Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Bathroom Update

The bathroom is coming along slowly. Rodney got quite a bit done this last weekend. I have tried to be really good but I may have given him subtle hints to get a move on. He has worked really hard and I appreciate him so so much. I tried to talk him into hiring someone to lay the tile at least. That would still leave him with plenty of work to finish up. But he declined because he wants to do it himself. I think he wants to be able to look at the finished product and say "hey I did all that myself". He will do a great job so I don't mind either way. Tobey has had great fun helping his Daddy out and banging on the walls with his hammer.



All the sheet rock is up except for the last piece to cover the window.

Window covered and tiling began.

New lights!

New paint!

While Rodney worked on the bathroom Tobey and I rearranged his room. We took apart his crib and stored it for later use=) Then we moved the guest bed that he has been sleeping in for weeks into his room. The last several months he has gotten really bad about waking in the middle of the night and climbing into our bed. One night a couple of weeks ago he would not settle down and go to bed. We kept taking him back to his room. He finally fell asleep and when I went to check on him I found him in the guest room curled up in the middle of the bed. This became a nightly routine until we caved in and started bypassing his toddler bed altogether. He is sleeping much better so I guess he just outgrew his toddler bed and needed some more room. So we moved the bed into his room. We had to do some rearranging to get it in there but he loves it now. I love that he loves to sleep in his big boy bed. He still shows up in our room some nights but it is much better than before. Besides I don't mind snuggling in the wee morning hours with my little man. There will come a day when he will no longer snuggle with me so I will take it while I can.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Drama at the Aquarium

Last week was our final summer play date with my friend Mindy. She returns to school this week and will be busy during the week once again. Mindy is expecting baby #2 and has been a trooper this summer meeting us at the water park almost every week. We decided we were just about watered out (Mindy was done with the wave pool nausea). So we went to the aquarium instead. Tobey and I stopped by and picked up my friend Suzanne and her baby girl Kai and then we met Mindy and Emma at the aquarium downtown. We parked the car and then walked over to pay for parking. I kept an eye on Kairi who was in her stroller and Tobey (who was not) while Suzanne stood in line to pay for our parking. Well I did something totally out of character and quite humiliating. There were several kids standing around the stroller admiring Kai while I was trying to prevent Tobey from running into the street. Suzanne got close to paying and realized it was $5 for parking and she only had $2 in her hand. I grabbed the $1 I had from my wallet and she said she had more in her purse under the stroller. Well I turned to get to the stroller and there were like 6 or 7 kids surrounding baby Kai. I was a little frantic because 1)It's not my baby but these kids were a little too close for comfort and 2)Suzanne is next in line to pay and there are several people waiting to pay behind her so I needed access to the stroller. So I loudly said "Back off". I may have thrown a please in there but I am not sure. The kids moved and I made my way to the back of the stroller. While I was getting the money I heard a woman say "It's okay honey, some people are just like that". She was talking about me to her son who I had obviously offended. I felt horrible. Did I really say "Back Off"? Couldn't I have come up with something better than that? I apologized to the woman and explained that I had meant no harm but had just needed to get to the stroller. It was very awkward. Anyone who knows me would know that I am genuinely a nice person and don't usually go around telling other people to "Back Off" even if they are so close to my friend's baby that she could have reached out and touched them and vice versa. A few minutes later Suzanne came over and asked what that was all about and I told her what I said. She couldn't believe it but said I was probably just feeling her nervous energy. She said that she has thought about hanging a sign around Kai's stroller that says "Please wash your hands before touching" because strangers are always coming up to Kai. Anyway we finally made it into the aquarium and I managed to run into the offended family at least three times. I smiled pitifully each time. Despite the drama outside we still had a good time. The otters were in a very playful mood. They were swimming in circles in their tank and coming right up to the glass. That was Tobey's favorite part.

I think this picture of Emma and Tobey with their legs propped on the ledge is awesome!

Tobey watching over Kairi!

Wouldn't you feel the need to protect this sweet face?

"I'm done. Can we go eat now?"

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

FBCI-90's Style



Some friends of mine are organizing a reunion for our old youth group. I was digging through old pictures and found this one taken at youth camp. We have just come back to our cabin from playing Wacky Olympics. Wacky Olympics consisted of the silliest and messiest games such as Fat Bat. All the girls hated Fat Bat because you were bound to fall and get wet no matter what you did. In Fat Bat all the bases were kiddie pools filled with water and you couldn't help but bust at least once around the field. We also played Tug of War over a muddy pool of water. Slip-n-slide into muddy water, sand volleyball, and more. So you can see why we are all a little grimy in the picture. There were usually about ten teams with 8 or so members. You got points by winning the games of course but you also got points for spirit which included Bible verse memory, singing, and overall enthusiasm and good sportsmanship. Those were some really fun times. I loved my youth group and am so excited about catching up with everyone. These are the people I spent most of my high school years with. I could care less about my high school reunions but I wouldn't miss this one for anything.

More Fun in the Sun






Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Car trips, Concerts, and Circus Clowns

Last week was hectic and fun. On Tuesday some old friends of mine that I used to work with came over for a playdate. They both have little boys who just turned one. I loved that age with Tobey and had fun watching them waddle around. At first Tobey was not too keen on our house guests but he warmed up by the end of their visit. At one point I was holding little Elliot so my friend Tricia could set up his pack-n-play for a nap. I looked over at Tobey and he was actually pouting. I called him over and asked him if he would like to have a little brother like Elliot and he said "No, Tobey". He is a mama's boy, what can I say. It was a fun day and we enjoyed catching up with each other and showing off our boys. On Wednesday we went to the waterpark again. This is probably our 10th trip this summer so we have definitely gotten our money's worth. On Thursday my cousin Nikki came to our house and picked Tobey and I up. We piled into her suburban with her two kids for a road trip to see Foxy Granny. It is always eventful when you get three small kids in the back seat. I so admire moms who handle that everyday. We got out to my Aunt's house around 3pm and stayed until 10pm. We bathed the kids before we left and Tobey fell asleep on the way home. I still felt bad that he didn't actually get into his bed until 11:30pm. He was supposed to go to KDO on Friday but we did not wake up until almost 9am which is what time his school starts. I could have rushed around and gotten him there just a few minutes late but he was so tired I let him lounge around and watch cartoons while he ate breakfast. Later we left the house and both of us got haircuts. Then we went to pick up the invitations for his choo choo party coming up next month. I cannot express how awesome it is to ask your child what he wants and actually get a valid response. Although I usually try to give him options such as milk or juice, apple or banana, blue shorts or gray shorts. I love how he will look up at me, and then look up at the ceiling and go uhmmm...this one! A couple of weeks ago I asked him what kind of birthday party he wanted and he said uhmmmm...choo choo party. After we picked up his invitations we met Rodney at On the Border for lunch. We shared the new grilled enchilada and a bowl of queso. It was perfect! Then came home and Tobey took a nap. Even more perfect! That evening Rodney's mom came over to babysit while we went to the John Mayer/Colbie Caillat concert with our friends Melissa and Jimmy. It was my first time to see John Mayer live and the concert was awesome. All I have to say is that boy can play the guitar. The concert started almost a hour late because the power went out so it wasn't over until almost midnight and then we got stuck in some awful traffic in some very shady parts of south Dallas. We should have left a little early but we waited for his encore performance of Gravity. If you've never heard the song go listen to it now. Melissa met us at our house and rode with us to the concert and then Jimmy came straight from work. After the concert Jimmy went on home and Melissa rode back with us so she could pick up her car. Jimmy went out a different way than us and somehow missed all the traffic. He was home before we even made it to the freeway. We were a little peeved. (Sorry Melissa!) We did all agree that JM's performance was worth waiting an hour in traffic. Seriously go listen to Gravity now!



We finally got in bed around 1:45am and then we got up the next morning and took Tobey to an 11:30am performance of The Greatest Show on Earth. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought these tickets so close to each other. Tobey was a little leery at first but warmed up to the show after he got a snow cone in a lighted plastic cup for $15. Honestly I was a little bored with the show. It was cool but just didn't hold the same appeal as the circus did when I was a kid. We will not be going back next year. Maybe when our next child is old enough we will make a second appearance. After the circus we went home and I crashed for three hours because I had to work that night and the next.






My plan is to keep it low key this week and get some things done around the house. We haven't left the house today and we are still in our pajamas. I think I will keep it that way, I see no need to get dressed now. Here is some randomness. Tobey has started calling me mom. Not all the time but sometimes when he wants something he yells through the house Mooommm! I don't like it. Is he really big enough to call me mom! I want to be mommy a little bit longer please.