A Camping We Will (Not) Go!

This weekend, our ward went camping.
We were excited to bust out our tent and sleeping bags.
But we chickened out last minute…
we’ve never camped with a baby and wussed out.
We still wanted to check out the area,
so we headed to Delaware State Park.
As soon as we got there, we regretted our decision to not camp.

The campsite was a large, open meadow area that was surrounded by trees.
Plus, it was right next to the lake.
So yeah, we wished we had taken our camping gear.
 

But we still enjoyed our time exploring the woods
and checking out the lake.
And since the weather was awesome
(hello, Autumn!)
we were enjoying our time outside.

 

Riker absolutely loves to be outside, so he was one happy kid.
Seriously, he could be screaming bloody murder
and all I have to do is walk outside to get him to stop.
That’s love.

 

Plus, Riker likes playing with his dad.
So the fact that he got to play with his dad, outside!?
Heaven.

 

A friend recently told me that Riker could be a Gerber baby
since his face is pretty perfect.
And I have to agree.

So TJ and I have decided that before we leave Ohio,
a camping trip is a must.

Darn Teeth

Did you know that babies grow up?
It’s really quite cruel, actually.
Some days Riker seems like he is so old.
I think it’s the teeth.

 
Two on the bottom.
Four on the top.

Yep, it’s the teeth.
Darn those teeth.
He’s growing up too fast.
Pictures like this make me think it’s time for another.
But then he whines or cries or pees and I know I can wait!

Awesome Opossum?

Living in Columbus has introduced me to new kinds of wildlife.
Remember the albino squirrel?
(I’m trying to forget about the other wildlife in that post…
’cause I ran over Phil and it was traumatic.)
Here’s another wild animal to add to the list.

That is an opossum.
The opossum lives in our apartment complex.
It burrows itself underneath our porches and eats the plants.
A bit elusive, since it’s nocturnal, but has been spotted several times running amuck.
(amuck, amuck, amuck!…name that movie!)
Yesterday, an animal trapping guy came out and placed some animal traps.
Today, the opossum was trapped.
Correction: the opossums were trapped.
That’s right…plural.
More than one.
Here’s the other one.
 

We did not know there were two opossums.
But, there were.
They look like really big rats.
And since I don’t like rats I am happy they got trapped.
But, it was kind of sad to see them sitting in the sun.
They looked a bit depressed.

But then the animal trapping guy came back.
He put both of the opossums in one cage to take them away.
They probably liked being together after being stuck in their own cages.
But I’m pretty sure the animal trapping guy is going to stick a needle filled with drugs into the opossums and kill them.
So that isn’t really a very happy ending.
But at least they are no longer terrorizing our neighborhood.

Piada

What does this look like?

Yes, you are right.
It DOES look like a Chipotle burrito.
But it isn’t.
This is a piada.

(ugh, why do I look so old? Seriously, look at those wrinkles by my eyes!)
So, what’s a piada?
A piada is like an Italian burrito.
Mine was stuffed with angel hair pasta, chicken, parmesan alfredo sauce, parmesan cheese, artichokes, mushrooms, olives, avocados, lettuce, and grilled squash.
Delish!

TJ opted for the pasta bowl.
All the yummy goodness found in my burrito,
just in a bowl of pasta!
We also got some calamari to share.

  

If you live in Columbus, you can try this yummy food.
www.mypiada.com
If you don’t live in Columbus, come visit me and I will take you!

Game Day!

TJ and I went to the OSU vs Ohio game today.
We left at half time…
OSU was up 34 to 0
so we thought it was a pretty sure thing.
(and it was…final score was 43 to 7)

Plus, we missed our baby Buckeye.
Big 10 rules say that every person,
regardless of age,
has to have a ticket.
So unless I want to pay for Riker to have his own seat, he has to stay home.

Football in Ohio is a lot more fun than football in Arizona.
I know that there are some people who really like ASU football,
but in Ohio, the entire city
(eh, entire state)
goes crazy for the Buckeyes!

The entire stadium was a sea of scarlet and grey
(except for one small visitors section that had some green and white).
The streets around the stadium are lined with vendors and tailgaters.
There are even people who set up tvs (and satellite dishes) outside the stadium and watch the game in the parking lot!

We are definitely proud to be Buckeyes.

Tots & Tornados

Today, Riker and I had some friends over for a play date.
This is the only picture I took:

9 mommies (and 1 daddy)
plus
12 babies (ages 2 months to 3 years old)
equals
mass chaos
Which means it was a pretty successful play date.

After the tots were gone,
and the toys cleaned up,
the weather took a drastic turn for the worse.
We were under a severe tornado warning.
A tornado warning is much worse than a tornado watch
(according to our wikipedia research).
Riker was very concerned about this:

 

The weatherman told us we should go to our basement.
TJ went outside to see if he could spot the tornado.
Clearly we are not meant to live in dangerous weather.
Luckily, no tornado touched down in Columbus.

Sidenote about the weatherman:
In Arizona, weathermen give tiny little blurbs
(often “on location” at elementary schools or fairs)
about the clear sunny skies and the hot hot heat.
In Ohio, weathermen get a lot more time on TV,
talking about all sorts of weather problems
from tornados to snowstorms to excessive heat
(anything over 80 degrees is excessive heat…silly Midwesterners!)

Being Betty Draper

Recently I started watching Mad Men.
I heart Betty Draper’s fashion.

 
When I watch the show with TJ in the room,
he is quick to point out how Betty acts.
*Dinner on the table when Don comes home.
*Never argues or talks back to Don.
*Dresses in pearls and heels with lipstick on.

In our house, it usually goes like this:
*Dinner is usually thrown together last minute (and sometimes comes from a blue box)
*I only argue and talk back to TJ when he is wrong (which just happens to be all the time!)
*TJ’s lucky if I’m out of my pajamas when he comes home

In an effort to become more like Betty Draper,
I thought about following The Good Wife’s Guide:

A few favorites:

*Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.
*Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.
*Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

Maybe being Betty Draper isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
(after all, Don is cheating on her…)

TOYS!

Have you heard of houseparty.com?
You sign up to host a “house party” sponsored by different companies.
The companies send the host free stuff to help promote their products.
I have signed up for a lot of these parties and have never won.
Oh wait, pretend I never told you about this website.
I don’t need more competition.

But, I finally won a house party!
And not just any house party…I won the Fisher Price house party.
This means Fisher Price sent us FREE TOYS!

Holy motherload!
We received 5 brand new toys for Riker.

After examining all our loot,
the boys played with the box.

 

Riker thought it was so funny to be in the box.
So before we started playing with the new toys,
we turned the fort into a box for Riker.

He thought it was so funny to play peek-a-boo with us as we opened and closed the flap.

After Riker was done playing with the box
(which was after just 20 minutes or so)
we opened one of the new toys for him.

The toys range in “age appropriateness” from 6 months to 36 months.
These toys will last us for a long long time…
which is awesome, because we will be poor for a long long time.

It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

No, not Christmas.
Football season!!

We bought season tickets this year next to some friends
and TJ was way excited to go to the first game of the season.

And since TJ’s life now revolves around school and football,
I fill my time with crafts.
Here is my latest creation:

  

Lovely, huh?!
I found the idea on this website.

And in Riker-related news,
he likes to sit in this box.

And his tooth count is currently at 6.
Two on the bottom
(as seen in this picture)
and 4 on the top.
And yes, he’s wearing size 4 diapers because he’s a chunk.

Glitter Toe Party!

I will be hosting a Glitter Toe Party on September 9th!

Only $15 per person

Times are available between 10am and 4pm.
RSVP today to reserve your time slot!
(Plan on 35-40 minutes for your glitter toes)

Send me an email (lisagrier@gmail.com) or simply leave a comment to let me know what time you would like to reserve.

Red, Yellow, Blue

TJ refuses to let me paint any of the walls in our house.
If we paint, we have to prime all the walls when we move out.
TJ doesn’t want to do that, so no painting for us.
However, I have been wanting to add some color to Riker’s room.
Since I can’t paint, I have to find other ways to add color.

 

I saw this idea on this website.
I originally planned on doing this in our bedroom…
but then my super creative mom suggested this idea.
Each frame contains a picture of Riker for every month.
Imagine clock hands in the middle…
it will be a functional clock once I can find some clock hands!

 
2 months old = 2 o’clock
6 months old = 6 o’clock.
Since Riker isn’t a year old yet, the empty frames are currently just filled with scrapbook paper.

I’m also planning on hanging these letters on another blank wall…
I’m thinking yellow ribbon? Or brown (to match his bedding)? Or just white?
I haven’t hung them yet because I can’t decide what ribbon to use.

Slowly yet surely it is starting to look more like a little kids room…
and less like a sad, empty, boring room.

A Story About A Table

After living without a kitchen table for over a year now,
we were lucky to receive one from our neighbors when they moved
(thanks Ellen!)
The table we received had a light wood top and a white base.
Although it was in good condition, it just didn’t match our decor.
So, after letting it sit in our kitchen in pieces for several weeks,
I finally started painting.

Being the good blogger that I am,
I did take “before” pictures.
However, I had to take these pictures with my phone since TJ had my camera at school that day.
And, being the scatterbrained girl that I am,
I deleted all the pictures that were on my phone.
So, to sum up, I do not have any before pictures.

I do have an after picture though!
And, after all, isn’t that the most important picture?!

The lighting is horrid, I know.
But you get the general idea.
The top is black (Black Forever, according to the paint can)
and the base is a dark grey (Cracked Pepper).
In real life, the difference in color is barely noticeable,
which is kind of what I was going for.
Different enough to break up the black.
Similar enough that it isn’t an eyesore.

Now we just need chairs.