Social Butterfly

Socially, it's been a busy week. Tuesday was my first attendance at my church's preschool mom group. Wednesday was girl's night out with my wonderful college friends and tonight our good friends the Comers came over for tacos. I needed this week. It's so comforting to be surrounded by people who can understand and empathize with you without any judgment. (It's not that I have a bad life, quite the opposite actually, I think my life is pretty good.) But it's important to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are just there to listen, laugh and promise they'll continue to be there for the crazy journey.

As a working parent with a young child, there certainly isn't nearly enough days in a week to spend quality time with my friends. Luckily, I am blessed with great friends who are living a parallel life, where no apologizes are needed. We all wish for more time and a less hectic life, but we'll settle for a leisurely dinner every few months or so. I also recognize I couldn't have been a social butterfly this week if it wasn't for my loving husband who graciously handled Ella for two nights in a row, so I could have some "Amanda" time. So thank you sweets. I think you're the best. Love you!

Ella's First Rock Concert, Complete with a Kiddie Mosh Pit

My First Mosh Pit
Originally uploaded by mbowling

Oh, what a night...Ella had the joy of experiencing her first concert. Although, I'm not sure Trout Fishing in America or Mr. Stinky Feet qualify as rock bands. Everest, our phone/internet provider, had a free family fun night at Shawnee Mission Park, complete with a concert, moonwalks (unfortunately ella was too little for all of them and the lines were horrendously long!), balloon animals and Chiefs cheerleaders.

My girl has some serious dance moves (which she so doesn't get from either of her parents). She darted to the front of the stage and charged her way into the mosh pit to strut her stuff. Okay, maybe all she did was bop her head and spin around, but she was by far the youngest one in the pit. I didn't capture any fabulous pictures while she was dancing away. I was so focused on watching her and jockey positions with other moms trying to keep their eyes on their little ones. We didn't quite make it to the end of the show as our dancing queen morphed into crabby kid before ending the evening as sleeping beauty. Overall, a great way to kick off the weekend.

What happens with no parental supervision

What happens with no parental supervision
Originally uploaded by mbowling

Never leave your 19-month-old alone for too long or this is what you might find. Ella loves to spend time flipping through her books while I prepare dinner or do some late night pick-up. I thought this day she was keeping herself entertained with her books. I realized though I wasn't hearing books drop to the ground periodically. So I ventured up to check on her, and this is what I've found. I had a good laugh and then grabbed the camera. As you can tell, Ella was quite proud of her mess. Lesson learned: if it's too quiet then trouble is brewing.

It was a very busy weekend. We kicked it off with the Light the Night walk. Great event. Ella enjoyed a bounce house for kids just her age and her and mom shared a bomb pop before the start of the walk. We finally convinced her to ride in the wagon about 1/2 through the family loop.

We then were up early Saturday to do a one-day trip to the Omaha zoo, where we met up with my mom, my brother Justin and my SIL Brandi. We had a great time. I just love that zoo. It did my heart good to see my brother. It had been since May, and I needed some good Justin time. I've posted a few pictures from our trip. I'm just hoping my mom has better ones to share with us. I'm tired or I would say more about the trip. Perhaps another time. My dreams await -- perhaps I'll have a party in my dreams tonight.

Parenting tips in the wild

For some reason, some of the funniest moments for Amanda and I when we parent always seem to come back to poop. More on that in a moment.

This Sunday night Amanda, Ella and I decided to go take the long walk down to the park back behind our house. Its a good 15 minute walk at big-people pace. But when you have a toddler in tow (or vice versa) you timing may vary. And believe me, ours did. Every 100 feet or so, Ella walked, then go to Amanda, "Mommy carry...(me)" So Amanda would pick her up, take 4 step.."down....DOWN..." So another 100 feet, "Daddy carry?" 4 steps. "Down, DOWN!" and so it continues the walk with a 18-month old.

So we finally made it to our destination after a half hour or so. There's a nice playground with a couple of slides and Ella had her run of the place. 15 minutes of sliding and swinging and what not later, Ella is standing at the top of the steps and isn't doing anything. Until she starts bending her knees slightly and grunting. Well, we all know what THAT is don't we? And who's the parents went on a walk without a diaper bag? (hand raised) Amanda and I look and each other, take a look in the diaper, and yep, nice shiny and smelly looking right at us.

So. We take a look around. Well, we could change her with no one around, but that's quite a bit of work without a new diaper. But there was a trash can in the park, and we could pull the back of Ella's diaper back far enough, so we hauled her over to the trash can (please don't do this at home, or take it for GOOD parenting advice) and turned Ella upside down, pulled the back of the diaper and out dropped the poop! Thankfully it didn't catch her back or anything else but the trash can. Ella thought it was funny, so thank god she didn't think her parents were trying to throw her away.

How I spent my 32nd Birthday...

Crazy Ball Girls
Originally uploaded by mbowling

Where else but Tunnel Voyage and I couldn't think of a better way to spend the night. We were there to celebrate Payton's 5th birthday -- the fact that she's 5 completely blows me away. (I witnessed her entrance into the world, how could that be five years ago?!)

Back to tonight, Ella couldn't absorb the experience tonight fast enough. I just enjoyed watching her having a ball, as usually she thought she belonged in the big kid area. Luckily, it was fairly quiet, so there were no worries of her being overrun by big kids. Definitely a fun night, but I'm exhausted. I'm heading to bed, and I guess I'm ready to turn the page and start another year of my 30s.

Wanna Order Some Cookies

I am shameless posting this on the blog. I justify it by saying it's for Ella. Her daycare is once again selling cookie dough to raise money for education materials and playground equipment. Each box contains 48 chunks of delicious frozen dough ready for the oven, and each box is $14. The great thing about these cookies is you can decide how many you want to bake, so if you have a craving for a cookie and only want to bake a few, you don't have to whip up a whole batch and clean your kitchen. We sold this same line last year and they were mighty tasty!

The flavors for this year are chocolate chunk, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, sugar, white chunk macadamia, chocolate chip, double chocolate brownie, M&M, snickerdoodle, heath toffee, chocolate chunk pecan, chocolate mint, lemon cooler and peanut butter cup.

We need to turn in order forms and money on Wednesday, Sept. 19. If you are interested, it would be much appreciated. Checks can be made payable to Corporate Kids.

If you aren't interested in buying cookies, Mike and I are raising funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light the Night walk. We've both fallen behind on fundraising. If you would rather support that, let us know and we'll give you the link to our team fundraising page.

Thanks for reading and supporting us.

What a long strange weekend it has been.

Well, I'm back home after a whirlwind 30 hour trip to Chicago.

You know one time Amanda did a day trip to Chicago for work a few years back. She was so exhausted. If its anything like what I'm feeling today, I'm sure it was 10 times worse.

Anyway, it was a good trip overall. Scott, Tricia and I had a good time flying together. I got the biggest laugh out of Tricia when the our plane bound for Chicago started headed down the KCI runway and just as the wheels picked up off the ground, I shot her a look of terror and said "Holy shit, this thing FLIES??".

55 minutes later, those same wheels hit the Chicago tarmac and off we were to hit Portillo's Hot Dogs south of Midway airport. By the way we were cruising in our pimped out Chrysler 300--free upgrade, woo! Tricia was in heaven reliving some of her Chicago days while were driving around the area. Portillo's was great. I think I still have the gut rot from it.

We took the 40 minute drive out to west Chicago to meet up with the fam who were all eating at Chili's for lunch. It was good to see everybody, but it sure made me miss my wife and daughter. By the way if you aren't up to speed on why they weren't with me, then track me down online some time. Not enough time for me to explain it all here. But yes, all of my other family was with me except them. It just wasn't right and I didn't feel like a "whole" person the entire trip.

After crashing for 3 hours or so in the hotel we got all dollied up and headed to the wedding. It was nice--the DJ really had no idea how to handle an outdoor ceremony, though. I saw Curtis shoot him this look like "what the HELL are you doing?" It was really a touching moment. It was a touch hot in a suit, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was nice to see the family all dressed up (for a change).

The reception was a good time--great food for sure--filet migon and other great things were on the menu. Filled us up and there was a very stocked open bar! So you know all the cousins had a good time on Curtis' father in law's dime. :) It really was great to have all of us sitting around the table, but we all knew that there were 2 very important people busy having a lonely Sonic dinner all the way back in KC. Made it back to the hotel about midnight, said goodbye and good travels to Mom and Dad since they were headed on for their 2 month vacation/retirement/spending Mike and Scott inheritance trip. I'd post a link to their newly christened blog, but I haven't gotten the go ahead yet. Sorry folks.


5:15 came EARLY this morning, but we were ready to get back home. A 40 minute drive, 30 minute breakfast, 1 hour flight, 1 hour drive home and I was back in the arms of my girls at 11:00 am. Mikey was and is happy. Even more so after 2 and a half hour nap today too.

Friday night feels like it was eons ago.

Good niii........snnnnzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Haircut by Mom

I had to cut Ella's hair. It wasn't an official haircut, but the poor thing had a snarl that I couldn't comb out. She actually cried out in pain as I was combing it. So I figured that I would cut (pun intended) my losses and grab the scissors. Knowing that toddlers don't sit still, I was terrified as I approached her with a weapon in my hand. Of course in typically toddler fashion, she was fascinated with them and fussed a bit when I wouldn't give them to her. The loss of hair was minor -- that is this time.

I'm dreading the day when she decides to take the scissors to her hair herself. I've never known for that to create a good outcome. My first black market haircut occurred at the age of five when my 6-year old best friend Susie and I decided to play beauty salon underneath her parent's dining room table. We were caught just before it was my turn to shred her luxurious, shiny black hair. Of course, my hair was already butchered and I had the privilege of donning the "bowl cut" better known as the Dorothy Hamil haircut until my hair grew. A good eight years had passed before I thought it wise to give myself a haircut again. Upon examining my reflection in the mirror, I decided my bangs were too long. Of course, I couldn't wait for a hair appointment, so I chopped them off. I think the end result gave me bangs that might have measured maybe a 1/2 inch when wet. It was not a good look. Luckily for me, my hair has always grown fast. It is still to be seen if that's the case with Ella. Let's hope or better yet let's hope she never discovers the horrors of self-inflicted haircuts.

Mike is back home. Even though he was only gone for maybe 30 hours, it is always good to have him home. Ella and I capped off the last weekend of summer with our longest trip yet to the pool. Pictures of the fish to come later. The camera needs a new battery. She showed off a new skill of jumping off the side of the pool. It's crazy how much her skills around the water have advanced this summer. Oh, I'm so sad that it is now closed and summer is coming to an official end.

Traveling

Mike is currently in the air. He had an early morning flight to Chicago for his cousin Curtis' wedding. Ella and I are hanging out together today. She's currently enjoying a late breakfast because she slept until 8:30. I think her day at the zoo yesterday was a bit tiring. How I wish I could have slept in that late. Instead, I couldn't fall back asleep after Mike's alarm started blasting around 5:30. Oh well, I did lay in a bed a bit before getting up to do some yoga.

We'll miss Mike, but we hope he has a great time. I'm not sure how Ella and I will spend the day. It seems everyone of our play buddies is out of town. We may explore a new park or maybe a trip to the pool for one last dip. It will depend on how late our nap goes.

Well, Ella spotted her outside swing from her chair, so we're on the fast track to get cleaned up and get outside.

Time on Grandpa's Boat

Mommy, can we never go back?
Originally uploaded by mbowling

We are trying to squeeze every last drop out of summer. We were on our way to a Royals game yesterday, when we decided to change our plans and head to Smithville Lake on Grandpa's famous yellow boat.

It wasn't that we weren't excited to go to a Royals game. We had free tickets after all. The problem was Ella napped from 12:30 to 2 pm. The kid is structured, what can I say. We didn't get on the road until 2:45 and the game was already in the 6th inning as we were approaching downtown. We, well I, questioned if it was worth the drive with only a third left to go. Mike reluctantly agreed.

As we pondered our next move in the parking lot of the downtown Denny's, Mike got the okay from Larry to take ole yellow for a spin. We of course weren't packed for a trip on a boat, but it was a beautiful day and the boat hadn't had the pleasure of stretching its sea legs yet this summer. (Oh, those pesky summer floods.) We arrived to see Larry had the boat prepped and hitched to the truck, so we hopped in the truck and departed for the lake.

It felt so good to be on the water with my family. It was a great way to spend a leisurely Sunday. Mike just beamed with joy and Ella, well, I had expected a bit of apprehension, but once again I was wrong. She couldn't soak up every view and very inch of the boat fast enough. She was like a pinball darting between seats or Goldilocks trying to find the spot just right for her. It made me rather tense, but overall she was great. If I would try to loop a finger in her lifejacket, she would swat my hand and say, "Mommy no." I do admire her fearlessness at times. I though was relieved once she was securely strapped in the car seat and away from the water.

Ella got more exposure to the water tonight. I made a last minute decision and we visited the pool, which might possibly be our last visit. I wish I could capture the excitement and her screams of joy as we pull into the parking lot. Before the car is even stopped, she is saying, "momma buckle." We were only there for a quick hour and even though I was exhausted from a long day, it was definitely worth it. We battled a bit when we left, but she calmed down enough to say, "bye pool" multiple times as we meandered to the car. I can't believe it closes in a week for the year. I just don't think the bathtub is big enough to satisfy Ella's appetite for the water.

Somersault Stunts

Here is Ella's official YouTube debut. Payton is an inspiration to Ella as she certainly thinks that she can do anything Payton can do. It was quite humorous to watch. Too bad, our battery died after such a short while.

Mama P-O-O-L

As I've mentioned before Ella loves the pool. Right now, I swear it has to be her happiest place on earth. Last Thursday, I left work with the intention of hitting the pool. I had planned ahead and backed the pool bag and all the necessary equipment. I had failed to pack any dinner, so we made a quick pit stop for a bite to eat.

As we were eating, a little summer shower made an appearance. I called Mike who quickly reassured me that it would be brief and surely wouldn't close the pool. He was nearly right. When we left it was only a slight sprinkle, so I decided to go ahead and drive by the pool. Man, was that my dumb mom moment. Ella definitely knew where we were. Unfortunately, they were in the process of closing shop. Poor Ella, she was devastated when she realized that I wasn't stopping the car. She whined for most of the drive home. She kept saying "p-o-o-o-l, mama, p-o-o-o-l." It broke my heart.

Undeterred, I decided Friday after work to try again. Well, hello downtown monsoon. Joel Nichols had promised me the rain wouldn't hit until after 10pm, five hours early was completely unacceptable. I was disappointed but not willing to give in quite yet. So Ella and I decided to wait it out by visiting Mike and T2's First Friday Party. Good move. I enjoyed some tasty snacks and Ella enjoyed the space. After about 45 minutes, the sky was clear and off to the pool we went. It was surprisingly quiet and at one point Ella almost had the entire playground to herself.

On our way home, I treated us to some Sheridan's. I swear we've only taken Ella once before. As we were pulling into the drive-thru, Ella, unprompted, screamed with excitement, "ICE CREAM." She was gleefully kicking her legs as we pulled up to the window. She wasted no time consuming the delicious treat as it was only a tasty memory by the time we reached the house. No mistaken who she takes after!

Mike and I managed to squeeze another trip to the pool Saturday night. We swear as we were packing up and heading out, Ella said ice cream. Now, I'll indulge her in a trip to the pool back to back, but as a responsible parent, I can't give in on the ice cream wish. No matter how badly I want it for myself.

My First Pony-Tail

My First Pony-Tail
Originally uploaded by mbowling

It's not actually Ella's first pony tail, but it's the first one that stuck for longer than 10 seconds. I've been trying now for awhile to do her hair, but anytime I would even come close with the comb and a rubberband, would shake her head and say "No!" Her emphatic no of course didn't stop me from trying. Through all my attempts, I did realize that the first set of rubberbands that I purchased were completely worthless as I couldn't even get my fingers through them.

Fast forward to the other night, when we were playing in the bedroom. I decided to play hair using my stuff, and Ella actually let me do a "Pebbles" ponytail. I was so excited that I raced her into the bathroom to show her how cute her new hairstyle was. She seemed pretty impressed with it. I think it helped that I too had my hair in a ponytail. I think she also liked admiring herself in the mirror, hence the photo.

We did another ponytail this past weekend and she seemed again okay with it. The main issue now is training Mike and making him comfortable with doing hair. It's important to increase his confidence as he now takes Ella in each morning, and she's typically asleep or just waking up as I leave. This means Mike has the responsibility of getting her ready, so hair duty naturally falls to him. Maybe beauty school is in his future?

Hey, mom you pushed me

Hey, mom you pushed me
Originally uploaded by mbowling

So the warning label says, the slip n slide is appropriate for children 3+. That didn't stop us from allowing Ella to try it out. Once she had one gentle push down the slide, she tore up the hill so fast to take another turn. Ella absolutely loved it. Pure joy was written across her face as she came sliding down. No worries, there was plenty of parental supervision, four adults for three kids.

Mike and Jen invited us over on Sunday to test out some of the new toys Aaron got for his birthday. We unfortunately had to miss his party, but appreciated the time to play with the new toys. We originally went there to let Ella tumble around in a moonwalk, but surprisingly, she cried each and every time we tried to get her in the moonwalk. I was a bit flabbergasted as there isn't much this kid won't try if given the opportunity, so witnessing fear from her was unusually for me. Instead, she found joy with the slide n slide. So much in fact that her parents purchased one for her that every night. We can't wait to have Payton over to test it out. We also think it will be a big hit with the neighbor kids.

Ella tells a funny, knee-slapping joke

Ella tells a funny, knee-slapping joke
Originally uploaded by mbowling

Oh my, I think this is one of my favorite new photos of Ella. Uncle Scotty took this while she was hanging out with Tricia and him a few weeks ago. Every time I look at this, I just laugh.

As Tricia says, she wants Ella to think Elmo lives at Uncle Scotty and Auntie T's house. I think she just might. Thanks for sharing the photo, S&T. Hope you don't mind that I posted it, but it's too cute not to share.

More great photos to come of Ms. Ella. She had quite the weekend, including her first experience with a childhood water toy, plus getting to play with her Fairfax cousins. I hope to get them posted in the next day or so. I was scheduled to visit our St. Louis office this week, but it appears I may push that back until August, so I may find myself with some extra time this week.

Mmmm...I love me some sweet corn

Mmmm...I love me some sweet corn
Originally uploaded by mbowling

Oh my, Ella cracks me up. She loves to cheese it up for the camera. She happily let Mike snap this photo after she had gnawed on the first half of her ear of corn. The McManigal side will be so happy that Ella has some of that Nebraska blood in her, even if I'm raising her in Kansas.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. We've been insanely busy, trying to enjoy life, summer fun and maintaining a crazy balance of quality time with Ella with the work demands. Work for me has been C-R-A-Z-Y. It seems to be subsiding a bit. My boss wouldn't even let me take my computer home the other night. It was a nice break, but I felt like I was missing an appendage. I think I've detoxed well from my addiction.

I hope to better regulate my blogging schedule. I've had lots of posts pop in my head, but I've forgotten the topics by time I find myself sitting at a computer for leisurely fun. For now, I've posted pictures of Ella. It's a random assortment of our past few weeks. Enjoy!

Ready or Not, Here Comes Ella

Ready or Not, Here Ella Comes
Originally uploaded by mbowling

Summer is here, complete with multiple trips to the pool. Ella has no fear, which concerns me just a bit, although I do love watching her unbridled enthusiasm. Her favorite area at the pool is the tunnel slide in the kiddie area. She just loves to hoist herself in the tunnel and come barrelling down. The minute she's back on two solid feet, she takes off ready to climb the obstacle course once again where her reward is another trip down the slide.

There are people in there!

I have a full day today, but did want to take a moment to point out the event that Amanda and I witnessed last night. Most who know me I'm pretty much a shuttle geek--so last night I happened to pop on NASA TV online to see what's up with the next shuttle landing--they announced what's called a "sighting opportunity" in just about 20 minutes from when I turned it on.

Cool!

So I check out this website and it lets you know exactly where the space station (and shuttle while its in flight) is located at at all times. So, we went outside and pretty soon what looks like a bright star (the space station) appears out of the north and passes through the brilliant night sky down to the south, and about 45 seconds later following the same track was the space shuttle. It was unreal. Amanda said "I can't believe there are people in there!" I couldn't agree more.

Empty House

I miss my girl. She hasn't slept in our house since Monday night. She's been up at Grandma and Grandpa Bowling's house. Daycare was closed Wednesday for a teacher in-service day and we went to the AKUS concert Tuesday night, so the grandparents helped us out by letting Ella stay the night and then kept her on Wednesday. Well, earlier this week, we learned Ella's great grandma from Bloomfield was coming down for a visit. To give her some extra time with Ella, she stayed over an additional night. I understand everyone's having a ball together, but I can't wait to see my little girl tonight.

It's so foreign to be at home and not have her here. The house is definitely missing some energy. Mike and I found it so odd that we didn't spend much time in the house. Once we finally got home last night, we popped in videos from Ella's early days and watched them before heading to bed. I miss my baby. I miss her silly laugh and her wild energy.

Just for the sake...

Can I just say that I'm happy that summer is almost here? Man I just can't get enough of the summer. Not that I HATE the winter. Just that I can't stand the month of February and March (weather-wise). Basically I just get to the point where I'm just ready to kick the cold weather to the curb and get outside all of the time!

At lunch today I found an awesome site: ClientCopia. It basically is a collection of conversations, stories, quotes from clients that really are clueless. I've had my share, and I'm very happy to know that I'm not the only one.

My Father's day was good. Spend the morning with my whole family at Granite City up north in Zona Rosa. It was good eats for sure. We came home--took a nice family nap for an hour and then we did some shopping for some much needed supplies. My wife and daughter gave me an AWESOME gift: Tickets to both the Busch and NEXTEL Cup races in September and then tix to the Truck and Indy car race in April of 2008. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm very excited because I'll also be going with Scott (Amanda's brother) and his girlfriend Holly. We should really have a great time. I might drink a beer too.



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