Everybody dance now!

I may have said this before, but I love wedding receptions!! After you turn 30 and have 2 kids, it's just not as easy to go out dancing.  But, go to a wedding reception, and everyone is on the dance floor!

We went to a wedding last night and I'm not sure who was more excited to dance....me or the kids!?! I'm glad my kids enjoy music and dancing..but I think that's true of most kids...who are always dancing to the instrumental music being played during the dinner portion of the reception :)

I love the way wedding receptions bring people together who might not otherwise interact.  Everyone can relate to music, singing the songs out loud with each other on the dance floor, or joining in on a choreographed dance like, "YMCA"....okay, disclaimer...I do not dance to the YMCA or the Chicken dance.....why are we even still playing those songs?!?!

You know what song made me feel old last night??  Strokin by Clarence Carter.  Yes, the very inappropriate one.  The DJ starts the song and says, "I hope at least a few of you know this dance..."  Yep, she was right....just a few of us did....I think the 8 of us who did the line dance were all in our 30's.  Apparently the cool kids don't know that one.

I always love the line dance songs...its fun to be in a big group where everyone is doing the same dance.....even when the person next to you goes the wrong direction and steps on your toes :)  Plus, those songs always bring the most dancers to the floor (except when the song is Strokin').

I always appreciate the few slow songs that are played too.  I'm fortunate to have a husband who comes and finds me on the dance floor for those songs.  At one point last night, we were 1 of only 2 couples dancing.  That actually worked out well for us, because James likes to push me around the dance floor, rather than just sway in a stationary circle.

Due to James' large amount of college buddies and first cousins, we have attended many weddings together in the past 10 years.  I'd say, at least 2 a year.  Most have been pretty memorable...the dance floors have been hopping. But one that makes the top of my list, was an outdoor wedding on a lake in Minnesota. Instead of a DJ, the couple hired dueling piano players.  They were amazing!  They were able to play songs that everyone could dance to, and the dance floor was packed.  The best part of the night was when some lady in an American flag patterned bikini top, drove up in her little boat and joined the party -- needless to say, she was drunk, and all of James' friends enjoyed dancing with her! It was such a beautiful night too -- July 4th, I believe.  Fun wedding!

I will always be a fan of and excited for wedding reception dancing!  I don't even need an invite to the ceremony or dinner...just let me dance with you :)

All dressed up for the party last night

Nightmares in potty-training

Why are we not born potty-trained?!?!  And for that matter, why can't we talk right after birth too?!?! Ugh, I've said it so many times and I'm afraid I'm gonna be saying this for awhile... POTTY-TRAINING IS THE WORST PARENTING ACTIVITY EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Ever! If I get through this and come out alive, I might actually be prepared to deal with teenagers down the road.

Rylee wasn't too bad, though at the time I thought she was.  The first time I tried with her, it was just too early; she wasn't even 2 yet.  I realized pretty quickly that she wasn't ready.  Then I tried a second time a few months later, and while she did much better than the first time, it still didn't feel like she was ready.  The third time we tried, she got it immediately and we were completely done with diapers for her after a month!  She even had the night time thing down.

Wyatt.  My dear, sweet BOY. Ugh!  I knew boys were supposed to be harder than girls, but O.M.G!!  I purposely waited longer to start with him because I was dreading it so much.  Around 2.5 he started showing interest and would ask to sit on the potty.  A few times he even peed in the toilet, which totally shocked us, because we weren't really working on it.  I tried to go with it at that time, and started encouraging him to try it more...but he is stubborn and wasn't truly interested.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to get serious about this.  He'll be 3 in June and I'd love to have him done training (at least day time) by then.  He has showed us enough in the past few months that he understands peeing in the potty.  I bought him fun underwear I knew he would love.  The first few days went about as well as I had expected...quite a few accidents, but he did pee in the toilet too.  He wanted me to hold his "weiner" down for him every time. Oh boy.  I agreed for the first couple of days so he could focus on the rest of it. I had enough of that pretty quickly though and started encouraging him to do it himself.  Now, I realize this is all new for him, but....seriously....WHY IS IT SO HARD to aim into the toilet?!?!?  I have to make sure I go into the bathroom with him every time so I can clean up the pee right away.  I know he can do it though...he has had successful trips many times...but for some reason, he just isn't consistent!  Every time I clean the floor, I think to myself, "I guess diapers aren't so bad!" He can pee a long ways....walls, doors, vent covers... Even though I clean it right away, I sometimes feel like my house just smells like urine everywhere!!

Pooping is an entire different ball game.  I think it is for most kids.  He will sit on the toilet when he has to go, and he'll cry and tell me he's done and wants down....without actually having done anything.  He figured out that he just needs to poop in his diaper quick in the morning before he puts his underwear on for the day.  I guess that isn't terrible.....as long as tells me first....I've been finding diapers placed upside down on top of the poop turds that fell out of the diaper when he took it off. Awesome!  Great way to start my day!!  Boys!!

And the turds in the washing machine...yeah...found another one today...after his clothes had already run through the wash...of course!  I even checked his clothes this time before I put them into the washer, but obviously, I didn't check close enough.  I opened the door and the smell of not-so-clean clothes about made me cry.....I knew exactly what I was going to find.  UGH!  It didn't help that at this same time Wyatt happened to be standing in the middle of my kitchen in soaking wet pants,socks and shoes because he peed himself during a tantrum and I made him stand there while I made his sister some lunch and took care of my laundry. THIS KID!!! They say you shouldn't yell at a child who has an accident, but.....really???  I lose my cool when I feel he does it on purpose (he can easily go 3 days withOUT an accident)...and then he cries and then my blood is boiling because he's crying and all of a sudden we are having a "who can be louder?!" screaming/yelling/crying match.  It's so joyful!

A friend of mine said she didn't have to do much training of her boys, because daycare took care of it. I'm jealous. I already spend my days wishing this kid was at daycare more (he's insanely whiney), having someone else potty-train him sounds delightful :)  Wait...what??  This is part of what I signed up for???  Ugh...okay...fine....but, I don't have to like it..... Can we just skip ages 2 and 3?!?!  Love you, Wyatt.

There's no place like home - in a college town

You know that feeling you get when you walk through the door of your house after a long trip? That's how I felt about returning to the Ames area. I felt it right when I got here 10 months ago, and it still feels like I'm home now.

As the weather has been nicer the last couple of weeks, the town is starting to come alive again.  Each time I'm in Ames I soak up the feeling of being "home" and ponder what it is that I like about the town so much.  I know I've written about it before, but I feel like I'm seeing it with new eyes now that I live around here. Here are some reasons I enjoy living near a college town:

1. Never Boring.
There is so much to do.  From all of the parks and trails, to shows and entertainment, to athletic events to the amazing parks and rec department....I'll be surprised if we're ever bored living around here.

2. Campus
I love being on campus.  It is so beautiful and there is so much to see.  I enjoy sitting by the lake and watching the swans, having lunch on the patio of the memorial union, or playing ball with the kids by the campanile. As a people watcher, I also love watching the students and wishing I could go back to college for a day...or week...or months...to have no responsibilities. I still want to take a class at ISU, just for fun.

3. The Students
I hear a lot residents complain about the students, but personally I love them.  I feel like they make the town come alive.  They bring a sense of youth.  I enjoy seeing the students on dates at a restaurant, holding hands in the park, or grabbing a donut at Dunkin on their way to class. Most are very friendly and courteous and have amazing stories.  I met a senior a couple weeks ago who is a double major, double minor, works off campus, holds office in his fraternity, studied abroad twice and has a personal goal of volunteering 10 hours a semester - just for fun.....AND he accomplished all of this in just 4 years.

4. Restaurants
We don't eat out a whole lot, but when we do, there are so many choices!  I hear people complain about the choices and say they prefer driving to Ankeny or Des Moines, but for me, I have too many favorites in Ames to drive somewhere else.

5. Stores.
Same with stores...Sure, there are some in Des Moines that I will drive the 40 minutes for, but mostly, I don't need to leave Ames to get what I need.

6. Familiar faces.
I've been away from the area for about 14 years, but I still see so many familiar faces regularly. That's when I really feel "at home". Plus, two of my favorite faces live here -- Mom and Dad.

When I went to school at UNI, I always loved that town too, for many of the same reasons.  College towns are just fun. Cedar Falls wasn't "home" though.  Not like Ames.

This is my 201st blog post!  I can't believe I've written so much in 2.5 years since I started. Some days I consider giving it up, but I doubt I ever will.

Happy Friday!!  Enjoy your weekend.

Volunteer Days

Many of you know that I've set a goal for the year to volunteer as much as I can. I'm also including Rylee.  For the most part she has enjoyed everything we've done thus far.  Twice we put labels on books for Raising Readers in Story County.  The second time we did that, it was HER idea!  Two hours on her little feet putting sticker after sticker on books is a lot for her, but she did it without complaining.  I was very impressed!!

We have now completed two volunteer shifts at our local senior care center as well.  The first time, we were being shown the ropes and Rylee didn't get to help a whole lot, so she was a little bored.  Yesterday though, we were on our own and I was extremely impressed by how much she helped!!  She won't ask the residents what they want to drink, but she scoops ice into the cup, pours the drink and opens the straw!  I was so worried about her spilling, but she never did.

The residents at this place LOVE to see a little one come into their room.  For many of them, Rylee is the only young child they will see on a regular basis.  Even those who cannot see well, notice the cute little blond in their room.  Half the time they ignore me asking what they want to drink and just talk to Rylee --- too bad she's so shy!  Yesterday she wore her pink cowgirl boots, so those got talked about a lot too.  One resident even gave her a cookie!

I had reservations about this particular volunteer activity when we first started.  I've always enjoyed visiting with the elderly, but after our tour of the place, I realized that many of them aren't capable of visiting and may not even understand when I ask what they want to drink.  Both times that we volunteered, I honestly dreaded going.  But the other thing that happened both times, is that I left there so glad we did it!

For those residents who can socialize, they really enjoy having us there.  Seeing their face light up when they see Rylee is worth an hour of work.  We take a few minutes to visit with those who want to talk to us.  We've learned a few things about some of the residents already, and I look forward to going into their rooms.

Rylee has another reason she loves this "job"......

There are 5 cats that live at the center and she loves to find them all! There is also a bird that whistles when we walk by.

Yesterday, a resident brought tears to my eyes, in a good way.  We end our rounds in the activities room. The activity director was asking the residents if they collected anything in their lives.  A 95 year old lady said she used to collect sheet music.  She explained that she learned to play the piano at age 3 and learned it by ear. She said she could always play by ear and didn't need sheet music, but she found it fun to collect anyway.  The director then asked her when the last time was that she played.  I didn't quite catch her answer, but I could tell it had been long ago.  The director then asked her what one of her favorite songs was and the lady said "It had to be you."  I was looking around the room and saw a piano in the corner.  At that moment, I knew what was going to happen next...

The director asked the lady if she would like to try to play that song on the piano.  The lady said "okay" and the director pushed her wheelchair over to the piano, moving the bench out of the way.  At this same time the lady's son (I think it's her son), walked into the room.  He saw her sitting at the piano and pulled out his phone to record what happened next.  She played the song by heart.  It sounded so beautiful and everyone clapped when she was done!!!  I had to fight the tears a little bit! She may be in a wheelchair and have limited eye sight, but she can still play the piano by heart at 95 years old.

I had originally planned just to do this for a few months..maybe until school is out. That was until yesterday happened. While we were there, the head volunteer lady stopped in to meet me.  She thanked Rylee and I over and over for volunteering.  You see, they only have a handful of regular volunteers, and all of them are over 80 years of age!!  She told me that they have a hard time getting younger, more capable, volunteers.  She also mentioned that the current volunteers "aren't always going to be around".  It made me sad to think that the younger population isn't interested in helping out there. Those residents are someone's grandmother or grandfather, and I would hope if they were mine, that people would enjoy helping them out and visiting with them. Maybe Rylee and I will stick around for a while longer.