Friday Night Lights

Jason, Amelia, and I ventured up to a local high school on Friday night to attend the Homecoming football game.  We were mostly uninterested in the game itself, but instead went to cheer on Jason's two cousins who played special roles in the Homecoming celebration this year.  

Amelia, of course, enjoyed undivided attention from numerous aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and great-grandparents.  She also enjoyed traditional football treats like popcorn and nachos.  On the way to the game, Jason taught her to say, "Are you ready for some football?"--which was repeated throughout the evening (even though I'm pretty sure she didn't even realize a game was going on).

One of Jason's cousins, Candace, is a freshman and a JV cheerleader at the school.  Since it was Homecoming, the JV squad got to perform with the varsity squad at half-time.  I didn't get a very good picture of her at all, but squint your eyes a bit and use your imagination--you'll get the picture.  (She's the one in the air).

Another of Jason's cousins, Lauren, was nominated for the Homecoming court and was a queen candidate.  She and her dad got to go on the field at half-time along with the rest of the court.  On Saturday evening at the dance, she was crowned queen!

When I first started dating Jason, Lauren was a pesky little squirt of about 4 and Candace was about Amelia's age.  It has been fun to watch these two grow up into such great young women!  

Century Club

This is my 100th post!  Woo!

In line with blog tradition, I've decided to share 100 things about us (well, mostly about me):

1. Jason and I met in high school.
2. We went to different high schools.
3. But we both worked at Target.
   
4. Jason worked at the Guest Service Desk.
   
5. I was a cashier.
   
6. My pick up line was, "Do you play basketball?"
   
7. He did.  He's 6'7".
   
8. He came through my lane one night to buy sunflower seeds before attending a football game.
   
9. He asked if I wanted to go to Steak n' Shake after work, it was our first date.
   
10. In high school I played softball all four years.
    
11. I was the pitcher.
    
12. I had a mean drop curve.
    
13. I played basketball and track for one year.
    
14. I tried to be a sprinter, but was too slow.
    
15. My coach didn't have anywhere else to put me so he asked me to learn the triple jump.
    
16. I learned it in three days and placed in competition.
    
17. I was also involved in student council
    
18. and was the Vice President of my class.
19. I was the Sports editor of my yearbook.
20. I have an older brother whom my mother openly admits she loves more than me.
21. I am trying to get better at being "green".
22. I like politics.
23. I'm a donkey.
    
24. I want to learn how to sew.
    
25. And knit.
26. After Jason graduated from college, we backpacked through Europe for 3 weeks.
27. We visited France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Austria.
    
28. A few years later we returned to Austria and also saw the Czech Republic and Hungary.
    
29. I read almost compulsively.
    
30. Our daughter's name is Amelia Jane.
    
31. Amelia because the kids where I teach were reading, "Amelia and Eleanor Go For a Ride".
    
32. Jason didn't like the name Eleanor.
    
33. Jane is from a Bare Naked Ladies song.
    
34. I found out after her birth that Amelia was the name of my great-grandmother.
    
35. I do not enjoy shopping.
    
36. Unless its crazy good deals.
    
37. I like to go to garage sales and to Goodwill.
    
38. I think community organizers are important.
    
39. Hockey moms scare me.
    
40. I once described Air Supply as magical--I had been drinking.
    
41. My favorite musician right now is Mason Jennings.
    
42. I also really like Jack Johnson.
    
43. Jason has taught himself to play the guitar and cook.
    
44. He's good at both.
    
45. He has done some paintings for Amelia's play room, too.
    
46. I care too much about what others think.
    
47. I am proud that I can drive a manual transmission.
    
48. My favorite season is fall.
    
49. I am annoyingly indecisive.
    
50. I'm halfway!
51. I have a new found love for Sudoku.
    
52. I hate to repeat myself.
53. I hate to repeat myself.
54. A psychic once told me I would have three kids.
    
55. She also said one day I would start my own business.
    
56. It took us a long time to get pregnant with Amelia.
    
57. I did acupuncture to help with infertility.
    
58. It worked!
    
59. Acupuncture is surprisingly relaxing.
    
60. I have just recently developed a like for coffee.
    
61. I am a rule follower.
    
62. I am in freak-out-mode about finding the "right" school for Amelia.
    
63. My first choice is ridiculously expensive.
    
64. The cost of one year is more than twice the cost of one year at college alma mater.
65. My worst fear is failure.
66. It keeps me from doing things.
    
67. I have a birthmark on my neck that looks exactly like a hickey.
68. Sometimes I miss living in Chicago.
    
69. I hate being so dependent on my car.
    
70. But being close to family is really important to both of us.
    
71. I used to work with juvenile offenders.
    
72. Its the most rewarding job I've ever had.
    
73. It wasn't the kids that burned me out, it was the crappy hours and no raises for 3 years.
    
74. One day I would like to go back to school for my Master's Degree.
    
75. I just need to figure out what I want to go back for.
    
76. Jason has his PhD in biology.
    
77. He talks about getting his MBA or his law degree sometimes.
78. I want to take a pottery class this winter.
    
79. And maybe a yoga class too.
    
80. I am proud that I breastfed Amelia for 13 months.
    
81. I feel guilty about stopping when I did.
    
82. Next time I will stop when I feel its the right time, not when others do.
83. If you are still reading this, type one thing you learned about us in the comments section.
    
84. We only have one TV in our house.
85. We only have 7 stations on our TV.
86. I taught Amelia sign language starting at 6 months.
87. At her peak, she knew about 25 signs.
88. Voting is very important to me.
    
89. I have two nephews.
    
90. They live far away near Washington, DC.
    
91. I am sad that I don't get to see them more often.
    
92. I am a very anxious person.
93. Jason is very laid back.
94. I am eternally grateful that Amelia inherited Jason's laid backness.
    
95. I graduated from college a semester early.
    
96. I still make wishes when I blow out the candles.
    
97. If I had been a boy, my name would have been Jamie.
    
98. I have a severe vomit phobia.
99. I try to stay away from certain carnival rides, 21st birthdays, and the nurse's office because they have a "high vomit potential".
100. I love when people comment on this blog!

On the Right Track

With one botched outing under our belt this week, I decided we were full speed ahead to do something super fun on Friday.  I've always been a huge fan of the Museum of Transportation and given they had a theatre group performance there on Friday as well, it seemed to be a great destination.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one thinking that way.  Before heading out for the museum, I checked on the website to confirm times and prices for the performance only to discover that it was SOLD OUT!  Since we were already ready to go and promises of train-riding had been mentioned (I've got to stop doing that!), we set out on our journey anyway.

We arrived at the museum around 9:30 and enjoyed it for 3 hours straight.  Amelia was fully engrossed with the large locomotives and was thrilled to be able to go inside some of them.

One little red caboose and one little blue caboose

Rides on the small train and the street car are unlimited on Thursdays and Fridays ($2 for me, Amelia was free), so we got our money's worth.  Miss One Track Mind insisted on riding the Chicago Transit streetcar 3 times during our visit!  The poor thing must have broken the world record for the number of times the phrase "more streetcar!" has been uttered in a single day.  

Ride #1

Ride #2

Ride #3

On one of the trains, I showed Amelia where people used to sleep, eat, and use the restroom while riding on the train.  On the next similarly set-up train, SHE showed ME where people used to sleep, eat, and "poopy on the potty" while riding on the train.

Despite pleas of "more streetcar",  Amelia seemed to be running out of steam around 12:30. We booked it out of there to avoid any sort of train wreck meltdown (I know I'm stretching it a bit, humor me).  

Interestingly, we didn't even visit much of what the museum has to offer (like one of our favorite places to play:  The Creation Station) and we still lasted longer than we do at the zoo.  The Museum of Transportation seems to be improving with every visit, so much so that now we are members!  It is something Jason and I talked about getting Amelia for her birthday and we never got around to following through with it.  But, today sealed the deal!  They even credited my admission and train ride fee towards our membership.  No doubt you'll be seeing more of the Museum of Transportation right here!

Plan B

Well on Wednesday this week, Amelia and I had big plans to head out to Busch Wildlife to attend a nature presentation through Parents as Teachers.  I had talked up the program BIG TIME to Amelia, explaining how we were going to take a hike in the woods and how she was going to be able to see and possibly pet snakes, frogs, and turtles.  We even had plans to meet her friends there.  For the first time in a long time we were both dressed, fed, and ready to walk out the door at 8:30 AM when much to my dismay I realized that Amelia's car seat never got transferred back to my car from Jason's car the previous day.  Oops!

Now, I had a whiny, disappointed toddler on my hands who wanted nothing other than to "go in car, pet turtle mommy!".  I also had an ENTIRE DAY ahead of me to fill with car-less activities.  

Luckily, I have a rough list in my mind of new activities I have heard about or read about that I want to try with Amelia.  The tricky part is making sure I have all necessary supplies on hand--something my cheapskate self is not very good at doing.

But, I remembered a little treasure I scored a couple of weekends ago at a neighborhood garage sale.  A brand new, unopened box of foam stickers for $1!  I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with them, so I have kind of been saving them and storing them out of site.  Since I was looking for something fun and easy, these stickers were perfect!

This project was inspired by this picture we made at a library story time a few months ago.  Miss Julie, the librarian, read a book about transportation, sang a car song, and then we made these pictures.  She had drawn the scene on the paper and the kids added the stickers.

So, I decided to draw a little farm scene for Amelia. She added 3 cats, 2 dogs, a pig, and a cow.  Then, I drew an entire page of stems so Amelia could add the flower tops.  It was great, she loved it!  It lasted approximately 4 minutes....

I drew another picture of some of the shape's outlines so she could match the sticker to the shape.  (2 more minutes down).

I didn't like where this fun, but incredibly short-lived activity, was going, so I reapplied my thinking cap.  Desperate times call for desperate measures, I concluded.  I threw Amelia in the stroller, added a few choice snacks, and then headed to the produce stand near our house.  We went mainly to pick up some much needed fruit and some vegetables for dinner.  But, since the walk was 2.4 miles round trip, we really wasted a good part of our morning too!

Shortly after we returned, Amelia's friend stopped by to bring us some information from the Busch Wildlife event we missed.  The girls got to play a bit before lunchtime.  Then, we all settled down for a nice long (time-consuming) nap!

Glow in the Park

Ever since we've been dating, Jason and I have always ventured down to Forest Park to check out the Balloon Glow each fall, with few exceptions.  It used to consist of a bottle of wine, a picnic dinner, a blanket for two, and a spot on a quiet, romantic hillside far enough away from the event so we could see all the balloons and enjoy our privacy.

Three balloon glows ago is when I told Jason I was pregnant with Amelia, so the event kind of holds a special place for us. 

Since the birth of Amelia, attending the event isn't quite so idyllic. This year, we loaded up the car not with a cooler and picnic basket, but instead with our ginormous stroller and a plethora of snacks for the little one.  We stopped on Delmar for dinner at Noodles, etc. and wrangled Amelia in the booth for much of dinner while she refused to eat more than a bite or two.  Then, we drove around for close to 45 minutes trying to score a parking spot.  Luckily, Amelia was quite patient with this, repeating only about 7500 times, "Me go to Balloon Glow" and then after explaining the parking situation to her, "We need parking spot for car".  

Upon taking a fairly sloppy walk up a mountain of a hill, Amelia was excited to see the glowing balloons up close.  Then, after about 30 seconds of standing there, one of the nearby balloons fired up and Amelia began to whimper and beg to "go home now!".  

After much talking and encouraging, she finally loosened her death grip on Jason's shirt.  We thought that might be a good time to attempt getting a little closer to the balloons, much to Amelia's dismay.  Death grip returned, whimpering started again, and back to our spot we went.

At that point, from a distance, Amelia was really into it.  She liked when they sounded the buzzer and all the balloons lit up at the same time.  Everyone around else was clapping, so Amelia joined in.

Don't get me wrong, attending the Balloon Glow with Amelia in tow was quite different than the earlier years, but it was still fun.  (Although, on the way back to the car, Jason and I picked out our spot for next year while running over a list of babysitters...)

(Unfortunately, I did not get a single good picture of the balloons lighting up.  So, I had to "borrow" one from a fellow balloon glow goer).

Paper is Overrated!

We made an impromptu drum out of a bread crumbs container and some rice.  We decided it might be fun to paint a cover for the container to make it look more drum-like and less breading-for-assorted-meats-like.

  

As you can see much more of the paint ended up on Amelia than on the paper.  The project itself ended up more like body art, which Amelia seemed to enjoy!

I Scream, You Scream

My dream came true last week when our playgroup made a date to tour Blue Sky Creamery in New Town. This company uses liquid nitrogen to freeze the ice cream, resulting in a denser, creamier product. (Or so they say.  I am no scientist, but I will say that the ice cream was freakin' good).

Our group got to see exactly how the ice cream was made and we even got to sample several flavors.  My favorite was the double chocolate--YUM!  Amelia didn't seem to have a favorite, she just wanted more of whatever I gave to her.

As if the free ice cream sampling wasn't enough, the kind people at Blue Sky Creamery even gave us these stylish hats--for free!

Afterwards, a couple of the moms and kids headed over to one of the many playgrounds in New Town to burn off some calories. These animals were hanging out near the playground and Amelia couldn't get enough of them! (And neither could I, quite frankly).

Being a stay-at-home parent is hard work!  Especially when you have to spend your days touring ice creameries and playing outside! When will the torture end?

Shapin' Up

Amelia and I had some fun this week practicing shapes.  I saw this activity somewhere as a way to teach kids how to color inside the lines.  I just thought it looked like fun and, like most parents, we have a never ending supply of Cheerios around these parts.

First, I let Amelia pick the color of the construction paper and then I drew the shape on the paper.  Then, together, we put dots of glue around the shape and she placed a Cheerio on each glue dot.  

After the glue dried, Amelia colored inside the shape.  So simple, so fun!  We hung up the shapes in her playroom and when she sees them she says, "Circle!  Me color INSIDE circle!".  

Nothing gets past her!