Misadventures of the Volvo Kind

Less than a week ago, I had the GPS, attachment-thingy, and charger stolen from my car ... while it was parked in my driveway!  All three things were in different locations: GPS in the center console, suction cup on the windshield, and charger in the glove box ... but the blankety, blank, blank punks got all three pieces!  I am assuming this increases the street value.  I can't complain too much (at least according to my husband) because my car - in the driveway behind my house - was left unlocked.  Apparently we didn't see the motion detector lights go off.  Regardless, I am slightly pissed and more than a little creeped out and missing the voice of Veronica; she was always there to tell me when to turn and where to go.  Devastating!  Somewhat comforting (but also awful) to know I wasn't the only one - several neighbors had a similar experience.  Freakin' punks!  So rude!

And, well, the Volvo failed me again today.  In the form of a big FLAT tire.

I dragged my friend Tammy and her son Owen to the local Toys R Us for some bargain shopping of the Hasboro game-variety.  We were leaving the store.  On our way to Jimmy John's ... mama-to-be and kiddos were starving.  But we didn't get very far before I realized the back driver-side tire was completely flat!

Panic set in.  I was not cool under pressure.  And I certainly wasn't cool under the pangs of hunger ... low blood sugar = impatient MommyBrain.  Frantic calls to my husband - who didn't answer - and Tammy's husband left us with the conclusion that we were on our own with a flat tire and two toddlers.

Hoping I was still covered under warranty, I put in a call to Volvo Roadside Assistance.  Tammy ran across the parking lot and flagged down a trucker; that's my girl ;)  All the while I am trying to figure out how I am going to get to Jimmy John's - sooner rather than later - for a much-needed lunch break!

Another mommy friend, Jamie, and her son Kyler were also shopping at Toys R Us, and I felt reassured to know we weren't going to be totally stranded.  After learning that a "tiring-changing guy" was on the way, we went in search of Jamie ... and almost called for her over the intercom ... that's just how hungry I was!  In my head I was thinking, let's find Jamie and send her to pick up some sandwiches! 

Which wasn't necessary since Lance, the friendly and helpful tire guy, was there in less than 30 minutes.  I snacked on a fruit roll-up from Tammy's endless supply of snacks and managed to maintain my composure while the tire was being changed. 

When my husband finally called me back, he wanted to know why I wasn't changing the tire myself.  After all my dad did teach me how to change a tire before he'd allow me to drive as a sixteen year old - even made me practice three times in the driveway.  

Hello?  33.5 weeks pregnant (and starving)! 
Hello?  Two year old to entertain and keep safe. 
Hello?  Only vague idea of where the spare is located. 
Hello?  Free roadside assistance.  'Nuf said!

Our four-hour ordeal ended with a less-than-50 mph drive home and a stop at the service station near my house to drop off the tire.

My fear is that these things tend to happen in threes.  What's next?!

--------------------------------------------
Oh, keep this on the DL, but CPV is working a CraigsList sting operation to get our GPS back ... and I think he's actually found a listing that could very well be the one taken from my car.  How crazy is that!?

Impromptu Camping

A newly finished post from July 11th ...

Chad called at 10:00 yesterday morning (while Natalie and I were eating breakfast because my sweet girl slept until 9:30) and asked if we wanted to go camping tonight. Hold up. What exactly was my husband asking? Allow me to translate: Hi, honey, would you like to ....

• Sleep in a tent - essentially on the ground - while pregnant AND with an almost-two-year-old?
  
• Entertain an almost-two-year-old around a campfire, large rocks, and annoying bugs?
  
• Pack enough food (and variety of food) to feed two adults and an almost-two-year-old for at least three meals and snacks in between?

My response, "Sure, I'll try anything once." We packed and headed out in the late afternoon. The campground and campsite were great, and the tent set-up was flawless. For dinner we roasted hot dogs and enjoyed fruit salad. Natalie played with her Little People, ate rocks, fell off the picnic table, ... basic toddler stuff. And we went for a walk along a mostly dry river bed before roasting marshmallows and calling it a night.

After about 12 hours in the great outdoors, Chad asked another question, "It's going to be at least five years before we try this again, isn't it?"

Honestly, it wasn't anywhere near that awful. Here are a few of the more memorable moments:

It took Natalie about two hours to fall asleep in the tent. All three of us went to bed (or sleeping bag) at the same time. In hindsight, we should've done a more "normal" bedtime routine and got her settled inside the tent. And then we should've hung out by the campfire and enjoyed some alone time while she fell asleep. Instead, she wiggled around in between us and had a hard time going to sleep because of the excitement of having us there.

I had to relieve my bladder about a bazillion times. Hey, that's what pregnant ladies do; I couldn't help it! The walk to the "pit toilet" wasn't bad - in daylight or even dusk - admittedly, the name is awful and the smell not so nice either. But in the middle of the night, there was no way I was going to stumble around like bear bait! Not even with the headlamp that Chad provided. Thanks, honey, now I can look like a dork while projecting a 12-inch radius of light and signaling the bears to my exact location! And so at some crazy hour of pitch-blackness, I asked Chad to go with me - away from the tent - so I could squat and get some much-needed bladder relief. I figure two humans must be more intimidating to bears, right? Besides, I needed someone to watch my back ... quite literally ... my bare, white little backside! Following my lead in his groggy state, Chad managed to scoot to the door of the tent ... and then zipped it closed behind me! I was like, what are you doing? Leaving me out here to die? He, of course, assured me I would be fine - he was watching. Yeah, I wasn't' even slightly reassured. So I tiptoed about two feet and dropped drawers within maybe a foot of the tent. I really had to go, and brave hubby left me no option.

Daddy's Back in Town

Chad has been on his annual Man Journey ... since last Friday ... which means I've been a single mom ... at the tail-end of my first trimester ... and I am completely exhausted and so very appreciative to have our wonderful daddy back!

First of all, I didn't blog about Chad's trip while he was gone (my journey through single mommyhood for almost a week) because I didn't want some psycho to find me on the web and track me down and try to cause me harm in my sleep ... without my big, brave husband home to protect me. At the very least, I didn't want that possibility bouncing around in my over-active imagination as I did my best to fall asleep each night.

Secondly, I have to say I am quite proud of how well Natalie and I provided for ourselves and took care of each other. But I really hope I don't ever have to do it full-time.

Okay, now for the highlights ...

Lack of Photos: To give you some idea of just how much work/effort/stress it was to be solely responsible, 24/7 for my sweet girl, I took a grand total of three photos the entire time Chad was away. Over the course of seven days, I took just three photos. How is that even possible?

Coordinates: Chad did not have cell phone service in the heart of the Olympics, but he did take along this satellite beacon thing-a-ma-jing that tracked his location. Once or twice each day I got an email with latitude and longitude coordinates. I could even "see" where he was using Google Maps. Pretty cool!

Potty Training, Take 1: I cleared our schedule on Sunday to give this whole "potty training" thing a try. I had a good reason for attempting this while Chad was out-of-town. To read more about that, click here.

Busy, Busy: The rest of the week was a whirlwind of Busy, Busy ... which also explains why my potty training attempt wasn't even remotely successful. We had too much to do to give training the full attention that it needs/deserves. I recognize my mistakes. Let's move on ...

Park Play: The weather was beyond gorgeous! Each evening Natalie and I played at a different park - I even found a "new" one near the Target that has become a favorite. We usually didn't get home until after 8:00. By the time I gave her a bath and put her to bed, she would all but pass out.

Our days went a little something like this ...

Monday - My friend Janelle and her two adorable boys, Colton and Brody, came over to play. It's always great to visit with Janelle because she's so down-to-earth and encouraging. She always shares good advice and insight and ideas. Her boys are super sweet and seem to really love playing with Natalie's toys, especially the little kitchen and whatever we have upstairs.

Tuesday - Another wonderful mom friend, Liz, and her son Oliver, hosted a really fun playdate here in our neighborhood. We met at the park for a walk to feed the ducks on a nearby lake. Those ducks were overwhelmed by the volume of our stale baked goods. As we were leaving, there was bread just floating on the surface. Afterwards, the kiddos played at the park while the mommies visited and talked about plans for the upcoming holiday.

It seems my mommy friends took good care of me while Chad was away. Deann, my good friend and fellow prego, invited us over for yummy tortellini alfredo and a delicious fresh fruit salad. With end of the school year craziness followed by Grammy and Grampy's visit, we hadn't seen Sahara in about two weeks. Seeing Natalie and Sahara reunited was priceless. After dinner the girls played in the backyard while Deann and I chatted and enjoyed a beautiful NW evening.

Wednesday - Natalie's "bestie" Sahara, aka Cee-Cee, came over to play ... while Deann pampered herself with a manicure and pedicure. I was so jealous but also happy to spend the day with the girls. We spent most of the morning in the backyard with our buddy Andrew and his mom Laura. Then we ventured to the park to meet up with Liza and her boys. The girls sat in the shade and ate snacks most of the time because the sun was so bright and hot - no complaints about that :) After a quick lunch, I tossed the sunscreen-slick girls in the tub and enjoyed watching them splash and play together.

Thursday - We hosted a delightful Red, White, and Blue Playdate.

Wow! What a week!

Despite all the fun, did I mention that we are so very happy to have our daddy back? When I got the call to say that he'd be home in about three hours, I could hardly contain my excitement! I am so glad to have help with Natalie. Natalie is so glad to have her daddy to play with ... he's way more fun than me! And I just can't get over how much I missed him.

Timeout to Rock

Throngs of screaming fans.

Colorful lights.

Real instruments and a sound system.

Live music.

Yes, folks, today we took a TIMEOUT ... TO ROCK!

We went downtown with our good friends Tammy, Scott, and Owen to see a kids' concert promoted through The Vera Project. Take a look at the list of bands ... this concert was the bomb diggety!

Actually, I won tickets to the show from ParentMap, the most fabulous parent publication I've ever come across ... I dream of working for ParentMap ... it's the bomb diggety (my new catch phrase, btw). Who doesn't love free tickets? Mine came in the form of a family pack. I am still not entirely certain what that means, but for us it meant a dad, two mommies, and two toddlers. Good times :) Thanks, ParentMap!

Watching Recess Monkey perform live was such a treat. According to their website, they are known as Seattle's Greatest Children's Music Band. While I am by no means an expert, I must agree. I've listened to their songs online and even bought a few from iTunes. The performance sealed the deal for me. These three guys have an energy and enthusiasm and stage presence that made me love their music even more.

Right in front of the stage - in the midst of a sea of little concert-goers - Natalie and Owen were rocking out and trying out new dance moves and having an absolute blast. Tammy was able to snap a few photos, and you can check out her blog to see them. Natalie was all about the fancy footwork. Owen, on the other hand, worked the punch-and-point as his signature move.

After an hour of the mosh pit and crowd surfing, our little rockstars were exhausted. We loaded everyone back in the car, shoved snacks at the little mouths - Owen promptly fell asleep, mid-crunch - and headed to my most favorite sandwich shop in the whole wide world ... Jimmy John's!

We were able to get our sandwiches all the way back to my house for a quick patio picnic while the kiddos got some fresh air before naptime.

It was such a great day!

Hike Self?

Daddy took NHV for a hike today. He's such an outdoorsman, and I think it's great that Natalie gets exposed to what he loves. She rides in the backpack (made by Sherpani), and they sing songs and spot animal characters from the books we read.

On this particular hike, after taking a mid-hike break, during which this photo was taken, Natalie was hesitant to get back in the backpack.

She kept saying, "Hike self. Hike self. Hike self."

When Chad retold this story, he admitted that it took him a minute to figure out she was asking to hike all by herself. She wanted to walk rather than ride.

Chad complied, held her hand, and hiked another 1/10 of the trail. She did great! Most exciting of all, my baby girl is developing her sense of SELF!

Bad Girls, Good Babes Reunion Weekend 2009

Natalie and I did it again. We boarded a plane ... all by our cute little selves ... and traveled to another state. I think it will be our last "free" airline trip since Natalie is sure to turn two before we fly again ... well, maybe :)

This time - our 8th time traveling by plane - we headed back to Denver, Colorado for our Bad Girls, Good Babes Reunion (BGGB, B-doubleG-B if you're cool enough to say it like me) to see my three best friends from college: Missy, Lisa, and Laryl - and to spend time with two of the cutest little nuggets I know: Emmett and Marisa. This was our first BGGB with three babes in tow, and I must say I was quite impressed by how smoothly everything went.

Here are the three "good babes" ... aren't they adorable?

What follows is by-no-means a complete recount of our BGGB weekend adventure ... just a few details I'll always remember :)

Auntie Lisa Lee, Sherpa Extraordinaire

Landing in Denver, we were both a little tired, and it was already bedtime (with time change) for NHV. I was seriously dreading the baggage claim-carseat, big pink bag plus carry on and toddler-shuttle ride-rental car pick-up adventure that still awaited us. But we were so very excited to see Lisa Lee, who flew in earlier in the afternoon, hung out at the 'port, AND took care of absolutely EVERYTHING! The rental car was waiting just outside the baggage claim doors. How awesome is that? I must admit I was surprised - very pleasantly so - to have all of that taken care of ... but I don't know why I was surprised because Lisa Lee had proven herself a worthy sherpa at last year's trip to the zoo and all over Denver. It was just such a blessing to land and hop in a car and speed away ... to Missy's house we go :)

Arrival, Late Night for the Babes

Everyone was still awake including babes - past 10 o'clock - when we arrived. We chatted and hugged and watched the little ones play until almost 11:00, and then decided to call it a night ... I also shared some exciting news because I just couldn't contain myself, and Missy already knew :) It was my first time meeting Marisa, and I was quite smitten. She is such a little love and full of personality, just like her mama!

Just Tired? Nope, Sick
I took Natalie to the doctor on Tuesday (we flew on Thursday) to have her ears checked. She was clearly very congested, and I didn't want to risk ear complications on a flight. The doctor - not our usual - assured me that it wasn't an ear infection, prescribed saline mist to keep the snot moving, and a cough suppressant, and told us to have a great trip. Natalie was not 100% when we left on Thurday late afternoon, but she definitely seemed better. I was having a hard time keeping enough tissues on hand to wipe her constantly running nose ... ugh!

I woke up Friday morning not feeling all that great. At first I thought I was just tired and perhaps a little weary from traveling. But as the day wore on, it became apparent that I had some kind of cold or flu or feverish-snotty-sore throat misery. By lunchtime, Natalie was ready for a nap and so was I. I sent Lisa and Laryl off to lunch while I enjoyed a little cable TV on the couch. (Cable is such a luxury for me; we don't have it at our house, and sometimes I really miss TLC, HGTV, Style, and MTV.) I flipped through the channels a few times and prompty fell asleep ... I missed my opportunity to veg with cable! I continued to feel pretty rotten the rest of the day and Saturday and Sunday, too. The amount of snot (sorry if that's graphic) between me and Natalie was like nothing I had ever seen before. We must've gone through like 9 boxes of tissues!

It was beyond disappointing to be sick during the one weekend a year that I get to spend with my dear, faraway friends (and the babes). I kept my distance to hopefully avoid "contaminating" everyone else, and my energy level was a far-cry from its usual. But I did enjoy

Aquarium Outing

One of many highlights (despite the lowlight of being sick) of this trip was a visit to the Denver Aquarium, the perfect venue for the kiddos. And perfect chance to "feed" Natalie's recent octopus obsession ... well, in theory, at least. Natalie chanted "octopus" the entire time - a display that is at the very end of the aquarium circuit - and barely wanted to look at any of the other animals. And then, we finally got to the octopus exhibit and a "cartoon, costumed shark guy" terrified her so much that she didn't even look at the darn octopus, the one she had been asking to see for at least an hour!

It was just so nice to be "out" with my girls. How I wish we all lived closer together. I wish we could just call each other up on a Saturday afternoon and meet up for lunch or an outing to the zoo or whatever. Being able to spend time with Missy, Laryl, and Lisa is absolutely precious ... regardless of what we are doing we always manage to have the BEST time together. I love my "bad girls."

Under the Sea Adventure

Natalie and I spent a delightful morning with our good friends Megan and Alison. They introduced us to the Aquarium, and we have to say, "Thank you very much!" for that.

Natalie had a great time. And she continues to mention the octopus almost hourly. It was pretty cool - even I have to admit that! We've looked at the octopus photos on the computer at least half a dozen times. Taking pictures inside the aquarium wasn't easy; there was very limited natural light and flash-photog wasn't allowed. But I did my best. Another challenge, getting Natalie to look at the camera when there was so many other, more interesting things to see.

Making our way to the outdoor exhibits, I had the chance to snap a few of these. The outfit is new - courtesy of a fabulous clearance rack at the Children's Place. She loved the freedom of being able to run along this (well-protected) boardwalk. And I loved that she ran toward - rather than away from - me.

Lunch Date

I had the privilege of watching our buddy Owen yesterday ... while his daddy went to work and his mommy laid poolside in Florida. If you detect a smidgen of bitterness, you'd be right.

Since O arrived right at lunchtime, I whipped up some grilled Havarti sandwiches and tomato soup (the extent of my mid-day culinary skills) for all three of us. And the ensuing meal led to lots of laughs ... and a bath.

Owen is such a cutie pie, and it was so cute to see Natalie and O eating lunch together - having their very own toddler lunch date. Natalie strapped in her highchair and Owen sitting "like a big boy" at the table. I just had to grab my camera. While I was snapping these super cute photos of Owen gobbling down the delicious entree I had prepared ...

I happened to notice a little mischief going on in the background. It got really quiet; that was my first tip-off. Look closely. That fuzzy object, that's Natalie pouring her tomato soup over her head. As I peered up over my camera, she oh-so-appropriately commented, "Meeeeshy." So true baby girl, so true.

I should've stopped her right there, but I just couldn't help myself. And I happily captured the moment like the mamarazzi that I am!

Well, guess where we ended up? Yep, it was bathtime ... at 12:30 in the afternoon. I was only going to bathe Natalie because she was the one with tomato soup in her hair, up her nose, and basically all over. But Owen did not want to just hang out with some toys and books while I tended to the "meeeshy girl." He insisted that a bath would be tons of fun. This little lunch date ended with two naked co-eds ... an indiscretion I will encourage Natalie to wait until at least the third date to do in the future :)

Tiptoeing Through the Tulips

We made our 3rd "annual" trip to see the tulips on Sunday. It's about an hour and a half drive north of here and worth the trip, especially if you can go on a weekday - as we did the past two years. This trip - on a beautiful Sunday - involved far more traffic and crowds than hubby and I find delightful.

I never would've guessed that I live so close to the "tulip capital of the world" (or something like that). I had a college roommate from the "pumpkin capital of the world" - Morton, IL in case you're interested - and I was always just a tad envious. But now I have my own claim to fame and yearly mecca. I am guessing that tulips photograph much better than a bunch of pumpkins!

It was hard to get photos of Natalie's face because a) she was looking down at the flowers - who can blame her? they are gorgeous, b) when she did look up, it was to check out the huge kites - again, who can blame her?, and c) it was high noon with sunny skies, which required a lot of squinting. But I did take plenty of shots, and CPV must've taken the hint in this post because he grabbed the camera to take pics of me and baby girl together, too :)

Just Plain Nutty

Words I didn't expect to hear uttered while perusing the children's section at the local library, "Wanna play with my nut?"

I was like ... WHAT?!

Turned to see a mommy with a squirrel puppet on one hand and chicken perched on the other. She was creating her own little puppet show ... thankfully, with a limited audience.

So, the squirrel says to the chicken, "Wanna play with my nut?"

I immediately - and yes, immaturely, start giggling and look up to make eye contact with the "voice" of the squirrel. I expected to see a look of recognition on her face like, Baby in that scene from Dirty Dancing ... realizing the lameness of her comment, "I carried a watermelon." Or the time I called Natalie my little "muffin muncher" in the middle of Starbucks and completely lost it along with at least two other patrons who heard my not-quite-appropriate remark.

Back to the puppeteer; I expected her facial expression to say something like, "Oh my gosh, did I just ask if the chicken wants to play with my NUT?" Giggle, giggle, snort, snort!

But, no, she was totally stonefaced and moving onto the next scene in her little puppet play. Which, of course, just made me laugh even more :)

I just love when trip to the library leaves me laughing ... so nutty!

Tips for Traveling with a Toddler

Two Sippy Cups

With the restrictions on liquids through security, I bring two empty cups - one for milk and one for juice/water. My first stop is usually a Starbucks where I order a Chai Tea Latte for me and a kids whole milk for Natalie. Occasionally, the whole milk was free of charge - I am sure it has something to do with the cashier taking pity on me, and I am totally fine with that :) I also grab a bottle of juice and another of water and put them unopened into my backpack ... for later.

Snacks, snacks, and more snacks!

The one thing I noticed this time is that I packed a lot of carbs and sugars ... dry cereal in her snack trap cup, Mum-Mums, bananas flattened, raisins, and a Nutrigrain bar. These types of snacks provide great distraction, but I worry about the lack of nutrition. I guess that's tough to avoid, but I'd like to figure out some more protein options for traveling. Then again, the empty calories mean we eat - and kill time - more often.

Airplane Presents

After a quick stop at the dollar sections of Target and Michael's, I wrapped a few airplane presents for Natalie. This one is a no-brainer; I mean, who doesn't like presents? I actually borrowed this idea from a stranger. Years ago when I was enjoying the flight-privileges that come along with being married to a pilot, I traveled even more than I do now. My favorite part of traveling has always been observing my fellow travelers. You see some of the most interesting things. I can vividly remember once sitting in the boarding area and watching a mom and her little boy. She had this enormous backpack - just like the one I now carry through the airport - and inside were all these little presents. I overheard her explaining to the little boy that all these present were for him and he would get to open them on the airplane. He was so delighted by the mere thought of this and his focus shifted from impatience to anticipation. That idea stuck with me, and I am happy to report it worked just as well with Natalie.

Airplane Presents for this trip:

1. ColorWonder markers and book - this was the most expensive item and the least enjoyed ... go figure!
2. Mini MagnaDoodle - the best $2 I've ever spent. Natalie drew pictures and babbled for like 15 minutes at a time and asked for it again and again!
3. Dried Fruit - Snacks are always more fun and tasty when opened as a present :)
4. Box of Animal Crackers - She didn't even eat them! Instead, she took each cookie from the inner plastic bag and put it into the little train box ... naming each animal as she went. Let me tell you, some of those animals are pretty nondescript!
5. Stickers - I chose Sesame Street characters because Natalie is a little obsessed right now! She didn't want to take them off the packaging; she just wanted to point to and name each one.
6. Elmo Books - I already had these, but I wrapped them anyway.

I used tissue paper for the wrapping because it can also be used to wipe up a spill or even a nose if needed. And the unwrapping was as much of an activity as playing with the new item ... good stuff!

Mini DVD Player & Discs

The one I took was borrowed from my awesome friend Tammy. And my friend Liza loaned me a selection of Scholastic discs - each one in it's own skinny (packing-friendly) case - pictured above. I also brought along our current "favorite" Elmo DVD. While I thoroughly enjoyed the videos of some of our favorite children's books, Natalie only wanted Elmo. But she wouldn't watch the movie; as soon as the DVD was loaded, she would pleaded for the previews - 20 little snippets of other Elmo movies. Initially, I selected each title and pushed play, but eventually realized that I could select Preview All. I don't love the idea of Natalie watching videos all day, but this was a great way to keep her occupied, especially given the circumstances.

Go-Go Babyz - Wheels for the Carseat

Again, borrowed from Tammy - because Tammy rocks - this little gadget is pretty cool. I knew that I wasn't going to need my stroller in VA because my friend Heather - mommy of two - has plenty of that sort of gear. But I did need Natalie's carseat and I really wanted it at the gate with me ... just in case there happened to be an empty seat on the plane ... because 26 pounds of wiggly-squiggly toddler on my lap for 4 hours doesn't really sound like a lot of fun ... neither does paying additional airfare for her to fly in her own seat. But, hey, if there's an empty seat and the airline is willing to let us use it, I want to have a way to strap her to it! Fortunately for us, we did have an extra seat 3 out of the 4 legs of this trip.

Anyway, back to the Go-Go Babyz. It basically turns your car seat into a piece of wheely luggage that your child can ride in like a stroller. You attach a single piece that is a board/wheels/handle, strap your little darling in, and away you go. Clearly it's cool, and I had a lot of parents stop me to ask about it. I also noticed a lot of parents lugging bulky car seats on their backs or balancing them on the top of strollers - neither of which looked very convenient/pleasant.

But I thought I'd also mention a few "negatives." 1. Your little one sits very low to the ground. And many times my fellow "in-a-hurry" travelers didn't see Natalie "way down there" and bumped into her. 2. Dismantling the thing to use your car seat on the plane and then putting it back together again to use while in the airport is not an easy task. 3. The TSA guys were not thrilled that the carseat/wheels combo would not fit through the x-ray conveyor belt dealy. Of course, I played dumb about the fact that the wheels could come off, and the entire thing was scanned by hand.

Hope at least one of those tips were helpful. Happy Traveling!

No Fooling ... We're Flying ... Again!

This is no April Fool's Day joke. Yes, friends, we're at it again! Natalie and I are flying cross-country ... just the two of us ... for a little fun in Virginia. That's a 4 hour flight to Chicago, a 2 hour layover, and then a 1.5 hour flight to D.C. All starting at 6:40 am, which means we leave the house at, what we affectionately refer to as, the "butt crack" of 4:40 am. Ugh! What am I thinking?

At least I know we are capable of such adventures. It's not like we haven't flown before. I made a list of all the airplane/port travel I've done with Natalie in the short 20.5 months she's been alive ... let's just say we've logged quite a few hours of flight time!

• November 2007 - SEA to STL - Natalie's 1st flight (about 3,400 miles RT)
• December 2007 - SEA to STL - Celebrating Christmas with family (about 3,400 miles RT)
• January 2008 - SEA to IAD - Introducing Natalie to her family in VA (about 4,800 miles RT)
• June 2008 - SEA to STL to DEN to SEA - 3-leg trip home and then to Denver (3,500 miles total)
• August 2008 - SEA to IAD - Litsas/Clouden Wedding (about 4,800 miles RT)
• This one included a layover in Newark that almost made me never travel with Natalie again!
• December 2008 - SEA to STL - Celebrating Christmas with family (about 3,400 miles RT)
• April 2009 - SEA to IAD - Jackson/Giles Wedding (about 4,800 miles RT)

And the list continues ...
May 2009 - SEA to DEN - Bad Girls' Reunion '09
That's right, we have one more trip planned before I have to start buying a seat for Natalie ... we are heading to Denver again for another annual Bad Girls' Reunion at the end of May.

Miles flown so far ... a whopping ... 28,100. Seriously, is that all? That's not even enough miles to redeem for a free flight. Well, it certainly seems like at least 100 times that many! Perhaps it would be more interesting to calculate the HOURS spent traveling ... to the airport, through security, waiting to board, in the air, during layovers, waiting to board again, to baggage claim, from the airport, ... whew, I am tired just thinking about it!

Through this ridiculous amount of travel, I have managed to acquire a few tips for traveling with a toddler. But I think I'll post those later because right now I have a huge hot pink suitcase waiting to be packed!

Dock, Ducks, ... such a Delight!

There's a lake near our house that is the home to a fairly large flock (?) of ducks. And those ducks love stale carbs ... bread, crackers, ... you get the idea. We haven't been to see the ducks in quite some time because the weather here has been awful typical. But last Sunday, we found ourselves with a surplus of "duck" bread and somewhat bearable weather conditions. That combination led us to the dock where we fed the ducks and took lots of photos ... here are a few of my favorites.

Laugh 'til You ... Puke?

Ugh! Houston ... or someone ... we have a problem! As much as I love Natalie's hysterical laughter, I am not so much enjoying the resulting stomach contents. This has happened on more than one occasion, and it's starting to gross me out a little.

If Natalie gets a good case of the giggles, she usually also gets the hiccups. Perhaps this is a traits she picked up from her Grammy. But at least a handful of times, those giggle-ups have also produced a fair amount of spit-up.

The first time it happened was on the way home after picking her up at Deann's (my truly wonderful version of childcare while I work on Tuesdays). I was singing Old McDonald Had a Farm, and Natalie was cracking up. Good times, good times. When all of the sudden I hear her usually hiccup followed by a gurgly, spitting sound ... followed by more laughter and her darling way of saying, "more" (it almost sounds like maa-maa). Because it was dark, I was tempted to pull over to check on her but figured if she was asking for more, it was more she'd get. And we laughed the rest of the way home. When I open the back door, I was greeted by a smiling Natalie covered in stinky, yucky puke all down the front of her jacket and carseat straps.

I've laughed 'til I've cried. I've even gotten close to peeing my pants while laughing. But puking? Seriously?

Worth the Wait?

So the question of the past few days seems to be, "How was Nelly?" And I must admit, that's a good question. I must also apologize 'cause I have been s to the wamped since last week ... did 14 parent-teacher-student conferences yesterday and staring down the barrel of report cards to be written ... nothing fun about that ... but back to the excitement that was my life just 48 hours ago.

The ridiculously short version, for those of you with better things to do ... House Party '08 was awesome! Watching Nelly perform was all that I hoped it would be and more. One regret: wearing stiletto heels for five hours!

The "slightly" longer version ... I had it in my mind all week - since I won my tickets - that the House Party started at 8:00 pm. About 5:00 on Saturday evening, I decided to double-check the tickets and realized that the concert actually started at 7:00 pm. A quick and frantic call to Tammy put the wheels in motion and we both did our best to get showered, dressed, and looking ghetto-fabulous ... all in less than an hour ... while tending to our precious little ones!

BTW, we both looked SASSY! And I was rockin' the skinny jean ... thanks to my fashionista friend, Liza, who took me shopping :)

Our lame attempt at being gangsta :)

Okay, so back to the story ... there's much more to tell ...

The drive downtown was uneventful - so much so that I don't even really remember it. Oh, I do remember eating a handful of edamame and a granola bar ... we'll call that dinner.

Tammy's hubby hooked us up with some free parking at his office building. As we readied ourselves - checking to make sure we had ID, the tickets, lip gloss - I asked Tammy, "Which shoes should I wear? The comfy silver ballet slippers or the Steve Madden metallic stiletto?" Her response, the one question I could only answer by wearing the heels, "Which makes you feel sexier?" A decision I would come to regret.

To make sure we'd be able to get back in the building should the partying continue past the pumpkin hour, we tracked down a security guy ... guessing he hasn't carried on many conversations with two hotties 'cause he was not all that helpful, he was wearing a blazer meant for a man three times his size, and he mouth hung open in between responses.

Just outside the garage - and not entirely sure how to get to the theater - we stood waiting to cross the busy street. Which led us to a chance encounter with a 92.5 Insider. First, she complimented my shoes. She said something like, "Those are really great shoes." And I said, "Great but not comfortable." Major foreshadowing! And then she asked, "Are you going to the House Party?" And then she walked with us to the Paramount Theatre - lucky for us because I am not entirely convinced we would've found it on our own. She also had a little "inside" dish to share on the way ... like the fact that my decision to get floor tickets - clearly putting me closer to the stage - would also mean standing the entire time ... and that Nelly's performance wouldn't begin until 10:30.

Once inside, we were greeted by some random guys, who we totally blew-off ... only to discover later that they opened the show - had connections - and I can't fight the nagging feeling that perhaps they had the connections to get us backstage passes ... if only we hadn't ignored them!

We made our way to the stage in time to see the opening and a great performance by the Sugar Hill Gang ... some o-l-d guys ... most famous for a song called "Rapper's Delight" ... it starts with "i said a hip hop the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop, a you don't stop the rock it to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat" ... you've heard it before, right? Their performance totally made me smile in the same way I can't help but grin when I see an old couple holding hands. We also stood fairly close to the stage and met two "old-schoolers" - he knew every lyric and she wasn't going to take no crap!

After just an hour of standing on those darn heels, we left our place near the front of the stage to make a trip to the little girls' room. Back in the lobby, I bought a very expensive and very disgusting vodka and pineapple juice ... and we found a place to sit for most of Kardinal Offishall's performance. We took our place back amongst the crowd near the stage and watched for a song or two. First of all, his name is stupid. Neither his reggae hip-hop style, nor his one recognizable song, Dangerous, were a highlight of the evening.

The party really got started when Ton-Loc took the stage. His voice, his swagger, his well-known songs and lyrics ... I laughed, I sang along, I cheered, ... I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the evening. And I was happy to witness one of Ton's famous $100 Rap Showdowns ... now I have an even better mental image of my pal B-dog's attempt to win said contest.

Ton-Loc ended his performance at 9:40 and DJ Mayhem took over spinning and mixing and scratching some decent songs. But the entire crowd was feeling impatient; we were more than ready for the headlining act ... my boy, Nelly! 50 very long minutes later - at 10:30, Nelly and his crew finally took the stage. And he was very much WORTH THE WAIT! He was wearing dark wash jeans, a gray Polo shirt - yummy arms bulging through the sleeves, a navy blue STL hat, diamond stud earrings (the carat amount I don't even dare to guess), serious bling on both wrists, and the perfect sunglasses. He looked seriously HOT ... and I couldn't stop screaming and jumping up and down. He sang everything I expected ... Hot in Herre, Country Grammar, Over and Over, Air Force Ones, Ride Wit Me, ... and some new stuff - I especially liked his duet with Avery Storm ... and his St. Lunatics had a little rap-off that was off-the-hook! Loved it, loved it, loved it! My boy, Nelly, did not disappoint!

Cameras were not allowed inside the House Party. Tammy did try to take a few shots with the camera on her phone, but the quality was pretty iffy ... so I borrowed a few images from the 92.5 website. (I hope that's okay.)

Our night ended with a trip through the BK drive-thru ... the combination of skipping dinner and shaking our little mommy booties for like 5 hours really took its toll on our appetite ... a Whopper Jr. and some fries later, and we had regained our composure :)

A huge thank you to my friend Tammy for going along with me and making the night even more fun!

Again, I apologize for withholding this post for a few days ... based on some of the comments and emails and facebook wall writings, I fear I nearly incited a blog-riot :) I hope it was worth the wait!

Can you say .... N E L L Y ? !

See that hottie over there? On Saturday night, I am going to be breathing the same air as him ... seeing him perform LIVE ... shaking my tiny butt (no apple bottom here) all night long! And my friend Tammy will be there to witness the whole thing :)

Woo Hoo! I won, I won, I won! After calling - and hearing lots of busy tones - for the past three weeks, today I was caller 25. And I have the very distinct pleasure of seeing my boy, Nelly, next Saturday at the 92.5 House Party! I sounded like a very excited teenage girl on the radio, and the DJ thought I was hilarious ... when I get excited, I get funny :) To say I am excited would be a complete understatement. I mean, seriously, if you know me at all, you know that I am slightly obsessed with this hip-hop artist ... partly because "I'm from the 'Lou and I'm proud!" but also because I find his music delightful (doubt anyone else has ever used that word to describe Nelly's songs). I know it's not typical music for the 30+ SAHM-crowd but I just can't resist, and I am not even going to try! This mama likes to shake it :)

I also have to give serious props to my darling husband. He called all day - every hour - on Thursday and Friday. And he even went to a local mall parking lot after work on Friday to try to "Spin-and-Win" me a pair of tickets. All because he knows how much this means to me ... isn't he the sweetest? (I tried to get CPV to pose for a photo like Nelly's - thought that would be a nice addition to this post - but he declined ... something about not wanting to make Nelly look weak!)

House Party

Every hour on the hour - between 7 am and 7 pm - I am neglecting my daughter, forgetting my responsibilities as a mommy, wife, friend, ... to call and try to win tickets to the 92.5 House Party 2008. My boy, Nelly, as I affectionately refer to him, is going to be here in Seattle on November 8th, and I must see him ... if even from afar. And you can't BUY tickets. They must be WON.

Caller 25. I just want to be caller 25. I've tried at 8, 9, and 10 this morning ... nothing but busy signals :( And yesterday when I was at the peak of discouragement, feeling like I was going to give up ... I was caller 21 at 11am ... so close! It totally sucked me right back into calling 13 times a day, listening to the awful busy tone, ... and when it actually rings, my heart rate goes off the charts. I want these tickets so badly!

Deb - Just to clarify, Nelly is my NKOTB ... are you feeling my pain?

Update: A huge thanks to my sweet hubby who is doubling my efforts by calling to win tickets . And he is having far better luck than I am today. He's been caller 5 and caller 12; you go, CPV!

An eebee Adventure of the PD Kind

Today was a bit of controlled chaos and occasionally out-of-control. It was also a little messy but also a whole lot of FUN! You've had a chance to look at the photos. Can you guess what we did today? Oh, perhaps the title of this post gave it away ... we played! More specifically, I hosted a playdate - with 6 other moms and babies (ages 10-14 months). But not just any old PD (as we call them here in the SAHM world) with the babies corralled in the middle of the room with a bunch of toys and mamas catching up on a little adult conversation ... no, none of that ... which I definitely missed, by the way!

This was a PD with a "higher purpose." This was a PD inspired by eebee's Adventures and focused on developmental play. I think the comment of one of the mom's pretty much sums it up, "Dana, you are such a teacher!" And a bit of a nerd, but I'm totally okay with that :)

So here's what I did ...

I set up three separate stations - one in the living room, one in the family room, and one in our little play niche - each one a different learning adventure.

1. Pouring and Scooping - two big bins filled with uncooked rice, all kinds of scoops and cups, and a big blanket to cover the floor
2. Building and Stacking - a big bin filled with all the blocks and cups I could find and a collection of empty boxes (cereal, shipping, diapers, ...)
3. Rolling and Sliding - a board made into an inclined plane by propping it against the ottoman, balls of all shapes and sizes, and a set of random objects for sliding

When the mamas first arrived, I gave them a handout for each station - information I obtained from the eebee.com website under Parent Info. Each handout defined the concepts this type of play teaches, explained the importance of learning the concept, and suggested ways for parents to be involved in the play (things to say and ask). I asked the mamas to take a minute to preview each activity while the babies played and "got to know each other." And I gave a little "talk" about my passion for teaching/learning and why I think eebee Adventures is such a good tool for moms and babies.

From there, we split into groups - two mamas and two babies - to rotate through the stations. Each station visit lasted about 10 minutes and then groups moved on to the next. The rice station was a big hit amongst the babies, but some moms seemed a little skeptical about making such a big mess. It did take me about 20 minutes to clean it all up after the PD, but I think it was totally worth it!

After 30 minutes of rotating, I brought everyone back together for snacks and conversation about what happened at each station, what observations the moms made, what ideas they would take back home with them ... that sort of thing. Oh, and while the adults talked, I popped in our eebee DVD and the babies got to watch other babies playing just the way they did at the stations!

Play can be fun and meaningful, and I am so glad eebee has taught me that lesson, and I enjoyed sharing it with other moms, too!

Flying Cross-Country ...

... with a One Year Old and a Layover ... in Newark ... what the heck was I thinking? I was thinking that it would be nice to visit my dear friends in Northern Virginia. That's what I was thinking. And I was so right about that part! Aside from the almost debilitating heat and humidity, it was awesome to be back amongst friends :)

But the actual traveling part ... pretty much sucked! Oh, by the way, it was my brilliant idea, or at least my conscious choice to fly with a connecting flight ... no one to blame but myself for this little misadventure!

Seattle to Dulles International via Newark

The flight from Seattle to Newark was long - as long as expected - and somewhat delightful because I had an extra (free) seat for Natalie and her infant carseat (the one that she really doesn't fit in anymore but I brought to the airport just in case, and it paid off). She fell asleep right after take-off. I attempted to watch a movie ... the one with Reese Witherspoon and a girl who looks like a pig ... can't remember the name. I even paid a dollar for the headphones. Well, the movie was kind of lame, and Natalie woke up after just an hour of napping ... probably because the captain and flight attendants kept making the loudest stupid announcements ... but whatever. And wouldn't you know it, the drink cart and meal (greasy cheeseburger - heated in a plastic bag) arrived just as Natalie got restless. Balancing a drink and meal box on a tiny tray while keeping a one year old at bay is no easy task ... thankfully I had a container of Veggie Booty just for such an occasion! Anyway, I managed to entertain her for the rest of the flight ... I had a stockpile of toys and books, but she preferred the disposable plasticware from our meal - the plastic cup, the plastic salad plate, the little plastic tray to keep my two cookies from being reduced to crumbs, ...

And so delightfulness ensued until we landed in Newark. Our connecting flight was a considerably smaller plane, which doesn't bother me in the least, in fact, Chad use to fly 50-seater jets, so that is not an issue. The issue was getting to the "tiny plane" terminal. God-forbid these freakin' airport builders, architects, morons would give a thought to how passengers with a baby and stroller might get from one terminal to the next. I can't imagine how people in wheel chairs must feel about this predicament; it is so infuriating! First we waiting in this tiny, disgusting room for a bus to arrive. Then I was shown to a freight elevator that hadn't seen a mop in a very long time. I somehow managed to get Natalie out of her infant seat, fold my stroller, and get everything on board the darn bus without so much as a mention of help from the driver or fellow passengers ... hello, rude! After a short ride, I again juggled all my crap plus Natalie off the bus only to discover 16 concrete steps. Huh?!? I mean, I can manage a backpack, a stroller, an infant carseat, a 22 pound baby, and my sanity when not faced with 16 stairs and no elevator! I just about lost it! Thankfully a baggage handler noticed my dilemma and rescued us ... and the many witnesses to my potential breakdown. He carried my stroller ... at arms length from this body ... as if it contained dead animal carcass or something ... but at least he took it all the way to the top.

Once inside the "tiny plane" terminal, things did not get any better. On the contrary, things just kept getting worse. Keep in mind that Natalie had only slept for a grand total of one hour at this point. Let's see ... how do I make this long story just a smidge shorter ... our one hour layover ended up to last a grand total of FOUR hours. And I could only keep Natalie up off that FILTHY, DISGUSTING, GERM-RIDDEN airport terminal carpet for so long. Eventually I had to concede and let her .... crawl around for a little while. Oh, it makes me sick just thinking about it! What makes it even worse is the fact that she constantly sought out and crawled to every trash can she could spot! We made many, many, many trips to the restroom to wash hands with soap and water - after the anti-bacterial wipes were all gone. Her cute little pants were absolutely black - or at least a very dark gray - from cuff to just above the knee ... YUCK! But we did meet a wonderful mom and her teenage son from Texas, and they kept us company during the long wait ... and gave Natalie a new object of her flirting affections.

The flight included an hour long sit on the taxi way before take-off, which sucked, but we finally arrived in Virginia ... at midnight. And my poor friend Heather had to roll out of bed to come pick us up. At least we didn't even have to think about airline travel for another 6 days.

The Return Trip: Dulles International to Seattle via Newark

The return trip was just as awful ... no really, it was ... perhaps even a little worse. But I'll spare you a big long, detailed recounting. Here are the highlights:

Our travels began at 3:00 pm, when we left Heather's house - this information will be important toward the end of my tale. Our flight leaving Dulles was delayed for more than an hour, and we had another connection through Newark. Repeated the awful process - in reverse - of getting from the "tiny plane" terminal to the main terminal ... again, those 16 steps do not come with the option of an elevator. Thanks to a kind and somewhat beefy guy, I managed to get us and all our stuff on the bus. Only to discover that our light from Newark to Seattle was ... you guessed it ... delayed ... for hours! Again, Natalie got the chance to crawl on some of the dirtiest carpet I have ever laid foot on! The flight was beyond full, which meant no empty seat for Natalie. Which also meant I had the distinct privilege of holding my 22 pound baby girl ... on my lap ... for many, many hours. We spent almost two hours on the plane before take-off. Two hours of squirming and fussing because it was bedtime for NHV. We finally departed, and Natalie fell asleep almost immediately and stayed that way. So began my battle to sit comfortably in a window seat while holding 22 pounds of dead weight. Grand total, I did this for seven hours, and let me assure you I never did get comfortable. My arms and back and legs hurt so badly I wanted to cry on several occasions ... part of that could've been shear exhaustion, too. At Seattle airport, I had a terrible time finding elevators. When I asked for directions to the nearest elevator, people looked at me like I had asked for a unicorn or something ... with this slightly bemused look on their faces! By this point it was after midnight - or 3 am east coast time - and I was pretty much anything but amused. Anyway, just another point of frustration. We then took a taxi to our car which Chad parked at a friend's house about 5 miles from the airport. We pulled into our driveway at almost 2 am - or 5 am east coast time. Must give mad props to my baby girl. She maintained her composure through it all. I guarantee I would never even attempt this type of travel if she wasn't the amazing little person that she is!

Phew! That was a lot of typing and a lot of reading if you stuck with it. But I am blogging about this so I can remember the pain - I don't want to forget it like childbirth and foolishly decide to do it again!

P.S. We actually got back from this trip - almost a week ago to the hour - but I am just now writing about it because I wasn't ready to relive it until now :)

Trip to the Zoo ... and a really cool date: 8/8/08

We went to the Cougar Mountain Zoo today, and it was awesome! For a relatively small zoo, I was very impressed by all that it had to offer including ... two gorgeous Bengal tigers, a mountain lion (aka a cougar), and an exhibit of Macaws that blew me away and had me smiling from ear-to-ear! One of the Macaws hid behind his wing and then said, "Peek-a-Boo," as clear as any human ... and perhaps I am easy to please, but that pretty much made my day!

Natalie had a pretty serious look on her face the entire time; I like to think she was really trying to soak up all the new knowledge, but perhaps she just wasn't as impressed as me. Natalie seemed to like the bronze animal sculptures the best ... probably because we let her get down and crawl/walk around. But my favorite part was totally unrelated to the animals. All of the brick walkways contained engraved paving stones. It's a fundraiser for the zoo - each engraved brick pays for 20 blank ones. Not only is it a great way for the zoo to raise money and complete its walkways, but it's also such a cool legacy-type thing to do and a unique gift to give someone ... hint, hint ... I've decided I must have an engraved brick at the zoo.

I should also mention two other important events on this 8th day of August 2008 ...

My wonderful friend Laryl became a mommy to her beautiful baby girl, Marissa Marie. Congratulations, Keith and Laryl, and welcome to the world, MM! Also, today is our neighbor Sebastian's one month birthday. Sebastian's parents, Johny and Jessica, "planned" his birth as a first birthday gift for Natalie ... hee, hee :) Happy One Month to you!