Still Heather

Derailed my plans

2009-06-18T20:28:00.003-05:00

I had all kinds of plans to get the things that needed to be done DONE this week. But, James has had a pretty high fever, so I've been taking care of him. I guess, according to the information I found on the internet, that it was NOT a high fever. I read that temperatures up to 103degrees are considered mild. Doesn't seem mild to me, but I also tend to overreact. (When he first got to 102.5, I was pretty sure he had swine flu or some sort of rare, exotic illness that would only be diagnosed when it was too late. Again, let me state that I overreact.) It got to 103.7 (moderate?) but is coming down. He was showing a lot more energy tonight. So, hopefully we can all start getting more sleep and getting back into the swing of things. We did decide to take him to the doctor yesterday, who is very nice. She found it amusing when he asked if she was Dr. Seuss.

At least I got my final classes taken for renewing my OT license. Just need to submit the paperwork. Then to finish thank you notes and making calls about my name change. Oh, I don't think I mentioned the name change last time. I debated for a LONG time about my name. I knew I was taking Blake's last name, but the question was whether to keep my middle name (Ann) or change it to my maiden name. I finally decided that no one calls me Heather Ann, but people have been calling me by my last name for 40 years, so that would be a more fitting middle name. So, I go to the license bureau to change it, and find out that it is no problem to change the last name, but to change the middle one, I have to go to the Social Security office and change it there first. So, after months of debating, it comes down to the license bureau deciding for me. It just wasn't worth it to wait in line at the Social Security office (with a 3-year-old) for the change. So, feel free to call me Heather Ann. Except don't. It makes me think I'm in trouble.

ACK!

2009-06-12T10:03:00.003-05:00

It's been almost 2 months since my last post. Although those 2 months have been a little busy . . .

Here's a summary:

1. Got married.

2. Had a honeymoon.

3. Came home to James with a cold (or allergies?).

4. Got the cold (or allergies?).

5. Turned 40.

6. Had 3-4 hours of therapy on my arm each week.

And a bunch of other stuff.

There is seriously so much that I want to share, but have been working on catching up on stuff. And coughing. So, I'm going to try to post a little something each day, because this has been such an amazing time for us.

First, a funny story. Last week, as I was trying to get James to eat his breakfast, I told him to eat his oatmeal, or no cookie and no Diego (I know, bad mom), he said to me "Ok, Mommy, you drink your coffee or no opening presents and no Jeopardy!" And this was even before my birthday. So, yes, we have a lot of thank you notes to write!

So, the wedding was beautiful (although I am a little biased, but I've heard others say it, too). It was an indoor ceremony and reception, but the weather was perfect, which made it even nicer. We were really blown away by how many people came to celebrate with us, since it was out of town for everybody. My aunts and uncles came from New York, my mom and dad from Texas, and Rachel and her husband even came from Wisconsin! We had so much fun at the reception, talking to everyone as much as we could. I hardly ate in the 24 hours before the wedding (from nerves), and by the time of the reception I was starving, then didn't get to eat much because I was talking. No worries about me wasting away though -- I made up for that lack of food by eating everything in sight on the honeymoon.

Blake and I keep talking about sitting down together to jot down all of our notes on the wedding and honeymoon, so we don't forget anything. That has yet to happen, but we really need to, because there is so much that we want to remember. One thing that I am so happy about is that we waited until now to do this -- James was old enough to be our ring bearer, and he did a wonderful job! He still talks about how he brought our rings to us.

We should receive our discs from the photographer soon and are excited about that! We used David Owens from Columbia, and he does not provide any prints, just ALL the pictures he takes in high resolutions on a disc. He followed us around like a shadow for 8 hours, so I know we are going to have so many amazing pictures.

And, as soon as we got home, Larry had given us a disc of pictures he had taken of all of the festivities, and of the week James spent with his grandparents Larry and Debbie, Aunt Danielle and cousins Cameron and Landon. So, here are a few of them!

Blake cracking us up at the rehearsal dinner, while Landon tries to get the presents.

The wedding party

Looking back toward the chapel and pavilion. We were taking "sunset pictures" and many people came out to enjoy the weather and view of the river.

At the brunch the next morning, Blake discovered mimosas. He has had many, many mimosas since.

I am going to try to update with more pictures and details of things, and as I try to get my thoughts down, it may seem a little scattered.

And, just so it doesn't seem like we get to slack off and relax now that things are over, NOW we are starting to look for a house to buy!

Again, thanks to everyone who helped make this time so special for us!

Do you know anyone named Pam?

2009-04-25T16:31:00.003-05:00

James came out from his nap the other day, informing me that he had changed his name to Pam. When I asked him why, he said it was because he didn't know anyone named Pam, so he would be the only one. I was forced to inform him that we did know people named Pam, and perhaps he should choose again. Or keep the name Daddy and I worked so hard to come up with when he was born. He eventually went back to James. Either way, Pam or James, I like this picture of him dressed in his pirate costume, trying to look fierce.

On the wedding front, there is no need to panic. But I'm pretty sure I will at some point. It is less than a month to the wedding. It is all going just fine. Nothing is wrong. But, it just seems that so much time is being spent on wedding stuff, despite the fact that it doesn't really seem like there should be that much to do. I can say that everything that has been done is great. I love my dress, almost all RSVPs are in, and the honeymoon is booked! So, really, nothing to worry about.

Got a new doctor, who has referred me to a specialist for my arm. I go Tuesday and hope to get some quick work done. At least something good has come of this -- I love the new doctor I found. So I can face future illness and injury with confidence, hahaha.

Yeah, Blake!

2009-04-13T15:31:00.002-05:00

Blake started his new job today! He proactively went looking for one, being unsure if his previous company was going to have work for him when his project ended. They were a little offended that he did this, but turns out that they didn't actually have more work for him. So, I think he did them a favor.

We are excited about his new company, including that they are allowing him to take vacation after a month, which lets us take our honeymoon! And, I know that I am marrying someone with a clean record. His new employer does some work for the government, so he had to complete a 50-page security clearance application. And he passed :)

Easter was great -- James had a BLAST looking for eggs. Periodically, Blake would take a couple that had already been found and re-hide them so James could do more looking. James never knew and had so much fun each time.

My arm is still a mess, but is maybe a little better. I don't like resting it. I feel lazy.

Can't Post

2009-04-03T15:27:00.002-05:00

Supposed to be resting my arm. Apparently I cannot fully extend (or now even fully bend) my arm because I have medial and lateral epicondylitis. Better known as tennis elbow and golfer's elbow, despite the fact that I have never played tennis or golf.

So, still no working out, which became increasingly frustrating today when I got a call from the bridal shop saying my dress was in and I could begin alterations. NOOOOO! I'm not done altering my body!!!

Well, no more typing. Except to say that if you get a chance, watch the new episode of Yo Gabba Gabba. Jack Black is on it. It is pretty hilarious. Apparently he also has a preschooler who loves that show.

I am SOOOO drunk

2009-03-28T19:02:00.002-05:00

because I am such a supersticous fan. When we were down 13-2 toUConn, I yelled for Blake to bring me a beer. He brought his good Boulevard Smokestack Series Sixth Glass. It's yummy. And strong. And we finished it before the game was over. BUT, we started doing better almost immediately. So, when I ran out of beer, but we were close, and the game wasn't over, I had to have more of the EXACT SAME BEER, just in case that was why we were doing better. But we still lost. and then I had to chop veggies and cook pasta sauce. Drunk. Probably about the closest we've ever been to the final 4. So I'm happy., But, still so so so sad.

At least Kansas lost in the Sweet 16.

Elite 8!!!

2009-03-27T10:51:00.002-05:00

I am so excited!!! Mizzou beat Memphis and is in the Elite 8! I will gladly have my bracket picks ruined for that. We play UConn tomorrow, so I'll be looking forward to that game.

It has been a fun and busy, busy week. Last week, Danielle and the family came to town for her birthday. It was fun to celebrate, and of course James always enjoys parties. He's already asking about the next birthday, which is actually mine, but not until June. Saturday night, we went to dinner at Buca de Beppo with Danielle and Shawn, and some friends of theirs from school. It was fun to get out without the kids. If you haven't been to this restaurant, it is a serious amount of food! Fortunately, James enjoyed the leftovers and has been eating them all week. And has some killer garlic breath as a result.

Monday, I went for Mom's Night Out at the Melting Pot. It was Ladies' Night, and this Melting Pot has an even better special than the one in Chesterfield did. $22 for cheese fondue, chocolate fondue, and 2 drinks (wine or martinis). Much better than their usual prices. The company was great, too. It's really nice to be getting to know the other moms in the group better and feeling like I have friends again. I should post a pic, but I'm too lazy to upload right now.

After all of the eating and drinking out, combined with the fact that I still can't work out with my left arm, I doubt that I'm still 8.5 pounds from my goal, but I am trying to be good. We'll see.

Go Mizzou!

Doing the happy dance!

2009-03-18T10:57:00.002-05:00

The big things that have been hanging over my head have been completed! I finished my continuing ed and submitted for my certification renewal last week. And today, I just mailed out the wedding invitations (minus 2 that need addresses). Hopefully no major omissions, typos, wrongly addressed envelopes, etc.

In other happy news, Mizzou is finally back in the NCAA tourney, and even earned a 3 seed. And, we WON the Big 12 tournament! Poor James. Since the NCAA tourney starts tomorrow, he is going to have to put up with a LOT of basketball on in the background for the next few days. I've been trying to get him excited by having him play with his Truman the Tiger and then pointing out the mascots on tv. It helps a little. He even took Truman to the MOMS Club meeting yesterday, which meant that I was holding Truman the whole time while James played.

I've been working out hard, and am now just 8 1/2 pounds from the goal I've set. But, maybe I've worked out too hard, because the muscles in my left arm are so stiff that I can't straighten that arm. Literally can not straighten it. But, I'm sure no one will ever notice because of the amazing definition of my biceps, right?

We've all been enjoying the warmer weather, going to the playground during the day and taking some walks when Blake gets home from work. It is so refreshing.

And lastly, I was so proud of James the other day. We were at a play area, and I saw him at the top of the slide, looking around. Then he quickly came down, threw his arms out and said, "Wonder James to the rescue! Mommy, I'm going to save that little girl!" Sure enough, he was trying to come help a little girl he heard crying. Of course, her Wonder Mommy was already taking care of it, but I appreciated James' chivalrous side.

It is such a pretty day!

2009-02-25T13:03:00.002-06:00

It is beautiful outside today, and James and I had a nice walk. Although he wasn't in a curious, adventuresome mood today -- instead of pointing out and watching the spiders, spills on the sidewalk, and random sticks, he decided they were all scary. Even I wasn't afraid of these little spiders. Hopefully the next walk will involve less of me coaxing/pulling him along.

We had a great trip to Texas! James did wonderfully on the car trip, and didn't even complain when he had to get back in 2 days later for another all-day trip. DVDs helped. He saw Bambi for the first (and second) time(s). Now, every time he sees a picture of a deer, he asks if it is Bambi. Mom had a new little bed for James, and we were surprised that he slept there quite well the first night, while Blake and I were at the hotel. The second night, he was back with us, because he wasn't used to the new sounds at Grandma's and she didn't have a loud air filter in the room like we do. (Which has been helpful for me, since he used to try to turn the air filter off, but now he understands that it keeps other noises out!) We went to Chuck E Cheese's (overwhelming for the adults, fun for the child), the park, and played in the sandbox she got for him. He had fun digging for treasure. I was really surprised at what a fun, relaxing trip it was, since it was so short, but now we look forward to doing it again!

I went to Mom's Night Out last week to a Japanese steakhouse. It was a lot of fun to talk, but I was disappointed in the restaurant. We had such a good one in St. Louis, and this one wasn't as good. Oh well, I guess it will save me money in the long run! And March MNO is at the Melting Pot for Ladies' Night. OOOOH!

That's pretty much the news here. It is pretty funny to think how things have changed. I watched the Oscars the other night. I had seen Tropic Thunder and Kung Fu Panda. (and 1/2 of Dark Knight, which I just finished yesterday) So, when Jack Black said that he only saw movies he was in, apparently that was me, too. I used to go see as many of the nominated films as would come to town. Now, they have to be on DVD and it still takes me a couple of weeks to get through one. But I did get to listen to Bambi when it was on in the back seat . . .

So Lately . . .

2009-02-13T12:58:00.002-06:00

We have had colds, had fun in between colds, and are generally trying to get finished with winter. A whirlwind trip to Texas might help with that! We are going to visit my mom for about an evening and a day, since it will be a lot of driving time. We are really looking forward to the visit, but a little nervous about the drive (with a 3 1/2 year old). But, we are more than overdue to travel to her, since she makes the trip up here every few months. James is very excited and has been asking if we are going to see Grandma Janice today for about 2 weeks.

We've also went to Manhattan, KS for Cameron's birthday party. It was a fun trip. James and Landon played really well together, sometimes alone in Landon's room -- which means the adults had a little free time.

My friend, Brian, visited recently, and we all enjoyed talking with him. I stayed up way past my bedtime talking, and now realize that I am an old wimp and can't do that anymore. I was about useless the next day. The funniest moment of the visit came the next morning when we went out to breakfast at the coffee shop. It was crowded, and a fairly nice morning, so we sat on the patio. James kept complaining that the wind was blowing his muffin pieces off of his fork. Then he looked at Brian and asked if the wind blew Brian's hair away (yes, a fair amount of it is gone, not from the wind). We all got a good laugh out of that one.

We've also been going to more playgroup events, which have been fun for James, but a surprisingly large amount of work for me. He is on the move constantly, and tends to do exactly the things I have asked him not to. I notice at these events that mothers of boys tend to look a little more stressed than mothers of girls. We went to a tour of Petco the other day, and he had so much fun seeing and petting the animals. He seemed to like the fish the best, but that is when we had to leave, because he kept getting into the buckets used to disinfect the nets. He is a very, very good, sweet boy, but he has about 300 times more energy than I do right now!

I've picked out some continuing ed courses to take online, since I need a LOT of hours by the end of March. And I need to make and get out wedding invitations by mid-March. If I spent as much time on doing those things as I do thinking about doing them, much progress would be made. Next week . . .

I am quite pleased with how my Mizzou Tigers are doing this year! We just beat Kansas, which is always a cause for celebration, and should end our NCAA tourney draught. Go Tigers! (Which reminds me that I need to do those classes and invites NOW, since I need free time to watch basketball in March!)

That is the general rundown. I really do hope I get back in the habit of blogging more regularly, since I am way behind on scrapbooking, and the blog helps remind me what to journal!

Lots of Plans!

2009-01-25T17:07:00.002-06:00

We have made two trips to Hermann for wedding planning stuff recently, and we have accomplished so much! But, that trip was a lot shorter when we were living on the other side of the state. We are so thankful that we chose a site that includes a wedding coordinator. It gives us so much less to think about, since she's already thought of everything and just asks us the questions. Like who the designated person is to handle anyone who becomes an obnoxious drunk. We wouldn't have thought of that, and hopefully wouldn't need to!

We've now chosen our menu, cake, flowers, and some of the ceremony details. We just don't know the bill yet. We have a general idea, but it is all a little scary. But not as scary as it would be if we'd had the wedding in the St. Louis or Kansas City areas.

I went to Archiver's yesterday and got supplies for invitations and favors. Using the die cut for the first 50 favor boxes worked out my right arm pretty well. I should do the rest with my left to balance it out!

James and I have a busy week planned, with lots of playgroup activities. Weather permitting. Hopefully, getting him out and with other kids a lot will improve his new bossy attitude. Maybe some 5-year-old will come along and put him in his place.

And I went to Mom's Night Out last week at a wine bar. Very fun! But expensive. Or maybe I just eat and drink too much . . . either way, it was worth it!

Have I mentioned my dislike of winter?

2009-01-16T14:51:00.003-06:00

James and I are going a little stir crazy today. We were supposed to go to Tunnel Town with MOMS Club, where he could burn off energy and play with the other kids. But, it snowed. Blake said it took forever to get in to work today. Instead I talked on the phone with one of the other moms for a bit, James and I had a creativity morning, and he is currently making a bunch of noise in his room. So, apparently creativity time did not sufficiently wear him out to nap.

But, Blake and I have 2 trips to Hermann coming up for wedding planning stuff. I am so excited about that! I've been printing out pictures of cakes that I like. Blake likes them to, after I remind him that just because the cake in the picture has brown on it, ours does not have to. Having a little more trouble with flowers. I don't know what I like, I don't know what is inexpensive or will be in season, I don't know what will last well, I don't know what colors will go with our dresses. Among other things. I hope the florist is nice! And patient.

I hate to admit it, but I started watching American Idol. (It's cold out and I was apparently bored) The highlight for me was when Ryan Seacrest tried to high-five the guy who they just made a big deal about being blind.

Well, off to make some buns for sloppy joes. This is the type of excitement that I have not been blogging about lately. You can thank me later.

This Blog Post Did Not Originally Appear In Playboy

2009-01-05T20:29:00.002-06:00

But, apparently much of James' new book did. He received Don't Bump the Glump by Shel Silverstein for Christmas and he just loves it. Mostly because he likes to say the title over and over and over. When Blake was getting ready to read it to him the other day, he noticed in the notes at the beginning a notation the much of the content originally appeared in Playboy (in the early 60's). I found that more than a little odd.

In other James news, since I keep getting in trouble for not documenting these things better:

1. When we were all in the car one day during bad weather, we were stuck for a bit in traffic. Blake said there was an accident. And James said, "Did somebody poop in their pants?"

2. The other day, when I went to plug in my cell phone to charge it, the cord was put through the belt clip of James' toy cell phone. Apparently he needed to charge his, too.

3. Today, when we were at Costco, James saw an elderly lady and said, "Hi, little girl!" She just laughed and said that she didn't know him, but she liked him already. That was much better than when he says "Hi lady!" to a big man.

Otherwise, not much noteworthy going on. I got some new clothes and am quite pleased. We are working hard on our resolutions. James got a new Smart Cycle. We all love it! And I'm getting ready to host bunco at our place on Wednesday. At previous months' bunco gatherings the hostesses have had way too much food. So, I am attempting to continue that tradition.

A belated Merry Christmas!

2008-12-30T10:16:00.003-06:00

Wow! I know this time of year is supposed to be busy, but I think this year was a record for me. Now that we live closer to Blake's family, there were (and are still) many get-togethers. And, my Mom came up for several days, too, so we got to visit with her. I really enjoyed the things we did, and met some of Blake's cousins that I hadn't seen before. James had a blast at everything, since he loves (and demands!) attention, and he had lots of opportunities to play with his cousins. Every holiday activity with MOMS Club ended up being cancelled (more than once) due to the lousy weather we kept having.

This year it was really fun to see James so excited about Christmas! He really "got" it this year. He was able to tell Santa that he wanted a kitchen, a hammer, and candy (all of which he got) rather than crying at being placed on the lap of a big stranger. He was excited to leave out a cupcake for Santa and carrots for the reindeer, and then see them gone in the morning. He also really enjoyed digging in everyone's stockings to see what we got, as well as ripping off the wrapping paper on presents. And, I was really proud of him for leaving the presents under the tree alone until it was Christmas. The only time he bothered them at all was when one of the recipients came over and he tried to give them their present right away. It was very cute.

After last year's gingerbread house of horrors http://stillheather.blogspot.com/2007/12/better-late-than-never.html , I got us a very simple gingerbread train this year. It was fun to decorate, although James kept trying to eat all the candy. Last year, it was Blake who did that.

And, our family ornament exchange was up a level this year: all of the ones we gave each other ended up being sets. I got Blake a set of recycled motherboard ornaments from ThinkGeek.com. James got a 4-piece shatterproof train set. And Blake gave me a set of 3 Thomas Kinkade ornaments that are just beautiful!

There were two downsides this year. One was last Monday. We awoke at 5:10am to the fire alarms going off. James and I had been through this a few days before, so I knew what it was, but it was a first for Blake, who had been at work the last time. It was very cold out and a water pipe had broken. Both times the problem started in the same apartment, which makes me think they didn't fix it very well the first time. The first time, it broke and flooded the apartment upstairs and across the "hall" from us, then came down to flood our neighbor's apartment. They were able to get it under control before it got to us. Not so lucky when it happened in the middle of the night. I think both residents were gone at the time, the response time was slower, and our apartment flooded, too. Nothing important was ruined, other than our day. Blake was late to work, since no one helped us with the water control (they were busy in the other apartments) and he had to use the shop vac. And I spent the day washing and rewashing the wet stuff we used to soak up the water, mopping, putting some of what we had to move back, and taking care of James, who had a stomach bug. And getting ready for Mom to arrive. We had very very noisy fans and a dehumidifier going for the next several days, but all seems to be well now.

The other bad thing was that I caught James' stomach bug on Christmas Eve. So, I missed everything on Christmas Day, except for getting out of bed for a bit to open stockings and presents. The upside is that when I weighed myself yesterday, I'd lost 5 pounds. So, if I can get the stomach flu 2 more times, I might get to my goal weight.

All in all, it has been a wonderful holiday, although Blake wants to quarantine us for the month of December next year so no one gets sick.

And the runner up is . . .

2008-12-12T14:05:00.002-06:00

http://www.ellabridals.com/collection/index.php/gowns/publicView/84

I finally went shopping for my wedding dress. Just in time, since it takes about 16 weeks to come in, possibly longer because of the Chinese New Year. (So, apparently I am getting a politically incorrect dress.) The link above is the dress that I went in preferring, as did Lori and Blake. And it was very nice. But, there was another that was perfect for me (ok, it will be perfect, after probably a few hundred dollars worth of alterations). I can't/won't show the link to that dress, though. Blake doesn't get to see until the wedding day. It is a little bit of a shame that I didn't choose the first one, though, because Blake said that he would have to get me a nice necklace to go with it. But the dress I chose does call for some earrings!

It was a huge relief to get that done. I had been nervous and procrastinating, and it really was easy. So, the wedding plans really are starting to come together nicely. Since I am not a good planner of much of this stuff, I am so relieved that we chose a ceremony/reception site that includes much of what we need. Next, flowers, food, and favors!

An interesting photo, because I was tagged

2008-12-12T13:55:00.002-06:00

So, Cara (who sent me a very fun secret santa gift!) tagged me for a photo game. I had to go to my 4th photo file and choose the 4th photo and blog about it. THIS IS NOT IT. But, it is from the same day, and I will explain. This is right after we got the new camera last spring. We started potty training with James. The 4th photo was of the him looking cute posing in his new big boy underpants, which I really don't want floating around the internet. This photo was on the same day, documenting another aspect of potty training -- the increased amount of mopping and laundry that had to be done during that period. We ended up giving up on the potty training within a week, started again in August, and now all is well. I am back to the regular amount of mopping and laundry.

So, to tag 4 more people. Sorry, participate if you would like :)

Rachel

Beth

Blake, who has the same photo files as me, but maybe c0uld amend the rules a bit . . .

and Danielle, who hasn't blogged in a while :)

Our love is so SHOCKING!

2008-12-10T08:23:00.002-06:00

I thought this was pretty funny. Last night, Blake and I gave each other a little kiss in the living room. As our lips met, we got a big shock! Of course, I've also been getting shocks when I touch the baker's rack, the DVR, and various other things around here, so maybe it's not really a statement on our romance.

I'll set up the humidifier today and see if that helps.

In other news . . . happy birthday, Rod Blagojevich! What did you wish for?

Know Why?

2008-12-04T15:05:00.002-06:00

That is James' newest thing. He says it almost at the end of every statement. He used to just say it, now he follows it up with "because it's fun", or more recently, "because it's not fun" (if applicable).

We have had a lot of fun lately, with many family events over the Thanksgiving weekend. And Blake's birthday before that. And a few get-togethers the week before that. I am so horribly behind on blogging that I am not even going to try to catch up. We have really been enjoying ourselves, but now we've been sick this week. I think it's our bodies' way of trying to get us back to normal. Kind of like "if you don't slow down, I'm going to shut you down". So, there's been a whole lot of nothing going on here the last couple of days.

The good news for me about being sick is that Blake bought Tetris for me last weekend. Which means that as James naps and I don't really have energy for anything else, I can sit on the sofa and play Tetris. With slightly less guilt than if I did this at another time.

Our plans for the weekend look pretty low key, unless we decide to go see Santa. Which we should, since the lines will get longer the longer we procrastinate. And we need a tree. Which I enjoy very much.

So, I guess the moral of my blogging story lately is . . . if there are fun things happening in my life, I will likely not blog about it because I'm busy having fun. When things are boring, I blog. Go figure.

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-11-19T13:47:00.003-06:00

Blake turns 30 today!!! Which means that we are now both in our 30s. For 6 1/2 more months. Then one of us isn't in their 30s anymore. Let's not talk about it.

I don't have pictures of the birthday boy today. I should later. But here is a picture of my cake-baking assistant.

No, that's not a goatee. Yes, the cake is chocolate.

We're still here

2008-11-13T13:28:00.002-06:00

Just haven't been doing that much. I got my hair done on Saturday. Highlights and lowlights, which is a first for me. It looks good. It looked really good the day I came home. Now that I am in charge of fixing it, it just looks like a brighter version of how I usually look.

I have been super lazy this week, since James caught himself from falling Sunday by grabbing and hanging onto my neck. My neck was not designed for that. Today was the first day I felt pretty much back to normal.

I also found out that my old dentist, Dr. Moan, really wasn't so good. We suspected, but he always had the newest technology and the coolest office, so we were lured back. My TMJ appliance was too loose to wear, so I went to a dentist to check on it. Who sent me to someone else. Both of them confirmed that the one I'd been wearing has damaged my bite. Of course, the specialist wanted to charge $6500 for a different set of appliances and then 2 years of braces. I looked at information online -- which I probably should have done 10 years ago -- and found that it is not recommended to do any of these things, and that I shouldn't have worn anything for longer than 6 months. So, we'll see how everything goes not wearing anything. And I will just plan on having difficulty eating sandwiches from now on.

That's really how the week has gone. Nothing exciting. We'll have to remedy that!

Across the street

2008-11-03T14:31:00.005-06:00

One of the first things I heard on the radio when I woke up this morning was that Joe Biden was going to be in town today. Then they said the location, which happens to be right across the street from our apartment. I took this picture from the door to our building. I know, it is not terribly exciting, but I took it from the door to our building! I thought that was pretty cool.

Larry called at 7am, offering to watch James if I wanted to go see Biden. My first thought was that it would be fun, and nice to have seen both Biden and Obama. Which led to my second thought of what a pain it was to wait . . . and wait . . . and wait to see Obama. And Hillary. And Kerry. So I said no, thank you. And changed my mind 15 minutes later, by which time Larry didn't get the message. So, when James and I were going out later, we drove by and listened to a little of the speech over the speaker system. It was after 10:30. The doors opened at 7:30, and the officer said people were in line early and it filled quickly. So, not going turned out to be a very good thing.

So, then James and I had a good time at Bass Pro. I tried to steer him in directions of live fish, waterfalls, and such, and away from things like bears pouncing on deer. His favorite part was the Kids' treehouse. It didn't look like much to me, just a hollow plastic tree with 3 stuffed birds in it that you could put on a ledge. But James and the 4-year-old girl in there LOVED it. And, we saw them setting up Santa's workshop. Santa arrives in a week. James wants to tell him that he wants candy. Last year he wanted a cookie, but I think the recent Halloween festivities have influenced him. I want for Santa to bring him a toy kitchen, to which Blake said, "Um, Heather, he's a boy." But, he thought the kitchen I chose was suitably masculine, so we shall see.

On Saturday, Larry and Debbie had a hot dog roast, which was a lot of fun (except for the anxiety of having an accident-prone 3-year-old boy around fire). Blake took this great picture of James with his great-grandmother.

And, since I am going backwards in this post, here are some pictures from Halloween. James really enjoyed being a giraffe, and was the only one of the grandsons who didn't have to be bribed by Larry to put their costume back on for a picture, since he was still happily wearing it. He got it out again today. Although he also tried to knock on the neighbor's door and say "trick or treat".

I'm not completely sure, since he told me about it later, but I think this was the lady who called Blake "mean" because he was hovering over James and telling him to be careful. Apparently she didn't see when we were across the street and he almost took a tumble down someone's very steep concrete steps.

Finally, none of these pictures show it as clearly as I would like, but we all found it pretty amusing that one of the major characteristics of the giraffe costume was a very large, very padded butt. Didn't notice that about giraffes before.

And I would really like to know . . .

2008-10-29T20:24:00.002-05:00

why Blogger sometimes doesn't give me any paragraph spacing at all, and apparently saved all the spacing for that last post.

My experience as an elderly Floridian

2008-10-29T20:13:00.004-05:00

Well, almost.

I went to vote today. And the system they used was a different one than I've used before. But, I consider myself a basically intelligent person, so I wasn't worried. Well, after marking my vote for Obama, the page didn't look any different. I had to really push part of the contraption that held the ballot down so that the ink would take. It was hard to see and a little awkward. I had to do that each time I voted for someone on that part of the machine.

I'm glad I got my voting done. I am pretty sure I didn't place any votes for Pat Buchanan. And I really appreciate Larry and Debbie watching James so I didn't have to take him along with me for the long lines on Tuesday.

In honor of voting today, here one of the best photos of when I "saw" Obama last February in St. Louis. It wasn't all my fault. I was shorter than the people in front of me, was very far back, and it was in a darkened stadium with bright lights facing me. And I was behind the stage. :-)

No photos of trick or treating. . . or storytime . . .

2008-10-27T17:42:00.002-05:00

But here is one Blake took of us at the coffee shop after we went out for dinner Thursday. One of the servers took our picture at the restaurant, but this one is better. I finished the acrylic album I made at Archiver's as a gift for Blake, but found that we have very few pictures of us together lately. We appear to have stopped asking people to take our picture together, and we haven't been very good at the end of the arm shots. Until I realized what the problem was. We tended to look at the screen instead of the lens. Duh. So, this is a bit of an improvement.

We had a great time on our anniversary. The new restaurant down the street is ok, but we were both a little disappointed. But, it was so nice to relax with some drinks, eat our food in relative quiet, and then go for a coffee afterwards. And to return to a quiet home. Yep, James was with the grandparents! Yeah!

Blake left for LA early on Saturday for a conference and won't be back until Friday morning. He's having a good time and says he can see the Hollywood sign from his hotel. And that he saw Governor Arnold in the airport. Then he said he was kidding about that one.

So, James and I have been entertaining ourselves here. We went trick or treating in Independence with Shane and Katy and family on Saturday, which was fun. We didn't get to stay for the parade, though, because it was naptime and James kept wanting to sit on every step or bench he saw. Since that time, he has been enjoying his candy. When I let him have it. I find that it works well for bribes.

Today we went to storytime at Borders. He actually sat for most of it and had a great time. He especially liked the cookie at the end.

Blake has the camera, so all I have are a few pictures on a disposable one and my phone. I'd forgotten what a pain it is to not know how your picture looks when you take it AND to not be able to just take a million of them and delete.

4 Years Ago Today . . .

2008-10-23T16:05:00.003-05:00

I needed work done on my car, so I went to a coffee shop while I waited. It was a political season then, too, and I was reading What's The Matter With Kansas. The guy at the next table asked me about it, and 4 years later I wake up to find this:

I had no idea how much meeting Blake that day was going to change my life, and I just couldn't be happier about it! Happy Anniversary, Blake!

It's Raining, It's Pouring

2008-10-22T19:51:00.002-05:00

and that makes it boring here. We stayed in and drew pictures of dogs, danced with James' truck, and miscellaneous other things. Not too exciting.

Today's picture is from when my Mom visited recently. We went back to Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead. Here is James feeding the fish.

Neglect

2008-10-21T16:59:00.003-05:00

I have been so neglectful of the blog lately. Not because there's anything wrong, or because we haven't done anything. Just not getting around to it. So, I'm not really going to try to catch up. I'm just going to try to start putting short little posts and a "picture for the day". Capture some of those images from Mom's recent visit and some of the things we've been doing.

So, today, James and I went to MOMS Club and that was about it! A pretty average day. Today's picture is from Oct. 4, when we went to the KC Renaissance Festival. I'm sure I'll have more pics posted from this. It was a lot of fun. I like this photo because Blake was so happy with his mead. He had the cold and the warm mead. He liked them both. I thought warm mead was nasty. In this photo, James is probably looking at the caterpillar that was crawling along the table.

And, Blake made some changes to his blog, I guess, because the link that first worked now doesn't (thanks, Mom). It is actually http://geekswithblogs.net/blake/Default.aspx I hope.

Learning a new system

2008-10-13T19:44:00.001-05:00

Blake has started a blog! http://geekswithblogs/blake And he is showing me the program he uses for his posts. Apparently, I can use it too. We shall see. The tool is Windows Live Writer and I'm excited to use it!

Border Town

2008-10-10T16:30:00.002-05:00

All of our tv stations come from the Kansas City area, which is in both Missouri and Kansas. Know what that means? Twice as many political ads! It's not bad enough that Missouri is a battleground state for the presidential contest, but I get to hear about all the ways that both Missouri and Kansas politicians are evil, and why I should vote for the opponent.

Just a few more weeks . . . I suppose I could turn off the tv . . . but after 2 years without it . . . nah.

There are more important things to talk about

2008-10-07T15:56:00.002-05:00

But they will have to wait. I'm a little behind on things here. I spent most of yesterday looking for my keys. I knew at 6:30 am, when I wanted something out of my car, that they were missing. I looked everywhere, with the exception of digging through the trash. Blake said he'd help me look when he got home, so I thought we could do that task together.

Blake is always losing his keys, the card to the fitness center, etc. But, I do a pretty good job of putting mine in their spot. Or at least really close.

So, it was a long day, with me getting more and more annoyed and worried about where they might be.

I asked Blake if they might be in his car. He said no, and acted like he looked. During dinner, he remembered using them to go get his wallet out of my car Sunday. So, about 12 hours after noticing them missing, and going through every drawer and freezer here, he found them. In his car. He owes me! (But at least I continue with my record of not being the one to lose these things.)

Still Alone -- Post 3 of 3

2008-09-27T11:29:00.003-05:00

Of course, as these get read on the blog, these posts are showing up in reverse order, but so be it.

On Monday, we went to Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead with MOMS Club. Only 3 moms and 4 kids were there, but it was really a fun place. James had been there with Larry and Debbie, but this was my first time. It was a really educational place, in addition to having all of the slides and things to climb on. James got to see how to milk a cow, was fascinated by the chickens, and took his job of feeding the goats very seriously. And I learned about turtle shells always having 13 scales, which Native Americans used to count the full moons of the year. It was a very enjoyable day, until James left our group to climb up on a tractor, after being told not to. So, mean mom had to stick with the discipline and we left (after James apologized to his friends for making them wait for him to get off the tractor). To be honest, we were probably on our way out, anyway, because we were getting tired and hungry.

I have tried twice to upload pictures, but keep getting error messages. I give up. Trust me, they're adorable.

This concludes post 3 of 3, and now I think it is time for a nap.

Still alone -- post 2 of 3

2008-09-27T10:57:00.006-05:00

On the train, with a real train going by in the background

Not really much of a "maze"

Blake is about to lose his shirt to these goats!

We kept a good eye on James.

So, last Saturday, we went to Carolyn's Country Cousins Pumpkin Patch. We got up bright and early, because the first 100 people there that day got free tickets to the Renaissance Festival. Tickets for that are $15.50 each, in advance (free for James), and it only cost us $16 to get into the Pumpkin Patch. James should have paid, but they said he was little enough to get in for free. (Ok, there's one advantage of my short genes!) So we got a bargain!

This place was so fun! It was all set up for kids, with animals to pet, a tricycle racing track, a train, a little kid sized corn maze, and SO MANY things for kids to climb and slide on. It was really a neat place.

That night, we played James' new Chutes and Ladders game again, as well as a modified game of Bandu.

Chutes and Ladders and Guinness. How do YOU spend a Saturday night?

All Alone -- Post 1 of 3

2008-09-27T10:22:00.004-05:00

James is still playing with the toys that came on his Dora cake

Does he look happy?

The kids (and Shane)

Larry helped carry everything out to the car

Blake had a cold for about a week, and I managed to avoid it until about Wednesday. So now, James and Blake are visiting Danielle and her family for the K-State family weekend, and I am home alone. Blake pretty much convinced me that would be best, because my whiny, sluggish self would keep them from having as much fun. I agree, since I remember how Blake's whiny, sluggish self put a damper on our fun last weekend. So, I watched the debates and yelled at the tv by myself last night, slept in today (getting up only for a few minutes to turn off Blake's alarm at 6am (!)), and am basically just taking it easy. And, what could be easier than updating the blog?

So, as Mom pointed out to me -- I hadn't yet posted birthday party pics. We had a really good time at Waldo Pizza. The have different party food packages you can get, and we got the 20 people one for the 13 people who were there. It worked out great, because there were several kids having birthday parties there, and we seemed to be the only one getting the package, which sort of justified the number of tables we took over.

James really likes Dora and Diego, so we got a Dora cake and balloons, and many of his gifts were Diego-themed. As soon as I took the lid off the cake, James took a swipe at it. Blake seemed rather alarmed by that, but I thought it was pretty funny, and definitely a 3-year-old thing to do.

James had a lot of fun running around in there "playing" the video games. He really enjoyed opening his presents, although it was pretty funny when people would tell him to press the buttons on the toys to hear them -- it was so loud in there that you really couldn't hear much of anything.

We had the cake and ice cream at Larry and Debbie's. It was a much calmer, quieter environment, and gave us all a chance to talk. JAmes managed to stay awake until we got home. We didn't get home until 10:45, but fortunately the DVR had SNL on it, even though we forgot to record it. We watched a little of that, then collapsed. Or, more accurately, we were watching it, then woke up and realized it was time to go to bed.

It was a fun day!

Update

2008-09-18T08:02:00.001-05:00

Blogger isn't being very consistent with me when I try to see what I updated on my earlier post. I'm sure it's something I'm doing wrong, like when it doesn't do my paragraphs, but . . .

The story aired in the second hour of Morning Edition, but I wasn't among the few comments used. So, at least I didn't say anything stupid on national radio!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94748578

My fun experience -- aka I hope I didn't say anything stupid

2008-09-17T09:21:00.005-05:00

At Mom's Club yesterday, Ina Jaffe from NPR (in the back on the left) was there to interview stay at home moms about their thoughts on the election. She chose the Lee's Summit group because McCain and Palin were in town last week. The person she called to set it up had never even heard of NPR, leading me to worry that I might be the only liberal there. Well, the first group she spoke to consisted of voters who had committed to a candidate. 6 of us volunteered for that group, and fortunately 3 were for Obama/Biden and 3 for McCain/Palin. It was interesting how polarizing Palin is for our group -- the 3 who support the McCain ticket were swayed to that side by her. Two of the 3 for Obama had already decided on him, and the third decided on him for sure after the Palin pick.

The interview was interesting. It was just her, a microphone (actually 2 because the first stopped working), recorder, and headset. There were plenty of background noises, as we were in a gym and there were kids running and yelling everywhere. She said this was a first for her.

I don't know when/if it will air, but I'll keep looking for it.

(I'll post about the birthday party later, but that one will take a little more time!)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94748578

Gotta Catch Up Quick!

2008-09-13T14:39:00.005-05:00

Because we have some fun going on this weekend! James' 3rd birthday is tomorrow, and his party is this evening. We are all pretty excited for it. After about 6 months of James saying he is 3 whenever asked, he finally will be. Except that he has finally learned to say that he is 2.

Look who's turning 3!

Last weekend, we went to a Green Fair down the street. It was very small, but hopefully will grow. At least we got a CFL bulb and some information about a new recycling center opening, that I am happy about. And, the highlight was the performance of EcoElvis. All of his songs were about the environment. And, if you were under the age of 5, the music was pretty fun to dance to.

See those tents behind me? That's the Green Fair. All of it. Cost us $10 to get in!

Movin' to the sounds of Eco Elvis.

Then we went to the Greek Food Festival, which we really enjoyed. There was a bounce house for James, and fun Greek music and food for all of us. We loved the food, except for the dolmas. So now we know.

As the sticker says, we were all Greek For A Day!

The week has been pretty lousy. James has had a stomach bug, and between that and the almost constant rain (and nearby tornadoes last night), we haven't done much. As a result, it was great excitement when Blake locked his keys in the car the other day, so James and I went to rescue him and then eat out. And this morning all going to the store to pick up the birthday cake and balloons. The little things have been our entertainment!

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-03T14:06:00.005-05:00

We "worked" hard all weekend to have lots of fun (I know, it's corny). I'm not sure at this point I even remember all that we did.

On Saturday, we went to the KC Irish Fest at Crown Center. The first thing we noticed was that the fountains (except for the one the kids play in) were dyed green. They also had a couple of kids' areas. James made a bracelet and a crown. Later he really had fun in the bounce area. We listened to part of a talk about how James Joyce changed the English language. We were on our way to some fun music, but they stopped for a break as we got there. I ran into someone from MOMS Club with her family. We also ran into David and Theresa, friends of mine (David was my first OT boss!) from Columbia and had a nice time talking to them. It's always fun to see people you know at a crowded place, and I don't have that experience as much as I used to (believe it or not, Lori). The festival was fun, but considering how expensive everything was, and that you had to pay to get in, we expected maybe a little more. However, once we got a stout to drink, we miraculously started having a great time. It must be noted that it was a Boulevard Stout, as there was NO GUINNESS anywhere at the Irish festival. Apparently Boulevard and Miller had the beer contracts. We ended with James playing in the (non-green) fountain.

Nice action shot!

Should the woman running the kids' bounce house be smoking?

Not Guinness, but good enough

On Sunday, we went to SantaCaliGon Days in Independence. It is to celebrate the Santa Fe, etc. Trails. It was so different from the Irish Fest. One day we drive a short way and are at a big crowded festival in the middle of the city, and the next day we drive a short way and are at a festival that has a small town feel to it (in a good way!). We liked the carnival there, but decided that James would probably not respond well to the rides once they started moving. So we walked around a lot, ate carnival food (and felt lousy later), and just relaxed.

There was a booth selling subscriptions to the KC Star, with a very high pressure salesperson. He acted like he had the best deal you would find anywhere, tried to write down our names immediately, and then acted offended that we'd seen a better price elsewhere. His best price was $7.95/month for Sunday delivery. Considering that the paper is only $1.25, I'm failing to see the bargain there. But, he did give us a reprinting of the very first issue of the Star from 120 years ago. Yikes. Two big things I noticed about this paper. They were pretty graphic in those days. There was a VERY descriptive story about a woman who died and her alcoholic husband, as well as one about 5 children trampled by a team of horses (which also trampled a dog "deader than a doornail"). The other thing I noticed was that the print was very small. I have the benefit of yearly eye exams and good contacts, and I found myself squinting. How did people read this 120 years ago?

That evening, we went to the coffee shop for a cheese plate (yummy!), a beer for Blake, and wine for me. It was really, really good, and then we walked around the area to the fountain. It was a beautiful night.

Monday, Blake went golfing, James went out with Larry and Debbie, and I ran a couple of errands. Then Blake met me at Starbucks for a bit. I then went to Archiver's and have now started on our Save the Date cards. I love them and can't wait to get them sent out! That evening, Blake and James went swimming and I relaxed at home.

Since then, it has been raining, so we are staying in, and I am back to being a tv junkie, watching the Republican Convention. It is a much different experience than the Democratic one. I'm not going to start discussing all of my opinions on everything here, because once I start, I just may not be able to stop, and this post is already long enough!

Just when I thought it was safe to move away from the tv

2008-08-28T13:49:00.002-05:00

I was so relieved to have the Olympics over, since they were taking up too much of my time. But, of course, they were followed by the Democratic National Convention. I particularly like watching MSNBC's coverage, because when Keith Olbermann finds something amusing, he doesn't hide it. I watched part of the roll call yesterday, which was pretty funny. They were trying to orchestrate it for Hillary to make the motion for Obama to be the nominee, apparently trying to do it in time to be the lead story on the evening news, BUT all of the people doing the intros for the states were taking FOREVER. I was seriously laughing out loud when (I think it was) Montana was speaking. That person ran on and on and on. It did not end up as the lead story, but was breaking news.

After watching that drama, I got ready for MNO. It was fun to go out and talk with the other moms without having to chase down James. It allowed for actual conversations. I even tried to be good by ordering off of Applebee's Weight Watcher's menu, but probably blew it by getting a pomegranate martini. And, when I got home, Blake told me he had recorded Bill Clinton's speech (actually the whole evening's convention) for me, since I had forgotten. How thoughtful is that? (By the way, I loved Hillary's speech, think Joe Biden is a great choice, and am looking forward to Obama's acceptance speech tonight!)

We went to the zoo with Mom's Club on Tuesday. James liked the animals, but really enjoyed running around by the wrecked airplane with the other boys.

I was attempting to add more pictures from the zoo and July (!) , but am tired of waiting for them to upload. It just doesn't seem to want to work right now!

Gotta get better at this

2008-08-25T20:08:00.003-05:00

Muscle boy

In Daddy's Chair

I have been neglectful of the blog lately. And since it partly helps ME keep track of what we've been doing, I need to update it better. So, this week, I'm going to try to add more pictures of what we've been doing the last few months. And, here is a list of some of what we've done since my last post:

Blake's family all came over to swim, play and watch the Olympics

We took James to Chuck E Cheese

We went to Music with Mar, where James had a blast dancing and singing and getting in everyone's face

We went to Insect-A-Rama, where James (and Blake) competed in an insect Olympics and James and I made a lightning bug and a bandanna

We tried to eat at Fritz' railroad restaurant, but the service was lousy. So we just looked around for a bit and then

we ate at the Crayola restaurant
James and Blake ran through the fountains at Crown Center
I got my scrapbook space organized and finally did a little on it.
Blake went golfing
We went on several walks around the neighborhood
We watched too much of the Olympics
We got caught up on Mad Men
and despite the many many calls I get from the Barack Obama campaign wanting me to volunteer for them, I did not receive a 2am text message about Joe Biden. Which is a good thing.

So, things are good here. I continue to have my usual difficulties getting blogger to understand how I want my paragraphs and bullet points, but there are certainly bigger problems in the world.

Being a bee at Insect-A-Rama

Not sure about those fountains yet

Sliding at Chuck E Cheese

Don't Cross Me US Cellular!

2008-08-15T14:55:00.004-05:00

First, James and I had fun with our new playgroup this morning at Tunnel Voyage. It's our new Hippo Place, I think. He had fun running around, climbing, sliding and playing in the ball pit. And I actually got to talk to some of the other moms. This group does about 3 things a week, so we should be able to keep busy. And, of course, there is a monthly Mom's Night Out, which is always a highlight!

Now, here is a copy of the letter I have sent to the FTC and FCC. You don't have to read it. The basic idea is that US Cellular "done me wrong" and I am NOT happy about it. I'm sure nothing will come of my complaint letters, but it makes me feel better. I may submit it to Good Housekeeping, too. Don't cross a SAHM -- I'd so much rather bash US Cellular all over the internet than do laundry and clean the bathrooms during James' nap.

"We have had phone service with US Cellular for a few years. We liked their service and told others so, and got new phones and contracts when our old ones ended. We signed up for the nationwide calling plan, after looking at the coverage maps and seeing that they have coverage listed in both the Kansas City and Dallas areas, where we had family that we visit. (Of course we knew there was coverage in our home in the St. Louis area where we lived at the time.) We have since moved to the Kansas City area, and are finding that we do not get good coverage here -- we are frequently cut off, our reception is very poor, and (unrelated to reception) my phone turns itself off without warning or reason and without me realizing it. (On this last point, my fiance almost called the police one night to check on me, because he couldn't reach me, I didn't realize my phone had shut itself off, and I was home alone with a 2-year-old.)

I looked at US Cellular's web site to find a local store to try to change our phones to local numbers, to stop the roaming, only to find that the nearest was 64 miles from my zip code. When I called US Cellular, they confirmed that there are no stores or towers here and that I would continue to have poor reception. However, unless I knew someone who wanted to take over our contracts (do you know anyone who doesn't already have a cell phone plan who would like to take over one that doesn't work?) we would have to pay a $285 early termination fee.

I understand that I signed a contract. However, I feel that US Cellular misrepresented their services by including Kansas City in their coverage map, when they knew they did not have adequate coverage in this area. I would not have signed a 2 year contract if I had this information. I spoke with 3 people at the company about this, one of whom was a manager. I was not getting anywhere in resolving this, and in the middle of the call my phone cut out. Again, I have a 2-year-old (and I am in a wheelchair), we do not have a land line, and I now feel trapped with a phone that doesn't reliably work for the next 19 months. I feel that this is wrong on their part for misrepresenting their coverage area and is unsafe for me and my family.

Thank you. (I'm sorry this was so long. I am very upset.)"

Catching Up

2008-08-12T14:42:00.003-05:00

We really have been busy since moving here. Not really doing anything monumental, but busy all the same. James and I did join a Mom's Club today, which was fun for both of us. Lots of people commented on how friendly he is. Which means that he gets in your face and doesn't stop talking. True.

Blake's new job is good. He is starting to be more busy, which he enjoys, but also leaves on time each day, which gives him more time at home.

We are having fun watching the Olympics, which I tend to get a little obsessive about. We need a globe, though. There were a lot of countries in the opening ceremony that I have never even heard of.

Well, I know that's not much of an exciting update, but it is at least an update. I intend to get better about posting and including pictures soon, but first there are emails to catch up on! And a wedding to plan. I realized with a bit of a panic yesterday that I REALLY need to get going on some of the planning. Otherwise I'll be wearing a dress from Target and our parents will be doing the photography.

Long Time, No Update

2008-07-31T12:53:00.002-05:00

Here is a long overdue, but abbreviated account of what has been going on here. Blake finished work last Friday and has been here ever since. We are now all reunited for good. And, if that wasn't enough good news -- our house is under contract and closing date is Monday! So, if all continues to go well, we don't have to worry about the house or keep making trips back to St. Louis.

Blake is in between his jobs this week, so we've been doing more to get the new place set up. Buying furniture, decor, etc. Lots of this we were just getting around to at the old place, so we want to start out right here and be comfortable. Blake is now VERY comfortable, since he bought a La-Z-Boy and a new TV. The TV is pretty impressive -- he researched for a long time to find it. A month ago, we had staticky ABC only on the 19" TV in the kitchen. Now, we have a 52" HDTV, more cable channels than I can count, and a PS3 with Blu-Ray. Last night, Larry and Debbie had James overnight, and we didn't even leave the house. We started watching Mad Men. And Bridezillas (they have GOT to be acting, right?). Blake keeps saying, "look at that HD, baby!" He's very happy.

While he is between jobs, insurance is a problem. His old employer, who I like less and less as time goes by, cut off insurance on his last day of work (I guess to save a few bucks on that last week of coverage). I've never experienced this -- everywhere I'd worked continued it to the end of the month. When he gave them 2 MONTHS notice that he was leaving, they wouldn't file the paperwork that would keep the insurance coverage, in case he changed his mind about leaving. And, when they finally did, it was too late -- they have to have the papers sent to our new address, we fill it out, send it back, and after a couple of days, coverage would kick in. We still haven't received the paperwork. We are thinking of sending a letter to the company about how lousy he was treated on this, which I'm sure will do no good at all. Fortunately, his new employer was understanding and moved his coverage date up a few days, so it will start tomorrow. So, of course, today James is limping. We've been trying to be so careful, but he did hurt himself yesterday. Nothing is swollen, and he doesn't seem to be in pain, but we're keeping an eye on it. Grrrrrrrrrrr. Blake's new job also got him some really good new equipment and software and they really seem to go out of their way to make things good. So, I am happy he seems to have found someone to treat him better.

We are really enjoying everything we've done here, as well as our apartment. Once we get the pictures on the walls, I will post pics.

But, I didn't have my camera!

2008-07-20T18:31:00.002-05:00

It was such a fun weekend for us. Blake left early enough on Friday to be here before James went to bed. Then we kept him up really late going out for Pizza. Pappi's Pizza was so fun! It is an old place, with lots of fun places for kids to run around, and it was really empty when we got there, so he could play while we talked and watched from more of a distance. Apparently they are busier during the week. Works for us. There was also a park with a playground next door, where we started.

The sad part was realizing just how much James misses Blake and is confused about the move. All week long, he keeps asking, "Where's Daddy?" and I tell him that Daddy is in St. Louis working and that we'll see him on Saturday. When he asks again, I ask him the question and he is able to give me the correct answer and seems happier. Well, when we left the pizza place, Blake was in a different car. James immediately started asking where Daddy was. So I told him Daddy was behind us in his car and that we'd see him at home in a few minutes. Over and over. When I asked James to tell me where Daddy was, he had an almost panicked voice, saying "I DON'T KNOW!" Later, when I tried it again, he said, "Daddy's gone". It was the most heartbreaking 10 minute car ride ever. But, once we all got home, we had a great weekend.

On Saturday, we went for breakfast at the coffee shop, then for a long (2 1/2 hour) walk on the trail by the lake. That was so much fun, but exhausting. Blake kept saying it was just a little way more to the rest stop with the water fountain. Finally, he realized that he'd never walked the trail, always used his bike, and that it's much faster on a bike. We did finally get to the spot to rest and refill our waters. And we took a shortcut back to the car.

Lunch was at Planet Sub, and it was really good. Then on to visit with Blake's grandparents. This may have been the only time we've been there without EVERYONE else in his family being there, too, since we are usually only there for major holidays. It was fun, and they always get out good toys for James to play with.

We stopped at the store, got some food to grill, and headed to the pool. James had a great time, and wants to go back again today. However, Blake informs me that I need to relax a little, that he always has James, and that James will be fine. I should point out now that I need to stop reading articles and watching shows about kids who have extremely rare accidents or illnesses. If I haven't heard of it before that article, this particular malady is not going to happen to my child. So, I am relaxing now. Sort of.

Today was more laid back. We went to Barnes and Noble so James could play with the trains. Then we had lunch at 54th Street Bar and Grill. We've always liked this place, but not this particular restaurant, and not today. Oh well, at least the rest of the weekend was good.

Blake left during nap time, and James slept well, since he knew Daddy would be gone and he didn't need to wake up early. Two more people have seen our house, and the first ones liked it. We don't know about the second. We're really hoping for good news on that soon. The people who liked it last week apparently didn't have good enough credit.

One more week and Blake will be done with work and up here for good. We Can't Wait!!! And, since I kept forgetting to take the camera to all of the fun things we did this weekend, it's nice to know that we will be able to do them all again soon. Except 54th Street Bar and Grill.

Oh, I forgot . . .

2008-07-18T15:16:00.002-05:00

In an earlier post, I listed pros and cons of apartment life. I neglected to mention one of the biggest perks -- NO YARD WORK. Sure, there's no yard, either, but Blake and I aren't exactly into landscaping. So, I felt this was important enough to mention.

Also, I found where I can take the recycling. Hopefully I can make a trip a week and not kill the environment so much. It is sad, still, though. In O'Fallon, we could recycle just about everything, and it was single stream. Here, everything has to be sorted (I count 9 different containers I need) but at least it can be done. And people at the Super Target (LOVE having one of these now) don't seem to mind me bringing in the reusable grocery bags from Super WalMart.

I should also mention my new CVS addiction. This place is amazing. And it's just 1/4 mile down the street. With coupons and extracare bucks, I spent $4.61 last Sunday, and bought a newspaper, 3 deodorants for Blake, 2 tubes of toothpaste, 2 2-liter bottles of diet Coke, a box of tissues, and a 3-pack of store brand paper towels. And earned $6 in extra care bucks. Today, I spent $34.01 on a 4x6 Kodak photo book, a 6x8 photo book, 2 Arizona teas, a bottle of water, cookies for a fussy 2 year old for putting up with shopping, another deodorant, 2 L'Oreal infallible lipsticks/glosses, Blistex, and a Neutrogena mascara. And I earned $18 in extra care bucks for next time. For those of you without CVS, the extra care bucks are basically the same as cash that can be used on a future trip to the store. I feel like the coupon queen when I go there. I see people on web sites who actually make money going there, but they seem to abuse the system. I'm happy getting some great deals and having someplace close to get things I need. Especially the way Blake goes through deodorant (but he smells great).

Fun Times as we explore

2008-07-18T13:42:00.003-05:00

My mom came for a visit this week, which has been really nice for us. We went out and saw a lot, and I'm now exhausted! Before she came, we had already been out exploring new places, including the playground at the school down the street. James had lots of fun there, and it is so close that we can go frequently.

With Mom here, we made a couple of trips to Archiver's (for the adults) and quite a few places for James. We took turns watching James, so we could each take the acrylic album class they had. I liked the album and learned quite a few things, too.

We took James to the T-Rex restaurant at the Legends shopping center. By took, I mean we dragged him in, crying and saying "nonononononono". I know that won't win me any mother of the year awards, but it worked out as I'd hoped. He was scared of the loud dinosaurs and everything moving around for a few minutes, then started to enjoy it. The enjoyment seemed to coincide with the arrival of some chocolate milk. He liked the lights and the tentacles of the octopus (?) that were moving.

We went to a play area at the mall, too. He had a great time, but we didn't. It was way too big and open for our comfort. It would have been so easy to lose him there. I am nervous enough without that, so we probably won't go there too often.

Much better was Paradise Park. They have everything there, and I'm sure we will get a year-long pass soon, because it is perfect for him. There is so much to do, but on this trip, he played in the slides, ball pit, block station, and with the water toys, which were by far his favorite.

The visit with Mom was made even better for me by the fact that I actually got to talk with an adult, in person, on a daily basis! She left this morning, but Blake comes tonight. And, next weekend he should be here for good! Our little family will be reunited at last.

One last photo of water fun!

Finally Online (aka "my love/hate/really hate relationship with Time Warner)

2008-07-10T14:48:00.002-05:00

We are moved in! At least James and I are. Poor Blake is still back in St. Louis working and getting the house ready to sell. It goes on the market tomorrow. Please keep your fingers crossed for us.

Our new apartment is very nice. It actually seemed bigger after our stuff got here (my first 2 days were just me and an air mattress). It is only about 200 square feet (and a big 2 car garage) smaller than our house was, and since we also got a storage facility, it is very comfortable here. I'll post pictures another day. After I get pictures up on the wall. Really, that is all that is left to do, but being short, I think I'll wait until my mom is here next week to help. She has a better eye for these things than I do, anyway.

Here are a couple of lists, before I start in on Time Warner.

What is worse about an apartment:
1. No recycling
2. Have to walk a fair way to get the mail
3. Have to walk almost that far to take out the trash (and up a hill)
4. Our "view" is a parking lot -- if we were on the other side of the building it would be towards the lake.
5. For some reason, in this apartment, they thought a sealed concrete floor would be nice. We have some of it covered in carpet squares now, but not done with the main areas yet. Clumsy 2 year old had his first fall on it today. He has a bump on the back of his head, but is otherwise quite happy -- I think he enjoyed the extra attention and hugs he got after the fall. And the extra snack.
6. No covered parking.
7. I miss my old dishwasher. Despite apartment brochures always advertising their "Whirlpool appliance packages", they always get the cheapest possible models.

What is better about our apartment:
1. Nice location -- there is a coffee shop, a subway, a CVS, and soon a restaurant down the block.
2. More updated than our house was, and for less money than a newer house would be.
3. One of the cupboard shelves was broken, and I didn't have to pay anyone to fix it -- just call the office.
4. Pool.
5. Nice big bathrooms!
6. Outlets and cable hookups everywhere.
7. Fitness Center.

Overall, I am very happy here. And people everywhere I have gone (ok, just various stores and McDonald's) have been SO NICE! I mean, ridiculously nice for people working at grocery stores, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and McDonald's. And James is having so much fun with his granparents, aunt, uncle and cousins.

The people at Time Warner are nice, too. But, you do need more than nice. I was supposed to get internet, cable and dvr last Saturday. When they didn't show up, I called, and was told that they had to unschedule me because the previous tenants hadn't cancelled their service. Thanks for telling me. The good news is that the guy personally came out and hooked up the 2 tvs to regular cable, no charge, and gave us a free month. The bad news is no internet until Wednesday. (By the way, I was seriously needing to get online to check our bank balance, because we are hemmorhaging money during this move and by getting home repairs -- hence the importance of #3 in the second list.) So, Wednesday, it all gets set up, I can record Yo Gabba Gabba, Blues Clues and Dora as much as James wants, and I can access the internet in time to see that I need to asap transfer money from savings to checking. But, I can't access my new email account. That took a 30 minute phone call this morning and a 50 minute phone call this afternoon. I know it is not politically correct to say so, but it really is frustrating to be talking to someone in India for that long and not getting anywhere. And being called Hee-ther.

Anyway, I have more accounts to update!

"With all the guns in this county, couldn't we kill a muskrat?"

2008-06-27T17:12:00.003-05:00

I think that must be what the Supreme Court was trying to do with their recent decision. Anyway, this was a great quote from this article http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080627/ap_on_re_us/midwest_flooding_256 about the most recent flooding here in Missouri.

We feel so fortunate that we are not personally dealing with anything like that. We try to remind ourselves of that when we get stressed about having to get the house ready to sell (not to mention the stress of hoping it sells). At least it won't be under water.

We are wrapping up things here. James and I move out Tuesday, and Blake will follow on weekends, and then for good later in July. We made our final trip to the Hippo Place this week and cashed in the tickets we'd earned. The Hippo Place is so much fun, but their prizes are basically crap. But, James has been playing with those toys all week. 10 months of ticket saving well spent!

I may not post anything for a while. For one thing, I won't have internet for several days. Not sure how I'm going to survive that!

This reminds me of learning to drive

2008-06-18T21:37:00.002-05:00

My lip hurts. And it is because apparently I can follow directions, only up to a point. When I was learning to drive, Mom was taking me out to deserted country roads. One day, early on, she said I could go ahead and drive home. I asked if I was ready to drive into town. She said it wasn't too far, just don't hit the garage door. I didn't. I hit the back of her car. Fortunately not hard, and there wasn't any damage.

So, why do I think of this now? I had more work done at the dentist Monday. As I left, I asked if there were any restrictions. No, just be careful not to bite my cheek, since it was numb. I didn't. A couple of hours later, I was carefully eating a piece of pizza, and all was well. Some of the numbness was even going away. A little later, I get a second piece. And a couple of bites in, my tongue notices that my lip feels funny. My very numb, and now bleeding lip. Yep, once again, I manage to avoid doing what I am warned against, yet manage to do something equally stupid. No major damage, just a sore, swollen lip. And a reminder to not be so literal.

I really don't know why I even mention this. It's just more interesting than the rest of my day, much of which was spent bubble wrapping household items.

Well, THAT's a Relief!

2008-06-12T21:28:00.002-05:00

I know the instructions said it would take 7-10 days for the butterfly to emerge, but I was getting nervous. And James was losing interest, now that the caterpillar was no longer pooping. But, yesterday morning, when I looked in the box, where there had been a plain cocoon, there was now a butterfly standing. While I looked, it was dripping the red meconium. Which may mean that it was actually emerging from the cocoon as I was 4 feet away exercising. Rats! It would have been so much more fun to see the butterfly emerge than to do cardio. But I got James up and we got to see it flap its wings to dry them. Eventually it crawled around the box. In this picture, it is on the cotton ball that I soaked with sugar water for it. I must admit, I was completely fascinated by it much of the day. James was too, but for briefer periods. The instructions said that you could keep it for 2 days, but I felt bad for it, because it really looked like it was trying to get out of the box. And I was afraid of something happening to it. So, late afternoon Blake came out and we let it go. I tried to get a picture of that, but butterflies are fast. Especially when trying to escape their captor.

06-07-08

2008-06-09T16:10:00.007-05:00

On 6/7/8, I turned 39. Which Blake told me that morning was "the new 23". That afternoon, he said it was "the new 25". So, by today, it must be the new 80. I don't like birthdays that end in 9s. I think they may be worse than the ones that end in 0. But, I am using this as motivation to get my act together before I turn 40. Of course, I'm not rushing things, since Blake got me a carrot cake for my birthday, which meant that I ate about 2/3 of a carrot cake this weekend.

It was a good day, though. We went to Chevy's for lunch, then decided to go to Balducci winery in Augusta. We stopped by Walgreens and Blake went to get the stuff we'd need for the trip. While he was inside, James and I waited in the car. At one point, I turned around and James had blood all over his mouth and chin. My first thought was that he opened his scar. My second thought was that Blake was going to kill me. Then I realized that it was a new, much smaller cut. Apparently, he bit his lip. You may notice in this picture that he also has a scrape on his forehead. Blake said that he did that falling into the wall while I was scrapbooking at a friend's house Friday night. So, we childproof everything, and yet he manages to injure himself on a wall and strapped into a car seat. How do any of us ever survive childhood?

James with a bloody lip in the dangerous car seat.

We made it to the winery and it was a beautiful day. Blake had bought some toys to play with and for James to chase, and the winery gave me a piece of cheesecake for my birthday. Yum! We really enjoyed the afternoon. We sat at a table in the shade, pretty much away from most everyone else. There was a band playing, and they were pretty good. Oh, and as the pictures show, one of the other things Blake bought at Walgreens was a pair of sunglasses for me, since I forgot mine. Looking around at the winery, I think I would have won the award for largest sunglasses. Sadly, they broke on the way home. Blake thinks I did it on purpose, but I really didn't.

Me and cake

Blake making a goofy face in a picture with me

James making a goofy face in a picture with me -- will nobody give me a break and take a nice picture with me on my birthday?

On the way home, Blake went into the grocery store (to get my cake, I later found out!). While James and I waited in the car again, a guy who was on his way into the store tried to hit on me. He tried again on his way out. Since I was feeling old, THAT really helped! I may be 39, but I guess I've still got it -- hee hee. (I should point out that I gave him NO encouragement . . . )

Hi, Caterpillar! Are you pooping?

2008-06-05T13:26:00.005-05:00

Larry and Debbie brought back from vacation a caterpillar that James can grow into a butterfly. I am trying to follow the instructions carefully, feeling a great responsibility for keeping this thing alive. It is pretty cool to watch. The transformation from caterpillar to forming the chrysalis was quick. But, there was time for James to see it move around, see what it got to eat, and the poop, which is technically called frass. James seemed most interested in the poop. So did Blake, for that matter. The caterpillar is now in a box and we are awaiting the emergence of a painted lady butterfly, which should occur in about a week. Keep your fingers crossed!

Last night, I went to McGurk's for Mom's Night Out. McGurk's has a great patio, and it is always fun to sit out there. Our server seemed like she could care less about us, and I think once she saw that our group would be large enough for the gratuity to be automatically added, she stopped any pretense of trying. Too bad, because this rather loud group of women generally tips well. I won't be there much more, but next time, remind me to get the small salad instead of regular size. I got regular, Shannon got small, hers was much cheaper, and they looked almost identical. Also remind me that they charge way too much for beer. But, they have a nice patio.

I will miss these MNOs, but have looked online and found a playgroup in our new community. I just hope the people are as fun. From the very first time I went to something with this group, I was impressed that the others in it were similar in age and interests to me. There is even a smaller group of us that get together for a monthly scrapbook night. Which is coming up this Friday!

Finally, it has been a month since James cut his lip, which means that he can now be a little boy again and run and jump and play. To celebrate, we are going to the Hippo Place tonight. We haven't told him yet, because then he wouldn't stop talking about it. (Actually, last night was one month, but I selfishly went to MNO, since James doesn't understand calendars yet.)

So, it looks like we won't be on the street

2008-06-02T14:13:00.002-05:00

Our big (and time-consuming) news is that we will be moving from the O'Fallon to Lee's Summit this summer. Blake has accepted what we are hoping will be a better and less stressful job, and we will be closer to his family. And still close to an airport so we can see my family! We are hopeful that our house will sell quickly, but we have a lot of work to do to get it ready to sell. We went to look for a house to buy this weekend, with all optimism. And struck out. There wasn't anything that we found that was both accessible and in a neighborhood that we liked. Rather than settle or stress too much, we decided to rent an apartment. This way, we'll have plenty of time to find what we want. I looked online, found some, and Blake went to see the best option yesterday. It's not perfect for us, with a special sealed concrete floor that is supposed to be an upgrade, but that will have to be covered in carpet for us, since we have a stumbling 2-year-old. Other than that, it really is a great place, even with a coffee shop (and other shops) right there. And a park. And a golf course. A swimming pool with a very shallow end for Blake to go with James. And, we think they'll accept us!

So, we're excited! And nervous about all there is to do. Not sure exactly yet how we're going to work it all, but I will probably move there with James and most of our stuff a couple of weeks before Blake comes. He gave his employer 2 months notice so he could finish some of the projects he is on.

So, the house is and will be in chaos for a bit. If you have or have had a birthday in the last month or so or during the next couple, it may be August before you get your card. Sorry . . .

Sorry, Conoco

2008-06-01T15:16:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a rather long and stressful day, which followed a very long and stressful Friday (except for watching Lost, which we enjoyed). Today, while long, is (so far) much better. More on all of that in another post, I'm sure.

But, Blake said the following story would be a good one for the blog. If it was me, I'm not sure I'd publish it . . . but since it was his blunder, I'm ok with it. We're driving across the state, and after missing an important turn we add about an hour to our night-time journey. We stop in California, Missouri (which anyone from this area knows should not have been on our route) to get gas. Being a mother, I now think to say things like "Do you need to go to the bathroom before we go on?" I say this to him as he is filling the car, and rather than finishing what he's doing, he just walks into the gas station to use the restroom. With the gas still pumping. My wheelchair is in the trunk, so I'm just watching the pump, hoping it doesn't malfunction and keep pumping indefinitely, spilling gas all over and blowing us up, with me and James stuck in the car unable to do anything about it. As you can see, my mind generally goes straight to the worst possible conclusion. Of course, that didn't happen. The pump shut off when the tank was full and I let my mind wander to other, less life-threatening topics. Blake returns, gets in the car, and starts to drive off. That's when we hear a strange noise. Careful readers may notice that I didn't mention him taking the pump out of the car. So, as he drove off, it pulled the hose off of the machine. Blake and the girl working there tried to reattach it, with no luck, but at least gas wasn't coming out of it. The people at the California Conoco were very nice about it and didn't even take down Blake's information to later sue.

We eventually made it home safely and all is well.

Does this mean 6 more weeks of Spring?

2008-05-27T10:28:00.002-05:00

While out for a walk the other day, James saw his shadow. We think it must be the first time he'd noticed it, because he kept stopping to touch it. It was pretty funny how he'd look for it again when he'd walk in front of Blake and it would disappear. That made the already long walk we took even longer. So, we got caught in the rain. But it was still fun. And we got to pass by the house where the man did weird things to his lawn. He covered the whole thing in white rock, put in sprinklers, and a few big rocks and ornamental plants. It really doesn't fit with the rest of his neighborhood. We're sure it's because he didn't want to mow, so I wasn't able to surpress a giggle when I saw a few weeds already poking up through the rock. Not that our yard looks that great . . .

Have you seen MapMyWalk.com?

2008-05-25T13:54:00.003-05:00

It lets you plot where you walk, so you know how far you went. This is how I know that James walked 1.75 miles on Friday! That's a long walk for little legs! Blake took him for the walk while I stayed home in a flexeril-induced fog. The entire walk was 2 miles, but Blake carried him for the 1/4 mile that was on a busy street. He then slept really late on Saturday. We found something that wears him out. But, he was still asking for another walk the next day. This site would have been helpful when I was training for marathons, as it even has elevation reports. But, there are no marathons on the horizon for a while.

Some things just don't go together

2008-05-23T13:50:00.003-05:00

For my dental work, Dr. Moan gave me some flexeril to help relax my muscles to help with the pain from holding my mouth open so wide. It leaves me pretty sluggish. But, I did get a cardio workout in yesterday, which was pretty good. SO, today was weighlifting day. I can now say that muscle relaxers and weighlifting do not go together. It was a pretty pathetic attempt. And now, James is napping, so I think I will do the same!

Have a good Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2008-05-19T14:06:00.004-05:00

My Mom came for the weekend, and took us to a Cardinals game -- James' first baseball game! It was also my first trip to the new stadium. It was really nice. Cleaner and more spacious than the old one. And I had the problem I always have at events like this -- I spend so much time looking around that I miss most of the game. But, I did get some great shots. James liked looking around, too, but his favorite things were a nearby baby and looking out at some buses in the parking lot when Grandma took him for walks. What he did not like: loud fans, fireworks after a home run, and the men who walk around yelling about what food/drink they are selling. That last one was the worst, but we made it a little better by buying him a frozen strawberry lemonade from one of them.

Busch Stadium

A kiss for Grandma

It was Albert Pujols Plate Day

We also rode Metro there and back, which he did well on. We just kept reminding him that it was a train, like Thomas, and he said, "choo, choo". This was Blake's first Metro ride, too. So much better than fighting traffic and paying for parking.

The whole weekend was fun. James was so excited to see Grandma, and I enjoyed talking to my mom. On Sunday, we walked to go to breakfast at Rendezvous, which is now a weekly tradition with us. The 3 adults got different versions of their breakfast sandwich, and James got a muffin. Yummy food, mediocre coffee, and a nice walk and beautiful weather on their patio. Blake and I had also gone there Friday night for drinks after James went to bed, while Mom stayed home. It was great to get out. There was a guy and his guitar for the entertainment. He sounded ok on the Jimmy Buffett songs, but I cringed when he sang Voodoo Child, as well as when he covered John Mayer and Rob Thomas. I hope he hasn't ruined those songs for me. I had good wine, Blake found an excellent beer (Grimbergen), and we had a delicious appetizer. Rendezvous has some problems, but their food is GREAT! And they know us. On Friday, they asked us where James was.

James' lip is doing much better. We still have to be careful, but I don't think the scar will be too bad. He opened part of it up again since I last posted about it, but that part finally closed, too. I like our pediatrician. He tells us what to expect in a calming, matter-of-fact way, without acting like we are crazy, over-anxious first-time parents. Which, of course, is exactly what we are.

The final bit of news is that tonight I go to the dentist to start the process of getting my new crown. Yippee.

Nutmeg June? 1994 -- May 13, 2008

2008-05-14T13:21:00.002-05:00

It is so hard to post this, especially since it has only been a few months since Joey died. Nutmeg has been getting sicker and weaker, and yesterday we made the decision that it was too much for her and that she really wasn't happy. She was such a sweet dog. And she was so sensitive, which made it even harder on her when she wasn't feeling well. The older she got, the less she could do and enjoy. Her greatest joy was going for walks, and she didn't even want to do those anymore.

Nutmeg was so sweet and gentle. We never had to worry about her with James. She let him climb on her, pull her ears, and be just generally annoying. Just like she had been when Joey was a puppy and he would chew and hang on her lip. She just patiently waited them out.

Here are a couple of Nutmeg stories. They're from her active younger days, which I think she would be pretty proud of.

I got her from the Humane Society soon after buying a house. When I was looking at the house, there was a bunny in the back yard, which I took as a sign that it was a good place -- a place where bunnies could be happy. (My friend, Brian, said the realtor probably planted it there -- "she's coming, get the rabbit out") Well, within probably a week of getting Nutmeg, I opened the back door to let her back inside, and she was standing there with a dead rabbit in her mouth. I was horrified! I called Lori and Brian in tears, asking if their dog ever killed rabbits. They said that he tried, but wasn't fast enough. So, then I was torn between still being horrified, and being proud of my dog for being so fast. That was not the last rabbit to meet an early end. And there were also many birds. She didn't kill snakes, but she brought several into the house.

As a puppy, she never chewed when she was bored or lonely, like Joey did. She chewed when I was there and occupied with someone or something other than her. Like the day I was cooking dinner and saw her run through the kitchen, out the pet door and into the back yard with something in her mouth. That something was my bra, and she was running as fast as she could back and forth across the yard with my bra flapping in the breeze. Again, I was horrified. But, it was pretty funny.

That's the thing with Nutmeg: she could be so frustrating, but she was so sweet, gentle, and loving. I was lucky to have almost 14 years with her. We'll miss having her as a part of our family.

Thank you, Dora, Diego, and the Wonder Pets

2008-05-09T13:31:00.002-05:00

We went back to the plastic surgeon today. He took the remaining stitches out of James' lip and said that he was healing well. It's still red and scabbed, so he wasn't able to completely determine that the line between the red lip and the white skin was perfectly aligned, but we're hopeful. And, there is no sign of infection, and at this point there's little risk of that. So, that's the good news. The bad news is that he still can't run, jump, play with other kids (unless they play quietly -- this doctor mostly works with adults, so doesn't seem to understand the life of a 2-year-old), pucker, smile or laugh, open his mouth wide, use a straw, or take big bites. Basically, these restrictions stay in place for the rest of May.

This week has been very rough for me, because it is stressful to try to limit his activities so much, and to be constantly worried that he is going to accidentally do something that reopens the wound. It's been tough for James, because he's getting cabin fever. Only the basics are getting done around the house, because I pretty much have to have him within arms reach and only moving slowly any time he's awake. And when he's asleep, I need a little down time for myself. The rest of the month looks like it will continue to be tough, but at least we don't have to worry about infection and about little bumps from toys, or him touching it. We've been spending a lot of time watching videos on NickJr. online. James has a new favorite every day (yesterday it was Dora, today Diego, last week it was Kai-Lan -- he is now tri-lingual). And those times when he just sits and watches them over and over are the only times we really don't have to worry. So, I am either a terrible mother for giving him too much screen time, or I'm a wonderful mother for finding him things he enjoys that keep him safe during this time. At least we do coloring, playdoh, and books, too!

A downer post, but at least things are moving in the right direction!

A brief mention of recent fun things we did before this happened (that I alluded to in the previous post): I had a really great time at The Melting Pot with Lori. It's been a LONG time since I've been able to sit down and talk with her (or just about any other adult) for an extended time, and it was great. Also, she agreed to be my maid of honor at the wedding! The next day, James and I met Lori and our friends Therese and Dave and their son Nate, who is the same age as James, at the zoo. We had just about perfect weather and it was a fun time. I was excited to take James to the new dinosaur exhibit there, but when they roared it scared him and we had to leave. The next day, my friend Meg was in town, and we met her for lunch. Again, it was nice to talk to someone from "home", although most of the time we spent talking about kids . . .

We've also been going to the local coffee shop more, since it is a nice walk and we like to support a local business. Especially since Starbuck's keeps trying to push Pike's Place on us by not offering a bold coffee.

That is all.

We've had lots of fun lately

2008-05-06T09:34:00.003-05:00

But, I'm not talking about any of that in this post. Hopefully soon. The fun has been overshadowed by a fall James had the other day. Sunday morning, he was climbing onto our bed, which he has done successfully a hundred times, but this time he lost his footing and fell, apparently hitting his lip on the edge. His lip was cut really bad, even into the muscle, which we found out at the ER. He is all stitched up now, and doesn't seem to be in any pain, but we don't know how much of a scar he will have. We are thankful that the doctor in the Pediatric ER (who was very nice) had never repaired a lip like this AND didn't know that the policy had changed so that they weren't supposed to call in the plastic surgeon on call. So, he called the plastic surgeon, who did a great job. It was a VERY tough day for all of us, but hopefully it will turn out ok, with not much of a scar. He still is talking as well as he always does. In the meantime, while he's healing, we have to keep him fairly inactive, so he doesn't bump it. And limiting puckering, smiling, opening his mouth wide . . . so our time is spent trying to keep him from doing most of what he does in a day.

Oh, and Lori will appreciate this: an annoying person working at the hospital asked if I was Jim's mother. I was confused, and it took a few seconds before I realized she meant James. I corrected her, and I'm pretty sure gave her "a look". At least, for her sake, she didn't call him Jimmy.

Anyway, for anyone whose emails I'm not replying to lately, this is why. We are just focusing on this for now, and hopefully soon things will be a little more back to normal!

I'm looking forward to telling more about the zoo, the Melting Pot, seeing friends, and playing outside!!!

GRRRRRRR!

2008-04-30T15:52:00.002-05:00

While at the store today, a man was being friendly and asked if James was my son, or my grandson. Grrrrr. Just when I was feeling good, losing a little weight, getting my hair done . . . but, he didn't look like the brightest guy around, so I'm going to hang onto that thought. But grrrrrrr.

SO, tonight I am going out to The Melting Pot with my friend Lori. And I have made a point of looking good. And not like a grandmother.

3 Almost Perfect Weekends

2008-04-28T14:43:00.004-05:00

Blake volunteered this weekend with Coders4Charity, which paired charities who could not afford to hire someone for their website needs with programmers who got together to develop for them. It was the first annual, and they made it fun for the volunteers, although they worked really hard to get things done over the weekend. Blake was working til 11:00 on Friday night, and the change in schedule for him was what kept his weekend from being perfect. But, he made new friends and professional contacts, and his team won the contest they had!

Since this was held in Kansas City, we all went with him. James stayed with his grandparents, Larry and Debbie, who spoiled him with lots of fun and food. We met them Friday at Blake's grandparents' house, and James almost immediately started asking for blocks. I think he remembered that at Christmas they had blocks out for him to play with. Larry took about 200 pictures over the weekend and I can't believe all they did in one weekend. The only thing keeping James' weekend from being perfect was the long car ride there and back.

James with Grandma and Great-Grandma

Since Blake was busy all weekend, and James was with family, I was a woman of leisure. I hung out at the hotel and watched basketball on Friday. On Saturday, I went to an all-day crop at Archiver's, and on Sunday, I just hung out, waiting for Blake to finish. I drank coffee and read Harry Potter at Starbucks, wandered around a mall that I decided was boring (may not have been boring if I'd been finished with my weight loss and ready to buy clothes, tho, hahaha), then went out to eat. I was hoping for a restaurant with tvs, so I could watch more basketball, but then I saw an interesting building, that appeared to be a restaurant, but all it said on it was 810 Zone. I wasn't sure what I was getting into, as the windows were covered (could be a cool restaurant, could be a bar, could be a cult). Turned out to be the answer to my wishes -- it was a sports bar/restaurant! Basketball on the big screen. And the little screen. And hockey. And baseball, Nascar, Indy racing, NFL draft, etc.

My completed layouts from Saturday -- 12 pages in 12 hours.

Coffee and Harry Potter

Today, James and I appear to be realizing the downfalls of a healthy diet -- you get used to eating that way, so your body can't take junk food. We didn't necessarily eat healthy over the weekend, and both have upset tummies. So, I'm eating crackers and trying to get back to being a good girl! Until Wednesday, when I go out to The Melting Pot with Lori!

At least I have good hair

2008-04-24T15:16:00.004-05:00

Because my teeth are a mess. I need another crown, this time on a different tooth, since a childhood filling has caused one of my teeth to crack in 4 directions. But, at least he didn't say I needed a root canal, like the last time I had a filling crack a tooth. I also am getting an adjustment to the other crown, and another small cavity repaired, apparently with a laser and no anesthetic. This will occur in about a month. I'm sure by then another tooth or two will rot. Oddly, the dentist and hygienist keep telling me what a good job I am doing taking care of my teeth. Perhaps what they mean is that they appreciate how well I am financing their summer vacations. (Seriously, though, I am pretty vigilant in my dental hygiene, which makes this more frustrating.)

I loved how my hair turned out, after getting a new cut and some highlights. The photo doesn't even show how much better it looks. I was even able to re-create the look on my own. I know, the picture shows it to just be straight, so what could be so difficult to style, right? Well, I'm not always so good at this, as well as frequently being too lazy to dry my hair, much less blow it out straight. But, I am more motivated right now!

I got some yard work done, weeding and putting down mulch instead of the rock that came with the house. Blake was skeptical, but agrees that it looks good. Much better, at least. I just got one small part done, but maybe over the next few weeks can accomplish what I want.

That's really about all of the excitement here. We're trying to decide on a color to paint the living room, so I've been picking up paint chips. I have found a couple of online programs that show you how your room would look in different colors, but haven't tried them yet. Whatever we choose, I am sure it will be an improvement!

Hey, look at the size of this dust bunny!

2008-04-19T10:05:00.002-05:00

I didn't really MEAN that when I said I'd be forced to title a post like that because of gas prices (which are now even higher), but then my computer quit yesterday. The computer is in a fairly awkward spot, so I tend to not dust it regularly. That would be a mistake. Fortunately, Blake fixed it for me! I was at quite a loss without the computer for the day. Then, when I tried to work out -- I couldn't watch a movie on it like I usually do to help pass the time, AND my heart rate monitor was going wacky. It was showing my heart rate at 230, even after I took it off. And then the ipod battery went dead. So, not the best workout. Today was much better. And, I'm finding that the music is much better than a movie for getting my heart going. I know, it shouldn't take a genius to figure that out, but . . .

Maybe the heart rate monitor was wacky because of the earthquake! I know we have the New Madrid fault near here, but I just never expect to be awakened by rattling noises and find out that it was an earthquake. It didn't bother Blake or James, but Nutmeg the timid was upset by it, as I found when I saw the "accident" in the morning. Poor dog. Someone must have rubbed her nose in it when she was a puppy, because whenever she has any kind of problem or bad day, she rubs her nose along the carpet until it bleeds, leaving a sunburst of red stains. She is such a strange dog, and I feel so bad that she must have been fairly traumatized as a pup. Thank goodness for Woolite Oxy Deep!

I have a couple of friends coming over to scrapbook tonight, which should be fun. Blake is taking James to the Hippo Place. I called to ask if their hours had changed and they said no, they were always open. Uh, no. Or, if they WERE open, why were all of the lights out and the machines turned off on Thursday? Oh well, at least they're open now. James has been saying "Hippo Place closed" on a regular basis for the last 2 days.

And, for the final bit of exciting news -- we may be entering the 1980's and getting cable soon! They're running a bundling special, which would give us cable, in addition to the internet and Blake's work phone, cheaper that what we pay right now. Of course, by the time we add in DVR, etc., it may not be cheaper, but would be fun to have. I want to watch a few episodes of What Not to Wear before I finish losing weight and go clothes shopping! (Is that even still on?)

What Happened to the Hippo Place?!?!?!??!

2008-04-17T13:58:00.003-05:00

James went to the dentist today. He's a pretty easy-going kid, but every 6 months, going to the dentist is traumatic. And, at this point, they don't even do much to him, but having strangers poking around in your mouth really is a bit of a shock. So, I helped get him through it by promising we'd go to the Hippo Place afterward. Drove about 20 miles to get there, with him repeating "Go to Hippo Place" from the back seat. And it was CLOSED! Not sure why. They tend to be not very busy during the day. So, maybe they're scaling back their hours. Or, it's a family business, so maybe they're on vacation. There's no mention on the web site. I hope this is temporary. James handled it well, though, so I got him a cookie. (I know, dentist + cookie = bad mom)

I stopped procrastinating and made 2 appointments for myself next week. The icky one is the dentist. I have problems with the crown I had replaced last fall, as well as some pain near an old filling. If it turns out that any of my problems are the fault of this dentist, I'm having him fix them (he's actually good about this, as Blake has found on several occasions) and then we're switching dentists. They are nice, the office is beautiful and has chairs with back massagers, but we always leave there feeling as if the work done wasn't very good.

The other appointment is more fun. I haven't had a haircut since last July, before we went to Italy. So, my hair looks rather frizzy. But, I've finally found a picture of a hairstyle I want. By Monday evening, I should look like a strawberry blond Reese Witherspoon. Or, at least that's what I can tell myself until the results are in!

Rainbows, Random Thoughts, and a few layouts

2008-04-12T15:49:00.007-05:00

There has been so much rain lately, but as Dolly Parton said (and has been quoted by Ricky Gervais in The Office) "If you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain". I'm not sure James ever really saw the rainbow, but he did keep talking about it for a couple of days.

I think I forgot to mention that Snapfish has great customer service. And I want to give them credit for it. They send me special offers frequently, most of which I don't use. But, the latest was for a free 8x10 for each 50 4x6 prints ordered. So, I tried to order them, and the coupon code wouldn't work. When I called customer service, they said it wouldn't honor the coupon with prepaid prints (which are only 8cents). But, since I didn't know this, they gave me the prints, anyway. Very nice.

James and I had fun at Stretch and Grow with playgroup yesterday. He is finally getting good at sitting with me in the circle when he's supposed to. He used to always run and stand in the middle of the circle clapping his hands while all of the other children sat nicely with their mothers in the circle. I'm so proud.

Today, we all went to a home show. It was ok, but since we don't have any big renovations on the horizon, it wasn't worth all of the looking for parking and battling the crowds. But we did go to Buffalo Wild Wings, and then Starbucks afterward, so all is good! I don't care for the new Pike Place coffee that Starbucks has. Pretty bland. But, they at least still offer their bold coffees.

On the way home, we filled the car with gas. The CAR. Not truck, not SUV, not van. Car. And it was over $50. We will not be driving anywhere for a while. So, be on the lookout for exciting blog posts, such as "What I had for a snack" and "Hey, look at the size of this dust bunny!"

Here are some rather crooked pictures of scrapbook pages from CKC. The first one really doesn't have a big white spot -- I just covered up the very cute picture of James showing off his muscles in his new big boy underpants. I like when family and friends view the blog, but not so much when perverts do. I'm sure you understand.

This one started with some very busy blue and white paper as a background, that really didn't seem to go with the rest of it. So, I changed it to a lighter, brighter, plain cardstock so that the pictures would stand out. Now, I have to pieces of very busy blue and white paper to use on something else.

These two are my favorites from the classes. Both variations on the same sketch. The one above is from a beautiful day last fall when we took the dogs to the dog park, then went out to a winery in Augusta. The last one is of Blake and James having fun playing in the snow.

Well, stay tuned for the next exciting post, "Nutmeg sleeps on her pillow". Which will surely demonstrate my continuing difficulty in getting paragraphs to separate in Blogger . . . grrr.

Too busy to blog

2008-04-06T15:48:00.003-05:00

But things have been good! After giving James some time to show interest in the potty on his own -- I know, I know, everyone has been so excited for another potty training update, but this is my world -- he didn't show any. But, when I tried to put him back in diapers, he wanted no part of that, so he agreed to the potty and things are generally going well. And that is all the details I will give. Other than it is a lot of work and time consuming. Who knew?

I can't remember most of what happened since I last blogged, so here are some highlights that I do remember.

On Friday, I went to CKC (scrapbook convention) across the river in Illinois. It was so much fun! I will definitely plan to take more classes next time AND save more money for the vendor area. I don't love ALL the things we made in the classes, but they are good enough, and there are so many extra products that I can use as I wish. And there were quite a few that I really did like, including one with a dinosaur theme.

Yesterday, we went shopping, making plans for how we'd eventually like to furnish the house, and also checked out Costco, since we may switch from Sam's. It seemed pretty similar in what they had, as well as prices, although maybe a little higher, but with more quality items. And, since it was Saturday, there were food samples. We'd never seen this many samples in one day. We didn't have to feed James lunch after going there! I think I probably will switch in a month or two, mostly because it is closer and has better parking, which will probably take about 20 minutes off of my trip. And, thanks to Sarah for all the great info on comparing the two!

Today, I went to the trail at the park for about 45 minutes. Now, I am exhausted. Which is why I am finally updating the blog -- I'm too tired to do anything else. It was a great workout and a beautiful day. And now I prepare to rest!

Yum!

2008-03-28T14:30:00.005-05:00

Well, first a couple of updates. My bracket -- has been the worst NCAA bracket I have EVER had. Before last night's games, I was #1922 out of 2387. Ouch. But, I am starting to move back up. I'm at 1485 now. Blake is moving down, and will continue to do so, since he had Notre Dame in the final game, and they lost last weekend.

The next update concerns that potty training. I was ready for it. Blake was ready for it. James demonstrated the signs on "the list" of being ready for it. But, no. He had an evening of being very proud of himself. Then proceeded to refuse to use it. Or find other ways to let us know his opinion. So, we wait.

The process of attempting to potty train was exhausting and a little stressful. So, I was SO happy when Wednesday night rolled around. I'd already been looking forward to Mom's Night Out at The Melting Pot for a couple of months, but wanted it even more when it came. It was Ladies' Night, which meant a couple of things. First, it was only $27 for the 4-course meal, which is significantly cheaper than usual. Second, we couldn't help but notice that all of the servers were attractive young men. There were female servers, but they only did things like fill water glasses and not talk. We thought it was pretty funny and were imagining how interviews there were -- "Ok, you look good. You will be required to work all Ladies' Night events. You got a problem with that?"

I took a few pictures of us, but won't post any -- somebody is chewing or putting food in their mouth in every picture. Which, at The Melting Pot, is exactly as it should be. But, here's a photo of the yummy dessert. Every 2 people got a plate like that to share, and there were 3 pots of chocolate fondue for the 10 of us. I love that place!

New Toys, and old things that are NOT toys

2008-03-24T15:49:00.004-05:00

Blake's parents, Larry and Debbie, came Saturday, so we went out to eat at Ariake, one of our favorite restaurants. James doesn't like when they throw things, make loud noises with the knives, or start the fires, but he's doing better. Despite his unhappiness at times during the meal, for the past couple of days he has been asking to go to the "Fire Place". It took me a couple of times before I realized he was talking about the restaurant and not that thing in the living room . . .

James had so much fun on Easter. The night before, the last thing he said before bed was "Easter Bunny", because we'd been telling him about it. He found an egg right away, and didn't want to stop to look at the basket of goodies from his grandparents -- he just wanted to look for eggs. He was so determined!!! Here he is gleefully sorting his treats.

We renewed our USCellular contract (since we've been very happy with them) and were able to pay the same money for a better plan, and get 2 new phones for a total of $10. The phones are great, with a 1.3 megapixel camera (better than the old VGA one I had) and an MP3 player, which I'm looking forward to using when I go out to the trails, since I'll only need to take the phone, not the phone and ipod. And, they each have 3 faceplates, so Blake and I could decide on our own colors and be able to quickly tell our phones apart.

I still hadn't finished learning how to use all the features of the new phones when Larry and Debbie came for Easter. And, with them came more manuals to read, because they got us a NEW CAMERA!!! Larry is quite into cameras and photography, so he knew what would be best for us. He said he got a good deal at Costco, and I hope so, because what they got us is amazing! It's a Canon PowerShot A650 IS, 12.1 megapixels, and the viewing screen that swivels around so short me can hold it way over my head to take pictures when I'm too short to actually see something. And, it came with a Canon Pixma multifunction printer/copier/scanner. So, Blake got my old photo printer and I have the new deluxe one! I've been playing all weekend! This camera takes such great photos, but I won't bore folks with all the photos I'd like to.

Me with new camera!

My phone and our new printer, with a stack of product manuals on top.

I'm glad it was a fun weekend, because today we started potty training. Ugh. I will not post pictures of James in his new big boy underpants, but here is a picture of the things that are not fun new toys, but are getting lots of use -- the mop and laundry basket. I may have to post a picture of a beer later, if Blake doesn't bring me home a latte. Ooh, Blake just called, and there is a tall skinny mocha latte on the way! Yes, for anyone who knew me "before", I now drink those drinks. And sometimes, instead of a Guinness, I'll have a girly drink, too. Eek.

The best 2 sports days of the year!

2008-03-21T10:50:00.003-05:00

It's tourney time! I love watching non-stop basketball, 4 games at a time for 2 days! Thanks CBS online! And, I don't even have to use the "boss button", not that I think it would fool many bosses, anyway. I talked Blake into entering a bracket online with me, and so far, he is kicking my butt. Our brackes are on http://www.thiswebsitestinks.com/ . I'm Hahred and he is hahredmanslave. Tee-hee. Sorry, Danielle, we both put USC beating KSU. But during the game, I was pulling for K-State, and don't mind too much that their win KILLED my bracket, since I had USC in the Elite Eight. And I REALLY hoped Belmont would pull the upset over Duke. It was so great to see how close they came.

I was cleaning like a madwoman earlier in the week, just so I could do next to nothing while the tourney is on. I still have to go to the store this afternoon, though.

Had to insert this picture of James. I remember when he was a little baby, choosing the cutest outfits for him to wear, dressing him up, showing him off. Well, those days are over. Today, he found and insisted on wearing this sweater vest, which is way too small. He was so proud. The picture is too dark to show much of the rest, but he also has drool on the shirt, and his eye is a little icky from the cold. Perfect. He saw the picture and kept saying "tummy" and laughing. The shirt goes away tonight. Forever.

We had fun yesterday. My friends Meg and Phil from Columbia came by with their 3 1/2 year old twins. The 3 boys had fun playing, although not necessarily with each other. And the adults enjoyed visiting. Then we went out to lunch at Red Robin. As each conversation was interrupted about 20 times, Meg and I reminisced about the days when we would all go out to a restaurant and eat and drink and talk for HOURS at a time. And the more I think about it, I can't think of a single one of those times when anyone threw a crayon. So, then we laughed at how things change and how happy we are with our boys.

Grrrrrrr!

2008-03-19T10:16:00.002-05:00

What do we have to do -- become hermits? While I am on my THIRD medicine to try to clear up the conjuctivitis I got from James, who got it at either Jump 4 Fun or the Hippo Place, James is sporting a new icky runny nose. I will spare you the details. The dilemma is -- the humidifier would help, but now that he can reach the top of his dresser, we really don't trust him not to find a way to dump the water all over, in which it may end up in the electrical socket. So . . . we are going the no humidifier route. OH, I just had a possibly good idea . . . I can have it on in his room while he is up and around, then take it out when he is in there to sleep. Maybe that will help. Either way, it is frustrating to keep getting colds, etc. from the play places we go to. But, I guess that's part of the territory.

We did have fun going to West County Mall the other day. He got to play, but first we bought some big boy underwear, in preparation for potty training, which will probably begin next week. And, I got a new battery for the receiver of my heart rate monitor. Now that I have it again, I see that I was really slacking on my cardio. Since it knows my age, weight, gender, and my heart rate, I think it gives me a more accurate accounting of calories burned. So, I used it this morning, worked out much harder than usual so that it would show that I was in my target, and found that I burned a pathetically low number of calories. The good news is that when I weighed myself yesterday, I've lost a little more weight. And with my new and improved cardio workouts, I'm sure the pounds will melt away! I like my SparkPeople.com program.

A long overdue update

2008-03-16T14:48:00.002-05:00

For the longest time I wasn't posting much -- because we weren't doing much. Lately, we've been doing plenty, so I've been too tired! Here is a brief update.

First of all, we never found the missing cards, so Blake got a new license, and the others were cancelled.

My mom came for a visit, which James had a blast with. We went everywhere to play, he got new books, and it took both of us a couple of days to recover. Of course, the Hippo Place was the first destination, but we also went back to Whittle Train Station, and to the mall, where he rode the carousel. He was not sure about that at first, but Grandma helped him be comfortable. Also while she was here, Blake and I got to go out on a date! Yeah! We talked for a while at a coffee shop, then ate at Brio. Yum! No diet that evening. No photos to post, though -- blogger is giving me error messages, and with the dying camera the photos look a little wacky anyway, so it's not worth the extra effort. Unless you really want to see what James looks like in neon shades.

Last night, we went to a family night party for playgroup. It was a lot of fun for all of us. Blake and I got to visit with other adults (and kids), James got to play with other kids and toys, and I got to try a new recipe http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/recipes/r-penzeyscheesecakeBars.html . They were very good. I know that when you are watching what you eat, you're supposed to take something healthy to a party. Yeah, well, my strategy is to take something really yummy that I can have a serving of, rather than having a bunch of leftovers around my house. Of course, I also don't seem to be losing weight as quickly as I would like, so you might not want to adopt my strategy.

I've also been watching lots of basketball -- the Big 12 tournament championship is at halftime right now. And the NCAA tourney starts on Thursday. So, it's time to put together my bracket, enter a pool or two, and watch my ranking go lower and lower. I would also like to take this moment to thank ESPN360 and CBS for having all of these games online.

Have you seen . . .

2008-03-13T18:45:00.004-05:00

Blake's license, debit card and credit card? They're missing. We both remember where he put them -- on the ledge between the kitchen and living room. Easily within reach of the child. I recall thinking that was a bad idea. Blake may have moved them. Or it may have been a really fun game for James to find skinny little places to put them in. If you find them, let us know. We've looked all over, so asking you seems as logical as anything else right now.

Trains and cookies

2008-03-07T20:42:00.002-06:00

Today was a fun day for James. We went to Whittle Train Station with playgroup. It's basically just a store that sells toy trains and books about trains and all things trains for kids. But, they also have tons of trains set up for kids to play with. There were a LOT of kids there, in addition to our playgroup, and everyone had fun. I haven't seen James entertained by just one thing ever. It actually gave me time to talk to people. Which is unusual -- usually playgroup time is spent chasing.

Then this evening I made oatmeal raisin cookies. I wanted for James to help a little, or at least watch, but he kept trying to dump the oatmeal out, so I decided to go solo. The cookies were good, and he kept demanding more. While I was waiting for one pan to cook, I had another ready for the oven sitting on the counter. While my back was turned, the little stinker stole a cookie off of it. Just as I'm sure I did when I was a kid.

We're getting ready for a busy and fun weekend. And, right now, I am waiting for Blake to get home so we can watch Lost. I get more confused with every episode, just like they planned.

Saturday nights just aren't what they used to be

2008-03-05T16:09:00.003-06:00

On Saturday night, Blake decided it was time to put the dresser his parents gave James for Christmas together. I will admit there may have been some encouragement (ok, nagging) from me on this. I knew that I wouldn't be able to do it, but did want to help. I'd even considered opening the box and putting the drawers together one day, but fortunately didn't do that. Because here is what we found when opening the box . . .

about a million pieces. Blake apparently knew it would be like this, which is why he hadn't done it before. It was RIDICULOUSLY hard to put together! Blake wouldn't let me help, but wanted me to keep him company and listen to any complaints he had during the process. The 3 HOUR PROCESS! But, it turned out very nice, and James likes that he can now get his books off the top of the dresser. And, almost every time I get him from his nap or bedtime, I find a huge pile of clothes that he has pulled out of it. At least he helps pick them up.

On the top of the second picture, do you see the purple line? And that the photos don't look so great? I think my poor PowerShot A80 is about to call it quits. The picture on the screen when I am setting up shots keeps looking worse and worse, and now the photos are starting to. I'm ready to move beyond the world of 4-megapixels. I'm just not ready to have to pay for it. But, I can't complain too much -- I've had this camera for years and it has served me well.

I got my embossing tools to use for the invitations (actually for Save the Date cards -- waaay to early for invites!). And now I know that I need to go to Archivers Rubberstamping Basics class! I am not good at this. But, it is a fun chance to learn. Well, back to my practicing!

Malls, Malls, Malls

2008-03-01T20:40:00.002-06:00

We haven't done the most exciting things lately, but we have been getting out of the house more. James really likes playing at the mall now. The local mall re-did the kids area, and it is great for him now. And for me -- I can pretty much watch him from one spot without needing to do any chasing. He also had fun at Mills Mall today, and rode the train for the first time. He did not like it at first, but once Blake got in there with him, he was fine. And wanted to ride again.

I went to a Bridal Showcase class at Archivers today, where they demo'd different invitation options. It will be fun to design and make them. I need to get an embossing gun. Oh, how I hate to get scrapbook supplies. HaHa.

Mizzou is currently 10th in the Big 12. So, there isn't much to look forward to there. At least no more players have committed crimes lately.

I finished the 3rd Harry Potter. I really liked it. And, I can now confidently say, that having seen 2 of the movies, I remembered almost nothing from them. Not sure why, because they were good.

That's about all here. Just wanted to do a quick update!

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

2008-02-25T17:24:00.002-06:00

That's how much of the alphabet James said last night. All of it. Ok, to be perfectly honest, the LMNO part sounded suspiciously like "Elmo", but we'll work out the details later. Blake congratulated me on teaching him this, but I can't really take credit, since he also has about a dozen toys that say the alphabet, too. And he counts to 12. Again, we do count together, but I was only going to 10, but the Mickey video goes to 12 . . .

Rachel pointed out that I haven't updated the blog since the sickness post, and that is because I was the one who was sick. James got over his stuff within a day of getting meds, so we were all very happy about that. But, the doctor I saw wasn't terribly helpful. He gave me a speech about viruses, how antibiotics don't help them, etc. etc. It wasn't until I was halfway home that I realized that he didn't even examine me, beyond listening to my lungs. Didn't look in my ears, eyes, nose, throat -- all the things I was complaining of. I understand about antibiotic resistance, but if he is just going to assume that all people who come in with symptoms have a virus that doesn't require antibiotics, why doesn't he tell the person who schedules appointments? I would rather not go out on a snowy day, when I'm sick, to drive 20 minutes and wait with other germy people just to hear that I don't need to be there. Anyway, I'm over the cold now, just an occasional cough. But, still have a bit of the pinkeye. And, I have apologized to Blake, who complained when he saw this doctor, and I didn't give him enough sympathy :)

No pictures or really much to talk about. Saturday was the first time we went anywhere in a week. But, James had a blast, as we started at the Hippo Place. He shrieked with joy and started clapping his hands as soon as we got to the parking lot. Then we went to his favorite restaurant, Red Robin. Blake's too! I was very proud of myself for sticking with my diet. There's not a lot of happy medium there -- get the grilled chicken breast and salad that I got. Or get something loaded with all kinds of things that taste really good and have about 2000 calories.

Today, I've been getting the house put back together after a week of neglect. Not terribly exciting, but it feels good. Also felt good to get back to working out.

Sick

2008-02-14T19:27:00.002-06:00

James had a runny nose a couple of days ago, then started getting crusty eyes. Then yesterday he woke up REALLY crusty, worse than I've ever seen anyone. So, we called the doctor, who had us come in. He has a sinus infection and is working on pinkeye, too. So he's on medicine. Then I started getting a scratchy throat yesterday evening. I thought I would try to hide it, and just get through without Blake even noticing it. Then he started talking about getting a sitter and going out Friday. He could tell something was wrong by my reaction not being so enthusiastic. Couldn't have hid it much longer, anyway. I feel awful, but I do think it's starting to get better. James' medicines worked wonders -- his eyes are perfectly clear and he has his energy back. Just a little hoarse.

So, Blake is out getting a Papa Murphy's pizza for our big Valentine's dinner. Hopefully we can celebrate better this weekend.

The good news is that we got our wedding date! May 23, 2009. It seems that we chose a good time, and that I was right to have some concerns that it would be booked. They only had ONE wedding booked for all of 2009 at this point, and it is on May 30! I'm glad we went when we did, because she said she has 5 more couples coming to see it this Saturday. The Knot.com says that there are 464 days left before our wedding. So, I guess I don't need to stress about too much at this point. And, I have recently lost 5 pounds, so I only have about 20 left, and 464 days to do it . . .

We Have A Winner!

2008-02-09T21:44:00.000-06:00

Since we really were mostly interested in the Bistro in Rocheport, and maybe the Melting Pot (& a ceremony location) in KC for our wedding/reception, we just went to Hermann today because this place I'd heard about at the wedding show looked interesting. But not really thinking it would be our first choice. We started by having lunch at Stone Hill Winery, and left there convinced that it would be a good spot, and I planned to call their coordinator on Monday. But, then we went to Hermann Hill, which was basically built for weddings, and met with their coordinator. I almost teared up in the chapel, because I thought it was so beautiful and perfect. She kept describing all that they did as part of their package, and showing us around all of the areas, and it just kept getting better and better. This picture I took in the chapel does not do it justice. Neither do their web sites http://www.hermannmoweddings.com/album.htm http://www.hermannmoweddings.com/album.htm , but here they are anyway. They really go the extra mile to make it special, and compared to the prices we've seen in St. Louis, they do it for a lot less money. And the rooms in the cottages blew us away! We may stay a few days. We decided to go with it almost immediately, but talked about it all the way home first. I am going to call back tomorrow to check on the date we want, then give them our deposit! One of the things that is really nice, is that they have a wedding coordinator working with you, so there is so little that we will have to do, other than make a few decisions. And sample cake.

Blake would like everyone to know . . .

2008-02-08T20:01:00.000-06:00

that he won 250 tickets on the machine at the Hippo Place. Everyone was very impressed. Thank you.

Mmmm, Chili

2008-02-08T15:22:00.000-06:00

We've had fun these past few days. Except that it was pouring down rain when we went to vote. Speaking of voting, I would like to point out how nice I am -- about a month ago, I found, printed out, helped fill out, and then ran the form to the post office, getting it there 20 minutes before the deadline, all so Blake could be registered to vote FOR ANOTHER CANDIDATE! Oh well, a little healthy political discussion in a household is a good thing. James really liked his sticker, even though he didn't get to vote. If he had voted, it would have been for Obama, because when we showed him the pictures in Newsweek and told him the names, that's the one he likes to say.

The OT came to evaluate James because of his drooling, and it turns out that it does need intervention. He doesn't qualify for therapy, but she gave us lots of great ideas of what to do, as well as the important information that it would take a lot of work for 6-9 months. So we know not to get frustrated in a week. We had heard and read that it is good to have him drink through a straw. But, none of that information said that it should be THICK liquids through a SHORT straw. Once I had him do that, you could see the muscles working. And he likes the new drinks better, because they are sweet.

Today we went to a place with inflatable things for kids to play in. We went with playgroup, and had a lot of fun. Then, we picked up Blake and went to his work's chili cook-off. There were 11 entries, and most were pretty good. In addition to prizes for the best chili, there was a prize for best costume. I voted for the guy who had Tums, Beano, Pepto Bismol, etc in his apron and went around offering them to everyone.

Tomorrow we are checking out another potential wedding site. Hopefully the first weekend in March we will check out the final 2, then make a decision!

And, for any of you reading this who use Blogger, any ideas on why Blogger keeps taking away the spaces between my paragraphs?

I Hope I Saw a President this Weekend!

2008-02-04T13:36:00.000-06:00

I had such a fun, busy weekend! Saturday morning was spent going grocery shopping for my new diet (and for general food for everyone else in the house). On the way home, I heard that Barack Obama was going to be in St. Louis that night, and Hillary Clinton would be there on Sunday. Blake wasn't interested in going, and it would have been a challenge to take James. So, I went to both on my own.

The first one was the Obama rally at the Edward Jones Dome. 20,000 people were there, and judging by the traffic, each came in a car. The rally was fun, although not quite what I was looking for at this point. He had a lot to say about what he wanted to happen, but not the specifics that I like to hear. It probably didn't help that it was hard to hear, because the sound system echoed in the dome and I was behind him and had really bright lights shining in my eyes the entire time. He is an amazing, motivating speaker, and I would be quite happy if he won in November. The bottom photo is the best one I was able to get, on 11x zoom, using the head of the woman a few rows ahead of me to block some of the light.

Then Hillary. She had a town hall meeting at the Machinist Union building. They only let in 2000-3000, I'm not sure which. It was such a different atmosphere, with clear views of her and everything else. The photo of her listening to someone in the audience was taken with no zoom. This was a great setting to see her, as she was able to come out and give a brief speech, and then took questions from the audience. I was really impressed with how she responded to almost every question. She said what she had as a plan, and followed up with specifics on HOW she planned to implement the plan. I had heard that she really seems so much different and more personable when seen in these settings, and I truly felt that. I was excited and stayed afterwards as she was signing things for people, and ended up getting a picture with her! The camera was on the wrong setting, but I'm still so excited to have this photo. I'm hoping that it is a photo of me with our next president, but I will be happy to support either of the candidates I saw this weekend.

In other weekend events, Mizzou beat Kansas State, which came as a complete surprise to me! We are still down 3 players (all suspended, one injured), and KState just beat Kansas earlier in the week (which also brought me great joy). Last night we went to Blake's friend Derek's to see the Super Bowl. It was fun, and his niece was there. She is about 9 months younger than James, and they had fun playing. I was disappointed in the commercials, don't care for football, and didn't do my diet any favors, but had a lot of fun. Other than that "meal", my diet has gone well, and I think I was wrong in assuming the food would be bland. It's been pretty good!

By the way, I keep putting spaces between my paragraphs, and Blogger keeps taking them out!!!

Snow!

2008-02-04T13:32:00.000-06:00

Last year, James hated when Blake took him out in the snow, which greatly disappointed Blake, who was really looking forward to it. This year, he started getting excited as soon as it started snowing. He loved watching it, then had fun trekking through the yard and trying to use the shovel. He wasn't so excited when Blake tried to teach him about throwing snowballs, though!

I thought the snow was pretty, enjoyed the fun Blake and James had, but am quite glad that it is almost gone now.

Oh, the excitement

2008-01-30T15:33:00.001-06:00

Actually, there really isn't much going on. Blake is on a new antibiotic, and after a month and a half of being sick, finally feels better. Just in time, because he has had to go into work for training all week.

I've been on an organizing kick, and got our closet cleaned out. Part of the rod had been broken, which left less space, which made everything a mess. I got a new rod, a sweater rack, and am getting rid of a LOT of clothes. All mine. Wish I could convince Blake to give some up . . .

I joined Spark People, which is a free diet/health site. I really like it so far. Haven't been to the store to fully implement the nutrition info yet. I must say, the food recommendations look a little bland, so I plan to get a lot of use out of my spices.

I also found (actually they sent me an email) a company that has some FREE web seminars that I can use for contact hours for certification. I attended one today. It was actually fairly interesting, and occurred during James' nap time, so I was able to pay attention.

Also, finally finished the scrapbook from our trip to Italy. I want to put up photos of the entire project, but that could take a bit.

That is about all that's going on here. There is a Mizzou game tonight, which I will watch, but since 5 of our players have been suspended, it is unlikely to be a very pleasant experience. I appreciate the tough stance our coach is taking. I just wish we'd recruit players who wouldn't do the things that get them suspended. On a final note -- I've got James watching basketball with me now! I'm starting him early.

One Down . . .

2008-01-27T13:45:00.000-06:00

and who knows how many to go. Hopefully not many! We went to a possible wedding/reception site. It was at an historic home/mansion in St. Louis. It was very beautiful, especially imagining how pretty it would be not in January, when everything was actually in bloom. And the people there were so nice and seemed really accommodating. But, unless we wanted to be out of there by 2 in the afternoon, the minimum number of guests would be 125, which is about double what we are planning. And the food wasn't very good. So, strike one. We are making more appointments with other places soon, including the Bistro, which has been our first plan all along.

Larry and Debbie came here to visit, play with James, and watch him while we went on the wedding mission. We enjoyed visiting with them. And James had a BLAST. He loves to show off what he knows, including the parts of the ABC song that he sings. Each day he adds in another letter or two. They also took him to the hippo place to play, and Red Robin for lunch.

I started that day by getting a fasting lipid and glucose level. Fasting -- as in no food, coffee or exercise until it was done. Wouldn't have been too bad (except for the coffee part), except they didn't open until 8. I got there at 8:01, only to find out that they didn't have a lab person there that day, the nurse who attempted to get the blood dug a needle around in my hand for quite a while before I talked her into giving up, then I had to drive 25 minutes further to get to the place that would have a lab person. I think I did a pretty good job of not being cranky, and then rewarded myself with a grande skinny mocha latte and reduced fat cinnamon swirl coffee cake at Starbucks on the way home. I'm not pretending these are health foods, but I looked up the nutrition info, and it doesn't kill my diet. And, I waited until after the cholesterol test!

A Little More Organized

2008-01-21T16:42:00.001-06:00

Here's my new organizer! I really like it, and I keep getting it a little more customized to what I need for it to do. It's more fun to look at my to-do list when it's pretty! I would definitely recommend this class, Rachel, but if you take it, bring Mod Podge and a tape runner. They gave us a glue that made the paper buckle (even on their demo).

In other happenings, I took James to Gymquarters with playgroup Friday. He was pretty tentative, at first. But, once he realized the fun that was to be had, he took off and it was hard to keep up with him. He really liked the trampoline built into the floor.

The de-cluttering is progressing. I'm back to working out. Blake is taking a nap. And James is bothering Nutmeg. We've also been playing board games lately -- Compatibility, Hoopla, and Bandu. Technically, only one of these has a board, but I don't have a better term to use.

Here are some recent layouts I've done. Still have more of the Italy ones to post, but haven't taken photos yet. This first one is page one of a 2-page LO of James playing at the Botanical Gardens with Larry and Debbie, while Blake and I went to CPR class. Larry got some great pictures, which won't show up as well as they should, since my photos are a little dark.

This one is about James crying when he saw Santa, even though he was going to ask Santa for a cookie.The journaling in this one is about taking what comes in life, because it might be better than what you planned for.

Here's one from Italy. Blake and his giant beer, while I had my tiny espresso.

And, finally, this one talks about a woman at our resort in Sorrento who commented that we always looked so in love. And, since Blake proposed soon after, it was a wonderful comment to hear.

I'm pretty sure there was more I wanted to post about, but I can't think of what it would be.

Time for an update

2008-01-17T15:22:00.000-06:00

Even though there really isn't anything to update. It's been a pretty slow week. I had a cold for a few days, but am over it now. Haven't started working out again or anything crazy like that, though! Blake is still feeling sick. So, we haven't gone anywhere except to Outback last Saturday. That was fun, especially for James. We had a wait of about an hour, and a server kept bringing by little trays with bites of appetizers on it. Our little picky eater LOVED all of them and kept crying out for more. After we were seated, she even brought him another one. I think she liked how he got so excited every time she came out.

Coordinates Collections had an online crop, and I won a prize! And, when Jamie, the owner, saw me post that I already had what I won and that I was offering it to someone else, she removed the post and gave me something else! That was such a nice thing to do. I got a lot done at that crop, and at the one I went to on Friday with my playgroup friends. I will have to post some pictures later. I am actually getting close to finishing the Italy album!

Tonight, I am going to a class at Archiver's to make a household organizer album. Finally, the answer to all of my problems. After this class, I'm sure my home will become so much more organized. Magically. Well, at least I will have a pretty place to store my "to do" list . . .

I am actually on a decluttering mission throughout the house. Working on an area at a time. First was James' room. After Christmas, we got rid of so much of what he has outgrown. And his toys are divided into 3, with only one batch out at a time. He appears to have about a 2 week attention span. He loves and plays with toys for about 2 weeks, then not so much. So I put them away and pull out the next batch, and he feels like he has all new toys. For about 2 weeks. Now I am decluttering my office. Scary.

Not much else going on. We're hoping to start looking at possible wedding/reception sites soon. It is frustrating when they are only available M-F 9-5, since Blake is working then. So, I guess they have to meet my criteria first!

New Dishwasher!!!

2008-01-11T15:11:00.000-06:00

I love it! Our old dishwasher appeared to be a 1992 model with only ONE sprayer, at the bottom. So, really, only the underside of the dishes on the bottom rack got cleaned. Our new one (thanks, Mom!) has 3 sprayers, adjustable top shelf, fold-down gadgets everywhere, and lots of cleaning power! And, it also has a feature I love -- a rinse agent level indicator, so you know when it's full and when it is time to refill. There also seems to be a lock, but I haven't been able to figure it out or find info in the manual. Maybe James will figure it out. I didn't know the microwave had a lock, until he kept pressing buttons and activated it, leaving me to then figure out how to unlock it. I gave the dishwasher a good test -- a dried-up casserole dish from yesterday. Clean as a whistle. I am so happy with my new gadget.

The delivery guys were here at 8:15 and out by 9, so James and I still got to meet our playgroup at the Hippo Place. James had so much fun. But, the point of being there with playgroup is pretty much lost on him, as he just runs around, with me having to chase after him. There's not a lot of interaction with the other kids. At least for him. Several of the kids kept coming up to me to show me how many tickets they'd earned. The Hippo Place is great, and actually safe for him to run around, except that I have to keep up with him, because he'll grab people's rears, take their tokens, any toys or drinks he finds . . . and SHOES. Loves to move people's shoes (you can't wear them on the play areas). All of this chasing left me with almost no time to do what I am there for -- visit with the other moms! But, tonight, the scrapbookers of our group are getting together for a crop. I'm still trying to finish up our Italy album, so I have lots to do to keep me busy.

Perspective

2008-01-08T18:46:00.000-06:00

I was sooooo excited today! When Mom was here last week, she bought us a new dishwasher (because ours is LOUSY) and today was delivery day. The installer was looking at everything, and said he couldn't do it because the water shut-off/pipe that it connects too is the wrong size and would have to be replaced. We know from experience that calling a plumber (his suggestion) is more expensive than we wanted to pay right now. So, it looked simple enough, so we tried it. (Ok, Blake did the physical labor and I sat there calling out things that I thought would be helpful.) So, I went to Home Depot for the replacement parts. I was feeling pretty discouraged, because everything that just shouldn't be that difficult always is. But, then I was listening to a story on NPR on the drive home about all of the horrible things happening to women and girls in Congo. http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/15166 (don't follow this link unless you are really prepared) Ok, so my not getting a new dishwasher today isn't such a big deal. As I pulled into the driveway, I saw the family photos on the shelf through our front window. I am so lucky!

As for the dishwasher, we don't feel comfortable with the soldering it will take to maybe fix the problem, and the old piece won't go back on without squirting water. So, we have no water in the house, except for the couple of gallons I ran to Walgreens to buy for the night. The plumber is coming tomorrow. I really should put him on speed dial . . . And, once the new piece is installed, we have to wait until the delivery guys come back to install the dishwasher, so I will be *gasp* washing dishes by hand.

I am really looking forward to my new dishwasher!!! Mom, I can't wait until I can call and tell you how great it is!

A Rant About Photographers

2008-01-06T16:25:00.000-06:00

I went to a wedding show yesterday. Blake still isn't feeling well, so he stayed home. I'm so glad he did! It completely wore me out, so it would have killed him. At least every other booth was a photographer. And I'm guessing that's why they charge so much -- there can't possibly be enough work available to keep them all in business, so they have to make lots each time. Some of them are charging $4000, and you still have to buy the prints! They do offer lovely books to tell the story of your wedding for that price, but I'd really just rather have the photos. I do, however, really want good photos, as they are so important. But, at this point, the best photos we have of us were taken by my friend Chris (who is excellent!), by Blake holding the camera at arm's length, and by a drunk guy on the street we asked to take our picture once. None of those photos cost anywhere near $4000.

But, I did get a lot of good information, including some other ceremony/reception sites to check out. And I got to try wedding cake samples! Archiver's (scrapbook store) had a booth, as it turns out they are going to start a free class next month on making your wedding invitations. I am looking forward to that. But, their booth didn't seem to be getting a lot of traffic. They recognized me and looked as happy to see a familiar face as I was. I've discovered that wedding shows are informative, but would be much more fun with somebody. If I go to another one, I need to take a friend. I don't think there are any coming up, but if I see one, Lori -- expect a call!

Here's a picture Blake took of me and the bags of information I brought back. And, the little white plastic cup in the photo is one of the cake samples I brought for Blake. James liked them, too. I've never shared 1-inch pieces of cake with 2 other people before, but it worked out.

Today was a beautiful day, so we went to the park. We were amazed to get to the dog park and find it empty, especially because so many people were walking their dogs in the park. But, then we noticed it was locked, so we just found a nice spot to hang out, keeping Nutmeg on the leash. Which is actually fine with her. The last time we went, Blake tried really hard to encourage her to run, but she is old. As we left, we saw the dog park FULL of people and dogs. Must have opened at noon.

My Goals

2008-01-04T18:06:00.000-06:00

Ok, here they are. As the year goes on, feel free to ask me how I'm doing on them -- it might provide some extra motivation! And, I am aware that not all of them are monumental. And, the one about lose the rest of the weight I planned for 2007 . . . I have exactly one pound less this year. Good grief. The spaces under the goals are where I will document my progress at the end of the year.

James says "Happy New Year" and "Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas". He may still be saying this in March . . .

Happy New Year (for procrastinators)

2008-01-03T15:13:00.000-06:00

My mom came to visit for a few days, which was really fun! For the scrapbookers who read this blog, she gave me the greatest little scrapbook about me and her thoughts about my life and the joys and stresses that entailed. It was really a sweet gift, and I cried -- not just at the picture of my clothes and hair circa 1990.

Here's James waiting for Grandma.

Blake has still been sick with his sinus infection, so it is a good thing we decided against our original big New Year's plans! Instead, we had junk food, party hats and noisemakers here. Mom thought she would just have James here, so she brought Elmo plates and napkins for the occasion. After James went to bed, the adults played Phase 10. Very fun, but we are old wimps now and got very tired. We were all relieved when Blake won the game at about 10pm, so we could all go to bed.

Some of us had more fun with the noisemakers than others.

I've been doing a little scrapbooking. I updated my list of goals for 2007 to reflect how I did on them (not great, but not too bad, either). Then I did a page of goals for 2008, and a page of some accomplishments from 2007. I'll try to post the 2008 goals tomorrow, to keep myself honest!

Now that Mom has gone home, there is no excuse not to take down the Christmas decorations, so I've been working on that. I'm about 2/3 done. I'll finish tomorrow.

Fianlly, here's a picture of James learning to ride his new tricycle. It would help if his feet could reach the pedals better.

Better Late Than Never

2007-12-28T20:58:00.000-06:00

Ok, It's finally time to start posting some of our Christmas stuff! It has been so busy and/or tiring here, but we have had fun holidays so far.

Here is our tree. We love all of the ornaments, and tell the stories behind them each year as they are put on the tree. The tree itself is just a small, cheap, fake one that we got for the apartment we had a couple of years ago. We were considering getting a new one in the post-holiday sales, but then when it snowed, Nutmeg started chewing on the branches (as a substitute for eating grass?). So, as long as we have a strange dog who eats artificial trees, no need to spend money on a new one!

Blake thought it would be great to make our gingerbread house from scratch this year. So, when I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving, I bought a kit, because making it from scratch seemed like a lot of work, and difficult, too. We finally completed it on December 23, and the final results show that we are not ready to make one from scratch. Here is what it looked like on the box:

We have named ours "The Gingerbread House of Horrors". Blake thought that the icing I made was too thick (it was). So I told him to make the next batch. Too thin. Way too thin. Everything just dripped off. Blake added the final touch by putting the disembodied gingerbread man's head by the only semi-cute part.

We celebrated Christmas at our house on the 24th. Santa was so great to make a special trip a day early to fill our stockings and bring James a new tricycle!

Then on the 25th, we drove to KC (and back in the evening) to celebrate with Blake's family. First with everyone at his grandparent's house, then at his parent's house. I am still trying to figure out where to put all of James' new toys (I'm not even going to try to post pictures of them all). He LOVES his new train set from Granddad Larry and Grandma Debbie. And we love the DVD player from Grandma Janice, which made our trip much more pleasant!

Our holidays aren't over yet: my mom comes up on Sunday for a few days, and I'm looking forward to her visit.

We really have had a good season, even though we haven't done a lot of the fun things we'd planned. Blake has had a sinus infection for the past week, and James and I were sick before. So that has been frustrating. BUT, I really enjoyed going to Columbia to see my friends, Blake went to his work party, and we all had a good time in Kansas City. And the lights at the zoo, the Santas in St. Charles, etc. will all be there for us next year!

Catching Up (a little)

2007-12-20T16:52:00.000-06:00

Things are finally starting to get a little back to normal here. It has been so busy. But, now the things like grocery shopping, last minute Christmas shopping, and another trip to the post office are done.

Some fun things that we (mostly me) did recently . . . I went to 7 hours of the 12 hour crop that I won from my local scrapbook store. Only 4 of us made it, since it snowed all day, but it was fun and a good chance to talk and get a few pages done. At the rate I'm going, I'll get the Italy album done sometime in 2009. While I was gone, James and Blake played at home. Blake took a cute picture of James tucked in with his friends to watch Mickey Mouse.

On Monday, we waited in line for a looooong time to see Santa. I have been coaching James for a while to ask Santa for a tricycle, because I think that's what Santa would like to bring him. Plus, we want for him to be excited for Santa, as he cried last year and earlier this year at a party. So, every time I asked him what he wanted for Santa to bring him, he said "a cookie". Just before we turned the corner to see Santa, I reminded him to ask Santa for a cookie or a tricycle. And, as soon as he saw him, he started crying and crying and wouldn't stop until we were gone. It's a pretty funny picture. I'm having problems getting the photo from my computer, but hope to post it soon.

Then on Tuesday I went to Columbia for a party with some of my former co-workers. It is a fun party each year, and it always ends with a white elephant gift exchange. Sometimes the gifts are pretty good, but I usually get something pretty awful. This year was the jackpot! A dancing Christmas penguin that sings Ice, Ice Baby. I recognize that this is silly, but it is also fun, and James has really had fun with it. He plays with it A LOT, and takes it around to kiss all of his other toys. He also dances with it. He doesn't, however, really dance with it when I try to take a video, so this one at breakfast is the best I could get. After the first 15 to 20 seconds it's not really very interesting, but I was unable to edit it. Of course, reading my camera manual was one of my goals for this year . . . and I recognize a theme in this post: Heather is not tech savvy.

Joey March ?, 1996 - December 13, 2007

2007-12-14T15:57:00.000-06:00

OK, this is about the saddest thing we've experienced. And we would like to take a little time to talk about Joey, the sweetest, most loyal, devoted dog. In 1996, my friends Tracy and Jen had a stray wander to them, but they already had 2 dogs, who were not welcoming of an intruder. So, they asked if I would like another dog. I said no, because Nutmeg was plenty, but that I'd take a look at him, anyway. Sucker. As soon as I saw him, I was a goner. He was too sweet and adorable to resist. I don't know what kind of dog Joey is, but my favorite guess that anyone ever made was "lab/chihuahua".

Joey was a smart dog, and very devoted. We were so impressed with how he was always right next to me throughout my difficult pregnancy. For the 3 months that I didn't sleep well at home, neither did Joey. In pretty much every picture we have of him, he is either looking at the person taking the camera, or at one of us in the room. He lived for attention from us. He also lived for food that was accidentally dropped. He wasn't a big fan of James, once James got big enough to move around and chase him, but he sure liked that kid at mealtimes, when James would feed him.

Joey was very easy-going. Blake liked to dress him up -- for holidays, in t-shirts, towels, whatever. I considered this a great indignity. But, Joey loved it.

If Joey were bred or cloned, he would be extremely popular. He was popular with us, and we will miss him so much. We love you, Joey.

For those of you whom have never had an indoor dog having a dog like Joey will change your life. Joey was so loving and we will miss him.

(If you knew Joey and are reading this, we'd love it if you'd leave a comment. Or even if you didn't know him. He was a very special dog.)

Home and looking pathetic

2007-12-11T20:21:00.000-06:00

Joey is home, lying on his bed. Nutmeg isn't a very good friend, because she's basically ignoring him. Don't really know what was wrong, except that he probably ate something he shouldn't have, so we can't let him run around in the back yard anymore, and have to make sure James doesn't feed him. And, the vet bill was kinda scary -- almost as much as Nutmeg's surgery was. It is frustrating. I know if he were a human, the cost would have been outrageous, but for a dog, this was a lot. It would help if dogs could talk. So we'd know if hospitalization, IV, injections, tests, etc. were necessary.

But, I'm glad he's getting better. He is a very sweet, loyal dog. And we love him.

Is this some sort of bad karma thing?

2007-12-11T14:36:00.000-06:00

First James gets sick, and Nutmeg has to have surgery. Then I get sick. (The three of us are much better, just a little slower than usual). Now Joey (the tan dog) has been at the vet overnight, with an IV and meds, as he keeps vomiting and has become very dehydrated, with a fever. We're still waiting to hear when he can come home. And waiting to hear how much this is going to cost. And now, Blake is coming down with the cold. Arrrggh!

Good news, sort of, though: Despite the ice storm, we really weren't hit very hard this time, and never lost power. And, I really think that the ice is so beautiful, as long as services aren't disrupted and I don't have to drive anywhere!

That's all of the news for now. Keep your fingers crossed for Joey. He's almost 12 years old, and these things start getting a little more concerning.

It was inevitable, I suppose

2007-12-08T10:27:00.000-06:00

I got James' cold. I hope Blake stays healthy. And James is starting to feel better. I feel like this blog is looking very boring, with no pictures, and not much exciting to post, so here's are a couple of old pictures of the dogs. The photos are old, from our apartment, but, as Nutmeg and Joey are also old, all of their photos are starting to look similar -- them just lying there, occasionally with a 2-year-old hanging off of Nutmeg.

Doctors and Doors

2007-12-05T14:29:00.000-06:00

James' cold has become worse, so we spent a couple of hours at the doctor's office yesterday. He's been sick for 2 weeks, and it has only gotten worse. He's on medicine now, but at least it hasn't made it to his chest, so he didn't need antibiotics. He still has a nasty cough, which kept pretty much everyone awake a couple of days ago, but it is getting a little less frequent. Poor kid. So, we missed going to Santa's House with playgroup, and Blake will be on his own for his work Christmas party tomorrow.

The good news is that we finally have our new doors (which we have been trying to get since August!). Blake now has a door on his office, the bathroom door now swings out so I can get all the way in AND turn around, and James' bathroom doorknob works! So everybody is happy!

On another note, Lori sent me this link quite a while ago, and it is a GREAT site. You answer a few questions on your opinions on political issues, as well as how strongly you hold these beliefs, and it tells you which candidate is the best match. What I found as interesting as who was my best match, was looking at who were the candidates that are definitely NOT for me! http://www.wqad.com/Global/link.asp?L=259460

We Lost

2007-12-02T08:48:00.000-06:00

Bad. On to basketball.