the book's cover

If you somehow switched places with one of my neighbors on a certain afternoon last week, you may have looked out the window and seen me dancing around like a fool.

Why?

I just got an awesome new dress and a cameo ring I've been drooling over, courtesy of my father.

I've been eying these things for a while, and good old Dad came through and bought them for me.

But....(there's always a but, isn't there?)

It comes with a string (there's always strings attached, aren't there?)

I asked him to buy them for me so I could look nice yesterday for when I met his girlfriend for the first time.

Who he is marrying in 3 weeks.

Who he has known for less than 4 months. 

Who he mentioned to me exactly twice before making the big announcement.

Via email. 

So...I wasn't exactly thrilled. 

I was dreading this brunch date and imagining all the worst parts of his ex-girlfriends.What sort of woman did he find this time? Would she be young and blonde like the first one? Would she be a loud die-hard New Yorker like the last one? The possibilities were endless and terrible, and my anxiety grew greater with every moment leading up to the meeting.

One of my biggest worries was Will. I didn't want to have him be exposed to just another girlfriend in the parade, and I was afraid that this lady and my dad would expect us to let her fall seamlessly into the role of grandma. 

But you know what?

Hubs and I LOVED her! She is so different than all those other women, and she seems like a good match for my dad. She was really nice, and made a point to tell us that it was OK to be surprised by the whole situation and that she understood it might take us some time to get used to the idea, and that she didn't expect to fill any kind of grandma shoes yet. She brought some thoughtful little gifts to each of us from NYC. Some Turkish cooking spices for DH because he loves to cook, and cute shirt for me because I love clothes, and a whole bagful of toys for Will. She even pulled me aside to make sure I was feeling OK with everything, and to ask if I would be willing to be part of a mini-bridal party. 

The lesson learned here?

Don't judge a book by it's cover. I was so certain that I knew what the outcome of this situation was going to be...but now I'm pretty sure I was wrong. 

And folks? That's actually a good feeling.

Friday Favorites #4

Friday Favorites is a weekly piece I started as a way to record the milestones and memories I don’t get a chance to blog about during the rest of the week.
 
This week has been a really good one, so I've got a lot to write about!


Will's been saying "No" for a while, but he's just learned "uh-huh!" for yes. He knows how to use it in context, but he still likes "no" better.


He loves to dump his building blocks out all over the floor. Thankfully, he likes to help me pick them up too.


He says "Bubba" for both Mickey Mouse and for his Red Bea. I'm not sure if he thinks they're the same thing, or if he just can't pronounce the real names, but whenever he sees either of them he runs, points, and yells "Bubba!!"


I've been home with the kiddo for the past three days. I haven't had time off in a while, so it's been really awesome to 1) get a break from work, and 2) stay home with him and play SAHM.


We've done all sorts of fun things together:


Wednesday we went to the grocery store for a few essentials. Every person that drove by us in the parking lot or walked past us in the aisles was met by a (very loud) "hiiii!" and "bye-byeeee!" from Will. It was pretty funny, but I'm certain you could hear him yelling from clear across the store. Note to self: time to start teaching him about indoor and outdoor voices.


He's been helping me clean the house. He grabbed a paper towel while I was cleaning the windows and started wiping at another window. He's really good at mimicking that kind of thing, and he loves to help! 


He also "helped" while I was trying to fold clothes. And by helping, I mean jumping on the bed and making all the clean laundry fall to the floor. I couldn't be mad at him though, he was having so much fun!


Wednesday was also DH's birthday, so I helped Will color an awesome birthday picture for him.


He turned his ball pit upside-down and scattered balls all over the house. I know I mentioned this already this week - but I seriously found them in our bedroom. How they got there, I don't know.


On Thursday, we went to visit my bestie. She lives pretty far away, so we had about an hour drive. I was a little concerned about how Will would do in the car - he gets antsy and bored when he's stuck in the carseat for that long - but he did great:

I hadn't see my friend in a while, so we had a lot of catching up to do. Luckily, I brought some coloring stuff to keep Will busy while we gabbed. He broke his pencil, so I give him a pen from my purse to scribble with. He must have decided that his legs were a better coloring surface than the paper, because he marked his legs all up with the pen. I've scrubbed and washed and scrubbed some more - but it won't come completely off. I don't know how long it will take to totally disappear! Another note to self: No more coloring with pens.

Yesterday when DH got home from work, Will ran to the door as soon as he heard the garage door. He stood there shouting "Dada! Dada!" and jumping up and down until DH walked in the door. It was supercute, and it was also the first time that he's really been able to jump. He's tried before, but that was more just bending his knees and not really making it off the ground. 

He's been having a great time climbing up and on me like a little monkey as I'm sitting here on the computer. 

He's been really testing us and his limits. We'll tell him not to do something and he'll look right at us and say "no" and then do it anyway. I'm not sure if that no is his way of acknowledging he's not supposed to do it or if he's flat out defying us...either way, it's not good! He's definitely becoming very independent and strong-willed, so I have a feeling we'll have many battles like this in the future. 

New words this week: shorts

What special things do you want to remember from this week?

I'm only as strong as the coffee I drink

It's Thursday, which means Writer's Workshop over at Mama Kat's! Today I'm writing in response to prompt #3: Ten reasons why I love coffee.

1. Coffee gets me going in the morning. I can't get my day started right without it. Also, it was a huge lifesaver when Will was brand new! I wouldn't have survived all those night feedings and sleep deprivation without a big pot of coffee to get me through the days.

2. I love the smell of fresh coffee, and the smell when you first open a new bag. Nothing like it.

3. Sitting outside on a nice morning with coffee and a good book is one of the best.things.ever.

4. Hot or cold - it's still tasty either way!

5. Coffee is such a social drink...people meet up for coffee all the time, but who gets together to bond over OJ?

6. It follows the change in seasons. I always know it's autumn when I see the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice signs, and nothing says it's Christmas time here in Florida than the red holiday cups.

7. I love my special coffee mug. That one favorite mug that just makes your day when you reach for it in the morning - I know you have one! This is mine:

8. It warms your hands and your insides on cold days.

9. You can add so many yummy things to it. Caramel, peppermint, chocolate, marshmallows...

10. ...and many tasty adult things!

Shutterfly Holiday Cards

Can you believe that Christmas is just over a month away?

If you're like me, your jaw totally just dropped to the floor. Time is speeding by, and the holiday season is upon us. It's time for Christmas shopping, carols sung by the fire, and scrambling to find a parking spot at the mall celebrating the holidays with family and loved ones.

Another big part of the season is sending and receiving holiday greeting cards. Getting cards from my family and friends seems to add to the spirit of the holiday. It's a great way to keep in touch with people you don't get to see often, and a great way to share your favorite pictures with those you love most. I usually don't send out cards - I'm too scatterbrained and don't think about it until it's too late - but I'm thinking about it now and ahead of the game for 2010! This year, I'm getting my Christmas cards from Shutterfly.

I've spent way too much time browsing through all the different design choices, but these are a few of my favorites:

I can't wait to send out one of these personalized cards to our families and friends (and one may mysteriously disappear into the scrapbook). Don't worry - I'll post a picture of the final card design here once I finally make up my mind!

Here are some more links to check out for your own holiday card shopping!

Christmas Cards

Holiday Cards

And did you know you can create your own wall calendars? I'll definitely be creating a few of these for Christmas gifts!

Are you a blogger? Click here to find out how you can get 50 free cards this holiday season!

Now you see me, now you don't

Life has been real hectic lately, and unfortunately I haven’t had a lot of time for blogging. I’ve been taking time to disconnect myself from technology so I can spend more time with my family, catch up on housework, and give myself a mental break…and while it feels good to step away for a little while I’ve definitely missed writing here.

That said – I’m still not sure when I’ll be back to writing on a regular basis like I was. I’ve got a lot going on right now, and I don’t know how much more I can continue to take on. I’ll definitely keep writing at least a few times a week though! I have the next three days off from work, so I’m planning to use some of that time for catching up here as well.

So without further ado, this is what I’ve been up to lately. (Sorry the pictures are so bad - my camera broke, so I'll be using my crappy iPhone camera until I get a new one for Christmaas further notice.)

We bought some new PJ’s for Will. They’re size 3T! They still are a little large, but they definitely fit…I can’t believe my little boy is so big!

   

Mom doesn't know I've got the remote...

Caught red-handed!

That's OK - I'll make a silly face and she'll laugh and  forget that I'm supposed to be in trouble!

Will got a new chair, handmade by one of my uncles. He makes these little chairs for all the new babies in the family, and Will just loves his! He ran over and picked it up from the garage where we opened the box and carried it all the way into the house, all by himself. He set it down right next to DH’s manchair in front of the TV and plopped down in it like he’d had it forever.

   

My mom came to visit a few weeks ago and bought him a ball pit like the one my cousin has in her house. He absolutely loves it – I, however, do not love picking up all the balls that are now scattered all over the house!

   

I promise I'll try to catch up with everyone over the next few days. Hope y'all are having a good week!

Friday Favorites #3

Friday Favorites is a weekly piece I started as a way to record the milestones and memories I don’t get a chance to blog about during the rest of the week.
 
Here are my favorite memories from this week.
 
My mom and my step-dad came to visit last weekend. She’s here often enough that Will remembers her, but it still takes an hour or so for him to really warm up to her again. He was cautiously friendly when they first arrived, like usual, but within a few hours he was playing like they had been there all along - he even ran up and gave her a hug around the knees.
 
My step-dad is a totally different story. He doesn’t have any kids (that he knows of!), has no interest in kids, and had never been married before he met my mom. He’s a great guy, but being a dad and having kids was just something that never interested him. He’s been great at putting up with my sister and I over the past few years – probably because he didn’t have to help raise us or deal with the teenage years – and he’s a good sport to put up with Will. Will sees things a little differently, and he loves to hang around Grandpa B. This visit, he couldn’t wait to give him knee hugs and share his half-eaten pretzel sticks. And by share, I mean try to shove them in Grandpa B’s mouth. It was pretty funny – but of course I swooped in to save him from the horrors of mushy pretzels.
 
He’s started helping more during bathtime. He tries to scrub himself with the washcloth, or wash his hair – yesterday, he even tried to help me get clean by scrubbing my arm.
 
New words:  poop, shirt, cheese (when we’re taking a picture – of anything, not just him)
 
Lately, he’s been trying to escape before bathtime. As soon as I get his clothes off and set him on the ground, he’s off and running. I know I could just carry him directly to the tub, but it’s pretty funny to let him loose. (The days he actually is cranky and it’s not worth it to play the game, I don’t let him down).
 
He’s started running to the pantry and opening the doors to point at all the food when he wants to eat. This happens often, and tantrums ensue when we tell him ‘no’…even if he just ate.
 
The past two days, we’ve let him eat dinner all by himself without any help from us. It’s been a huge mess to clean up, but he’s doing better already.
 
He says “Hi Mom” and “Hi Dad” when he sees us in the morning and evenings.
 
What special things do you want to remember from this week?

MomFail

Have you ever done something so completely stupid that teaches you a valuable – but blindingly obvious - lesson?
 
Yeah, that happened to me last weekend. Here’s the story:
 
Last Thursday night, I went in to check on Will like I always do before going to bed. His room has a night-light, but I always take my phone with me as a flashlight since the night-light doesn’t shine into the crib. Most of the time this works just fine.
 
I guess this is the point in the story where I need to specify that my phone is an iPhone. It has the iPod on it, of course, and I have music loaded onto it though I rarely use it (I prefer Pandora radio most of the time).
 
On this particular night, the planets aligned, the stars crossed, and something went amok.
 
At 10:30 at night – after the poor child had been sleeping for three hours – I crept stealthily into his room. I made sure his lovey within reach. I re-covered him with his favorite blanket. And then I hit the iPod button on my phone and started blasting Daughtry.
 
I froze. And then I panicked. I fumbled with the controls, trying to make the music stop, but I was panicking and not thinking clearly, and it didn’t work. He started to stir (because obviously, there’s a rock concert going on in his room) and I totally freaked out, ran out of his room, down the hall, and threw my phone under my bed. Which totally didn’t help, because the music was still playing and now I can’t reach the phone.
 
Awe-some.
 
Meanwhile, DH was staring at me, dumbfounded. He had been brushing his teeth, but was now standing frozen in mid-brush.
 
The panic had subsided by this point, and I was able to fish out the phone from under the bed and turn the music off. The silence rang in my ears as I held my breath, listening for the sound of an angry, awake, toddler over the monitor.
 
After a few seconds, the silence remained unbroken and I deemed it safe to sneak back in and make sure he’s sleeping – mistake #2. Of course he’s not sleeping, but standing up in his crib and looking around to try to figure out what just happened.
 
I knew if he saw me the gig would be up, so what did I do?
 
I ran away.
 
I learned a valuable lesson from this experience: I will make sure that I never – never – again set my iPod off in my child’s room late at night. Unfortunately, that won’t stop me from doing other stupid things. Now it’s your turn – make me feel better by sharing a lesson you learned the hard way!