Redhead Reverie: July 2011

A Linky Sound Bytes of the Week

Happy Friday everyone!

Well, this is it. Time for you to link up your Sound Bytes of the Week. Don't have blog? No problem just leave a comment or send me shout out on Facebook. I'd love to hear 'em...so BRING IT ON!

Oh, and for those of you linking up...I made a super cute button to add to your post (check it out on the left).

Now on with the show!

3. "May I have some butter your Majesty?"
Wow! I guess my mommy title just got changed ... I feel so honored. Let's see... I think my first order of business will be to demand more "me" time. Oh, wait we are pretending...damn.

2. "I want an ice cream motorcycle."
Not sure if they make those, but if they did I'd like mine to be chocolate with carmel and brownie bits thank you very much.

Ok this number one Sound Byte wasn't so much spoken as it was read aloud.

1. "I {heart} Cooter."
I saw this bumper sticker on my way to work the other morning. I thought oh cool a Dukes of Hazard fan...then I thought about it some more and realized it was a dirty word. If you don't know what it means Google it because there is NO WAY I'm posting it in the blog. Ewwww....

So there you have it...Now it's your turn. Show me the love peeps and link up. I know you've heard something totally CRAZY you'd like to share....now is your chance.

Please.....

A Pictureless Post: Bigger Picture Moment

Ever since I started my blog, my camera has been an umbilicus attached to me at all times. If the big camera isn’t easily accessible I always have my handy dandy camera phone.

Except on Monday.

Monday was one of those days where you just want to throw hands up in the air and say “MERCY” at the top of your lungs. Beginning at 8 a.m. my day went to shit...I had planned to leave smidge early to make an appointment (not possible), had a tour cancel (totally predictable on a Monday) and B2 was MIA hanging with guy pals.

So, after all that I picked up the kids and decided to head downtown to release our Ya Yas. (FYI: Ya Yas are those things that are deep down inside you that make it impossible to relax, so at our house we run around and yell YA YA to get them out).

For those of you unfamiliar with IC, our downtown is made up of little shops and campus buildings, but also what we refer to as the Ped Mall. It’s outside and there adorable vintage clothing shops like REVIVAL (my total favorite!) and a super gargantuan playground, and a fountain that doubles as a shower for the homeless and a splash pad for the kiddos.

E’s head explodes every time we go there and Monday was no exception. He stripped of his shirt, threw his sandals in the buggy and off he ran. He splashed and jumped in puddles and made a couple of friends.

By this time the little guy was itching to escape the confines of the buggy, but as we all know G refuses to walk so I was little nervous to let him crawl on the pavement. But his insistent pleas prevailed and I let him loose.

And he was ecstatic! He crawled in circles through the water, sat and splashed in puddles and followed big brother EVERYWHERE!

It was G’s first time splashing at the fountain. “Oh, I need a photo of this” I thought. And then I reached for my phone and realized it was near death and the camera wouldn’t work.

It was so a Monday (insert loud growl and fist punching the air)…in essence I was caught with my pants down, unprepared to capture this "moment in time”. Ticked? You betcha…

But…it got me thinking (scary thought I know), but I realized just how much I miss when I’m looking through the lens. Yeah, it’s great to capture every moment for posterity, but there’s something to be said for actually being present in the moment; for participating instead of observing.

And you know what that’s just what I did! I ran through the fountain with them…got my feet wet, and laughed and played. I yelled YA YA!

And even without a single photo, I know I’ll always remember it.

Just Virtual Coffee

Happy late afternoon everyone!

So, if we were really meeting for coffee today, I'd ask you lend me an ear because I'm gonna ~~complain~~ vent a little bit. I'm having a small issue with a ~~friendship~~ not sure what to call it. See, I thought we were friends, but...obviously after what this person did...I'm thinking friendship is not a word I would associate with her anymore. In essence my feelings are hurt, she doesn't realize that I know what she did and now I can't trust her...so now I just stew in my own juices and try not to disclose too much. It's weird and I don't like it. Who would have thought I would have to deal with this type of crap at my age. Jeez...this is something reminiscent of High School (and I HATED High School).

Anyway, let's talk about something more enjoyable, like the weather. Oh wait that sucks too...way too hot...I'm ready for Fall.

Oh, how about this...

Yep that's B2 on a ladder risking his life so we can tell our cable company to go to H-E-L-L. We are going old school and just using an antenna to get local stations and then using our Apple TV and Netflix for everything else. Sounds like a perfect and less expensive option...less dangerous not so much.

We did have a great time at the Kernels Stadium to celebrate a friend's birthday. It was the first time I'd been there since they remodeled the stadium. E particularly liked the batting cage, and the ice cream cake.

Well, not much else. Spent part of my work day at the JoCo Fair today.

It was a tad bit on the toasty side, but overall not too bad in the shade with fan blowing directly on me. Do you go to your county fair? That's the first time I had been to ours. Depending on E's mood tonight we might head out there again.

Well, thanks for coffee. And sorry I didn't let you talk much. I'm in a bit of a hurry...gotta get the kids and make dinner. But I'll make a quick stop at Amy's before I sign off.

Have a FABO week!

A Too Cool Sound Bytes of the Week

Hi all!

Is it Friday? I think it's Friday. My week is all screwed up since I was off work for three days.

It's been a busy, crazy and hot week...so let's get some relief with some super cool Sound Bytes of the Week. (oh, and it just occurred to me the other day that I was using the wrong spelling of bytes, duh...)

3. "I haven't had ya ya's since 1977."
Charlene, I can TOTALLY relate. If anyone needs ya ya's this guy has enough to share.

2. "I feel like I'm in the oven baking at 250."
This basically summed up how it felt to be outside the past three days. YUCK!

1. "This beer just accepted my friend request."
It's nice to have "friends". I could use twelve of them today.

Well, there you have it.

Stay cool this weekend. Sounds like it will only be 90 this weekend...break out the sweaters it's getting chilly. Ha!

FYI - Sound Bytes Linky will be up and going next Friday...get your bytes ready!

A Hot, Hot, Hot Virtual Coffee

I'm feeling hot, hot, hot...

Ugh...if we were really meeting for coffee today I'd have an iced mocha with an extra cup of ice to put in my pockets. It really is that hot here. The weather man said it will be a high of 115 today with the heat index and no I'm not in Arizona...this is Iowa people. We get hot, but not this hot.

We would probably be meeting at a local coffee shop really quick today, because I have a lot going on at the house. Some of which I can't tell you about yet, but let me clarify this by saying I'm not preggers. It seems like anytime someone my age has a secret it always they're preggers...but not in my case for sure...so let your minds wander.

So, in light of the big project I will only have a two day work week, which would be great if we just weren't so busy. Basically, I'll have to squeeze in five days of work in two days...oh boy!

Other than melting in the heat we haven't been doing much. We went to the CR Farmer's Market on Saturday before the heat wave struck and on Sunday we went to the mall. Yep, instead of spending time outside I toted the chitlens to the mall with me. I did win the mom of the year award according to E since I let him run around the play area for quite a while to get his ya-yas out. G has been perfecting his climbing, and was having a great time scaling the giant box of crayons.

Did you know that Batman was seen at Barnes and Noble and the mall play area on Sunday?

While he hasn't started walking yet, G has been impersonating the human spider by climbing up on EVERTHING. So much so that I caught him standing on the ottoman trying to climb back into his crib...can you say "Holy crap!"

Well, it's getting late so I gotta run and put E to bed...Have a great week and thanks for coffee. Oh, and one other quick thing. I usually try to e-mail back everyone that comments. However, sometimes I get REALLY busy and it takes a while to respond...sorry, but don't fret you will hear from me soon.

Don't forget to head over to Amy's for more caffeinated conversation.

Out and About: The Farmer's Market

On Saturday we met our neighbors and embarked on an adventure.

Our destination. The CR Farmer's Market

We found shiny baubles.

Some green things.

H was on paci patrol. Notice the Vampire bracelet...a Farmer's Market exclusive.

E had the munchies, and those apple fritters looked sooooo good.

S and C were looking for deals.

So was H.

E wanted to visit this food stand for some unknown reason. It was easier to let him explore than to listen to the temper tantrum.

E did a little shopping too.

Munching.

Listening to music.

Ah, purses. S loves purses

At a cross roads.

The juggler was a hit.

Poking balloon also a hit.

Photo by E

Smile mom!

Someone needs a nap.

To the lady who owns this booth...I was just taking photos of the kids not your chotchkies. Next time be nicer and we would have bought something.

More food.

A nice nap.

Couldn't resist this photo of American Gothic. Grant Wood is an icon in these parts.

Pucker up.

Somehow the balloons flew away. I have no idea what happened...it must have been a strong gust of wind. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Well, that was our Saturday. What did you do?

Woot, Woot Sound Bites of the Week

The mojo has returned people. Can I hear a woot, woot.

I think all I needed was a little "me" time; a little bit of silence in an otherwise mind-numbingly loud world (or my life as I like to call it). Let the writing begin...ready, set and go!

Well, on with the show...

3. "Dad you can sit by the girls. I don't like girls."

Trust me E in 20 years you will be wanting to sit next to girls like this.

2. "Never hurry and never worry."
E has decided he would like me to read him chapter books before bed. His first choice - Charlotte's Web. It's been going well and he really likes the story, except the part where Wilbur finds out he's going to be killed. YIKES! This a lovely quote by Charlotte and I think I might adopt this philosophy especially when it comes to these two.

1. "You've been notified."
Perhaps it was the context in which this was said, but to all of us that know it's freaking hilarious. I'm even thinking of getting a shirt made.

Well, that's it for me.

Sounds like it's going to be steamy this weekend...joy (said in that livid sarcastic tone that I've perfected). We are headed to the CR Farmer's Market and the pool. What are your plans? Hope it's something fun.

BTW - I've been thinking of doing a Sound Bite Link-Up...what do ya think? Want to share what was said by your co-workers, kids or even random people on the street? It's a great way to capture all those silly kid quotes for posterity. Think about it...

Keep on Dancing: Bigger Picture Moment

This morning if you were heading into downtown IC you might have seen a silver Sonata bouncing up and down with hands flailing wildly in the air.

Your first instinct would be Uh-oh who was having a fit which on most days is a regular occurrence. But today…today we danced!

We danced in the car on the way to school. Sometimes we roll like that. We crank the tunes and sing (mostly me) with E and G as my back up dancers. Our arms wave to the beat; we play air drums and weave our heads from side to side (which is super cute when G does it.) Today though was different, something happened and I cried while we danced (cheesy I know). But at that particular moment while we were giggling and dancing the chaos called “My Life” melted away. I forgot we were running late, that B2 is sick, that E has been having “issues” at school and that work is CRAZY.

For once in my life I just drank in the moment and savored every drop. And it was good.

A Ramblin' Virtual Coffee

ZZZZ, honk, ZZZ, honk, snort, squeak...

Oh, yeah that's the sound that woke me up at 4:30 this morning. B2 is SICK and snoring like CRAZY! Ugh! He has the same thing that E had over the fourth...Grrr...damn sickness get out of my house.

If we were really meeting for coffee I'd obviously need a double caff, because I am tired. I decided since I was already awake and lying there listening to that racket (which was getting me all fired up) I might as well head to the gym.

Greeting the sunrise on the way home from the gym.

I'd tell you too that I've been feeling guilty about my workouts. I haven't been going regularly. Now that that tri is over, it's hard to find the motivation. I know once I get to the gym I feel better, but motivation is waning. Maybe a 5K will up the ante. What motivates you to workout?

Anyway, I don't have much this week.

Work is NUTS!!! Like seriously busy. I have half my vacancies spoken for, but now comes the fun part of getting them ready. Oh, well I'd rather have that than empty apartments.

As for home life...well...E is having some challenges at school again. He just needs to mature a bit, and realize that yelling and throwing temper tantrums are not the way to make friends in preschool.

I did find some "me" time on Saturday and headed to the salon for much needed haircut and to spark up the red a bit (gotta hide those grays). I love getting my hair done, it's so relaxing and I actually get to catch up on my gossip mags while I'm there.

On Sunday, the whole family headed to the pool. You have to give B2 credit, he braved the pool even though he felt crummy. G LOVES the water. So much so that he tries to be a little dare devil and put his head in, which doesn't quite work for a one year old. I of course doused everyone with sunscreen and forgot about myself until it was almost time to leave. Hence, the slight lobster look on my back and shoulders. Duh...