hazard on the road when I make faces at her in the rear-view mirror...

This afternoon we'll be making the trip to my parent's house just the two of us.  M has to work all day, and he'll be meeting us there when he gets done.  I'm a little anxious about doing the trip for the first time with her forward-facing carseat.  When she drops her toys it's hard for me to reach them, and she gets frustrated with this too.

I'm sure we'll make it just fine, and we have all kinds of family waiting for us to get there.  ;)

YAY!!!!  Christmas is here!!!!!

My other, other love - Random ramblings about food

When I was pregnant, I had the BIGGEST cravings for fruit!  I have always enjoyed fruit, but when I was pregnant I NEEDED  fruit with every meal, at all hours of the day and night, and ALL. THE. TIME.  I began trying new fruits and new combinations (grapes with green olives = yummy to my pregnant tummy...I know olives aren't fruit, but they are a cocktail garnish, so my rationalization was that they went with everything).  Yes, I was that stereotypical pregnant woman.

Anyway, my point is that I'd never really given clementine oranges a chance before I was pregnant.  I'm not a huge fan of oranges in general.  If you have to work that hard to eat it, it's probably not worth it.  (I feel the same way about chicken wings with the bone in them.  Buffalo Wild Wings and the invention of the boneless wing are the best things EVAH!)  Clementines on the other hand are easy to peel, seedless, and they fit conveniently into coat pockets, allowing for easy transportation.

My obsession with clementines has not waned since giving birth.  I have stopped eating them (and everything else) with olives, but I still eat about 6 of them a day.  They had 5 lb. boxes on sale last week, so I picked up two of them!  One box lasted me about 8 days, so I should be good through the beginning of next week.  ;) 

10 lbs. of clementines = amazing delciousness

Wordless Wednesday - Winter in Wisconsin

Well, it looks like it's going to be a brown Christmas here in southern Wisconsin.  Snow-less Decembers have been more common in recent years (according to the newspaper article I read today), and it always bums me out.  Of course, I'll be cursing the snow when it's still here in April...which it often is. 

I digress...even with the lack of "normal" Wisconsin winter weather, Evie went outside to play for a while over the weekend.  The temperature was in the upper 20s, so we didn't last long, but she seemed happy just to get some fresh air.  I thought it was pretty nice too.  :)

Toddler Goofiness

Evie has been really into her clothes lately.  She walks all over the house carrying a shirt or onesie or pair of pants.  For the most part, she seems to like to walk around holding onto it...not really sure why.  But the other day, she actually tried to put the shirt on. 

I love to carry my shirt around!

Oh, that's right!!  It's supposed to go OVER my head.

Doesn't quite fit...

Seriously, stop laughing and taking pictures!!  Give me a hand here!!

M and I were cracking up!  She couldn't quite get it over her noggin, but she really was giving it her all!

Gingersnaps a la Grandma K

My Grandma K passed away in the summer of 2004.  She was bound to a wheelchair from the time she was about 60 years old until she passed away when she was 76.  Obviously this made it difficult for her to get around.  My grandpa was 10 years older than her, so it was difficult for him to get her around too.  Spending so much time at home, she devoted herself to baking some the best cookies to ever grace this earth.

When I was at college, she would bake some cookies and put them in the freezer for when I came home.  Using her great-depression era sensibility, nothing ever went to waste and some of her cookie concoctions were a little unorthodox.  (Ever heard of chocolate chip and hickory nut cookies?  Or peanut butter walnut cookies?)  If she had it in the kitchen, she could find a way to put it in a cookie.

She did stick to a recipe every once in a while, and this time of the year it was usually gingersnaps.  After she died, my aunt took her recipe cards, and made copies for anyone who was interested.  This is the only one I've ever attempted, and it usually turns out ok.  Of course, when I made them last weekend, I forgot to set a timer and I burned them.  Oh well, I'm sure my grandma would have eaten them anyway...or at least guilted my grandpa and all of us kids into eating them.  ;)

Here is the recipe and few pictures of yet ANOTHER (see here, here, and here) baking fiasco in my kitchen.

The recipe says to roll them out and cut into gingerbread men,
but I usually just roll them into balls and coat them with white sugar. 

¼ boiling water

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup molasses

½ cup shortening

3 cups of flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp nutmeg

Mix the dry ingredients and set aside.

Pour water over shortening.  (I usually just heat up the water in the microwave)  Add sugar and molasses to water and shortening.  Mix well.  Add dry ingredients.  Chill dough.   

Roll out thin and cut into gingerbread men.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes (I'd keep close eye on them after about 12 minutes though..unless you like them crispy)

Burnt gingersnaps.  I'm sure my grandma is just happy that I tried.  :)

Wordless Wednesday - Baby/Puppy Snuggles

I wrote last week that Evie has been sick.  I took her to the doctor Monday night, and he ruled out any infections.  He told me the usual, "It just has to runs its course" mumbo jumbo, which I totally believe is true, but doesn't help me when I'm up with a baby who keeps coughing herself awake from midnight to 3 AM.  (Sorry for the rant, I'm sure you've been there.)

Anyway, in our desperation to get *little* sleep last week, Evie spent some time in our bed.  I managed to sneak out and get ready while she was still asleep.  The dog jumped in to cuddle with her, and I thought it was adorable!

Keeka pretends she hates Evie, but the truth is in the picture! 

Cinderella Ate My Daughter - Book Review

I've noticed it since Evie was born.  They're everywhere....the Disney Princesses, Toddlers & Tiaras, padded bras in the girl's (for ages 5 - 10) section  of Target... It seems like girls are expected to grow up so much more quickly these days.  Even before Evie was born, I was amazed when I first started teaching by how much more mature the middle school girls seemed than when I was their age.  Seriously, some of these girls had more cleavage at 13 than I had at 23!  

Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein (HaperCollins, 2011) dives into the world of the "girlie-girl culture" that has overtaken the United States in the past decade.  Orenstein give great statistics about the marketing of everything from toys to sexuality and how it affects girls as they grow up.  This book was informative both as the mother of a daughter, as well as the teacher of teenage girls.

Orenstein is the mother of a school age daughter.  She has written several books on girls' development, and became especially disturbed by the push for girls to become older at younger ages when her daughter developed an obsession with all things "princess."  She questions whether or not the princess thing is even all that bad.  After all, the Disney princesses (Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Pocahontas, Snow White, etc.) are all "good" girls.  However, they are all completely dependent on their man.  The author points out that Ariel even gives up her own voice to get her man!

Orenstein also explores toy marketing, Toddlers & Tiaras (the TLC reality show about little girls in beauty pageants), young pop stars (Britney Spears both pre- and post-breakdown, Miley Cyrus, etc.), and the wonderful world of Facebook.  In the 21st century there is so much more marketing to kids at younger and younger ages.  What was popular with 13 year olds in 2000, is what's popular for 8 year olds in 2011. 

As a mom, this book mostly scared me.  The author gives great facts, but is scarce on how to face these problems.  It is true that girls are usually pigeon-holed into one of two categories: the girly-girl, or the tomboy, but I didn't feel like there are any great suggestions as to how to combat this.  The author struggles with how to get her daughter to just be herself.  I think that's something that most parents battle.

In the end, Orenstein's own daughter outgrows the princess phase and moves on to other obsessions, as most kids usually do.  I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in learning facts about marketing  and its effects on children, especially girls.  More than anything, this book has  made me more aware of all of the girly-ness out there.

I'm climbing on TBB! Thanks for the votes!! A few more wouldn't hurt! ;)

TGIF!

Thank goodness it's Friday!!! 

This may have been one of the longest weeks of my life.  Seriously, Evie came down with a cold last weekend, and she has been sleeping like crap.  I had parent/teacher conferences on Wednesday night, which means a 14 hour work day (on about 4 hours of interrupted sleep).   On top of trying to organize a professional book club for 20 teachers, and my students getting a little crazy as we approach the holiday break....aaaaahhhh!!! 

Oh well, now it's the weekend!!  M and I have very little planned and I think it will be nice.  Biggest item on the agenda is starting finishing our Christmas shopping.  Evie already received part of her Christmas present (see below), but M seems to think that she needs Rock'n'Roll Elmo too.  I disagree....

Super-awesome play tent!

We also still have to do all of our shopping for our extended families.  M's family is impossible to shop for, and they never send out lists.  It's like they expect me to consult a crystal ball to find the perfect gift for them...umm, no! 

Well, it's obvious that I need to stop blogging and open a bottle of wine.  I'm pretty sure I have a bottle of moscato around here somewhere!  I think that's the perfect end for a week like this one!!


P.S.  I have a new comment format that I'm trying out!  Leave me some comment love so that I know it's working!!!  I hope you all have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday - A Great Daddy

I was looking back at pictures of when Evie was a newborn and I found these of her and M.  It made me choke up a little.  M is an absolutely amazing father, and I probably don't tell him that enough.

M and Evie's first picture together.  She was only a few hours old, and she was still in the NICU for her breathing issues.

Our first full night together in the hospital.  She cried most of the night.  When she finally went to sleep at 5 AM, M and I laid on the hospital bed and cried wondering what on earth we had gotten ourselves into.  We promptly called M's mom to come stay with us for a few days....lol!

My favorite pic.  Evie and Daddy taking a nap together.  Evie was probably about 10 days old.

P.S. I've been on Top Baby Blogs for a while now, and I swore I was never going to ask for votes, but if you are so inclined, a couple of clicks for my blog would make me extra-happy. :)

I'm going to have a niece!

I posted a while back the my sister is pregnant.  She is due on April 24, and I couldn't be more excited!!  She is officially 20 weeks today, and yesterday was her big ultrasound.  She and her husband decided to find out if they are having a boy or girl, and the ultrasound technician told them that there's a "90% chance it's a girl."

The baby was being uncooperative, so the tech was hesitant to say one way or the other at first.  As she went through all of the measurements, she became more confident that they are having a girl.  Of course, we were all excited to find out the gender, but the really good news is that everything is measuring right on schedule, and she looks like she'll be a healthy baby! 

When my sister told me that they were finding out the sex, I was actually a little disappointed.  M and I didn't find out.  Hearing him say "we have a daughter" when Evie was born will be forever burned in my memory.  It is the coolest moment of my life.  My sister has been teasing me for the past few weeks that she just wouldn't tell me.  That would have driven me insane, and there was no way she could keep it from me anyway.  (My family is funny though: My dad really didn't want to know.  He actually wouldn't let my sister or my mom tell him, and he's going to try to keep from finding out for the next 4 and a half months.) 

 So, we (except for my dad) are planning on another little girl in the family.  I can't wait to meet her!!!  :)

P.S. I've been on Top Baby Blogs for a while now, and I swore I was never going to ask for votes, but if you are so inclined, a couple of clicks for my blog would make me extra-happy.  :)

Top 5 Laughs of the Week

Here are my top 5 laughs of the week.  If you'd like to join in the link-up fun, head over to The Mommyhood Chronicles to add your top 5 laughs!

5. I think Evie is in the middle of a growth spurt.  She has been eating a TON lately.  We went out for lunch at Fazoli's today while we were shopping with my sister, and she ate half of my sister's baked ziti!  It was unbelievable.  She's like a bottomless pit!!

4. Now that Evie is walking running around so much, she likes to try to get away from us and run away.  It's become a really fun game...most of the time.  The other night, she got away from me before her bath, and ran from her bedroom to the bathtub completely nude.  M and I cracked up watching our child streak down the hall.

3. We captured some of her escape artistry on camera last night.  She took off while I was putting her pajamas on, and ran into the living room to dance in her diaper.  M managed to grab the camera and catch her in action...The footage might come in handy when she's a teenager.  (I'd upload the video, but my computer/internet connections is being dumb.)  :(

2. We bought Evie a front-facing carseat now that she's about to exceed the weight limit on our rear-facing one. She looks so happy now that she can see out of the window better.  I keep peeking back at her in the rear view mirror thinking that she looks like such a big kid!

1. Playing Evie's new "chasing" game.  We start in the living room, and I run after her into the kitchen.  She "hides" by the oven door while I tickle her.  Then I run away from her and wait in the living room.  She comes after me and the game starts all over again.  Every time I begin to chase her or she begins to chase me, she squeals and giggles and it's about the most fun I've ever had running back and forth between my kitchen and living room.  :)

Top 100 Songs of the 2000s

I LOVE VH1's countdown shows.  Their "I love the 80s" and "I love the 90s" are great too.  M and I were watching VH1's Top 100 Songs of the 2000s the other day, and reminiscing about all of the songs from when we were in college.  Evie was dancing with us to "Hey Ya" by Outkast.



It was adorable!  I don't think it's possible to not dance to that song.

Another dance favorite from back in the day was "Yeah" by Usher ft. Lil Jon and Ludacris.  To this day, whenever I hear this song, I have flashbacks to being incredibly hung-over, attempting to take a philosophy quiz with this song banging in my head....ah, to be young again.  :)



The whole list just brought back great memories.  I was kind of surprised that "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé ft. Jay-Z was #1.  I thought that some of the other songs on the list were more influential, but I suppose it just depends on who is choosing the songs.

M and I have pretty strong opinions about music.  When we found out that I was pregnant, M made it his goal to make sure that our child only listen to "good" music.  Of course, that is by his standards, so other people would probably disagree.  I can picture Evie now: she will be the only 5 year old in kindergarten who can sing the entire 2-disc set "The Essential Willy Nelson."  Wow...writing that I realized that our poor kid doesn't stand a chance at being cool.  Oh well, I'm sure she'll thank us for is someday!!  ;)