Happy New Year!!!

Well, another year has come and gone. I can't really say they seem to be going any faster since I am an adult (most people seem to think the years are flying by), but there does seem to be less distinction from one year to the next. Growing up, it seems like so many new things were happening in each year. Now, not so much. So, here are a few of the things that stand out as the highlights and lowlights of 2005 (if they didn't make the list, I probably just don't remember them).

• Dylan is growing into an awesome little boy. He is no longer my baby, though he doesn't appear to notice it. I think I am okay with that for a while.
• Landscaped the backyard. It still looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.
• Became an aunt.
• Started trying to potty train Dylan. He's doing pretty good.
• Made out a Last Will & Testament and Legal Guardianship papers.
• Went to Vegas for the first time. We had a blast. We need to make arrangements to go back.
• Started TTC.
• Dylan built his first snowman over Thanksgiving.
• Had a lot of stupid fights, but nothing too serious.
• Conceived and miscarried.

Goals for 2006:

• Get Dylan to fall asleep on his own and sleep in his own bed for at least the majority of each night.
• Walk at least three times a week to get into better shape and maybe lose some weight.
• Get Dylan daytime potty trained (I'm not so concerned about nighttime training yet).
• Start scrapbooking again (paper and electronic).

To you and yours, I wish you a Happy New Year.

May this next year lead you to twice the good and half the bad as the last year.

Pregnancy Announcement and Update (Loss)

I found out I was pregnant on December 2, 2005. We planned to announce it to our families at Christmas by having Dylan wear his "I'm the Big Brother" tee-shirt.

I started spotting on Friday and my wonderful doctor actually opened up the office to get me in for an ultrasound. She thought we would be able to see a heartbeat and that would relieve all worries. We confirmed the pg, but it appeared to have stopped developing at about 4-5 weeks. She tried to be optimistic telling me I probably just had my dates wrong, but I couldn't see how. We still made the announcement to the families, we just tempered it with the fact that I was having some bleeding.

The bleeding continued over the weekend and my doctor confirmed the loss yesterday. I have to go back for testing later this week and early next week to confirm a complete miscarriage.

I think I am doing okay. I can't really talk about it without crying right now, but I think that is pretty normal. Once I started spotting on Friday, I resigned myself to the fact that this would probably be the result. It didn't make hearing it yesterday any easier, but I wasn't shocked.

To be honest with you, having Dylan is the best comfort I can imagine. I just look at him and know that I can get through anything. As I was putting him to bed last night, he was singing a song and he looked up at me with complete love and said, "I happy, Mommy". I just hugged him close and really thought about all the love and joy he has brought to us and told him I was happy too. And, in that moment, I truly was.

Christmas Chaos (not really)

We actually had a really great Christmas. Dylan got too many toys and a lot of really nice clothes. He really “got” Christmas this year. He tore into presents like a pro and helped his mommy and daddy with theirs also.

When he woke up Christmas morning, I don’t think that he remembered it was Christmas. As soon as I reminded him, you should have seen his face light up. It was all I could do to keep him upstairs until Jason got the video camera ready.

He loved everything he got, though the clothes didn’t thrill him as much as the toys. We opened presents at home with just Jason, Dylan, my mom, and me. It was a nice relaxed morning because we didn’t have to worry about anyone coming over. We left the house trashed when we left to go to SILs. She wanted to host Christmas dinner this year, and I quite enjoyed not having to clean or prepare anything other than a few appetizers. Dylan only got a 30 minute nap, but he behaved great. There was just so much going on that I don’t think he even had time to act up.

We did the present thing again when we got to SILs. By the end of the day, I don’t think Dylan knew which way was up. He had a blast and I really must clean out his toy closet to make room for all of his new toys. I think I will pack up some of the new ones to bring out in March or so, just to change things up. He won’t miss them as long as he doesn’t see them. There were a couple of gifts that are a little to “old” for him and those will definitely be put away for later.

All in all, a pretty good Christmas. Gifts highlights are:

Dylan – big teddy bear, bicycle, dump truck, bulldozer, blue truck, playdoh, many, many matchbox cars w/ carrying case and playmate, books, movies

Jason – watch display case, extra long fleece blanket, Georgia Bulldogs chair, new executive cotton dress shirts

Me – my perfume, digital camera, photo editing software, photo printer, new pjs, new shirts, chocolate

Now, I just have to get ready for my dad's visit in a week or so. He is having some minor surgery and will be staying with us for a couple of days while he recovers.

I've Been Tagged Again!!

1.Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Both, big things just sit out; little things get wrapped.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Sometime after Thanksgiving and before Christmas.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I love it all.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Opening gifts at my mammaw’s house on Christmas Eve and then getting to come home and openning our gifts from mom and dad before we went off to bed. We would wake up on Christmas morning and all of our gifts from Santa would be laid out. We each (my brother and I) would have one whole couch/loveseat dedicated to out Santa gifts. It was always so much fun to explore our couch.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Around 4th or 5th grade. After that I started helping mom by keeping my little brother distracted while she was shopping.
9. Do you open presents of Christmas morning or Christmas eve? One on Xmas Eve. The rest Christmas morning.
10. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him? I don’t know, this is the first year we will set out cookies.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I love it because we rarely get it. If I lived where it snowed a lot, I’m not sure how I would feel about it.
12. Can you ice skate? NO
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? No, it seemed like every year just got/gets better. Though there was the Christmas after Dylan was born that I got a 3 stone ring and diamond stud earrings.
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? It’s just a fun time of year. This year we are doing Secret Santa at work, it brings back some of the majic for the adults. I also love the excitement that Dylan has this year.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I don’t know. I like so many.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Staying home or close to it instead of traveling.
17. What tops your tree? A bow
18. Which do you prefer Giving or Receiving? Giving. I love seeing the person’s reaction.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Angels We Have Heard On High (Gloria)
20. Do you have a wreath on your front door? Yes.
21. What do you want most for Christmas this year? There is this one type of perfume that everyone seems to remember that my SIL loves, but forgets that I had it first. So, I made a point to ask Jason for it this year. He is the one who found it for me in Paris to begin with.

Weekend in Review

Saturday

• Went over to SILs house. She had made an appointment with Picture People to have her son's pciture taken and wanted a couple pictures with Dylan too.
• We decided to go ahead and have a full photo shoot with Dylan also.
• Spent 6 hours in a mall. I hate malls.
• Tried to have Dylan's picture taken with Santa. We were not successful and I refused to buy another crying picture.
• Spent way too much money on way too few pictures, but they were so good.
• Went home and went to bed.

Sunday

• We were all so lazy.
• Dylan and I took a 2 and 1/2 hour nap.
• Went grocery shopping.
• That's it.

I have an appointment on Thursday to have our carpets cleaned and then I am going to put up the Christmas tree. I can't wait to get the house decorated for Christmas. I think Dylan is looking forward to it too. This should be a really fun Christmas.

Fun Things in Confluence, PA

~Slipping and sliding up and down snow covered mountain roads.

~Sitting in the car on the side of a mountain road while Jason walks for help because we can't make it up the hill.

~Opening Christmas presents on Thanksgiving Day.

~Seeing Dylan really "get" the whole present thing.

~Having to keep Dylan from rolling his new toys on FILs cabin floor (he had just had them refinished). Try explaining to a 2 year old that he can only push his new toys that Poppy (FIL) gave him on the carpet on in the kitchen - it's not that easy.

~Riding four wheelers in the snow. Dylan did it everyday that we were there. He had a blast.

~Just playing in the snow with Dylan.

~Sledding.

~Building a snowman (it was Dylan's first).

~Leaving to go home.

I've Been Tagged . . .

10 Random things about me you may not know:
1. I have sung at Carnagie Hall (with my high school choir).
2. I love my son more than I ever imagined I could love another person.
3. I am intolerant of stupidity.
4. I hate auditors, especially when they are asking for something that you can’t substantiate to their satisfaction and they make an audit point, but they fully admit they know you are doing things right.
5. I see neediness as a major character weakness in adults.
6. I am not as affectionate as I want to be, but am finding it really hard to change.
7. I have been to individual and couples counseling and found out that most of the things about myself that I don’t like will be hard to change. I am just wired differently than most people.
8. I am scared of divorce. My parents, my Ils, and my brother have all been through or are going through divorce.
9. When ever I enter a scary situation, I always prepare myself for the worst possible outcome. 10. I never set goals for myself. That way I am never disappointed when I don’t reach them.

9 Places I've visited:
1. Paris
2. Las Vegas
3. Disney World
4. Switzerland
5. Pittsburgh, PA
6. Chatanooga, TN
7. New York City
8. Chicago
9. Savannah, GA

8 Ways to win my heart:
1. Tell me how smart I am
2. Tell me how beautiful I am (though I will probably call you a liar)
3. Compliment my son
4. Bring me flowers for no reason
5. Listen to me and actually hear what I am saying
6. Never talk down to me
7. Don’t be too aggressive
8. Don’t lie to me

7 Things I must do before I die:
1. Go back to Paris
2. Go skydiving
3. Hot air balloon ride
4. Parasailing
5. Have another baby
6. See my child(ren) grow up
7. Attend all important events for my children

6 Things I'm afraid of:
1. Outliving my child(ren).
2. Snakes
3. Someone breaking into my house
4. Car accidents
5. Driving on snowy mountain roads
6. Being miserable

5 Things I don't like:
1. Fake people
2. Rude people
3. Bad drivers
4. Too much time with Ils
5. Fighting with anyone

4 Ways to turn me off:
1. Comment on how “hot” I used to be or how much my face has changed.
2. Just grabbing random body parts
3. Stupidity
4. Fakeness

3 things I do every day:
1. Go to the bathroom
2. Hug and kiss Dylan
3. Kiss Jason

2 things that make me happy:
1. Dylan
2. Holidays

1 Thing that is on my mind right now:
1. How I can adjust my working hours to spend more time at home without losing any salary or flexibility.

So, what's going on . . .

• Dylan is recovering from some type of stomach virus. I got a call from daycare on Thursday afternoon and he was out of school Friday and really clingy through the weekend. I think it's the same one that Jason had last weekend.
• Friday, we just stayed home. But about 5:00, we needed to get out, so we went to Wal-mart. I completed my Christmas list for my nephew. Dylan helped to pick out the last two toys. He vetoed my first choice. LOL!!
• Saturday morning we went and Dylan got his haircut. He cried, but a lot less than last time. That's progress, right?!?
• I had a blast on Saturday night with Dylan. We went to Toys R Us. We spent about 2 hours just wandering around the store and playing with everything. He played at the train table (we must get one of those as soon as we get a bigger house), trucks, trucks, trucks, bicycles, jeeps, trucks, trucks, trucks. As we were leaving, I was letting him sit in one of the rides (this one was an ice cream truck). I hadn't put any money in it, he just likes to sit and turn the wheel. Well, a little girl walks up, so Dylan climbs in the back and lets her "drive". Her grandma puts some money in and Dylan got a free ride. Normally, when the thing starts moving he freaks out, but he really enjoyed it. Sigh ~ he is growing up so fast.
• Sunday we went to the park. Again, more proof of what a big boy he is getting to be. In the past, whenever anyone would walk up to him, he would just shut down. If he was climbing a ladder and someone walked in front of him, he would let go and try to get down as fast as he could. Now, he just keeps going. You can tell he is still a little uncomfortable with the new kids, but he's not letting them stop his good time.
• We are all getting ready for our Thanksgiving trip to visit Jason's dad. It takes a lot of planning and 9 or 10 hours of driving to get there, so I hope it's worth it. It would just be so much easier if he would just come to us. Jason and his sister live within an hour of each other. And we both have kids. UGH!! I guess I should really stop complaining. This is the only time of year we ever travel to see him. But, then again, he only visits 3 or 4 times a year at best. And, I think he lied to us. He told us that his DIRECTV would be down for the entire Thanksgiving holiday weekend (Wed-Sun). It seemed fishy that an entire area would be planned to be out of service over a holiday weekend, so I emailed DIRECTV asking if there was a planned outage. They actually got back to me and said that they couldn't find anything for area that we are going to be in. They even went so far as to say that they only schedule outages for the middle of the night (to affect the fewest # of people possible) and they only last about 15 minutes. I actually believe that FIL is going to do something to unplug his service. Last year, his girlfriend got upset that Jason and BIL were watching football games instead of visiting - so I think she put him up to it. I haven't, and probably won't, say anything about what I found out because we are bringing a portable DVD player so I can watch movies. It just makes me mad that I think they are lying to us.
• Really must spend some time cleaning the house and doing laundry this weekend. I don't want to come back to a messy house after the holidays.

Christmas list shopping update:

1. Dylan - almost done; need to pick up 1 or 2 more things
2. Jason - not sure; I just ordered his main gift, but don't really know what we are going to spend on each other this year.
3. Mom - almost done; 1 or 2 more things
4. Dad - almost done; 1 or 2 more things
5. Mike - only have 1 thing, but can't decide if I should just give him money for the rest of his present.
6. MIL - only have 1 thing, but I think I am going to leave most of it up to Jason this year.
7. FIL - done; we do Christmas for him @ Thanksgiving
8. SIL - not started
9. BIL - not started
10. nephew - done
11. GMIL - leaving it up to Jason, but he better get on it because we exchange with her @ Thanksgiving
12. FIL's GF - leaving it up to Jason, but he better get on it because we exchange with her @ Thanksgiving

LOL!!

Your Birthdate: August 30

You have the type of personality that people either love or hate. You're opinionated, dramatic, intense, and very outspoken. And some people can't get enough of you - they're totally addicted. Others, well, they wish you were a little more reserved. Your strength: Your flair Your weakness: If you think it, you say it Your power color: Scarlet red Your power symbol: Inverted triangle Your power month: March

Weekend in Review

Who went: Dylan and I - Jason stayed home and wound up getting really, really sick. So sick that he couldn't/wouldn't play with Dylan at all when we got home because we were afraid he would get Dylan sick.

Where we went: South GA - where my mom, dad, brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and most of my cousins live

How long it took to get there: 4 hours

Who we saw: My mom (Grandma), my dad (Papa), my brother, (Uncle Mike), my grandparents (Mammaw and Granddaddy), my uncle (Uncle Allen), my aunt (Aunt Judy), my cousin (Kim), and Kim's daughters (Makayla and Brinsley)

What Dylan saw for the 1st time up close and personal: tractors, school buses, cows, horses, mules, chickens, and inactive electric fences (Dylan started running toward the cows and wouldn't stop even though we were yelling at him to stop. The yelling made the cows start mooing and now Dylan is scared of cows. LOL!!)


Special highlights: Dylan didn't pee in his diaper all day Saturday. He went potty everytime. He even woke up dry Saturday morning and from his nap. YEAH, DYLAN!!

It was nice to see my family. It was also nice to realize that Dylan is now old enough to remember them from visit to visit. We talked all week about going to Grandma's house and he was so excited for the trip. He couldn't wait to see Grandma and Papa and Uncle Mike. If we are lucky, we see someone in my family every other month or so, but we aren't always lucky. We try to keep Dylan aquainted with them through phone calls and pictures. I think it is working. For a while, it took Dylan up to an hour sometimes to warm up to my mom or dad. The only person who he never seems to forget is my brother. He would always run straight into my brother's arms whenever he saw him. That just have that kind of connection, I guess. All in all - a good weekend.

ABC's of Me (Stolen from EE's Blog)

A is for age: 28
B is for booze of choice: wine cooler (I hate beer and liquor gives me hives now)
C is for career: accountant
D is for your dad's name: David
E is for essential items to bring to a party: whatever we were asked to bring
F is for favorite song at the moment: Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) – Green Day
G is for favorite game: Trivial Pursuit
H is for hometown: Meigs, GA
I is for instruments you play: Piano
J is for jam or jelly you like: Strawberry
K is for kids: Dylan
L is for living arrangements: me, Jason, Dylan, and Maggie (our dog)
M is for mom's name: Glenda
N is for name of your crush: Jason (yes, I still have a crush on my DH-most days)
O is for overnight hospital stays: 2 (c-section and mastitis)
P is for phobias: someone breaking into my house when I’m at home
Q is for quotes you like: You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, she is beautiful because you love her. ~Author Unknown and Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself. ~Harvey Fierstein
R is for relationship that lasted the longest: this one – started dating in 1996 and got married in 2000, so we have been together over 9 years.
S is for sexual preference: men
T is for time you wake up: s/b 6:30, but is usually 7:00
U is for underwear: yes, thongs usually
V is for vegetable you love: sweet peas
W is for weekend plans: Taking Dylan to get a haircut and then SIL is coming to the house and we are putting together a photo album of pictures from her and DH’s childhood to adulthood. She had to make copies from MIL’s pictures. FIL asked for this for Christmas since MIL wound up with all of the pictures in the divorce.
X is for x-rays you've had: dental x-rays at each visit (2x a year) and chest x-ray when I was younger
Y is for yummy food you make: chicken pot pie
Z is for zodiac sign: Virgo

Happy Halloween!!

Friday was the Fall Carnival at daycare. Dylan wore his costume and participated in a costume parade. Jason was able to make it to the parade this year and Dylan was so excited to see him. As soon as he saw his daddy he came running over to him. Unfortunately, Dylan cried when Jason had to leave, but the candy and party soon made him happy again.

Tonight, we will go trick-or-treating at one of our local malls. You can't beat trick-or-treating inside in the warmth and Mommy only has to drive to one place.

We had a good weekend. We spent most of the weekend at home. Dylan and I painted his pumpkin (brought to daycare specially for him by the pumpkin fairy) on Saturday. It's now a special tye-dye psycodelic pumpkin. We played a little soccer while Jason cleaned out the garage. He had a blast and I can now park my car in the garage. I love being able to do that in the winter.

Random Thoughts

• Dylan is growing up so fast. He just amazes me more and more everyday. His vocabulary is exploding and he is starting to develop empathy (or is it sympathy) when someone gets hurt. (He is usually the one who caused the hurt, but he is very quick to say sorry. Last night, he even apologized to the house because he ran into the wall. Funny stuff, I tell ya.)
• I hate not being at home on the weekends. When we come home, there is so much to do and not enough time to do it. It's no wonder I can't keep up with the laundry. I'm never home long enough to complete a cycle (wash, dry, fold, put away).
• More importantly, I hate spending the weekends with my ILs. I actually don't really mind it once we're there, but I hate the planning and build up that it takes to get to that point.
• Professional changes may be occuring in our lives in the next year. Can't say more than that now, but stay tuned for further details.
• On a completely unrelated note, keep your fingers crossed for me. I will let you know if it worked.
• Saw my nephew, Ty, this weekend and he is getting so big. I guess that's what happens when you are eating more babyfood at 6 mo than you are taking bottles. (BTW, I hate to judge like that, but my BIL and SIL have made some crazy parenting choices and this is just one more in the long line of them.)
• Does it bother anyone else when Moms or MILs by seasonal clothing for you child? My MIL bought Dylan a Halloween t-shirt. Nice jesture, but she never seems to consider that I always buy these things myself (and I love going shopping for said items). For Dylan's first Christmas, she insisted on buying his Christmas pjs and she always gets him an Easter basket. Again, nice jestures, but I just feel like she is infringing on me.
• Lots of things swirling in my head that I can't really put out there yet, but need to acknowledge here anyway.

Happy Birthday, Babe!!

Well, we met 9 years ago. I was dating someone else, but meeting you made me realize all that I was missing in my relationship (and my life). I never imagined we would end up together, but I was so grateful that you helped me realize I deserved more than I was getting. When you asked me out, I thought I was dreaming. A couple of months later, when you dumped me, I wished I had been.

Yeah, we had a rough start, but we persevered. And I'm so glad we did. I know we make each other crazy sometimes and we let little stuff drive us to distraction, but all in all, our life is good, no it's pretty great. And it wouldn't be nearly as great if we weren't together.

We have been married for over 5 years now and we have an amazing son together. You are a good husband and an amazing father. We compliment each other so well, in our life choices and in parenting our son. Together, we make the perfect pair. At least, I think so and that's all that matters.

So, today, on your birthday, please know that you are loved, appreciated, and adored for ever and always.

You Oughtta Be In Pictures

It has been a long time since Dylan has had a professional picture taken. The last one he sat for was when he was 10 months old. Since then, he has refused all attempts of well-meaning photographers. He refuses whether I am there or not. This isn't that huge of a deal, but I really want new pictures (professional pictures, that is). We have tried to fill the void with pictures we take ourselves. And while some of them are very good, it just isn't the same.

Last week, it was picture day again at daycare. I was droppping Dylan off as the photographer was leading the class to the "studio". I asked Dylan if he wanted to go take a picture and he said no, so I just let it go. Well, at pick up that afternoon, I learned that as soon as I left he asked his teacher to "go take picture". She led him back, fully expecting to have to turn around as soon as they got there because she has been with Dylan for a while and knows his picture phobia. To her, and later my surprise, he sat there and (with a little effort from the photographer) smiled. She told me she is positive that the photographer got at least 2 pictures with Dylan smiling. I told her I was so excited to get a picture that I really didn't care what it looks like. I do care, but I know it will be gorgeous. I mean, it is a picture of my child, how could it not be. LOL!!

I'm so excited. I can't wait to see the proofs. I may have to order a larger package than normal just because it's been soooo long. LOL!!

Sick and Tired

Dylan and I are sick. He has a runny nose, cough, and ear infection. I took him to the doctor on Monday. We waited in the exam room for almost 30 minutes, Dylan was in full tantrum mode, and I couldn't even blame him because I would have screamed and cried too if I thought I could get away with it. When the doctor came in and made some comment about him being upset, I quickly let him know that he was happy and playing for the first 20 minutes we were waiting, but that the last 10 minutes or so he was "done" with it. He seemed to understand my point. Anyway, Dylan was prescribed an antibiotic (which, btw, is now orange and smells like a dreamsicle instead of the pink that smells like bubble gum or something).

I have a stuffy nose, headache, and just general achiness. Benedryl here I come. Neither of us are sleeping all that well, so we are both tired.

That is all.

Daycare

After months of searching, Dylan's daycare has finally found a permanent morning teacher. It is such a relief to know who is going to be in his room when I drop off in the mornings.

His last teacher had to leave due to scheduling conflicts. She was trying to go back to school for a higher degree and could never work out her work and school schedules. Dylan had just gotten used to her a couple of weeks before she left. So, I had about 2 weeks of non-crying dropoffs and then it started all over again. The teacher's aide was awesome also, but she is pregnant and as soon as she reached her second trimester (just weeks after the main teacher left), she had to transfer out of the toddler room due to weight restrictions on how much she could lift. This started the parade of subs. All of the subs were current teachers at the school, so it wasn't like they were just bringing random people off of the street, but they weren't anyone who Dylan was comfortable with, so the tearworks started again. Every morning for 2 - 2 1/2 months, I had to hand him over to some random teacher while he cried. (He never cried more than a minute or two - I know because I waited outside his room to see how long it took him to calm down). It was so sad.

Then, about a week ago, we walk into his room and there is someone new. Someone I have never seen before. She introduces herself (none of the subs ever did that) and tells us she is going to be the new morning teacher. She has a calm presence and a soft tone to her voice. She takes Dylan and he hasn't cried since. He clings a little at drop off some mornings, but no more tears. It's like he could sense that she would be around for a while. At least, I hope she is.

Department of Family and Children Services

I had this whole update typed out and it got eaten somewhere.

So, long story short - The Department of Family and Children Services here in GA sucks. Once a child turns 18, they are dropped off at a homeless shelter unless they have previously arranged for somewhere else to go. Does that seem fair? Does the state actually do anything during the time that the kids are in their custody to prepare them for life? Yeah, not so much. They make sure that they go to school, but they don't actually care whether or not they are able to graduate from high school. The most popular arrangement for DFCS kids seems to be the military. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against the military, but I hate to see kids think it is their only option other than a homeless shelter.

The reason I am on this "soapbox" is because we spent some time this weekend with a messed up 17 year old (when he was younger, his mom had allowed her boyfriends to use him as a play toy and punching bag). He is trying to get his life back on track (just spent a year in a wilderness program - a last chance for him) and now he only has a year to get his life together before he is abandoned. That just sucks.

Happy Birthday, Mom

So, today is my mom's birthday. She works in a flower shop, so sending her flowers or a plant is completely out of the question. I hate wrapping and sending gifts in the mail, so I typically have something else sent to her. This year, I decided to send some candy. So, I picked something that I thought she would like off of 1-800-flowers and picked today as the delivery date.

How ironic is it that the flower shop she works at is the one that got the order and that my grandmother is the one who actually filled the order to give to my mom. It's a good thing that my mom took today off or she might have had to prepare her own birthday gift and deliver it to herself.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!! I hope you had a great day!!

I am officially the mom of a 2 year old

Well, I guess I have been since June. But, the terrible twos have officially begun. He's not a bad kid, he's great actually. It's just so hard to see my sweet, loving child turn into a tantrum throwing monster. He can cry for so long (he has a great memory) and I can't distract him anymore. Ignoring him doesn't work, he just gets louder (then he wants to sit in my lap and he calms down). I can't talk him "down" from the tantrum. His reasoning skills are good, but he's still only 2.

I can deal with the tantrums during the daylight hours, but the ones that start at 1:00 in the morning are a little more difficult to accept. One night last week, he cried for over an hour. Not crying really, just screaming. He would fade away, then he would get a second, third, fourth, etc. wind. All because I wouldn't let him watch Clifford at 1:00 in the morning. I gave in about 2:00. I know, I know, I just reinforced to him that if he cried long enough he will get what he wants. At 2:00 in the morning, when I have to go to work the next day, he just might always get what he wants. Hopefully, he will outgrow this phase before he can tell the difference between work days and non-work days. He's only 2, he will eventually want to sleep all night.

And then, when he gets older (and doesn't live at home) he can watch whatever he wants, whenever he wants. Even Clifford at 1:00 in the morning, though I think that will lose its appeal before that time actually comes.