2009 in pictures

Thank you to Dooce for giving me the idea. This is 2009 in review by picture. This is the very first Imovie picture montage I've done and I think my music has a skip in it but otherwise I'm very proud of it!




2009 has brought us many changes. We moved the hellish nightmare that it was. We celebrated Gabe's 3rd birthday. I decided to go back to school. There have been so many things that I just can't believe another year has come and gone.

Not only is this a new year but a new decade. Ten years ago I was a senior in high school and I did attend the best NYE party ever. We still laugh about that party. Anyone that was there knows and those that weren't missed a good time. The changes that have happened in the last 10 years are amazing.

I got move in with Mike, we got married, move a zillion times, decided to try to have a baby, Mike was diagnosed with MS, we finally got pregnant, moved some more, had said baby, celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, deaths and births. Somewhere in that time I became a real adult. It sneaks up on your that's for sure but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Through everything my wonderful husband has been at my side and he really is my best friend. Thank you for always sticking by me. Things haven't always been easy but we've come out stronger than ever. I'm looking forward to many more years together with you!

Happy New Year everyone! Have fun and stay safe!

3 years old today

Three years ago today we were quite busy. You're daddy and I were at the hospital being induced.

I know that I posted about your birth story originally on the Snowflake board for sure (I'm not sure if when it was an EC or a PG though I searched both) but I can't find it :( I'll love anyone that happens to find it because I KNOW I posted it.

I did find that the hospital you were born at STILL has your picture up, even though you're birth weight is wrong there.
http://www.communitymemorial.com/baby_gallery/baby.cfm?b=633

We found out we were pregnant on April 13, 2006. It was a Thursday and in the middle of Survivor. It was the day before Good Friday that year. I was completely shocked. Being pregnant was not fun for me, we're talking puking (I had HG) for five months, many days I couldn't leave the house. BUT I ended up with you and that made it all worth it.

We came home from the hospital on Christmas morning with our little angel. Getting you dressed at the hospital was the first of many parenting hurdles we'd face but we love you no matter how you try our patience ;)

Happy birthday my little boy. You can't imagine the ways you've changed my life and I'm looking forward to many more fun times.

Hello Nurse!!!

I read somewhere that nurses hate that phrase from Animaniacs but since I'm not a nurse yet I figure it's okay still. Plus I know my husband is already having dirty fantasies about it.

I officially registered for school yesterday. It was exhilarating, terrifying, overwhelming and empowering. I am so ready to do this. I'm scheduled for 12 credits plus on the waiting list for one class that could bump me to 16 credits. I'm still not sure if I'll drop something to take that one if it's available or just go balls out and do it. I do have an amazing person lined up to watch Gabe (HI Auntie Sheri!) so no worries about that portion of it.

I'm hoping to really crank things out and petition for the official program for the Spring 2011 semester. That means I'll take courses in the summer semester and then in the fall again. I'm not really sure how a summer semester works for my financial aide though, if I have to take that out of one of my other semesters, or if its on it's own as a semester etc. I'll have to start looking that up after I'm working on stuff during this one.

I ended up taking two online courses (English and Psych) because there was no way to work a good schedule around them otherwise since I need to avoid Tuesdays for in the class room things right now. Then I'm taking a math class, biochem, and on the waitlist for anatomy and physiology part 1.

I'm probably driving my friends and family crazy because I'm quite literally bouncing off the walls about this. I don't think I've ever been quite so excited to start something before and I'm having a hard time containing myself. I'm all over the place about it.

I just can't wait to get started on this part of my life. I feel good about it. I feel like it's the right choice and the right time. I'll figure out what/where we'll go when I'm done when we get there. I've promised Mike that I'll only worry one step ahead of where we are right now to keep myself contained.

I want to give a big thank you to the people who have been very supportive of me even considering this path in life. I want to say thank you to the people who are going to continue to be my cheerleaders through this time. I especially want to tell my hubby that I love him very much because he puts up with me and he's going to have to hold my hand in math anyhow.

Oh the weather outside is frightful....

Image via Wikipedia

It's not a ton of snow in our area but south of us they got more. Still I'm depressed about it.

I used to enjoy snow. I've never been a snow bunny. I don't ski, a couple trips down the sledding hill and I'm all for heading in and drinking hot chocolate, and the thought of riding a snowmobile makes me ill. I DID enjoy the snow though, the chill in the air (not the frigid temps later) but at least those first couple of REALLY white really crisp snows were enjoyable.

Now?

Meh.

All I can think now is that it's the beginning of a very long, very cold winter, I'll have to shovel, drive in it, get salt tracked onto anything and everything, get sick, be sad when the sun is shining because that means it's -20 out with the windchill. All I do is long for spring. I long for the warmth of the sun, not the teaser that it is in the winter. I long for things to move and live.

I'm not sure when this happened but really I often wonder now if someplace warmer isn't calling my name. Maybe when school is done we'll talk about a move someplace where owning a snowblower would make you a kook. Some place where Christmas comes with lights and caroling but NO snow. Some place where you can be outside on the patio on Christmas morning.

Until then I'm going to complain and drink tea, eat chili and count the days til it's warm enough to go outside without eleventy million layers on. Oh and I don't want to have to wear socks ALL the time. I hate wearing socks and shoes and having to sleep with socks on sucks.

So how to I wait out the winter without hibernating? I'm hoping that Gabe will help get me through that because he's at the age where he thinks it's very piddy (pretty) and everything is full of magic. I'm hoping he drags me kicking and screaming through it and I remember it fondly.

Thanksgiving

Image by BarelyFitz via Flickr

It's Thanksgiving and we're full up on turkey and mashed potatoes. Some had pumpkin pie, but since I don't care for pumpkin pie I had none.

Instead of being thankful today though I'm annoyed. I'm annoyed with the F up and my back that leaves me short on money on a holiday weekend, short on gas because I have no money and rummaging though my son's piggy bank for change for the car.

Instead of being thankful I just wish at this point it was Saturday already so we could hang out with friends and play Rock Band and eat deep fried turkey.

It doesn't help that I woke up with a headache stabbing through my right eye. That Gabe was rather cranky today, but at least when he napped it was a good long nap.

The evening plans include a whole lot of nothing. I'm trying to not be annoyed for no reason for the rest of the evening but when you start the day in a funk it's hard to get yourself out of it in a snap too.

So even though it's Thanksgiving and I should be thankful for all the truly wonderful things I DO have I'm spending it annoyed. I'll be thankful tomorrow.

When you think of something write it down...

Otherwise you end up like me. I'm laying in bed last night and I thought something really funny and thought "hey you should blog that in the morning". Of course this morning I have NO idea what it was.

It did make me think of something else funny though. My mom got this clock awhile back for $40 at some consignment store. It's got a nice ticking sound to it, and you have to remember to wind it. It says it's a 31 day clock but really ya gotta wind it every two weeks. What's funny about this particular clock is that it's supposed to ring once for the half hour and then on the hour for the time it is. Well it doesn't quite work that way. It dings correctly once on any half hour but the hour marks are a dice roll. It does ding between 11 and 4 properly but the other hours are a crap shoot.

Mike and I were laying in bed a couple nights ago talking and we were talking about the clock. I said well at least it hasn't dinged 13 yet since we think that might be the third sign of the apocalypse. Of course suddenly the clock starts dinging and we're obsessed with counting the chimes now. I swear that it dinged 13 just that once. I haven't heard it before and I haven't heard it do that since.

So we have this quirky clock, and we could probably have it taken in and fixed but I kind of like the fact that you're never sure what time it will really ding. So I think we'll keep our quirky clock just the way it is. Not everything has to be perfect to be enjoyable.

When flour and child collide

You all know that when they are quiet you're in trouble right? Well yesterday it was a doozy of one.

Yes he's wearing shorts, no it's not that warm here, he picked them out himself.

Now I have to say that it was pretty funny. I've heard this story about how I baby powdered my bedroom TWICE as a child so having my son flour the kitchen while I was in the next room was rather amusing.

So Mike grabs the shop vac and starts vacuuming. I strip the kid down and get him in the tub. Gabe used to hate the tub but now he thinks it's fun. That is unless we have to wash his hair.

Of course with that amount of flour he did need his hair washed. I have to hold him down and do it while the conversation goes like this:

Me: Honey it's okay it's just water

Gabe: No momma, no no no OWWWWWWW

Me: Gabe it doesn't hurt it's just water

Gabe: OWWWW NO NO NO NO (insert cringing down here as well)

Me: well silly if you hadn't put flour in your hair we wouldn't have to wash it again

Gabe: Flour? Hair? (giggling)

Me: Okay gotta rinse

Gabe: No momma no no no no no hair, no wet!

Me: Okay all done

Gabe: no more momma

I have no idea why he hates it. I don't even have to have soap for him to yell. I admit most of the time I just wipe it down with a damp cloth he hates it so much. I don't have any idea how to fix it either. I feel horrible because he really does seem TERRIFIED of the water on his head. It's not in his eyes even. I can get the back of his head wet and he screams like that. Anyone with ideas that can help him?

Other than the hair washing/screaming the afternoon was pretty funny though and I was amused because kids will be kids.