pieces of tape

"If you're using more than three pieces of tape, then you know that you're doing something wrong." Pam from The Office said the previous line to Roy regarding wrapping Christmas presents. This was the Christmas episode from last year that played last Thursday because of the writer's strike.

That line keeps going through my head every time I have been wrapping presents this last week. I am not a good present wrapper. In the past, I have used about 6 pieces of tape per present. Two pieces on each end of the box and two on the back of the box.

Dust, however, is an excellent present wrapper. I noticed years ago that he barely used any tape when wrapping gifts. I thought it was odd at the time. I guess I just didn't know the correct way to wrap a present.

precious moments

NJ and I took a walk yesterday when the ice was melting off the trees. It was one of those moments that I knew I should treasure. He was holding my hand and we were walking on the sidewalk in our neighborhood. NJ would say car when we would walk by a car in a driveway. I kept saying ice and he would repeat after me. We stepped on ice and ice fell on top of us. There will be a time when he won't want to hold my hand and talk a walk with me. I savored that special outing we had.

friends

Some of you read the last post that I deleted. I was hurt by somebody and I just needed to let it all out. I talked about the situation recently with one of the girls and I was wrong about some things. They are all not as close of friends that I had thought. One girl thought that I was with a relative at Deanna Rose because I was standing close to another lady. I don't know why I wasn't invited to Deanna Rose with them. I am going to let that go and move on.

I don't know where I fit in. I am trying to be friendly with everybody. Being social is complicated now that we have NJ. I think that I have to just get used to that. I remember the good old days when we would go out with all of you guys on the weekends. I feel alone here because we don't have any family nearby. When I needed something, T was always there. She is still there for me in spirit.

I really do enjoy going to MOPS on Thursday mornings. I love the ladies that sit at my table. I am trying to build relationships there. I am trying to focus on the positive things in life.

among the grey-haired

Sunday morning Dust, NJ, my Mom and Dad and I went to a church service of sorts in Branson, MO. It was held at the IMAX theatre in a smaller theatre. The songs/sermonette was done by a Baptist family turned pentecostal -is how they describe themselves. My parents have attended there before and mentioned that they usually only have about 20 people there. When we opened the theatre door, we saw a sea of grey-haired people. Several tour buses had unloaded. There were four seats left beside the door and we grabbed them. NJ did well for about 3o minutes. I kept him busy with a sippy cup of milk and graham crackers. The music was loud so it didn't matter if he got fussy. You were supposed to yell where your tour bus was from as they went around the auditorium. Everyone was from Oklahoma it seemed.

The logic behind going here was that we could take NJ out easily enough if he got cranky. I didn't want to send NJ to a strange church nursery. Mom and I took NJ out to run around the IMAX lobby. We walked around the gift shops also.

After church, we ate at a family type restaurant attached to the IMAX. I did feel out of place there also. Mainly grey-haired.

the winner

This weekend I determined that Dust could win any contest he entered. He won first place for his Halloween costume contest at work. And on Saturday, we won the "mocktail " contest at the elevate party.

The church provided a bunch of ingredients and let us make our own smoothies to enter into the contest. Dust was the brain behind our masterpiece. We kept it simple: ice cream, ice, blackberries, blueberries, raspberry flavoring, ginger ale, and milk. (if I remember correctly) When we taste tested it, I told Dust it was too bland. So we punched it up a little and put it in the blender again. We served it with whipped cream and a blueberry on top. Dust named it "Blue Brew" It was going to be "Dust's Blue Brew" but then the judges would know who made it.

There were four judges doing the taste testing. They spent a long time making their decision. They had a score sheet and I'm not too sure what all the categories were. I was shocked when they read our number and "Blue Brew" as the first place winner. I thought we would get beat out by the oreo and mint drink.

Dust is awesome. He was a good project manager. It kinda felt like a task on the Apprentice. I am going to enter Dust into everything now!

Chuck

Dust and I have been watching the tv show "Chuck" on Monday nights. I was hoping it would help me with my "Alias" withdrawal. It seems to be more of a comedy than a drama about the CIA. The show is about Chuck who has the government's secrets stored in his brain. He fixes computers/electronics for "The Nerd Herd" at the Buy More store. The CIA and the NSA watch him 24/7. It is a little bit cheesy, but I like it. I think the character development was done well. Our good friend Marshall from "Alias" was on "Chuck" last night. It was good to see him again. He was a bad guy this time though.

I hope this show makes it another season. It is a good Monday night show.

"you have gas"

We put in an order at Home Depot for a new water heater. Yesterday, I answered the phone call to set up the install appt. I assumed it was just going to be a call to set up a time for someone to come out. It ended up being a call with a lot of questions that I didn't know the answer to. When someone asks me questions really fast over the phone, for some reason I blurt out an answer back whether it's correct or not. The lady asked, "Do you have gas, blah, blah, electric." I answered electric. The lady on the phone had me go down to the breaker box and get some sort of info from it. I told her that I didn't see the breaker that had the water heater label by the side of it. I then said maybe we didn't have electric. She asked me, "Are there pipes coming from the top of the water heater. Yes. "You have gas," the lady said.

I felt like such an idiot. She then had to change the info. on her computer which took some time. She apologized for the delay. I told her it was my fault for telling you we had electric in the first place. I know absolutely nothing when it comes to basic household knowledge. I am from the traditional mindset of the 1950's that that's the man's job and I don't need to know it. I definitely need to come into the present century. I need to care about whether or not our water heater runs on gas. Or that we have copper plumbing. Dust is going to go over some basic crap with me sometime. I hope that I care enough to retain the info. I don't want to look like an idiot anymore.

nature center

Last Saturday, Dust, NJ and I went to the Ernie Miller Nature Center in Olathe. I am always looking for a new place to take NJ for a walk. It was small but nice. I was used to the Springfield, MO Nature Center which is quite large.

The one thing that was interesting was that there was a birthday party going on. That was a new concept for me---birthday parties at a nature center. There were people dressed up along the pathway in costumes portraying nursery rhymes/stories. When we passed Johnny Appleseed, I thought he looked familiar. And I was right. We ran into his wife coming out of the nature center. We will have to tease him about being Johnny Appleseed.

Is a birthday party at a nature center a geeky thing to do? Maybe for a pre-schooler it would be cool. Who knows, NJ might have one there some day.

frugal

I have been analyzing my purchasing behavior. I realized that I am kinda wishy washy when it comes to spending. Sometimes I am very frugal and other times I make excessive purchases. I make the stupidest mistakes financially sometimes and sometimes I am extremely cheap.

We got professional photos taken at Target for the holidays. I was talked into buying the Christmas cards-(4x7). I probably should have taken a picture at home and gone through Wal-Mart.com for the Christmas cards. Wal-Mart is around 12 cents a picture, i think. Oh, well.

NJ has some clothes that are too small for him. I had him wear these around the house. Maybe I am being too cheap and should go out and get him some more shirts/pants at Target. I tend to make bad decisions on clothing for myself. I have clothes that don't look right on me but I didn't try to return them to the store either. I usually end up realizing that the clothes aren't right for me after I have washed and worn them.

Dust has mentioned that my philosophy on grocery shopping is buying only what I need for the week. (Just in Time inventory) It is probably just me being cheap. I used to only put $5 of gas in my car at a time. Is that being cheap? Since I've been married to Dust, I always fill my tank to full. Mostly for the convenience. I was able to get by with only putting $5 at a time in my car during college because Dust drove me around.

I wish I could find a balance. I don't want to be too cheap but I don't want to make foolish excessive purchases either.

fam time

Miss Carisma visited us this past weekend. We were able to squeeze some fam time in around Dust's studying. Dust took Monday and Tuesday off work to study and have fun with little sis.

Yesterday, we went to the Overland Park Arborteum/Botanical gardens. The landscaping was excellent! I liked the mini-waterfall and the streams that bordered the paved walkway. We did go on some walking trails. NJ had a bumpy ride in his stroller when we got off the asphalt and went into the woods. He was sleeping so maybe the ride kept him asleep. It was nice to get some sun and exercise.

Miss Carisma and I rented a movie on Monday while Dust was studying. The movie was called, "Mozart and the Whale." It was a romantic comedy about two people with Asperger's syndrome. I liked it.

outside

It is so much fun playing with NJ outside. He loves to run all around our backyard. The smile and excitement on his face is so awesome. I sat him on the limb of a tree in our yard and he thought that was so cool. Experiencing things like sitting in a tree for the first time is so neat to watch.

The one thing that bothers NJ about the backyard is the fence. He is drawn to it and starts shaking it. He doesn't seem to like the limitation. Sometimes NJ acts like a free spirit that doesn't want to be fenced in and sometimes he can't cling to me hard enough.

There is something about being outside that is nourishing to both mother and child. The sun perks me up. I especially love it when the humidity is low. We are gettting into some nice fall weather that is baby friendly!

stir crazy

Yesterday morning I was a bit stir crazy. I decided that NJ and I needed to get out of the house. I knew that Toys R US didn't open until 10 am. So, I thought I would see if there was a park nearby. I stopped by the public pool nearby because I thought there was a playground there. No, I was wrong. Just a basketball court. So, NJ and I waited in the Toys R US parking lot with the other moms and their kids anxiously waiting for the store to open. NJ got so excited when he saw the Diego toys and books. I ended up buying a Diego book because he didn't want to put it down. I was going to buy him some more toys anyway. I don't have that many age appropriate books for him. He is bending the pages on most of his books that are too old for him right now. I also bought him a beaded maze block. It is a wooden box with a wire beaded maze on top. He played with it all afternoon yesterday. He loves it!

I am going to have to find something to do to get out of the house more often. We have MOPS on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays. I enjoyed the meeting and am looking forward to the next one. I am thinking about taking NJ to the Deanna Rose Farmstead next week. They had a good playground for toddlers.

I always thought I was a homebody. Until I am home all the time.

pics of NJ

The top pic is NJ after his haircut. The middle pic is NJ before his haircut at Bass Pro. The bottom pic is NJ right after his haircut from Dust.

Dust, the barber

Dust gave NJ his first official haircut on Saturday. We recently purchased an electric hair trimming set--what barbers use. I was not familiar with how to use the different size combs on the trimmer, so Dust was the barber. NJ was a very good patient. He sat still on my lap as the buzzing trimmers went over his scalp. I know that I wouldn't have been able to swipe my little boy's beautiful hair away. NJ had some really long bangs! There were some long pieces in the pile on the floor after the haircut.

My little NJ looks very clean cut now. It wasn't a buzz cut--there is some length to it. He did, however, lose the golden glow that his hair once had. His hair seems duller to me now. But he is still my cute little boy! I will post some pictures in a later post.

Labor Day weekend

Dust, NJ and I went to visit my family in southern MO. We had a really great time. On Saturday, we all went to "The Landing". It's similar to "Legends" in KC. My brother's girlfriend also came with us. It was our first time meeting her-she's really nice. We had dinner at Garfield's. Dash, we didn't have the steak-a-lada this time. But we all had steak besides my brother's girlfriend. She's a vegetarian.

On Sunday, we went to SDC. It was extremely crowded. We were hoping to make the church service at the Wilderness Church at 11 am. The traffic and crowds got us there too late. Dust mentioned that we rode the barn swing ride. It was pretty cool! NJ enjoyed watching us from below. Grams (my mom) said that his head followed the pendulum back and forth. It was southern gospel picnic weekend. We saw Dottie Rambo in concert. It was a blessing that NJ slept through the entire concert sitting with Gramps (my dad).

On Monday, we went to Bass Pro in Springfield. It was my Dad's birthday and he picked Hemingway's for lunch. NJ enjoyed watching the fish in the equariums. He wanted to run around the store--which was the bad thing. Overrall though NJ was pretty good all weekend! I really enjoyed being with my family and we had lots of fun!

walk across the room

In Sunday School class, we are going to read a book by Bill Hybels called, "Just a walk across the room." I just read a few pages of the book. The author tells a story of a Muslim man that was at a party. He was standing alone in the corner when a man noticed him and left his "circle of comfort". This man started a conversation with the Muslim man. The two ended up meeting for coffee and discussing their different religions. The Muslim man came to know Christ and it all began because a man decided to walk across the room.

Sometimes it can be scary to walk across the room to talk to someone. You would think because I am shy that it would be a hard thing for me to do. I can walk across the room and say hello but I don't have much more than that. Recently, I was in a social setting and I decided to walk across the room and say hello to someone. When I said hello, the person immediately left and said something about getting something to eat. This really hurt my feelings. It was quite obvious that I came over there to talk to this person. Am I really that awful to have to talk to? I was just trying to be nice because I know how lonely it can be to be standing alone. I hope that I am misinterpreting this whole scenerio. Maybe the person wanted to be alone or this person genuinely got hungry at that moment and decided to get something to eat. I am going to try to not let this event hinder me from walking across the room again.

"dream of doing nothing"

I like Peter Gibbon's response in the movie "Office Space" when asked what he would like to do if he had a million dollars. Absolutely nothing. The question is supposed to help you find your career job. Dust and I like to joke about our dream of doing nothing.

Dust and I also joke about a line we heard on a "Will & Grace" episode. "Oh, he thinks we do things. Does he know that we don't do things?" I am notorious for saying things that I want to do or am going to do but never do. Shock of all shocks..I am actually doing something.

This week I started painting the floor boards in our house white. They were originally wood color but the previous owners painted them white. With the toy bus and other toys banging into the wall, the paint has chipped really bad. I am actually doing something! I got off my butt and started painting! It already looks a lot better. Also, we actually ordered some new bathroom and bedroom doors for the house!

Even though I have a dream of doing nothing, it isn't as fulfilling as actually doing something. I am embarrassed when I think about how I could have improved our house years ago, but I decided to sit on my butt instead.

cartoons

Cartoons have sure changed since I was a kid. NJ and I watch Dora the Explorer every morning at 7:30 am. I think it's kinda creepy that Dora asks me a question and waits for my reply. "What part of the trip did you enjoy?" pause, stare, total silence for at least 15 seconds, then, "I liked that part, too." "Go, Deigo, Go" has the same format. I guess cartoons are trying to be more interactive. The characters ask, "Do you see the "fill in the blank" ? Where is it? They do seem to be more educational too. I think it's funny but also good that before a cartoon starts on the Noggin channel it tells me what my child will learn. Your child will learn problem solving skills on Dora and interpersonal and intrapersonal skills by watching "Little Bear" and "Oswald".

I am embarrassed to admit it but my life has become a series of cartoons. The Noggin channel is playing in my house all day long. One of my favorite cartoons is "The Backyardigans". I used to make fun of this cartoon before NJ was born! Speaking of Backyardigans, does anyone know what animal Uniqua is? A salamander or bug? She is pink, so I am assuming that she is a girl. Sometimes she talks with a boy voice though. She seems to be interested in boy things too. Maybe she's just a tomgirl?? It's like the "Pat" clip on SNL.

trip to the grocery store

This morning I decided to attempt to go to the grocery store with NJ. I figured that I need to get out of the house more during the weekdays so I don't feel so isolated. We both got ready and left about 9 am.

When we got there, I put him in the cart seat. He seemed ok for a few minutes. He stared at a little girl walking around with her mommy. He got scared and started grunting for mommy. He tried to grab on to me and looked at me with a desparate look. He has been in a clingy stage for awhile now. NJ started crying and I decided to get him out of the cart. If you have ever heard NJ cry, you know how loud he can get. I attempted to push the cart and hold him at the same time. I shifted NJ from hip to hip. I could push the cart straight with one hand only for a short distance. I thought he might be calmed down enough to put him back in the cart. Nope, he screamed again. We put on quite a show I am sure. I got a few stares. In some ways I am glad that he screamed when I put him in the cart seat because it validated my reasoning of holding him. I tried to buckle him in the cart seat about 4 to 5 times while I was shopping. I was going to buy a 12 pk of Pepsi. I can't hold him and pick up a 12 pk at the same time. Since he wouldn't stay in the seat, I put him down on the ground. NJ fell back and hit his head on the metal rack. I felt like a terrible mother at that point. I decided not to bother with the pop cans and continued down the aisle while trying to comfort NJ.

Apparantly, NJ dropped his pacifier around the meat section. I didn't realize it until a couple of aisles later. I hurried as fast as I could to the check-out lady. She said that it looked like I had my hands full. I explained the situation. I put NJ back in the cart seat so I could pay. He, of course, screamed again. The check-out lady said,"What a loud noise to come from a small baby". Before we went out the door, I put him in the seat and just let him cry. He seemed ok while I was putting the groceries in the trunk.

I have decided not to attempt to go to the grocery store alone with NJ again until he is out of this clingy stage.

clutter free

I have been on a mission to clutter free the house. I started cleaning out the storage space in the basement. We had thrown boxes and all kinds off stuff in there. It was time to organize! I have a pile of items to give away. I also have a pile of trash. We feel bad putting all of it out on trash day. We will save some to put out next week. Mostly big boxes that the baby car seats came in.

My next step is to buy some plastic containers to put stuff in. There is NJ's baby stuff that needs to be stored away nicely. I am struggling a little bit on how to organize the house. Our methods so far haven't worked. Our main problem is that we are pack rats. We also tend to let things pile up and not deal with items immediately. I would be open to any advice.

I love watching the tv show "Clean House". The team tries to de-clutter the house and find things to sell at a yard sale for money to redesign the rooms. I would love for someone to come to my house and give me some new designed rooms with storage containers!

Dust is 28 today!

Happy 28th Birthday Dust!!! We are going to see the new Simpsons movie tonight. I feel good about the sitter that is watching NJ tonight.

I told Dust the other day that I wish I was just turning 28. I will be the big 30 next year.

Have a wonderful day! We love you!

walking fool

NJ has finally gotten the hang of walking! He had his first steps around June 21st when his grandparents were visiting. On July 6th, NJ decided that he was going to walk or else! He took a few steps and fell and got right back up! He spent a couple hours that night trying to walk around the house. We were proud of him for not giving up. NJ is a determined little boy when he sets his mind to doing something.

On our vacation, NJ improved his balance when walking! He really enjoyed walking around Grandma's living room. He had persistance there too! He even wanted to walk outside.

My back feels a lot better now that I'm not bending over to help NJ learn to walk! It has been great watching him walk around the house now that we've been back. My day has just gotten easier!

full-time stay at home mom

This has been my first week as a full-time stay at home mom. On NJ's birthday, we had a wonderful day playing at home. He has taken two naps a day all week! Even I took advantage of nap time and occasionally took a nap myself. NJ is so energetic that I definitely need to take naps to keep up with him.

I am living my dream right now. My ultimate long-term goal has always been to be a stay at home mom. I have a sense of fullfillment. Maybe I should make some more goals now. Raising NJ is a priority goal.

Some people say that I will get bored. I really don't think that I will.

the scooter

Dust's parents gave NJ his birthday gifts early. The big gift was a scooter--a school bus that you can ride on or push. He loves to take rides on it! His feet don't touch the ground if he sits on it. We were all exhausted this past weekend from pushing NJ all around the house.

NJ does occasionally like to push the scooter. There is a big handle on the back that he puts one hand on and he uses his other hand to hold my hand. If I also try to put my other hand on the handle, NJ will remove my hand. He is either being independent or selfish.

The scooter also has buttons that make noise and play a song. We have them memorized now: "Everyone sit down, let's go to school! Stop and Go, Stop and Go, on to school and take it slow. With a Beep, Beep, Stomp, Stomp, all around the town, Stop and Go and 'round and 'round."

11 days and counting.. and reflecting on life after baby

I have 11 more work days until I leave the work force to be a stay at home mom! I am training my replacement right now. Things seem to be going well there. She watched me do the job for two weeks and now I get to watch her do the job. I know it sounds weird but that's what the boss wants.

Balancing work, housework, and NJ has been difficult. I have been stretched in ways I never thought possible. I was used to only alloting the amount of time it took me to get ready in the morning. Now, I have to add at least a half hour for feeding NJ and dressing him. And I have to allot enough time in the morning to get the house in decent order before T comes over to watch NJ. There are mornings that I have been awake for about three hours before I even get to work. I have become even more disciplined and structured because of this. I remember going at least 4 to 5 days between running the dishwasher before NJ came. I am not proud of that. When I was working full time before NJ was born, I would leave the week days dishes in the sink until the weekend and then run the dishwasher. Now, I run the dishwasher every night so NJ has clean bottles for the next day. I also seem to do a load or two of laundry every day. I used to only do laundry one day a week. And I fit it in about 2-3 loads.

I am looking forward to a more stress-free life!

more NJ pics

Dust has some NJ pics on his site. I had wanted to post some too. I don't really have much to say these days. Enjoy! Have a good Memorial Day!

deluge

Have you ever heard a word and thought, "that's a cool sounding word" ? I heard the word deluge the other day and really liked the way it sounded. It was in the song, "Landslide of Love" by the Newsboys. "Let's get drenched under God's good rain, caught in a deluge of mercies." I like the rest of the song. "Like a pebble clings to dirt, we're still clinging to bedrock sin. Let's get swept off our feet again. Caught in a landslide of love."

I hadn't heard the word deluge in quite a while. It's not really a part of someone's everyday vocabulary. I learn most of my words now from Dust. I guess it hasn't made his vocabulary. Or maybe it has and I have tuned it out. : ) just kidding, Dust.

figuring people out

It's hard for me to make small talk with people that I don't know. There are situations where you need to make conversation -like when you are getting your hair cut, or going to the dentist, or dr. office. I try to size people up immediately on whether they might have kids because I have that to talk about now.

I went to the dentist on Wednesday. The hygeinist (sp?) and I struggled at first to come up with small talk. I saw a picture of a little girl. I asked if that was her daughter. No, she said it was the dentist's granddaughter. She didn't mention that she had kids and I figured that if she did she would say something. She asked if I had any vacations planned. I told her my cousin is getting married in July in Michigan and we might make a vacation out of it. She then mentioned going on a river rafting trip with her teenage son. I then assumed that she is divorced. She made reference to the son's father. She asked if I had seen any good movies lately. Usually, that is my hot topic of discussion. But with the baby, I haven't seen many movies lately. Finally, the dentist arrived and we were released from talking.

pranks

I enjoy watching pranks being pulled on people. I am usually not creative enough to think of ones of my own. However, I eagerly join the bandwagon if one is going on. The tv show, The Office, has had some great jokes: calculators in jello, cell phone put in the ceiling rafters, desk put in the men's room.

At a previous job, a co-worker set out some jelly beans for people to eat. We didn't tell anybody that they were bertie-bots. (jelly belly's prank jelly beans) flavors were: puke, boogers, hot peppers. Another co-worker came up and took a handful of the jelly beans. We couldn't go through with it. We had to tell the co-worker they were prank jelly beans.

In college, I took a picture of my roommate on the toilet. And then put it on the bulletin board in the dorm lobby. That is my extent of pranks. I was actually mad at her because she did something to me. I too k the picture in the first place because she always left the door open, and I thought that might teach her.

notice

I put my notice in at work today! We are at a point now financially where we can afford for me to stay home with NJ. I am so excited! I did however agree to train my replacement. My boss wanted me to give him about a 4 month notice. So it looks like I will be working until the end of July. I know it sounds crazy that I agreed to a 4 month notice. I didn't want to leave the company hanging.

T has done a great job watching NJ. It will be sad not to see her everyday.

my faith

I have been thinking about how my faith appears to other people. Do I come across as a genuine person living a consistent christian life? I hope so. Am I letting God use me when He needs me? Or do I rationalize not doing something or saying something for Christ because of fear?

I was listening to Greg Long's song, "Fifteen" yesterday and it made me cry. Usually I just think these type of songs are cheesy sounding. "If it takes fifteen times to hear about Jesus, for someone to believe. I may be the 3rd, I may be the7th, there may be years inbetween. What if I'm fifteen?" I think there were times that I may have been and I didn't come through. I then started thinking, why would God keep me around if I'm not doing anything for Him? I am just taking up space.

I really want to be useful. I think I have been lazy lately. I want to be different.

balance

I received some good advice from an old friend yesterday. I realized that I needed more of a balance in my life in regards to taking care of myself. I told this friend that I was exhausted. She couldn't understand why. She said, "You're not one of those moms that won't put their baby down in the play pen and will sometimes skip showers." Yeah, I was. I hadn't been taking a break for myself. I felt sad about going to work and not having time with NJ. So, when we were together, I crawled around with him and was with him all the time. Just this week, I started putting NJ in the playpen in front of the tv while I was getting things ready in the morning. My mornings have been less stressful. Before, I was sitting on the floor blow drying my hair with NJ right there beside me.

I took some time out for myself yesterday. I got finished with my work, so I left early. I went to get a haircut! I can't remember the last time I took time to get my hair cut. That's why it grew out! I also went to use some of the gift cards I got for X-mas! I went to Kohl's and bought an outfit. I am feeling really good about myself. And not so guilty about letting NJ watch tv so I can take care of the house and myself!

battle of the wills

We knew when NJ was just a month old that he had a strong will. He would fight to get free from our grip. NJ is fighting again in regards to taking his pedialyte. NJ has been suffering from vomiting and diahrrea since Tuesday. The doctor said that I should give him 2 to 4 ounces of pedialyte every time he has diahrrea.

NJ refuses to drink the pedialyte from the bottle. He knows that his formula comes from the bottle and if it isn't in there, he pitches a fit. He cries so hard that I have to stop to calm him down. I tried giving it with a spoon and he turned his head each time and closed his mouth. I have tried different types of spoons, cups and bottles. I was bound and determined to get that pedialyte down him. I turned on our baby einstein video to distract him. As he was mesmerized by the show, I slipped in 4 oz. of pedialyte by spoon! I won this round, NJ.

NJ update

Today NJ crawled/scooted forward for the first time! The last couple days he has attempted going forward, but it was hard to tell if it counted as crawling forward! T thinks it counts! He has been crawling backwards for several weeks now. It is really exciting! After I gave him a bath tonight, I put his pj's on and sat him on the floor. I walked over to his laundry basket and NJ definitely crawled forward after me. He was interested in his laundry basket. I can't wait for him to really take off crawling forward!

Last week, NJ pulled/pushed himself into a sitting position for the first time. It seemed natural for him when scooting backwards to sit himself up. It was awesome seeing that for the first time!

NJ has lots of "firsts" that I can look forward to experiencing with him.

Valentine's Day pasts

I was just thinking about what happened last Valentine's Day. I had my sonogram and found out that we were having a boy! That was a very special V-day. Dust and I have usually gone out to eat at restaurants to celebrate. I then tried to remember what I did for V-day before I met Dust. One V-day in particular stands out.

It was my freshman year in college. It was Valentine's Day and nobody on my floor had a date or plans. Some of the girls wanted to do makeovers to make them feel beautiful. Autumn decided that she wanted to color her hair, so a few of us went to Wal-Mart with her. Autumn had auburn hair and would switch back and forth between red and brown colors. Anyway, while we were at Wal-Mart, Lisa decided that I needed to do something with my hair. Autumn thought that I needed a perm. She said she could give me one in the dorm. I agreed to it. I sat in the bathroom and Autumn put my hair in rollers. Lisa came in to look and got nervous. She didn't think Autumn knew what she was doing. That scared me and they wouldn't let me look. The whole floor reaked of perm solution. Apparantly, we aren't allowed to give perms in the dorm. The end result wasn't that bad. It was curlier than I expected! Almost like a spiral perm, but I had chin length hair. I usually don't do things on a whim like that, but I was glad that I did.

"Things that make me gag"

I went to bed early tonight because I have a cold but couldn't sleep. My mind wouldn't shut off. So, a new post entered my mind and I decided to write it down now. Has anyone ever wondered what I really think about things? I used to say the line, "gag me with a spoon" in the '80's. This is a list of things that make me "gag."

• People who seek out to date and then marry someone with the same first initial that they have. They name their kids with that same first initial. And their dog. Too cutesie! gag.
• People who will only date/marry someone with the same hair color that they have. Example: Someone has blonde hair and they want to marry someone with blonde hair so that they can have kids with blonde hair. "gag" me. Can someone say superficial?
• Someone who only uses china dishes in their house for every meal. They serve pretzels and popcorn on china.
• Teapots. I can't stand them. Collections of teapots make me gag. Tea parties also make me gag. It seems too fake and showy.
• Fluffy dresses and tutus. Ballerinas. Leotards.
• Bows. Any type of bow on anything. Bows in hair.
• Tulle used in weddings.
• Couches with plastic covers on them. Usually in living rooms that are just for show and not used by anyone.
• Sequins.
• Any type of floral pattern.
• Most shades of the color pink.
• MaryKay parties and consultants and products.

I apologize if I offended anyone. Blame it on the cold medicine.

my time

I look forward to "my time" after the baby goes to bed every night. Dust has class on Monday and Wednesday nights so I am alone with my thoughts. I usually end up on the computer doing blogs, myspace, and emails. I love the peace and quiet. The dryer and the dishwasher are going so I do hear that rumble.

"My time" has dwindled down a lot. Especially on the weekends. I have some gift cards from Christmas that I haven't spent because I haven't had the time. I think once the weather gets warmer and NJ gets older, I will take him out with me to run my errands on Friday. Dust usually stays home with him on the weekends when I have to run errands. It's not the fun errands like shopping. I don't consider grocery shopping a fun errand.

I have some housework to do yet, but I will surf the net next.

paper cuts

I sliced my finger pretty good today on a piece of paper from my binder at work. I wrapped it in a tissue and pressed firmly. I took it off, but another drop of blood formed. I remembered that I put some band-aids in my purse. Last time I had a paper cut, I had no band-aid.

I am extremely prone to paper cuts. It's so embarrassing!! It sounds like such a nerdy problem. Dust has this problem too. : ) Not that Dust is nerdy or anything.

A year ago, my co-worker got a paper cut on her finger at work. I told her that I had a band-aid. I put it on her desk, but she didn't use it. I couldn't figure out why. I ran scenerios in my head of why someone wouldn't accept a band-aid. I knew she was a smoker but was hiding that fact from everyone. Maybe she didn't want to get the band-aid on fire when she smoked. I think I ended up taking the band-aid back off of her desk.

I think if I used more lotion on my hands I wouldn't have this problem. See Dust, I fixed my own problem. I guess I shouldn't talk about paper cuts anymore. : ) j/k (see Dust's blog)

know-it-all

The phrase "know-it-all" has negative connotations. It shouldn't be a bad thing to possess knowledge. The key is how you relay the information to others. And the attitude and tone. I have been trying to evaluate myself to see if I come across as a know-it-all.

There is a reason that I have been thinking about this. I have noticed that I get annoyed when I am around a "know-it-all." Sure everyone gets annoyed by that type of person. I think my reason has to do with the fact that I wanted to be the one to share the knowledge of whatever it was. A couple of people have stolen my thunder. (nobody in blog land : ) ) Maybe I just need to be quicker to talk. I think I have an inner desire to be a teacher, so I like to share things.

I told Dust that I wanted to come out and tell these people that he/she is a know-it-all. Dust said that wasn't a good idea. : ) A scripture verse came to mind today when I was thinking about all of this. It says something to the effect of "for as much as it depends on me, live peacefully with one another". That is kinda hard sometimes.

American Idol addict

Yes I have to admit that I am addicted to American Idol. I have been watching the tryouts that played last night and I am watching it tonight. I like the brother and sister that made it to Hollywood. They had pretty skin-their mom was white and dad was Pakistani maybe?

I bought Chris Daughtry's CD a couple weeks ago and have been listening to it in the car. I like his rocker voice but the songs are aimed at people younger than I. It seems that all pop/rock songs are about broken relationships with yourboyfriend/girlfriend. I can't relate.

I also received Carrie Underwood's CD for Christmas. I like her voice also but some of the lyrics I can't relate to. My brother teases me about liking her song, "Jesus, take the wheel." He thinks it's cheesey.

Maybe I will grow out of this Idol phase that I have been in. Or I might just think twice about buying the CD's.

quality time and laughter

I like to spend quality time hanging out with Dust. A friend from college used to tease me about how much time I used to spend with Dust. She was single and probably jealous though. She would say, "Every night is Dust night." Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night etc. Of course all couples are inseparable when they first start dating.

Reading the Sunday comics is something that Dust and I like to do together. We also like to laugh about lines from tv shows and movies. Dust likes to quote stuff a lot. Laughter is very important in our family. Dust gets NJ to laugh a lot when they play and "rough house" together.

Dust enjoys showing me clips from u-tube that he thinks I will laugh at. He also shows me various comics online that he thinks I will laugh at. I usually need the laugh because I tend to take myself too seriously!

fresh start

I like January because it is the beginning of a new year and I feel like I have a fresh start on everything. I do try to make some new year's resolutions each year. They usually only last a couple months at the most. Here is a list of what I am working on:

• Reading the entire Bible in one year. My brother told me that he was doing it and I decided that I would also. We can encourage each other to stick with it. We are reading it chronologically. We are using the list on www.backtothebible.org. I think that trying to read it in 60 days is too hard and you won't have much comprehension.
• Having a healthier diet. I tend to eat a lot of junk food. I want to eat more salads and fruits and veggies. I want to limit my pop and chocolate intake.
• Investing time with people. I get annoyed when I am trying to work/get a task done and someone talks to me. I need to enjoy people more and establish better relationships.
• Taking time out to spend with NJ. Chores can always be pushed back especially to when he is sleeping. Play and be a kid again with him!

1st Christmas

This Christmas was special because it was NJ's 1st Christmas! At Grams and Gramps house he yawned through the opening of his gifts. NJ tried to help out with the ripping of the wrapping paper, though. At Grandma and Grandpa's house, NJ liked putting the tissue paper in his mouth and playing with it. He was getting cranky because it was his nap time so we had to hurry through his gifts.

Grandma had an exersaucer at her house for NJ to play in. It was a circus theme and had different animals sticking up on it. NJ loved putting them in his mouth. There was a seal, elephant, monkeys in a barrel, and a circus tent.

NJ was spoiled by both sides of the family. He got a lot of clothes and toys!

I think next Christmas will be even better. He will be walking around and talking then!