LaLaLaLa - LaLaLaLa - Elmo's World!

How many moms have that song in their head now? I know I do!!!

Today my mom and I drove up to Rockford to go to Sesame Street Live's preformance of 1-2-3 Imagine! It was a very cute show, Eddie was beyond awesome and well supplied with snacks and sippies. We even went out to lunch after and spent and unbelievable amount of time in Hobby Lobby without him freaking. I love my sweet boy!! Nanna also spoiled Eddie rotten, getting him not only the huge Elmo balloon (almost as big as Eddie) but also getting him the spinny light up Elmo thing. Don't know what I'm talking about? Here ya go.....

{large, overpriced Elmo balloons!}

{mommy's favorite}

{daddy's favorite}

{Eddie's favorite!!!!!}

{everyone else's favorite}

Sick of muppet pictures yet? Hehe. We had fun...Eddie got into it towards the end, when most of the rest of the theatre cleared out because kids were fussy. That's just when Eddie started dancing, clapping and blowing kisses to the muppets. Aww! It was so cute. December brings Disney on Ice and then Curious George. We can't wait!

Homemade Holiday

Years ago, trying to be a good wifey, I made mine and Frank's stockings by hand. Last year, I knew I couldn't put the time into a stocking for Eddie, so we got him a cute 'my first Christmas' one, figuring we may as well use one of those when we could. Knowing the time would come, I found a stocking kit months ago on 50% off and I went ahead and got it. The earlier the better, right? Around the same time, I thought of doing Homemade Holiday and was really excited to get going. The excitement died after a while and the stocking sat half done for about a month. I recently got back to working on it and am excited to show you the finished product!

Isn't she purty? This was the first time I've ever embrodered a name on top (mine and Frank's are written in paint pen since I wasn't brave enough to try) but this year I bit the bullet. Is it perfect? NOPE! But I love it. I can't wait to see it hanging with the others this year.

-maggie

(ps - click on the photo above to see the detail and the AWESOMENESS that is my new camera!! It is sooo clear and gorgeous. Just don't go pointing out all of the mistakes on the stocking, kay?)

Big boy....big camera!

You know all of those posts I said 'This is when I really wished my good camera wasn't broken!'? Well, this morning Frankie surprised me with a new camera!!! WOOOOOOOT!!!!! Apparently, he has been fighting with Canon for a while about fixing my camera and they couldn't reach a reasonable deal. At the same time, he noticed a GREAT deal on a Nikon D3x kit with a camera bag, so he surprised me. And let's just say I've had a bad couple of days and needed some cheering up : )  It really worked. I'm still getting used to it, but I can already tell you I think I like it more than my Canon.

When did my baby get so big?

And where did all of this strawberry hair come from?

We've got a busy week coming up and this really couldn't have come at a better time. Wednesday we are going to see the new Elmo Live show and Friday my dad and I are going to go to the Beluga Experience at the Shedd. I can't wait! I also can't wait to take some fairly decent pictures for you guys! I am also getting a move on with the Homemade Holiday challenge, so I'll have some sneek peek pictures to post too. I won't be posting the finished product, or anything that will really give away what I'm doing because I don't want to ruin some surprises. Posting will either be pretty heavy this week or pretty light, but I'm guessing with my new camera, we'll probably be on the heavy side. :))))

Mother of the Year!

Right here, ya'll. That's me!! Who nominated me, you ask? Well, the guy that I screamed at in the Babies R Us parking lot, of course! Heh...interested in the rest of the story?


Eddie and I ran to BRU to get some new baby proofing items (mainly door handle cover things, since someone has been trying to go in the basement and garage)...harmless, right? As I was putting Eddie into the car, I threw the car keys onto the front seat - something I do all.the.time. When I closed the door, I heard the click of the doors lock. Eddie was inside, I was outside and the keys were on the front seat. HOLY SHIT. Lots of swearing insued.

As I tried not to panic, I stopped a woman who was just getting out of her car and asked to use her phone. After thanking her profusely, I called 911, since we didn't know the non-emergency number. Right away, the rude man on the phone cut me off to say that Algonquin police don't open locked cars, unless there is a small child inside. And that's when the crazy started. 'THERE IS A SMALL CHILD INSIDE!!'. He responded with a small 'oh' and took the info. The lady that let me use her phone went inside, the other woman who stopped when this whole thing began offered me her coat, and when I declined, she went on her way as well. I tried desperately to keep Eddie laughing and not to panic in front of him. And then the minutes went by like hours and I started to panic. How much longer was it going to take? Where were they? I'm the worst mother in the world. How did this happen? I am the worst mother. Then the tears started. You know how when you're trying so hard not to cry and it just makes it worse? Yeah...that started.

And then some jackass decided he wanted the spot next to me, even though the expansive parking lot was fairly empty. And he startes giving me the 'WTF??' hand....that thing that you will throw out when you think someone is doing something absolutely idiotic and you're obviously smarter and better then them and all you can come up with is 'WTF?' along with the hand gesture. You know the one. You've done it....we all have. But this fuck, he did it to me at the WRONG time. After moving closer to the car and trying to let him in, he continued to sit there and give me the WTF hand. WRONG TIME, FUCKER. Do you want to know what I did? I screamed. At the top of my lungs.

I LOCKED MY KID IN THE CAR. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?!?!!?!!?!

He threw up his hands as in 'sorry' and about 5 other people in the parking lot turned to stare at me. I'm sure I got judged endlessly at that moment. He parked and walked over, said he was sorry and he didn't realize. I started to cry harder. Then another lady stopped and began questioning me. What happened? How did it happen? Did you call someone? How? When? What did you tell them? How long has it been? And that was the last thing I needed. The.last.thing. It had been 20 minutes since I called. I was paniced, Eddie was crying and even thought I was trying to calm him down, I couldn't stop crying so he knew something was up. And then, in possibly the best moment of them all, a community service officer spotted us and came ripping into the lot like he was there to save the day. He practically skidded to a stop, and I couldn't help but laugh. You'd think he was totally hauling ass to get there and was there right away, but in reality it was quite a while.

He got out, took one look at me and asked if I was okay. Yes, I'm fine, now please save my kid. It took him all of 5 minutes to get back in and Eddie went from being intruiged with the police man (erm.....community service officer) to being scared of him. I tried to be rational, I really did.....but when he opened the doors the only thing I wanted to do was hug my baby. So while I thought I would just leave him in his carseat, sign the paperwork and go on my merry way, I snatched him up so fast and hugged him like I never had before. I made a scene, hugging an kissing my baby and thanking the officer up and down. But do you want to know the best part? I mean, really truly the best part?

The officer gave me a teddy bear to give to Eddie. The bear was in a bag. After he handed it to me, he had a second thought. 'Don't forget to take off the bag.' Thanks, sir. Thanks a lot. While you're at it, will you remind me not to lock my kid in the car again? Or to yell at strangers?

Lesson learned. Judgement felt. I'm just getting over the whole thing, the feeling of a failed mother and the fear of it happening again. I am also crazy about where the car keys are and check my pockets about 500 times before I close any door. I hope I don't stop being crazy aware of where they are....I never want to feel what I felt in those 20 minutes again. Ever, ever again.


Respectfully yours,
Mother of the Year

y3w

Self feeding....fun and messy. Very messy.

Baby Gym!!!!!

Yes, the title deserves all of the !!!!! that I can fit. Eddie loves his baby gym class and I love all of the energy that it gets out! It is really impressive the amount of information he retains from this class....he loves to 'walk in a circle' when we sing the song, will roll all around the floor and will even get in summersault position when we ask him if he wants to. A couple weeks ago we had our last class for this session and Eddie got to do some of his favorite 'skills'. If you have a Toddler Tumble class by you - run by Allstar Sports (especially Coach Michelle!) sign up ASAP!!

Seriously, we love this class. Eddie has the best time, incase you can't tell from above :) The Coaches are fantastic - they are very comfortable with the class skills, comfortable with children of all ages and are great at dealing with the parents in the class. They always made me feel like Eddie was in good hands (even though it is a mommy and me class, the coaches will each have a station and will take you child through that area) and he never seemed nervous of a new skill. I can't wait for our next session!

Galena...living history. Or something like that.

Confession: I originally put 'some shit like that' in the title. Teheehe. Whoopsie! I don't want to rip on Galena like that. :)

Galena really is gorgeous. Not to sound completely stupid, but I never realized that Illinois could be so hilly an beautiful. The closer we got to Galena, the more and more Frank and I would drive over yet another huge hill and we would both go 'WOW'. It was breathtaking. Or maybe we're just sheltered.

We stayed at the gorgeous Eagle Ridge, which had a hotel and spa,4 golf courses, a marina and tons and tons of gorgeous houses and townhomes. We rented a townhome and seriously consitered purchasing one for that was for sale so we would have a summer house and rent it when we weren't using it. And then we realized that Galena was for old people. Just kidding! Kind of. It's just for older ladies that really like the Kate Gosslin haircut.

Isn't the place nice? This was a two bedroom, two bathroom with a loft. It was clean, nice and cozy......until we realized the locked room. Frank, thinking it was just a child lock, figured out a way to open it. And then we saw that it was an owner's room. With a locked door. And all of their shit. And needless to say, we got a little creeped out. Remember that movie about those two people who go to a hotel and can see themselves on the TV, and then they change the channel and can see another couple getting killed? Or something like that? Well, it's all I could think of. And because I don't watch scary movies (maybe because I can never get them out of my mind...even the previews are enough to give me nightmares) I didn't know the ending, so I was making it up in my head, which was probably worse. I eventually devised my own alarm system, comprised of glasses filled with silverware that would fall and jingle if the door opened or if some one ran into the ghetto alarm. It didn't make me feel safe, but at least it was something.

If you haven't gone to Galena, let me tell you this. Bring comfy shoes.....there are lots and lots and lots of stairs. LOTS.

Thankfully, even though I ddin't know this, I knew we shouldn't bring the stroller. Eddie is very grabby, and it is getting nearly impossible to push him around a store. I figured that Galena would be full of kitchy shops, so I thought ahead and bought one of those hiking backpack child carrier things. I've had my eye on it forever and finally convinced Frankie to get one. Best. Buy. Ever.

I carried Eddie in that thing for hours and he didn't even stir. We gave him his little snack cup with some goldfish and he was happy as a clam being carted around. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but I figured out that if I tightened the chest strap a ton it would sit a little higher on my back and didn't hurt. Unfortunately, well......it wasn't the best look. You know, for my...chest? Can't picture it? Don't worry, I took a picture!!! Dear, dear blog....look at what I do for you!

Smooshed. And painful. I turned to look at myself in a storefront window and was a little appauled. Meh. I got over it pretty quickly. As long as Eddie was happy, we could work with it. We walked a ton, surprisingly enough didn't buy anything (except for wine...hehe) and learned a lot about the history of Galena.

Frank met Abe. He was very excited.

Galena Cellars is fantastic. Blackberry wine = yumola!

Frank also stood at a bar holding a sippy cup. I had a little sample of wine, walked to go get the one I fell in love with and turned around to see this. Yup, we're parents alright.

Tastings of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Unique and fun.

That same day, after Eddie had refused his nap in the new environment of the townhouse, we took a drive to Iowa (maybe 20 minutes?) and a long drive around Galena in order to get him to nap. We were going to go to the Mississippi River Aquarium, but they were closing in 15 minutes so we decided to get some dinner instead. Unfortunately for us, we went to a restaurant that we thought was a brewery...a restaurant named 'Star' located in the Dubuque Star Brewery building isn't a brewery after all. It is actaually an awesome looking restaurant that servered some nasty, nasty food. Very dissapointing when you expected a nice micro brew and a cheeseburger, but we were the only people that walked in and felt horrible leaving. The staff seemed so excited to see someone! We're such suckers.

Eddie was very excited to go over the Mississippi River. And yes, we turned him forward facing for the long drive, even though I am completely and totally pro-extended rear facing. And yes, we are turning him back around until he is two.

Exciting, no?

My boys. So cute.

Now, are you wondering why we went to Galena in the first place? They were having a Halloween Balloon Glow, something that I've always wanted to see. Don't know what I'm talking about?

Gorgeous, right?

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see this. Ideal conditions are about 9mph winds, and we were blessed with some 35-40mph winds that night. Thankfully, however, they didn't give up. While we didn't get to see the balloons in their glory, we got to see the baskets and the fire, which was really neat in and of itself. Eddie was fairly in awe of the whole thing, and even though we didn't let him collect candy from the baskets (kids were allowed to Trick or Treat from basket to basket) he loved being ooohhh'd and awww'd over.

He did some ooohhh'ing and awww'ing himself.

Enjoy exploring, my dear readers. You never know when you'll find something to be in awe over....