Christmas Cookies

We've really been getting into the Christmas Spirit and started making Christmas Cookies yesterday. I put the first batch in and they smelled GREAT! Not even after a minute when I updated my Facebook status about what a great night I was having making cookies, etc the following happened:

I pull them half way out of the oven to determine if they should be left in a little longer. I'm impressed at how plump and golden they are and in my mind I'm doing the "I am the greatest" dance so proud of my creation and then in a matter of a split second I SOMEHOW drop them, IN the oven so just the tops fall off. In a panic I try to come up with the most reasonable method of cleaning them off the oven before they burn. So stupid me grabs PAPER TOWELS and as I'm trying to pick them up without burning myself, they touch the hottest part of the oven and the paper towel STARTS ON FIRE!! ughhhhhhh!! Just then Rylee comes into the kitchen and starts laughing hysterically at me. Finally I come to my senses and dump water on the burning paper towel and end the disaster. This is why I only do this once a year!

We've been pretty busy with the boring, slam your head on the wall if you really need to listen to this, every day activities such as work and cleaning, so I won't go into details on our lives the last week. Rather, I will update with some pictures of the summer and fall through the eyes of Rylee. (IF I can remember how to do this...) Hope you enjoy!


We caught turtles at Grandpa Alaska's on Sock Lake. I wasn't too fond of them!


We went fishing also!


We went hiking with our friends!




We met cousins and other family at Judy and Rodney's 50th Wedding Anniversary




We bounced in bouncy houses at Street Carnivals in Hoyt Lakes


We went to 4th of July parades and plugged our ears because it was too loud!


And hid behind Daddy because the fire trucks scared us!


We saw "Grandpa Alaska" when he came back to visit.


We went to Family Reunion's (Akemann's)


And participated in the games!


(Ward Reunion) Rylee and Lily




We went to the Bear Center in Ely




Daddy took us fishing and Mommy caught the only fish!


We went to our friend Janae's house to go swimming.


We went to our friend Maggie's 3rd birthday party at the Wolf Center




We had our 1st day of Dance class with our friends (Maggie and Janae)


We turned 3!!! And Mommy made the cake!






We got loads of loot!


We jumped in leaves!


We dressed up for Halloween and went to 2 kids parties!


We carved pumpkins....and didn't think it was gross this year!




We made cookies for Halloween that spelled our name, which Mommy dropped on the floor and broke. oops!


Mommy started taking photos for people so of course I did lots of modeling for her to practice!











Hope your summer/fall was as fun as ours!

Worst Mom of the Year Award GOES TO...you guessed it!

So I just had the last 4 days off of work and Brad went deer hunting in Alexandria so I thought, What better way to spend Friday but have a Mother/Daughter Day! I could just imagine! Rylee and I would go to Duluth to spend some bonding time together, do a little shopping, ride the Quarter Rides at the mall, have some ice cream, maybe even see if there were kittens at Petco! Mother/Daughter Day=DISASTER! Sorry, but it was true! Here's how it went:

By the time we got on the road it was 12:30. Rylee slept the whole way to Duluth, good sign I thought. Not. We got to Walmart where I needed to pick a few things up and she did really good. I even let her pick out a toy for under $10. In the check out line, the lady in front of us went on and on about hand sanitizer. Which got me thinking, with all the crud going around it probably wouldn't be a bad idea...So I get Rylee in the back seat and frantically try to get rid of all the germs we just picked up at Wally world (suddenly I'm a germ-a-phob). Then as we get towards the mall I realize I have NO IDEA how to get TO the mall because of the construction going on. Which puts me in a bit of a panic. Suddenly from the back seat, Rylee SCREAMS, "MOMMY! You forgot to buckle me IN!! How come you forgot to buckle me in!" So I'm about to have a heart attack as I look in the backseat and see that, sure enough, I forgot to buckle her in! OMG! Then she yells, "I am NOT very happy about this!" NEITHER WAS I!!! (BAD MOMMY INCIDENT #1-ALWAYS buckle in your child...it's the law!)

So we made it safely to the mall and I scooped her up in a hug, still a little shaken up. But that was under the bridge now, thank God she was ok. We are just going to forget about it and have fun, I tell myself. And THEN IT STARTS! The whining, the hiding under clothes racks, running up the aisle of DSW with a threatening look on her face that she is not going to stop, but once again hide so I would NEVER find her. (Which of course left me running, in the shoes I JUST put on, leaving my old ones sit there along with my purse for the taking.) All day she would just NOT LISTEN! So the stress started up and we'd only hit up a few spots. Suddenly I wasn't in the mood to shop, let alone go to look at kittens. So I decided to wrap it up with dinner and head home, where I knew it was safe. But the kid WOULD NOT EAT! I even let her pick what she wanted. ugh! And she ran around the table and poked herself in the eye with a Balloon on a stick that was given to her at the pizza place.

I ran out of ideas to try to get her to behave without bending her over my knee in public. So suddenly, before I could think twice, I told her that the guy sitting alone behind us was going to take her and I was going to go home and she was going to live with him for the rest of her life. BAD MOMMY #2-Never threaten your child with a stranger.

THAT didn't work either. She just argued with me. I finally found the perfect threat next...NO...ICE...CREAM! THAT had her bawling! Which ended up not being such a good idea. As we walked away we say a little girl eating ice cream and Rylee cried, "THAT little girl has icecream and I don't have ANY!" Which I'll admit, broke my heart. I wanted SO bad to turn around and get her an icecream cone after that. But that wouldn't prove my point or teach her a lesson. So I told her that little girl probably listened to her Mommy and ate her dinner too.

By the time I got to the car I was furious again. I drove ALL the way to Duluth for nothing. I wasted an entire day. I should've stayed home and cleaned. For a good 20 minutes Rylee cried on the way home. I cranked the music. At one point she mumbled something that I thought was an apology. So I turned down the radio and asked her "What?" In the snotty voice I have EVER heard come out of her mouth she replies, "My Daddy is going to be very, very, VERY mad at you and you are going to be in VERY BIG TROUBLE!" UUGGGHHH!!! So I crank the music back up! A few minutes later again, she mumbles something that I HOPE is an apology. Nope. This time she tells me, "My friends do NOT like you!" BAD MOMMY #3- "YOU DON'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS!!!" and again I crank the tunes. Ok, so I stooped to a 3 year olds level...not to mentioned acted like a pre-teen. I just wanted to cry. This was the worse day EVER. Not too much longer Rylee tells me, "I'm sorry, I promise I'll be good. Can we go back to Duluth?" NO! But I did forgive her, of course.

I was exhausted. And went to bed early. And will not do this again for a very long time. I feel much better getting this all out,
now I must write my speech for the Worst Mother of the Year Award....

Confessions

Ok, so I must Confess! I'm horrible at Blogging! I really enjoy reading other peoples Blogs, but keeping up with mine is so hard for me! (As you can see, my last post was JULY.) Plus, I think the little counter on the side showing how many views I've had is actually how many times I've accidentally looked at my own Blog when I was trying to do a post. Which leads to my next Confession, I don't know what I'm doing! It takes me FOREVER to remember how to do a post and I usually go in circles for a few minutes until I find the right place where I'm suppose to be.

BUT, I've managed to make this Post a success (I hope, because many times I've written a whole page and somehow lost it so I just give up!) AND I changed my main picture...so that has to say something right?! At least I can laugh about it! ;)

I'm open for suggestions and hints to make this easier!!

"Dongals"

So we went to our Ward Family Reunion this weekend (that's a post in it's own!) and on the way we made a stop at "Dongals" for lunch. Or "McDonalds" as us grown ups like to call it. Rylee found a penny in the parking lot so Dad and I jokingly told her she was buying lunch today! After we ordered, Rylee handed the lady her penny very proudly...and ended up getting 17 cents back! Hmmmmm....I may have to try that next time I go, seems like an easy way to make money!

I SEE LONDON I SEE FRANCE....RYLEE'S WEARING UNDERPANTS!

So we are going on month number 4 (?) of Rylee wearing underwear! It has been the best feeling ever not buying diapers for her. I'm not going to lie, sometimes I walk by the diaper aisle just to give myself a rush that I don't have to stop and determine what size I should get for her this time and swear it's the last package I am buying!

Now the question is, should we put her to bed in them?? She will beg me at night sometimes to let her wear her "panties" to bed and I have been too chicken to do it. She has been waking up dry probably 3 out of the 4 months with the exception of a few late night glasses of water that she just hasn't been able to hold until morning! Last weekend we had the Akemann family reunion and I some how forgot to bring our bag....must be getting old...so she had to wear her underwear to bed. And not a single accident! So I think after this weekend we are going to go for it!!! Wish us luck!

2 1/2 going on 16!

So I'm trying to straighten up Rylee's room before bed last night as she is parading around in just her undies and a pair of pink shades. I'm not sure what it is about these sunglasses but it makes her grow up by about 14 years whenever she has them on. Not sure if this is the manufacturers fault or what, but there really should be a warning on these things! So here I am asking her to help pick up some of her toys and she puts her hands on her "hips" (they're actually more up by her boobs, she hasn't quite figured out the whole "hip" region yet) and she leans back on one leg, sticks her belly out, and glares at me from her sunglasses. She then gets up on the bed and starts jumping. By this time I'm not looking for a fight, I just want to get to bed so I ignore it. Suddenly she stops jumping and exclaims, "What is my teddy doing on the fricken floor!" And I make note: Note #1, watch what you say around a 2 1/2 year old...

Update

We're trying to take things day by day here! They seem to be going by so fast, it's hard to get anything done. With every one project started another 3 seem to turn up! Rylee and I are currently working on our "garden". We set up a window planter (with the help of Uncle "Coy") and ATTEMPTED to dig up the area for our new flower bed! The bugs finally drove us in to enjoy our DQ dessert...really had to twist our arms though! Maybe we'll finish today....

Rylee Funny #2

Brad and I were having a conversation about money and finances. Rylee was trying so hard to be part of the conversation and give her "feedback" whenever she could. I made the comment that I didn't have any money and she piped up, "Mommy! It's all in my Piggy (Piggy Bank)!"

So Much to do in So Little Time!

So as you can see it has been FOREVER since I've updated this! I'm just starting to figure out this Blog stuff-little by little!

Things have been busy with work, raising a 2 1/2 year old (going on 16), planning a wedding, helping plan a family reunion among all the other every day duties.

Rylee continues to be the center of our life and no matter what we may be doing in our lives, she always comes first! It has been fun to watch her grow and discover and I wish EVERYONE could experience the every day experiences we get to. So I think I will try to document all my "Rylee Funnies" as I have been trying to do on Facebook. Hope you enjoy!

Rylee Funny #1:
Brad and I were out visiting in the back yard with a friend while Rylee played. She keep going into the front yard where I couldn't see her (not to mention the road was there). I had to constantly remind her to stay where I could see her. Every few minutes I would have to yell "Rylee! Where are you?" At one time she stomped back to me and growled "UGH!" I asked what her problem was and with a wide stance and hand on hips, she leaned forward and scowled "You're driving me nuts!" She then spun around on her heel and stomped back to the front yard leaving us with our jaws dropped!

....I'm sure there will be more to come! :)