Happy 2nd Birthday Taryn!

May 20th Taryn turned 2 years old! On the 21st, we celebrated this momentous occasion. I wasn't sure what theme to do for Taryn's party. She loves Mickey Mouse, Sid the Science Kid, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. I likely would have gone with Mickey, but Lee's sister had JUST done a Mickey party for their daughter a few months earlier and I didn't really want anyone to have deja vu! So... Wheel of Fortune it is!!!

My student made this painting for Taryn's birthday.

My mom made this Wheel for Taryn's party.

The cupcakes had letter tiles that spelled out "Happy Second Birthday Taryn". The other cupcakes had dollar amounts and other prizes like "Doll House" "Disney Trip" etc.

Family pic minus Taryn (she was still napping).

Mich & Sam made the trek down to celebrate which was much appreciated!!

Kylan was there for Taryn to adore.

Taryn actually blew out her own candle. And unlike last year, she knew exactly how to chow down on her cupcake!

Cute smiles from Kylan!

BUBBLES!!!

One of the toughest things for me about Taryn being two (other than the stubborn Terrible Two's temper tantrums) is realizing that next birthday she'll be THREE! Three just seems SO old. I know I should live in the moment, but that's just not how I work.

Taryn, these last two years you have brought me so many moments that I will treasure forever. While sometimes I get frustrated with how clingy you can be, I know I need to hang on to these moments where you want to sit on my lap and snuggle. You are absolutely amazing to me and I know your daddy feels the same. Your smile and your sociable personality brings joy to so many people in our family. I love you baby girl!!

Lee Has a Baby

Since Lee got his new job, we have been looking to upgrade his '97 Ford Explorer. The thing had like 186k miles on it, so it was nearing the end of its life. Lee wanted a truck. So, we had been looking for a truck for about 6 weeks. We FINALLY found one. This isn't the actual truck, but it is identical to this!!
As some of you may know, I consider myself a Ford person, so I am adapting to driving a Chevy around. But, I must admit, it's a nice truck.

It is especially good that we finally found Lee a truck since there was an incident this week with the Jeep. Lee was driving Taryn to daycare when they got hit by a deer. An UNINSURED deer. So irresponsible. But, literally, a deer ran into the drivers' side door. Lee swears that it came through the window and head-butted him. The phone call from Lee went something like this:

Lee: You need to come pick me up. A deer ran into me.
Lauren: OK. You were on your way back from daycare right?
Lee: No. Taryn is still with me.
Lauren: OH MY GOD IS SHE OK?

Needless to say, I was MUCH more appalled when I heard Taryn had been in the car. When I got to the scene of the crash, the car was blanketed in broken glass. She was just quietly holding her backpack. I asked her "Taryn, do you have any ouchies???" She lifted up her hand and showed me a tiny scratch from our cat three days earlier. I figured she was fine after that.

So, the Jeep is in the shop. And I'm driving... The Explorer. Yeah, I got screwed on that deal!!

So true...

P.S. This t-shirt was for sale at Wal-Mart. Classic!

Random Cuteness

I'm sitting here going through pictures wondering how my baby is two days from turning TWO!

Close Call

"Oh great. I'm trying to get in my 22 hours of sleep and here comes that darn toddler."

"Shit, is that a blanket she's wielding? Is she going to smother me? I'm only 4 years old child! It's not my time!"
"Crisis averted... I think."

"Yes, yes, she's just putting a baby blanket on me. Cats don't use blankets... The things that I have to put up with these days."

"Ok, so I dodged the close call with the smothering, but now I'm getting beaten. Where are her damn parents?"

Math Careers

On Friday my Geometry classes finished up the last section of the last chapter of our entire textbook. Woohoo! We even did it with a few days to spare. Since many of my students claim that math is useless, I decided to make them look into careers that use mathematics, their salaries, their job satisfaction, all of that jazz. My expectations were pretty low. I've seen some of my students' writing and it is pretty atrocious. What I got... A lot of plagiarism mixed with some ridiculousness. Thought I would share a few snippets.

Topic: Actuary (yeah, this is one you're not going to be able to BS)
I could tell that the student had straight up copy-pasted his whole paper, but I really couldn't prove it until this spot:
"The goals of the program include that students be well prepared for the exams they tak, that they will be knowledgeable about the career and in technical areas, and that they have a well-rounded education. In addition, we hope that many students will have passed the Course 1 exam by January of their Junio year to help when applying for internships, and at least one more exam by January of their Senior year when they are applying for permanent jobs."
Um, who is this "we"?

Topic: Was supposed to be Civil Engineer. Somehow he did Sociologist.
This student also had a bunch of garbage that was clearly copied off of the internet. Then...
"The presidential election of 1996, for example, turns on the tide of voter sentiment regarding the controvesial issues of welfare, immigration, and abortion rights."
What?!? I am so confused.

Topic: Computer Programmer
I appreciate that this student did not just copy off the internet. I just thought this part was funny/cute.
"To be able to be a computer programmer you have to be able to speak computer languages."
I guess you would be speaking in binary? 1-0-0-1-0-1

Topic: Actuary (again)
"Actuaries have desk jobs, and their offices usually are comfortable and pleasant."
Mmm, I do remember feeling warm and cozy in my cubicle.

Topic: Math Scientist
This is the entire paper this student submitted. Keep in mind I said it should be a page long...
"Math scientists figure out problem that no one can also they make different equations and find different ways to find out easyer ways to figure out problems. they make about 75,000 a year they work in labs."

Topic: Inventory Stragist
"A inventory stragist could work anywhere most commonly they work at clothing stores like the gap, banana Republican..."
Banana Republican... Is that where George W shops?

After reading these, I understand why our school is on academic probation!

Taryn-isms

* About a week ago Taryn and I were packing up our photo albums to move. We had to look through every album and Taryn would ask "Who's that?" to EVERY picture. While looking through Lee's baby album, I kept saying "That's daddy when he was a baby. That's daddy when he was a baby..." Now for the last week, every now and then when she talks about Lee she calls him Daddy-Baby.

* Like all toddlers, Taryn will play the game where she covers her eyes and we say "Where's Taryn?" Lately she has a new version of the game where instead of covering her eyes she covers her nose and says "Where's Taryn's nose?"

* Taryn has formed a new love for Jeopardy. Or at least just the beginning of Jeopardy. Now for the entire time we are watching Wheel, she just keeps asking "Where's Jeppy? Jeppy? Jeppy mommy?"

* Taryn also hates commercials just like her dad. She has been spoiled by "Mouse" which doesn't have any commercials. Recently she has been watching Sid the Science Kid. Anytime there is a commercial, or just a part where Sid isn't on the screen, she'll repeatedly say "Where's Kid? Where's Kid? Where'd Kid go?" until he comes back on the screen.

* Our new house is out in the midst of all the windmills that now cover Benton County. For some reason, everytime we see windmills, Taryn associates them with Lee's dad. We cannot figure out what the connection is, but each time as soon as the windmills start appearing she'll say "Windmill! Papa!"

* Taryn LOVES buses, trains and large machinery. We have road constrction on our road and she is always asking me what each machine is. I pretty much only know "back hoe", so other things I just make up a name for ("Oh, that's a flattener. Yep."). Her favorite song is also Wheels on the Bus. Anytime she sees a bus, she YELLS "BUS!!!" Or "SCHOOL BUS". And when we see a train she says "Chugga chugga chugga chugga CHOO CHOO."

* Taryn also has learned the art of blaming her gas on other people. When she lets one rip, I'll say "Did Taryn toot?" And she'll reply "Mommy toot." She thinks it is hilarious. The other day we were waiting for my mom to get in the car and Taryn let out a toot. I turned around and said "Did Taryn toot?" She said what sounded like "Mommy toot," so I replied "MOMMY DIDN'T TOOT!" She said "No, Mmm-ma toot." (Mm-ma is what she calls my mom.)

This is MY weekend now...

It sounds silly, but I still have trouble wrapping my head around the fact that I get to be celebrated on Mother's Day now... I guess it makes sense since I have focused on my mom and grandma on this weekend for 30 years of my life and this is only my 2nd Mother's Day.

Fortunately for me, Lee, Taryn and my mom have not forgotten that I'm a mom!! Lee and Taryn teamed up to make me the sweetest card I've gotten in a lot of years.

Taryn and the ladies at daycare made me a card with some tea and this Mother's Day puzzle.

And Lee fixed up our awesome old bike with new tires, a light and a toddler seat for me! I smell bike rides to the Fowler pool this summer!

Then, my mom took the bike theme and ran with it buying Taryn and I both bike helmets!

I feel very appreciated and special thanks to my great little family. Thank you for all the toughtful gifts. But, let's face it, the best gift I've been given is this little munchkin that calls me mommy!!

Upcoming B-day Girl!

Though her birthday is still 2 weeks away (my baby is going to be 2 in 2 weeks, OMG, tear!) the birthday gifts have started to pour in.

From mommy (and daddy), Taryn got this awesome purple princess bike with training wheels! This was an amazing garage sale find that is in perfect condition. The seat still needs lowered so that she can touch the pedals. Oh, and then she needs to learn how to push the pedals. Then we're all set!

Next up, this Taryn-sized picnic table is from my mom and grandma. It is made of solid wood. My mom found it on Craigslist from a guy that makes them.

Ok, this isn't a present for Taryn, but I just wanted to show Lee's 2nd (and hopefully last for awhile) Primo Grill table. And show what a great assistant Lee has!

Shroomin'

This time if year, Indiana (and other hick states, I'm sure) go crazy for Morel Mushrooms. These are mushrooms that grow wild. People spend their weekends mushroom-hunting. Me, not so much. I wouldn't exactly trust my own mushroom judgement and would fear finding the poisonous or hallucinogenic sort. But, those that find tons can sell these beasts for about $40/lb. Wowzers.

So, Lee's police chief last week brought us a couple large bags of these Morel Mushrooms. I figured I'd give them a try... See what all the fuss is about. Our first meal was to saute them in butter and then add them to our spaghetti. It was good, but we really couldn't taste the 'shrooms. We gave some to our neighbor and to my mom.

Lee decided to fry up the rest of what we had. He breaded them in a mix of pancake mix and pepper (I was skeptical). Then he fried them up in oil.

They. Were. To. Die. For. Like seriously. Better than I've ever had in a restaurant. Addictive. I wanted to fight Lee for them. I was willing to eat them straight out of the scalding oil risking burns to my fingers and mouth. That delicious.

I'm probably still too lazy to actually go out hunting for them, but you can bet if we are offered some, I will definitely be taking 'em!!