Learning with the Bryans

Okay, children, gather round the glow of the magical computer screen and be prepared to learn the meaning of two new words and a discipline strategy. They (whomever they are) say you should learn one new thing each day...since you are learning 3 things today, I give you my full permission to read this posting then go to bed or lounge around for three straight days...I'm sure "they" would approve also. Okay, put on your remembering caps, here we go:

Burgle (burrrrrr-gul): To take or "permanently borrow" a possession from your spouse. This would include money found on the counter emptied from ones pockets, ones favorite football shirt being used as one's spouse's favorite sleeping attire, etc. ex: "Please don't burgle the money I left on the counter, I need for coffee to start my pulse in the morning."

Fooding (foo-dings): The act of feeding someone who is distracted or has just learned how to spit, spray, or smoosh the food back at the person doing the feeding (usually used in reference to infants or inebriated friends). "The fooding isn't going well, I think Monkey has only ingested 4% of the two containers I have attempted to food him."

When I was growing up and my brother, sister, or I were not being perfect angels (this happened twice...maybe three times), my dad would look at us sternly and say "Do you want a mushishik?" For the life of me, I have searched the net to find the right spelling, but it was a Lithuanian or Polish word for spanking. Now this made my father look great because he certainly didn't sounds like he was threatening us, all people knew was that none of us wanted a mushishik and we seemed much more reserved and somber after it was offered to us. The only time mushishik backfired was when it was offered to my then 2 year old sister who replied from the back seat, "No Daddy, no monkey s**t." My dad is not made of stone, I swear I think it is the only time I have ever heard that man giggle :).

Thank you for learning with the Bryans, now go enjoy your three days off!

Father's Day

May I begin by saying that one of the best songs for this day is "Gracie" by Ben Folds and although it's from a father to his daughter, I listened to it every day as I drove back and forth to the NICU to see Monkey. It's a pretty good sentiment for any parent to their child, check it out here.

I am in awe of the whole parenting thing in general, but I love how The Hubs brings something to my son's life that is completely different than what I do. Granted we both contribute love, teaching, and songs with silly lyrics usually involving his name and personality traits, but there is just a different dynamic between mothers and fathers. I love that The Hubs and Monkey have their own little routine on the weekends while I am at work and that when we went to Indy, it was the first time The Hubs had been away from Monkey since he came home from the NICU... and how rough that was on him. And it makes me realize that part of what makes The Hubs a great father is the example he had from his father. And part of the reason I chose such a great guy to spend my life and raise my kiddos with is because I had such a great dad. Physically speaking, you can't get more opposite than my father and The Hub's father :). But I am so incredibly grateful that we both were raised by fathers who took a lot of interest and pride in being a dad.

Happy Father's Day!

WFMW: From diaper bag to purse

A woman can never have enough purses and I seem to follow that rule. I have a my
"you'd never guess I was a mom" purse, my gianganto purse that doubles as a diaper bag (awesome deal from Target for $14.99), and my work bag I take when I work on weekends. I get a little tired of switching the essentials (wallet, keys, phone, etc) from bag to bag and only a few times of missing one of these things lead me to my solution:

I bought an inexpensive black make-up bag from Target that I throw all of my essentials into and that way when I switch bags, I just have to grab that and put it in the new bag. It also works if you are hauling the diaper bag and just running into a store, you can grab the make up bag and take it in with you.

For other great tips, check out Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer!

We're baaaaaaaaaaaack...again :)!

Yes, we got back from our Indy trip a week ago and I have been a very naughty, slacker blogger. I have been keeping up with my other "picture-a-day blog," Everyday in Oz, which has been a lot of fun. For those of you life me who have started endless journals and been so diligent in writing in them for a week or two, this is a great alternative. I know that at the end of the year I will have a lot of great pictures of our every day life to scrapbook (oh don't get me going on that...I still haven't scrapbooked my wedding and I will be celebrating my 4th anniversary next week!). I am hoping to get super motivated and print the pictures out, put them in a scrapbook or album and just write under them what I've written on the blog.

The Indy trip went well, Monkey did great on the flight there and back and was spoiled with all kinds of love and attention from his Grandma and Grandpa, Auntie Jess, Uncle Bub, Aunt Tara, and cousin Mare Bear. It was great to have a whole week to really enjoy time with my family, usually we are in town for a holiday or event and it feels like we leave wishing we'd had more down time to just sit and relax. Auntie Jess's Baccalaureate Mass and Graduation were great and she looked beautiful. She did an amazing job of juggling graduation festivities and making time for us, which meant the world to me. My favorite was the day after graduations she stayed at friends and came home at 6 a.m., put on a cute little sparkly dress and proceeded to sleep on the couch for 6 hours... but she looked fabulous :)! We went to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, which has been one of my favorite places since I was a kiddo, went swimming for the first time, and went to the park with Mare Bear. I got to drive around my mom's little PT cruiser while we were there and let me tell you, when you drive an SUV, driving that feels like driving a go cart around town :). Check out Everyday In Oz for pictures if you'd like :).

In Monkey news, he is sitting up on his own, is SO close to crawling, teething like no other with NO signs of teeth yet, and as of this weekend, has started saying "bababababa." It is amazing to me how much he has grown and fast his first year is going! I can't believe we go for his 9 month pictures at the end of the month!

We got some comments while we were away, and I appreciate them so much! Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings and share your thoughts!

My baby is all grown up...

No, not the baby I gave birth to but the one that I have been practicing my mothering skills on for the last 18 years is graduating from High School this week. I can't describe how amazing it is to have known a person for their whole life the way I know my sister, from the sit down talk at the dinner table about "how would you two feel if we decided to have another baby?" when I was 10 all the way up through getting a phone call on Prom night about her last high school dance. The amazing thing is, I have learned more from my baby sister than I feel I have taught her. She is one of the funniest and most creative people I know, one of the first people I want to call with good or bad news, and my source of great new music and bands. I love that no matter how old she got, she still wanted me to come lay on her bed when I came to visit so she could show me yearbooks of her friends to put faces with the stories she'd tell me. I am waiting for the day when she realizes that I am a 29 year old married mother with a job and mortgage and soo not cool...but she hasn't yet and I am going to enjoy being cool while I still can! I feel so lucky to have been a part of the every day little things in her life, and blessed that even when we are miles apart, we've stayed as close as if we lived right by each other. I have been flooded with memories of her growing up these last few weeks and although her graduating is a little bittersweet, I am so excited for what lays ahead for her. Watch out world, here comes Auntie Jess!

WFMW - Mamasource.com

I have found an awesome website both for the mom in need of advice on anything from calming a teething baby to where there is a good hair dresser in your area : www.mamasource.com. The website description is : "Mamasource is a safe and easy way to connect with other moms in your local area. Find the advice, referrals and insight you need, in a supportive community of moms helping moms." I love it because I can post a question, such as "How can I help my 6 month old make the transition from sleeping in our room to sleeping in his crib?" and I get back replies offering tips, words of wisdom, and reassurance. I also like being able to help other mom's who have posted questions. Specifically, a mom who was moving to our area from out of state asked "Does anyone have a pediatrician they would recommend?" I would have loved to have had information like that when we were picking out a pediatrician and an OB! You get daily e-mails with 4-5 requests and you can read other replies. Check out Mamasource by clicking here and look for other great tips at Rocks In My Dryer!

The soundtrack of my life...

My friend Quinn passed this along to me and being a music lover, I had to try it out...and if you are reading this then *TAG* now you have to try it too!

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool..

Opening Credits: "Light In Your Eyes" Blessid Union of Souls

Waking Up: "If I had $1,000,000" Barenaked Ladies

First Day At School: "London Bridge" Fergie (Can you see me strutting in for my first day of Kindergarten to this :)?)

Falling In Love: "The Stone" Dave Matthew's Band

Fight Song: "Undone" Lifehouse

Breaking Up: "The Hardest Part" Coldplay

Prom: "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" Mary Chapin Carpender (I swear the last two were completely random!)

Life's OK: "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In a Small Town" Pearl Jam

Mental Breakdown: "Expectations" Belle & Sabastian

Driving: "Swing, Swing" All American Rejects

Flashback: "High On You" Survivor (80's rock flashback!!)

Getting Back Together: "Juarez" Better Than Ezra

Wedding: "Build Me Up Buttercup" The Foundations

Birth of Child: "These Arms" Matt Costa

Final Battle: "One Sweet World" Dave Matthew's Band

Death Scene: "Songs of Love" Ben Folds

Funeral: "Sampson" Regina Spektor

End Credits: "Blackbird" Sarah McLachlan

Now you can see how diverse my music collection is and judge me for having bad 80's love songs, however keep in mind this is just a small sampling of my completely eclectic collection :).