I Heart Change

Green

2012-01-27T14:20:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when I take pictures, I realise that there is a theme in them, even if they were from different days.

My sous chef. He's an excellent helper.

Do you know what happens when you study the prices on something too long? Your child spots the most random thing ever on an endcap, and you end up coming home with green, brown and pink ice cream cones.

Have I mentioned Lakeline Mall is like an amusement park for toddlers?

Paul and I bought Isaac this computer (he calls it his nightputer) for Christmas. Best. Gift. Ever.

And spotting things in the distance from the park. Yay for sunshine.

Westside

2012-01-25T17:37:00.000-08:00

I am not, in fact, "keeping it real." I super glued my fingers together while trying to fix something. It's still not fixed. But I found that for me, soap and warm water works better than nail polish remover.

Mom vs Toddler

2012-01-13T11:03:00.000-08:00

What you say....
versus what your toddler hears:

Don't jump on me.
Jump on me as hard as you can.

NO!
Do it quick!

Do you want peas or green beans?
Do you want mac and cheese or mac and cheese?

After we finish here, we'll go buy ice cream.
We're going to eat ice cream right now!

Please put this in your room.
Break this into as many parts as possible and fling it around the living room.

I love you.
I love you.

Give away something every day?

2012-01-12T18:25:00.000-08:00

When we lived in Killeen, I had a love/hate relationship with freecycle. I love getting rid of things I no longer wanted, and I loved seeing people get really excited about things I was giving away. But I hated the 'gimmies' that people seemed to get (ie: WANTED: Plasma TV) and people not showing up when they said they would to get something, and then getting upset when they contacted you two weeks later and you told them you gave it to someone else.

I didn't realise when we moved that we'd be on a new freecycle list. But I discovered that right before Christmas. And I have at much better luck with this freecycle.

I have freecycled:

firewood
mirrors
mirrors
mirrors (don't ask)
bathroom cabinets
AND
Da da da DAAAAA
a SHED!

Yes, someone came and pryed up, with HAND TOOLS, my hugemongus, ugly, rusty, 10X12 aluminum shed.

And thanked me for it.

Yes, I know he is going to take it someplace and get cash for the scrap metal. But I had no desire to do the work and was super excited to find someone who wanted to. He earned that money, as far as I am concerned.

And I discovered that, without the shed there, the sunlight from sunrise reflects off the windows of the house behind me and can be enjoyed from both the east and west windows of my house.

And common sense tells me I cannot really give away something a day. I don't have that many unwanted items. Maybe one thing a week for the 2012 year? I think that is doable!

It's a new year

2012-01-06T17:20:00.000-08:00

So I'm really behind on stuff. I think about you, but unfortunately don't have much time for sitting and typing.

I have signed up for a 5k on Jan 21st and doubled my running efforts. I have been working very hard on getting better but was waylaid for awhile by a massive amount of pain in my right foot. It felt like the bottom of my foot was bruised from heel to toe. I spoke with a friend who runs frequently and she said I needed new running shoes.

Oh.

Well, I am still very new at running so I just bought my new shoes and went on with it. My foot still hurts (bought the shoes 2 days ago) but not nearly as much and now it's just the heel.

So that's a great improvement... my foot has been hurting for about 4 months. Yeah.

Really looking forward to this 5k! I've been eating well and working out well and I'm excited about what is in the future for my with my exercising. And with looking better. That's always a consideration, too.

I ate brussel sprouts for the first time in a long, long time too. They're good sauteed in olive oil. I feel like I broke through a sterotype I'd had for a long time. Now that I'm done with that bag, I don't intend to buy them for awhile, however. You can only eat so much of something before you don't want to see it again.

Isaac is amazing, of course. He has been in underwear for nearly 2 months now. It isn't perfect, but it's getting better and accidents are happening less frequently. *Knock on wood that I don't jinx myself.*

I don't miss buying diapers.

We're under 100 days for Paul coming home. I miss him like crazy and am SO looking forward to having him home. I know Isaac is, too.

I'm in the middle of another major house change, like the bathroom. So that's keeping me busy. This one, I'll be calling a professional in here in a few days. Progress has been made! After this, next is the flooring and then we'll be done for awhile.... maybe even for good.

Okay, probably not. I dream one day of having our master bath sink contained in a room with the toilet and tub.

It's Winter Solstice!

2011-12-21T14:00:00.000-08:00

Today is the shortest day of the year. It is all lighter and brighter from today on out.

We went for a walk and Isaac fell asleep. And since I know he usually wakes up when I pull him out of the stroller, I rolled the stroller into his room and shut the door. Insta nap.

I cut Isaac's hair Monday and was struck by how grown up he looks. When I took him to school, his teacher commented on how much he had grown. My baby is a little boy!

Also, last night Isaac had a great time sticking his stomach out so far he almost fell over and said "I'm Santa."

I am completely done with Christmas plans. Everything is wrapped. Everything is mailed.

Happy Winter Solstice.

Dang

2011-12-19T09:11:00.000-08:00

I've taken a month off!

We've been working out again. It's a very very good thing. Totally a mood booster. Unfortunately, I get my best ideas while walking or running. It's unfortunate because I forget them by the time I get home and could write them down.

We've gone to Lakeline Mall in Cedar Park a few times. They have a small and large carousel, a toddler play area, a bunch of ride on games. Basically it's like a cheap toddler amusement park. At least to my toddler.

Thanksgiving! Check out Isaac's face! Cracks me up every time. He loved the turkey.

We had photos taken by a photographer. They were awesome and she is awesome.

Out of state grandma came to visit. Isaac really enjoyed having her here. She helped put up our Christmas lights, too.

I removed the border from our middle bedroom. It was remarkably easy. Best 15 minute renovation ever.

On the UN photographed side of things, I am still recovering from my first bout of food poisoning ever. I know a couple times in the past I'd taken a bite of something and my brain would go "STOP STOP STOP!" And then if someone else ate what I wouldn't because I thought it was wrong, they got sick. No lie. So I SHOULD have listened to that voice Friday night but I decided it was fine and ate anyway.

And suffered the consequences. Listening to your body for the win.

Also, a couple weeks ago my Grandmother passed. It had been expected but it's still tough. My last grandparent.

Thank wha?

2011-11-28T18:29:00.000-08:00

I haven't even thought about my blog, terrible as that is. I will blog about Thanksgiving later. I have one awesome picture.

About the bathroom, thank you all for thinking I am a badass. But I did NOT tile myself. I hired a handyman and he tiled the bathroom for me. It was totally worth the investment since tiling involves things like pulling the toilet and putting it back with a new wax ring and hours and hours of work on your knees. No thank you. I like to work. I work hard. But that was a bit much for me. He did a great job.

I got the free tile through a hookup a crafting friend has. She told me about a tile store that puts their 'rejects' behind the store and allow anyone to come get it. I went with her to get some tiles and got 7 boxes of the tile you see in my bath. I have enough to do the other bathroom and possibly the laundry room or the entry way, too.

I photographed the 7 o'clock hour tonight for ya'll. It was something I could think of doing.

I showered. I know, I know, you are SHOCKED at our exciting my evenings are. Pjs are an old tshirt and sweatpants. My beloved one pair.

While I shower, Isaac gets to watch cartoons.

This book stack is all the free books that Isaac's preschool got from a very small fundraiser.

This is the collapsible hand cart I purchased on black Friday. Isaac thinks it's a toy for him. It makes hauling heavy boxes much much easier when it's not being dragged around the house.

I poured myself a sugar free hot chocolate and irish cream drink to enjoy and relax while I uploaded photos.

And then, while attempting to photography my cat...

I poured my ENTIRE DRINK over my computer. Yeah. It's still working, though. At least for now. Maybe I should have gotten the warranty on it. But when I was speaking to them about it, I asked "if my toddler rips all the keys off the front and eats them would it be covered" and they said they weren't sure so I didn't buy it.

Said darling boy came over to check what I was doing while I rushed around getting a towel to wipe off my computer.

And quickly lost interest and began to work on his pirate puzzle.

And there you have it. The 7 o'clock hour.

Before and {almost} After

2011-11-20T20:17:00.000-08:00

When we bought our house, there were a few things we knew we'd be changing about the house. They were obvious. And the guest bathroom was one of the worst. I HATED the wallpaper. And it was carpeted.

Which I thought was a poor choice of flooring for a bathroom.

And now that I have ripped up carpet from a bathroom, I am going to say with the utmost confidence...

CARPET IS A POOR CHOICE FOR A BATHROOM!!

If you have it in your bathroom, rip it up. Right now. You can come back and finish reading my post tomorrow. Go do it now. Your carpet is probably wet around the edges and rotting all the wood it touches. Because it was in our bathroom.

I still need to paint the vanity, but you can see our beautiful (free!) tile in place. The lighter wood under the vanity is the new kickplate that had to be replaced because the old one was rotted from the carpet getting wet and just letting that moisture SIT on it. Ew.

Double Ew.

I had to clean all around where the carpet was. I will say it again.

DO NOT CARPET YOUR BATHROOM!

I changed the light fixture myself! Isn't it nice? Again, the medicine cabinet and the doors/trim still need paint. But look at the difference in the paint color versus the flowered wall paper. What a difference!

I had removed this cabinet over the toilet originally because it was very crooked and had intended to put it back. But when I saw how much more open the whole bathroom looked without it, I decided to go with glass shelves instead.

Our new base trim. It has a little extra detail, which is nice. We intend to change our carpeted living, dining, and hall to wood floors and will change the rest of the trim out then, too.

There you have it! One of my projects nearly checked off the list! The vanity will get painted the same time I paint the kitchen cabinets, so it will be a little while on that.

Hey Jealousy

2011-11-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

I know this is ridiculous, but alas, it is still a THING and that THING is there. In my heart.

It seems like everyone is pregnant right now. Or just had a baby.

Paul and I had originally thought we would try about this time to have our second child. BD (Before deployment). And once we found out he was deploying, we were thinking we'd try during R&R.

I am very grateful that instead of R&R, my husband is coming home sooner. That is a totally acceptable.

However, when the Army plans changed, it moved our family plans back even further.

And now everyone is pregnant. I was in a room today with 5 pregnant women. FIVE. That is a lot of baby bumps. I feel like everyone is moving on but us in continuing their families.

Deployment for us is nearly half over. That's a pretty momentous step. Unfortunately, when I look ahead, it still seems SO LONG.

I need to look on the bright side.

I am going to get a TON of hand me down baby clothes!

I am keeping myself in business by buying adorable books for babies. {Side note, I bought a domain! Check out www.IsaacsBooks.com}

I am going to bank major babysitting hours for when I need them with a newborn.

I have an excuse to actually cook a nice meal and have someone other than me eat it.

While all these baby showers are fresh in my mind, if I have one for our second its going to be AH-mazing.

I get to enjoy holding sleeping babies but can defer diaper duty!

Only a few of my friends being able to drink wine with me means.... more wine for me!

And I am getting to sleep the whole night through. I remember very well from pregnancy and baby stage that sleep is not to be taken for granted.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

Every year we go to the pumpkin patch at the Silo Christmas Tree Farm. They have Christmas trees later in the year, obviously, and run a charity pumpkin patch to benefit a local food bank. We brought a huge bag of cans this year. And we usually buy one pumpkin.

So maybe I went overboard this year?

One huge pumpkin for carving, one little pumpkin for painting, a while pumpkin and a weird redish flat pumpkin that Isaac loves. Plus two pie pumpkins that I will roast... eventually. Hey, pumpkins make good decor through November, right?

Yes, all this happened about two weeks ago. I get behind, too.

Isaac thought the wagon was fantastic. And he insisted on pulling it himself even though it was very heavy.

After selecting and stowing our pumpkins, we went off to do a few of the events available at the pumpkin patch.

We went through the maze in record time. I did realise that this is probably the last year Isaac won't figure out to look at the ground to see where other people have walked to find his way through the maze. It was fun to see him get to a dead end and go "Oh, no! It's a deader end." Deader. He's so cute.

Last year, Isaac didn't want anything to do with the petting zoo. He was definitely intimidated by the goats. This year, the goats were full and had no interest in eating anything, while Isaac was feeling much more confident about feeding them.

It's ironic, really.

He did pet several animals, though. And after that we headed to the thing he really, really wanted to do.

Well, first he was all about picking pumpkins. And after that, he wanted to ride a horse. That was all he was interested in.

They were very busy this year. We had to wait in line to ride the horses. When we got to the front of the line, Isaac picked the horse that was giving them trouble. Of course.

He didn't care. He had a great time.

On our way back to the car to grab some lunch, Isaac climbed on top of the pile of hay to play. More king of the mountain than king of the playground.

It was a fun day visiting the pumpkin patch. And we're looking forward to doing it next year with Paul.

Halloween!

2011-11-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

This was Isaac's first year trick or treating. Last year we went to the mall, and while that was fun, it was packed! Near the end it was just one long line shuffling around and getting candy. It just wasn't very fun. This year, since we had a house instead of living in a rental, I decorated. I decorated the SNOT out of our house. Well, for us, anyway.

Yes, we were the most decorated house on our street. And when I saw families leaving their houses in costume, a lot of them started their trick or treating at my house. Next year I must get more awesome candy. And a lot more, since we ran out at 7:30!

I need y'all to prepare yourselves for cuteness. Isaac was Count Von Count from Sesame Street for Halloween.

Did you die from the cuteness? (I will not pay medical bills from cuteness overload.)

Isaac caught on to the whole trick or treating system pretty quick. It might have helped that the first 6 or 7 houses we went to didn't open the door. Some of them I even heard talking inside. Why decorate if you're not going to give out candy? That's crummy. I put a bucket of candy on my porch for the hour we were out.

He's still a little purple. But, oh, he was so cute. There was one family that was just dying over how cute he was in his costume. And every time the grandmother said 'Oh, he is SO cute!' the mom would drop more candy in Isaac's bag.

One house gave out puzzles, and Isaac got a brand new Dr. Seuss puzzle. Which he really wanted to go straight home and work on. He was more excited about that than the candy.

Remember the pool incident?

2011-10-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking today about that mom who I had the pool incident with. I thought those of you who weren't here and didn't get to hear about what happened. I can't let my bloggy friends stay out of the loop forever. If you missed the pool incident, here is the link. Remember to come back. "What the 'Fat Lady' Has to Say About Parenting"

It is no secret that I blog. A lot of the people I know are aware that I blog and have the address so they can read it if they so desire. In fact, I did have someone burst out one day with "I am NOT born organized!" (She totally is, btw, born organized people always say that.)

I am fairly sure that what I wrote got straight back to that mom. I was fairly sure when I wrote it that it would be brought to her attention eventually. I have not seen her since then and I probably won't again as she and I are no longer in any of the same mom's groups. And that is totally okay. Especially because it was a rinse and repeat of her pool behavior that partially led to that happening.

I will say that I found out later that she had a playdate at her house where she randomly burst out with "I HATE fat People!" My first thought? Erin was right! Her son was pointing at me because it was something a parent said. That allowed me to have distance from it.

But I am ready to react to what she meant by that statement.

I have been working hard on my fitness level. I have become to expect a certain level of respect from other people when it comes to what I am eating and what I am doing with my body. And if they don't give me that level of respect? Screw them. I work hard.

Sometimes I fail at my ambitions and end of with a one pound bag of M&Ms. But I no longer wallow in guilt over that or my other failings. I'm not perfect and I never will be. I just keep working on it. I try to sandwich M&M, uh, meals, with healthy meals. I am doing okay. Especially considering that my fitness goals must also balance with my work and deployment goals.

So I really wanted to share with ya'll what had happened with that.

Help pulling

2011-10-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

Just feeling like my husband is extremely far away today.

C C C C Changes

2011-10-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

I feel like blogs have changed dramatically since I started blogging. When I began, most of the blogs I read were personal, people sharing stories about themselves and their life journeys. And now, most of the blogs I read are how tos, or about products, or cooking... more like magazines, really.

I saw a sign today that said "For Sale: business & blog."

That about says it all, really.

I miss a lot of my blog friends, although many I can still catch up with on facebook because we're there. What is nice about military friend blogs is that I might meet them at some point in our travels. I've actually met quite a few, which has been nice. I have made some lasting friendships that I hope continue for a long time.

But blogging has changed. Much of it is not personal. And that's okay. But I think a lot of us (eye roll) old schoolers are feeling a little out of place. We talk on our blogs like we've propped out pajama clad legs on the toy strewn coffee table for just a minute while we savor speaking like a grown up. And a lot of what we read now sounds like people at desks who are wearing shoes.

Anyway, just an observation. I plan to continue to pajama blog, but I haven't been the most reliable. Just wanted to share what was on my mind.

Hiya

2011-10-13T07:58:00.000-07:00

Oh, hey. Come on over. We're just hanging out. Not much going on around here. We put up our Halloween decorations. I still need to add pumpkins.

I think I have re-arranged our living room furniture at least once every month we've lived here. Also, we are very into puzzled right now. If you're coming over, prepare to do puzzles.

Oh, hey Cosette. She's hanging out with Isaac's first build a bear, which we got several weeks ago. He picked out the outfit himself.

It's beyond cute to me that he picked a suit for his tiger. Whose name is 'TIGER' of course.

I finally bought one of those things. Supporting a friend. Got a scent that Paul will love and one that smells like Paul's cologne. Cool stuff.

This color is off, but at least I know now that the yellow I picked for the laundry room is warm. I completed putting the flooring in there too. Just need to get the baseboard back up. I will be hiring a professional for that one. Just working on finding the right one.

It was nice of you to visit. Isaac will be awake in a minute. So unless you want to put together a 'Weigo' puzzle 150 times, I suggest going off somewhere. It was nice of you to stop by!

Wordless Wednesday:jumping on the bed

2011-10-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

DDL

2011-10-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

Currently, on Days of our Deployment Lives...

Paul sprained his ankle over in the sandbox, meanwhile Allison is over packing her calendar and staying enormously busy. Ignoring her check engine light for a week led to a car breakdown halfway to a book show.

Allison sees someone she knows while in the parking lot waiting on the tow truck. With the car hood open, she waves at them and they turn their head away.... to be continued....

After getting a jump, Allison drops her car off at the mechanic's, only to realise seconds after dropping the car keys into the overnight box that she forgot to get the house keys out of the car.

After walking with toddler the 0.4 mile home, Allison calls pop a lock and gets them to open her doors.

Pop a lock finds her house nearly impenetrable, but after an hour of work, finally manage to get a door open.

...least I got my money's worth.

Fall House Cleaning Part 1

2011-09-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy. You know how I mentioned I'm selling children's books? I've made it into the top 50 for sales in the company. Yes, I am number 50 and, yes, I won't be up there by the end of the month. But I am super proud that I made it at all! It's because the books are so fabulous.

I have been so busy. Obviously with the books and also doing things around the house and going out with friends. Started working out again and my abs hurt! It's a good thing.

I am nearly done organizing Isaac's room. It's been my project of the month. No lie. His room was messy and had toys everywhere (as did the living room) and there was no, and I mean NO floor space. It needed to be touched. I began by checking pinterest for toddler rooms and I didn't see anything I really liked. Isn't that hard to believe? But true!

I wanted his room to be open and bright and cheerful and to have the maximum possible floor space for playing.

So I spent some time thinking about what needed to be in his room and what didn't. He has moved on to his big boy bed, and we read stories there instead of in his chair. So out went the crib and chair. In went most of the living room toys. I cannot describe what a relief that was. There are, of course, still toys in the living room. But they are better controlled now. Before, he would dump everything out and not really play with anything. Probably because it was an overwhelming about of stuff in there!

I began with storage. I purchased a second storage bookcase for toys first. But it was still messy. I then went through and donated a good bit of toys to both Goodwill and friends. And then I donated some more. Repeat with clothes. And bought a larger dresser.

It took most of a day to put together by myself, but it's beautiful and works. And it has two empty drawers! We're ready for winter. In Texas winter, you still need your shorts and t shirts but also must have light long sleeved shirts, heavy long sleeved shirts, jackets, pants, socks, and hats/mittens. And now he has space for all that in his dresser. His closet got completely emptied out and all his toys, except for stuffed animals and books, went in there along with his two shelving units.

His bed got moved against a different wall. Not pictured is the nightstand I put beside his bed to hold his current bedtime books (we read 5), his bedtime snack, and the lamp that I've promised he gets to pick out after sleeping 3 nights in his big boy bed. Also not pictured is the large bin of stuffed animals at the foot of his bed. It is overflowing and will be sorted probably tomorrow.

I need to create a solution for his books as well, since most of them will not fit on the storage unit in the closet. Under his bed live puzzles and trains - his two favorite things to play with. He hasn't played with them in awhile because he simply didn't have the space.

I need to sort one stack that is on top of his dresser, too, but that will only take a couple of minutes. Of course, his room will get messy. Probably very messy. But there is a ton of space to play in there now and I look forward to hours of train tracks and knocking over blocks. And using his imagination. Because he's just started doing that, and it's awesome.

Except for putting a pretend dinosaur to sleep. It might be harder to get a pretend dinosaur to sleep in a big boy bed than it is to get a toddler boy to do so.

Zoo Time

2011-09-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

Isaac's age right now (two years old and 3 months) is awesome. Not the temper tantrums, everything has to be my way or I'll scream my head off, I'm going to stare right at you while doing something I know I should not part. But the talking part.

"Isaac, do you want to go to the zoo today?"

"You go to zoo!" (he says 'you' when me means 'I.' All attempts to correct have been blown off with a very what-do-you-know attitude) "You see lots of animals. You see Ze ba an Arffe."

Awesome. So today we went with a friend and her daughter to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. Which is a very nice zoo.

We saw lions and tigers and bears, of course!

Also saw cool stuff like a half buried statue face.

This guy was really cool. He was doing Tai Chi... moving very slowly up and out with his arms.

Stone horses that are meant for kids. I LOVE when zoos and museums make things that are fun for kids mixed with things that are fun for adults.

Walking chimes. Except Isaac wasn't quite heavy enough to walk and make a sound. He had to leap up and stomp hard to make a sound. I got this photo just before his feet left the ground.

When Isaac was a baby I took a picture just like this with this statue. I must look for it to compare. I know the big difference is the first time Isaac was terrified, and this time he humored me by going to sit on it's lap just by request.

Isaac grabbed the camera and took this photo. I LOVE it. And it's in focus! He's going to be a great photographer yet! I am going to frame this. Really. I love those little shoes.

This is giraffe excitement. Giraffes are always popular.

Unfortunately, due to someone waking at 5 am (after fighting bedtime until 11, I might add) he passed out in the stroller halfway through the park. After lunch at the zoo we headed home. But it was a fun trip. I believe that friend, Cristy, and I will be purchasing passes for the zoo and attempting to go at least once a month when the weather is reasonable.

Random Facts

2011-09-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

My house is cleaner right now than it has been in weeks.

We have finally, finally, finally weaned. Whew.

I bought a counter depth fridge and it's being delivered on Saturday.

Number three reason I love my Usborne business is I don't have to wear makeup to sell books.

We have finally been dropped from phase 3 drought to phase 2.

My hands smell like Indian food.

I just laid all new flooring in my laundry room.

All I had for breakfast was chocolate chip cookies.

... your turn.

Update

2011-09-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy, crazy week. I have been so busy. I had been waiting for the 'right' time to announce what all I've been up to but I've been so busy doing and talking and working that I haven't had a moment to spare for announcing.

But I woke this morning without a voice and feeling exhausted so today I haven't been working or talking... although I did paint the laundry room. Who does that? 'Man, I feel really tired from all this running around and doing things. I really need a break. I know! I'll paint the laundry room!'

Anyway, here are my announcements:

1. I have started my own business. I am selling Usborne books. Usborne is a publisher that sells childrens' books through homeshows, bookfairs, and direct sales. They have 1400 titles. So far I have loved every book I've seen. I have done 3 home shows and I have seven more lined up this month. SEVEN. I feel so fortunate to get to share this with so many people. And to help groups with fundraisers. It's awesome. Please check out my website at www.myubam.com/N3631.

2. I have set deployment goals.
    a. eat healthy and work out on a regular basis.
    b. complete house renovations.
    c. keep busy.

I am doing well so far. For house renovations, I have been mad busy. I laid new floor in the laundry room, did nearly all the painting and I have a date with a circular saw on Saturday to cut new baseboard. I will share pictures when completed. Also still working on the bathroom. It looks FAR better but I still have some things to do... like replace the carpet with something else. It's amazingly hard to find someone willing to tile an 23 foot area.

Today I am 28

2011-08-28T05:16:00.000-07:00

And since it's my birthday, it's time to revisit... my 30 by 30 list. Da DA DAAAA!!!!

Here is the original post.

I haven't worked much on this the last couple of months. But I still have crossed off a few.

THE LIST

1. have another baby

~~2. Run a 5k~~

3. Visit Disneyland

~~4. Meet at least one more blogger friend in person. (I've met Crazy Schenanigans, Loquita, and ABW so far. Who wants to be next?)~~

~~5. Try out for 'Wipeout'~~- after some more through research I choose to strike this off the list. With young kids, I can't go to a strange place and spend several days without them trying to get on a tv show just to make a fool of myself. Baby sitters are expensive.

6. Learn how to swim

7. Spend an entire day getting pampered at a spa.

8. Visit a beach in summer (I've been to the beach a handful of times in cold, rainy weather. I hear it's nicer in summer.)

9. Visit the Grand Canyon

10. be an audience member on a television show (preferably not Jerry Springer)

11. go back to school/get a degree

12. become a regular volunteer

13. be debt free at 30 (not including a mortgage, if homeowners)

14. See the Kentucky Derby in person.

15. Host/Go to a masquerade party

16. Have SHORT hair.

17. Read the Bible (this one)

18. Read the Qur'an

19. Read the Art of Happiness

~~20. Find a successful homemade bread recipe~~

21. Watch AFI's top 10 movies -working on it. I think I have four to go.

~~22. Raise money for a charity~~

23. Make a salad entirely from food I've grown myself

24. Go to a wine and chocolate tasting event

25. Have 3 months of living expenses in savings

26. Go hiking for a whole day with a lunch

27. Do some Geocashing

28. visit Disney world

29. Try CrossFit

30. Teach my kids how to BE (healthy, pick up rooms, etc. Clearly this won't stop by the time I'm 30.. it will continue forever. But I know I want to do this.) - working on it! :)

So there is a well overdue update. Now I am going to go enjoy my birthday. I'm off to get doughnuts with Isaac, followed by watching my favorite movie and at some point frying an egg on the sidewalk.

Craigslist Drama

2011-08-24T21:19:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I bought a new washer and dryer.

When we moved into our house, we really liked that there was an actual laundry room instead of having the washer and dryer in the garage. The laundry room is right off the garage. Since it has a automatic garage door opener we use it all. the. time. And the laundry room is 5 by 5. Including two doors, one from garage to laundry room, and one from laundry room to kitchen. They even overlap by about an inch. No lie.

So to say space is tight there would be an understatement. Before Paul deployed we agreed ~~we'd~~ I'd research and when the time was right, I would buy a stackabe washer and dryer set and replace the old ones that came with our house.

That day came Saturday. It wasn't that the sale was that great so much as the fact that I got sick and tired of trying to come in that door with two handfuls of groceries and a tired toddler on one hip and having to step back into the hot garage to open the dang kitchen door! I want to remodel!

I set delivery for Sept. 6th, giving me a good bit of time to paint (it looks rough in there, ya'll. I didn't even put a picture up when I did the housewarming.), refloor (let's not talk about it except to say I just pulled up half the peel n stick tiles in a commerical break) and replace that kitchen door with a bifold. Yep. And I planned to do all that with the cash from selling the old set.

So happy me listed them on craigslist. I've sold appliances before and I have to say that a washer and dryer is kinda like craigslist gold. People don't even really try to negotiate. They need it. They hate the laundry mat. They don't want to pay full price. So after accessing my set (they're old, they're a little banged up) I listed them for $300.

I had a phone call in an hour. I was so excited. I thought I'd be getting them sold that same day!! I rushed to do one last load of laundry before that couple came to look at it.

And then they pulled up in a coupe.

I guess I was appliance spoiled before. This is the fourth set / single washer or dryer I'd sold. And what happened before is:

person would call.
Person would come with a truck ready to haul away.
person would look at appliance and hagle half heartedly on price.
person would have my help to load up appliance and I would do a happy dance with my cash.

This time I got people who showed in a coupe (mother and college bound son) who then told me they didn't have the husband's 'permission' yet to buy a set. Wasting my time.

People who called and swore up and down they'd be by no later than 6:30. Didn't show. Wasting my time.

People who text me at 10 pm asking if I'd take half price on it. Less than 12 hours after listing it. Wasting my time.

And, of course, the email spammers who want to mail me a check to deposit in my bank because I'm that stupid? WASTING MY TIME!

As well as the text 'is ur wrshr stll 4 sell?'
Me: 'Yes it is.'
Them: 'K. I let u no if i wnt it.'

BUY A VOWEL! (that text happened with four different people.)

So you can imagine my happiness when today someone called at 8:07 am and was polite. He came to look at the set at 9:30 am and told me he needed the set because he'd just gotten a divorce. I congratulated him and he paid full price, no haggling at all, for the set. I offered to help him load them in his truck. He declined. By himself, he got the dryer loaded. He got the washer half out of the laundry room and had troubles. I tried to pick up the cords so he could make it and he told me he could do it himself.

He tried to lift the washer into his truck by himself and, again, I offered help. He declined.

He then dropped the washer and nearly gave me a heart attack because he almost went down with it. I offered to help again. He declined sharply.

I began to get an idea of what might have happened to his marriage.

At last, he got it in his truck and went on his merry way and I did too.

But, y'all, I have never had this kind of experience with craigslist. All I'm saying is that this next set better last a long time.

Ta da!

2011-08-21T05:41:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of house projects' One that finally got finished last night was moving most of Isaac's toys into his room. Basically, our living room was looking more like a playroom than anything else, it was frustrating and not much fun. So after some toy purging (there is much more of that to come) I moved his toys to the wall that used to house his crib.

Note the crib side repurposed as book storage.

Here we have the coloring station / bedtime snack station.

Books! The most popular are on the wall and in a low bin so Isaac can access them.

This was inspired by one I saw on pinterest. I love how it turned out.

So there ya go. Most toys are now in Isaac's room. Horray!

Collision

2011-08-19T19:12:00.000-07:00

Isaac isn't a big hugger. He's too action orientated. So to get hugs, I devised a plan. And like many of the best laid plans, this one backfired a little.

I taught him to 'tackle hug.' He comes running at me, full force, and WHAM I get a forceful hug. It's fun, it's silly. It works.

Except I'll get random forceful hugs sometimes that knock my glasses off (literally). Check it out.

Commercialized

2011-08-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

I WAS going to talk about a specific product today until I looked at my google reader and had to scroll back nearly 23 hours before I found a post where someone else wasn't taking about a product. Hmm. Maybe we're all getting too product-centric.

I will try to talk about the same thing without talking about the product. We'll see how that works.

I met a new friend through one of my meetups a couple months ago. One day recently, we were car pooling to a museum and talking about the number three most popular toddler mom topic - how disgusting our carpet looks now that we have toddlers.

And we were saying the same things, of course, 'Oh, my carpet is SO gross, I go through a bottle of that cleaner stuff every week." "Oh, I know. I am so glad my carpet isn't beige. Ack!' And so on.

And we chatted a bit about how messy our cars get. And she was using the same terms. And we were in her car so I looked more closely and I knew.

I knew she was one of THOSE people.

Born organized. Always has a clean house, a clean car, and the stuff in her fridge to make a meal for 10 with two hours notice.

And there is something I have been meaning to ask a born organized person if I can get them to answer.

See, a lot of them will not admit to being so structured. Or they are unaware of their knowledge of all things house because it's been ingrained into their brains.

We were in a moving car. We had about 20 minutes to go before the trip was over. The toddlers were enraptured by the in-cabin movie.

"How do you get your tub clean?" I asked her.

At first, she laughed it off. She told me she washed it. I said, "No. Really. How do you get your tub cleaned, because this is what I do, and my tub never looks clean." And I told her, in obnoxious detail, how I clean my bathtub.

So she told me what she used to clean her bathtub. And I used it today.

And in 5 minutes, my bathtub was nearly as clean as when we moved in.

Next car trip I'm going to find out why there are no spots on the ceiling fabric in her car.

As a side note, I have since been to her house and I was totally right and her house is immaculate.

Pajama Day

2011-08-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

We've been out and about every day. Today we stayed inside and loafed. We wore pajamas nearly all day. I put real pants on when we went through Chik Fil A drive thru for dinner.

I declared the last week Allison is not cooking week. And it went really well for me.

Isaac has been stacking things up, and I've been getting stacks taken down. It works!

Tomorrow is his day at the children's day out program. And I am going to have a serene grocery store trip. Yep. Lots of excitement going on over here.

Totally his father's son

2011-08-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

Isaac is so like Paul sometimes it's unbelievable. He's got the same expressions, he's just as cute, and totally has his same physique.

This is a message, word for word, that I sent Paul tonight:

Totally and utterly your son.

I got Isaac to bed about 8:20 and went to our bedroom. After about 20 minutes I heard some rustling and the sound of the TV cabinet being opened. I go to the living room to see he has carried several of his books from his bedroom to the living room, and, with an Elmo DVD in one hand, trying to work the DVD player with the other.

Frankly, I was laughing so hard it was tough being stern. I had no idea that he would be so very like you in mannerisms. I'm going to post a picture in a few minutes of him after I busted him pulling your Friday night tradition.

Love you very very much. :)

I would like to add that while typing this out, I heard him open his door again and checked to find he'd dragged his train bin halfway down the hall to the living room. How he did that quietly, I don't know.

Screw you, Murphy.

2011-07-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

If you are unfamiliar with Murphy's Law, google it. I'll wait.

Understand? Good. It's well known in the milspouse (military spouse) community that Murphy comes calling as soon as your husband deploys. Which would be why my espresso machine is down and my dryer is attempting to fail, too.

Would I like to be blogging more? Absolutely. However, I am having a difficult time handing my real life responsibilities and the changes in my life right now. So it's going to be playing by ear for awhile around here.

Isaac has recovered from hand, foot, and mouth disease. After giving it to me. And don't tell me it's rare for an adult to get it. It's not THAT rare and I'm sick of being told that. I got it, it sucked, I have great sympathy for toddlers with it. It's like 3 day old fire ant bites on your hands, feet, and in your mouth.

Isaac couldn't eat anything unless it was sweet while he had it. Everything else hurt his mouth. Not kidding. Since he ate hardly anything at all, I was over joyed when he went nuts over the doughnuts we had last Saturday.

The peaches on our tree ripened. We've probably eaten 10 pounds of peaches each, and through facebook, I got a couple of families to come out and pick peaches. I just wasn't feeling up to attempting to do anything with my unexpectedly great peach crop this year. They are, as the picture shows, delicious and tiny and perfect. I am looking forward to being less sick and more caffeinated for peach season next year.

We have started trying the big boy bed again. It is not going well. After a long, horrific battle last night, tonight he is in his crib. That's really the only reason I am able to blog right now. He is wanting to be with me every second of every day, close enough to breathe in what air I breathe out. You can imagine how awesome I think that is. Not. So I have no time to myself. At all. AT ALL. This might be big boy bed failed attempt two. I don't know. We'll try again tomorrow night.

I've finally gotten this canvas art I made from wall stickers up on the wall. It looks awesome. Ignore the spacing. I did this, again, with Isaac literally clutching one leg going 'carry me! carry me!'

Did I mention I stole all these pictures from facebook? I did. I took them with my phone. I am too tired to get up, get the camera, and load those photos on the computer. But I have nifty editing software on my phone. That's got to count for something.

While Isaac was sick, I caved and got him a lot of playdough type toys. Yes, my carpet is now multi colored instead of beige. But it was a huge help when he was feeling bad and he loves making shapes with his playdough.

He loves cleaning the toilet. Yet hates getting his face wiped clean. A conundrum.

I have no idea why he's gotten attached to a bookend. But he really likes that 'A.'

Now that we're starting to feel better, I've also been getting back to meeting new members for my meetup group. That had been put way back on a back burner while spending time with Paul, pre-deployment. Meanwhile, they've been adding up. I met with three moms today (it should have been 5 but people cancel - its human nature) and I have four more to go.

It is 10 pm. If I stayed online for 30 more minutes I might get to talk to Paul as he went to work. But I am exhausted and must lay down. Everything else on my long to do list for the night will be added to tomorrow's list.

Just... hang around for awhile. I'll get my sense of humor and my balance back. I've just got to get all my balls in the air so I can juggle 'em.

"Isaac hurt"

2011-07-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

Isaac has been sick. And, poor baby, we've done sick before, of course. Colds and ear infections of all levels have been mastered.

The doctor is unsure if he has hand, foot and mouth disease or chicken pox. He's leaning to chicken pox. I'm leaning towards hand, foot, and mouth. Either way, I have a VERY unhappy toddler on my hands. He can't go anywhere. Considering he's my action adventure guy, this has been really rough on him. He has an itchy rash on his feet, butt, and some spots on his legs. He has blisters in his mouth.

He told me this morning 'butt hurt.'

I hate that he's learned the meaning of the the word hurt.

Yesterday was my roughest day of parenting. There was crying and screaming. And I wish I could say that it was all him, but I had my fair bit of crying and screaming too. It was so difficult to be in each other's faces all day without rest or break. He wanted to be held, which was great, but specifically he wanted to be held all day, with me walking around the house. He didn't want me to sit down. The second I so much as leaned on the counter (really) he would flip and start screaming.

It's a sick toddler thing, I know, but I really really really miss my laid back baby.

I had my mom come up tonight so that I could take a couple hours away for my sanity. She told me that as she put him to bed tonight he told her 'mouth hurt.'

Poor baby.

It's All Bleh

2011-07-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

I took pictures Monday. But I was SO unmotivated to get it all up in a cohesive post. We spent the morning at the Mayborn Museum with a friend. Had a great time. I actually got to see the grown up side of the museum which was fun. We had lunch in Waco and the kids passed out on the way home. Awesome.

When we got home Isaac and I played outside for awhile. It rained Monday morning, which was amazing, and that meant that instead of being 108 or so at 4 pm it was only 95! So we played outside but after a few minutes I noticed Isaac looked really flushed. Much more than 'it's 95 degrees' flushed. So temperatures were taken - and let me add that taking the temperature of a toddler is NOT the easiest thing in the world - and 102 degrees were revealed.

Remember my lil' mama drama about being called fat lady? Yeah, that meetup got moved to someone else's house and we didn't attend, of course. Isaac has been a grumpy, fevered mess all day today. He's the grouch master! There was much spontaneous napping and way more TV watching than normal. He ate very light despite me offering him his favorite foods.

Hopefully he'll feel better tomorrow. Thankfully we have no plans tomorrow and we can just lounge.

What the 'fat lady' has to say about parenting

2011-07-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

Every time I go to the pool it has been a big deal... except once. Three pool with toddler trips. Three different groups of ladies. Three different attitudes. Guess which one I'd go to the pool with again? The one that didn't have an 'incident.' Sometimes I hate people.

To explain, Tuesday I went to the pool with Isaac with one of my meetup groups. I got there, got Isaac into his {super cute fish covered} swim trunks and pulled my shirt off, baring my entirely appropriate and body covering swimsuit.

A mom, who is new to me, was putting sunscreen on her almost 5 year old. Said almost 5 year old began pointing at me and saying 'fat lady! fat lady!'

My first response was to think 'is this really happening?' my second was 'I'll stand here for a moment in case she has him apologise.'

The mom said 'shh' to her son and totally, utterly ignored the situation. I waited a moment to see if she would have any followup... I'm always curious how other people explain things {like it's totally inappropriate to point at people and shout names at them - regardless of if they are true or not} to their kids.

She said nothing. She didn't say a word to me about it or to her child.

I have gained some weight in the last month. I am not as close to breaking 200 pounds as I was a couple months ago. I've gained probably 8 pounds. Since I continue to struggle with my weight, my eating, and my feelings about both - those 8 pounds have affected me more than I should let them.

And, unfortunately, I let the words of a small child affect me as well.

For about 5 minutes. Then I reminded myself that I am adult in charge of my own feelings, shucked my shorts, and wrestled my toddler {who is convinced he can swim like a fish and doesn't need me to hold onto him} into the pool. Where we had a blast. For hours.

Except for said almost 5 year old. Who proceeded to leap from the edge of the pool onto the back of anyone who got close enough to the edge without warning. And grabbing onto smaller kids to help keep himself above water - while sending that kid under the water. Probably a dozen times I corrected something this child did and then looked to the mom. Who was chatting it up with other moms' and not paying much attention to her 3 children in the pool.

I get that watching 3 children at once, in a place where they need constant supervision like a pool, is difficult.

I still think it's wrong to rely on others to care for your kids. Unless you ask them first - like taking a kid to the bathroom and ASKING a mom to watch your children while you do that. But to just ignore what they're doing? Not okay. Not okay at all.

I have decided to be more selective about who I spend my time with. And any parent who does not correct their children, or at least attempt to, will not be someone I spend time around.

And since that mom is coming to my house next week for another meetup that is already on the calendar, I might have some more interesting stories to tell.

Manic Monday: Busy Bee

2011-07-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

I did a lot of projects Monday. And, um, didn't take many pictures. It was a stay at home and eat peanut butter and jelly type of day!

I painted this frame and created the alpha art for Isaac's room.

And re-arranged the living room furniture. Still don't like it. More work to be done here.

And found a less annoying place for our litter box. It used to live in the middle of the kitchen floor. And, I know, right now you're going 'ick! It's in the pantry!' Because our pantry is so deep it is not very good for pantry useage. We keep mainly cleaners and bulk stuff like paper towels.

And that's why I did Monday! Woo. Check out more Manic Monday's here.

Manic Monday #2

2011-07-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

Here is how it goes:

1. Take pictures of your day. It can be totally random photos or you can use a theme of your own choosing.

2. Please put a link back to this 'Manic Monday' post on your post.

3. Come back and link up with the 'Mr Linky' below so I can check out your day!

(Evil) Genus Baby

2011-07-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

He's too smart for his own good. And I had to share the 'yeah, mama, in yo face!' laugh that he had after removing the 'child' lock.

Ugh.

2011-07-06T06:32:00.000-07:00

I just want one day where we can spend the day outside. Park. Picnic. Soft sunshine. Cool breeze?

Maybe in November.

Mayborn Museum

2011-07-05T19:55:00.001-07:00

A week or two ago we went to the museum in Waco. They were having an Egypt exhibit that was pretty cool. Right at the front they had a hands on exhibit where you pulled a rock and a rock that was set on beams to slide more smoothly. Isaac had to show off a little.

A riding camel! Go, Isaac, Go!

Isaac always is a big fan of driving the cars around. He has so much fun.

Gotta add a little science... we are at a museum, after all!

Trains, always popular.

This is the face you make when you've made a giant bubble and it pops less than a second before the camera goes off. Let this be a lesson. Change batteries before going to places.

The turtle was very popular too. We always love the museum! It's so much fun. We'll be going again in a couple more weeks.

Manic Monday

2011-07-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

Independence Day was a little odd around here. It's so, so dry that no one could have fireworks. Of course, we still made it to the parade. It was so HOT that we ended up leaving the parade early. And the heat fried my brain and I forgot to take photos for the rest of the day. Boo.

This is Isaac's chillin' 'oh, hey, we're going to a parade. That's nice' look. Note, please, that we did dress patriotically. I wore red, Isaac wore white, and Paul wore blue. We coordinated.

Kids are so cute!

This is the point when we started roasting. All of us were sweating.

Finally, Isaac and I hunted down a bit of shade to try to watch the parade. It just wasn't working. It was SO HOT! We left 40 minutes into the parade and went to the mall for lunch.

Check out more Manic Monday's here (ahem... or not. Hopefully next week will have more participants!)

Manic Monday

2011-07-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Manic Monday! Please link below the images of your Monday.

Return of Manic Monday

2011-07-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

Sarah, at an Elephant Mommy's Everyday Adventures, did 'Manic Monday' for about a year. She has taken a hiatus from blogging (I am so thankful for facebook, seriously). A couple weeks ago I asked if I could host Manic Monday. So here is how it goes:

1. Take pictures of your day. It can be totally random photos or you can use a theme of your own choosing.

2. Please put a link back to my 'Manic Monday' post on your post.

3. Come back, I'll have a Mr. Linky up and we can check out each other's day.

I'm always curious what other people do, it was SO fun to have Manic Monday and I look forward to seeing what other people do throughout their day!

Wordless Wednesday: My boys in deployment gear

2011-06-29T05:29:00.000-07:00

Take it in the chin

2011-06-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

In July, Paul is leaving for Afghanistan. He will be gone a year. This week we had our FRG pre-deployment meeting. This weekend we are facing as one of our last weekends together before he goes. Since the FRG meeting it's really become a reality that he is leaving. He is going to do his duty, his job, thousands of miles away from us.

Several times a day we will be together and I will think 'it's a shame Paul is going to miss this while he's gone.' I will look at him, and can see he is having the same thoughts.

It's hard. We are prepared in many ways for this deployment, however.

A friend of mine has given me the book 'Surviving Deployment.' That's great. I'm glad she gave it to me. It has a lot of information. As I've told Paul, and am now telling all of you, I don't play to simply survive.

We are going to do our best to thrive.

Yet Another Video

2011-06-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

I know, I am a little biased... but I think my son is just super cute. This video I'm trying to get him to tell you where we're going but first he's got to cheese at the camera... and then say goodbye to our house (which he calls 'Yeah Yeah') and THEN he says 'BIIIIIGGG mall.' He's so cute.

Father's Day

2011-06-22T05:56:00.000-07:00

Isaac received an outdoor picnic table/ water table for his birthday from his Texas Grandma. He and Isaac put it together on Father's Day.

Yes, my child has a yogurt mustache. He later followed it with a chocolate milk overlapping goatee. I do feed my child nutritious food, I promise.

Paul is really big on reading the directions. He does a step, consults the directions, does a step, consults... etc. I am much more of a put it together and consult the directions only if I really really mess up. It's important to him to teach Isaac how to read directions. Here they are... I had to snap a picture.

Time to enjoy the fruits of their labors!

He loves his new water table.

Summer Solistice

2011-06-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

Ode to summer...

This has been a hot year so far. Although, today - thanks to cloud cover - it only got to about 98 degrees instead of the 105 it's been hovering at. And I am going by what the thermostat on my back patio says.

I still love summer, though! Things growing, stuff to do. Flip flop tan lines...

And summer has just begun.

Moustache attached to balloon

2011-06-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

Or, what my husband and son do while I'm making dinner. I LOVE this video! Especially the last few seconds. Weeeeeeeee!

Update: Garden and otherwise

2011-06-15T20:29:00.000-07:00

We made it home! We had quite an adventure after we GOT home... I'll tell ya'll about it later... when it is more funny then sucky.

Of all the things I didn't expect to miss while I was gone, I had the thought many times on the drive home that I couldn't wait to see my garden.

Made me think about gardening more than I have. About what it means to me. About what my yard means to me.

I don't know how normal it is to be driving home, awake at 5 am, and thinking 'I miss my garden. I wonder how big the pears are. I wonder how my tomato plants are doing. Did my friend house sitting get to try some tomatoes? Did all my grass die?'

Really, I spent more time thinking about my green bean plants then the cats. Who were fine, by the way, just as big of punks as they were when we left.

Gardenwise, I came home to this:

Half a dozen ready to go onions! To give you an idea of the size, that white one in the front was the size of a golf ball.

I say was because I added them to dinner tonight!

Have you tried organic chilled chicken? It sounds crazy, but it tastes more like chicken... like condensed chicken, if that makes sense. Onions from the garden? Same thing. They're intense. And very easy to grow. I will plant many more next year.

Punks

2011-06-11T20:48:00.000-07:00

Blogger appears to be having an issue with letting people comment. I haven't been able to leave comments on mulitiple blogs. So these are your comments. Please pick yours out of the line up:

You are AMAZING!

It seems like just yesterday she had a birthday and how she's a year older! Anytime you want to come to Texas and help me throw a birthday party, you're welcome to. That birthday looks super fun.

You don't look pregnant at all! Damn you for being skinny.

I am keeping your family in my thoughts and hope for the best. Hospitals suck.

I'm sorry I can't comment. I promise I am still reading and still trying to comment.

My baby is TWO

2011-06-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

Isaac's birthday in pictures! More details to follow. Happy Birthday Baby!

Birmingham Zoo

2011-06-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Birmingham Zoo. Hot? Yes. Had a great time? Yes. Got a sunburn? Nope. Tan though! Paul and I took eight billion pics. More than I can share in one blog post. So these are the highlights. I need to drink some iced coffee.

They have a part of the zoo just for kids. It included a splash pad, an eating area, and a large petting zoo. Isaac said 'goat' for the first time.

I had to post this sweet face. Isaac looking up at his daddy. I need to do some photo editting but still a sweet face.

Elephants!

Giraffe is a word he just started saying this week. It sounds like 'Arafes' but thankfully I know what he means. We were going toward the savannah section and he was going 'arafes' 'arafes'

He walked nearly all of the zoo but had to be carried past the play area when we wanted to bipass it. Don't worry, we went and played there too.

Antelope!

This is the play area. They also had a play climbing thing made to look like a giant termite anthill. He tried out every drum.

Isaac felt that the train ride was definately the best part. It was a lot of fun to tour the zoo... even if it was only 10 minutes long.

'Choo choo ride'

And he totally passed out before we made it to the gift shop on our way out. Lots of fun!

Aldrirdge Gardens

2011-06-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Aldridge Gardens here in Birmingham. They were having a local artist show so we got to look at a bunch of artists' booths and then walk the grounds and admire some local plant life.

We didn't get to see all the gardens - which isn't really a surprise. Upper 90s with humidity and a HUGE garden are tough to pack into one morning. We spent a lot of time looking at the local artists' booths and so less time walking.

There is a walking trail all around this pond. Isaac walked about a half mile with us around the pond. He even got a new word. 'Path.'

I really liked this statue. It's rather cute.

This is a bench set next to the pond. It had highly detailed work like this all over.

Hey! A turtle! We also saw ducks, geese, fish, and dragonflies.

Isaac has taken quite well to his Grandma. We hadn't seen her and Isaac's 'PaPa' since last February. It's nice that they get along so well.

Three generations. Paul, Isaac, and Paul's mom Ruth.

Carnivorous plants! Cool.

A lovely little waterfall right next to the plants that eat bugs.

There you have it! Most of what we saw today of Aldridge gardens. We had a great time and it was a good combination of toddler entertainment and adult entertainment - which is NOT that easy to achieve.

Cameron Park Zoo

2011-06-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

We're on vacation! We are currently visiting family in Alabama. And while I work on getting yet more photos to share with you, here are our images of a recent trip to the local zoo. We brought Isaac's friend with us too. I will say that two toddlers in a major outing means needing - NEEDING - two parents.

They are so cute together.

Cameron Park Zoo has a great kids play area in the center of the zoo. It's great for them to run and play and have a great time between looking at the animals.

A tree house!

This is a little cave where the kids can crawl in to get a very good look at the alligators.

Yes, I had to go flying down that slide seconds after taking this photo to run after that speeding toddler. They're fast!

I will continue to blog while on vacation. Expect a ton of photos of Alabama.

Wordless Wednesday : Self Portait

2011-06-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when a toddler gets ahold of the camera:

Something Extra Special

2011-05-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

Today we bought this crazy sprinkler toy from Target. I can't find a picture of it, but it's a long tube with many little tubes coming off. And when you turn on the water, the little tubes spray around like crazy and shoot water everywhere.

I got it with the intention of resolving a lot of issues in one.

1. Our backyard is mainly dirt. Hardly any grass. I can't change the neighbor's tree that shadows our whole yard (although I enjoy the backyard being 5 degrees cooler than anyone elses') but I can water it and hope for the best. And get grass seed. It's on my list.

2. Isaac is a little bit afraid of spraying water. Since splash pads are major toddler rendezvous in Texas, we need to be able to go and have fun.

3. Cheap easy at home toddler entertainment.

We pulled it in and turned the water on first thing when we got home. By the way, our thermostat in the backyard, in the shade, read 98 degrees when we did that.

Isaac, his grandma, and I played out there for a good 30 minutes. That sprinkler is a lot of fun!

And when we came inside he ran to Paul and started telling him about it. He pointed his fingers in the air and made them go in loops while saying 'Vine Woot Woop.' (Vine is how he says water.) He repeated that and showed Paul how the water flew in the air with his fingers for quite some time. He was so excited.

And that is the first time Isaac has told us a story of something that happened.

I just wanted to remember it.

Forever.

Key! Key!

2011-05-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

The mailman dropped off two big boxes for Isaac's Birthday from his Grandpa and Florida Grandma. As soon as they were inside he started going 'a key! a key!'

Yeah, we use keys to open packages in our house.

Someone has a birthday coming up!

Something Amazing

2011-05-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

Twice this year I have driven Paul's truck. Twice.

And twice this year I have gotten pulled over.

Both times when in Paul's truck.

That thing is a police magnet!

Amazingly enough, this time I didn't get a ticket. I got a verbal warning to go the speed limit.

I mean, granted I was only going 31 in a 25 zone.

But considering I couldn't find my insurance or my driver's license, that's pretty amazing.

The power of a military spouse ID perhaps?? I don't know.

All I know is I am feeling very lucky today.

'Honey Do'

2011-05-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

When you own your own home there are lots of things you end up doing to your house. It's an investment. It's something you love. You want to take care of it.

Unfortunately, weeding is one of those. Not even lawn care people like to weed and they get paid to do it.

So one day while I was working on room organization for Isaac's room, Paul volunteered to go out and pull some weeds. Isaac wanted to help, of course.

There isn't much sexier than a man pulling weeds.

Except possibly a man pulling weeds and keeping an eye on his toddler at the same time. MMhmm.

I may have to find some more 'honey dos' for them to do together.

Toddler Decor

2011-05-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

Isaac is getting older every day. He talks a great deal. He just isn't a baby. He's a toddler! And his nursery decor just wasn't working for him anymore. And so I've been working on redecorating his room.

On a tiny budget.

A couple months ago, I saw these wall stickers on deep clearence and snatched them up. Isaac loves trains, planes, and automobiles. And the stickers are super cute.

I decided instead of putting them on the wall, I would put them on canvases instead. That way, I don't have to worry about fighting with the wall texture, or damaging paint when I take them off, or not getting to reuse them after I repaint in his room.

This weekend, the first set went up.

I love how it looks! I still have a lot more work to do in his room, but this is a great begining. And all for a total cost of $12.23.

The Best Part

2011-05-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for your kind words (both of the comment and email variety). It means a lot to me that ya'll understand and can relate and are supportive. And you are right. I am a different person than I was before. I have many more personal connections than I did before. I have Isaac, which is a huge difference and a huge aid in all this.

Oh, yeah, and I have all of YOU too.

So thank you, really. Thank you.

Let's get on to our regularly scheduled Isaac Fan Club meeting, shall we?

Every Tuesday a pizza place here has 3.99 pizza. So nearly every Tuesday is pizza night. We didn't eat much of the pizza last night and so had leftovers. For snack time I pulled a tiny slice out for Isaac and left the box on the counter while doing a few other things. Isaac pulled the box down and took it to the living room. He opened the box and proceeded to eat the tip of every single slice (four) left in the box.

Did I stop him? Nope. Did I say anything at all? Nu uh.

Did I laugh, take the box after he was done eating the tips and put in back the the fridge? Yep!

Now before you think I've lost my mind (more) or that I am teaching my child terrible habits, let me explain.

Over the weekend we had pizza at the pizza place in the mall. For the first time ever, we got Isaac his own slice of pizza. The Italian couple there call Isaac 'big blue eyes' by the way. And they cut his slice into three smaller slices.

Isaac ate one entire slice, the tip of a second slice, and was sweetly drinking his drink when Paul reached over and picked up Isaac's last slice. As he brought it towards his mouth I said 'the tip is Isaac's favorite part.' With that Paul took a huge bite completely consuming the extra cheesy gooey part of the pizza and put it back on Isaac's plate.

'It's mine, too.' He said.

No regrets. No worries that he just ate the BEST part of the LAST piece of Isaac's pizza.

So back to the whole 'Isaac ate the tips of all the leftover pieces of pizza thing?'

It's totally justified. I kinda can't wait until Paul finds out.

I am afraid

2011-05-16T22:25:00.000-07:00

that he won't come back.
that he won't be the same person when he does come back.
that I won't be a good mom while he's gone because my patience will erode away.

that I'll be too needy and lose friendships (like happened when he went to basic.)
that I'll gain back all the weight I've lost and then some (like happened when he went to basic.)
that I'll only freak out and start crying and admit that I'm afraid and upset and a mess after attempting to eat away my feelings (seriously, I could have been this messed up at 10:30 without cookie dough instead of midnight with a stomach full.)
that I'll be alone.

I'm just... afraid. And I don't know how to deal with it.

I asked him if he was afraid to go. And he said that he was fulfilling his contract. Which answers the question, really. And that it was important for him to go if for no other reason than it meant some other soldier got to come back to his family. That's important to me too. I just wish I could deal better with the whole situation.

Xtreme Toddlerness

2011-05-13T20:47:00.000-07:00

We've got some serious toddlerness... 'the terrible twos' happening lately. Not that they're terrible. Except possibly terribly cute. Some days are more challenging then others. And nearly everything is a negotiation.

Example One:

These overalls have Elmo on the front. Isaac has Elmo fever. I THOUGHT he had Elmo fever a few weeks ago. I was wrong. Very very very wrong. Right now, Isaac's Elmo Easter basket is in the car - because it MUST go everywhere we go. His Elmo stuffed animal is in his bed - because it MUST go everywhere in the house he goes. And those overalls? He wore them for nearly 4 days until I took advantage of a diaper change distraction to go 'Look, Elmo's on TV!' and stuffed them under a couch cushion while he was looking away.

Not my best moment, but, seriously, they were disgusting. They're in the dryer now. He will get them back tomorrow. And one day of NOT wearing red is good for him.

Example Two:

Isaac has learned how to scream. That piercing, long scream that toddlers manage to do so well. He showed it off to some Target people today.

I like to think of that scream as the joy of whatever he is doing bubbling to the top. And all that joy has to come out. And so it comes out like 'AHHHHHHHHHEHEHHHHHHKKKKKKKKKK!'

Yep. Good times with the toddler.

Crafty

2011-05-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

Blogger lost my post, which is unfortunate, and I am too tired to remember and type everything that I'd said, which is more unfortunate. I will make this short and sweet.

Making coloring sheets of your child is cool. Here are directions on how to do it. For free.

Trust me, this was extremely popular with the toddler set. Not to mention we got to work on vocabulary. "Do you want to paint your hands red or green?"

Quick update

2011-05-11T06:03:00.000-07:00

Isaac will be up any second. Super fast update time.

This week has been busy but unusual. I'm taking some time off my exercise class and getting tons done at home.
Yesterday we went to Ikea and had a great time. I got to see a friend I hardly ever see because of the draw of Swedish meatballs. I got a ton of inspiration and some containers for recycling.
Isaac is SUCH a toddler these days. He says 'no' to almost everything and has lots of opinions. Everyday he says new words. He now says 'going.'
Today we'll be going to St*rbucks for half price drinks and to the park. I love that we've had cooler weather this week.
We upgraded our phones and I now have a smart phone. It's amazing. Did you know you can find coupons online and just scan your phone at the store?? This is astonishing to me.

Toddler is up! Have a great day.

Kitchen Re-Organize

2011-05-07T22:04:00.000-07:00

Today Paul and I had a conversation in the car about my cooking.

Specifically, that I haven't been doing much.

He was super nice about it (because he's a super nice guy) and basically said he missed eating my wonderful cooking and knowing he would be coming home to something awesome.

And he's right. I haven't been cooking like I used to for about two months.

Since we moved.

So I thought about why I cooked at our old place and not our new place. And I came up with two reasons.

1. I couldn't find anything in the pantry because it is narrow and deep.

2. I don't have a good space for food prep. I have a 12 inch deep and 16 inch long space in front of the coffee pot. I measured. That just isn't enough space.

And since I haven't been cooking, stuff has been piling up all over the kitchen. It sucks, plain and simple.

So after Paul went to bed tonight (he's fighting off a cold) and I put the toddler to bed, I spent an hour in the kitchen changing things around.

First, I decided to use cabinets for pantry items and just use the first few inches of each shelf in the pantry.

Second, I moved the coffee pot to make myself more room. It seems obvious but sometimes when it's your own home it isn't as apparent as it should be.

I moved the plastic ware elsewhere and realised I have a TON of cabinet space. I decided to investigate further.

WHHHHAAAAT!?! Look at how much unused space I have! My kitchen is WAY bigger than I thought... because I'm not using the space! Silliness!!

The area above the fridge will remain empty. Do you want to know why?

The fridge sticks out so far from front to back that I can't reach more than the doors to the cabinets - even with the three foot ladder.

I just priced narrow fridges, by the way. It is another item to add to my to do list.

Check this out. This is more silliness. Paul got me a food processor for Mother's Day. It's exactly the one I've been wanting for over a year. I'm SO happy he got it. And because I had no counter space to put it, it got put in the 'items that need to be taken care of immediately' place.... the invisible kitchen island.

I'm kinda upset with myself right now. For not cooking for my family. For not taking time to organize so it would be easier. For the invisible island. For not realising I had a brand new bottle of tamari soy sauce in my pantry. I could have been using ALL of it! Ugh. Oh well. Problem (hopefully) corrected.

Everything is one deep. Although there will be step ladder usage to get some things, it's better than not using the items at all.

Pantry after. I devoted a whole shelf for Paul's lunch items. And now I know I need to buy more lunch items because he's nearly out. There was no way for me to tell before. The pantry was so awful I didn't take a before picture. And I've put up pictures of my undies drawer!! (It's my 3rd most popular post, by the way. Weird? Yes.)

Before:

(picture from housewarming post)

After:

Look! My food processor is on the counter! And I have a big ole chunk of counter space!

Let's hope dinner is improved.

Return of the Ball Pit

2011-05-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

Last summer I got Isaac a few hundred plastic balls and put them in a tent in the living room. (Click here for that post.) Chaos and joy reigned. Chaos because the balls went everywhere, all the time, and we constantly picked them up. It got to be too much and we packages the balls up when the weather got better for going outside.

But he loved the ballpit. He would ask at least once a week for them to come back. When he couldn't say 'ball' he would find one random ball someplace and toss it in the corner and look sad.

I knew the ballpit would return.

Look at how happy he is! He loves the ball pit. We put the balls in our pack n play. At last, it's being used again.

Can you spot the toddler in this picture? They're WAY deep in the pack n play.

If you ever wanted to know what things look like from within a ballpit - there is your answer.

And once I figured out what to put beside it so that he could climb in and out at will, we've had smooth pit play! He LOVES his ball pit He gets in there everyday and laughs and laughs. I'm very happy it's returned.

For the grandparents

2011-05-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

Shopping Local

2011-05-05T13:15:00.000-07:00

We have lots of wall space in our new place. We knew we wanted to add some yellow to our living room, and also to get some cool orginal stuff.

And so we've been checking out art by local artists. We got a cool print of a sunflower painting by an artist who lives in Belton, a town less than 15 minutes down the road. And Saturday we went to a home show craft fair where two artist that we know had featured their art along with two we'd never met before.

One artist, Stacie, was giving away a few items that she didn't feel were perfect enough for her etsy store.

Of course I snatched some up!!

And so Monday I did some home decorating.

My goal was this wall. I LOVE this painting. I really wanted to keep it in the room but it seemed the best place for my plan.

I got this frame at Goodwill for $4. When I brought it home, Paul stared at it for about 90 seconds and then said 'we got this for the frame, right?' He was so relieved when I told him that, yes, I got it for the frame.

This is the sunflower painting we bought in Belton. It's very cool.

These are the tiles I got at Stacie's home show. The frames are also from Goodwill and the backing is extra scrapbooking paper.

I started by hanging the sunflower picture on the planned all.

Uhh.

Erm.

Hmm.

It's a little small.

Oh well! I hung the nekkid nymphs back on the wall and looked for another place for my local art.

I decided to split them, with the tiles on this wall. I added another painting by a local artist. A very local artist. Isaac!

Close up of one of the tiles. She makes coasters out of these, and magnets. They're very nice. She only using absorbant tile, so that they absorb moisture from glasses. Very important when you live in Texas. It get so hot, here, sometimes your coffee sweats!

I hung the sunflower by our front door. It may need some more work in that area. I am going for the 'collected over time' look for my living room, though, so my plan is to... well... collect over time!

If you liked my coaster tile art, check out Stacie's Etsy page, Shine Your Light.

Mr Potato Head

2011-05-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

Canvas Maps

2011-05-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

I have two maps that I bought on my FIRST trip to the Alamo... So I've had these two maps for over 15 years?!?! And they've NEVER made it on the walls. Never. Ever ever.

Every time we move (eight times) Paul and I have the same conversation.

'These will never go on the walls.'

'But I love these maps.'

'We should throw them out or give them to someone who will use them.'

'But I love these maps.'

'I will give you anything you want because I adore you so you may keep these silly maps.'

Okay, so he didn't say the last thing. But it's something he might say.

If he didn't think I'd repeat it.

Which I would.

So when I ran across this post on putting maps on canvas, I knew what I'd be doing soon.

I had to purchase some canvases and some mod podge..

And I simply glued one of my maps to it.

I really like how it turned out, although next time I'll make sure to cut the map to fit the canvas before gluing it down. That was a little annoying.

Ta da!!! I love my maps even more now that I can actually put them somewhere.

50 cents

2011-05-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

I love yard sales. Saturday morning we checked out one up the street from us. Among our finds, we got an alphabet electronic toy for Isaac. One new set of batteries later we were in business.

Sometimes I am just amazed at how quickly he learns. We're just poking along... do do dodo... and then he's looking at me and saying 'I want seat' and I have to readjust, again, to how amazing a growing toddler is.

Like the picture below. I'm trying to find a different angle to take a picture at and he thinks I'm photographing his feet. So he's going 'feet! feet!' and putting his toes out so I can get the best angle. SO cute. And I didn't know he could say feet before then. Every time I turn around he's learning something new or doing something new.

I love my ~~baby~~ (er) ~~toddler~~ wait... wait.. child!

Old School

2011-05-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

Our good, good friend Cody was home on R&R this week and wanted to do a night on the town, old school style.

We all got babysitters. We all got the night off. We all made it to 6th Street in Austin on a Saturday night.

Mic is Cody's wife. They've got two kids. She's doing Ah-mazing over the deployment! She's so tough.

Cody is the one making the weirdest face in this photo. I met him when we both worked at a bookstore together. Actually, all these people worked at the bookstore. We go way, way back. I've known these people more than a decade!

Amber and Mic. They've known each other nearly two decades. We did a very slow bar crawl. We only made it to three places.

In case you were wondering, I cannot dance. I'm not very good at it. Don't care! We had a great time.

This is the crowd walking around in the street on 6th street. It is the place to go downtown if you want a bar scene.

We did things like this occasionally back in the day when we weren't married and didn't have kids. It was fun to reminisce. And great to see all the old friends we rarely see.

Journey for Toddler Bed

2011-04-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

Sunday Morning, at the not unkind hour of 6:30, our bedroom door opened and in tripped Isaac. Horribly cheerful and -wait a minute- our crib sleeper had jumped ship!!

It's not many days that the first thing out of Paul's mouth is 'Oh, shit!'

After some deliberating, and studying the crib from all angles in puzzlement, we decided that he's simply learned how to leap from his crib. There wasn't any way to keep it from happening aside from getting a crib tent. He'd been indicating he might be ready for a big boy bed for some time, anyway.

And after some Internet shopping, off to Ikea we went.

Our first adventure was getting his carseat into Paul's pickup. We knew we'd need the space for the bed, and it would be nice if we could all go in one vehicle. After about 20 minutes of working on it, and some cursing, we got the carseat tightly placed in the backseat and took off on the 50 minute drive to Ikea.

Despite being several hours before Isaac's normal nap time, he crashed out on the way. It makes me wonder how early he climbed out of his bed. When we looked in his room, a bunch of books were open on the floor but nothing else looked like it had been played with.

It totally proves he is our child that he went through and 'read' all his books when he got up early. Both Paul and I did that a lot as kids... although we tended to stay up late to do so.

He woke up near noon and we went into the store. He was soo tired. Paul carried him in and he just zoned out on Paul's shoulders.

We went straight to the cafeteria and had lunch. They were having an eat free day (we planned our trip that way - frugal for the win!) and we had a great healthy lunch. Isaac enjoyed his first apple that I didn't first slice up into shreds.

I love the chipmunk cheeks. Isaac has this habit of storing food in his cheek for 30-40 minutes at a time. Baby chewing gum?

After eating, we spent a lot of time deciding on what bed to get him. We picked this...

We picked that...

We argued over this...

Actually, we argued a lot over that. We liked that it was adjustable from a small size to a twin bed size. We liked how inexpensive it was. We liked a lot about it except for how girly it looked.

And then we saw this one. The winner. It's adjustable, and inexpensive, and it looks a LOT like our grown up bed. We loved it. Isaac loved it. We bought it, we brought it home and...

We put it together (I still haven't vacuumed up all those little bits of Styrofoam, either) and had a great time playing on it.

Come bed time, it took about 10 trips to his room until eventually he went to sleep.

And slept all night in his new bed.

Unfortunately, the two nights since he has not, and has ended up back in his crib.

We'll keep trying, though.

At least we'll give it a week. I hope he'll sleep in it. If not, at least we have the bed.

But I'd really rather not spend the dough on a crib tent.

Bubbles

2011-04-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

Isaac's new love is bubbles. He LOVES bubbles. He thinks they're amazing. He wants to blow bubbles all the time.

He also thinks that you pour the bubble liquid over the wand to make bubbles, so it's a work in progress.

And we're out of bubble soap (thank goodness).

He also loves to chase them. He wants to catch a bubble. It's so, so special to watch. I LOVE it.

It's hard to photograph, though.

I know this photo is very blurry, but can you see his face? A little bit? He's shrieking in joy. It's so, so wonderful. (And, yes, the backyard always looks like someone randomly flung a ton of toys over everything. That's how we roll.)

He almost caught one!! Go Isaac!

Thankfully, the weather has cooled some and we've been spending more time outside while it's in the 80s. Blowing bubbles and chasing them while barefoot through the yard.

It's times like this when I absolutely love my life.

I'm not ready

2011-04-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

After Isaac casually came into our bedroom one morning - after successfully climbing out of his crib at the first attempt - we went and got him this bed. It expands from a small size to a larger size.

I was near tears the whole time I put this together. I'm not ready for my baby to be so grown up. But he is.

After 100238 attempts to come out of his room last night, he settled in to sleep and stayed there until wake up time this morning, when he came to Paul and my bedroom and cuddled a little bit before we got up for the day.

My baby is growning too fast!

Earth Day

2011-04-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

Toddlers tell it like it is

2011-04-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

Quick story for ya'll.

Yesterday we went to Target and while looking at clothing, there was a lady standing in front of us wearing a very short blue jean skirt.

Very very short.

She had the body for it, so power to her.

Isaac calls everything red 'Elmo' right now. And to encourage potty training (the never ending story) he has several pairs of red underwear that we call his Elmo underwear.

And this poor lady in front of us... not many people would consider what a toddler might see when they're getting dressed in the morning.

Isaac points under her skirt (she was facing away from us) and starts going 'Elmo! Elmo! El-mo-mo!!"

I'll let ya'll finish the encounter. I'm sure you've got it right.

I am not sick

2011-04-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

I am not sick, however, whether it's allergies, or smoke from the forest fires north of us or WHATEVER it is... I have had a raw throat for 4 days now. It's annoying.

Last night it was bothering me so much, I couldn't sleep. So I took a cough drop and BAM fell asleep. Well, okay, not BAM but you know what I mean. It was nearly gone when I fell asleep.

So today was one of those days. Woke up and wanted another hour of sleep, at least. Realized right away that I had a sticky mass of hair on one side of my head where the cough drop fell out of my mouth. Went to the kitchen and saw I'd forgotten to run the dishwasher.

Anyway, my day was totally off and I'm totally grumpy and I've been awesome anyway.

To continue my reign of awesomeness under not awesome daily life, I'm going to bed on. time.

Isaac's First Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

Today we took Isaac out to the Silo Christmas Tree Farm for their 'Spring Fling.' From past experience, we knew if we went Sunday morning it wouldn't be insanely busy and he could take more time enjoying things without lines or too many other kids.

Little did we know that we'd be one of perhaps a 5 families the whole time we were there. It was great!

It took him a little bit to figure out the whole 'hunting for Easter eggs' thing, but once he did, he was unstoppable.

We made a quick stop at Target on the way there to get him an Easter basket. He spotted the Elmo one right away and decided that it was a hat. He wore it right up until we pulled it off his head to put his first egg in. Once he figured out we were trying to find eggs and put them in his basket he ran around going "EE EE!" He really rocked the hunted part.

We then traded our eggs for a prize of crackers, chocolate eggs, and a small toy. Well, there were two small toys but I confiscated the rubber ball because it was just the wrong size that if he'd put it in his mouth, bad things could happen.

After consuming all his chocolate we went to feed the petting zoo animals. We discovered if we stay outside the fence, Isaac has a much better time. He also rode a pony and went through the maze possibly a dozen times.

Dining Out

2011-04-16T05:27:00.000-07:00

Dinner out is much more exciting with a toddler. Since we've moved I've had a hard time making the combination of our new fridge and new oven work for me.

That is to say, my potatoes didn't bake because they froze in the fridge and I burnt the bacon in the parts that weren't still raw.

So we went out for dinner!

My husband has a low, rumbly voice. It's sexy. Straight up. But it's caused him some problems. He's gotten used to having to go up an octave so that people can hear him.

Now imagine someone with a voice that low singing Elmo's world.

Isaac is a remarkably well behaved toddler. He sat politely through the appetizer and ate a good bit of his meal as well. Then he thought it would be fun to lay down in the booth and sing to his spoon.

At the restaurant we go to (a lot) they give Oreos with the kids meal. Nearly always, the waitress silently slides them behind my elbow so that I can give them out or hide them as I please. We've learned the negatives of night time sugar. Very well. But 6 o'clock sugar? It's... okay.

Isaac opens the oreos and sticks his finger in the cream to scrape it off to eat it. Paul was trying to show him the better way.

Isaac thought... nah... I'll do it my way!

And so he did.

Housewarming

2011-04-15T20:08:00.000-07:00

Hi! Come on in. I'm so glad you were able to make it to our housewarming party!

This is our living room. I know! It is spacious and I love the ceilings too. I've heard those fire place inserts really do a great job of helping heat the whole house through a good fire!

Yes. We do have a lot of books. Paul and I both love to read. We've never had all our books in one room. We still don't, but we're much closer.

I love our our dining area and living room are open to each other. It's such a nice space, too. Yes, we definitely plan on changing out that chandler. I'm holding out for the perfect one, though! So far I haven't found one I like.

It's really nice that Isaac has his own place for his toys in the living room. I like how well it divides the space.

Well, here's our kitchen. Would you like a cup of coffee or some orange juice? It is a bright color. Did you know Ashley and Caroline helped me paint? They came over one evening and stayed until 11 painting! I couldn't have gotten it done without them. I love how bright and cheerful it is.

Aren't the high ceilings great? They're so high that Paul had to paint the very top once he got home. No one else could reach! The cabinets ARE extra tall. It's really nice. We do intend to replace the flooring at some point. And the counter tops. But thankfully, the dramatic paint color kicks that feeling of a country kitchen out the door.

I promise to do a before and after of this shot one day! See that painting over the doorway? Isaac painted that. He even picked all the colors for it.

Oh? You want to see the garage. Uhh. Sure. Well, here is the laundry room. I have big plans for the laundry room. It's teeny teeny tiny - but at least it's not in the garage. I know we're going to invest in a stackable washer and dryer and remove the cabinets. Then we'll put shelves along the wall next to the kitchen like an extended pantry. And we'll move the litter box in there and put a cat door into the door. This will probably be my first project after Paul deploys because I'm hating the litter box in the kitchen. Unfortunately, there is no where else to put it right now.

So it's more like a 1.5 car garage. But that's great. We can fit the car and all our bike stuff. What? That?

That was already there when we moved in. Isn't it great? I'm using it to hang bags and cleaning tools for now.

That? It's the headboard we're going to use when Isaac moves to a big boy bed! I love it! I'm looking forward to him having it in his room. It's so cool and unique.

Well... why don't you grab a donut? We'll chat for a bit and then I'll show you the rest of the house. I'm so glad you could make it to my housewarming party!

(PS. Great house guests add their part of the conversation as a comment! It's always great to 'have you over.')

The Door

2011-04-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

My camera was missing about a week. And a friend came by and said 'Hey, I found this camera in my diaperbag. Is it yours'?

I was super happy to see it again. It's pretty funny that I put my camera in her diaper bag. I know the intention was to take pictures of our kids playing together when I was watching them. She wouldn't have spent a week looking for the owner if I'd remembered to take any pictures.

Monday I had the overwhelming desire to start a task I could finish in a day.

Before Monday I'd priced new doors. The majority of houses in our neighborhood have doors with glass inserts. I would love to have that. But a new door is a lower priority than new wood flooring. We're saving for the flooring - it will happen! Meanwhile, I feel better for actually finishing a project in our house.

I don't have a before picture of my door. It was cream colored and the oval ring was brown. The outside of our house in brown brick so it coordinated. It also promised an aggressively country interior. I'm still working on resolving THAT but at least I got the door painted.

Washing, Sanding, dent patching, priming and 2 layers of paint later... my beautiful blue door with oiled bronze knobs to replace the banged up brass ones.

Cheers.

Bluebonnet Pictures

2011-04-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

*EDIT* Several people are finding this post while looking for bluebonnet pictures near Killeen. There is a very nice large field of them right as you go on base at Ft. Hood, left of the main entrance. The field pictured in my post is on Adams in Temple, southwest of I-35. Best of luck.

Bluebonnet pictures are a tradition in Texas. About this time every year, the wild flowers start blooming. We look for a safe spot to take fun photos in the flower. Unfortunately, toddlers are not big fans of photo shoots. And Isaac didn't care for the field of flowers, either.

He did sit still for about 2 minutes while shredding one sample of Texas' state flower.

Isn't this an incredible field? Very nearly in downtown Temple. It just goes on and on. You'd think I could just plunk my family anywhere in all that beauty and get a great shot.

But that face above? That face says 'no way, jose!'

And this would be the very best picture I managed to get.

Failures and Successes

2011-04-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

I have internet, ya'll. INTERNET. I can see what people are up to. I can upload photos faster than one per hour. I can check my email constantly like I so, so love to do.

It's nice.

Also, since we got 3 stations here (PBS, Pentagon, and PBS) we choose to get one of the various cables. We're watching HGTV! So surreal. You should have seen the installer guy's face when I told him we hadn't had cable in 16 years. Ha!

Let's get caught up, shall we?

The dollar spot strikes again! I saw an Elmo stamp there. I thought it would be fun to show Isaac how to stamp on paper with the self-inking stamp. Despite my super close supervision, I left the room to get a drink and came back to this face.

I am very proud that Isaac has learned how to take all his clothes off. And he can do it very rapidly. I simply hope that he doesn't start to do this out in public. At least, more than he has already.

Isaac learned how to turn the screen sideways. The mouse, also, only worked sideways. It took me some time to figure that one out.

We went to check the mail the other day and the neighbor was having a visit from pest control. The 'bug man' gave Isaac two suckers. It cracks me up how he holds the suckers.

April Fools

Paul got back from training on March 31st. He surprised us with his mustache. He said all the guys in the field grew out a mustache for 'March mustache madness.'

And so for April Fool's I told him I thought the mustache was sexy and wanted him to keep it for awhile.

He shaved it Sunday when I finally told him I'd been kidding.

And on Saturday night Paul and I went out to dinner to celebrate our 5 year anniversary, which was on March 20th.

Ya'll are mostly caught up. I'll post more again soon.

Date Night

2011-04-04T18:48:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Isaac and I went on a mother/son date.

Toddlers are awesome. Really. They can do so much more than babies and are so fun. Isaac has a great sense of humor and clear opinions.

We went to a local place called the Cotton Patch Cafe for dinner. Isaac told me what he'd like to eat by pointing at the pictures on the kids menu. I had delicious salmon and steamed veggies.

Isaac is a big fan of their bread. He ate nearly all of his dinner. He entertained me by rolling his truck on every surface of the booth until dinner came.

Kids meals also come with a set of Oreos which Isaac devoured while walking around the mall.

I LOVE Mom/Son dates. I know there will be more of them in our future.

Sup?

2011-03-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't been ignoring ya'll. I have lots to talk about. Unfortunately, my internet can't keep up. It spends more time up than down. We will be switching internets but not until the end of this month. It's frustrating but I have to deal with it for now.

The big points:

Paul will be back from training at the end of the week.
Nothing I've planted has died yet.
Isaac has been talking like crazy.
I have really wonderful friends.

To elaborate, Thursday night a friend from Austin spontaneously came up for dinner with her kids. She even brought dinner! So fabulous.
Friday we had a lunch date with a friend here (who lives within walking distance!!) and had a wonderful time playing with her and another friend and our boys.
Saturday I went to Round Rock with a fellow Army wife whose husband is deployed. We did Round Rock donuts, Ikea, REI, and Chuy's for lunch. She hadn't been to three of those. It was great to get out and show her some of the best stuff about Round Rock. I even got to tell her a bit of the history since that's where I grew up.

Overall, I feel like things are really great right now. I'm so happy to have so many wonderful people in my life and to have my husband back so soon.

Also, Friday is the big day for my endurance challenge with Stroller Strides. I am totally going to rock it! Wish me luck.

Manic Monday

2011-03-22T02:14:00.000-07:00

Today was rather manic. Ugh.

Yesterday was Paul's and my anniversary. He's off at training. This is our first special holiday apart. I was feeling rather down. I ended up taking an impromptu trip to Austin and having dinner with my mom (and Isaac, of course.) Basically I ate like crap, kept Isaac up to late, and had tons of Mommy guilt for keeping him out so late. So this morning I felt like crap, too.

We had a slow start to our day.

Thankfully, Isaac reminded me of something very important before the day had really begun.

Play needs to trump work sometimes.

And so we played cars throughout most of the house for awhile.

Then we did something that Isaac loves that we hadn't done in a month or more. We made smoothies. Isaac helped throw the spinach and banana in this one. It also had pineapple and soy milk.

This is my curb pick up chair I got yesterday. I haven't decided what to do with it yet. It's a wee bit woobly but a cool chair anyway. And if I end up being unable to use it... hey, it was free!

Although playing with cars is a lot of fun, I still had to do some household things this morning and so Isaac got to watch some Elmo. I pulled up some new ones on the computer because I am sick to death of watching/hearing the same four over and over and over and... you get the idea.

These are the flowers I bought myself for our anniversary. They make me happy.

Remember I said today was Manic? Isaac was a little bit weird and super toddler-y today. He threw a big hissy fit when it was time to put clothes on. Since yesterday had been so rough I decided to cut him some slack and he ran around naked until nap time... when I put him in a diaper. While he was napping I made cupcakes for our cupcake meetup this afternoon. He woke before I pulled them out of the oven and decided to help. He got both over mits on himself! He kept trying to open the over door with them on too.

At last, Isaac got dressed and we left for our cupcake exchange. I put contacts in because I wanted to wear my sunglasses. I lost these many months ago when I was hiding them from a sunglass crushing toddler. I effectively hid them from myself too. I was thrilled to find them again. These are my all time favorite sunglasses.

And, like most of my favorite things, they have a story.

First, they were free. For whatever reason, I think they look expensive so that's awesome too. I got them out of the lost and found box at one of my employers. They'd been tossed there by our store manger when she got sick of wearing them. She'd taken them out of lost and found orginally two years before! (And things sit in lost and found for 6 months before they're usually donated to a place like Goodwill. We did not steal someone's sunglasses.)

Happy Monday!

Peachy

2011-03-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

I got to talk to Paul Friday. He’s doing good. I got to let him catch up with a lot of what we’re doing over here. I was keeping something sort of a secret until I could tell him. And now, I can share with you!

See this? This is the first bloom on our very own peach tree.

Ya’ll… we have a peach tree. We’re going to have peaches from our own yard.

I cannot explain how excited I am. Paul was, too. The only thing he found more exciting was Isaac shouting ‘dada’ in the phone for two solid minutes.

I’m doing a Manic Monday tomorrow but I probably won’t post the pictures until late. My internet service at our new place is horrible. I need to switch to a different company but was trying to clear the old place first. Since we’re done with the duplex as of Friday, I’ll be making calls tomorrow. I have to ‘borrow’ internet for any photos I wish to publish.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

Before putting on my green shirt this morning, Isaac gave me a good pinch. I don't think he understood it was St. Patty's Day. I think he just learned how to pinch. Things are going to get more interesting around here.

The highlights of the day:
I got all my plants in the ground.
Isaac took two naps.
I have a list of companies to NOT suggest for people who need help with house cleaning or handyman services.
I got to grit 'I don't like being lied to' on the phone and sounded rather like a female Clint Eastwood.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to need approximately 500 hours to pick up my living room. Goodnight.

Neighborhood Walk

2011-03-16T05:26:00.000-07:00

Awhile back, my jogging stroller died. This weekend I went on a quest to get a new one. I had originally planned to get something nice and probably more high end than I needed. Maybe even a double, since we have good fun with Isaac's friend who comes over once a week.

It is nearly comic how difficult it was to find a store that carries a double stroller. And then to get any sort of help in that store? It was impossible. On Monday I went to Target and bought the only jogging stroller they had. It's very nice and at $99 it didn't break the bank.

We celebrated by putting it together and doing a mile walk around the neighborhood.

Look at this. Isn't it great? No sidewalk, no driveways, lots of trees. Lots of personality.

The sun was setting behind this house but there are about a dozen bird houses in that nest. Very cool.

I love that we don't have the plain gutters. Ours are pretty!

This house has a fake rooster sitting in the tree. I had to take a picture when I saw the bird sounding off. Before Isaac, I would have had a mental conversation with myself of what the birds were saying to each other. Since Isaac was with me, I had it out loud.

'Yo, this is my tree.'
'You not gonna say nuthin'? This is my tree.'
'Fine, fine. Don't say nuthing. DON'T SAY NUTHIN'! I'll come over there and peck you off my tree!'
'Oh, the strong and silent type. Well, whateva. There's better trees. You can have this stinkin' tree.'

And then the bird flew away.

I don't know that Isaac cared but the guy walking his dogs on the other side of the road sure gave me a strange look.

I'm trying to begin walking every evening. Yesterday we didn't make it. But today we might.

Bleh!

2011-03-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

For today being short an hour it sure felt long.

Since Paul's been, as I like to put it, on 'vacation,' I've been going to bed early. Like, super early. Like, 8 pm. So I felt confident that the time change wouldn't effect me much.

And I woke up at (new) 6 am ready to start the day. I did flylady, since starting new things when you're in the middle of moving and your husband is gone and your kitchen is still only half painted is totally the right thing to do.

For those who don't 'do flylady,' I got dressed to shoes, washed my face, did makeup, did my hair, emptied the dishwasher, did a load of laundry and then go on the computer until Isaac got up at (new) 7:30am. He slept in!

He usually starts the day calling for me in his sweet soft voice MaMa MaMa MaMa.

Today I got 'EHHHHHHHHHHHH.'

Awesome.

We did pretty well. He refused my breakfast of waffles with jam and juice and we went to the grocery story where he consumed half a pint of blueberries while I shopped.

Then we went to the home improvement store and bought several plants which I planted (I'll tell you about it in another post. I forgot to take pictures.)

We played in the backyard and planted things. Isaac is a great garden helper. We had delicous sandwiches made with mustard that tastes like hot dogs. (I'll tell you about it in another post. I forgot to take pictures.)

We took a nap. We're still nursing, by the way. I don't know how much longer we'll be nursing but we're still doing it. Isaac wanted to nurse his whole nap things time which didn't fly too well with me. And so it was a short nap. And I had a short tempered guy the rest of the night.

It's okay, I was feeling that way, too.

It's been a full week with Paul 'on vacation' now. Every single day since he left Isaac has asked for him about a hundred times. Every single day since then Isaac has pooped at least twice.

All I'm hoping for out of this week is two things:

A break.

And less poop.

South Temple Park Trail

2011-03-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

Isaac and I perused another trail that is part of the Temple Trailblazer Challenge. This one was listed as 0.5 miles.

I walked this trail right after walking the trail at Silverstone Park. Um. I'm pretty sure the trail was much longer than 0.5 miles! It took 20 minutes. I was walking slow for a good part but not THAT slow.

This is probably the last time I'll use my jogging stroller. At some point I lost a screw in the handle. And then, the plastic on the side opposite of the screwed side cracked. I haven't been using it for weeks but decided a nice short walk would be good to see if it was still usable.

It pulled very heavily to the right. I'll be shopping for a new one.

I had no plans to carry Isaac while walking this trail.

I'd like to thank the people who sponsored the Temple Trailblazer's event. Thank you for the cool free t-shirt. The ~~bribery~~ snacks. And the ball. They are awesome.

There were three wooden bridges during this trail. They were very nice! The trail loops through a Frisbee golf course. To be totally honest, I do not understand Frisbee golf at all.

Cool lookin' tree.

Our shadows! Isaac was ready to crash after this trail, so home we went.

I've already walked the Connor Park trail since that was where I went to register for the 14 trails event.

3/14 complete!

Silverstone Park

2011-03-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

The weekend before the big move I signed up for a challenge in Temple called the "Trailblazer's Challenge." 14 trails. 14 weeks. The goal is to walk or bike all 14 trails in that time frame.

Some of them are very short and some are long. Today Isaac and I set out to walk the shortest one. 0.25 miles at Silverstone Park.

This is what the trail looks like. What is nice is all the trails I've seen so far have been firm, which is great for walking with the stroller. Since this was such a short trail, Isaac and I walked it together. Well, he walked half of it. I carried him part of the way.

First stop. Toddlers don't really get the whole 'walking a trail' thing. As far as he was concerned we were on a tour of park benches.

Yep. Carrying him.

This is part of a different trail, the Friar's Creek Trail. It's one of the longer ones. We'll do it another day. In the background is the hospital where Isaac was born. One thing I like about Temple is that everything is close to everything else.

In case you were wondering where to go, Isaac has great sense of direction.

Park bench tour stop #2.

He did some walking himself. Especially since we were headed the the park at the trail.

Swings are awesome!

The Temple Trailblazer Challenge is open to anyone who wants to do it. My understanding is that it is still open for new entrants. I'm guessing they're out of free shirts now, though. I just barely got mine and I signed up right at the beginning.

Happy Trails!

Manic Monday

2011-03-08T06:03:00.000-08:00

My camera was packed. Thankfully, halfway through making dinner I found it.

I try to avoid parking Isaac in front of the tv. With unpacking, though, it's tough to play with him. And he loves Elmo. In fact, yesterday he said Elmo for the first time. It sounds like 'Mo Mo.'

In addition to moving, I've been painting the kitchen. My plan has been kinda thrown out the window. I'm loving the lime green in the kitchen, though! I can't wait to finish and share the end result with you.

Yep. Boxes. They're everywhere. These will stay where they are for awhile. I've unpacked (nearly) all of Isaac's room, and I'm working on the master bedroom. Also working in the kitchen when I go in there for other things. Breaking it up makes me feel like I'm not spending all day unpacking.

Isaac's photography skills are improving. This is my leg.

Lately when I point a picture at Isaac he puckers for it. I don't know why but nearly every picture I took yesterday has him puckering. Silly boy.

This is what I looked like yesterday. Tired. Messy hair. Stuff in my teeth. Slightly broken out from stress. It's all good. I'm doing okay.

Something I haven't shared yet (because I wasn't sure it would actually happen) is that Paul is off at NTC this month. For my non-military peeps, he's gone for a month of training. And his phone has no signal out near the desert. But I've gotten to talk to him once, so that's something. At least with moving and painting and decorating I'll be insanely busy this month. My goal is to be all unpacked before he gets home. I think that's the best gift I can give him considering how mch he hates moving.

Super Cute Birthday

2011-03-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

A hat birthday party for a friend of Isaac's....

.... there was a lot of adorable there.

Isaac Antics

2011-03-03T19:20:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a 10 minute break from painting. I've 'borrowed' internet from a neighbor. I may offer to help my neighbors secure their networks for free since I had 4 options to choose from. Let's see how far I can get in that time.

Isaac LOVES our new place. He named it 'Ya Ya.' We've been moving (one car load at a time - aka the painful way) for almost a week. Every morning he calls for me 'MaMa' and then asks to nurse 'Na!' and then asks where his daddy is 'Dada.' And in this last week, right after that, he goes 'YaYa! Yaya! Ya YA!' because he wants to go go go to ya ya.

So cute.
'
Yesterday we were waiting on the floor measuring guys - there is a whole 'nother story, by the way. My mom was sitting on an ottoman and Isaac took her finger, pulled like he wanted to show her something, so she got up. And he let go of her finger and went and sat on the ottoman.

He just wanted her to move.

Punk.

If you blow up latex gloves into balloon gloves - Isaac will high five them for 15-20 minutes at a time. But if they are on your hands, they're terrifying. Painting with him around is not possible. He passionately wants to paint.

Today I was cleaning the bathrooms at our old place. I cleaned the toilet with the scrub brush and put it back. Isaac immediately took it and 'scrubbed' the toilet. Although I usually don't let him touch any of the toilet stuff (brush and plunger) I let him do it. Alas, the second he pulled the brush out of the toilet, he inverted it and tried to brush his hair.

This is our first night sleeping in our new place. We don't have any living room furniture, but we moved nearly everything of Isaac's into his new room. I didn't want the room to seem strange to him if he woke in the middle of the night. We have most of our clothes and our mattress and box springs ready for sleeping. And we brought our coffee machines, too. Although I haven't completed everything I had wanted to by this time, I am glad we've gotten done as much as we have. I still have accomplished a lot. Including this blog post. I'm having a hard time believing I wrote all this in 10 minutes.

Allison, over and out.

Yes

2011-02-28T11:50:00.000-08:00

Busy? Yes.
Fun? Yes!

Our day

2011-02-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

Today

6:38 - I wake up, go to the bathroom, marvel that Isaac is still asleep. I write my to do list and read a book.
7:14 - Isaac wakes up. I bring him back to bed and we nurse in bed.
7:50 - Breakfast time. Isaac has half a banana and a slice of buttered toast. I have a homemade latte and oatmeal.
8:45 - Charlotte (I trade babysitting with her mom once a week. It rocks.) arrives. We color, wear hats, watch seasame street, jump on the bed, and have a snack.
10:05 - I get the phone call we can move our closing date up to Friday. I make arrangements with Paul to make that happen.
10:30 - I put the kids in our little red wagon and we go on an adventure to the mailbox. On the way there, one of my neighbors tells me my kids are cute.
I say thank you.
He says that it looks like big workout to pull them up the hill.
I say I'll be buff in no time.
He says 'Mama, you lookin' guuud.'
I say thank you.
10:46 - I make lunch, heavily supervised by two toddlers. They think speghetti-os and strawberry yogurt are awesome. They actually eat 3 bites each of the broccoli. While they eat lunch I make dinner.
11:15 - More jumping on the bed, playing with hats and boots, and double poopy diaper changes.
12:02- Charlotte is picked up by her Mommy.
12:28 - Isaac and I go lay down to nurse and take a nap.
12:55 - I sneak away and get on the computer and check email. I get the electric turned on at our new address, I fill out the online change of address form, and get directions to the water office to turn on the water at our new place. And I eat a banana and peanut butter sandwich and broccoli.
1:15 - Isaac gets up from his nap and walks to out to the living room by himself. He's grumpy this time. After some cuddles, we put shoes on and go get a milkshake. Then drive to Temple to the water office.
2:35 - We arrive at the water office and turn the water on. The lady helping us comments on Isaac's beautiful eyes no less than 7 times.
3:40 - We get home. I check the oil in the car and clean out the car a little bit while Isaac plays with chalk and watches what I do closely.
3:48 - Isaac picks out a video to watch while I call a couple of other people needed for the whole moving thing (realtor, house cleaner, movers). I also call around looking for someone who is available to watch Isaac Friday morning while we close on the house.
4:18 - We go play in the garage. Isaac uses the screwdriver to 'fix' Paul's old bicycle and the garage door. I pack garage things in boxes and sweep some. We go inside and play tickles. Isaac starts labeling things 'da' and 'my.' 'My' is what he calls Charlotte. So her things, like the coloring we did today and the napkin I hadn't picked up yet were 'my my' and his coloring and his toys were 'da.' So cute!
5:28 - I heated up dinner in the microwave. Skillet grilled chicken and steamed mixed veggies, if you were wondering. Isaac 'fixes' more things in the garage.
5:40 - Paul gets home and we have dinner.
6:10 - Isaac gets a bath, pjs, and playtime in his room. I clean up after dinner and tidy the kitchen.
7:03 - Isaac and I sit in the chair in his room to nurse. Paul take his shower.
7:21 - I put Isaac in his crib and go clean up the living room. Normally Paul cleans the living room but I'd asked him to get oil to put in the car and he did that instead.
7:35 - I take my shower and Paul does his prep for tomorrow. He makes his lunch, puts his phone and mp3 player on the charger, empties the litter box, and packs his Army bag. I load the dishwasher and check email.
8:12 - Paul and I sit down to watch some tv.
That's where we are right now. What happens next is Paul and I will go to bed about 10.

I know, we're SO exciting.

I'm always interested in other people's schedules. So that was our schedule... today.

Car Wash

2011-02-20T15:26:00.000-08:00

Our road had been under construction forever!

Okay, three months. But they were supposed to be done in one.

It felt like forever!

Okay, actually, they're not done but they're done with the part of our street that we drive on the most so I'm counting that as done.

Anyway, after nearly a month of living on a dirt road, plus snow, our vehicles looked like they'd never been washed.

It had been awhile. When the sun came out this afternoon Paul pulled out the hose and hunted down a bucket for car cleanin'.

He got a little helper too. Isaac loved 'playing' car wash. I guess Paul showed him how you stop at the top and wipe down the whole side of the car because that is what he did. Then he dunked his wash cloth again and went back.

I love the tippy toes!

It was so wonderful and adorable. And our cars don't look so decrepit, either.

I know Paul and I didn't really want to be seen moving into our new neighborhood with our shabby looking cars. So I'm glad we got it done.

While the boys washed the cars I packed up 10 or so boxes and threw out three bags of trash.

If I can complete that much each day of this four day weekend we'll be in good shape to move.

Mayborn Museum

2011-02-18T17:43:00.000-08:00

We've been to the Mayborn Museum a couple of times. Lets see... we went on Black Friday last year and last August. Oh! And in April 2009 before Isaac was born.

We like the museum! If you can believe it, we went to a part of the museum today that we had never visited.

The handholding... it melts me. His grip is so strong and I LOVE it.

We got there a little bit before they opened. Isaac tried the doors repeatedly until they opened the museum.

Isaac always loves the trains. He spent a lot of time making train noises at them this time and pressing the buttons to make the trains go around and around.

The day wouldn't be complete with Isaac getting ahold of the camera, of course. I do like seeing things from his perspective from time to time. If only his hands weren't always so sticky!

This is the part of the museum we hadn't been in before. They had a room full of little cars to drive around as well as this room with very cool stuff for toddlers.

Isaac drove a firetruck!

I had to share this one. I can think of several times when people have said (or I have thought) ' I wish that stop sign was somewhere else' or 'there needs to be a stop sign at ____ intersection.' It made moving the signs around with Isaac all the more fun.

Today was a very adventurous day. After we got home we had more excitement. But you'll have to wait until tomorrow for that!