Whew. I just made a list of all of the "unusual" expenses I have in the next week...OH MY GOODNESS. How do these things all come at once? Why does it work that way? And why 3 weeks before Christmas?!
Somehow I find myself needing to spend a good chunk of money on my trailblazer's maintenance, a few last Christmas presents I hadn't planned on, the hotel for Colorado springs this weekend, my plane ticket to Houston for Maize's graduation, tickets to the Houston Texans vs Denver Broncos game, and the locksmith.
Ah, the locksmith. Somehow I glazed over that part of our trip in my post yesterday didn't I?
The week before Thanksgiving I was getting everything organized. I even bragged on the world wide web about how great I am at organizing and preparing for trips. Sure put myself in my place there! I spent the week making sure our bags were packed, had the house cleaners come, wrote up 3 pages of instructions for the house sitter, changed sheets, did laundry...everything was set. Arranged for a ride to the airport, gave him instructions on how to get the trailblazer back into the garage and get out of the garage so he could go home. I had it all set up.
Then, 20 minutes before we were going to board the plane my phone rang and it was my coworker who would be staying at my house.
"Hey Amanda. Um, I'm looking through all these instructions and I'm just kind of confused. I can't remember, how did you want me to get in the house?"
...thinking, thinking, thinking...vividly remembering handing off a house key...doesn't she have a house key? i took it off my key ring, i know i did...i see it in my hand, handing it to...jenny? oh crap. not handing it to jenny. handing it to the house CLEANER.
CRAP CRAP CRAP. Quick. Is there a hidden key? Open window? Big boulder to throw at a window? none of the above. And in my brilliant planning our driver put our truck keys in our truck as he closed it in the garage, so he can't even bring it over. OOOOO call the house cleaner! BRILLIANT! Call, no answer. Call, no answer. Leave message. Plane just pulled up, no time to wait. crap.
Locksmith it is.
I boarded the plane with Jenny sitting on my front porch waiting on the locksmith to arrive, pets inside needing to go potty and eat dinner. Reagan could have starved!!!
When I landed in Houston I called Jenny to make sure she had gotten in. She told me the locksmith wasn't able to get in the front door, but he WIGGLED the back door until the lock came loose. I am paying $150 to someone for WIGGLING MY DOOR?! My mom thinks I should be thankful because the lesson here is that I need to use a bar to keep the back door securely closed. Yes, I am thankful. Thankful to have spent $150. Oh, so, very thankful.
And would you believe that Austin had forgotten to lock his truck that day? So Jenny was sitting 20 feet from an unlocked truck with a button to open the garage door...the key to warmth and free entry...and none of us even thought to have her CHECK to see if it was unlocked. Locked house, unlocked car.
So, as I'm whining about all of my expenses I do realize that all but 1 of them are optional. But in my mind, they are necessary. Texans tickets = necessary. Christmas gifts = necessary. Hotel = necessary. The only one I want to scrounge on is the only one that actually needs to be done...and that's the truck maintenance. Ahhhh, such is life! :)
Nov 30, 2010
Nov 29, 2010
This. Just. Sucks.
I like to write about fun stuff. I like to write about things that are fairly meaningless in life like football and ipads and…ok meaningless was a bad word since those 2 examples alone consume a lot of my daily thoughts. Light hearted is a better term – and much more fun to write about. I do go through stints of writing about serious stuff, emotional stuff, hard stuff…but I like to keep those to a minimum. I’m writing at work, after all, so if I write about sad stuff all the time people may start to wonder why I go through a box of Kleenex per day. Plus, I have my dedicated readers – all 4 of you – and I don’t want to be Debbie downer on your day either. I may lose one of you, and that’s 25% of my audience! So, I stick with ipads.
But then there are times like now. You see, Austin left on Sunday night. It was a good time, or should I say convenient time, for me to have him leave because I had 2 big suitcases to unpack, laundry to do, bottles to wash…and if you read my blog about packing and about how he tends to get in the way, you can apply that to unpacking as well. So unpacking is much more efficient on my own. By the time the bags were unpacked, everything put away, and 3 episodes of Private Practice had been viewed it was 10:30, he had called to say goodnight, and I turned in as well. Easy enough huh?
That was just one night though. The morning came, and it was easy enough for the same reason…get up at 5:15, stumble to the shower. Fight my eye lids for 20 minutes so I don’t fall over in said shower. Put in contacts, get dressed, run hair-crap through my hair to make it semi-curly and avoid the blow dryer, make the bed, switch out the laundry, make bottles for William and…as if he had an alarm set…he woke up JUST as I finished my routine. So, onto his! Change diaper, pick out clothes, cuddle and play, pack up the car – and we’re off!
Then the fun is over. Then I’m at work. At work where I receive an email that makes me climb the walls I’m so mad. At work where I sit and think all day. Think about how much I don’t want to be at work, and how much I don’t want Austin to be in Colorado springs.
It’s nearly 5:00 now, where the hustle and bustle may distract me for a few hours. Babies have a way of making the saddest of times happy. I remember the day Mimi passed away – William cuddled me for hours, as if he knew I was unhappy, and he melted away my sorrows for awhile. So I’m sure he will not disappoint in this case either – make funny faces, shaking his head side to side and making happy noises to see if I’ll copy him. This is a new game he’s started, and he really loves it! I’m sure he’ll have me laughing and smiling and forgetting that his daddy isn’t home.
But then it’s his bed time. And what do I do then? When Austin left for his last deployment I occupied my first few days by painting the guest bedroom. When he left for his 3 months in Arizona I spent the first 2 days painting our bedroom. Then our kitchen. Then when I was really antsy I painted our office. I had projects to fill the first few days, because I’ve learned the first few days are the hardest.
The first few days are when you have to adjust. Decide how to do the things that you used to do for 2 and will now do for 1. The first few days are when you think its pointless to even make dinner because its just for yourself. The first few days are when you’d almost rather run a marathon than be in your house, because at least a marathon would distract you. It’s all about distractions, I’ve learned. I just don’t have any distractions scheduled for after 8:00.
And the first-few-days-distractions are trickier than the general deployment distractions. I don’t want to talk to anyone, because you can almost hear the awkwardness while everyone is trying to talk without asking all the questions they want to ask. It’s like they want so badly to TALK about the one thing I want to be distracted from, that the entire conversation is focused on that one thing without even mentioning the words. Makes for a bad distraction. I don’t want to even toy with the idea of alcohol at this point because its only day one, and if I need a glass of wine on day one what will I do on day 152 when I’m so far in, yet so far from the end? You have to save alcohol for more dire times, otherwise…well…we know about alcoholics now don’t we? So that’s out.
I can scrapbook. I can watch movies. I’m sure I can clean out the garage or the crawl space or the closet or the guest room or the pantry. I’m sure all of the above can be reorganized once cleaned out too. Trips to the container store in my future for sure. And this is where OCD comes into play.
So what is a healthy distraction? Hard to say. Hard to find. But once I find one, I’ll stick with it.
Don’t worry, though. Please don’t worry. Don’t panic that I’m going to starve myself by forgetting dinner – I like food too much. And baking is a GREAT distraction. Instant gratification. I’ll eat. And I won’t drink. And I’ll find things to fill my time. I’ll be distracted, I’ll be happy, and I’ll be fine. I promise. I won’t shut the world out, I won’t be depressed, and I really won’t be any reason for concern. Once the first few days have passed, I’ll have my own routine and will be in the swing of what I do now by myself. It’s just getting through the first few days that is tough.
For tonight, though, I’ll play with the idea of driving home to a hot pink garage. It would give me 2 painting projects, after all, because there’s no way Austin would let it STAY hot pink once he gets home. Plus, its the only unpainted room I have left!!!
But then there are times like now. You see, Austin left on Sunday night. It was a good time, or should I say convenient time, for me to have him leave because I had 2 big suitcases to unpack, laundry to do, bottles to wash…and if you read my blog about packing and about how he tends to get in the way, you can apply that to unpacking as well. So unpacking is much more efficient on my own. By the time the bags were unpacked, everything put away, and 3 episodes of Private Practice had been viewed it was 10:30, he had called to say goodnight, and I turned in as well. Easy enough huh?
That was just one night though. The morning came, and it was easy enough for the same reason…get up at 5:15, stumble to the shower. Fight my eye lids for 20 minutes so I don’t fall over in said shower. Put in contacts, get dressed, run hair-crap through my hair to make it semi-curly and avoid the blow dryer, make the bed, switch out the laundry, make bottles for William and…as if he had an alarm set…he woke up JUST as I finished my routine. So, onto his! Change diaper, pick out clothes, cuddle and play, pack up the car – and we’re off!
Then the fun is over. Then I’m at work. At work where I receive an email that makes me climb the walls I’m so mad. At work where I sit and think all day. Think about how much I don’t want to be at work, and how much I don’t want Austin to be in Colorado springs.
It’s nearly 5:00 now, where the hustle and bustle may distract me for a few hours. Babies have a way of making the saddest of times happy. I remember the day Mimi passed away – William cuddled me for hours, as if he knew I was unhappy, and he melted away my sorrows for awhile. So I’m sure he will not disappoint in this case either – make funny faces, shaking his head side to side and making happy noises to see if I’ll copy him. This is a new game he’s started, and he really loves it! I’m sure he’ll have me laughing and smiling and forgetting that his daddy isn’t home.
But then it’s his bed time. And what do I do then? When Austin left for his last deployment I occupied my first few days by painting the guest bedroom. When he left for his 3 months in Arizona I spent the first 2 days painting our bedroom. Then our kitchen. Then when I was really antsy I painted our office. I had projects to fill the first few days, because I’ve learned the first few days are the hardest.
The first few days are when you have to adjust. Decide how to do the things that you used to do for 2 and will now do for 1. The first few days are when you think its pointless to even make dinner because its just for yourself. The first few days are when you’d almost rather run a marathon than be in your house, because at least a marathon would distract you. It’s all about distractions, I’ve learned. I just don’t have any distractions scheduled for after 8:00.
And the first-few-days-distractions are trickier than the general deployment distractions. I don’t want to talk to anyone, because you can almost hear the awkwardness while everyone is trying to talk without asking all the questions they want to ask. It’s like they want so badly to TALK about the one thing I want to be distracted from, that the entire conversation is focused on that one thing without even mentioning the words. Makes for a bad distraction. I don’t want to even toy with the idea of alcohol at this point because its only day one, and if I need a glass of wine on day one what will I do on day 152 when I’m so far in, yet so far from the end? You have to save alcohol for more dire times, otherwise…well…we know about alcoholics now don’t we? So that’s out.
I can scrapbook. I can watch movies. I’m sure I can clean out the garage or the crawl space or the closet or the guest room or the pantry. I’m sure all of the above can be reorganized once cleaned out too. Trips to the container store in my future for sure. And this is where OCD comes into play.
So what is a healthy distraction? Hard to say. Hard to find. But once I find one, I’ll stick with it.
Don’t worry, though. Please don’t worry. Don’t panic that I’m going to starve myself by forgetting dinner – I like food too much. And baking is a GREAT distraction. Instant gratification. I’ll eat. And I won’t drink. And I’ll find things to fill my time. I’ll be distracted, I’ll be happy, and I’ll be fine. I promise. I won’t shut the world out, I won’t be depressed, and I really won’t be any reason for concern. Once the first few days have passed, I’ll have my own routine and will be in the swing of what I do now by myself. It’s just getting through the first few days that is tough.
For tonight, though, I’ll play with the idea of driving home to a hot pink garage. It would give me 2 painting projects, after all, because there’s no way Austin would let it STAY hot pink once he gets home. Plus, its the only unpainted room I have left!!!
Here I Am!
Did you miss me? I hope so! I missed writing, I can say that. I didn't miss sitting at this desk though. 10 days off work really makes you not want to go back...that may be a little too long to take off. Note for next time :)
I can't possibly write all about the past 10 days - I'd be writing about it all week, and I think I'd get bored. So I'll just share some key points:
~William sat on a dead animal. Candace's buck she shot!
~William got stung by a yellow jacket and took it like a champ. I would have been crying for hours if it were me. I was nearly crying for hours and it WASN'T me.
~I GOT TO SEE BRIAN!
~Austin shot a buck.
~William validated my decision to fly rather than drive as 3.5 hours seemed to be his limit to happily riding in a car seat.
~I ate a lot of deliciously horrible food. donuts, kolaches, lupe tortilla, fried food, fat food, sweet food - all wonderful. And all to be felt at 12:30 today in sports conditioning!
~William was very clingy to Austin and me - mostly me, I think. It was a nice feeling, but made it hard to do anything!
~Got to sit around a fire pit drinking beer with addie - not a lot of beer, but made me miss college and living with her and jen. An awesome 2 years!
~Cooked a wonderful thanksgiving dinner - had 15 people at my mom's house so we didn't have to make too much...turkey, green beans, stuffing, ambrosia and pies (really didn't need to make those pies - we had more dessert than food!)
~Watched the aggies BTHO t.u. WHOOOOP!
~Black Friday shopping - partly successful. Got to Target at 4:00 to find the one item I was looking for wasn't even in stock. How rude! But then we went to Macy's and went shopping for Dana...got her some cute shirts, so that's awesome. Then I got some clothes, shoes, and did get a couple things for Austin. I didn't buy a single thing for William the whole trip - SHOCKING!
~Successfully cooked deer meat with my first real cooking companion at my side - in college we cooked lots, set the kitchen on fire even. This time - lots of grease yet no fire. Quite the achievement!
~Got to leave the sleeping baby at home one night to go out and see patty and keith. had planned to go to a bar- was really excited at the prospect, but then we all decided staying home and playing mario kart on nintendo64 was better. i told them i'd lose every game, and I did not disappoint. I'm horrible! But it was fun :)
~William got to see his god-family. He was unsure of all the new places and new faces that he was bombarded with during the week, but he did well over there! At the end of the night he even leaned into BB and Nico and wrapped his arms around their necks to hug them. It was so precious!
I think this was one of my favorite trips to Texas that we've ever had. It was long, but it was nice. And its funny - I used to think thanksgiving was a silly holiday, but every year I like it more and more. Now I think it might be my favorite! I love cooking, I love my family, and I love big gatherings. I have such a wonderful, blessed life so the concept of Thanksgiving is right up my alley. I love it!
We were very excited to get home yesterday, though, after being gone for 10 days. I really think William was most excited of all! I told someone that and they said "how do you even know? he can't talk" But oh my, you can tell. He was THRILLED when we opened his bedroom door, he had a blast playing in his crib this morning, he squealed louder than ever every time he saw Nancy - then proceeded to roll all over her. He was ecstatic.
I was glad to be back in my fantastic bed last night, but not terribly excited that I was cuddling with 2 cats rather than Austin. He left after William's bedtime last night for Colorado Springs. He'll be there for 3 weeks, then he'll be home for the 2 weeks of Christmas. This weekend William and I are going down there to see him, then on Saturday Paul, Janell and Brooklyn are coming down too so we can all go to the North Pole and see Santa's Workshop. It'll be fun! It's a whole little town they've created with shops, food places, and of course Santa. I'm sure William, like most babies, won't care for him - but I'm just excited to take him to the town. I've heard there are lots of fun things for kids of all ages.
So, that's the short version of the past 10 days. We really had a great trip and I'm so thankful for the time we spent with everyone.
I can't possibly write all about the past 10 days - I'd be writing about it all week, and I think I'd get bored. So I'll just share some key points:
~William sat on a dead animal. Candace's buck she shot!
~William got stung by a yellow jacket and took it like a champ. I would have been crying for hours if it were me. I was nearly crying for hours and it WASN'T me.
~I GOT TO SEE BRIAN!
~Austin shot a buck.
~William validated my decision to fly rather than drive as 3.5 hours seemed to be his limit to happily riding in a car seat.
~I ate a lot of deliciously horrible food. donuts, kolaches, lupe tortilla, fried food, fat food, sweet food - all wonderful. And all to be felt at 12:30 today in sports conditioning!
~William was very clingy to Austin and me - mostly me, I think. It was a nice feeling, but made it hard to do anything!
~Got to sit around a fire pit drinking beer with addie - not a lot of beer, but made me miss college and living with her and jen. An awesome 2 years!
~Cooked a wonderful thanksgiving dinner - had 15 people at my mom's house so we didn't have to make too much...turkey, green beans, stuffing, ambrosia and pies (really didn't need to make those pies - we had more dessert than food!)
~Watched the aggies BTHO t.u. WHOOOOP!
~Black Friday shopping - partly successful. Got to Target at 4:00 to find the one item I was looking for wasn't even in stock. How rude! But then we went to Macy's and went shopping for Dana...got her some cute shirts, so that's awesome. Then I got some clothes, shoes, and did get a couple things for Austin. I didn't buy a single thing for William the whole trip - SHOCKING!
~Successfully cooked deer meat with my first real cooking companion at my side - in college we cooked lots, set the kitchen on fire even. This time - lots of grease yet no fire. Quite the achievement!
~Got to leave the sleeping baby at home one night to go out and see patty and keith. had planned to go to a bar- was really excited at the prospect, but then we all decided staying home and playing mario kart on nintendo64 was better. i told them i'd lose every game, and I did not disappoint. I'm horrible! But it was fun :)
~William got to see his god-family. He was unsure of all the new places and new faces that he was bombarded with during the week, but he did well over there! At the end of the night he even leaned into BB and Nico and wrapped his arms around their necks to hug them. It was so precious!
I think this was one of my favorite trips to Texas that we've ever had. It was long, but it was nice. And its funny - I used to think thanksgiving was a silly holiday, but every year I like it more and more. Now I think it might be my favorite! I love cooking, I love my family, and I love big gatherings. I have such a wonderful, blessed life so the concept of Thanksgiving is right up my alley. I love it!
We were very excited to get home yesterday, though, after being gone for 10 days. I really think William was most excited of all! I told someone that and they said "how do you even know? he can't talk" But oh my, you can tell. He was THRILLED when we opened his bedroom door, he had a blast playing in his crib this morning, he squealed louder than ever every time he saw Nancy - then proceeded to roll all over her. He was ecstatic.
I was glad to be back in my fantastic bed last night, but not terribly excited that I was cuddling with 2 cats rather than Austin. He left after William's bedtime last night for Colorado Springs. He'll be there for 3 weeks, then he'll be home for the 2 weeks of Christmas. This weekend William and I are going down there to see him, then on Saturday Paul, Janell and Brooklyn are coming down too so we can all go to the North Pole and see Santa's Workshop. It'll be fun! It's a whole little town they've created with shops, food places, and of course Santa. I'm sure William, like most babies, won't care for him - but I'm just excited to take him to the town. I've heard there are lots of fun things for kids of all ages.
So, that's the short version of the past 10 days. We really had a great trip and I'm so thankful for the time we spent with everyone.
Nov 17, 2010
William Wednesday
Feels like it's been forever since I've written William Wednesday. Don't think I'll be posting another only-picture post in place of William Wednesday again :)
This week he's started drinking his breakfast formula out of a sippy cup instead of a bottle. Miss Kim says he loves it, so she's thinking of moving his lunch formula to a sippy cup too. She said he's early, but he does well and likes it so its good to get him transitioned. I SWEAR he just wants to do what Helen does. I just need to teach Helen to say "mama" and then I'd be happy :)
The biggest part of the last week (or 2) for William was his ear surgery. And he was a rock star! We had to wake up at 5:15 which is no different than a normal workday, but there's something about having a day off and still waking up before the sun that just irks me. William woke up around 5:30 and we had to be out the door at 5:50. We got through the check-in and into the waiting area before he realized that he had been awake over an hour without food/bottle - and at that point he wasn't terribly happy with us. We walked around, let him walk around (which was pretty cute with his socks on the slippery floor) and let him play in the baby crib to try to occupy him. Surgery was set for 7:15, but the doctor didn't show up until almost 8. William let him know what he thought of that for sure!
The hardest part by far was handing him over to the nurse and watching her carry him down the surgical hallway. The nurse who checked us in had teased me by saying "So is either one of you going to go back with him?" My eyes lit up as I said, "YES! I didn't know we were allowed!" She looked down at his chart and said, "Oooohhh, he's under a year...I'm so sorry...you can't" WHAT? What a tease! But, by the time I had stopped crying from them carrying him away, sat down and pulled out my magazine Dr Lewark came out to let us know he was done and still sleeping. He talked a little about how it went, said William did well and that the nurse would be out to let us know once he was awake. 10 seconds later, the nurse came out and said "he's up, and I hope you have a bottle!" He was SCREAMING! His face was splotchy from all his screams and cries. Poor baby! But, once I sat in the rocker with him and gave him his bottle he was a happy camper.
We got to spend the rest of the day at home and less than 2 hours after the surgery he was acting like nothing had ever happened. Austin thinks he could even hear us better that soon after the procedure. His wonderful godparents had sent him an early Christmas present and since it arrived on his surgery day, we decided it was a surgery present so we opened it (with their permission of course) It's the coolest black and decker tool bench ever!!! He loves it, especially the hammer. We had to teach him that we don't hammer on Layla though :) It said it's for ages 3+ but we made sure he can't get any small parts so he'll have awhile to grow with it. Once he's a little older with more coordination we can loosen the screws and show him how to use his screwdriver to tighten them. It pretty much rocks :)
We also have had a lot of fun practicing his walking. He is getting so good and he loves walking back and forth between us. He gets so proud! He's stood on his own a few times, especially when he's had one tool in one hand and another tool in the other. His face looks like he's prioritizing...like his mind is thinking "OK, I've got my hammer, the table to hold onto, and I want that screw driver. Do I drop the hammer? Heavens no. The table must go" Then he just stares at the 2 tools in his hand, as if to say "I figured out the puzzle!" He tried taking a step one day when he was standing on his own, and that step turned into a near face plant. But he was still proud!
This week he's started drinking his breakfast formula out of a sippy cup instead of a bottle. Miss Kim says he loves it, so she's thinking of moving his lunch formula to a sippy cup too. She said he's early, but he does well and likes it so its good to get him transitioned. I SWEAR he just wants to do what Helen does. I just need to teach Helen to say "mama" and then I'd be happy :)
Last weekend Austin and I went out to a country bar with some friends and Mr. Scott watched William. Austin said Scott was talking about how much fun they had all day at work on Sunday. Scott's son Jake, who is 4, was apparently so excited for the baby to come but when we got there he kept hiding behind the couch. I think he was waiting for William's annoying parents to leave :) Scott said Jake showed William all of his toys and William was just in awe, watching Jake play.
OH - and he has 2 teeth now! Babies are supposed to get the bottom 2, then the top 2, but William wanted to be a snaggle toothed boy so he has the lower left and upper right teeth. The other 2 are just waiting in the wings, I'm sure. It's really weird to feed him with a spoon and feel the teeth, or let him drink my water and hear the teeth clanking against the glass. I wonder if he thinks its weird?
I don't know if you remember my post from our anniversary trip last year (I'm sure you don't, actually) but when we were in Estes Park we bought William a stuffed puppy. We call him doggie. When we bought it, it was the size that the doctor estimated William was, so it was fun to curl up doggie and try to see how he possibly could fit in my tummy. Well, now doggie is William's favorite toy and it's pretty fun to see how excited he gets. He gets ALMOST as excited to see doggie as he does to see Nancy. Last night I worked until 8 so I missed bedtime. When I got home William was laying completely on top of doggie in his crib, doggie's paws sticking out from underneath, and he had his face snuggled into doggie's. If I wasn't afraid of waking him I would have gotten a picture, it was too sweet. I had to wash doggie last weekend, and I'm guessing I'll need to wash him again soon. He gets looooots of lovin', which means lots of snot and drool.
We finally hung pictures from William's newborn photo shoot on Monday night - can you believe how much he's grown and changed?! 
It's been the most amazing 9 months and I am so excited for every little step along the way as he grows. I'm keeping a log of what I'm thankful for every day on facebook, but every day I just want to write "I'm thankful for William". Definitely the shining point of my life!!!
Nov 16, 2010
Guess What I'm Doing Today?
I'm so excited!
I have an appointment in one hour to meet with the owner of Neat Freaks Housecleaners!!! Austin and I had decided that if I were to try to work full time, be a mom full time, clean the house full time, and keep my sanity full time I would surely fail at one...and it would probably be the last. So, we decided that while he's gone I should hire a house cleaner. The problem is, I wouldn't be comfortable allowing someone into my house without a reference from a friend and none of my friends use house keepers. (it's not that I don't have many friends, its that they don't use house cleaners. I promise!) So if a stranger is going to come in my house while I'm not there, I want to be sure I can go after them if anything ever goes missing. I'm sure it won't, but I just wanted some reassurance!
We dropped the conversation at that, and that was about 4 months ago. It lingered in the back of my mind but I never really had the energy (pathetic) to make the effort to find someone. Then one day, as if the angels from above were shining down on me, we were stuck at a ridiculously long light next to a beautiful Tahoe with a sticker that said "Neat Freaks House Cleaners". I think there was a golden cloud surrounding the title too, but that may have just been my own hallucination.
They are a little pricier than I had planned, but I loved their website and over the phone she said she'd offer a military discount. I am starting off just having her come once a month - I really just need a little help with more of the deep cleaning. We already have a pretty set routine with the kitchen, the floors, etc. I just don't get around to the baseboards or the fans or some of the less used areas of the house all that often. But...no promises that I won't love it so much that I increase the frequency...only time will tell. Actually, not only time...my "merit increase" may play a role too.
So, I'm off to my appointment to meet Amy. I feel like such a big girl now!
I have an appointment in one hour to meet with the owner of Neat Freaks Housecleaners!!! Austin and I had decided that if I were to try to work full time, be a mom full time, clean the house full time, and keep my sanity full time I would surely fail at one...and it would probably be the last. So, we decided that while he's gone I should hire a house cleaner. The problem is, I wouldn't be comfortable allowing someone into my house without a reference from a friend and none of my friends use house keepers. (it's not that I don't have many friends, its that they don't use house cleaners. I promise!) So if a stranger is going to come in my house while I'm not there, I want to be sure I can go after them if anything ever goes missing. I'm sure it won't, but I just wanted some reassurance!
We dropped the conversation at that, and that was about 4 months ago. It lingered in the back of my mind but I never really had the energy (pathetic) to make the effort to find someone. Then one day, as if the angels from above were shining down on me, we were stuck at a ridiculously long light next to a beautiful Tahoe with a sticker that said "Neat Freaks House Cleaners". I think there was a golden cloud surrounding the title too, but that may have just been my own hallucination.
They are a little pricier than I had planned, but I loved their website and over the phone she said she'd offer a military discount. I am starting off just having her come once a month - I really just need a little help with more of the deep cleaning. We already have a pretty set routine with the kitchen, the floors, etc. I just don't get around to the baseboards or the fans or some of the less used areas of the house all that often. But...no promises that I won't love it so much that I increase the frequency...only time will tell. Actually, not only time...my "merit increase" may play a role too.
So, I'm off to my appointment to meet Amy. I feel like such a big girl now!
Nov 15, 2010
I'm a Packing Pro
Take my greatest strengths and think of the best ways I can utilize them. I think packing may be in the top of that list. I'm really good at packing! It's not something that I go shouting from rooftops like I would if I were great at ice skating or playing the piano, but it is still a quality that I think is pretty good to have.
First, you have to pack early. I don't know why I think this is a strength, but it is. My boss oftentimes is packing at 1am the night before a trip because she didn't get off work in time the day before and she has a 6 am flight to catch. Not me; I can work as late as I need to the night before a vacation because I most likely finished packing 4 days earlier.
Second, you have to have a mental list in your head. I have gotten pretty used to packing this year because this is the SIXTH plane trip William will take. It's pathetic, really. But, it's helped me learn his packing-needs quickly, and I already know ours. So I have these lists in my head that I can just check off. The cool part of my mental-packing lists is that they work like a checklist on my iPhone...once I've packed one thing, it somehow removes itself from my list. So I don't have to keep scrolling through those things. It's pretty handy.
Third, you have to know how to maximize your packing space. Airlines are making a KILLING on checked bag fees (lucky for us, we take free bags thanks to austin's military service...but fewer bags is still better). So you have to know the best ways to fold the clothes and maneuver them in your suitcase to fit as much as you can within the 50lb limit. **Note: the extra large suitcases are great for road trips, cruises, etc. Not so much for planes, as you have to be careful not to fill them and pay an overweight fee. So, you have to also be aware of heavy items like toiletries, shoes, hair supplies...and then just stick those in William's suitcase. Or whatever your second suitcase is called, as I imagine it isn't William's.
Take those 3 starting hints and you're well on your way to being an expert packer.
Austin always offers to help, and I usually just pretend I didn't hear him. I'm pretty sure he knows I won't take him up on the offer since I never have - and it's not cause he CAN'T pack...I sure hope any grown person can pack. It's just because I have my efficiencies and they don't include another person helping. It has nothing to do with a control issue, just an efficiency issue :)
So, last night he folded clothes while I packed. And packed. and packed some more. Then, ran over the mental-list with him of the items that are remaining, as well as all the things we need to do before we leave, and by 10:00 Reagan was happily snuggled on top of one of the two suitcases on our floor. He loves that part. Just a few things to add (like toothbrushes - kind of need those unpacked for the time being) and we'll be on our way. Oh, and a few more days of work too...
Happy Monday!
First, you have to pack early. I don't know why I think this is a strength, but it is. My boss oftentimes is packing at 1am the night before a trip because she didn't get off work in time the day before and she has a 6 am flight to catch. Not me; I can work as late as I need to the night before a vacation because I most likely finished packing 4 days earlier.
Second, you have to have a mental list in your head. I have gotten pretty used to packing this year because this is the SIXTH plane trip William will take. It's pathetic, really. But, it's helped me learn his packing-needs quickly, and I already know ours. So I have these lists in my head that I can just check off. The cool part of my mental-packing lists is that they work like a checklist on my iPhone...once I've packed one thing, it somehow removes itself from my list. So I don't have to keep scrolling through those things. It's pretty handy.
Third, you have to know how to maximize your packing space. Airlines are making a KILLING on checked bag fees (lucky for us, we take free bags thanks to austin's military service...but fewer bags is still better). So you have to know the best ways to fold the clothes and maneuver them in your suitcase to fit as much as you can within the 50lb limit. **Note: the extra large suitcases are great for road trips, cruises, etc. Not so much for planes, as you have to be careful not to fill them and pay an overweight fee. So, you have to also be aware of heavy items like toiletries, shoes, hair supplies...and then just stick those in William's suitcase. Or whatever your second suitcase is called, as I imagine it isn't William's.
Take those 3 starting hints and you're well on your way to being an expert packer.
Austin always offers to help, and I usually just pretend I didn't hear him. I'm pretty sure he knows I won't take him up on the offer since I never have - and it's not cause he CAN'T pack...I sure hope any grown person can pack. It's just because I have my efficiencies and they don't include another person helping. It has nothing to do with a control issue, just an efficiency issue :)
So, last night he folded clothes while I packed. And packed. and packed some more. Then, ran over the mental-list with him of the items that are remaining, as well as all the things we need to do before we leave, and by 10:00 Reagan was happily snuggled on top of one of the two suitcases on our floor. He loves that part. Just a few things to add (like toothbrushes - kind of need those unpacked for the time being) and we'll be on our way. Oh, and a few more days of work too...
Happy Monday!
Nov 12, 2010
Gotta Love Technology
Some people are very good at remembering and acknowledging birthdays, and Mimi was one of those people. She had a birthday book which she looked in frequently to buy cards and make sure they were in the mail on time. Because of that, I made a conscious effort years ago to make sure I never missed her birthday. Having the number-brain I do, after a couple of years of seeing it written out I had Nov 12 ingrained in my brain. That didn't stop me from obsessively writing it in all my calendars, though, and typing it into all of my electronic calendars. So even though I don't think I'd ever forget it, I had reminders everywhere so that just in case my brain failed me I would be sure to acknowledge her birthday.
That was all wonderful, until I started getting those reminders last night. My computer at home was set to remind me 12 hours prior, so I had a notification. My phone was set to remind me on the day of, so it woke me up at midnight with a notice. Then I got to work and my work computer notified me again. Oh, and every time I look over at my weekly planner I see it written in red ink. So there's no way I'm going to forget.
Which is good. I don't want to forget. But I'm at a weird place where I don't know if I want to remember either. I see her name in my cell phone address book often, and I am torn between deleting and keeping. How can I possibly delete her? But it hurts to see it at the same time. Thus is the case for the birthday reminders, too. How can I possibly turn off my annual auto-reminder on my phone? That seems so cold.
So I won't. And this time next year maybe the reminders will be greeted with more of a smile, a little less pain. That's how grief goes, I've found.
And, to turn the mood from sad to happy - I am choosing to replace sad thoughts with happy memories. Anytime I have a sad thought today (not just about mimi, but about anything...and sad also includes mad in this instance) I am replacing it with a happy mimi-memory. To replace the sad thoughts of the auto-reminders I am thinking of.....
When we used to play Old Maid! She had a very used deck of old maid cards, and at some point one of the grandchildren had made a large crease in the "old maid" card. So, when playing one on one we always beat mimi because we cheated and looked for the crease. Maybe she made the crease blindingly obvious to let us win, you never can tell with grandparents. They're so tricky :) I loved playing Old maid with her, and I probably would have loved it even if I did lose once or twice :)
So - happy birthday Mimi. Thanks for giving me such happy things to celebrate on Nov 12.
That was all wonderful, until I started getting those reminders last night. My computer at home was set to remind me 12 hours prior, so I had a notification. My phone was set to remind me on the day of, so it woke me up at midnight with a notice. Then I got to work and my work computer notified me again. Oh, and every time I look over at my weekly planner I see it written in red ink. So there's no way I'm going to forget.
Which is good. I don't want to forget. But I'm at a weird place where I don't know if I want to remember either. I see her name in my cell phone address book often, and I am torn between deleting and keeping. How can I possibly delete her? But it hurts to see it at the same time. Thus is the case for the birthday reminders, too. How can I possibly turn off my annual auto-reminder on my phone? That seems so cold.
So I won't. And this time next year maybe the reminders will be greeted with more of a smile, a little less pain. That's how grief goes, I've found.
And, to turn the mood from sad to happy - I am choosing to replace sad thoughts with happy memories. Anytime I have a sad thought today (not just about mimi, but about anything...and sad also includes mad in this instance) I am replacing it with a happy mimi-memory. To replace the sad thoughts of the auto-reminders I am thinking of.....
When we used to play Old Maid! She had a very used deck of old maid cards, and at some point one of the grandchildren had made a large crease in the "old maid" card. So, when playing one on one we always beat mimi because we cheated and looked for the crease. Maybe she made the crease blindingly obvious to let us win, you never can tell with grandparents. They're so tricky :) I loved playing Old maid with her, and I probably would have loved it even if I did lose once or twice :)
So - happy birthday Mimi. Thanks for giving me such happy things to celebrate on Nov 12.
Nov 10, 2010
Happy 200
Didn't I JUST celebrate my 100th post? Clearly I am prioritizing my work-time well seeing as I am now at 200. YAY! Thanks for being there to read on the other end :)
And now, in honor of being too wordy for 199 previous posts, and in honor of William Wednesday, and in honor of the fact that I found my camera chord, please enjoy this almost worldess post.
Nov 9, 2010
My Longest-Standing Friendship
Don't you hate the phrase "this is my old friend?" It sounds bad in 2 ways. Either she's old, and that's not polite, or she's your friend that you've tossed to the curb like you would old grapes or an old couch. So I'll say that Amanda Allen, aka Mandy, aka Trimble Girl, is my longest-standing friend. And to put up with me for the past 18 years says a lot.
I met Amanda in 3rd grade when I joined her YMCA soccer team. She thought I was a snob, as a lot of people tend to when they first meet me (I can't figure it out...) and I thought she was completely immature, crude, and just plain...immature. I don't sound snobby at all!
Over the course of the season though we became great friends. We went to different elementary schools so once soccer season was over we didn't see each other again until the next season. But then following our second season of playing together we then spent the next 7 years in school together. Spent most weekends at each other's houses. Went on family trips. We were inseparable! In junior high people changed our names to Amy and Mandy because we were always together, and to say "Amanda" meant there would always be two responses. Then in high school it changed to Blair and Trimble - so much more mature don't you think? During high school I was really busy with band, so most of my friends were in band with me. I wasn't being cliquish on purpose - just didn't have a whole lot of free time so most of my social life revolved around band events. However, I always had time for Amanda - and she didn't let swimming get in the way of her time for me either.
It hasn't been the easiest 18 years for us; we've had our share (and possibly more) of disputes. But I think that speaks volumes about the love we have for each other. We've managed to work through some pretty big issues and remain close. I think Amanda and I will always be friends - I think there's a connection there that just won't fade, regardless of geographic distance or differences in friends...we somehow remain there for each other. And now that she has a baby boy exactly one year older than mine(and darn near as cute), she's stuck with me for awhile as I ask "so, this time last year did Brayden..." or "How did Brayden learn...". So even if she wants to, she can't get away now!!!
Happy birthday to my first twin, my lovely friend Amanda. Hope Bailey and Brayden shower you with love and kisses!!!
**p.s. I only had about 5 minutes to write this post as I have an all day training at work that I need to run to - so sorry it isn't very well thought out, elaborate, wordy, and a few paragraphs too long like most of my posts. Just had to be sure to get it in today!! :)
I met Amanda in 3rd grade when I joined her YMCA soccer team. She thought I was a snob, as a lot of people tend to when they first meet me (I can't figure it out...) and I thought she was completely immature, crude, and just plain...immature. I don't sound snobby at all!
Over the course of the season though we became great friends. We went to different elementary schools so once soccer season was over we didn't see each other again until the next season. But then following our second season of playing together we then spent the next 7 years in school together. Spent most weekends at each other's houses. Went on family trips. We were inseparable! In junior high people changed our names to Amy and Mandy because we were always together, and to say "Amanda" meant there would always be two responses. Then in high school it changed to Blair and Trimble - so much more mature don't you think? During high school I was really busy with band, so most of my friends were in band with me. I wasn't being cliquish on purpose - just didn't have a whole lot of free time so most of my social life revolved around band events. However, I always had time for Amanda - and she didn't let swimming get in the way of her time for me either.
It hasn't been the easiest 18 years for us; we've had our share (and possibly more) of disputes. But I think that speaks volumes about the love we have for each other. We've managed to work through some pretty big issues and remain close. I think Amanda and I will always be friends - I think there's a connection there that just won't fade, regardless of geographic distance or differences in friends...we somehow remain there for each other. And now that she has a baby boy exactly one year older than mine(and darn near as cute), she's stuck with me for awhile as I ask "so, this time last year did Brayden..." or "How did Brayden learn...". So even if she wants to, she can't get away now!!!
Happy birthday to my first twin, my lovely friend Amanda. Hope Bailey and Brayden shower you with love and kisses!!!
**p.s. I only had about 5 minutes to write this post as I have an all day training at work that I need to run to - so sorry it isn't very well thought out, elaborate, wordy, and a few paragraphs too long like most of my posts. Just had to be sure to get it in today!! :)
Nov 8, 2010
Light the Night - A month late
I've been waiting patiently to write about light the night. Waiting until I found the camera chord that mysteriously misplaced itself. Waiting because I knew there were wonderful pictures of the night to be shared.
Then I found the chord.
And found that there were not wonderful pictures to be shared. The lighting is so tough with those balloons having little bulbs in them...either that or I haven't perfected the art of taking pictures with my camera that is too smart for me. Whichever one, I don't know, but the end result is that I have postponed this blog an entire month for apparently no reason at all. And now I'm hit with the daunting task of remembering what to write!
Light the Night...
When I decided to be the team captain I had no idea how much more I would feel a part of the wonderful cause. I felt a sense of responsibility and pride in what my team was able to accomplish. Once they tallied up all of our corporate gift-matching we raised over $10,000!!! That averages to $400 per person on our team, and knowing that there were roughly 7,500 people in attendance means that in theory they may have raised a total of three million dollars! I'm sure not everyone raised $400, but then I'm sure some raised above and beyond. So, maybe $3,000,000 is a little ambitious but even to think that we raised $1,000,000 is beyond my comprehension. A million dollars?!
The weather was absolutely perfect and it hardly felt like we walked 3 miles. Just like last year, it was incredibly moving to see thousands of balloons lighting up the night sky. The gold balloons tug at your heart, knowing that those carrying them have also suffered a loss, but the white balloons help to soothe that pain knowing that there are people who have made it through. The money has helped to learn more and help more people, hopefully help some to win their battles. I wish I could do more to help, but I know that in the least I can walk.
I had a great time walking with my mom, Alfredo, Austin, my coworkers(next year we are hoping to recruit more!), and most of all William. He was quite the handful that night - wanted nothing to do with sleeping, eating, or riding in his stroller...but I carried him with pride (and passed him off to Austin when my arms went weak). I hope he can walk every year and I can teach him about the importance of supporting non-profit organizations such as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. More than that, though, I hope he can walk so that I can teach him about his grandfather and the fight he had with cancer. William won't ever personally know him, but I hope that I can help him to know who he was.
Thank you SO much to those of you who helped me exceed my goals and be a part of that fundraiser. I have thank-you notes in my purse...literally, they've been in this particular purse since before the walk since I switch often...that I just need to slap a stamp on and stick in the mail, but I'll give you a big thanks here too. I appreciate your support so much - it really means the world to me. So, thanks again to the people I already named, and thanks to my mom, miss jan, and addie for your contributions as well.
Love you all, and promise not to bug you for money again until next year's walk! :)
Then I found the chord.
And found that there were not wonderful pictures to be shared. The lighting is so tough with those balloons having little bulbs in them...either that or I haven't perfected the art of taking pictures with my camera that is too smart for me. Whichever one, I don't know, but the end result is that I have postponed this blog an entire month for apparently no reason at all. And now I'm hit with the daunting task of remembering what to write!
Light the Night...
When I decided to be the team captain I had no idea how much more I would feel a part of the wonderful cause. I felt a sense of responsibility and pride in what my team was able to accomplish. Once they tallied up all of our corporate gift-matching we raised over $10,000!!! That averages to $400 per person on our team, and knowing that there were roughly 7,500 people in attendance means that in theory they may have raised a total of three million dollars! I'm sure not everyone raised $400, but then I'm sure some raised above and beyond. So, maybe $3,000,000 is a little ambitious but even to think that we raised $1,000,000 is beyond my comprehension. A million dollars?!
The weather was absolutely perfect and it hardly felt like we walked 3 miles. Just like last year, it was incredibly moving to see thousands of balloons lighting up the night sky. The gold balloons tug at your heart, knowing that those carrying them have also suffered a loss, but the white balloons help to soothe that pain knowing that there are people who have made it through. The money has helped to learn more and help more people, hopefully help some to win their battles. I wish I could do more to help, but I know that in the least I can walk.
I had a great time walking with my mom, Alfredo, Austin, my coworkers(next year we are hoping to recruit more!), and most of all William. He was quite the handful that night - wanted nothing to do with sleeping, eating, or riding in his stroller...but I carried him with pride (and passed him off to Austin when my arms went weak). I hope he can walk every year and I can teach him about the importance of supporting non-profit organizations such as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. More than that, though, I hope he can walk so that I can teach him about his grandfather and the fight he had with cancer. William won't ever personally know him, but I hope that I can help him to know who he was.
Thank you SO much to those of you who helped me exceed my goals and be a part of that fundraiser. I have thank-you notes in my purse...literally, they've been in this particular purse since before the walk since I switch often...that I just need to slap a stamp on and stick in the mail, but I'll give you a big thanks here too. I appreciate your support so much - it really means the world to me. So, thanks again to the people I already named, and thanks to my mom, miss jan, and addie for your contributions as well.
Love you all, and promise not to bug you for money again until next year's walk! :)
Nov 5, 2010
Inspiration
I've run out of inspiration for my blog! Help! I have been thinking all week about what to write, and the only thing I came up with was William Wednesday. That was a given!
I could write about how William is (i hope) the youngest baby with an iPhone as I now have a NEW PHONE! YIPPEE! I'm sure it won't take him long to realize that other one is no longer as cool since I don't tote it around and snap pictures with it, but for now he's happy that I let him go to town with it. And I'm happy that he isn't trying to tug my new one away from me! He even let me get a video of him walking across the living room last night.
But I don't want to write an entire post about that, I write about apple too much to not get paid for it.
I could write about the wonderful new structure here at work and how we're all taking on responsibilities from people at a higher pay grade to accommodate for a new position that is being created, but I gripe about work too much. Plus I'm trying to take the stance that I'm just blessed to have a job, so I need to do it well and shut up about it. So I won't write about how I already do work above my pay grade, and to add work at a higher level than that even...nope, not gonna do it.
Another topic I've thought about is discussing my new plan for how I'll manage a house while Austin is gone. I've decided after William's bed time I can do one chore per night. That way every Monday I know _____ will be cleaned, and so on. Then on the weekends I can just play with William. But, sometimes I try to avoid sharing how routine I make my life and how regimented I sometimes plan it all out to be, so I will leave this one at that.
And that's all I've got! no funny stories, no exciting news, no upcoming events...that's it. A new phone, new work, and new chores. What a life!
So, I guess I just won't write anything. I'll just say "have a great weekend" and hope that wherever my inspiration ran off to, it decides to return by Monday. Happy first weekend in November everyone - the countdown to Christmas music is upon us!
I could write about how William is (i hope) the youngest baby with an iPhone as I now have a NEW PHONE! YIPPEE! I'm sure it won't take him long to realize that other one is no longer as cool since I don't tote it around and snap pictures with it, but for now he's happy that I let him go to town with it. And I'm happy that he isn't trying to tug my new one away from me! He even let me get a video of him walking across the living room last night.
But I don't want to write an entire post about that, I write about apple too much to not get paid for it.
I could write about the wonderful new structure here at work and how we're all taking on responsibilities from people at a higher pay grade to accommodate for a new position that is being created, but I gripe about work too much. Plus I'm trying to take the stance that I'm just blessed to have a job, so I need to do it well and shut up about it. So I won't write about how I already do work above my pay grade, and to add work at a higher level than that even...nope, not gonna do it.
Another topic I've thought about is discussing my new plan for how I'll manage a house while Austin is gone. I've decided after William's bed time I can do one chore per night. That way every Monday I know _____ will be cleaned, and so on. Then on the weekends I can just play with William. But, sometimes I try to avoid sharing how routine I make my life and how regimented I sometimes plan it all out to be, so I will leave this one at that.
And that's all I've got! no funny stories, no exciting news, no upcoming events...that's it. A new phone, new work, and new chores. What a life!
So, I guess I just won't write anything. I'll just say "have a great weekend" and hope that wherever my inspiration ran off to, it decides to return by Monday. Happy first weekend in November everyone - the countdown to Christmas music is upon us!
Nov 3, 2010
9 Months Old
9 months ago today I was in a daze in a hospital room with this new little baby who fit so perfectly in one arm, curled up smaller than a soccer ball. I had no idea how I was going to know what he needed, when he needed it, what to do or how to take care of him. This morning I lifted that baby out of his crib while he was still sleeping and had to firmly hold him with both arms as his legs dangled below my waist and his head rested on my shoulder. So much changes in 9 months!!! And somehow I've managed to figure out how to take care of him!
To get the less-fun part of his week out of the way first - we had the appointment with the ENT last Thursday. As far as the appointment goes, he was a rockstar. He let this strange woman wake him from his nap, insert weird things in his ears, close him in an air-tight chamber with little lighting...and he cooperated with all of it! They found his hearing has not been effected by the ear infections/ear drums so that was good news. His ear drums were very inverted and there was a large amount of pressure coming from his internal ear pulling at the ear drum. The doctor did recommend tubes, so we have that scheduled for next Wednesday. I liked the doctor very much! As he was explaining the procedure he said, "I can tell you that this is the easiest, most routine thing I do in my job, but I know you're a mom and that doesn't change your worries. I can tell you that you've already done the most dangerous thing for your baby that you will do that day, which is put him in the car and drive with him, but I know that doesn't help either." His ability to level with me and understand my concerns, regardless of how rational they are or aren't, made me pretty comfortable with him. Plus he said William is his cutest patient ever...true or not, that always helps :) So, that's where we are with his ears.
As for the rest of his week, WHAT A BLAST IT WAS. I think it was one of my favorite weeks to date. This weekend we had made plans to have no plans. Sounds funny to some people, but I am a fast-paced kind of person and constantly planning something...planning my next move, my next trip, my next purchase, my next to-do list, my next excursion...so to have a laid back weekend with nothing to do requires that I make plans for it. So, we did! And it was awesome.
William really took great strides in his walking this weekend. Saturday I think we spent between 30-45 minutes just letting him walk with his walker-toy back and forth across the living room. **side note: if you can think of a cooler name than "walker-toy" please let me know** He would get frustrated when he'd get to one end and we had to turn him around, but by the end of the day he had figured out how to turn with the toy (we have to actually turn the toy, but he can walk with it as it turns) We can also tell that he is figuring out that there is a way to get from point A to point B without getting on the floor and crawling - he is getting more and more creative with what he uses to help himself walk. It used to be that to get from the coffee table to daddy's chair he had to crawl, but now he walks to the end of the coffee table, grabs onto his jumparoo to walk to the back of the chair, then uses the chair to walk to daddy's lap. It isn't faster, but it shows that he's learning about walking rather than crawling. Like I've said before, it is beyond incredible to watch him learn. You can literally see it in his face as he discovers new things. Then Monday morning at school they had a brand new walking-toy. This one is wide enough for 2 babies at once and guess what little William did? I put him down, he crawled over to the walking toy where Helen was playing, and nudged her over a little bit so they could walk together. Miss Jennifer said they walked together on that thing all day!
Friday William slept through 3 halloween celebrations! Well, not completely I guess. A friend picked him up at day care and brought him up to my work so he could tromp around here in his dinosaur/dragon costume. He fell asleep on his way over here and it took a little bit for him to wake up. Then I took him BACK to Goddard for a halloween parade, which he slept through entirely. Then we went to Austin's work for their halloween celebration. He woke up at some point when we were there and Austin had fun playing with him in his office. I have some cute pictures but I can't find my cord for my camera to plug into the computer! I have a specific place I always keep it and it isn't there. I know I didn't put it somewhere else, so one of the other 5 living creatures in my house must have. Reagan, Nancy and Layla do not have opposable thumbs or the ability to stand on hind legs, and William isn't tall enough to reach the shelf where the cord belongs. But I'm not blaming anyone here. Point is, once I find it I will have an entire blog post of just pictures I think.
Sunday William and I went to Petco to grab some drugs for Reagan (drugs, feel-away pheromones...same thing) and there were quite a few people with their dogs. He loved it! He gets so excited when he sees pets and he lets out this high-pitched squeal. The louder the squeal, the more excited he is. Nancy gets the best squeal of all :) He still adores her! Last night he was rolling around on top of her and she just laid there letting him beat her up. I've never seen such a tolerant cat - and its a good thing cause there's no keeping him away. Reagan has even started to some-what warm up to him. He let William pet him through the baby gate. This is major progress!
This weekend we also discovered that he DOES like little puff-foods. I had tried some a few weeks ago and the scene was so traumatic (or dramatic, one of the two) I think it must have just been the flavor though because this weekend we bought some cinnamon-maple puffs and he gobbles them up. It's the cutest thing to watch little babies try to put food in their mouths. It takes an entire hand! The downside to the puffs though is that the entire room smells like maple syrup, so basically I've been craving pancakes since Saturday. He also likes yogurt melts(little globs of dried yogurt). The first time he tried them I think the texture was weird for him, and i think it confused him how the solid food melted in his mouth. He kept his hand over his mouth the entire time he gnawed on it, as if he thought it was going to fall out. He has since figured out that once the yogurt melt is IN his mouth he doesn't need his hand anymore though :)
I've been trying to get William to wave for awhile, and he never seemed remotely interested. Then Monday morning after he joined Helen on the walker I waved goodbye to him and he raised his arm and lifted his hand in the wave position. He gave me a big grin, then lowered his arm again. He didn't move his hand at all, but I'm pretty sure he was waving :)
5 hours later, I think I'm done with this week's update. I had to pause for meetings and working out, so I didn't write for 5 hours straight but I feel like I just vomited William all over you. Sorry for the lengthy update - it was just such a fun week, I had to get it all in! Oh man I forgot the best part of the week..............................to add or not..................ok really quick.....
I'M WILLIAM'S FAVORITE PARENT for now. I know people say this changes periodically, but it is such a treat to be on this side of the favoritism with him. Austin is not very much enjoying it...to which I say "talk to me in 5 months". :)
Ok, I'm done. Have a happy Wednesday.
To get the less-fun part of his week out of the way first - we had the appointment with the ENT last Thursday. As far as the appointment goes, he was a rockstar. He let this strange woman wake him from his nap, insert weird things in his ears, close him in an air-tight chamber with little lighting...and he cooperated with all of it! They found his hearing has not been effected by the ear infections/ear drums so that was good news. His ear drums were very inverted and there was a large amount of pressure coming from his internal ear pulling at the ear drum. The doctor did recommend tubes, so we have that scheduled for next Wednesday. I liked the doctor very much! As he was explaining the procedure he said, "I can tell you that this is the easiest, most routine thing I do in my job, but I know you're a mom and that doesn't change your worries. I can tell you that you've already done the most dangerous thing for your baby that you will do that day, which is put him in the car and drive with him, but I know that doesn't help either." His ability to level with me and understand my concerns, regardless of how rational they are or aren't, made me pretty comfortable with him. Plus he said William is his cutest patient ever...true or not, that always helps :) So, that's where we are with his ears.
As for the rest of his week, WHAT A BLAST IT WAS. I think it was one of my favorite weeks to date. This weekend we had made plans to have no plans. Sounds funny to some people, but I am a fast-paced kind of person and constantly planning something...planning my next move, my next trip, my next purchase, my next to-do list, my next excursion...so to have a laid back weekend with nothing to do requires that I make plans for it. So, we did! And it was awesome.
William really took great strides in his walking this weekend. Saturday I think we spent between 30-45 minutes just letting him walk with his walker-toy back and forth across the living room. **side note: if you can think of a cooler name than "walker-toy" please let me know** He would get frustrated when he'd get to one end and we had to turn him around, but by the end of the day he had figured out how to turn with the toy (we have to actually turn the toy, but he can walk with it as it turns) We can also tell that he is figuring out that there is a way to get from point A to point B without getting on the floor and crawling - he is getting more and more creative with what he uses to help himself walk. It used to be that to get from the coffee table to daddy's chair he had to crawl, but now he walks to the end of the coffee table, grabs onto his jumparoo to walk to the back of the chair, then uses the chair to walk to daddy's lap. It isn't faster, but it shows that he's learning about walking rather than crawling. Like I've said before, it is beyond incredible to watch him learn. You can literally see it in his face as he discovers new things. Then Monday morning at school they had a brand new walking-toy. This one is wide enough for 2 babies at once and guess what little William did? I put him down, he crawled over to the walking toy where Helen was playing, and nudged her over a little bit so they could walk together. Miss Jennifer said they walked together on that thing all day!
Friday William slept through 3 halloween celebrations! Well, not completely I guess. A friend picked him up at day care and brought him up to my work so he could tromp around here in his dinosaur/dragon costume. He fell asleep on his way over here and it took a little bit for him to wake up. Then I took him BACK to Goddard for a halloween parade, which he slept through entirely. Then we went to Austin's work for their halloween celebration. He woke up at some point when we were there and Austin had fun playing with him in his office. I have some cute pictures but I can't find my cord for my camera to plug into the computer! I have a specific place I always keep it and it isn't there. I know I didn't put it somewhere else, so one of the other 5 living creatures in my house must have. Reagan, Nancy and Layla do not have opposable thumbs or the ability to stand on hind legs, and William isn't tall enough to reach the shelf where the cord belongs. But I'm not blaming anyone here. Point is, once I find it I will have an entire blog post of just pictures I think.
Sunday William and I went to Petco to grab some drugs for Reagan (drugs, feel-away pheromones...same thing) and there were quite a few people with their dogs. He loved it! He gets so excited when he sees pets and he lets out this high-pitched squeal. The louder the squeal, the more excited he is. Nancy gets the best squeal of all :) He still adores her! Last night he was rolling around on top of her and she just laid there letting him beat her up. I've never seen such a tolerant cat - and its a good thing cause there's no keeping him away. Reagan has even started to some-what warm up to him. He let William pet him through the baby gate. This is major progress!
This weekend we also discovered that he DOES like little puff-foods. I had tried some a few weeks ago and the scene was so traumatic (or dramatic, one of the two) I think it must have just been the flavor though because this weekend we bought some cinnamon-maple puffs and he gobbles them up. It's the cutest thing to watch little babies try to put food in their mouths. It takes an entire hand! The downside to the puffs though is that the entire room smells like maple syrup, so basically I've been craving pancakes since Saturday. He also likes yogurt melts(little globs of dried yogurt). The first time he tried them I think the texture was weird for him, and i think it confused him how the solid food melted in his mouth. He kept his hand over his mouth the entire time he gnawed on it, as if he thought it was going to fall out. He has since figured out that once the yogurt melt is IN his mouth he doesn't need his hand anymore though :)
I've been trying to get William to wave for awhile, and he never seemed remotely interested. Then Monday morning after he joined Helen on the walker I waved goodbye to him and he raised his arm and lifted his hand in the wave position. He gave me a big grin, then lowered his arm again. He didn't move his hand at all, but I'm pretty sure he was waving :)
5 hours later, I think I'm done with this week's update. I had to pause for meetings and working out, so I didn't write for 5 hours straight but I feel like I just vomited William all over you. Sorry for the lengthy update - it was just such a fun week, I had to get it all in! Oh man I forgot the best part of the week..............................to add or not..................ok really quick.....
I'M WILLIAM'S FAVORITE PARENT for now. I know people say this changes periodically, but it is such a treat to be on this side of the favoritism with him. Austin is not very much enjoying it...to which I say "talk to me in 5 months". :)
Ok, I'm done. Have a happy Wednesday.
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