Happy Halloween

It was the the first Halloween in years that Tucker has been spared the embarassment of getting dressed up...he may be jealous of the attention we give her on a daily basis, but I'm pretty sure he's thankful now.

I give you, our peacock:

Hand crafted with love, hot glue and sequins by yours truly.

Yeah, I realize now that she's one low cut shirt away from being a Vegas showgirl.

 A quick visit to grandma's before she pretty much destroyed the whole thing:



And this look sums up the Little Miss's thoughts on the Halloween costume:



wtf mom?

 And here curious George is trying to demolish her outfit.

Thank you Pinterest for the inspiration, once again.

And here is a little ditty that Grandma created, so you all know where I get it. Why would you buy a Halloween gift bag when you can just whip up a personalized one from scratch. Seriously, from scratch. Like from a piece of paper to a bag...with her name all over it. Holy. Nice work Grandma.

once again about vomies

Omigod, seriously, you were going to read another post about vom? That's blog dedication.

No no, we're not talking about illness today...we're talking about a PARTY!

Last night Andy and I attended a Mad Men themed party. People in this era knew how to do it! The women got fancy with hair and makeup and jewelry, the men wore suits. Everybody smoked and drank martinis...and I don't think they even cared where the kids were.

Belts and fur and jewels and big hair...died and gone to heaven!

And the host couple...Matt and Alicia...did I mention they got engaged this week?! Emmie's godparents are gonna get married and live happily ever after ::heart::

remember when...

Remember back when this blog was about headbands and pinterest...and now it's all about puke?  I don't know about you but oh god I miss the good ol' days.

It's been a week to say the least and it's only Tuesday. The days are honestly running together so I can't  even 100% confirm that it's Tuesday.

I was all ready to blog my heart out about Emmie puking on Andy, because really is there anything funnier than that? And then I got the call from daycare that she threw up after lunch. Come.On. And yet again, she's happy as a clam. But we went to the clinic anyways.

Ear infection. This kid can't catch a break. (And to get a good view the doc had to clean her ear with this little tool and she screamed bloody murder from the office to our house. Now, Fargo isn't all that big, but it felt like I was driving to the moon with her shrill little screams in the backseat. So.Sad. I'm not gonna lie, by the end I was crying too.)

And I'm thisclose to putting damn tubes in myself. I'm sure Pinterest has an at home version of that right?

Saltineverest

You know when you’re sick and you’re fetal positioning it in bed and your Everest is a saltine cracker?

You’re so sick, so hot, yet so cold, but you have to eat something and there…there just inches away on top of the comforter, is that saltine cracker staring you in the face. You give yourself a pep talk for about twenty minutes and work yourself up to get your arm out from under the covers to finally grab that saltine, it feels like a paperweight. It takes another few minutes to get the cracker to your mouth. And then you take a bite, you feel like you’re taking a bite out of a four inch tall big whopper, but in all reality you’ve only bitten off the teeniest tiniest corner. And then it crumbles all around you…but you’re in no shape to clean the crumbs out of bed, so there you lay surrounded by cracker crumbs because really, it’s not the worst thing you’ve got going for your hot mess of a self. And then the chewing begins. It’s painful. And it’s slow. And it feels like you’ve got a mouth full of sand because that’s how dry it is and you’re thinking to yourself my god, that Sprite on the night stand would be fantastic, why is the night stand so far away? And then finally, you swallow and it’s over. Victory. And you take about an hour nap to recover. During the nap, you dream about the sweet sweet taste of Sprite and when you wake, you start the process all over again.

Oh that’s just me?

Well, that’s was me on Wednesday.  The stomach flu hit and it hit hard. I’m recovering and still dreaming about Sprite.

let me elaborate

(I'll spare you the details of the family sick day)

But I will share photos from Olivia's 1st birthday party! Can you believe my little niece is ONE!?

Best present for an excited Auntie one year ago...

...to BEST PRESENT EVER! This BAG is AWESOME!

"Why, why do they always put us in hats?"

"You should take yours off...that'll show 'em."

 

"Take that, adorable hat from cousin Lexi."

"Hehe. I win!"

Serious crown envy.

All those toys and she's playing with the remote.

Love my Grandma!

sleeping with nyquil and a comedian - not in that order.

I've always known sleep is of utmost importance to me, but even God knew how much I needed it because he gave me a sleeper child. But this week, he took her away, just to make sure I knew how good I had it.

Following the vomie situation life just didn't get back on track quickly. There were lots of ups in the nights, followed by a 4am wake up call...and then real life in which I had to be at meetings at 7:15am. Seriously, that is early.

Then Wednesday night I had a date with the comedian, Jo Koy and I had to pull myself together for that. He was friggin' hilarious. But don'tcha knooow Fargooo was poorly represented by a gal, baring a striking resemblance to Dog the Bounty Hunter's wife, holding 4 beers...some in her cleavage. I mean really. Why do those people always have to sit front row and bring us down any notch we could have gone up.  Jo was really cool and admitted after well over an hour of comedy he had nothing better to do than stay on stage. So he did.

Oh another thing I loved about Wednesday night - a girl that was with one of my friends asked me if I was Blueberry's mom. Love that! Who doesn't love a little throwback to Blueberry?!

Then Thursday night...I went to bed in a Nyquil induced stupor at 8:09pm. It was glorious. And then the babe cried out...I figured it was about 5am so I had some good sleep in me and all wasn't lost...but, it was only 11:30pm! Is there anything better than feeling completely rested and knowing you have HOURS left to sleep? Yes, the babe going right back to sleep after finding her blanky and waking up at 7:30.

Yes God, I will remember to give thanks daily for a full night of sleep.

just when i was about to say everything was perfect...

It was just me and my girl this weekend. Andy left for the middle of nowhere to hunt pheasant on Friday and I was actually quite excited about my weekend at home with Emmie.

Saturday we played with friends and helped paint Laura's nursery, Emmie took awesome naps and was happy as clam at Olivia's 1st birthday party. Sunday we played again, we went to grandma and grandpa's house, Emmie took even more amazing naps and then it was back to g&g's for Sunday night dinner - because this girl doesn't turn down a meal*. It was time to go, the babe was getting antsy and she needed a bath before bed. We got in the car and headed off on our three minute drive home...half way there...I heard the cough...followed by the vomit.

Ho.ly.Shit.

I looked back, hoping it was just a little spit up...no no. No it was not. And then there was choking, followed by more throwing up.

I pulled the car over and lunged to the backseat. OMIGOD. Head...to toe...covered in vom...crying and looking so so scared. I had to take her out of her seat. Now, we were both covered in vom. Cars whizzing past. Me wondering what the hell do I do now. I had no cell phone, not that it would help. My mind went blank and the only thing I could do was grab a random diaper laying the backseat to just try to wipe her sad little face. We couldn't sit there and do nothing any longer...I had to drive us home and I only had two options. Put her hysterical self back in the carseat or Britney Spears it the last two minutes home. Only me, Emmie and my stinky car will know my choice.

We made it home, made it to the tub and then we cuddled. Oh what a sad sad girl. She was clinging to me like a little monkey as she fell asleep. Mom came over so I could gather the vomies and clean up. Oof.

And all those jazzy naps the whole weekend...I need one of those right now. I got about three hours of sleep last night. We took a sick day today and though she's feeling better, Em still isn't quite herself. Is dad home yet?!

*So, in hindsight...I'm thinking that the meatloaf, cheddar mashed potatoes and squash weren't the best combination for my kid. Oh sure, she's had them all before, but my dad actually uses spices other than salt and pepper and I'm thinking bland probably would've been a better option. Yeah, parent of the year right here.

More photos!

They're ready!

Emmie's 9 month professional photo session is ready to view!

Tiny Sprout Photo Blog!

10 months (and a day)

Why is it so hard to take photos on one specific day? Sheesh. Because there's not enough time in the day, that's why. When we get home from daycare at 5:30 and Emmie is fast asleep at 7pm, there's a lot to squish into just an hour and a half...and a little photo session isn't high on anyone's list. But we made it happen tonight. And after a long day of school and a flu shot, we probably didn't pick the best night. Aw well.

Here she is. TEN months old!

Yeah, this is pretty much the only one she's sitting still for.

At ten months Emmie is standing on her own, dancing a little and daycare claims she's taken a couple steps,  but I'm choosing not to believe that until I see it with my own eyes. She loves to walk behind her little push toy though.

She just popped through her sixth tooth.

She LOVES to hang out in the one place I won't allow her...the closet. I'm pretty sure the iron is going to fall on her every time she crawls in there. She loves shoes and belts. Wonder where she got that.

She has an awesome little personality. She makes me laugh every day. She's happy and very easy going, let's hope this stays with her for the long haul.

She still loves her pacifier. And well, we do too.

She loves her mom. And I'm not just saying that because I'm the blogger. Her new thing is to pull herself up on my legs and wait to be picked up...basically the sweetest thing ever...and she only does it to mama.

She is an awesome eater. She loves to use those little fingers to grab whatever is on her plate and she's  much happier with avocado now than the first time she tried it.

And her new trick is using a fork. Though she can't always ever stab the food all the way onto the fork, she's smart enough to use her other hand to put the food on the fork. I mean really, that's pretty smart huh? And then she mashes squash into her eye and it's back to square one. 

The Day Before You

Do you ever hear lyrics that hit home in such a way it makes you think the song was written just for you? I remember loving this Rascal Flatts song back in the day...The Day Before You.  I loved the words and the message and how true it was. Not that I had to wait all that long to find Andy, but back then it felt like forever. And once I found him, well, all was right with the world.

I had all but given up on
Finding the one that I could fall into
On the day before you
I was ready to settle for
Less than love and not much more
There was no such thing as a dream come true
But that was all the day before you.

Then I re-heard the song on my long drive to Bismarck and loved it all over again. I listened to that song again, waiting for my favorite lines. And I couldn't believe how those words touched my heart again...this time in a different way.

In your eyes I see forever

It makes me wish that my life never knew the day before you

Oh but Heaven knows those years without you

Were shapin' my heart for the day that I found you

If you're the reason for all that I've been through

Then I'm thankful for the day before you

My baby girl! Oh tears.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I just couldn't be more thankful for that sweet baby girl and I know the journey we took to get her has everything to do with that. The love is overwhelming, but the gratefulness I have that she is here is just as great, even 10 months later. The days before her, long and trying as they were, gave us our dream come true.

(To my friends who are in the midst of their own baby making journeys, these are the days before and everything you've gone through has shaped your heart for the day that baby comes your way...and soon you will have your dream come true...and you will be even more amazing mothers because of it.)

B&B&B

I did lots of random things this weekend and oddly enough they all started with a "B":

Bismarck: I made an impromptu trip to the Biz on Friday afternoon. I got a hair up my ass, left work early and spent the night with Kris. We had a yummy dinner, a Bottle of wine and watched Bridesmaids...and only got hissed at by Bella a few times.

Bowling: I was back in Fargo and we had a little double date, Bowling style with Matt and Alicia. It was super fun to get out and about with the hubs and good friends (Beer, Blackjack and Bad karaoke).

(and Brown hair - back to my roots!)

Balls and Bran: Sunday was the perfect get stuff done day and get stuff done we did. We made a humongous batch of meatBalls to freeze and Bran muffins to die for. The batter stores for a month in the fridge and they're delicious...and good for you...and Emmie loved them. I'll make sure I can blog Alicia's mom's recipe and then get back to ya.

Bed: I'm about to hit it. After being sick for a week now, I'm thinking an early bedtime will be just what I need.