You've Got Mail

Today, Riley received a package from Grandma & Grandpa Wilson. She opened it to find an outfit, some books, and a letter.

Dan read her the letter and she was enthralled! She then took the letter from him and seemed to "read" it in her own baby talk. Riley also made sure to point out to us the heart at the end.

I guess Riley is a fan of the good 'ol snail mail and appreciates the fine art of letter writing instead of computer mediated communication (you can thank that reference to my class).

Memorial Day

A Day for...

Remembering....


Looking cute...

Kisses...

Cooling off from the summer heat...

Hiding behind the float the whole car ride...

Getting your kids to eat their veggies

Who says you can't make Carrot Popsicles?

Brown Bear Brown Bear

Lately, Riley has been infatuated with the book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? At any point, day or night, she brings the book to me saying, "This!" Then, Riley proceeds to sit in my lap and we begin to read.

She likes to turn the pages and read all about the yellow duck, purple cat, and the blue horse...to name a few.

At the end of the book, they show all of the animals represented throughout the book. Our little one year old can also now recognize and point to two of the characters when asked.

Here is a video of us getting her to point out the yellow duck and white dog. Enjoy!

Covered in Snot

For the past week, Riley has been suffering from a cold....and in true Mom fashion, I have been suffering right along with her. I have to get nightly showers to cleanse myself from the grossness that I accumulate throughout the day.

I told Dan yesterday that I needed a break. I even told him I wanted to go back to work; not because I think work is easier by any means....I give my fellow mom friends all the credit in the world for juggling work, kids, house, etc. I just needed a break from the snot and the whining and the tugging and the snot. A girl can only bulb syringe and nasal spray for so long.

Today was better, we got out of the house when the weather offered a small reprieve from the rain. Riley and I enjoyed lunch with Monique and she finally fell asleep in the car on the way home. Monique and I enjoyed grown up talk and I was able to feel like a big girl for a few blissful hours.

I hope tomorrow is even better as we prepare to head into the 3 day Memorial Day weekend. If I'm lucky, Dan may even take over the sinus duties.

And the winner is...

I love me some good 'ol competition. If that competition involves singing and dancing...then I am all over it. That would be why I have become addicted to such shows as American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. It is also why I am so excited about the upcoming new show Glee - damn you Fox for teasing us with one show until the Fall!

In honor of the finale of American Idol, I created my own version of the finale in our own home. With the usual suspects, our family plus the ArunaHarts, we had our evening meal. This one, however, was themed.

I served - The American Cheese Idol Shepherd's Pie - because what's not more American than pie and American cheese? (OK it was a stretch, I know, but give me a break, I work with the ingredients I have.) I also made a yellow cake complete with a chocolate Kris side and a vanilla Adam portion.

After scarfing down the meal and putting Riley down for bed, the show was about to start. Before it began, I had everyone choose a piece of cake from either the Adam or Kris side. Whichever side they ate from was deemed to be their pick as the winner.

Here was our outcome:

As you can see, Kris beat Adam just by a slice or two.

After watching the two hour finale and some amazing acts, the winner was announced - Kris Allen! We chose correct (and I think America did too)!

Then & Now

There are many ways to measure the passing of time...outgrowing clothes, moving up on the growth chart, using a big girl car seat. I like to use two indicators, hair and feet.

Then, she was two weeks old, short, fine, brown hair and tiny, chubby, baby feet.

One year has past since those newborn pictures were taken. Now, that tiny baby is sporting a ponytail and size 5Wide shoe!

Riley is growing up so fast - something that both excites and saddens me.

Video Man Dan

What is it with grown men and video games?

I am watching my husband reason with, swear at, and coax the little men in the video games. Here are some of the highlights (that of which I can repeat)

Why won't this guy die?
Oh man....
Would this damn controller stop screwing up? (Yes, honey, it's the controller, not you.)
Come on! (Slams hand on couch)
How come you are not dead, beast?
I'm running out of juice baby doll. (That's me he's talking to.)
Ah hell...I got the wrong damn thing in my hand again.
I got the right s**t now...you are going down, I WILL FIND YOU!
Are you kidding me? (Obviously he didn't go down.)

He leans forward, to the side, stands up, stomps around, all but willing his guys to move through the maze.

I hate video games - maybe because it's not in my genes.

Family Night

Last night, Dan got home early from work (well, 6:30 is early for us). Riley, well rested from her late nap, was ecstatic to see her Daddy.

She patiently waits for him at the door, usually with Murphy in tow.






After we ate a scrumptious dinner, if I do say so myself, (Pesto Chicken Grill Packets courtesy of my Rachel Ray magazine) we relaxed together as a family. With the ground fresh from the afternoon downpour, we began our evening walk with Murphy. We returned home to show Daddy our new skills with the stacking rings. Riley is able to stack the colored rings, usually in order and usually with minimal help, onto the plastic post. She gets a kick out of our reaction when we applaud her work.

The sun was setting, the lights were low in the house while the radio was playing lightly in the background and there we were, playing on the living room floor past bedtime. Riley, in her pink and red strawberry pajamas with feet and Daddy, still in his dress pants and shirt from work, giggling and laughing together.

Time is very precious in the evening - with the hustle and bustle of dog walking, cooking, eating, bathing, dressing, brushing, reading, and singing - it was nice for once to take a step back and enjoy time together on a school night, as my mom used to say.

Dance - Baby - Dance

There is nothing sweeter than a barefoot baby dancing on a Tuesday afternoon to some Charlie Brown music.

I used to use the potty alone

A long time ago, I picked up a copy of Ellen's book, I think it was one of her first ones, My Point and I Do Have One. In it, she tells of a lady using a bathroom stall when someone accidentally opens the door, because of course the lock is broken and she is performing hovering acrobats to hold it close.

Instead of being angry at the intruder, she says, "Oh, that's OK." The bathroom intruder says, "Really? Well, in that case...." and she begins to invite other people into the bathroom with the woman...

So, the little intruder into my small sanctuary is just over 30 inches and refuses to allow me to pee in peace. It's not like she just stands there either, Riley does all that she can do to distract me.

Some of her favorites include: Let's climb into the toilet paper basket while I insist that Mommy piles toilet paper on top of me.

Or...let me fix the toilet while you obviously have nothing better to do than gasp at my disgusting habit.

At any given day or time, you will probably find Riley wielding around her cart full of treasures, feminine hygiene products and toilet paper included. In any case, it's gross, intrusive, and sometimes, yes, a little cute.

A Grateful Mother's Day

This is my first "official" Mother's Day.

Last year, Mother's Day was spent with a baby, barely a week old, sitting in our chocolate, leather chair, nursing. Dan cooked a Rachel Ray pasta dish recommended by my mother and I sat in the chair, confused, overwhelmed, grateful, and nursing. I was in a fog mostly, as most Mom and Dad's are at that point in their baby's life. I remember our sweet baby falling asleep next to our bed in the pack-n-play later that night while Dan and I watched movies on the lowest volume possible, sneaking glances in Riley's direction at every whimper or sigh.

This year is so much different. This year, I really feel like a mom. Riley (ok, really Dan) got me a card that reads, "Happy Mother's Day to the woman who brought me into the world...bet you didn't know that would be the easy part!" How true that is.

Leading up to getting pregnant, I thought that was stressful - battling infertility was just the start of this roller coaster we are on. Everyday, I feel so grateful to have Riley in our lives. Yes, I stressed over her growth while she was in my belly just as I stress over every small detail today. But, I wouldn't trade a sleepless night or a snotty nose day at any rate - she is mine and I am hers. Dan is the best Dad and I am eternally grateful for our table for three.

Sitting here now, rubbing my fingers over the "R" silver pendant that my two favorite people got for me, there are no other words to express the love that is crammed into our house. We went to Sunday Brunch this morning at the Cheesecake Factory and Riley was in rare form. She has developed an aversion to the highchair so we took turns wrangling her in the large booth as we stole bites off of our plate. Still, I felt grateful. At times I thought I wouldn't be able to be a mom, so through the stressful times, I remember that this too shall pass and I don't want to waste a single moment I have with her now, at this age, with two gapped front teeth and two, big, beautiful, blue eyes staring up at us.

It is only fitting that I share this forwarded email that I received from a fellow mom, Tracy. I'm sure many of you have seen it, but the words ring so true.

"Before I was a Mom, I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom, I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom, I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body..

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 1 0 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom ."

My Name is Jamie, and I am Married to a Pack-Rat

Welcome Jamie to the group.



Sometimes I get into these frenzies where I feel the need to clean, donate, and organize. I should be writing my paper for grad school or mopping the floors, but no, I am rifling through old stuff.



I have known about Dan's addiction to crap ever since we met. At first, I thought it was cute, like....:"Ah, how sweet, he still has the bank deposit slips from his lawn mowing business....when he was 10." Now, I see that the "cuteness" has become my problem.



If you live in Florida, then you know that we are very limited on our storage space. No expansive basements or coat closets for storage. We have crammed all of (mostly) Dan's belongings into our guest room/office closet.



But I digress, let's remember that I was cleaning this crap out. I tackled the bin labeled, Dan's Art Supplies. By the looks of it, these are his supplies since he was five. I keep what appears anything new for Riley and chuck the rest. Then, I move on to the bin, Dan's Fun Stuff. Weird already, I know.



Here are some of the gems I pulled out:



1. 2 toy guns

2. bell bottoms

3. black light

4. disco ball

5. jester hat

6. African stone game

7. Mardi-Gras beads

8. hackey sack balls



And my personal favorite....



9. The Willy Warmer (Dan's brother, Mike, got this for him in Africa. The note inside says: "Traditional underwear worn by the men and boys of the Matebele tribe in Africa. Can you believe it!")



No, I cannot believe it - what I really can't believe is that we still have this stored away in our closet. I can hear Dan saying now...."You never know when we are going to get invited to a Halloween party and I'll want to wear my jester hat with my beads, bell bottoms, and willy warmer."



Bless his heart, I love this man. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to load up the trunk of my small SUV with this big load for Goodwill before Dan gets home. I wonder what they will think of the Willy Warmer?

Singing in Public

If you ask anyone I know, they will tell you that I like to sing. I don't sing well by any means, but it gives me great pleasure to belt out a tune. I find it equally as delightful when I am in public. Friends will insist that I do this to annoy them, but I really do just like show tunes...

So it comes as no surprise when I tell you that I love to sing to Riley in public. Most recently, I have decided to do it at the grocery store. It goes a little something like this.....

I have to get eggs.....picking up the egggggsssss.....are any of them broken?????? Yeahhhh......
Standing in line.........lane number seven......loading our groceries.......waiting in line........

Now, I think that Riley really enjoys my little ditties, and I have to admit it makes the mundane tasks a little more enjoyable and speedy. But, it was a big shock to my system when I realized that other people were taking notice of my tunes.

I overheard one little girl say to her Dad, "Why is that lady singing?"
To which he replied, "She is singing to her little girl."
Little girl says, "Is she going to stop?"

I would like to apologize in advance if any of you see me in the store, or anywhere in public for that matter belting one out. Trust me, you'd rather have me singing than dancing in public, that's a whole other embarrassment.

The Collector

L: Can't let go....

Above: The Stash: Blankie, dog toy, sippie cup, a plastic cone for stacking, a rubber rolled up placemat and an Old Navy receipt

Sweet little Riley, my little collector.


Riley was given a shopping cart as a present from my in-laws for her first birthday. She can't seem to live without it now. From the time she wakes up to the time she goes to bed, the cart is with her. Curious George used to be her favorite, but I think the cart has him scared of losing first place.


When watching her wheel the cart around today, bumping into Murphy, through the tunnel, banging into the table, it reminded me of a homeless lady. She collects all kinds of random objects from around the house and hoards them in the shopping cart. I guess she also is afraid that I am going to take it and her goodies away from her at any moment because she remembers to keep one hand firmly planted on the cart as she sits in her red chair catching some parts of a cartoon.

I don't know what's next - maybe we can get her a small trailer to carry her things around in - she soon will be collecting enough things that her stash will outgrow the small cart.

The World of Blogging

I have been a semi-blog-stalker. I have been a voyeur into other people's lives. I have said, "I would love to write a blog...if only...." Today, I decided enough with the excuses. I love to write and share stories, must of which, Dan can mouth the words to by heart. After I became a mom now a full year ago, I suddenly found all of these stories bubbling inside of me. Instead of driving my husband crazy with the, "And then...she...." I thought this just might be the perfect creative outlet.
So here I am world of blogging. I am not promising full commitment right away. Try to go easy on me, I'm new here.