Four Lease Ranch

Those fascinating toddler minds

2012-02-07T13:42:00.000-08:00

Every day it seems like I am finding new aspects of Rose's personality and new things that she has learned when I wasn't paying attention. A few months ago we were sitting in the car and suddenly she starts counting. Not just 1, 2, 3, 4 like we had been practicing but all the way to 12. What??? Then a few weeks ago she suddenly starts singing the alphabet song with me instead of just listening. Ummmm, when did that happen?

And it's not all abc, 123 stuff either. Her logical use of tidbits that she has overheard has us snorting with laughter on more than one occasion. Just last weekend we were down in the orchard pruning trees when I had one of those sudden 'must eat now or I will pass out' moments that come with pregnancy. When Steve told Rose that we needed to head up to the house immediately so that I could eat she asked why. He told her that 'Mommy needed to eat because the baby was eating all of mommy's food'. That afternoon we were driving home from a party and she demanded to eat. We told her that she could eat when she got home. She replied with
'Rose needs to eat. Baby in Rose's tummy eating Rose's food. Rose needs to eat NOW.'
Silly goose.

Oh my darling girl. What new thing am I going to discover about you today?

Toddler fun and a pregnancy update

2012-01-16T12:23:00.000-08:00

Rose's imagination and language have been growing with leaps and bounds over the past few months. She is playing with her toys in new ways and enjoying longer books. It's a kick in the pants to drive her home from daycare as there is a running commentary in the backseat on what she did during the day, food she wants to eat, and conversations with people who aren't there (she does both side of the conversation). Her sense of humor is expanding as well and she loves to tell 'jokes' and do silly things for a laugh.

Here's some pictures of what she's been up too.

Reading books with Nana.

Wearing pretty dresses.

Painting with water colors.

Playing ''Daddy Slide'.

Her language is getting better and better although I still don't understand if half the time unless I can see the context in which she is talking. In the video above I know that she is asking where 'something' went but I have no idea what. :) Tigger? Turtle? Table? Who knows.

And now for the pregnancy update. I'm 17 weeks along now and thank goodness, the ickyness is finally gone. It was worse than with Rose and for a longer period of time. Blech!

My tummy popped out right at 14 weeks. Seriously it was like I woke up one day and poof! I did the whole 'rubber band to modify the nonpregnancy pants' thing for a two weeks but then got a few maternity pants from a friend. Sweet relief! Then I received a full load of maternity pants from the friend that I borrowed from last time. Oh my. Lets just say that from the time I had Rose the number of clothes increased by a weee bit. I now have more maternity clothes in my closet then I had regular clothes. Yay for borrowing from nice friends! I spend the better part of Sunday sorting and washing and hanging. Phew!

The first half.

A whole huge box to go!

On another pregnancy front, other pregnancy systems have started to set in. The aches and pains of the lessening tendons and stretching belly are here in force. I'm hungry all.the.time. And it looks like 'pregnancy brain' is a true phenomenon. I looked at my feet at 10 minutes to 5pm on Friday and saw this.

Yep, two different shoes. Two different colors. At least they were both flats. :) Then on Saturday I had locked the door and was halfway to my car to run errands when I realized I didn't have shoes on at all. My friend pointed out that I don't even have the excuse that I can't see my feet anymore. Imagine me at 9 months!

How I spent my New Years Eve....

2012-01-01T14:07:00.000-08:00

Being chased by Dragons....

and Bubble Vacuums. I wouldn't change a thing.

Wordless Wednesday: The best part of baking.

2011-12-21T19:09:00.001-08:00

Wordless Wednesday: 9 weeks 4 days

2011-11-23T13:24:00.001-08:00

The snow is here! The snow is here!

2011-11-14T12:21:00.001-08:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again. We live in a wonderful location. We are 2 hours from the beach and 45 minutes to the mountains. We are high enough to have seasons but not high enough to have to deal with snow all winter. This means that when the first snows of winter come we can take a short drive and enjoy all the benefits of the cold white stuff without having to live in it.

I wasn't sure if Rose would remember snow as she was only 1.5 years old when she saw it last but she lite up like a light bulb when we mentioned where we were going. "SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!" was all she wanted to talk about. As soon as we drove by the first few half melted tufts of it as we headed up the mountain she immediately demanded to be let out of the car so she could go play. Luckily we are able to convince her to stay in her car seat until we made it to the cabin. There was so much fun to be had.

There was snow to eat.

And snow to dump into a canoe.

And of course, snow to cause Daddy to get his exercise by pulling his daughter around in circles.

Pumpkin Patching on a Beautiful Fall Day

2011-11-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

We met up with some friends the past weekend and headed over to the Poppy Lane Pumpkin Patch. Since Steve was going to miss Halloween this year, we dressed up Rose in her Halloween costume, a fairy princess. It made for really cute pictures although by the time we left she was down to just the onesie. To say that Rose had fun would be a bit of an understatement.

There were hay mazes to crawl through.....

And horses to ride....

Slides to slide down.....

And bounces houses to bounce in.

The bounce houses, oh the bounce houses. Rose L.O.V.E.S bounce houses. They had one that was a giant tube that they bounce and crawl through. I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to get her to leave that one.

And as further proof of my daughters daredevil tendencies, she more than happily climbed up into one of those inflatable slides that is about 2 stories tall and flew down it at about 50 miles an hour. Three times. I would have posted a picture of it but she went so fast the camera couldn't keep up.

When it was time to go she was practically in tears over the prospect of no more fun although she was slightly mollified by the prospect of a Taco Tree lunch.

Reason #635 that Grandpas are awesome

2011-11-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

They know the BEST places to play hide and seek.

Reason #634 that Grandpas are awesome

2011-11-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

The Bird Nest

2011-10-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

If you live in the country and have a drier vent that looks like a nice safe place for a bird to make a nest and you only wash clothes once a week or so and you notice that your drier is taking forever to dry your clothes, you may want to check your vent.

You may find this inside. A nice size nest blocking 75% of the vent hose. I'm glad I checked. That could have been a fire hazard!

Funderland with a capital F

2011-10-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

Oh my, it's been years since I had been to Funderland. So many in fact that it didn't even occur to me to take Rose once she hit the magical of 2 (you need to be 2 years or older to ride the rides). Luckily her Nana and Papa remember the fun we had and took her last Friday. She had such a great time that we all trooped over this Sunday to go again.

To say that Rose loves riding on roller coasters and the such is bit of an understatement. This girl has defiantly inherited her Nana's amusement park loving gene. She dragged us all over the park requesting rides on everything there. The rest of us had tons of fun as well because you can't help but have fun when hanging with a giggling toddler. I think we will be getting her a season pass next year.

The rides are all reasonably priced and even better, last for a fairly long time. So long sometimes that I wondered if some of the little kids would get sick from going around and around so many times. :)

I think she really thought that she was driving this ride. She beep beeped her way through the entire drive.

They even have a little log ride that Uncle Dusty took Rose on.

Of course there is a train ride. What little kid amusement park would be complete without one. Although this one is defiantly kid sized since Steve was just a little smooshed.

The only ride Rose didn't go on with her grandparents was the plane ride since it looked too small for an adult and they figured she wouldn't figure out the stick control. Luckily her cousin Jackson was more than happy to give her a ride. He is such a great pilot. Even looking back and making sure she was having fun.

The roller coaster is a BLAST! It goes quite fast and the drops actually lifted me off of my seat. Rose laughed the whole ride and even put her hands up at the end.

Perfect housewife I am not.....

2011-09-17T23:37:00.000-07:00

No, Steve did not buy this shirt in support of breast cancer awareness.

It was white.

Before I washed it.

With a red shirt.

Oops.

On the plus side I now have a new pink Old Town Pizza night shirt.

Toddler Fun at the Fair

2011-09-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

Think that a Fair is only for big kids? Think again. Rose would like to show you all the things you can do when your at the local Fair and your only 2 year old.

1. Pony Rides!!

2. Bang on the water bottle drums! (Future percussionist like her mommy)

3. Ride the carousel that goes so fast it blows your hair back and your glad that your mommy is there to hold onto you or you would be pulled off your horse by centrifugal force. Totally fun!

4. Eat a corn dog that's longer than your arm.

5. Pet a friendly sheep which is super exciting because it was like petting Shawn the Sheep.

7. Dance to the music that's always playing, even if you are the only one.

Wordless Wednesday: Preserving Summer's Bounty

2011-08-31T12:45:00.000-07:00

You know you're the parent of a toddler when.....

2011-08-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

1. Your bathtub looks like this.

2. You have diapers in every bathroom of your house, in your purse and in the glove compartment of your car.

3. You have offered baby wipes to random strangers when they spill something.

4. You bathroom looks like this.

5. You have small containers of M&Ms in every bathroom.

4. Half of your DVR is filled with episodes of Sesame Street.

5. You know who Mr. Noodle is.

6. You know that Mr. Noodle has a brother and a sister.

7. You are annoyed that there is apparently only 5 episodes of Abby's Flying Fairy School for all 20 or so episodes of Sesame Street last season.

8. You have spend time pondering the changes in Elmo's hair styles.

9. You freezer has been or currently is full of mysterious cubes of different colored purees.

10. You have know, from experience, not to put stuffed animals into the drier. This guy once had a long flowing mane and tail.

Rose's First House

2011-08-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

We love our little girl so much, we built her a house. Ok, technically we 'assembled' her a house. With a little help from Nana and Grandpa we decided to get Rose a play house for her birthday this year. To say we picked the right present would be an understatement. She cooked us soup, she hammered the nails, she went in and out and in and out of the door, she shrieked with excitement every time the 'mail person' put something in the mail box when she wasn't looking. She was so excited about the house that she took 45 minutes to fall asleep that night. I'm thinking it was a success.

The surprise.

Playing with Daddy

1 play house + 1 little girl = Happiness

A fantabulous toddler birthday

2011-08-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

Sure Rose was only turning 2 years old and will no doubt remember absolutely nothing about her birthday but that's no reason not to give her a fabulous day. There were scrabbled eggs and little trains and books and big trains and train rides and toy trains and ice cream and long naps and pancakes and chocolate milk for dinner and snuggles with daddy well past a normal bedtime.

Starting the day off right with a book on the way to the train museum.

The train museum!! Smiles in the dinning car.

"I can move the trains with these buttons? Heaven!!"

"Trains we can play with too? Yay!"

"That engine is huge! Woo Woooo!"

"Snuggles with Daddy are the best part of the day."

"Vic's ice cream?? I'm in heaven!!"

"That's all folks!"

The big girl bed

2011-07-26T21:54:00.000-07:00

Since every night the past few weeks, Rose has been pointing at the twin bed in her room saying 'nigh, nigh (night, night)', we decided it was time to transition her into a big girl bed. I have to admit though that it made me more than a little sad that my little tiny baby was old enough to not only be big enough for a larger bed (she was starting to look a little squished in the crib) but to actually request it. Sniff, sniff.

We took an example from my friend and decided to forgo the bed rail altogether and instead just put the mattress straight on the ground. I did take the precaution of putting a few stuffed animals on the floor next to her though.

Snuggled with Neigh (her horse) under Nana's awesome quilt.

I think she likes the room to roll. What do ya think?

So far so good. We are three nights and and besides the intense begging each night for me to snuggle down and sleep with her, she has done great. Fingers crossed!

When the Daddy is away, the girls will play

2011-07-24T10:45:00.000-07:00

Steve was gone this Friday for a boy scout overnight which was the perfect excuse to have our first sleepover. But first, bath time with Elmo (of course).

No slumber party is a true slumber party without snacks. (Note the required ketchup and ranch dipping stations) I had seen this concept on a couple of websites and it went over like gangbusters with Rose. She Loved to have all the choices and dipping options. I loved that they were all healthy (everything was organic and/or whole grain).

Even Rosie the Engine had a little munch.

We snuggled on the couches (I pushed two together and put a bunch of blankets and pillows on them) and watched Elmo to our (well her) hearts content. Love love love!

Her eyes get me every time.

2011-07-21T14:31:00.001-07:00

Rose Smile, a photo by valcro101 on Flickr.

My little stand up comedian.

2011-07-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night we all trooped over to the Auburn State Cinema for an event honoring the efforts made to raise money for its restoration. Once the presentation was over and the audience left the room, Steve brought Rose up to the stage and let her explore. After playing the piano and doing a little dance, Rose noticed the podium and microphone. Her language has really taken off the past few weeks and she had a blast repeating words into the microphone.

"Choo-choo", "kitty", "daddy" and "duuuude" all echoed through the room accompanied by loads of giggles.

Then a devilish grin spread across her face. She opened her mouth and......

First, a quick back story.

A month or so ago, Rose and I were goofing around and she lets out a little fart. Since I was feeling in a silly mood I said "toot!" then continue on with our play. Little did I know I had created her new favorite word. Some time later, she passes gas again and this time she pats her bottom and says "tut!" with a grin. Ever since, whenever she passes gas she will pat her bum and say "tut" with a big smile. While amusing, I have had to pretend selective toddler language ignorance when she does it in public. This also has the added benefit of letting us know when she needs to go potty. The higher the frequency of "tuts" the more likely she needs to use the bathroom. :)

"Tut!" "Tut, tut, tut!" Soon, a steady stream of "tut, tut, tut, tut, tut!" filled the room all said by a grinning 2 year old. I think, "Is she saying what I think she's saying?" Then I looked at Steve's laughing face and knew he was thinking the same thing. My daughter was telling her first potty joke. Little did we know we were raising a stand up comedian.

Wordless Wednesday: She is my sunshine

2011-07-13T08:26:00.001-07:00

Rose in the sun, originally uploaded by valcro101.

Thoughts of a working mother

2011-07-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

Being a working mother sometimes reminds me of how women with curly hair often wish it was straight and women with straight hair wish it was curly. When I'm at work I miss my little girl like crazy and wish I could be home with her. When I'm home with her for a week I start to wonder how the stay at home parents don't go absolutely nuts. I love my daughter to death but after a week straight of 'Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! x 3,000' I'm thinking of investing in ear plugs. I am not sure if I have the patience that it takes to stay at home with her all the time. The toddlerness really tests my temper at times.

I also get restless and miss the adult interaction of the work environment. A lot of my identity comes from what I do and I have a lot of pride in my profession. I know what I do will give my daughter a good example that she can be whatever she wants to be.

Plus, there is the biggest elephant in the room, money. I posted a while ago about what the money I bring home provides for my daughter. Without the hours I put in, the stress of balancing a demanding career and a demanding toddler and the terrible loneliness I feel sometime when I am sitting at my desk and know it will be a hours before I can wrap my arms around my little girl, I would never be able to have my daughter live in an place that will provide her a childhood full of natural wonders.

And, there is always that feeling that no matter how wonderful my daughters daycare is (and they are wonderful), if she was home with me, she would be learning all of my mannerisms, my expressions, my idiosyncrasies. I would be the one helping to shape her personality for more than a few hours during the weekdays. I would be in charge of every little thing that goes in her mouth and in her ears.

Most of me knows that she is happy and healthy and loved. Most of me knows that my working is best for our family financially. Most of me knows that I would be restless and unhappy at home all the time. It's that little part, deep down inside. That little part that pokes me in the heart when I watch my daughter laugh over silly things or give me a hug and tell me she loves me just because. That little part that wishes.....

A day at the water park

2011-06-27T23:03:00.000-07:00

Rose likes water. I take that back, Rose loves water. No wait, Rose LOVES water. Besides her love of trains, it's proof that half of her DNA came from her daddy. The two of them can play in a creek for the better part of a day.

On my day off this week I met with a friend at a local park that had a very cool water feature. Rose was in heaven. They had built a concrete creek with an inch or two of water flowing through which was perfect to wade in, fill buckets, and float small plastic pigs down (the only thing I had in my diaper bag that floated).

Picture proof my daughter knows how to share. At least this time.

Smiles!

The second water feature was a waterfall that flowed from a giant steel pipe about 10 feet in the air. With water flowing at 25 feet per second, you would think it would dissuade most toddlers. Not my daughter! It took her about 5 minutes to get up the guts to run through.

Do you think she liked it?

Life on the 'ranch'

2011-06-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

This year I decided to do soil solarization in the vegetable garden to hopefully kill the copious amounts of weeds and the gosh darned gophers. It got so bad last year that I was a little tempted to use weed killer and I'm very pro organic.

And the gophers. Oh the gophers. I made wire cages to plant the tomatoes in because so many of them got eaten the year before. The gophers simply walked up the to plants, cut them down like a beaver, and then dragged them to their hole. Arg!

Since, no garden means no fresh veggies, my dad suggested we try a handing tomato planter. So far so good. The tomatoes are growing well (the weather is finally hot) and it's fun to watch the plant try to reach up to the sky. I'm looking forward to seeing how they do. Cross your fingers for some yummy tomatoes in another month!

My parents brought over a blue bird house a few months ago and soon there was a happy family living inside. The coolest thing about this bird house was one side was hinged and when opened, a clear plexy glass panel showed what was inside. Little birds! This family has since grown up and 'flown the coup' and now the house is home to a pair of finches.

We have a HUGE lemon tree in the orchard and it is finally time to start picking. Yay! The next few months will be filled with picking and juicing and freezing the flavorful, tart, fresh lemons. I've heard you can freeze the zest too which is worth a try. Lemon Bars here I come!

Wordless Wednesday: Summer is here!

2011-06-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

Spring cleaning with a toddler

2011-06-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

Spring cleaning turns out to be a bit more fun with a helpful toddler. Sure things took a bit longer to do sometimes but it was a great learning experience for her and who knows, maybe she will keep helping like that well into her teen years (or not).

It was so cute to watch her as she was convinced that she was helping. She would grunt and strain and try with all her might to push/pull/carry whatever it was we were moving.

Moving the couch was her favorite part. She pushed with her whole body and a huge grin on her face.

I think I may need to recycle a few diaper boxes. :)

I am going to ~~milk~~ encourage this helpful toddler thing as much as possible. Hopefully it will translate at least slightly into her later years.

A walk to Hidden Falls

2011-05-25T22:56:00.000-07:00

This Mother's Day, the best present I could get was time with my family. A hike on the Hidden Falls trails filled that requirement perfectly.

Once Rose learned the work 'fast' the two of them quickly got ahead of me.

We made it!

Just in time for a drink. Rose luuuuved the Nalgien with the straw.

Proof I was there too. Me and my little sweetie.

At the falls themselves, there is a wonderful overlook with fully toddler proof railing. This was one minute before Rose let us know she needed to use the potty. Closest potty was a mile or so back at the parking lot. We walked fast. She made it!

Wordless Wednesday: I think she's a little tired

2011-05-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes.....

2011-05-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

Most nights I let her cry.

Most nights I let her fuss.

Most nights I let her sooth herself to sleep.

Most nights I can walk away knowing that she will be asleep in a matter of seconds after I leave the room no matter the whining I hear through the door.

Sometimes I make an exception.

Sometimes I stay and stroke her soft head.

Sometimes I stay and sing to her softly.

Sometimes I stay and whisper my love to her.

Sometimes I stay and listen to her soft breathing as she drifts off into dreams.

Sometimes.....

Wordless Wednesday: One tolerant cat

2011-05-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

All Things Good and Hugh

2011-05-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

I just had a simply fabulous day. I drove (well my friend drove) to San Fransisco, rode BART for the first time, ate a delicious lunch, wandered through a number of high end stores and drooled over the expensive clothes, got free samples of a very expensive and yummy smelling perfume, then.....wait for it...... saw Hugh Jackman sing show tunes, live, as in I was actually in the same building. How cool is that?! Sure we had to use binoculars to see him closely, but....the same room!!! Man of man, he is even better looking in person.

And does that guy have a set of pipes! He sang a variety of show tunes and kept us laughing in between. My friend and I have determined that Hugh is the perfect man. He is handsome, kind, loves his wife (she was there and he sung her a love song), is good looking, loves his kids (they were there too and he mentioned them a number of times. You could just see the love), has a hot body, has a beautiful voice, is wealthy, and an all around nice guy. Did I mention that he is good looking? I sure hope he leaves his dirty socks on the floor or something. His wife needs something to complain about. :)

To make a great day even better, we took our time getting out of the theater and were in time to see him leave. He stopped to sign autographs and we were within 15 feet of him. Oh my, he was even better looking close up. It was my first celebrity sighting and I must say it was a bit surreal.

We ended the day with a delicious dinner and aching feet from walking around San Fransisco.

I'll say it again, a simply fabulous day.

Like Mother Like Daughter

2011-05-08T07:22:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited that I finally see the resemblance between Rose and I. I can't miss that we have the same smile.

Easter 2011 in pictures.

2011-04-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

We almost didn't do an Easter basket and egg hunt for Rose this year because I seem to have it stuck in my head that she is still a baby. Being said baby she obviously wouldn't 'get' an egg hunt and wouldn't care about a basket. Yes denial ain't just a river in Egypt. Then I heard that her grandma was making her a little Easter basket. It got me thinking, 'Wait, Rose loves to pick up things and put them in containers. And she loves little toys. Dang it, she old enough isn't she?'. Oh yes she is. She loved her basket full of bubbles (oh, the bubbles!) and her first Fresian, and a beautiful scarf with kitties on it, and and and. She picked up on the egg hunting right away, getting so excited when she found another egg. Even when the 'Easter Bunnies' got silly and hid them on tires and waaaay up in the trees. :) A huge hit was the Elmo Easter eggs (this kid is an Elmo nut). If I had gotten her an Elmo with Bunny Ears Easter Basket I think she would have passed out from joy. ;) Easter was a wonderful day filled with love and family made even more special because of the joy that my little girl brings.

A thank you to my daughter.

2011-04-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

My dearest Rose,

Thank you so much for showing me why I work so hard every week day. Why I drag myself out of bed at 5am every weekday morning, drop you off at day care at a time most people's alarm goes off (thank you Jenny for letting me drop her off so early!), drive to work in the dark, work my buns off for 9 hours (plus lunch), get home after 6pm and see you for only two hours before its time to tuck you in bed.

This weekend we had an epic time on the property. We pet horses, picked flowers, watched hawks soar in the sky, and laughed as lady bugs crawled across our hands. We lay under the an oak tree and watched the leaves blowing in the breeze. We went on a 'field trip' through the bushes and found hidden places where only the bunnies roam. We helped your daddy to pick up sticks in the pasture to put on the burn pile that you made sure we understood was 'hot'. You helped me feed the horses and I watched as you told Ranger 'neigh, neigh, neigh!' with a finger pointing at his feed bucket that you just put down to tell him just where his dinner was. You protested with a loud "NO" whenever I dared to suggest that we go back inside. You spent an hour after Sunday night dinner with your grandma, wandering through grass as tall as you are, picking me flowers and showing her everything that is wonderful in nature.

Thank you again for let me know that you appreciated what I do so that you can live where you do. I do it for me, I do it for your daddy but most of all, I do it for you.

The simple joy of being outside in nature.

Looking for sticks for daddy with mommy's gloves.

Country strollers.

Rule #32 when photographing children

2011-03-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

If you forget that your toddler has a banana when you take her outside to take pictures of her in the beautiful evening light, you only get photos of

her

eating

banana

"Mommy, do I have any banana in my teeth?"

Wordless Wednesday: Someone has issues letting go.

2011-03-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday: Morning snuggle

2011-03-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

An early morning wakeup = A snuggle in mom and dad's bed while they get ready

Wow! That was one hair raising slide Daddy!

2011-03-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

Fishhhhh.

2011-03-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

I just had to share this. Rose thinks it's the bee's knees.

Wordless Wednesday: Do you think she wants her own pony?

2011-03-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

Like Father like Daughter

2011-03-01T20:47:00.000-08:00

At Rose's age, most peoples kids push balls back and forth with their parents. Soccer balls, basketballs, large bouncy balls. It's a great game to work on their hand eye coordination and a great excuse for a toddler cuddle. My kid, the daughter of my train ~~obsessed~~ passionate husband, she plays the back and forth game with a toy train. Her idea. :) I think it's in the blood.

Of course, she has a little of me in her too. A book and a Red Vine. Life is good. Please ignore the ducky pajamas.

She calls this look "The Bieber"

2011-02-27T22:19:00.000-08:00

Reason #358 I love Rose's Daycare

2011-02-24T16:09:00.001-08:00

Rose Birthday Card, originally uploaded by valcro101.

I received this in my email yesterday.

A visit to Vic's

2011-02-23T03:16:00.000-08:00

Since it's 3am and I can't sleep I figured now is a good time as any to share a trip to our favorite sandwich shop in Sacramento, Vic's. It's this great little sandwich and ice cream shop in Land Park that I have been going to since I was a wee babe. I love that Rose is old enough to partake in the yummyness. I have so many wonderful memories of visiting Vic's with my Grandmother (she lived down the street). I hope to give Rose many of the same memories.

Sharing some of Mommy's egg salad sandwich.

The best part. The ice cream!

"I can do it myself Daddy!"

Things I learned on a vacation with myself

2011-02-20T19:36:00.000-08:00

A few months ago my friend Melanee told me about an offer for two free nights at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno. At first I thought it would be a fun thing for Steve and I and Rose to do before my birthday. Then I came up with the idea to make it a girls weekend and head up with my girlfriends as a getaway. However, as the weekend go closer I started to come to a realization. I was stressed. And tense. And overwhelmed with life. (Man I can feel myself tense up just thinking about it) I was snapping at Rose when she didn't deserve it (I can find a better way to deal with her spitting out her food) and overreacting to little things Steve did (who cares that he posted a picture on his account on Facebook instead of mine like I asked, its not that big of a deal). My patience was gone.

Earlier this week, it became apparent to me that I needed to do something. It just wasn't healthy to keep going like this.

Luckily I have an awesome, understanding friend so now, for the first time in 18 months, (plus 10 if you count the pregnancy) I am spending more than a few hours alone. It's been an interesting experience as I have had to break out of my comfort zone in a number of ways. But good. Yes, very good.

A few things I learned a few things on my vacation:

Even leaving work at 3pm doesn't mean you will be where you want to be in time. Or anywhere near it. And that's ok.
If you travel over the pass on I-80 in the winter you may be stuck in traffic for two hours even though the road is "Open with only standard chain control".
Even with the delay (which was apparently Caltrans stopping traffic for some reason) Caltrans still rocks when it comes to snow removal compared to Nevadatrans (or whatever they are called). Even compared to driving over the pass and down steep mountainsides, driving the relatively flat roads in Nevada was H.E.Double Hockey Sticks.
Thank goodness for Subarus.
Nothing shows you that you really are a "strong, confident woman" than driving above mentioned roads, by yourself, in the dark.
I was reminded why I started liking Brendan Fraiser so much. He was shirtless almost the entire time in George of the Jungle. Stupid movie but......
I am married but not blind and that's ok. (See 5.)
I am fairly sure I need a new job. Years of broken promises are hard to get over. It's made me very jaded for any new promises and even apparent changes in attitude. Unless there is something material to back them up soon it's just not worth it anymore. I've become too bitter.
Nail polish eventually dries up after 8 years and makes for a terrible manicure that you can't remove because you didn't pack any polish remover.
Even a terrible manicure makes me feel a little more feminine and that's a good thing.
A medium bag of M&Ms is a bit much for one person. Consuming an entire bag is not an impossible feet but does make you feel a little icky.
People watching in a casino is fascinating.
It also makes me realize that I am apparently the last person on the face of the earth who doesn't text.
Eating lunch by yourself isn't too bad if you have a good book. A breakfast that you have to eat with two hands is a little stranger.
Even if it's been a few hours since you painted your fingernails, if you pick the above mentioned M&Ms from your teeth with them, it will ruin your already terrible manicure.
Eating by yourself, with the portion size in the US, leaves you with a lot of wasted food and makes you eat much more than you should.
It feels good to walk with no agenda, no deadline, no little one clinging to your side/leg/back and even no distraction of another adult.
It took a bit but I can walk confidently with no agenda, no deadline, not little one and no other adult.
You can enjoy being by yourself but still miss your family terribly.
Being alone can be a good thing. It builds confidence, helps you to center yourself and makes you realize again that you and only you need to be the author of your own story, the maker of your own dreams, and the your biggest fan.

A new Valentine's tradition

2011-02-19T21:29:00.000-08:00

Steve and I never really did a whole big "Valentine's Day" thing. While technically it is the anniversary of our 1st date it also falls a few weeks after the anniversary of our first kiss (yes those are a little out of order) and we usually go on a mini vacation around that weekend (this year, Disneyland yay!). Still, we occasionally like to reenact our first date and head over to Old Town Sacramento to the Round Table Pizza there. We haven't gone in a few years since the place has really gotten run down. Like, ripped benches, dirty floors etc. Yuck.

This year I came up with an even better idea and after picking up Rose at daycare, I met Steve at Old Town Pizza in Auburn. Problem solved! We are still going to our traditional pizza but now it taste's sooooo much better. Plus, the place doesn't make me want to wipe my seat with a wet nap before sitting down. Bonus!

Steve did an excellent job with Valentine's day this year. When Rose and I arrived at the restaurant I found a plethora of yummy and pretty things. A beautiful card, wooden roses from him, Rose, our friend Reese and our friend Mark (you guys are the best!) and a whole bunch of yummy treats. What a guy!

Feeding our little bird.

Ending the night with a little snuggling up to watch Elmo.

Sunday Sunset - February 6, 2010

2011-02-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Tu-tus! (aka Turkeys)

2011-02-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

The start of a new/old tradition

2011-02-10T23:06:00.000-08:00

I have well loved memories of snuggling in bed at night with my mother when I was young girl and my dad was gone on business trips. She would always do little things to make the time without my dad go quickly and keep my mind off his absence. It may have been trips to McDonalds, renting a video (Splash, The Last Unicorn or The NeverEnding Story) or staying up a little late. The thing that I remember the most though was climbing in bed beside her at night and knowing that she was beside me keeping me safe.

Steve has been gone on a business trip this week and while Rose has been handling it ok, last night I think she finally started to realize just how long he had been gone. She was whiny, clingy and simply didn't want to be further than 2 inches away from me all night. Just very un-happyroselike. So later that night, after a bath and jammies and tooth brushing I asked if she wanted to snuggle in mommy's bed and watch Sesame Street. She nodded her cute little head and led me into the bedroom with a big smile. We cuddled under the covers, watching Elmo and Big Bird for a few minutes until she scootched down on the bed, pulled the covers up to her chin and wedged herself against me. After I turned off the tv, I wrapped my long limbs around her tiny body and listened to her breathing slow. I could feel her complete and utter trust in me. Trust that I would keep her safe. Trust that I would love her unconditionally. Trust that I would always be there for her. Just like the trust that I felt when my mom and I did the same thing so many years ago. The circle is complete.

Slightly late Wordless Wednesday: Best Buds

2011-02-10T08:59:00.001-08:00

Dustin & Rose Game, originally uploaded by valcro101.

Public Service Announcement.

2011-02-09T13:33:00.000-08:00

The following is a Public Service Announcement from MAM (Mother's Against Messes).

We here at MAM are working to bring a frightening trend into the public eye. Distracted toddler feeding. The resulting terrifying messes can be more than a parent can handle. This can cause excessive use of wet wipes, staining of clothes, and sometimes even the requirement of a full body wash down. So please, next time you put your toddler into his or her high chair for a meal, put down your phone, book or computer and pay attention!

The following pictures are graffic in nature so that faint of heart or tender of stomach should not look. These are the results of a mother who was talking on her cel phone when she gave her innocent 18 month old daughter a carrot/beet/blueberry puree and then, because she was too distracted, turned her back for "just a second". In that short of a time, the toddler forgo the spoon and instantly created one of the worst messes the mother had ever seen.

Oh the horror!!!

The horror!!!

The aftermath.....

Sunset Sunday - #1

2011-02-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

Since this blog is called Four Lease Ranch I thought I would start showing off some of the other things that happen in and around our five acres that don't directly involve Rose. If you have never been to our house, you may not know that 4 of our 5 acres is on the side of a hill. While this does present some issues (mowing, building, walking etc) it does allow for some absolutely breathtaking sunsets.

So her you go, week 1 of Sunset Sunday. I'm starting off with what I found when I looked out my window last night.

Salad Spinner Fun

2011-02-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

Rose demonstrates that you can use more than your hands to work the salad spinner.

Darth Vader as a child :)

2011-02-03T21:21:00.000-08:00

I just had to share this. I found it on the super funny daddy blog thingamababy. Love it!

Wordless Wednesday: Seeing Eye to Eye

2011-02-02T10:00:00.000-08:00

Sunday Morning

2011-01-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

My dearest Rose,

After such a fabulous Saturday afternoon I didn't think it could get much better. Then you proved me wrong on Sunday morning by making scooping horse poop fun. You heard me, scooping poop was fun! Crazy right?

You contently snuggled on my back in the Ergo (love love love love that thing!) for over an hour. You pointed at the horses, saying "hu hu" with giggles and smiles. You reached out with grasping hands to 'help' me rake, using all the strength in your little arms to manipulate the handle. When set free to roam, you investigated every rock, twig and grass clump around.

Then you discovered the mower. Oh, the mower. The wonderfully, awesome mower. You could turn the wheel and honk the horn (who's sound mysteriously came from Mommy's direction).

You kicked back and relaxed while you Daddy worked.

And after a long day's work, you came inside for a well deserved snuggle with your Daddy.

I love you my darling. You make me smile a million smiles every day.

Love and Kisses,
Your Mommy

Wordless Wednesday: The big girl slide + shoes = An adventure

2011-01-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

Saturday Afternoon

2011-01-24T22:20:00.000-08:00

Dear Rose,

Thank you for the fabulous Saturday afternoon. First you blessed me with a wonderfully long nap (for both of us) and then took me along on an adventure of toddler perfection. We swung on the swings,

and slid down the slide, over and over again,

and expounded on the yummyness of cheddar bunnies and how water tastes better in a princess cup.

I watched in astonishment as you proved yourself to be the big girl that you think you are by going down the slide,

all by yourself.

I love you my darling. You make me smile a million smiles every day.

Love and Kisses,
Your Mommy

Wordless Wednesday: In the limelight

2011-01-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

Wordless Wednesday: When not to follow directions

2011-01-12T20:20:00.000-08:00

An engineer's guide to toy assembly

2011-01-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I was assembling a bubble gum pink plastic shopping cart for Rose (that she got for her *ahem* birthday. Don't judge.) when I realized that I was using a number of engineering principles that I learned in my 4 plus years of college. I thought my fellow engineer's and those of you who may as well be one (or were one in a previous life) would appreciate that those hard learned lessons can be put to use in real life. If your not a nerd like me, you can skip down to the end where there's a cute picture of Rose with her fully assembled cart complete with play food that I found on clearance at Target (score!). Please excuse any and all bad spelling or grammar. I am an engineer.

3. Leverage: The use of a lever to gain a mechanical advantage when attempting to remove a lock washer from a metal post that was incorrectly installed because of misreading directions.

4. Strength of Materials: Calculating, by a force till deformation method, the force needed to overcome the shape memory of the plastic cap on the above mentioned lock washer (see item 3.) when attempting to remove said washer.

5. Trajectory Calculation: Calculating how far the plastic cap and lock washer will fly when hit with a hammer in an attempt to reapply it to the metal post.

6. Optics: Seeing through an opaque object (one 17 month old baby) to detect that said baby is picking up a pile of screws to eat/hide/poke the cat with. (This one is less engineering and more mommy super power)

And finally the promised picture.

Wordless Wednesday: The most sought after Christmas gift for 2010*

2010-12-29T21:48:00.000-08:00

*no toddlers were harmed in the making of this photo. :)

A country stroll

2010-12-27T21:50:00.000-08:00

Dear Rose,

Thursday was beautiful. Thank you so much for asking to go outside. I had such a wonderful day.

We said hello to the rose that you received from her Great Grandmother on the day you was born,

and investigated the local flora,

and picked pretty rocks,

and said "Hello" to the horses,

and "We miss you" to the creak daddy made over the summer...

just so you could squish your toes in the mud.

You clung closely to me as I walked down the steep hill,

then asked me to run with you down the road...

as fast as your little legs could carry you.

Then we were home again,

until it was time for the next adventure.

Wordless Wednesday:

2010-12-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

Contemplating Life, The Universe and All Things Daddy

Our Turkey Day night excitement

2010-12-14T22:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is a little late in coming but I wanted to share the little bit of excitement we had Thanksgiving night. At 1am. When I was getting up at 4am to do a little Black Friday shopping. And Rose had woken up at 11:30pm crying and wouldn't go back to sleep until after 12. I was finally fast asleep when I was woken by the sound of breaking glass. Oh the thoughts that ran through my head. Was someone breaking in? Was it an animal? Oh please let it be an animal. So I did the only thing I could think of. Yelled, and mean yelled loud enough to scare away anyone who thought no one was home, and send Steve down to investigate.

Steve went downstairs and found this.

The first winter after we built the house, the transom window on the other side of this area, broke in the middle of the night. There was a screw pressing on the glass and when the outside got cold enough, the inside plate grew with enough difference to break. It looks like, 5 years later, this one did the same thing.

So we spent the next half hour cleaning up the glass so that our little explorer wouldn't get cut and then boarded up the window with a unfolded diaper box. 3 hours later I headed into town for a little shopping. Gotta love caffeine. :)

On a side note, this is my new favorite picture.

Stinky Baby Feet

2010-12-08T21:26:00.000-08:00

Did you know that the feet of an active toddler can have an odoriferous stench when said toddler runs around in shoes without socks? I didn't. And yet, the other day I was wresting with Rose I smelled the distinct sent of stinky feet. First, I looked around for a pair of Steve's socks. Nope, none to be seen. Was it me? Nope. Then I looked down and noticed Rose's cute little feet waving close to my head. Her? Noooo, can't be. Sniff sniff. Oh yes it is.

These little baby feet. These little cute toes. They smelled. Bad.

She was pretty concerned about it.

So what's a mommy to do? Cover those feet with adorable pigs of course. Problem solved.

Worries

2010-12-07T01:01:00.000-08:00

I have a whole bunch of fun, silly, baby filled blogs swimming around in my mind but it's 1am and I can't sleep. I'm tired but sleep seems to be alluding me. I'm snuggling on the couch with my two favorite cats watching old episodes of How I Met Your Mother and wondering when all the worries will finally let me head into dream land.

During the day it's easier to remember the good stuff. How lucky I am that I have such a wonderful family, a job I don't hate, great friends, no major heath issues, and loving animals. But then the worries come trickling in. What if money gets too tight, what if Rose gets sick, what if something happens to Steve, what if something happens to one of the animals, what if I loose my job, what if, what if, what if.

Sometimes remaining positive about life is hard but I'm confident that in the morning, after my first snuggle with Rose and kiss from Steve, the good will once again outweigh the 'what ifs'.

Am I imagining things or.....

2010-11-28T10:41:00.000-08:00

am I raising the next Mrs. Brady. You decide.

Exhibit A. The classic Mrs. Brady haircut. Blond bangs swept across the forehead. Flipped up curls in the back. The basic lady mullet.

Exhibit B. Blond bangs swept across the forehead.

Exhibit C. Flipped up curls in the back. Hmmm.

Wordless Wednesday: A memory of summer on a cold winter day

2010-11-24T08:50:00.000-08:00

A Saturday alone.

2010-11-19T21:31:00.000-08:00

This Saturday Steve was off on a boyscout thing and my mom took Rose for the morning so I had the morning to myself. A whole morning. To MYSELF. Oh what is a girl to do? I'll tell you what, she is going to read a fluff book, surf the net, clean the kitchen,
weed her garden (look at all the garlic coming up around the anti gopher thingy),

give scratchies to her horse (isn't he the cutest guy EVER?),

and sit in the warm sun while watching the birds float by the in breeze while marveling that I LIVE HERE.

Wordless Wednesday: Can you hear me now?

2010-11-17T09:08:00.000-08:00

Sleep.

2010-11-15T19:36:00.000-08:00

So tired. So very tired. If only it wasn't all my fault. Blaming someone else always makes it a little better. ;) For the past few weeks, every few nights Rose has woken up crying. Who knows why. Teething? Separation Anxiety? Too warm? Too cold? The moon is lined up with Venus?

Bottom line, the method we used (admittedly in a desperate attempt to get some sleep) was to pick her up and cuddle with her in the bed in the nursery. She would fall right back to sleep and in an hour or so when she was fully asleep, you could put her back in the crib. During that time we could get a little sleep ourselves.

Now we have created a monster. She demands that we pick her up for a cuddle. Really, who could blame her. Heaven knows I sleep a whole lot better when I can snuggle with Steve. And it is so hard to say no to the teary eyed sweetheart disparately signing PLEASE and holding out her arms. Oh my.

This led to last night. Last night when we decided to let her cry it out. No picking up. No cuddling. No sleeping in the bed. Just the occasional head and back rubbing. She woke up at 10:20pm. She finally fell back to sleep around 12:40am. Screaming and crying and very angry the whole time. I don't know if it was harder on me or her. I finally had to turn on the t.v. and watch something as sleeping with angry crying washing over me sure wasn't going to happen.

Please oh please have let her figured out that sleeping through the night is better. Sleeping through the night is wonderful. All the cool babies are doing it. PLEASE!

Wordless Wednesday: Bear hugs rock!

2010-11-10T08:42:00.001-08:00

Bear Hug, originally uploaded by valcro101.

Halloween 2

2010-11-01T15:48:00.001-07:00

Halloween 2, originally uploaded by valcro101.

Happy Post Halloween from a rocker, the rockers girlfriend and the cutest ladybug on the planet.

Playing Mario with Uncle Dusty

2010-10-28T21:09:00.001-07:00

She started off happy enough with her own remote.

But then she decided that helping Uncle Dusty use his was more fun.

You can guess how that ended. :)

My cooking blog

2010-10-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start posting again on a cooking/baking blog I started a while ago. I had only posted a few recipes before life got in the way. Since this blog is more about our family and life on the property (ok, mostly about Rose) the recipes kind of get lost in there. One of the things I found in my 'month of no tv to re-evaluate my life' is that I love to cook. I have been finding a ton of great recipes and can't wait to share them. I'm also going to copy over the recipes I have already posted on here so they are easier to find.

If your interested.

http://arecipeforhappiness.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday: Part of the family

2010-10-20T12:44:00.001-07:00

IMG_7305, originally uploaded by valcro101.

I found this in the mudroom this morning.

Then and Now at the Auburn Community Festival

2010-10-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

Oh my, this is my 100th post. Who would have thought when I started this blog back in January that I would get up to 100 posts in less than a year. Crazy!

So in honor of my 100 postage, here is a photo comparison of my lovely Rose this year and last at the Auburn Community Festival. What a change a year can make.

ps, Yes, Steve is behind her in each picture making sure she doesn't fall. ie we aren't as bad of parents as it looks. hehe.

Almond Butter and Chocolate Crispy Bars

2010-10-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

These bars take a little time to make. Not because of complexity but just in the make, wait, make, wait, make, wait steps. The steps themselves go fairly quickly and in the end, they are sooooo worth it. Browned butter and rice crispies and almond butter and milk chocolate and dark chocolate. How can you go wrong?

ps You can make these with peanut butter in place of the almond butter. In fact, the original recipe used it and it was quite good. That being said, I love the nutty flavor of the almonds. Hmmm, writing the word nutty reminds me of Nutella. I bet this would be wonderful with Nutella.

pps This is not a recipe to take to a hot family picnic, or a warmer than normal open house or really anywhere that is going to over 80 degrees. The nut layer starts getting gooey and very messy. It still tastes sublime, even licked off your fingers.

ppps You can use regular sized marshmallows instead of the miniature, it just takes longer to get them melted.

Almond Butter and Chocolate Crispy Bars

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

For the rice crispy layer

4 tbs salted butter

1/2 a bag miniature marshmallows

3 cups rice cereal

Lightly spray a 8-inch square baking pan.

Melt the butter in a medium size saucepan over medium/low heat. Continue cooking the butter until it has foamed and takes on a medium brown color with lots of lovely browned bits floating around.

Take the pan off the heat and mix in the marshmallows, stirring until they are all melted. Mix in the cereal until it is fully coated. Poor the mixture into the prepared pan and use a greased spatula or your hands to press it into the bottom of the pan. Let cool for 20 minutes.

For the almond butter/milk chocolate layer

6 oz milk chocolate chips (1/2 a bag)

1 cup almond butter

In a medium bowl, mix the chocolate and almond butter together. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.

Pour the mixture over the cereal layer, using a spatula to make sure it spreads over the entire surface. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to harden.

For the dark chocolate layer

6 oz dark chocolate chips (or a coarsely chopped bar)

1/2 tsp light corn syrup

4 tbs salted butter

In a medium bowl, combine chocolate, corn syrup, and the butter. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate and butter melt and the mixture is smooth.

Let cool slightly and then pour the mixture over the almond butter layer, using a spatula to very carefully spread the chocolate evenly. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour until the chocolate layer hardens.

Enjoy with a large glass of milk or cup of tea.

When Daddy's Attack!

2010-10-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

The following is rarely seen footage of a Daddy Attack. The photographer wasn't able to actually capture the elusive Daddy himself on film but only the last moments of freedom of his intended victim. As you can see, the Daddy had distracted his prey from her imminent doom with a one of his commonly used tools called a 'remote control'. An object he knows no baby can resist. Note the last desperate look the poor baby gives before she disappears into the Daddy's lair. Click here if you can't see the video.

Gardening with Grandpa and Mommy

2010-10-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

My dad found these electronic anti-gopher devices and we figured the best way to try them out was to stick one in the tomato section of the garden. That area is over-run with gophers/voles and will be a perfect place to test its effectiveness. We planted a mess of onion starts and garlic around the device and now its wait and see. I know the gophers/voles love onions since a few years ago, one found its way into the garden and systematically ate all 40 that I had planted. I would go down and there wouldn't be anything left but a little hole where the the green part once was. Sigh....

Rose came down with us to the garden and was a really good girl for almost the entire time. While we cleared the row and my dad rototilled, Rose played by the fence line, chomping on the last of the seasons tomatoes, tasting rocks and organizing weeds into piles. I started off with her in the backpack but it is really hard to rake and pull weeds with a 14 month old leaning waaaaay over to the side to see what you are doing. I kept feeling distinctly unbalanced!

Yummy tomato!

"I'm a real farm girl! I cut my teeth on extension cords!"

Contemplating life, the universe and everything.

Helping mommy plant onions is fun!

And then she went all Godzilla on the newly planted onions and I had to take her back up to the house. Thanks for finishing dad!

She is my sunshine

2010-10-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday: Peak-a-boo!

2010-10-06T13:35:00.001-07:00

IMG_1761_edited-1
Originally uploaded by valcro101

Time to hit my reset button

2010-10-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

I've sat down to write this blog about 10 times in the past few days. I just can't seem to get the thoughts out of my head and onto the computer. This pretty much exemplifies why it's time to press my reset button. There are so many things I want to be doing but just can't seem to get up off my lazy behind and do them. Time for a re-evaluation of how I'm spending my time and what my true priorities should be. And I'm taking Steve with me. Wahahaha! (evil laughter)

For the month of October, in no particular order:

1. No tv. One of the biggest reason I'm not getting anything done for the betterment of myself in the evenings it the darned television. It rarely gets turned on from the time we get home until Rose goes to bed as we are too busy making dinner and playing with our daughter but as soon as she is asleep, on it goes. Then the rest of the evening is spent in front of it, allowing it to suck up the remains of the evening. Nothing is accomplished except a little Facebooking on the laptop. When this month is over I'm doing a thorough analysis of the shows that I watch and take out of the lineup any that I don't really like. I'm guessing I will be able to take out at least half.

There will be a few exceptions. Tuesday Boyscout Night with my mom and NCIS. It's a tradition that I love. Movies from my dvd collection while I bake and knit. It keeps both of them fun. And last, hopefully at least one 'date' movie with Steve.

2. No candy, caffeine or processed foods. You hear that honey? If you bring me my beloved mocha from Old Town Deserts it must be DECAF. I don't want to do a total 'cleanse' but I need to get this crap out of my body. It's not helping. On that note, today (October 1st) had been very hard to stay awake at work. I'm not looking forward to the caffeine headache I'm going to get tomorrow when I start going through withdrawal. Ugg.

The exceptions here. Most likely I will steal some of Rose's Halloween candy on the 31st. I'm just not that strong. And any sugar and caffeine (via chocolate) that I ingest due to any baked goods I make this month will be acceptable although moderated.

3. I will make a list of things I would like to get done and try to at least start one per night. I have piles of half finished craft projects and who knows the last time I dusted the house. I have a 1/4 finished baby blanket that I started BEFORE I was pregnant. I want to get back into the genealogy of my family again and finally print out and scrapbook stuff from where I left off (2005). I want to bake/cook the recipes that I have piled up in my cabinet. I have a whole stack that I have made once, liked but am not sure if they are good enough to put in the permanent file. The list goes on.

4. I will take advantage of the fact that I can read a book uninterrupted with Rose asleep and READ.

5. I will spend more quality time with Steve. We haven't had that much since Rose was born. She is old enough now for us to rediscover each other again.

6. Spend more time with my horse. He is not ridable but I can pet him, groom him and generally love all over him. I haven't done near enough of that since Rose was born. He deserves more.

7. Take some time to evaluate where I am in life and where I want to be going. Nuff said.

So I have blogged it, so it shall be. ;)

Car seat positioning. A small soap box post.

2010-09-22T21:08:00.000-07:00

It's National Child Passenger Safety week and I thought I would take the opportunity to share my thoughts on why Steve and I decided to keep Rose rear facing in her car seat after the standard '1 year, 20 lb' mark. As Rose started to get closer to her first birthday, I began looking into what kind of car seat to buy her for the 'big switch'. The more I researched, the more I found study after study that described the benefits to a child staying in a rear facing car seat up to and beyond 2 years of age.

I could go on and on about force directional vectors, acceleration and momentum calculations but its simply, objects in motion want to stay in motion. A child that is rear facing will be pushed back into their seat during a collision as their body wants to continue in the direction the car was moving. A lot of mommy bloggers have written posts which explain all this in better detail and with a lot better writing skills so I encourage anyone who is curious to find out more to do a little Googling.

Heaven knows I can't wait to be able to look in my rear view mirror and look at her little face. Plus, with her seat as it is, the front seats of the car have to be forward a bit more than we are used to so it's a little bit squishy for us. Happy will be the day when she is big enough and we turn her around. Until then, we will ride in the back if we want to interact with her and be a little squished for her safety.

Rose in her car seat in a graham cracker induced coma.

Here are a few videos which show the physics of everything a whole lot better than my explanation above. Click on the sentence for a link.
One families story.

A whole lot of German words and text but good crash test video.

Reason #183 why I love Rose's daycare.

2010-09-22T09:47:00.001-07:00

I get photos like this sent to me at work.

Finding time to blog

2010-09-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

I hope that I can find the time to continue to blog a few times a week. I usually blog during lunch time at work (I'm way to cheap to go out to lunch) but apparently my boss decided that blogging during lunch was 'wrong' in someway so it's now blocked on our computers. Not that I can really bring it up to complain since, well, he is the boss and can do what he wants but....poo. When Steve and I get home, by the time I play with Rose, cook dinner, play with Rose, bathe Rose, play with Rose, and put Rose to bed I'm way too tired to do much besides veg in front of the tv for a bit, check Facebook and head to bed. Man, I am such a parent. lol!

Tonight's observation:
A baby bathtub fart sounds just like a slightly quieter adult one.

Our day at Fairytale Town

2010-09-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

This weekend Steve and I took Rose to her first adventure into Fairytale Town in Sacramento. Fairytale Town is a wonderful inexpensive amusement park for 'the little folk' in the Land Park area. Everything, even the entrance, is kid sized (us adults had to duck to get through). Rose had a BLAST!

Walking into King Arthur's Castle with Daddy.

The two princesses on their throne.

There was a 'crooked mile'. Rose ran most of the way. With Daddy following close behind.

"We made it though!!"

This photo was taken right before Steve and I realized that we are now officially parents. Both of us had our hearts in our throats when we let out 'little girl' go down the slide by herself. She of course LOVED it and wanted to do it over and over and over.

And, like any newly walking child, she was reintroduced to gravity a few times. The below picture was just before she did a complete belly flop onto the concrete. She is getting better at falling though as she held her face up off the ground. Only a little knee scrape and no crying.

This showcases the dangers of playing with your daddy. She was so engrossed with giggling with him that she turned and walked right into the corner of the wall. That involved a big knot on her head and a bit of crying. Poor thing.

Even with her couple of ouchies, she was in kiddy heaven. Her favorite part being the sitting in the big red tractor. She could move the wheel all she wanted and when she 'beeped the horn' the tractor honked. Although the sound mysteriously came from the direction of her parents. :)

Blogging about diaper rash

2010-09-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago, I had no idea that I would be even contemplating a writing a blog post to the great wide webosphere about the trials and tribulations of diaper rash. Fast forward a bit and here I am ready to whine to the world about how I had this wonderful epiphany on how to get Rose to eat her green veggies and it turned out to may be be giving her the worst diaper rash she has had in a long time.

Since the great Mango mishap of February 2010 in fact.

Oh spaghetti sauce, if you are to blame, I will miss you. You were the answer to my prayers. And the key to my sanity.

Luckily, while she is red and raw enough to make me want to walk a little bow legged in sympathy, she doesn't seem to even notice. We are slathering on the Desitin and Bag Balm but nothing seems to be helping. Time to check with Google...

First off, there is a scary amount of photos available of baby 'parts'. While I appreciated comparing Rose's rash with what was posted, I felt a little weird looking at them. Let's see. Keep the baby diaper changed frequently. Check. Use ointment. Check According to the Google gods, I should also 'leave my babies diaper off and play with her on a waterproof cloth covered in a towel for a while to give her girly parts time to breath.'

Uh hu.

Riiiiiight.

I guess it's time to search Amazon for a room size waterproof cloth because there is no way I can contain my very active toddler in an area the size of a towel. Maybe a painters tarp?

The second Google suggestion is that it may be a yeast infection. A what?? Who knew baby's could get that. That's going to take a little more searching and maybe a trip to the doctor because I doubt I can just drive down to my local Walmart and pick up some Monistat 3.

So, bottom line, I guess we will keep slathering on the ointment and keep her away from anything acidic. If by Friday she isn't better, off to the $30 copay, I mean doctor we go. Once it is gone, we will try a little more spaghetti and keep all fingers and toes crossed that it doesn't return.

Swim party!

2010-09-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

We went over to a friend's house for a pool and volleyball party last weekend and Rose got to do a little of everything. She swam, she helped her daddy play volleyball, she ran around the grass, she played with plastic ducks, she swam some more, she ate and ate and ate, she giggled and laughed and squealed. By the end of the afternoon you could tell by her droopy eyelids that she had played hard and been put away wet (she kept sitting in puddles).

Swimming with Daddy. In the spa. (It was a cool day)

Duck!

Rose playing with our friends mom a bunch. Such a wonderful lady. Rose loved her. And his dad. She snuggled in his lap during dinner. :)

Swirlies! The fun daddy kind.

Reason # 17 why I want the new iPhone

2010-09-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

Oh, I wish that I had the new iPhone last night. Sooo much. We were at a friend's house enjoying an after dinner glass of wine and some music in the living room while Rose ran around trying to find various things to pick up and break. At one point she wandered in front of us and started what I can only describe as 'Line Dancing'. She shuffled to the left, she shuffled to the right, she turned in a circle, and wiggled her little butt. She flapped her hands, then clapped them together, then tucked them behind her back. Then she started all over again. We were dying with laughter. And cheering our hearts out for her. Our little dancing queen.

That in itself is a reason to buy the new iPhone. It can take video.

Easy Tortilla Casserole

2010-09-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

I was getting ready to blog about Chocolate Almond Butter Browned Butter Rice Crispy Treats (I really need to figure a shorter name for them) when I realized I didn't have pictures of the butter browning process. I'm going to have to brown up some butter to take pics in the next few days.

Then I will need to find a use for it of course.

Maybe browned butter and Mizithra.

Mmmmmm.

Sorry, back to the tortilla casserole. This is a wonderfully easy and very delicious mid week meal, especially if you use some leftover store bought rotisserie chicken like I do. You can use any salsa that you have sitting around but I think the California Fire-Roasted Salsa (It's in a blue can. I found it at Raley's in the Mexican isle) is key to the smoky flavors in the dish.

Easy Tortilla Casserole
Adapted from a Raley's recipe

1 (14.5 oz) can California Fire-Roasted Medium Salsa
1 (8 oz) can Tomato Sauce
9 corn tortillas
1 (16 oz) can Refried Beans
3 cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded
2 cups Chicken, cooked and shredded

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray an 8 inch square baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Combine salsa and tomato sauce.

3. Place three tortillas on bottom of pan (tear into pieces to fit).

4. Top with beans, 1/3 sauce and 1/3 cheese.

5. Top with three more tortillas, then chicken, then 1/3 sauce, then 1/3 cheese.

6. Top with last three tortillas, then sauce, then cheese.

7. Bake for 30 minutes.

8. Serve with sour cream, olives and avocado.

Futon Love.

2010-08-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

Nana T saw this on one of our (very dangerous) treks to Babies R Us this weekend and couldn't resist. Rose can't get enough of it. One of her latest favorite things to do it ask to be put up on a chair so she can sit "like a big girl". Usually with a hand stretched to each arm rest. She was so excited that she could get up on this all by herself. I really like it because the entire chair is made of foam and is low to the ground. ie the probability is low (never zero, nothing a baby touches is) that she will hurt herself on it.

Her first 'sit down'.

She grabbed an old cel phone she likes to play with and sat down to text the news of the new chair to her peeps.

One of her favorite poses. Just like her daddy. :)

Another great feature of this chair. It's a futon!

Chair snuggles!!

Wordless Wednesday: The aftermath of The Battle at Broccoli Hill

2010-08-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

Opinions??

2010-08-20T17:03:00.000-07:00

In an example of how the longer you are married the more you think alike, Steve and I got each other the same thing for our 10 year anniversary. A painted portrait by Victoria Brooks. How cool is that! We took a bunch of pictures when we were up at Tahoe last weekend and now have the very difficult decision of choosing which one. I have narrowed it down to a top six and just can't decide. So I'm throwing it out to the 'web' for thoughts and idea. Help!

I like how this shows both of our faces.

One of those 'walking together into the future' shots.

The intimacy of this one is nice.

I like the background of this and the shadows.

I really like this one although I would have her paint Rose looking at me.

Ah, the classic mommy daughter picture.

Rose Turns 1, Birthday Party #2

2010-08-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

Once her Daddy and Grandfather were back home, it was time to have Rose's 'Official' b-day bash. We were going to host it at our house but once the weather report showed mid 80's (in August...Crazy!) we moved the party to a local park. This ended up being a big hit with the kids (there were several who were ages 2-5) as there was a nice play area for swinging and good rocks for climbing. Rose had a great time and loved being passed from person to person. While she is fully capable of walking, I don't think her feet touched the ground more than twice. :)

Hanging with her Auntie Karen.

Steve working the grill.

Sliding with one of her favorite people, Megan. I love her sparkly red shoes. :)

Opening presents. She got loads of great things and loves to play with them all.

Her Aunt Karen's boyfriend made Rose this rain stick. Rose had been admiring a bigger one he had made Karen over Easter. She is so happy she has one of her own now.

Zack enjoying the kid friendly snacks. Rose requested graham crackers, cheddar bunnies, cheerios and cheese. From the looks of it he had already enjoyed the chocolate dipped cupcakes. :)

Rose's cake. She didn't eat that much but really enjoyed the smooshing. Note the lack of cute outfit. Naked works best with sticky cake is involved.

Peach Cake with Banana Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-08-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

For Rose's 1st birthday cake I wanted something that was at least slightly healthy and low in sugar. Peaches are in season right now and when I picked up a couple of pounds at the grocery store due to a HUGE sale, I figured it was a sign to make Rose something peachy. With a few tweaks, this cake fit the bill. I reduced the sugar and cut out half the oil and replaced it with apple sauce. For the frosting I added banana to amp up the flavor and make it a little more healthy. You can substitute frozen peaches for the fresh but make sure to defrost them first so as not to mess up the cooking time. The recipe gives a cook time for a 9x13 pan. I used 2, 9 inch pans which took about 30 minutes to cook.

The cake turned out delicious! The cinnamon in the cake blended wonderfully with the fresh peaches, bringing out their sweetness. The banana added a depth of flavor to the frosting that a standard white frosting doesn't have. Rose gave it two very messy thumbs up. It was proof to how much she loved me that she was willing to share.

Peach Cake
adapted from Peach Cake II on allrecipes.com

3 egg, beaten
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, oil, flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, peaches and pecans. Mix thoroughly by hand.
Pour into prepared 9x13 inch pan and bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 50 minutes or until done.

Banana Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Wholesomebabyfood.com

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 medium ripe banana
1 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, banana, sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth.
In a small bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
Fold into the cream cheese mixture.

Fun with the IKEA tube

2010-08-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

On the way back from Picnic Day at UC Davis we stopped by IKEA and picked up a play tube for Rose. I think it went over well.

Playing around.

Do you think she's having fun?

A different way to play.

"Silly Daddy, you don't fit in here."

One happy kid.

Just in case you couldn't tell she was enjoying herself with the pictures. We took this video of her first time though the tube.

My little girl turns one year old. Party #1.

2010-08-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

My little Rose is one year old.

One.

Year.

Old.

Sniff. Sniff.

Ok, technically she is 1 year and 1 week. I have been putting off posting about her birthday. I think because I'm in denial. Denial that it was over a year ago that she showed her sweet face to the world. Denial that over a year ago that she entrenched herself permanently into my heart.

Sigh....

Since both her daddy and her grandfather were off doing a boy scout thing, I decided to have Rose's big birthday party a week late. However, I had to have a little get together on her actual birthday complete with a smash cake. I know she would have been so disappointing if I didn't. I never would have heard the end of it. It was all for her. Really.

For the smash cake, I found a peach cake recipe that I tweaked to be more baby friendly. It was pretty yummy for the adults too. I'll post the recipe later.

We set up a photo op in front of the roses Steve gave me for our anniversary. Rose promptly stuck her foot in the cake. Then ate the frosting off her foot. Then went back for more with her hand. I think she liked it.

As shown here, she didn't have any issues diving right in once she was in the official 'cake eating chair'.

Lots of Rose kisses were given (pre cake).

Happy birthday little girl. LOVE YOU!!!!