Teaholic not quite anonymous

I forgot to mention one thing about fridge shopping... Maddy opened all the refrigerators and said, "Mommy! NO MILK!" She was shocked that there wasn't any milk in the fridges. Too funny! She actually did find a fake gallon of milk in one but tipped it upside down, sighed and said, "Argh...still no MILK!" It was really cute.

This morning I made our menu for the week and went grocery shopping. OUCH. I spent an arm and a leg. But at least we have food for the week now. We were totally out of meat for dinners. Maddy did a much better job this shopping trip than the last one, thank goodness.

I was able to get a load of laundry done and the dishwasher cleaned before we took our nap at one. We didn't get up until almost four.

I was going to have spaghetti with marinara tonight for dinner but realized we had almost everything we need for me to give my own marinara a shot, so I finished buying the last few ingredients and made my own. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out considering I've never tried making my own. Add in that I wasn't going off any recipe. Well, Matt said it was the best marinara he's EVER had. :) So I wrote down the recipe so I wouldn't forget what I used and how much. I was pleased with that.

I'm tired tonight. I guess I am all the time now, but that's just the way it goes! I see an early bedtime in my future. Problem is I'm having insomnia in the middle of the night now where I"m up awake for 2 or three hours or sleep so lightly or wake up so often that it doesn't feel like I'm asleep for those hours. Thanks goodness for the nap in some ways since it helps me recoup a bit for the evening, but I also think it's screwing with my sleep for the night as well. Double edged sword.

Matt got my printer up and running on Friday so I was able to print off my coupons for Chuck-e-cheese tokens. So this morning while Maddy and I were at the park I asked her if she wanted to go and she jumped on her bike and yelled, "Let's go home, mommy!" Hahaha...

So I bought $20 worth or 200 tokens. We only had about 15 left and I don't go with less than 20 but was not about to pay .25 a token! .10 is much better and the best deal you'll get.

So we were there for a little over an hour. I brought my own snack and juice box with us. The drive there was long though. I'm contemplating trying out a different one next time and seeing how that Chuck-e-cheese is. But we won't go again for at least a couple of weeks. Normally I only bring 30 tokens. It's enough for fun, but not too much that she gets bored. More than that is a waste, less than that seems like too little.

Well, time to get the little one up from nap. She didn't sleep well last night and I want bedtime to go a little easier tonight so hopefully getting her up a half hour early helps. We'll see! She's not the easiest kid to wake up from a nap since she fights it so.

So today Matt turned the big THREE-ZERO! What did we do to celebrate? Well, first thing this morning we gave him his cards. Then I made cinnamon rolls and we put in 3 candles and brought them up to him while he was getting ready for work. Maddy sang happy birthday to daddy, which he absolutely adored and asked to hear over and over again. Then Maddy and I went out to Costco and bought 4 cases of beer and two Wii games. I stocked our fridge in the garage (which was empty but cold) with the beer. It filled the WHOLE thing. We also went to Party City and picked up three star helium balloons, one 30 balloon, one beer stein clear large balloon, some 30 hanging spinny signs, and a large 30 sign. Maddy and I spent the next hour hanging balloons and signs outside on our front lawn and from signs and trees. Then we filled the fridge. He got home and he was SHOCKED by the front. He couldn't stop staring at it and kept saying, "This is awesome!" Then I had Maddy take daddy to the fridge and then he couldn't stop laughing after he opened it. He was very surprised. I think he liked Maddy's picture even more than the fridge itself though.

Anyway, we're kinda waiting for Maddy to fall asleep. She's been in bed for over 40 minutes but still is not asleep. She only had an hour nap today so I know she must be tired! Then we're off to play a new wii game and enjoy some chocolate covered fruit (thanks grandma and grandpa) and tomorrow we'll enjoy some Omaha Steaks (thanks to the other grandma and grandpa) using our new grill stuff (thanks to grandma and grandpa again!). :)

Oh! I disabled comments on my photo album for right now. I got a ton of spam on our album and it was a pain to delete it all. When I figure out an easy way to allow comments without the spam, I'll open it up to comments again.

If you'd like to add comments to our photo gallery (and I do love comments--at least ones that aren't spam!) you will need to be a registered user which is as simple as creating an account. Then it will ask me to confirm you as a user. So it's as simple as that! You'll need to log in to add comments, but just pick a password you'll remember. ;)

Yesterday was a really nice relaxing day. It rained most of it so we just hung out a ton. It was nice! Matt noticed one of our downspouts were clogged so he went out to fix it (note the pictures). We obviously didn't grill out, but that is on the agenda for today.

I have more to write about insomnia, but not until later. Busy today! Have a good one!

Well, today has been a good day so far. Matt is home from work and that always makes life better. :) I woke up this morning wanting pumpkin pancakes and he insisted making them by scratch. So he and Maddy went to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients. I slept in, which is always heavenly. Maddy gave me her card and sang the happy birthday song to me (which is always wonderful). When they came back they brought flowers, too!

I took a long hot shower and spent some time getting ready and even put on a bit of jewelery and went through my makeup a bit and played. It was fun since I haven't spent any time doing that in quite a while. Then we went out to the mall. I had a coupon for a free perfume spritz at Aveda and a gift certificate for Bath and Body Works.

Now the kiddo and the daddy are down for a nap and I'm having a nice cup of tea and enjoying the gray weather. It's very relaxing! However, a nap may be calling my name, too. We'll see!

Yesterday was productive over all. Maddy and I ran a lot of errands and I did some cleaning. I started writing up some sub plans for grandma and grandpa for when Matt and I go to Seattle. However, Word thinks it's smarter than I am so I had a formatting issue or two so I waited for Matt to get home. It's not that grandma and grandpa need sub plans, it'll just make me feel better, that's all.

I'm trying to figure out what to do about going out someplace nice in Seattle to eat one night. I don't think I have any clothes for it?? I've just asked my mom's group to see if they have anything I could borrow. I'd hate to buy a dress for one wear. We'll see!

Tea of the day: Mighty Leaf Orange Deluce black tea

Yesterday was filled with errands outside the house and today is filled with chores inside the house! Not to mention, I also wrote up Maddy and the cat's sub plans. Yes, the cats need sub plans too now that Joe has diabetes. Yesh! Who would have thought there is so much to write about?? :)

Today I did not nap with Maddy. Instead I told her I had stuff to work on with the computer (sub plans) and she needed to nap on her own in our bed. That I would sit in the sitting room in our bedroom and be there the whole time as usual, just not sleeping with her. It's worked out well. I've gotten the time I need to get the plans done and also have some time to myself browsing the web and also she's taken a nap! Works for me!

I'm getting really excited for Seattle. It seems like so long since Matt and I went away together somewhere. It really hasn't been that long--since PA in January, so less than a year. But it still seems like forever! Now, I've been away since, WI, Beach trip (x2), but that wasn't Matt and I. This will be nice!

Last night was coffee night. As always it was a blast. We laughed and laughed.... I couldn't get over how much I laughed! Of course, I came home and just couldn't fall asleep to save my life. I'm always so wired by going out with the girls.

Yesterday was productive. I spent most of the day cleaning the house. It really needed it! Today I ran some errands for our trip to Seattle. I made sure I have a lot of food in the house geared towards Maddy's preferences. I also picked up Matt's dry cleaning.

Maddy had playgroup for the first time today in quite a while. I think she had fun with Hailey! I was able to meet Hailey's new baby sister, Janie. She sure is a cutie!

Ok, well, I may try to fold some laundry fast and get it all put away. I hope everyone has a great weekend and I'll probably check in next Friday or Saturday! Adios!

So we're here in sunny Seattle. No, I'm really NOT kidding. It was sunny and warm today--70s! Beautiful weather.

Last night at 2:30 Maddy woke up and called to me and when we went in, she was burning up! *Sigh* Maddy hasn't been sick in over 6 months at least. She had one day right before move in that she had a slight cold that lasted one day. She was up to 101.5 last night and she was shaking so bad. Poor kiddo. So we gave her tylanol and laid her down. I went downstairs and made sure that I had urgent cares written down that grandma and grandpa could take her to today if they needed to and made sure I had all the paperwork filled out for the pediatrician and made sure I left her insurance card at home, too. After about an hour of being up I went back to bed, too. At about 3:40 Maddy called again. I expected it. So Maddy and I went to sleep in the spare room. I'm hoping that I don't get what she has considering I don't want to be on medication!

Anyway, Matt woke me up at 5:30 to get in the shower to leave for the airport. He stayed with Maddy while I got ready. I came downstairs and explained to grandma what was going on and Matt and Maddy came downstairs later on. We said our goodbyes and Maddy didn't cry.

We were out the door by 6:20. After an easy drive down and check in we stopped for breakfast and then boarded. The plane was TOTALLY full. It was a 5.5 hour flight. I brought along my new book, Twilight, that I had been hearing really good things about through my mom's group book club and I found it at BJs for only $8. I read virtually the whole thing on the plane. It was really good!

It did prove to me that I can't be a casual reader. I get completely engrossed in books. I can't put them down. Of course being a mom of a 2 year old I don't get huge chunks of time where I can sit down and read. I have read before into the wee hours without noticing so it's not really healthy for me to get new books--I can't afford the time, honestly. But with the upcoming plane ride on the way back I did buy the next book tonight at B&N for $11, a bit more, but it will do. I can't crack it open until the plane ride though! I'll become obsessed! So the 5.5 hour plane ride seemed really short which was nice!

We decided to rent a car when we arrived. Tomorrow Matt and I are probably going to explore out and about in Seattle while the next few days after we'll stay closer to downtown so we won't need a car. We spent some time at UW and watched the boats traveling between the lake and the canal. It was nice to get a walk in after sitting for so long. Oh, we had great Mexican for lunch as well! We checked in and unpacked then headed back out for dinner. Now we're back.

Matt, it turns out, is getting a cold. So we bought some nightquil for him for bed tonight. Here's hoping he gets over it soon and that it does the trick. He's out like a light right now.

Speaking of, I"m off to bed too, even though it's only 9:40 local time. With last night's awakings, early up time, then not taking any naps today I'm pretty tired. Have a good night everyone and a good week! I'll check in when I get the chance.

We had such a nice time! If you'd like to see pictures, click on the picture to your right and you can see the ones we've taken of Seattle. I think what I enjoyed most was not having to cook or rush around first thing in the morning. That was pretty darn nice! :) Of course, Seattle is beautiful, too. I love how the mountains sweep straight into the water. Everything is so green. Plus, we had FABULOUS weather while we were there--sunny and 75-80 every day! The day we left it became a bit overcast but even then it wasn't raining.

We had some really nice meals while there and then there were some hit or miss meals, but for the most part we ate pretty well. We had a car for the first two days and we went around the Seattle area and spent the last half of the time exploring downtown Seattle since we returned the car. I really enjoyed my time at Pike Place Market bumming around. Deception Pass is also a gorgeous area if you happen to get to North Widbey Island. I even enjoyed the 5.5 hour plane rides as I started the popular series Twilight that is a best seller right now. Nothing like getting into a good book to help pass the time.

Maddy took a couple days to get over the fever, but it turned out to be some kind of bug. I was glad that Grandma and Grandpa didn't have to take her to the doctor. Maddy enjoyed her time a lot. Once she was better she went on a lot of outings and had a ton of fun. I think she had a great time with grandma and grandpa J. Thanks again for watching her!

Now we're trying to catch up. Maddy has had quite a bit of 'tude today and I'm sure she's just letting us know that she did not approve of us going away and having fun without her. She's had quite a few slip ups today in the potty training department as well. But I know she'll be back to her less 'tudinal self in a little while. Let the kid rebel. :)

But rebellion makes me tired! So I'm off to bed a little early. We'll see what tomorrow brings!

PS Happy 39 Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa B!

Today went much better with miss Maddy Pants. We had class this morning--it's a 2 year old class. However, since she's not three until the end of November I wasn't comfortable putting her into a 3 year old class. Well, she is the oldest, but it was quite an awakening to me. She really HAS developed so much since she took this class. Sure, I knew that, but seeing her compared to recent 2 year olds or 2.5 year olds even and I can tell she's so much older and more mature. I can also tell that she's ready for preschool!

So class went well, she did a great job at the grocery store, took a good nap and didn't have any accidents today. WHEW! :)

Well, really, there's not much more to say tonight! I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Tea of the day: Coconut Chai

Let's start with yesterday first. Maddy and I went to my 12 week doctor appointment yesterday. Parking is a mess since they are doing construction. But I parked by the construction and thanked my lucky stars that I keep the umbrella stroller in the trunk. Maddy and I went into the doctor and immediately she says, "My tummy hurts." As she rubs her tummy. I ask, "Why?" She says, "Mommy, baby in there!!" *rolls eyes* HA! Little did Matt know he was going to be a grandpa at 30. ;) Anyway, she played with the toys for a while and then they called us back. I told Maddy that we had to go and quickly cleaned up the couple of blocks they had laying around and when I turned around she was gone! She had followed the nurse back and was trying to step on the scale! HA! After being weighed (argh!) they of course needed their sample. Maddy tried to figure that one out (apple juice? ERGH--NO!). She was great in the exam room and just quietly ate her popcorn I brought along for her. The doppler read the baby's heartbeat at 157-163, so that's all good! I'm glad to say I'm over the first trimester hump!

We stopped at Costco and Target on the way home. Maddy received some money in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa so I let her spend that at Target. She had a nice time and did a good job in both stores. She is now addicted to the Costco food court though. I guess her and Matt stopped once so when she saw it she said that she was hungry. Ah, whatever, she was great at the doctor! So we stopped for some soft serve.

Oh! Forgot to mention that Maddy and I are going to WI mid October! I found great airfare and only had to pay $339 round trip for two seats! That's CHEAP! So we'll be gone for a week. I didn't even ask my parents before I made the reservations.

Anyway, last night after nap we went over to the turtle pond to feed the turtles. All but one snapper was in hibernation. There were a ton of fish though that literally jumped out of the water for some bread. Maddy had a great time with it and it wore her out enough that she didn't fuss at going to sleep and stayed asleep until 5:45 this morning. I was glad for that.

I found out this morning that this is supposed to be the last nice day in September with all the rest being rainy. So this morning I decided we were ditching class and going over to Cox Farm to enjoy their fall festival. I had a coupon for September $3 off the $9 weekly admission and now that Maddy is over 2 I need to pay for her. It was GREAT as always and well worth the $12.

First, I have to say, the people they have working the slides are REALLY nice. They are normally women about 35-50. They are soooo sweet! Maddy loved the slides and had no issues going on her own. These are HUGE, long slides and move really fast!!! They are on the ground though and you walk up the hill to get to the top, so there aren't really any stairs or ladders to climb so it's pretty safe (unless you roll down the hill of course, but that didn't happen to us). The slides themselves are lined in hay bails on either side so you can't 'fall off' the slide either. Maddy LOVED them and went 3-4 times on each one, by herself! So I was able to watch her at the bottom climb to the top, sit down (under the guidance of the really nice ladies at the top) and watch her come down. It was so empty first thing this morning too that there wasn't a line for anything. So she could go as many times as she wanted without being rushed.

What's also great about this festival is that you don't have to pay for anything (besides food) once you're in the gate. They have apple cider for free, apples for free, hayrides are free, the petting zoo (with kids--as in the baby goat kind) is free although you can buy food for $1 if you want to. The kids are so sweet, too. Not huge and scary. Maddy loved it. We will definitely go next month and I hope Matt can come with us, too. Plus, you have to love the free pumpkin as you leave! What a great way to get kids to sneak out with you without having to fight them out of the farm. Maddy did NOT want to leave--but finally at 12:50 I talked her into going to get her pumpkin. So she was a bit late for nap, but nothing that bad. She has crashed and is still asleep for nap time!

Anyway, I have pictures that I will upload later. Check back then!

So I missed MNO since I was feeling like I had a cold coming on yesterday and didn't want it to get worse or expose any of you lovely ladies to it. Plus, I was really exhausted to the point that all I wanted to do was read my book in bed (until 2 am, oops). This morning I woke up feeling a lot better. I was rushing around getting ready for my dentist appointment and made it out to the car. I picked up Maddy to put her in the car and

BAM. There it went.

My fricken back. Normally I let Maddy get into the seat herself but I was in a hurry since we were running late. I was surprised I didn't drop Maddy. So I hobbled back up the stairs and met Matt at the door. He took Maddy to the appointment and I hobbled up the stairs to get tylanol (nothing else I can take, gosh darn it!) and then hobbled back down the stairs to lay on the floor. Getting up and down the stairs took 15 minutes since I had to do it so carefully.

So here I lay. Maddy has a birthday party today I was going to take her to and now I guess Matt will have to. I'm so frustrated by this turn of events. I hate making Matt's weekend that much busier and me being incompasitated. Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it now except focus on getting my back better.

...you know I must be bored. Of course I stayed up until almost 2 last night finishing off the 4th book in the Twilight Series. Good story overall. Rather 'neat' in a lot of the ways it ties off loose ends and it has a cliche ending, but definitely a good read.

Anyway, since that is finished now I have nothing much to read. :)

But Matt took Maddy to the dentist this morning. She got her teeth cleaned and scraped! She did GREAT. I'm so proud of her. She's at a birthday party for Hailey right now with daddy. When did all our little playmates turn 3??? Wasn't Maddy just born yesterday? When did she stop being the youngest kid on the playground?

I am, of course, stuck in bed. Thank goodness for my laptop.

Maddy loves to be naked. The more often she can be naked the better. If I ask her to take off her diaper after nap/bedtime she'll quickly oblige but normally she'll go hide somewhere for about 20 seconds and come back out stark naked. She'll throw her hands out to the sides and yell, "TA DA! I'm naked!!!" Then of course I have to chase down my naked child to at least put a shirt on her! I don't always insist on the bottoms because she does a really good job with potty training when she's bottomless.

She came into the bedroom (where I've been laying for 24 hours now) yesterday afternoon before the birthday party she was going to completely naked. She said to me with a frown, "Mommy, I can't go to the party! I'm naked!" Then last night about 9:30 Matt had to go in by Maddy when she started calling and found her naked in bed--with her pjs strewn around her (diaper too) and she said, "Daddy, I can't sleep, I'm naked!" What a kiddo.

Have a good one!