The Hoarding Continues....

A while ago, I blogged about Riley's need to hoard. I'm not sure where she gets it from - it's not that she is competing with any other children for things in the house. It's not like I yank toys away from her at all hours of the day. It's not like it's genetic....OK, maybe there is merit to that one.

But, this hoarding thing is getting a little out of control. I wonder if Dear Dr. will think it's weird. I have considered keeping an excel sheet of all the when/where/what/ duration of the instances but fear he may reject me from the practice.

Do other kids do this? Is this normal?

See for yourself, my little homeless lady in action....

MIA

I have been MIA of late because I have been finishing two classes worth of work for my studies at Gonzaga University. Both projects (a Communication Audit and a blog) were due on the same day. They have been finalized, sent in, and now I am just waiting on grades. As I gear up for a new class to start on Monday, I thought you may want to learn more about my courageous friend, Christy, the subject of one of my projects.

http://christycancerandcourage.blogspot.com/

Coke

We are pretty sure that my Dad taught Riley about all of the finer things in life while we were in Washington. This includes his personal favorite, Coca-Cola. My mom claims she was not party to this exposure saying, "We did not give her any...although I did not watch your Dad 24 hours a day..."

You be the judge...

A Good Day

This morning started off early - by 7:30 we were out of the house ready to have some breakfast at a local favorite, Teri's Cafe. Riley calmed down once she received some french toast. Daddy kept her busy with stacking creamers and applying stickers to her cup.

A whirlwind of errands followed: Home Depot, a friend's house, BabiesRUs, Costco

This is the Saturday morning of parents.

Riley was sufficiently on Costco overload and was crazy tired in the store. She fell asleep in the car and I successfully transferred her to the crib...ahhh...sweet success.

Nik and Kyle came over to visit. I worked on threading the needle and winding the bobbin on my sewing machine. After a few select curse words, I enlisted Kyle's help and he had it all set to go.

After quite a few more choice words with the machine, we had completed our (my) project, A UF skirt for Ms. Riley. I think she looked pretty darn cute. Who care that it's not perfect, right? I mean, she doesn't care!

Meanwhile, Nik and Dan carved some pumpkins and an ode to Elmo...

Kyle snuck in some quality time with Riley....

And I am going to enjoy some quality time by myself watching My Life in Ruins - the UF game and Hooters are calling Dan's name...

Men & Laundry

I love my husband, I really do. Bless his heart, he tries to help out around the house, especially by "helping" me do the laundry on the weekends.

But, his idea of helping is putting the clothes in the washer....maybe the dryer....and then the bed. His newest announcement came a couple weeks ago after he saw that I didn't hang up his dress shirts correctly - as they weren't buttoned all the way down the front.
He tells me, "Don't worry about hanging up my clothes, I'll do mine from now on."
No problem, gladly, I think.
Well, a week and a half later, the clothes are still on the chair in the corner of our room. Taunting me. They are saying, "You know you want to take care us. Who cares how my buttons look. You know it's driving you crazy." It is, but I will be strong. I will resist their taunts.

Fast forward to this morning - 5:00 am to be exact.
Murphy, who I think is an undiagnosed bulimic dog, starts puking in his bed. Because of his crazy shedding problem, we also keep a blanket draped over his dog bed. Dan gets up, flips on all of the lights and starts cleaning it up. Again, Dan is a good man.

He takes the blanket and bed cover to the washer and he is gone for a good 10 minutes. Fearing his confusion, I stumble across the house to find him staring at the washing machine. He is about to hit start he he informs me, "I put a little bleach in there."
"Uh, that will bleach the red bed cover," I say.
"it's just a little though."
"It will still bleach it."
"Uh oh."

So, needless to say, we had to do two loads this morning. By the way, they were left in the dryer so I am doing it now.

Did I mention that I love my hubby?

Picking Pumpkins

Ok, well, we really didn't pick any pumpkins. Actually, Riley did a lot of...

Climbing...

...and Hoarding...

We met up the Mancini family and had a fun time at the pumpkin patch. We went last year to the same "patch" but this year was much better for two reasons. It actually felt like autumn and Riley didn't have to be propped up for any of the photo shoots. Here is a snapshot from last year.

October 2008

October 2009

Happy (almost) Halloween - from our little pumpkin patch of three!

Meet my friend, Sloppy Joe

Riley didn't just get her blue eyes from her Daddy - she also got his love for the almighty Sloppy Joe.

I really do not enjoy Mr. Joe, nor do I like to give Riley food without a little boost of pureed vegetables (Deceptively Delicious - oh how I love you)....but I honestly get tired of her refusal to eat the food that I make for her. While I was perusing the grocery store on my weekly Publix pilgrimage, I came across the little can and these cute little wheat sliders.

I whipped up the sloppy meat dish.....

Hallelujah!

Riley ate one and a half of these little suckers.....the next day, she enjoyed one for lunch as well.

I know they don't have pureed veggies in them and she is still spitting out her broccoli stalks at me - but at least we know she loves her meat. I, of course, know this because she kept repeating with each bite, "Mmmmm, meat!" Again, she gets this from her Daddy.

Spokane, Seattle, and Vancouver, Oh My!

Dan and I have returned from a whirlwind week of school (me), lounging (him), and sight-seeing (both).

Our first stop - Spokane, Washington - home to Gonzaga University where I am enrolled in their Communication Master's online program. After a long flight to Seattle, Dan and I still had another four long hours of car travel to get to Spokane. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the sweet silence, but still spent a lot of time talking about baby girl, whom we left at home in the loving arms of Mimi and Papa.

After arriving in our hotel nice and late, and also on PST, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and got ready for bed.

4:00AM What's that? It's only 4 and Dan is up watching football on ESPN? Yes, we were definitely still on EST. Joy.

Monday morning - Dan dropped me off for my first day of class. I felt like a nervous kindergartner.

Classes at Gonzaga were a complete joy. The students and professors were all exceedingly gracious, kind, and intelligent. It made me very proud to be a Bulldog! We worked in writing and speaking workshops with a culminating group project. I can be a bit of a spaz and perfectionist, but my group members did a fantastic job calming me down and wrangling in my stress! I also got to meet many of my "online" friends - namely, Keegan, a girl who I have been friends with since the beginning. Keegan and her husband, we discovered, are very much like Dan and I....scary, I know!

As class ended on Wednesday evening, Dan picked me up from class, late, I might add....evidently he was at a winery doing a little tasting of local vino. (MORE PICTURES TO COME...)

Thursday we spent the full day in Seattle seeing the sights and dining on local fare. The highlights of the rip for me was experiencing the cold, brisk air, visiting Pike Place Market, and a romantic dinner at "Purple." We also spent some down time with Keegan and Eric - telling stories and sharing some much needed laughs and relaxation.

Friday - the day of our midnight departure, we decided to take our rental car (gasp) across the border. I was completely freaked out the entire time, thinking that the Canadians would call Enterprise on us or something, but they seemed more curious about the fact that we were from Florida and were only spending a day in Vancouver, B.C. After a quick drive through the city, we headed to a "must see" that I found on the Internet - Capilano Suspension Bridge.

Words cannot even express the beauty of this forest, just minutes from downtown. After crossing the suspension bridge, we headed to the Treetop Adventure - where you stroll from treetop to treeptop, connected by a series of elevated, wooden bridges. Our only regret was that we couldn't experience it with Riley Belle.

After another long trip back to the airport, we boarded our red-eye, complete with a long lay-over and finally returned home. Riley had a great time with Mimi, Papa, and Kyle...surely getting away with murder (or a coke and a few doughnuts...). Although - that night she surely made us pay for our little vacation - up all night, afraid we wouldn't be there when she woke up:(

Ahhh....Home Sweet Home