Guess what month it is....

Yup...that's right....it's....

I tried it last year....and FAILED!! But I am back and ready to try again!! Here's hoping.....

Happy Birthday Daddy!

This is Rylee Rose blogging today. I thought I would help out my mom since she obviously can't figure out that when you have a blog....you actually have to blog more than once a month (Right, Auntie Lorna!?!) It's not like my mom is busy doing anything else. Sheesh. You would think she was chasing around an 11 month old or something.

So today is a very special day.....it's my Daddy's birthday! Oh I just love him so much! I think he is just the greatest! :o)

I feel safe when you are with me;

You show me fun things to do;

You make life so much better,

the best father I know is you!

I am so happy you are my Dadddy

and so I want to say

I love you, Dadddy, and wish you a

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Ten on Tuesday

1. There is a great special going on at Dolce Spa and Salon. $135 and four hours later I was relaxed with a 60 minute massage (HEAVEN!), a 60 minute facial (REFRESHING!), a shampoo and style (LOVELY!), and a makeup touch up and free gloss! I ended up know the girl that did my facial so she actually recommended not getting the makeup done (since I had no where to go) since I should let me face "breathe" from the facial. I think they have this special until the end of November! It's SO worth it! (I would recommend going somewhere after though since your hair and makeup end up being done! :o) I just love girly fun days like that!

2. Two Sundays ago, after my horrible Fourth Grade Mass experience I decided to cheer myself up and go by myself a Chi straightener! I have wanted one FOREVER and with some styling advice from Michelle...I decided on the pink one which ended up getting exchanged for a Chi Turbo 2"! YAY! I have all these gift cards from Christmas last year that are going to start deducting money from them if I don't start using them soon! I am not about to waste money!

3. While I was babysitting/housesitting three weekends ago, Paul cleaned, did all the laundry and watched Rylee while I was "gone." Just another reason among the MANY that I love him. He is such a good dad! (and husband of course!)

4. On Friday last weekend, we had dinner at Yard House for our friend Lauren's birthday (YUM!) and then caught the end of the Suns game in the Sanderson Ford Suite at US Airways Center! Thanks Tricia and Andy for inviting us!

5. Last Saturday we headed out to Schnepf Farms for some pumpkin patch fun! Rylee got to go on the carousel/merry-go-round twice and the bumble bees once! She wasn't too excited about any of it but was a trooper the whole time!

6. Last Sunday, we headed to LoLo's Chicken and Waffles with Dianna! YUM-MY! Great food, a super band playing music and great company. What more can you ask for!?! (I was about to take a picture of Rylee chowing down on some yummy goodness when I realized that I forgot my camera. I think Dianna was blown away by all the food Rylee ate!) Then Dianna and I got to head out for some girl shopping at Fashion Square! I love when I can relax and walk around without having to be on Rylee's schedule!

7. Great news!! An H&M is opening up at Fashion Square! I also heard there is one opening up at Kierland Commons! I am hoping that at least one of these locations has a kids department!! I just love me some H&M!

8. Barneys New York at Fashion Square....HUGE disappointment! I don't know if it was because I couldn't afford anything in there that I liked or if it was because it was so small or if it was because they had no kids department....whatever way you look at it...I don't think I will be returning!

9. This past weeked we had another busy weekend! On Friday we went to Paul's cousin, Angela's Surprise 50th Birthday Party! On Saturday we had some pictures taken of Rylee and then I went to the Diocese of Phoenix Night of Hope (big fundraiser dinner) and then Sunday was football Sunday at my grandma's house! BUSY!

10. I have been SO bad at blogging that I told Paul he need to go to the grocery store for me so I can catch up on my blog so people don't stop reading it. I think he thought I was CRAZY! :o) I have had a Ten on Tuesday written for the past two weeks....I just HATE downloading pictures!

The Picture Process with a 10 month old

I don't know HOW someone does this professionally or WHY they would choose to do this for fun! This 45 minute session was NOT fun! I understand that all professional photographers do not have 10 month olds in all sessions...but when they do...oh geez! I was sweating, crying, laughing, and at one point praying! All I wanted was one cute picture of my cute baby girl in her first Halloween costume....all my baby girl wanted was Mommy's camera! Umm...that's NOT going to work. Here's what I tried!

I tried giving her her own camera. That would end up in the pictures.

I would try taking the camera away real quick. This is what I would end up with.

I would try giving her pony. Then pony would just end up in the pictures!

I would try taking pony away....and she would run away...leaving me with this.

I would try a sippy cup.....

I would try hiding the can of cheese crackers in the trick-or-treat bag. Then I would get a picture where you could see the cheese crackers.

Or I would catch one with the cracker in her mouth!

In my mind, Rylee was going to sit on the couch, next to her nice monogrammed trick-or-treat bag so all could see her name and she would smile until I got the perfect shot. Instead, 75 shots later, I have a little stinker, sticking her hand into her bag, trying to fish out a cracker that are now thrown into there without the container with a lovely little smile that says "Okay, Mommy. All you want is a smile? I can do that for you." S-T-I-N-K-E-R!!! (That's what should be monogrammed on the bag!)

45 minutes later

a full container of cheese crackers

75 shots on my camera

a sippy cup full of juice

one container of deodorant (for Mommy!)

This is the final result....our little ladybug!

I just love her little costume and of course her too!! :o)

I don't know if I should have written this 3 weeks before Claire (photographer) is coming over to get Rylee's pictures. But Claire has SO much more patience(and skill) than I do!

Ten on Tuesday

1. We FINALLY got Rylee's ear's pierced! They look so adorable! She screamed and cried and the "crew" that was watching ended up in that Gymboree behind them after the first ear got pierced! My godmother, Joanie, was holding her. She said she looked up after the first ear and everyone was gone! Rylee Rose was SCREAMING! I think the whole mall heard her! She doesn't even remember they are there now! Even Paul thinks they are cute! Jackson's response to the whole thing..."That's why I am glad I am not a girl!"



2. We had our annual Fall Festival at my school this past weekend and we had so much fun! Miss Rylee Rose had a mini meltdown right in the middle of the festival so we headed to my classroom to regroup and tried again. Then we were ALL better. Paul, my mom, my grandparents and I headed to play some Bingo (where Paul and my grandma won! yay!) while my Dad and his girlfriend, Mindy took Rylee around the festival. They did take her on one ride, the train and I guess she just sat there with no emotions. Hard to tell if she liked it or not. Only one picture of the fair! :o( My dad didn't want to play Bingo....he wanted them to raffle off the RV behind her instead. Um, yeah...I don't think so. We aren't millionaires at my school!


3. I had Friday and Monday off work and LOVED getting to spend time with Rylee. I really think I like BOTH ways. The working mom way and the stay at home mom way. I think I am so blessed to experience both! :o)


4. For Paul's birthday this year I had a big surprise trip planned and everything. (Last year I was 9 months pregnant so I got kinda lazy and never did anything for his fortieth so this year was going all out!) I had a trip planned to go to Disneyland for the day (you get in free on your birthday in 2009) and then come back to be with Rylee on Halloween. I didn't book the trip yet so I thought I would run it by Paul instead of being a surprise. Good thing I did....since that was a negative! He wasn't a fan of my surprise trip! :o( So we are back to square one with nothing to do on Paul's birthday...again! No Mickey for us until January 2011.


5. The construction at school has got to stop soon! The constant headache is going to be the death of me! I bought another BIG Costco size bottle of Advil and I left it at home! :o( Today had to be the worst with the noise too! See Paul...that's why I bought another bottle!


6. Rylee had her nine month check up on Thursday, which really ended up being more like a ten month check up since she turned 10 months on Sunday! She currently weighs 20 pounds (60%) is 28.5 inches (60%) and a head circumference of 18 (90%). She is totally off bottles now and just sippy cups! She is also on all "adult" food and no baby food! She is getting to be such a big girl! She loves the doctor's office and is always in a good mood there! Her favorite food at 10 months: Watermelon! That girl could eat watermelon all day long if we let her!


7. I got a new purse! It's huge and I swear it's big enough to be a diaper bag and a purse all in one! I just love the big bow on it! Picture coming soon! :o)


8. If anyone has some extra boxes lying around, would you please kindly drop them off at my house! We aren't moving yet but I want to start collecting boxes since I can't really justify paying for boxes! That's ridiculous when I know how many boxes stores recycle on a daily basis!


9. I have a massage scheduled for Friday afternoon and I am super excited! I just love massages and getting to relax!

10. I announced it on Facebook and Twitter but I am so excited I will announce it on here too! Chili's 3 course dinner for $20 is back! I saw the banner....it must be true! You get SO much food for that $20! Guess where I am eating dinner Thursday night?!?! YUM!

Ten on Friday...Picture Style!

Going through my camera, I have noticed I have a lot of pictures from things we have done and I haven't posted them! Here is a 10 on Friday...with Pictures! :o) (This has been written and waiting to go since Tuesday but I HATE downloading pictures!)

1. We took Rylee to a splash pad awhile back and she LOVED it. I know some are not fans of these but when your child loves something as much as mine love water....you just deal with it. I am NOT a fan of the parents who sit there and don't watch their crazy children trying to run over my little one but I am in there with Rylee so I just knock down the big kids myself! :o) Being in there makes me think I need to bring a swimsuit myself because Paul and I were soaked at the end!

2. Every year for Mother's Day, we plan an outing that all the girls go and enjoy. This year it was dinner at the Hyatt Gainey Ranch and gondola rides! So much fun!






3. We had a mini staycation at Arizona Grand over Labor Day and had SO much fun. It was raining the first day there so we headed across the freeway to my ALL time favorite (next to Sushi Ave. of course!) Joe's Crab Shack!! Delish! And yes, that was MY drink. YUM!




4. Rylee is a CLIMBER!! My sister's kids weren't climbers so I am not quite sure what to do with this issue. She climbs into suitcases, out of highchairs (even when strapped in), onto our bed (we have a low IKEA bed), anything she can get her little body onto...she's up there! Ugh....MONKEY! Any suggestions would be helpful! I guess just waiting till she understands the word no will have to do for now....






5. We had lunch with Tricia, Andy and Ollie at Benihana's on Labor Day. They have some amazing lunch specials for Monday through Friday! If you able to go during the week...do so! I snapped this fun picture and sent it out in Rylee's Grandparent's Day cards! I did snap one of the Groft family but Tricia would kill me if I added it on here so I guess I will be nice to the pregnant lady! ;o)

6. We headed out to Sushi Ave for Ian's birthday since he is also a big fan of the sushi! Lorna and Garet joined us and we all had a GREAT time. The five of them headed to a movie after and Rylee and I headed home. (Not too sad about it since I really didn't want to see the movie anyway!) Only one more year till Ian turns 16!!



7. The day after Ian's celebration, we went to Peter Piper Pizza to celebrate Tricia and Andy's son Ollie's birthday! He turned the big 3!! This was Rylee's first birthday party she might have had a clue to what was going on! She had a blast! It was her first time eating pizza and she LOVED it!

Nope, it's not upside down....just Rylee's new favorite thing!

8. The day after that celebration was my mom's birthday celebration! BUSY weekend! I was trying to snap a cute picture of the stinker in football gear for so I could redo my blog, football style but this stinker was NOT cooperating that day! I guess I will have to wait to redo the blog. She definitely does NOT look like that header picture anymore!




9. This past weekend, Lorna, Anne Marie, and I headed to Vegas for a girls weekend/bachelorette party! SOOO much fun! We gambled, ate, shopped and went to see Thunder From Down Under. SUCH a good show! Recommend it to anyone....especially fun for bachelorette parties! There was no pictures allowed in for the show so the best I could do was a picture of the outside of the theater! It seems to be that I always "win" when Paul isn't with me....is that bad? And when I say "win" I just came back with my money that I left with, after eating, shopping and show watching. Which I guess is winning to me! Free vacation...LOVE it!

The picture below is Anne Marie winning us big one the slots. We each put in $10 for a dollar slot machine and each left with $50! Wahoo!



This picture CRACKS me up! I really want to send it in to Jay Leno. It was outside a buffet that is advertised all over Vegas and inside the Excaliber. When walking out of the show, this is what I saw....WTF?!!? Is anyone else seeing what I see?



10. Number 10 doesn't have a picture from me....but a link to a picture of me and Paul! Paul's boss Brad is a DJ and starting a website for his business. They were googling AZ DJ's to look at some other sites of DJ's and the first website they googled has a whole bunch of wedding vendors on it and Paul and I are the first picture that pops up! (You have to wait a minute for the image to appear. We are on the top of the page.) You sign a little piece of paper saying "yes, you may use me for advertising" but you never know where you might appear! TOO FUNNY!
http://www.infinityent.net/

And these are a few of my Favorite Things...

Well, I have a million pictures all ready for a post stored away on my camera.....but I don't have my camera and can't find the energy, the motivation or the desire to go and get the camera!! Although I will have to before Vegas this weekend! Yay! So excited and can't WAIT!

So for now...here is a list of some of my favorite things at the moment.

1. White Cheddar Cheez-Its! I have a box in my closet at school and take it with me to lunch everyday! Obsessed! Why I can't just put them in a baggie...I am not quite sure...but it's with me everyday!

2. Biter Biscuits! Yes I found them and they are a life saver when getting home with Rylee Rose and she is hungry. I am trying to feed her what we are eating for dinner and I need some time to get the dinner ready! She will sit in her highchair and chomp away at one of these for at least a couple minutes to buy me some time to get the dinner started and cooking!

3. Sunbeam timer! We are in testing week at school and I swear the kids would be getting hours to work on each test if it wasn't for this thing! LOVE it! The clock is behind me while sitting at my desk and I have LOTS of grading papers to catch up on so I can definitely loose track of time!

4. Etsy.com! I have been busy planning away our fall/winter! (Whatever seasons we have here in Arizona!) Halloween costumes, birthday outfits, Christmas presents galore! October through December ALWAYS seems to be the busiest three months of our lives and I like to be prepared! I am a planner and always start early! Yes, I have ordered her Halloween costume already and yes, it is from Etsy! SOO cute!

5. Advil! Testing week, construction starting at school, and planning overload= major headache! Only more to come I am sure! Progress Reports, Festival at school, and Fourth Grade Sunday Mass. OMG....OVERLOAD!!! I think I see a break in my calendar around January....

6. Dr. Brown Sippy Cups! Rylee Rose loves these! I am a big fan of Dr. Brown and love the products. BPA free EVERYTHING!
7. Snickers Ice Cream Bars! LOVE them. It's kinda weird too because I am not a fan of the regular Snickers but you add some delicious ice cream to it....YUM!
8. Sharpie Pen! I have always been a fan of ALL sharpies....but we can't get any better or thinner than the pen version! LOVE it! I have school boxes filled with all the kinds of sharpies in my desk and school and home! Don't leave home without one! :o)

9.Reality TV! Big Brother is over (YAY for Jordan winning!) but I am not too sad since the new season of the Hills starts (Tues. Sept. 29) and so does a new season of Amazing Race(Sun. Sept.27)!! At what age will I actually stop watching these shows?

10. Fajitas! Cooking them at home, eating them at Chili's, or better yet....at actual Fajitas!! There is a restaurant in Phoenix that is called Fajitas and has the BEST fajitas. Our school is having a fundraiser on Monday in which 15% of your bill goes to my school! Umm....yes I will be there! And hopefully you can be too!! Let me know if you want to come too! (You need a flyer so text me or leave a comment and I will bring you one!)