Love Thee Notre Dame

Just a quick update about our trip to Notre Dame last weekend. Although the game was not so good (even though they did score two touchdowns...baby steps), it was still a great time seeing so many friends and family.

We stayed in Wisconsin at Great-Grandma's house on Thursday. I think she gets a kick out of Reagan and all of the funny things she does. According to the growth chart on the wall, in which all the grandkids and now the great-grandkids have kept track of their growth over the years, Reagan has grown five inches in the past year and three and a half since April so that is good. She is 32.5 inches now...and probably still only about 24 pounds if that. I wish I could adopt her diet!

After fighting Chicago traffic on Friday afternoon, we made it to South Bend where we visited everyone in the athletic department first thing. It was great seeing Susan and Bernie again, as well as so many other friends. We then went to the pep rally where Regis Philbin was the guest speaker - even the power of Reege couldn't help the Irish. We then went to dinner with my friend Heidi and her daughter Grace. Reagan and Grace played really well together which was nice to see since Reagan has a tendency not to play with other kids she does not know. Here is a photo of the two princesses.

Game day was fun as we made the rounds on campus, fought traffic at the bookstore (that is almost worse than Chicago traffic) and celebrated the game with our now traditional pregame meal of Kentucky Fried Chicken and champagne. Grandpa Chris and Aunt Alison drove over from Ohio to spend the day with Reagan which was nice. It was a beautiful day and even though the Irish were not competitive again (they might end the season 0-12...can you imagine if Notre Dame actually did not win a game all year?), it was a fantastic time.

After dinner and swimming at the hotel with Grandpa, Auntie Alison, Madinah and Tim, Reagan finally ran out of steam about 11 p.m. It was a pretty good effort on her part since she only had one nap during the day and it was only about 45 minutes.

On Sunday, we made the long trek home, but not without stopping to see great-grandma again in Wisconsin. Reagan finally fell asleep about 7 hours into the trip so she was pretty exhausted once we got home. She is so unlike her mom in that regard as I am a huge car sleeper and she never sleeps in the car unless it is a last resort. Thank goodness though for DVD players. She loves that thing - Alice in Wonderland and Aladdin are her best friends.

Thank you to everyone for making it such a great weekend for us!

One final note...the time has come and the passie is going away. She made it all day Monday except nap time and bed time without it so that was a good start. We are going to try and take it away for good this weekend - cold turkey. I didn't want to do that to Alana yesterday at daycare so we will see how it goes. I will keep you updated.

Gotta "go, go, go,"

Reagan's mom

The Simple Things Are So Good

Remember as a kid when life was easy and the simple things were so good and so rewarding?

That is all I could think of when I saw Reagan licking the beaters the other night after making mashed potatoes. I remember how excited I would get when my mom would make chocolate cake and give me the beaters when she was done. One of us got the beaters and one of us got the bowl.

It was just so cute as she would take a lick and then say "Mmmmmmm." So last night, she dug into the drawer that we keep the beaters in and pulled one out to play with. The next thing I know, she is dipping it in my salsa and saying "Mmmmmmmmm."

How can you not smile at that?

Gotta "go, go, go,"
Reagan's Mom

Fall Fashion

As the weather grows colder and the trees start to turn their amazing shades of red, yellow and orange, that can only mean one thing for the princess - the changing of the closets and fall fashion! Of course this is the highlight of her mother's year, so one could only expect the same thing from Reagan.

There is one problem though...the princess wears a size 24 months length pant, and her waist is only a size 12 months so keeping her pants on is quite a problem for her. It is a good thing that leggings are the hot fashion trend for Fall '07.

Here are a few photos of the princess.

Other updates from our family...

* Andrew's tennis team lost in the finals of the mixed doubles section tournament so they did not advance to nationals in Las Vegas. He did win the only match he played, though, so he was pretty proud of that.

* We saw our friends, Bruce and Kareena, get married last weekend. It was a beautiful ceremony and the reception was really nice. They looked so happy. Congratulations to them on their special day.

* We are headed to Notre Dame this weekend (for better or worse) to see the football team play Michigan State. It will be great to see all of our friends once again, and no matter how bad the team is, it still doesn't change how special Notre Dame is to our family. Maybe they will even surprise us by scoring an offensive touchdown this weekend. I am not holding my breath.

* Finally, we want to say congratulations to Marc and Lisa Stingley on the news of their new daughter, Langston. Marc and Lisa are adopting her from Ethiopia and are expecting a November arrival. We are so excited about a new playmate for Reagan, and Langston could not have better parents (the grandpa is a little suspect :)). What an early Christmas blessing for them.

Gotta "go, go, go,"
Reagan's mom

New York, New York

I know this is supposed to be Reagan's blog, but I am going to borrow it to tell about our trip to the Big Apple. It was really the first time Andrew and I had been to the Big Apple on a non-work related venture where we actually had some time to enjoy the city so we left Reagan with Grandma Vicki and Grandpa Rick and met the Notre Dame crew - Jen, April, Mike and Dave - there.

We arrived on Thursday morning at Newark and took the NJ Transit to Penn Station. We then walked about 20 blocks from Penn Station to the Grand Hyatt where we were staying. I totally looked like a tourist on that walk as my head was constantly in the air looking at the big buildings. When it wasn't looking up, it was spinning round and round seeing all the people. They were everywhere. And then the shopping that was available - it was amazing! I think Andrew was just praying that we would get to the hotel so I wouldn't get any crazy ideas.

Once everyone arrived we hopped a bus for the US Open. It was the first time any of us had ever gone to the Open and it was truly awesome. We started the day by walking the grounds before my friend Jon played in the wheelchair event. The grounds were not as big as I thought they would be as the courts were right next to each other and the stores were only kiosks for the most part. We then watched Jon as he upset this player from Poland 6-4, 7-5 and advanced to the semifinals. It was pretty impressive watching these wheelchair players. They are truly incredible athletes.

It was then on to Arthur Ashe Stadium where we watched the quarterfinals between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Moya. Djokovic was clearly the better player and won in three sets. He then did these great impressions of Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal after the match which were hilarious. He is going to be a fan favorite in the future. Then Martina Navratilova played in the Champions tournament - she was out of shape, but it was still awesome watching a legend. Z

Probably the most noteable thing from the night (besides our great seats which were in the first row right above the suites) was how much everything cost. It was $20 for a burger and fries and $10 for a beer. I just remember April saying as we got on the bus, "I spent over $100 tonight." I bet a lot of people were saying that!

On Friday, Andrew and I went to the NTC early so we could take a good look around and shop. We were able to see the men's doubles final, as well as the women's semifinals. Justine and Venus had an awesome match. They hit the ball so hard and every fan was on the edge of their seat. Everytime Venus was down, she somehow managed to get back in the match. Justine was the better player, though, in the end. It was great tennis - an honor to watch these two great athletes.

After getting up at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday (you know Reagan and Corby must not have been there - I can't remember the last time I did that), we walked the city - 10 miles by the end of the day. We saw all the sites - Battery Park, Ground Zero, Wall Street, SoHo, Times Square, Rockefeller Center. I also found a "Gucci" and "Kate Spade" purse along the way. I was in heaven. It was really awesome. I just cannot believe that it is so busy and there are so many people in such a small area.

We got back to the hotel in time, sadly, to see the Notre Dame game. I should have walked a few more miles. I would have felt better. It is going to be a long season.

After church at St. Patrick's Cathedral (where mass took only 40 minutes and I shook the hand of his holiness - the Cardinal - and I am not talking about Albert Pujols), Sunday was more sports as Andrew and I went to see the Mets and Astros play at Shea. It knocked another ballpark off of our list and we were able to see Pedro Martinez's first start at Shea this year. He pitched five shutout innings and they won 4-1. We then returned to the tennis center where we watched the men's final on the big screen. Federer is the greatest player in the history of tennis.

It was an awesome trip! Now it is back to real life for everyone. I think Reagan enjoyed being spoiled by her grandparents and Corby will be excited to get to eat again. Grandma and Grandpa thought Corby was a little overweight (he is a lot overweight) so they cut back on his food - maybe that is why he jumped on the counter and ate a dozen jelly donuts when we were gone.

Life at the Mushett's - it is never dull.

Gotta "go, go, go,"
Reagan's mom

Football Saturday at the Mushetts

You can tell it is the start of college football season at the Mushett household. Besides the Notre Dame flag flying in the yard, the first thing Reagan wanted to do Saturday morning was watch her new favorite video - Baby Longhorn (my Texas friends will be most proud of this!). As she was learning how to count via the number of interceptions Chris Simms threw in his career, she was cheering for Bevo and singing the Eyes of Texas (or maybe it was I've Been Working on The Railroad)!

We then move onto Part Two of College Football Saturday as we decided what to wear for the big day. Of course, it was a Notre Dame jersey and her new ND jeans from Grandma Vicki. At least she looked good because the Notre Dame offense sure didn't later in the day.

Then dad fired up the grill at 10 a.m. for Part Three of College Football Saturday - cheesy brats. Andrew and his friends were texting from South Bend to see who could eat the most cheesy brats by kickoff. It was 10:30 a.m. and Andrew was at three, while Reagan's godfather was lagging behind at two. I am not sure what the final count ended up as I had to leave, but just hearing about it was making me sick Reagan loved it though as this was definitely her favorite part of the day. She would eat hot dogs and brats at every meal if she could! Maybe one day they will find a way to make a healthy hot dog! Oh well, they still taste great!

So it was finally kickoff for the Notre Dame game (after about 15 NBC timeouts). It didn't take Reagan long to see where this was going because after about two three-and-outs, she asked to go "night, night" and thankfully did not have to see another play called by the "offensive genius" since she decided that sleeping and watching "Alice in Wonderland" was way better than watching Notre Dame. I think Andrew is going to try that this weekend against Penn State.

Once that was over...because Texas was on Fox's College Football PPV package, she was spared the embarassment of them barely beating Arkansas State as well. On a positive note, she does not get the Big Ten Network so she did not have to see the Gophers lose to Bowling Green in only ways Minnesota can. It is really amazing how they manage to lose games. I feel sorry for the Gopher Nation as all they want is a somewhat successful team and things like this always happen. Once again it looks like the Gopher Nation will be watching a non-Minnesota team in Pasadena and booking a trip to Memphis if they are lucky.

Mommy and Daddy are going to New York Thursday for the US Open, while Reagan stays with Grandpa Rick and Grandma Vicki. Hopefully her second College Football Saturday will be better than her first. As long as there are hot dogs, it will be just fine.

Gotta "go, go, go"
Reagan's Mom