Hitching a ride on Baylor’s sweet new trike…
Tag: funny
Bird Watching
Technically, I think these two are fish watching. They are sitting on my mom and step dad’s porch in Montana, staring out at the lake. Sometimes they would shout “bird!!” and sometimes “fish!!”. I’m not sure if Baylor was confused as to what she was supposed to be looking at or if she really did see fish jumping. Either way, it’s adorable.
Looking back to get instructions from Noni
Fish? Birds? Or just fun to hold the binoculars?
These Boots Were Made for Walkin’
I think every girl (big and small!) needs a pair of red boots in their wardrobe.
Feathered Accessories
Feather hair extensions, clips, headbands and pins are all the rage these days. Just typing “feathers” int a search on Etsy.com brings up dozens of sites selling feathered accessories.
And because these little beauties are popular, they aren’t cheap. I goofed around online until I found some close up shots of the clips and decided I could copy them. Thankfully for me, my hubby Peter ties flies for fishing. This means there are plethora of feathers in his desk of every length, origin and color.
I tried a prototype that didn’t hold up very well. So I added some ribbon and my new clip survived several outings while on vacation. Here’s a good picture:
Just a hint of feather under my left ear. It’s just enough to be hip, but appropriate for a mom who’s approaching 30! I did make a little clip for Baylor, but she wasn’t a fan. And my mom kept thinking there was something stuck in my hair. I guess some trends aren’t for everyone. But I’m thinking with a few gin and tonics, she’ll be into it. My mom that is, Baylor’s more of a M&M kind of gal.
I Heart Rodeo
One of my favorite parts about our Montana trip every year is the Livingston Roundup. It’s a small town with a big rodeo. Most of the participants do this for a living and win big doing it. But the actual ridding, roping and racing are only part of the fun. It’s the other sides of the rodeo that make it such a hoot.
First, there’s the cocktails. You don’t purchase one beer, two or even three. You purchase by the six-pack. Mostly because they have a system where you have to first buy tokens, then go stand in another line and buy beer. Rodeo goers don’t want to miss any action so you buy all your beer at once. But how do you carry and or keep cold all this beer? Why with ice and a trash bag box:
Yes, much like Costco its self, there are a variety of empty boxes and bags to carry your cocktails back to your seats.
Karin is very excited about all this.
When buying the beer, I asked the nice lady with the beer how many six packs I could purchase at one time. When she looked at me strange, I replied that we were there with a lot of people and was there a limit on how many six packs I could get? Her response? “Just where the hell are you from?? You can buy as many as you can carry darlin’!!”. Aaaand that’s why I love Montana.
Now, if you’re not armatures at rodeo drinking like we were, you do like the locals do:
Pretty purse, yes? And then you open it:
Aaaaand you see how the locals do it.
The best discovery at the rodeo this year was our friend Karin’s love of Rodeo Humor. RH is the banter between the miked up rodeo clown and the announcer between riders. They jaw back and forth and make dumb jokes, all of which Karin practically rolled on the floor she was laughing so hard. Which made it infinitely more funny to the rest of us. We’re not sure if it was really that funny, or if the combination of “beer in a box” and “kids are sleeping soundly with the sitter” giddiness were the real reason it was all so funny. Here’s an example of the fun:
I know it’s a little hard to see, but this is one guy. Yes, the guy in the middle, or the Indian in this version of the Village People, is controlling the other four dummies. Yes, he does have two dummies rigged up to pipes and pullies in front of him and two behind. The result? His YMCA dance is preformed in perfect time by all 5 of them. It was bizarre. It was strange. It was slightly disturbing and it was oh so funny.
The night ends with a gorgeous display of fireworks set to patriotic music that gives you goose bumps. It’s then a scramble and a fight to get back to the car together and in one piece to then wrestle through traffic to the one entrance to the highway. Start to finish, it’s a front runner for one of the best events of our year!
Where’s the Tome? – 2nd Edition
Tome is a big fan of tea. And silly glasses.
Mac Should Pay Me for This Post
I don’t get indorsements from Macintosh. But for the post I’m about to write, I should because damn if I can’t help that I love the Iphone. (Topher, please let someone at Mac know I’m putting out the good vibes!).
I got an Iphone the day they became available on Verizon service and I saw from the beginning what I had been missing. Peter just got his and in one day, the number of apps I have on my phone has quintupled. Slightly annoyed by some of them (no, I don’t need the Orvis fishing app, Zillow, Monster.com, the need to know my exact elevation or Dragon dictation) many of the new apps are amazing.
My absolutely favorite new app is called Sky View. It is a map of the stars – you hold it up to the sky and it shows the names of the stars, constellations and planets. It. Is. Awesome. The funny thing is that I realized it doesn’t work solely with the camera so you can use it during the day too so that you can see where the stars are, the projected path of the sun. I can’t say enough how much fun I find this app. We used it every night on vacation because I think there are few places in the world where you can see as many stars as you can from the top of the mountain in Montana. It was so much fun to know what we were looking at. A side note: whoever came up with the constellations (Gemini, Ursa Major, etc) was either insane or drunk because none of them look like what they are supposed to be!
What do you do when you’re sharing a room with your sleeping kiddo and you have to find your way to the bathroom, or pajamas? You use the flashlight app. I thought this was really dumb until I tried it. So very useful – unless you’re trying to find your phone.
When entertaining a child in a doctor’s office, on a plane or anywhere else that requires them to sit still and be quiet for stretches of time, I’ve found that there are several apps that they love. First are books. The Miss Spider app is a video, a book and games all in one. Duck Duck Moose has really funny apps like Old MacDonald’s Farm , Word Wagon and The Wheels on the Bus. The kiddos need to swipe, tap and move objects around to keep the image moving. They can also record themselves or you singing which is Baylor’s favorite part (the one with her voice, not mine). It does require some supervision though as Bay has A. Friended people on Facebook B. Called random people out of the contact list and C. Sent random text messages. So if you ever get an odd voice mail or strange text, just know Baylor loves ya.
So that’s it. I’m addicted. I hate to admit it, but a smart phone just makes life cooler. Anonymity be damned! Track me and what I’m looking at and where I’m going all you want because I’ll be enjoying looking at the stars.
Things That Shouldn’t Bug Me But Do
1. When it’s too hot to open the doors or windows. Which means every time I make a meal, the house smells like it for hours. And change hours to days when it involves turkey tacos or Brussels Sprouts with bacon.
2. The inability of some parents to master the parachute at The Little Gym. It is not complicated: grab handle, lift up, step forward and pull parachute behind you, sit down on handle. The result? A super cool tent like thing that is supported by the air trapped under the parachute. Call me a 2-year-old for thinking it’s neat, but it totally is. Which means I get mad like a 2-year-old when a mom can’t figure out how to follow 5 steps, thus letting out all the air and ruining it for everyone.
3. Caillou the cartoon. Not only is the kid annoying, but Baylor is obsessed with watching it. While the main character, Caillou, is pretty whiny, my main issue is with his parents. They are model parents with infinite amounts of patience. They never get upset, yell, scold or do any other normal parenting thing. They make everything fun, ignore bad behavior and are always dropping what they are doing to appease Caillou. I am waiting for the day that the kiddo says to me “Caillou’s mommy wouldn’t say ‘your behavior makes mommy want to drink'”.
Again, another topic for Baylor to discuss in therapy some day.
What’s in Baylor’s Bag? – 9th Edition
Sherri, this one is for you!
Wow, the kiddo was busy this week.
To start, Baylor’s bag of choice was a gift bag from her birthday. It lights up when you push the button and it took me 9 tries to get a picture where you can see the lights.
Contents:
1 sippy cup
1 soft picnic basket with food inside
goggles
her super silly glasses
her new Ariel shoes from Auntie Ali that she LOVES and wears any time she’s in the house
a bean bag
1 ball
Mouse
Sing-a-Ma-Jig
her Cubs hat
a rosary
play sized cooking utensils
play food pizza, bread, doughnut and hot dog
A Spot of Tea
For the readers who don’t know, my mom and I own and manage a water company in Southern Arizona. Why? It’s a long story…
As we close in on the end of the month, I am scrambling to finish up deposits and customer changes and prep my documents to go read meters. It’s not complicated, but it does require some form of concentration. I.E. it is very difficult to do when my “assistant” is shuffling papers off the printer, climbing up my chair and simultaneously trying to draw on my documents.
I have perfected the art of Baylor entertainment so that I can steal a few minutes to and check items off my to do list. She has her own keyboard which she pretends to type emails, narrating her messages as she creates them. She gets a pad of paper and a pen. A coloring book and also my deposit stamps to play with. However Saturday morning the usual things weren’t keeping her busy. Trying to keep my frustration level to a minimum, I suggested she go brush her doll’s teeth (endlessly fascinating to a 2 year old) and then make some “tea”. We love tea parties and have them often. Bay happily ran off leaving me a few more precious moments to complete my tasks.
A few minutes later, a headband clad kiddo (making tea requires Bene Hana style head wear) came running into the office with a cup of tea and a saucer for me. She then ran back to her room to get the tea-pot, filled up my cup with air, shouted “KISS!!”, gave me a peck and was off again.
It’s hard to remember sometimes what’s important. It’s easy to get caught up in the grind of work, the endless to do list, and the stress of getting it all done. But all we need is a little cup of tea to remind us why we work like we do and also why it’s good to shut off the computer and go make some tea.
The Goon Room 