Friday, July 30, 2010

On naming our children:

Dusty and I chose not to share the names we had chosen for our children until after they were born. The main reason for this was because we didn't want more opinions on our choices. This doesn't mean that we didn't respect people's opinions, it was simply because I was extremely stressed out about choosing a name and trying to negotiate a name with one other person was hard enough. Both times we had our children I was never at peace with our name choice.

With Maxwell, Dusty had his mind made up while I insisted we bring our list of names. I went with the belief that our baby would be born, I'd look at him, and instantly I'd know that he was supposed to be a certain name. Man was I in shock when it didn't happen that way! I remember Dusty looking at me with pleading eyes and I looked at the baby, saw the beautiful wrinkly boy in my arms and thinking to myself he just looks like a baby! I turned to Dusty and said, "Fine, you can have Maxwell." A month after he was born I was still looking at him saying to myself, "Is Maxwell the right name for you?"

I don't believe myself to be too indecisive but the thought that my child's name could lead to years of therapy just really threw me for a loop and stressed me out for quite some time after Max was born. (Side note: I did not, nor do I know anyone that has needed therapy for their name, this is just one of those issues I focus my attention on because of media hype instead of real life examples. Yes, I probably could use some therapy myself for this issue!)

I thought I was prepared the second time around with Lorelei. My rules had been made: older name, must have a nickname and the middle name must have some sort of meaning to us. Because we didn't know the sex this time our list and our discussions were much longer but this time my mind was made up while Dusty insisted we wait to see if it seemed right. Neither of us believed we would look at the new baby and just instantly know this time, but I think we both were nervous as we weren't even sure if it was a boy or a girl, so how could we be certain about the name?

When Rory was born I looked at Dusty and I said, "Lorelei, she's going to be Lorelei" and that was it, he didn't get to argue because he picked Max's name. He chose her middle name, May, which is the month Max was born so it's tied to him. (I had chosen Max's middle name, John, after my paternal grandfather.) And then we shared it with the world. The shocking part was, Lorelei wasn't as common as I had expected.

The number of times her name has been mispronounced has surprised me - especially since I did my research to make sure to go with the most common spelling to prevent any issues as opposed to my first choice of Loralei. So instead of having to question my judgement by looking at her and trying to make sure that "Lorelei" is the right name choice for her, I've gone back to my initial concerns that she is going to be upset because people can't pronounce her name by reading it. Which in turn leads to the thought that this issue will lead to therapy down the road, all because strangers mispronounce it! (Another side note: Styx's song is spelt Lorelei too - I did my research!)

Thankfully I have one thought that helps calm me through all of this, there are lots of names out there, and many of them are unique or difficult to read and pronounce. On top of that, gender (Rory is traditionally a boy's name) is completely thrown for a loop. I know 3 Rileys now, two are boys, one is a girl. I know a girl Keegan, and a boy Keagan both born within a year of each other. I also love that some of my friends have incorporated their nicknames into their children's names, Tyler Jett and Zachary Diesel. So when I start to freak out when someone yet again calls out for Lor-e-Lee in a waiting room I just remind myself that she is going to be amongst lots of kids with unique names, and if anything, she can just say "Call me Rory."

Thursday, July 29, 2010

I was able to get pigtails in!


Yes, I realize there is a giant booger under her nose, I had already swiped a bunch of it up causing her to cry and I really wanted to get a picture to post today so I left the rest to keep her happy. She's shaking her head here and laughing - such a silly girl!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Yesterday Max and Rory were lucky enough to get to spend the day with all of their cousins! We all watched the Lumberjack Day's parade and then had dinner at Grammy and Dido's house.

The parade is over an hour long and the kids did really great!


The big kids spent some time outdoors playing in the pool while the adults did some talking and dinner was being grilled.


After dinner we all tried to sit and relax; a day in the sun will do that to you.


It was apparent we had a very eventful day with how tired we all were when we left. Thanks Grammy and Dido for hosting yet another fun day!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Yesterday Dusty heard silence, followed by giggles, then more silence, then more giggles. He decided to go investigate and found Max and Rory in Max's room. Max was shaking the baby powder and then they'd both giggle as it flew everywhere. Yup, EVERYWHERE.



Thursday, July 22, 2010

Rory and our stairs seem to really want to get to know each other. And Dusty just doesn't seem to want to stop that from happening!

Last week when we got home from Tara's birthday party Dusty brought Rory upstairs and then set her down to run to the bathroom. I was at the bottom of the stairs helping Max get his shoes off. In the corner of my eye I see some movement and then I realize Rory is slowly falling down the stairs! Now, I'm not talking "it happened in slow motion" I literally mean she was slowly going "thump, 1-2-3, thump" because her head would hit the step then she would slowly let gravity slide her head to the next step as her stomach slowed her down. I grabbed her while screaming "OH MY GOD RORY!" Yeah, that is what made her cry, and she was calm as soon as I calmed down. She was totally fine as she just went for a little slide down the stairs.

So you'd think Dusty learned his lesson. I mean let's face it; it isn't like I calmly walked up the stairs with the kids and told Dusty what happened. That loving father not only didn't learn his lesson to shut the gate, he also has not learned not to tell Mommy when it happens again! (Yeah, I really do love that man - he gives me such good material!)

Apparently yesterday he was doing some laundry (I told you I love him!) and he quickly ran downstairs to put the clothes in the dryer and he hears Max screaming. Dusty exits the laundry room to see Max holding on to Rory's legs as she is dangling over the first step. Did you read that?! Max is HOLDING ON TO RORY DANGLING ON THE STEPS! Rory was just fine but Max was hysterical and took some time to calm down according to Dusty.

So my little 2 year old man is Rory's hero already, Daddy is never going to forget to shut the gate again, and Mommy is going to continue to laugh at her lovely family!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Rory is 10 months old! We took the pictures yesterday but I'm just getting a chance to post them today. She is just like her brother was at this age, constantly on the move. The only way to get her to be still long enough for the picture was to prop her up against the wall! Five minutes of trying to take pictures and only one picture actually worked. Thankfully, it's still cute or I'd be really bummed!


Only one more month left and then her BIRTHDAY picture!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Sorry for the delay in posts, I've been ill. So not worth discussing, I'm on the mend so that is what's important.

The pictures of Rory with the guitar player were blurry, so I don't have any of those to post. I do however have a picture of the card we made Tara for her birthday that everyone loved.


Rory has started climbing now. And by climbing, I mean lifting her upper body and rising on her knees but nothing more - at least not yet. Last night Dusty and I enjoyed watching her at the bottom of the stairs and she tried over and over again to climb a stair but has yet to get the coordination for that. It was pretty cute. Here she is showing off her balance abilities on her knees.


On Sunday I got bit by the baker bug (if there is such a thing) and made cookies, muffins, pudding pie and mini-custard cakes. If you know me, I'm not a sweets person; I've only had one mini custard so far, so you can't blame my baking for making me ill! Max was on hand to help and I was able to get a couple pictures before having to rush over and help some more. There was a bigger mess with his help, but it was really fun too!


Of course, Dusty and Max have been enjoying all the goodies we made! In other exciting news, we found out on Friday that Max will also be moving up a room at daycare. So both our babies are moving up! I wasn't surprised by Rory's move, I knew once she started crawling they'd move her; Max's move on the other hand has really shocked me as I usually gauge his movements off another little girl that tends to move a couple of months before him. They are moving them at the same time for the first time. I'm not worried about him, he's hung out in the "older" room before, I'm just shocked he's going up there already. They'll start sending the kids to their "new" rooms for a few hours everyday this week and then next week we'll officially be dropping them off at their new rooms. Hopefully I remember come Monday!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Last night we went out to dinner with my family to celebrate Tara's birthday. (My mom took the pictures so I'll have to do another post with those.) Tara has this complaint, she seems to think that Dusty and I enjoy trumping her special occasions. I mean, it isn't like we planned to get engaged right before her high school graduation party. And we certainly had no control over the fact that Max showed up a month early and just conveniently got released from the hospital the day before her college graduation party.

When we picked up the kids from daycare yesterday Rory had a note in her bin. The exciting news is that Rory is moving up and will be graduating from the infant room! She's no longer a little baby anymore! (Yes, this is also somewhat sad, but I prefer to celebrate my baby's growth.) Naturally we had to make the biggest deal EVER about this at Tara's party. We all had a good laugh about Rory's big announcement and how important it was and I figured that would be the end of it; but no.

If you don't know my dad? He's pretty funny when he wants to be! There was a guy playing the guitar and singing Spanish songs (we were at a Mexican restaurant) and he came and sang a Happy Birthday song to Tara. My dad slips him some money and tells him, "That little girl over there is graduating into a new room at daycare, she needs a song since this celebration is for her too!" It was so incredibly funny! Plus, Rory was really enthralled by the music. She's always loved when we sing to her and I see now that it doesn't stop there. I guess I'll be making plans to head to more concerts with that one this summer!

A side note about Max: The little man has picked up his bathroom skills again! He pretty much goes whenever we ask him (Including at the restaurant!) and has even started to show signs of needing to go by doing the "potty dance". Does anyone have advice how I can get him to start telling us he has to go? Or does he need to learn this on his own?

Thursday, July 15, 2010

I'm so excited! They just posted Snappy's Road Trip on Snap Fish's site! You can see the pictures that won me $50 in Restaurant.com and $50 in Amazon.com gift certificates.

Here is a link to Wisconsin:
http://summer.snapfish.com/state/Wisconsin

If you want to click on other states, here's the link to the map where you can click on them:
http://summer.snapfish.com/home/

Tuesday, July 13, 2010


Do you see that goofy grin? Are you trying to figure out what is so goofy about it? If you look closely you'll see that the girl is an odd one. Instead of her two top middle teeth being the first to come in, she has decided to let the top right two show up first. The top left two? Still sitting happily inside her gums.

Yeah, I blame the goofiness on Daddy. That can't possibly be a Mama trait!

(Side note: If you haven't already noticed, you can click on the images to make them larger. This would be one of those times to consider it!)

Monday, July 12, 2010

Over Memorial weekend, my dad got a brilliant idea. He wanted us to get a cardboard cutout of my cousin Brooke. (If you know me, or have read my blog, you know that she is like a sister.) Brooke and I used to take turns photo shopping her into pictures with our family as she lives in California and doesn't get to come home as often as we'd all like. (Check out her clothing site, Bcat Threads!)

So I came home and got to work trying to find a place that would make this life-sized cutout for us. Unfortunately, it was pretty expensive. The great thing about online research is that a lot of the sites that had full sized cardboard cutouts, also had just the head cutouts. You know, faces on a stick? So I threw that idea out to my parents and they loved it. My mom's work was even kind enough to help us make it so we didn't have to worry about ordering and shipping Brooke's face.
Let me tell you, we had lots of fun. Please enjoy some of my favorite Brooke pictures. (Including a couple that Brookey even has yet to see!)

Blowing bubbles with Max:

A night of camping in the garage:

Getting her drink on:

Drinking with Andrea. Notice how she remembered the sunscreen where as Andrea did not:

It was fun to post these pictures for Brooke to see and we had a fun time bringing Brooke out to the bar. (The bartender got a good laugh too!) Oh how we miss her, but we'll be sure to see her in the new year as we want to visit her, Dana, Rocky, and their soon-to-be precious baby girl!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

I just checked my email today after a few days (it's been crazy around here with both kids and many adults feeling ill) to find that I won the Snappy's Road Trip for Wisconsin! So our family was featured on Snapfish.com's website on July 6th! The bad news is that as far as I can tell it was only live on the site that day; so our feature is gone now and I don't believe I will be able to show it off. At least the $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com wasn't for one day only!

While the kids have been sick and I've spent FAR too much time indoors when I'm on vacation and the weather is beautiful, we were able to sneak out and do a few things when they were up to it. Here's Rory with her uber adorable first ponytail. It didn't stay in very long, but so worth sharing anyway!


Bopa and the kids did a little fishing off the dock and caught themselves another monster!


Max helped Daddy setup for the sidewalk that they guys will be pouring today.


It's been crazy around here, and while it stinks to be on vacation with sick children it's also really nice to have all the added help. Daddy, Bopa and especially Grandma have all been really great with helping cleanup, getting extra naps in, and anything else that needed to be done. Hopefully, we are on the downward slide of all of this now. I'd really like to have a few days of just fun vacation like we had last Saturday!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Today both kids woke up and seemed to be feeling better. Since it was cloudy out we decided to head into town and see the giant fish. We were planning to stop and pick up a thermometer just to check on Rory as she seemed a little warm still, but nothing too concerning. (It helped that she was acting normal.) By the time we pulled into the parking lot she threw up. So we continued on with our plans as everyone had unloaded and saw all the big fish.

Here are Mom and Dad in front of it:


Max, Mom and I at the top:


Our family with one of the fish:


Once we got home and got the thermometer we checked Rory's temperature. 105.8 degrees! I told Dusty that can't be right and we checked it again. 105.5 degrees!! So we loaded up, talked to the neighbors who are "locals" and decided to drive an hour out of town instead of going to the local hospital as I guess it doesn't have the best reputation nor are there any 24 hour pharmacies if we need to pick anything up.

Rory girl was throwing up but otherwise just tired. She even fell asleep on us rocking her which does not happen. Rory isn't a cuddler, doesn't like to be held too long, and will not even think about falling asleep with stuff going on around her. Sick Rory? She was too tired to care and either threw up or slept while we were in the ER room. Here I am with my sleeping baby and of course a little vomit too. (Taken on my phone so it's not a clear picture.)


She was diagnosed with viral strep which means we just continue to treat her with over the counter meds and wait it out. We apparently had been under dosing her; she is large enough to get the same dosage as Max who is 16 months older than her! What a big girl. The discouraging thing is that they gave her ibuprofen and that didn't bring her temp down after an hour so we just have to watch her closely to see if she starts to act funny, otherwise we don't have to worry about her high temperature too much.

Today isn't starting out great either. She is screaming and making choking sounds when she isn't sleeping or eating. I'm sure her throat hurts and that is what is causing it all. Hopefully after this second nap she'll be ready to head to the water. It's a great way to keep her temperature down and then I can spend some time outdoors instead of being holed up in the house on the first beautiful day in three days!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

I'm interviewing Dusty about Max's first fish:

So Dusty, tell me about Max catching his first fish?
-Just do your deal, you enjoy it. I don't enjoy it.

No, tell me about it, I wasn't there.
-Seriously?!

(Max jumps on Daddy now - so he has to be good. Of course first Max tells me no and yells at me because he can tell Daddy is mad at mom and he is always on Daddy's side. This escalates to Max hitting my face and getting put in timeout. Yeah, great!)

-Bob and I taught Max how to fish. Bob had a fishing pole with a trigger release reel. He stuck the pole in the water and snagged him a monster.

(There was much more swearing and arguing as to what was too much detail while I try to get any information but this is a family friendly site so you can just imagine what really happened to get this information.)

So world, take at look at the monster that Max caught.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

We were able to keep Max up for the fireworks last night and let me tell you, it was an amazing first experience for me! Some people had been lighting off fireworks across the lake and we were able to explain to Max that the fireworks were going to be loud and go "Bang" but there would also be pretty colors.

When the fireworks started Max instantly got it. He was curled up in my lap and he would go "Boom" and point at the fireworks. We started naming the colors and he got really excited when there was a purple one. Yeah, he knows it's Mama's favorite color! They fireworks were pretty.


I loved having Max curled up in my lap too. He got up to go sit with Daddy for a while and I was disappointed to lose my cuddle partner. A few minutes after he went to Daddy he started whining to go back to me again! I just cuddled him tight and enjoyed the firework show. It will probably be my absolute favorite firework show now, being curled up with my baby. Towards the end of the show I looked down to see that Max had fallen asleep!


I could have sat there all night with my baby curled up in my lap. He is just getting so big and is so active; this was a real treat. Dusty took a picture for me and then I agreed to walk him up to bed. Those little moments make it all worth while.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

I just got off the phone with my Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. The good news? The lump didn't show any odd signs to link to any diseases. OK, great! But being that I wasn't even slightly concerned about that in the first place, since we knew the lump developed from a too large ear bud on my hearing aid, I was shocked to hear it was even tested. OK, nothing wrong with being safe I guess.

Then I asked him about my pain. You see the pain meds I can take every 4 hours, stop working about 2.5 to 3 hours in and I'm left with some pretty bad pain. Now I'd be the first person to tell you my pain tolerance is next to nothing so what may be painful to me may only be slightly painful to most other people. But in this circumstance, I'm left nauseated for about 2 hours from the pain and then fine for about 2.5 to 3 hours on a rotating shift. Another fun fact? Because the lump was in my ear canal the pain isn't restricted to one area, instead it spreads into my jaw and makes it difficult to talk/eat when the pain meds have worn off. Plus, those pain meds make me loopy and unable to completely focus. Needless to say I've been a pretty miserable person and Dusty even suggested that I call my doctor as neither of us expected me to be taking so many pain killers for so long.

What does this kind doctor tell me? He reassures me that the pain I'm feeling is normal. As long as the pain hasn't increased more than the first day (it hasn't), I don't have a fever (I don't), and my face or ear aren't swollen (nope) then it sounds like everything is normal and that it can take up to a week for me to start to feel better. That's why he prescribed so many pain pills.

A WEEK people! That means I could still be feeling like this over the 4th of July! I'm going to need a 4th of July miracle that makes it so I'm not in pain that day, do you think I could get that instead of a Christmas miracle? I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Today is funny picture day I've decided. So just sit back and enjoy these next two images!

First up, my husband and I brought over our old king mattress to Andrea and Chris' house for them to use. (It was too firm for us.) Of course, it isn't easy to move a king size mattress, but thanks to the dump trailer I got Dusty for Father's Day, it was a breeze! We set the mattress on top and I sat on it while we drove it over. Unfortunately Andrea's pictures of this were blurry. Fortunately she was able to get a picture of us going home. Aren't we just an adorable couple?


Second up is a picture of Andrea, Max, Rory and Peanut. Now why would a picture of Andrea taking the three of them for a walk qualify as funny? Well if you look closely at the picture you'll see that while Andrea is pushing Rory and Max in the stroller, Max is the one "walking" Peanut! They make such a goofy bunch.


I hope you got a smile looking at these; I know I sure did!