Two, and love taps

Easton has started to count. It goes like this: "Two, Two, Go!"

We'll get there eventually.

Also, he is copying everything we do.

Last night as Karen and I were getting dinner on the table, Ronnie walked by and gave me a little "love tap" on my bum. Easton promptly walked over and slapped my bum as well (5 or 6 times). He thought it was the funniest thing ever.

Complete

It is done.

THE scrapbook.

130 pages and 44 hours later, I finished on Wednesday.

And then wept when I realized that I was breaking even. (Lesson learned, for sure).

Here are just a few sample pages for you to see. I'm working on uploading the entire thing to my online gallery--I'll update you when it's there for you crazies who want to look at all of the pages.

Company

We have my in-laws here for a few days! (Hi, Ray and Karen!) Please excuse the lack of posts.

Also, I have 109 12x12 pages that I have scrapped for the hated book so far (just 15 more to go)!

Funny story

No picture with this post--I'm sorry.

I wanted to record this before I forgot.

Last night Easton found his Handy Manny jacket in the basket next to the door. This particular jacket has a light that blinks when the jacket is in motion. It was blinking as he carried it to show Ronnie and I and he was really excited about it, but when he set it down on the ground the blinking stopped.

He couldn't figure out how to make it blink again, so Ronnie said, "Shake it!"

Easton looked at Ronnie for a second, and then proceeded to shimmy his little body.

We didn't stop laughing for a long time.

Superstitions

My 13 year old brother Jord-man (Happy Birthday!) had to come up with different superstitions that we have (as a family, individually, as a society, etc).

So I started brainstorming and came up with the following list:

• Walking under ladders (one I really believed in grade school)
• Black cats crossing your path (again, in grade school)
• Stepping on cracks in the sidewalk (probably only believed this one from age 4-6)
• Holding your breath when driving past cemeteries
• Lifting up your feet when driving over cattle guards so the trolls that live underneath don't get you
• Knocking on wood (one that Ronnie truly believes and makes me do as well)

My dad and I were talking about how interesting it is that the unlucky number 13 is so widely believed that no buildings have a 13th story. Pretty incredible when you think about it.

Anything to add to my list?

I did it again

Agreed to do a project that is turning out to be WAAAAYYYY more time consuming than I originally thought.

Currently, my table looks like this:

I agreed to make a scrapbook of newspaper articles for a girl that is graduating from high school this month. She played volleyball, basketball and soccer.


That adds up to:

over 100 articles
2 scrapbooks
countless paper
15 stamp sets
etc. etc. etc.


I'm a little overwhelmed (and underpaid). The first time I do something like this, I never know what to charge. Now I do.....$1,000,000.


Do you think that's too much?

17 months

Just 4 more Sundays until nursery, just 4 more Sundays until nursery. Easton is a joy, but church is no picnic around here. When you have a boy who naps between 12 and 1 everyday and your church starts at 12--it can lead to a few issues.

For some reason this month Easton sudden seems to have transitioned from baby to little boy in my mind. It could be his looks, or the new words he is learning, or the way he plays with things but it is exciting (and incredibly sad at the same time).

He is definitely growing taller (as my baby proofing has expanded) but I don't know how much. I'm proud to say that I finally packed away his last pair of 6-9 month pants. The boy is just so skinny! He is now wearing 18 month shirts, and 12 month pants, a size 5 shoe and whatever hat he can get his hands on.

He has also learned a few new words that come to mind: cheese (zzzz), Jordan (orda), Sarah (airah), Adam (Ahhh), and Jesus (which sounds nothing like Jesus, but it is the same word every time). His signing continues to expand and the only snag I run into is when others are watching him and have no idea what he is trying to sign.

Easton would rather be outside than anywhere else and luckily the weather has cooperated most days (never without a jacket though--it's not anywhere close to summer yet). He also love, love, love, love, loves dogs. And yes, everyone of those "love"s was necessary. In fact, I dropped him off at a friend's house today (thanks, Rachel!) and they have a dog. He was so excited when we got there and ran around the house laughing with the dog chasing him, or him chasing the dog for the entire 10 minutes I was there before I left to come to work. The kid has no fear--which is great by me.

And now for the pictures. There are a lot in the cowboy hat, but I'm glad I took them, as he hasn't really worn it again since two Sunday's ago. You can also see his Easter outfit a little better in these pics.

Cheesing for the camera with a bow on his head.

Can you read it?

Due to my last name, I sometimes get ads in the mail that look like this:

Can you read it?

Me neither.

Happy Birthday Ronnie!

{Ronnie and I at the Law Ball}

Today Ronnie turns 28! What an old man. (just kidding, hon). I'm sure his day would be a little bit better if he was not studying for the two finals he has left, and working on a final paper as well. Such is life right now though.

I won't get too mushy, since I know most of you don't want to read that. Ronnie is a fantastic husband and daddy. Easton and I both adore him and love spending time with him (what little time we get to take away from school). He is so dedicated to his schooling and I know he will do great at his internship this summer.

I hope he has a great birthday--amidst all of the studying!

Now if his Lakers can just be the NBA Champions this year, his life will be complete!

Musicals

You know how I have always wanted to live in a musical?

Well these people in Belgium got to do it.

Belgium Do-Re-Mi

Love it.

I was totally the best Nanny ever

The summer of 2002 I had a strange job offer. My high school (and still current) friend Jenn called and asked me if I would be interested in being a nanny with her.

We didn't head to New York or Boston to nanny. We were nannies on a ranch in Colorado. The owners of the ranch were planning to come out for about 6 weeks during the summer (spread out in a few different trips) and they wanted nannies for their three children.

Oh, and also, we did the cleaning of the house.

So technically we were maids/nannies. But, we got to be together 24 hours a day, so it seemed like a great plan. We also got paid $120 a day which at the time, for me, was FANTASTIC money.

We arrived at the ranch a week before the family, so we could unpack/wash everything that the designer had shipped out. We are talking an entire kitchen, bedding and linens for four bedrooms and four bathrooms, and decorations for various common rooms. We had mysterious diagrams from the designer, but I really have no idea if we put things where they were supposed to go.

That part was actually fun. It was easy to pretend that it was my house instead of belonging to the rich family from Connecticut.

Cleaning up after strangers is significantly different than cleaning your own house. That realization came upon me very quickly. My own laundry? Not a problem. The laundry of a family of five other people? Problem. My own bathroom? No sweat. Other people's bathrooms? Yuck.

But the thing I hated most of all was sweeping. The entire house was hardwood floors and that equaled a heck of a lot of sweeping. Soon, Jenn and I had a deal. She would sweep and I would mop. She would pick the hair and gunk that attached itself to the bottom of the broom off and I killed all of the bugs.

We were the perfect team.

I guess we were pretty good nannies too. Our main assignment was to get the kids to specified activities at the correct time. Tennis with the tennis pro, riding with the horse pro, fishing with the fly-fishing guy, ropes course with the ropes course pro and hanging out Native American style with the Native American they hired to set up tee pees on the ranch (No, I am not kidding--he was also in Dances with Wolves). In between, we helped the personal chef, did the before mentioned cleaning and rode 4-wheelers with the kids.

At night we went to our "house" which was the main house on an adjoining ranch that was purchased by the same family. It was also furnished by the designer.

Looking back on this experience leaves me a little in awe. Did I really do that?

What surreal experiences have you had in your life?

If I wanted to be on my hands and knees more often

I would mop my floor everyday with Swiffer Sweeper wet mop pads because I LOVE the smell.

Give me that "open window fresh" smell any day.

(I do realize that Swiffer makes a mop that would mean that I am not on my hands and knees, but the floor just doesn't get clean that way. What can I say? I am my mother's daughter).

I love Wyoming

because when it is exceptionally windy (wait, what day isn't?) and you are loading groceries into the car with your son, a stranger will approach you, compliment you on how cute your baby is and then offer to take your cart for you so you don't have to trek to the cart corral*.

*leaving your cart in the middle of the parking lot is just NOT an option. Right, Jen?

Boxes and Hats

Easton is no different than most kids, he loves being inside boxes, or anything that he thinks is a box.

Hey Mom! I see a little train car right there, I want to get in that!

We videoed the attempt to get in the train, for your pleasure. (this is not the first time he has tried to get in this particular toy--you gotta hand it to him for persistence).

After it isn't working, he is resigned to just playing with the attached bird.


I have been searching for months for a ball hat for Easton so he can be like his daddy (instead of wearing his daddy's hats). Who knew? They were at Walmart. I attempted to just put them in the cart, but that was a no-go. He had to wear them out of the store.

Why am I using the word them? There were two hats in the pack, so this is what he looked like for the trip.

Gotta love it.

Say What?

This picture would be of a full package of donuts, except I love them too much and they were ripped into approximately one minute after I acquired them.

I love powdered donuts.

Mini powdered donuts.

My dad also loves them and between us we have decided that Little Debbie makes the best ones (none of the Hostess wannabes for us). If you are wanting to try the superior brand, don't be surprised if they are hard to find.

Every so often, my dad will offer to grab us both a package on his way into work. Today was one of those days.

In our family we call these little gems Cocaine Donuts (my mom is totally cringing right now).

We think it is funny and so we talk to each other like we enjoy a good hit.

Dad: Do you want a pack of donuts today?
Me: Yeah!
Dad: Cocaine, Chocolate or Glazed?
Me: Cocaine! Thanks!

And then I realize that everything I say in my office is echoed down the hall for all to hear.

Let's just hope they still think I am clean.

Is Pickle Juice Containable?

I love a bologna sandwich. Specifically, bologna, mustard and pickles. When taking said sandwich to work, it is necessary to keep the pickles separate until right before you eat the sandwich so your bread does not become soggy and gross.

Last week, I brought the sandwich, ate it and packed away the pickle container to take home. Somewhere between work and home the container tipped a bit and pickle juice got all over everything in my purse.

Not fun.

I figured that I did not put the lid on tight.

So then, today I go to bring the same sandwich again, and carefully close the Tupperware* container, even testing it above the sink before deciding that it is definitely closed, I don't need to worry.

I get to work and go to put my sandwich in the fridge and find....

Pickle juice all over my purse.

AGAIN!

Please tell me that this is something I can remedy, I need my bologna!

*the container is technically not Tupperware, but instead from IKEA.

Lessons Learned

at work events this weekend.

• I work with some of the greatest people ever.
• The Vee Bar Guest Ranch had the most perfectly cooked steak Ronnie and I have ever had. Since the event ended, Ronnie has talked about it no less than 6 times. It was that good. (The fact that it was part of a buffet is the most amazing part).
• No shoes can be comfortable for two consecutive 14-hour work days.
• Easton really likes me when he has not seen me for over 24 hours.
• I tear up when the chairman of the board thanks me publicly for all of the work I have put in. (No surprise to most of you, I'm sure).

A video or two...

I thought you might enjoy two short videos of Easton. One shows his love for basketball (ba-ball) and the other is the gibberish that he says when reading books to himself. That one was hard to catch on camera as he usually only does it when I am not in the room.

A few random thoughts

• Meal planning is the bomb. I love having ingredients and ideas on hand. Why don't I do this every week?
• Having a week with three dinners paid for (thank you work and dad) is also the bomb.
• Apparently, I love food. Free, or planned food.
• Spring is peeking its head around the corner (I fully expect one or two more massive snow storms before it fully appears).
• This is the week of one of my tri-annual massive work meetings which means I want to tear my hair out and stop dreaming about work.
• In the last month, Easton has gone from 3 to 7 teeth. Why is teething not a painless process?
• If you do or do not follow Bethany (shame on you), please read this article. Tears are streaming down my cheeks as I think about it again.

Thanks for sticking with me!

16 months and Easter

Despite my best efforts, Easton continues to get older. Darn him!

He is learning to run, which leads to some spectacular falls that entertain me and stun him. I don't feel like his verbal skills have really changed. He is working on saying Sarah and Jordan and due to March Madness is in LOVE with Ba-ball (basketball). I have videos of that to upload soon. He continues to sign all of the time and when he doesn't know the sign or the word, it frustrates him and me!

He loves ketchup and while at Wendy's earlier this month, he gave up on dipping the fry into it and just went for the kill. He was in heaven.

He also was very excited about this tomato, took a bite and then promptly spit it out. Like daddy, like son.

Because Easton went from 3 teeth to 7 teeth this month, he was in love with anything he could chew on. Including this spoon.

Cheesing for Mommy.

This is his Official 16 month Picture. Sad. I know. My flash was being funky.

And then I couldn't get him to look at me, just Handy Manny.

Easton also has a new fascination with standing on his head, so daddy helped him out the other night.

On Saturday, April 11, we hunted for Easter Eggs at Grandma and Grandpa's.

He was ready to be done after he saw the first candy, but then he caught on that there was MORE candy in the other eggs. 15 eggs was probably too many, and his favorite treat inside were mini marshmallows.

This is the only picture I have of Easton on Easter Sunday. He was GRUMPY and there are tears in his eyes. He is looking super cute though!

And finally a picture of all of his Easter loot. (minus a UW teddy bear that I forgot).