Stupid Rash

So I woke up Thursday with a few spots. Friday morning at 6 am, both of my elbows looked like this. So I paid a stupid copay for the doctor to tell me to take Benadryl and that hives could be from anything. Gee, that was helpful...I still have NO IDEA what it is from. Needless to say, yesterday I washed all the bedding including the blankets in HOT water! ARGH.

Maria-ology

Let others know a little more about yourself, re-post this as your name followed by "ology"

1. What is your salad dressing of choice? Ranch on the side but I eat it dry. Easier than explaining No, I really don't want any.
2. What is your favorite sit down restaurant? Melting Pot
3. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? sketti
4. What are your pizza toppings of choice? ham, pineapple, banana peppers
TECHNOLOGY*
5. How many televisions are in your house? 4
6. What color cell phone do you have? black
BIOLOGY*
7. Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right
8. Have you ever had anything removed from your body? my wisdom teeth
9. What is the last heavy item you lifted? Claire
10. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?No
BULLCRAPOLOGY*
10. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? No
11. If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Anyone can change their name for a small legal fee, but I like mine how it is!
12. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000? I might try
DUMBOLOGY*
13. How many pairs of flip flops do you own? 6?
14. Last time you had a run-in with the cops? over 2 years ago when Josh was driving and was pulled over for turning R on red, where u weren't allowed to
15. Last person you talked to? Claire
16. Last person you hugged? Claire night, night!
FAVORITOLOGY*
17. Season? Summer
18. Holiday? Christmas
19. Day of the week? Friday
20. Month? July
CURRENTOLOGY*
21. Missing someone? not really
22. Mood? grumpy
23. What are you listening to? Josh and Jason playing XBox
24. Watching? nothing
RANDOMOLOGY*
25. First place you went this morning? turned off alarm
26. What's the last movie you saw? Slumdog Millionare..great flick
27. Do you smile often? :) YES :)
-OLOGY*
28. Do you always answer your phone? No
29. It’s four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it? Texting is blocked on my phone for this reason! :) Either call or email. Kthnxbai.
30. If you could change your eye color what would it be? I would never change my eyes. People want mine.
31. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? I don't think I've ever been to a Sonic...maybe once in TH years ago?
32. Do you own a digital camera? ha. do we? have you seen this blog?
33. Have you ever had a pet fish? Yes, and both of our wedding fish are gone...
34. What's on your wish list for your birthday? personal chef
35. Can you do pushups? maybe
36. Can you do a chin up? Are you kidding?
37. Does the future make you more nervous or excited? Excited
38. Do you have any saved texts? no
39. Ever been in a car wreck? yes :(
40. Do you have an accent? I've been told by people who say "y'all" that I sound like I'm from CHICAGO...well I was born there!
41. What is the last song to make you cry? I have no idea
42. When was the last time you cried? this quiz is repeating the one I just did...
43. Plans tonight? not really
44. Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? yes
45. Name 3 things you bought yesterday? baby lotion, band-aids and triple antibiotic cream
46. Have you ever been given roses? Yep <3
47. Current hate right now? Hives
48. Met someone who changed your life? Yep
49. How did you bring in the new year? watching the ball drop on TV
50. What song represents you? "Jesus Loves ME! :)"
51. Name three people who might complete this? who cares
52. Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? maybe
53. Have you ever dated someone longer than a year? yes
54. Will you be in a relationship 4 months from now? sometimes these quizzes are so high school omg.
55. Does anyone love you? yes
56. Would you be a pirate? wtf
57. What songs do you sing in the shower? whatever is on the radio
58. Ever had someone sing to you? yes
59. Do you like to cuddle? who doesn't
60. Have you held hands with anyone today? I have a toddler, yes.
61. Who was the last person you took a picture of? Claire
62. What kind of music did you listen to in elementary school? whatever was on
63. Do you believe in staying close with your ex's? depends
64. Are most of the friends in your life new or old? a mix
65. Do you like pulpy orange juice? sometimes
66. What is something your friends make fun of you for? what friends "make fun" of something?wth
67. Have you ever ridden a on an elephant? yes, when I was a kid and we went to the circus but we only got to go around the ring once :(
68. What are you saving your money up for right now? vacation
69. When is the last time you ate peanut butter and jelly? lunch today :)
70. What song(s) do you want played at your funeral? Um, never thought about that..."Dance, Dance, where-ever you may be..."
71. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Sleeping
72. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? I want to sleep some more. :(

Random Quiz Questions

1. First thing you wash in the shower? Hair
2. What color is your favorite hoodie? pink
3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Yep
4. Do you plan outfits? sometimes
5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? fine
6. Whats the closest thing to you that's red? stuffed Clifford toy
7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having? don't usually remember dreams
8. Did you meet anybody new today? Yep
9. What are you craving right now? nothing
10. Do you floss? of course, do you wipe?
11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage? soup
12. Are you emotional? WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME THAT! Um, that'll be a yes
13. Have you ever counted to 1,000? not lately
14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? whatever I'm in the mood for ;)
15. Do you like your hair? yes
16. Do you like yourself? yes
17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? only if he's buying
18. What are you listening to right now? Josh and Jason playing video games
19. Are your parents strict? no
20. Would you go sky diving? no thanks
21. Do you like cottage cheese? Yes
22. Have you ever met a celebrity? no
23. Do you rent movies often? Netflix them
24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? a princess crown
25. How many countries have you visited? about 30
26. Have you made a prank phone call? all the time when younger
27. Ever been on a train? too many to count
28. Brown or white eggs? doesn't matter as long as they are cooked
29. Do you have a cell-phone? yes
30. Do you use chap stick? yes
31. Do you own a gun? No
32. Can you use chop sticks? Yes
33. Who are you going to be with tonight? whoever is here
34. Are you too forgiving? very
35. Ever been in love? Yes
36. What is your best friend(s) doing tomorrow? sleeping in. must be nice!
37. Ever have cream puffs? yes but I think they are nasty. I do not like creamy things like salad dressings or mayo either.
38. Last time you cried? Earlier this week chopping an onion
39. What was the last question you asked? Can u turn off the light
40. Favorite time of the year? Advent/Christmas or Summer
41. Do you have any tattoos? not unless u count scars
42. Are you sarcastic? sometimes
43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect? Yes. Great movie!
44. Ever walked into a wall? Probably
45. Favorite color? any shade of purple
46. Have you ever slapped someone? Yep
47. Is your hair curly? A little
48. What was the last CD you bought? can't even remember...it would have to be over 5 years ago
49. Do looks matter? depends on what we are talking about
50. Could you ever forgive a cheater? Depends
51. Is your phone bill sky high? I hope not
52. Do you like your life right now? yes
53. Do you sleep with the TV on? No way
54. Can you handle the truth? Yes
55. Do you have good vision? with my reading glasses ;)
56. Do you dislike more than 3 people? probably
57. How often do you talk on the phone? daily
58. The last person you held hands with? Baby Claire
59. What are you wearing? purple PJs
60. What is your favorite animal? fish. they stay where they are put, generally. and they poop in a confined area
61. Where was your profile picture taken? Holly's wedding
62. Can you hula hoop? No
63. Do you have a job? full-time mom, on-call 24/7/365, with no paid overtime/weekends and Holidays REQUIRED...does that mean I'm a slave ;) Nah, lots of benefits like little hugs and kisses ;)
64. What was the most recent thing you bought? Stuff for these hives I got...itchy!
65. Have you ever crawled through a window? Yep

Tiny Treasures!

I had to take a picture of some of the stuff that Claire likes to carry around in her purse. Stickers, bookmarks that she steals out of my books, hair thingys, rocks she picks up from walks, sticky notes she likes to steal from the counter with my to-do lists, as well as coupons I give her to play with. She also likes to carry her little Wok book, bracelets, cell phone, and her laminated picture of Mark and Holly. She will take it out, pat the picture and say, "I love you, Holly! I love you, Mark!" I dumped it out to take this picture, but she came over and saw what I had done. She was very upset with me for having spread out her stuff like this. Tee-hee. Click on it to make it full size!

Claire LOVES her purses!

I just discovered that Facebook does embedded videos. Yay! YouTube seriously sucks. It's sooo slow. Anyway, here is a video of Claire with her precious purses:

Toy House

When Anja was visiting we found this cute toy house for a steal at a garage sale.



She is so in love with it. My mom has one like it for her house, too. You can never have enough toys of something that kids really like!

OMG BIRDIEZ!

We have baby birdies living across the street! Observe:

Claire and Mommy go on a Walk

Here is a quick video of Claire and I starting to go on a walk:

School Playground Pix

I rode to the school playground this morning with Claire in the baby bike seat. She had a blast playing with all of the other kids there...all 6 of them. :) I like this place as it is not so busy as Riley Park.
She doesn't get run over or trampled by all the big kids. I finally figured out I have to put shoes on her at the park, or she will want me take off her sandals every 5 minutes to clean out the mulch bits.

This morning was perfect! It was nice and warm but not overly hot!

She loves to climb up and go down the slide. Over and over and over! Key to happy kiddies=fresh air and sunshine! :)

The poor get poorer

Long read, but very interesting. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/17/AR2009051702053.html?sid=ST2009051801162 What did you think? The poor will get poorer. That sucks.

Car-Crazy Claire part deux

This picture reminds me of my brother David, or pictures I've seen of him at this age. She has sort of a "I'm being goofy for the camera face on" hehe!

Disney sunglasses for only 2.99! What a steal! And notice her little green purse...you probably saw it in pictures of us at the zoo..well it's her new companion. She will sometimes call it "my pursey" or sometimes she will call it "my diaper bag" which cracks me up. Because I call my purple back pack "my diaper bag" so she wants to carry around a bag just like me which is hilarious and cute.

Claire LOVES cars. Anytime we are on a walk and she sees a car in someone's garage, she wants to go and get in it. So I have been taking notes of which houses to try and walk on the other side of the street ... and also to make sure I'm pointing out the ever so interesting tree so as to avoid her running into some random people's garage and throwing a fit because I stick her back in the stroller. She likes to walk most of the time we go on a walk.

Ahh, yes, digging around for a goody. She has been known to stick all sorts of interesting things in here from used band aids, chewed gum wads, diaper wipes that I have given her to 'wipe' her babies faces (a great 2 minute distractor!), but the funniest thing ever found in her purse was a sauce packet from take-out food we brought home. Now that she can climb onto the tables by moving the chairs around and climbing up on them, nothing is safe on the tables anymore either!

"I can haz a car-nap!" There's nothing like a long day to wear Claire out!


This photos were actually from Anja's camera from the Castleton mall recently. This weekend we had a blast...we went on walks everyday as well as ate outside a couple times in our backyard! We also went to the school playground to play with Daddy!

Today we went to Mom's Club Breakfast Club this morning where they have a "breakfast pitch-in" and then we played in baby Kya's backyard on her swing set. Claire loves SLIDES as well. She probably went up and down the slide 50 times as well as went on the swing. She refused to play in the sandbox and got very mad when I had her touch the sand. She hates sand! This was brand new fresh out of the bag play sand, but no! She does not like to be dirty. Someone said that this was a readiness sign for potty-training, but we had a bit of a back slide when she got sick, and probably because I was sick too. She went from using only 2-3 diapers/day and going on the potty the rest of the time, to now fully refusing to go sit on the potty at all and is using diapers all day, everyday and night. She also slammed her hand in our master bath potty seat. The other 2 bathrooms have a "whisper close" seat which prevents little fingers or wee-wees from getting slammed. So i think it could be that or just not feeling well...or the rectal thermometer...she figured out quickly where that was going and she did not like it. She would cry, "Diaper! BACK ON! NO! NO! Diaper ON! DIAPER ON!...." I couldn't even check her temp. when she was saying that! :(

She is really amazing with names and remembers a lot of what has been going on. She knows slides can be hot. When we get to a slide, she asks "Slide HOT!?" so I will check. Today Josh watched Claire and asked if she went in a baby pool at Kya's house. AMAZING! I said, yes! He said, that she said "Mommy Drive! I swim! Baby Kya! PLAY!" Josh's friend Dave came over on Saturday, and Claire noticed the new and unusual shoes and said, "Dave shoe! Dave shoe!" She also says, "I love you Mommy, I love you Daddy!" When I put her to sleep tonight, she said "I love you Mommy; I love you Daddy." Then I asked her who else she loved and she said "I love you Oma!" I said, "Oma loves you too!" She said, "I love you Opa!" I said, "Opa loves you too!" She said "I love you Richie!" (She is getting better at the R!") and I said, "Richie loves you too!" She said "I love you Nummie!" I said, "Nummies love you too!" She said, "I love you Holly." etc...she loved her baby, her friends, baby Kya and baby Amelia, and also, she said "I love you TOWEL HAT!" She calls her towel hat the little towel that has the one corner in it that fits on her head. She loves that thing! I'm just amazed that she can start to talk about her day like she is. I asked her "What did you do today?" She said! "I slide! WHEE!"

Something else she notices, every time we are in the garage is if Daddy's car is there or not. If it's not, she will say, "Daddy car all gone. Daddy work." She also wants to push the button. Big mistake of letting her do that. She will say "I push but!"

EVERYTIME she drops something, she will say what the item is followed by "uh-oh and drop." Say she drops the sippy cup. She will say, "Sippy cup, uh-oh, drop!" She also loves to say "heavy." She will push around the dining room chairs and say, "chair, heavy!" Or she will try top pick up and carry her little ones and say, "HEAVY! CARRY! CHAIR! HEAVY!" It is pretty hilarious. She will also say "Heavy! ME!" When she is trying to climb onto something. I am trying to get her to say "I" instead of me more, which she will, but "I heavy" isn't really right. But this is "hard" is a tough concept.

So there are pros and cons to her development. Like yesterday I asked Josh if we should go to the school playground or Riley Park. She goes, "Riley Park! Riley Park!" Seriously? She of course then goes to get her shoes, my shoes and stands at the door, saying, "I want bye-bye! NOW!" "I want, I want, I want!" Lately, she wakes up and the first thing she says is "I want gum! I want jebbies (jammies) auck (off)." She wants to start her day naked, chewing gum. She loves to chew gum. When we were eating corn this weekend, she was saying "corn gum" noticing the fact that she had some chewy parts of the husk in her mouth that she could continue to chew on. She will also say "meat gum" when she has some gristle bit in her mouth. She doesn't want to spit it out. It is so gross, and grosser that I know she likes chewing the gristly piece that might find it's way into her mouth.

I hadn't posted much on her development lately, so there is a bit of fun new stuff for you. She can also say "Grover, Bert, Ernie, Abby Dabby, Baby Eintin (Einstein), Cookie Monster (no longer Cookie Elmo :( ), Bardey (for Barney)." She loves all of her character books. She has a Barney band book she wants me to read over and over! She can also say "base-kit ball" for basketball and gets excited whenever we see a hoop on a walk!

She is also very specific when I feed her. She wants to point to the bite of food she wants. She will say "diffint one" for different one if she doesn't like what is on the spoon. She can also say "nu-nu" for noddle now.

Hilarious Ski Mask Prank

Check out this funny video about a ski mask prank:

http://www.evilchili.com/videos/30787/Hilarious_Ski_Mask_Prank

The Joys of Toddler Nursing

Here is a cute and funny video you must see. Ahh...the joys of nursing a toddler:



I thought this was hilarious...what do you think?

Picture Obsessed

This is Claire in our spare room, looking at pictures. She LOVES looking at photo albums with real people in them. She may look nekkid here, but she actually has on a diaper. :)
Oh, AND her teething beads. Or her "necky" as she calls it...her hair is really starting to get long. I actually have started combing it with the No-Tangles Spray as it will get little bed head knots in it while sleeping since I bathe her at night.