Getting caught up.

I know it's been awhile since I've posted, and last week's single photo post of Penny was kind of a cop-out.  I apologize to everyone who checks in with us.  I just haven't been feeling it lately.  Between craziness with Jen's work schedule, lots of things going on at work for me, a new dog who's requiring time and attention to train and thoroughly house-break, both kids doing new things on an almost daily basis, I've been a bit preoccupied.

That said, let's get caught up shall we?

Penny joined our family on Monday April 13th.  She's been a breath of fresh air in a house that was missing the presence of a boisterous Boxer.  She's mostly made friends with Maggie and the sight of them playing, racing and mouthing each other is a bit unusual.  Mainly, because if either Maggie or Leia tried to start playing, it became a fight-starter.  Having a couple of pups who can get along and play is a beautiful thing.  

Peanut loves Penny.  That first night she said, "Penny, you can sleep in my bed tonight if you want."  WOW.  As much as she loved Leia and loves Maggie, if either of them tried getting on Peanut's bed, she'd have a fit.  We haven't had a night where Penny has actually slept in there, but I have a feeling it won't be far down the road.

Swanny Jr. is still warming up to the new pup.  He's not quite sure whether he loves her or finds her to be a source of constant irritation.  A couple days after Penny came home, I was in the kitchen when I heard a "mwaa, mwaa, mwaa," coming from the living room.  When I looked in, I found Swanny Jr. sitting on the floor trying to push Penny's head away to stop her from licking his face.  He usually crawls over to her and pats her head or belly, but it can quickly turn into him baby-slapping her if we're not keeping an eye out.  Thankfully, boxers are very tolerant dogs.

In other news, if anyone has seen our sweet, easy-going, laughing little Peanut, could you bring her back to us?  The whiny, intolerant, sassy, at times belligerent little Peanut who's staying with us right now has worn out her welcome.  Man oh man, the dominant four year old has reared it's ugly head.  Let's see what's been happening here:

1 second attention span?  Check.

Hair-trigger temper?  Check.

Whiny, worse-than-fingernails-on-a-chalkboard, voice?  Check.

Pouting scowl that'll melt your face?  Check.

For the last week and a half or so, Jen and I have been battling Peanut's inner four-year-old.  Maybe you know how it goes; everything seems to be a battle of wills, her ability to attend to tasks has been drastically reduced, we have to repeat ourselves upwards of 3, 4, 5 times.  

I love that little girl and I'd do anything for her, but I'm tired of fighting with her.  I'm sure it's a phase and that once summer break comes and things calm down in all our lives, she'll start to level out.  Please let that be so.  

Swanny Jr. is cruising around on everything.  He's also starting to stand unsupported and I'm sure we'll be seeing him walking sometime soon.  As a public service, we'll let you know when it happens so you plenty of time to lock up your valuables.  Nothing will be safe.

So that's our life lately.  I'm sure I've left some things out in my haste to post before work, but Jen'll be along to post about anything I've forgotten.  From now on, I'll try to be more diligent in staying up to date.  

Until next time...

Ah The Holidays

Every year the build up to the holidays is as much as a process as the actual celebration itself. What with all of the christmas programs, present purchasing, and in our case this year, new car shopping we've just been running around in circles it seems...
Indulge me while I catch you all up on the goings on at the Swanny household in the past week or so.

We celebrated Christmas with my Dad, my stepmom and my sister and her family the Friday before Christmas. When you have 4 sets of grandparents, Christmas really becomes a month-long affair. Throw in a Christmas-time birthday and you've got yourself a regular circus.

We were so glad that this year my sister and her family were able to join us from Idaho for a week. Here are our 2 (Peanut age 4 minus 4 days) and Swanny Jr. (nearly 7 months) and her kiddos, J-Bug (age 6 1/2), Missy (age 4), and Tank (age 18 months). What a fun time the cousins had playing together! The noise was spectacular, but as my dad said, he couldn't think of a better noise to have in the house!

After Christmas celebration at Grandpas, it was hurry home to be to dance class in time....that's right, parent day at dance class. You may have already seen Peanut's dance video debut on her birthday post, here is another shot of her showing her moves off to us.

She twirled, boogied, carwheeled, skipped and even did the splits for us. Glad to know that monthly check I write to the dance studio is paying off!

The next day, Peanut co-starred in her very first Christmas play. The Sunday School kids at Church put together a wonderful play that helped spread the message about what Christmas is REALLY all about. Peanut sang Away in the Manger and Joy to the World at the top of her lungs. In between she had a few lines and got to sit and look cute.

or lay down and appear bored....


We left church that day and headed home to prepare to welcome the birthday party guests. Despite the frigid temperatures and near blizzard conditions, we had a decent turnout for the celebration. We were sad that a few guests were unable to make it due to the bad weather, but we were able to visit and celebrate with them later in the week.

This is pretty much what Peanut looked like all week: wearing her t-shirt that proudly proclaims the age she has achieved and unwrapping some gift or another. While I'm certain this year she is able to tell the difference between her birthday and christmas, she was unable to specify a favorite birthday gift to the doctor yesterday at her well-visit...they've all run together in her mind, I'm sure.

The kids both enjoyed Christmas. Peanut was happiest about her new Light Saber and her Ponyville Amusement Park. When she saw Santa had left it for her she proclaimed that it was "what I've been wanting my whole life." Swanny Jr was as I predicted just as content with the boxes and wrapping paper as he was with the gifts themselves.


Leia was just exhausted....she's still not feeling all that well....poor thing.


We celebrated Christmas over the course of the week with all of the grandparents and were so glad to get to see them all. Too bad Grammy Maru had the fluand was out of commission when we were in the Q.C over the weekend...thankfully she had her witts enough about her to fish my car keys out of the trash after $40 to a locksmith to open my car only to find they were not in there and nearly an hour of frantic searching. Yeah, we'll be talking about that one for a while.

In other randomness, Swanny Jr. is now the proud eater of finger foods. Crackers, veggie puffs, bread, and in this picture, Biter Biscuits. YUM. He now becomes frantic if he is within spitting distance of food someone else is eating and realizes he has none of his own...



And to tease you for the next post from Swanny.

He picked up his new car on Saturday.....

Whew!

This past weekend was so packed with activities for our family, that it's taken three days to unwind and take stock of everything we did.

Friday found Jen, Peanut, and Swanny Jr. playing with Jen's sister, Auntie, (in town from Idaho) while I trundled off to work. While the rest of the family basked in each other's company, I was at the bookstore preparing for the year's biggest release (celebrated with a midnight release party).

On Saturday, Auntie, Peanut, Swanny Jr., and I made our way downtown to partake in the farmer's market and watch Jen and some other teachers give a yoga demonstration as part of Ottawa's annual Riverfest.


Later that day, the whole clan traveled to Fulton for a visit with Peanut and SJ's Grandpa Ron and Grandma Jodi. We had fun playing (and napping) and grandpa's house, but the fun was just starting. Ron and Jodi had reserved a corporate suite at Modern Woodman Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) so we all got a chance to watch the Quad Cities Riverbandits in comfort and style. The free food (and beer) and great seats were a huge selling point in getting us to the game, since baseball isn't our favorite sport (I can smell the football season right around the corner).





On Sunday, my family (with Auntie meeting us later) headed back home, where we met Grammy Pam for lunch and saw her off on her trip to Ann Arbor, MI. That evening, we took the kids down the Riverfest carnival so Peanut could ride the rides. Of course, the only one she wanted to ride was the ginormous slide.



It's weekends like this that make us look forward to the start of the week so we can get some rest.

Yeah, it's been a little crazy around here...

It's been kind of quiet on this page for while; sorry about that. Here's what we've been up to during our time spent ignoring our faithful readers.

I splurged a little and got a new bike.


Okay, so that's me on Peanut's new bike, but maybe if I'm really lucky she'll let me take a spin.

We picked up her new princess bike a few weeks ago. Even though she skinned her knees in a fall on her very first trip down the driveway, she's really taken to riding. With Jen and Swanny Jr. in tow, Peanut has ridden to the church just down the street, to the park about half a mile away, to our friends' house about a mile away, and has never once complained about getting tired or wanting to quit.


With the warmer weather we've been experiencing (check local listings), we broke our Peanut's pool. It's not as fancy as her friend HP's, but Peanut's happy so long as she's got a slide that leads to water.





Of course, where Peanut goes, Swanny Jr. isn't far behind.



So that's a little bit of what we've been up to. How's your summer going?

OH!!! By the way! The other reason we've been out of touch?

A Day for Dads

It's Father's Day and I must take time to pay tribute to the wonderful Dads in my life.

Peanut and Swanny Jr. posed for the photo above so that I could frame it for Swanny to take to work with him. Peanut was so proud of that idea she had for his gift. I think it turned out very nicely.

Swanny is a great dad. Swanny Jr. just lights up when he hears Swanny's voice now. His eyebrows raise and he looks for his daddy. One of his favorite places to nap is snuggled up on Swanny's chest--where he is right now. Peanut just squeals in delight when he comes home from work and always enjoys her time with Daddy. They wrestle, play basketball, play board games, enjoy playing the Nintendo Wii together, read stories, play playdough and watch movies together. The two of them share an almost obscene love of chocolate milk, an enjoyment of music from the Counting Crows and Barenaked Ladies, and the same whimsical yet ironic sense of humor. I see the time he takes with her, the way he laughs with her, guides her, corrects her when she needs it and know that I am very fortunate to have his help in raising our children. Happy Father's Day Swanny.

And here's to my Dad, Grandpa Ron as Peanut knows him. I can recall so many good memories from my own childhood as I think about my Dad--bike rides, Sunday morning breakfast, trips by the railroad tracks, and cutting down Christmas trees. I love spending time with my Dad and find that the time I share with him becomes more treasured the older I get. I love seeing how much he reminds me of my own grandpa when I see him giving my children snacks and all the change they can possibly carry to their banks.

And of course, there's Swanny's dad, Swanny Sr, who we can all thank for passing his sarcastic wit and love for groan-provoking puns on to Swanny. I can tell he sure loves watching Peanut grow and learn and that he is very excited about his new grandson.

And to Swanny's Grandpa, known on this blog as Peanut's GGpa. He's 80 and has a lot of spunk. He has been like a Grandpa to me since I've known Swanny. In fact, when my own dearly loved grandfather passed away in June of 1998 (a full 3 years before Swanny and I even got married), he told me that even though my grandpa was gone, I still had one left--him.

So enjoy your day Dads--you deserve it. Love and thanks to you all and for all you do/did to raise me, my husband and our children.

Happy Anniversary!

Here's to what's been a great seven years.

Back at it...

Swanny Jr. is a mere 2 1/2 weeks old. He's settled into a somewhat regular routine and seems content to keep his job simple: eat, poop, sleep.

Peanut, despite a tough couple of days, is adjusting nicely to her new role as a big sister.

Jen is feeling pretty good and is looking great. We're settling into a groove and so far, life is good.

So, with things going swimmingly, I'm throwing a monkeywrench into the gears. Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go.

It's rather bittersweet. I'm going to miss being home with my family. It won't be too long before Swanny Jr. starts passing those developmental milestones and I know I'll miss some of them because I'll be busy selling books.

Peanut is involved with swimming lessons and gymnastics again, so I'm hoping I don't miss too much of the progress she continues to make in those activities.

Jen's going to have her hands full dealing with an infant while trying to keep up with a 3 1/2 year old. I've seen how strong-willed both Jen and Peanut are, so I'm hoping I won't come home one day to find them each in a seperate corner of the house refusing to talk to the other. Okay, it won't be that bad, but I'll be feeling gulty that I won't be able to be around to help out as much as I'd like.

On the other hand... I'm going back to work. I'm very lucky in that I have a job that I love and a great crew to work with. It's a little overwhelming to go back in after having been out of touch for a couple of weeks, but there's nothing like jumping right back in over your head.

Wish us all luck.

And here she is....

Lillian Grace Pietruszynski

2/18/2008
6:08 AM (EST)
7 lbs. 14.4 oz
20 inches

Mom and baby are doing extremely well--per Dad's report

CONGRATS again to Jessica and Jeff!!!

(My guess is Pseudored will be on trivia hiatus for now!)

Pumpkin Patch Kid

This past weekend, Jen, Peanut, and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather (check local listings) and head to the pumpkin patch to select our future jack-o'lanterns.



Peanut has been on a kick recently, wanting to read "the Littlest Pumpkin", a book that tells the story of a pumpkin that wants to become a jack-o'lantern but gets passed over by all the people because it's too small. Because of her love of this book, Peanut was insistant on finding her own "littlest pumpkin".





After wandering for a little bit we thought we had found the right one,



but we went up to the building to get some cider and pay for our purchases, and Peanut found the perfect pumpkin.




Coming soon; Pumpkin Patch Kid 2: the Carving

Home Sweet Home

Thanks, first of all, go to Jen who did a fantastic job of keeping everyone up to date with famly happenings over the last week. I was "lucky" enough to leave the family behind and head to the City of Angels for a work related meeting.

Wednesday morning, after sleeping at my mom's in the Quad Cities, I was on a plane to LA by way of Memphis. Ah, the joys of flying out of a small "international" airport. Rather than a straight shot, I got to travel backwards a bit before finally heading towards my destination.

Roughly five hours later, I was walking through LAX towards the shuttle that would drop me at the hotel where our meetings would be held. The great thing about being sequestered in a hotel is that it makes whatever city you're in, look just like every other city.

I spent two days in meetings, and I was ready to come home by Friday afternoon. After spending another five hours in the air (this time stopping in Minniapolis instead of Memphis), I found myself back in Moline at 11:30 p.m. facing the choice between staying at mom's another night, or driving home right away. With the thought of being able to be home when Peanut woke up, I headed home.

It was so good to see Jen when I got home at 1:30 or so, and even better to sleep in my own bed again; Jen next to me and Leia curled up at our feet. The best, however, was seeing the smile on Peanut's face when she saw her daddy was home. It's nice to be finally be back.

What?! It's positive?!

"Sugarland Express", Steven Spielberg's theatrical directorial debut, has long been referenced by Jen's dad. Ron has referred to all of his grandchildren-to-be as "Baby Langston". Apparently, it was something that just popped into his head when Peanut's Auntie was pregnant with J-Bug.

I told you that to tell you this: There's a new Baby Langston on the way. That's right. Peanut's going to be a big sister! She's excited about having a sibling and will share the news with just about anybody who's listening.

Since the baby is due near the beginning of May, we're not incredibly far into the pregnancy process. On the one hand, that means we'll be waiting "forever" for our new arrival. Not a great thing, since neither Jen nor I are the most patient people in the world. On the other hand, to my delight, there should be plenty of pregnancy fodder for this blog.

For instance, while watching a movie tonight, Jen said she was craving a hotdog. We paused "Dodgeball" so she could cook one, and when it was ready, she inhaled it. With Peanut, the craving was pizza rolls. I don't know that I'll be able to handle the eventual blandness of hotdogs everyday.

Exciting times and fun days ahead. Let the countdown begin.

Happy Birthday Baby Bubba

It's been a busy weekend in the Swanny house. We started off with a fun Friday night including, book club and a baby sitter for Peanut. :) Peanut was soooooo excited to have Andrew here and chose a movie quickly. Swanny and I were excited about good Chineese food. I was also looking forward to discussing what I found to be a great book:

Check it out in all of that free time you have!

Saturday was the big party day. Peanut woke up talking about it and told everyone she met, "Today is Connor's birthday." It's true. Baby Bubba, who also goes by Connor Fulkerson, had his first birthday party. It was a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme complete with festive hats


playing on the super-fun swingset


and of course, CAKE.



Baby Bubba was an excellent host. He was typically found surrounded by all of his cousins, with whom he did not chose to share his little cake. And, let's be honest, who can blame him.









Ah, to be one again. I was so wishing that I could've enjoyed my slice of his cake in a similar way, but was reminded how socially inappropriate that would have been for a 28 year old.

Football madness continued today. Let's just say that at this point, I'm happy (Go Pack GO!) and Swanny is lamenting the offense that can't pull their you-know-what together (Da Bears). We both, however, are becoming more embarrased by our dismall performance in the One Carbon Hill Fantasy Football Tournament. Let's just say, we have bigger hopes for the top performers on our team....I keep reminding myself, it's only week 3, it's only week 3.....

Fun times though! Hope your weekend was just as fun!