Field Museum Trip

Spring Break was last week and I wanted to do something special with Tristyn.

She has never really been to Chicago and it was high time we go.

We planned on going to the Shedd Aquarium

Except there was a two hour wait just to get in to the place!

So I decided to head to the Field Museum.

Little tunnel.

Tristyn in front of the Field Museum.

She asked me what was at the Field and I told her dinosaur bones.
She was soooo excited!
I haven't been there since high school and a lot has changed.
We have been reading the Magic Treehouse Books...we are on #12.
Everything we saw at the museum related to what we had read!
Dinosaurs, saber toothed cats, mammoths, mummies and cave paintings...it was awesome!

Tristyn and Sue the T-Rex.

I had never seen Sue the dinosaur.
She was actually discovered by a woman named Sue who went to my high school!
Pretty neat huh?

Collecting corn in a pueblo.

3-D movie about mammoths.

We covered the entire museum and we were pooped!
Tristyn is like a sponge and soaked  up everything.
Her favorite part was Sue and the 3-D movie.
One highlight was when we came out of the cave paintings exhibit...
Tristyn found a $20 bill on the floor!
We asked around and Tristyn ended up keeping it!
She bought a stuffed horse to remember her trip.
She said that it reminded her of the horse that was sketched in the stone in the cave exhibit.

Grabbing a hot dog before the ride home.

About 2 minutes after this hot dog
Tristyn burst into tears.
She had to go potty.
And right then.
No bathrooms in the parking garage.
Museum was about to close.
We bolted across the street,
Up all the stairs,
Into the museum and to the nearest bathroom.
It closed 10 minutes before the museum closed.
Awesome.
Down the stairs we go and down a long hallway.
We throw everything on the floor and she flies on the toilet.
Nothing.
Awesome.
Then she hears the announcement about the museum being closed.
She freaks out because she thinks we are going to be locked inside.

We made it back to the car finally
And her little tummy was still upset.
I got on Lake Shore Drive and she was passed out.

Passed out before I even got on Lake Shore Drive.
 

By the time we got back to Hobart, she was ok.
We got our hair done for Easter and had Subway for dinner.
I had a great time hanging out together and I know she did too!
I can't wait to take her to the Science and Industry and the Shedd one day!

Summer 2011 in Review

So, I thought I would just sum up the summer with some pictures.
Tristyn and I really enjoyed the past couple of months.
We were very active almost everyday.
The Hobart Librarians know us by name.
Tristyn read 54 summer reading books
And that's not counting the times we read the same book more than once!
Here's a brief rundown of what else we did...

Tristyn's 3rd birthday party at Wicker Park!
Jimmy Johns and princess balloons that flew away.
It was FREEZING that day. Craziness.

Most amazing Ariel cake made by Rita Drolen.

We went to West Beach with the cousins!

New boots, umbrella and raincoat and hat from Auntie Julie and Uncle Brian.

Tristyn learned how to wink!

Spent 4th of July at the Verpooten's house.
Soooo much fun.
Pool, boat, food, fireworks...could you ask for anything more?

The two of us went out to the Michigan City Zoo and the Lighthouse Mall.

She played Hide and Seek behind my wonderful weeds...aka poison ivy of death.

We caught a toad and named him....Toad Froggie.

He lived in our cooler on our deck for a week.

He ate bologna for lunch.

Then we let him go back to his family.

We had a campfire and made Smores.
Tristyn now asks to eat marshmellows for breakfast.

We went swimming in her pool.
It was 104 degrees out.
I had goosebumps.
Tristyn wanted hot chocolate when we came inside.

I went to Ball State for a week for Journalism Camp with 20 something kids.
Learned a lot...froze my butt off
But we now have a news website.
www.lakecentralnews.com

Celebrated Grandma's birthday with family!

She learned to swim at the Verpooten's house!
She was an expert by the time we got to Wisconsin.

Visited the zoo in Madison with Michelle, Colette and Simone.

Rode the Merry-go-round at the zoo with Coco.

And even got a new Build A Bear named Daisy.

We had an awesome summer together.

By the second week in August we were both ready to go back to school though.

She was ready to see her friends

And I was ready to get back to business.

What Do You Do On A 5 Day Weekend With a 2 1/2 Year Old?

These are in no particular order...
You might have heard that we got a little bit of snow in Northwest Indiana.
I would say we had a good 20 inches or more.
We had three snow days off from school.
By day 3 Tristyn and I were bored with each other.
But...here are some of the things we did! ...

Went to McDonald's Playland with Miles!

I have no idea why this keeps coming up sideways.

Go to Grandma's and have her make us ice cream sundaes!

Make Jell-O block towers at Grandma's house.

Go to Pipes and Pizza and listen to the big organ!

Wore silly outfits...sans pants.

Climbed big mountains in front of our house.

Can you see her at the top of the hill?

Oh yes...she is eating the snow.

Played Farkle with Bones and Aunt Barb.

Actually she was playing with her peg game.

And yes...she is in her Minnie Halloween costume.

Watched the snow fall and fall and fall.

That is the recycling bin under there.

Made messes.

She was trying to pick out a movie to watch.

She was very indecisive.

She fell off chairs!

Ha ha!

We played a lot of Mario Kart and Dr. Mario.

And fashioned off the diaper and boots look.

Overall it was a nice break from work.

I was ready to go back today.

Tristyn was NOT happy to wake up so early this morning.

Now we all have to get back on track.

At least this weekend is a 4 day weekend!

Oprah and Rosie

I couldn’t imagine my life under a microscope.
Having the world watch and comment on every move I made.
Every life decision regarding jobs, health, family, love…
I think it would be very daunting, stressful and give me lots of anxiety.

Going to the Oprah show on Thursday was a huge positive in my life.
Recently, life has been a little crazy
It has taken its toll on my soul.

Having KellyW fly in from D.C. meant more than anything.
I was so happy to have someone new over to my house.
To meet Tristyn for the first time.
Meet my friends.
Eat my food.
To just hang out on the couch and
To see where I live my life.
It was so good to have a new positive energy in my home.

On Thursday we woke up around 4:15 a.m.
Scared that the roads would be icy
We left early and got to the studio around 6:15 a.m.

The line wasn’t too bad and we didn’t have to wait outside for long.
They took our coats, cell phones, cameras, purses and checked them.
We gave them our reservation and signed a release form.
Then we sat up in the greenroom for an hour and a half.

Two audience members decided to be cheerleaders and pump up the crowd.
Kelly and I found them annoying.
We were trying to make new friends and we couldn’t even hear.
One cheerleader in particular gave me anxiety.
She ate soup in the greenroom.
She MADE people participate in her crowd wave.
She ran after a producer lady to talk to her.
When they called her group number to head to the studio
She ran and charged over people to be first in line.
She sat in the front row.
She got on stage.
She nodded her head when Oprah and Rosie said ANYTHING.
And she was in my line of sight the whole time.

Oprah came out in bare feet.
Then sat down to put on her beautiful high heels.
She wore a brown skirt and shirt.
Seconds before the show started
Her assistant was on stage with her
Lint rolling her boobs.
Right in front of everyone while Oprah just read her notecards.
It cracked me up.

Before we knew it, the show had started.
And out came Rosie!
She wore all black of course.
Her hair looked great and she looks like she lost a few pounds.

Rosie talked about everything so candidly.
Menopause, the radio show, her kids,
The new documentary, her breakup and her new love interest.
They showed clips from her early stand up days,
At home doing the radio show,
From the new documentary, A Family Is A Family Is A Family,
And clips from her blog videos.

I didn’t know how hard the discussion about the documentary
And Rosie’s break up from Kelli
Would hit me.
I haven’t even seen the movie yet.
I don’t think I can.

Since Tammy and I broke up
And she moved out
I haven’t really dealt with the emotional side of it.
Until yesterday.
I kind of lost it. (Sorry Kel)
Things Rosie said and things shown in the clip
Really hit home
And I’m still processing it all.

During a commercial break Rosie took a sip of water.
She almost fell off the chair because the glass had a silver straw in it.
Yes…silver.
Oprah said, “There’s no plastic in here!”

When the show was over Rosie took a picture with the blog winners.
She gave out some hugs.
And Oprah thanked the audience.
They were both very kind.

After the show we met up with our friend Arthur.He works at the John Hancock Tower
And got us passes to go up to the observatory.
First we ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory
And holy cow…I had about 2 more meals with my leftovers.
We did a little shopping and then drove Arthur home.

Heading south on Lake Shore Drive
We passed all the museums and Soldiers Field.
I then dropped Kelly off at Midway so she could catch her flight home.It was kind of early and I’m sure she had to wait a long time.

I’m sorry I didn’t have the internet at my house Kel!
But I think you handled it well.
And at least channel 32 came in for American Idol.
*Phew!*

Don’t forget to look for us on Monday, Jan. 25 on the Oprah show.
We were sitting behind Rosie’s head in the balcony…front row…by the aisle.
Kelly wore red and I wore black and turquoise.

New York Weekend

Rosie signing stuff for the rbloggers.

My flickr buddies...Arthur, KellyG, Me, Jyl, Liz and Michele.

Last week Tammy suprised me for Mother's Day.

I got to go to New York City to see Rosie in No, No Nanette!

How cool is that?

One of my flickr friends is pregnant and due around the same time as me.

At her last doctor appointment, they said she shouldn't travel.

So, Tammy hooked me up with her spot!

I know...getting on a plane and walking around NYC 8 months pregnant.

Craziness.

But I took it slow, relaxed and had a great time!

If I didn't feel up to going, trust me...I wouldn't have gone.

I flew out Friday morning.

I stayed at The Dream hotel with Liz and KellyG that night.

We had dinner at a cute diner where the wait staff sang.

Cutie Bobby paid for our dinner which was way uncalled for.

Went to the M&M store and ended up at a piano bar for drinks.

I enjoyed my Pepsi and water.

Saturday we slept in until 10ish.

Didn't leave the hotel until 1ish.

Hooked up with some other friends for lunch and I had the best hot dog.

Came back to the hotel to hang out and get ready for the show.

Then out to dinner with about 3o some other online friends.

How cool is that to meet everyone in 3D?

Everyone was really nice and excited to meet Rosie.

The play was great!

Sandy Duncan almost fell off the stage during one dance number!

And I spotted Sharon Gless in the audience.

After the show we got a special meet and greet with Rosie.

Her assistant, Kendal, gave us all rfamily backpacks full of cool stuff.

Everyone got to meet their hero and grab their hugs.

It was cool to see everyone's excitement.

On Mother's Day I flew back home in one piece.

It was a great little getaway!

California Vacation

Birthday cake and fondue.

Chairs at the Mexican Restaurant.

The Market.

Ensenada, Mexico in the morning.

Last week Tammy and I went on a little cruise to Mexico!

It was our pre-spring break trip and our babymoon.

We had a great time relaxing and just unwinding.

Our ship was Royal Carribean...Monarch of the Seas.

We ate tons of food...even me!

The only stop was Ensenada, Mexico.

We signed up for a beach party, but duh...

Who goes to a beach party at 10 a.m.???

Plus it was COLDIE COLD!!!

So, we went to the market down the street and shopped.

Tammy got her hair braided.

We found some good tamales and tacos.

I ate all 3 of them in ONE sitting!

We went back to the beach party and got our two free drinks.

Of course I gave mine to Tammy.

The rest of the cruise we gambled, ate, slept and enjoyed our time together.

After we got off the ship, we rented a car and drove to Anaheim.

We got there later than expected

So we didn't waste our money on Disneyland.

We spent an hour or two at the pool

And then headed to Downtown Disney to shop.

Ate at the House of Blues.

Good times....good times.

My Rosie Adventure

Me and Kelly

Rosie and I

Ahhh...my Rosie O'Donnell adventure!
My great friend Kelly is a HUGE Rosie fan.
HUGE...obsessed...scary to some.
One of her life goals was to meet her one day.
Out of the blue she emailed me and said...
"I did it...I'm going to New York...I bought a ticket."
Rosie was doing a comedy show on Nov. 6 at Lincoln Center.

Well heck...I wanted to go too!!!

To make a long story short...
I found my way to New York.
Kelly and I stayed with her friend Luisa in Queens.
Super cool chick. SUPER.

On Tuesday morning Kelly and I went into the city
And found Borders with no problem.
We ate some breakfast and then hung out in line for the book signing.
We were about third in line and made some great friends.

Rosie came around 1 p.m. and that's when Kelly lost her mind.
Her hero was less than 10 feet away from her.
I went up before Kelly.
I asked if she remembered me from the cruise and showed her a picture.
She said yes and asked how the family was.
She signed my book.
I gave her a Constitution Day t-shirt.
She signed my Peace t-shirt.
We took a picture and I told her I'd see her at the show that night.

If you want to read about Kelly's experience you have to read her blog.
Her link is on the right of my page.
You just have to hear it from her point of view.
It's amazing.

After the book signing we headed for some lunch.
It was so much fun hanging out with new people.
People that have bonded on the internet and never met before.
Call us nerds, but it was actually really cool.

Then we went to Rosie's art show.
Awesome stuff.
What happened next was crazy and wild.
We just happened to stumble upon Rosie's driver.
Hung out and saw Rosie and Roseanne Barr come out of her apartment.
We yelled good luck and then headed for a bar.

The comedy show was great.
Rosie and Roseanne were equally funny.
Third row seats were awesome.

All in all...it was a great little adventure and I'm happy I went!
To see more pictures...check out my flickr site.

Welcome Back Tammy!

Tammy and Brandon on top of a mountain.

Tammy, Monica, Brandon and Melissa at the beach.

Tammy made it home safe and on time.
Even with the plane crash in Sao Paulo...she made it.
From the looks of her pictures,
It seems like she had a fabulous time.

She swam in the ocean and played in the waves.
She climbed a mountain in flip flops and a bikini.
She took a picture of a bat.
She ate crazy food
And didn't like the chicken hearts.
She learned to drink lots of water
And learned to speak a little Portuguese.
She even lost 8 pounds
And got a little golden.

It's good to have her back.
I missed her...

A lot.

Road Trip Recap

Our road trip to no where specific was awesome.
Reina, Ashlee and I had a great time
And we want to do it again next year.
Here's a little recap of the trip...

On Sunday we left at 8:20 a.m. our time.
It took us about 11 hours to get to Purcellville, VA.
There was a lot of traffic here and there.
It was a LONG drive, but we made it and I drove the entire way.

We crashed at Kelly's house and on Monday went to DC.
Brian had the day off so the boys went golfing in the morning
And then he watched all 3 of them in the afternoon
So Kelly could go with us to the Holocaust Museum.
It was the most depressing museum I've been to.
It made me so angry.
Why do people hate?
We came home and had a Mexican feast in honor of Reina for dinner.

On Tuesday we left and drove down to Virginia Beach.
Another 5 hour trip from hell in the rain and traffic.
Again we made it in one piece!
We played in the waves until about 8:30 p.m.
We changed clothes in the truck and then walked around
And found FOOD.
We left Virginia Beach around midnight and headed up to Williamsburg.
We found a crazy little motel and all shared a King Sized bed.
It worked.

Wednesday we got up early and headed to Busch Gardens.
What a blast!
Reina made me sit in the front row for every ride.
We went on everything and got soaked on the water rides.
We left around 4 and started driving again.
Four hours later we ended up back at Kelly's house.
Ate pizza, watched TV and hung out.

On Thursday we split up.
I went to the pool with Kelly and the three boys
Reina and Ashlee headed to Baltimore to check out Six Flags.
I was exhausted from driving by this point.
Those two had a blast and even saw Omarion at the park.

Friday morning we all got up at the crack of dawn.
Kelly and the kids were heading to Cleveland for a bridal shower
So, we just followed them and drove together!
Reina drove part of the way
Ben enjoyed riding in the truck with Ash and Reina
NOT having to listen to the Wiggles!
I rode with Kelly and kept her company
And six hours to Ohio flew by.
Four hours later we were back in Hobart.

I have a ton of pictures and I'm trying to make a movie with them.
Hopefully I'll be able to post it soon.

The Weist Family

Clockwise from bottom left: Kelly, Brian, Danny, Ben and Thomas.

I just want to give a huge thank you to the Weist family.
They pretty much took us in during our road trip to no where specific.
We crashed at their house for four out of the five nights while in Virginia.

So, you ask...who are these people?
Honestly...I met Kelly on the internet.
Actually...she found my pictures on Flickr and emailed me one day.
We just started writing back and forth and
BAM!
A friendship was born.

Tammy and I actually met the Weists back in December
When Tammy had a doctoral program seminar near their house.
I thought it would be cool to actually meet.
Kelly's family and my family were a little skeptical.
What if we were internet stalker killers?
Yeah right.

Brian works for Homeland Security in DC so he's a busy guy
And works crazy hours.
#1...I don't know how he ever sleeps.
#2...I don't know how he drives back and forth to DC every single day.
Oh...and he has a cool dog.

Kelly is super woman at-home mom extraordinaire.
(Did I spell that right?)
This girl gets up at the crack of dawn
Changes diapers, catches two kids jumping into a pool head first simultaneously,
Folds laundry, fixes piano video games, does dishes like...on a regular basis
(not like our house where they sit for a day or two),
Reads books, knows all the words to every Wiggles episode and
Still has time to obsessively check Rosie's blog.
Our lives are very different.

Ben is 8 and he is a cool kid.
One of the nicest 8-year-old boys I have ever met.
Soft spoken, polite, patient and a great big brother.

Danny is almost 4 and he has the sexiest voice
I have ever heard on a 4-year-old.
It's so deep!
He calls me Karen. Close enough.
Danny and I like to talk on our cell phones together and play Nintendo DS.

Thomas is the 2-year-old fish.
This kid has no fear of water at all.
Four feet of water and he is practically diving in head first!
He also has great obsessions for camera flashes, all types of buttons,
The Wiggles and closing all doors.

Reina, Ashlee and I had such a great time.
We decided that we are all going to move in with them.
Ok...maybe not.
BUT beware Weist family!
We just might come back to party with you sooner than you think!

But first...you have to come visit us!