Meg's (Ad)Ventures

Sunday, November 30, 2008

72 Hours in Review

Whoa. Where are we? In the last 72 hours, we have flown on a plane, driven from Minneapolis to Redwood Falls, Had Thanksgiving Dinner, visited with family, driven from RWF to Omaha, visited with friends in Omaha and then made the final trek to Denver. I'm exhausted just from writing that! Get ready...it's a long one...

Despite the craziness of the past few days, we had quite a good time. :) We decided to make the last minute trip to RWF for Thanksgiving and to pick up our new minivan. We are SO glad that we did! Flying on Turkey Day morn turned out to be a great way to go...first flight out, departure on time, early arrival, hardly any delays at either airport. Couldn't get any better! Sofia was a champ through it all, sleeping the ENTIRE flight and not waking up until we taxied into the gate. People kept commenting on "what a great 2-year-old" she was. Yeah, we know. :) It was wonderful spending time with the family cooking, laughing and catching up. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful family to spend time with. Sofia especially enjoyed playing with her one-year-old cousin, Addison. She and Addie were like two peas in a pod. So cute!

Friday morning, we made the appropriate exchanges and the van was ours! We packed up, had some lunch with the fam and got on the road at 4. We drove the 5 hours to Omaha where we got a room for the night. This is when the real adventure began...

Chris woke up in the night absolutely sick to his stomach. Sofia was unbelievabley constipated and my stomach was just beginning to rumble. Something we had eaten just didn't sit right. We were all teary. When morning rolled around, we were one sorry trio. Nonetheless, we gathered our things, and made our way to my friend, Angie's house for breakfast and to see her new baby, Drew. He was adorable and it was so great to spend time with our friends. Almost as soon as we were on the road, we were off again. It was my turn to have a rocking and rolling stomach. At one point, I was on my hands and knees on the side of the highway. It was quite a pathetic site! I can't even imagine what people thought as they roared by in their vehicles.

We finally rolled into Denver about 8:30 p.m. We were exhausted, to say the least. While I got Sofia into bed, Chris started in on getting the laundry done and gathering his stuff to go for his trek to Gunnison the next day. I fell asleep in bed with Sofia.

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This morning, we headed off to church for the first Sunday of Advent. I have been singing in a Gospel trio and I am so looking forward to this time of the year. There is so much going on at church musically that I will get to be involved in and I am so excited about it all. :) After church, we were invited to Matt and Stacey's to have some lunch and hang out. We have all been so busy lately, that it has been difficult to actually have some time to catch up and chill. After we were full on tomato soup and grilled cheese, it was time for some serious naps. We didn't even make it home before Sofia was out. In fact, we were hardly to the end of the block!

Once she was up, it was time for a haircut! This summer, my cousin Trish had given Sofia her first haircut. Lately, she has been in desperate need of cut #2. So, this time, I decided that I could do it. I went for a bob. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself! :)

Before:

During:


After:

Chris left this afternoon around 4 for Gunnison after finding out that his typical mountain route had been closed due to adverse weather conditions. It typically takes him about 4 hours to get there. It is now 10:08 p.m and he still has another hour to go due to the combination of weather and the alternate route that was required tonight. I feel so bad for him. He is such a trooper though and I'm so glad that he has Layla to accompany him on his journies each week. It looks like he will only have about 2 weeks left of traveling. Keep your fingers crossed! We're ready to have our man of the house back!

That's about it for now. Honestly, you must be asking yourself "how on Earth could there be anything else for her to talk about?"
Time to cash it in. Love to you all!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Would You Like To Ride, Shotgun In My...

Town and Country? (The song that this line is from ends in Escalade.) We are officially making the switch to a FAMILY car! Last weekend, we said goodbye to Chris's beloved Nissan Frontier and in two weeks we will say goodbye to my Saturn Vue. What will we do?

The answer to that is simple: Ride in style in our new (to us) Chrysler Town and Country Touring Minivan! After Chris's grandpa passed away this summer, he left behind his wonderful, trusted van. He took impecable care of it and hardly drove it at all in 4 years. So, after a few chats with Chris's grandma, we made it official...we are going to buy the van from her! We will be flying to Minneapolis on Thanksgiving Day morning, staying the night in Redwood Falls and then driving our new car back on Friday evening.

It is all very surreal. I'm looking forward to the extra room that we'll have when we are riding together as a family AND no longer having to stuff Chris in the trunk when we have visitors. :) While the van in the pic below isn't our actual one, this is an almost exact replica of what we will be getting.
So, I ask you again: Would you like to ride shotgun in my Town and Country?

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Wishful Thinking

Oh dear. So the chart worked for two days. I feel beaten down. I am worn out. I actually cried last night when my neighbor called "just to check in" and I had to say, at 8:45 p.m., Sofia still hadn't gone to bed. Luckily, Jen came to the rescue, and popped over to read Sofia some stories and helped to get her to sleep. It was such a nice break. I sat on the couch and booked our plane tickets for Thanksgiving for a quick, last minute visit to Minnesota and picked up the house.

I was so embarrassed that I couldn't get my own child to sleep. Jen was gracious and supportive and stayed for a glass of wine. It was nice to have another adult in the house.

Sofia woke up later that night around 11:30 and then was up from 2:30-4 a.m. Poor thing. She just is in a funky place for some reason. Work has been crazy the last few days and we have our first school dance tomorrow night. My Give-o-Meter is running on empty and it is definitely time for some refreshing. I am very much looking forward to the long Thanksgiving weekend to spend with some major cuddling and family time.

I am so thankful that I have such a wonderful friend and listener in Chris. Despite his distance from Sofia and I, he has done nothing but be as supportive as he possibly can. We love him!

The agenda for tonight: Lots of Momma and Sofia hugs, bath time, story time, and bed time....for both of us. :)

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Desperate Measures

Bedtime has been quite a battle time lately for Sofia and I. Sunday night I got an idea. I made a chart. Yes, it was a defining moment of being a parent for me. So, together at the kitchen table, Sofia colored and so did I...

We looked at and talked about our "Bedtime Routine" about 15 times before we actually began the process. AND, I was sure to point out each phase of the process we were in during the actual routine. The result? Sofia was asleep in 15 minutes! Success! night number two went just as smooth. With stickers as a reward, I may not have found the cure for the bedtime blues, but I sure have found some pretty good remedies in the meantime!
Team Momma: 1

Even Dolly and Bear Bear Need To Cuddle


Friday, November 14, 2008

Just Like Her Daddy

It is a well-known fact that Chris is the cook in our family. Every Saturday morning, he fills our home with the sweet smell of pancakes, waffles, eggs, cinnamon rolls, or toast as Sofia and I play (or sleep) in the background. It is such a delightful way to begin the weekend! Well, this past weekend, Sofia decided enough was enough - no more sideline watching for her! It was time to be part of the cooking action! She, and we, had a blast. She is clearly a natural and hardly spilled at all. I think we may have a new Saturday morning tradition on our hands!







Thursday, November 13, 2008

Technical Difficulties Part 2

Someone hacked into my Yahoo! account AGAIN! An era is coming to an end as I will have to shut down my account after having it for nearly 10 years. I'm a little sad. Mege18 was my first dip into the giant pool that is cyberspace. Oh well.

If I have missed you in my email update, IGNORE anything that comes from my Yahoo! address from this point on...it isn't me sending you a message. Simply DELETE it. If you are interested in new email address, just post a comment and I will send it to you. :)

By the way, we took some great pictures of Sofia and Chris cooking pancakes last weekend. I will be sure to get them up ASAP!

xoxo

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Technical Difficulties

Irony at it's best: Someone hacked into my email account - me, who works with computers FOR A LIVING!- and now I can't send emails. I am so mad! Stupid hackers.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

O Mama!

This morning's breakfast conversation...

"Sofia, can you say, go Obama?"
"Goooo O-Mama!"

Gotta love the enthusiam! Be sure to get out and vote today!

Monday, November 03, 2008

Oh Blessed Daylight Savings

Alright. I admit it. I was secretly counting down the days until daylight savings arrived. It isn't just the glorious extra hour of sleep and the feeling that I got to go on a mini-vacation for one night. No. It is something much, much more. Daylight savings meant a "do-over" for Sofia's bedtime. 

Bedtime has been renamed "battle time" since Chris left for Gunnison. The two of us used to put her to bed each night tag-team style: one person read a story, the other got her settled and to sleep. Well, now that Mama's the only sheriff in town during the week, Sofia hasn't been as much of a fan of the bedtime routine. She definitely misses her Daddy! There have been several nights in the last 3 weeks where she hasn't fallen asleep until after 9. When her usual bedtime is 7/7:30, this makes Mama tired. Very tired. 

Sunday, November 2. This day meant a psychological revival for me and a chance to reset Sofia's body clock. I started prepping her for bed with a big dinner, long bath, tons of stories, and soft lighting around 6. I figured that she might start getting tired around 7 and asleep soon after because it would look like and feel like 8. I was right! For two nights in a row, Sofia has gone down to sleep by 7:45! Not only does she wake up much happier, but I know she will be healthier and stronger as a result of a really good night's rest each night. 

The extra few minutes of quiet time in the evening has allowed me to actually stay on top of things in the house. I have friends coming over tomorrow night to watch election results and my house is not just picked up, but clean. I even have dinner planned! It's nice to feel like I am semi-on top of things...we'll see how long it actually lasts. :) 

That being said, I'm going to go and peak in on Sofia sleeping and head to bed myself. 

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE! 
GO OBAMA!

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Video Journal

Our little Sofia keeps us very busy these days. She turned "boo" two weeks ago and has been making strides in every aspect of her little life that would surpass any 25 year old. Finding time to write has been a little bit more difficult than I anticipated, so the video camera has come in extremely handy these last few weeks. Here are just a few snipetts of our time together...


Happy Birthday! (October 16th)

Mittens made with parents in mind. :)

White girls CAN jump!

The ABC's of Bedtime. Listen closely for L and W. :)

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Happy Halloween!

There is no way that this cutie patootie Little Red Riding Hood was going to get gobbled up by the Big Bad Wolf!

Getting ready for the big Halloween Event at my friend Amber's house.

Peek-a-Boo!

" This is the pumpkin that I want, Mom!"

Shoes: Check! Dress: Check! Cape: Check! Trick or Treat!