Cough cough, sniff sniff...

We're all sick. Just summer colds, but Chris and I are learning just how tough it is to care for a sick toddler when we are sick ourselves. The little flower was up through the night whimpering, and then wailing. She wouldn't drink, she felt clammy, nothing I did made her comfortable. Finally, I put her in bed with us (waking up Chris in the process) and turned on the television. She doesn't usually show much interest in television, but something about it worked for her last night. It put her into a trance and she finally calmed down, took a drink, and went back to sleep. I'm hoping tonight is a better night for all of us, we seem to have turned the corner. The ability to breathe through one's nose should never be taken for granted.

 

Bread on the Brain

I've been looking forward to baking my own bread for a while now. I think store bought bread leaves a little to be desired in terms of taste, particularly whole grain bread. Also, it's cheaper homemade, especially since we never seem to make it through a whole loaf of bread before it gets funky, and we end up throwing a lot of it away. Plus, there's the coolness factor, I would feel so much more productive and wifely and motherly if I could bake a mean loaf of bread. In short, I would officially ROCK, at least in my opinion.  

I've been perusing books about baking bread and have placed a few on hold at the library. In the meantime, I thought I would try this recipe, and it was pretty much your garden variety disaster. I couldn't even bring myself to take pictures to share with you. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but the dough never seemed to rise (yes Mom, I did use yeast- I can hear you asking me that as I type), which resulted in two pretty heinous looking loaves of bread. The bread actually tasted good, so I've been using it for sandwiches and toast. I don't think I'll try that particular recipe again.

I recently discovered foodgawker (enter at your own risk) and I was up until 12:30 last night searching through pictures of bread for a recipe that I thought might be good to try next. None of the savory bread recipes jumped out at me but I found a banana-chocolate chip bread/cake that looks really good. If all goes well this afternoon with the little flower, I may give it a go. Not to wish away this time, but I look forward to being able to cook with the little flower (and daddy, of course) someday. So many good times ahead...let's just hope one of them involves banana bread!     

Welcome to Wisconsin

My father-in-law and his wife were in town from Kentucky this past weekend. They were the first visitors to our new home and we loved having them.

Our weekend in pictures:

Thanks for everything Paw-Paw and Mi-Mi. Come back anytime...we might even have a real bed for you to sleep in by then!

One year ago, today.

I was recently looking through some old photos and I came across these taken one year ago, to the day. We still have this onesie and boppy (my favorite, must have baby item), so I thought it would be neat to re-create the photos to see what a difference a year makes.

 One year ago:

And today:

 Look how happy and thriving I am Mommy...and these are my toes!

Last year, she was just learning to sit. This year, it was all I could do to get her to sit still:

And this year, she wanted to primp a little before the big shoot:

I love doing this. Heck, I may even try this again next year, although the onesie probably won't fit then. I think she'll enjoy looking at these in the future, too. I'm already looking forward to our next re-creation:

My pearls will never be the same...

Toddler Trim

This little flower needed some pruning (I have no idea if flowers are pruned but it works for the story so go with me):

So, we took her this week to a neat little salon that specializes in children's haircuts. They have special car-chairs and a television the kids can watch. It probably would have been somewhat fun for everyone had we not made the mistake of letting the little flower discover these prior to her appointment (pretend like the blurry photos are and sharpity sharp sharp):

It was not the warm and fuzzy family moment I'd planned on, but that didn't stop me from taking pictures (although having to use the flash almost did):

We sang to her, we read to her, we tried to point out the other little kids that were getting a haircut- she wasn't having any of it- she wanted to be reunited with the toys. This picture pretty much sums up the entire experience, teething and all:

They even gave us a little "first haircut" certificate with a lock of her hair. And here she is...bless her little heart:

She was still a little bitter about being separated from all of the cool toys, not to mention the teething pain, but she got over it quickly:

I've always thought little girls with short hair were adorable, don't ask me why. Now I have one of my very own! I didn't think it was possible, but she is now even more adorable:)

Another First

This past weekend we took the little flower to a local deli known for it's carousel. I learned two things during this family outing:

1) it's difficult to get a good picture of someone on a carousel at dusk

and

2) save the best for last (i.e. if the intention is to have dessert and ride the carousel, have dessert first)...

We made the mistake of riding the carousel as soon as we arrived. We took turns for three rides and then left because it was getting dark. I never know how the little flower is going to react, I was a little worried she might be frightened by the lights and sounds and not want to ride at all. This was not the case. She would have stayed on that carousel until she passed out from sheer exhaustion, if she'd had the chance. Instead, she fell asleep on the way home. And mommy and daddy had frozen custard in the car for dessert.

As I was typing this post, I remembered this picture of my mother and me that was taken at Disneyworld. I was a little older than my little flower is now, I think I was around three. As far as I know this was my first time on a carousel and I don't remember it, so I'm really glad I have the picture:

I'm also really glad my legs are as shapely and tan as my mother's were in this picture...NOT!

Dogs and Frogs

I've mentioned our neurotic dog, Piper. He has issues, particularly with other dogs. I've been extremely worried about this lately because at least two of our neighbors have dogs, normal dogs, the kind of dogs that might try and play with another dog, like Piper. Nightmare scenarios involving canine teeth and lawsuits cross my mind regularly.

Well, this past weekend we had a breakthrough. And I nearly had a breakdown- in a good way- but instead I grabbed my camera. What you are seeing in these photos (unedited-new computer-slow learner-bear with me) is a modern day miracle of sorts:

Our poor, neurotic, socially-awkward dog met another dog! A girl dog. He seems to at least tolerate, if not enjoy, her companionship. I may be getting a little too excited here, because they only played together for a few minutes, but I'm hoping she, a friendly yellow Lab, may become our dog's first real friend. Baby steps...

As we were making our way back inside after all of the excitement, Chris spotted this in our flower garden:

Have you ever seen such a small frog? I hadn't. The little flower and I were mesmerized. And then it hopped out of Chris' hands and back into it's natural habitat:

I think I need to get out more...

This shouldn't be legal.

So, I'm typing this from bed. On my new Macbook (that I have wanted since Sex and the City so shamelessly advertised for it via Carrie Bradshaw). And I'll simply say I'm making up for lost time, in terms of the whole Luddite-esque (that's how it felt to me anyway) lifestyle we were living until one week ago.

Now, not only do we have a television, but I think I've convinced my husband that we need Tivo. I could write a book about how much I love Tivo, or is it TIVO? I think it's Tivo. Anyone with a twenty-month-old needs a Tivo- that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Where was I? Oh yeah...and I just finished updating my queue with Netflix- did you know you can download and watch some things instantly on your computer? Me either.

 

It's a slippery slope I tell you, this technology stuff. We think we own our things, but our things end up owning us. I keep thinking of Laura, who together with her family are trying not to buy anything new for one year (or something like that, I just recently started reading her blog). I dig that, I think we should all buy less. And I plan to...right after I find a sewing machine. And maybe a GPS.  

One Summer Afternoon

There is a point in our day at which I've crossed most things off of my to-do list, but there are still a few hours to kill before daddy gets home. We'll sometimes visit the playground, or play in our yard at home. Yesterday, I decided it would be a good day to visit a nearby park. It's a farm park so there isn't any playground equipment (that I know of), just open space and this beautiful rock fence:

We stopped to read up on the history of the Town of Middleton:

Apparently "Pippy" is nearsighted...

Then we explored (and took pictures, of course)...

My favorite picture of the day:

Then the mosquitoes found us and we had to leave...

We'll be back another day, covered in insect repellent...