My Pumpkin

Happy Halloween! As you can see- Josie had a great time being a pumpkin on her first Halloween. She was awfully cute, if I do say so myself. Thanks to the Gronaus for throwing a lovely Vikings/Halloween party and giving us all an excuse to dress up our babies and get together.

No thanks AT ALL to the Vikings for completely and totally sucking. If they want this bandwagon fan back on board, they'd better stop stinking and do a big turnaround before this season ends. But I'm not holding my breath. Just as sure as a boat floats on Lake Minnetonka (!), this Vikes season floats like a turd in a toilet. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

Yes, the costume was bought off-the-rack and not hand-made... but she would have been a poor little naked baby if she would have had to wait for me to make her a costume. Maybe my creative mom gene will kick in during the next couple of years and I'll dazzle you all with adorable costumes, but I'm not holding my breath on that one, either :) Here is Josie with a couple of her cute friends, Owen and Lucy.

One of THEM

I had a realization on Friday. Josie and I decided to go to the Mall of America. That's not the realization, just hold on a minute, I'm getting there. We had a great time strolling, people watching, and shopping. As we were milling around the mall, I realized that I have become one of THEM. You know- the Mall Moms. Cute babies in strollers, diaper bags in tow and trendy coffee drinks in hand, shopping and walking and amusing their little ones in the hopes that they can hit just ONE MORE store before a meltdown occurs. BB (that's Before Baby) I was one of the annoyed shoppers dodging strollers and rolling my eyes at wailing little ones. Now, I'm doling out sympathetic smiles at moms trying to calm down sobbing babies, casting furtive glances to see what brand of stroller they have and strutting proudly while my cute baby smiles and babbles at passers-by. I vaguely remember a time when I'd vehemently declare that I would never be one of THOSE parents who'd take a stroller to the state fair, or let my baby cry in a store- how annoying! Hmm. How quickly things change. I now realize I am one of THEM, and I'm quite proud of it. Now pass me a trendy coffee drink, I've got some strolling to do.

Friendly Reminder

I was reminded by a co-worker today that there are 2 months remaining before Christmas. I mean, really. Yikes! Do we have to start a countdown ALREADY??! There are Christmas decos in the stores already, and it's not even Halloween! Seems like the stores start jumping the gun earlier and earlier every year; let's slow down and enjoy the time we're in- geez, martha! Back-To-School supplies are out at the end of June, Halloween decos show up around August and pretty soon we'll probably start seeing 4th of July goods before Christmas! Time goes by fast enough without having to plan 6 months in advance. So There. I've had my rant for the day. Thank you. And Happy Easter.

Addicted

I was told yesterday by bookclub friends that they were surprised to see that I am actually blogging more than they expected, and in fact, I am doing it more than I anticipated. If you read my first entry- you'll see that I set the expectation very low- that way, you wouldn't be disappointed :) I have to admit... I'm a little addicted. It's still fresh and new, and I'm sure I'll tire of the novelty soon. But then again, maybe I won't... you'll just have to keep checking back to see! How's that for a tease? And leave a comment, whydontcha? It'd be nice to see who's been lurking out there. I'm not asking for a novel- just a hello.

Anyway- I wanted to post something out here that I think is very sweet. It's a poem/song we heard on Friday night at the B & B, sung by the eccentric mother of one of the innkeepers. She's a hoot. During our exploration of the house, we wandered into the... parlor (?) I guess it'd be called. We found an accordian-playing guest and his wife along with Marion (the eccentric mother) burning up the piano and accordian, if such a thing is possible. It was quite amusing and entertaining. Marion proclaimed that if and when she gets married again (she's 74!) she wants this song played during the wedding. She played it for us, then wouldn't let us leave again until she had read the lyrics to us to make sure we fully appreciated them. It's called "To Celia" by Ben Johnson.

Drink to me, only with thine eyes
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I'll not look for wine.
The thirst that from the soul doth rise
Doth ask a drink divine:
But might I of Jove's nectar sup
I would not change for thine.

I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
Not so much honouring thee
As giving it a hope that there
It could not withered be
But thou thereon didst only breathe
And sent'st it back to me:
Since, when it grows and smells, I swear,
Not of itself but thee.

1825 Days of Wedded Bliss... and counting

Patrick and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary on Friday the 21st. Kay, Bob, Val and Em were kind enough to watch Josie for us Friday night while we redeemed our gift certificate (of course- it's just like a coupon!) to Oakenwald Terrace Bed and Breakfast in Chatfield. We also had dinner at the Branding Iron in Preston. Patrick asks about it every time we drive through on the way to Mom and Erwin's, so I decided that it was probably about time we stopped in for dinner, and this was a perfect opportunity. This was Josie's first slumber party overnight with someone else... and it went beautifully. Thank you, Coes, for helping us have a wonderful anniversary experience!

I'd highly recommend Oakenwald to anyone looking for a unique B & B experience. Great hospitality, interesting house and wonderful breakfast. www.oakenwaldterrace.com

Happy 9 month birthday, Josie!

9 months. I can't believe it. Of all the cliches floating around out there, "time goes by so fast once you have kids" is the one that has rung the most true for me. She's been out in the world for as long as she was inside me now, and it feels like I barely blinked. The months turn into minutes, the weeks into seconds.

Our happy little baby is turning into a happy little girl! She is so aware of herself and her surroundings now, loves to play peek-a-boo and smirks when the tickle-monster is on the way to get her. Her new favorite toy is a plastic serving spoon from our drawer- it is true that the best toys are the everyday items you find around the house! Bathtime is funtime... she can splash Mommy or Daddy, and her voice sounds very cool in the echo-ey shower! It's always an adventure to go in and get her in the morning as we never quite know where she'll end up in her crib, will she be on her tummy or her back? Will there be an arm or a leg sticking out- or both?! So much fun, so much to learn, so much to look forward to! The first 9 months have been a treat- I can't wait for the next!

Please don't eat the frisbee...

So I was at a benefit fair today in Minneapolis for Wells Fargo employees, oh sorry- "Team Members." As their chosen life insurance carrier, Minnesota Life sends a representative of the company to these fairs all across the country to answer questions, pass out plan info and hand out some trinket with the Minnesota Life name on it to clutter up homes of team members. The trinket this year- a floppy, squishy frisbee type thing called a high flyer. Most of the people who cruise through this array of tables occupied by insurance, dental and vision vendors are there for one reason and one reason only: free stuff. So one genius takes his hot pink frisbee with glee (a little too much glee, if you ask me) and returns to work. A little while later he's back at my booth, waiting in line to talk to me. And what does he ask me, you may wonder? Get this- "Is the frisbee edible?" IS THE FRISBEE EDIBLE?! No, Einstein. Please don't EAT the squishy siliconey object. Geesh! It's scary out there, I'll tell you what.

A Night Out, Pow Wow and Pumpkins

Another weekend winds down here in the Daly household. Patrick is putting Josie to bed as I write. Of course, if you ask her if she's tired, you'll get an emphatic head shake "no." Granted, she does generalize this head shake to any question you ask... but it's fun to pretend.

The weather was absolutely beautiful this whole weekend- truly fall perfection. Friday night we got to enjoy a night out (thanks to Pat's mom for watching Josie-bean) at Chris and Mary's wedding reception. We had a great time, it was at the St. Paul College Club on Summit Avenue- a very unique, intimate setting. Did a little eating, a little drinking and a little dancing, and it felt so good to have a night away from home!

Saturday brought the Daly family Pow Wow. This was a tradition Pat's family used to enjoy every October when he was young, and now has revived for the last 3 years. There are lots of reasons to celebrate in October in the Daly family... many birthdays and anniversaries throughout the family. This year was bittersweet as it was the first pow wow and first birthday without Grandma Daly. It wasn't quite the same without her yummy treats and fiery energy bouncing around- but I'm sure the tradition will be carried on for many years to come to help keep her memory alive. There is a new generation starting with Deb's (Pat's sister) two boys, Trevor and Trent, Travis and Kate's (Kate is Pat's cousin- and shown in the picture above) boy Tate and now our Josie. And of course, we can't forget Brewster and KC (both labs) who look forward to the pow wow all year long so they can play and play and play, and play!


Yet another warm, sunny, beautiful day today. We went out to eat with Pat's aunt/godmother, Kathy and her husband, Randy. It's another tradition in the family to eat out on birthdays at an East Side restaurant called Governor's. The birthday boy or girl gets their meal for free and a free drink at the bar... and everyone in the Daly family loves the word free! :) As today was Kathy's birthday and would have been Grandma Daly's, too, it was a nice way to celebrate the day. After dinner, Pat, Josie and I made our way to Pine Tree Apple Orchard in White Bear Lake. That's right, Peg... PUMPKINS!! Josie absolutely loved her first pumpkin experience. Well, she probably liked grabbing at the weeds on the ground more than the pumpkins- but she had a ton of fun, nonetheless. Every new discovery and new experience is such a joy for Josie- it's impossible to resist getting caught up in the excitement and sharing it with her.

Baby Boom

Wow. We're at that age and place in life where it seems that you can't throw a stone without hitting a pregnant lady. (I wouldn't actually throw stones at pregnant ladies, but you know what I mean.) Just found out that ANOTHER co-worker is preggo and due in April. This brings my tally to 4 co-workers, 3 close friends, a couple of acquaintances and a partridge in a pear tree. Anyone else have any news for me...?

East Side Little People Chaos

We had dinner last night at the Gronau's... so much fun. They also invited their neighbors, the Watsons, with their twin boys (Will and Owen) who are about a month older than Josie. I can't even tell you how fun it was to sit in the living room and watch the 4 little ones have a free-for-all with Lucy's toys. Really, I don't get to see Jojo interact with other kids very much since I am trapped in cube land all day while she's at daycare.

As I was sitting on the floor watching Lucy chatter in her own Lucy-language, Will and Owen climb over one another and their mom, and Josie master the art of sitting up without toppling over, I remembered something a friend said at bookclub once. Meg was pregnant with Lucy and I had only told a few people that I was pregnant with Jo. She said to Meg that she hoped she realized how truly lucky she was to be able to have a child. Last night I was struck upside the head with that thought, again. How very lucky we are.

P.S. Tater Tot casserole rules.

Bandwagon Blues

Alright. So I just scraped my knee jumping on the bandwagon. Seems that everybody's blogging, and I've resisted up until today. What I wanted to do was to make a guess in my friend Meg's baby pool- and what I ended up doing was creating my own blog. *sigh*

Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm not the most *ambitious* person in the world. I'm not one to take on projects that place expectations for a timely result, or a result at all, for that matter. :) Procrastination is the name of my game! So be forewarned- don't expect much from this blog, and you're certain not to be disappointed. There probably won't be any (or many) witty insights, current photos of Josephine, or updated entries on a regular basis. With that said... Welcome! I look forward to keeping you mildly informed of what's going on in our Daly lives :)

This is us:
Patrick- age 29, Carol- age 29, and Josephine Daly- age 8 months. And Brewster. We're not sure how old he is. There are a couple of cats that let us live with them, too. You can see them in this picture:
We like to hang out together in the same room at all times. Baxter is the black cat, Buford is the tan cat. We're a happy family! I look forward to hearing from you, so post a comment or two and let me know what's up.