A mixed day

Today was a strange but good day. First we headed to my folks where my hubby helped furniture & my dad babysat our son while I had sometime on my own to do some much needed clothes shopping at a local maternity resale store. They had good prices & great quality clothes. I got a whole bag of clothes for such a great price within an hour. I was very pleased plus it was nice to have time to myself.

Afterwards we all went to the park where we got caught walking home in the rain. My parents picked us up on the way home & dropped us off so we could dry off. Then we went grocery shopping, got a light dinner & then saw the 'Meet the Robinson's' movie. We all loved the movie. Our son had such cool reactions to some of the scenes. Of course afterwards, he asked for 'more'.

On our way home, it started to downpour so badly that you couldn't even see the road. When we got home, it was off to bed for our son & then we watched a movie while we ate dinner together. Then we had some adult fun & time for us to hit the sack. Although it wasn't an ideal birthday for my hubby, we all got to spend it together.

Birthday dinner

Tonight we met with my hubby's family to celebrate his 31st birthday with dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Our son behaved better than he had in any restaurant in months! We handed out the toys to him in stages which worked beautifully. At one point, he captured the attention of the table behind us. I swear he talked to her for five minutes straight & continued trying to talk to her as she & her family were walking out the door. Towards the end of dinner, the staff brought two large bowls of ice cream to the table & sang Happy birthday to my hubby. Our son gets such a kick out of that. LOL

After dinner, we were all heading to my in-law's new house. As our son was talking about the ice cream, he said very seriously, "Grandpa ate all the chocolate." We were laughing so hard! When we told the rest of the family, they found it equally funny & were still laughing about it the next day. Grandpa couldn't believe he said that. :-) To which Grandma replied, "Well you got to eat fast around Grandpa."

At my in-law's, my hubby opened his gifts. My hubby's brother-in-law played the piano, my sister-in-law & hubby's mother danced & Grandpa & my hubby talked business while our son was 'going to get' everyone (i.e. chasing everyone in turn around the house until they were breathless or nauseous). Then it was time to sing happy birthday again with cheesecake & ice cream. While our son was running off his sugar rush, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law & myself planned a few 'family' weekends together. Now that we're all getting busier, it's harder to find the time together; plus there's the fact that we won't be able to travel far the last few weeks before my due date.

When it was time to leave, our son up to Grandma saying, "I have to ride & go to sleep." Hugs & kisses were shared by all & then we were on our way home.

We're infected!

Last evening my laptop was infected with some kind of nasty virus that made it impossible for any windows explorer based program impossible to run. It kept restarting those particular programs every 15 seconds. It wouldn't let me back up anything either. Fortunately I've learned enough about computers from my hubby to be creative & find creative ways to back up my necessary data & files. It was definitely interesting but it worked. The following Sunday evening my hubby was able to recover, repair & re-install my computer. So once I finish re-installing my programs & back-up files, I'll be back up to speed.

I've never had a virus do so much damaged so quickly! How unlucky for me, but hey... lesson learned!

Migraines

Tonight my husband got one of his horrible migraines. They paralyze him with nausea & dizziness. They started a few months ago. He doesn't get them very often but when he does they last for hours. Unfortunately tonight was one of those times.

The doctor said they couldn't find anything wrong as an obvious cause. He has some medication to help but it doesn't do much. He does so much for me that I wish there was more that I can do, especially at times like this.

Internet down

Yesterday we lost our internet in the mid-afternoon. Late in the evening, it was still out without explanation. We generally don't have a problem but when we do it's for short periods. This time it lasted until early this morning & was rather inconvenient. I guess whatever improvements we make with technology, it will never be perfect though.

All the way through!

Last night I finally managed to sleep laying down & somehow slept all the way through the night for the first time in months! Although I'm still exhausted but I think that's because my body is concentrating on this pregnancy while trying to fight this nasty (already week-long) cold. Sunday (my son's birthday party) was the only day I felt decent. Every day since then it seems this cold just keeps hanging on without improving the slightest bit. Of course, my father-in-law had the same type of cold for several weeks. Having a long bad cold is never fun; but having a long bad cold when you're pregnant... talk about a whole new story!

If Monk needed a Bathroom...

Have you ever noticed how some bathrooms are decent & others downright disgusting? If you are the type of person who's finicky about how clean the bathrooms are then I found the link for you! At Bathroom Diaries, you can search locations you're going to be traveling to for bathroom ratings. Hope this helps you wary travelers when you're in need!

One large onion on the way!

Now that I'm 17 weeks, I'm starting to show & getting a baby bump. Although our baby has been averaging about a week ahead, the typical baby now weighs about 3.5 ounces, is about 5 inches long & is about the size of a large onion. Funny how something the size of an onion right now, needs such a large incubator! I'm starting to have to slow down & take more breaks. Even though I have approximately 23 more weeks to go (which I'm sure will fly by), climbing the stairs twice in row gets me winded. I'm definitely starting to see other differences as well.

Your Life's Soundtrack

Whenever you have some free time, try this fun game. It's called "If your life was a movie, what would your soundtrack be?" The results can be funny sometimes. Give it a shot if you have the time.

So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Add your entire music collection to the playlist
3. Put it on shuffle
4. Press play
5 For every 'scene', type the song that's playing
6 When you go to a new 'scene', press the next button
7. Don't lie...

Here's my responses (along with links to the lyrics). Some made sense, others were just interesting.

• OPENING CREDITS: “Earth Angel” by Buddy Holly
• WAKING UP: “She’s Got the Look” by Roxette
• FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: “Hell Yeah” by Gentry Montgomery
• FALLING IN LOVE: “Don’t Let Go” by En Vogue
• FIGHT SONG: “All My Trials” by Peter, Paul & Mary
• BREAKING UP: “Big Boat” by Peter Paul & Mary
• PROM: “Sailing on the Ships of Heaven” by Blackhawk
• LIFE: “Love is a Song” by Disney (Bambi Soundtrack)
• MENTAL BREAKDOWN: “Demons & Angels” by Diamond Rio
• DRIVING: “Boy From New York City” by The Manhattan Transfer
• FLASHBACK: “Somebody Knows You Now” by Brad Paisley
• WEDDING: “Home To You” by John Michael Montgomery
• BIRTH OF CHILD: “Wish You Were Here” by Billy Dean
• FINAL BATTLE: “What Made You Say That” by Shania Twain
• DEATH SCENE: “Will You Still Love me” by Chicago
• FUNERAL SONG: “Emily Harper” by Mark Wills
• END CREDITS: “Anything” by Janet Jackson

Early signs of spring

Spring seems to have arrived. Since last weekend, we've had tempatures in the high 70's! Not sure how long this will last but we'll enjoy it while we can. The bad news is my cold & our son's cough is hanging around preventing us from going outside too often & for too long. At least we can open the windows & breath some fresh air! As you can see, our cat loves it!

Our wind chimes on the front porch always tell us just how windy the day is! They annoy my husband but he wants to keep me happy, so there they stay. Isn't he wonderful! I find the music quite calming.

Surprise! The tulips we planted last spring are starting to bloom. We thought they wouldn't return but what a nice surprise!

The winter & early spring storms did their damage. I present to you one broken wind chime.

Breathing is a good thing

For the past two nights I haven't been able to sleep in bed because of this cold hanging on. Every time I lay down, my nose gets so stuffy & my throat feels like it's drowning. Therefore I've been sleeping in the armchair (recently moved to our bedroom) with the ottoman. Although I still wake up often, at least I'm getting some sleep. Then the most amazing thing happened early this morning... I woke up breathing fine. Since my son had crawled into our bed with my husband, I decided I would try sleeping in the guest bed. I was able to get some great comfortable sleep layign down in a bed for several hours! Although my nose is stuffy again, I'm thankful for the brief relief & rest I had this morning.

Early Visitor

Early this morning I was sleeping in the armchair in the bedroom. I awoke when I heard an upstairs door open & close. Staying as still as possible, I watched as a little visitor crawled into our bed over my snoring husband. He lay on my side of the bed & realized the blanket was missing. Reaching down to the bottom of the bed,he slowly pulled the heavy covers up inch by inch. Finally he lay his head down without a pillow, pulled the covers up to his chest & stretched his arms out above him. There our son slept soundly, close to his Daddy again.

Playing with others

This afternoon my son was telling me how he wanted to go play with 'the boys' (his cousins). My heart was breaking for him as I explained that we couldn't do that. I wish I could make this easier on him. There's no way he can understand.

It's the birthday boy's celebration!

Our son's birthday party went very well yesterday. It was nice having a small, casual affair. Our neighbors' came over along with some family members.

We had a Easter egg hunt for the kids. Each time our son found an egg, he'd run into the other room telling everyone "I found an egg!" Then back he'd come to look for more. During the search, the each kept looking where the other was looking as if to say "Did you find something I missed?"

Next we ate yummy pizza with just enough left over. While everyone ate, our son kept 'reminding' others they needed to follow the rules he had... among them being "no touch the water" & "sit down". We told him there are adult rules & kids rules. He said okay & went back to eating. :-)

Following that, our son & his friend took turns hitting an alien pinata with a plastic toddle bat. Our son broke one leg off & some candy fell out. After a few more times taking turns & a little help from Daddy the other leg broke off & dropped the remainder of the candy. Then my hubby's brother-in-law talked our son into picking up the candy on the floor & bringing it to him. Next the two kids started tossing candy from one bowl into the other bowl across the room!

Then we opened gifts & had cake. Our son loved the singing again & was saying the words clearer than ever. Afterwards we hung out for a bit before everyone left.

Thanks to my hubby's brother-in-law & father who helped my hubby move our over-sized armchair upstairs into our bedroom. As my pregnancy progresses, I know I'll end up sleeping there quite a bit.

As for party pictures, I'll try to post them today but they were having issues. I'll definitely work on it though!

Parenting

I believe one condition of being a parent is that you raise your children to treat everyone with respect. I know that by teaching our son to respect & care about others, he will grow up into an adult we can be proud to call our own. We are obligated to teach our child the best way we know on how to be a good person so he will be remembered that way.

You hope your child has the strength to stand up against the forces of society & peer pressure. Those pressures can change the personality of a child forever into a wrong direction where bad decisions follow them everywhere. If that happens, you can only hope they will realize this & turn their life around.

I cannot imagine how all the good parents out there feel when the child they have raised turns out evil or unkind. With all those out there causing murder & mayhem in the world, they can't all have had bad parents.

Remembering the dead

In my lifetime, I have lost several older relatives whom I continue to keep in my thoughts & heart every day. The sad fact is that it's hard for me to visit their graves as much as I want to. It pangs my heart until I remember that they're in a better place now.

At one point in my life, I wanted to plan my funeral & burial site ahead of time. I always thought it would be nice by a large tree, windmill or water. I can't tell you how grateful my husband was when I got past that stage.

Anyhow it occurred to me, that it doesn't really matter where you are buried but how you are remembered. I remember those I lost as the people they were & how they treated myself & others. I remember their kindness, generosity, smiles & constant love. I was taught the 'Golden Rule' at a young age & have always lived by that. As a general rule, I treat others how I would like to be treated... with love, respect & gratitude. Once I'm treated otherwise myself, I may be considerate even though they become less important to me. I live my life the best I can so I will be remembered by those who care about me as a good person. I am happy to be who I am with family & friends who love & support me. I know that when my time comes, one day far in the future, I will not be alone.

Which Serenity character are you?

Your results:
You are Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command)

Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 65% Wash (Ship Pilot) 55% Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 50% Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 50% Inara Serra (Companion) 45% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 35% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 30% Alliance 30% A Reaver (Cannibal) 20% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 15% River (Stowaway) 15%

Dependable and trustworthy. You love your significant other and you are a tough cookie when in a conflict.

Click here to take the Serenity Personality Quiz

An evening walk with Daddy

Sudden storms

A few days before our son's birthday, we had a bad storm blow in. It brewed for an hour or son before the skies opened up & the winds blew! I was surprised it didn't turn into a tornado frankly.

Ready to go!

The house is all cleaned & we're almost ready for our son's birthday party. Now it's time for Mommy to rest a bit before our son wakes up from his nap.

Blowing out the candle!

Last night we went to Fridays where they sang to our son for his birthday. As you can see, he was totally loving it! Birthdays are so much fun when they're kids!

Then when I was putting him to bed, he kept clearing his throat after I cleared mine (he gave me his cold) & stayed up for at least an hour before he finally went to sleep.

This is what happens when Mama draws...

I've always been a very poor artist. Drawing has never been a talent I possessed. Unfortunately my son is at the age where he asks me to draw all sorts of animals. The problem is they all sort of look alike! LOL Hopefully he'll get better drawing skills than me!

Three years later...

Our son & his birthday celebration at Chuck E. Cheese!

His own lion cake!

Caught him stealing frosting red-handed!

Time to blow out the candle & make a wish!

You always clap after singing happy birthday.

Who knows why...

Smile for the camera, birthday boy!

Taking his first real picture!

Learning to play air hockey with Daddy & loving it!

How many ticket points did he get? 21!

Mommy & the birthday boy!

His birthday

Today is our son's birthday! Last night I set some Mylar balloons around the house. Each one has a small present (from the dollar store) attached. He loved running around the house with the whole bunch!

This evening we took him to Chuck E Cheese as a special treat. We had a small lion cupcake cake (made up two cupcakes & lots of frosting) to celebrate. He loved the kid-tough digital camera & started taking pictures right away. Another girl taught him how to climb up into the tunnels & find the slide. The two of them played together on the tunnels & slide for about 45 minutes. By the end of the evening, he was an old pro at climbing up into the tunnels. Before we left, Chuck E came out to sing happy birthday to him & then gave him a big hug.

On the way home, we stopped by Grandma & Grandpa's new house where he played with Taz & continued taking some pictures with his new camera. He actually got a decent one of Mommy, himself & Grandma. Then he told Daddy, "I'm tired. I want to go to bed." It was so cute!

Getting better

Our son may not be 100% better but he's definitely on his way. Today we went outside for a bit where he immediately started serving 'food' from his sandbox onto the table where we had a little 'picnic'. He even slept in his own bed last night!

The fever broke!

Although our son is still not feeling that great & has a runny nose, his fever broke & he's slightly interested in his toys again. He was a bit cranky this morning & still doesn't haven't much of an appetite. Still I'm thankful he's on the mend especially right before his birthday!

Can you rhyme with this?

Supposedly there is no word in the English language that rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple. What do you think?

Amazing vocals!

Last night my hubby & I watched American idol where we were amazed by a few of the performances. Our favorites were Blake Lewis (who we both voted for) & Jordin Sparks. This is the first season we're watching the show. (We started watching it because it's a safe show we can watch with our son around.) It's interesting to see which preformers continue on with each show. It's clear that anybody who forgets their words during a live preformance (no matter how good they are) is voted to continue.

Feeling icky

My poor son started getting sick yesterday with a runny nose & cough. Last night he didn't sleep well so he needed to sleep with us again. When he woke up this morning he had a 102 degree fever, no appetite & much more quiet than normal. He's definately not himself this morning. My poor guy. Hopefully he'll be better by this weekend.

Meanwhile, it's been raining all night & contining steadily throughout the morning. Perhaps this is the first step into April showers!

Cousin's Birthday

Happy birthday to my hubby's cousin in Ohio! Hope he enjoys every moment of his birthday as each person should.

Spring has arrived?

Today is the first day of spring. Let's hope it continues to get warmer as the month continues!

A bit cool

Although it's a bit cool out (46 degrees) to stay outside for too long, my son & I were able to go outside after his nap & I got laundry done. We took his tee ball set to the front yard where he hit a few balls with the child-sized bat. Then it was off for a walk around the block. When we returned home, we picked up the mail & came inside to warm up. It'll be so nice to be outside as the weather gets warmer.

Weird Cough

Last night our son had a very weird raspy shallow cough with bad dreams all night. After waking up a few times, he spent the night sleeping with us. From there on he was still restless but definitely slept better. The cough seems to be gone this morning.

Daddy went where?

Tonight my hubby & son went to the park where my son played with another little boy. Then we had a nice dinner out where our son ate so well. After dinner, he felt the need to share the fact that Daddy went potty with others in the restaurant. Not only did he yell it in the restaurant, he also went up to another tabel before leaving & telling them personally. LOL Yup... out of the mouth of babes!

Busy Bee

Did you know that I just sit here & blog all day? Because typing takes soooo much time & energy! LOL Wow... I'm already exhausted. Now how could I possibly ever do anything else during the day??? LOL

On the other hand, it must be interesting enough for people to read! As they say in the movies, "here's to you kid!"

What's the point?

I never understood the point of saying something to anyone when they won't understand or will never comprehend. I mean why go through all that trouble? It just isn't worth it. Life is too precious to waste on things you cannot change.

Honestly I've never met a single person in the world who actually says everything they think or feel to everyone. I can definately say that for certain. Actually the thought of meeting anyone like that makes me laugh. :-)

Getting prepared

This week we're getting ready for our son's birthday. With everything that's been happening, we're only going to have a small party with some family & a couple friends with kids. Basically we're going to do the pizza, pinata & cake thing. Nothing big that we need to plan much for.

The morning of his birthday we're planning a very cool surprise for him. We're going to place various Mylar balloons (which will have small wrapped presents attached to them) around the house for him to find & open when he wakes up on his birthday. It should be a lot of fun.

A walk & ice cream

Yesterday my hubby worked all afternoon before joining us for dinner. After dinner, we went for a short walk & then had ice cream at Dairy Queen. Yummy yummy yummy!

Trying both ways

Yesterday morning my hubby & I were discussing his beard. He's been trying different lengths as to make it more comfortable for me. Alas, it hasn't worked. After several months of my hubby having a very nice beard & looking just as handsome as always, I still couldn't get used to kissing him with it. It was just too scratchy! So yesterday morning he shaved it off which made him look so much younger that I've been used to recently. But oh how wonderful it was to be able to kiss him like we both love! I thought it would take me a few days to get used to it but an hour or so later, it was the same handsome face I've known for 14 years. I love that smooth look as much as the beard but I can only truly enjoy kissing him when he's clean shaven.

The first trip downtown together!

As we head downtown for a fun family day, our son really loved riding the train & bus.

Then it was off to the St Patrick's Day parade, which turned out to be mostly

marching bands & dancing groups. We left early & headed to explore the

Crystal Gardens & Children's Museum. After missing the train home by 30 seconds,

we waited in the station for two hours to get the next train. We arrived home late

& the day was fantastic fun (even if exhausting) for all of us.

Mommy reads with her son.

Sharing a laugh with Daddy!

We're excited to be heading downtown!

Train Ride 2

What an amazing view!

So many trains & so little time!

Reading with Daddy.

Almost downtown!

Downtown

Father & son watching the parade.

Mommy & son enjoying the walk downtown.

Tunnels & Music

Our son gets inside the red tunnel.

Let's try the hula hoop!

Mommy & son play music together.

The Treehouse

He's got a ball! (Which happened to be a very hot commodity ammong the kids!)

Up he goes onto exploring the tree house!

In the mouth of dinasours

Our son & mommy in the mouth of a T-Rex!

Daddy's getting eaten!

Blooming musicals

Look what's blooming inside this flower!

Our son loved the musical slide!

Fast Asleep

After 8.5 hours of being up, our son was so exhausted he crashed. Until the last 10 minutes before he woke up, he never even moved. He was so worn out from a wonderful day.

Little Blue Train

Our son's smile was priceless when he rode the little blue train!

Pretty Butterflies

My youngest sister would love this! Isn't it gorgeous?

Missing PDA!

Last weekend as my hubby was packing for his week-long business trip, he realized his PDA (basically an electronic planner) was missing. After looking everywhere & not finding it, we figured it would turn up somewhere. Sure enough it did... in the dryer & busted apart! Evidently it was left in his jeans in the laundry basket, which were then washed & dryed. The thing was in pieces at the bottom of the dryer. We haven't tested anything yet but we're pretty sure it busted for good. My hubby think it may still work although highly unlikely. So my hubby is now going to be without a PDA for some time until we can afford another one. At least we know how they put it together!

He's coming home!

In less than an hour my hubby will finally be home after being gone on business all week. With his new job which he started this past Monday, he'll need to travel on occassion which I'm surprisingly okay with. I know this job is what he deserves & that he will do well with the new company. I can't wait to see him again! I know our son will go nuts over seeing him again as well. He had a bad dream relating to Daddy missing last night so the timing is perfect.

Riding

Our son enjoyed the occasional ride while Daddy got his haircut. He was especially curious about the Snoopy Ice Cream Truck Ride.

"I wonder what this button does?"

Snacking

Our son now enjoys getting his own snacks, mostly which consists of apples & yogurt. Here you can see how he likes to eat apples like an adult. He's at the age where he wants to do things the way we do them.

Then of course, you can see he got one of his occasional suckers. We have to watch him with those because he drags the chair over to the cookie jar to get one now! He's only allowed to have them once in a while because of the sugar.

Junk Mail

You know those catalogues that you always get in the mail? Sometimes it's for clothing or computers (among many other possibilities). This one was for shoes which my son got a kick out of with all the different colors in it.

One of our son's first drawing

What our son drew while waiting for the food at the restaurant!