Great Expectations

Items that Riley has requested for his birthday:

1- A waterfall
2- A "weel wive" tiger
3- A space ship to the moon

Locations Riley insists he would like his party to be at:

1- Target
2- That's it. There's no suitable alternative in his mind. I think he envisions himself and his little friends running free and filling their carts up with all of the toys they can possibly handle.

Needless to say, I don't think I can live up to his expectations. Especially since his party is in one week and I have no idea what we're going to do to keep the childrens entertained. On a side note, anyone know how to throw together an absolutely magnificent birthday party in, oh, say a week?

South Padre

As promised, here are our month-plus old pics of Sea World and South Padre Island.

Let's start with Sea World. We saw the dolphins and the whales and paid $8 bucks for a glass of frozen lemonade. Why is it that frozen drinks always taste so delicious when you pay exorbitant amounts for them?

We hiked up the water slide tower and managed to convince Riley to ride down all by himself, as he wasn't allowed to ride on our laps. He actually loved it, and we made a total of 8 trips before the baby-faced lifegaurd--the same one who had been watching us the whole time---suddenly and arbitrarily decided that Riley was too little to be going down the slide by himself. Sam had already slid on down to wait for us at the bottom, so it was up to me to pry Riley's death grip off the slide railing and drag him, kicking and screaming the entire way, down the 500 million sets of stairs.


Highlights from South Padre Island:
--Our first sighting of real, live (i.e. wild dolphins). In fact, a few of them jumped only feet away from Sam when he was surfing. He got good and freaked out when he saw those dorsal fins coming towards him.
--Fresh seafood. Ummmmm.
--Fresh seafood. Oh, did I already mention that one?

Sporting the baby bump.

Then, we crossed the border and made the hour-long drive into Matamoros Mexico just to satisfy Sam's authentic food craving.

Ummm...It was probably worth it, even though I got a four-day stomach ache from drinking the horchata---which, as it turns out, is made with that water they tell you not to drink when you go to Mexico.

Yummy Mexican food=a very happy Sam

Riles wasn't so much a fan of Mexico. He was hot and tired and threw approximately 100 tantrums. All the natives were looking at me like I was the bad parent of a very spoiled American child (sooooo far from the truth) so I did what every parenting book I've read thus far told me to do.....Buy your child the first toy in sight to make him stop crying.

We ended up with the most ghetto toys I have ever seen in my life. Need some proof? Just take a look at this picture taken by my friend, Fig. Be sure and click on the photo for the extra-large version so you can catch the "Ambukance" in all its glory.

Fun with Glue

Tomorrow we head off for a week at Lake Powell, and I meant to post my South Padre Island pics before we left. But instead of doing it, I didn't. I know how much all of you are just dying for another McMurry family travelogue, but you'll have to be in suspense for a week longer.

Until then, feast your eyes on this: The Great Glue-splosion of 2008




I was busy getting some crafty supplies together to help Riley make a collage, and I made the mistake of handing him the glue before I was ready to supervise. I just assumed the childproof plug and lid would be enough to stop him from doing any damage. Wrong. Apparantly, if you squeeze those things hard enough, you can pop the lid right off and send a flume of glue up to the ceiling.

I made Riley sit with the glue dripping down his face while I went and hunted for the camera. Then, I managed to snap a quick pic before he accidentally snorted some of the glue up his nose and started wailing. Oh, the price we make our children pay for our photo ops.

The Reunion

Riley and I have now returned from our month-long sojourn of vehicular togetherness. Over the past two and a half weeks, we have spent approximately 62 hours in a car together. First, we rode with my aunt to Utah for a week-long reunion at my Grandmas house (which Sam managed to weasel out of coming to). Then, we were home for an entire three days before we packed up again and took a family vacation to South Padre Island. ANd the best news of all??---we are doing the Utah trip one more time in just one short week for Lake Powell. Fun times, eh?

Anyway, here are a few pics from the family reunion. Stay tuned for the South Padre Island pics. I'll post them tomorrow (or whenever I get around to it).

The Guitar Heroes


Riding in Gramps' convertible
Construction Workers


After a Hard Day's Work
Playing with the relatives

The Traditional Eating of the Smores

On the way home, my aunt and my cousin decided we were going to stop off at one of the random prairie dog towns you can buy your way into on the Great Plains. We paid $9 for admission, and our money bought us a chance to:

1- Step in lots of prairie dog poo.
2-Feed the goats
3-Take a gander at the only living, six-legged cow in the world. I feel sorry for her, don't you? Look how she's hanging her head in shame. "Stop looking at me already. I know I'm a freak, you know I'm a freak, why can't you people just leave me alone??"
4- See the biggest prairie dog in the world. I hate to bust your bubble, but it's a statue.

And while I was muttering under my breath the whole time about the ridiculous admission prices, Riley seemed to be having quite the grand ol' time. And I guess that's all that matters.

More of the Same

We went camping again last week, because let's face it: When you're poor and desperate to go somewhere, there just aren't that many options, especially in Oklahoma.

But lest those of you out there are thinking, "Great, another lame camping post," don't worry. Apparently, weird things happen to us when we go camping, and I plan to tell you all about it. Last camping trip, we drove all the way to our spot, unpacked our tent and discovered our poles were missing. Sam also got a ticket for wearing his seatbelt "improperly" and then we ended up in the middle of some sort of escaped convict manhunt.

This time, the campground where we stayed was pretty much empty. On our second night there, around 11 p.m. a truck load of teenagers pulled up and camped in the spot RIGHT next to ours. They immediately started hacking on every tree in sight with their axes. Around 2 a.m., we woke up to their music blaring and Sam decided he was going to go over there and tell them to be quiet.

When he came back, he looked a little flustered, so I asked him what was wrong. Turns out they were naked. And, well, doing the sorts of things that drunken naked teenagers do on camping trips. Anyway, I'll spare you the details but needless to say it freaked me out and the rest of the night I didn't sleep because I kept imagining they were going to come and murder us in our tent.
Other than some sort of hour-long, break-up brawl, the rest of the night was pretty uneventful and we took secret delight in letting Riley's hoarse yet still unbelievably loud little voice wake them from their drunken stupor at 7 o'clock in the morning.

This trip taught me two important things.

1- When it comes to camping, I'm in it for the food. Why is it everything tastes so much better when it's cooked outside? I made the best shiskabobs I have ever made, out of the two total times I've cooked those things during my lifetime.

2-I have let the TV become a surrogate parent to my child. All Riley wanted to do the whole time we were there was watch TV. Luckily, I managed to find some dangerously-sharp shiskabob sticks for him to play with. Do you think I kid? Here's the picture to prove it.
Riley kept trying (unsuccessfully) to bore holes in the rocks with those sticks. And then we used them to fashion a "Tower of Power" for the Backyardigans, so he could re-enact his favorite video, which we both have memorized. Then, he conveniently left the stick right under our tire, successfully puncturing it and necessitating the purchase of a new one. Who knew shiskabob sticks had so many uses?

More random pics of our adventure:







P.S. Oklahoma is pretty. I'm not kidding.

Newsflash

Drumroll please.

After my ultrasound today, the doctor notified Sam and I that McMurry baby numero dos is going to be a....................

BOY! (probably).

The doctor was 95 percent sure and I guess he would know what he's talking about since he's been looking at ultrasound machines since 1980. His office machine was on the fritz though and none of the pics he took looked much like a baby to me.

I still remain ever so slightly unconvinced about the baby's gender, mostly because I don't want to swallow my pride and admit my so-called mother's intuition was not so intuitive after all.

I'm having a second ultrasound in a week or two on one of the hospital's heavy duty machines, so I guess they can finish convincing me then.

Helping Hands

I am happy to announce that all those lessons about the importance of cleaning up messes are finally sinking into Riley's little noggin.

Observe: Riley's yogurt and cereal spoon, neatly placed back in the silverware drawer after use. WITH the yogurt still on it.


Maybe I don't really want him to learn to pitch in and help after all.

Big Rigs

Just some fun pictures from when Riley and I went to this big truck show in Jenks a couple of weeks ago. They let all the kiddies climb into the ambulances, firetrucks, diggers, semis, etc. and pretend like they were driving. Riley loved it! My favorite part was that they let any of the hundreds of children there blast the horn and turn on the shrieking sirens ANY TIME they wanted. No wait...that was the worst part.

Riley and Tressa, a friend from church.

Mmmmm.....Ice Cream.

Officially announcing

I realized today that I haven't yet made the official announcement. And since I can no longer hide my pot belly, I figured now is probably a good time to make sure you've all heard the news: I'm getting fat. And also, I'm pregnant.

I'm three and a half months along and had my first doctor's appointment last week. Apparently, it takes a long time to get your medicaid case worker to answer your phone calls here in Oklahoma. I've discovered the secret though--On the 20th voice mail message you leave, burst into uncontrollable tears and mumble something about some sort of unfounded concerns you're having. Double bonus: your hysterical phone call may also qualify you for free psychiatric care!

Anyway, I'll probably find out if I'm having a boy or a girl at my next appointment in a few weeks. I'd be perfectly thrilled with either of the two, but must admit to having some hopes that baby number two will be slightly more mild-mannered than Riles.

Playin' Catch Up

Pardon the month long abscence in posts. We've had a lot going on here at la casa de McMurry.
The newest and grossest thing (which you may or may not want to read about) is that Riley's body has been invaded by a throw up monster. Riley walked into our room at about midnight Thursday night and proceeded to puke all over our bed. I was up with him all night long, and let me tell you, I had no idea that it was physically possible for that much vomit to come out of one kid's mouth.

His timing, as always, was impeccable. I was supposed to leave the next morning for Oklahoma City with some friends from church for a weekend of eating out and then eating out some more, staying in a hotel, and going to these wonderfully inspirational and possibly slightly intimidating classes about how to be a good mom (I' m a little confused about why they didn't ask me to teach those, by the way.) Anyway, that didn't happen. Instead, I stayed home and washed every blanket in our entire house at least three times.

Today is Tuesday, and the kid is still kind of sick. We thought he was feeling better, so we sat him at the table to eat with us last night. He took three bites of his soup and well....lost it. All over the table. And some of it splashed into my soup bowl. If any of you are looking for a fabulous weight loss program, talk your kid into getting the stomach flu. It is one gigantic appetite killer.

In other news, Sam and I celebrated our birthday week earlier this month. I woke up the morning of his birthday with plans to make crepes, only to discover that was not one drop of milk in the entire house. So he got to go to school on an empty stomach. Then, on the morning of my birthday, I woke up smelling something yummy. Sam had already left for school because I was too lazy to get up to see him off. But he left me a feast of sausage, biscuts, hashbrowns and eggs. Yum! I'd say I got the better end of the deal.

My grandma also watched Riley one night AND gave us some money to go out to eat at PF Changs. It took one blessed bite for me to fall in love.



My friends also threw me a birthday bash at the park. You guys are awesome!



And the childrens all feasted on cupcakes.


I also got to go to Utah for a week to visit my fam. It was delightful, especially the part where Riley and I were stuck in the airport all day because of weather delays. And I gave him two entire packs of lifesavers to quiet him down and keep him calm. And then all the sugar went straight to his head and he started running around like Speedy Gonzalez on drugs and I had to chase him all over the place carrying both of our bags and then I started crying and my masquera dripped all over my face and then Riley's training pants leaked and he peed all over both me and the airplane seat and then he threw a 10-minute long tantrum and everyone on the entire plane was staring at us. Whew.

Anyway, other than the airport part, the trip itself was really fun. We got to go snowmobiling and I had the revelation of my life. Beavers are flippin' huge! We saw some up in the mountains and my sister actually thought they were bears. I wish I had some pictures to prove their gigantic-ness to you, but you'll have to settle for some pictures of us instead.

The procrastinator

I have some dee-lightful Easter pictures for all of you. What's that you say? Easter was over a week ago? I'm just trying to spread out some extra holiday cheer by procrastinating. Easter doesn't get nearly enough attention if you ask me.

I know I'm going to win the "Bad Parent of the Year Award" for admitting this on the world wide web, but this year was the first time I bothered with stuffing eggs with candy for Riley. This is was also the first year I realized that the annoying plastic green grass that accompanies easter baskets should be banned forever and the producers of it thrown into jail. Within seconds, Riley had it scattered in every room in our house, and I'm still finding some to clean it up.

But I digress. Back to Riley....he was absolutely blown away by the concept of an Easter Egg Hunt. "What this? There are plastic eggs everywhere and they are STUFFED with candy that you're going to let me keep and actually EAT??"

It was almost too much for him to handle. He was so excited, in fact, that he couldn't even be bothered by being slowed down by his basket.



See what I mean? Using this picture and a complicated, highly scientific age-projection tool, I have managed to obtain an estimate of what Riley will look like in 20 years.

Hehe. Am I weird, or am I the only one who thinks he looks like he's totally running from the cops in that first picture?

This Easter, we were also blessed with our very own Easter miracle. For the first time in approximately two years, we have managed to get a photo of all three of us looking at the camera WITH our eyes open. Riley is not screaming or hiding his head. I do not look like a complete idiot (a major accomplishment for an extremely un-photogenic person. Sure, there's a clothesline in the background and the scenery leaves something to be desired, but we'll take it.



And here's one more pic just for funsies.

The Most Exciting Things Happening To Me Right Now

1- My toenail fell off. Out of the clear blue. And I rejoiced greatly. Those of you who have seen my toenail would agree that it's a very good thing that it fell off.

2-Miracle of Miracles, Riley is now semi potty trained. I started working with him a few months ago and it was a complete disaster. So I gave up. Then, two weeks ago, Riley just woke up one morning and said, "I wanna wear unners (underwear)." Since then, he's been going to the bathroom all by himself, with an occasional accident here and there. Drat those pants with buttons on them.

Let that be a lesson to you, my friends. If something is ever too hard, just give up and everything will miraculously work out in the end.

3- I went to the gym last week for the first time in two months. That averages out to be a $60 visit. You may now commence on judging me.

4-I am vaguely pondering the idea of planting a vegetable garden. Or hiring someone to plant a vegetable garden for me.

5- I have discovered www.pandora.com. Go check it out. It's a free program where you type in the kind of artists you like and then it creates your very own radio station.

5-I may or may not be addicted to ice cream topped with hot fudge.

Camp O' Rama

This week is Sam's spring break, so we decided to go camping for a couple of days over the long weekend. Nothing brings a family closer together like those good old camping trips..... when you throw all your junk in a smelly car, drive for two hours, arrive at a not-so-scenic, really-crowded campsite that looks nothing like the online pictures, unpack your tent ......and discover that the poles are missing.

The pole incident was the first mishap of the trip. At that point, Sam's vote was to go back home but I talked him into driving back down to the nearest town, buying a new tent, and heading to a different campsite further down south at a place near the Ouachita Mountains (Yes, that's right people, there are mountains in Oklahoma. Remember, you heard it here first).

At that point, we were greeted by a police barricade. Officers were searching every car and taking down the drivers' license and insurance information. We weren't really sure what the deal was, but the minimum security prison not too far down the road led us to draw our own conclusions. Anyhoo, after giving Sam a ticket for "wearing his seatbelt improperly" the officers waved us on to our campsite.

Luckily, we weren't murdered in our sleep by any escaped convicts and we ended up having a pretty grand old time. The trip definitely got off to a rocky start, but it wasn't anything that S'mores and tinfoil dinners couldn't cure.





The beautiful Ouchita mountains--just big enough to make me homesick for Utah.