2 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 1 husband – life isn’t perfect, but it is what we make it
Having kids in this day and age is scary. You want to protect them from all of the harsh realities of the world, the child molesters, the school shootings, etc. But who would have known that scrubbing some marks off the wall could end up seriously injuring your child? If you have kids, or if you clean, you should go read this.
As has become our tradition (being that we’ve done it a whole two years now) we joined my sister and her family for Halloween. I got off work a little early yesterday so we could get ourselves together and drive up north in time for the kids to go trick-or-treating. We got them all dressed up, snapped a few pictures, and then proceeded to make our way around the neighborhood collecting goodies at each door.
Zach loved being dressed up as Blue, even though I wasn’t quite able to capture his excitement in the pictures. He has a little bit of a cold starting and that seemed to tame him lastnight. He didn’t quite get the concept of saying “trick-or-treat” when the door opened, but he sure was ready to collect the candy when it was offered.
After we made it around the neighborhood, we stopped back at my sister’s house for some chilli to warm our tummies. The kids were ready for a break and needed to warm up a little. We finished eating and then hopped in the car to make two more stops at our friends’ house and at Grandpa’s house. By the time we finished that the kids were all tuckered out and ready to crash. Zach fell asleep on the way home and didn’t even wake up as I moved him from the car, took off is jacket, sweatshirt, and shoes. The poor little guy was exhausted.
I think it was a fun evening for all of us. The only bad part is that Zach now has a bag full of candy that he can’t possibly eat all of and I started my diet again today.
3 CommentsMonday morning rolls around all too quickly. Believe it or not, I’m not even complaining this week because I had a fabulous weekend. Plus, I just won a $25 gift certificate for Amazon.com on Blingo, so I guess my day started off quite nicely. If you haven’t signed up for Blingo yet, you should. You’re going to be searching the net anyway, so you might as well win something while you are doing it. Plus, if you follow my links and sign up, when you win something, I win it too. The lovely Miss Zoot won an Amazon gift certificate too because I signed up using her link. Not to pressure you or anything, but sign up already! Well, finish reading about my awesome weekend first and then go sign up.
Friday night we had dinner with some friends and then they came over to our house to hang out for a bit. It was nothing spectacular, but we had a really nice time with them. It is nice to have friends that are so much like us.
Saturday morning we got up and took Zach to get his very first hair cut. Hubby was hoping I would hold off a bit longer, but it was getting harder and harder to try to control the bedhead so I decided it was time. We took him down to one of the cheapie chain salons. I think he was a little scared at first, but he eventually settled down (with the help of the pacifier that I thankfully shoved in his backpack as we rushed out the door). He ended up sitting on Daddy’s lap and held pretty still while she was cutting. I think he looks pretty handsome with his new hair cut, but I was kind of sad to see his little curls laying on the floor.
Saturday night, it was off to the circus. I was an absolute idiot and forgot to bring my camera. I had taken it out of the back pack earlier in the day to download the hair cut pictures and I left it laying on my kitchen table. I was furious with myself when I figured out that I didn’t have it. Amazingly enough, Zach had a great time at the circus even without the camera. We had great seats and could see everything really well. Zach loved watching all of the acrobatics and the people going upside down. Every time someone did a flip or crazy twist, he would yell out “upside down!” The ladies sitting in front of us got quite a kick out of it. I was a sucker and bought him a spinning light up toy which he barely released from his grip all night long. We all had a great time and I have to admit I think the show was much better than the year before.
Sunday evening I got to meet the fabulous Amanda. I was a little nervous about the whole thing of meeting a blogger. I have never met anyone in person that I met online before. Well, unless you count the few dates that I had shortly after my divorce when I thought Match.com was a good way to spend my hard-earned money. As it turned out, there was absolutely no reason to be nervous at all. Amanda was so much fun. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory down on the Plaza. Amanda brought along a couple of friends from the conference she was attending and between the four of us, there was barely a moment of silence for two hours straight. I honestly wish I could have had more time to hang out with her because she was just that cool. I also had my very first Mojito, which I have to say was quite yummy!
I really surprised myself because I am normally a very shy and quiet person, but for some reason I wasn’t that way at all. Normally, when I’m around people I don’t know I barely speak and when I do it is only to answer a question. Lastnight I actually had to stop myself a couple of times because I felt like I was talking too much. I found it very odd that I had to shut myself up to let the other women have a chance to speak.
My only regret of the evening was that I didn’t bring my camera. I thought about it briefly, but decided that was just too geeky. I don’t know what I was thinking. What kind of blogger doesn’t carry a camera? Fortunately, Amanda did bring one (not that she’s geeky) and snapped a pic of the two of us before we parted ways. Hopefully she’ll have a pic posted in a few days after she gets back home.
I’m in a surprisingly good mood today. After waking up at 5:30 to a very unhappy little boy screaming in the next room I assumed it would be a bad day. I could see out the window that it was dark and rainy out when I went to pick him up out of his crib. These are my least favorite kind of days.
Zach seemed like he would go back to sleep so I brought him into bed with me. He snuggled up to me right away. He slept off and on for the next hour cuddling with either me or his daddy. While he was sleeping next to me, he reached his little hand out and put on my chest. He used to always sleep like that, but hasn’t done it much since we moved him to sleeping in his own bed. I’ve missed it. It was a lovely way to start out a dreary day.
The morning was chaotic as usual, but Zach seemed especially clingy. He didn’t want me to put him down so I tried to do everything one-handed while I held him on my hip with the other. He cried when I dropped him off at day care, but it didn’t bother me too much because I know that I get to hang out with him for the next two days.
Now I’m at work, staring lovingly at his picture on my computer screen, but feeling somewhat productive. I’m anxious to get the day’s work done so my weekend can begin. I can’t wait to cuddle with him in bed tomorrow morning as I’m sure he’ll wake long before I’m ready to start my day. I can’t wait to see his face light up at the circus tomorrow night. I can’t wait to finish hemming up his Halloween costume so it is ready for him to Trick or Treat in. I can’t wait to just spend some quality time with my little boy…and maybe his daddy too.
Comments closedI hate it when the boss-man calls me Thursday afternoon to tell me that he has a big project for me to work on Friday. Fridays are usually my catch-up days and I almost always finish up early so I can start my weekend a little sooner. I already had my day’s list of things I need to do in my head. Looks like I won’t be getting them done after all and I won’t be going home early. Blah.
Zach loves to go around and say “oh, man!” and every time he does it I crack up. I know I gush about him all the time on here but he is just so cute I can’t help it.
We’re taking Zach to the circus this weekend. We went last year, but he was a little young to really appreciate it much. Hopefully this time around will be more fun for him. We’ll be sitting up front instead of way up high where we were last year so he should be able to see really well. Anybody wanna take a guess what pictures I’ll be posting on Monday?
Anyone have any fun weekend plans?
Comments closedDear Zachary,
We made it through yet another month and you still continue to amaze me on a daily basis. You are turning into a most delightful little toddler. I truly cherish each and every moment that I get to spend with you because I realize that each moment is so fleeting.
The last month of your life has been a little crazy, yet wonderful. Your day care was closed down while Ms. Aliesha took care of her newborn baby, so Granny and Papa came up for a visit and agreed to stay home with you while your Daddy and I were at work. I’ll admit I was slightly nervous about this arrangement, but I soon found out there was no need to worry. You adjusted easily and had a fabulous time with them. You learned so much from Granny and Papa while they were here. Plus, you had the chance to really bond with your grandparents and I’m sure that’s something that they will never forget. It is hard having them live so far away because you don’t get to see them often. I love watching your face light up and hearing you exclaim "Papa!" every time you see a picture of him. You point to Granny’s pictures with excitement as well, even though you still don’t have the hang of saying "Granny" quite yet.
One of the great things you got to experience while Granny was here was her cooking. Mama isn’t too creative with our meals at home usually, so it was nice to have a little variety. Daddy was thrilled to see you chowing down on gumbo, jambalaya, and rice and gravy. Well, Daddy was pretty thrilled to be chowing down on some of his favorite foods too to be quite honest. Mama just doesn’t have the skills, the time, or the desire to slave away in the kitchen so we eat a lot of chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese.
While Granny and Papa were here, we took you to the Kansas City Zoo for the first time. You seemed to really enjoy the day except for a minor meltdown around lunchtime. It was fun to see your reaction to the animals. The elephants seemed to interest you the most, probably because they are so enormous. You also enjoyed the sheep because you could get up close and pet them. I had a great time trying to get the perfect picture of you at the zoo. Instead of the perfect picture, I got many perfect pictures and some great memories to reflect on as you get older.
Over the last month you have become much more proficient at a number of things. You handle a fork and spoon much better, getting the food to your mouth most of the time. It only takes a little bit of direction (when you will allow it) to get the fork in you hand in the correct position. Sometimes you prefer just to smear your food on the table, but that’s another story all together. You are talking much more and I can even understand most of what you say. Sometimes you go off on a tangent and I can’t follow you, but you always find a way to let me know exactly what you want. Sometimes in order to tell me what you want you scream and scream until I figure it out, but I do figure it out…eventually.
You recently discovered the joy that is The Upside Down Show. Oh my, how you love that show. I sometimes feel guilty that I allow you to watch a little too much TV, but seeing how excited you are to see Shane and David on the screen always makes me smile. You have learned to say "uh-sie-dow" (upside down), "da-de" (david), and "whoa!" all while watching that show. When I turn it on you will either sit still like a zombie watching it or jump up and try to imitate whatever they are doing on the show. It all depends on your mood at the time.
Also, much to my dismay, you have fallen in love with all things Elmo. You have a set of Sesame Street books that were handed down from your cousin and they all have Elmo in them. They are your absolute favorite books. I keep putting them back in your room, but they somehow always end up back in the living room scattered around the floor. When I took you shopping for some new winter pajamas, you spotted the Elmo jammies from the end of the aisle and insisted that those were the ones we purchased. Now you expect to wear your Elmo jammies every single night. The biggest problem with this is (even though I kind of detest Elmo) that when I go shopping I can’t resist buying you a little something with Elmo on it just to see the excitement on your face when I give it to you. Just yesterday I bought you a Halloween coloring book with Elmo on the front of it. Hopefully someday soon you will stop eating your crayons and actually color with them so you can use it.
Even though I miss my little baby, I look forward every day to seeing the newest thing you have learned. I love watching you try to "jump" up in the air. You have the motions right but your feet never leave the ground. I can’t wait for the day when you actually figure out how to get your feet up. I can already picture your excitement in my head.
I love you so much. Thank you for bringing so much joy to my life.
Love always,
Mama
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