Sunday, August 31, 2008

Happy Birthday Jill!

On Saturday we went to Jill Dettman's 3rd birthday party at the Children's Museum in Bloomington. The girls had a fantastic time... first, they got their faces painted, then we had cake, and finally we spent the afternoon playing in the museum.

Addi was a bit apprehensive at first about getting her face painted....

...but soon she warmed up to it and was excited about being a butterfly!


Sam of course was super excited about the entire day and has talked about nothing else since.

The highlight of the day for Addi (and for about 50 other random kids in the museum) was when "Dora the Explorer" showed up. It was odd though, Jill's dad Ron left and in walked Dora! Then, Dora went into the men's restroom and never came back out. Strange.

All in all, a great Saturday!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Well.... DUH!

I've written a lot about Addison's......... um, odd sleeping habits. I've always just assumed it's her being a two year old, just a faze. Well, tonight I was searching for a picture and came across this one. Apparently she was odd even at 7 months!


Stick to your guns

Last night after about 10 minutes of being in her room for bed, Addi started yelling to let her out. Every few months this happens, she begs to come out, says she scared etc. and eventually we give in - especially if she is in danger of waking up Samantha. Then, after a few nights of this we have to work and work to get her sleep schedule back on track.

Last night, she was yelling but not crying, so we decided to stick to our guns and see if she would give up and fall asleep on her own. After about 5 minutes of just yelling, she added kicking and shaking the door to her repertoire, but Jay and I just ignored her. We were about to give in when it stopped! Hooray! We gave it an extra five minutes to make SURE she was asleep, then patted ourselves on the back for a job well done and headed upstairs to bed.

As we got to the top of the stairs, we saw that Addi's bedroom light was on. No problem, Jay QUIETLY opened the door to turn it off and see if she was sleeping in her bed.

And out walked the dog. Not sure how Smokey got in there, but he definitely didn't belong in there. No wonder she was yelling... she was probably telling us to come get the stinky dog off her bed or something. Addi was in fact sound asleep in her bed, but before passing out she was kind enough to spread out a blanket on the floor so Smokey would have a comfy place to sleep.

Lesson learned: account for all animals before trying out your new stick-to-your-guns parenting style.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

You might be a mom when...

... You show up at work, reach into your pocket, and pull out a pacifier. And don't think twice about it.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Teaching an old dog new tricks

In this episode of "The Ralph Family Zoo..." I'll share with you all the things I have learned over the past 2.6 years. It's a lot really... I thought all my "learnin'" was done at Purdue. Turns out I didn't know a thing till I had kids. Just a few examples...

  • A kid will pick their nose more than you would have ever imagined.
  • Kids and dogs never forget where the treats are kept.
  • A trip to the grocery store, sans kids, can be the highlight of your week.
  • A trip to the grocery store, WITH kids, can be a nightmare come true (temper tantrum over marshmellows, anyone???)
  • That a song on the radio can make you cry like a little girl.
  • A relaxing shower is a thing of the past. Get over it and move on.
  • A Frosty, when dropped from the kitchen table, has the velocity of a nuclear missile. It will fly even further on a freshly-mopped floor.
  • Some pictures will be great ammo when your kids are teenagers.
  • If you don't stop to smell the roses, you will probably be smelling baby poo.
  • Pennies write on a wall better than a pencil.
  • Hugs are the best medicine.
  • If you want to read a book, either listen to it on tape or pick one with pictures and rhymes.
  • You can wake up at 5 a.m. or 7 a.m. - and either way you will probably be late to work, school, church.....
  • That despite what you thought in college, your life is a LOT different now.
  • Skipping through the State Fair really is fun. Especially if you hold hands.
  • Boys aren't the only babies who can pee all over you.
  • That getting pee, poo, barf, mac' and cheese, whatever, all over you... you learn to deal with it all.
  • Noggin really IS preschool on TV (at least that's what Dora Dora Dora the Explorer says!)
  • Kids REALLY like to eat dog food.
  • Even moms need time outs sometimes.
  • You can never run fast enough when you see your kid jumping on a tomato.
  • A tomato, surprisingly enough, does NOT fly farther than a Frosty.
  • If your kids have an audience, they WILL perform.
  • Spit happens. So does Shit. Deal with it.
  • Nothing is as relaxing as napping with a baby on your chest.
  • The grass sometimes really IS greener on the other side. You just probably need to water more frequently.
  • The moon is very cool and never gets old.
  • That even as you wipe boogers, snot, and God knows what off your kid, you still might lean over and give them a kiss.
  • A sticker works better as a bribe than a million dollars.
  • That open-mouth, slobbery, spitty kisses from a baby are quite possibly the best thing in the world.
  • That work is never as important as spending quality time with your family.
  • How overbearing, overprotective mother-in-laws are created. :)
  • How much we would be missing out on without these two crazy kids in our lives.

Thanks to my online friends for their suggestions! You guys are awesome!

The proof is in the PJ's

Sam is growing up!

Here she is, about two weeks old, wearing newborn jammies. And they are waaaaayyyy too big.

And here she is this weekend, wearing 3-6 month jammies. As you can see, Addi loves that they match, Sam is somewhat worried that she looks like a geek with matching clothes. A girl's gotta have style. But, at least they fit. I can only do so much.


Oh, and the guy in the disgusting stained t-shirt that should have seen the bottom of a trash can about, oh, three years ago? That's my husband. Maybe now that the world has seen his yucky shirt I can throw it away. Fingers crossed.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

She gets by with a little help from her "friends"

I've heard there are kids out there who have a "lovey" or a "blanky" or some other sort of special toy they sleep with each night. One that trumps all others, can calm them down in the blink of an eye, and is the life-long (albeit, smelly) companion. Jay and I have always said how grateful we are that Addi doesn't have a favorite, because I could see us at midnight trying to locate said lovey in a blind panic, yelling at each other in the front yard and being "that" neighbor. Hey, we don't do well under pressure.

However, I'm starting to think ONE favorite wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. Addi has always been a bit, say, eccentric when it comes to bedtime. I should have known the minute she insisted on sleeping with a bottle of nail polish that this isn't your ordinary situation. When she had a major meltdown over the Orville Redenbacher, I started to smell the button-flavored future.

Anyway, the last few nights Addi has had issues sleeping. She keeps waking up all freaked out and insists on coming to our room. THEN Jay and I spend the next 15 or so minutes getting all the appropriate "friends" she needs to get to sleep situated. One night, it's Coco. Next time, it's kitty. Then, it's something else random. So tonight, out of sheer hope that it might work, Addi and I set out to clean her bed up, wittle down the number of friends, and cross our fingers for a solid 10 hours of sleep for all involved parties.


And what we found was very interesting. Here's the rundown. And please keep in mind that she is in a toddler bed, not a full-size RV:

  1. Four blankets, and one comforter.
  2. Three pillows.
  3. A rubber bouncy ball.
  4. Four cats.
  5. A zebra.
  6. Five puppies.
  7. The hairdryer from her Dora table.
  8. The curling iron from the Dora table (hey, a girl's gotta look good!)
  9. A plastic lemon.
  10. A big rock. Looks like it came out of our neighbor's landscape.
  11. A camel with an afro.
  12. Three teddy bears: one of which snores, one that says a prayer, and Coco.
  13. Three of Sam's paci's (and contrary to how it might appear, Addi does NOT have paci's of her own.)
  14. Two books.
  15. A plastic letter H.
  16. Three babies.

Now, I really was surprised to see a lot of these items, because Addi hides them under the blankets. The sheer quanity alone was astonishing enough without contemplating HOW she even slept in such a mess. She and I then had to negotiate, item by item, and were able to weed out a good 1/2 of what was there. I had some wins... I had some losses.

So tonight Addi went to bed with 3 pillows, some blankies, some animals, and a hairdryer. At least if she wets the bed she's prepared.

Family Resemblance


Look at those paci's. They could be twins.

BUMP: Devil on one shoulder, Angel on the other

Because I have no creative juices flowing this week, I thought I'd bump up a past post that makes me laugh. Enjoy! ~Steph

To celebrate the 4th, we had a few of my coworkers over for dinner on Friday night and a party for our neighbors on Saturday. Both of those were fairly tame, minus a visit from the Peoria Police... Apparently all of our neighbors aren't the firework-fans that my dear husband is.

In preparation for a houseful of people, we knew that Addi really needed a nap, so we made sure to put her down around her normal nap time. She naps great at the sitter's, but at home on weekends it's usually a bit of a struggle. It can take up to 30 minutes to get her to calm down, but forgo the nap and you are risking a toddler that has the energy of a tiger on Quaaludes with the crabbiness of a fat guy on a diet.

Anyway, off she went to nap while Sami hung out in her swing and Jay and I worked on the backyard. A little while later Jay said, "Steph, I think Addi is awake." I asked, "Why, can you hear her screaming?" and he said, "No, I can see her," and pointed to her room. Obviously, she was awake.

I ran upstairs to let her out, and this is what I saw:

No, her bed does not belong clear across the room. No, we don't let her stand on her headboard. And no, we don't let her nap without a diaper. She apparently disagreed and took it off herself.

As frustrated as I was, there wasn't much we could do other than move her bed back and hope for the best the next time. Oh, and lecture her on climbing the windows... Although sometimes it seems like the more we tell her not to do, the more ideas she gets of things to do wrong.

Later that day, Addi wanted to wear her princess/ballerina outfit and dance around the kitchen. She was so cute, spinning and having a great time, that it just made me see again why I love her so much... she has the best personality and is so darn sweet and cute sometimes. She can be a devil one minute and a complete angel the next... It sure does keep us on our toes!

I guess the horns are just there to hold up the halo.

Friday, August 15, 2008

I absolutely love this company!

Several years ago I came across this company and instantly became a fan. I am, on most occasions, quite sarcastic, so these are RIGHT up my alley. Plus, at work there are motivating calendars at every turn, so I like to see people's faces when they actually READ mine. Maybe not the most professional in the world but I love them!

Here is one of my all-time favorites:


And this one just made me laugh out loud!
Head on over... despair.com.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

It's Friday...

... Just have Addi pour you a beer.

This was a long lost picture, taken at Adam and Molly's rehearsal dinner last October. I had the picture but just finally got it scanned today! I think it's funny anyway. For those worried, just pretend it's a keg of Sprite.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Three months old

I simply cannot believe it's been three months. Here's just a few of the 100+ pictures we had taken last week to celebrate. Enjoy!




Monday, August 11, 2008

It Ain't Over Till the Fat Lady Sings....

...and cover your ears, because I'm singing. Sadly, my maternity leave is definitely OVER. Today, I had my first full day back to work, and surprisingly it went really well. More on work some other time...

Last week I stayed home with both girls while our sitter was on vacation and tried to really ENJOY them. And, despite a few (OK several!) frustrating moments, we had a good time. Here are just a few pictures from the week...


We made breakfast... yummy chocolate chip pancakes...


We finger painted...

We laughed and hugged...

We went on walks to our neighborhood park,
where Sami got to wear Addi's hat to keep out the sun....


And Sam and I went shopping with our friends Jenny and her new baby boy, Ryan.
The kids loved it!

All in all, it was great to spend so much time with both girls, and in some way losing my mind a few times made me see exactly how much I will also enjoy some adult time. I love my girls... but both of them home all day every day is a LOT of chaos. And, as Jay said, he's happy for me to be back to work because he can't take the house being as messy as it was the days I was home with both!

I am sad though, that now Kim gets to spend all day every day with Sam while I slave away at a desk. I know I felt this same way when Addi was a baby and I don't regret going back to work. It's just hard to believe that she is already 3 months old (on Thursday)... It seems like yesterday we were introducing her to Addi in the hospital. How time flies....

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Five Years Ago...

Five years ago today, Jay and I got married. In a lot of ways that seems like a long time... in others I can't believe all that has changed. Either way, it's been a great five years and I can't wait till the year we celebrate 50 years of marriage!

Mr. and Mrs.

The famous bus


Our wedding party

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Go Figure

Addi loves to help out around the house. Seriously - no matter what chore I am doing, she wants to participate, which I love. Obviously, doing dishes, laundry, pooper-scooping, whatever, it all takes longer with her help, but it's time we can spend together so it's worth it.

That said, the one chore I don't want her help with is vacuuming. And she constantly wants to help me with it - she even gets the vacuum out on her own and wants to use it. Because the Dyson is too heavy for her, we found a plastic purple toy one for her to use. Of course she still wants to use the real one, so we continued to fight with her over it.

Until last week! While deciding what to get rid of in our garage sale, we came across this Eureka handvac thingy we got as a wedding present and haven't really used in the last few years. Jay suggested trying it in the kitchen (with dog hair, we can't really use a broom) and it worked like a charm! Then I hit the cleaning jackpot.... I took the longer handle off of it, showed Addi how to use it, and off she went. Fifteen minutes later the kitchen was mostly dog-hair free.


Angels sang from heaven above. Addi was thrilled to have a real vacuum. I was thrilled because she was happy and (quite frankly) she did a decent job. Jay came home and Addi was super proud of her handiwork, so we got it out to show him the exciting development in house cleaning.

And the stupid thing didn't work AT ALL. Go figure.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

All in a day's work...

It's amazing what all can take place in 24 hours. Now, I assume that my household is really no different than any other one with a two year old... OK, maybe I am HOPING that's the case. At any rate, if the following recap sounds at all like your home, leave me a comment and let me know I am not alone. If it does NOT sound like your house, let me know that too and I'll send Addi your way.

Tuesday, 2 p.m.: Addi steals Sam's paci for the 100th time, so I call Jay and fill him in on my secret plan.
2:05 p.m.: Jay calls home, disguising his voice as Elmo. He tells Addi to be good, stop stealing Sam's paci, and to try to remember to pee/poo on the potty.
2:06 p.m.: Addi looks at my cell phone and asks why Daddy's picture is on it while she is talking to Elmo (smarty pants!)
2:15 p.m.: Addi disappears.
2:20 p.m.: I go on a mission to find her - and am shocked to find her on the potty upstairs! Hooray for Addi - she went pee/poo on the potty! Big cheers all around.
2:30 p.m.: Addi gets M&Ms and stickers for her potty success. She also calls Jay to tell him about that and her call from Elmo!


2:31 p.m.: I realize that I just took a picture of Addi -- and she's still wearing PJs. As am I. Briefly consider changing her and retaking the picture to destroy evidence of my laziness... but am too lazy.
3 p.m.: Us three girls go upstairs and take a nap.
4:30 p.m.: Jay comes home, wakes us up, and comments on the fact that when he left this morning we were all in bed... and when he gets home we are all in bed. Do we in fact actually DO anything all day? If he only knew!

The remainder of the evening is somewhat average... dinner, swingset, baths, jammies, books, bed. Jay pats himself on the back for getting Addi to bed by 8:30 p.m.

9 p.m.: Addi is hysterical, wanting out of her room, so I go rescue her. Important note: we lock her door from the outside (lock's turned around) when she goes to bed to prevent her from coming right back out, but unlock it when we go to bed.
9:30 p.m.: After more books, I convince Addi to go back to bed, so we head upstairs.
9:31 p.m.: Addi is again hysterical, not letting me leave her room. She's afraid of outside, and the only thing that will calm her down is if I let her sleep with one of these objects. Take a minute and decide what does not belong in a 2-year-old's bed:


Did you guess the microwave popcorn? Good job! After 5 minutes I gave in and left her to sleep with it. I only have so much power.

10 p.m.: Off to bed the rest of us went.

2:22 a.m.: I wake up because someone is walking around downstairs. Someone who is two. I go get Addi and bring her to our room. She said she was looking for the scary sound.
3 a.m.: We finally fall back asleep after playing "what's that noise" 15 hundred times.

8:30 a.m.: the girls and I make the trek downstairs, where we spend several hours playing give Sam her paci back, get off the table, stop hitting mommy, don't wake Sam up again, and Candyland.

12 p.m.: We run a few errands, hoping to tire them out.

2 p.m.: We return home. I get both girls into the house and begin to unload the car.
2:01 p.m.: I bang on the door and yell for Addi to let me in. She apparently now knows how to lock the deadbolt.
2:03 p.m.: I get back in the house.
2:15 p.m.: I go to change Sam's diaper and can hear Addi moving around the kitchen. Come back out of the dining room and see this:


2:20 p.m.: Clean Addi up from her snack, take off her shoes, and put her down for her nap. And mentally block out the screaming that ensues for the next 30 minutes.
3 p.m.: Hear what sounds like footsteps up and down my hall, which shouldn't happen (with the locked door) so I go to investigate.
3:01 p.m.: Open Addi's door, and see an empty bed. And an empty room. Heart starts pounding.... Open Addi's closet door.
3:02 p.m.: Find Addi, naked, playing in the closet. With her shoes back on.
3:05 p.m.: Put her clothes back on, put panties on her and Coco, and head downstairs.
3:06 p.m.: Seriously consider taking up drinking. Decide against it.
3:15 p.m.: Yell at Addi to get off the kitchen counter, and persuade her to watch cartoons.
3:30 p.m.: Watch Addi cuddle with her sister, and thank God for what a great kid she is.

All in a day's work.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

New pictures up on Shutterfly

So, in what I am realizing is very typical with the second child, I have done a poor job of not only taking pictures but actually putting them up on Shutterfly. So tonight I spent hours and hours (OK, fine, 25 minutes) uploading June and July pictures. Check them out if you wish!

http://jayandstephanieralph.shutterfly.com/action/

Rain, rain, go away...

We woke up this morning and looked outside, and this is what we saw:

It was REALLY raining hard.

Now, we have to figure out stuff to do inside with a kid who wants to be OUTSIDE. Maybe I'll try to explain to her why her Fisher Price camels have Afro's.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

The Cost of Potty Training

  • Potty training book to teach Jay and I the basics: $8.99
  • Elmo's Potty Time video: $15
  • Therapy session Jay and I need to recover from so many viewings of Elmo video: $100
  • Two potty books to teach Addi what to do: $15
  • Princess Pull Ups: $20
  • Dora Pull Ups (because "I DON'T LIKE PRINCESS PANTIES!!!!!"): $20
  • Three potty seats (one for each bathroom): $35
  • Stanley Steemer (to clean carpets after the accidents): $99

Finding your daughter wearing her Princess panties on her head: Priceless.

Tales from the Belly

Addi is fascinated with belly buttons. When I had my c-section I also had hernia surgery, so she was told to be really careful when jumping on me because of the incision on my belly button. And of course we had to wait on Sam's belly button to heal, so since then she's always checking them out.

One night last week we were sitting on the couch and Addi lifted my shirt and pointed to my belly. This conversation followed. I either have a brilliant child or one with a great imagination... you be the judge.

Addi: "There's Mommy's booboo," and points to my belly.

Me: "Yup, but it's all better now, right? That's where Sami came out."
Addi: [nods knowingly]
Me: "You know that you were in my belly too once, right? Just like Sami."
Addi: "Yup!"
Me: "Wow! You were a baby, then you got big. Do you remember what was it like in there?"
Addi: Thinks for a minute, then says: "Sticky."

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