I'm Back . . . Maybe

I know. I know. I abandoned the blog. I admit it - I got bored. I'll own it - facebook sucked me in and I was hooked. It is much easier to type a fb status vs. login to the blog and entertain. But I am not a quitter, so I'm returning to the blog...maybe. I don't generally have commitment issues, but I do have time management issues, so we'll see where the ride takes us this time.

Much has changed over the past year. Joe left Eli Lilly in August 2009 and took an amazing job with a small pharma company called Xanodyne located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Technically his office is in Newport, KY. His office overlooks the Ohio River and if the building were a few stories taller, he would be able to look into the Reds' stadium. Yes, we are moving to Cincinnati...maybe. Our home has been on the market almost six months and despite numerous showings and positive feedback (minus the buyers who said they didn't like the location of the half bath on the first floor or the way the home was situated on the lot...um, yea, thanks for giving me things I can work with here), we've yet to receive an offer. The housing market at our price point sucks. As much as Joe loves life with small pharma, apparently small pharma doesn't buy your house (but I am thankful small pharma will pay to have your home packed and moved...whenever that time comes).

Because Joe now works in Cinci, I have taken on a new role...single Mommy. GOD BLESS SINGLE MOTHERS EVERYWHERE! Seriously, whether by choice or circumstance, single mothers deserve very public accolades and a large cash prize. My plate is full and I'm trying to balance other things on side dishes and salad bowls. Un-freakin-successfully. Really.

Ella started full-day kindergarten this year and LOVES it. I am captivated by her love of learning. She turned six this month (I am completely in denial that I have a six-year-old because I can clearly recall buying my first fake ID at 18). Ella is now reading, writing (in cursive too!!), spelling, adding and subtracting. She started to read us stories at night and loves reading to Chase and the dogs. Her dramatic play at home is more times than not playing school. She lines up her dolls and stuffed animals for circle time and reads them stories. She is a genius. Hey, it's my blog so I can brag and brag I will. She just gets it. Really. I hope she has her father's genes when it comes to math (her favorite center) and science. She clearly has my creative side as she spends numerous hours each week creating masterpieces with crayons, markers, paint, stickers, glitter (I don't hate many people but the creator of glitter ranks high on my short list) and any material she can cut with scissors and glue. She even started guitar lessons this year and has already performed The Yellow Submarine for us. Her love of life makes my heart smile!

Ella's 100th day of school attire.

I hear myself in her. When one of my girlfriends mentioned setting up a future play date with her kids, Ella responded, "I don't know if I am available; you'll have to ask my Mom." If she doesn't like something when shopping for clothes, one of her favorite activities, she will say, "Ugh, that is hideous." And she continually tells Chase, "Just because you say you are sorry doesn't negate the fact that you hit me."

I was exceptionally proud of Ella when she requested her friends not bring her presents for her birthday party. Instead she asked her friends to bring her bags of dog food that she donated to a local animal shelter. Eli and Chloe, our two Boston Terriers, have been sleeping in her bed every night. She has grown sensitive to the treatment of animals from that commercial about pet abuse to the Sarah McLachlan song Angel. Oh. It just breaks my heart. We’ve talked about how some people make very bad decisions and don’t care for their animals. She didn’t want to believe that not all people allow their pets to sleep in their kid's queen sized-bed on their Chamois sheets under a down comforter. Seriously. Our dogs have it better than most people.

Chase attends full-day preschool three days a week. I still work at the NCAA two of those three days which means I have one day all to myself and my personal sanity is grateful to Joe for even suggesting Chase attend school a third day so I could have a day to get $h!t done. It started as a way for me to declutter our home and prepare the house to enter the real estate market. Now it is a day for me to run errands (I can get so much more accomplished without my three-year-old in tow with his strong opinions of where we should be going and what we should be doing), and schedule pedicures, haircuts, and doctor and dentist appointments. I always try to get a good long run in on the treadmill and I attempt to keep up with the laundry on this day. Let's just say, Laundry 1, Allyson 0.

Don't let his smile fool you.

Chase turned three in October. He is all boy. On a weekly basis I am reminded that he was appropriately named. Unfortunately, it is usually during a discussion with a complete stranger in a very public place. Check us out weekly at Target, Trader Joe's, Kroger, the Fashion Mall or Cost Co. You will hear me bribing (read pleading) with him to stop some form of inappropriate behavior. He is a runner (surprised?) who thinks bolting down an aisle is the funniest thing, especially with me in pursuit. I remind him I am faster, for now. He ALWAYS ends up losing the privilege to walk ("No Mommy, I no ride in cart, I wok.") and spends the majority of our shopping trips buckled into a cart or stroller. You'll hear us before you see us. There is the time he yelled, "Gawd Dam-it!" at Cost Co. when I mentioned aloud that I left my contact Rx at home (he has great comedic timing) or the time he pointed and screamed, "Why is dat Daddy wit-all?" as we passed a little person in Toys R Us.

He is obsessed with sports. The kid is a-freakin-mazing at soccer. The other morning he won all of the foot races (with and without the ball). Joe said they did the circle drill where two kids start on opposite sides and try to catch each other. Chase caught every kid and even caught one before the kid got halfway around the circle. Apparently the coaches commented how it wasn't really fair because Chase was clearly stronger (read sturdier) than the other kids. His hand-eye coordination is better than mine. He drains baskets on his Little Tykes hoop and throws a mean spiral. He loves watching Tennessee football and basketball games with me. He has Rocky Top down. And the kid who can't sit still during mass will sit still in his seat for three hours at a Pacers game. A-freakin-dorable. He spent the first quarter of his first Pacers game looking for Smokey. I think he still doesn't believe me when I told him Smokey only appears at Tennessee events. He'll learn soon enough that I know everything!

I’m out. Chase is home with me today and is requesting a new movie. Thus far he’s watched about 10 minutes each of The Dark Knight (don’t judge me), Spider-man 3, High School Musical (1 and 3) and Monsters Inc. Living with my three-year-old is comparable to living with a drug addict. He is more times than not delusional, unreasonable, impulsive, and difficult to communicate with. He alone has the ability to drive me to drink. Oh, but he loves to snuggle and can be the sweetest little guy. And so I’ll keep him around.

And that is my long-winded re-introduction to me! Stop back occasionally. I plan to post somewhat regularly…maybe.

Ctrl + Alt + Delete to Restart

Our laptop has a damaged hard drive. Thankfully, Joe backed up all of our photos and other files (i.e. the Excel spreadsheet that contains our Christmas mailing address list) after the holidays on an external drive. I am hopeful we can retrieve the photos from January, February and March, primarily Ella's fifth birthday celebrations. Not sure yet if we are going to fix the laptop or purchase a new one.

In the meantime, we have over 800 photos on our new digital camera. I LOVE the camera; just hate that I can't download the photos to post. Soon, I promise.

Happy Birthday Princess Ella!

My princess is five today! She had a fantastic time at her birthday party this past weekend. In total, we had 14 kids at the house for her CAMP ROCK birthday party.

She ROCKED her birthday attire complete with a Shane (aka Joe Jonas) T-shirt, footless tights and a black tutu! She was totally channeling some 80's female rock stars (Cyndi Lauper and Madonna)!

The only Camp Rock cake in Indy was 24 pull-apart cupcakes. It was perfect - no flowers to fight over. We also told the kids, most of who attend school with Ella, that we were using Ms. Penny's policy of "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit!" Works every time.

Singing along to the Camp Rock DVD game.

Dancing with Jayson and Tom. Jayson continually informs their teacher Ms. Keke that he is "going to marry Ella one day!" Sadly, she is waiting for Joe Jonas to propose!

Fourteen kids ate pizza, drank juice and/or water, and of course, ate the cupcakes! One odd thing happened - one Mommy thought the party was from 1-3 p.m. It was from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Oops. She wasn't here for the pizza, but I thought we were going to have to take her to mass with us since she wasn't picked up until AFTER 3:30 p.m.!

It wouldn't be a party without Chase! He kept up with the "big" kids and they completely accepted him. He also rocked his Rolling Stones T-shirt, which he chose over his Beatles and Small Paul Rock Star T's.

Ella said she loved having her friends at her party; but her absolute favorite part of her birthday celebration was having her Nanny and Poppy here! Aaawwwweeeee!

A Tease

I realize I have disappointed my (few) blog followers. I just have not been in the right mindset to blog, nor have I had adequate (read: uninterrupted) time to blog. However, Ella is days away from turning FIVE! I am in denial, but I am also about to go crazy prepping for her party this Saturday. Here is why...

She is having some friends over to the house for a Camp Rock themed party. What I don't understand...after Save the Date emails (sent over a month ago) and very, very cool invitations (Camp Rock lanyards I scored at the Disney Store), there are still several parents who have not RSVP'd. What gives? Frankly, at this hour, I can't care if your kid can't attend, but PLEASE, pretty PLEASE with sugar on top, just tell me so I can plan a lunch menu accordingly. Miss Manners would be appalled!

The reinforcements, a.k.a. my parents a.k.a Nanny and Poppy, arrive tonight from Philly. Their flight lands at nine. My Friday will be MUCH MORE enjoyable as I finalize the party activities, shop for food and prepare the goody bags without kids. They will be at the Children's Museum or Build-A-Bear or a movie theater with my parents!

A video to make you smile

Ella only removes her earphones when her ipod needs charging.

I am so proud of my daughter

A few months back, Ella, unprompted, asked if she could cut her hair and donate it to "kids who can't grow any hair." My heart melted. While doing some research I was guided to Wigs 4 Kids and I really wanted to donate Ella's hair to this organization. Since this was pre-Disney, I asked Ella to consider letter her hair grow longer so we could donate it around the holidays. She agreed, and during my most recent hair cut December 20, Ms. Holly cut Ella's hair. Ella was so proud! We made a really big deal about her helping those in need so when teachers and friends mention her hair cut, she boasts that she donated her hair to sick kids.

Unfortunately, Ella's hair only measured 10 inches, not the 12 inches required by Wigs 4 Kids. In short, Wigs for Kids is 100% non-profit and does not charge anyone for their wigs, regardless of financial status, whereas Locks of Love does make people pay for their wigs if they can afford it and do not qualify for the "aid." Also Locks of Love will sell what hair they cannot use to companies that make things such as makeup brushes and paint brushes, etc. Locks of Love acknowledges that they use some hair to "offset" the cost of making wigs which to me means that they are selling it to other companies for monetary profit. While I personally do not feel that this was what I wanted my child's hair to go to, I have to trust that her beautiful locks will go to a child who desperately needs a wig.

If you, your child or someone you know is growing out hair, please please please consider Wigs 4 Kids. I'm not opposed to Locks of Love, especially since my daughter's hair was sent there, but when Ella donates again (something she has asked to do yearly) I will encourage her to grow the 12 inches so we can send her hair to Wigs 4 Kids.

My next post will be about Christmas. Here's a preview of the tree, still sans ornaments, and the presents. I have to get to sleep because I am going to the Colts game today.

Dear facebook,

Sorry, but you just aren't meeting my standards. Don't give me a message that states an error has occurred, then tell me you are working on getting this fixed as soon as you can. Clearly, you aren't working on it (it's been this way for almost 24-hours!), or you simply aren't working fast enough for my immediate gratification. I need to retrieve mailing addresses from my email account so my Christmas cards can make it to their respective destinations BEFORE Thursday.

So, with great respect, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GET ON IT! Thanks.

I still like you.

-The Haute Mama

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The Christmas tree is up but is without ornaments. I don't trust Chase. He loves anything that looks like a ball. He loves to throw anything that looks like a ball. Most Christmas ornaments resemble a ball. You see where I am going with this. I hope to find some plastic or other non-breakable ornaments to let the kids hang on the tree. Does anyone know of any ornaments that won't break when thrown across the room, at dogs, or slammed in a basketball hoop?

Over 70 ft. of pre-lit garland is hung in the foyer.

The outside wreaths are up.

Sugar cookies were baked, decorated, and consumed.

A Gingerbread house was constructed.

Shopping seems to be an ongoing thing. Literally. Year round. We have to stock up on gifts because the toy store shelves are never replenished in time for Ella's birthday each February. I love the Christmas season!

I stole this

from my friend Kara. I'm done thinking for the day. We went to the post office, Target, and the vet; we survived Chase's contribution to our kitchen floor when he emptied the entire contents (shake and all) of Honeycomb cereal; and Ella only changed outfits twice (she loves wearing dresses - she is such a girl!). Play along at home.

Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Peppermint Hot Chocolate from Starbucks

Does Santa wrap the presents or are they just sitting under the tree? He wraps, but doesn't include ribbons or bows...the elves are too busy to decorate the wrapped gifts; besides, the bows would get squashed in Santa's bag.

Colored or white lights? We always had multicolored lights until we bought our prelit tree a few years back. It has clear/white lights. I love that I don't have to hang lights every year, but I do miss the smell of a freshly cut tree! I dislike blinking lights, and I don't think you have to celebrate the Christmas holiday on your front lawn.

Do you hang mistletoe? No.

When do you put up your decorations? The weekend before Thanksgiving. And they don't come down until mid-January. I never understood why folks are so eager to put up the decorations, and so quick to take them down (January 1).

What is your favorite holiday dish, excluding dessert? Sweet Potato casserole with marshmallows on top!

Favorite holiday memory as a child? So many. My favorite is going out to the tree farm with my parents and brother to find the perfect tree, cut it down, and bring it home. My Dad secured it in the tree stand, my Mom hung the lights, and my brother and I would hang the ornaments. I LOVED doing this and feel very guilty that I don't do the same for Ella and Chase.

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? One summer while snooping through my parents' room to find hidden birthday presents, I opened a dresser door that contained the same gold foil wrapping paper with Merry Christmas printed in red that Santa used that previous Christmas. At this point I somewhat knew, but I kept my discovery a secret and went one more Christmas believing.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Just one, and it is always an ornament. Each year growing up my mom bought us an ornament. I have some great ones from my childhood (Cabbage Patch Kids & Star Wars). She started the tradition with the intent that when I married, I would already have ornaments to hang on my tree. I have started the same tradition with Ella and Chase.

How do you decorate your tree? Currently we have no decorations on the tree. My two-year old is too interested in the tree itself, so I don't think the ornaments would survive.

Snow…love it or hate it? Hate it! I hate when the temperature falls below 60!

Can you ice skate? Yes.

Do you remember your favorite gift? My David Yurman ring.

What is the most important thing about the holidays for you? Being with my family.

What is your favorite holiday dessert? My grandmother's Date Nut Bars and I LOVE decorated sugar and soft gingerbread cookies!

What is your favorite holiday tradition? Attending mass on Christmas Eve, coming home, watching a movie, hanging stockings, leaving cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer, then going to bed.

What tops your tree? A Moravian star.

Which do your prefer…giving…or receiving? Before kids, receiving. After kids, definitely giving.

What is your favorite Christmas Song? I favor the traditional songs and sing them all, especially in church, which is unfortunate for those around me because I can't carry a tune. Silent Night, Away in a Manger, O Holy Night, Gloria...the list continues.

Candy canes…love ‘em or hate ‘em? I only like the red, green and white wintergreen flavored ones, which I haven't been able to locate in years!

What do you want for Christmas? I have no idea. I have been so focused on the kids, I haven't put one thought into myself.

Do you attend an annual Christmas Party? No, nothing annual, they seem to differ year-to-year depending on who is hosting.

Do you dress up on Christmas or wear pjs all day? We dress; I wouldn't say up, but we shower and are presentable for photos.

Do you own a Santa hat? No, and I'm not looking to own one...ever.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We survived three weeks without Joe, and I survived five days with my mother-in-law! I joke. She is a very sweet woman who adores her grandchildren (and why wouldn't she); however, it takes great effort to entertain company, especially when you have been a single parent for three weeks and just want to sit in a warm bath and not have to entertain anyone...MIL or kids.

I cooked the feast. The past few years we ate baked chicken of some sort (home made) with Bob Evans' mashed potatoes (if you haven't tried them, run to your local grocer and purchase - you can nuke them in minutes and they are so freakin' yummy) and a veggie for color. This year I thought Ella should experience a traditional Thanksgiving feast since she learned about the holiday and accompanying traditions at school.

Number one rule about cooking the bird: I DO NOT TOUCH THE BIRD. AT ALL. NADDA! I make Joe remove the packets, rinse it out, and stuff the thing, secure it with skewers, and place it on the baking rack. I can't stand raw meat. I so wish I could be a vegetarian but my like for fruit is limited. I prepared the stuffing by cutting up some organic celery and onion, sauteing them in butter, then adding Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing and some organic chicken broth. My other contributions included a green bean casserole (cream of mushroom soup and fried onions), sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top, and opening the Ocean Spray canned cranberry (Joe LOVES it and frowns upon the freshly made version my mom prepares). For dessert, a festive Thanksgiving cake from the Kroger bakery - my kids appreciate cake so much more than pie!

We went to two malls Saturday morning. On our list of things to do: Build-A-Bear, talk to Santa, and Christmas shop. Build-A-Bear was fun. My parents typically take the kids, so this was the first time Joe and I were physically in the store. Ella chose a Hannah Montana white bear with a white sequins ballerina outfit and silver shoes. Chase chose a dog who he appropriately named "My Dog."

Chase's only interest in Santa was giving him a high-five. He didn't cry or scream (as I expected) but rather said no when asked if he wanted to sit by Santa. He was more interested in the various dogs that were at the mall to have their photos taken with Santa. My favorite was a 206 pound Bull Mastiff who, according to his Daddy, is afraid of his own shadow. He shook the entire time they tried to get him to sit. The dog finally laid down, so Santa sat on the floor for the photo.

Ella gave Santa, by his own omission, a very lengthy list. She continues to add to her list on a hourly basis. I've explained she can ask for whatever she wants, but Santa only brings three gifts because the three wise men each brought Baby Jesus one gift; hence, Baby Jesus received three gifts on his birthday. With a little encouragement, Ella has her list down to: 1) Leapster2 with the following games: Wall-E, Disney Princesses, and Finding Nemo; 2) a Miley Stewart/Cyrus doll; 3) a Shane/Joe Jonas doll from Camp Rock; and 4) the HSM3 singing Sharpay doll.

Best part about her list is that CostCo sold a Leapster2 system with a carrying case and the Wall-E game that I bought earlier in November and Target had the other games for $15 each after Thanksgiving. I found a Miley AND Jake doll set at Target at the end of the summer on clearance. I bought her the HSM3 singing Sharpay AND Gabriella dolls when the Disney Store had them 50% off after the movie was first released, and my mom bought her the singing Troy doll from HSM3 (he was hard to find after HSM2 and we ended up buying him off ebay for much more than he sold for). I bought her a Shane/Joe Jonas doll after Camp Rock was released on DVD in anticipation that she would want him to hang out with her Mitchie/Demi Lovato doll!

I think Chase is done as well. However, if you have any suggestions for a two-year-old, please pass them along. I am struggling with toys for boys. He would be content with a sports ball, rock, and a box of Nemo fruit snacks, and I know he will just want to play with Ella's toys, but I want to get him gender appropriate toys. BTW - Chase is now speaking sentences. He said to Ella while in the car, "Hey Ella, my dog go bye-bye in car." Genius - really he is!

The house is decorated and the tree is up; it doesn't have any ornaments...yet. I don't trust Chase - he is already too interested in the tree with it's white lights, so I'm fearful our ornaments may meet the same fate as the glass ornaments he shattered at Wal-Mart a few weeks back. Joe and I discussed just putting up some ornaments I bought at Target last year so if they break, I won't be disappointed and they will be replaceable.

Lastly, we are hooked on the Wii. Joe (and Wade) are obsessed with it. The Distler Family was over for pizza and play time Wednesday night. After pizza, the kids played while Wade and Joe played every Wii sports, Wii Fit and Guitar Hero game available. After Kristen took the kids home, I put Ella and Chase to bed, then fell asleep on the couch watching t.v. Joe and Wade enjoyed some adult beverages downstairs...perhaps too many beverages as their Wii Fit scores were terrible! Too funny. Kristen called around midnight looking for her husband. I think he made it home around one.

We are so thankful to have our cherished families and treasured friends! Hope your Turkey weekend was spent with those you love, or at least those you can tolerate!