Anna's so thoughtful...

Elmo gets thirsty too, y'all.

Shakedown Cruise (Rob's update)

So - we took the boat out on its first run yesterday afternoon. When we bought the boat, we thought, 'Yeah, we can totally handle this. Piece of cake.' - Not so much. Little did we know that Star Class boats are basically the Formula 1 racecars of the sailing world - and, much like a jealous highschool cheerleader - are ridiculously fast, high maintenance, very sensitive to insults, and generally unforgiving of anyone that doesn't know what they're doing. We're glad we got away from the first cruise with just a snapped jib halyard (one of the steel cables that brings a sail up and down) - other than that, it was awesome!

Though her formal name is 'Glorious Amateur,' we already think, given her bratty disposition and British origin (she was built for the British Olympic Sailing Team), the nickname might be HMS Intolerant.

There was a juniors sailing dinghy regatta going on most of the afternoon at the racing club as well, I didn't know kids' sailing was a spectator sport, but apparently it is. A whole gaggle of proud parents were set up on the docks, lawnchairs and coolers everywhere, watching their kids tack and gybe all over the harbor (and knock their little boats into eachother on occasion)...Look out Anna - I'm already signing you up for juniors sailing class!

The picture isn't us, but just to give you an idea of what a Star class looks like underway...

The sure do grow up fast...

So, we have a trip coming up that involves a plane. We're a little nervous about being "those parents" with the screaming kid, and since the plane ride is 7 hours long...we thought maybe we'd look for ways to keep Anna's attention.

A slew of parents have spoken and basically we came to the conclusion that we needed a DVD player for the trip. We tried it out today on the way to visit my grandparents in Delaware. I don't know where our little 1 year old went, but some teenager sat in the back and ignored us for 2 hours (both ways)

Please note the rockin' headphones. They're toddler headphones, but they're tigers on each ear. I can't get over the cuteness.

Arrrrrrgh you a Pirate?

So, Yesterday was National "Talk Like a Pirate Day" and while I usually avoid 'piratey' things, a coworker of mine was having a little shin-dig at Howl At the Moon. And let's face it, Rob and I are never too cool to make a$$es of ourselves....

Here's Damian, our party (animal) coordinator. I didn't post other pictures because I don't know how the rest of the group feels about being on the net. You'll just have to imagine it. Imagine "awesome".

Row Row Row your boat. (or sail...whatever)

Rob and his "little brother" Mike won me over. This is their new hobby. Yep, we bought a boat. The boys are tossing around some names, but regardless of what they name it, they'll be racing it around Annapolis next spring. It's a Star Class (whatever that means).


The proud owners of their new boat. Cheesy but it makes me smile to see them so happy.

Our future little racer in the boat yard.

And the Townley family embraces a new hobby. Love you, Honey!

FINALLY.

So we're back. And we missed you guys....all three of you who read this site.
Recently we've been hitting the kid-sales EVERYWHERE.

Someone got NEW SHOES! and went running around the house for hours pointing them out to us. We had to fight to get pants on her (because it required the removal of said shoes) so that we could take her to the store. I think the polka-dot knee high socks add a little something 'extra', don't you?

Mommy and Daddy hit a HUGE sale at Helly Hanson. Anna now has nicer ski clothes than her parents...and some Olympic skiiers. But they were cheaper than Wal-Mart, so what can you do? She wasn't a fan of trying them on. (Again, because of the required shoe removal).

Lastly, a girl from Anna's school had a bunch of brand new clothes that she had already grown out of. Thank goodness for hand-me-downs! This is about the only time that our little girl ACTUALLY looks like a little girl. Most of the time she's our little bruiser.
Okay, so not ALL of our updates include Anna, but this is just a start at getting you guys caught up. Welcome back!

COMPUTER VIRUS!

so. I've been gone forever because my computer caught a virus. A bad one. So until my buddy Rob L. fixes it, I'm out on commission...no pictures, no updates, nothing.

Sorry!

But, I haven't forgotten about you guys! Hope we're back up soon.

Silly computer.

Muscle Milk

Because Whole Milk is kid stuff....

The Day Has Arrived....

Okay. So after four years of blissfull marriage we've decided it's time for a change:
We're getting a microwave.
We've made it through leftover dinners, heating bottles, and making popcorn and honestly, the times I've missed having a microwave are few and far between. The breaking point comes with the toddler.
Why spend 45 minutes preheating the oven, cooking dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, and then blowing on them so they cool down enough for my now angry, very hungry toddler when I can do it in less than 2 minutes for a happy little girl?

Well played, Microwave, well played.

How do you define success??

In our house success involves a fork and spaghetti. I'm tellin' ya, it's the stuff dreams are made of.

"I'm in Delaware!"

Laura, Alex, Christine and I decided to visit our grandparents this week while we had Alex on this side of the country... the "entertainment" (Anna) had to stay home because she has a teething fever. So she and Rob stayed home to break the record for most viewings of "Elmo and the Pirates who love to Read".

Road trip! We hit some SERIOUS traffic. Good thing I had a new camera to play with...

Me and my sick little girl this morning. (watching the Pirates who love to read...which I can recite, in case you're interested).

I can't stop with the cute kid posts!

Shout out to Pierce, who has the coolest kiddie pool ever.

If I knew you were comin'.....

I'd have given your daughter a bath... See you tonight honey! We missed you!

Moms of Annapolis UNITE!

This weekend Rob got his sailing certification. It was an intense weekend of training for 9 hours a day on the boat with a written test at the end.

Think that sounds hard? I was a single parent for the weekend.

(Hats off to single parents, by the way).

I've done this enough times, but for some reason this weekend was different. She was nothing short of a Holy Terror on Sunday and I was at the end of my rope.

Enter Stacy, Diane, and Sarah (all moms, or soon-to-be). We went to the park in Annapolis and let the kids run around until Anna was too tired to object to sitting in the stroller (rather than pushing it) and then off to feed the ducks. Anna was so tired she went right to bed on time and when she woke up this morning, our little angel had returned. Thanks girls. You are LIFESAVERS!

Rock On, Popsicle. Rock On....

Don't Judge Me!

When Rob and I got married we made a few 'deals'. One was that we'd never own a minivan. (Still staying strong with the Xterra.) another one was that our kid would never be "that kid" walking around with a leash attached to their back.
Yeah...about that.
We got Anna a leash. Sort of. In our defense, she's going through a phase where she won't sit in her stroller, won't let us carry her, and refuses to hold hands while she walks. Oh, and when you ask her to 'come here' she runs away laughing. It's almost like having a little teenager. Anyway, we got her a little backpack that straps on with a "leash" on the back for mom and dad. We took it for a test run this weekend and she LOVES it. We've also had a lot of moms smile when they see us and tell us their own stories about how they've used them too. We'll see how it goes... I'll have to post pictures of our little hiker.

A girl and her dog.

Yesterday was not fun for Scout. He had shots. Lots of them. And this morning he woke up with a fever and a sore paw. He was getting a little extra attention from mom this morning and his "little sister" was a tad jealous (see picture below).

However, as the day wore on and Anna saw her best friend was sad, she did her best to make things better.

I have a feeling Scout's not my dog anymore. I'm okay with that.

Fingers Crossed!

I don't know if I mentioned this, but I just switched companies and because of some scheduling conflicts (on their end) I've basically been paid to stay home for the last two weeks. And it's awesome. My favorite part is calling my coworkers while I'm laying out at the pool. They're all "not funny, Danielle", but I see things differently.
I keep trying to make a case to Rob for me to be a trophy wife, but so far he hasn't really come around. Monday will be my first day in the office and I have a feeling I'm going to miss sitting on my couch at 7am with my coffee in my PJs. Oh well, TWO MORE DAYS!!!!

Anyway, for those of you following the (forever pending) sale of our house, yesterday we had a SECOND SHOWING! (Meaning someone who already saw it, came back to see it again.) About an hour after they left I got a call that they'd like to come back once more tomorrow. (THIRD SHOWING!!) So their realtor called our realtor and said we're one of three houses that they're choosing between, and we're all on the same street. Our house shows the best out of the three (of course) but they're taking the locations into consideration as well. (so here, or fifty feet from here....). Anyway, wish our house luck today from 3-4:30.

What Have You Done?!?!

We came back from our mini-vacation and found that Aunt Laura taught our young, impressionalbe daughter a 4 letter word.

Elmo.

Oh Laura, what have you done?!?! We've been home since noon and have seen the "Pirates who love to read" 3 TIMES ALREADY!

We needed that.

First of all, hats off to Aunt Laura who not only watched Anna for us, but also waited at our house for the fix it people to show up (at 4pm). I should mention she also kept my worried phone calls at bay by sending us a "proof of life" photo of Anna every morning. Rob and I escaped to St. Michael's as planned and had the most relaxing weekend ever. We were laughing because at the end of it all, we realized some of our favorite moments were just reading on our balcony. No worries, no stress. We didn't even bother to go down to the dock for fireworks.

Amazing.

Here's Rob mugging for the camera on the balcony.