Family – Page 10 – Jocelyn Rau

November 11, 2011December 18, 2011

11~11~11

First of all, Happy Veterans Day. Thank you so very much to all our servicemen and women for all you do, have done, and always continue to do.

But back to that date. Cool, eh? Especially if you’re one of those people who loves the superstition surrounding 11:11 and all that, today must be like Christmas!

Speaking of Christmas, how is it that it’s already basically the middle of November?? Who told the Holidays they had permission to sneak up like this? Yes, Holidays with a capital H, because they always barge right in and steamroll over everyone/thing like they own the whole end of the year. Eat this turkey! Wrap these presents! Drink this nog! Geez.

Don’t get me wrong – I love the Holidays. Especially Thanksgiving; it has surpassed Christmas as my favorite. You get to relax (hopefully) and spend time with family (unless you can’t stand your family, then i guess it wouldn’t really be one of your faves), eat a ton of delicious food, and not have to worry about the gift-giving that comes with Christmas. And then later that night and certainly the next day (or 5) comes the best part – leftovers! R has started a tradition in our house, too, that beginning on Thanksgiving we play the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack to kick off the Christmas music season. NOT BEFORE!

Then Christmas is great, because who doesn’t like getting presents (or if you’re like me you actually enjoy giving them more now)? Plus all the decorations are really beautiful, and I do still feel like there’s just something magical about Christmas. Especially if we get a white Christmas (the 1 time of year i actually will tolerate and kind of welcome a snowfall) – I always feel like I could go outside and find some secret reindeer hoof prints somewhere. And Christmas morning? Forget it. I always feel like a kid when my eyes first pop open that day – it’s Christmas!! Now having a kid of our own, it’s even better. It will really be fun once D gets the whole idea, and I hope we can keep the Christmas magic alive for her for years and years to come. And yes, I still put out cookies and milk for Santa. It’s tradition!

And of course then comes New Year’s Eve, the granddaddy of all parties. What better excuse to have a bunch of bubbly and make out with your beloved at the stroke of midnight? (or all night long if you’ve imbibed in a little too much of said bubbly. *ahem*) Streamers and hats and confetti and noise makers and fancy outfits, because everyone needs a little bit of sparkle on New Year’s Eve. It’s fun. And last year we did even make it up past midnight with tiny barely-5-month-old D snuggled soundly in her crib.

This year will be a little different, however. Thanksgiving is golden – we’re spending the day itself at home, just the 3 of us, which will be awesome. Then D and I are heading down to my mom’s house for a couple days to see family, and R’s going up to his fam’s area to see them and attend his 15 year high school reunion that he’s organizing. But then for Christmas, we’re leaving on a jet plane to get our luau on in HAWAII! That’s right, don’t hate. We are so lucky to be getting to spend the entire holiday week on the sunny shores of Maui. Aloha Oe! We fly back overnight on NYE, spend a day with my sisters and brother-in-law in Denver, and get home in 2012. Crazy.

So you see, it’s kind of a non-traditional celebration for us this year. It’ll be awesome, no doubt, but it’s oddly kind of throwing my brain into a planning tizzy. Like should we get a Christmas tree since we won’t even be home over Christmas? And if we do, should I take it down and throw it out before we leave so I don’t have to mess with it when we get home, or would that be too much of a dead giveaway to potential robbers (always thinking, i am)? Are we doing gifts out there with everyone (we’re going with my mom, stepdad, 2 sisters, bro-in-law, and step-bro and -sis), because how are we going to pack presents without spending a mortgage payment on overweight bag fees or taking 24 suitcases? What in the hell are we going to do with a toddler on a what, 8 hour flight? Make that TWO 8 hour flights. Do I need to go shopping for anything before we go or do D and I have sufficient cuteness in our wardrobes for a Christmas week in the sun (R’s good. it’s so not fair how boys can pack for any extended amount of time in approximately 7 minutes)? Because let’s be honest – traveling to beachy places is all about looking good while soaking up rays (yes, wearing SPF. i’m sure i’ve done plenty of sun damage to my skin already for about 18 lifetimes). Oh, and enjoying my wonderful family’s company, of course.

So you see, my organization-loving mind is starting to spin a little. I am truly excited for this trip, because although I’ve been to Hawaii 5 times now, I’ve only been to Maui once, and that was our honeymoon. And it’s one of the few places I’ve ever been where I really would have been totally fine never coming home. It’s simply amazing. But my Holiday calendar is now a little gnarly. Throw in a trip to central IL the weekend after Thanksgiving to see my dad and his side of the family, and my free weekends between now and the end of the year are quickly running out. Maybe I’ll just look at this picture continually until then to wash some of the worries away and remember to just have fun and enjoy the Holiday season, no matter where we are…

October 31, 2011October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!

So yesterday was the assigned day for trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Does anyone else have this? Designated times and days for trick-or-treating? Personally, I think it’s dumb. I mean I know they do it for safety and stuff like that, but really? It kind of takes the fun out of the holiday. When we were younger you always went trick-or-treating on Halloween night, no matter what day of the week it was, after dinner, with your parent who waited on the sidewalk while you went up to every door you could manage before your feet got too tired or your pumpkin got too full of candy or that parent who was so patiently tagging along decided it was time to go home. Now for us it’s always the Sunday before Halloween, or if Halloween happens to be on a Sunday then I guess we luck out.

And what really stinks about having trick-or-treating this way is that you always get inundated with people who bring in carloads of kids from all different areas of the city to simply clean up on getting all the candy they can, every day they can. That’s not fair. You don’t live here, I’ve never seen you before, and you’re neither wearing a costume nor bothering to say “trick-or-treat”! That’s the part that really annoys me.

But anyway… Yesterday was D’s first time trick-or-treating, and it was so much fun! Last year she was still just a wee lass and sat on Daddy’s knee to help pass out candy as a little moo-cow. This year, however, she was big enough to walk around to a handful of our neighbors’ houses with Daddy and get her own candy in her little orange pumpkin. She was Little Red Riding Hood, and Daddy was her Big Bad Wolf. Love!!

Friday morning - I was a ladybug for trick-or-treating at daycare!

P1090551 — 1 of 3 ladybugs that morning (but still the cutest!)

Happy Halloween!!

October 27, 2011October 27, 2011

I’m crazy pumpkin head – give me some candy!

Unlike my husband, who holds this as his favorite holiday, I’ve never really been a big Halloween fan. Maybe it’s because I’m extremely uncreative (if that’s a word) and can never think up nor really feel like putting together a good costume, whereas he is the master. I mean, I always liked Halloween parties in school and stuff, and admire people who go all out on the decorations. You know, dry ice for scary smoke; bowls of jello, spaghetti, and grapes to represent various guts and body parts; robotic mummies and witches all over the place to bend over or jump out and scare you at just the right moment; spooky music. It’s just never been my thing to try and set up all that paraphernalia.

I’m more the simple pumpkins and mums on the front porch type. And although I’m the biggest wimp on the planet, I will admit that even I do like a really good, seriously frightening horror movie this time of the year. As long as there’s someone sitting next to me into whose lap I can jump, or a giant blanket under which to hide myself at the really terrifying parts, that is.

Carving pumpkins has never been the highlight of my year either, as I hate grabbing through all the innards and usually just go with a traditional smiling jack-o-lantern face. This year, however, I decided to spice things up a bit with the carving. We had a couple carving kits leftover from years past that I busted out last night, and we now have some pretty sweet-looking pumpkins on our front steps. And no, I didn’t suddenly get all artistically talented or anything; they were stencils. R did do D’s free-hand, though. See, I told you he’s the creative one in this family.

A little pumpkin? For me? Thanks! (pay no attention to the overflowing recycling bin in the background. *ahem*)

Clothes get in the way of pumpkin carving

Bonus pic - D's new play corner in the living room

p12 — Mommy's (pattern was really called pumpkin head)

Didn’t they turn out great? It only took a couple hours to get them all finished because I had to give D a bath in the middle and then her incoming molar caused a scene at bedtime, but I’d say it was worth it. I did enjoy seeing D playing with her pumpkin this year, so that got me a little more in the Halloween spirit. And instead of real candles, this year we’re using little flickering pumpkin lights so we don’t have to worry about them constantly blowing out. Geniuses at work, I tell ya.

Happy Halloween!

September 22, 2011September 26, 2011

Worth at least a couple thousand words

Ever have one (or more) of those weeks where you just can’t seem to get caught up? That’s how I’ve felt since we got back from Colorado the other weekend. I’ve been doing a lot of exploring of and venturing farther out into the social media/networking world, and have set some pretty lofty goals for myself with this here little blog, which has ended up taking up much of the time I usually use to dedicate to my posts. Hence, the lack of pictures for you.

Until now! I finally picked out the ones I thought best summed up our awesome trip. The wedding was beautiful, the scenery was divine, and the company couldn’t have been better. Besides D’s illnesses, it was fantastic. Congratulations again to my sister M and now brother-in-law C – may you enjoy a long and happy lifetime together!

I made the photos small again since there are so many, so please click on any to make them bigger:

R pretending he's freezing on an "ice cube" chair at Coors

Continue reading “Worth at least a couple thousand words”

September 13, 2011February 9, 2012

Stye-clops and her barking seal

So first of all, Colorado was awesome. D did absolutely splendidly on the planes, much better than I even expected. On the flight out she was a little fussy and squirmy after we boarded, but drank almost 2 bottles of milk right away, was asleep before takeoff, and slept the entire flight. Coming home she was awake for takeoff but fell asleep shortly after then woke up probably about 3/4 of the way through the flight, but barely made a peep once she did wake up.

The wedding was amazingly beautiful, I could not be happier for my sister and new brother-in-law, and it was wonderful to spend time with family.

However…

I started getting a stye on my upper right eyelid on Wednesday of last week, the day we flew out there. Seriously? A stye? I thought only kids got those, since the only people I ever remember seeing with them were those in my grade and high school classes.

I’d never had one until then, and man was it a bitch. It made my whole eye socket area feel like I’d been punched, it felt like I had a piece of sand under my eyelid, and I had to wear my stupid glasses for 2 days. I hate wearing my glasses. Fortunately it cleared up enough by Friday to wear my contacts again, and by wedding day Saturday it was basically gone. Thank heavens! I read they can last up to a week or 2. Gross!

Also…

D got sick this weekend. Really sick.

She had the makings of a cold and a little bit of a cough before we left, but Saturday the full brunt of the illness hit her. Just in time to perform her flower girl duties, poor little thing. But, being the sweet little trooper she is, she didn’t let it stop her and was, what I believe to be, the cutest flower girl in the history of flower girls. She made it all the way down the aisle to me like a pro, with just a minor detour back to Daddy and a chat with a couple of the guests.

So anyway, I stayed home with her yesterday and got in to see her doctor because she just kept getting worse. Turns out she has croup and a double ear infection. Fabulous! I actually suspected the ear infections (i didn’t realize it’d be a double one again, i thought 1 would be plenty) because the first one she had came with the gagging cough, but I certainly didn’t expect croup.

I didn’t really even know what it was, but once I looked up the symptoms it sounded exactly like lil’ Miss D – harsh cough that can sound like a barking seal and comes with sharp intakes of breath. Bingo. She would take these hoarse, rasping breaths and then cough so hard she’d gag, often barf, and start crying. You could just hear how painful it was for her, and with all the barfing she really hasn’t eaten a meal since Friday.

So they gave her an oral dose of a 3-day steroid at the doctor’s office yesterday, then put her on amoxicillin again, which we started last night. They said she could go back to daycare today as long as her fever was gone, which it was this morning, but she was in no shape for school. Still coughing like a little seal and could barely keep her eyes open. So today’s another sick day for the babe.

I will have plenty of pics from the weekend soon, once I get them all uploaded, but here is a little teaser of our wedding travels.

D rehearsing on Friday night. How cute is this one??

September 10, 2011September 7, 2011

9~10~11

Today my sister M marries her boyfriend of 8 years, C, and we are so excited to be a part of the happy event!

Congratulations, you guys!! We love you both so very much, and can’t wait to share in many, many years of your love, laughter, and happiness together.

September 7, 2011September 2, 2011

Off we go

Into the wild blue yonder. Or Colorado, whichever.

My sister M gets married on Saturday, so tonight we head west for the rest of the week and weekend. I couldn’t find a picture of the exact dress I will be wearing, but it’s similar to this one except in purple:

I’ll make sure to post some pictures when we return to show you the real thing. These, however, are my exact shoes. A terrible choice for what turned out to be an outdoor ceremony, and I haven’t spent nearly enough time breaking them in, so I’m afraid they won’t last long. I’m definitely taking a pair of flats or flip-flops or something to wear when I can no longer stand these skyscrapers:

And I know you’re all dying to know, so here’s what D is wearing as well:

ddress — A little blurry and unfortunately I don't know the brand, Neiman Marcus

Wish us luck on the flights, and I’ll see you next week!

Category: Family

11~11~11

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Happy Halloween!

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I’m crazy pumpkin head – give me some candy!

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Worth at least a couple thousand words

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Stye-clops and her barking seal

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9~10~11

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Off we go

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