Tag: Friends

I have great friends

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Her first BFF

Della has a little troupe of girls with whom she likes to play the most in the kids care room at the gym, and I just love it. I simply cannot get enough of seeing these tiny little girls running around together, laughing, playing, singing, being silly, and just embodying the true spirit of children.

There is one little girl in particular who Della absolutely adores, Josie, and the feeling is 100% mutual. It’s so cute, I just can’t get over it. Josie’s mom is an instructor at the gym and only teaches a class there 1 morning a week, so it’s not even like they’re playing together constantly. But there is just a friendship there that has grown so strong that they both talk about each other nonstop.

Josie’s mom told me last week that every time Josie makes up a story, Della is the main character with her on her adventures. And with Della, it’s the exact same way. Josie always makes the top of the list of friends whenever we’re talking about other people. And both Josie’s mom and I are amazed at how much they love each other, since they only see one another for such a short amount of time each week.

Della has started her first little dance class at the gym on Monday mornings, and today was bring a friend day. So when I saw Josie’s mom leaving the gym last week, I asked if they would be around today and would Josie like to come to dance class as Della’s friend. She thought it sounded like a great idea and said she hoped their schedule was free so Josie could make it. I said great! No need to let me know for sure, just come on in if it works, and if it doesn’t, no big deal at all.

Yesterday I told Della that Josie might be coming to the gym 2 times this week so she could go to dance class with her, and she was so excited. So you can only imagine how thrilled I was when I saw Josie and her mom walk in this morning that Della and Josie were going to get to play together all morning in the kids room, as well as overload the dance studio with their cuteness for the class. We even brought a special extra bag of fruit snacks for Josie just in case she showed up, since she always brings one to give to Della.

Josie’s mom and I peeked in the studio door once the class started, and I just about died they were so incredibly adorable. Just picture 2 tiny little bodies (Josie doesn’t turn 3 until November, so she’s smaller than D), hopping around, swinging in circles, trying to imitate their teacher. Josie even had on a little ballet outfit complete with pink skirt, and I could barely stand how fun it was to see them in there together.

Josie’s mom said Josie was so excited to come this morning and dance with Della that she was literally jumping up and down at home beforehand. My mama heart nearly exploded when I heard that. Knowing that a little friend cares about Della so much and is so genuine just makes me smile to no end. So much better than that stupid little troll at the family holiday party this past winter. Oh, did I just say that out loud? Sorry.

Unfortunately they live in a different school district than we do, because I was really hoping D and Josie would get to grow up in school together. Guess we’ll just have to keep getting these little ones together to play outside of their future school days, so they really can grow into full-fledged BFFs.

 

 

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Friday Funk

Ok, 2 things today…

Last week I got a total “Mama Fails” award. The event I had been fearing and dreading finally happened. Lana fell off the changing dresser. Ugh!

I knew this was going to happen since she is now so squirmy and rolly when you put her up there, so I can’t believe I actually thought I was going to get away with what I did. I put her on there after she woke up that morning (i think it was tuesday last week. or maybe wednesday) to take her out of her sleep sack and change her diaper. And with “don’t walk away and leave her there alone” ringing in my head, I turned and walked over to the window to open the shades. I slid one side opened, checked to make sure she was still staying put, turned back to open the other side, and that’s when it happened.

Rustle, rustle, THUD!!

Oh my god, I about died. I turned around when I heard the rustling and saw her mid-fall, then landing smack on the hardwood floor. The poor thing sounded like a melon dropping onto the ground, and I almost threw up when it happened. Seeing her little body, still zipped up in her jammie sack heading face-first toward the floor was mortifying. I tried to reach out to stop her, but I was too far away.

I seriously wanted to cry. She rolled off the changing mat from her back, so that’s why she was falling face-first, but she must have been continuing the roll during the fall, because when I got to her she was on her back. But holy shit, that sound when she landed… I think it’s going to haunt me forever. It was this solid thud that reverberated to my core. And hers, obviously.

She started screaming instantly, and unfortunately so did Della, because she was standing right there with us. D said she was so upset because one of her Fruit Loops had gone under the dresser from which Lana had just fallen, which it had, but I know Lana’s fall scared the crap out of her too. These girls love each other to no end, and they get upset when the other does too.

I scooped her right up, not even considering the fact that that may not have been the smartest thing to do, and just held her as close as I could to try and calm her. She bawled for a good 5 minutes, but eventually I got both of them calmed down so we could get on with our morning.

I was terrified that I had given her a concussion or brain damage or something, so of course I looked up signs of a concussion in infants immediately. Thankfully her instant screaming was a good sign – she never lost consciousness, not even for a split second. Also, she had no bleeding out of any orifice, and she had only the tiniest bump on one side of her head that disappeared within the hour. I did speak with a nurse at her pediatrician’s office, and she confirmed that the fact that she cried immediately, had no bleeding or vomiting, had eaten fine since the fall, and was up and playing as usual were all great signs that nothing was wrong. She even said Lana was fine to take her morning nap, since she was getting sleepy by that point.

The nurse said the first 2 hours after an accident are the most critical time to watch out for any signs of trauma, and fortunately Lana exhibited none. I cannot even express how relieved I was. I still felt like the worst mother on Earth for allowing the fall to happen in the first place, but knowing that I hadn’t permanently and severely damaged my baby did help me breathe a little easier for the rest of that day.

So a word of advice – as soon as your baby starts moving, do NOT leave him/her on top of high places. I know that is the most obvious advice ever, but I just kept pushing and pushing my toe over that line figuring I’d never actually let it go so far that she would fall, but obviously I pushed it too far. If you’re worried that they’re going to fall, they probably will. So just keep them safe. I don’t want anyone else to ever have to hear that noise of their child crashing onto the floor from 3 feet up.

But on a happier note, I’m going out for a girls night tonight! Yippee!! I can’t wait. It’s Downtown Dining Week right now here in Milwaukee, so we’re trying out one of the restaurants on that list. It will be so much fun catching up with my girlfriends and having a few delicious cocktails on a nice spring night.

Have a great weekend, everyone! See you next week.

 

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Buffett #9

Saturday was our annual trip to the Jimmy Buffett concert at Alpine Valley, and I’m pretty sure this was my 9th show. We’ll have to do something fun for my 10th anniversary next year. A signature cocktail maybe?

This was the 2nd time I’ve gone while 7+ months pregnant, and I will admit, it wasn’t quite as fun this time around as it was when I was pregnant with D for some reason. Maybe it was the 5k I walked the night before that wiped me out. I don’t know, but I was just so tired the whole time, it made for a very long 12 hour day.

It’s always great to see our friends with whom we go with each year, though. They bring a whole spread of food, Ryan makes his famous gumbo, we set up our tent, crank up the tunes, and watch the crazy. The row in which we parked this year was pretty tame, though, so there wasn’t a whole lot of good people-watching from my chair, and since it was 90 degrees again I was definitely not up for doing the whole parking lot walkabout this time.

But overall it was a really good day. I saw a guy with whom I swam at Madison and his wife, and they’re wonderful people, so it was fun to catch up with them. R’s ego was permanently boosted when 8 Louisiana natives said his gumbo was the best they’ve ever had, and I don’t think they were just blowing smoke up his ass either – it was delicious, as always. He definitely had his fair share of the cocktails, though, and was walking on a slant by the time we headed back to the car. Mind you, Alpine Valley’s parking lots are completely flat. 😉

And of course the music was as awesome as ever. It’s hard to believe Jimmy’s 65, the way he still rocks it on stage. They did just play 1 big long 2.5 hour set this time, though, instead of their usual 2 set show with an intermission. Maybe they’re getting ready for the end? My favorite part was when they all sat down for their acoustic-ish segment, during which they played “Southern Cross”, one of my all-time favorite songs.

Then, somehow, our exit from the usually chaotic, jam-packed parking lots was the fastest ever. The friend to whom we had given a ride was already back at our car when R and I arrived, we were able to pull right out of our row, and we were home a solid 2 hours earlier than normal. We typically stay and fire up the grill again afterwards to wait out the traffic, but this year we were just elated to be out of there so early and easily.

So here’s a little peek into the day. We didn’t end up taking many pictures at all this year, but we did manage to get a couple good group shots as various people showed up. And here’s to not being pregnant for the next show!

no tailgating and no alcoholic beverages? oh yeah right. then why did we get there 8 hours before show time, ha!

another of r’s annual treats – teriyaki shrimp skewers. yum!

boys stirring gumbo

group shot #1

 

group shot #2

yes, the 31 week pregnant girl had had enough. and this was before we even went into the show, haha!

 

 

 

 

 

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A day at the races

Saturday we went up to Road America in Elkhart Lake to watch the AMA Pro Racing Superbike races, and it was a great day. It started off a little breezy and chilly when the sun went behind clouds and then some rain passed through late in the day actually delaying the final race of the afternoon, but as a whole we had some really nice weather.

R made a batch of his famous jambalaya and we caught up with some friends we hadn’t seen in years, so fun was had by all. I will admit, this is the first time I’ve been to these races and stayed sober the entire day, but it was still a wonderful time. I’m not big into motorcycle racing by any means, but seeing those bikes in action is always pretty amazing.

Plus D had a blast running around all the open grassy areas near where we were sitting and even found some puppies to pet. Her day was complete.

It was a typical tailgate set up, except instead of watching a ball game, we were watching motorcycles zoom by on the track. D actually didn’t mind the noise at all, which was a nice surprise.

The way these guys take corners is insane and always blows my mind no matter how many times I see it.

Like I said, our littlest racer had a great day too.

Running up and down the hill with Daddy helped tucker her out for a nap in the stroller as we walked around the pits, checking out all the bikes up close and in person.

We got to see a racer from one of the TV shows R watches, so that was pretty cool too (#23 in the picture above with the 2 bikes). Once again, the knee-draggin’ was in full effect and Road America did not disappoint.

One of the highlights though, for me anyway, came right at the end of the day as we were leaving. Our good friend Craig, who hadn’t met D before that morning, commented on how well-behaved she was all day, just having her own little fun being around everyone. He said we must be so proud. Yes, yes we are.

 

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Happy anniversary to me!

Today marks 1 year exactly since my very 1st post on ScooterMarie. Now how do I go about celebrating that?

image source

I would have loved to show you screen shots from all the iterations of my blog design since last March, but unfortunately I was never trolled by archive.org so I can’t grab any of those for you. ‘Tis a shame, too, since this blog looks WAY different than it did when I 1st started.

It actually looks a lot different than it did just a few months ago. Damn you, Wayback Machine! Why didn’t you find me?

So hmm… What can I say about this 1 year milestone in the blogosphere?

I can honestly say it’s something I never really thought I’d do. For years, whenever I heard the word “blog” I just automatically assumed it meant a tech-based website that was going to be completely over my head in jargon. Not my bag.

Not once did I think this world was full of the humor, wit, class, emotion, ideas, and just all around sense of camaraderie that it has turned out to be. I think that’s the best part about this past year of blogging – all the wonderful blogs and people behind them that I have discovered.

People laugh when I say “My blogging friend so-and-so,” but it’s true. I genuinely consider all of you friends, all of you people who currently only live in the Internet for me, whom I haven’t yet met in real life.

But I still feel like I know you – I’ve read about your families, I’ve learned of your struggles, I’ve laughed at your stories, and I keep you in my reader for more. Now don’t you feel special!

But it’s true – I consider you girls (and guys!) my friends.

And I have a feeling that if (or hopefully when) we do meet in person someday, I will be proven correct. We will be friends.

Thank you all (both from the Internet and in real life) for coming to ScooterMarie and reading my words. It’s your comments and connections that make this so much fun.

So here’s to continued friendships through ScooterMarie. I love telling you our crazy stories, and I hope you’ll keep coming back for more.

1 year down, many to go…

 

 

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Hooray beer!

Happy Leap Day! I’m not really sure what the proper way to honor a day that comes only once every 4 years is, but how about with some beer? Sounds good to me – come on in!

Last Saturday we went to Bockfest at Capital Brewery in Middleton, WI, just on the west side of Madison. This was our 2nd year in a row, and it’s so much fun.

We go with our great friends E & C, and they’ve gone a number of years now. 4 I think? We got over there early (this year we met up at their house around 8:30am), head to a local bar just a few blocks from the brewery called the Hody, then mosey into the fest at 11.

Ticket holders are granted entry at 11, general public is allowed in at noon if there is any space available, taps close at 4, and everyone is kicked out by 5. It’s always held the last Saturday of February, so you’re guaranteed to be cold in Wisconsin at that time, and it has become our annual beginning of the beerfest/pub crawl season.

I drove us home again this year so didn’t indulge quite as much as everyone else, but I still had plenty of fun. R took his usual plethora of pictures, so here is a nice rundown of the day, photo style…

The line is always long, even for ticket holders. Fortunately it moves quickly once they open the gates.

That doesn’t put a damper on our good times, though!

Once everyone is in and ready to go, they hold the traditional running of the blondes – it’s a 1k jog around the block. Very taxing. I’ll have to remember my blonde wig next time. It’s also a little play on words, since their Blonde is the featured brew at Bockfest – highly delicious, highly potent, and you only get half a mug full. And everyone only gets 1.

You always see a multitude of crazy costumes and hats at Bockfest, and R found the banana guy again this year. Turns out he’s one of E’s little brother’s friends. Small beer world.

Workers of the brewery and their family/friends throw stuff off the roof of the place all day long. Why? Who knows. But if you toss anything into a crowd of drunk people they’re guaranteed to go nuts.

This time they threw beads, little plush dinosaurs (a new addition this year, but they matched the green brontosaurus statue that resides permanently on the brewery roof. r caught one for d!), and smoked chub. Yes, those are fish, and it is totally disgusting. I made sure I was far inside this year before the chub came out – if I got hit with one of those nasty things I was ready to punch someone.

By the time they kicked us out of the place we were more than ready to head downtown for some delicious grub on our way out of town, but not before we stopped off for a few quick shots in the oversized tailgating chairs.

And that makes another successful Bockfest in the books. I think I like this tradition. Cheers!

 

 

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5 new faves

For the past couple weeks I’ve been doing a 31-day blog-improvement challenge hosted by the SITS Girls. It’s proven to be a lot to take in and I haven’t been the best at keeping up with all of the tasks on the days they are assigned, but I have found some most excellent bloggers in the process.

And why keep their magic all to myself? I’m no blog hoarder, despite what that list that grows daily in my Google reader may say.

So today I want to share the love with youse guys. (don’t start sending hate mail – NO, i don’t really talk like that. just thought i’d throw in a little Sconnie-accent humor)

Here, in no particular order, are 5 wonderful blogs that you should totally go check out. And don’t forget to tell them I sent you. ‘Cause I’m cool like that.

*****

Blairadise – Blair is a girl from the good ‘ol U. S. of A. now living in South Africa with her most beautiful family. I’m not even kidding. Her darling daughter just turned 1, so I love following her stories with a little girl pretty close to D’s age.

 
 

The Kids Are Alright – Seriously, this girl has it goin’ on. Angie lives in Madison (gold star right there!) and writes about it all – toddlers, fashion, balance, and blogging. She is full of the awesome, like this post of tips for new bloggers. And yes, I etched them all in my memory.

Angie also writes for Mama’s Gone Madison, a fantastic group of Madison mamas sharing resources for families in that Badger-loving area (which will always hold a special piece of my heart!).

 

Ramble Ramble – Ginger is simply wonderful, and I adore her blog. I mean just look at her header – it’s a box of candy! What’s not to love? This marketing mama is driven to have her own little creative space on these crazy interwebs, and she does an awesome job sharing tips and stories she’s found along the way. What first drew me to her blog was this tale, wherein I discovered that they, too, lived in Jersey City and loved losing themselves in the streets of Manhattan and the surrounding area. Small world!

 

The Wine{a}be – Suzanne has been a great help during this bloggy challenge we’re both undertaking, and her blog is beautiful. She’s all about the ins and outs of life in SoCal Wine Country (lucky girl!), and I hope that someday I, too, can explore all the magnificent places out there that she gets to experience daily. Oh, and I like wine too! Duh.

 
 
 
 

Little Green Bow – Deanna is one super cute girl with one super cute blog. She’s a DIY maven who loves a good challenge and even started her own software company! She also lives near my sisters, so I just automatically kinda feel like she’s part of the family. Except she doesn’t know me or my sisters, but that’s not creepy at all. Ahem. She also has a fantastic Etsy shop!

 
These beautiful ladies are all on Twitter and some are on Facebook too, if you’d like to follow them, so go have a few good new reads. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!