cute girls, dead plant

kate came over for impromptu photo session. SO FUN!!! i really need to do more of this.

Thanksgiving Miracles

I saw this title over at Seebug's site and thought it was appropriate for our family photo, too seeing how Sare Bear flew in from MI, bro Kev-O made it and so did Uncle Bobby who had had a stroke just the week prior.

Happy Thanksgiving from us.

We had a lot for which to be thankful and lots of time to be with family. Poor Rosa Jane didn't get the "sleep in" memo and was up every morning with the 4am train. We thought about leaving her, or better yet, shipping her back to Michigan with her big sister, but she gave us that million dollar grin this morning and the rest is history.
Click on the picture to see more.

Meeting our new neighbor

Less than a month ago we got new neighbors. I was thrilled to find out they have a little one who is just right for RJ. Addison at 12mos and her nanny dropped by yesterday for an impromptu playdate. I loved having the company, but meeting a new adult friend and trying to referee grabby hands and a baby who doesn't know the concept of sharing is rough. It made me wonder if playing together will no longer be easy going, but rather making amends for embarassing behavior. Should we bar the door and keep to ourselves? Sally assures me it's just a phase, but still I'm wondering do we have a good egg or a bad one? Where's my little girl that gives kisses to everyone? ;-)

Sally, can you guess where we are?

Check out the new pictures of my little purse carrier and see what happens when Hank and RJ trade spaces.

The Revised Slideshow with Bonus Track

So, I'm having a little trouble getting the slideshow over to the right column. Instead it's just going to hover there over the title bar. Go on, click on it. But make sure you have a good 6 1/2 minutes. You're guaranteed a laugh or a smile, but sorry, we offer no refunds. Enjoy!

Today's Weather Forecast

I just checked Weather.com for our weather update. Here's what it said and I'm not kidding:

Plentiful Sunshine.

It's also a chilly willy 44 degrees at the moment but the mercury will rise to a high of 75. I hope you can scoop up some plentiful sunshine for yourself today, too.

Big Day for Sara! Orderup: CONGRATULATIONS!!

Late last night we received a very exciting call from the Pixie in Ann Arbor. She was offered a job at Boston Consulting Group in Chicago. YEE HAW, Sara Cat! We are so so proud of you and so excited for your next chapter which will start next fall. Words really can't express how your family feels right now, Sara. We love you, sweet girl. Way to be the absolute star. Bright and shiny. Congratulations!

Lola Cat Star Shine!

Click on the "Our Movies on Vimeo" to see the video of sweet Lola saying "Bless You" after a sneeze. Of course there is a brief cameo appearance of RJ at the end. I am her mother afterall.

Playdate in Town

Between all this toddlin' going on there's no time to blog. Click on the picture to see more from yesterday's playdate with the Petillos at the Children's Discovery Zone.

No need for a fancy 'do...

It's real windy here. Click on the picture to see more from yesterday's sunset.

Lola and Rosa Jane and the Art of Sharing

Last night the Petillos flew in from Nashville and paid us a visit at the Ranch. We loved their company and we're looking forward to seeing them again on Wednesday. The girls are two months apart. I love Lola and could just squeeze and squeeze her, but unfortunately she wouldn't let me touch her. She's the queen of eyelashes and flexibility and she can already say many words. Click on the baby squabble picture to see more from our evening...

Click on the "Our movies on Vimeo" link to the right to see a baby girl fight. It was too graphic to post directly on our blog.

You can't resist it

When it happens to you. I saw these cute people getting out of the car at Starbucks and I just had to get their picture. I love these people so much.

Watch Me, Little Girl, I Have the Know-How

A tribute to all those helpful Teen Magazine Beauty articles I read as a girl...

We have a big day today -- first we're headed to the middle school to do a little mentoring and then we're going to Kindermusik. All before naptime. This could be the challenge of our lives...

Two little Monkeys

Perhaps it is a clip only a mother will love ...



Two little Monkeys on Vimeo

Storytime at Starbucks

IMG_6289
Originally uploaded by The Roedner Fam.

New friends, delicious coffee and stories told by our friend, Ms. Andy. What's not to like?

ROCK THE VOTE!!!

Get out and vote, it's the coolest thing you can do today! I'm hoping for a new governor and if more people vote maybe things will change. I got my fingers criss-crossed.

Let it be noted that today RJ is the model baby. She slept from 8pm - 6am. This is a record for some many weeks she's been waking at various times throughout the night teething and just crying. Then she went down for a morning nap at about 9:30 am, so I baked in the AM. SO FUN!!! It's a new found pleasure. At 11, I woke her up and took her to the retirement community for bingo hour. We came home for lunch -- Sally's delicious chicken salad. We voted at 2ish. Came home and now she's napping again. I love when this girl naps! It's not so much what I do or get to do, it's just *INSIDE* I know it's going to be a less frustrating play time and therefore less stressful. Babies that nap are happy babies. Moms that have babies that nap are happy moms. Everybody wins.

Storytime at MOM's Club

We went to our first meeting of the local Mom's club. Deborah Foster sampled Kindermusik for the group. It was fun to see her again and we're looking forward to starting her class later this week. Since we last met, she told me she's been telling everyone how sweet Rosa Jane is and how she was kissing all the babies in the class. Now that she is a month older, it seems RJ has no time for kisses. Only stealing toys. My how fast she changes!

Save Our Rack!

After a mostly sleepless night with RJ, I got up at 6 and headed out the door by 6:15 to meet Sarah and her Burnet friends. We were headed downtown to participate in the Race for the Cure. Just minutes from the start they drop the bomb that we're running. Sarah ran most of the whole thing. I'd say I ran half. I hate to run. But it was for a good cause and it was lots of fun to see 21,000 other people doing it, too.

While we were in college, Sarah lost her mother to breast cancer and I'll never forget my friend in Nashville, Elizabeth Powitzky who lost her battle when she was just 30 years old.

Let's find the CURE!!!

Hank Ate It

Yesterday afternoon was F-U-N. I delivered great photos, I got to see Don at work and then did a little browsing of all the crazy new baby contraptions at BabiesRUs. On the way home in my great mood, I drove by my friend's school where she works. Found her car, parked by it and proceeded to call her over and over and over again until she picked up so we could go play. I thought we'd do ice cream at Sonic or something of the like. She reminded me it was 1st Thursday - this really cool thing they do on South Congress once a month. We've never been cool enough to go, but it seemed the stars were aligned on this day. We headed to the house to grab food for the peanut. The manic hyper dog was played by Hank. I noticed the empty bowl on the living room floor. The bowl previously held delicious Hersey kisses and peanutbutter hugs (or whatever they call them now), all of it leftover by the lack of trick-or-treaters we had been expecting.

Sarah tells me this has happened to her and her dog before and boy did he upchuck! So I think, I'll put Hank in the garage where he can't mess up anything and will call Don to let him know what our plans are, etc. It's 5 pm now and I call the vet. They want me to give Hank a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide to drink to induce vomiting. Doesn't that sound horrible? I coat the spoon with peanut butter to get it down him. It doesn't phase him a bit and we wait an hour. Nothing doing. So a trip to the emergency vet with a cranky tired sick baby and all my hopes and dreams of getting to 1st Thursday smashed in a matter of seconds. Top it off with $300 for a pumped stomach and a night spent in a small crate and I don't think any of us were happy in the end. But we still have Hank. And we still have each other. So the Roedner score is still One Dog Down (Purdy) and One Baby Up.

Amy Maxwell Chase and RJ

Amy and I were the best of childhood friends in Travis Park. We would pick wildflowers and go door to door trying to sell them to our neighbors along with some nasty sweaty American cheese slices. Weird. I don't know where we got the idea from, but it seemed to be a regular occurrance with us. Anyway, it was a huge delight to later find out that she lives in Lakeway, too. In the last two weeks, we have become walking buddies -- she definitely keeps the pace -- and we both hold each other accountable for just getting out there and doing it. It's good to get reconnected with such an old friend.