It's all about the monkeys

On Memorial Day weekend David made me the happiest girl on earth - he took me to see Wicked! So, we packed up and left our 3 week old baby with Grandma and Papa and headed to Kansas City. The show was AMAZING! I've been dying to see it for about three years now and this was the closest it was coming this year. I was infatuated with the monkeys, so our friend Mike chased one down for me after the performance. This boy was built, but after seeing how they climb around on the set I know why. Go to You Tube and look for Chistery and you'll see some videos of how these crazy guys can move. They have these HUGE wings and I really wanted to see how they were made. Mike asked the monkey boy if he could put his wings out for the picture, but he said, "I can't, they're clipped." I think I laughed at that for days...it isn't quite as funny now, but that day it was hilarious.

Secret Shames

Ok, so eight weeks ago Chay tagged me and I'm just getting to it. Here it goes:


My 3 Secret Shames

1. Hi. My name is Ashley and I am a Fabric-a-holic. Yes, there is no other way to describe my fascination with fabric other than an addiction. I love walking through the fabric at Hobby Lobby. I try to avoid Hancocks because I really think I could easily spend hours in there - rows and rows and rows of beautiful prints, all waiting for ME!! The worst part is that when I do buy fabric, I tend to stuff it in my designated fabric dresser. Yes, I have an entire dresser stuffed full of fabric that I'm afraid to use because it is too beautiful to mess up. I'm really working on that... I have projects in mind for pretty much each and every piece of fabric. Here is my current stash for which I have projects planned. (This is only a small fraction of my collection...yes, that is what I'll call it. Some people collect knick-knacks, I collect fabric.) I do actually have my sewing machine out and have earnest intentions to use it every day, it just seems the little tykes always have other plans. I'm sure my husband would love to see my sewing machine and all fabric magically disappear. Someday very soon I hope to start a store on etsy - which brings me to my next addiction.








2. I could sit and surf etsy all day. If you haven't heard of it, etsy is an on-line site where people can sell handmade goods. There is seriously ANYTHING you want on there. Anytime I find something I want I go and check etsy, and yep, it's there. Then, I look at the price and think, "Hmm...I could make that myself for a lot less." So, then I go and add to my fabric stash, um I mean "collection." But, I have managed to make a nursing cover, moby wrap and my very first self-made cloth diaper. So, go me, I did manage to use some of the fabric for it's intended purpose and saved us a little money along the way.









Yes, that ts Elle's bum, outfitted in the monkey diaper I made for her.





3. I LOVE Sonic, even with their styrofoam cups. I feel pretty hypocritical buying drinks from there with everything else we're doing trying to be eco-friendly. We cloth diaper, use cloth napkins, try to watch our energy usage and recycle like a mad man, but I can't kick my Sonic addiction. I won't buy styrofoam plates or cups, but put a Sonic drink in it, and you've got me. Sydney and I go there usually once a week for Happy Hour - you can't beat half-price drinks.




So, now I tag Jessica M., Kelly, and Crystal.

Knockers no more

Every time it rains I hear from the backseat, "Mom, turn on the knockers." The first time she said that I have to admit, I was really curious where she had heard that. Now, it took me a while to figure it out, but what Sydney really means if for me to turn on the windshield wipers. I get a laugh out of it every time. Sadly, when it was raining on the way to drop her off at school yesterday she asked me to turn on the windshield wipers.

Expanding her vocabulary...

Today we got up a few minutes later than I meant to, so we were rushing to get Sydney to school. When Sydney and I got out of the shower Elle was crying, so I gave Sydney her clothes and told her to put them on (which she is perfectly capable of doing) while I went and settled Elle down.

M: Get your clothes on.

S: But I can't.

M: Yes, you can. Hurry.

S: I'm freaking out here.

M: Just get yourself dressed.

S: But, MOM. I'm FREAKING out here.

Elle is smiling!

She has been doing this for a couple of weeks, but we finally caught it on camera. It is so heart warming to finally see those precious smiles! Of course the first ones were for her Daddy, then for Sydney. Once again, I've been demoted to food source.

To the Father's in my life...

When I sat down to write this last night it was storming and the power went out. Just before that David, Sydney, Elle and I had been outside watching the storm in the distance. I love the smell of a summer rain and was glad I had a few moments to stand in awe of the creations of my Heavenly Father whom I love dearly. Each day I'm grateful for the people he has put in my life.

First, I must say thanks to the father of my children. We're so blessed to have two beautiful, healthy babies here on earth and another that although we did not have a chance to meet in this life, I know we will get to hold some day. David is a wonderful father and is definitely the "fun parent." Any given evening after work he can be caught playing the role of Prince or Hercules or dinosaur or lion while dancing or roaring with his little princess/ Megara/ dinosaur/ lion. (I usually gets stuck being the bad guy, if I'm allowed to play at all.) He has also been submitted to countless hours of coloring, blocking building and tea partying and I'm sure many more to come in this house of girls.

Thanks for always doing what you think is right (even when you're wrong - you're slowly learning that I'm always right!) I'm glad you are the one I get to attempt to figure this crazy parenting thing out with - I can't imagine this journey with anyone else. Thanks for doing everything you can to make me happy. Whether it is buying me a dog (even though the official aparment policy was no pets), eating shells and cheese with green grapes or the 10th hamburger that week (you did a great job making a pregnant woman happy), or dancing just to make me laugh when it is the last thing I feel like doing - you always have what is best for me in mind. Thanks for all you do to make sure us girls have everything we need (and then coming home to help me clean the house afterwards!) I love you.

And because I'm already bragging about him, I'll let you all know that David was named Faculty of the Year at the University of Phoenix . I'm so proud of him!

Second, I have to say thanks to my dad, better known as "Doddy" in these parts. I'm not really sure where that came about, but it has definitely stuck. I'll always remember the monster mask you kept in the hall closet to scare us, even though we knew it was you. Then there was the "big talk" at Pizza Hut when I was in the second grade when you told me the truth (because I asked) about the guy with the white beard, big black boots, and eight tiny reindeer. One of my favorite memories is the many years sitting on the bank of the Arkansas River guessing what time it was and how long until the Riverfest fireworks began. I'm pretty sure that mixed in there with the "what time is it" game I learned most of the random things I know. I'll also never forget the time you took us to see The Little Mermaid and while waiting for the movie to start, taught us how much fun it is to tear us Starburst wrappers into tiny squares, put them in your hands and cough.

Mostly, thanks for always listening and giving advice, but not making my decisions for me. Instead you taught me how to make my own decisions which has helped me grow into the person I am today. Now that I'm a parent, I'm beginning to understand how difficult it is to sit back and let your child learn not only from their good decisions, but also the bad ones. I hope that when my babies are grown I will be able to sit back and feel confident they will make the right decisions because they were taught how from the beginning. Thanks for always letting me be who I am and not forcing me to be someone that I'm not.

Oh, and thanks for teaching Sydney to fish, since she apparently thinks Dad and Mom are no good. For those who haven't heard the story, Papa took Sydney fishing one Saturday and they caught 11 fish in two hours. The next Friday David and I took her back to the same spot and caught a grand total of zero. In the car on the way home Sydney says, "I think my Papa needs to take me fishing...Mommy and Daddy don't know how." The picture above is of Papa and Sydney right after she hugged him and said, "We're best friends."

Wow...it has already been almost three weeks since Elle was born. I can't believe how quickly it has gone by! She really is a great baby and is super laid back. We're exicted to say that she still has a full head of black hair, but it is always oily because we all sit around and run our hands through it all day. She is surviving her older sister who is absolutely in love with her, but doesn't quite understand that babies need lots of sleep. Sydney spends a good portion of the day trying to wake Elle up so she can play. We've also had a few close calls with Sydney picking Elle up and carrying her around. Like any good big sister Sydney is also learning to blame lots of things on Elle. Last night we were in the car and Elle started crying. When she stopped, we looked and Sydney had her finger in Elle's mouth. When she realized she was caught she said, "No, baby Elle. Don't put my finger in your mouth!" Still no jealousy issues, so keep your fingers crossed for us on that!

I'm still feeling pretty tired, although I'm getting a ton of sleep considering that I have a newborn. My biggest frustration is not being able to get up and do stuff like I want. A walk around the block the other day kept me sitting around the entire next day because I was sore. I'm ready to get back out and take long walks and do something, really anything. I definitely think this c-section was MUCH, MUCH easier than my first and I'm feeling a lot better at this point than I did at this point last time. But, I'm not a sitter, so I'm still learning how to take it easy.

So, long story short, our house isn't as clean as I'd like and we're eating a lot of cereal and leftovers (thanks to some wonderful friends at work who brought us dinner last week.) We're all learning how to live and function as a family of four instead of three. But, the important thing is that we're all making it one day at a time and surviving!

Sydney and Picture Day

Sydney had her dance class pictures last week. What an exciting day! She thought she looked super cute and was really excited because she got to wear makeup. Her dance recital is in June and they are doing a tap dance to "The Hippy Hippy Shake." I have to say it is super cute, but Daddy thinks she is a little too good at shaking her hips for a three-year-old.

We're now a family of 4!!

Elle Madison Rieske made her grand debut Tuesday, April 29th at 9:01 p.m. She weighed 8 lbs 9 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. She has the prettiest head of black hair we've ever seen. More details when I'm not so drugged!

God made everything

I cherish my grocery time with Sydney - she is always full of questions and it is a great bonding time for us. Yesterday our conversation went something like this:

S: Mom, did God make everything?
M: Yes, he did.
S: Did he make flowers and birds?
M: That's right.
S: (with lots of astonishment and big wide eyes) Did he even make Wal-Mart?

Lessons we've learned

Lesson #1
You don't need snow or even cold weather to wear everything you own that is meant for winter - just strip down to your undies and hula skirt and they'll feel just fine.

Lesson #2

Dogs will only put up with so much dancing.

All day on Wednesday Sydney carried Grizzly around. Grizzly didn't object, but I can't say she liked it either. She tolerated it and even let Sydney lead her around on a leash most of the day. Wednesday night we were watching our DVR'd episode of American Idol and Sydney decided that Grizzly should dance with her. As you can see, she put up with it for a while. Sydney thought it was hilarious, but then Grizzly got tired of being dragged around by her front paws and started gently gnawing on Sydney's hands to make her let go. After much prompting from her Dad, Sydney finally let go. Then Grizzly jumped in my lap and Sydney thought putting her in the laundry basket would be a better idea. So, she chased the poor dog who again jumped back into my lap. She kept tugging at her and finally, after about 15 minutes of torture, Grizzly nipped her. Sydney cried for 10 minutes although there wasn't even a mark. I'd like to say she learned her lesson, but today she's been chasing Grizzly with the laundry basket again.

Weewo and Stitch and Grasshead Progress

Sydney's favorite movie lately has been Lilo and Stitch (weewo and Stitch as it is more commonly known in our house.) She loves when they hula in the beginning and has decided that this skirt from her dress up trunk looks like a hula skirt. So, she wears it everytime she watches the movie. She has memorized the entire dance and I'm pretty sure the entire dialouge in the movie. David and I are both ready for a new favorite.

Also, a little over a week later, here is Sydney's grasshead. On Sunday she decided a haircut and I'd have to say that I agree. She loves watching things grow! This month at school they are learning about the parts of a flower and how they grow from seeds. We constantly get to here about how flowers come from seeds. There is nothing like a 3 year old to teach you everything you need to know about flowers.

Pokey Earrings...a success!

After a lot of phone calls, we ended up getting Sydney's ears pierced at Claire's. Sydney kept saying, "I'm so excited" so the girl doing the piercing finally asked if it was Sydney's idea to get her ears pierced. I assured her it was. We'd tried to talk to about how it was going to hurt, but just for a second like a shot does. She was ok with that and perched herself up in the chair. I had told her earlier that I didn't want her to cry (not that I really expected her not to - I just didn't want a big scene, if possible, from my little drama queen.) There was a girl who was about ten or eleven who went first and she was kind of a wimp about it. Thankfully Sydney didn't watch her. When it was Sydney's turn she got a little nervous, grasped onto the chair and smiled. I was squeezing David's hand really hard because I was so nervous - I remember how those things hurt! So, they counted, clicked (both at the same time) and Sydney's eyes got huge. She just sat there with a shocked look on her face, tears welling up in her eyes. The bottom lip started quivering and that was all this Momma could take. I told her it was ok and then the tears came full force. She cried and cried and everyone around her was telling her how good she did. She probably held the tears off for a total of 30 seconds - even I was impressed. I held her and tried to get her to look at them in the mirror, but she wasn't interested. Mean time, there were some older women in the store looking at me like I was the worst mom ever forcing my child to have her ears pierced. I wanted to kick them in the shin and tell them to get over it because this little girl had been BEGGING to get them done for months and it wasn't my idea. Thankfully I kept the pregnancy hormones in check and didn't cause a scene. After about five minutes of crying and burying her face in my shoulder, Sydney was all about showing everyone just how great her new "pokey earrings" looked. So, for the last several days she keeps pulling her hair up as she walks into a room so everyone can see how beautiful she looks. She almost made me go back in at my OB's office because she forgot to show Dr. Seale. I assured her we'd be back next week and she could show her then.

Speaking of the baby, everything looks good. She has definitely dropped but isn't completely engaged yet, so we might make it until May 2. Unless I have more contractions I'm done with internals - thank goodness for that. So we sit and wait and I drive my husband crazy with all of the cloth diapers talk. I actually found a place in Fayetteville that carries them called Terra Tots, so I have been talking to the owner there. She is a wealth of information and I'm leaning more and more towards the cloth. Her prices seem to be in-line with everything I've found on-line, so I think we'll probably buy them from her if we go that way. She has a starter package for $60 including tax that looks better than any I've found on-line. David says he doesn't care either way and that it is my decision, but I want him on board with whatever way we go. He really wants me to do the 21 day trial first, but it is only $30 less than just buying them and in the end you end up without diapers. Ahh...all of the decisions that come with a baby. I'm so anxious for her to just get here!

Grass Head

Today Sydney and I made her long awaited "grass head." This is a craft my home school class did the other day and I brought home the extras for her to make one. It is basically a chia-pet and quite cute when it finally grows. Sydney decided she wanted to make hers to a football player. I drew the number for her and then she drew the clothes. I think she did a pretty good job - she is getting better and better at drawing things. Especially things with a permanent marker on my bathroom wall, but that is another story. Currently there is a frog drawn with a dry erase marker on my bathroom mirror which by me is an ok art space, dry erase being the key. My favorite part of the frog is the tounge which she drew by sticking hers out so she could see what it looked like. It was really cute.

I've been up since 5 a.m. which I hate, but there was no point in just laying there. So far I've gotten some laundry done and had a chance for more research on cloth diapers. I think I might be crazy, but I think it is what we're going to do part-time at least. I'm not sure we could do them at school and I definitely think I don't want to do them when out and about. I've found a couple of places on-line that allow you to do a trial version. One site is only $10 for 21 days if you decide you don't like them, so I think we may start out with that. Cloth will be a big investment to make if we decide not to do it so I want to make sure that is really what we want to do. I'm amazed at how different cloth diapers are than what I thought they'd be. There are so many options that I've felt a little overwhelmed doing all of the research, but I think I've finally got my feet on the ground. Plus, I don't think it will gross me out as much as I originally thought, especially after potty training. I don't think it is something I would have been brave enough to try with my first, but after all of the poop and pee associated with potty training, what is a little more?

Also on the agenda for today are Sydney's swim lessons. She has had a break since before Christmas and is dying to go back to the Jones Center. She has big plans about going under, we'll see if she sticks to them. Today is also the day she has been working really hard for - POKEY EARRINGS! She has been begging for several months now and David was a little reluctant to let her get them. But, after lots of Sydney persuasion she talked him into getting them. David told her she could get them IF she was good and had no time-outs at school for all of March. She did get it pushed back a week for a "not listening" incident and I can't say she has been the most well behaved child ever, but she has improved and has worked really hard. We've talked about how it will hurt, but only for a second. She isn't thrilled about that part, but she still wants to get them so wish us luck. We'll see what she picks out and how it goes!

Maternity Pics

Here are a few maternity pictures we took tonight. I didn't realize I looked so tired, but so goes life.

You're driving me nuts, kid.

Ok, so the title of this post is a direct quote from Sydney. I was walking around picking things up and she said, "Mom, you're driving me nuts, kid." I think I'm getting on her nerves because I'm going crazy sitting around all of the time via David's orders. And speaking of Miss Cuteness herself, here she is watching Super Why this morning.

So, with part of my new found lazy-time, I've gotten some sewing projects done. The first one I finished is a quilt for Elle. I made Sydney a Razorback blanket when she was born, so I didn't figure I could skip out on that this time. My biggest concern when I started having contractions was that I hadn't finised it. So, it was the first thing I finished. It is far from perfect, but most of my projects are.

The next item of panic was a gift from Elle to Sydney. In our sibling class they suggested bringing a gift from the baby to the big sister for her to "give" her when they meet the first time as a way to make things easier on the older sibling. I decided I wanted Sydney to get a Big Sister shirt, but couldn't find any on-line that I really liked. Plus, they were all about $20 each and kind of corny. I checked on ebay and found these iron-on transfers. They are supposed to be heavier duty than the ones you can print at home. We'll see, but I think they are because they were heavier in weight. So, for $15 including shipping and the shirts I got one for Sydney and for Elle. I added some ribbon and here is the outcome:

If you can't read it they said "Big Sister" and then Sydney across the bottom and "Lil Sister" and Elle across the bottom. Sorry, but with two girls I can't resist the occasional matching shirt thing. While finishing Elle's shirt, my sewing machine messed up again. It is the same problem I had with it last time, so we'll be making a trip to Springdale this morning to drop it off at the Sears repair center. I think this part has a two year warranty, I'm crossing my fingers. But, it looks like my sewing projects are on hold. I guess it is back to scrapbooking if the weather stays nice. David moved my things out to the garage and set me up a crafting area where I can leave my mess out in the random nook in our garage. Sydney will like that because then she'll finally be able to play with the sidewalk chalk we bought last week (it has been cold and/or rainy every day since.)

And, because I think it is cute, here is Elle's coming home outfit. The skirt is a 0-3, but it looks huge compared to the other things. We'll see if it fits or not. I'm dying to see how big she is when she gets here. According to my e-mails she should be finished growing height wise now and is just fattening up, although she should be around 5.5 lbs. Sydney was 8.2 at 38 weeks, so I guess we'll just wait and see.

Drumrolll Please....

Ok, so we have big mouths and probably won't be able to keep a secret until May 2. We finally picked a name for the baby!!! And to answer all of the normal questions - It is just a name we liked. And no, there is not a nickname. I've already made the wall letters for her room, therefore it is set in stone and we aren't changing it. So, unless your comment is "Oh, what a cute name" then we don't want to hear it. :)








So, whenever she decides to come, she will be Elle Madison (pronounced like the letter L). Sydney trying to say it is so super cute since she is still working on the whole L thing.

Due to the whole pre-term labor arrangement, David made me stay home from work today so that is the reason for all of the posts. But, for now I'm out of things to talk about so I will go and find something else to do. I really am not good at this whole being still thing.

Long overdue Easter Pics

The Easter dress. Yes, she picked it out herself which made Mommy kind of sad...I thought I still got a say, but apparently when you are three you get to pick out your own things.

Hunting eggs at Nanny's.

Sydney and me dying Easter Eggs.

My friend Jessica's little girl Chloe and my naked Sydney.

This one is actually from before Easter. Sydney was scratching her back on the fridge pretending to be "Bear Necessities." She thought she was pretty funny, but then again, we did, too.

Baby Coney is trying to come early...

Sydney playing Rock Band.

As of Saturday I am 34 weeks. Yea to being that far along, but we got a wake up call Saturday night. After eating some yummy Mexican, I started having a ton of contractions that were pretty close together. After laying down they didn't go away, so we called the doctor and they said to come in immediately. Well, once we were hooked up to the monitor it turned out that the contractions were coming every five minutes. There were some that I wasn't even feeling, but they were concerned about the number. They did an internal check (I forgot how much those hurt!) and I wasn't dialating, but I was effacing, so they gave me a shot of Brethane (I think that is what it was called.) That worked a little, but not enough so I got a second shot. That one worked and they sent us home. They said that as the days go on they will try less and less to stop it, so we'll see when this little girl shows up.

Our crazy month

Ok, so we haven't updated for a while. Let's see first there was David and the whole appendix thing. He thought he hurt himself working out, so he was getting zero sympathy from me. We went on to the Razorback game as planned and he was in a lot of pain. I told him he wasn't 20 anymore, so he needed to either work out or not, but either way stick to one. Well, after yelling at him for keeping me and Bear up all night, I took him to the doctor and he came back without an appendix. Yeah, good one me, right? What a loving wife I am. I'll blame it on the hormones. This was all on a Thursday.

So, that Sunday I was getting stir crazy and of course David was little help getting much done, so I decided to climb in a chair to get my laminator down. (My FHE packets were due that week!) Between being clumsy and pregnant, I managed to fall and land my belly right on the back of the chair. Good move, huh? So about five hours later I noticed Baby Coney wasn't moving much and got worried. I called the doctor and they said to come in right away. They asked if I had someone to drive me, which I didn't because David was doped up on hydrocodene and we aren't letting Sydney drive long distances quite yet (we thought we'd wait until she can at least reach the pedals). So, they offered to call an ambulance. Um, no thanks. So, I drove myself to labor and delivery. David felt dumb about that, but I assured him it was ok. Of course, as babies do, as soon as we got checked in to the hospital she started moving around like crazy. We had to stay a while and get her monitored, but were sent home knowing she was doing great and looked very mature on the monitors.

Other than that we've been cleaning out the garage, getting the nursery ready, and picking a name for our little girl. We're all really anxious for her to get her. Sydney keeps saying, "Mom, I'm so cited!" (translation, I'm so excited) So, we wait. We have a c-section scheduled for May 2 at 8:45.