Giggles

Aren't Granparents the best? All those new Christmas toys and its a bow that makes her laugh!

My First Quilt

Here you go Marcie- with all these snowy days I've been able to finish it a lot faster than I thought. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out but I'm not sure I'll be jumping into quilt making anytime soon!

Sledding

Right now in Hermiston we have over a foot of snow and it's still coming down! Today I took Delaney out for her first sled ride. I think she had a good time- I just pulled her around and she drug her hand in the snow- pretty fun!

Gingerbread House Party

Last night we had a few friends over for a Gingerbread House Contest. Kraeton's tree won by a landslide but we all had fun- You can see some of the finished houses in the slide show below.

Party Pictures

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Yea! We've got snow! In the last two days we've gotten a blanket of snow (7 inches at last count- and still snowing!) We bundled Laney up and took her out to see it, she wasn't really sure what to do! She just walks around and kicks the snow- the last time I took her out the snow was so deep in some places she got stuck, she reminded me of that kid in The Christmas Story movie! If this keeps up we're gonna have to buy her a sled!

And The Award For Mother of The Year Goes To....

[drum roll please...] The Woman who locked her child in the car at Craft Warehouse, Amy Wieseler please come forward to accept your trophy.

Yep- its true, on Tuesday I locked Laney in the car, with the keys (I would have written sooner but let's face it- it's taken me awhile to find the funny- in fact, I'm still kinda looking.)

So here it goes- we went into town to run some errands, beginning our day at Craft Warehouse. I went in, ended up buying fabric to make my first quilt (more on that later) then headed out to the car. It should noted that when I arrived I was thrilled to get the first parking spot in the lot (this tidbit will become important later). I put Laney in the car while mentally planning ways to talk my mom into helping (doing for me) with my latest sewing project. At some point while I was buckling her car seat Laney started to play with my keys (this is a critical point in my story- for if I had only stopped daydreaming about flannel I would have heard to door locks click). When I finished with the car seat I took my keys (grateful that she didn't hit the panic button like she did last time at craft warehouse- seeing a pattern here?) and tossed them into the front seat. Then I made another, in a series of critical errors and shut the door.

Still unaware of my predicament I went to open my door and realised it was locked (insert your favorite curse word) my heart rate rising I tried another door (insert favorite curse word x2), then, in a full panic, tried every other door and window (insert a series of colorful, rarely used curse words- shocking a very old women going into Craft Warehouse to buy her cat a stocking).

Now about to have a panic attack- I call my mom and dad (who are in town) and tell them the problem. Then I called AAA (A word from our sponsors- AAA is totally worth the money- buy it) They tell me a locksmith will be there sometime within the next hour. A HOUR ( I then spend several seconds looking for a hammer-no luck- guess all those crafty people left their tools at home)!!!???

Up until now- Laney thinks we're playing some kind of elaborate game of peek-a-boo, but she suddenly figures out that somethings wrong (could be me crying and shaking- who knows) and begins screaming and crying. At this exact moment, every single crafty person in a 200 mile radius decides to go shopping. Did I mention that I was parked in the FRONT SPOT???? So God and everyone see me running from window to window trying to calm my hysterical child while alternately saying "it's okay" and "I'm sorry your mommy is a *&^%&* idiot".

Finally, the locksmith shows up (it only took 15 minutes), unlocks the car and I get Laney out. She just looked at me like "what kinda joke was that- mom, you're not very funny! Shortly thereafter my mom and dad showed up, dried both of our tears and we finished our day of shopping (although I still needed SEVERAL glasses of wine that evening).

I hear they're going to be sending my trophy in the mail....

Christmas Cards

Another year down... I finally finished addressing and stuffing all of our Christmas cards. I try to write a letter every year because I love getting letters in return, but each year I work on it forever and still seem to find an error (this year I cut off an entire line... oops). Oh well, at least they're done now! Now if I can just get my presents wrapped I'll be done with all the Christmas chores I dread and be on to the fun stuff (like eating!)

P.S. If you don't get a Christmas letter from us but would like one (bored anyone?) then leave your address and I'll send it, but keep in mind I'll expect one in return :)

The Nutcracker

On Saturday, Jessica, Marcie, Fran and I all went to the Nutcracker in Spokane. It was so much fun ! We got to get all dressed up and leave our kiddies at home and enjoy a girls day! The ballet was beautiful, and we went to a 2 o'clock showing so there were a bunch of cute little girls there with their mommies dressed in their Christmas dresses- can't wait to take Laney some day! I remember going to the Nutcracker with my mom in Spokane and feeling like such a grown-up. After the ballet we ate at Cyrus O'Leary's then came home. Good Company, Good times!

15 month check-up

Today was Delaney's 15 month check-up (yes, she's almost 16 months but we're a little behind)

Here's her latest stats:

24.4 lbs (50 percentile)
32 1/4 inches (she's grown a little over an inch since her last check-up and is in the 70 percitile)
and the big news.... (drum roll please)... her head size has dropped to the 60%

She had to have four shots, and screamed like a little howler monkey while trying to break free from my strangle hold to push the nurse away... then she discovered a little thing called a sucker- and all her problems were solved!

On a side note- does anyone else get nervous when they have to take their kids for shots? Seriously, I am a basket case every time- I really hate it. I get so strung out that I'm cranky and stressed all day before we have to go in. It's way more tramatic for me than for her I'm sure.

Christmas Lights

A Conversation between a Husband and his wife....

Husband: "Is there another diaper box I could stack on here?"

(wife looks at husband skeptically)
Husband: "maybe I just need to go buy a ladder"

Wife: "you think?"

(after buying said ladder and getting safely onto the roof)

The finished product- this is the first year we've lived in a house and gotten to put up lights- we're pretty excited.

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving we went to my mom and dad's house. It was a great time- my cousin smoked a turkey (my favorite!) and we played lots of cards (I was in the money all three games!) Good food, and family- lots to be thankful for!

Laney helping her dad play poker.

I'm not sure what this face is...

playing outside at the farm.

This week in pictures

While unsupervised (any by unsupervised I mean sitting on her daddy's lap) The Laney bug found a plate of brownies and proceeded to take take one bite out of all of them and then hand them to her Dad. Guess she was just making sure they were safe for the rest of us to eat. Wednesday was my mom's birthday (Happy Birthday mommy!) and we all met at the Bonefish Grill to surprise her, while we were waiting for them to arrive Delaney explored her fascination with buttons. Not to worry- we were parked in a parking lot, not driving, and she only managed to turn on the emergency flashers three times.

This is Laney's favorite spot- yep- sitting in the dog's crate (I think she might be headed for some kind of identity crisis). It's hard to see from the picture but she had stashed a doll and some shoes in there before settling down to read her book. (yes, I am concerned, but she's reading so I'll take what I can get...)

Laney's second Apple Cup!!! GO COUGS... 16-13, double over time. What an awesome game- it's true, when you win the apple cup no other game (or losing season) matters!!!!!

This one I can't really explain - she brought me her hat and wanted it on her head- she wore it like this all morning, I think it look particularly good with the monkey jammers.


Speaking of jammers- here she is carrying all of hers at once. She disappeared in her room and came out with all of her pjs in hand. I took it as a sign she wanted to go to bed....

Monday- Jess came over and we had a pajama party :). I love it when we get to spend the day together. She and I always seem to see things the same way, and I always feel better when I'm around her... Anyhoo, Delaney is in love with Emersyn and was chatting with her- and then Emersyn waved, it was pretty cute.

(for those of you keeping track, yes laney is sitting in Jessica's lap, and yes she asked Jess to pick her up, miracles!)

Let the Crafty-ness continue...

Seriously, if I keep this up I might have to start calling myself crafty! I have been trying to think of some new ways to decorate Ryan's office for Christmas so I made some stockings for Ryan and the girls that work at the office. Then I made the sign to hang over them... I think they turned out pretty cute, I am going to buy some ribbon and buttons and take them in and let the girls do the final decorations themselves (see I'm not that crafty, I still want others to do the heavy lifting! )

Angus:1 Delaney:0

Who needs siblings with a dog like Angus ?

Hey- Look what I made!

For the last two weekends the boys (Ryan, Wes and Jake) have been working on Wesley's kitchen- while they were playing handy man the girls were being crafty. Trina found a pattern for these cute snowman and cut out all the pieces and we got to paint them. I missed the first day because Laney was running a fever and I was VERY skeptical about my ability to create something of this magnitude, but in the end I think they turned out very cute ( although at one point in the process Bethany asked me when I was just going to quit because I kept making mistakes....)

So here they are now- they still need faces and to be put together... the one on the left is mine, then Beth's and the one on the right is Frans.

Here's what they're supposed to look like when they're done... are you impressed or what?

15 Months old!

So I realized that as of yesterday Delaney's 15 months old (when did that happen?) So I thought for record keeping purposes I'd update you all on latest interests (FYI- if you're not related to me you may want to skip over this- you may want to skip it even if we are related, but I'm not giving you a free pass!)

* She is currently on some kind of hunger strike- eating only small portions of everything, and unbelievably large portions of Mandarin oranges and raisins. (I know- I can't explain it either)

* She loves to climb on things- I spend most days telling her to get off our coffee table.

* She can say; Doggie, kitty, woof woof (noticing a theme?), Ma, dad, no no, uh-oh (a new one), hi, bye and yes. Today she's been using no no a lot (particularly when applied to me)

* She loves to play in water- I can't let her have a sippy cup without supervision because she will find a way to make a puddle and play in it. Most days I have to change her clothes at least twice because she's found some kind of water to play in. (seriously, this kid could witch for wells- shes that good)

* She loves her doggies... and likes to share her food with them (with the exception of her oranges and raisins)

* She understands the power of a temper tantrum- and goes running from the room crying if something doesn't go her way (sound like anyone you know?)

* She has some kind of strange ear fetish. When she's tired she starts to pull on my ear- she even pulls on it to put herself to sleep (again- I can't explain these things- I just tell it like it is)

Grateful- Day 6

Today I'm grateful for a little bit of quiet time. When Laney went down for her nap, I turned everything off- plugged in my IPOD and had the chance to relax. It was so nice (FYI- Jason Mraz's album is so-so, but Kenny Chesney and Taylor Swifts new albums are awesome) to just have some time to myself. Sure my house needed to be cleaned and I should have been doing laundry- but this was WAY more fun!

P.S.- Jess- the picture of Johnny Depp is for you! :)

Grateful- Day 5

Today I'm grateful for a healthy baby! This morning Laney slept in longer than normal but when she woke up she was ready to go. No fever, nothing... guess we got off lucky with this one!

Grateful- Day 4

Today I had to search a little for something to be grateful for... but I found something (drum roll please...) Today I'm grateful for my Braun baby thermometer. The Laney bug woke up last night about 3 am and was burning up. I finally got her back to sleep around 5 but she had a fever all day today. I hate it when she gets a fever because she's so listless- just sitting in my lap all day and sleeping. But I worry so much when she's running a fever that I check her temp a 100 times a day and this thermometer is so quick and easy to use it makes my life a little easier, so I'm grateful! I hope tomorrow she's better, but somehow I think that might be wishful thinking!
By the way- the thermometer was a gift from Ryan's Grandma Wieseler- so credits go to her too!

Grateful- Day 3

Today I am grateful for Christmas ornaments (it's the small things in life...). Every year of my life my God parents have given me a Christmas ornament (they gave them to my brothers too, but this is about me okay!). My mom marked it with the date and the year and we got to hang them up on the tree each year. When I got married I took all my ornaments with me and had a nice collection to decorate our first tree. Each time I look at one of those ornaments it make me smile- and think of my Godparents (very special people!). It is a tradition that I love-so now I give my niece and nephew a Christmas ornament (not to fear- they get something else too-something less breakable) with their name and the year written on it. Maybe someday they'll be decorating their tree with their family and think of us...

FYI- Fran, these are this year's ornaments- sorry to ruin the suprise! :)

Grateful- Day 2

Today (actually it was yesterday) I am grateful for a date with my husband! We got to get dressed up and go out to a nice dinner/wine tasting in Hermiston. The food was terrible, but we still had a good time.

I am also grateful for my mommy who came down and babysat so we could go out- it was a nice break!

Grateful

I've noticed that some other people have been posting on their blogs what they are grateful for this month. It seemed like a nice idea - so I'm stealing it!

Today I have a list:

1. Red cups at Starbucks!!

2. My friend Jessica, who went shopping with me today. She tells me when clothes don't look good on me- that way I don't end up looking ridiculous. Being around her always makes me feel happy! Thanks Jess!

3. My husband- last night my daughter was having a whine fest (seriously- she whined and threw tantrums for almost 3 hours straight-shes got stamina) and just before I gave her a lesson in shaken baby syndrome (joking) and then ran out of my house screaming(not joking). Ryan took her and let me close the door to our room and read quietly. I was able to regain my sanity and reemerge as nice mommy.

Election

I'm not going to get all political on you but with November 4 quickly approaching I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. While I (obviously) have my own opinion I'm going to keep my preferences to myself so as to avoid any hate mail... However, sometimes I think we miss some things in all the chatter back and forth so I'm posting a link to both McCain and Obama's website. I know things like the economy and taxes are important but I wish we could hear more about their education plans so I found the information on their website and linked it here:

http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/issues/19ce50b5-daa8-4795-b92d-92bd0d985bca.htm

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/

If you find yourself with a few spare moments- read their plan. Maybe it will help you decide!

Happy voting!

Monkey Baby

Apparently my child is part monkey because I now spend a good share of my day telling her to get down. This is her way of trying to get on the couch. So far she hasn't done much more than bonk her head a few times- hopefully it stays that way!

Baby Fat Update

Okay- so we have the blog up and running. If you were brave and signed up you should have gotten and e-mail invitation to the blog (so get to posting, I'm starving over here and I want everyone to suffer with me ASAP!!) If you're interested in joining leave me your e-mail and I'll get you signed up!

Still awake

Laney usually goes to bed around 8:30 but last night for some reason she decided that she didn't need to go to bed ( and that her mommy didn't need a glass of wine or any quiet time). After about an hour of trying to get her to sleep I finally gave up and gave her to her daddy before my head exploded. When I came out to check on them this is what I found, Ryan and Angus trying to relax- and Delaney having her own pajama party! She eventually went to bed around 10:30 and I poured myself a VERY LARGE glass of wine at 10:31.

Trunk or Treat

On Saturday we went down to Fran and Jakes and did Trunk or Treat with them. It is a fundraiser for their schools and they decorate the trunks of their cars so you can trick or treat in the parking lot and then go inside to the carnival. We had a great time- once Laney figured out that there was candy involved you couldn't hardly get her away from it all! We had to keep her away from the other kids candy buckets because she kept trying to steal them- her poor cousin Gracee got pushed and yelled at more than once over her candy bucket! Here's Laney all dressed up at Fran and Jakes
Trick or treating with dad
Look mom, I don't even have to wait for you to open it for me, I'll just eat off the wrapper!
Laney and Gracee checking out their stash.

At the station called the witches cauldron Laney REFUSED to pick some candy out of the jar (she still has issues with stranger danger and won't go near people she doesn't know). Check out the muscles on this one, she just kept arching her back and trying to get away. It was really funny- but I don't think she appreciated us laughing at her!

Cowgirls

A few weeks ago Fran and I took Gracee and Laney to get their pictures taken in their cowgirl outfits from Grandma and Grandpa Wieseler. Aren't they cute! ?
I have no idea what kind of face Laney's making here...

Grandma Wieseler made both of these outfits for the girls, and in this picture they are both munching on some goldfish crackers!

Baby Fat

Attention all you people out there who are ready to lose some weight:

Jessica and I decided that we were tired of being alone in our struggle to get rid of our baby fat. So after WAY to long of doing nothing about it (but complain) we decided to get working. SOOOO we came up with a solution: GUILT!! We thought that maybe if there were people out there who we were forced to check in with about our weigh loss, we might only eat 1 ice-cream sandwich (instead of 4). You get the idea.Here is how it works:We started a blog. We want ANYBODY to join us in our attempts to get rid of the chub. Even if you don't know us well (blog stalkers too). We will post at least once a week and chart our progress. We will NOT be posting our weights, but maybe our weight loss???? Not sure yet about all of the details, but that is the gist. We can share ideas, recipes, challenges, goals, and maybe some words of encouragment too. We were thinking that we would make the blog private so that we would not be sharing with the world, so let us know if you wanna join up. Even if you only want to lose one pound (or 100). WHATEVER. SOOOO if this sounds like something that you would be interested in, leave me your e-mail address and I will add you to the guest list.

Cookies

This afternoon Bobbie Jean came over and we got to hang out and decorate cookies and cupcakes... it was very fun, even thought most of my cookies looked like Delaney had decorated them! Here's how we kept Laney busy- a little flour- that ended up everywhere!
Here are our best and worst cookies ( mine is the tree, and the retarded leaf)
Ryan and Bobbie showing off...Thanks for coming over Bobbie!

Where did all my diaper wipes go???

This morning I caught Delaney emptying her Diaper wipes , but once I caught her it looked like she was trying to put them back in. It didn't work all that well as you can probably see. (also, thanks for the piggy pj's Jess! )

Busy Weekend

Since this weekend marked the opening of deer season, we spent the weekend out at my parents farm so Ryan, my dad and my brother could hunt. The Laney Bug and I kept my mom company while the mighty hunters went out in search of food. Ryan and my dad both got bucks but Andrew is still searching...

Meanwhile, the girls picked pumpkins (grown by Grandpa Schafer)

Laney helping pick pumpkins and riding in her red wagon
Here's our craft project, my mom saw this in a magazine and got all the stuff to plant, we just carved the pumpkins out, drilled some holes in the bottom and planted some cold weather plants, I think they turned out really cute... who knew?!
My pumpkin- hopefully I can keep the plants alive for awhile!

After hunting Grandpa took Laney for a 4 wheeler ride and let her walk around the farm and get into trouble together- look how cute they are!!