My First Time

Can I tell you how excited I was to...put "Santa's Gifts" out for little Eli for his very first Christmas? Talk about finally feeling like a parent. Christmas
Eve is my mom's birthday (#78!) and we had a lovely "light buffet" of steak and lobster. Num Yummy! I just barely got Eli to sleep...Rex has been asleep for hours...and now I can enjoy the satisfaction of being Santa for my own little elf. Can't wait to tell Eli all about the baby Jesus and the manger and have him understand just what a blessing it is to have a loving Heavenly Father who sent us His Son. Santa is fun and all, but the Savior is the reason for the season.

Wassup?

I just wrote all sorts of funny and exciting stuff and then I hit the wrong button and it's ALL GONE! I'm sure my recap won't be near as exciting. Here goes nothing...

• I baked the best ham for Thanksgiving. Best this side of the Mississippi. It rocked.
• I found out that my friend used to work as a secret service agent...gun and all. Never thought that would've been her career before becoming a swim-mommy.
• I chased Eli with wet wipes as he "crawled and crapped" his naked rear into the kitchen. Fun.
• I'm still alive and slowly preparing for Christmas. How in the world has it snuck up on me yet again?
• I'm confused as to how I lost my last post.
• I saw "Mamma Mia" last night. Now I am a blonde, Swedish singing sensation, at least in my own mind. Where was the song "Fernando" in that movie? It's the best.
  

Adopted a dog

I really should have a picture of our new dog, Bode. Rottweiler, felon, sweetheart. He's a felon because he's been locked up 7 times! He told me that he was innocent. Bode (pronounced Bo-dee) is a sweetheart with Eli. This morning when Eli wanted Bode's new toy, the sweet dog went and got another toy to play with. He shares better that the average 3 year old. We really miss Jiro, but I'm glad that we could save a "hardened criminal" (he was locked up for running away, nothing violent) and give him the love he deserves.

shopping

I spent Friday and Saturday shopping in the big metropolis of Idaho Falls and I have learned something about myself. I am definitely under the influence of wanting what I see other people have. For example...anyone who knows me knows that I'm fond of leopard print anything. Furniture, purses, bed sheets...you name the leopard print item and I love it. So, the evil geniuses in marketing have now come out with giraffe print this and that...and I love it. I went to the Mini Bazaar on Saturday and saw the most beautiful giraffe print purse with red trim and I fell in love with it. Now my question to myself is do I really love the giraffe print purse because it is intrinsically beautiful or do I love it because I saw other women coveting it? Am I the only female shopper that has wondered about this?

And finally...

Proof that we were at the Denver Zoo...we even hit "Free Day", unfortunately. Everyone in the western hemisphere was there with us, trying to see the animals...trying to see over everyone else in the western hemisphere trying to see the animals. We had much fun and merriment anyway.

Can you name the baby?

Quick, what kind of primate baby is this?

Tadaa, again!!!

For some reason I'm not able to get my blogging act together and post these pictures all in one post...sorry. Eli is still adorable showing off his "haul" from the trunk-or-treat.

Tadaa!!!

Happy Halloween in November!

Scared of my camera

So, I keep thinking that I can't post anything until I get some pictures of Halloween and the quick trip to Denver on the computer...and then I realize that I can't quite remember how to do that tiny bit of technical wizadry with the new-to-me-camera I purchased from my brother. If I keep waiting, I'll never post again, and life would be that much duller (ha-ha) for the 2 or 3 people that read this.
I will report that Eli was the cutest penguin in history, that the Denver Zoo rocks and that my father actually bought me a nifty giraffe print bag ($16.99) at the hospital gift shop just because I opened my big mouth and said something like "I want THAT bag." Wow. And now, I must go because my computer really wants to shut down for some kind of updating thing. I will work on getting those pictures!

I can do it!

Tonight I (hopefully) ordered an oil filter, air filter and special 36mm socket to do an oil change on my Mini Cooper S...don't worry, Rex will be changing the oil. It should be interesting when the stuff is delivered. Did I order the right stuff? I love my Mini, but it is a pain as far as getting parts and service. Plus, did you know that it costs us $900 to replace the tires? Ouch. I so want to keep this car and pass it on to Eli...since he gets his middle name from our little yellow car of fun. I wonder if he will think that his mother is a nut for naming him after a car? We considered naming him Max...after the cat. I think a boy would rather be named after a car, rather than a cat. I don't want Eli getting beat up on the school grounds because of me.

swim buddies

Here's a great photo from Aqua Tots...and that other handsome young man is Cache with his mom, Melanie. We are so sad that there are only 2 lessons left. Eli loves swim classes and I'm even getting better at modestly changing clothes in the locker room. Maybe when we go to Denver in November we can go swimming at the hotel. Oh, by the way, we are going to Denver in November. My mom has a checkup at the National Jewish Medical Research Hospital and maybe we can squeeze in a bit of fun.

Splish-Splash

Today's swim lesson was quite interesting. Three students and utter chaos. Eli decided that he should splash his hands in the water violently throughout the lesson, Cache (12 months old) decided to swim to me, which then caused Eli to swim to Cache's mom, Melanie, and meanwhile...Katie (9 1/2 months old) decided to scream and cry. Fun for everyone!
Today Eli is 9 months old and I can't ever remember what life was like without him.
At "movie night" last night we watched "Kenny"...and mockumentary about a portapotty man in Australia. Hilarious. Now I need to watch it again with the subtitles, because I know I missed a whole lot of funny because of my deafness!

You tagged me where?

This is my first time attempting to respond to being tagged...here goes

8 TV shows I love to watch:

1. CSI
2. Fringe
3. House
4. Ugly Betty
5. The Mentalist
6. NCIS
7. Masterpiece Theater
8. Top Gear (on BBCAmerica)

8 Favorite restaurants

1. Papa Kelsey's
2. Tom's Burgers and Gyros
3. Olive Garden
4. New Hong Kong
5. IHOP
6. Mangy Moose
7. Ruby River Steak House
8. SmorgaBob's (I just love the name!)

8 Things that happened yesterday

1. I ate a bagel at a new-to-me deli
2. I had a V-8!
3. I window shopped in Jackson
4. swim lessons for Eli went swimmingly, as usual
5. Rex and I didn't go on our date night
6. laundry!
7. drove to town twice
8. helped Eli eat half of a grape

8 Things that I'm looking forward to

1. bedtime
2. sleep
3. nap
4. rest
5. retirement
6. the Millenium
7. more sleep
8. living in one house and one town throughout the week

8 Friends I am tagging:

1. I don't have 8 friends :(

My husband is how old?

This will prove how tired and sleep deprived I am right now...I couldn't correctly recall my husband's age. Duh! Of course, I tried to figure it how last night (this morning?) at 3...I couldn't quite get my head clear enough to realize that Rex is 42 and not 41. How embarrassing.
Other than that, I just haven't felt very "bloggy" at all. Maybe it is the weather, maybe the lack of sleep or maybe even the fact that stress doesn't make me feel much like anyone else would want to hear about my life. Speaking of stress...is there any way to negotiate the holidays without offending inlaws/outlaws and spouses? There has to be some way to enjoy the holidays.
Eli has his 9 month checkup next Wednesday...I'll have to lie about what that young man has been eating. "Of course his favorite food ISN'T ice cream, Doctor...I don't know what that sticky stuff is on his cheeks."

Eli's wardrobe

I finally got brave enough to try and sort through Eli's wardrobe...he needs his own closet because I seem to have an issue with buying him clothing! I tried to hold onto the wiggly little guy long enough to try on some things to see how well they fit. Finally, I gave up and decided to just put everything smaller than 3/6 months in the "too small" box...I know, he is half way to 9 months old and can still fit in such tiny things. I wish that I would have bought certain items in several different sizes. How was I to know how great the orange polo shirt would be and that those Walmart khaki pants would be so awesome? I'm enjoying the daily morning decision as to what Eli should wear. What will I do when he gets old enough to want to make that decision himself? Wait a minute...Rex is 41 and still lets me dress him occaisionally. Cool.

First snow

It is snowing outside...am I ready for winter? I guess so. I think winter is good because I can layer my clothing and no one really knows how much of me there is under all those layers! In the summer heat I can't hide anything under a turtleneck or two. Perhaps I should start wearing a muu-muu and call myself an 8 cow wife? Anyway...I realized that I need to show everyone why I so want a miniature donkey. Look at it. Isn't that the cutest thing ever? This picture was taken at Thanksgiving Point and the sign on the gate said "I bite"...awesome!

Eli is almost mobile...eek!

So, any second now Eli will be crawling. He sits on his behind and rocks back and forth and then tips over and gets up on his hands and almost gets his feet under him...and somehow he ends up going backwards! Life is a journey not a destination, I guess. Swim lessons were good this morning. I'm glad that Eli does so well, but embarrassed that he is the Teacher's Pet Supreme! Now, if we can just get back to our normal schedule and get Eli sleeping in his crib again. He thinks that when he sleeps with us it gives him permission to treat me as an all-night diner! Ah, the joys of breastfeeding!

Furniture Fun

Yippee! I get to leave "work" early today so I can pick up the rest of the furniture that my Mom and sister-in-law bought on Wednesday...definitely go to the back room at Sofa Mart (Furniture Row). I bought a cool little clicky couch thing that folds down into a bed. Much cooler than a futon...I know, Patty did something cool? Hard to believe. Anywho, I also get to do some case lot shopping at Broulims...also fun. I feel like I'm really accomplishing things when I buy in bulk.
So, now everyone has a reason to come see me at home...the new clicky couch curiosity will overpower you and you will not be satisfied without a firsthand witness to its coolness.

Sad moosey

I'm heart broken because the mama moose that I wrote about a few days ago was hit and killed on the highway. Now there are 2 orphan calves. I can't imagine how someone couldn't slow down enough to miss a moose the size of a pickup. Probably some soccer mom with a cell phone in one hand and a coffee mug in the other. (don't know how they steer) I hope I never meet a moose in my Mini...that would be very bad.

Intentional Lodging

So, this is where we stayed after sleeping in the dirt. I thought for sure that we wouldn't have any problems finding a room in Richfield, Utah...but I had no idea that they were having the ATV Jamboree. We were told to try getting a room at an older motel. My first thought was that any guys spending the week in Richfield would be using their money on beer and not a fancy-shmancy hotel. So we drove to the new Fairfield/Marriott and got a room without even asking the price. The manager gave us a smoking deal after hearing about our ridiculous camping the night before in Arizona. Eli really liked the pool and the awesome breakfast buffet. If you go to Richfield...stay at this hotel. It saved my marriage!

unintentional camping

This is a nice photo of our night in Page, AZ and what happens when tent poles aren't properly replaced in your camping equipment and also the joys of not having batteries for your new air mattress...but mostly what happens when there is no room at the inn.

weekend woes

The really bummer part of only going to your home on the weekends is that no matter how little or much you do, when you get back to work on Monday morning you have a hangover without ever having partied it up. (Not that I know what a real hangover is like...I can just imagine what it feels like.) I would understand if I had set the world on fire with overly ambitious house cleaning (our Ririe house is a pit of debris!) or had recreated like crazy. No, I mostly hung out, fed Eli, bickered with Rex and watched television...I have a sudden urge to catch up on 5 seasons of NCIS. So, here it is the next to last day of the month and I have no desire to work and a whole month's worth of tickets to put in the computer so I can send out statements tomorrow afternoon. Dang, I'm so not wanting to be awake right now. Eli is taking a nap and I wish I could move him over and crawl in the crib for a bit of shut-eye.

Superstar Aquatot

Today was Eli's second swim lesson of the Fall and can I just tell you how much he rocked! At just barely 8 months old, he is truly a little fish. His teacher, who just happened to be my swim teacher when I was in elementary school, used him as the class example on how to do everything. Then all of the other swim mommies would ooh and ahh over how talented and cute Eli was...my son is definitely more popular than I'll ever be. So...I may not exactly fit in with the yuppy swim mommies and their 3 carat diamond rings, pilates and cocktail partiness, but at least my son is the Michael Phelps of Aquatots!

Here, moosey-moosey!

This morning Eli and I got to watch a mama moose trying to control her two rambuncious calves playing in the park across the street. The 2 little darlings would chase each other and mama would get nervous whenever they would get too far from her. All 3 moose (why not meeses?) were hanging out by the jungle gym equipment and wouldn't you know it, when I went to get my camera...they headed back into the willows. Dang! Eli had fun though...and Grandpa May enjoyed sharing it with him. Who needs to drive to Yellowstone?

Locker Room question

Okay, so what in the crap is up with old ladies walking around naked in public swimming pool locker rooms? Today was Eli's( 8 month old cutie) swimming lesson at Teton Co. Rec Center and he was assaulted with multiple views of saggy old lady parts! I try to be modest...why can't they?

Howdy

Here I am venturing into the world of blogging...dragging my feet a little. This will probably take me all of a week to fail at. I'm always at least 2-3 years behind everyone else...so, here goes nothing.

I first want to thank Mich for tutoring me a bit and encouraging me to not be a wimp. Mich rocks and the rest of us just wish we could. Did you notice how I just spoke for the rest of humanity? Hope you all don't mind.