Misunderstandings

All friends have misunderstandings. The important thing is to be able to be honest & work through it together. I am lucky enough & blessed to have friends who can be honest with me & me with them.

Now… we prepare for our small New Years Eve party. Better than driving though!

My little elf!

This is so cool! Our son received a cleaning kit for christmas & loves imitating me. LOL Today he learned how to “pretend spray with sound effects” on the dishwasher surface, puts the bottle down & wipes the surface with a paper towel! It’s amazing & very cool.

He knows his mama!

Today our son asked for Mama when my hubby went in to get him! Yay! Then he came downstairs & ran to me saying “Mama”. This was the moment I’ve been waiting for since he was born.

I have no doubt that soon I will get to hear him scream & cry for Mama… That won’t be sweet, just heartbreaking.

Zzzzz...

For some people, they need vitamin C when they’re sick. As for my son & I, we need sleep. After a very long nap today, our son seemed to be feeling better & not as icky as yesterday.

Sick again

Our son woke up yesterday Christmas morning with a cold. Today it was full blown.

After celebrating with relatives every day since Friday, today we opened presents with our son & relaxed. Ahhh… how great it is to veg after 4 days of non-stop activities!

New Years

We had planned a big New Years party (since we have overnight babysitting) but it appears many are doing their own thing this year. So I guess it’ll be more toned down that I expected but I have some more ideas…

We will have fun on our night as adults!

How do you feel?

It appears our son caught the sniffles & runny nose from something over the holidays. Let’s hope we’re not up all night. Today we have to open our son's gifts at our house & then celebrate with my hubby's folks.

I hope he’s not that sick!

Jingle bells, jingle bells

It appears that Santa came to our house last night but we had to be at my parent’s house to do the last year of opening presents together on christmas morning.

So after getting to bed at 1:30 from cleaning the party from the previous evening, we got up at 5 AM! Without the prodding of our child! LOL Next year, that’s what wil wake us up. So we left the house at 7 am to open gifts with my siblings & parents.

After visiting my hubby's parent’s a short time & returning to our house around 2 pm, we unpacked the car & started putting Christmas presents away. My hubby got the miter saw & shelving he wanted. I got my boxing gloves with punching bag & 8' buffet table among great other things. Our son made out with toys & clothing!

Tonight we had a nice ‘leftover’ family christmas dinner at our place with my family. It was great having everyone over here.

Tomorrow we celebrate with my hubby's family house for Christmas! One more day to go…

Whose the hostess with the mostess?

After hosting tonight’s successful annual Goranson Christmas Eve party, we received many compliments on a job well done. I had a ball doing it even though we had tons of food & I had 1/2 a plate & 1 glass to drink all night! LOL This is what I was made to do!

Already talking about next year…

Family time

Tonight we had a christmas dinner with my father’s side of the family. It was so good seeing everyone! My 2nd cousins were great with our son & his second cousin. J is only about a month younger than our son but they were good together.

Our son of course ‘took the stage’ later that evening & captivated the relatives to no end! We got some awesome video for proof when he’s older. LOL He does love being the life of the party.

Get it done

Today I rushed all over the house cleaning, wrapping, planning, moving, etc in final preparation of the holidays. I sat down late that night, only to realize I hadn’t sat once all day!
I was exhausted.

On the tree it goes!

My hubby picked up our 2005 ornament yesterday. It turned out fabulous. It’s a Christmas tree with all our names on it (including all 3 cats). How perfect.

In the palm of my hand...

Today I visited with a neighbor who has a 4 month old kitten! We’re watching her for a couple days next week. She was so cute & loveable. It’s amazing to think our cats (especially P) used to be so tiny.

How sweet!

For those who have sent me comments about my blog, thank you! Please do not think that I’m technically advanced… halt that thought now! LOL Thanks to my loving husband, he makes it easy for me to log in, make my post & publish it. Beyond that… I have no idea how this site works. LOL

Hold me close

Our son was so sweet. He made it very clear today he wanted to cuddle with his big stuffed Mickey & Bear. So there he was sitting beteen them, giving hugs to Mickey & kisses to Bear. Then he even posed for me & understood I was taking his picture! Sooo cute!

Ho ho ho!

Our son loved seeing Santa today at the mall. We got his & our traditional family picture with Santa.

Can you believe he smiled every moment but when the picture was taken??? LOL

Sing it to me one more time!

Last night we went to our friends’ kareoke party where we had a blast! My best friend & I even did a “white girl version” of one of Salt & Peppa’s songs. Boy was it bad but the rest was great!

Can you repeat that?

Our cat has a sore by her neck that she’s been scrathing & making worse. It never gets the chance to heal so I asked the vet for advice. So now, according to the vet’s advice, her upper body is wrapped in a Ace bandage! Only we have cats like this!

Now… let’s see how long this will last! LOL

Can I help too?

Our son tries to be more helpful each day. Today while I was cleaning the litter he decided he would help me out by checking out the cat’s water dish. Then he promptly turned it UPSIDE DOWN & handed it to me. LOL

Luckily we have a storage container lid underneath the bowls so the most of the water was off the carpet & on the lid. At least he was trying…

Owww!

Yesterday we went to dinner with my family for my sister’s boyfriend’s birthday. Our son was dripping water from his sippy cup in the car so I started to take it away from him. As my hubby was driving, our son & I were having a frustrating game of tug-of-war with his cup. Somehow he pulled his cup close enough & bit my pointer finger! Dang he bit hard. After some tears later, I still couldn’t believe my toddler could bite that hard! Even as I scolded him afterwards, he thought it was funny!

Oh goodness…

Daddy's little boy

Since my hubby had to work late tonight, I put our son to bed. Initially he did great until he realized he wasn’t going to see Daddy. Then he had a fit & tried to manipulate me to do anything to stay awake (such as reading books, dance to music, cuddle, drink milk, etc). When he realized I knew he was trying to trick me, he laughed! I think he really knew.

Boy, I’m really going to have my hands full!

I'll say when you're ready!

Today I was working on some paperwork when our son wanted to show mw something. I told him one minute & he said ok. After a few seconds of waiting patiently, he said “all done” & closed my binder on me while I was writing! LOL I guess kids determine when you’re done sometimes.

Bad timing

Yesterday our DVD player totally busted so we ended up running out to Best Buy to find a good combination DVD & VCR player on sale. Yay! Now we can play our son's baby Einstein without it skipping or stopping anymore.

Holiday party!

Yesterday evening my parents babysat our son while my hubby & I attended his holiday work party. They provided transportation to & from downtown. On the bus we had champagne with peach Schnapps, chilled shrimp, divine chocolate & roasted cashews! Then we went to the top floor where we mingled with an open bar & my hubby's co-workers. Afterwards we sat down with an amazing view of the city skyline & ate filet mignon & yummy dessert buffet.

The DJ started playing some dance music so a few others & I coaxed some people out on the dance floor. Before I knew it we had many people out there dancing with feather boas & hats! We even had a kick line to Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer”! How cool! I even danced with one of the board of directors to the Grease mix.

Needless we had the best time ever! That was until I got home to discover my blue boa had rubbed dye all over my neck & shoulders. Yikes! Soap & water took care of that. It was so worth it!

My fine planning skills... on the fritz!

So… after making sure our clothes are ready for my hubby's work holiday party, I realize that I’m missing a crucial item hours before we’re supposed to leave. So I run to the store to get it only to find that there are no items in my size! So I have to use one size smaller. Since it’s only for a couple hours, I’ll manage. Don’t really have a choice do I? LOL

Life is funny

It’s amazing how quickly times passes. As a stay-at-home mom, you rarely get time to yourself. Then when you do, you have to learn how to use it. Initially I felt I should do housekeeping first & still ended up with no time for myself.

Then I learned to take time to do things that made me happy & started to find myself again. You can get so lost being a mom, wife, friend, daughter & sister that you forget who you are. Once your child starts moving around on their own & you realize that you need to make yourself happy or the isolation will depress you. After a long journey, I now understand that.

So once again, I’ve started picking up various hobbies which I interchange at will. I recently learned to crochet & have gotten pretty good at it. I’m also finishing the organizing & storing of 30 years worth of photos. Once I’m done, I can start making my scrapbooks & putting some photos into albums. Our son loves to look through the photos & I want him to grow up seeing where he came from.

Guessing weight

Did I mention I’m down to 148 lbs??? Wahoo! All by eating healthy & chasing after my son!

Smoothie time!

Today I unpacked the last of our small kitchen appliances. There I found our blender! So I took it upon myself to make a delicious smoothie with 1/2 cup of milk, 2 teaspoons of sugar, frozen mixed fruit & 1 banana. Thirty second later + clean-up, I’m enjoying a delicious healthy smoothie!

Hush little baby...

Our son's taking a long nap so I get email time on the computer! Then I get to do laundry, cleaning, de-cluttering, organizing photos, etc! I do enjoy the slow days. LOL

Captain under attack!

It seems that my guestbook has appeared on some spamming websites and I was getting about 15 spam messages on it per day. Rather than subject you to ads for viagra, porn, and gambling I had to temporarily disable it until I could upgrade to a new version with spam protection.
Well, we’re back up and running now with a new guestbook. It prevents spammers with the power of lemon!

And to all you spammers out there… find something better to do with your lives!

Smelly!

Today I was putting our son down for a nap when he wanted me to take off his socks. I told him we keep them on for to keep his feet warm. He replied by smelling his socks & saying “Peeyou!”
LOL That made my day!

Final walkthrough

After almost a year later, today was our final walk-through of our house. Amazing how time flies! Everything went well & now we’re done.

Oh christmas tree!

Yesterday we went to a local christmas tree farm where my hubby cut down a beautiful Douglas fir for our living room. There it now stands waiting to be decorated…

Freecycle it!

We’ve also freecycled some clutter items.

Check out freecycle.org if you don’t know what I’m talking about! It’s a great place to give things away (they pick the items up & you choose who gets them) & get things yourself (you pick up @ their convenience).

Lighting ceremony

Yesterday my hubby finished the christmas lights outside & we had the grand lighting ceremony. He did such a great job, especially since we no longer have the large bushes & trees to work at the new house. Will post a picture of the lights soon.

The christmas countdown has begun!

What is organization?

After working on the basement tonight, it is now somewhat presentable. Thanks to my in-laws for watching our son so we could get it all done!

I hung some sheets to act as curtains so the storage area is hidden. We have a folding screen to hide the water line area, there’s now designated sitting/play area for the winter time & unpacked more boxes.

My hubby finished his work bench & is putting tons of tools I found packed away tomorrow night. That’s when I’ll be baking cookies for a local non-profit home where families of sick relatives can stay for free or cheap.

Was that Grandma?

Wow! Our son said Grandma to my hubby's mother after hearing it for a year & a half. My hubby & his mother were singing it to him when he repeated it back. He also said “all better” in three syllables very clearly. Then he did his first somersault perfectly just for Grandma. How cool!

Many thanks...

Thanksgiving with both families was a lot of fun & of course our son loved being the center of attention!

We have so much to be grateful for this year & every single day…

Wishing everyone happy holidays! Be careful & drive safe.

New pictures finally!

After what seems like forever and a day, we now have new pictures uploaded in the gallery. There are some awesome ones there! Enjoy & please feel free to leave comments below the individual pictures.

What's your sign?

Our son now uses baby sign language to ask for more/drink/eat & now “all done”. It makes life so much easier!

Fireworks galore!

After an awesome weekend at my in-laws' (that included picking fresh raspberries), we finished it off by having a nice BBQ & fireworks with my family. Our son wasn’t afraid of the fireworks at all either. We have such a good boy…

Also wanted to give a shout-out to my brother, R, in Kuwait. We missed you bro!

Thanks to those who serve!

Thanks for serving our country! Hope you come home safe & soon.

Suey!

Yesterday we went to our friend’s annual pig roast. Yummy! Thanks for a relaxing time C&L.

Good to see you my friend!

Today my friend J came to visit with her daughter who’s about five months younger than our son. It was so cute watching the kids play together. It was good spending time with her as I haven’t seen her since she moved in 2001!

By the way, congrats to her brother K who just got married!

On the other side...

We finally have grass & landscaping! Now we just have to water it but hey… no mud pit in the front yard now. LOL

Improve it does!

My knees slowly getting better a little bit every day. Any progress is good progress!

30... Here I come!

For my 30th birthday, I went to dinner with my hubby, son, best friend & her hubby. Our son was great all day & actually played in the pack & play while I showered & did my make-up. I even got to wear a dress! Nice to feel pretty once in a while.

Some people are asking me how I feel about turning 30. To me, it’s just another year. I’m right where I wanted to be & better than I ever dreamed (other than the knee & crutch LOL). I’ve been very lucky & am thankful.

Top soil!

Never thought I would be so excited about getting dirt in my life... on my birthday nonetheless!

We got top soil in our front & back yard today!!! Starting to look like a real yard. Next is… (drum roll please)… landscaping!

Who's that boy?

Our son's emerging personality traits:

• Mischievous - He very quiet when he doing something he’s know he’s not supposed to.

• Smart
o When he’s discovered playing with something he’s not supposed to, he will start to ‘play’ with another toy only to return to the “not allowed item” after you walk away
o Uses the sign language for eat, more & milk
o Understand the signs for eat, more, milk, drink

• Impatient
o Wants to eat without any wait for preparation
o Throws temper tantrums by sitting on the floor & crying, then crawls away when you reach for him to stop & cry some more. It’s like he saying “you’ve had your chance & I’m not happy now”.
o He can walk along furniture but is very cautious so he prefers crawling because it’s faster.

• Fussy eater - Will only eat certain things at certain times

• Playful & Funny
o Loves to laugh & play
o Will hide under blanket or napkin & play peek-a-boo
o Will crawl in & out of his tent & play hide & seek, laughing the entire time
o He loves to put things in his mouth, let it hang down & crawl away.
o Rarely sits still unless it’s close to naptime

• Charmer & flirt
o Charms everybody every time we go anywhere (grocery store, doctors & especially restaurants)
o Flirts with waitresses, patrons, clerks, & anybody with a face
o Talks non-stop at them until they look at him & then he gives this big smile

• Talker - Babbles non-stop. I tease my father-in-law that he’s going to be a talker just like me

• Affectionate (Gives hugs & kisses when you pucker your lips)

Where the blacktop ends

We got a driveway! With blacktop!!! Yay! No more gravel constantly tracking into our house!

Only me...

Well folks! My clutziness got me into trouble again. Yesterday I tripped on a wire & fell while I was holding our son. Good news is that our son's fine & didn’t get hurt at all. The saying that a parent instinctively protects their child is true!

So I fell on my knee, landing on concrete. The doctor said it’s a possible hairline fracture but so slight that it would be treated the same way. So although I don’t need to wear additional support, I am to use a crutch for about 4 weeks until this is better. Meanwhile I’m to stay off of it as much as I can with a baby that crawls into everything. LOL

So crutch on one side & our son on the other! What a way to live.

Nathan's cold/cough

Our son finally got over that nasty cold & cough that has been going around everywhere. So now we have our happy son back! YEAH!

He picked it up from the YMCA daycare where I take belly dancing & swim excercise classes. My hubby & I are also doing parent/child swim classes with him to get him used to the water. He has fun ’swimming’ (one of us hold him & he ‘kicks’) back & forth between us. He’s so cute!

Smile for the bunny!

We got pictures with our son & the Easter Bunny today. He did fantastic (much better than with Santa!) & smiled great for the camera.

Call me!

Everybody take note that we changed out cell phone service & therefore have new numbers. Check your email or call us to get updated! Thanks!

Hit the slopes!

My hubby has his annual ski trip coming up so as usual there should be some ‘promising’ photos to appear her afterwards of my father-in-law's infamous spills. LOL Our son & I are going to have fun with my hubby's Grandma while they’re gone! Shhh…

Then there were seven...

Our son's breaking his 7th tooth in just in time for his one-year birthday! He’s been doing so well with his teething. Not too much fussing actually (of course, now that I said that…).

Welcome to the neighborhood

Sorry it’s been forever since we updated everyone but we’ve been getting settled.
The house is great & felt like home when we walked in. All the walls are painted so it feels so much more like home. We’ve yet to put up real blinds (we have them but they are on the to-do list) but that’s okay. Our back neighbor actually noticed we have our computers on all the time. How freaky is that though?

Neighbors seem very friendly. Once the weather warms up, everyone’s looking forward to getting out & BBQ’ing together.

Playdate

This evening we babysat our neighbor’s daughter, A (who’s 5 mths younger than our son) who spent two hours playing with our son while her parents had a date night. The kids got along so well! I think both kids really enjoyed themselves. I know I had fun. They were so cute. Our son wanted the “garden” door closed & his playmate wanted it open. This went back & forth for about 5 minutes. LOL

We seem to click well with A's parents, J&T. They’re both very nice. We’re actually taking turns babysitting for each other so we avoid baby-sitting costs, get to have nice dates frequently & the kids get excellent playdates together. I have a good feeling about this.

New calendars

Last night I finally got some of my 2006 calanders hung up so I actually know what day it is. They all blend together… LOL

Last night’s celebration dinner was very good! We’re so proud of my hubby's sister for completing her Masters degree in Nursing! Wahoo!!!

Afterward we played “Find the Mommy” (hide & seek) at my hubby's folk's house. That Uncle A is so funny!

Cubby hole!

Turns out our son is just like his Mommy. Several months agao, he was walking around with a baby food jar that I keep all the safety pins in for his socks. Well I went to get it from him & searched everywhere for it. It was gone! After a few days I figured it would show up sometime. Then today our son was playing upstairs & walked in holding that very same jar I had searched for! Where he hid it, I have no clue… LOL

Good to be home

Yesterday afternoon my father was discharged from the hospital & sent home. After seeing him that evening, he seems to be doing ok if uncomfortable. He is to work from home this week. Hopefully he’ll be better soon.

You're out!

Yesterday my family & I helped my youngest sister as she kicked her live-in boyfriend out. It’s good that she can move on now.

We spent the whole day cleaning the place up so now it looks very neat & clean. It’s a new beginning!

Game night

Last night some of my relatives & immediate family came over for dinner & game night. We had a blast. Imagine IF is a great game for anyone!

Here's your diagnosis.

Today my father was admitted to the hospital. They misdiagnosed him (with something quite severe & uncommon) in the ER until the specialist examined him & re-diagnosed him (with something far more managable). They’re keeping him overnight for observation. Hopefully he’ll be home soon.

I said behave!

When we were at Pizza Hut this evening, our son decided the giraffe needed to be disciplined. so he screamed in the middle of the restaurant… loudly.

Funny but true!

I just read this statement from another blog…

“Taking care of two kids that are sick while you’re sick is not easy. Taking care of two kids that are NOT sick while you’re sick is like driving a dull pointed railroad spike through your nasal cavity with a toy hammer.”http://delawareathomedad.blogspot.com/

Thank you for putting what couldn’t be explained into a perfect analogy! LOL Very true…

Free night?

I’ve decided to work on my blog tonight as I’m switching to programs. My hubby will be excited because that means he can play his game. LOL Aren’t men funny?

Tomorrow night is family game night at our place!

Icky!

The other day I was taking some warm cookies out of the oven when I bumped the top of the oven. Oops! Of course, cookie crumbs went everywhere inside & beneath the stove. After cleaning the inside of the oven the best while hot, I resumed cooking & forgot about the crumbs underneath the stove. Well my observant son saw these crumbs under the stove promptly pointing them out to me (several times) that that were “Icky”. LOL

You know you keep a clean house when your son points out crumbs to you that are underneath the oven! Needless to say, those are cleaned up now.

15 minutes at a time

Yesterday I finally decided to pack up the remaining interior christmas decorations that have been on our dining table for weeks. So I listened to the flylady (see flylady.net), set my timer for 15 minutes & went to work. Then I took a 5 minute break for myself & reset it for another 15 minutes. After 3 rounds, I was done & happy to have my dining room table back. Thank you Flylady!

Life goes on

Last night was better for me. I didn’t cry as much. Today I managed not to cry at all about P, even after I found her Christmas stocking. I still feel so guilty so I try not to think about her. That’s hard though.

Puffy eyes

I’m doing ok I guess. In truth, I’ve been better. We had to make a hard decision regarding P, our youngest cat. She’s too playful for our other two cats which resulted in behavioral problems in the cats. So yesterday morning, my hubby took P to Tails where she can be adopted into another family who can give her the attention she deserves & cats who will play with her. This breaks my heart. I know it’s for the best but I’m just a mess. I ended up crying myself to sleep. Now after two days of crying, my eyelids are so puffy they hurt.

What kind of weekend?

This past weekend was awesome.

Saturday we got some great family time together & then partied some. My hubby & our son got some good quality time together.

Sunday we helped my hubby's sister & her fiance move some furniture into their future place. The place looks great. Then we had lunch & spent time with L while our son controlled my hubby & I like remote control cars. LOL To finish off the evening, My hubby & I cuddled & watched a movie last night.

Party down

Last night we went to our neighbor’s party where we had a ball! I even found a drinking buddy. our son loved the talking bear, the fooseball table & their dog. Some other neighbors made it too.

Where's the ground?

When we awoke today there was almost a foot of snow on our driveway! So while Daddy snowblowed the driveway & sidewalk, my son & I went to play in the snow. The problem was that our son cried when he was in the snow so he sat on the porch while I started his snow fort in the front yard. We had a table & the base formed when our son had to go inside.

Funny thing is that I don’t know if we’ll get the chance to finish it before the snow melts. Maybe Monday…

Almost there

My hubby's project is done as of tonight except for the bugs he has to fix next week. It’s turned on the 27th & then the evil monster will be no more! LOL

Vegas Baby!

So today I paid for my upcoming trip to Vegas for my sister-in-law's bachlorette weekend. This will be the first time I’ve taken a vacation by myself without my parents or hubby! I’m very excited about this girls weekend!

Babylon 5

Last night my hubby came around 9 pm which is the earliest I’ve seen him in weeks. Our new DVD player (that we had to replace before Christmas) totally jammed so we had to return that one. So we watched the final DVD of Babylon 5 tv show series. It was very good at giving closure & wrapping everything up (for the most part).

Back on track

My sleep schedule is so messed up from the holidays. I can’t seem to get to bed before 3 am & it’s killing me during the day. My goal is to go to bed by 11 pm.

Healing well & such

Today our son got his stitches out below his lip. It’s healed nicely. It’s going to be red for a few months but the tiny scar is underneath is lip & barely noticable. He was so good when the stitches came out. His lower lip is healing nicely inside. I think we’re in the clear but we’re going to wait one more week before switching to his toddler bed just to be safe. On the other hand, we keep procrastinating with that. He seems fine & then starts jamming his leg between the rails.

After the doctor appointment, we ran all over running errands. After picking up some freecycle items (i.e. dishes for my sister C. & a great Papasan chair/ottoman & skirt for myself), we then visited my hubby's mother & sister where our son loves playing the piano with his soon-uncle-to-be A.

Then we met my hubby & his co-worker & friend B (along with his wife & two adorable kids) or dinner where kids eat free on Mondays. Good deal!

Since our son was still wound up, we drove to my sisters’ place where we dropped off the dishes & visited for about 15 minutes.

Our son was awake for the car ride home until about 15 minutes before we got home. Man was he out! Didn’t even stir when I put him down in his crib! Some days are just exhausting.

DQ anyone?

Today my hubby & I ran errands with our son & then went to Dairy Queen for ice cream. It was nice spending time together again. When he left for work today, it was harder since we got to see him.

One more week… and then I get my husband back & our son gets his Daddy.

Working weekend

So my hubby had to go into work today since his project is due this coming Friday! My son & I miss Daddy very much.

Yarn me up!

Today I ran errands & picked up some things from freecycle. They included 2 bag of yarn for my crocheting, an excersaucer for my sister J & some shoes!

Afterwards I went to Sams Club where my son & I relaxed & had a hot dog. They have the best hot dogs there for $1.50 with drink! Wahoo!

In the evening, my son & I met my hubby & my family at Olive Garden for a family meal. We had a nice meal at an inexpensive price while everyone was in awe of how well our son was doing despite his fall yesterday. Kids definately do bounce back!

Small town

You know you live in a small town when the Chief of Police stops by the day after a 911 call to see how your son is doing & gives him a Tommy Moose stuffed animal. That was so sweet!

After our son was done getting stitches, crying & us holding him down, he told the doctor “All done.” It was so cute but I felt so bad for him. Glad he’s doing better now.