That is disgusting!

Eli- we do not poop in the shower!

That is disgusting!

I think these two sentences say it all!

What I have learned from my cousin who is 6 months older than me

This week, I spent a lot of time with my cousin, Summer, who is almost 2 years old. She taught me the following things:

- How to open doors
- How to play chase
- How to yell and scream
- How to call my mommy, Ali

Thank you Summer for teaching me all of these wonderful things.

Love,
Eli

There is No Place Like Home

South Florida is the place I still consider home. Even though I moved away in 1995. I still call my parent’s house home even though I now have a home where I am paying the mortgage.

This Thanksgiving, I was very excited to be going back home and spending over a week at home. I would have plenty of time with family and friends and get see family who I only see a couple times a year and see friends who I see even less.

I had planned out my trip day to day, whom I would see, what I would be doing. Looking forward to each and every day. But, sometimes when you make plans, you have no control of how they go.

Eli has flown several times and we have never had problems. I believe this trip was his sixth flight. This was the first flight were he cried. The entire descent on the plane, my sweet little boy cried. He would not take the milk I offered him or the cookies. He was in pain and I was in pain for him.

The second day I was in Florida, I had planned to see a friend who I have known since elementary school and meet her “new” baby. Well, her son is now a year old but new to me since I have not met him before. Eli was not breathing as well as he should be so off to the pediatrician we went. I was really impressed that as a “visitor” and first time patient, I was able to get into the office right away. (Maybe it was the panic in my voice that my son needed a breathing treatment.)

Sure enough, my sweet Eli had an ear infection (his first one) and asthma like symptoms which put him on the neubulizer for a few days. Needless to say, plans were cancelled.

A few days later, sickness strikes again. Eli has a severe allergic reaction to something. His eyes are swollen and look like he has pink makeup on. He has hives all over his body so we go back to the pediatrician.

At the office, I all of a sudden feel nauseous and can’t make it to the bathroom and throw up all over the checkup room. I was embarrassed but felt better. We leave with new medication for Eli and hopes that we will not be returning to the office.

A couple of days later, my brother in law goes to the hospital for what we think is an appendicitis. He is still there currently. I am hoping he is all right. I am hoping between now and when I leave to go back to the home I live in that everyone else will remain healthy.

Going Against the Rules

I have been so busy with work that I have not been able to post here often. I hope it slows down soon so I can fill the web pages with all the accomplishments my little one is undertaking.

Today, though, when I write I am going against the rules. Why, you say? Well, I said that I would not write about my MIL on here. I wouldn't because it is a sore topic between my husband and I and he occasionally reads the blog.

MIL was on IM with husband and looking for flights to visit. She gave him two options of dates in January - a 6 day trip or 7 day trip. Hubby asked me which I preferred and I said the 6 day trip. Why? - he asked. Because it is shorter, I say and he laughs.

Hubby goes back and tell his mom that the 6 day trip is the preferance. A few minutes later, MIL books her flight and it is not for either the 6 or 7 day trip. It is for a 10 day trip. 10 DAYS!!!!! I don't know how I will survive that trip. I can't survive 7 days trips without my blood pressure coming out and numerous fights with hubby about MIL. 10 days of criticism, comments and questions - my blood pressure has already rised and the trip is not for a month and a half.

So, how does hubby feel about this? For once, he actually agrees with me. He actually told his mom that she will need to get a hotel because ten days is too long. It has been a long time since hubby and I have come to some type of agreement about his mom. Unfortunately, I know her and she will not book a hotel unless pressed and pressed so we will see what happens. If she stays here for 10 days, I may end up kicking her out of the house before the trip finishes.

How do you handle your overbearing MIL (or mom)? One who wants you to raise your child- her way. One who does not understand how things have changed since 30 years ago and one who has a comment and question about everything.

Tina

When I think of Tina Turner, I never thought of her as one I would rush out to buy tickets for her concert. The Rolling Stones, maybe, Dave Matthews definitely but not Tina.

Now, my husband is a huge fan. Has been most of his life. And this you do not expect from the rap loving, techno loving person he is.

Anyways, back in May, they announced a Tina Turner concert here in Georgia for November. I asked Lowell is he would like a ticket to the concert as a Father’s Day gift and he said that would be great. We were able to buy tickets early since we had an AMEX card and got great expensive, floor seats.

Fast forward a few months to yesterday- concert day. We hire a babysitter and leave for the concert. I have not been to a concert in three years so was curious to see what t-shirt prices were like. I could not believe that when I entered the arena that a program alone was $30. T-shirts were $40. We were not planning on buying any souvenirs and did not in the end.
We get to our seats. Great seats. Probably 20 rows from the stage. We were disappointed though that the show started over 30 minutes late and that there were commercials before the show. We spent a lot of money on the tickets and did not want to see commercials.

The show was phenomenal. Tina looks great for her age and she really puts on a show. A moveable stage that moves her above the audience was amazing and her costume changes keep you interested.

Hubby had a good time as well although we were both exhausted from staying up way past our bedtime.

Happy Halloween

My son and his friends were photographed by my talented friend in their Halloween costumes.

Enjoy

http://519photography.blogspot.com/2008/10/happy-halloween.html

Halloween

In every relationship, there is one: a spender and a saver. My husband is the spender and I am the saver.

For Halloween last year, my son was only 5 months old. Most of my mommy friends were going all out on buying expensive, fancy Halloween costumes. I did not see the point. Eli will be wearing the costume for a few hours and then that’s it. I would rather put that money into Eli’s college fund then spend it on an expensive costume.

My husband and I were shopping a few weeks before Halloween and Lowell was ready to buy Eli a costume. I was fine with buying Eli one but wanted to find one on sale and not spend $30 on it. Lowell found this great bear costume on sale for 50% off at the Gap outlet.

What a great find. And the best part about it, we did end up getting use out of it. This costume was so warm that Eli wore it once a week in the winter months until he grew out of it. It was my favorite outfit to put on him.

Beginning words

I have been a little nervous that Eli is almost 17 months old and is not talking much. He has his own language which is mostly "da" and "dis" for every word. He also has words for objects which are pretty standard. For example "dat' for ball and "ati" for Seminole.

Well, last night, he started saying "Ba" for ball. So now ball is "dat" and "ba". A good sign. And, Eli says "Da" for dog and I thought he said "duck" the other day. And unfortunately, one of his words is "gat" for gator.

I am hoping he comes up with a few more words before his 18 month appointment.

Now, Eli understands everything we say. It amazes me. I told him to turn around yesterday and he did. Eli also signs a lot. He signs no, yes, eat, more, please, and thank you.

I am still alive!

I have not blogged in a long time. Plenty to talk about but I have been working a lot and have limited free time.

Cross your fingers that things will slow down and I will be back to blogging!

Fun at the Fair

We went to the town fair yesterday. There are a number of little kid rides and Lowell said we should put Eli on one. I was trying to find a ride that we could go on with him but there were none. We found a fish ride where the fish goes around in a circle and goes up and down. We strapped Eli in and then went to the waiting area where we were still close enough for Eli to see us. He loved being on the ride.

The ride began. Eli loved it. He smiled and gave us game face every time he passed by. It was wonderful to watch him have so much fun.

I'm a Big Kid Now

My husband was watching my son while I went out with a friend visiting for lunch. He called and said, "Eli just pooped on the potty." What? I am thinking. We don't own a small potty for Eli yet. We have not started potty training him, yet he pooped on the potty!

Eli makes a face when he poops. We call it his "poop face" and Lowell has said we should put him on the potty when he starts making the "face". Well, he did yesterday and Eli pooped on the potty.

So, he is probably one of the only kids that have pooped before peed on the potty.

Are we starting to potty train Eli? I am not ready yet. He is too young. But, I think I will invest in a potty so we have one at home.

I filled up my car with gas!!!!!

Yay, I finally was able to fill my car with gas with no line. I paid $4.19 a gallon (ripped off!) but I can go buy groceries, pick up a friend who is coming in town etc.

On the news, they say the gas crisis is coming to an end. I wish I saw that here. A couple hours after I filled up, I passed the station I filled up at and they were out of gas again and that afternoon I did not pass by one station that had gas.

Hopefully, the media is correct and the situation is improving. Hopefully, gas prices will start to come down and not be $.50 a gallon above the average. My fingers are crossed.

Winter is almost here

For the past week, we have had the air condition off! That is big in my household because my husband likes the house cold. As a native Floridian who loves hot weather, I am sad to see summer leave and winter appear.

Happy New Year

To all of you who celebrate, have a happy and healthy New Year. L'Shana Tova

Monday's Gas Update

I hate that I have to get in the car these days but I had a doctor’s appointment this morning so I had no choice. On the way to the office, I passed about 10 gas stations. Only 2 stations had gas - one priced at 3.73 a gallon and one at 4.29 a gallon for cheap stuff. By the time I left the appt, 30 min later, all of the stations were sold out.

Gas Crisis Update

Unfortunately, things have not gotten any better- probably worse. Harder to find a station with gas and long lines at the pump. People are unable to go to work and delivery trucks are unable to bring in groceries. It is pretty scary and they say it will be like this for another two weeks.

Since I work from home, I can get away with minimal driving but this past weekend I drove to the airport, over an hour away and later this week I will be picking up a friend from either the airport or the train station which both locations are not close!

How ironic- the one week I need to put miles on my car is when I can't fill it with gas! Oh, how I miss my 4 cylinder Honda that got 30 miles to the gallon.

It's Good to be Home

It is wonderful to see familiar faces, listen to familiar sounds etc. This past Saturday, I went to see my Seminoles play. My first game in the stands since I was pregnant. I got chills when the Marching Chiefs began pregame. I screamed when the defense was on the field and yelled out when my team scored and it was a wonderful game.

I miss going to see my Noles play and am so happy that I am going to at least two games this year.

Gas Crisis Update

Well, we passed by the gas station that my husband got gas from the night before and it is completely empty. Then, we passed by our local warehouse store and they must have received gas because the line was wrapped around the parking lot multiple times. I can't imagine waiting in line that long.

The news says it may be up to mid to late October before things get back to normal. Really scary especially since I need to drive back and forth from the airport which is over an hour away 3 times before that. I don't think I will be able to avoid the gas lines now.

It is Mommy, not Ali!

Eli does not say many words yet but the one word he says all the time is Dada! If we are upstairs and he hears my husband downstairs, he screams Dada.

Well, mama was his first word months ago but he has not said it in a long time. When my MIL was here a couple of months ago, she thought Eli was calling me Ali. But, I did not here it. Last night, Lowell told me that he though Eli was calling me Ali.

So, I guess he is calling me something and I will take what I can get.

Baby signs

This blog is suppossed to be all about my experiences as a first time mom but there always seems to be other things to talk about like exposed breasts or gas crisis so I figured I should give you one post about Eli.

When Eli was an infant, I tried to teach him baby signs which he never really picked up. I finally gave up and stopped signing until months later when I saw all his little friends signing to their parents and then I started again.

Now, within a few weeks time frame, Eli can sign the following words: more (his favorite), eat, drink (milk), and his newest sign - please!

I am so proud.

More Gas Crisis

I was able to fill my car last weekend which hopefully will last for a while but hubby did not believe there was a gas crisis. Did not believe it until today. We needed to pick up some supplies at Lowe's and we passed at least 10 gas stations. Not one had gas.

We took a different route home and there was one station with gas and the line was insane.

So, at 9pm, when I am usually starting to relax for bed, Lowell and I called multiple gas stations so he can go fill up before there is no gas in the city since he has less than a half a tank in the car. The station we passed earlier still had gas so Lowell is now waiting on line to fill up and did I mention that he will be paying $4.65 a gallon there. Is that price gouging or what????

On a funny one, one of the stations I called, the man could not hear me well because the connection was not good so at one point I am yelling "Do you have gas?" Felt like I was pulling a prank call from high school.

I hate being so dependent on gas

It is so frustrating that we are so dependent on gas. We need gas for our cars, gas for our heating source and gas for our stoves. It has been about a week now where it is almost impossible to find gas for your car. I have never waited on line before. I usually try to fill up around ½ tank so when there is a line, I just fill up another time. But, last Sunday, I had no choice, it was either wait or no gas.

I live off a main road so there are plenty of gas stations around. But, for the past week, none of them have had gas. Luckily, with working from home, I do not drive a lot but you need gas to get to the grocery store, the doctor’s office, the essentials etc.

On the news, they talk about the one station that has received a shipment of gas and the hour long wait for you to get gas. When is relief coming? According to the news, it could still be another week or two.

They say, do not fill up unless you are running on fumes because everyone filling up when gas stations open up is part of the problem. But, it is hard not too- when your job, grocery store, etc is not around the corner, you need to make sure you have enough gas to last until our stations are refilled.

Where I live, gas is usually below the national average. But, for the last two weeks, we have been about 20 cents above the national average and according to cnn.com gas prices have been going down but not where we live.

It still frustrates me that government is not doing anything to help the situation. I disagree with drilling in Alaska. That will hurt the environment and only bring about 2%-3% more gas to the US. To me, it is not worth saving pennies. It frustrates me that government does not allow more efficient cars into this country. They have been made and available in Europe but our money hungry, oil investor government officials don’t want them here.

Boo!!!

Now is the time of year where stores are displaying Halloween and Christmas decorations (which piss me off - it is September, I have no interest in seeing half a store of Christmas decorations and listening to those same songs that are so annoying!)

Lowell and I went to Lowe's with Eli. I was holding him as we entered the store and Lowe's had displayed a 4 foot tall witch which had her broom in a cauldron. As we approached the witch, she starting moving (stirring the cauldron), talking and cackling and her eyes glowed and moved.

Eli almost jumped out of my arms and had a mixed expression of gameface and I just sh't in my pants. Lowell and I were hysterical laughing at his expression. (nice of us!)

I have read that kids are not scared about monsters and stuff until age 3 but my 16 month old was petrified!

He is so adorable!

Last night, I was able to get away from the house to go to a bar and watch the Seminoles play with a friend. I said goodbye to Eli, gave him a kiss and took my keys out of my purse. Eli went to the kitchen and took his lunchbox off the countertop and followed me to the garage door. He was ready to leave with me. I picked up Eli, gave him another kiss and then passed him to Lowell.

But, the experience was heart warming.

Thank you

• The 14 months of interrupted sleep was difficult.
• Working at 6am and then again at 8pm to spend more time with you has been stressful.
• Missing two seasons of FSU football home games has been odd.
• But, spending every second with you has been wonderful.

Eli, these first 15.5 months have been amazing and the smallest things touch my heart. Yesterday, when we were at dinner and you took turns kissing myself and daddy, it melted my heart. Thank you for being such a wonderful and sweet little boy.

How I miss those curls!

Eli went for his 4th haircut this past weekend. Yes, my 15 month old went for his 4th haircut. (And if my husband had had his way, it would have been 10th by now). Usually, the woman cuts his hair using scissors so when he is done in my husband's eyes he needs another haircut. But, this time Lowell asked for Eli to have a buzz cut so it would finally be as short as he likes it.

Well, it is short. I miss Eli's curls that I loved to play with and I think he looks like a completely different kid. (not my kid!) But, the good news is that I will not have to get his haircut next week. But, I like his hair longer. At least it will grow back, and probably quickly.

Enjoy some before and after pictures:

Before:



After:

Embarrassment! Spin, Spin, Spin

This week's spin is about embarrassment. At first I thought, what would I write about? What do I want to divulge? Then, it came to me, a story I was just talking about last week....

I am a huge FSU Seminole fan. I am also an alumni. I have had season tickets basically since 1995. I have missed weddings for games. I have stayed in the stands cheering during hurricane like weather (odd, that we were playing the Miami Hurricanes that game). I bleed garnet and gold. Well, you get my point.

Anyways, I usually use the games as an opportunity to sun tan. Under my FSU gameday outfit, I usually sport some type of bathing suit. Once I enter the stands, my tank top comes off and it is time to tan. In a very exciting game, I was yelling as loud as I can for the defense and look down and my boob is outside of my bikini top exposed for the world to see. Even more embarrassing, the person I have season tickets with is a guy, good friend of mine. If he had noticed my exposed breast, he was nice enough not to say anything.

I covered myself. Put my tank top back on and never again wore a bikini top to a game.

All Da!

Eli has been working on physical milestones in the past couple of months: walking, running, climbing etc. He has not been saying many words that are easy to understand but he babbles all the time.

His new word is Done. Now, when he finishes eating, he waves his hands and says "Da" for All Done. I need to capture it on video. It is very cute.

Pleading Words to my Son’s Second Molar

Dear Molar,

It is great that you have blessed us with your precedence. It was wonderful to brush my son’s teeth last night and see one corner of you in his mouth. But, could you please finish coming through? Last night, Eli was awake (and I was awake) every two hours trying to deal with the pain of you coming through. It would be great if you could finish your way into this world.

I promise to take care of you and nag Eli to take care of you when he gets older. You will get a healthy amount of milk to keep you strong and be massaged by Eli’s toothbrush twice a day.

If I keep my promise to take care of you, will you promise to come through as quickly as possible?

Signed,
A Loving Mother

First game of the season

Well, the first game of the season for FSU was last Saturday. Even though we were playing a true underdog, I was nervous. Half the team was out on suspension and a few people hurt. I would be seeing a bunch of new players I had not heard of on the field.

I was very pleasantly surprised. Bobby Bowden has been giving more responsibilities to Jimbo Fisher who will eventually take over the head coach job. For this past game, Jimbo selected the quarterbacks. I was pleased to see Ponder start, Richardson come in later, and then Weatherford. In my 13 years of watching FSU football, I highly ever see a 3 quarterback game.

Anyways, most of you who read my blog could care less about FSU football so I will not blog about the whole game but a 69-0 victory was amazing. (even if we were playing the underdog)

GO NOLES!

I am officially a GEEK!

I am sitting here watching my NOLES play. Now, FSU was not on regular TV today so I hooked up my computer to the TV and am watching the game.

GO NOLES!

To be a child again

We take Eli to this new indoor play gym. Reminds me of my days of working at Discovery Zone. He loves it and does not just stay in the toddler section. He is all over the place. Climbing, running, yelling- a true little boy. Enjoy these pictures showing how non baby like Eli is:

Impressions - Spin, Spin, Spin

I love this week's Spin for Impressions. There is so much you can do with this. I will talk about First Impressions and how they have changed over the years.

When I went for my job interviews after college, first impressions were about how you looked, how you presented yourself, how you spoke, etc. Now, your first impression comes before you are even greeted by your interviewer.

I interview for my company and before I even meet my interviewee for the first time, I Google the person. You can learn a lot from Google. I usually stop at that point but I have talked to other people who interview and facebook and myspace and also very popular places to get a first impression of who you are going to interview. The web can teach you a lot about a person.

For example, when we sold our house in Florida, our first offer came back $25,000 less that what we wanted. (and this was when it was a seller's market). I googled the buyers and said if they were teachers, this may be what they can afford but if they were attorneys- no way were we marking down our price. Sure enough, the potential buyers were both attorneys. We counter offered and offered to pay some of the closing costs. SOLD! By googling our potential buyers, we were able to keep the price of our house what we wanted it to be.

Each time you post a picture on the web or write an article for the web, you have to think about who may be seeing it and how could that hurt you.

I HATE lazy people!

Well I just want to complain for a bit. Americans are lazy. We go through the drive through instead of going inside, we take the elevator instead of the stairs to even go to the second floor and we park in the fire lane instead of a parking spot.

Today, I had two errands to run. I needed to bring something to the dry cleaners and mail out some FSU season tickets. Both errands can be run from the same shopping plaza. I parked at one end of the plaza, put Eli in his stroller and made my way to errand number 1: UPS.

I walk to the other side of the plaza and some women parked her car right by the door of UPS. (A parking spot was a few feet away literally and she decides to park in the fire lane.) Usually, I give people like this a much deserved dirty look and move on but today I decided to say something to her. I said "You know, you are in a fire lane and a spot is right there." (pointing to the spot that was so close I could virtually touch) She was a little flustered after my remark and said "Oh, I was just dropping something off."

We both walk into UPS. She tells the cashier she was just going to drop this off and the cashier tells her she needs to buy an envelope. She walks out of the store because she says she is not parked appropriately. (like it is difficult to move the car)

I took care of my shipment and walked to the other side of the plaza to do my second errand.

I can't stand lazy people. It is one thing to park your car by the Blockbuster video return window because you have a baby sitting in the car seat that you do not want to get out for a few seconds, another to park in a fire lane because you are too lazy to walk from a parking spot. And, just because you drive an overpriced car like a Lexus or BMW, does not make you better than a Honda driver.

And while I am in a complaining mood- Americans are rude. Get OFF your phone while you are paying for something at some store. I do not need to listen to what you are making for dinner tonight and I can get my stuff paid for quicker if you actually paid attention to what the cashier is telling you.

A Different Breed

Editor’s note: This is the first post that if certain people I know see it, they may be upset. My apologies. I am not trying to upset anyone. I like everyone referenced in this note. I am just different.

I am involved with a mom’s group and being the only full time worker, I look at things differently than the other moms. An e-mail went out to the group about a good website to buy Halloween costumes from. There were great costumes on the site but expensive. The average cost of a costume was between $30 and $40 dollars. Last year during Halloween, Eli was 5 months old. He did not care what he wore. Lowell and I went to the Gap Outlet and bought a costume that was 50% off. I think we spent $15 dollars at the most.

This year, Eli will still not care what he is dressed up as. Lowell and I will probably go buy another costume when the sales start.

With Lowell and I being the only two income family in the group, we also seem to be the family who tries to save the most. We try to buy all of Eli’s clothes on sale, we don’t buy a new toy for him every week and for his birthday, we put money into Eli’s savings and gave him a small gift instead of buying a huge gift for him. (How many 1 year olds care what they get for their birthday?)

Who knows? Maybe the moms’ husbands make 6 figure incomes and money is no object. Maybe they do not have to worry about money. But, with the economy as bad as it is and I only see it getting worse for a while, I worry. I try to not overspend and try to save where I can.

Discipline

Eli has always been the laid back, easy going kid who never got in trouble because he goes with the flow. Then, he started walking...

Before, if Eli did not get his way, he did not care and would just move on. Now, if he does not gets his way, he complains, cries, or hits the wall, floor, etc.

Today, Eli did not get his way and he bit me. Yes, bit me. I am as shocked as you are. I thought it would be years before I had to discipline him. But, today, Eli went into timeout for the first time. I sat him on the floor next to the wall and told him he was in timeout and we sat there for 60 seconds. Then, I let him go back and play.

I am still in shock.

A relevation

I am currently reading "Toddler 411" and the book says that the terrible twos start at 15 months. Eli turned 15 months yesterday.... The terrible twos have begun.

15 months ago...

15 months ago, my life changed forever. I became a mother. Eli, you were born at 11:43 am and you were so precious. I was in love.


A few months later, you gave me your first smile.


And, before I knew it, you were your own little person. You were my angel.


I blinked and your were already a year old.


Thank you for the most wonderful 15 months of my life. I love you.

The End of Summer is Near - Part 2

When I lived in Florida, the end of summer was welcomed. No more sweat, perspiration, feeling of yuckiness. Now that I live in a place where it actually gets cold, I do not look forward to the end of summer. But, this past weekend, I got more evidence that the cold air is coming.

I have had asthma my entire life. Something I know how to take care or and something I live with. I usually don't even go to the doctor when my asthma attacks because I have all the medication I need at home. My asthma usually is worse in the colder months of the year.

Well, this past weekend, the second sign of colder months ahead appeared- my asthma. I had been having trouble breathing and was easily winded and my rescue inhaler was not giving me the extra air that I need to so I brought out my neubulizer and gave myself a breathing treatment. To this day, I am still on 3-4 treatments a day and hope that that number will decrease soon.

Unfortunately, last night, my son became sick. At first I thought it was the standard chest congestion, cold symptoms etc. But, this morning when I took him out of the crib, he was breathing very quickly and he was very warm. I gave him some Tylenol and called the pediatrician as soon as the office opened. We got an appointment and I took him in.

The pediatrician did not want to call it asthma but poor Eli and I are going through the same symptoms right now. They also gave Eli two breathing treatments at the office today. If was so painful for me. You have to hold a mask over his face for 10 minutes while he inhales the medicine. Eli screamed the entire time and I screamed inside that there was not more I could do for the little guy. Now, I have to give Eli breathing treatments at home for the next 10 days.

Before it was time for Eli's first breathing treatment at home, it was time for my treatment. Instead of using the adult mouthpiece, I put on the child's mask and showed Eli how mommy does her breathing treatment. At first Eli stayed clear away from me, then he walked over to me and tried to give me a kiss through the mask.

When it was time for Eli's treatment, he cried but not as violently. I think tomorrow, we may let Elmo wear the breathing treatment mask and see what Eli thinks.

I am sad that Eli may have asthma (even though the pediatrician will not say it). I am lucky that I know how to handle it since I have had it my entire life. I am just hoping that by nursing for Eli for 14 months that he has built the immunities to fight this disease. I will be fighting it with him.

Is the weekend over already?

Now that we are done nursing, Eli is sleeping through the night. I put him down between 7:30pm and 8pm and he wakes up between 6:30am and 7am. It is wonderful. I am a morning person so I am awake by 7am without my 15 month old alarm clock.

But, here is where the problem comes- I am having trouble falling asleep. I try to turn in between 10pm and 11pm every night but I seem to lay there until sometimes 1:30am trying to fall asleep. I need to find some type of relaxing activity before bedtime. I usually read but I want to make it to the next chapter and end up reading later than anticipated. I could take a bath but with the drought going on here, I have been trying to conserve water. I could try exercising but that would mean cleaning the dust away from the equipment.

The easiest solution would be to create more hours in the day. Can any of you help with that?

A Free Meal is a Good Meal Even if you have to Send it Back Twice!!

If I like a restaurant, I tend to join their e-mail club. The free appetizer, $5 off coupons add up.

Well last week, I got a free VIP dinner at Longhorn steakhouse which included two entrees and an appetizer. I called right away to make my reservation but the only time they had remaining was 9pm. That time would not work with Eli's schedule and we did not want to pay a babysitter to get a free meal.

I called back the restaurant and said we could not find a babysitter and time is too late for our son and was lucky to get an earlier reservation the next day!

We ordered buffalo wings as an appetizer and Lowell ordered a rack of ribs for his meal and I ordered the Fillet (something I would never order because it is so much more expensive than the rest of the menu). We ordered grilled chicken and veggies for Eli. (I am very happy when a restaurant has grilled chicken on the kids menu).

The appetizer was a little spicy for me but came out hot and had good flavor to it. Eli's food looked very appetising. Salad, bread etc was good. Then the main meals come out. The ribs were a portion size that even Lowell could not finish. My fillet looked delectable and then I cut into it. I ordered it medium and it came out still alive! It was rare. Not a big deal, we got a free dinner because the restaurant staff was in training, I sent it back.

Literally, it took 15 minutes for me to get my fillet back. I cut into it, it is still rare. Even the sides are still rare. I sent it back again. By the time I got the fillet back a second time, I was not hungry any more, and Lowell and Eli have long since finished eating. I did bite into the fillet because I wanted to try it and it was delicious. I boxed up the rest.

But, I can't complain. Our bill came out to be our $57 and it was all free. I expected to pay for Eli but they threw in his meal. I left a nice, big tip as a thank you.

Work- Diverse and Time Consuming

I have several jobs:

• Mom to a 15 month old
• Wife
• Project Manager for a large company
• Planner for a mom’s group
• Chauffeur for my little one

And I can think of many more but I will not bore you with all the details!

Let’s concentrate on my three biggest jobs.

Let’s start with my most fun and rewarding job – Mom. I am lucky, my son is laid back, sweet and fun to be around. (I am biased but it is true.) He is a joy to raise. My “mom” job begins between 6:30am and 7:00am and ends between 7:30pm and 8:00pm when Eli goes to bed for the night.

My second job is being a wife. And, yes it is a job. I have to make sure that my husband is not jealous of the time I spend being a mom.

My third job is being a project manager. This job takes around 45 hours a week. I am really lucky that with this job, my hours are flexible which make is much easier to be job #1 – a mom. I do work with a global team so my hours are not set in stone. One day, I can be on a conference call at 7am with India, a 9am call with the United Kingdom and a 5pm call with the west coast of the US. For this job, I have tasks which have to be completed within a certain timeframe. I manage budgets and timelines and have to facilitate status meetings and write status reports.

The nice thing about my job as a project manager is that I work 100% from home and with a flexible schedule, I am able to go between being a mom and a project manager throughout the day. We have not started Eli in preschool yet and am not until next year.

So, I take turns during the day playing Mom and PM and luckily my husband works from home as well so I get some extra help when needed. It is a lot to juggle but worth it so I can spend more time with Eli.

The End of Summer is Near

Wow, is it the end of August already? Where does the time go?

From living in Florida for the first 30 years of my life, I expect summer to last basically year round, but it is not that way here in Georgia. The community which I live in has a community pool and it is only open 4 months out of the year. I used to think, we can extend that time and get extra usage of the pool.

The pool here is closing in a couple of weeks. And, I will miss it. I am usually out there 2-3 times a week and take Eli swimming. Whenever he swims, he either takes a longer nap or sleeps longer through the night. It is wonderful.

But, I went to the pool yesterday and the water was cold. It was warm enough to swim in but not the bath water temperature that a Floridian loves. I used to be upset that the pool was closing so soon because I could be missing valuable swimming time but I know that in reality, summer will be over in a couple of weeks and the water will be too cold for my liking.

Little Milestones

Yesterday, Eli had a playdate with his friends. We have not been to a playdate in a while due to vacation, family in town, and work conflicts. When we used to go to playdates, Eli would hover over me for the first 15 minutes and then he would feel comfortable playing without holding onto me with one hand.

Ever since he started walking, his whole personality has changed. He has had mini temper tantrums, been crankier than usual, and more independent.

When we arrived at the playdate, Eli found a push behind popper toy and he was all around the house. He could care less where mommy was.

We stayed at the playdate for 2 hours. Every so often, Eli would check in on me to make sure I was still there and even once he gave me game face.

It is amazing to see your child grow into his independence.

The joys of peanut butter

I forgot how much I love peanut butter. Between the pregnancy and nursing, I have not had peanut butter in two years. I miss it. I bought myself some Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Edy's ice cream last night. I could have eaten the entire thing but I restrained myself. It was delicious. Today, for lunch, I will have a peanut butter sandwich. I have two years of no peanut butter eating to make up for.

And the winner is....

Lowell and I finally made a decision about which preschool we will be sending Eli to starting in January and the winner is ... G.S. This school was very clean, all teachers have bachelor degrees, all are CPR, first aid and fire safety certified... and the list goes on and on. We like the curriculum, they even have P.E classes once a month ... and they DON'T pray.

I can't believe my little boy goes to school in 4.5 months.

We did it.

Are you getting tired of the "I'm Weaning" posts? If so, you are in luck. This should be my last one. It has been over 72 hours since I nursed so we are officially done. What a wonderful, amazing experience that was. But, now I get my body back.

Now, if Eli could only learn to sleep through the night....

Blogger Contest

Here is my first post about a blog contest. (A blog award, tag, chain post, and contest. I guess I am really getting into this blogging thing.)

Kirsten at My Life for the World to See is having contest. Thank you Jen for letting me know about this. If I win, I owe you a finder's fee!

To enter the contest, click the link above and follow the directions on her site.

The End of an Era – Almost

Well, we are so close to ending nursing. I can now put Eli down for a nap and down for the night without nursing him.

Eli has never slept through the night. He usually wakes up once during the night and I nurse him for 5 minutes and he is out until morning. Now, is the time to break that habit. Eli woke up at 5:45am this morning crying. I let him cry for a few minutes and realized that the crying would not be stopping. So, I went downstairs and filled a sippy cup with milk. I took Eli out of the crib and tried to give him the milk. He screamed and tried to lift my shirt. I told him that we drink milk out of a cup.

Well needless to say, Eli screamed for over an hour and I tried every way to calm him down: holding him and rocking him, singing to him, a little Tylenol (I don’t normally drug my kid but he has a molar coming through and maybe that was the problem), changing his diaper, turning on the television. Nothing worked.

I woke up Lowell and asked for his help. He tried to give Eli some milk from the cup. He brought Eli in bed with us. Nothing worked.

Finally, I put Eli back in his crib and told him it was still time for “Night, Night”. He cried for about 15 more minutes and then went to sleep.

Any advice from other moms on how to break the middle of the night wakings and how to calm my son down without nursing?

The Weaning Process

Now that we are finally done flying for a while, no excuses, time to wean Eli. I have such mixed emotions about it: happy that I get my body back, sad that I miss this snuggle time with Eli.

Last week, I tried putting Eli down for a nap without nursing him. It did not go over well. He did not want the sippy cup and screamed. I ended up nursing him. Since that day, I have had Lowell put Eli down for a nap. Armed with a book and sippy cup full of milk, Lowell was able to get Eli down with minimal crying.

Today was the first time I put Eli down for a nap without nursing. I read to Eli while he drank out of his sippy cup and then said goodnight and put him in his crib. He only cried for a minute and then was out.

My little boy is growing up.

The Weaning Process

Now that we are finally done flying for a while, no excuses, time to wean Eli. I have such mixed emotions about it: happy that I get my body back, sad that I miss this snuggle time with Eli.

Last week, I tried putting Eli down for a nap without nursing him. It did not go over well. He did not want the sippy cup and screamed. I ended up nursing him. Since that day, I have had Lowell put Eli down for a nap. Armed with a book and sippy cup full of milk, Lowell was able to get Eli down with minimal crying.

Today was the first time I put Eli down for a nap without nursing. I read to Eli while he drank out of his sippy cup and then said goodnight and put him in his crib. He only cried for a minute and then was out.

My little boy is growing up.

I WON!!!! My Acceptance Speech.

I am very honored to accept this Brillante Weblog award. I want to thank all of my avid readers. I especially want to thank Jennifer for giving me this award. I would also like to thank my family for giving me things to write about.

As for passing this award along. Unfortunately, the only two people I have to give it to, already have one. Can you earn 2?

Preschool Assessment - P.S - far location

Well, people have marvelled about this school. Even though it was further than I wanted to go, I needed to check it out.

I was very impressed. Director has been there 11 years. Most of the teachers have been there over 7 years. School was clean, activities were interesting and taught something. We walk into the classroom and the teacher greets Eli and plays with him while I talk to the director.

This is the only school that I liked better than G.S. but there is one problem and it is not a minor one. The kids say a prayer before they eat.

Now, I have only been looking at nonreligious facilities and this one is. The prayer does have G-d in it but not in a religious way. But, still I feel uncomfortable about it. Lowell and I don't pray before we eat and we both agree that we do not want to confuse Eli.

So, I am curious about how the two mothers I know who read my blog feel about this. I feel weird about it and now am really thinking that I will sign Eli up for G.S.

Preschool Assessment - P.S - closer location

I have heard great things about this school but was very disappointed. The director was kind of snotty, did not give me much of a tour. I did not feel welcome there.

Another No!

Preschool Assessment - K.D.

All I must say is I did not stay in this place very long- why?

The room was filthy. Mud and sand everywhere. Toys looked disgusting and it was 100 degrees in the room.

Very easy decision on this one - NO!

Within Chaos, There is a Sense of Calmness

This past week, we have had my inlaws here visiting. Their schedules are completely different than ours so it has been a little chaotic at home. The time I look forward to most in the day is right before I put Eli to bed. We go upstairs and I put him in his pajamas. I brush his teeth and I wash his hands and his face. I read him a book and then I nurse him. Then, I put him to bed for the night.

I am in the process of weaning Eli. We are down to 1-2 nursings a day. By the next two weeks, we should be done with nursing. I will miss it, especially the night feeding, the one time of day when I get to relax. I am sure Eli will miss it as well. It is a nice cuddling time where he looks at me and smiles and puts his fingers to my lips so I can kiss them.

Tonight, I put Eli in his crib and said the same thing I say every night, “Good night, I love you. I will see you in the morning.” Eli smiled at me. A very sweet smile that everyone especially a mother could love.

More Hotel Snafus

So, we were really excited that we were upgraded to this new room but the glory of it is all over. Yesterday, we were going to take Eli to the pool at 9am right when it opens. We would let him swim for an hour and then we would put him down for a nap after a bath.

We got Eli dressed in his swim diaper and bathing suit. We lathered him up with sun screen. We go down to the pool and it is locked. I asked the front desk when they would open the pool. The front desk said it would be at least another hour because they had to put chemicals in the pool.

1. Who puts chemicals in on a Sat? Probably the busiest day of the week.

2. Can you be smart enough to put up a sign that says pool opening up late? A simple sign would have saved me the hassle of wasting a swim diaper and putting sun screen on my son.

So, since we were not going to be able to wait an hour. We filled the bath tub up and let Eli splash for a while.

We left the room after Eli's nap and asked for it to be cleaned since the do not disturb sign had been up all morning. Front desk said - no problem. We come back a few hours later and room was never cleaned. I don't mind using the same towels more than once, I do that at home but it would have been nice if they would have taken the trash with all the dirty diapers!

People in NJ are just rude

You hear the saying that people from the NE are rude and I did not believe it. After all, my parents are from NY and are wonderful. Well, we have been staying at a hotel in NJ and every time I try to get off the elevator, people try to run me over to get in. HELLO, PEOPLE- LET ME OFF FIRST!

People are also very strange here. We went to the rehearsal dinner for the bride and groom at a restaurant and some very drunk guy who reeked of cigarette smoke insisted that I take a dollar from him and put it in Eli's saving account.

Another Hotel Snafu

We are in NJ for a wedding this weekend. We went to check into our hotel. I asked for a room in a quiet location since we have the baby with us and I am a light sleeper. We got our room key and went to our room. I open the door and some guy sitting in his tuxedo is sitting there watching tv. Whoops!

I went downstairs and said that there was someone already in my room. The front desk worker was so embarrassed that we were upgraded to a wonderful suite on the top floor.

Perfect! Now, Eli will have his own room and hopefully will sleep longer.

I don't mind the slight inconvenience in order to get double the sized room but I am really happy that when I opened the door that the guy was not naked!

Tiny Haircuts, Big Prices

When I tell someone I am taking Eli, my 14 month old, for a haircut, they probably think- how exciting- his first haircut. Well, actually yesterday was his third haircut.

My kid's hair grows like it is on steroids. His hair was cut last on his birthday and two weeks later Lowell was ready to take him back in for another cut. Luckily, I could stall Lowell until now.

Eli's hair curls like mine did as a kid so as soon as Lowell sees a curl, he wants it cut off.

We have been to a store called "Halfpint Haircuts" twice now. It is a place where they specifically do haircuts for kids. They have TVs with cartoons on. Smaller chairs for the little ones etc. Smaller everything except for their prices. They charge $15 a haircut (if my memory is correct) for little kids haircuts! Now, maybe, I am not with the program but I thought that was high.

A friend of mine has been taking her 15 month old son to Supercuts and has had some great experiences there so we took Eli there for the first time yesterday. No baby chairs so Eli had to sit on my lap which was not a big deal. The lady was patient with him and did a pretty good job. Price -$12. $12 for a little kid haircut at Supercuts! I am definitely not with the program. I used to love my $5 haircut that my friend Sue would hook me up with!

Anyways, I will have to learn to live with the prices since in Lowell will insist that Eli needs another haircut by the weekend.

(Editor's note: I would have posted pictures but since Lowell decided to dress Eli in a silly Gator outfit I did not want to take any pictures. Will try to take some pictures today in a much nicer Seminole outfit.)

It's Frankenstein!

Frankenstein is coming my way. Well, really it is Eli. Eli is officially walking now but he looks like he could be trying out for the role of Frankenstein the way he walks with his hands out trying to keep balance.

Eli could have walked for months now but I think he preferred to crawl because he was so fast doing it. Well, yesterday, any time Eli could get my attention, he would stand up and walk and smile and laugh. Now, he is walking more than crawling and not holding on.

Again, I am so proud.

What a big boy you are!!!

Eli, show me what a big boy you are. Please stand up for mommy, so I can take your picture.


That's it. Come on, stand up so mommy can take your picture. No, Eli, you can't have the camera, stand up for mommy.


Eli, the camera is not a toy. You will break it if I give it to you. I just want one picture of you standing up.



Great job Eli.



I know you like that shirt but do you need to drool on it that much???

How do I know that my kid is not feeling well?

How do I know that Eli is not feeling well?

1. He is cranky.
2. Sleep patterns are off
3. He is cranky!

Poor kid. He did end up catching hand, foot, and mouth disease. Luckily, it is nothing serious and time will easily cure him but I want my sweet little angel back.

Go Noles!!!!

I must say- I am so excited. This week, I bought tickets for the FSU/GA Tech game in Atlanta in November and bought my flight for the FSU/Colorado game which is in Jacksonville in September.

I used to never miss a game. I have missed weddings for games. But, then Eli was born and I don't want to miss a minute with him so we watched games on TV instead of traveling to them.

I would love to go to more games in Tallahassee but I don't know if Eli could take the drive and flights to Tally are more expensive than going to Europe. But, this year, I am definitely going to two games so that is an improvement from last year!

I know my days of NEVER missing a home game are done but now I live closer to the away teams and I should be able to go to more of those games.

We are over a month away from football season but all I have to say is: GO NOLES!!!!!

Girls will be Girls

A year ago, I was invited by a friend to join a Mommy’s group. It was wonderful. I barely knew anyone in my city since we had just moved here a few months before and I barely knew anyone living near me with children Eli’s age.

I loved my Mommy’s group. When I was on maternity leave, we got together for lunch, walks and playdates once or twice a week. When I went back to work, they accepted that I was a full time working mom and I was able to flex my work schedule to still meet up with the group once a week.

A year later, some things had changed behind the scenes that many of us were unaware of. Members were bitching and complaining to the group moderator about various things. We were told at a group meeting that the group was closing down because of it. The moderator said she has been cursed at, lied to etc and the group was not a positive influence in her life anymore.

It saddens me that it has come to this. If a member of the group did not like things going on, instead of cursing at the moderator- leave the group. Now a group which has been so good for myself and my son is closing down. This group has been such a big part of my life this past year and my closet friends here are from the group.

I know I will keep in touch with the people I became close to. I will not lose those friendships but I will probably lose touch with some of the acquaintances I have in the group.

A day after the group meeting, one of the moms from the group started a new Mommy’s group inviting the same people to join. Of course I will join. But, I am wondering, will we be going through the same thing a year later because “Girls will be Girls.”

As a good friend likes to say, “Can’t we all just get along?”

Oh, to hold a sick child

Eli and I were playing last night as usual. We were driving his cars around the room, practicing walking etc. I picked him up to put him to sleep and noticed how hot he was. Now, I am not the type of mom to flip out anytime my son seems a little warm but he was hot! I took his temperature- 101.7. I don't think he has ever had a fever that high before.

I snuggled with him and put him in his crib. Eli fell asleep right away. I called the night nurse and was asked a series of questions. I was told to check on him every 4 hours. Check his breathing, look for swelling, look for any type of skin rash.

Lowell happened to be out grocery shopping while all of this was happening. When he came home, the dogs started barking as usual and Eli woke up. I took Eli into bed with me to try to calm him down. I figured if I needed to check on him every four hours, it would be easiest to have him sleep in between us. Unfortunately, sleep is something that no one had last night.

After a night of lots of crying and lots of cuddling, I took Eli to the doctor. The doctor checked his ears and his throat. His ears were fine but his throat was a little red but luckily not strep throat. Hand, foot, and mouth disease is going around in our playgroup so I need to be on the lookout for it. It starts with a fever and then a few days later, the blisters appear.

So, Eli is now happily drugged on Infant's Motrin and Infant's Tylenol. He fell asleep for his nap. I am back at work for now, until he wakes up.

Keep your fingers crossed for us that it is just a fever and not Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. Hopefully, my baby will be feeling better soon.

Preschool Assessment - A.A.

A. A. - not to be confused with Alcoholics Anonymous!

This was the first school Lowell and I went to look at. Unfortunately, I should have written about the school as soon as we got home and not two weeks later. All, I remember was that I felt the school was all right. No complaints but I was not wowed like I was at G.S. I will need to go back and reassess this school.

Price - $105 a week including lunch.

Will return to this school and then reassess.

Preschool Assessment - G.S.

Editor's note: Name of school is hidden

I love this school. Everything is brand new. Teachers have degrees. Everything is clean. It is hard to explain everything that I saw but I love this school.

I was happy to see that snacks were not cookies like I saw at other schools. Snacks were fruit and crackers.

I like how all teachers are CPR certified and continuing education is highly emphasized.

I like how everything in the school is brand new. (The school is only 1.5 years old.)

I like everything about the school except for the price. The price is highest from all the schools I have seen and it does not include lunch! Price for only two days a week is $121 a week. To me that is high, but maybe it is normal!

Preschool Assessment - D.P.

Editor's note: Name is hidden so school cannot sue me for defamation.

Eli and I went to visit D.P. today. I was very excited about this school. Thought it would be in the final round. Boy, was I wrong.

First impression was great. Security to get into the building was good. Friendly, knowledgeable, face at the front desk. And, she even spoke English that I could understand. I asked my questions and received answers that I wanted to hear. Decent teacher to child ratio. Turnover rate was not bad. So far, so good.

Then, we went for the tour and it all went downhill from there. We walked into the Toddler room and it was 100 degrees inside. The teacher asked the person giving my tour if she could turn the air conditioning on. It was 10:30am and 90 degrees outside. These kids should have ac. Even I was hot in the room and I am always cold!. Strike 1!

Next, we walked outside to the playground. Some of the equipment looked great but there was one walk behind car which should have been thrown away years ago. Pieces of it were broken and it was filthy and just looked old! Strike 2!

Finally, we walked through another classroom. There were no kids in the room. But, there was a sippy cup full of milk in a crib. Can you say spoiled milk? Strike 3!

Price- Price does not matter with this place. We won't be going there.

Preschool Assessments - Introduction

I am going to have Eli start preschool next January. Lowell and I are starting to look at schools. I will be posting some of my reviews online. These may not interest my readers, will probably be more for me, but you are more than welcome to read them.

I have been Tagged!

I was officially tagged. My first blog version of chain mail. Thanks Jen!

All Things Eight (Because Eight is Always Enough)

Eight Things I'm Passionate About:
1. Eli- my sweet angel who is growing too quickly.
2. Lowell – I can’t believe that our ten year anniversary of being together is less than a month away.
3. Wallace and Bruce – What great furkids to have. They are sweet and loving and wonderful with Eli as well as so much fun to play with and two balls of energy.
4. My Family- I have such a wonderful relationship with my parents and siblings. I wish I lived closer to them and saw them more often.
5. My Friends – I have such wonderful friends. Thank you to all of you for always being there for me.
6. My Mommy Group – These are my closet Georgia friends who I have had such a wonderful time getting to know in this past year. We have all learned so much from each other and I have loved watching the babies grow into toddlers.
7. My Job- I am so grateful that I can work and still spend so much time with Eli. Thank you for letting me work from home and spend so much more time with my son then most full time working moms.
8. My Home – I love my new(ish) home. Plenty of room to grow into it. So cozy and nice. I love my yard and my view of the Mountain practically in my backyard.

Eight Things I Say Often:
1. "No. That’s dangerous." (Eli is getting into everything these days.)
2. "I love you. I will see you in the morning." (My nightly saying to Eli when I put him in the crib for the night.)
3. "Wallace, come get your peanut butter." (Wallace is on daily medicine now and he gets his pill in peanut butter.)
4. "Good morning (afternoon), this is Alison." (answering my business line)
5. "Let me repeat what you just said." (during business conference calls)
6. "No, that is Wallace and Bruce’s food." (again – towards Eli)
7. "Back in the house please." (To Wallace and Bruce)
8. "I have conference calls at this time and this time." (To Lowell, as we are planning our day and who is watching Eli when)

Eight Books I've Read Recently:
1. “Goodnight Moon” It counts, I read it a few times a week.
2. "Certain Girls" by Jennifer Weiner. I have read everything by her. She is my favorite.
3. "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Simpson. A cookbook about hiding vegetables in food. Great recipes.
4. Parenting magazines – Not a book but should count!
5. Parents magazines – Not to be confused with Parenting magazines
6. American Baby magazines- Do you see the trend here?
7. “Honeymoon” by James Patterson. I love everything by James Patterson.
8. “Sprite’s Keeper’s Blog” – Not a book but read everyday!

Eight Movies I've Watched Eight Times: (This should be "or more")
1. “The Notebook” – One of my favorites.
2. “Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy, Bourne Ultimatum” – I love these films. Can’t watch them enough.
3. “Harry Potter” – I won’t list them all but I love all of them. Can’t wait to watch these with Eli one day.
4. “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” – Still a classic.
5. “Aladdin” – My favorite Disney flick.
6. "Clueless" – Fun to watch.
7. “Varsity Blues” – Great football flick. Doesn’t hurt that they advertise FSU!
8. “Chicago” – Love to watch this one in surround sound!

Tag 8 People To Do This Meme:
I am skipping this one since there are only a few people who consistency read my blog!

Little Accomplishments

Eli, I am so proud of you.

Today, you let go of the couch and walked to me. Then you let go of me and walked to the couch. Great job, little man.

Today, you also put the triangle into the shape sorter (with a little hint from mommy).

These accomplishments may seem small to some but they are big in my heart.

I am glad I looked

I love my new(ish) car. A Honda Pilot, comfortable, safe, reliable. My only complaint is that it is a gas guzzler. Especially compared to my past very efficient cars.

Well, I am taking pride in this car and trying to keep it looking new. Very hard with a one year old and guests who do not kick off the dirt on their shoes before entering the car.

I decided to buy new “all season floor mats” to make cleaning the floor mats much easier. I found out that if I pick up the floor mats at the dealership, I save a $25.00 shipping charge.

There are two dealerships about equidistant from where I live: Honda Mall of Gerogia and Honda Carland. I was originally going to pick up the floor mats at Honda Carland because I thought I would be in the area soon, but then I realized, it may be easier to pick up the floor mats from Honda Mall of Georgia instead. Well, I am glad I changed locations, the cost went down by $25!

Who would know that two dealerships, not far away from each other, would have a different price for floor mats bought directly from a Honda site!

First Date

It has been a long time since I had a first date, well last Tuesday night I guess I had one. Yes, my husband and I have been together almost 10 years now but last Tuesday night was a first date. First time we had a real babysitter (non family or friend) come over and watch Eli while the two of us went out.

One of our neighbor's daughters is home from college right now. She is trustworthy, nice, and an experienced babysitter. We decided before she goes back to college, it is time to take advantage of her being so close by.

I have been wanting to see Sex and the City for a long time now and there is a brand new, nicely built, AMC theater close by.

Our babysitter came over after work. We quickly showed her around, gave her instructions, kissed Eli and left so we could make the movie on time. Lowell dropped me off at the front since 1. it was poring and 2. the movie started soon and we needed to buy tickets.

Well, the power had just gone off and the manager was locking the doors so no one could go inside. I luckily made it inside on time and convinced the manager to let Lowell in as well. It was thundering and lightening outside and the line to buy tickets (outside) was growing and growing. (I am not sure what movie is worth almost getting struck by lightening but apparently one is to many people.)

Within 10 minutes the lights had come back on but AMC could not start any of the movies. In order to restart a projector, their help desk office has to start them. Lowell and I were by the customer service desk waiting to buy tickets for Sex and the City and witnessed the struggles that this theater went through to get their projectors started. The manager called their customer service, was on hold for over 15 minutes and then was hung up on. This happened twice. She tried to send customer service an e-mail, and the e-mail came back. Lowell and I found this quite comical (don't know why, but we did). Throughout the time it took AMC to get their projectors started (about an hour), various customers (whose movies were interrupted during the power failure) came up to customer service asking for refunds. I was surprised that not one customer was angry that they were sitting in the theater for so long with power but no movie and no communication from AMC.

AMC is not allowed to put a notice on their windows so they could not write a note stating that they are not selling tickets at this time so the line outside grew and the manager had to pop outside every few minutes to tell people what was going on. AMC never communicated with the people inside about what was going on so they did not know when their movies would start.

Finally, AMC got the projectors working. (5 minutes before the time that Lowell and I were going to leave) They cancelled several of the showing. I begged the manager to continue to show SATC. I said we had to pay the babysitter either way. The manager said they would still play SATC. Lowell and I still had to buy tickets but they were starting the movie and I HATE missing the beginning. The customer service rep said to just enjoy the show! Awesome. A $20 dollar savings for the evening. Movie tickets at this theater are $10 each! I could not believe it when I saw the prices but at least tonight we got a little break. (We just had to wait an hour for it!)

14!

Last night, Eli took 14 steps unassisted at one time. At night, Eli loves to walk from mom to dad and then dad to mom. Lowell and I sit further and further apart to see how long Eli can walk. Well, last night we were almost at the corners of the room and Eli went 14 steps.

Eli will put his hands up in the air to ask you to stand him up and then walk with excitement to the other parent. Then, he usually pops down and crawls back to the original parent to start again.

He should be walking in no time!

Hey!

Eli is 13 months now and is not talking much. This is the one milestone I am not worried about, not yet at least. He is a boy and girls usually talk sooner than boys. Eli has said some words- Mama, Dada, Wallace (Allace- the dog's name) and even Bruce (the other dog's name), but his favorite word right now is "Hey!" When he wants your attention, he says "hey"- not hi!

Lowell, Eli and I went out for lunch yesterday and I received a phone call from my mom. I can't stand it when people talk on their cell phones at the table and not to be a hyprocite, I took the call from outside. Apparently, Eli could see my from the window and he was calling for me Lowell said. "Hey" "Hey" (even louder this time)

Luckily the restaurant was full of kids and very loud so Eli was not interrupting anyone and also luckily I was not on the phone long. Eli was very happy to see me return.

Global Warming

Editor’s note: I do not like talking about politics. This is not meant to be any type of political statement. I just happened to think it was an interesting point. I DO NOT LIKE TALKING ABOUT POLITICS.

I just watched Al Gore’s movie – “An Inconvenient Truth” a couple of weeks ago. I did not know what to expect. Would it be boring? Would it be too political in nature? etc Well, I loved the movie. Thought it was well done – easy to understand and very interesting. It made the concept of Global Warming easier to understand and showed me how I can help improve the situation.

Now, I know everyone’s opinions about Global Warming are different but the movie just made sense.

Now, here is what I found interesting: yesterday (Editor's note- a week ago now but a day before I wrote this post), when I was speaking to the manager about switching to an air conditioned room, she said to me. “We never needed air conditioned rooms years ago. The temperature was always cooler. But, since the temperature has increased over the years, we are starting to remodel all of our rooms to include air conditioning.”

Something to think about…

Happy 3rd of July???

For some reason, the city I live in does their 4th of July celebration on the 3rd of July. Fireworks, a band, the whole shibang! I don't understand why they do the big celebration on the 3rd but it is a tradition here.

We took Eli to see the fireworks for the first time. I was not sure what his reaction would be to the loud noise. But, he had a great time. He did hold onto me quite strongly at times but enjoyed watching the fireworks. He just stared at them, no smile, no expression but also no crying.

At one point, during the fireworks display, a tree caught on fire. Of course, the crowd was now looking at the tree instead of the fireworks. All I kept thinking about was that my 6 month old car is parked near there. Luckily, the fire department had the fire out within 5 minutes.

Just in case you are curious, I did find out that our city holds fireworks on the third of July just in case there is weather. If that is the case, they can have their fireworks on the 4th. Does it make sense to you? It does not to me, like fireworks on the 5th would be terrible if weather held them up.

What do you mean? It is the Year 2008!!!

Lowell decided to book us inside the Grand Canyon so we would be able to stay inside the park. Great choice, I thought. We arrive at Maslik Lodge to check in. The lodge seemed nice. There is a cafeteria inside, a gift shop, decent sized lobby. We get our room key and drive to our building. I notice that there are fans in all the windows and ask Lowell if we will have air conditioning. (Thinking, we better have air conditioning. It is over 90 degrees outside). Lowell says he believes we have air conditioning. Why wouldn’t we have air conditioning.

We open the door to our room and sure enough, there are two fans in the room but no AC. No AC- I could live but I have a one year old to consider. Lowell says he was never told that there would be no AC. Just that he was booked for a standard room. (Shouldn’t a standard room have AC in 90 degree weather?) I asked Lowell to confirm that he was never told there would be no AC and once again he said he was not told. Then, I got on the phone with the manager. She was very nice and told me they had one room left was AC but the rate was double. Double, for air conditioning! I explained to her that we were never told there would be no AC. (Are you tired of hearing that yet?) She said if we spend an extra $20 a night, she could move us to the new room. An extra $20 a night was much better than an extra $80 a night. I told her we would take it.

Being the year 2008, who would think to ask if a room comes with air conditioning!

The Grand Canyon

Our first family vacation with Eli was to the Grand Canyon. Normally, I would not take my one year old on such a long flight but one of my best friends from college was getting married in Albuquerque, NM and I was not going to miss his wedding. So, if we were flying all the way out to NM, might as well drive to the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

I have never been to the Grand Canyon before and was excited about visiting it but nervous at the same time. I have a fear of heights, well not exactly heights, a fear of falling and with the Grand Canyon – a fear of falling off a cliff! Many of the trails at the Grand Canyon are unpaved, narrow, steep, and you are walking right on the edge. My husband has no problems with these types of trails but I know they are not for me.

I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the Grand Canyon. There is a trail which is called the Rim Trail. It is a six-mile trail around the south rim of the canyon. It is even wheelchair accessible which means it is Alison friendly. On this trail, you can see amazing views of the canyon and even see the Colorado River which runs through the canyon.

I was also surprised to see the shuttle system they have at the park. It is great that we can park our car in one place and take the shuttle to where we need to go.

As for our family vacation, it has been challenging at times since Eli is off his normal schedule but wonderful. I am relaxing right now while Eli takes his nap.

(Editor’s note: This post was written on June 24th but since there is no Internet access in the hotel room, it was posted as soon as I could get to it.)

Pee, Poop and Boogers; Oh My!!!

I hope the title did not scare you off. But, I was thinking about all the disgusting things us Moms (and Dads) go through with their children and usually do not bat an eye.

I just got back from vacation and catching up on my friends' blogs. One friend talked about how her daughter is potty training and she missed the potty and peed on the rug. Another talked about how her daughter took off her diaper and played with her poop. (written by my friend's husband) All the "wonderful" things we each experience as parents.

I thought I would add to the experiences above. Did you ever think that you would have to wipe away your kids snot, boogers, etc with your bare hands before he decided to use his own and smear the snot all through his hair? Wonderful picture, isn't it? But, that has been my life for the past week. Wiping away boogers and snot all day and part of the night!

Back to the Grind

It was so nice to have a week off of work. Very refreshing. Unlike most of my coworkers, I did not bring my computer on my vacation. I had a true work-free vacation.

Last night, I decided to see what my Monday would be like back in the office. Before I logged on, I guessed I would have about 100 e-mails, hoping that the number would be a lot less. I could not believe it when I saw the number - 170 e-mails. 170!!!! It will take me all week to catch up with that number. Plus I have this week's work to do.

My refreshing vacation is officially over!

Sweet Kisses

Let me tell you that there is nothing like sweet, wet, open mouth kisses. No, I am not talking about my husband or my dogs but the sweet kisses from my son. Well, I call them sweet but the rest of you might not feel the same.

When Eli wants to kiss me, he opens his mouth as wide as he can and plops it down on my mouth, almost biting me. But, I know it is a sweet kiss and love every time I get one.

You have a baby, you lose a mind

I think there must be some type of silent contract-

a baby for your mind, memory

My memory is gone. Completely. I was talking to an old friend from college. She was telling me she saw the newest pictures of Eli and that he is growing so fast. I said something about how she should meet him before he gets too big. She comes back and says, "Alison, I already met him."

That's right- she did meet him. At my parent's house in Fl. Drove for an hour to come up and see him. Got lost and I gave her directions. But, I did not remember.

Now, that I have my baby- how can I get my mind/memory back?

The NON Three Day Sleep Method - Night 3

Well, the three day sleep method will definitely be more than three days in my case. I put Eli down at 7:15pm and it is almost 9:15pm and he is still awake. The book says most babies will stop crying and fall asleep within an hour. Eli is not most babies.

I have checked and consoled him several times and will continue until he finally falls asleep!

I don't think the book takes into account 1 year olds who have a molar coming in.

The Three Day Sleep Method - Night 2

Night #2 of the sleep method went much better - at first. Eli cried for 35 minutes and then went to sleep. Unfortunately, he woke up at 4:15am. He whined for a little while and then the crying began. As stated in the method, I let him cry for an hour before checking up on him. Then, at 5:15am, I could not take it anymore- my sleep depended on it, I went in, nursed Eli and then went back to bed.

Another night that I did not follow properly but we will see how tonight goes.

The Three Day Sleep Method - the morning after

Well, after Eli finally fell asleep last night (around 8:30pm), he stayed asleep! Slept until 7:15am. I woke up at 6:30am wondering why he did not wake me up yet.

Night #2 of the sleep method went much better. Eli cried for 35 minutes and then went to sleep. Maybe he will sleep through the night. My fingers are crossed!

The Three Day Sleep Method - Night 1

Eli is still not sleeping through the night. He wakes up once at night and I nurse him back to bed. I know, a bad habit. But, now since he is a year old, I need to break him of the habit.

My friend sent me the "Three day sleep solution." Basically, I no longer nurse him to sleep and put him into the crib awake and let him fall asleep (cry) on his own. The book states to let him process (cry) for an hour before you go in and check on him. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, let him process (cry) for an hour before you check on him.

Well, here is how it went for night #1. I read Eli a book and then put him in his crib at 7:15pm. (The book said that 6:30pm is the appropriate bed time for a 1 year old but I felt that was a little early, especially when Eli usually does not go to sleep until 7:30pm.) So anyway, I let Eli process (cry) for the hour. The book said "most" babies will fall asleep before that hour completes. Not Eli, he processed for an hour before I went in his room to check on him.

He was hysterical. I picked him up and he was still upset. So, I nursed him to sleep. It only took him 5 minutes and he was out! So, I guess tomorrow will be Night 1 and we will start this process again.

Baby Book Blues

I always said I would keep up with Eli's baby book. And, I was diligent about it for about 6 months. When Eli was born, I started a journal for him. I wrote in it just about every other day. Every 26th of the month, I printed out pictures from the previous months and updated the baby book.

Oh the Baby Book Blues. Oh the Baby Book Blues.

Then my maternity leave ended when Eli was three months old and I went back to work part time. The journal entries became once a week instead of every other day. But, I still updated the baby book once a month.

Oh the Baby Book Blues. Oh the Baby Book Blues.

Then, I went back to work full time when Eli was about 6 months old. The journal entries became few and far between. And, the baby book got updated as I could get to it.

Oh the Baby Book Blues. Oh the Baby Book Blues.

Now, Eli is over a year old. My baby book is should be complete but it is not even close. I don't even have a picture of our house in it yet. You would think that would be simple enough!

Oh the Baby Book Blues. Oh the Baby Book Blues.

Allace!

Eli babbles more and more each day. I notice that he repeats many of the same sounds. Unfortunately, I have no clue what he is saying.

Tonight, it was very clear. I was getting him ready for bed and Lowell was outside with the dogs, Wallace and Bruce. The easiest way to get Eli dressed is to let him look out the window while I put his pjs on. All of a sudden I hear "Allace". Eli was calling Wallace. My little boy is growing up.

I am now officially OLD!!!

This past weekend, I went into Hollister to buy a gift card for my much younger cousin's birthday. I walked into the store with Lowell and we were blasted by music. The first thing that ran through my head was "Can they turn this crap down?" (Actually not crap, I happen to love the music but it was so loud, it was hard to hear what music was actually on.)

I went to buy the gift card and had to yell to tell the cashier the amount. I wanted to yell out, "You are going to go deaf in here" but instead I yelled "$25 dollars please."

Who knew that at the age of 31- I am officially old!

Thank you Swim Class

My son, Eli, is not much of a sleeper. He only naps once a day and only has been napping once a day since he was a couple months old. The number of times he has slept through the night, I can count on one hand.

A couple of weeks ago, we started a Mommy and Me otherwise known as a Mommy, Daddy, and Me (when my husband comes) swim class at the local YMCA. Last Monday, after class, Eli napped for 3.5 hours long. Even though he was up from 4am – 6am the night before, I could not believe he slept for so long. (Usual nap is 2 hours long) It was wonderful. I work from home and was able to get a good part of my work done for the day.

Today, we have swim class. I am hoping for another long nap. With the lack of sleep Eli gets at night, he needs it. And, with me working from home full time, I need the time.

So, swim class, can you tire out Eli again today? Please? Pretty please?

Just Do It!

I have been talking about creating a blog for months now. What a great way to rant and rave etc... I just have not been able to put the pen to the paper (or should I say "fingers to the keys") .

So, I finally registered with "Blogspot" but when the site asked me to name my blog, I sat there for hours (well, really minutes). I could not and did not come up with a creative name. Does that mean that my blogs are doomed from the start? Can your blogs be interesting to others if you cannot come up with a create name?

Well, even if this post has no interest to you- two thumbs up for me- I started my blog.

By the way, if you can help me come up with a more creative name, I am open to it. (Can names on blogs be changed?)