Friday, July 30, 2010

Vacation Excitement!

So here it is, 5:45 am on the last day of reporting month.  As you can see from the lack of postings, more severe than usual this month, it's been a rough one.  A friend and I were thinking back and we haven't seen one like this in a long time.  It was like the planets must have aligned or something.  There's no software or EPA release to blame this on.  The full moon only comes once a month.  There were no regulatory changes that snuck up on us. This was the second reporting month of the year, and so as a rule is a bit tougher than 1st quarter reporting, but not usually by this much!
Who knows.  All I know is that it ends today.  And I haven't been this thankful for the end in a long, long time.

But, there is brightness on the horizon!  Monday is a vacation day!  Mom, Boo and I are going down to Delaware to visit the beach, do a little shopping and visit with some friends and family.  And then we get to do it again on Sunday.  I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this.  I haven't seen Robin and Paul in a long time.  I think I saw them at Gram's memorial, but that was over 2.5 years ago now.  (Can it really have been that long ago?  Wait, yes, because I was pregnant with Boo at the time and now he's 2!  Where has the time gone?!?)

And, as insanely excited as I am to be going to the beach two days in the next week, I'm even more insanely excited about the weekend after that.  Yep, Gak, Boo and I are disparaging for 3 days, 4 if you count the fact that we're leaving after Gak gets off work that Saturday.  This vacation is going to be great.  Just the three of us. Yes, where we're going we could easily try and get together with at least one friend and some family as well.  Are we going to? Nope.  We only have 3 days and I want to spend it with my boys.  If we were going to be gone for 4 or 5 days, I'd think about it.  But I really need this "weekend" with just my boys, just the three of us.  I haven't had a real vacation since I went to Disney with Kat and the gang in 2007, and the last time Gak and I had a vacation together was 2005 for our honeymoon!  Yes, we've had weekends at friends' and a couple of trips back to OK, but no vacation, just the three of us.  The closest we've come was our one night in Baltimore back in April, but that was to spend some time with Michelle (which I treasure, but wasn't really much of a vacation...)

Where are we going?  Well, I'm not going to give you all the details.  Just that it involves both camping and big city.  That it's in my Mom's "backyard" of where she grew up.  And yes, the camping part was somewhat my idea, but the place we're going was Gak's.  We had the option of renting a cabin, but he was OK with taking the tent, which is good because that means we can stay the extra day.
Yes, you'll see all kinds of pictures and hear all kinds of stories once we get back.  I really love how this will be a mix of lazy camping and great sight seeing opportunities.  The best part of it is, there is so much to do that's free!  Yep, cheap is good, free is better.  Just thinking about this trip has had me bouncing off the walls since yesterday when the plan came together and I reserved the camp site.
The great thing is, I've got a good bit of camping gear still from when I was younger and we just got a new tent and sleeping bags.  I've got some other things I can borrow from Mom and I'm gonna see if I can't borrow the "kitchen" from Kat.  So, for the cost of 1 night in a hotel, we'll be spending 3 nights in a tent.  (And you'll never feel like you've got to leave your "room" at the campground if you don't want to so the maid can clean and make the beds.)
It's the thought of these trips that's going to get me through the next 10 hours.

We've also got other fun things planned for August.  Steve will be home in a matter of days (or a week or two).  This means that his "post deployment picnic" will be happening at the end of August.  And the next day a bunch of us are going to Ozzfest.  Do you know how long it's been since I've been to a concert?  Let alone a cool, all day, outdoor event like Ozzfest?  I'm really looking forward to it, even if the next day is going to be hard.  Gak's got to open the next day, so I get about an hour reprieve from my normal 6:30 am leave time on Monday mornings.
The biggest downside to August is that all of this fun comes with a ton of work for Gak.  He's going to be working open to close at least 12 days this month, not including his normal Saturdays.  While the paychecks will be nice, the dead husband not so much.  Oh well, it'll make up for Gak not getting vacation time for the two days we're taking off in the middle of the month.  (Can I tell you how much that irks me?  It does.  I mean, he's been there 5 years, minus a 6-month stint, you'd think he'd be able to get 5 or 6 hours vacation time in a year?  Ah, don't get me started... I like his boss, but sometimes he just doesn't treat Gak very fairly, even when he can...)

Well, I'd better get my butt together and out the door.  I've got one more day to get through this week and then I'm free for 3 days of vacation!  Yes, I really am that excited over a long weekend.  Yes, it has been that rough of a month, and pretty much that rough of a year.

Peace to all and may you have something to look forward to and time with just your closest loved ones.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Fit?

Well, it has been about 10 days since we picked me up a Wii balance board and Wii Fit game.
I'll start off by saying I didn't realize such simple exercises, could get you sweating and working so hard.
I enjoy it, really I do.  I like that it tracks my time and my weight and makes me set goals and things like that.
I do not, however, like some of the wording or phrasing or "attitudes" I get from the game.  Dude, I know I'm fat, why do you think I'm doing this?  You don't have to make my Wii look like she's just found out that she failed the last math final she needs to graduate when you tell me the results.
Also, I have no idea how in the world you're supposed to keep your center of balance in the yellow area on some of these exercises.  Unless I put my foot in the middle of the board, which you're not supposed to do.
I wish there were some pre-set "routines" or an easier way to list different exercises/activities that go well together.  Sure, telling me I should do XYZ after I've just don ABC is great, but if I'm not ready to move onto strength training because I want to warm up a bit more with the yoga, doesn't help when I finally do change screens.  (Especially because I've been doing this at about 5:30 am and my mind hasn't totally booted for the day yet...)
I love how I feel after 30-35 minutes working on the board.  My body doesn't feel tight or stiff, but warm and loose and ready for the day.  I love the fact that I can pick and choose what I want to do.  But... the avatars and the "trainers" with their canned lines bore and annoy me and seem to be that too helpful, too cheerful type I usually have a hard time not throttling.  (The Wii balance board animation on the other hand, is quite cute and friendly..)
So, I will keep working with it, hopefully at least 3-4 days a week.  I will get past the annoyances of the avatars and the depressing "wrong answer" type sounds when it gives me my weight results.  I'm stronger than that.  A stupid hunk of plastic and coding isn't going to do anything to my self image.

Anyhow, I don't talk about it much, but I am continuing down the path to a smaller me.  Unfortunately, this means I need a whole new wardrobe at this point.  I have 1 pair of work pants that fit great, 1 skirt that is acceptable, 1 pair of work pants that'll do (all 3 are khakhi, can I tell you how bored I am of tan??) and 1 pair of jeans and 3 pair of shorts that will work too.  I've got about 6 shirts for work (but a load of T-shirts that I used to avoid fit again...).  So, yeah, I need new clothes.  The biggest problem, well, two biggest problems?  Time to shop (trust me, shopping with a toddler is suicide) and a bit more importantly, money.  Part of me doesn't want to bother getting new clothes because, if I get to where I'm going, I'll need still more new clothes in another few months anyhow.  But, a larger part of me is almost embarassed by how long I've been dealing with clothes that just don't fit right.  I mean, I got a new pair of jeans on Mother's Day a size smaller than most of the work clothes I'm making due with, and they're a bit loose (but not quite loose enough to go down another size...).  So, I don't know what to do.  I did get a few pair of jeans from Kat that had been floating around that fit well, but I can't wear them to work.  I'm half tempted to find some cheap fabric that'll work and make a couple drawstring skirts, but once the weather cools off and I can't wear my sandals any more to work, that won't do.  (That and about 90% of people who know me are having to re-read that statement ot make sure they read it right...)
So, I'm not sure what I'm going to do, other than complain either about spending money or about having clothes that don't fit.

Well, my lunch is over, so I'm going to get back to pounding my head against imovable objects until the day is done.

Peace to all and may you find a fit you like.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Frustration and Figures


Here I sit at my desk at work, waiting for another download to happen. There is a lot on my mind and a lot going on right now, but it’s all pretty chaotic, and not ready for posting nor may it ever be ready to be out there in the great wide world.

I am very ready for the chaos in my life to die down to a manageable level, some nice background noise. It has been a very long 6 or 7 months, and hopefully we’re going to see the end of the tunnel sometime soon.

I honestly thought we had seen the end of the tunnel when we finally moved in to the new apartment. Well, we’re still not quite done with that drama. We should be soon. I just have to figure out how to say what I want to say. To make an anguishing story a bit shorter and easier to digest, let me just say that we’ve been in a battle the last 2 to 3 weeks over the deposit on the old apartment. The way we see it is that the lease was terminated on 5/31 when the keys were turned in. This means that according to law, she had 30 days to get us our deposit and/or an itemized list of what the deposit was used for. Well, she didn’t. So, on July 7th, I sent her an email politely asking what was up. Or at least I tried to be polite, but I guess formal comes across as “threatening”. *Sigh* Anyhow, she responded that she was out of the office and she couldn’t find our address (which I’d given her back in April and every email I send has my work mailing address and phone number on it) but would be back in on the 12th. Well, I guess I got a little ticked by the brush-off, especially considering I knew she had my email, my work phone, my work fax, my work address, Gak’s cell phone and his email as well, not to mention that she knows exactly where he works. She could have easily contacted us at any time.

Oh, and by the way, PA law states that if she doesn’t get us the deposit and/or explanation within 30 days, we’re entitled to double the amount no questions asked. Now, let me tell you, that’s a nice chunk of change we’re talking about. So, with a little help, I gathered my understanding of the law and fired off a response that could probably be seen as threatening, or at least very unhappy.

Well, to try and make this a little shorter, she went to her lawyer. Who advised her that the lease doesn’t actually terminate until next May 30th because we didn’t notify her in writing about not renewing before the April 3oth date in the lease, but a week later. Now, mind you Gak had told her we were looking to move back at the beginning of April, so she at least had verbal warning. Yes, we should have gotten her the written notice earlier, but since I hadn’t looked at the lease in about 3 years, I couldn’t remember how much notice we had to give her. There was also a lot of other trumped up and exaggerated statements in the letter from her lawyer, including that we didn’t let her know in a timely manner about the infestation. (I’m sorry, within 3 hours of figuring out why the hell Gak and I were both itching and had been for a few months now wasn’t fast enough???!) The long and the short of it is, she’s willing to give us about $350 for us to shut up and go away.

On the one hand, I’m so ticked at her that I’d love to take her to court and get her to pay out the $1600 she owes us, even if we only see about $500 after lawyer fees and court fees and all that jazz. But, the realist in me sees that it will probably be in everyone’s best interest to take the money and run. Taking her to court won’t make her a better landlady. Yes, the way we read it the law is on our side. But, the way her lawyer reads the lease, the lease is on their side. Yes, some of the things she’s charging us for is downright highway robbery and petty. But, I have to be above that. Being petty, while satisfying in the short run, will not make things better in the long run. Not to mention set a very bad example for my son.

Why do I have to be a grownup? Why can’t I just throw a tantrum and yell and scream loud enough so that I can get what I want?

Because that’s the way life is, for good or ill.

So, I guess I’ve talked myself into taking the money and running, no matter how much I could use the extra cash. Now, to figure out how to word our letter of response to tell her “don’t think you’ve won because of this, but we’ll take your money and be rid of you for good”. Of course, she’ll feel like she “won” and “beat” us, and we’ll feel like crap for being so confrontational and for potentially leaving $1500 on the table. Yeah, it’s a no-win situation at all for us, I’ll just be glad when it’s finally well and truly over. And still, $350 is better than a poke in the eye. Besides, if we went to court there’s always the chance the judge could side with the lawyer in that the lease really doesn’t terminate until next year and make us pay all the rent that would have been due this year. Not a chance I’m really willing to take, as that is way more than $1600.

Well, my download is done. I’ll wrap this up by saying that Amma finished Boo’s curtains and they’re hanging in his room. The look great! She hopes to have ours done this week, which would be awesome.
So, peace to all and may your ordeals not be ulcers on steroids and may calmer heads prevail.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Curtains to You!

Well, here it is Friday again, and not much to say this week.  It's been a long, mostly wet, mostly busy week.
Actually, there are a few things in the works, but nothing is ready to talk about yet.  One has the potential to go very bad, very quickly (even though we're in the right), and another is just heavy and I haven't finished worrying it in my own brain yet.  Then you have some more or less "normal" drama that exists in our lives here.  But, like I said, none of that is ready to be committed to words yet.

So, I  don't remember if I mentioned it on Monday or not, but Mom and I went to Joann's to look at fabric for curtains for Boo's room and Gak's and my room.  We spend $100, but I'm really happy with what we got.  (And trust me, I couldn't have bought pre-made curtains for this little... not for the two large windows and the door I've got!)
Boo totally loves the fabric for his, so much so that I got extra to make a pillow case out of.  Have you noticed that at all the chain stores you just can't find curtains in cool kid patterns?  They're all dull and boring and not even stuff I really want in my room, let alone something fun for a kid.  anyhow, we were looking through the quilting prints and I pulled out a navy blue fabric loaded with tiny little starts in a bunch of colors.  Boo wouldn't let go of the bolt.  I knew we needed something fairly dark as our windows get great afternoon/evening sun, and well, that's just when I want my boy to go to sleep.  That and he's got to be solar powered as when the sun comes up, so does my son.

I went a little more sophisticated for Gak's and my room.  There was this neat navy batik with a green spiral-y or vine like pattern to it which I really liked, but then I found something that would be a bit more subtle and look better with our room.  It's still a navy fabric, but it's got these pencil thin black spiral designs, somewhat like wrought iron.  We've got 2 lamps in our bedroom that would look great with that as well as a black lacquered sewing cabinet from Gram.  They'll look great, and again, dark enough to make the room dark in the evenings and mornings.  We also have a door onto the balcony with a large window in it.  So, we got some sheer navy fabric as well for that one.  Not cheap since we had to get 2 yards for such a skinny window, but there was no way around it.  Throw in some pleating tape for the two big windows so we can use the existing rods (the kind that open and close the curtains with a cord, you know, the "old-fashioned" pleat curtain types...) and you can see how we quickly reached $100.

And my mom, being the saint that she is, volunteered to make them for me!  I mean, I could easily have done it myself as we're using the pleat tape to make life easy, but she told me she would.  Her reasoning (which I can't fault a bit) is that I have a two-year-old, she doesn't.  That, and we all know me and projects, I'm all excited in the beginning and get about 80% done, and then just loose all interest and it sits.  This isn't a project that I want to have sit.  (Although, I did get the curtains done for the old apartment in record time for me... but I also had a week off and no toddler to chase...)  I just wish I'd taken pictures of the fabric before Mom absconded with it, so I could post some pictures.  Oh well, you'll just have to wait until they're done.

So, that's about the most exciting news this week that's ready to share.  There's more drama in my life, but a lot of it has to do with the former landlady and I really don't feel like sharing here until it's all over with.  I'm just too cranky and frustrated and just plain pissed to write coherently about it right now.  I was so hoping we were done with that place, but apparently not.

Anyhow, plans for this weekend include a night out with Barb and Norm on Saturday, without Boo.  I don't think we've had the chance to do that since December.  Then again, life's been pretty chaotic and so going out's been the last thing on my mind, and probably Gak's too....  Sunday we're going to go visit PopPop and Amma, as Boo was asking for PopPop earlier this week, and who am I to say no to that?  Other than that, it should be "normal" weekend stuff.  I am looking forward to it, even if what I really want is a nap.

Oh well, I should be getting myself ready to get out the door.
Peace to you all and may your projects come together and your life be not too full of drama.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Vacation!! please??

I'm fried.  I'm toast.  Stick a fork in me, I'm done.  I need a vacation.  An honest to goodness vacation.
And I know I'm going to offend several people when I say I need a vacation without having to be somewhere, visit someone, with specific people, without deadlines, or schedules or pressure to do or be anything.
Yes, I'm talking about not being pressured into visiting friends or family in far flung locales.  I'm talking about escaping with my two boys somewhere with limited connection to the outside world.  No friends tagging along or being visited.  No family outside of the three of us either.
Don't get me wrong, I really, really want to take the boys up to Canada to visit Michelle while she's still there and time is running out quickly for that.  We need to, and I really want to, visit Oklahoma.  It's been almost 3 years since we've been and it wasn't for happy reasons last time.
But, I've just about had my limit of the guilt and the nagging and the "when are you going to visit" that comes with trips like these.  Trust me, we're not not coming to see you because we don't want to.  We're not coming because we just can't squeeze it into the budget, or our calendar and yours just don't mesh, or both, or we're just plain out of vacation time.  (Heck, Gak doesn't even get paid vacation time.  He takes a day off, and we loose a day of income in his pay check, which is pretty painful these days.)
Yes, we love you all.  Yes, we want to spend time with you and visit and see the sites and all those fun and wonderful things.

But I'm done.  I'm tired.  I need to stop moving, if even for just a long weekend.  I need to be able to turn off my phone and the computer and even the TV and just disconnect from the outside world for a few days.  I need to spend time laughing and playing and relaxing with my boys.  I don't want to have to catch a plane or worry about when we have to be where or anything like that.  I just want to be able to relax, be spontaneous with where we go and what we do, if we do anything.
Kind of like what Gak and I did for our honeymoon.  I had only been traveling for work less than a year, but I knew that I didn't want to have to deal with planes and schedules and all that crap.  I just wanted to do things on our on schedule, a relaxing trip away from everyone.  And that's exactly what we had.  The only thing we had booked was 2 nights at a bed and breakfast in Charleston.  Other than that, when we felt like we were done for the day traveling, we stopped and found a hotel.  It was great, it was wonderful.  We had a great time hanging out while we were driving and seeing a few sites.  It was very relaxing, even with stupid women in their little Beemers cutting me off at the gas station.  Even with the news about Hurricane Katrina.  (And to think, we were seriously considering New Orleans for about a week or so, until I decided I'd rather do that in a long weekend, then spend a full week there.)

So, I'm sorry Nana, we're not traveling to OK soon, maybe in the spring we'll have enough socked away to be able to afford it.  If you think it's expensive to get out here, we've got to get 3 people out there, not one.  I'm sorry Michelle, it looks like we just won't make it up there, and it really saddens me.  I've been to lots of places in Canada, but not the capital yet and I really want to see it, and would love to spend the time with you, but not right now.

All is not bleak though.  I have two one day escapes planned for August (can it be almost August already??). The 2nd Amma, Boo and I are heading down to Delaware for the day because "family" will be visiting.  We'll then be heading down on the 8th again as well.  This time because more of the same family will be in town.  I'm looking forward to it so very much.  Gak also managed to get 2 days off in August, and I'm not sure what we'll be doing about them.  So, if you don't hear from us at all for a couple of days in the middle of the month, don't come looking, we won't answer and no, we don't want company.  (Well, I don't other than my two boys... but....)

I hope those little breaks are what I need.  I'm so very tired and very tired of being tired.  I'm cranky and short tempered (more so than usual...) and what little patience I have is frayed and threatening to disappear all together.  Not a good thing when you have a very active, happy and rambunctious 2-year-old son who is learning the power of "no" amongst other things.
I know my lack of sleep and my problems sleeping haven't helped things any.  I've been on a quest (a Grail Quest it would seem at times) to be able to see someone about this and hopefully get some real answers.  First it was the doctor I didn't like.  Then it was not being able to find the numbers of the other doctors I had suggested to me.  Then it was the whole change in insurance (three cards in 7 months... 2 within a month...) with the whole corporate thing and my old corporate deciding that everyone had to change plans in 2010 to begin with.  So, yeah, here's hoping that in the next few months I'll be able to find a doctor I like and trust and can get some answers.  Here's hoping I don't have to pay an arm and a leg to get those answers.

But... speaking of sleep, I should probably start winding down and wandering in that general direction.  I've been up since 5 and had a rotten night's sleep to begin with.  My eyes are heavy and my mind is getting even more fuzzy than usual.  I'm off to read a few pages and collapse.

Peace to all and may your vacations be guilt free and your sleep sound.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Picture Post

Well, it's been just about a week since I last posted.  I'm so not doing well with this whole "regularly scheduled" update thing.  I mean, I have it all planned out, but it just doesn't seem to happen.  Usually because I'm too busy (or should be too busy) at work and when I get home, I'm too tired and out of sorts to do anything meaningful or productive on the computer by the time Boo goes to bed.
I've got loads on my mind, but nothing that's been able to be formed into anything post-worthy or even not post-worthy drivel.  So, I'm going to have a picture laden post for you with all kinds of goodies from our trip last weekend, with a few words to 'splain things a bit.

Sunday morning is when we left to go up to Knobels.  Gak, Boo and I left from our place around 9 so we could stop at  Cabella's before going up so I could try and find some pants that fit.  Cabella's sizes tend to run a bit small, but they don't usually believe in this thing called "low-rise" which I can't wear and will not explain for your amusement.  Those of you who know me, can figure out why they just don't work.  I managed to find a pair of pants that fit just right.  Unfortunately, the blue were only in "tall", so I couldn't pick up two pair.  Gak even found a pair of shirts that fit him wonderfully.
Just as we were getting done with our shopping, I get a text from Kat that they were all just getting to Cracker Barrel, which is across the street.  The plan having been that we would all meet up for brunch there.

Boo ate almost two whole pancakes and a full cup of milk.  He got very mad at me when I tried to cut one of his pancakes into slightly smaller pieces, so he just picked up the other one and chowed down.  This is near the end of the meal.
After lunch we all caravaned up to Knobels.  It was a pretty uneventful ride and Boo even napped for about an hour or so.  Once we got up there, we set up our tents.  I told you last week I got a new one for us, and well, I love it.  It's so very easy to set up (even with Zoe "helping") and is very roomy.  It would comfortably sleep a family of four, if everyone's stuff stayed in the car for the most part.
Boo liked the tent very much.  Especially once I inflated his air mattress.  I think he would have been happy to play in there until bedtime.  The only reason he couldn't is that it was 3:00 in the afternoon and about 95 degrees in the tent.

We were going to take the kids into the park to ride a few rides before dinner, but everyone seemed to be happy just hanging out and then Zoe broke out the sidewalk chalk.  That kept everyone entertained for quite some time.  Oh, the kids we had were Boo, Zoe, Mel and Ant and Rachel and Billy.  Billy's a bit younger than Zoe, and Rachel is the same age as Mel.
Boo actually had fun watching and coloring a little bit too.  It was nice that he was able to be included with the "big kids".  Sometimes it stinks having so much of an age difference between him and the others.

Most of the cooking on the camping trip is handled by Andy.  Here he is cooking the first of the burgers and waiting for the water for the corn to boil.  As usual, camp food always tastes better than home food, even when it's the exact same thing.

After dinner we hung out and talked and the kids played.  Andy's dad and step-mom and youngest sister had come by for dinner as well.  (Mary had a procedure scheduled for Tuesday in Danville, which is right near by... so they were in the area anyhow, but were staying at a hotel instead of camping.)  At just about 8:00 boo starts going over to our tent and saying "night night" and "bed" and just being fussy and cranky.  I was going to let him stay up a bit later if he wanted, but apparently he didn't want to.  About 5 minutes or less after I put him to bed, here he is zonked out.  He woke up a couple of times in the night, once patting Gak on the shoulder going "Poppa.... poppa...", to which Gak replied "it's night-night time, go back to sleep" and he did!
Everyone else went to the fire works in Shamokin, but I was on people overload at this point and Gak didn't really file like going, so we hung out with the camp fire for a while before I crashed.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to sleep right away, thanks to neighbors setting off fire works.  It woke Boo once, but he rolled over and went back to sleep without a fuss.
There was a rock in our set of camp sites that Boo was fascinated by and couldn't stop climbing up and down and sitting on.  He really enjoyed it and was just too darn cute.


Monday we spent a good part of the day in the park.  The rides opened at around 11, and we were in the park by 11:30.  Much fun was had by all.  Zoe got to play "big kid" and show Boo how it's done with the rides.  Billy also joined us on the tamer rides.  Boo even got to "drive" his own bumper car.  (A huge THANK YOU to the young woman operating the ride who pushed his car around because he didn't quite get the "step on the button" part.  I wasn't expecting him to get his own car, but they gave him one anyhow...)





After several rides and a lot of hot weather, we met up with everyone and standing still for about 2 minutes was just long enough for Boo to conk out in his stroller.  He napped for about 45 minutes or so.  

Gak and I had ice cream for lunch.  We all headed back up to the campsite and everyone else had sandwiches, Boo ran around for a bit and we headed out back home.

So, overall it was a fun weekend and Boo did great with his first camping trip.  I really didn't think he'd have any issues, but you never know with holiday weekend campsites.

Anyhow, hopefully in the next few days I'll be able to put some of the things that are bouncing around in my head into writing and post something a little more "meaningful".  (But, I really enjoy doing these family moment posts too...)

Peace to all and may your weekends be fun and filled with good friends and good times.

Sunday, July 04, 2010

Growing Boys and Other Things



Well, it is July already.  Where has the time gone?  This is a picture of my fuzzy-headed baby boy from last weekend.  He was enjoying some bread in his stroller while we were waiting to get things going at Knobles last Sunday.  Isn't he such a cutie?
Well, yesterday was a big day for my boy.  He and Poppa both got their hair cut.  Yep, that's right, my baby boy had his first real hair cut, more than just a few trims by his momma.  I've needed to cut his hair for a while.  When he was actually sitting in the tub, I could often get a trim in while he was busily splashing away.  Well, he stopped doing that back in April.  It's now July.  Yep, it's probably been 4 to 6 months since he's had a trim.  It was time.
I must say, my boy-o did pretty well.  Yes, he cried and fussed through the first half of it.  But, he sat still and didn't toss his head all around.  The woman cutting his hair was very nice and very quick and very skilled.  We only had a few problems once he stopped crying and was trying to figure out what was going on and watch what she was doing.  But, by then she was just about done in the front and top and was on to the back.  Let me tell you, cutting his hair makes him look like such a big boy!  He's still the same adorable little boy, but he's a little boy now, not a baby.  I mean, I know I keep saying that, but with every change, every mile stone, it's like he's suddenly not a baby any more, that he's even more of a big boy.  It's both scary and wonderful to watch him grow.
Oh, here's an after picture.  I don't have any good ones from the actual hair cut and he wasn't wanting to stand still and pose when all was said and done.  We went swimming at "Uncle Frank's" pool a few hours later (which he loved and was much more into than at the Y, even though the water was a bit colder possibly...).  I finally had to pull him out of the pool when lips, fingernails and toenails were all turning blue and he was shivering more than anything.  So, here he is wrapped up in a towel on the swing watching everyone.  Too darn cute!


This week was my company picnic on Wednesday.  We had beautiful weather, great food, and great fun.  I've got pictures to share, but they're not ready for uploading to flickr yet.  I've really got to get some printed and sent to both Charlie and Ron who are out on medical.  I miss them both so much.

Anyhow, this morning we're leaving for Knobles to go have fun at the amusement park and Boo will get his first camping experience.  I'm so excited.  I ended up buying a new tent (on sale at Target!) because my old one would be fine for just Gak and I, but not all three of us.  (It's tough some days having a giant of a husband...)  For less than $150 I got 3 new sleeping bags (in 3 different sizes even!), a new queen sized air mattress with a rechargeable pump (yes, it is ready to go, and it was only $3 more than one without...) the tent, a new ground tarp and a few other odds and ends.  So, yeah, it was great to have everything on sale.  I know what I got isn't the highest quality, but we only use them a few nights a year and even the cheap ones I've gotten in the past have been outgrown before they've been destroyed.  (In theory, I should be able to fit 2 queen air mattresses in the new tent, but probably not much else.  That's fine, since we only really "car camp" these days.
Can you tell I'm looking forward to this?  I think Gak's more or less going along with it because he wants to spend time with me and because I want to do this.  He's not much of an outdoors guy, but that's OK.  He lets me do my running in the woods and goes along with this camping thing and it gives him guilt-free computer and/or video game time.  Of course, I do enjoy video game time too, but I'm a Wii person, he's an Xbox 360 person.  (I'm controller inept, I don't deal well with anything with more buttons than my DS, other than maybe a Game Cube.  Yes, I'm a Nintendo fan, why do you ask?)
Speaking of video games, Gak picked up Mariokart for the Wii earlier in the week and one of the "wheels".  We got it primarily for Boo, since he's obsessed with "drive".  But, he hasn't quite made the connection between the controller and the kart on the screen.  On the other hand, I think it just might be my new addiction.  Oh well, it's fun and keeps me out of trouble.  Gak's playing through Brutal Legend and I can say it's a really cool game.  I'd never be able to master the controls, but I'm enjoying watching him play it... not to mention listening to the great music.  I think they got just about anyone who's anyone in metal into that game... or made some reference to them.  It's great!

Anyhow, I'd better get off here and finish getting everything together for the "weekend".
Peace to all, have a safe and happy 4th and may you find something that you truly enjoy.