Sunny Daze

This is where I aim to be next weekend.  It will be our first beach trip of the year, and only our second trip to the beach with Olivia thus far.  How sad is that?  We live in Florida and rarely go to the beach.  Well, we are gonna go all out next weekend and get an umbrella, bring a cooler, and make a day out of it with the kids, and Tyler and Maria.  I'm really excited because my new bathing suit should be here by then.  I was going to touch up my hair next week since we are going to see The Postal Service on June 5th, but my mom is going to do my hair the day of the concert so that I can go swimming at the beach and bask in the sun and not have to worry about my hair fading since it won't be freshly dyed.  So excited!  I got a lovely jade green one piece with a bandeau top and just ordered myself a cute little swimsuit cover up dress. Hopefully we will get plenty of beachy days this summer.  I just wanna be a beach bum and not get a tan or have my hair fade.  Is that so much to ask?  Meh.  Anyway, I know my posts are usually random and scatterbrained, but at least I warned you of that in my About Me section.  You get what you pay for.  Which is nothing.  You get nothing. ;P

Where to begin?

Well, I sit here writing to you with my little netbook on top of my lady bug boppy pillow and my little Livi-bug resting in her carseat next to me.  I didn't want to disturb James with my typing, and Olivia can sleep through just about anything at this point.  (In fact, most of the time I can't manage to keep her awake for more than 10-15 minutes at a time, and that's only when she's hungry!)  James had "first shift" tonight, as we call it...  Meaning he got the 2 AM feeding, so here I am writing at just past 6 AM since I was blessed with "second shift" tonight. So, where to begin?  Well, my pregnancy lasted for thirty-eight weeks exactly.  In comparison to my pregnancy with Gavyn, I have to say that this one was a breeze.  My main reasoning for this was that I suffered with morning (all day) sickness for the entire first trimester (and even a little into the second) with Gavyn.  It was miserable and I distinctly remember actually losing weight at the beginning of my pregnancy.  According to most "old wives' tales," girls are actually the ones who give you a lot of morning sickness - not so!  With Olivia, I did get sick a few times, but it was always in the morning and usually happened at work.  There were only a couple of times where James would have to pull over on the way to work because I felt sick, and I quickly realized that I could avoid that by eating something as soon as I woke up in the morning.  I did often feel nauseous in the first trimester, but I wouldn't always get sick from it.  My main complaint throughout my pregnancy was my back pain, as I had never experienced that with Gavyn.  But each pregnancy is different, just as each baby is different, and I enjoyed both of them, hard times and all.  There were times where I wished that the pregnancy was over, but I always tried to remind myself that one day soon I would miss it and wonder why I rushed it so much.  I've already felt that from time to time when I find myself touching my stomach and then remembering that she has joined us outside of the womb already!

At the end of my pregnancy with Olivia, I found myself even more inclined to try everything possible to try to speed things along and either get her out (once considered full-term) or take things to help ease labor later.  I walked (and walked), had sex, bounced and rolled on a birthing ball, drank red raspberry leaf tea, took evening primrose oil daily, ate spicy foods, stimulated my nipples (whilst bouncing on my ball), did jumping jacks, squatted, and I even tried castor oil as a last resort.  NOTHING WORKED.  When they tell you that baby won't come unless baby is ready, THEY MEAN IT.  So what worked?  What happened to bring on my five hour labor (more on that later)?  Well, it started with a doctor's visit.  I had originally scheduled my visit for our normal Friday appointment.  James and Gavyn never missed a single visit, and we always scheduled them for Friday's because I had that day off of work and James didn't work until night time.  I moved this particular appointment to Thursday, January 27th so that it would be on my 38th week exactly and I could have my membranes swept a day early, hoping to jumpstart labor and give everyone the four-day weekend they all had so desperately hoped for (I received numerous requests for a weekend baby, as if I had any control).  I got to the office, was called back, went straight to the bathroom for what I hoped would be my last urine sample, and walked to the nurse with a smirk on my face ready to have my vitals taken.  I had a conversation with her the week prior about sweeping membranes and she said that it worked for her sister, so I asked her how long it took for it to work during this visit with a smile on my face.  She said that her sister went into labor the night after.  She then escorted me to the exam room where James and Gavyn were already waiting.  Vivian, the midwife who delivered Gavyn, was to see me.  The sheet indicating that I needed to take my bottoms off to be checked was not on the exam table, so I helped myself to the drawer that I had seen them take it out of so many times before and sat waiting for her to come into the room.  We had our usual conversation and I reminded her that Dr. Armbruster promised to sweep my membranes during this visit and that he would induce me at 39 weeks if I hadn't already gone.  Vivian saw me at my 37 week appointment and said that she gave me a 50/50 chance of not needing my next appointment, as I was 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced.  She told me she was surprised to see me this week and checked me to find out that I was just under 4 cm and 60% effaced this time. Olivia was still fully engaged and seemed even lower this week.  She then asked me what every pregnant woman dreams her OB or midwife would ask them in that last slow, grueling 9th month...  "Do you want to have a baby today?"

I looked at her shocked, not knowing whether or not she was joking.  She said that she gave me a good sweep and since I was having contractions that day and was almost 4 cm, I could be admitted to the hospital.  We made plans to meet there at 1:30 pm.  James and I left with the biggest, goofiest smiles on our faces and started calling, texting, and Facebooking everyone immediately.  We were going to have a baby by the end of the day!  We went home, gathered all of our things, waited around a little, and had Tammy (James' mom) come over.  We (me, James, Gavyn, and Tammy) all headed to Five Guys for my last meal.  Why did I choose such a delicious but greasy meal right before I went into labor?  Well, I'm still not sure because Five Guys tastes a lot better going down than it does coming up.  Afterwards, Tammy took Gavyn with her to the house to wait for the call that we had been admitted so she could meet us at the hospital.  James and I ventured to the hospital, arriving about fifteen minutes fashionably late.  By this time, I felt very crampy but didn't have any noticeable contractions.  I was put into Labor & Delivery Room 1 and set up to be monitored.  Baby's heartbeat was strong and to my surprise, I was contracting every 2-3 minutes.  Vivian said that had we not planned this out, I would have been there anyways that day.  It was meant to happen.  So after some monitoring, I was admitted.  At about 2:30 PM, she broke my water.  This was a very different experience for me because my water had broken on its own with Gavyn.  The biggest frustration with my pregnancy with Olivia was not knowing what to expect and never knowing when contractions were the "real deal."  Well, my water was broken and at this point Vivian looked at me and said that we would have a baby sometime between now and 8:00 AM on January 28th.  So the waiting game began.

I laid in the bed for awhile and noticed that my contractions were getting a little stronger and closer together.  I decided to help them along and walked the hospital floors as I had done just the night before with James, Gavyn, and Carissa for an hour when I went in for false labor.  The night I went in for false labor we circled the lobby of the hospital countless times and walked and squatted up and down the stairs between the first and second floor after each lap.  Anyways, I walked for about 15 minutes with my posse (James, Gavyn, Carissa, Tammy, Tyler, my Mom, and Rachel) following me through the halls.  We then went back to the room and I bounced on a birthing ball that they wheeled in for a little while and then continued to wait.  Vivian came in and asked if I wanted my epidural.  I wasn't sure whether or not to take it because my contractions weren't very painful, but I didn't want to wait too long and risk the chance of not being able to get it (I've heard way too many horror stories).  She told me if I got the epidural and was started on Pitocin, it would make my labor shorter, so I agreed.  The epidural wasn't as bad as I remembered it being, and I teared up a little bit, but James told me that I took it like a champ and that he was proud of me.  After the epidural, they had to hook the IV that had been placed into my hand earlier up to Pitocin, fluids, and place a catheter.  At this point, I felt drowsy like I was ready for a nap and sort of like Frankenstein with so many cords connected to me.  Everyone watched the computer as my contractions grew stronger, closer together, and lasted longer.  We waited and waited some more, and at about 6:45 PM, Vivian checked me and realized that I was 5 1/2 cm.  I was making progress, yes!  This was beginning to feel like a breeze compared to my 19 hour labor with Gavyn.  At about 7:00 PM, she checked me again and I was 6 1/2 cm.  Holy crap...  1 cm in 15 minutes?  By this time, my mom had gone to pick up Brooke to bring her to the hospital.  I was progressing fast and she wasn't there yet.  I looked over to Tammy, startled, as I told her I felt the urge to push.  She told me that it was normal and I needed to hold it because I had to wait until I was 10 cm or it would be bad.  Well, the urge grew stronger with each contraction, so when Vivian came in I told her and at about 7:10 PM when she checked me she seemed startled, whispered that I was 9 cm, and she shouted, "EVERYONE OUT EXCEPT FOR FOUR!"  I've never seen a room clear so quickly.  The four in the room were James (obviously), my mom (who had JUST gotten there about 3 minutes before Olivia was born), Tammy, and Carissa.  I had asked the nurse before if I could have a fifth person and she said that if she was still working she would let me, it usually depended on the nurse and whether or not the midwife OK'd it.  Vivian told her it was OK, but the fifth person vanished with the rest of the crowd who had frantically evacuated!  I told everyone in the room to quickly text my little sister, Rachel, and tell her to get in here!  My mom and Tammy were at my hands, Carissa and James at my legs, and Rachel taking pictures and videotaping.  Three pushes (five minutes) later, Olivia was born.  I have officially beaten my 20 minute pushing record.  I warned Carissa and anyone else who watched the video, and I caution you (reader) - LABOR IS USUALLY NOT THIS EASY.  Do not expect a five hour labor (especially the first time!) and do NOT think you will only be pushing for five minutes.  According to everyone in the room, I made this look like a piece of cake.  James wept uncontrollably, kissed me several times, and continued to tell me how much he loved me and how proud of me he was basically for the next couple of days, haha.  Olivia Paige was born on January 27th, 2011 at 7:15 PM weighing 6 lbs, 11 oz and measuring 19 1/4 inches.  She is perfectly healthy in every way and we couldn't be any happier or more lucky.

Immediately after she was born, Carissa helped me clear the room of everyone who watched her be delivered, had Gavyn brought into the room, and the four of us bonded for about twenty minutes before we let everyone come in to see her.  This was one of my very specific requests that I asked Carissa to make sure happened, as I knew I'd get swept up into the moment and forget what I had originally wanted.  She pulled through for me and I'm so glad that we had that moment with just the four of us.  We stayed at the hospital for that night and the next.  Tammy took Gavyn home with her each night, and each night he got a little upset and didn't understand why we couldn't go home with Olivia.  I explained that she had to eat her dinner all gone before she could go home (the hospital requires you to stay 24 hours after the first feed to make sure everything is established), and that we would all be able to go home soon.  He has taken to her so well.  I was so worried that he might be jealous or not be interested in the baby, but I'm actually dealing with the opposite.  He wants to hold her all the time and gets upset if other people don't "share" her.  He constantly says how much he loves her and every time he holds her he has a big smile on his face and he starts rubbing, patting, and kissing her.  It's so adorable.  She has also stolen James' heart.  I've melted time and time again as I watch him hold her, baby talk to her, and feed her.  It's very special to me especially because he missed a lot with Gavyn, so it's been amazing seeing it all happen this time.  He's been very loving and thankful for me "giving Olivia to him."  I can't even describe the warm, fuzzy feelings I get spending time with my little family, bonding with them and watching them bond with eacother, and I'm so excited to spend the time off of work with all of them.

In the hospital, I was having difficulty breastfeeding.  Olivia would latch and then either just let it rest there and not do anything, or she would try to feed but then get frustrated and cry.  It wasn't until about 2 AM that the nurse said if she didn't take to my breast soon, her sugars might drop and we'd need to supplement that I decided to give her a bottle.  I walked into this with expectations to breastfeed, but I wasn't hellbent on it because I didn't with Gavyn and everything was fine.  However, I wanted to try this time for the experience and to pass along my antibodies and nutrients.  Both myself and Olivia were getting frustrated and she wasn't getting fed, so for the remainder of my stay in the hospital she was bottlefed.  When we came home, I continued to feed her with the bottle and it wasn't until yesterday when my breasts started to swell and ache that I decided I would start to pump, too.  At first, I only got less than 10 ml from both breasts, but I figured that it was better than nothing - especially because it's the colostrum which is the best thing for them since it contains most of the antibodies to pass along.  Later, I pumped again and got 30 ml.  I was so excited, since 30 ml is a whole ounce which is what she has been eating at each feeding.  Again, later I pumped and got 50 ml.  So needless to say, my milk supply is starting to build.  Well, I woke up at James' 2 AM feeding this morning and decided to give it a try - I tried breastfeeding her again.  She wasn't latching so I chalked it up to nipple confusion and let James feed her with the bottle he had already prepared.  This morning at my 6 AM feeding, I was going to grab some of the breastmilk I had expressed to feed her to heat up...  But my breasts had the sore, achy feeling so I decided to try again.  And I'm excited and proud to say that she took to it like a champ this morning!  She fed until she wasn't hungry and burped twice in between.  Yay!!!  I haven't decided where I'll go from here, I'm sure we will play it by ear and see how things go...  But I imagine it will be a combination of breastfeeding, expressing and bottlefeeding, and supplementing with formula. Anyways, I've been at this for about an hour and I'm ready to give my baby some love even though she looks mighty comfortable wrapped up in her carseat.  Gavyn will probably be waking up soon, so I'm gonna wrap this up!  I know it's veeery long, but I will thank myself later for this, and sorry if any of this has been TMI, but let's be honest - you could've stopped reading a long time ago...  So, bye bye for now!

Update!

Oh, I know, I've been slacking.  But between a combination of school work, work work, baby making work, and parenting work...  I've been just a liiiittle exhausted.

So, while I've been busy, the baby has been ever so busy growing.  Since my last update (Week 6 - Sweet Pea), the baby grew to the size of a Blueberry (Week 7), then a Raspberry (Week 8), and now the little rascal is the size of an Olive (Week 9).

Rather than give you a visual idea through a photograph of a piece of fruit, I'd like to present, without further adieu...

Our little bean!

Well, I've heard peanut, bean, little beanie baby, granddaughter, grandson, grandbaby, aww wittle baby, alien, and even Plankton (from SpongeBob) so far, so feel free to leave your input.  But, when I saw that little heartbeat flicker on the screen, I was beaming.  Another four weeks until we actually get to hear the heartbeat, and I can't wait.  The little line you see to the right of little beanie baby (as James liked to say) is actually the amniotic sac.  Our doctor said it's usually not visible and this is actually a very clear picture for only 9 weeks.

In other news, we had a really nice 4th of July.  I'm terrible with making plans, because I make too many and keep too few, but this year we decided to keep true to our tradition and went to James' parents house to grill and blow some stuff up.  Tammy took table cloths and laid them on the pool table and had a huge spread of food that took up the entire pool table for us to eat.  We had a few friends over, too.  We blew off tons of fireworks and hopefully learned our lesson that just because they LOOK bigger (i.e. huge box that says it lights off 50 fireworks, etc.) doesn't meant they ARE better.  Those buy 1 get 1 $75 all-in-one fireworks were just a waste.  Next time I'll stick to our tried and true little boxes that have what they look like on the side and a huge tube to put the little firework balls into.

Since we're not going to be able to put Gavyn in preschool, I'm looking for different things that our family can do with him during the day while we're at work which will help him learn the same concepts.  So I'll be on the hunt over the next year for all things Leapfrog/preschool education/that sort of thing.  If you're reading this and have any suggestions, please let me know.  Believe it or not, NickJr.com has really great games that focus on the alphabet, shapes, colors, and numbers.

I'm at work right now waiting for James to get off since I got off 42 minutes ago.  That explains why this post is so long!  I'm gonna wrap it up for now and go wrap my mouth around a delicious shredded beef taco from Chipotle.  YUM.

SNES

I just got back from getting my bloodwork done, James and Gavyn tagged along for moral support (I get queezy, and I'm a bit of a baby), and afterwards we grabbed some Chick Fil A.  I'm 5 weeks, 6 days and so far I've had pretty much every symptom in the book, except morning sickness *knocks on wood*.  I've had nausea but usually when that feeling creeps over me, I quickly shovel down saltines and hope for the best.  I'm hoping this pregnancy will result in another happy, healthy baby (girl).

Well, it's thundering outside and looking quite dark, so I'm thinking that today is a great day to dust off the good ol' Super Nintendo and Donkey Kong.  On E3 they showed that they are coming out with a new Donkey Kong and a new Kirby for Wii, so it has me in the mood.  Oh, and trust me, I will be owning those!

BFP

Gavyn and I were sitting at the table as I worked on some homework and he munched on a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar.  About halfway through his bar, he looked at me and said, "I have to go pee, don't eat my ice cream."  I laughed and acted as if I was going to as he was walking away, and he turned around and stopped and said, "You not eat it!"  When he came back, he offered me a bite and in the process accidentally dropped some on the floor.  I asked him why he dropped the ice cream on the floor and he replied, "I not do it on purpose."  Are you kidding me with how smart he is???

In other news, I know it has been awhile, but things are great at home.  We are actually thinking of moving to a bigger house when our lease is up in September, and calling a place with bigger bathrooms, bedrooms, and a kitchen our home...  This, to us, is rather exciting but doesn't really compare to the news that follows...  WE ARE EXPECTING!

There is no mistaking that!  The one on the bottom is the first test we took, as you can see the line is kind of dull, but still there.  Well, yesterday I took the one on top and today I went to the health department and...  What do you know!  I'm pregnant with baby #2!  Estimated due date is February 9, 2011 according to my pregnancy app in my iPhone and February 13, 2011 according to the lady's chart at the health department.  I'm going to call Dr. Armbruster (who I chose when I was pregnant with Gavyn) tomorrow to make an appointment!  We're very excited, especially because it happened on our very first try.  And so the waiting game begins!  I went to my Aunt's with my Mom on Monday to take some pre-preschool graduation pictures of Tyler and Hailie and they did the ring test...  I know what you're thinking, but it was right for their kids and for Gavyn, so I decided to give it a shot.  And according to the magical ring test, I am having a girl.  I can only hope so.  James wants another boy, go figure.  We are still agreeing on the name Olivia and I can't convince James OR Gavyn that any other name will be just as nice.  So, we will see!  Here are the pictures that I took of Hailie and Tyler:

That's all for now!

Let the sun wrap its arms around me

Believe it or not, our first time watching the sunset on the beach.  Dinner followed.

Perky Bear Pancakes

What is it about Perkin's Perky Bear Pancakes that make you want to spontaneously make a trip to Disney?

 

Well, it was worth it.

RIP 'Stang

Well, I'm glad that I followed James' initiative and we bought our VW Jetta when we did after the car accident.  I kept insisting that we use a rental car until the case was settled, and use that money for a down payment.  Instead, we had to borrow money from Gavyn's savings account in order to be able to buy another car.  It has been gratefully returned, thanks to income tax time, but I had shed a few tears over it to begin with.  The rental car wouldn't have done anything for us but ran up the bills we already have now.  The woman who had a stroke and hit James from behind, causing him to hit the person in front of him, and essentially turn the Mustang into a mangled raisin, is not being held liable for the accident.  By law (in most states), if the defendent has a "sudden medical emergency," they are not held liable.  To help you understand, people have actually gotten away with this from claiming that they were incapacitated because the passenger had made them laugh so hard that they blacked out.  Another instance would be that you sneezed.  By using this excuse, and being able to provide evidence, you can clear yourself of any liability.  James said something along the lines of, "What if my son would have been in the back seat?"  And they told him that in that type of circumstance, the woman still would have not been held liable, lacking even a smidge of compassion towards the situation.  Now, the woman who hit him didn't use such an insignificant excuse, but I wanted to point out how ridiculous our laws are.  She had a stroke, which caused her to become unconscious.  Her granddaughter was in the passenger seat, claiming to have been shaking her trying to wake her up.  According to her insurance company, she had a clear medical history and is not on any medication.  I understand that it may not be the woman's fault per-se that she had a stroke, but how does that make it ours?  When we talked to our lawyer, he explained that you can swerve off the road and hit and kill four pedestrians and not be held liable.  From laughing, sneezing, or having a stroke.  Thank god Gavyn wasn't in the car.  James was just running out to pick up some Taco Bell, which is about ten minutes from home, he asked if we wanted to go with him.  Now, not only have we lost the car that James had for four years, and had put over $5,000 dollars into in addition to the initial $6,000 price of the car...  But we've also incurred about $6,000 worth of medical expenses (luckily, 80% of which will be covered by our insurance company).  At least I'm walking away from this dreadful situation with my fiance who just had a few scratches and burns, and a learning experience to always have full coverage insurance even if your car is paid off.

FLDSMDFR (pronounced FL-DS-MDFR)

My neglect towards you has flourished, Blogspot.  Life has been keeping me busy lately, perhaps taking over and not leaving enough time for you.  I've been living in a paradoxical universe where Blogger isn't always my number one priority, and so my reputation precedes me.  I've been known to update frequently, nag my friends who can't seem to keep up, and then do the same myself.  It's a vicious, never-ending cycle.

The main factors in my life are still family, school, and work.  I'm still maintaining balance between the three, and still able to find time for my new obsession (because I always have one), which lately has been revamping my wardrobe.  I'm an UrbanOutfitters.com regular and an eBay enthusiast.  I'm that person who bids on that item that you've been watching for 3 days, 6 hours, and 32 seconds in the last 30 second stretch.  I win.

Our debt is now only a quarter of what it used to be, and it feels so sweet!  Cutting up plastic cards has never been so fulfilling (and difficult, apparently I need a new pair of scissors).

The three of us have been up to the usual.  Right now I'm half-watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs with my boys while trying to successfully complete a post for the first time in nearly a month.  Let's hope you're not saved as a draft.  Anyways, we've been spending a lot of time at home together or with family lately.  I've also been spending a lot of time doing school work.  The amount of school work that I have has at least doubled since last semester.  I am still maintaining my 4.0 though, at least until Summer when I have to take Algebra, yuck.  I've taught Gavyn a new dance that he regularly practices in public.  It's called the "I Did It Dance."  He bends his elbows so that his arms form an "L" and moves them up and down, one at a time while singing, "I did it, I did it!"  He did the dance on the way back from the bathroom to the dinner table tonight with Grandpa by his side.

This update has brought me to the conclusion that I have not been taking nearly enough photos or videos lately.  I'll have to work on that.  I would've loved to have been able to post a little preview of the "I Did It Dance," but I hope you'll accept an I.O.U.  For now, I'm going to work on devoting my full attention to this movie and cuddling up to my little family while Emma continuously headbutts me from above the couch.

EDIT:  I forgot to mention that as of February 1, 2010, Gavyn is *OFFICIALLY* potty-trained!  The only time he wears a diaper or pull-up is at night.  Even when we go out, he is wearing big boy underwear!  My little baby is growing up so fast...

Wuddup?

I'm being forced, against my will, to update, so here's what I've been up to:

Remodeling Gavyn's room

Gavyn's birthday party

Gavyn's 'big' birthday present

Had to finally get more book dvdshelves and some fancy new art

New semester of school

Making cheddar at work

Being crazy

It's a bit nippy.

Well, it's official.  Bay News 9 announced that there is wet snow and sleet falling across parts of the Bay area.  I hurriedly informed James that it's snowing in Florida.  He couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth, so he insisted that he see a picture as proof, since we're currently south of home at work.  So I "received" a picture from someone near our house of the little flurries, and had him come over to look at the photograph of the current weather conditions in our town...

Laughter ensued.

EDIT: I think he believes me now, there is sleet falling here in Florida.

So we meet again.

Forty and fifty degree weather, I know you so little...  Yet you bare a striking resemblance to one of those random friends or family members who thinks that they can just "pop in" unannounced and then stay for hours upon hours talking your ear off with no regard to time, or your level of interest.

This year I hate you.  I hate the chill that you give me when I slip out from under the blankets after a seemingly warm and cozy night, I hate how frigid you make my toilet seat so early in the morning, I hate how you attack my unsuspecting toes when the blanket just isn't quite long enough to reach them, and I hate how your continuously frosty weather has forced the people who normally visit my workplace to put their clothes on, stay home, and wait for warmer weather.  Yes, it's that time of year again.  For cuts.

I'm not sure how drastically this might affect our financial situation, since it's only a couple of hours per week, but if James' hours are also cut, we'll have to start making the cuts.  On our bills.

Today is Day 3 of my low-cal diet.  I'm trying to keep my calorie intake at about 1,100 per day.  So far it has been working for me.  I had never realized just how many calories I normally consume until I started paying attention...  Just, wow.  I'm surprised the Wii Fit calculated my BMI at Normal.  Anyways, I'm taking the initiative and finally setting out to lose the rest of those baby pounds, nearly three years later.  My goal is to be back at my pre-pregnancy weight and to make an honest attempt at becoming a little more physically fit.

Speaking of three years later, Gavyn will be turning three on January 14th.  It's just short of impossible for me to describe to you the mixed and bittersweet feelings that this brings to me.  So I'll just say that he is the sweetest boy you could ever possibly meet, and the day that I gave birth to him I knew my life would change forever.  It has, in the best possible way.  I can't wait to wish him a happy birthday for the third time with a little help from family, friends, and this one is obvious: Batman.

The Princess and the Frog, Pt. 2

James and I are working opposite shifts today, I will see him for a brief moment when we meet halfway on  my way home and on his way to work so that he can give me one of the textbooks that sold on Amazon today, Gavyn and his carseat, and a kiss.  Then I won't see him again until 1 am.  I think I'm going to take Gavyn to see The Princess and The Frog tonight.  James wants to see Avatar, so the chances of seeing both while they're still in theatres are slim to none - we usually just can't find the time!  I love that I can do these types of things with Gavyn now.  He's my little sidekick.  I have some errands to run today after work, I want to see the movie afterwords, and then I'll be glad to relax with Gavyn.

Ps, James is finally putting up the Christmas lights!  I can't wait to see them!  The sounds of 'It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas' are beginning to ring in my ears.


Pss, I laughed out loud at work about this, so I thought I'd share:

(Facebook)
Jack > Lauren: When I woke up this morning, this is what you said to me "You are not a transformer" for no reason and immediately went back to sleep.  You have a lot of explaining to do.
Me: No explanation needed, you're clearly not a transformer.  She was just stating the obvious.

The Windy City

So, today is my very last day of work and then I'm off for eleven days. You probably do not have the slightest idea how dire the need for this vacation is. I'm so excited to see all of my family and experience Chicago. It has been YEARS.

I made a small list of the things that we want to do while we're there so that if we're sitting at my Dad's one day saying, "What do you want to do?" "I don't know, what do you want to do?"... Hopefully we'll be able to figure out what to do. Here it is:

1. Eat Chicago-style hot dogs -- Which for me will be plain hot dogs with ketchup, I know they're not really considered Chicago-style, but I don't like that stuff. BUT most places do not steam the buns and that really makes all the difference.

2. Eat Pizza Puffs -- You absolutely cannot find these practically anywhere in Florida! We used to have a place called Windy City Cafe or something of the like, but it closed.

3. Eat at White Castle -- I realize these things might sound stupid and minuscule, but if you know James, you'll understand this.

4. Go to MOSI -- Apparently the MOSI located in Chicago is the best one in the US, so we plan to go there on Monday, and it's free! I'm not sure if they'll have it while we're there, but I've caught word of a Harry Potter exhibit with the original costumes from the movie.

5. Six Flags -- This is obvious. OF COURSE we're going to Six Flags.

6. Lake Katherine -- This is a really beautiful park that I remember going to ever since I was young. It has a huge waterfall, paths with flowers and wildlife surrounding you, and a haystack where we used to hide. I think Gavyn will love it there, and I'll be able to take some gorgeous pictures.


7. Rino Bar -- Wednesday night from 12-1 am free vodka drinks, what more can I say?

8. Bourbon Street and other misc. bars - I'm 21 and have yet to visit a bar.

9. The Art District -- Lauren suggested that we go to see the many hipsters to point, laugh, and possibly throw rocks.

10. I'm on a boat -- And it's goin' fast and I gotta nautical themed Pashmina Afghan. No, but really... My Dad is taking us out on the boat. He said that we'll be able to see the city like we've never seen it before because we'll actually be going all through it and looking up at the buildings through the lakes. He said I'll be able to catch some amazing pictures, too. Plus, I just love going out on the boat. I caught a blow fish the last time that we went on a boat.

11. BBQ @ Kelly's -- Kelly is throwing a little get together so that the whole family will be there.

12. Shopping! -- ...!!!!

13. Sushi -- James REALLY wants to go to a nice Sushi restaurant while we're there.

14. Quality family time - My aunt is thinking of bringing us to the Zoo and the Sears Tower (I will still call it that, I don't care if it was renamed)... And she said she's been saving up her firewood so that we can go outside and roast marshmallows, make smores, and play Scattergories. And, of course, we'll visit with all of my family, especially my Grandma. She won't be making many more trips to Florida, so that's what we planned this vacation around.

That pretty much sums it up. If we get to do all of those things I will be thoroughly satisfied.

Lauren took off the whole week so we're in for a real treat. James has been around the two of us together so he knows what to expect ;), but it has been a LONG time.

In other VERY important news... Deschanel nabbed my Gibbard :( I guess this means I'm stuck with, oops, I mean destined to marry James. :P

I didn't even know that they were dating, let alone now newly wed.

Space is not just a place for stars.

Blogger, you've become one of my mortal enemies. Every single time I try to update you, I get side-tracked and lose interest. We'll see how this one goes.

I've been really slacking on taking pictures of anything lately. Both my Canon and my Sony have been collecting dust. I really want to work on that. Mainly focusing on photos of Gavyn.

I start school on Monday. Online school, anyway. My first actual class on campus isn't until Thursday. On Thursdays I will be going to work 7-3 and then getting home around 4, eating dinner and hanging out with Gavyn and James for a few hours and then going to school from 7-9:40, then bed. I'm sure Thursdays will become exhausting. I have one week to decide if it's worth it to take the class at the campus or if I should take it online. It's Intro to the Teaching Profession, so I would like to take it on campus, but at the same time I'll still be getting the 15 hours in the classroom, and I'll have more time to myself on Thursdays. Then again, it might be slightly harder online than it is at the campus. But at the same time, I don't want to get burnt out. I'm a little torn. What are your thoughts?

September can't come soon enough. I am really looking forward to this vacation. I need a break. I know that the week will fly by and be over before I know it, but it's still much needed.

Gavyn is getting so big and so smart. We'll put on NickJr.com for him and let him play the different games and color on there, and he's so intricate about his color placement. First of all, everything has to be blue. Second, everything has to be inside of the lines, clearly. His hand/eye coordination is fascinating for a two and a half year old. James and I sat there watching him color in the tiny speck of paint at the end of the paint brush that Blue (from Blue's Clues) was holding and color both of the tiny clouds blue. Blue is clearly his favorite color, because he'll get mad if I change it to any other color, but he's fine with different shades of blue. So far, blue is the only color that he can identify. He does, however, count all the way up to ten. We're working harder towards potty training now. I only give him one cup of water or milk at night, instead of the usual -- which consists of infinite amounts of Sunny D or apple juice.

We bought him some new Disney DVDs the other day when I got my new HP mini. Cars, Oliver & Company, Finding Nemo, and Monsters, Inc. I'm so thrilled that Gavyn appreciates Disney. Especially because it gives me an excuse to watch my favorites over and over again... And to go to Magic Kingdom yearly for his birthday. James is already sick of it and we've only gone with him once, but he'll get over it. Especially if we get to park hop, he loves Epcot.

I keep trying to plan our mini-vacation to Orlando, but James wants no part in it yet because, well... We still have our vacation to Chicago in September, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas before it's his birthday. I still can't help but think about what I should have as the theme of his birthday party. I'm stuck between Blue's Clues and Toy Story :P Which reminds me, Gavyn wants to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween. I was showing him different Halloween costumes that I thought he'd like online, he got pretty excited for Blue, but when I pulled up Buzz he got really excited and exclaimed, "BUZZ?!!?!"

Ugh, I got side-tracked again (because I'm at work), so I'm ending this now!

EDIT: I was working with Gavyn on colors and so far he can remember blue, yellow, and pink!