Halloween?

So... Here I am on my favorite day of the year watching CSI Las Vegas reruns and sticking bath letters all over Nyla. I have to admit watching Nyla squeal with laughter trying to get the sticky foam off her chest is entertainment enough for this goulish girl gone mom. However, CSI never disappoints when it comes to setting a creepy atmosphere so I guess I am still able to feel that all too loved uneasy, turn on all the lights as I walk around the house feeling. So not all is lost.

Over the River and Through the Woods

Nyla went to see Grandma for Mother's Day this year. The ride there was something I may never do again they way I did it. Cadence and I both decided to drive there alone (with no husbands), with our babies together in the back seat. What is suppose to be a 5 1/2 hour drive ended up being a 9 hour drive. When one baby was sleeping, the other was crying, hungry, or needed to eat. Overall, we made it there alive and had great timebut it literally felt like we had to go over the river and through the woods to get there.. The babies loved seeing their grandma and grandpa and great auntie Glo. We went for a bike ride through Ogden River Parkway and just relaxed together. Not a long stay but worth it.

These are Melissa's kids (Mike's daughter). They are Nyla's cousins Scotland, Jackson, & Kierra. They are the goofiest kids I have ever seen. Hilarious.

Auntie Glo

My First Milestone

I woke up this morning and just after rocking and nursing Nyla, she shoved my finger into her mouth to feel her very first tooth! Like a tiny little dagger, there it was. Finally. She started teething when she was two months old and here she is 9 1/2 months. I can't believe my little baby is growing up so fast.

Books, Books, & More Books!

Nyla has grown to LOVE books. She would rather have a basket full of books over toys any day. She is currently mastering turning the pages and sometimes telling the story the way she sees it. If we are reading a book to her, she likes to have one book in her own hands and then watching the book you are reading. Cadie and I took Whit and Nyla to the library the other day. Nyla was not going to just sit in her stroller and take being separated from the wonderful world of make believe. So we took her over to the baby section where they have a couple shelves in the corner of baby books. (You can always tell which ones they are by the disintegrated corners.) We sat her down in front of the bookshelf where she proceeds to bring each book out one by one, turn each page and point to the pictures while jabbering as loud as possible. So we had to rent her a few books of her own. The library also has donated books for sale. We were able to score a pile of baby books for $0.50.  So now when Nyla wants to sit and play her with her toys by herself, she takes a book out of the bag, turns all the pages very carefully, sets it nicely behind her and moves on to do the same with the next book. This particular book is her favorite one. It is so true that babies and young kids can not tell the difference between make believe and reality. There is a picture of a baby on the first page of this counting book (picture) that every time she sees her she tries to hold her hand. She takes her tiny little fingers and tries to pry at the picture of the baby's hand until she realizes the baby is not wanting it and she moves on to the next page. So funny.

I'm so Glad When Daddy Comes Home...

Glad as I can be;

Clap my hands and shout for joy,

and climb upon his knee,

put my arms around his neck,

hug him tight like this,

squeeze his cheeks then give him what?

A great big kiss!

Nyla loves when her daddy comes home from work. This little girl can hardly contain her excitement as she hysterically giggles, laughs, and climbs all over daddy like she hasn't seem him for years. Of course Avery just eats it up and loves his little monkey desperately trying to swing from his tarzan rope around his neck (his tie). She is the funnies little thing with her huge warm and greeting smile and yelling "Da Da" over and over. She can not get enough of his neck kisses and body tickles. She almost laughs herself hoarse.

 I could not contain myself the other day. She could not stop saying Da Da, so after she has pooped her pants I told her she was "stinky poo poo" and then I asked her who else she knew that was stinky poo poo. She answered with an enthusiastic "Da Da!".  Avery could not believe she would betray him like that! :)

Your Baby Can Read "Rant"

When I was pregnant, I saw this infomercial for Your Baby Can Read. Then I surfed the forums to find that people have a love-hate relationship with this product and creator. Some either love it (mostly educators) or hate it with a passion (mostly stay at home moms). I have also talked amongst my friends and they seem to think its just "ok". But I could never figure out why they thought it was just "ok" when they had never purchased the product. The hate forums are mostly saying that the product doesn't work. There are thousands of people stating this (as well as quite a few that say it works great). I laugh because one mother wrote "I showed this to my 2 year old for 2 weeks straight and she didn't even watch it. She was completely disinterested and she showed no interest in reading after watching the videos". Hmmm. Another participant complained that the only way for this program to work is if she sits down her her little one and reads all the books and does all the flash cards on a regular basis with her as well as watching the videos. She wanted her money back. What is wrong with my generation? Of course you have to do it ALL on a regular basis. Another forum writer wrote about how the program is nothing more than simple word recognition and that she too tried to return it. Duh. I had not idea that it was such a controversy to teach our kids how to read. I thought word recognition and repetition IS how we learn to read. Sometimes I feel like people just want the easiest route for parenting. I am not a huge fan of Dr. Laura but I would have to agree with her when she says "If you can't raise them, then don't have them". I understand that peoples lives get busy and difficult, especially with kids. But I am hard pressed to believe that you don't have time to teach your child how to read but you do have time to go on the internet and find a site to complain about having to do it.

Back to Your Baby Can Read. I love it so far. I actually only have to videos at the present time and I am in the market for the rest of the program. The videos are the same thing over and over. Songs, words games, words and actions, etc. It is not a miracle product by any means. Its actually an ingenious program of dvds, books, and flash cards. Very simple, clean, and easy to do. Words then actions and a little bit of music. What's not to like.

Boon Squirt

I don't know why this is but when I first had Nyla (and even on through the first 6 months), I thought that I needed EVERYTHING. Whenever I came upon a situation that would call for something to make it easier to do, I would have all these ideas pop into my head about what I could either invent or purchase. Most of the time it was inventions of course and then a little googling would reveal that someone had stolen my idea and made millions. It always seems to go that way. Anywho, the boon squirt was just such an invention. As I was feeding Nyla one day, I just couldn't seem to get the food shoveled into her mouth fast enough. Who knew that once babies discovered there is more to life that gross warm milk and a chewy nipple, that anything on a spoon tastes exactly like birthday cake. So here I was with Nyla and her liquid carrots, literally trying to figure out how to just pure the bowl down her throat (not to mention that my fat fingers can only grip a teeny tiny spoon for so long), that the idea came to me. A spoon with a food filled handle!! Cha Ching. Shortly thereafter, my two (more seasoned with such fiascoes) sister-in-laws told me there was a such a thing as a feeding spoon. So I set out on my treasure hunt, and what do you know, like a beacon of light there it was right in my local target baby feeding isle. DANG YOU BOON. You are always stealing my ideas! Of course, being the bargain shopper that I am, I did not settle for target. Nope. I did a thorough search for the cheapest one on the block. drugstore.com or Burlington Coats. The funny things is, I used this for weeks before I realized that it really is only good for traveling. It just adds one more step to my busy day or having to take the food out of the container and put it in another container. Blah. Oh well, it was awesome for our vacation.

I started on track 6 weeks ago...

In that time I've learned this journey is hard. Just when you think your in control another food ball is sent your way.
Why am I so obsessed with food? I try harder to be more obsessed with exercise. I try thinking constantly of what I can do to MOVE my body. When I can move my body.
In the past 6 weeks my husband joined the gym with me which totally helps. SO far he has helped me get to the gym.

I lost 22 pounds in this last 6 weeks. Helps for the race I am about to do. I don't know about "racing" I am going to walk it though. Doing a 1/2 marathon is always good. It helps boost my sense of accomplishment. Which helps me stay focused.

Wish me luck!

Grandmother

I have been thinking about my grandmother today. She died February 14, 2008. What a great day to be reunited with those you love. My grandmother is amazing. We used to get in the car and travel the 2000 miles every other summer to see her and our cousins. I remember she always had candy for her grandkids set out so we could grab and run at anytime. She was an amazing cook as well. I loved her banana nilla wafer pudding. The best. Our summers in Hartsville were filled with warm nights, softball days, and family packed reunions from the farm (uncle callis) to a place picked somewhere close where we could all laugh and play for hours. There was always some new 10th cousin 3 times removed to meet and play with. But at the end of each day, grandmothers house was were I wanted to be. It was small and comfortable, familiar and inviting. Grandmothers house always smelled so good like a faint smell of her quick perfume or hairspray on a head full of curls before running out the door. She always used to ask me if all her curls were place as she held up her white flowery handheld mirror to look at the back of her hair in her bedroom mirror. I would always tell her how beautiful she looks and I always admired her for never leaving the house without looking her very best. My grandmothers hugs were always so soft and felt like a warm homemade afgan wrappped from head to toe. She never forgot a birthday. Each of her 19 grandkids were never forgotten and were guaranteed to receive a birthday card in the mail with a hand written letter or note about how great they are and how much she loves and misses them. Each one is a saved treasure of mine as if they are gold. I often go into my treasure box and escape into her words and her memory. I can not wait until I get to be wrapped in her arms again and smell that sweet perfume and have her ask me if her curls are all in place. I hope each day that she is proud of me and helps me to choose the way back to her. I love you grandma. You are missed.

HACKED!

To anyone checking my blog, my email accounts were recently hacked. Please know that I am okay, safe and sound... and in no need of your money. What did I just say!!! Seriously, I'm fine. I hope that I have resolved whatever happened.

Easter and Other Firsts

For Easter this year, we went over to Avery's brother's house and watched Nyla's cousins and their neighbor friends kids look for easter treats throughout each front yard. Vegas sucks in this way because there are literally no yards to play in. The front yards are larger than the backyards and consist of MAYBE 15 square feet and that is if you are lucky. Anywho, Nyla went and watched all the kids run around without her. She didn't get to wear her Easter dress because it was too cold. So I took the opportunity to dress her up the day before. We did get to watch conference with some or Desiree's friends and it was nice to just relax and feel the spirit. Nyla slept through conference just like her Mommy used to.

I took Nyla to the park for the first time a few weeks ago. We went with Shanna, Sierra, & Aspen. Shanna insisted that we put Nyla in the swing and see how she likes it. From that face, assumed she loved it. That is the biggest smile I have ever seen on her. I guess I should take her out more often.

Nyla has decided that her Tummy Time mat is too slippery to lay on. She gets frustrated because she can't get her feet to grip the ground. She has decided the toys are useful though so she is going to use it to lift weights.

The end of an era

For whatever reasons that I'm not in the mood to research at the moment, Australians drive on the left side of the road. As an American I was afraid this change would be hard to adjust to, especially after my 12 post rant on left lane driving. However, the change has been much easier than I thought. The hardest parts are turning, because there aren't always clear visual clues about where to go, but then that can be hard even in America if you're at a busy intersection. After a few tries behind the wheel I felt pretty confident about my skillz as a driver in Australia.

I have been very fortunate to make many great and wonderful friends since I first arrived here over a year ago. One of those gracious friends has been Brendan, who took a risk and let me drive his car. I did eventually get a Queensland driver's license, even though I don't really need one while I'm here on student visa. Having a license doesn't really help you learn to drive here though, since the process is essentially completing an application form and paying the fee. (Yes, that's really all there is to it for American's who want to have one here in Queensland.)

Well, my luck was bound to run out eventually... and that it did on a nice January day earlier this year. I was driving back to the house after having a busy day of errands and school. Although I was a little anxious to get back to begin preparing a dinner for some friends coming over, I was in good spirits. I was driving along in the right lane about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) away from the house when suddenly the car in front of me stopped. He was responding to the car in front of him who had suddenly stopped. That car was responding to some yellow car that had suddenly decided to turn right and slammed on the brakes because there was oncoming traffic. Yes, I was the tail end of three car fender bender.

I might pause to add that while Brendan was gracious in letting me drive his car, the car he was driving was a 1992 Mitsubishi Magna that was probably on it's last legs (or wheels as the case may be.) After 18 years the old girl didn't have the reflexes of the younger more agile wheeled transportation. While I stood on the brakes she didn't come to a stop until after bumping the fender of the car in front of me. All said, I think she ended up with more damage than the other two cars, which isn't saying too much if you look at these pictures:




Not knowing what damage had been done under the hood, Brendan decided not to drive it until having it looked at by a mechanic. I encouraged him to call his insurance company, despite some disagreement over whether the person responsible should file the claim or wait until the person affected has done it. The folks at his insurance place were quick and easy to deal with, and before long a truck had come by to get the car. Here's a photo of it's last moments.


Fortunately, Brendan had already decided to get a new car. He had actually already picked out the one he wanted and just needed to get the bank loan in order. In less than month a new car was in the driveway. Here's the proud owner with the updated wheels:


So all said it actually worked out for the best. He got a better deal from the insurance company than he would have trading it in or selling it to a wreckage yard. The bad part is that I was the cause of the old girl's demise. I have only driven the new car twice because I don't want to be the cause of any more damage to vehicles while I'm here.

Let's Rewind

It has been quite some time since I posted anything on here. There is so much I need to catch up on. I think about it all the time. Nyla is growing so fast; it is difficult to keep up with her. I wish I had more time to keep a journal of every little cute things she does. I guess blogging will have to do. At least it is somewhat a history of things anyway and what better way than to share it will all the people I love the most!

Let's rewind:

January 2010: Everyone knows how much Avery LOVES Star Wars right. I don't even think LOVES is a strong enough word. Anyway, when Nyla was about 1 month old, she started crying at about 5pm everyday for no apparent reason. I guess this is fairly normal. One night, I was especially busy with homework and asked Avery to take her and try to comfort her. He takes her downstairs where he is preparing some dinner and starting a movie...you guessed it...Star Wars, da.da.da STAR WARS, da.da.da-Da! Hilariously enough, Nyla was having one her screaming fits until the moment when the London Phil Harmonic fills our family room from wall to wall on every single surround sound speaker. She immediatly stops crying and stares at the TV just in time for Avery to bust up laughing and exclaim to her "Oh, I see you are a fan already!" (his heart palpitates) A true Poliak from the very get go.

February 2010: Something else that is funny about Nyla: She has to stretch every morning. Seriously. I keep her in a swaddler to keep her arms from disturbing her. Otherwise, she gets frustrated at whoever's arms keep wacking her in the face while she is trying to sleep. So, each time I undo the swaddler, she raises her arms WAAAAy above her head and stretches her little legs, toes pointing as far as she can point. She has actually gotten to the point where if you say "streeeeetch" to her, she will raise her arms above her head and then look at you like "ok, I'll do it but I already did my stretches for the day". So cute and soooo smart.

Nyla's Blessing

Avery gave the most amazing, sweet blessing to Nyla on Valentines Day 2010. I wish I could record things like that. Nyla was so serene afterwards that she fell asleep in my arms; something she never did! She wore the same blessing dress that I was blessed in and it fit her perfectly. She looked like a little angel. However, her head is so small and tiny, that her headband made her look like Rambo. :) Mine and Avery's entire family was there to see her. It was so nice to have them all in one place and to share in something so special.

"Hi"

March 2010: Nyla's first word. I laugh because, she doesn't do it very often but I could have swore she said "Hi". The little spit coming out of her mouth makes it that much more funny.

Holding Hands

April 2010: Nyla has started to grab and touch everything. Sometimes, if she can't grab it, she is just happy to touch and feel it. Whether it be with her hands or her feet, she wants to know what everything feels like. The walls, the couch, the paper sitting next to you. One afternoon while Cadie and Whit were over visiting, we sat the babies up right facing each other. Nyla was very curious about chubby little Whit. She sat there for a few seconds before reaching out for him. Out of everything she could have grabbed on him, she took his tiny hand in hers and just held it for about 15 seconds. It was the cutest thing ever. I wish I had had my camera handy.

The art of riding roller coasters

The first scary ride I can remember going on was the Zipper. The Catholic church across from my high school had a carnival every year to raise money. I remember being a bit nervous, but a friend of mine told me she would ride with me if I went. The only thing I can really remember is how funny her hair looked flatted against the padded headboard during the ride. We both laughed through the entire ride and my love for roller coasters was birthed then and there in that parking lot of the church.

I've since been to several amusement parks with roller coasters. Arizona had the former Legend City. Of course there was Disneyland, Six Flags - Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm, all the major west coast attractions. In my adult years I've expanded to see Cedar Point and Hershey Park.

The last park is where a tradition was unwittingly created. A group of friends decided to ditch work and head up to Pennsylvania to enjoy the joy that is Hersey Park. We anxiously walked through the gates when the park opened and headed to the first ride we could locate, which happened to be an old wooden roller coaster. I casually cautioned one of my friends not to "scream like a girl." She seemed almost offended at the suggestion that implied she was anything less than eager to ride the coaster. Unfazed by her response I retorted, "Okay, then I will." I proceeded to scream my lungs out the entire ride making myself practically hoarse in the process. As the coaster came to a stop just in front of the boarding area I noticed many of the passengers looking back in our direction with smiles and teary eyes trying catch a glimpse of the person who seemed terrified. I realised on that ride that making people laugh and smile was not only fun, but memorable.

Fast forward to a new amusement park in another country last week. Movie World is a Warner Brothers attraction in Australia that attempts to mix the cinema industry with an amusement park setting. A little light on the cinema side if you ask me. Fortunately there were several rides to keep our interests alive. One of the guys with us isn't so hot on the scary stuff. He graciously stayed behind on some of the larger attractions to hold all the things in our pockets that were prohibited on the rides. Not one to be left out of the fun completely he identified a moderately scary ride he was willing to try. The Road Runner Roller Coaster is a ride where you can "join WILE E. COYOTE as he chases the ROAD RUNNER from the ACME Fireworks Factory through the Arizona Desert in an exciting journey of twists and turns, ups and downs. It's a fun and fast adventure for the whole family!" Of course... I screamed like a girl.

For me the irony of screaming like a girl on this ride is quite funny. The ride is designed for children after all. Needless to say my friend was hardly scared when he got off the ride, and we still laugh about it. However, we also laugh about the poor kids still standing in line. Those little guys were probably expecting to ride something made for them but because of my tradition sounded much scarier. Here's a video I took while on the ride to illustrate more effectively the results of this tradition of mine.

On writing, by Isaac Asimov

"There is writing which resembles the mosaic of glass you see in stained-glass windows. Such windows are beautiful in themselves and let in the light in colored fragments, but you can't expect to see through them. In the same way, there is poetic writing that is beautiful in itself and can easily affect the emotions, but such writing can be dense and can make for hard reading if you are trying to figure out what's happening.

"Plate glass, on the other hand, has no beauty of its own. Ideally, you ought not to be able to see it at all, but through it you can see all that is happening outside. That is the equivalent of writing that is plain and unadorned. Ideally, in reading such writing, you are not even aware that you are reading. Ideas and events seem merely to flow from the mind of the writer into that of the reader without any barrier between."

Board Game Geek

I've pretty much been playing games my whole life. Back in junior high school there was a club called the Gaming Society, where we'd stay after school to play games. The big thing at the time was Marshals & Myrmidons, a role playing game the teacher sponsoring the club had created. Of course the club was open for all types of games, but we didn't often play any others.

Even being in Australia I've found a group of friends who really enjoy playing games. I thought I was quite the gamer until I met these guys. Recently one of them told me about a great website called BoardGameGeek.com What is cool about it is that it has a pretty extensive database about almost every game I could think of, with a description, brief outline of rules, comments, ratings, etc. You can also create your own library of games, and then view them on your mobile phone.

Yes, I am a board game geek, but I'm sure everyone sits down to a game every now and then.

Do Not Call Lists

I just got an email saying my tax forms are ready for the 2009 year. I've been sitting here going through the forms and seeing if I have to pay or fill out any forms this year since I actually haven't made any money. Turns out I don't, in case you were wondering.

The process reminded me of a funny story I thought I'd share on my little blog here. A few years back I was driving through Baltimore City with some friends when I got a phone call. (NOTE: I know you're not supposed to talk on a cell / mobile phone and drive but this was back when everyone was much more stupid... if that's possible.) Being the good, focused driver I am... and with the radio and friends in the car I didn't quite hear what the person on the phone was saying. They sounded quite business-like, and I concluded the call was some kind of telemarketing pitch.

I responded, "Oh, no thank you. Can you please add me to your do not call list?"

After a pause I clearly heard the lady respond back, "Sir. This is the IRS. We don't have 'Do not call lists." She then laughed and repeated, "Do not call list..."

I immediately pulled the car over to the side of the road so I could focus all of my attention on her. Turns out she needed a form I had not included with my tax return and was calling to give me information on where to send it so my return could be processed. I was both shocked that the IRS was actually calling me (don't they normally send letters or scary men in suits and dark glasses to your place of work...) and that they were proactively attempting to help me complete my return in an efficient manner. Some businesses I have dealt with, I'm looking at you Comcast and Verizon, were far from proactive even when I was trying to give them money.

So just in case any of you are wondering, the IRS does not have a 'Do not call list.'

Great Australian Sandstorm

I guess since I don't update my blog as often as I should I probably can't expect there to be that many responses to my reader's poll. I'm happy that someone is reading it though... so easy to get lost in all that is the internet.

Australian Sandstorm it is. I've been trying to figure out how to write blog entries without them being chock-a-block of pictures, but how can you talk about something like this dust storm without pictures? (My internet miming skills are a bit rusty at this point.)

So without further adieu, here is my story. The night was dark and stormy. Winds swept through the maze of buildings that is Brisbane city, creating a faint howling sound that slowly slipped through the windows of my apartment. A solitary crow squawked in tree on the corner that could only mean something was about that happen. Sounds ominous, eh? None of that is true.

There real story is that there was really nothing unusual about the day when I woke up on the 23rd of September. I had a short list of errands to run, and some studying to do for classes at uni. I was in the midst of my morning rituals when I happened to notice the morning news a little more excited than usual. I looked up at the TV and noticed everything seemed a bit red. The news reader then told viewers "Do not adjust your set, this is an actual picture of the weather outside." To illustrate, check out this picture released after the storm on one of the news websites showing a before and after.

Fascinating. I watched for a few more minutes as they described how a storm had whipped up dust from the interior of Australia and was spreading it towards the eastern seaboard. Sydney, where most of the nationwide news broadcasts are located, was one of the first cities to be affected by the storm. According to the weathermen, Brisbane wouldn't be far behind. I then opened the blinds on my window to see if I had been mysteriously been transported to Mars during the night, and this is what I saw.


Clearly we had not yet arrived on Mars, but the sky was a bit more dusty that it typically is. Here's a picture I took shortly after getting to Brisbane to show you what I normally would see when looking out the same window.

I was a little apprehensive about venturing out into a weather event, but Arron's run errands, so I went. My first stop was to get a Queensland driver's license. As I got to the Motor Vehicles office I noticed the sky was turning more red and snapped a quick picture.


After a quick half-hour I was now the proud owner of an Australian driver's license. I ventured outside again and noticed the thick of storm was upon us. Walking through the city I took a few more pictures. These next two show you how bad it got in Brisbane. The first is the center of Queen Street Mall, and normally you can see the building that is in the second picture just under the canopy in the center. I would say the distance from me to the building is only two city blocks, which according to Google Maps is about 300 meters away.



Walking through the city the wind wasn't blowing hard, but it was blustery. I think I saw Winnie the Pooh and his pals float by at one point. What was more annoying was the constant taste of dust in my mouth, and smell of dust in my nose as every breath inoculated my senses with a very earthy flavour. I did notice there were many people taking to the streets with their cameras to take pictures, and very few of them had dust masks on. The news had said there were few health hazards to being outside during the dust storm, but cautioned elderly people and people with breathing problems to stay inside.

By late afternoon the dust was starting to thin, and the thickest part of the storm had passed. This is what the city looked like at around 5pm, which was a mere 5 hours later.


Afterwards I found this cool satellite picture of the storm. Brisbane is almost the exact center of this picture just above the border between New South Wales and Queensland.


So here's some interesting information about the storm. The theory goes that due to drought conditions in the interior parts of Australia, the wind storm swept up the dust from farmer's fields and carried it to the coasts. While Martian like landscapes were one side effect, there were many others. For one, people's homes and cars were now coated with layers of dust. Water restrictions imposed by the State government were relaxed for the week following to allow people to clean up.

The dust also created a massive canvas for people to write parting messages to others...


Another interesting side effect, from a public health point of view, was an incident believed to have been caused by the dust storm. Water samples from a nearby reservoir had been tested and found to have unusually high levels of bacteria. The working theory is that the dust, blown in from farms, contained fertilizer that happens to be full of bacteria. When the dust coated the lake it also increased the bacteria and the potential risk to those swimming in it. So far as I'm aware no one actually got sick from it.

While I've experienced many dust storms in my life growing up in the Arizona deserts, I have to say that this was the most invasive one. Mostly because it wasn't followed by rain to clear everything away. This was more like a earthy fog that swept in and lingered for a few hours, then slowly drifted away. Everything smelled like dust for a few days afterward.