Chalupa Family Blog

Totally cute!

2008-11-17T01:59:57Z

Carter and I "did make-up" this evening. How totally cute are we?!?

Blue up to our eyebrows! That's how we roll!

Yummmmmm!

2008-11-16T02:01:07Z

What sounds better on a chilly November day than home-made Chex Mix? Yummy!

Home-made by this Punky?! It doesn't get any better!

Poured with true love!

Annual shopping extravangza

2008-11-14T00:38:53Z

What's this ... year 4? There was Minnesota with Sheena, West Des Moines with my gut-rot (that was the worst!), Minnesota with my 3 bestie girls, and this year.

It's tradition. To pack up the car with necessities, including chocolate and Chex Mix, and head to Minneapolis for a weekend of girly fun. This year was scaled down to just Kelsey and I, but we shopped with Janine and Mackenzie in mind (my credit card thanks you!).

We left Thursday afternoon, having Palmer's in the car while catching up. We hit IKEA (and I have great ideas, but need the Durango and another trip in December!) and part of the Mall of America. At the mall, we stumbled across Lush (www.lushusa.com), my new favorite place ever! It's an organic bath store. We got free hand treatments and face masks, all the ways to get me to return Friday for the $20 coupon! We dined at Chevy's, the best Mexican restaurant in Minnesota, and talked of the future to come.

Friday we returned to the mall. We found deals upon deals, had lunch at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company (they have the best onion rings!), and returned to Lush, where I went nuts (remember - www.lushusa.com for all of your holiday needs ;) ). Then we headed to Target outside of the Twin Cities for the majority of my shopping.

I'm nearly done! And I had a wonderful outing with my bestie! Thanks for picking me up, haulting me around and listening to all of my stories!

Our delightful (and free!) face masks. Rejuvinated and ready to shop, shop, shop!

Yes, my credit card is sobbing!

Piscasso in Progress

2008-11-12T01:34:01Z

Do you think Van Gogh started off this way?

That's painting with determination!

And when she'd filled up the space directly in front of her, she loaded her brush and found some empty space!

Don't interrupt a muse in progress!

Painter's war paint

THIS is how Van Gogh must have looked prior to chopping off his ear! Crazy artists!

"Abagascar" outing

2008-11-09T22:06:03Z

The final birthday adventure: Madagascar 2, also referred to as "Abagascar" by Carter Kay!

This was opening weekend (good idea, huh?!), so there were roughly 1 million children accompanied by an adult packed into the theater. No movie's a movie without popcorn and soda, either! So, thankfully, we were early, got our treats and settled in. We giggled and munched popcorn while we waited for the movie, then enjoyed the show.

Carter appears to really "get" a lot of these movies. She'll ask why "that boy is sad?" or "Where's her mommy going?" Thoughtful responses to what she's seeing. I love that it's something we can enjoy and do as a family!

What a great wrap-up to a super birthday weekend!

It's totally worth the $20 in matinée tickets and $15 in snacks!

Piano-polooza

2008-11-08T21:41:58Z

This evening some of our great Greystone neighbors and Andy and I celebrated birthdays at the Grand Piano Bar in the East Village.

We met up with Terri and Jerry and Scott, Kelly and Melinda, who also celebrated a birthday this week. We had a delicious dinner (you can't beat the GPB for food and drinks!), then rocked to our favorite songs set to great piano music. Thanks to Scott, Kelly and Andy, Melinda and I were called up to the stage for a HAPPY BIRTHDAY and some good ol' humiliation! We pulled our chairs up on stage, and every time the singer sang a song starting with a B, I'd stand, then the next B word, I'd sit and Melinda would stand. This continued through "My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean," and all was good until "Bring back, oh bring back, oh bring back my Bonny to me!" And it was all lost from there! For the second verse, I lead the men in the room, while Melinda lead the women. Our ribbing was wrapped up with a restaurant-wide singing of Happy Birthday! As silly as it was, I had a blast! We both giggled! It could have been worse: we could have been one of the bachlorette's! I also had to giggle - after a conversation between the mom's about pediatricans and family doctors, a drink get delivered to our table. Our waitress explains that it's a "picnic," and it's from Brad and Marnie Loftus, a collegue of Andy's and our favorite doctor!! Who's doctor buys them drinks?!

We had an awesome night! My favorite song of the evening: either the Bon Jovi medley or "You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me Lucille." The piano players, direct from Michigan, we super and the company was outstanding! We're a pretty lucky family to be surrounded by such great neighbors!

The Devil ...

.. and Johnny! Very creative!

Andy and I. He might tell you differently, but Andy had a good time! He liked it!!!

Melinda and I on stage, totally Scott, Kelly & Andy's doing!

... not really sure if we're at "Bring" or "Back," or who should be standing!

(Part) of the Girls of Greystone: Kelly, Melinda, me and Terri

The crew: Scott & Kelly, Melinda, Terri & Jerry and Andy & I

Happy Birthday, Melinda (and me!)!! And thanks for celebrating with us guys! We really are lucky to have such great neighbors and friends!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-11-07T19:46:00Z

My last official "good year" begins its course as of now. After 29, it's all down hill!

Today was a great day! My associate decorated my desk and brought cake, the kids were on good behavior and my cooperative teachers ordered pizza! I also got my usually wish of snow (you're welcome!)!

This evening, we went to the Riverside Casino to live it up, live it up, LIVE IT UP! We had the super buffet, which was great for two reasons. #1: I like potatoes and dessert. #2: Janine, Kelsey, Shane, Andy, Rory, Andy and I all got to hang out and catch up! It was super! After filling our bellies way too full, we proceeded to the casino. I got $10 in birthday cash from the casino, which was neat. On my third pull at some Bejeweled-like slot game, I won $38.30! I really should have quit there! Within three hours, my small empire had been squandered away, along with the $20 I came with. But, my intention was always to play and have fun, with the idea of losing it anyway, so all's good! Kelsey ended up about $20, Shane won some craps money, Janine was up a nickel, Haning won $80, and Andy, the one whom "it always works out for," won $300! Now, technically this is like "our" retirement fund we split, right??? $150 of that is mine, right?!?

Thanks, guys! I had a great time!!! Love ya!

The start of a great day!!!

Andy and Andy and the $300 slot machine!

The girls: Janine, me and Kelsey

Rory and I had fun, but we are losers! Poor us!

Andy and I, ready to evenly split "our" winnings!

WINNERS! Kelsey, Andy, Andy and Janine

Dance Day!

2008-11-06T22:43:21Z

This week was Parent's Week at Encore Dance. Miss Evie invited parents to watch dance class. I have never seen anything more adorable! And we were both so proud of Carter! She was listening, participating and having a blast! Dance has definitely been a good thing for her!

Miss Kaylee and Miss Evie with the girls. Carter was telling her about her day!

Our little ballerina's

Carter putting on her ballet shoes and headband!

Smile Tiny Dancer!

Look how excited she is to volunteer!

It's a whole lotta video, but it's a whole lotta cute!!!

Election Tuesday

2008-11-04T22:34:40Z

What a busy day!

It's Election Tuesday. Whether it be for the Republicans or Democrats, GO VOTE!

By 7am, our day care/voting site was crazy-busy! I guess voter turn-out is good!

After lunch, I picked up Carter, then picked up Andy and we had gourmet pizza at Centro. It was so good! And Carter got a little safety-scissor practice while we waited for our check!

We went downtown to meet with Dr. Willy about the alleged egg allergy. They tested Carter for only egg. The top line is direct contact with an egg white substitute, the middle is the control group and the bottom is the histamine contact that causes a "bug-bit like reaction." For her to truly be allergic to eggs, the bottom and top lines should be of equal redness. So? There's a reaction, but not a severe one, which means we stay the course and steer clear of eggs. I doubt she would have eaten them anyway at this point, after three years of telling her "they're bad."

Oh yeah! And the presidency thing! Embrace the change, everyone!

Patriotic Carter Kay!

Recess fun

2008-11-02T16:46:55Z

This evening, Carter and I went to Recess (she took a late nap, waking up at 5:15pm, and was in desperate need to run some of the excess energy/crazy off!). She was a CRAZY! She was all over the joint, jumping, climbing, crawling, and of course, making new friends!

My best efforts to wear her out were thwarted: she didn't fall esleep until at least 10pm. At one point, while I was watching TV in bed, she got up to go potty, then came into our room to scold me about being awake! "You need to go to sleep, Mama," she said, while pointing her finger at me!

The big inflatable slide. She's never been able to get up the steps, but tonight was the night! She's so big!

Her pal, Davis! Only Carter could make a friend instantly everywhere she goes!

C R A Z Y G I R L !

Sneaking across (and above me) the rope bridge. She was "Pooh" and I was the "Trolly Birds." What great comprehension connections!

Loving the airplane ride!!!

Harvest Week

2008-10-31T23:24:38Z

It's Harvest Week, y'all (cause when it was "Halloween Week" years ago, that scarred us. Now it's all PC and friendly for all ... ). Like everything else, we went head over heels and had fun participating this week!

Day 1: Crazy hair day! That was fun getting out in the bath!

Day 2: Farmer day. I like the pink socks accenting the flannel!

Day 3: Hero day. Carter's hero: Shawn Johnson! (again with the pink socks!!!)

Wrapping it up: Costume day. WallE wasn't really practical (A. she couldn't sit, B. she couldn't walk, C. she couldn't pee ... it was just all around not a good idea!). So she picked this sparkley number out of her dress up inventory. It's my favorite!

Happy Halloween, Robot Friends!!!

2008-10-31T00:57:18Z

Tonight was begger's night in town. We only hit our small, quaint little neighborhood, which was good, since our little Begger had a hard time walking in her costume. Prepare for the big costume unveil . . . . .

Carter's WallE, the Pixar robot! My first home-made costume, complete with WallE arms and mask (that, yes, we bought!) looks pretty good! She loved it!

W A L L E !

The real WallE - pretty cute, huh?!

WallE (aka Carter) and I before heading out this evening

Along the way, we picked up Elisa, our neighbor friend. Melinda, her mom, wasn't feeling well and we thought it would be awful to miss Trick or Treating, so we nabbed us a kitty!

Along the way we crossed paths with Super-Man (aka Zane, another neighborhood pal). This Super-Man's kryptonit is lolly's - note the handful he scored at Steve & Tracy's!

While Super-Man searched for lolly's and other tasty treats, Elisa and Carter played with Izzy the tiny black puppy (Daddy - Carter wants a puppy! And so do I!). The girls loved her, but poor little Izzy was a bit afraid! Can you blame her?!?

Carter proudly shows off her WallE costume and her jokes!

It was a great evening to Trick or Treat, and although we didn't go far or have many visitors, WallE and I - and our neighborhood boogies - had a fun evening! Daddy stayed home to command the candy post - next year, when it snows - he can go!

Dressed up dance and Creepy Capers!

2008-10-23T23:54:37Z

Halloween fever's hit Ankeny! Tonight was dress-up day at dance. Carter's got a top-secret costume that's kinda boxy and hard to really maneuver in, so our "back up costume" for dance was a princess (shocked?!?). Is it any surprise that there were a few princesses! Our class favorite was the witch!

After dance we zoomed on our broomsticks straight to Creepy Capers, a city-hosted treats and games event. Carter played "GHOST," a Halloween version of BINGO, ball toss (only with candy), got a tattoo, decorated a cookie and took a spooky trail walk.

To wrap it all up, Kelly, Shawn, Andy, Rory and Neal came over for Thursday night Survivor, Rory made a delicious dinner and KELLY was sent home! It really was a perfect evening!

Our Encore dance friends! How CUTE are these girls?! I love the witch!

Creepy Capers! Ooga-booga!

At Creepy Capers, Carter was excited about GHOST (aka BINGO) and she did a super job without any help from me! So big!

Pin the NOSE on the PUNKIN! Cute!

Carter's very messy cookie! It was a horrible idea to have a cookie decorating station with NO napkins!

The Creepy Crawlers graveyard! Scary!

Punkin bowling by our Punkin. Look how excited she is!

Soda ring toss! Carter won a Mello Yellow that we're so throwing away!

Chilly ooga-boogas! Carter and I

Nursemaids Elbow is NOT cool!

2008-10-23T01:09:19Z

Nursemaids Elbow, according to WebMD:
   Nursemaid's elbow is a common injury that is seen most often in children between the ages of 1-3
   years . Usually the child has had an incident in which the extended arm was pulled. Most commonly it
   occurs when a child is falling and the individual holding the hand doesn't let go. Another common
   mechanism is when the child is swinging while being held by the hands.

Yeah, not cool. Essentially, it's an elbow that's been pulled or popped out of place.

This evening, around 7:15, Andy tried to corral Carter for bath. She was being a slug, not wanting to go. He picked her up by her arms, like we've both done a million times before. I don't know if it was the angle they were both in, her being frail (yeah right!!) or what, but Andy said he heard a pop and she just kinda went limp and clung to Andy. She complained that her arm was hurting and began to cry. Now, Carter's a self-proclaimed faker, but it wasn't boo-hoo, fakery. This was the real deal, and all I could think was that she had a broken arm.

We called the clinic, and they said bring her in (or don't, whatever). It took us literally 3 seconds to get dressed! It was nightmare'ish getting her and her sore arm in the car seat, but we managed. Dr. Agey at the clinic was very nice, but Carter wasn't having any of it. Even a bribe with stickers wouldn't get her to move her arm. He checked her out, then gently took her hand in his and in one careful movement popped her elbow back in place. She was upset and did cry, but minimally. She was definately a big girl - much stronger than Andy or I!

All's well now. She's been loved and cuddled since we got home (around 8:00pm). She's drowning in apologizes! Right now, she's sleepily yawning while singing to Turtle. The evenin's been much more traumtic on the both of us (who are not physically hurt) than her (the injured one!). She's one tough punkin!

Pretty punkins

2008-10-21T21:57:33Z

This evening (after a depressing Weight Watchers meeting) Andy, Rory, Andy, Carter and I carved our punkins. Carter was all about helping this year, knives and all! We had to talk about safe distances, but otherwise she was a great help! She's a pro at getting all the punkin guts out! Unfortunately, the trend does seem to be true: Andy's punkins are just "special." We've got a "special" punkin, a happy punkin, a punkin with eyebrows but only three teeth, and a punkin who's eaten too much junk!

Carter's "big ol', big ol' punkin"

\

Just like a doctor in surgery, she's elbow-deep in punkin guts!

Y U C K ! I'm so glad she's old enough to do this herself now!

Andy and his "special" creation, Andy working on his puking punkin, Rory contemplating and giggling over punkin eyebrows, and Carter, still working out the guts.

Carter and I working on our happy punkin

TA DA! The punkin and its owner like look alike, don't ya think?!?

The "family" and their punkins! Andy 2's is on the far left, mine and Carter's is left on the top step, Rory's is on the first step, and Andy's is on the right. Creative and unique, just like I expected!