A Date Night Post

We get to go on ANOTHER date night tonight. Thanks Grandma Bobbi. So here is a fun post in honor of date night again!

♥ What are your middle names? Katie Ann, Paul Grant
♥ How long have you been together? 7 years
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? About a month and a half. I started working at Albertsons at the beginning of May and we went on our first date in June
♥ Who asked whom out? He asked me out.
♥ How old are each of you? Me-27 Paul – 40
♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most? Probably both equally. We go to dinner at Paul's parents' house a lot during the week but hang out with my family on the weekends.
♥ Do you have any children together? Miss Rylee Rose
♥ What about pets? No pets. :o(
♥ Did you go to the same school? Well I guess we technically did since we both went to ASU but we weren't there at the same time! ;o)
♥ Are you from the same home town? Nope, I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. Paul was born in Scotland and raised in Scotland, Canada and Arizona.
♥ Who is the smartest? I think that one would have to go to Paul.
♥ Who is more sensitive? Definitely me. I don't think I have ever seen Paul cry.
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Sushi Avenue or Cheesecake Factory
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? We have been to New York City on the same vacation that led to an Eastern Caribbean cruise. We are going to Scotland in August 2010!
♥ Who has the craziest exes? I am going to go with Paul.
♥ Who has the worst temper? We can both have a temper when we want to. Rylee Rose gets her temper from both of us. ;o)
♥ Who does the cooking? Usually me :o( Although before we needed a baby wrangler away from the oven we used to do 50/50.
♥ Who is more social? Probably Paul. He gets along with EVERYONE!
♥ Who is the neat-freak? I like for things to be organized I just hate getting it there! Neither one of us HAS to have things clean.
♥ Who is more stubborn? I would say both of us have our stubborn side.
♥ Who hogs the bed? That would be me. I don't think Paul moves at ALL during the night.
♥ Who wakes up earlier? Me. Even before Rylee, I would always be up before Paul.
♥ Where was your first date? We went to Cheesecake Factory at Chandler Mall.
♥ Who has the bigger family? Paul. He has a brother and sister and they both have kids!
♥ Do you get flowers often? Not too often but sometimes.
♥ How do you spend the holidays? We try to split our time with both families.
♥ Who is more jealous? Neither of us is really jealous but I guess I would take that claim since I think girls are always a little more jealous than boys.
♥ How long did it take to get serious? We dated for 3 years before we got engaged but lived together after 1 year.
♥ Who eats more? He does.
♥ Who does/did the laundry? We both do since we both hate it!
♥ Who’s better with the computer? Probably me since I am more from the computer generation! ;o) Although he is better when it comes to music and the computer!
♥ Who drives when you are together? It's equal. Although I usually get stuck with the drive home while he gets the easy drive there!

Moving Woes

1. I spent 2 hours driving around Phoenix/Glendale/Peoria searching for the perfect neighborhood to move to soon.

2. I think I found the perfect neighborhood. I LOVE it! But there has got to be something wrong with it. Isn't there always something wrong with every neighborhood/house?

3. I wish there was a "trial" night in which you get to try the house out first to get the feel for the noises surrounding the home. There will be NO more living against a busy street! I want quiet, peaceful, relaxing. On this "trial" night you also get a feel for neighbors too. Quiet neighbors, partiers, family friendly?

4. I would like a neighborhood where people trick-or-treat! The past 5 years there has not been ONE trick-or-treater at my house. Rylee Rose is finally getting out of retirement ville!

5. 3 bedrooms? 4 bedrooms? Paul wants a 4 bedroom....probably for TOTALLY different reasons than I would be thinking (maybe) the four bedrooms would be good! ;o)

6. Pool? No pool? I would LOVE a pool! Paul....not so much. I think all the fire ride alongs he has been on has taken this dream FAR away!

7. I don't want to move. My two great babysitters (a.k.a. grandmas!) are in Mesa. Paul's job is in Mesa. Weekly dinner night is in Mesa. Sushi Avenue is in Mesa. I don't have to worry about running into people I know at the stores. (Which means I can go spur of the moment if needed!)

8. I want to move! My job is in Glendale. (I am sick of driving 45 minutes to work everyday.) Paul's future job is in Glendale. Rylee's (main) babysitter is in Glendale. All the people I normally hang out with are in Phoenix/Glendale.

9. Why can't there be a nice city in the middle of the two? Can't afford North Scottsdale and South Scottsdale/North Tempe isn't really close enough to Glendale for me!

10. Excited to start a new adventure in our lives!

Random Happenings

We will start with Wednesday night, Fantasy Football Draft night. I had a dentist appointment that was WAY longer than expected so Paul came and took Rylee home. There was a trying to walk that turned into a "I think I can run" incident that turned my beautiful girl's face into this:

She was NOT a happy camper! (So I heard. I was not home so I take NO blame!) :o)

Then on Friday, we decided to attempt date night again. This time Rylee was feeling better, but Mommy...not so much. I wanted to go so I got all ready and out we went, runny nose and all! Paul had made reservations at Melting Pot so we had a 2 and a half hour dinner which made us decide to skip the casino afterwards. (We are usually in bed at 8/8:30 and when dinner doesn't start until 7:45...that makes for two sleepy parents!) Our waitress was thought that this was TOO funny. She was pregnant and every time she came to our table we were done with the course she had just brought us! She would just giggle and bring us the next course. I told her she would be like this one day since you just learn to shove your food down pretty quick with a baby! 2.5 hours later we were done with our four course meal! YUM!

A Love Martini! With floating heart shaped strawberries. YUM!

At the Melting Pot.

A SURPRISE! This was under my napkin when I came back from the bathroom! I was so surprised! It wasn't even a holiday or anything. Inside....

A ring that says "I Love You" all around! I just love it! And of course Paul Thomson too!

My second Love Martini!

The only picture I got of the food. The final course, DESSERT. Which is the best course anyway! We went with white chocolate and got to dip all these yummy goodies in it! HEAVEN!

Ten on Tuesday

1. I went wedding dress shopping with my sis-in-law, Lorna, on Saturday and it was SO much fun. I was glad that it wasn't me getting in and out of those BIG, HEAVY, HOT wedding dresses but then at the same time, I LOVED the whole planning a wedding process! I just loved sitting and watching girls try on SO many different types of dresses. It amazes me what some people will pick out! I just want to go up to them and say.....THAT DOES NOT LOOK GOOD ON YOU!! or WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!! On a side note: Lorna got a BEAUTIFUL dress for her wedding in Hawaii! I think I got a picture of EVERY other dress she tried on EXCEPT the one she chose! Ugh...go figure!

2. Rylee chose to be sick the FIRST week of school. I had all summer to take care of her while sick and the stinker chooses right when I go back to work! The good thing is that her babysitter doesn't have other kids to watch so it's ok to still bring her with me. Her temperature when we got home on Friday was 101.3. Poor thing! I think it might just be teething or then again...maybe not. We are off to the doctor at 3:00 today! I am sure my principal is SO happy with me right now!

3. I am wishing that it wasn't so hot here so I could have a garage sale to get rid of some "crap" around our house. I cannot justify sitting outside in 110 degree weather selling stuff. And I can't imagine a lot of people getting in and out of cars wanting to "shop" in it either!

4. Excited for Fantasy Football this year!! My team name is Team K.R.A.P.! Can anyone guess with that stands for? Oh, the cleverness of my husband.....

5. I am dreading the thought of moving! We have been in our house for 5 years and have accumulated a bunch of that "crap" I mentioned earlier. Lots to pack up and move! I can only imagine how much "help" a 8 month old can really be!

6. What part of homework is confusing to students? Why do some choose not to do any at all? First night of homework and some can't even figure it out!!

7. Why was it that not only was it the first week of school that Rylee got sick, but it was also on the night that Paul arranged a babysitter, made dinner reservations and had a date night planned!?! The first time in FOREVER he has done that!! I just told myself, welcome to motherhood!!

8. I wish Paul and I both worked at Brophy only for the fact that the faculty and staff get FREE lunch every day!! Oh the time that would save me in the mornings!!

9. There is a family here at school that the wife is giving the husband one of her kidneys. How AMAZING is that? Tomorrow is the surgery day and I can't imagine how nervous those parents must be!

10. This is kinda of a downer post. I guess that's what you get for the first full week back at school! :o)

Teaching and Teeth (Finally!)

So this year I had to start fresh in a new classroom. I am so mad that I didn't get before pictures before we started painting but the cabinets that are now purple, pink and yellow were green blue and red. And the cubbies that are now BLUE were the ugly green that the ones under the windows are. We ran out of time and hopefully will get to those cubbies over Christmas Break. I went with a Hawaiian theme in my classroom and it looks very festive! I still need a lot more decos but it's a work in progress! If anyone sees Hawaiian/Luau decorations on sale now that summer is coming to an end, please let me know so I can add it to my room!

Those first three were the first ones I took and once I uploaded them I realized that they weren't very good and close....so today, I went in and took three more for your viewing pleasure! Thanks to Jennifer and Mel (fellow readers too!) for all their help in getting my room ready before school started!!

Don't you just love the Hawaiian deck fringe over the windows?!? So festive!

And last but not least....thanks to all that voted for me in my contest back in May!! I won and I finally got the end result!! WHITE, WHITE teeth!! They are super white but my theory is...EVERYONE (ok, maybe not the cashier at the grocery store) knows that they are fake so I was going for movie star, Hollywood white! I LOVE THEM!!! Thank for everyones support! And yes...the picture is up close, but it was so you could see the teeth!

Ten on Tuesday - A Summer of Accomplishments

Rylee has had a BUSY summer and has accomplished SO many things!



1. No more pacifier!

2. No more swaddling!

3. No more feet pajamas! (Until the winter!)

4. No third nap!

5. SIX teeth! (And I am sure some more on the way with all that drool!)

6. "Adult foods" for dinner and some lunches!

7. No more "baby" bath in the bath tub!

8. Drinks out of a straw! (Learned that at Starbucks! Go figure! Don't worry, it was on a strawberry-banana smoothie!)

9. Loves her sippy cups!

10. WALKING!! Rylee is now up to 10 steps without assistance! (With a partial "run" in there too!)

*We have been close 2 times for the ear piercing. I wish I could have added it to the list! SOON!*
The "baby" stage went by WAY to fast for me! Oh to have another, or to not have another, that is the question! I really want to have one that would be due 08/09/10! But I will be in Scotland that day and I don't think they let you fly that far along! And then and I really don't think my principal would be real appreciative when I go in a say I need 6 weeks maternity leave starting the FIRST day of school! ha! Speaking of first days of school...that's tomorrow! A MILLION of things still left to do and only 12 more hours until the kids enter the HAWAII room! Need to stop blogging and Facebooking and WORK!

A "Many Faces & Thoughts of Rylee" Post!

"Hey, paparazzi! I am trying to play. Only one picture please!"

"Okay, fine! Here is a wave to my fans!"

"I said, NO MORE PICTURES!! Argh!!"

"I just LOVE my Daddy!"

"HEY! How did crazy Uncle Pat get in my picture post?!? What is he doing anyway?"
"I just love water! Pool water, Bath water....I am a fish like Daddy!"

"Umm...what exactly am I supposed to do sitting here on this itchy grass? What is that spot doing on my pretty pictures anyway?"

"Okay! This grass is fun! But that spot is still on my picture! Where is Claire the professional when you need her?! Seriously Mommy!"

"Oohh....SAND! This looks YUMMY to eat!"

"What? You didn't think I had 6 teeth?! Oh but I do! SEE!!"

"Mommy is finally on the other side of the camera! We are sporting our Star Wars stickers from Jackson!"

"Seriously Mom?! Even while I am eating?!"

Does it ever STOP!?!?

The CONSTANT worrying. It's not like I never worried about Rylee before. I think I have said that she was never going anywhere after watching some scary movie that I can't remember the name of right now. But now....after what has happened next door....I can't sleep, drink, eat....
Why didn't anyone tell me that this WORRYING would keep me up at night?!? I don't even like being in this house anymore. I know that this kind of stuff happens all the time but I never thought it would happen right next door! How do I know that it won't happen near the next house we are in?
Does the Mom Worrying EVER go away? Ugh! I don't know what I would do if anything EVER happened to Rylee!

Update: The girl is okay next door, nothing actually happened but was very close to happening. Still I am sure, she is shaken up and still trying to think of a fun "care" package to send over.

The Final PUSH I needed....

To MOVE!!

Paul has been wanting to move for awhile now and I for some reason keep pushing it off! Most of our family is out here in Mesa and I want Rylee to grow up surrounded by family. But when you leave your house in the morning to cops pulling up to the house next door and then arrive back home six hours later to crime tape crossing off your driveway....I think that is the FINAL STRAW. It's more of a sad story than crazy story but when you might have a sex offender living NEXT door and a daughter inside your house.....it's time to G-O!!

We love(d) our neighborhood. Quiet, golfcourse, retirement community. About 30 houses in our cirlce and about 2/3 of the residents live in Minnesota, Illinois, etc from about May to October.

I was pulling out this morning to a car blocking my driveway so I sat there until someone came out. The lady came out and said "there is a bad situation going on, I can't move it right now, can you maneuver around it?" And then goes back inside. The other next door lady comes out as I am driving along her rocks and is on the phone and says that the cops are on their way because the next door neighbors roommate "tried something with the little girl next door." TOO SAD. I was hoping that maybe nothing happened but then returned from our sushi dinner to the forensic unit van outside as well. The cop outside said "we wouldn't be here if something didn't happen." I am currently waiting for them to leave so I can go next door and ask the "non-involved lady" if the girl is ok. I was prepared to take more pictures but people were standing outside the house and I didn't want them to think I was the paparazzi so I will just post the one that I took standing inside my garage.

Standing in our garage looking out at the crime scene tape and cop car.

An uplifting picture at our sushi dinner. Which was followed by Dairy Queen, not Baskin Robbins. Maybe I should forget about that diet that was mentioned earlier.....

So the next couple weeks will be filled with phone calls about our options for our house. So when the neighbors come and ask, "Oh-why are you moving?" I can respond, "Well we really don't like coming home to crime scene tape crossing off our driveway." I feel so bad for the little girl and have looked out the window to see if the cops are gone about 10 times since writing this post. I will definitely be thinking of things I can do for her that might be able to keep her mind off things. I don't even know if that is possible but I will try. These were not the pictures I intended to post this morning when talking about pictures but got me to download some of the other ones to a picture post is closer than I thought!! :o)

Ten on Tuesday

1. Still patiently waiting for my lumineer day to approach! It is officially now August 13th since they are on vacation for two weeks. But then again, that could change August 12th when they call to reschedule again!

2. I need to go shopping for back to school- teaching clothes but am dreading it. I always go in, buy the comfortable size and the hate that size that I buy knowing/thinking that I am going to loose weight during the school year and then be pissed when I do and then I have no clothes to wear since I bought the bigger size. Now that will just discourage me from loosing weight since I won't have money to go and buy a whole wardrobe in a size smaller. What to do? Buy the bigger size and forget loosing weight this year? Or buy the smaller size hoping to use that as a motive?

3. I am going to try again tonight for the second time to go to Sushi Avenue for dinner. They must have changed their hours again because now not are they only closed on Mondays, but add Sunday as well! Hopefully they are open tonight because I am craving me some Sushi Ave!

4. I wish I had taken before pictures of my classroom so I can see the difference all this painting I am doing is making! I am off after this post to go do some more painting. Of course the guy at Home Depot sold the girl the most expensive can of paint they have! Go figure. I even brought Paul with me, but we all know how handy he is! ha! I told him I should have just gone with Jennifer, she knows a little more about painting than he does. :o)

5. We had a great time at our staycation at the Hyatt Gainey Ranch. We are off to Prescott this weekend and then have our second staycation at the AZ Grand to look forward to on Labor Day weekend. Trying to save for a Scotland vacation makes these staycations so great!

6. I am nervous about starting Rylee on a new schedule Monday morning. I never know how she is going to adapt and that could just make or break my first week back to school. I hope it goes well!

7. I have mixed feelings about going back to work. I enjoyed my summer off with Rylee but got bored quite easily. I didn't want to join any play groups because then I would just have to quit in August and then feel left out when I couldn't be a part of it later on. We hardly went anywhere during the day because it was SOOO hot so i would always wait for Paul to get home. I spent way too much money when I did go out, because what else am I suppose to do? I want to go to work but am going to miss seeing Rylee everyday! Ugh!

8. Speaking of spending way too much money. This July in Arizona was ranked the second hottest July in Arizona!! And of course I was sitting at home using more electricity than two people should be. Ever since I started paying bills my electricity bill has NEVER been over $200. Well, my July bill was $212!! I will definitely be looking for FREE things to do for Rylee and I to engage in next summer! Out of the house and using other people's electricity!!

9. I think I had a dream about Baskin Robbins last night so now I am thinking there might be a trip there after the Sushi Avenue dinner! YUM!

10. Rylee turns 8 months old today! It is super exciting and I am looking forward to planning her 1 year birthday party! Then again, it's super sad since I miss the "baby" stage!! She "grew" up WAY TOO FAST. I wish I had more money....a bigger house....patience of a saint.....

*I wish I didn't hate downloading pictures so much! Picture post to come!