Munchkindoodles

Tis the season

2009-10-31T20:59:00.004-05:00

The "collect as many Reese's peanut butter cups for Mommy as you can" season, that is. What? That isn't a real season? Well, it should be.

Okay, Halloween it is, just don't tell Mallory - she still believes in "collect as many Reese's peanut butter cups for Mommy as you can" day. Each time I asked Mallory what she wanted to be, I got a different answer, although all answered centered around a theme. "princess" "fairy" "butterfly" "princess butterfly" Here you have it.

Grandpa Don came to visit for the long weekend. He actually came to help us do some remodeling work on our new veterinary clinic building. Mallory and I interrupted his work staining and varnishing doors and trim before we deserted him and went trick-or-treating. (Don't worry, I'll share my peanut butter cup haul.)
Hope you all had a happy Halloween filled with lots of peanut butter cups!

The sickies

2009-10-18T19:51:00.002-05:00

Isn't she just the cutest, most pathetic thing? The crud that's making the rounds has found our house. Mallory spent most of today alternating between the big rocking chair, the floor and the couch. She was still running a fever (even with Tylenol) when she went to bed tonight, so no daycare tomorrow. I hope she feels better soon!

Scary spiders

2009-10-17T11:21:00.002-05:00

I like to think of myself as adventurous. I might not actually be adventurous, but I like to think that I could be. Anyway, I had all three cousins at my house this morning (Tera, Damien and Mallory) and decided to have them help me decorate cupcakes. I made the cupcakes last night (I'm adventurous, not crazy!) and got them frosted while the kids played (see previous remark). I think we did a darn good job - no huge messes made (Damien's face is the exception) and all the cupcakes got frosted. Go me.

New spring coats

2009-03-20T18:19:00.004-05:00

Just in time for spring. (Happy spring, everyone!) I got ambitious this year and decided Mallory needed a couple new coats. Okay, maybe not "needed". In fact, her little corduroy coat from last fall still fits perfectly fine. But I wanted to make them. Good enough for me!

This first one ended up a little bit big. The pattern is out of a European magazine called Ottobre that I discovered thanks to my new friends at Sewingmamas. I decided that since I was going to put that much work into something, she better be able to wear it for a while, so I went with about a size and a half bigger than what she wears now. There's definitely some growing room. This is going to be her "special" coat for church and things like that. No playing in the mud in this thing!

This one fits a bit better. This pattern is from My Favorite Things and is called, aptly, The Little Hooded Jacket. The outside is a laminated cotton fabric, so it's waterproof, and the lining is a jersey knit to keep it a bit warmer. I adore this jacket! It was my first separating jacket zipper and first time using piping. I wish I had one in my size!

Now, I just need to decide what to sew next. No worries...I have plenty of ideas! :)

Little dancer girl

2009-03-05T20:01:00.003-06:00

A week later than planned, but dance class has begun! Mallory wasn't so sure about it, though. She got dressed happily enough, but during the car ride there she kept telling me she wanted to go home, not to dance class. Fortunately, once we got there, she was okay and joined the group with no problems. It was a nice little class for two and three year olds. I'm guessing Mallory was one of the youngest there and it did show a couple of times, but overall she did great.

Here she is with her new little friend, Amelia. Amelia's mom is also a veterinarian - we work together one day a week. Don't you love their little matching tutus?
Making the circle "really, really small."

Banging on "drums" - I can't believe how well these kids listened! They actually all waited to start playing until the teacher (Miss Erin) had given everyone a drum and told them how to beat on them. They played loud and soft, fast and slow.

I think they were supposed to be touching their toes with their "bumpers" in the air. That didn't work quite as well as the drums. Or maybe they were jumping like frogs, I can't remember for sure. The frogs would explain the picture better....

And here's a nice big circle.

Of course, a half hour of dance class isn't terribly tiring for little kids. So we hung out at the school for a little while afterwards to let them burn off some steam. The little boy in red is Austin, another co-worker's son.

Happily, the school had a nice long cafeteria for the kids to run up and down. Mallory and Amelia spent most of the time holding hands...and clothes-lining poor Austin when he ran between them.

After twenty minutes of running, Mallory was ready to head out. She was pretty disappointed when I told her we were heading home and not going to dance class again. I guess that means she had fun. Unfortunately, it sounds like Miss Erin would prefer no parents in the room for the rest of the classes...no more cute pictures. Guess we'll have to wait for the recital in two months.

By jove, I think she's got it!

2009-03-01T19:19:00.004-06:00

Going potty on the toilet, that is. I figured that in and of itself deserved a mention on this oh-so-neglected blog of mine. I was beginning to think that my precious daughter would be in diapers until kindergarten - even though people swear that never happens! Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a tad. But, if you remember...I mentioned oh, almost a year ago, that Mallory had peed in the potty a few random times both at home and at daycare. We definitely haven't been working on training this whole time. In fact, as recent as last Thursday morning (ten-ish days ago) she flat out told me that "I wear diapers, no wear panties." Try arguing with that. However, that night, she told me she wanted to wear panties. So on they went. I'll spare you the nitty gritty, but she has done really well! The first few days I had to make sure she was on the potty at least every 45 minutes. I even found some of those oh-so-fashionable Gerber plastic undie covers to try to contain the accidents. By late this last week, she's started telling me when she has to go potty, holding it a bit longer (depends on what she's had to drink), and even managed to hold it for two miles (after she said she had to go) until we got home! Yippee!!

That's pretty much the excitement around here. I did enroll her in a little dance class that was supposed to start last Thursday. It's a community education type program and they actually have a class for two and three year olds. It meets just one night a week for half an hour, but at the end there will be a recital. May 14th for any of you that may want to mark your calendars. However, since we had a nice snowstorm last week, we didn't have class. I'm a little concerned how this will affect the recital. Just kidding. I can't wait to get some cute pictures in her little leotard and tutu (yep, I made her one!)

Since I don't have much other news, I'll fill the rest of this post with some random pictures. I know that's all you come for anyway, right?

My niece, Miriam (she's in the center below) turned one the end of last month. Well, actually, January, I guess that's technically two months ago, now. We spent the weekend visiting, managed to not catch the tummy flu that made the rounds, and brought our ice cream freezer to make homemade ice cream. Joshua and Mallory were in charge of that.

Superbowl Sunday found us trying out the local ice-skating rink. Fortunately, it was pretty quiet, probably due to the big game. They had these cute little walker things for little kids to push. I still spent most of the time half bent over to help Mallory push and to make sure she didn't fall over and crack the back of her head on the ice. She had a blast - laughed everytime she fell down. We haven't gotten back yet, we really should.

My multi-tasking whiz kid.

Believe it or not, there was actually a weekend around here that was nice enough to play outside for a significant length of time. We played at Grandma Deb's house with Tera and Billie. Mallory was practicing for when she's older and in charge of the winter sidewalks.

We tried to get a group picture. Yeah, that worked well. (That's Grandpa Larry's dog Jake that joined us.)

More sledding.

Still more.

Did I ever mention that Mallory is in a big girl bed now? She transitioned pretty well. We did end up getting a baby gate (toddler gate?) for the bedroom door after she drug her quilt all the way UP THE STAIRS and stood outside our bedroom door whimpering. Gave me a fright. Up went the baby gate. Actually, since then, she hasn't tried to get out of her room. *shrug*

And, as promised way too many weeks ago, cow pictures. Isn't it nice they're all showing their good sides?

Nothing like ice cream in January

2009-01-11T19:14:00.008-06:00

Woo-hoo, my camera is here! It's so wonderful, and I'm guessing will be even more so once I figure out how to work all the buttons. For now, I know that I press the silver one on top to take a picture. :) In case you're at all curious, I got a Canon Powershot SX110 IS. It's easy like a point and shoot, but does have some manual settings that I hope to try out someday.

So, in order to get the camera broken in (I hope I didn't just jinx things), I brought it along to Matt's mom and dad's this weekend for ice cream making. Yep, you read that right. It's about 10 degrees outside and two plus feet of snow on the ground, but they made ice cream. Must be a Minnesota thing.

Grandpa was in charge of the ice cream maker, but Tera and Mallory helped put the ice in the bin. Genuine Minnesota ice.

Then, we wait. And wait. Fortunately, Bambi II was able to distract most of the waiters. It's a good thing that it's actually a pretty decent movie, as we've seen it way too many times.

Finally, there is ice cream. It was a long wait for some of us.

Very delicious!

What, is there something on my face?

And finally, just to show off how well my new camera takes close-ups....

I'm so excited to have a camera again. I'm trying to remember to keep it (and charged batteries) in my purse so that I can catch more candid moments. (There's a post with cows coming up!)

A new year

2009-01-02T10:55:00.002-06:00

Maybe I'll be able to keep up with the blogging this year. Or maybe not. Time will tell, I guess. No lovely pictures with this post as my camera is officially toast. Mallory was so excited to show Grandpa Larry the picture of her with Santa that she dropped the camera on the linoleum floor. Twice. Cameras don't like that much. Apparently I got my updated wish list to Santa a bit too late, so a new camera did not appear under our tree. That's okay, I've taken matters into my own hands. Thanks to amazon.com and the power of the internet, a new picture taking device should arrive at my doorstep in about a week.

That was just my quick update. I hate to leave all my loyal followers (follower?) hanging like I did. I hope to get a nice fat pictured post up real soon. See ya then!

Here you go, Tessa

2008-12-11T16:49:00.002-06:00

First of all, I need to admit, I'm a terrible blogger. There. It's out. Not like you didn't know this anyway, right? Anyway, my sister emailed me to oh-so-politely ask me to get my butt in gear and update with some pics. I've been pretty bad at getting pictures, and it's only going to get worse. Mallory was so excited to show her grandpa and daddy the last picture we took, that she dropped the camera and broke the telephoto lens. *sigh* Guess what's on my Christmas list?

Here's the picture that caused all the excitement. Funny, she was way more excited about the idea of Santa (and showing off the picture afterwards) than she was here!

Happy (late) Halloween

2008-11-05T19:58:00.008-06:00

Rather than dwell on election results - and we've all had enough of that, haven't we - I thought I'd play a little catch up again. Much less likely to provoke angry debates and much, much cuter!

Our "celebration" started the Sunday before Halloween with a pumpkin carving party at our friend Katie's house. (Yes, this is the same Katie that took Mallory's pictures in the park.) It was actually supposed to be a "work" party for the employees at the pharmacy I used to work at, but since they apparently still love me, we were invited. Well, it actually helps that my mother-in-law still works there....

Anyway, Mallory wasn't terribly gung-ho on digging out pumpkin guts, but she did help a little. She also told me that our pumpkin had to be happy, not crabby.

Halloween night itself was lots of fun. Both Grandma and Billie had to work late, so Mallory and I picked Tera up from daycare and the three of us went in search of tricks and treats. The little (and I mean that "little") mall in town held a trick-or-treat event for the kids in the late afternoon, so we hit that first. Mallory in full kangaroo regalia (black nose courtesy of Jojo) and Tera as a sheep.

We then headed out to visit Paula at work and grab a bite of real food for supper. Well, if pizza counts as "real" supper. Can you guess what Paula was dressed up as?

As luck would have it, Jojo was working too, so Mallory needed another picture.

After our "real" supper, we headed out and made a round around the new section of town. It was absolutely gorgeous outside and perfect weather for trick-or-treating. By the time we made our loop, it was getting dark (thank you daylight savings time!), so we headed to Grandma's house to show off the costumes and drop off Tera.

We also made a quick trip to great-grandma's house. Angie and Damien, Billie and Tera, and Mallory and I converged on her home. Unfortunately, she had already run out of treats, so we were given apples instead. Or, maybe that was a good thing -they were really yummy!

Finally, we made it home and Mallory crashed. I can't say I blame her, it was almost two hours past her bedtime and even I was tuckered out.

Oh, and Paula was construction Barbie.

Another Saturday

2008-10-04T22:07:00.007-05:00

I actually still have a few pictures from last Saturday to share. My friend Katie hosts a hayride at her parents' farm each fall and this was the first year that it worked for us to join in the fun. Just a little tease, though - I'll show you those pictures another day. I figured I'd try to stay on track and actually post todays pictures...today. Shocker, huh?

I've been pretty good about getting Mallory's pictures taken for each of the big "milestone" months. You know at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18....well the two year pictures didn't turn out so well. They never happened at all. We got to the portrait studio (okay, Wal-mart) and she would have absolutely nothing to do with sitting on their little table thing OR looking at the camera. We ended up leaving with no pictures even taken! Enter other friend Katie. She took Mallory's first two sets of pictures at her home for us, which had turned out quite nice. Her family was going camping at a nearby state park this weekend and she invited us to join them this morning and offered to try to get some pictures of Mallory that I could call her two year shots.

Mallory still wasn't terribly cooperative, but since Katie's 3 year old son, Gus, was there to play with, it went a little better. I don't have her shots to share yet (she has a much nicer camera than I), but I thought you might enjoy my quick point and shoot pictures anyway.

We were at Camden State Park for these pictures - I've actually never been there, even though it's less than 15 miles from our house. It's really pretty with a neat little river/stream that runs through the park. Here's my try at scenery.

After we were done with pictures, Mallory and Gus had some Froot Loops for breakfast/lunch (it was about 11am - Gus hadn't eaten breakfast yet, Mallory had eaten about three times already). Mallory was pretty tuckered out, and this is what I saw in the backseat.

After a nice (long) nap, we headed out to take lunch to Daddy and Grandpa in the field. They were just fininshing combining a field of soybeans and were able to take a break for a late meal. Mallory had eaten her lunch on the road, so was able to keep Daddy's seat warm.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We did make yet another batch of cookies - cereal crunch this time, mmmmm. After Mallory was in bed, I worked on something that I was hoping would be Tera's birthday present for tomorrow. However, the instructions made it look much easier than it was, so I had to scrap that idea. I did have a bit of a back-up, but we'll be making a gift-buying stop tomorrow after church. Big birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa's house tomorrow - Tera will be four - so hopefully Mallory will be nice and rested.

How we spent our Saturday

2008-09-30T20:54:00.003-05:00

I've created a monster. A cookie monster. Mallory and I have made more cookies in the last couple weeks than I have for quite some time before this. It started out as a way to keep Matt quiet - apparently I don't keep enough cookies in the house - but has now transformed into a wonderful distraction.

We even used sprinkles! Messy, but probably not nearly as messy as frosting would have been!

Finally, some more pictures

2008-09-21T20:09:00.006-05:00

It's about time, isn't it?

Mallory and (cousin) Tera riding the ladybug at the county fair. There were exactly two rides appropriate for these guys...the other was the big slide.

Tessa, Joshua and Mallory lazing on the couch waiting for the birthday festivities to begin.
Can you believe she's two? Please don't mind the stained t-shirt - there were popsicles involved. Makes me happy that I didn't make her a special birthday outfit!
We had a nice little picnic to celebrate. Sure beats last year when it rained and we were all stuck inside!

Getting a little Miriam fix.

I think I shared this picture before...but it's so cute you get to see it again!

The nice sunny weather we had today reminded me of the weekend we spent at the lake (that I never showed pictures of). Here's Mallory and I going for a boat ride.
My dad bought this awesome two seater monstrosity to pull behind his boat. It's nearly impossible to tip (although he has tried)...and so far no one has fallen out. The only casualty so far has been my prescription sunglasses which currently reside at the bottom of the lake. Anyway, Mallory and Joshua wanted a turn, too.

Okey-dokey, that about catches me up with the pictures that I have from the summer. I really need to get my camera out some more....

New "family" members

2008-08-14T21:44:00.004-05:00

I know it irritates my mom to no end when pets are referred to as family -such as "I'm Fido's mom"- hence the quotation marks. But, I wasn't quite sure how else to introduce these two, so that'll have to do. Sorry mom.

This is trouble...I mean Tucker. He's a little Heinz 57 - although looks mostly lab-ish. I can't decide if there's some German Shorthair Pointer in there somewhere or not. His developing (bad) habit of standing just out of reach when I want him to go in his kennel is making me think yes. He was found living with his sister at a farmsite and was being fed there, but after his sister disappeared, the people feeding him decided he needed to find a real home. One of the girls that works part time at the vet clinic also does rescue, so she took him, brought him to the clinic and he had to come home with me. I'm hoping to get Mallory more comfortable around dogs - she's a little bit nervous when they get right up to her - but this little tigger sure isn't doing much to help. He seems to realize she is about his size and wants to play whenever she walks around the yard.

This is Mallory's favorite new addition, OJ (as in juice, not Simpson). He has a similar story to Tucker, except my enabler was one of the pharmacists I used to work with at Hy-Vee. He and another cat were being fed by her neighbor, but OJ was so tame he was hanging out in their yards, even though their house cats were not in the least impressed. He is a really nice cat, and now that his boy parts have been removed, I'm hoping he'll stick around. The other cats are slowly getting used to him (not that I care - they're all fairly wild barn cats anyway) but OJ and Tucker actually get along quite well. I think OJ is a little dumb - he doesn't seem to realize that he's supposed to be scared of a dog. And for Tucker's part, cats are only fun to chase when they run. (I'm half hoping he'll continue chasing the stupid black cats that just eat my food but won't let us pet them, how bad am I?)

I'm sensing a new blog theme

2008-07-27T20:48:00.013-05:00

It's: "Let's see how far behind I can get before I show you all some new pictures." So far I'm doing well, no?

Anyway, since it's too late to start any new projects I figured I'd better get my rear in gear uploading pictures before the grandmas stage a revolt. And they know where I live.....

First, I want to show you the pretty "aye, bees" (letters) that are up on Mallory's wall thanks to Tessa. I was a bit concerned about the colors, but they ended up matching the cow border on her walls perfectly. Yay.

Next up, my happy little rag-a-maid. Do excuse the yellow water - no it's not "used", it's just that our well water is a bit rusty. I wonder if she'll continue to like housework this much as she gets older. Lord knows that gene didn't come from me! (No snide comments, please.)

Blowing bubbles with Grandpa.
My grandpa passed away and his funeral was held the week before the 4th of July holiday. Since the funeral was in my hometown, my parents hosted the extended family for the afternoon. By the end, Mallory and Joshua were in charge of snacks and beverages....

They were in serious need of a good soaking by the time the evening was done. Whatcha think of Mallory's unibrow - fashionable, eh?
And finally - the dynamic duo in their pink shades. Yep, Joshua's are pink. With rhinestones. Hmmm.....okay, they're really Mallory's. But you figured that out, didn't you?

I have a bunch more pictures from the 4th of July weekend that we spent at the lake. Those will have to be for another post, though as I'm not going to press my luck trying to load too many pictures. I promise I won't procrastinate quite so long next time, deal?

I'm trying....

2008-06-23T21:21:00.003-05:00

I'm working really hard on a new post with pictures, but blogger isn't cooperating. I can't get my pictures to upload right now....stay tuned!

Catching up again

2008-06-23T20:20:00.009-05:00

So it occurs to me as I'm sitting at the computer eating my post swimming lessons salad from BK (we probably shouldn't tell Matt how much dressing coated lettuce I've been flinging around, 'kay?) that some of you are probably going through Mallory withdrawal. Sorry 'bout that.

First, yep, we've started swimming lessons. Mommy got smart this time and signed up through the local YMCA for indoor lessons instead of the ones we tried last year at an outdoor pool. That was just too flippin' cold for all parties involved. Mallory is having a great time. The Y has a zero-depth pool, which is really cool (I mean warm), so there really isn't the shock of jumping right in. Although, speaking of jumping, she really does enjoy jumping off the side into the water. She also will blow bubbles on occasion - however, she's still not super fond of putting her whole head under water. Lots of spluttering when that (accidentally) happens. I'm hoping I can get Matt to come along at least once to document with pictures, so we can share some of our fun. Stay tuned.

Last weekend, we spent most of the days at my sister's house. It was cousin Joshua's 2nd birthday on June 8th (he picked an easy to remember day - our anniversary) The whole clan was down for some fun, including pizza at a local pizza place that also had a few arcade type games. It wasn't quite Chuck E Cheese, but with $4 gas, that's quite okay.

Mom and Tessa stayed at our house Friday night. They arrived a bit later than planned due to unforeseen restaurant issues, so Mallory was already in bed by the time they showed up. However, she was very excited to get to break the fast with them Saturday morning.

I then made use of the extra hands staying at my house and eating my cereal, by roping them into helping decorate Mallory's room. A friend of mine had recently had an Uppercase Living party and I ordered a set to put on Mallory's wall above her crib. Tessa courageously faced the spider in the corner and between the two of us (okay, she did more) we managed to get it on the wall without major complications. Note to self: swirly letters...not such a good idea. I'll remember to get a pic one of these days so you can see how cute it is.

Then we all got ready to go.
Off to Kasey's house for fun with all the party guests. First, a little chase with Grandpa.

Then, some quality rockin' on Mr. Fish. Hmm, I had a bus driver in elementary school named Mr. Fish. Strange how these memories pop up, isn't it?

Then, my brother, Tyler, actually thought he might be able to sneak in a nap. On the livingroom floor. Oh my. Do you recognize those cute little legs sticking out in front? Nope, not mine!

Finally a cute picture of the silly-ness that was the norm for the day. I still have pictures of the party, but I don't want to push my luck with Blogger tonight. And besides, my mom said I didn't have to share all at once!

p.s. If you'd really like to see some more cute pictures without the waiting, check out my sister's blog - she's got lots!

Meow meows

2008-06-11T22:22:00.012-05:00

WARNING: Lots of cute kitties coming up! We had two momma cats have kittens within a day or two of each other in the same place (Buddy's old dog house). I was really trying to visit and handle them every couple of days, so that we could have some kitties around that were actually pet-able for Mallory.

However, that ended when these monsters....I mean kitties....came to live with us. They were dropped off at one of the clinics. Since that clinic also serves as the city pound, we were pretty full of cats already, so I said they could come live at the farm and be mousers. They are nice and tame. However, my momma cats were threatened enough that they moved their babies out to the barn.

We started out with five, but the day after they came home, another mom from Mallory's daycare called and asked if I'd mind parting with a couple. (They had an entire litter killed by a tomcat.) So they came and took two - including the little white one in the upper right corner of the picture. She was my favorite.....

Mallory actually enjoyed playing in the kennel more than anything. It was a really neat canvas one that had a zippered door. Oh the fun that can be had!

We also managed to get Mallory's Christmas present put together...I think it was Memorial Day weekend. Mallory is a very good helper - her and I managed all by ourselves. It's a really wonderful wagon with nice big rubber tires for our gravel roads. Mallory is still working on convincing the kitties that a ride is a good idea.

Finally, a poll. Which is cuter? I have my personal preference, but I may be biased....

Thanks mom!

2008-06-01T11:38:00.007-05:00

I needed a kick in the pants to get back to blogging. I had such good intentions - honest! In fact, I had so many pictures that I spent a whole night uploading only to somehow have all my hard work disappear into cyberspace! Ugh. I just haven't had the heart to take another long night to redo my work. My mother oh-so-subtley (is "subtley" a word?) informed/reminded/TOLD me that I didn't have to get all the pictures up in one sitting. So. I just finished cleaning out my truck (except for vacuuming - I couldn't find an extension cord) and loading up the dishwasher and Mallory's still napping. I thought I'd grab a Diet Coke and appease the masses...or at least my mom and sister! ;)

This is the new addition to our yard. As if I didn't have enough obstacles to mow around.... Anyway, Mallory needed (yes, needed) a swingset. The silly plastic ones at Walmart are about $300 and look as if a slight breeze would blow them to South Dakota. So I was really hoping to talk Matt into investing in a wooden model that may last through a summer or two. However, before I really had a chance to make my pitch, Jo (Mallory's daycare provider) asked if we wanted one. Her friend from St. Cloud (about 2-3 hrs away) had one they didn't want anymore and so did the friend's neighbor. They were planning on chopping them up for a bonfire! Egads!! One of the other daycare families was planning on heading up to get the one and were so kind as to bring the second one back as well. FREE! Okay, twenty bucks. That's all they would take for gas money! Hooray!

This is how it arrived at our house. It was in four pieces. Fortunately, Matt was around to put it together right away - poor Mallory was about jumping out of her pants yelling "whee, whee" (her word for slide and swing).
However, because the pieces were so big, we had to leave Daddy alone to put it together. This is the face I got when we had to go away. She continued screaming about halfway to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

But, she was all smiles when we came home to find that the "whee" was fully functional. Now, she never forgets to remind me that "Daddy whee". (translation: Daddy was such a nice guy that he put together my swingset the very same day it arrived. I love Daddy and my swingset!)
Never fear....I still have lots more pictures to come!

This one's for you, Jill

2008-05-09T21:33:00.002-05:00

I can't believe I'm posting this picture. But since Jill asked, here goes....

Jay's tag

2008-04-29T18:03:00.003-05:00

All right, so I've been tagged by Jay. I suppose I should get this out of the way....actually, it's kind of funny. A friend and I used to make Top 10 Lists all the time in high school - what a throwback!

Ten reasons I stink:

10. I tend to make snap judgements about people. Not very nice, I know.
9. I spend way too much time on the internet.
8. I'm terrible at housekeeping...just ask my sister. :)
7. I take things personally - one of the top reasons that Matt and I don't work well together. I call it "yelling", he calls it "speaking loudly so he can be sure I hear him".
6. I have a bad e-bay habit. I'm doing my best to break it, but somehow money spends so easily on the internet!
5. I have a short attention span - I get really excited about something, collect everything I can related to it, then lose interest. For example, I have about 20 cross-stitch kits/patterns in my stash, but I've only finished about 3 projects.
4. I'm a snacker.
3. I'm very uncomfortable in group settings or meeting new people.
2. I procrastinate.
1. I'm terrible about keeping in touch with old friends. (I didn't even get Christmas cards out this year *gasp*)

Ten reasons I rock:

10. I am fairly crafty, when I get around to finishing a project.
9. I am generous - I especially like making things for people.
8. I switched from regular Coke to Diet Coke. Ask anyone if that isn't a major accomplishment! (Although, I am now hopelessly addicted to said Diet Coke.)
7. I finished 7 years of college and became a doctor (of veterinary medicine).
6. I have a supremely beautiful little girl (okay, so I can only take partial credit, but still....)
5. I can fold my tongue to look like a three-leaf clover.
4. In a little over a month, I will put on a bathing suit and get into a pool in front of other people, just so that aforementioned little girl can take swimming lessons.
3. In general, I'm not a complainer. Especially about the fact that Matt works about 23 hours a day and maybe sees Mallory for 5 hours a week. Not that I'm complaining....
2. I have been very good at getting Mallory's picture taken for all the major milestones (3, 6, 9, 12, 18 months).
1. I managed to finish this list! This was a lot harder than it probably should have been. Wow.

Sew and Share

2008-04-28T20:59:00.007-05:00

Sorry guys....kinda left you hanging again, didn't I? Not sure if you care, but I do have a fairly decent excuse or two! I'm going to separate all the excitement of the last week or so into a couple different posts, just so not to overwhelm anyone. :)

Okey dokey, here goes.... I got inspired to "whip up" some fun, easy summer clothes for Mallory.

Look ma, I can shir (shirr?) ! I've actually never shirred before, but it needed to be done. I followed this tutorial and increased the size as I thought I would need to for Mallory's measurements. However, this shirt is apparently has a quite roomy fit, so in order for her to wear it before she's FOUR, I shirred a few rows around the chest to make it fit a little snugger. It worked pretty well, if I do say so myself. (Although if you look at the shirring, it probably isn't blue ribbon quality.)

And this is the gorgeous model, posing oh so cooperatively. Snort.

This second shirt I actually bought a pattern for, so I can't send you to free instructions, sorry. I think it's super cute and the size turned out a little more true. That is a very good thing, as this one would be a bit more difficult to rescue, I think. Without further ado...Mallory's "moo" shirt!

And finally, here's the little baby quilt I made for my friend Jessica. Her little girl is now 2 months old, so I figured she needed a 2 month birthday present! Okay, I actually ran across the kit while shopping for other fabric and it was just perfect as she has a green and brown car seat, too. I had a little snafu with my fabric shrinking too much when I pre-washed it, but I found some nice soft and fuzzy material that made it even better.

There. Hopefully in the next day or two, I can post the ton of pictures I have of our new addition. Nothing like a little suspense to keep you checking in, eh? ;)

Oh, and Jay, I didn't forget about your tag...honest!

Some sewing progress

2008-04-11T21:22:00.010-05:00

I thought I'd show you my projects in a separate post. I wouldn't want to take away from Mallory's post.

This cute little sundress was made from a men's buttondown shirt. This is where I got the idea / instructions if anyone is interested. It was actually pretty easy. I got the shirt at the local Goodwill (along with several others that I plan to reconstruct later) for $3.50, so that's pretty good. I think for the other shirts I will end up putting a little ruffle or something on the bottom and along the top of the bodice...it makes it look a little girlier. (Is that a word?) I'm even more impressed, since the only measurement I knew of Mallory's (she was in bed when I sewed this) was her chest circumference - the rest I winged. Yay me.

And of course, one silly picture. This is supposed to be her dolls' pack-n-play, but apparently she thinks she fits okay, too. Goofball.

My second project to share comes from here. This one was a little trickier. In fact, I needed Matt to help me figure out how to fold the credit card slots - he needs to feel useful once in a while, no? But, overall, it's not as hard as it looks like it might be. My worst part was getting the snaps in the right way. I actually ended up having to cut the first couple top strips off and start over at one point. My stupid snap pliers doesn't work the way it's supposed to work.

I was planning on keeping this for myself to use in my new (clearance!) purse, but I totally forgot to use the brown piece of fabric that I bought, so it ended up very 70's orange and green. As I was looking at it, I first thought of my sister Tessa. So, the mail fairy made a trip to Fargo with my first fabric wallet. I hope she likes it. :)

Finally, as a grand finale to this post. I managed to get Mallory to make her fish lips. Actually, she was pretty cooperative - it's really even cuter in person.

Continued....

2008-04-11T20:49:00.009-05:00

Okey dokey. Let's see if I can get some more pictures uploaded for you all to see. Our internet went wonky for a few hours this afternoon...I wonder if the 8+ inches of rain and snow had anything to do with that. Hmmmm....

I guess I had one more cute one from Great-grandma Lorraine's house. This is Mallory and Nick playing either peek-a-boo or chase around the rocking chair. I was there and I'm still not sure exactly what they were doing.

Fast forward one week....Kasey, Joshua and Miriam came up to visit last Saturday. It was such a nice day. Mallory and I were outside for a while in the morning before our company came. Then, her and Joshua played inside until lunchtime. The ducky game that I found at a rummage sale is a hit - at least with the kids. Somehow, I don't think Kasey would be real impressed if I packaged it up and sent it her way. The silly thing quacks incessanty!

After lunchtime, it was back outside to try to wear everybody out for naptime. Mallory found the makeshift flag that we used to mark her sandbox under the snow and proceeded to lead Joshua on an exploration.

Hey kids....come back! It's time to swing!

I had to include this picture to prove that Matt does know how to play with little kids. Look how high he has her in that swing! And she loved it...she laughed and giggled the whole time. But, she was kind enough to let Joshua have a turn. Although, after about two minutes that did lead back to her and that darn milestone again. You know, the one that involves screaming.

That concluded most of our fun that day. We headed into the house and everybody napped. Well, Mallory, Joshua and I did. I'm not sure what Kasey and Miriam did.

A little bit of everything

2008-04-08T20:33:00.011-05:00

Finally I think I'll be able to get some pictures posted. I've been trying for a couple days - honest! Hopefully tonight's the night - although, I might get distracted, as I'm watching The Biggest Loser while I'm posting this.

Let's see...where to start? I think I have some pictures left over from Easter. These were from Easter dinner at Great-grandma Lorraine's house (Matt's grandma).

This is arriving at Great-grandma's - Mallory in her new spring dress (although not her Easter dress, since that one came off at naptime) that was perfect for playing along with dolly and her blanky. I had made that blanket last summer, but this is the only time that she has ever played with it.

Renewing some friendships and playing games. The two boys are Matt's cousins, Nick and Ben. They were super nice to Mallory and played all sorts of fun games and helped her find her Easter basket. Nice kids.

She also made some new friends. This is Matt's cousin Danna's little boy, Joey. He's about a year younger than Mallory, but she had fun playing with him. Too bad he was still recovering from an ear infection...he was a bit clingy and cranky. That's not a fun way to spend Easter.

Then we tried to get a nice family picture. Some turned out better than others.....by the way, I have no idea what happened to my font. I can't find my "Arial" right now. ???

Okay, that's it for Easter pictures. I'm going to post this before something crazy happens and I lose all my hard work (and time spent waiting for pictures to upload!). More to come....maybe tonight, maybe not. :)

Random cute stories

2008-04-04T08:49:00.005-05:00

Sorry, once again I've been remiss in updating my blog. Gosh, and I was doing so well for a while! And to make matters worse...I don't have any new pictures to share! I do wish that we had a scanner, as I have some prints from Jojo and Grandma Deb that I'd like to share. Oh well.

Since I don't have any exciting happenings to share, I'll just leave you with a few cute stories. Let's see.....

* Mallory has hit another milestone. She had her first full-blown temper tantrum last night. How fun. We had made friendship bread (anybody want a bag?) last night as her corndog was cooking. HUGE mess. So, afterwards she helped me load the dishwasher. I unwrapped the detergent tablet and handed it to her to put in the little cup, which I then closed. Enter meltdown. I'm not sure what she thought that blue and white tablet was...but it sure wasn't supposed to stay in the dishwasher! Screaming and tears ensued. I was able to distract her with a chocolate egg (thank heavens for leftover Easter candy!) and get her into the living room to read a book. However, when I had to go back and check on the bread in the oven (and she saw the dishwasher running) she started crying again. Poor kid.

* Fish lips. I really wish I had a picture of this to share with you. When Mallory is asked for "fish lips" she sucks in her cheeks and puckers her lips. So cute!

* Had I mentioned I got a free treadmill? It was on the area freecycle group and the nice "older" gentleman that gave it to me said it worked just fine but he was getting rid of it because his knees couldn't take it anymore. Yeah. That's because it has two speeds.....superfast and superturbofast! Matt said it looks like Tim the Toolman got a hold of it. I'm hoping he's able to adjust something so that you can actually walk on it. Otherwise I'll have to pawn it off on some other unsuspecting soul. Note to self: if it sounds too good to be true....

* I need to get my sewing machine out again. I've found a ton of neat projects that I want to do for Mallory and myself. I've even found cheap material to recycle from the thrift shops in the area. Now to just get them done....

Gee, I know I had more cute Mallory stories....I really need to just write them down when they come to me.

Correct me if I'm wrong....

2008-03-23T11:19:00.004-05:00

...but I don't remember reading that Jesus oozed out of the tomb on Easter morning. I tried my hand at "resurrection rolls" this morning while Mallory recovered (napped) after 6:30am worship. The recipe is meant to be done with kids as an object lesson to show them the "empty tomb".

You're supposed to dip marshmallows in melted butter (embalming oil), roll them in cinnamon sugar (burial spices), then wrap up in crescent roll dough (the burial shroud). After baking, the marshmallow is supposed to melt, leaving an "empty tomb". Somehow, things went awry.

I even did a second batch and tried to make sure I sealed the edges really well. Nope. Oh well, at least my hot cross buns turned out a bit better.

Happy Easter everyone!

The adventures of Mallory and Joshua

2008-03-22T20:34:00.020-05:00

I would have included Miriam in the title, but she wasn't too adventurous today. Now that I think about it....maybe it should have been the adventures of Brenda and Kasey. Coloring Easter eggs with two toddlers sure took some adventurousness - yep, just made that word up!

Mallory and I made it to Kasey's house a little after 10:00 this morning. Joshua was over at the church with Adam, so Mallory loved on Miriam for a little while.

Is it just me, or does Miriam look just a little worried in this picture? Never fear, Mallory was very gentle and never once tried to poke out...er, "show" me Miriam's eyes. Mallory really would make a very good big sister - and I've been getting a lot of hints to that effect. If anyone wants to put in a good word with the Man upstairs, feel free. We'd love for her to have a sibling...or two....

We then tried to get a nice picture of the three cousins. It was a challenge - this was the best one I was able to catch.

Kasey had mini-muffins waiting for us, so Joshua and Mallory had a little picnic. At least until the muffins and water ended up on the floor. Doesn't Mallory look so sweet?

Moving on to the "adventure" part of the day.... When I was talking to Mom on the phone yesterday, she was telling me how a girl from my hometown with a 2 1/2 year old was saying that she didn't let her dye eggs because of the mess. Mom thought that was kind of silly and that all kids should get to have fun with egg dye. I kind of wish we could have had a webcam going while we were playing. Pictures are the next best thing - bear with me, there are quite a few!

Joshua thought the green dye looked yummy. Lucky for him, Kasey had run out of vinegar, so that one was just plain water and coloring. But, it did give him a nice mustache!

In the next few pictures, I just want you to notice what a nice, neat job Mallory is doing. Joshua on the other hand.....

He actually was laughing here, not crying. Honest.

If you look closely at the above picture, you can see his green lips.

Oops....we have a humpty dumpty wanna-be. I think Kasey should go for the splatter-painted floor look, don't you?

Remember the neat, clean girl from the previous pictures? I think I spoke too soon. In her defense, it was an accident. Gosh, Mom, wish you could've joined us! :)

Like the orange foot? I must say, I'm pretty proud of myself; all of the dye came out of the kids' clothes with a nice soak in cold water....except the orange sock. I think its a lost cause. But, I haven't tried bleach yet, I'll let you know. Better yet - all of the dye came off Mallory with a nice soak in the bathtub. I wonder how Joshua turned out?
Here's the result of our labors. There are a few more humpty dumpty types - Joshua decided they should be pre-cracked for easier eating access.

After the eggs, Miriam woke up and wanted some lunch. So, while she ate, Mallory and Joshua (and I) played with toys and play-doh. It worked pretty well as a diversion until Joshua wanted to eat it. Blech.

Unfortunately, this is where my camera batteries died. After Miriam finished eating, all six of us went to Pizza Hut for dinner. Joshua was too tired to eat much, but Mallory polished off a huge portion of "meaty ziti" pasta bake. We headed back to the house and everyone took a nice nap. In fact, Joshua and Adam were still napping when we headed home. We made a quick stop at Grandma Deb's to play with Tera for a little bit, then back to our house for a bath and bed.

The easter bunny still has some stuff to do, so better be done. Have a blessed Easter everyone!

Preparing for Easter

2008-03-21T18:27:00.010-05:00

First of all, I just had to show you what a tolerant kitty our little Daniel is. I don't often title my pictures, but I like to call this one "Catnap". Teehee.

The next few are of Mallory at last weekend's Easter egg hunt that was sponsored by the March of Dimes at the mall. The pretty much just threw a bunch of eggs, balloons and candy into an unused store and let the kids at it. Fortunately, they were smart enough to divide the kids into age groups with the youngest being three years and under. Needless to say, in this group, the parents did most of the egg gathering.
I can't believe how grown up Mallory looks in this next picture! Getting the hair off of her forehead sure makes a huge difference. It you look carefully, you'll see both of her hands are full of Jolly Ranchers. I'm still trying to figure out who thought that Jolly Ranchers were an appropriate candy choice for kids under three years old.

Mallory and I did have plans to go up to my mom and dad's in North Dakota for the long weekend. However, when we woke up on Friday, we had freezing rain and there was a big winter snowstorm hanging out right between here and there. Figures. So, Mallory and I hung out at home yesterday. I had spoken to Mom on the phone and she got me motivated to make some homemade rolls. Mallory is a super helper....
The kneading was the fun part...well, for her part it was more like "hitting".

It's all ready to rise...and didn't we make a nice mess? This is a new face for her - I just asked her to smile. What a ham.

We took a little trip to visit Aunt Kasey (and Joshua, Miriam and Uncle Adam) today. I have tons more pictures of our adventures there, but since I meant to get these pictures posted last night, I thought I better get this post done while I have the chance. I'm going to go empty the dishwasher, fill it up again, and then try to make some hot cross buns and resurrection rolls for Easter dinner at Great-grandma Lorraine's house tomorrow.

He's hired!

2008-03-10T19:57:00.001-05:00

I think I can count on one finger the number of times that Matt has gotten up in the middle of the night to help when Mallory wakes up. Hmm...maybe no fingers.... Anyway, I think that's about to change. Fortunately, Mallory has finally been sleeping through the night most nights. We have had a few rough nights lately, however. For some reason, Mallory has been sort of waking up ("sort of" as in she is mostly awake - I think - but laying down and just sort of making pathetic sounding cries) and needing comfort. The problem is, when I go in, I can pick her up, sit down in the rocker and she snuggles right in and falls asleep. So I think. As soon as I stand up to lay her down, her eyes fly open and I hear "nooooo". Sometimes I can get her laying down, covered up and out of the bedroom before she wakes. Sometimes I even make it up the stairs and snuggled back in my bed. But it never fails, she wakes back up and we start over.

A couple of weeks ago we played this game for over two hours before I finally got desperate and took my life in my hands....ahem, woke up Matt. After getting him awake enough to be coherent, he goes downstairs to Mallory's room and I hear nothing but silence until he comes back to bed about three minutes later. (I was trying really hard to eavesdrop through the monitor, too!) When I asked him the next morning what he did..."nothing". Fine, don't share your secret. (insert eye roll here)

Fast forward to a few nights ago. Five o'clock in the morning, this started again. I don't do well at 5 am, especially when I know that I'll be up in a couple hours anyway. This time I lasted about 45 minutes before getting Matt. Again, down he goes, quiet....and back to bed he comes. Good grief. I asked him again what he does. "Nothing, I just tell her to lay down and go to sleep." (major eye roll here)

Last night about 11pm it starts again. Either I'm getting smarter or more desperate, because I send Matt down after only one try. He does it AGAIN.

That's it. Since he thinks he's so smart, he's officially in charge of night time wakings.

And now, I leave you with a scary picture....

This is the way Mallory thinks things work. Hmm....Animal Farm, anyone?

Just a few pictures

2008-03-06T21:01:00.006-06:00

It really kind of bugs me that throughout a day, I think of all sorts of things to blog about (well, cute stories about Mallory to share, anyway), but then I finally take time to sit down and type...and nothing. That is actually my excuse for not posting lately....pretty lame, huh?

We did have a few fun days last weekend. My parents and sister came down for cousing Miriam's baptism. Everyone invaded Kasey and Adam's house Saturday afternoon...right in time for naptime, actually. Oops. Mallory was super excited because there were TWO babies - cousin Miriam and little Zachary (he's 2 months old and his parents' are Miriam's godparents).

I do just have to include this picture, too. One morning I asked Mallory if she wanted to take her baby along (to church, maybe...I don't honestly remember) and Matt was just appalled that I didn't ask if she wanted to take a cow or a tractor. Here....she knows how to play with trucks, too. She even makes the brrrr.... noise!

Having this many little ones around (Zachary has a big brother about Mallory and Joshua's age) made church interesting on Sunday. I think we had 5 kids under 2 in the front three pews! Gulp. (Plus, it was a 1 1/2 hour service!) We survived.

I've told my on-line friend Jay that Mallory and Ariel are long lost .... something. They share the same birthday, and always seem to be pulling the same sort of stunts. Case in point.

Granted, I don't have any pictures with her mouth full of kitty food (not that it hasn't happened....), but I still think these two girls need to meet. Or maybe not....hmmmm.

Sorry 'bout that

2008-02-23T21:02:00.002-06:00

I guess I kind of left you hanging after last Friday. I kept meaning to post again, but forgetting to upload some of Mallory's new pictures. Unfortunately, now that I've finally remembered, I can't get the camera and computer to communicate properly. Hmm.....

Anyway, I'll try to give you a quick rundown of our last week or so.

Last Saturday, Mallory and I went down to Holland to visit Aunt Kasey (and Joshua and Miriam). Mallory and Joshua had a tough time sharing, but both enjoyed playing on the stairs. Mallory also enjoyed visiting Miriam again, she really likes babies! After naptime, we headed home, with a brief stop at Grandma Deb's to visit her and Tera.

On Wednesday, I got to help judge a sixth grade science fair in Marshall. It was actually kind of fun. There was a huge variety of topics....everything from teeth whitening to insulation to energy drinks. Mallory "got" to come with me since Jojo was at the state girls' hockey tournament with her daughter.

Since I was supposed to work all day on Thursday and all of my trusty back-ups were busy, Mallory was at a new daycare that day. I think it went okay, considering, but due to some scheduling snafu's at work, I ended up picking her up about 11:30. She came with me to Ivanhoe and hung out while I spayed a dog, then we went home.

Friday morning found Mallory and I at work together again. It was pretty slow, so we ended up leaving about 11:00. That ended up being a good thing, since she fell asleep on the way home and slept for an hour and a half once I got her in her bed.

Today, we played supermodel and had some 18 month pictures taken at WalMart. She wasn't terribly cooperative - she kept wanting to stand up, but she was too tall for the background that way. We ended up getting a couple good shots, and since I just went with their advertised offer ($5.99....gotta love it!), that was just fine. Interesting how the nice photographer lady wasn't nearly as nice once I told her I didn't want the $60 package!

Tomorrow should prove to be interesting. Billie and Paula have invited Mallory and I to go shopping (Tera's coming, as well.) Hopefully Mallory will snooze enough in the car so that she's not extraordinarily cranky....I'm taking our big stroller, just in case.

So ultimately, nothing too exciting has been going on. But, considering the excitement of my last few posts, I'm totally okay with that. Maybe next time I'll be able to share some pictures.

Third day's the charm

2008-02-15T21:36:00.002-06:00

Finally! Mallory is back to her crazy, silly self. (insert big sigh of relief here)

This morning started a little rough. Since I wasn't exactly sure what the morning would bring, I let her sleep as long as she wanted. I heard her gabbing downstairs at about 7:30, so I went to see how she was doing. There's nothing better than a big sunshiny smile first thing in the morning! Her temp was back down to normal, so off to daycare we went. I was a little late to work, since Mallory slept so late, but that's okay.

We came home this afternoon to a big Valentine's package from Grandma and Grandpa Hanson (my mom and dad). Mallory got a fun squishy ball that had weird stretchy spikeys. She loves it! In fact, it beat out her babies for a place in bed tonight. Remember how I had mentioned that I had been sabotaged in my weight loss plans by Amy with the peanut butter hearts? Well, my mom did it this time! I had mentioned to her that I couldn't find the Brach's cherry jube jel Valentine's hearts anywhere. Well, she didn't find the Brach's, but she sent two huge bags of another brand of cherry hearts! The first thing I'm doing is breaking out the snack size ziploc bags and dividing them up into individual servings. Not very fun, I know, but otherwise I'd eat the entire freaking bag all at once!

Then, since Mallory was feeling better and Matt wasn't going to be home until later, Mallory and I met our friend Katie for supper at Perkins. Side note: being skimpy with "regular" ranch dressing on one's salad is waaayyy better than eating a "normal" amount of light ranch. Blech.

After supper, we were invited over to Katie's to see her new house. (She recently moved into town after living on her family farm all her life.) We also met Katie's aunt Eileen who's been staying with her while recuperating from surgery. If there was any question that Mallory was back to normal it was answered tonight! She was full of beans and was such a ham. What a little show-off! We watched her antics and laughed for a solid hour until it was time to go home. The only hitch came when Mallory saw Katie's little dog statue. Poor munchkin wouldn't go anywhere near it and just about cried when Katie picked her up and tried to explain that the puppy wouldn't hurt her. Guess we'll stick with the kitties for now.

Anyway, just wanted to let you all know that it seems the last couple days are behind us. Thank goodness. (insert second big sigh of relief)

Doing better today

2008-02-14T19:59:00.002-06:00

Mallory's getting back to her old self, slowly. Besides being a little cranky and clingy, she's been playing and eating well all day. Thank goodness.

Her temperature did spike again last night about 11:00 to over 105, but ibuprofen and cool compresses brought it down pretty well. She fell asleep for the night about midnight. I, however, was up every couple hours to check on her. Made for one tired momma this morning!

Today her temps been hanging out around 100 degrees. She got a couple doses of tylenol, and to play it safe, some ibuprofen before bedtime. I can definitely tell she's not 100% yet, though, because she needed to rock-a-bye for bed, and it took over half an hour before she was out enough to be laid down. Poor kid.

I didn't end up taking her in to the doctor this morning, since she was acting so much better. But, I think if even a low-grade fever is around in the morning, I'll try to get her in to make sure she doesn't need antibiotics before we face this weekend.

This does ruin our sleepover plans at Aunt Kasey's though. I'd feel absolutely horrible if either Joshua or Miriam got whatever Mallory has, so I think we'd better steer clear. I guess this stack of baby stuff in my livingroom will just have to stay there another week or so....

Thanks for checking on my munchkin! Hope you're all having a lovely, romantic Valentine's Day!

Let's not repeat today, okay?

2008-02-13T20:24:00.002-06:00

We ended up at the emergency room tonight. Mallory and I were hanging out on the recliner this afternoon. She woke up from dozing at about 4:30 and felt pretty hot again, so I pulled out my handy-dandy temporal thermometer and she scanned at 105.7!! I started stripping her clothes, stopped long enough to get some ibuprofen, called Matt (got voicemail) then called my mom. (Side note: I'm sure answering your cell phone at work to hear your daughter calling in tears is not a good thing....sorry 'bout that, Mom.) I put Mallory in the bathtub and was starting to run tepid water when I noticed her eyes were glazed and she was twitching. Seizure! It lasted less than a minute, but was the scariest thing I've experienced yet. Amidst a bunch of phone calls, I managed to get her temperature down under 104, Matt got home and we headed to the ER.

Now, in their defense, the ER was a pretty busy place tonight, however, I must say that I was not super impressed with the care Mallory received. Her fever was still 103.3 when we were admitted, so they gave her some more Tylenol. She had swabs for Influenza and RSV done as well as her electrolytes measured. Everything was negative / normal.

This seemed to reassure the doctor we saw, who then informed us that she had a febrile seizure (duh!), and that while scary, were usually not life-threatening and were not related to seizure disorders (like epilepsy) later. Unfortunately, once a child has a febrile seizure, it is more likely that they may have another with future fevers. That sucks.

The biggest issue we had with the visit, is that the doctor didn't seem very concerned that her fever made it up to 105+ in the first place. I mean, good grief, with a temp that high there has to be a reason. I don't even think they did a CBC or white blood cell count. Now, I'm well aware that this may be a case of having just enough information (veterinary experience) to be dangerous. However, if she is still running a fever in the morning, I'm going to take her in to see our family doctor to look for more answers.

Prayers are appreciated and I'll keep you posted!

The sickies have invaded our house

2008-02-13T13:38:00.002-06:00

Poor Mallory woke up with a fever this morning. It also looked like she had thrown up overnight, but it didn't wake me, so she must have gone right back to sleep. She's been out of sorts all day. It's about 2:00pm right now, and she's been awake for a total of about 3 hours today. As most of you know...that is very unusual for my munchkin. Two doses of acetaminophen so far today are keeping the fever in the 100 degree range. Fortunately, no more vomiting, though. I hope it's just a 24-hour thing, since tomorrow is Valentine's Day and she needs to wear her pretty jeans!

Assuming she's feeling better, we've been invited to a sleepover at Aunt Kasey's this Friday night. Uncle Adam will be gone, so she's asked for some help. This is a good thing as I have a pile of things for baby Miriam sitting in my livingroom that I will remember to take with me this time! Hopefully, we'll be able to share some more pictures after our fun!

Oh, and my new dishwasher has arrived! I'm reading the instructions right now (yes, I actually do this...and Matt did too!) and hope to try it out this afternoon. It's a portable model, since we don't have anywhere to install an undercounter type. I'm pretty excited and will let you all know how awesome it is!

Happy birthday to Paula! There's going to be cake at Grandma Deb's house tonight to celebrate. I hope we can make it....and I hope I can get into town to get a gift!

I'm feeling artistic

2008-02-11T15:19:00.000-06:00

Click here to create your own painting.

My personality painting for the day

Daddy.....

2008-02-10T21:15:00.000-06:00

....can I have a pony?

and maybe some new shoes?

Just some random anecdotes

2008-02-04T19:41:00.000-06:00

I suppose I'll start out by sharing some more pictures of little Miriam. Mallory and I went down to visit on Saturday. Mallory loves babies. She was so excited to "hold" Miriam. She also liked giving hugs and petting her on the head. She'd sure make a good big sister....*sigh*

I've been working on losing weight with some of my SK friends. I was having a bit of trouble with the working out. The ideal time would be first thing in the morning before Mallory is up and I go to work. However, because I know myself so well, I know that there is very little that will get me out of bed before absolutely necessary....and working out is not one of those things! So, I was trying to fit in workouts between Mallory's bedtime and when Matt got home. Lord knows how silly I look when I excercise, and I really don't feel the need to subject anyone else to that scene. Problem with this plan is that Matt has been getting home right before her bedtime, lately. So, I was pretty excited when he went to the last part of a Superbowl party Sunday night.

I got out my Dancing with the Stars workout dvd and cleared an area in the living room. I was about 2/3 of the way through the workout, when I heard his truck (those of you that know his truck, know what I mean....). He usually spends some time on the phone before coming in the house, so I figured that I'd keep going until he came in the house. A few minutes later, I still hear his truck running.....it was then that I realized that he had turned off his lights and driven back down the driveway and was watching me through the window. Argh!

Oh well, since he now has seen me in full dancing glory, I figure it's safe to workout in front of him now. Problem solved. That is, if I can get him to give up the tv for an hour each evening. And if he doesn't like it? Well, he can always join me and show me how it should be done.

Speaking of losing weight, I've been sabotaged! We had a Valentine's exchange on our board and our friends Amy and Boston sent a huge bag full of chocolate! Chocolate doesn't tempt me, chocolate doesn't tempt me, chocolate doesn't tempt me....aww, who am I kidding? I love peanut butter hearts!

Mallory would also make a good little sister. Cousin Tera came over for a couple hours Sunday night. We even managed to get a bath!

I'm heading up to a veterinary convention this weekend. My mom is coming to stay with Mallory (and Matt). This means a serious whirlwind house clean is in order. Good thing I have tomorrow off. Wish me luck!

Okay, one last picture....Grandpa, Mallory and Joshua being silly.

Introducing....

2008-02-01T19:57:00.000-06:00

Miriam Josephine! My sister Kasey had her 2nd baby Wednesday night. She was just a little thing (the baby, not my sister....wait, that didn't come out right....) at 7 lbs 1 oz and 19 inches long. Nice dark skin and hair and itty bitty fingers and toes. Such a cutie.

Matt stayed home with Mallory last night so I could go visit. Tomorrow, Mallory and I will head down to their house to visit some more and play with big brother Joshua.

I've gone international

2008-01-29T13:37:00.000-06:00

...even more international, that is. (Thanks Jay and Jill!) If you happen to sneak a peak at my world map counter on the top right of the blog, you'll see I have more dots than ever. How exciting! Now, you new readers....please check in and leave a comment...inquiring minds (my dad) are dying to know where you are and how you found this. Okay, and I'm pretty curious, too.

On a side note, it is really amazing what kind of neat blogs you can find just by following the links on blogs you know. For example, I followed the link "Amazing Trips" on my friend Jay's blog. What an amazing (no pun intended) family. I'm floored by this woman's honesty and sense of humor. I love sneak peeks into other people's lives. Makes my day just a little more interesting - not that having a 17-month old working on getting her molars (for the last 2 months!)isn't interesting enough.

I was bag-tagged!

2008-01-25T22:13:00.000-06:00

Yikes! I was bag-tagged by Amy. The rules are:

1. Show a picture of your bag

2. Show a picture of the contents (no cleaning it out, first!)

3. Bag-tag 5 more people.

Okay, here goes. I'm a little embarassed....

This is my pink John Deere diaper bag. It's actually quite similar to the one I made for Jessica, except that this on I bought on ebay when Mallory was little(r). I love it because it can just be thrown in the wash.

And this is the pile of cra....stuff I dumped out. Needless to say, this hasn't been done for a while. Again - no judging, please.

Let's see...what's all in there....

stuffed owl, 2 diapers, 1 diaper wipe case, 1 "feminine product" case, chapstick case, board book, toy cow, 2 baby bottles, 1 bib (dirty), 2 travel packs kleenex, 1 small felt purse with crayons and chalk, 2 plastic toy dogs, string of beads, tube of hand sanitizer, 2 cinnamon mints, pack of fruit snacks, church newsletter, receipt of church offerings for taxes, 2 used kleenex, random Kix, 3 barrettes (Mallory's) and one pencil.

Okay, I'm going to go clean it out now....

Soo....Kasey, Tessa, Anna, Chrissy, and Ariel (oh, I know you have your own bag!) you're up!

More sewing projects....

2008-01-25T21:52:00.000-06:00

I think I just made the world's largest diaper bag! Really....apparently what I pictured in my head didn't exactly match the real world math. hee hee Oh well, I never had enough room in my diaper bag anyway, you can always use more space, right?

This is a gift for my friend Jessica. I asked her what sort of fabric she liked and she said no bright colors. Hmph, how fun is that? Anyway, her hubby is from South Africa, so I found a really cool African themed print for the inside, and then a neat waterprint-batik style fabric for the outside. I hope she likes it (and has a lot of stuff to go inside)!

And this is the inside...

I also made a car seat cover out of a cute safari flannel and cream fleece. I wish I had a infant car seat here to test it out on, because it seems kind of small.

Now Kasey, don't worry. I have something for you, too. But it wouldn't be much fun if it wasn't a secret anymore, now would it? Guess you'll have to wait until that baby decides to come out....

Anyone want....

2008-01-25T16:43:00.000-06:00

....an overtired 17-month old that won't nap? No takers??? Hmmm....go figure.

Anyway, while I sit here listening to her cry and HOPING she'll fall asleep, I thought I'd finally get around to posting the pictures of my "custom" (thanks Jay!) Valentine's Day jeans.

Note to self...when doing applique for the first time rounded letters are NOT the way to go! Oh well, live and learn. Don't look too closely at the stitiching, 'kay?

This is the back. I'm kind of bummed there weren't back pockets....I had a cute idea for that.

And the front. Yikes, looks like I forgot to clip a thread. Please don't judge me.

Score: overtired 17 month old: 1 Mommy: 0

Is it Valentine's Day yet?

2008-01-21T20:43:00.000-06:00

I really want to share a picture of the Valentine's jeans that I made for Mallory! Well, I didn't actually make the jeans, I just made them prettier. I haven't had munchkin model them yet...hopefully Wednesday. I wonder how many times I can have her wear them before it's just weird.

Mallory's got another cold. I never knew a little kid could make that much snot! Seriously. Unfortunately, this one came with a bit of a fever. So she's all drugged up for the night, and hopefully will sleep well.

She's got a couple new wods, too. She's figured out "hot" and uses it if the water is too warm when washing her hands, when I open the oven, and when she has hot food. I'm trying to teach her to blow on her food....that's pretty funny. She's also started saying "ow". I'm not sure that she uses that one exactly in context. Tonight, she was sitting with Matt, who kept rubbing her head. She'd say "ow" every time! Goofball.

Now my exciting news.....we may be having an addition in our house. A dishwasher! (One without two arms and hands...) It's mostly just a matter of figuring out how it's going to fit and get rigged up in our kitchen. I can't wait!

She's growing up too fast!

2008-01-16T21:37:00.000-06:00

I know everyone says that babies grow too fast, but I have proof! When I picked Mallory up from daycare today, Jojo said that Mallory peed in the potty chair twice today. She went the first time in the morning when all the kids had their morning potty break. Then, she woke up from her nap with a dry diaper, so Jojo asked if she needed to go potty. Off she runs into the bathroom, and goes again! Jo assured me that she's not pushing her to be trained, but Mallory really likes to sit on the potty like the big kids, so she takes off her diaper to see if she'll use the potty.

She went twice in the potty this evening, too. The first time after we got to Grandma Deb's from town, then again before we came home. I don't think I'm ready for this. Do they make panties for 18 month olds?

Again, we're totally not pushing her to be trained yet, but I agree - if she wants to sit on the potty, she might as well have the chance to use it. I really like that that is Jo's philosophy, too.

As promised....pictures!!

2008-01-16T21:20:00.000-06:00

Figured I'd better get these posted before I completely forget about them.

My little multi-tasker:

Queen of the .... laundry basket??

This is the reversible top that I made...my first project with my new serger. And I used my new sewing machine for the buttonholes - it worked SOOOO slick!

Reversed....

I'm such a weenie!

2008-01-12T22:10:00.000-06:00

Mallory finally gave me her cold. Poor kid had a yucky nose and crusty eyes for almost a week, but still was up ready to play at 7:00 every morning. In fact, besides needing a bit of ibuprofen to sleep at night and going through a ton of kleenex, you'd hardly know she was sick.

Me, on the other hand, not so much. I feel like I've been hit by a truck. Today was so bad that I was up for about 10 minutes this morning with Mallory and had to go wake Matt up to take over. Fortunately, Grandma Deb came to the rescue and took Mallory for the day so I could stay in bed. I'm nice and drugged up now and feeling a touch better, but Mallory puts me to shame.

Tough kid.

Sadness

2008-01-08T10:39:00.000-06:00

I was going to finally share some more new pictures last night. But instead, I learned of a horrible tragedy. As a lot of you know, I'm part of a internet mommy board with a bunch of great girls that have babies born in August of 2006. One of our friends, Teresa, has been dealing with a tough marital situation. Around Christmas, she got up the courage to leave her husband and was doing great. She sounded so happy! She has two girls of her own and is step-mom to another. She also found out she was expecting again. I logged on to the board last night to find a message saying that she'd been murdered by her husband. This is the news story. I know we lived across the country from each other and have never actually met, but I've still lost a friend.

Please pray for her children. They are now left without a mommy and their daddy is in jail. How awful.

A little catching up to do....

2007-12-30T11:04:00.000-06:00

Ahh, finally a minute to sit down and breathe! Mallory's taking an early nap, so that we can meet up with Grandma, Grandpa and Tessa for lunch before they head back to North Dakota. We've had a very busy week what with three Christmas celebrations and all. Mallory and I managed to get the gifts finished and wrapped (she's now a tape expert!), treats made....yep, that's about it. Don't ask about the condition of our house right now, sore subject.

We spent Christmas Eve at Matt's parents' house with his family. Everyone was there (except Tera, who is still with her dad in Maine), so it was a full house! We had a delicious supper of ham, cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole and PIE! Then, off to open gifts - and there were a lot!

Mallory has the present opening thing figured out!

What do you know? Another dolly! At last count, there are now SIX in our house. The two from before Christmas and four more. Poor Matt, he tried really hard to get her interested in other things - no luck. :(

She did get a kick out of the blocks, though. At first, she worked on stacking them up. But then soon discovered it is WAY more fun to knock them down. I have been dubbed "official tower builder" while Mallory is the one girl demolition crew. (And I'm no longer just talking about the blocks!)

Ah, yes. My Christmas gifts. Well....this is what was under the tree to me from Matt.

Yep, a PICTURE of a Black and Decker power scissors. He claimed he didn't have time to get to the store. Hmph. Fortunately, he redeemed himself by pulling this out of the back:

I think he finally got tired of me cursing my other sewing machine. Too bad though....I've handed down my old machine for him to use when sewing up his work coveralls and pants. I don't want that stuff near my brand new beauty! :) Hmmm....I wonder if I'll still get that scissors?

Just for good measure, one last picture of Mallory and dolly. She was showing off her burping skills here.

That night, Matt was up late playing elf. Sort of. This was actually supposed to be from Matt and I, but it was kind of hard to transport to Grandma and Grandpa's for gift opening. Matt put it together Christmas Eve night and it was waiting for Mallory on Christmas morning. If she actually understood anything about Santa, it probably would have confused her.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I was just a little concerned, though. As you can see (if you look closely), her dolly is taking a dry sauna....in the oven! But, Mallory was thoughtful, and allowed a cool-off in the refrigerator every so often.

We had to wait until after church for her stocking, as she was so enthralled with the kitchen set that we ran out of time. I think the pretty beads were her favorite Santa gift. Oh, and this is also a picture of her Christmas dress that I made (with my new serger!). It's cute, but a bit big. I was so worried that it would be too small, that I erred on the other side. Oh well, maybe she can wear it again next year.

And finally, I'll leave you with a picture of my naughty kitty. Well, they're both kind of naughty. Daniel enjoys climbing the tree, while Chloe is the chewer! In fact, I had to do some emergency Christmas Eve day shopping for new computer speakers....she managed to chew through the cords! Thankfully, she picked the $10 speaker cords and not the more expensive computer cord!

Someone is smoking something....

2007-12-21T21:43:00.000-06:00

I saw this on my friend Jay's blog and thought it looked interesting. I never expected these results!

I really wonder what they were thinking!

For the record....I tried it a second time with a different picture for Matt and it said that Mallory looked equally like both of us. Weird.

Santa Claus is coming to town!

2007-12-21T20:41:00.000-06:00

Yay!! Santa made it to Mallory's day care today. I was able to leave my camera with Jojo, so I have some pictures to share with you. Wasn't that thoughtful? I think the best part of these pictures is that Mallory wasn't scared of Santa at all - she looks so comfy! Which is strange, as she wasn't too sure about him when he was at the grocery store for pictures.

It's a dolly! Mallory is in love. I guess she carried it around all day (had to keep it away from her nemesis "S"!) - and also took it to Wal-mart and McDonald's tonight. Then, we came home and dolly got her diaper changed and played with her rattle....see?

Tomorrow is a big day for Mallory and I. We have treats to make, gifts to finish, gifts to wrap, a house to clean, babies to bathe....somehow the list keeps getting longer!

Santa was cancelled

2007-12-20T20:25:00.000-06:00

...okay, not actually cancelled...more like, postponed. There were only 5 kids at daycare today, instead of the usual 12. I guess the stomach flu is going around. Blech. Matt was sick yesterday and now Paula and Grandma Deb have it. As horrible as it is to say, I hope they got it from Mallory so that it means that we're kind of out of the woods. I HATE throwing up!

Anyway, hopefully everyone will be feeling better tomorrow and Santa will be able to make an appearance. And I'll be able to share some cute pictures! :)

At long last....

2007-12-16T18:15:00.000-06:00

I might finally get some new pictures up! We've been keeping fairly busy since last time I posted. That busy-ness mostly revolves around Mallory getting brave (ie. crawling onto things she shouldn't) and ornery (ie. I think we're starting the terrible 2's early!).

I did, however, manage to snag Matt for an evening, as we went to our clinic Christmas party on Friday night. My sister Kasey came up from Holland to stay with Mallory. It sounds like she had her hands full with munchkin and Joshua! At least Mallory was asleep when we got home and stayed that way until 7:45 the next morning.

Then, Mallory and I returned the favor and went to Holland to help Kasey get ready for the open house they were hosting for their congregation today. I was in charge of frosting sugar cookies and dusting. I can manage that. :)

I had mentioned before that I'm trying to be more environmentally friendly and am starting to use cloth diapers when we're at home. It was all going great until I got a brand new batch of diapers and apparently didn't get all the residue (?) from the manufacturing process out before putting them on Mallory. So she now has a not-very-nice-looking rash "down there" and is back in disposables so that I can treat it with A&D ointment. The diapers have also had a talking-to and have gone through several more washes. I hope that helps! Poor kid - try to do something earth friendly and look what happens!

Finally got things ironed out for Christmas....I think. We'll be staying down here for Christmas at the Evans' and then to Grandma Lorraine's Christmas Day. Then my mom and dad are invading Kasey's house the following weekend and we'll join the fray! Best part is.....I pretty much have all my shopping done! A few projects to finish here and there (they're secrets!) and I should be good to go.

Okay, if you've made it this far I will now reward you with pictures of the person everybody comes to see. Speaking of - I went to church by myself today (Mallory stayed home with Matt for some "daddy-time") and no fewer than 6 (!) people asked where she was! BEFORE they said hi to me! Chopped liver, that's me. :)

Sorry, I digress.....here you are:

She kept pointing into the toy box, but didn't want any of the toys I gave her. So I finally just put her in and she was happy as a clam! Weirdo.

This one is a two-fer. First, she's wearing her super-cute Christmas outfit. No, I did not make it. This is an ebay purchase. But it's still cute! :) She wore it to visit Santa last weekend. She didn't smile very well, but at least she didn't burst out in tears, either. Second, she's showing off her kitty-wrangling skills that Grandma Kathy taught her. I think the kitties would both be happier if she hadn't figured this skill out for a while!

And finally, Mallory looking all grown up in her new bathrobe. This was part of her gift from our mommy-board gift exchange. She also got some cute jammies - they're French! Well, at least French-Canadian. Our gift is headed to Canada, too....but I can't say where...it's a secret! :)

I haven't forgotten....

2007-12-13T15:22:00.000-06:00

I really am still here! In fact, I even got some pictures loaded onto the computer so I could share....and then Matt took over the computer for the night. Oh well, I did get some sewing done...and I'll try to update more tonight. Kisses....:)

Queen of procrastination

2007-11-30T21:28:00.000-06:00

Yep, that's my official title for the evening. I have a craft fair starting tomorrow at the local mall and probably should be working on a few more things. However, we are in a winter storm warning for all day tomorrow, so even if we're actually there all day, I HIGHLY doubt it'll be very busy. So, therefore, I thought I'd treat you all to a few new Mallory pictures. Hmmm....working with hot glue and burning my fingers or sharing cute pictures of my little girl....quite the decision. :)

To start....all the way back to Thanksgiving. This is the clippie I made for her to wear for turkey day. It was a little on the big side, so I had to attach it to a headband, but the overall effect was there.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at Matt's parents' house with his family. Mallory's cousin Damien was there as well so Mallory finally got to be bigger than somebody and was able to get in her share of bullying. Actually, she didn't bully so much as just not want to share her toys. But, honestly, in this picture, she's not about to smack him...she liked to rub his head!

My parents came down for the long after-Thanksgiving weekend. No early shopping for them...although, I think they could have made the 4am Kohl's opening if they'd have tried.

We did our best to keep Grandpa Don from going stir crazy - found him all sorts of odd jobs. Including "official poopy diaper detector"...better ask him about that! :) He also played handyman and installed safety latches on some of the cupboard doors. Mallory was his oh-so-helpful assistant.

And this was my excitement for the weekend. TA DA! You have to look pretty closely, but yes that is really, truly a PONYTAIL!!!! Hooray! It might be a while before we can show off in public, because that little thing sure isn't going to survive a winter hat!

And I'll leave you with one last picture. Mallory can't have all the glory, so here are Chloe and Daniel posing so pretty. Too bad Mallory can't get the hang modeling or I'd have some even cuter pictures! *sigh*

15 month doctor visit

2007-11-28T21:05:00.000-06:00

Mallory got to go visit the doctor today. It really was all fine until she had to have THREE shots! Poor kid - although she did get a nice big bag of fruit snacks from the nurse. Not quite the same as safe-t-pops, but it'll do.

She's a big girl! 28 lbs 12 oz and 31 inches tall. Although, with our genes, there really isn't a real big risk of her being petite....

Our Christmas list

2007-11-28T18:18:00.000-06:00

Well, Mallory's and mine, anyway. I really don't have any ideas for Matt, so if you have his name, you're as outta luck as I am!

For Mallory: Apparently she's into dollies....no idea where she got THAT from. I think Santa will be bringing her one, but also on her list is a doll stroller, high chair/booster chair, and feeding things (bottle, spoons, etc). New diapers - we're trying the cloth diaper thing while not in daycare. She JUST fits into a medium Fuzzi Bunz, so we're in need of larges. So far, I like the Fuzzi Bunz, but Happy Heinies or other all-in-one or pocket diapers are okay, too. Ummm....yeah, that's all I've got. She'll obviously be perfectly happy with anything, but we do have quite the stash of toys, books and clothes. Although, if buying clothes, please be sure to buy at least 24 mo size - unless it's meant to be worn right now.

For me: I'd like the new Taste of Home Baking book (the blue 3-ring binder), and since my new vehicle doesn't have seat warmers, I'd love a seat cusion or seat cover. I saw some really nice ones at Wally-world that don't actually go over the entire seat, so they don't have to be fitted as perfectly - more of a cusion that has elastic loops. And a matching steering wheel cover. Gift cards are always good, and I'm perfectly okay receiving cloth dipes for Mallory. :)

Now, those of you to whom we will be giving gifts...we need ideas!

I got tagged....

2007-11-28T12:30:00.000-06:00

by Jill, so it's my turn to share 6 things about myself.

1. I am developing a serious computer addiction. It's true...my name is Brenda and I'm a computer-oholic. I blame it all on my SK girls! :)

2. I have the not-so-desirable habit of LOVING to find new craft ideas, sewing patterns, etc, but not always getting around to finishing said projects. Come take a peek in my house if you don't believe me. For example, Mallory's birth cross-stitch (which will be super cute, by the way) still isn't done and she's 15 months old! And now I'm shopping for a stocking to make for her. Ugh.

3. I'm not the best housekeeper. I'll just leave it at that.

4. If I wasn't so severely in debt with school loans, I'd actually like to go back to school for nursing. It's one of those "if I knew then what I know now" type of things. (Please Mom, no heart attack!)

5. I'd love to have a little hobby farm! I'd like chickens, goats, maybe a sheep or two, a donkey, maybe a pony (no interest in a big horse at this point).... Too bad Matt wouldn't have anything to do with that idea. Sigh.....

6. I can curl my tongue in to a 3-leaf clover shape. Really! I'd take a picture, but that's kind of gross.

Okay, my turn to tag people.... Kasey, Amy, Christina (although I know you have a new baby, so I'll cut you some slack), Tessa, Carrie, Allie (you need to get back to blogging, girl!)

Another week gone....

2007-11-18T20:30:00.000-06:00

I'm racking my brain to try to remember if we did anything exciting this week. Apparently not, huh? Well, I did do a pretty cool surgery on Tuesday involving removing part of a dog's foot...but out of respect for my father and his "sensitive" disposition...:) I'll refrain from going into details.

My other exciting news involves my new toy....I ordered myself a serger sewing machine! Yippee!! After all the compliments Mallory received from wearing her Halloween outfit, I went pattern hunting. I have LOTS of super cute patterns and ideas for more clothes - 'cuz everyone knows she needs more! If anyone has any helpful hints regarding learning to use my serger, send 'em my way!

Oh, and I have a bunch more pictures to share. The first is for Tessa - here's Mallory wearing her birthday outfit from you. Sorry the picture isn't better, but you know how well she likes to pose. :)

This is Mallory thinking she's a big girl and needs a whole piece of pizza! She did share it with her puppy, though, so that was nice. By the way, how does one get pizza sauce out of puppy fur?

Ooh, these come in my size, too!

Darn paparazzi!

My mom and dad are going to be visiting this weekend. In preparation for the holiday weekend, my housecleaning goal is one room per day. This afternoon I tackled the kitchen. Mallory didn't cooperate with a nap, so she spent the time keeping the kitties occupied.

I guess kitties really do like goldfish....especially cheddar cheese flavored ones!

Happy birthday to me

2007-11-11T20:49:00.001-06:00

It's the big 3-1 today. Yippee.

My family went out to my favorite restaurant without me. However, they did call and sing "Happy Birthday" over the phone while they were there. Is that love or what? I hope someone ate some fried ice cream for me! *sigh*

Passing along some pictures

2007-11-10T19:58:00.000-06:00

I don't have much in the way of exciting news today, so I'm just going to post a few pictures that Tessa took during her visit.

Let's see...there should be something good in here!

Since Daddy's been out in the field so much lately, Mallory thought she'd see what all the fuss is about! (It's kind of hard to see, but the "popper" part is a combine!)

And this is the pig....

You decide....am I just dancing, or trying to escape?

Oooh, nice kitties!
Yes, the kitties have pretty much recovered from their surgeries and are back to wrestling and raising ruckus! I think Mallory is going to be their bestest friend...mostly because she figured out how to open their food container and gave them a (large) early supper. I think we'll be moving that out of reach! Mallory really likes them too, whenever she sees them (first thing in the morning, after naps, coming home, etc) - she claps and says "hi titties!!" (We're working on pronunciation....)

Well now I feel dumb!

2007-11-09T19:35:00.000-06:00

I think I've finally figured out my camera. I've been having issues with it draining the rechargable batteries super fast (as in I could only take about 10 pictures before the battery died!) and with the batteries not recharging while on the dock. I even bought a new plug-in battery charger and I have 4 pairs of batteries...and they all did the same thing. I was starting to wonder if it was worth sending it in for repair, or to just shop for a new camera.

But then I decided to experiment. I learned that my camera dock only recharges the original Kodak camera battery - and doesn't work with other NiMH rechargables. PLUS, I think that setting the camera on the dock with "other" batteries in it actually drains those batteries. Who'd have thunk??

Anyway, I'm in a much better mood now that I've figured that out. Hopefully that also means that I'll be getting some more pictures to add here. Cross your fingers!

I also got the cutest little keychain digital camera from the Walmart clearance aisle yesterday! It's about 2x3 inches and does almost everything a regular digital camera does - video, self timer, etc. The only problem is that you can't see the pictures you take until you upload them to the computer. The best part it that it was $12!!! I'm hoping I'll be able to capture more cute and funny pictures of Mallory since I won't be quite so nervous hauling that one around with us. I can't wait to try it out!

Our last few days

2007-11-07T19:09:00.000-06:00

As mentioned before, my sister Tessa was here visiting with her kitty for the last few days. Just so you can all rest easy, yes, Lolah did wonderfully through surgery (Tessa even watched!) and is doing just fine. See?

I think Lolah will be happy to get home. She really seemed to want to play with our kitties, but wasn't quite sure if it was a good idea. Oh, and kitty #2 has a name! "Daniel"....as in Daniel Striped Tiger - bonus points to anyone that remembers what tv show he was in. (Mom, you can't guess, because I know that you remember!)

Chloe and Daniel joined me at work on Tuesday for their big day. Everyone is officially "fixed". Oh, and if you were curious, Matt didn't say much at all about there being two kittens. He did ask why, but that was about it (at least to me...he might have said more to other people, but I prefer to be blissfully unaware of any of that!). Although, today he did tell me I should trade them in for a dog. Yeah, because I have time to housetrain a dog right now. Not sure what he was thinking....

I'm hoping Tessa will email me copies of the pictures she took while she was here. My camera has been having battery issues and besides, she got much better pictures than I did. I'll share when I get them.

I also hope that we didn't totally bore Tessa while she was here. She came to work with me on Monday (it was kind of slow, so not terribly exciting) and then joined Mallory and I for ECFE that evening. I had to work all day Tuesday, so she went down to Kasey's and visited Joshua for the day. Mallory stayed home from daycare today and we spent the day with Tessa. There was a quick trip to town to return some boots and to get Mallory a new winter jacket. It's really cute...I'll get a picture. Then home for lunch, playtime, nap....

Tessa left for home this afternoon. Mallory and I did some more playing, had supper, a bath....oh, and munchkin learned a new skill. I'm not sure I'm real impressed. Check it out.

Yes, she is sitting on TOP of the coffee table. Ugh.

Oh, and one more exciting thing for today! Mallory went down for her morning nap without a sippy cup!! We officially got rid of the bottles a couple weeks ago, but she's still gotten a sippy cup of water for naps and bedtime. She doesn't always drink it, but it's a comfort thing. I was pretty excited when I was able to put her in her crib and she went right to sleep today. She did take one for her afternoon nap, but she spilled most of it and then talked herself to sleep. We might get this nap thing down yet! :)

Meet our newest family members

2007-11-04T19:51:00.000-06:00

Mallory gets so excited when we see the kitties outside our house. But unfortunately, they don't seem so fond of her (actually, I can't pet them either, so they're not being picky). So, we (okay, I) decided that she needed a kitty of her own. I'm not exactly sure what Matt will say when he finds out I brought home two kitties, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I'm pretty sure it will involve lots of eye-rolling! :)

Anyway, the calico one is Chloe and the orange one...well, he doesn't have a name yet. Anyone have any ideas?

And some more fun news....Aunt Tessa is here to visit!! Yay! She also brought her kitty Lolah along for the ride. Well, actually, she brought Lolah down for her (Lolah's) big surgery. Duh-duh-duh.....

Mallory thought Lolah's carrier was pretty cool, we might have to get one in a bigger size!

Happy November!

2007-11-01T20:20:00.000-05:00

Mallory is continuing to expand her vocabulary. Today, she was repeating shapes to Jojo - circle, square, etc. I guess she especially liked "oval", it must be fun to say. That was the ONLY one I could get her to say tonight. *shrug*

Have you ever wondered what it is about spaghetti? It seems the one food that everyone likes to have on their head. Case in point....

Where to start?

2007-11-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, Mallory isn't feeling much better, tooth-wise. There are at least 2 coming in that I can feel. 1 upper molar and her last lower incisor. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of them come right away, so we can just have a miserable week or two and then its over.

PLUS, mean little daycare girl bit my darling daughter yesterday. Mallory was being her angelic self, sitting waiting patiently for dinner in her highchair (I can type that with a straight face....believe it??) when little S walked up and bit her finger!! Good grief. S better beware....revenge is a dish best served cold, or so I've heard. :)

Our trick-or-treating didn't work out so well, either. :( Munchkin has had a little cough and hoarse voice on top of the teething woes, so I made a grown-up decision that we should stick close to home and try to get to bed at a reasonable hour. Sorry we missed Halloween with you, Joshua! In any case, we didn't get very far before my little giraffe (yes, the democratic process worked - thanks all that voted!) fell asleep.

After stopping at our landlord's house for some treats, Daddy called and needed us to drive him around since he was done combining a field. We then made a trip to try to see Great-grandma Lorraine, but she wasn't home, so we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's house to beg some supper. Unfortunately, after that, Mallory was getting tired, so we aborted the rest of our trick-or-treating and headed home to bed.

First, a story or two....then, her new game of throwing herself onto the blankets on our bed. I think there was a bit of a second wind involved here! (Oh, and Grandpa Hanson....I made sure to appropriately censor the diaperless wonder - just for you!)

I hate teeth.

2007-10-29T22:30:00.000-05:00

Or more specifically....teething. Poor Mallory has just been out of sorts the last couple days. Low fever on Sunday, not napping well, cranky....you get the idea. Last night (Sunday night) was AWFUL! She was up every hour from 7pm to 3am - all she wanted was to snuggle and rock. (Which, if you know Mallory at all, you know can only mean she's not feeling well!) Needless to say, Mommy was NOT looking pretty this morning.

The misery continued today. I guess daycare went okay, mostly because she was distracted by the other kids. But naps still didn't go well, she threw up once, and was not happy when we got home. I finally pried her mouth open enough to get some Orajel on her poor little gums and find the pointy little bugger causing all the trouble - upper right molar. The Orajel seemed to do the trick through supper and most of "school", but we did end up leaving class early.

Now, I just came up from putting her back to sleep. It was a process and involved tears from both parties. It's just so awful to know she's hurting and that I've done all I can to help - poor kid's hopped up on ibuprofen, tylenol, "natural" teething tablets, AND anbesol (and yes, I did speak with my health care professional - thanks Sandy!) I finally gave her a sippy cup of cold milk, which seemed to help. And now I'm off to dig up a teether to stick in the fridge for tomorrow....and hopefully get more than 2 hours of sleep in a row. Wish us luck! :)

Pumpkin carving bust

2007-10-28T19:30:00.000-05:00

Well, it didn't go nearly as well as I had hoped. Neither Mallory or Joshua were really into the pumpkin guts. Well, for that matter, neither was Uncle Adam....heehee. So, Kasey and I did most (all) of the pumpkin gutting and carving and then staged some pictures for posterity. Win some, lose some.

And yes, this is about as interested in pumpkins as Mallory was all night. Joshua has a pretty cool refrigerator radio that she was into instead.

I do feel bad for Kasey's floor though. It was all clean and sparkly when we arrived but when we left, it had been desecrated with pumpkin guts. Good thing she's a Norwex girl! :)

Yay mailman!

2007-10-28T18:03:00.000-05:00

Yep, Mallory's ebay Halloween outfit arrived in time for church. She wasn't feeling terribly cooperative during picture time, but I did manage a couple. They really don't do the outfit justice - it was pretty darn cute!

I've created a monster!

2007-10-28T17:55:00.000-05:00

I can no longer drink my yummy Ovaltine milk in front of Mallory. *sigh* She's figured out that Mommy's milk and Mallory's milk are not the same thing and that Mommy's is way yummier! At first, I thought that it was just that I let her taste mine from a straw. So, I tried being sneaky and poured her milk into my glass. She took one drink and spit it out all over the front of her shirt. Silly girl.

My poor mailman....

2007-10-27T11:04:00.000-05:00

is definitely earning his government pay this last week. I've gone a little ebay crazy....I think I need a twelve step program or a patch or something. Or, I suppose I could just stay away from the computer. Yeah right.

I'm actually anxiously awaiting my mail delivery today. I "accidentally" bought a super cute Halloween outfit for Mallory. Since she already has a pumpkin shirt to wear to daycare on Wednesday and she already has her costume, I'm really hoping it gets here today so that she can wear it to church tomorrow. (It's kind of a dressy outfit.) I'll definitely get pictures.

Speaking of "accidentally" buying ebay items - have you ever done that? You know, bid once just to see how high the other person has gone, expecting them to want it more than you and to bid again?? I know at least ONE person that reads this blog has experience with this.....you know you who are! :) It's a bad habit....worse than actually meaning to buy the item. I think.

That's about it for the day. Mallory and I are having supper with the Harvala's this evening. Hopefully both munchkins are happy and in the mood to play - I'm bringing pumpkins to carve! Yay! I'm hoping to get lots of fun gooey pictures....check back for those.

Uh-oh...

2007-10-24T21:57:00.000-05:00

spaghellelos! Or something like that. :)

It's Mallory's new word for the day. Apparently she copied Jojo today at daycare when something was dropped during lunch. Then, during our semi-emergency trip to the grocery store for milk (because someone left the gallon of milk out all day - not naming names, but it starts with D and ends in -addy!) she was repeating it up and down the aisles. There was even a nice old lady that was impressed that she was saying such a hard word! So, we made our way over to the pharmacy to show off for some friends....and WHAMMO....she went from out-going Mallory to shy Mallory. No luck.

Then, as we got back into the truck it was more "uh-oh spaghellelos". So, Mommy got all excited and called Grandpa and Grandma Hanson to let them hear. Nope - zip the lip again! Lil' turkey. I had really hoped to get it on video, but no luck tonight. Stay tuned. :)

We need your help!

2007-10-21T16:13:00.000-05:00

It's voting time....Mallory needs help choosing which costume to wear. The oh-so-cute ladybug or the way cool giraffe. Please help - decisions are soooo difficult!

2007-10-21T11:16:00.000-05:00

Just a couple quick pictures while Munchkin is sleeping. Hooray for the big after church nap!

We've just been hanging out this weekend. Mallory's cousin Tera left yesterday for Maine, where she'll be spending the next 4 (!) months with her dad. Grandma Deb's house is going to be pretty quiet....we'll have to see what we can do to remedy that! :)

I got some new ribbon in the mail this week. Mallory thought they were quite beautiful, too! Although, I'm not real sure she has the color mix right....what do you think?

I've been working on replenishing my headband and clippie stock. It sounds like they've been selling fairly well at the new salon in Ghent. I'm also working up the courage to list some on etsy or ebay. Give me time.

Oh, and Tessa, just thought you'd like to know that oh-so-annoying talking puppy has been dug out of the toybox. Seems Mallory has ANOTHER new friend. Is taking the batteries out of a talking dog considered animal cruelty?

What an exciting day!

2007-10-13T20:52:00.000-05:00

So much super exciting stuff today...well, exciting for us, anyway.

Mallory got a new hat. The picture is super cute, but trust me when I say it's even cuter in person! She's my little reggae girl.

She also made a couple of new friends - one of the winged variety....

Yep, that's a moth, not just a very realistic hair clippy. It stayed on her head for several minutes before flying off. Here's a little better picture.

And one of the two-legged kind....Mallory had her first date. Okay, okay, I know that this isn't usually done until kids are 16 (30??) or so, but it was chaperoned and they were under strict supervision at all times. (And diaper changes were done privately. teehee)

My friend Katie was babysitting little Alex, so we met for supper at Perkins and then went to Alex's house to play.
Alex brought his new truck along for supper. He and Mallory did very well, sharing not only toys and books, but food. Alex sure liked the grapes!

After supper, we went to his house to play. Unfortunately, he had had a long day with his grandparents and was pretty tired and clingy. Not so much into playing. But I did manage to snap a few pictures of them for blackmail later!

Oh, and Alex has a really pretty kitty, Emma, who is Satan incarnate. I first met Emma while I was in vet school - Alex's mom brought her to the clinic I worked in when I was a student. She was a very sweet kitten then. I don't know what happened...to call her crabby would be a HUGE understatement. So, even though Mallory really wanted to play with her, she was off-limits for the night.

Bruiser....deja vu

2007-10-11T21:41:00.000-05:00

Yep, she did again. This time, going down the little indoor slide at daycare - the girl is fearless! Got going too fast, face planted into the carpet and got up laughing, according to Jojo. Fortunately, the owie isn't too bad, just a little spot of rugburn under her eye. I didn't get a picture, as she fell asleep on the way home from town and went right to bed. Yay!

We took a quick trip into town to drop some stuff off at Grandma Deb's work and then Grandma took us out to supper at BK. Billie and Tera came too, but they were a little late - crazy Marshall drivers! Mallory made such a mess of herself with her applesauce that I took her shirt off and she just wore her sweatshirt home - and to bed. She did wake up just a little bit ago long enough to get jammies on and have a little sip of water.

Jojo also told me yesterday that she thought that I'm going to have my hands full with Mallory.... There's a little girl at daycare that is a little, shall we say "aggressive" toward Mallory sometimes. Apparently on Wednesday, she pushed Mallory during storytime. Mallory got up, walked over to her and smacked her! So of course, Jojo told her to be nice. Then, she looked at Jojo, grabbed a handful of the little girl's hair and pulled! Again, she was told not to pull hair and to be nice. After which, she gave a sweet angelic smile. Good grief! Jojo said she didn't laugh out loud, but that the little girl kind of deserved it. :)

That's it for updates tonight. Sorry there aren't any pictures, I'll have to remedy that this weekend. I went a little crazy shopping for tights for Mallory - she wore some today, Kasey - and they are SUPER cute!

Back from cousin Joshua's house

2007-10-06T20:31:00.000-05:00

Whew, what a fun day! Mallory took her morning nap, then we headed down to Kasey & Adam's house to play with Joshua. Unfortunately, Joshua laid down for his nap just before we got there, so we had some time to kill.

So Mallory alternated between waiting patiently (above) and playing by herself and with Grandma. This is as close as she's going to be to getting behind the wheel for a LONG time!

Then, just as Joshua was waking up, Mallory was ready for nap #2. So it was a while, but they finally got to play. They did a very good job sharing everything from the balls to Teddy Grahams.

But it was a long day, and Mallory knew when she was ready to go home.

2007-10-06T10:06:00.000-05:00

** Copied from previous blog**

I got a call from JoJo - Mallory's daycare provider - this morning when I was on my way to work. Apparently, Mallory slipped while navigating a step and hit her head on the door jamb. It IS kind of hard to go down steps with a book, you know! She just got a shallow little cut above her eye - not even big enough to close with a butterfly strip. But it does make her look pretty tough. Don't you agree?

Fortunately, a bath and pink fuzzy jammies makes everything all better!

Okay, we're going to try this again....

2007-10-06T09:57:00.000-05:00

I had to start a new blog for Mallory. The 3 "l"s in the url was bothering me too much. Plus, I came up with a marginally better blog title. :) I'm going to try to invite myself down to Kasey & Adam's so Mallory can play with Joshua this afternoon. Hopefully, I'll get some good pictures to share!