67 posts tagged “nick”
In a desperate attempt to ease my heavy heart, I took the kids out to the Tulsa Zoo this afternoon. It was 80 degrees, sunny with out a cloud in the sky. We stopped by McDonald's on the way out there (it's a whopping 10 minute drive) but of course, I'm too lost in my own thoughts and miss the turn I need. Make a complete circle around the town I live in because I can't think clearly, and finally we're on the right path.
The zoo was nothing short of a blast! Zoey's first time, Nick's 500th time. Most of the animals were sleeping, but both the kids were so well-behaved, it was worth it just being with them. And the weather was perfect, until we hit the Rain Forest exhibit and oh my gaw, it was the worst kind of humidity. When we finally exited the THIRD building, the 80 degree breeze felt like heaven! We also visited the specialty exhibit where you paid extra to go into a small pavilion and be surrounded by 100's of parakeets, parrots, and other birds. I am so not a fan of birds, especially in something enclosed, but Nick was so excited, I paid the $4 and we went. They gave you seed sticks to feed the birds with, and at first I was like "Uh, like I want to be that up close to one of them." We went in and when I saw the amount of birds in there, I almost walked back out. But, we actually had a ton of fun in there! Even Zoey loved it. I did let a bird climb on to my stick and eat the seeds, but only twice. We spent about 20 minutes in there before Nick ran out of seeds. It was worth it. I may even have a softer spot for birds now, just a little.
Nick did have to get over his fear of using public bathrooms. I let him play on the playground while I fed Zo and lo and behold, the potty dance starts. I ask him if he needs to go, he tells me no. I see him crawl inside this toy, and I just know. He's peed his pants. His little ego is bruised and he won't look at me, he just keeps crying into his own hands. I notice he's barely made a spot on his shorts, so I lure him out with a pep talk. We got cheered back up and went to one of the primate buildings and YAY! A bathroom with a family stall..big potty and small potty. And he used it, with out freaking out!! He's still talking about that :)
Anyway, it was an awesome time and I am not going to lie, I am very proud of how well I handle taking both of my children out in public, alone. In the beginning, I was horrified at the thought of doing such a thing, but it's been manageable. Plus, bribery so works. Shun me now, but wait until desperation sinks in.
Yesterday, we went bathing suit shopping for Zoey and headed to the water park by my parents' house. Old Navy has the cutest girl clothes right now! I let Nick loose at the park and Zo and I found a shaded place to park our butts. She wasn't really fond of the mist blowing on her, but we had a good time! She's up so here are a few pictures and I'll post the rest on flickr and Myspace!! Have a good'n.
If I have a retail weakness, it's Target. I can shop anywhere in the world and not feel the overwhelming urge to buy, buy, buy! Clothes, shoes, baby stuff, kid stuff, bedding, furniture, decor, groceries, EVERY THING.
Tonight, I went in there to just browse. Nick was off to his dad's for the weekend so it was just me and Zo. Girls' night out shopping. I was just hoping to get some sandals and a pair of shorts for myself and Nick. I won't say how much I spent, but it was well over the idea I had in my head before I ever left the house. I'll probably take two of the shirts back because they fit weird, but I love me some bermuda shorts. I also bought a new bedding set for Zo..well, the beginning of a new bedding set.
I only bought the quilt, dust ruffle and a fitted sheet. I'm going to go back and get the rest but I'm staying away from the mobile and bumper pad because she's 6 months, we don't need it.
Note: I have a thing for ladybugs. I love them! Fun fact for the day, my first word was ladybug. But, it was also the name of our pet collie. That dog and I were best buds, and my parents had to constantly tell her to back off (she hung over me like I was her baby) so I picked up on her name.
I am back on LJ. If any of you are over there, let me know. I feel more comfortable over there, I've known the people on my friends list for a very long time (some 5+years) and I need a comfort zone. Add my username _thats_so_hot_ (I need a new one!)
I had today off. It's nice having 3 days off, working one, having another day to hang out with the kids! I went in to drop some stuff off for my boss, and she pulled me aside and said I got a raise! I've only been there coming on 2 months, so I'm surprised and happy about this. Needless to say, I really enjoy my job, even though my main role will be dying down this summer (retail slows down) and I'll be doing the normal retail grind.
I took the kids to the park Monday as a "surprise". Nick loves surprises so when he goes above and beyond to be well-behaved, I usually get him something or take him on a "surprise". So we went to our favorite park:
She had her 6 month check up yesterday and she's 16.2 lbs! She's almost doubled in size! Every thing is right on for her, even a little early. She has separation anxiety which just means anyone who takes her from my arms ends up with her screaming in their ears. She's a mommy's girl, except when Derek is around. She won't cry, but she looks for me if he's holding her.
This weekend is Mayfest which is SO much fun! I love Mayfest. I haven't missed it in over 7 years, so we'll be heading Downtown Saturday night. Expect lots of fun pictures!
P.S. Vote David Cook on American Idol! I'm off to vote for him in Tulsa's ABoT awards for best Male Vocalist of Tulsa :)
Oh my GAW, Nick is testing my patience this morning. Could be that he woke up at 6 A.M., yelling as he came bolting through the house "MAAAAAAAWM, it's storming, it's RAINING!" and woke up his sister with no hope of getting her to go back to sleep for at least an hour?! Or could it be that I just had to pick him up off the floor after he almost knocked Zoey over for messing up his blanket on the floor, which was immediately followed with a spanking and being put in his bed?! Now he's screaming "Mommy!" from his room, trying to play the sympathy card..which worked on me until I realized what he was doing.
He is the king of excuses lately, especially when it comes to being sent to his room or going to bed for the night. The other night, he came out in the living room saying first, he needed a bath. The second time his tummy hurt, he needed medicine (this comes from Zoey teething, getting medicine and lots of affection). The third time, there was a ghost in his room. A ghost..who was also in the bathroom earlier that day, supposedly. And while I'm laughing it off and fake-looking in the closet, under the bed, behind the dresser, I can't help but think "please don't start telling me you see dead people.." After that, he did go to bed. Probably worn out from conjuring up all the excuses in the world. And after that, I wanted to call my parents, especially my mom, and apologize for every single time I would sneak out of my room and hide in the den so I could watch Cheers, or every single time I would think up excuses to stay up at night.
He's a great kid, don't get me wrong. But let's be realistic, 3 is a tough age. Not a baby, not quite a big kid. He's just realizing he can decide for himself, he can speak up for himself and he's just running with it until he goes too far. I say, let the kid learn as he goes!
Yesterday, Zoey turned 6 months old. I can't believe she's already half a year old..! Still not crawling..well the correct way. She does this inchworm thing where she gets up on her hands and feet (not knees) and propels herself forward..in kind of an inchworm motion. Or she just rolls to her destination. We spread toys out all over the living room to try and motivate her. Oh, it motivates her to get to them alright, but nothing motivates her like our rug in front of the door. We buy her toys and all it takes to buy her happiness? A $35 rug from Pier1.
And she is SUCH a morning person. I am so NOT a morning person. Nick woke us up this morning and while I'm desperately clinging to my pillow, she's already laughing, .5 seconds after he comes tearing into our room. But he has that effect on her. Anything he does, is hilarious in her opinion. He can just look at her from across the room and she bursts into a fit of giggles! Or vice versa. She can get him laughing in no time..they're each other's biggest fans and I'm enjoying every last second of it because I know in just a matter of years, I'll be the ref in many, MANY screaming matches between the two.
And I can tell you right now she is not going to be one to back down. Funny how a parent can tell their child's personality from the get-go. My daughter..will be anything but a delicate flower. I don't think I'll ever have to worry about her standing up for herself.
I was going to write about our weekend but it's already Wednesday and it's not like we did anything too interesting! Derek's mom came and took Zoey Saturday night, we wanted to do something different so we went to the boys' house (not different) and then kidnapped Bpaul and headed to the Riverwalk. We met Derek's (former) boss at Dirty's Tavern and hung out somewhere new, and with a different crowd. Leave it to me to be in a completely different town and find the only 2 other people I went to high school with. But we had a lot of fun minus that a girl should never go to order a drink by herself. My butt was grabbed by a guy with a mullet, I had two guys came up to me and dance on me like Night @ the Roxbury..and really how was I supposed to react? I just stopped, put my hand on my hip and said "Hi..heading for outside, THANKS!" and kept going while I was laughing. It was really funny but it literally came out of nowhere! Then some crazy girl threw her cell phone twice and almost hit me both times! I won't even get into the other weird thing that happened :)
That poor, poor pelican..
Nick is full of toddler-isms lately, and I'm going to keep calling him a toddler until he's off to school in August :)
He loves to play with Zoey and entertain her. He'll get books and read to her while I work out, or immediately after breakfast, they watch Sesame Street together. He can hardly stand it when she's napping because he wants her there, with him. He *loves* his sister, and I just laugh because I know it's only lasting as long as she's this little..or until yesterday afternoon.
She rolls, all the time. And she rolled into him and just stopped and smiled. Instead of his usual, gentle and doting self, he goes "MO-OM, sister's touching me..she won't stop!!!"
And we made a quick trip to my work, only Nick with me since I get exhausted carrying around a carseat with a 15 lb baby in it and chasing a 3 year old around where ever we might be. I left Zo with my parents and took Nick to get some clothes. He's being sweet as can be, not arguing with me over a single thing. We even dare to venture into Wal Mart where he informs me he needs a snack..so we grab some animal crackers and Sprite and hit the road. Once we're in the car, I ask if I can have a drink, he tells me no. I ask for a cracker, he tells me no, again. I ask him why not, he tells me "Just drive!"
Speaking of driving, I almost got in a wreck today because someone ran a red light. So please, if you feel you need to run a red light, please don't. That SUV you see coming through a green light might be carrying the world's most precious children in it and you do NOT want to mess with the mom in that SUV if you caused any potential harm to her amazing children. (I made a mental note of the car and so help her if I ever see her again. This town isn't THAT big..) and I really need to get to church because I had never cussed so much in under 10 seconds.
And who the hell turns LEFT at a RED light?!
Zoey sat up by herself multiple times yesterday! I help her get in a sitting position, of course, but she sits there by herself, no support! She is getting bigger every day. We're on the baby food thing, which is good and bad. She does great on it, but she has to be in the PERFECT mood. She does what we call "The Model Pose" where she rolls onto her left side, pulls up her right leg and places her hand on her thigh all way smiling her biggest smile..the next Giselle Bundchen? She might be..
I actually went to Wal Mart again today..which is so rare. I did some grocery shopping and came across this shampoo and conditioner..
And for anyone who has/will have a baby..this is the BEST stuff, ever.
FYI: I use regular Suave Cocoa and Shea Butter lotion for Nick. He has delicate, pale skin so I make sure we take excellent care of it.
I've also decided to set new rules for myself.
- No household chores on the weekend. And since it's Friday evening, I am busting my ass to get everything done. Obviously since I'm on Vox and all..
- Working out at least 3x a week. I don't always feel like it, but seriously I need to just do it and shut up!
- Outside time for all of us at least an hour a day, weather permitting. We get too caught up in doing things indoors. I know the weather's been CRAP lately, but we have big plans to hit up the water park Monday since it will be 85 degrees!
- More date nights with Derek. Right now, we're not even averaging one a month..we're so busy! School's almost out so we'll have more time this summer!
..I have bad months, even years.
I've been neglecting my Vox because I've nothing positive to talk about. I do, but I don't feel like it because the bad keeps me from focusing on the good. And the bad is killing me! Well, that's a bit over-dramatic..it's really just making me horribly unhealthy. I've gained weight either due to working in a medical office where pharmaceutical reps bring us cookies and candy every single day and our nurse brings chips and queso and other horribly addicting snack foods. Chips and queso..C'MON. That's like crack for me. It's best not having it with in miles..I can not help it :( That, and I'm sitting at my corner desk, sifting through charts, marking MRI's, bone scans, EEG's..with a package of thin mints a co-worker left for me. It's monotonous, and almost a procedure..tab the right MRI, take a bit of my cookie, tab the current bone scan..have another bite. MY JOB IS MAKING ME FAT.
But I love my job..because I get there at 7:25 every single morning..and I get to enjoy at least 30 minutes of total peace and quiet (and my coffee) because the only people there are me and the LPN. And she's so busy catching up on paperwork, I never hear anything besides the shuffling of her papers.
So it's the fact that the office I work in has too many tempting snacks therefore causing me to gain weight, then there's making sure both kids have someone to watch them daily..which is a huge stress factor. Then there's the stress of driving on Tulsa's streets. The city's streets are in dire need of attention and people are literally complaining about repairs being made in downtown. Like, are you kidding me? You want to almost bust a tire in pothole after pothole instead of dealing with a couple of months of detours?! Having a commute of an average of 40 minutes per day on shitty roads is anything but pleasant. And then I have these personal issues going on..I can't seem to balance anything, Zoey is in her "fussy" phase when I get home, which bothers me because I miss her all day, only to get her when she's the crankiest. She can't help it, it's that transition from play time to bed time. Nick is great, as always, but his fits are making it hard in the mornings. And Derek..let's just leave this one alone for now..
Add all of this up..and you get me being sick for 1 week+ (sickness still going strong..but my voice is finally back), HAIR LOSS..like how gross is that? I'm not losing like a couple of strands here and there..it's continual shedding and it has me worried sick (sicker?), outbursts of sobbing..Thursday night I was coming home from grocery shopping and in our parking lot, two kids walked out from between two cars and I almost hit them. It was really dark and they just walked right out in front of me..I had to slam on my brakes and my groceries went everywhere. I am so shaken up so of course you know their mom (who let's them walk in dark parking lots with out her going first?) is screaming at me. I'm in too much shock that THIS ALMOST HAPPENED, I can't even respond. These kids were the same size as Nick. I get in my front door, the phone rings, Derek is in the bedroom with Zoey, I have groceries all over my backseat, and my parents are on the phone wanting to know why I'm taking so long to call them back. I just broke down..it was just too much right then. It's not that I've gone back to work, it's everything BUT my job. And I just feel so unhealthy and not as happy as I should be.
My friend Kara is Zoey's new sitter and hi, she's the best sitter, ever. She wouldn't accept money from Derek, had ordered pizza & diet coke so I had something to eat when I got home and even told me she wishes I would leave a list of chores she can help me with..!! We did pay her, but I was still floored by the amazingness of it all! Her son is SO cute! He's 6 months old and Zoey just loves him. I walked in our door to see them laying in the floor, holding hands :) So cute..they even babble back and forth together!
I think we might be in Dallas next weekend. We're going to OKC to see Lany and Jason, they want to go to Ikea and the closest is in Dallas..it's not for sure, but I hope we do something..
Who or what do you really love?
Have a happy Valentine's! Mine started Feb. 5th, and I got my final present last night..a diamond "Circle of Love" necklace :) I like-a the diamonds! Derek gets his present tonight..but that stays between us..
I need a break from something, and I don't know what it is. I get bored with routine, so maybe it's the routine we've settled in. Every week, same thing.
- Sunday - Wake up, watch crappy television while drinking coffee, we try to decide on what we want to do. Derek wants to golf, but decides it is too cold or windy. We go visit his parents, I get mad because we don't visit mine, we come home, Nick comes home, we have dinner, give the kids their baths and it's bed time.
- Monday - Nick wakes me up about 7 AM, Derek has work from 8 - 4, then school from 7-10. I take the kids to my parents to visit. We play inside or outside, depending on the weather. Come home around 4. Derek does homework, leaves for school. I make dinner, hang out with the kids, then bed time.
- Tuesday - Wake up with Nick, leave Zoey in our room with Derek. Help Nick with his morning bathroom routine, get him breakfast, get Zoey changed, bottle made..feed her. Kids play while I clean. Derek goes to school from 1-4. Make lunch, put Zoey down for nap. Let Nick watch Thomas and Curious George. Dinner, baths, bed.
- Wednesday - Derek leaves the house at 5 in the morning..works from 5:30 AM until 4 PM. Nick's morning routine, make breakfast, feed Zoey, let the kids play, have lunch with my mom, Nick goes to her house. Derek comes home, we have dinner, go to pick up Nick, bed time.
- Thursday - Exactly like Tuesday but Derek has school from 1-7 and Nick sometimes goes to his dad's.
- Friday - Sleep in more than the previous days, feed Zoey, let her play on the floor, clean up, do laundry (which is a continuous effort all week), hang out with Derek when he stumbles out of bed, he goes to work either a mid or from 3-11. Maybe visit my parents, maybe stay in bum around. Spend extra time with Zoey, then bed time.
- Saturday - Same routine as Friday. Sometimes Zoey goes to a grandma's, sometimes she stays the night. I usually do more cleaning, organizing, sorting. Friends come over, Derek works a mid, gets home at 9.
So I'm taking a break from what? I don't know. I am off to find something..more. If I don't update, it's because I don't want to bore you guys anymore. I'll be back, maybe in a day, a few days? Maybe tonight..I just..want to have more to talk about before I run my personal blog over with wedding stuff. That's why I created my own wedding blog. I will possibly update that sooner but I doubt it.
I'm considering making one separate from here. Any good ideas? I think it would be an awesome way to keep on top of my planning, a good way to vent so I don't become Bridezilla, and to keep everyone informed. OH and to welcome suggestions!
I'm trying to decide on a color scheme right now, and to make up my mind about the final bridesmaid. Who knows what will happen in the next year, but I'm having a hard time with the last girl. Should I ask her? We haven't talked in months...but she's a big part of my life, no matter what. I asked Steph this morning, asked Lany yesterday and TOLD Jamee she was the maid of honor :) I have yet to ask Talbott.
I believe Derek's picked Bpaul as the best man, Ethan, Jason, and John as his groomsmen..so he needs one more. Probably Tony. Maybe Phillip?
Of course Nick will be the ring bearer, and Z will be our flower girl since she'll be walking then! My grandpa will walk me down the aisle, of course.
Now I'm off to do more planning :) I added the link to our The Knot webpage under my links so have a looksie even though it's no where near completed!
This day totally sucks. It's nasty outside, Zoey spent most of the morning crying, Derek and I had a huge fight, Nick got paint..everywhere, I let him have purple soap from this Go, Diego, Go bath set and it dyed our tub purple (as well as his legs and butt..), I can't seem to keep this place clean because Derek just throws his crap everywhere, Nick can't keep quiet so his sister will sleep, I HAVE NOT SHOWERED, Derek's mom came over and I thought she was going to watch the kids for a little bit while I went tanning (that's what Derek said), but she left 10 minutes later.
But the fun part is Nick and I have started making Valentine's Day cards for everyone we love, even if I am the one doing the work and he tells me good job ;)
Derek said we're going somewhere on Feb. 28th, 29th and the 1st of March but won't tell me where to. Thought it was to Kansas for that concert but I guess not? I'm all about having some kid free days in the very near future..but I'd also like to get the heck away from EVERYONE for awhile. Of course the kids depend on me for everything, and that's my role as a mom but there are no days off and I'm wearing thin. Derek just has absolute zero respect for what I do..he told me earlier he doesn't get seven days off work like I do. Yes, I sit around on my ass and drink wine and watch wonderful day time TV. That's why my kids are fed, my house is almost always clean, laundry is always done, Nick's room is cleaned daily, Nick is constantly need to be occupied, and Nick is writing his alphabet, singing it, and painting, coloring, and reading. BECAUSE I HAVE ALL THIS TIME OFF TO DO NOTHING BUT WHATEVER MY HEART DESIRES. Ugh.
And my family..I feel like every line of communication between them falls on my shoulders. Want to know how someone is doing? CALL THEM. Don't get on my case for not knowing.
I need a vacation with a friend..somewhere warm, with booze and no kids, no messy man, nothing but actually doing what my drunken heart desires.
Off to, ya know, enjoy the abundance of free time that everyone thinks I have.
Life is boring, extremely boring. Same thing, day to day. Well, I'm having fun with the kids, but that fun isn't easy to post about, ya know?
Zoey started on solids, somewhat, on Saturday morning. I started mixing her oatmeal in a little bowl and feeding it to her with a spoon..it's been a mess for the most part, but it's funny and cute to watch her try to figure it out :) This morning was messier than the previous two, but she did better. I'm starting her on baby food in about 4 weeks so I want her to be somewhat ready. She'll be 3 months in 2 days..that's just..crazy! I can't believe how quickly this is going. Probably because I am literally enjoying every second of her baby days..and that's probably because she's the best baby on earth :)
We took her out in her overly expensive stroller for the first time yesterday. It was gorgeous and we wanted to go visit two different people who happen to live in the same neighborhood. We visited the Pruitt's for awhile, then walked over to BPaul's, Tony's and Ethan's. Z enjoyed the ride..She just sat back and enjoyed the scenery! She spent a little time with her "godfather" (BPaul) and we headed home to watch the game.
I could care less about the Super Bowl :) We ordered a pizza, ate chips & queso and drank pina coladas :)
Nick has been getting in gear for school in August. I printed off a bunch of letter-tracing worksheets for him and he does SO GREAT on them! We've been doing a lot of crafty things and his walls are covered in all the things he's done! I bought him some water colors at Hobby Lobby (42 colors for $1.99) but that's a bit too messy for him (water, everywhere).
The weekend went by too fast..I had dinner with my parents Friday night, went shopping all day Saturday, Derek and I made chicken fried steak that night and he cooked me breakfast after letting me sleep in yesterday..not bad :) Ooh and he bought me pomegranate wine and I think it just might be the best wine, ever.
That is absolutely all I have to say..told ya it's boring lately :) Happy Monday!
