Guest Blogger: Summer

Hey everyone! What’s up? I see my mom on here all the time and I’ve been wondering what all the hype is about so I thought I’d try it out. Especially since I have a gripe to discuss with you.

All my life I’ve heard what an amazing baby I am. I’ve always been a “great sleeper”, “great eater”, you name it. Up in heaven, all I heard from my mom was “please let her have hair!” Well, she got it. And lots of it.

Lately I’ve heard my mom talk about how I’m “not a cuddler.” Well, when I turned one I decided to change that. So now I cuddle with her all the stinking time.

I used to hear her call me “lazy” because I wasn’t crawling yet. Well, I got sick of that name-calling nonsense so now I crawl all over the place. I pretty much cater to my parents’ every whim. I’m a freaking good kid, you know that?

People are always stopping to talk to me at stores and telling my mom how cute my eyes are and how smiley I am. You would think that would make my mom and dad happy.

But I guess they’re not.

Because now they’re telling me that even though I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to them, I’m going to have a little brother or sister. I mean really?? Am I not good enough?

And on top of that, I only get to be an only child for 19 months! Give me a decent amount of time to be spoiled for Pete’s sake! Sheesh! Mom and dad say they wanted kids close together and that this was all planned but I think they’re just saying that to make me feel better about having a little brother or sister. And I really hope it’s a brother because I do not plan on sharing any of the attention with another girl. I will be the cute one in the family, thankyouverymuch.

I think this baby must be possessing her, too, because she’s always looking for something in the toilet. Weird, right?

So, from now until August 19th, you better believe I will be milking this only child business to the very end. Mom tried to get pictures of me in this super lame “I’m the Big Sister” t-shirt but as you can see I wasn’t going to cooperate with her one bit. 

This is exactly how I feel about this.

And you better believe this is where I’ll be putting this new kid as soon as I get my paws on it. See my face? I’m serious.

Well, I must say this blogging thing is very therapeutic. I feel better already!

Until next time, peeps!

Things I’ve learned since Sunday:

• Baby throw up smells worse sometimes than adult throw up.
• Sick baby diapers are infinitely worse than healthy baby diapers.
• I never want to throw up 8 times in 12 hours again.
• Cool Ranch Doritos are NOT something you want to see-or taste- twice.
• Moms never get sick days. Someone else is always sick at the same time, leaving no one left to wait on you hand and foot.
• My child is perfectly content playing by herself for an extended period of time.
• Ni-Hao, Kai-lan is a really cute show.
• Clorox wipes are your friend.

In a pickle

Upon noticing that we were fresh out of pickles, I promptly got myself to the grocery store and picked up a jar of Vlasic Baby Kosher Dills, a little different than my usual hamburger chips. I see that crafty little stork all over TV telling me his pickles are the “tastiest crunch you’ve ever heard”. Well, after a day in the fridge so they can get nice and cold I give them a whirl. Not so crunchy. Disappointed, I continued to eat a few but knew my search for the best pickle had to continue. I’ve been an avid pickle lover my entire life, and why I’ve never set out to find the pickle of all pickles is beyond me. (I did visit Gus’s Pickle in NYC and was impressed. Tasty, tasty pickles cured in barrels for weeks.) ANYWAY, I knew the stork had led me astray and I had to look elsewhere.  Next up, Milwaukee’s Pickle. Can’t go wrong with a hometown favorite now, can you?

Far and away, these pickles were tons crunchier and tastier. Now, for a pickle to be considered kosher, it has to have garlic in it. But upon inspection of the Vlasic label, no garlic is on the ingredients list, while it is clearly stated on Milwaukee’s.

But as I continued to peruse the label on Milwaukee’s, to see where they are made, I couldn’t help but notice they are BOTH made by the SAME company: Pinnacle Foods Group, LLC. And should you have questions regarding either product, you can visit VLASIC.COM. FOR BOTH.

I felt so betrayed. A jar of pickles clearly labeled “Milwaukee’s” made in Allenton, PA. Apparently Vlasic bought the small Wisconsin plant for $7.1 million back in the 80’s.

Still, the Milwaukee’s are indeed superior in taste and texture. And bonus: cheaper than Vlasic! I don’t know if they’re made in the same plant or what. Those tricky pickle businessmen.

I don’t even want to try Mt. Olive’s pickles. #1, I hate olives, so the names just throws me right there. #2: their green labels are so sickly looking, it grosses me out. #3: their pickle juice always looks so murky, like a swamp. I don’t want swampy pickles!

Now, Clausen are really yummy. But they are pricey, and since they’re refrigerated, you have to eat them quickly or they’ll go bad. I love pickles, but I can’t go through a jar that quickly. Well, maybe I can.

I eat pickles on my PB&J. Thanks, Dad.

I like dill, kosher dill, sweet, bread & butter. All so yummy.

And yes, I did just do an entire blog post about pickles and my love for them. And I think I shall have one right now.

Anonymous

Monday morning as we were about to head out to run some errands I found a note under my windshield wiper. I don’t know when it was left, except it had to be somewhere between Saturday morning and Sunday after church.  I’ve racked my brain trying to figure out when it could have been left and I can’t think of any possible situations. Nor do I recall this so-called event the writer calls me out on.

In case you can’t read it, let me transcribe, preserving all grammar and spelling (or lack thereof):

“I saw what you did on the freeway. Going in the wrong lane & whipping in front of someone on “thier” right. With a child in the car. Shame on you. You should of stopped and let him pass and safely gone over to the left. Think twice before you put your child in danger.”

What the? Number one, it doesn’t even make sense to me. “Thier” right so I could have gone over to the left?

Here’s the thing, Friday I went to the Asian grocery store and distinctly remember cleaning my windshield on the way home. No note under the wiper.

Saturday I worked at 7am. Took the freeway, but obviously did NOT have a child with me.

Sunday we went to church. Took the freeway, but in the car with me is World’s Most Critical Driver, aka Derrick. We don’t recall any such incident.

So unless this is a super lame attempt at a joke, I have no idea where it’s coming from.

Besides, I learned long ago not to trust big loopy cursive writers. You can’t take those jokers seriously. Am I right, or am I right?

Slump

I am in a serious blogging slump. It’s not that I don’t have anything to blog about, because I do. I don’t know what my deal is. I need to get over it.

Things I’m excited about lately:

• American Idol. Pants on the ground. Good stuff.
• One of my besties, Maria, coming to visit in March and help me do some decorating! I can’t wait!
• Being commissioned to sew diaper bags. For MONEY! For completely random people!
• Thawing out in Phoenix in March.
• Watching Summer crawl all over the place. I love watching her little bum shake and hearing her giggle with each wiggle. (I don’t love having to baby proof everything. And yes, I know I had a good 6 months longer than most to do this.)

Things I’m not excited about lately:

• It’s still cold. I’m over it.
• Summer’s butt-crack of dawn early mornings. Let’s hope today’s sleeping in starts a new trend.

Let’s hope I break out of this blog funk asap!

Once bitten, twice shy.

Summer bit me last night. I don’t think she realized she did it. All I know is that she looked like a vampire and my poor boobie was the victim.

I’ve been meaning to wean her for for awhile. She just sped the process waaaay up.

Ow.

I tried to find a picture for something interesting to look at, but my searches for “blood”, “blood vampire”, and “bloody boob” provides less than family-friendly images. Instead, I leave you with the Great White classic, whose song inspired the title of this post.

Spice up my kitchen!

Exhibit A: what my kitchen looked like before. Not terrible, but not awesome either. I really hated the wooden cabinets, and while the paint color wasn’t too bad, it was in terrible shape. While my parents were here after Christmas, this was one of the projects we tackled.

Behold, my new and improved kitchen! The cabinets got a fresh coat of paint as did the walls. I love, love, love it. It’s so much brighter and happier.

And for Christmas, my handy dad made me this magnetic chalkboard! It’s exactly what I wanted! Now I can keep a list of things I need, or things I need to remember, or fun messages on special days. It’s perfect!

I also got a new pendant light over the sink. Thank you Menard’s and your discounted floor models! Oh, and probably my favorite feature is the hinged pull-out drawer my dad put in under the panel right below the sink to hide sponges and such.  It’s just like I envisioned it to be. While I’ve heard many describe it as “bright”, “South Beach”, and “my eyes hurt”, I don’t care. I love it, and I’m so glad it’s done!

My baby turned ONE!

Seriously? One??? I cannot believe how fast this year went by. We had another birthday party here at home with all of her little friends. We had a great time and she was spoiled, again!

I made her a fishy cake…

…which she loved!

She loved sitting in her little birthday “throne” and being the center of attention.

She has become quite expert at opening and unwrapping presents. She just digs right in!

Grandpa Romesburg really wanted to take her sledding, but it was just too darn cold. So he compromised and took her for a spin in her new baby sled around the house. She’s not quite sure what to make of it yet…

If I look like an empty shell of a person, well, it’s because I was. I have since learned to have all party preparations finished BEFORE Christmas and New Year’s. January 2nd just creeps up on you! With a New Year’s Day dinner with our friends and multiple house projects going on at the same time I just didn’t get to do everything I wanted to for her birthday. And I was exhausted.  Oh well…there’s always next year, right??

Summer had her one year appointment on Monday. She’s as healthy as an ox, and almost as chunky as one!

Weight: 18 lb 5 oz, 10% (movin’ up!)

Length: 27.25”, 6%

Heed: 45.2 cm, 54%

So, she’s still a petite little thing, but she’s a solid petite little thing. She’s one of the happiest babies I know, and has yet to show any signs of stranger anxiety (knock on wood!) She sleeps 12-14 hours at night and takes a morning and afternoon nap. She eats anything and everything, and will often try to shove everything on her tray into her mouth at once. In one week she’s increased her toy amount about ten-fold, and her favorites so far seem to be her new tea set (thanks Madie!) and a wooden puzzle (thanks Great Grandma R.!) She also loves to ride her little riding/walking toy from G & G Romesburg.

Yesterday she FINALLY learned how to sit up on her bum from laying on her stomach. You don’t know how happy this makes me, as I was sick of having to “rescue” her from her belly. She now gets up on all fours then leans back until she’s sitting. Which means crawling is not far off!

She loves to clap and wave and drink from a straw. We started whole milk yesterday and she’s not quite sure she likes it yet.

Her favorite times of day are still mealtime and bath time.

  (Bath at Great Grandma Romesburg’s….with the same Pilsbury Doughboy I played with as a kid!)

And just because I can, here is a year’s worth of pictures recapping our sweet little girl’s life. We just adore her and can’t imagine our lives without her. She’s pure entertainment for us and we’re excited for another year!

          

Christmas Card

I did my best to update my address book and get these out in time for Christmas. I only got one sent back to me (Whitni P…..new address please!) And Lanni…I need your address again.

Still, if you didn’t get one, please don’t be offended. If you’d like to be on the prestigious Christmas card list, (and who doesn’t?) drop me a line with your address.

As I was looking at our Christmas tree, which holds all of the Christmas cards we’ve received, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed at the number of great friends and family members we have. We truly have been blessed to know so many amazing people. And I love to receive your cards and letters and watch everyone’s kids grow. One of my favorite parts about the holiday season!

So, here is our card and letter, in case you missed it!

(Yes, I made it!)

2009 was a year of many new and exciting changes for us! We started out the New Year with a stay in the local hospital with the birth of our daughter Summer. She will turn 1 on January 2 and we are still trying to figure out where this past year has gone! She is always ready to give you a wave and a smile, and while she is not crawling or walking yet, she has turned into a champion roller.

This past August marked our 5 year anniversary living in Milwaukee, officially making it the place Karen has lived the longest in her ENTIRE LIFE. To celebrate, Derrick bought her a house! Yes, after 5 years of cramming all of Karen’s craft supplies in an apartment she now has her own ROOM dedicated solely to crafting and sewing.

Karen, when not covering something with glitter, spends her days with Summer, and works the occasional shift at the hospital in the evenings.

Derrick continues to work for Kohl’s in the buying offices and has returned to the Team Apparel office. His day is now a seamless blur of sports at work to sports at home. He’s tried to convince Karen that watching sports at home is “work”, but she’s not buying it.

We hope that you have been blessed as much as we have this year. We love this time of year (except for the subzero temperatures) and enjoy reflecting on our Savior and the true meaning of Christmas. May you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Love,

Derrick, Karen & Summer

The prodigal blogger returns

What a crazy busy past 2 weeks! Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year’s. I will try and recap ours…

We drove to Erie, PA to my grandparent’s where we stayed for a few days. My parents met us there. Summer had a great time meeting her Great Grandparents and all my cousins and aunts and uncles.

Grandpa showed her the fine art of smoking a pretzel.

We had our first Christmas together as a little family, and it was great. Summer loved opening all her presents and loved playing with them even more. She sure was spoiled by everyone.

Great Grandma Romesburg threw Summer an early birthday party in conjunction with the big family Christmas dinner on the Sunday after Christmas. Although she was a little sleepy, she dug right into her cake and went to town on it.

The rest of the time was spent playing cards and catching up with everyone. Pretty much all I like to do over Christmas break.

We had a great time, and my parents followed us back home to WI where we worked like dogs on lots of projects around the house. Stay tuned for that post….