V-Weekend, part 1

Posted in Holidays and Seasons, Isabella/Munchkin by teamtradermom

I’ve never been one to go all out for Valentines’ Day. When I was single it was because I was alone and just wanted the day to get over with as quickly as possible. Then, when I was in a relationship, I still didn’t make a big deal out of it because it sort of felt silly. But, over the years I have relaxed and can now enjoy it for what it is. It also makes a difference having a child. Every holiday seems so much more meaningful and fun when you have a little angel to celebrate it with.

Our Valentine celebration this year had 2 parts to it: one with Isabella on a “date” while CJ and I went out and the other was Valentine’s day itself!

Last year, we celebrated Valentine’s with our friends Heather and Jeremy, and their son Owen, who is Isabella’s boyfriend. The parallels in our friendship are kind of spooky sometimes. Jeremy and I work together, Heather and I were pregnant at the same time, had the same due date, had doctors within the same clinic and we all go to the same Chiropractor. Weird, huh? It’s like it was meant to be! Owen ended up making his debut in to the world 5 days before Munchkin so technically she’s dating an older man. Like mother, like daughter!

We had so much fun celebrating with them last year that we decided to do it again! Boy what a difference a year makes! For Valentine’s 2010, the babies were almost 5 months old so they pretty much just laid around, rolling back and forth and batting at toys. This year was much different. They are almost 17 months now and both are super active. They were running all over the place, talking away, climbing on couches, throwing stuff, eating solid food and actually interacting with each other. They are both such great kids and I think they will grow up to be good friends (at least that’s what I’m hoping).

Think they’ve grown up at all?

We got together on Saturday, to start the Valentine’s weekend off right! Isabella jumped right in and started playing with Owen’s toys – that’s the whole fun in being at someone else’s house!

(She’s also showing her runway strut – work it girl!)

Owen had a lot of fun hanging out with us too. He really liked my necklace and camera!

One thing that I think is really cool about our relationship is that Owen knows us and Isabella knows Heather and Jeremy, so neither kid is shy around the other set of parents. I’m glad because I want Owen to be comfortable around us and visa versa. The kids will basically run to whichever adult is closest when they needed something. Always fun to be a universal parent!

For dinner, we ordered heart shaped pizzas. Isabella gobbled hers up. I have to admit, it really hit the spot for me too. I think it tasted that much better because it was shaped like a heart – and because we were eating it with such good friends. We also had chocolate covered strawberries for dessert, because we’re fancy like that! Plus, calories don’t count when you’re celebrating with friends. Like, duh.

After dinner, it was time for CJ and I to leave. We had tickets for a play so Munchkin was going to spend the night at Owen’s. It was her first non-family sleepover. I tell ya what, it never gets easier to say good-bye. We put on our coats and she hardly even noticed. She was playing away and giggling up a storm. I gave her a hug and kiss, which she quickly squirmed out of in order to get back to the toys. As we walked out the door, she came running up to it and pressed her face against the window. My heart started aching. I knew she was in good hands and would be totally fine once we left. But seeing her little face pressed up against the window was like a magnet pulling me back to her. CJ said, “Keep going and don’t look back.” So I blew her a kiss and walked away. As I got to the driveway, I turned to look and saw her toddling off down the hallway, chasing after Owen. I knew then that she’d be perfectly fine and it made it easier to get in the car and drive away.

Apparently, she did more than fine – she did great! The kids got in their jammies and had some more playtime. They stopped for a bit to watch the puppies outside too.

Then it was time for bed. The plan was for Owen to sleep in his room and Isabella to sleep in a pack-n-play in the guest room, but the kids had other ideas…

“Come on mom! Please can’t we sleep together? It’s a slumber party after all!”

Looks like we might need to have “the talk” sooner than anticipated….plus Isabella still thinks her girl area is a “pocket”.

Both slept like a charm, which was good for Heather and Jeremy. I would have felt awful if Munchkin had kept them up crying for a woobie or something.

The next morning, they woke up and had eggs for breakfast. Muchkin needs a lesson in manners though as she thought it would be ok to eat with her feet on the table.

We brought donuts with us when we came to pick up Isabella, so everyone had a second breakfast! We were so happy to see our little girl and couldn’t stop kissing her, even while she ate her donut.

It came time to say goodbye. At first, Owen seemed happy to let us leave – he ran down the hall to the front door and tried to open it! But then we realized he had such feelings of sadness in him, at the thought of letting his love go, that he acted out in the opposite way. Typical boys, right? They pull your hair when they want to hold your hand and kick you out the door when they really want you to stay!

Eventually he relaxed and decided to say goodbye the proper way, with a kiss!

All together now…awwwwwww! Good thing Isabella had her woobie in her mouth to keep that kiss from going further!

It was a great start to the Valentine weekend and a big thanks to our friends Heather and Jeremy for being such great sitters! I feel totally comfortable having them watch her and I know she feels loved there too.

Now, on to part 2!

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3Feb2011

Old Man Winter is Laughing

Posted in Holidays and Seasons by teamtradermom

Craziness.

I was born and raised in Nebraska so winter storms don’t really phase me too much. But this winter has been wicked so far. This link shows some cool and wild photos from the storms so far.

Photos of the huge winter snow storm moving across the US | Plog — World news photography, Photos — The Denver Post.

1Jan2011

New Year’s Eve

Posted in Family, Holidays and Seasons, Isabella/Munchkin, Samson by teamtradermom

Our New Year’s Eve was quiet but it certainly had some interesting moments. I also got a little glimpse in to what 2011 might have in store for us.

I spent the day cleaning and putting away Christmas decorations so by evening, I was tired. I had run to the store in the morning, grabbing a pizza and some sparkling juice to ring in the new year (neither one of us really like champagne. Last year’s bottle sat untouched in our refrigerator until September when I finally threw it out). There wasn’t enough room in the ‘fridge for either one so I stuck them outside on the deck, figuring it was cold enough out there to keep them chilled. I put the pizza on top of the grill and the bottle of juice on the deck railing, to keep them up and away from any animals, namely Samson.

Mid-afternoon, I let Samson out and then went about my business inside. All of a sudden I heard a “thump” outside and I looked up in time to see Samson tearing in to the pizza box! He had jumped up and knocked it off the grill and was now trying to get at the contents in the box!! Fortunately, it was wrapped up in plastic and I got there before he could tear through that. However, as I was trying to wrestle him off of it, Isabella came wandering out on to the deck (in my hurry to get outside, I’d left the door open) with no shoes on, which was covered in snow. So here I am, wrestling a 90lb dog off our pizza and also trying to grab a squealing 15 month old who thinks this is a fun game. I finally managed to get everyone inside, and Samson in his kennel. *sigh*

Later that evening, I heated up a pizza for dinner and Isabella happily ate it up, shouting “pissa, pissa!” the whole time. I had bought some New Year’s Eve party hats and noisemakers so I let her play with those while we ate. When we were done, she started running around the house with them.

Let me tell you, those $.99 party hats were not made to stand up to a 15 month old. It took all of 5 minutes for her to get part of the lining off the bottom and crunch up the top of the silver one. Good thing I had bought 3 of them!

CJ left around 7 for a quick meet up with some old friends and Munchkin, Samson and I stayed home. We were playing and Munch started to get a little, uh, out of control. She was taking the cardboard noisemaker and hitting everything with it. Samson thought this was a game so he attempted to snatch it from her hand on the up swing. I told him “no” and made him sit on the couch to calm down. Isabella then ran over and started beating Samson on the nose with the noisemaker! I had a quick flash that told me “this is what the ‘Terrible Twos’ will be like so get used to it lady”. I took the toy away and scolded her. She then went and sat against the window, pretty much putting herself in time out.

Around 7:45 I put her to bed and started cleaning up the living room. It was then that I realized I still had the bottle of sparkling juice outside! I went outside only to find that the bottle and it’s contents were frozen solid. I mean, there was not one ounce of juice still in liquid form. Crap. At least it hadn’t exploded. I guess that was the upside. I brought it in and stuck it in the refrigerator, thinking it was best to thaw it out slowly.

CJ was still gone so I made up a quick breakfast casserole that would get heated in the morning, and then threw together some nachos. Hey, it’s NYE – I can chow down on a snack of nachos if I want! Smile I then stuck my “Friends” season 9 DVD in the player and tucked myself in the couch to watch until CJ got home. At one point, I kind of felt a loser for not having a party to go to and sitting by myself, eating greasy food with my “Friends”. But, I got over it and realized that it was actually a good night and I was very happy with my life.

CJ got home around 9:30 and we contemplated playing Wii or a board game or watching a movie. Instead, he joined me on the couch and we continued with my “Friends” marathon. We laughed a lot and what better way to ring in the new year than with humor?

By 11:30, the juice was thawing but still had a block of ice frozen in the center. We ran it under some water until that melted too. As midnight approached, we were ready to toast goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011. We even let Samson have some sparkling juice. At midnight we toasted, kissed and rang in the new year just right.

And of course we had to take a picture with Samson…

(This picture should have a caption that reads “Help Me!” because he looks like he’s being held against his will.)

While it wasn’t a crazy, drunken, party all night kind of New Year’s Eve, it was still a good one full of everything that is important to me – CJ, Isabella, Samson, pizza, chocolate and “Friends”.

Today will be spent eating and watching football with the family. Tomorrow, I start my 2011 resolutions, which I will post about later.

Now, on to 2011!

31Dec2010

A Year in Review

Posted in Family, Holidays and Seasons by teamtradermom

I have spent the day taking down our Christmas decorations. It’s kind of sad, but yet, I’m also ready to move on. Sort of like how I feel about 2010. It’s a bittersweet moment as this year was so momentous for us in many ways, but at the same time, I see so much potential for 2011.

I have thought all week about the best way to send off 2010. I contemplated doing some top 10 lists. I pondered writing a long dissertation on the events of the year. But none of those seemed quite right. Instead, I’m going to keep it simple and jot down a few words that sum up the year and then let some pictures tell the rest of the story.

So, without further adieu, here is 2010, in 100 words or less:

This was a year of learning and growing – for all of us. Watching Isabella grow into her own person has truly been delightful. This was a year of wins (volleyball games, IIBA elections, promotions) and losses (games, weight, consciousness). We laughed, we cried and we mourned (the loss of my grandma). We also celebrated (Isabella’s 1st birthday) and felt gratitude (for dad’s recovery). 2010, you were a great year and one we won’t ever forget. Here’s to 2011 – may it have just as many good times, if not more, and fewer bad times.

Now, if you’d like to review the Trader Family year in pictures, here’s a link to a Shutterfly photo book I created. Just click on the book and enjoy! Happy New Year!!