It's a good thing last weekend wasn't only about football.

Yes, those are my shoes with the 4 in. heels that she's walking around in.

I'm not even going to talk about the Nittany Lions and Steelers losses. It's a little too painful. Let's just say that I'm very happy that we had other things going on last weekend besides just watching the games. At least Eva has her team affiliations set.

Despite the displays of football suck, a driving rain that was coming down sideways, and a disappointing lack of funnel cake, we had a really good weekend. First my parents served ribs for dinner, which was a first for our family. This from people who used to serve tofu and tried to convince us that carob is the same as chocolate. Not familiar with carob? Thank your lucky stars. If you know what I'm talking about, I'm sorry. Suffice it to say, I was shocked by the menu selection. And as great as that dinner was, Eva as usual ate none of it. I'm convinced that she's somehow using me as an energy source through osmosis because she never eats and I'm always drained by the middle of the day.

The truly great part of the weekend was getting to sit back and watch my parents interact with Eva. Up till this point they haven't been very hands-on with her. They mostly sat back and observed before, but this visit was different. My father was on his hands and knees with her on the floor (and I have the pictures to prove it), and my mother even had an art project for her to do. She played endless games of "soccer" with both of them and my aunt and grandmother, and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.

We also hit a milestone while we were there. The Diva has outgrown the pack and play we had been using as a travel crib, so we got her an inflatable travel toddler bed for the trip. We have yet to convert her crib at home into a toddler bed yet because she hasn't tried to climb out of it yet and we'd like to keep her contained for as long as possible. This was our first foray into sleeping without actual containment, and I have to say that she did remarkably well. The first night I had to lay on the floor beside her and hold her hand until she fell asleep, but then she actually stayed in bed until it was time to get up in the morning. On the second night her daddy took his turn with the hand holding.....and promptly fell asleep on the floor beside her for a while. Again she stayed in bed all night, and no one is as shocked as I am. I've been afraid that our little explorer (who's waaaay smarter than that stupid Dora chick) would be up at all hours seeing what she could get into while unencumbered by parental supervision. As it turns out, when she's finally ready to sleep, the kid just wants to sleep. Looks like we're one step closer to her sleeping in a big girl bed at home too!

The lengths that I'll go to for the sake of a good pierogie.

Every day this week I checked the forecast. 58 and rainy. The next day I'd check again, hoping against hope that just maybe the weather gods would change their minds and we'd have the kind of fall weather I've been desperately waiting for since May. You know what it's doing at this very moment in Cresson, Pennsylvania? It's raining. Not that it even matters at this point, but you know what the temperature is at this very moment in Cresson, Pennsylvania? 53, actually. This would deter any sane person from attending an outdoor festival, especially one centered around food, but did it stop me? Hahahaha......of course not. That's right, I battled the cold, driving rain and I got my pierogies. Sadly, there was no funnel cake or potato pizza to be found- not that we would've wanted to stand around outside and eat them. We couldn't even find a t-shirt with which we could commemorate the occasion. Next year will be better. The weather will cooperate, potato festival food will abound, and I'll be there. Oh, yes. I'll be there.

Pierogies! And funnel cake! And football! Oh my!

It's almost here. The weekend I've been waiting for for the past 3 years. That's right, it's the weekend of the Ebensburg Potato Festival. My sister and I went with our aunt and grandmother the year before I got pregnant and I've wanted to go back every year since, but it just hasn't worked out until now. I know, I know. You're making fun of me because I'm excited about a festival that celebrates the potato. Have you ever had a pierogie? I mean a really good, perfect, homemade pierogie? Mmmmm. Amazing. Being able to get those perfect pierogies AND funnel cake in the same place? Best. Day. Ever! Hey, there are some people who eat to live and others who live to eat. I fall into the latter category. Why do you think I spend so much time at the gym? ;)

To add to the fun, we'll be in Penn State territory on game day and I'll finally get to watch my first PSU game of the year. All while parading our Little Lion Fan! I have a feeling her outfit will go over well with the crowd.....

It's the 1st day of fall, so I'm gonna be happy. Damn it.

It's the first day of fall! YAY! It's by far my favorite season. Football, hockey, cute clothes, fewer migraines and the ability to breathe all contribute towards my feelings about the season. In honor of the occasion I'm doing my best to be in a good mood, which is proving to be difficult. I went to bed at 10:30 last night. I got up at 6:30 this morning, and yet I only got 4 hours of sleep. Why, you ask? Because of the loud, obnoxious people that live behind us that were being loud and obnoxious all night. My husband went over to ask them to keep it down at 11:45 last night. They were still outside making noise when he left at 5:30 this morning. True story. Btw, sleep deprivation does NOT look good on me.

Eva's also trying to get over her sleep deprivation from the weekend. She was very excited about soccer this morning, but when we got there she didn't want to do much of anything besides cling to me. There's only one time when she ever gets clingy, and that's when she's beyond exhausted. That was ok with me though, because what I watched when she wasn't attached to me was heartbreaking. Today was "Bring A Friend Day". The girl Eva knew from Little Gym brought a friend, another girl from their old class. Those two little girls were inseparable, which was really cute. All right up until Eva kept trying to play with them and was denied every. time. They ignored her like she wasn't even there. I know they weren't trying to be mean or snobbish or anything since I'm fairly sure that 2 year olds aren't yet aware of cliques or how they function, but it was still hard to watch. Fortunately it didn't seem to phase Eva too much. She'd just go back to kicking a ball around for a few minutes before deciding that she needed to be carried everywhere again. Ugh. And so it begins......

He knows he loves her.

P.S. I think I've finally fixed the problem with the comments section, so please, comment away!

We Made it to Friday!

Whew! What a week. Between my husband being out of town for the first half of it, Eva having allergy issues and feeling yucky, and my general exhaustion from dealing with all of it and more, I think we were all a bit cranky. Apparently even Smokey was a bit on edge.


Of course, he may have been a bit irked by this earlier in the day:

Soccer!

Ok, so my Steelers won their season opener. Woohoo! I may need a 4 month supply of xanax to get me through the rest of the season if they're all that close, but a win's a win.

On the sports front a little closer to home, Eva had her first soccer lesson today. If ever there was a 2 year old who was cut out to play soccer, it was my daughter. She was (as I expected), the most serious athlete of the 5 toddlers in her class. Of the 2 boys, 1 was very timid and unsure and the other sat and cried for the entire class. One of the other girls was also fairly reserved. Player #4 was actually a little friend of Eva's from her old class at The Little Gym. They thoroughly enjoyed chasing each other around and playing. The coach set up cones and had the kids kick them over. While all the other kids stepped up and gave each cone a little kick and moved on to the next one. My child? She was the one launching cones 10 feet away with each kick. She was able to dribble with the ball (as much as a 2 yr old can) the whole way down the field and back. She also won several rounds of red light/green light.

After practice, the coveted uniforms were handed out. Oh my. Eva's favorite thing to wear are jerseys, so I knew she'd be excited about getting another one. Even though it involved more material than she could really handle on her own and I made several attempts to help her, she insisted on carrying them to the car by herself. She hugged them (yes, hugged them) all the way home. As soon as we walked in the door she promptly stripped down and put on her new soccer uniform. She spent the rest of the day in her uniform, running around and periodically yelling "Soccer!". I was pleasantly surprised that putting her in pajamas at bedtime didn't involve a power struggle and insistence on athletic wear.

And now if you'll excuse me, I need to go throw Eva's soccer uniform in the wash. I have a feeling she'll be wearing it more often than just on Tuesday mornings.....

Here We Go Steelers, Here We Go!

It's here! Finally! The season opener is tonight, and we're all pretty excited. Ok, maybe it's just me, but whatever. Game Day food? Check! Autographed Hines Ward jersey? Check! Terrible Towel? Check! Beer? Check! Good luck tonight, boys!


Over the weekend, Eva developed an alter-ego. "Super Steelers Toddler." We haven't established her official superpowers yet, but we do know that she can run really fast and tackle unsuspecting people. And in case anyone was wondering, that is actually a Terrible Toddler Towel.

Our Day

Not really in a chatty place at the moment, so I'm just going to let a picture (or two) say a thousand words. Here's The Diva having some fun today, first at a play date and then later with some sidewalk chalk. I don't want to jinx myself here, but wow has she been good the past two days!

Preparing for her Rockette audition.

Notice how she's taking the chalk from one straight line and putting it in another straight line. I really hope she doesn't end up with my OCD tendencies.......