Random

-We had a great Halloween this year. The whole family dressed up as the Flintstone family. It all started with Rylee being Pebbles and just went from there! Rylee's babysitter made her costume (super cute!) and we found ours at Target. It was a super cute, fun idea! Our good friends dressed up as the Rubbles and we just had a good, fun time!






-Why does Eczema return every winter?!? Do children ever grow out of that or is it something that you will always have?! Anyone else have kids that have it and have a really good lotion they use? We use this one and it works but just seeing what other options are out there.....



-Why does Rylee seem to be potty trained EVERYWHERE else except in MY house?! Hmmmm? She seems to be doing ok, but I am seriously dreading the day we go with panties full time!

-At the grocery store today I bought the fixings for sugar cookies. During one of the three potty training boot camp days, Rylee and I will be making cookies for Santa! (I have high hopes that mine turn out like the picture! ha!)



-Why is it whenever you return home from the grocery store you already have a list for when you go back next! Ugh! No joke, within five minutes of me being in the door I already had a list going for next trip. Four items are waiting to be bought....and they will just have to wait.

-Rylee is officially 2!!! I know everyone always says that time flies, how did this happen so fast and I seriously have to agree! She has taught me so much in her two little years and I can't wait for more! So in love with her!





-I have debated about not getting a Christmas tree this year but I think we are just going to do it. No one will be over at our house from now until long after Christmas so I really don't see the need to decorate anymore. But we have put lights on the house and will get a tree tomorrow. It's all about making it special for Rylee!

-I won a day off from work and used it Thursday. (Yup, I had to win a day in a class contest in order for me to have off, lol) Paul took off too and we had a VERY relaxing day going to Target, got Starbucks, Total Wine, Ikea, Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, ZTejas for lunch, Walmart and Sprint. I can't remember the last time (if there ever was one) where Paul and I shopped and had lunch together during the week! A VERY good day!(I probably would have been done Christmas shopping if I had been by myself, but hey....it's all good!)

-The stop at Best Buy had two purposes and one purpose was for my Christmas present. Merry Christmas to me early! Paul bought me an HTC EVO phone. I had gotten him one for his birthday and have been using it non-stop so he decided I needed my own. Thanks Paul. (I am currently not happy with the Twitter App on the phone as it is not working but I hope to fix this tomorrow!)


(Yes I got the white one. Why? I am still not sure because once I put a cover on it you won't be able to tell it's white anyway....oh well!)

-I think this title of this post fits it well!

Black Friday FAIL

Just like every other year, I braved the crowds for Black Friday. I didn't set an alarm, just woke up at 5:30 am and started getting ready to go. Rylee and Paul woke up also so we all decided to go shopping together. I can't decide if it was because
a) we all went together (No one should go Black Friday shopping with a toddler, or maybe I shouldn't)
b) I didn't go when the stores opened right away or
c) half of the stores I went to opened at 10 pm and 12 am
But whatever the reason, it was a BIG, FAT, FAIL! We really weren't going for anything exciting, I think I always just want to go get some deals! The only thing I think I even succeeded on (and this is a stretch of a success) was the Target Door Buster sheets but they had NO king left so I bought a queen with high hopes that I will be able to exchange them for the correct size in a week! Here's hoping!
Good thing I have a day off from work in the middle of December to get some Christmas shooping done, TODDLER free! :o)

FREE Christmas Cards....YES please!

Who out there doesn't LOVE Shutterfly. I am definitely a lifetime member of their site. Even before Rylee was born it seemed to be the "go-to" site for my pictures. After Rylee was born....it was SO easy to share my pictures of her. I remember sitting at the computer in the hospital sharing pictures of her the day after she was born with Shutterfly! So easy. Even relatives in Scotland were sharing in the excitement with Shutterfly!
Now with Christmas VERY quickly approaching....I find myself coming across Shutterfly's website looking for the perfect Christmas card to be the background for Miss Rylee's picture!
Here are some of the cards that I am obsessing over now....which one will I choose?!?









Besides getting my Christmas card from Shutterfly this year, another product I am browsing over recently is Baby Shower Invites! I am throwing TWO baby showers sometime next year! Rylee's babysitter's daughter Amanda is pregnant and due in May and my sister-in-law, Lorna is pregnant and due in June! I will be very busy and plan on using some of these cute products! These, These, and These are TOO cute!

If you would like to take advantage of this amazing offer, spread the word about Shutterfly's Christmas card selection. Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly if you click here: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Ten on Tuesday

1. Once again, I am trying to get back into the blogging swing of things! November is Blogging Month so I am trying to prepare for a blog everyday!

2. I just can't believe it's October already. October through December is ALWAYS the busiest three months but I just LOVE it. Fall, Football, Halloween, Thanksgiving, LOTS of Birthdays, Winter and Christmas....what's not to love?!

3. Our school just had a four day weekend since we just held our annual Fall Festival. Then this Friday we have an in-service which means we only have a 3-day teaching week....SCORE! :o)

4. Rylee had a BLAST at the festival and I only have one picture of her there and it was on a ride since that was the only time she was actually sitting! She insisted going on the rides with Dre, her babysitters second oldest (out of five). They are seriously like sisters and a brother to her! LOVE them!


5. I L.O.V.E. Hobby "Heaven" Lobby! I am forbidden to go in there by Paul now. Supposedly, it is NOT good for our budget! :o(

6. Last Saturday we took Rylee to her first Diamondbacks game. She had a great time and the Dbacks won! It was great!


7. I get to do another tasting at Ztejas next week and I can't decide which one I am more excited about....the free, YUMMY food...or actually getting to go to Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall!?! Finally!! Haven't been there in FOREVER!!

8. I can't wait till it cools down here in AZ so I can start using my oven for more meals. I have so many more meals I can make but they all require the oven for so long....it's still way too hot here for that!

9. My fantasy football players SUCKED this week! Boo for that! :o( How does a team (New England Patriots) score 41 points and the quarterback only get 10 for the game!?! Oh well....

10. I am sure hoping the teachers get a raise this year at work. I will be so disappointed and mad if they don't! I can't handle these times with no raises.

Over the Summer we....

Hung out at home with pony and cartoons




Went to the Zoo (I think on the hottest day of the Summer!)




Finished Swim Lessons




Ate some sushi


Played at some mall play areas




Did plenty of swimming all around!




Set up my classroom




And Celebrated Dora's Birthday with cupcakes at Walmart!

We are going....

CAMPING! That's right! If know me IRL...you are probably saying..."Am I on the right blog?" "Katie's blog, right?" Yup, you are at the right spot and yes, the Thomson family is going camping. I am currently researching glamping, thanks to Karissa! :o)
I am actually excited and it was my idea to go! When we got invited by Paul's sister, I just knew we should try it! I am trying to do new things for Rylee's sake and I really think she is going to LOVE it! She absolutely LOVES being outdoors and will have her 3 cousins to play with! What is not to love?!
And for myself, I am fully looking forward to sitting around a campfire, teaching Rylee to make s'mores, and having absolutely NO WHERE to go for 3 whole days! Pure Bliss!

Better Blogger!

So I have been a horrible blogger recently but I am going to try and get back into the swing of things! I have many posts that I am behind on including a big one from Scotland! Rylee and I are trying to get back into our working/Gomez Family schedule and it's harder than I thought! Two and a half months is just a tease to have with her and I need more time! I don't like having to do all my errands on the weekends and I liked having all week just the two of us! Boo for that....but on a upside...I only have 20 students in my class and I see this being a very good year! Here's to a good school year, more blogging and balancing out my working mom schedule again! Have a good week!

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Things I will miss from Arizona while gone for 2 weeks!

10. Mexican Food. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that Scotland probably doesn't have good Mexican food....or Mexican food at all for that matter! I guarantee I will be at Fajitas or Macayos after school the first day back!

9. The sunshine. Yes, maybe I won't be missing this the first couple days but I bet the rain will get old fast too!

8. Blogs. Although I am not a very good blogger myself, I love reading other people's blogs!

7. Back to School Socializing. I am going to miss out on the teacher's first week back, getting caught up with teachers' summers, and back to school meetings.

6. Sushi. I am going to try and fit some in for lunch today somewhere! Here's hoping!

5. My own bed. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed, with your own sheets, pillows and blankets!

4. My cell phone/social media. It will be hard not pulling out the cell phone every time I want to catch up on Twitter/Facebook!

3. Big Brother. I will be missing 6 episodes while away! I might have to watch them on the Internet since I am ADDICTED!!

2. Family and Friends! Enough said!

1. Rylee Rose Thomson! I PUFFY heart her!

*Getting to experience where Paul grew up, his home town, and meet all of his family....Priceless!

Warning Sign!

Children should come with a warning sign attached! "Beware: I grow up VERY fast!" Boo for that!

And the winner is....

EVERYONE!! (See..I told ya I didn't have a big following!)

Well since Rylee was picking the winner and saw only four (and who the four where) she said she wanted all of you to win since she loves you all! She is just too sweet for words! :o) I wish I could put a picture of her on here of her telling me the rules of this giveaway and how everyone needs to win (she is so bossy!) but once again....no cord, no handy computer! Boo!

So Jennifer, Grandma Bobbi, Auntie Rock Star (Colleen) and Aunt Karissa will all be receiving a $50 gift certificate to Restaurant.com! (This child of mine is costing me money left and right....how come no one tells you that part of having a baby!? ha!) And a little side note...Rylee would like to be invited to eat at some restaurants with y'all! Lol

Giveaway!

Well I had so much fun doing my last giveaway that I thought I would do another one. This one is not sponsored by anyone...you don't have to do anything fancy to win....you, the reader just benefit from my generosity! Gotta love it!

So if you leave any old comment on this post, you will be in a drawing for a $50 gift certificate for Restaurant.com! If you read my previous post about Restaurant.com you know I am a BIG fan and so this is just a way for someone else to become a BIG fan like me. I am always retweeting the coupon codes (80% off!) that you can get some amazing savings on these gift certificates! So if you catch a code you can get a 25.00 gift certificate for only $2.00!! So you could be eating out at 25 different restaurants (or 1 restaurant 25 times) on me! Lucky you!!

So just leave a comment and on Monday I will have Rylee draw a lucky winner! Wahoo! (And chances are you have a good shot at winning since I don't have a huge following!) ;o)

Good Luck!

Ten on Tuesday

1. We have made it through 10 lessons of swim and I can see a progress with Rylee. I am hoping to continue in August with some more lessons because I would hate for her to come this far and the have to wait 11 more months just to learn it all over again!


2. I made these for dinner one night last week and I had HIGH hopes for them. #FAIL (If my sister says you can # in a text, then I am assuming you can # in a blog! ha!) Paul L.O.V.E.D. them but I was just not feeling it. Maybe it was because I spent 40 minutes making it all and then just wasn't' hungry by the time I was done! Does that happen to anyone else? (These only used the oven at 200 for a little bit to keep the tortillas warm, not bad!)


3. I think we should start a betting pool of who thinks (and who doesn't think) that I will be able to keep my Scotland suitcase under 50 pounds and will NOT have to pay the extra charge! I had to pay the extra charge one time for going to Vegas for a weekend. This is Scotland, for 2 weeks and with winter clothes! I feel like I should take a practice run! ha!


4. I love monsoon season! Where is it?


5. I am glad I didn't get those other shoes for Scotland that I had mentioned previously...(found a right one at one Macys, found the left one at a different Macys) because I found some C.U.T.E. shoes that I love even more. They were originally $80.00 and I got them for $27.00! Score! I would love to add a picture to my post but that leads me to Number 6....

6. Our computer that uploads the pictures by putting the memory card directly into the computer is currently getting a new hard drive (thank goodness for warranties!!). I still haven't found the cord for the camera so I am going to have boring posts with no pics for awhile....unless I find that cord!

7. I am having a technology crisis the past couple days and if I see Best Buy and Sprint again anytime soon I might have to scream! L.O.V.E technology but sometimes I just HATE it!

8. One month till school begins again and I have NO idea where the summer went. I really have nothing to show for it! Gym classes and swimming lessons for a little miss but that's about it! I am about 50% ready for students to enter the classroom and the rest will be finished this Friday. That's a miracle in itself. Usually I am there the day before scrambling to get ready! With a small class of only 21 kids...I am really having HIGH hopes for this year. (Please, oh please don't let me down!)

9. I am off to make enchiladas for dinner! So much for not using my oven in the summer! (That's what I get for asking Paul to help with the dinner menu before leaving for the grocery store. Learned my lesson with that one!)

10. And for my giveaway....I will just have to post it since there will be no pretty picture of what you will be getting! (unless I do a mad search through the last couple boxes!) So tomorrow it will be up. No picture is really needed...I just like posts with pictures SO much better!

Experimenting..

...with some new blog designs and layouts. I know I could design my own if I gave it my all and worked through it a bit more but I get so frustrated when it's not working that I always end up giving up! Boo! Now I know why people who design blogs charge so much. It's a lot of work!


We recently had Rylee's 18 month pictures taken with a photographer that I went to high school with and she posted a couple on Facebook the day they were taken but we recently got the CD in the mail of all them. She did an AMAZING job and I am glad I got to have the opportunity to have her take Rylee's pictures! I am blessed to know two great photographers! I love the header picture too and added this first one to the side.

After my last giveaway about 2 months ago, I stated that I wanted to do another one soon. So...I am going to do another one! It will have to do with my latest obsession....Restaurant.com! YUM! ;o) Stay Tuned!

A Day of Blog Silence for Cohen

SendingLoveToCohen today. Pray for his parents as they have his memorial today.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Busy, busy, busy! Summer is flying by and it's hard to believe that we only have a little more than a month left. Sheesh!

2. Rylee is still going to swim lessons and the crying has minimized a bit. She likes it but I think she would like it more if I was in the water with her. No thank you! Swimming with Rylee makes me nervous and stressed out! I guess it would be cooler than sitting by the steps with my feet in and sweating in the sun but umm....still no! :o)

3. We have been visiting splash pads around the valley and she is warming up to them. She is more interested in what I am doing sitting on the chair then the water and we only stay for about 45 minutes but it's something easy and free to do!
A couple weekends ago we were at Tempe Town Lake Splash Pad.


On Monday we went to the Desert Ridge Marketplace Splash Pad and ran into one of Jackson's friends! There is Sarah and Rylee.
These next two pictures are what Rylee likes to do at the Splash Pads! ha!
4. Speaking of another free thing....we are also doing the Summer Reading Program at Glendale Public Library. We go about once a week....she runs around the library like a crazy, wears me and herself out and we come home. Good times! ha!

5. On Father's Day we went bowling. It was Rylee's first time bowling! She was not too interested in the bowling aspect of it.
Tyler was being a great helper here! :o)

6. I can't believe that during the month of June I have seen TWO movies. That is unheard of since the movie I saw last before Sex and the City 2 was Bride Wars which I just watched on HBO Sunday night! I think the third movie will be this week too. (I think I will bring Paul with this time! ha!)

7. Once Paul decides on a day, I believe we will see Get Him to the Greek and go to Bluewater Grill.(Formally the Fish Market) I have heard great things about Get Him to the Greek and I am a huge fan of Restaurant.com. Restaurant.com is a website that you can get restaurant gift cards to a variety of restaurants around the valley for a really good price! Usually the are $10.oo for a $25.oo gift certificate but Hip2save.com always has coupon codes that give you 80% off the price which means you are getting a $25 gift certificate for only $2.00! You get to print the gift certificate right after you purchase and they are good for a YEAR after you purchase them! They are always adding new restaurants and I just noticed that they added Valle Luna which I L.O.V.E.! I always go on a see what I can get when I see that deal. I currently have one to Bluewater Grill, Fox Sports Grill and Grimaldis (which is a small pizza joint by our house). The catch with these gift cards is that you have to spend between $35.oo to $50.00 to spend the $25.00 so in the end you do have to pay between $15.00 to $25.00 for your meal. That's why I usually only get them for places that it shouldn't be that hard to spend that much at! (The link to Hip2save.com has a coupon code up and ends tomorrow so go and type in your zip code and find some deals around you! This lets you try new restaurants in your neighborhood for a great price!)

*This was NOT paid advertisement for Restaurant.com but I seriously LOVE this site and who can beat getting $25.00 for $2.00! :o)

9. I just love little toe toes painted! :o) Brings a smile to my face! Of course the face that goes with the toe toes does too!

10. Speaking of toe toes, here is Paul's Father's Day present from this year. Each year I take Rylee to As You Wish and make him a plate with her feet painted on them! (I was kinda sad that the stand covered the name, but oh well!)

Here is last years. I love them both and think I will continue this tradition until her feet or hand prints don't fit on the plates anymore! It's really probably not so much for Paul as it is for me since I think it's just the cutest thing...but I really can't see Paul taking Rylee to do it for Mother's Day...so that ends up being his gift! lol



*A bonus! Go over to my sister, Colleen's blog and enter to win some pizza "dough! California Pizza Kitchen money! YAY! Can't go wrong with that! (We should get an extra entry for shout outs on blogs! lol)

Ten on Tuesday

1. A Ten on Tuesday! Yay. It's defnitely been a while since I have done one of these. Summer just gives me SO much more time!

2. Rylee has had two swim lessons so far and I think my dreams of her being a Rock Star swimmer is vanishing each time we have a lesson! Boo! Swim is one of the things I like to watch in the Olympics so I really was thinking I could be a swim mom! Maybe not....
3. I am going on a hunt for recipes that require NO oven baking time! It is WAY too hot here in AZ to turn on the oven and it seems that everything I want to cook requires the oven. I do NOT need it any hotter in this house than it already seems to be! I am dreading the May/June APS bill!

4. I am craving some sushi and need a trip out to Mesa for my favorite sushi SOON!

5. I am also craving some Postinos. I have only been there twice but I LOVE me some brushetta! :o)

6. I am only on number 6 here and 50% of this post has been about food! Yikes!

7. I bought a dress for Scotland and found some fabulous on sale shoes to go with it at Macys. Well at the Macy's in Scottsdale they somehow can't find their right shoe that goes with the pair. At the Macy's at Arrowhead they have the right shoe but can't find their matching left one. SERIOUSLY!?! Now why is it that I am the only one that thinks that each store should give me each show so I can make a dang match!!! So annoyed!

8. Going with Paul today to get my phone and his phone fixed at Sprint. Will I leave with an EVO? Hmmm...I can only hope!!

9. We have been fish this week and it's only Tuesday! Yesterday we went to As You Wish at Desert Ridge and right outside they have a splash pad. I just happened to still have our collection of suits from Saturday in the car so I put Rylee's on and off she went for about an hour. Hence last minute plan...no picture. Today we have swim and then off to a swim party at my sisters! Good thing I bought a BIG size sun tan lotion!

10. This little girl is just a joy to be around and keeps me going all day long!

Pictures

So we made it through our day at Gymboree Learn and Play! We signed up for a month and aslo are previewing the Art class next week! YAY! (I would not have made it through the class as well if we had been in the following class! That's the one that would have turned me away! I would definitely need a weekly salon appointment for that one! ha!) Here are some cute pics of Rylee enjoying her time! It was really fun! And the fastest 45 minutes of my life! I need a job there....your day would FLY by!

And yes, I was the only crazy with a camera! Oh well! :o)