The Patch

I can't wait for Saturdays when we don't have house projects that dominate most of Justin's day.  He spent a good portion of the day working on the bathroom - which is ALMOST done!!  Anyway, we had decided ahead of time to take some time out to take H to a pumpkin patch.  So we went to the old Sellers which is now called Wings.  It's a day center for mentally handicapped adults.  We saw a puppet show about how kids are different because they might be deaf, blind or in a special chair.  We even learned some sign language!  We also went on a hayride in which I need to learn to sit back from Justin so my face doesn't look huge.

We took turns with the giant pumpkin window...in which you can totally tell that cookies have been 85% of my diet lately.  Yikes!

 Haylie got to lounge on the pumpkins.

 And take an awkward picture with one.

All in all, it was a fun time.  We got to pick out some pumpkins and not have to drive to Piedmont or some other patch.  It was perfect for her attention span!

And who can resist a night of playing in Mommy's car?  Not this little one!!

Well, I didn't meet Oprah.

But we "met" lots of interesting people.  Justin and I went on an wedding anniversary/babymoon without our baby girl to...

It was so much fun!!  We stayed with Justin's cousin Victoria and husband Arnold.  It was really fun staying with them and gave us a different view of Chicago other than the tourist-y area. 

Justin and I rode public transportation all by ourselves.  We did really good and techincally didn't get lost at all.  We might have gotten a little impatient and rode a bus along the south side of Chicago...we were both sweating for our safety just a little bit...but we totally made it back up to where we needed to be! 

We did the Architecture Foundation boat tour - totally recommend, went to the Navy Pier to browse, went to the Museum of Science and Industry, we walked along the Magnificent Mile, we tried to eat the raved about deep dish pizza but never got a chance because of ridiculous lines, and rode a lot of public transportation getting to and from each destination.  We thought for a second of trying to go find Harpo Studios, but didn't want to spend even more time on the L when the weather was so gorgeous.

After two days of being touristy and walking all over Chicago, we spent the day with Arnold and Victoria in their part of Chicago, Andersonville.  This is a cute store front where I loved everything in this store!  I did not love the prices though...and even made a really fast trip out to IKEA where I bought as much as I could fit into my suitcase!

We did get to go out to dinner each night with Arnold and Victoria.  We went to Hamburger Mary's and I had a hambuger with mac n cheese on top!  I might have gotten sick after I ate this but it was still good.  We went to all you can eat sushi where we had to cut Justin off otherwise he would have kept going after 7 rolls, we went to a lovely Italian restaurant and a Mexican restaurant.  We basically covered all major food groups including lots of sweets in between (including a whole cake from Dinkel's).

 We had lots of fun and saw so many interesting people.  Chicago is awesome...but it is definitely not Oklahoma.  I almost had a heart attack stepping into the O'Hare International Airport...think Walmart on a Saturday times 100.  SO MANY PEOPLE.

We did miss our baby girl sooooo much but knew she was in good hands between all her grandparents.  It was nice to not change diapers and deal with a few fits along the way, but the minute I saw those big blue eyes I knew I didn't want to leave her again for a LONG time!!

That's Right.

So I hope everyone knows how much I love my Haylie...even though last night at a girls night (Mothers & Marriage's) I called her a monster in front of everyone.  Yes, that's how I felt yesterday, and the day before, and possibly the one before that.  Today, I am renewed.

We are obviously going through a power struggle between the almost 2 year old and Mommy.  It's evident in the way she acts, tests me, pushes through boundaries and is basically the sassiest of the sassy.

Last night at M&M's, I was reminded of this key Bible verse.  "Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do."  Ephesians 6:1 (NLT)

Yes, my sweet girl, it's the right thing to do.  It was such a perfect M&M Moment to have.  Hearing of others struggles with children obeying and being defiant...and it's only going to get worse if I don't act now.  I have to shape her up today...or else in 14-16 years I am really going to be kicking myself.

I can do this thing called discipline. I can be consistent, persistent and give out a spanking or three (get over it DHS, I'm not beating my child).  She needs to learn that Mommy (and Daddy) is (are) the boss and boundaries are set.

Thanks for the encouragement last night, ladies of M&M's.  It was SUCH a blessing and so inspirational to me at this point of my life!

This post might be just for the grandparents.

Haylie hasn't just been in timeout.  She has plenty of time to play and be a kid.  Lately, she has been really in to putting on clothes.  We watch Elmo everyday and they have kids show how to put on shoes, jackets, hats...so she's been putting on everything she can.  Socks, shoes, pants and jackets.  And I always hear her act like she's teaching someone else how to do it.  "You put your arm in..." 



Haylie wearing Justin's socks.

She's still REALLY into Elmo.  Her birthday is coming up in 2 months (WHAT!) and I'm thinking an Elmo party will make her the happiest 2 year old around.  Either that or stars.  I know, random.  She sings "Winkle, winkle, wittle star" every free second she can and will find the tinest star on anything around.

It's still warm enough in October to play in the sprinklers!  Gotta love Oklahoma weather.



I don't even know where all this dirt came from (I mean, from besides outside), but she was playing hard. 

And because we love Elmo so much, we have him gaze out in the backyard as a past time.

And just so I can document this monumental day, we got over 2" of rain.  What a blessing for this drought crazed land!!

She's Not Even 2.

This is now a familiar sight in our home.

Time out.  Today I hit my limit with letting H push my buttons and making me look like a loser mom who's kid gets away with anything and everything while out in public.  I tell you what - discipline and being consistent takes so much energy!  I am completely drained and I only decided to buckle down at like 2pm.  It sounds like I didn't do any disciplining before.  I did.  I promise.  But I think I let her get away with some stuff that I hoped would stop by just a stern "no" or threat of time out.

Terrible two's have arrived in full force and we haven't even hit that milestone 2nd birthday.  She throws stuff, she screams NO!!, she runs away, she throws fits in aisles at the store, she basically thinks she can do what she wants.

And I think this is bad?  I'm wondering what I'm actually going to do with 2 kids!!  Anyone want to call Supernanny for me in advance??

Or maybe we just won't go out in public.  Ever again.

Traditions

Last night we kind of invited ourselves over to a friend's house for a few minutes.  We are very classy like that.  Anyway, we walked in to the smell of popcorn!  They told us that this is their Sunday night tradition for dinner and they even bought a 40 lb. bag of the kernels to do the self-pop.  We both thought this was pretty cool and realized we haven't started any real traditions yet. 

Growing up, I'd like to think that a semi-tradition was to have tomato soup and grilled cheese on Sunday nights where we got to eat in the living room and watch America's Funniest Home videos.  I have very fond memories of doing this!!

I guess what I'm wondering is, do you and your family have any traditions that you have started (or kept up??)  We promise not, might not, probably will copy them if you have any fun ones!

Let the traditions roll!

We've Decided!

On a nursery theme, that is.  You actually thought we had agreed on a name already?  Silly, so very silly.

A little back information.  Justin is obsessed with Swamp People on some discovery type channel. Since we do not have cable, he watched it on Netflix...and there are only so many episodes.  Hence his sadness when we only could watch about 10 of them.  Darn.

If you aren't familiar with swamp people, just imagine no teeth, no hygiene, you need subtitles to understand what in the world they are saying...all mixed with guns and gators.  It. Is. Awesome. Bleh.

So my idea for the nursery was owls.  They have so much out there and is soooooo cute.  Justin wanted Swamp People or Pawn Stars as a theme.  He's not kidding either, folks.  So as a compromise, I found this as my new inspiration!

Owls AND Alligators!!!  It's a match made in Etsy heaven. 

Sadly, since this is our second child he will not be getting his own room.  He gets to share with our guest room furniture and decor.  So, I'm thinking this room won't take as much $$ as for our little Haylie.

I could be wrong though.  I mean, these alligators and owls could be pretty cute.