Happy New Year

I am envisioning y'all at fabulous parties in fabulous outfits, drinking martinis and champagne as I write this.  I hope y'all are envisioning me the same way although clearly I am not doing any of those things as I am sitting in my bed typing.  In my sweatpants.  Without a bra on.  Although I did manage to make it to the shower today and it only took 1 full bar of soap to wash the 2 days worth of vicks vapo rub and vasoline off of me (Vicks for my congestion, vaseline for my aching nose).  Seriously it was like watching a oil soaked seal get cleaned by the team at Dawn.

Y'all there has been a plague upon our house.  Poor Em was sick starting before Christmas till just this past Friday.  I came down with it on Thursday and am still sick and poor Paul has been congested with a scratchy throat (hopefully that is the worst of it for him and not the start of his turn). 

Paul: You seem to be breathing hard, honey, like you just ran a marathon. 

Me: I can't breath. 

I'm sitting in bed typing and sound like I've just run a marathon.  Ahhh the joys of being congested.  Good thing Paul sleeps on my left side because I can no longer hear out of my right ear.  And the fact that the skin around my nose is dry and raw and painful has convinced me I will never have to worry about being a cocaine user.  I can't deal with the nose pain. 

Our NYE have gotten progressively worse since we've been together.  I think the last NYE we actually did anything was in GA and we had our friends Emily and Clay over to drink and play Wii.  Our first year in Boston we fell asleep at 11:45pm.  Last year Paul was deployed and I was in bed by 10pm and this year we've been in bed since 8pm working on my business Serenity Counseling Online.  We are truly, truly pathetic y'all.  Why am I even still awake now?  Because I am one of those people who can NOT have any computer stimulation prior to bedtime.  It makes my brain crazy and keeps me awake so clearly continuing to be on the computer and blogging has been a smart choice. 

Of course the fact that I haven't slept in well over a week between Emma's illness and my own doesn't help.  Who can sleep when you have to blow your nose every 4 minutes or risk drowning in your own snot???  Oh how I hate breathing through my mouth although I guess there is a worse alternative. 

Anyways, I just wanted to wish y'all a very happy new year and a fantastic 2013!  I hope everyone has a safe, fun, and fabulous evening and I will go to bed dreaming of champagne and martinis and fabulous parties.  Please comment and share what you did tonight so I can live vicariously through you! 

Some Holiday Cheer

Emma woke up Saturday with a cough and woke up after her nap with a fever.  She's been sick since then and, because I'm a crazy person, sleeps with us when she's sick.  She's super congested and so throws up when she coughs.  Yay. 

Last night was the second night in a row she slept with us.  Between her crying because she wanted the pacifier, her throwing up, us needing to change sheets/her shirt/the nests of towels we made her sleep in we did NOT get a lot of sleep. 

The following conversation occurred at 5am this morning:

Paul: If she's gonna sleep in her tomorrow we need to trim her toenails. 

Jenn: Ok.

Paul: It feels like a tiny eagle is trying to land on my back.

Jenn: hysterical, no sleep laughter

Paul:  I need one of those gloves like falcon people wear.

(If you have kids you may have read the book I Have 10 Little Fingers and if so you may recognize the following)

Jenn: I have 10 little daggers and they all belong to me.  I can make them do things would you like to see.

Paul:  I can hang from a tree branch.

Jenn: I can grab fish out of the sea.

At this point all reason was lost and as tears rolled down my face from laughing and Emma finally feel asleep we got to sleep, too. 

Okay, it seemed funnier in person, but hopefully you got a little laugh out of it.  Merry Christmas Eve! 

Holiday Letters

It's the most wonderous time of the year.  The time of year when Christmas cards begin to arrive and with them the arrival of the holiday letter.  I love holiday letters!  I love how they are all written with the same language and same tone.  You know what I'm talking about.  Most holiday letters look like this:

Greetings from the Zachariah family!  Boy, has 2012 been a busy year.  We traveled to Hawaii/Istanbul/Greece (you notice no one ever writes that they traveled to Idaho or Iowa) and saw some amazing sites.  The kids had a great time and were absolute angels on the plane.  Praise Jesus we all slept the entire flight and didn't suffer from any jet lag (again, no one ever writes about getting butt ass wasted on the flight and getting detained going through customs). 

Little Jeremiah is the spitting image of his dad and won his little league national championship for the entire world!  I know!  It looks like we have a future major league baseball player on our hands.  Yes, he may be only 2 years old, but I just know he's going to be drafted out of high school and make millions allowing us to retire and live in a 12,000 square foot mansion with maids for the rest of our lives. 

Sally Mae has had a great year as well.  She was the youngest competitor in the Miss USA pageant and although she didn't win, her inspiring natural talent on the viola has allowed us to sign a record deal with Columbia Records.  She will be traveling with the Vienna Orchestra this fall so you guessed it.  We are all moving to Vienna! 

Luckily, Jasper's company has an office over there and he was able to get a transfer and a huge promotion.  God sure is smiling down on us! 

I've been just as busy as always.  Not only did I serve as President of the PTA, but I also was the Junior League President AND raised $1.2million for the local children's hospital.  I'm not sure why God has picked me to undertake such a large task, but He provided me with direction and we got it done!  Go me! 

Hopefully everyone else had an amazing 2012.  We will keep you posted on our adventures in Vienna. 

All our love,
Lisbeth, Jasper, Sally Mae, and Jeremiah

I get out a holiday letter about every other  year.  This year I was lazy and didn't even send out Christmas cards.  If I had sent out a holiday letter though our theme would've been "we survived".

Greetings from the McArtor family!

Every year I think this is the year life settles down and every year I am proven wrong.  2010 I spent most of the year on bedrest, 2011 we had our Emma and Paul deployed, and 2012 has been just as crazy!

We survived Paul's deployment.  He survived his time in Afghanistan and, as a couple, we reintigrated into marriage life fairly seamlessly.  Jenn was able to bite her tongue most of the time and recognize that she had to take a step back and let Paul do some parenting.  Paul did a great job re-bonding with Emma and jumped right back in to married life and fatherhood.

We survived a hellacious flight to Turks & Caicos with food poisoning and had a great time the next day and for the rest of our vacation.

We survived a miscarriage. 

Jenn survived the sudden and tragic death of an old friend as well as the passing of several close family friends.  You know your parents are getting older when their friends start passing away in rapid succession.

We survived a chemical pregnancy.  We know it may not sound like much, but our hopes were up and then they weren't.  It was almost harder than the miscarriage.  At least we knew the miscarriage was going to happen from the get go.

We survived a change in Paul's job and his traveling out of town once a month.

We survived having two 21 year olds live with us for 5 weeks.  You will know you are middle aged if you ever have 21 years old live with you. 

We survived a road trip to Washington DC and to Buffalo, NY/Toronto Canada. 

We survived 2 months of non stop company.  Luckily, Jenn loves to have company and Paul tolerates people fairly well.  haha

We survived a rough first trimester.  Jenn loves morning sickness!

We survived Jenn's surgery to have a cerclage placed.  You can read about her first cerclage here.  I guarentee it's worth reading.

We survived Jenn and Emma spending 2 weeks in Florida. 

We survived the end of the world.  I mean so did everyone else, but hey why not!

2013 promises to be another exciting year with a baby due in May and a move sometime in June or July.  We don't know where yet, but will find out between January and March where we are headed. 

God bless and may your holidays be merry and bright!

Love, Jenn, Paul, Emma, and baby #2

 

Ring My Bell

I think for about forever I've wanted to ring the bell for the Salvation Army at Christmas time.  For me that is the true start of the Christmas season when the Salvation Army bell ringers come out and this year every time we went somewhere Em got to put money in the bucket.  While we were in Floriday Paul volunteered to be a bell ringer at the mall and when I said I wanted to do it he signed us up to do it together.  Today was our day and it went great!

Of course since we had to kind of get up and get going this morning Em slept in.  I woke up at 8:20 and she was still sleeping.  We had decided we wanted to leave our house at 9:15 so we had to wake her up to get her ready. 

Being the domestic goddess that I am I still whipped up some blueberry pancakes for breakfast, we ate, and off we went.  We weren't sure how Em would do as we had signed up for a 2 hour shift and that's a long time for a toddler to do anything. 

I don't want to brag, but her behavior was nothing shy of perfect.  She rang the bell, she played with her doll, she sang songs, she wished people Merry Christmas and told them thank you when they put money in the bucket.  It was awesome.  At the end she was getting sleepy so she sat quietly on my lap the last 15 minutes of our shift. 

All in all if you want to rank in the cash donations get yourself a little kid.  People loved her!!  We decided that this was the start of a new McArtor family tradition.  Next year we are really going to tug on people's heart strings and put the girls in matching elf costumes. 
Merry Christmas!!!

Volunteering is hard work!

The Return

Even though we got home from FL Saturday I think it's taken me this long to process Emma's behavior at the airport.  Holy hell on a cracker.  My mom drove us to the airport and we stopped for lunch on the way.  It started when we left the restaurant.  Em was a little fussy in the restaurant, but not terrible; however, when we left Sweet Tomatoes (I wish we had one by us) she was hysterical in the car.  And by hysterical I mean she cried to the point of throwing up.  Nothing says classy like stopping in front of the country club golf course to clean vomit off your toddler. 

Em settled down and we finally made it to the airport where I kept it classy by changing her clothes in the parking lot.  The airport has a really nice aquarium and so we let Em stop and look at it.  Big mistake because she screamed the entire way through security.  I actually saw one man roll his eyes at us and I couldn't blame him because I wanted to cry myself.  It was one of those moments where everyone around us was praying we weren't on their flight. 

After I loaded up our 6 bins worth of crap to go through the xray machine, unhooked the car seat from the transporter, dragged Emma behind me, the TSA agent tells me that they are going to have to pat me down because I have too many pouches of baby purees.  Um, what?  I know I flew down with 4, but the 7 I had now were too many.  What was I going to do?  Blow up the plane with organic quinoa, banana, and peach puree?  For the love of all that is good and holy these people knew I was traveling alone, but sure let me strap my screaming child into her car seat while you all pat me down and then make her wait longer while I open up all her milk sippies so you can test them as well which strangely the TSA agent in Boston was able to open on his own without my help. 

25 minutes later and I'm wondering if we are going to miss our flight.  The gate is pretty busy and I must have had that deer in a headlights look trying to find a place for us to sit because a man sitting on the end of a row graciously moved so we could sit down.  I had learned from our flight down so I asked the Jetblue employees at the counter to help us board the plane. 

We managed to get to our seats without killing anyone or spilling anything (Praise Jesus).  I knew Em was tired because it was nap time.  God was on our side because she fell asleep about 20 minutes into the flight and slept until we started descending.  I used the bathroom on my own, enjoyed a snack, read my book.  It was delightful.  Mama for sure needed that break!

Again, we waited until everyone deplaned and the flight attendant helped us off.  Of course the pilot had gotten off the plane for some reason and then the flight attendant put the car seat at the entrance of the plane ensuring that the poor pilot had to wait another 20 minutes while I got the car seat all hooked back up and pack muled myself up.  Sweet peanuts! 

I have never been so happy to see Paul in my whole life. 

Of course Em has not been happy about having to sleep in her crib since we've been home, but she's getting better.  I think she is getting a new tooth. 

And we found out that we're having another girl!  I'm pretty sure we've decided on a name, but want to tell family first. 

Hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season! 

Lonely

Undoubtedly one of the best and worst things about military life is moving every 3 to 4 years. I love meeting new people, living someplace new, and having new adventures, but I miss having a close circle of friends.

When I first moved to GA I was homesick for FL and when I first moved to MA I was homesick for GA. When we move next summer I don't think I'll miss MA.

Being in FL these past 2 weeks and seeing all my old friends has just reinforced how lonely I feel at home. Yes, we have met great people in MA and yes, we have friends I enjoy spending time with, but its different.

I lived in FL a long time and worked everywhere and so I knew everyone. I have so many good friends here. In GA I found a group of women that I had just an instant connection with. In MA I am lonely for that. Everyone is spread out and busy up here. The friends I have I am lucky if I see every other month. I want a close mommy group of friends like I have in FL and GA. I want Emma to have friends. Sadly, the women I've spent the most time with in the last year 6 months have been the 3 women who work in the babysitting room at the gym! And I cried on the last day I took Em to say goodbye. I don't think I'll cry when we leave MA.

Perhaps part of the blame is on me. I haven't really put myself out there or pursued things like I could've, but I also was dealing with deployment and miscarriages and didn't really feel like I had anyone I could talk to about those things. If you've never had a miscarriage you don't know, if you're not a military spouse you don't know and so it was easier to stay by myself.

Except now I see all these mommies I know in MA posting on facebook about play group or girls night out and I realize I don't have those relationships in MA.

So tonight I feel a little sad. I'm ready to head home to my hubby. I've missed him like crazy and I know Em does, too, but I wish I could import some of my friends from here to there.

I'm not one to feel sorry for myself. I don't think it serves any purpose plus I recognize at all times how blessed I am. That loneliness though. That's a tough one.

17 weeks

I haven't blogged about the pregnancy in awhile, but its because our toddler is becoming a TODDLER (I can NOT hear the word no one more time).

I'm in that weird pregnancy space where I don't feel pregnant, I don't feel the baby moving much yet, and I just look fat. Although people do seem to notice I'm pregnant perhaps because I look about what I did when I was six months along with Em. Yikes! What is 9 months going to look like???

Of course we are once again having to take a break from all extracurricular activities (cough, cough you know what I mean. If you don't, don't ask). We figured out we've spent over half our marriage being celibate (2 pregnancies and a deployment). Lawdy. At least we know our marriage isn't based on sex. Haha

I finally started Christmas shopping. I usually am done early but we had so much other stuff going on in October and November (I've been to the airport like 10 times in 5 weeks or something crazy) that it just wasn't a priority.

And hubby tells me tonight he's volunteering tomorrow as a Salvation Army bell ringer which is something I've wanted to do FOREVER! So he is going to try to sign him, me, & Em up for the 22nd. Yay!

And I've decided to forgo sending Christmas cards this year to make a donation to a charity instead. Although there's a good chance I'll put one of those annoying holiday letters on my blog. I know you'll be waiting with baited breath.

Hope everyone is calm and joyful. Remember there's no reason to be stressed! Santa is coming!

The Beach

Yesterday I decided to take Em to the beach after she wouldn't take a nap. I laid down to take a nap. Em just played. Sigh.

First we had to stop at Kilwin's for ice cream. If you've never been to a Kilwin's I feel sad for you. As you can see Em enjoyed it. Sadly she didn't eat her entire cone so mommy had to help her out (after I ate mine of course). Somehow I ended up covered in ice cream.

Let me start off by saying Em loves playing in the sand. Loves it! Ask Paul how many times he's succeeded in keeping her out of the sandbox at the playground. If you guessed what's less than 1 you'd be correct.

Then I thought it'd be smart to go down to feel the water. I was wrong. The lifeguard stand said the water temp was 68 degrees. You couldn't have paid me to go in. Em, on the other hand, was all for swimming as evidenced by her yelling "swimming" and jumping into the water. I don't think she expected her head to go unde. I was quite surprised by the entire event as well. Was it wrong that I laughed? After I made sure she was out of the water of course.

After I hauled her out of the water, my intention was to get up to the towel and change her into dry clothes (I almost NEVER have a change of clothes with me. Praise Jesus I did then or she would've riding home in a diaper. Of course Em felt sitting immediately in the sand while soaking wet was a better idea. Have you ever changed the diaper of a wet, sandy baby? I'd not recommend it.

I left her shorts off as her legs were covered in sand. My second smart move of the day as she dumped a bucket of water on her lap. Sigh.

She was NOT happy when it was time to go home. And by not happy I mean she dead weighted it in the sand. Have you ever dragged a toddler through sand by their arm while carrying a diaper bag, 2 buckets, and 2 beach towels? It's quite the work out let me assure you.

After I stuffed the now screaming toddler into her car seat we stopped by Publix for some $9 grapes. After the cashier assured me that yes it was in American dollars and not pesos we went back to my dad's and straight into the shower. Seriously $9.22 for a 2lb bag of grapes although I think the 80 year old cashier might have been leaning on the scale.

Lesson learned don't let Em near the water and don't buy grapes in FL at Publix! Although we did get some amazing Plant City strawberries! Yum, yum!

Airplane

Sunday Em and I flew to Florida to spend a couple weeks with her grandparents. I wasn't worried about how she'd do on the flight, but I was nervous about how we'd get through security and onto the plane...just me, Em, our carry on, my purse, and her car seat.

Hubby took us to the airport and came inside to help with the luggage. We said goodbye at security and I have to say JetBlue is so family friendly. We got to go through the more legroom/crew line. I've learned not to feel rushed going through security and just to take my time. I had to take the car seat off the car seat transporter (it looks like a luggage carrier) and it wouldn't fit through the X-ray machine but TSA was very helpful and friendly.

Of course I was sweating like I'd run a marathon by the time I got my sneakers back on, but our first hurdle was down.

We got to the gate and was told to board the plane after the more legroom people got on. Of course this was also after 7 senior citizens in wheelchairs got on. At this point the first 10 rows of the plane and the exit rows are full and here we come. This is where it started to get dicey.

Prior to boarding I had spilled iced coffee all down the back of my shirt. Em does not want to walk onto the plane and is crying. I'm trying to carry my coffee, my purse, the diaper bag, Em's backpack, my sweater, AND the carseat. Nightmare! Did I mention the ob told me I'm not supposed to be carrying anything heavy?

A flight attendant took Em's backpack and my coffee. About row 4 Em saw some people she decided looked nice and walked into their row to sit with them. I kept going assuming my daughter was not going to be kidnapped off a plane. The flight attendant carried Em. After I had given 15 people minor concussions by hitting them with my purse another flight attendant came and took the carseat. Praise Jesus!

We made it to our seat, slightly more sweaty, and I got Em settled in her carseat. About an hour into the flight we got up to use the restroom and I knocked the coffee of the gentleman next to me onto the floor. His full cup if coffee. Sigh.

This time I asked the flight attendant if they could help us get off the plane if we waited for everyone else to deplane. Phew!

Em slept the rest of the flight and woke up about 20 minutes before we landed. We waited patiently while everyone else got off to the point that the cleaning crew got on and was cleaning before we left the plane. Haha.

My mom picked us up and it was so nice to see and feel the sun (and see mom, too, of course). It was snowing yesterday at home and today I wore shorts (that I had to go but Monday lol).

Mom got Em this frog which we have at my dad's where we are staying.

And waking up and having my coffee on the lanai overlooking the lake is blissful!

Wakey Wakey

So my plan to do some sort of cleaning today while Emma napped was derailed by my nap.  During my slumber on the couch both our chihuahua Beast and our Boston terrier Jojo jumped up on the couch.  We usually don't let the dogs on the couch, but I was cold and too lazy to get up to get a blanket so Beast huddled near my feet felt good.  Jojo opted for the top of the couch. 

While I was sleeping I sort of heard Jojo coughing and assumed that he had gotten a piece of food stuck in between his gums and lips (something that happens with regularity) and was trying to get it out.  He stopped after a few seconds and jumped off the couch so I rolled over and went back to sleep.

After a couple hours awhile I thought that I should get up and get some things done before Emma woke up.  I reached up to grasp the top of the couch to help haul my giant self to a sitting position and put my hand RIGHT INTO VOMIT!  OMG!  GAG! 

Nothing will ruin your post nap peace like vomit.  I stumbled into the kitchen, got the paper towels, a wet washcloth, and a plastic bag and mentally prepared myself for the task ahead.  I don't like cleaning up vomit on a normal day.  When I'm pregnant...oh lawdy.  I can almost throw up just typing this. 

I cleaned and gagged, gagged and cleaned and by the time I got back into the kitchen...well, I'm not gonna lie.  I may have thrown up in the sink just a little bit. 

I let the dogs out and since I earlier had noticed that someone had thrown up in their crate overnight I grabbed all the crate towels and threw them in the washing machine. 

By then little miss independent was up and ready to run so I went to get her.  I'm pretty sure everyone has told me that 3 is worse than 2 in terms of terrible, but Emma has decided she is going to start at 20 1/2 months asserting her independence.  She is usually a joy, but when she wants or doesn't want something she is not afraid to let us know it. Boy, does she let us know it.  Yikes!

She gave daddy a run for his money yesterday at Chili's and I'm pretty sure he's never going to take her back.  Although he did take her to Target and let her pick out a dog chew toy, not for our dogs, but for her.  That's how we roll.  He also took her to Chuck E. Cheese's.  He's a  brave, brave man. 

Unfortunately he's working on a special project at work and we pretty much only get to see him on Sundays which sucks for all of us.  Hopefully this phase will be all wrapped up by Christmas and his hours will go back to normal instead of 7:30am to 10pm Monday thru Saturday.  He's so exhausted.  I'm exhausted, too.  Mad props to all the single parents. 

Is it bedtime yet?  My sister is flying in tonight, Paul is picking her up at the airport, and I already told her I'd see her in the morning cause there's no way I can stay awake till 11:30pm.  The joys of being 35 and pregnant with a toddler. 

Oh, and had an ob appointment today.  Baby's heartbeat is great!  One more month till we find out the sex!

UPS

A couple weeks ago I got a package in the mail from Callaway Golf.  Considering as I haven't golfed in years, nor have I ever ordered anything from that company it wasn't surprising that the package was addressed to someone else.  We've lived in our house for 3 years.  Our house sat empty for 2 years before that.  And I'm pretty sure that the package was for the former owner's son. 

So, like a good citizen I call Callaway Golf and they say just to drop the package off at my local UPS store and say that I'm refusing it.  Well, my local UPS store is like 30 minutes away and the one day I stopped by to drop the package off it was closed. 

I'm pretty lazy so I thought I'll just write return to sender, wrong address and put it in a UPS drop box in my town.  The first time I tried to do that someone had jammed a box that too large in the opening and blocked it.  The second time I was successful and I thought I was finished with this package. 

Imagine my surprise when I got home the next day from running errands and the package was on my doorstep!  What!  I felt like I was being haunted!  You have got to be freaking kidding me!

So, finally last weekend I made it back to the UPS store and the following conversation ensued (imagine my piece being said with a slightly southern accent).

I get in line behind a woman who had 1 brown box and 1 flat rate box from the post officer.  The clerk measures and weighs the flat rate box and says, "That'll be $20."  The woman says, "But that's more than the post office.  That's a flat rate box."  Clerk says, "We don't have flat rate boxes."  Woman, "So are you saying I should take it to the post office?"  Clerk, "Yes."  I wanted to grab the woman and shake her and ask what is wrong with you???

Then it's my turn. 

Me, "This package was delivered to my house, but this person doesn't live there. I'm refusing to accept it." and I put the package on the counter.

Clerk, "Someone needs to pay for it to return it."

Me, "I talked to Callaway Golf and they said all I needed to do was drop it at my local store and say I was refusing it."

Clerk, "But someone still needs to pay for us to return it.  Or you can give it to a driver."

(Let's just take a little sidebar here.  What the hell is the difference if I drop it at the store and say I'm refusing it or give it to a driver and say I'm refusing it?  Am I supposed to stalk UPS drivers and wait until I see one pulled over?)

Me, "I tried that already and it showed back up at my house the next day."

Clerk, "But I can't take it unless you pay for it."

Me, "Listen, I understand that this isn't your problem.  It's not my problem.  It's Callaway Golf's problem.  I'm not paying for it.  I'm not taking this package back.  You can throw it away for all I care." and with that I turned and ran out of the store.

Now, during this whole exchange a father and his elementary school age daughter were behind me.  And of course who are the first people we see when we get to the mall.  The father and daughter walking in right ahead of us.  The daughter gave me the wide eyed, "you're the crazy lady from the UPS store" look and the father gave her the "don't make eye contact" look.

Emily and I were already laughing because of the whole exchange at the UPS store and this was just the icing that made us laugh harder.

If this package comes back to my house I'm opening it and raffling the contents off on this blog.

13 weeks

Tomorrow. I'll be 13 weeks tomorrow and it looks like I'm having a giant. There would be no hiding this baby until week 20 like I did with Emma (ok maybe it wasn't so much as hiding as me telling people I was just getting fat).

For the most part I feel good. Not so sick, more energy, only vomiting every other day.

Emma is as cute as ever. Her recent activities including "cuddle, cuddle" with mommy if she gets told no for anything and helping daddy carry wood in and build fires in the fireplace. Lest you think we're terrible parents we don't actually let her play with fire. She sits next to daddy and hands him things for the fire. She knows that its "hot" as she'll tell you repeatedly.

It's our last weekend before Paul starts his crazy work schedule. Yay. (Do you get the sarcasm in that yay?)

Hope y'all have a great weekend!!!

Surprise Part Deux

Paul arrived home from Colorado today and, being the good wife that I am, Em and I braved the cold and rain to go pick him up at the airport.  I even decided to be extra sweet and park the car so we could go inside and wait.  Of course I can never time anything perfectly so we had a little bit of time to kill.  Apparently landed and at gate are 2 totally different things that can span 30 minutes of time. 

As we were waiting and watching the people coming off the escalator finally we saw Paul AND HE WAS TALKING TO A HOT GIRL!  Um, what!  I wasn't sure what to do and thought this feels awkward.  I actually thought about moving so he couldn't see us.  Crazy pregnancy hormones. 

So, him and this girl come through the security door and start to walk towards me and I'm just staring at her and she's staring at me and she says to Paul, "Does she not recognize me?" and then I realize it's my friend Emily!  Holy shit! 

All I could do was hug her and laugh.  Apparently her and Paul cooked up this scheme for a surprise visit and, unlike some of my other friends who will remain nameless-cough Cory and Brian cough-both kept it a total secret.  I was surprised!  After I got over thinking Paul met some hoochie on the airplane of course.  

Now it totally makes sense why Paul asked me if the sheets in the guest room were clean (which he's NEVER asked me before EVER) and not to plan anything for this weekend.  Oh the little sneaks!

How Hot is Pregnancy

The Hotness of Pregnancy (09/21/12)

I know there are some women who glow when they’re pregnant.  Their hair is vibrant, their skin is vibrant, they only gain weight in their bellies, and they just look sexy, they feel sexy, and they want sex.

I am not one of those women.  I hate being pregnant.  I love the end result, but the 9 months before that I hate.  My hair is not vibrant because I don’t wash it.  Instead I keep it in a pony tail all day, every day.  My skin does not glow or glisten or shine except in the way of someone covered in oil.  I don’t necessarily gain a ton of weight, but that’s because I’m already fat.  When you’re fat going into pregnancy you don’t need to gain much.  Yes, I’ll lose all that pregnancy weight quickly, but guess what.  I’ll still be overweight. 

And the sexy.  Oh not so much.  Last pregnancy I was on pelvic rest from week 18 on.  This pregnancy I’ve felt so nauseous that I can’t even think about that right now.  And after today I am sure Paul isn’t thinking about it either.

This morning we met some mommy friends for a sing a long at the library and then Em and I got take out lunch and met Paul at the park by his office.  Thank goodness it was chilly and we were the only fools there.  I ate my lunch and it was soooo good.  I was sooo hungry.

Afterwards we’re walking around with Em as she’s playing on the playground and I really don’t feel well.  You know what’s coming.  I grab some airplane vomit bags that I happened to have in the diaper bag and I throw up.  In the park. 

But wait, it gets better.  Not only do I throw up profusely, I also pee on myself.  Paul asked how I survived college, throwing up after drinking, if I peed on myself all the time.  I’m pretty sure I didn’t then or at least I don’t remember it (that might be because of the alcohol).  But now every time I throw up I pee.  Sometimes it’s a little, sometimes it’s everything in my bladder, much like an elephant or a horse.

And I’m not talking “oops I tinkled a little in my panties.”  I’m talking tie my sweater around my waist, head straight home, do not pass go, do not collect $200, do not stop at the grocery, have to immediately go home and change my clothes because urine is dripping down my leg pee myself.  It was an elephant day.

So this is the scenario.  The 3 of us are in the park.  It’s cold out.  I am holding a bag of vomit, covered in pee, and I’ve never seen Paul laugh so hard. 

We drop Paul back at his office and I can tell he doesn’t want to kiss me (ya know because I’ve thrown up and I’m covered in pee).  He tries to kiss my forehead, but I’m quicker than that and he ends up kissing me on the lips.  Haha sucker! 

That’s true love ladies and gentlemen.  True love.  If you don’t have a man who will kiss you on the lips and still love after he’s seen you throw up and pee on yourself then move along and find someone who will.

Confessions of an Awesome Parent

We are awesome parents and I have proof.

Emma and her boobies...she loves to put balls from her ball pit under her shirt.  I think it's hysterical.  Daddy does not.

I was too lazy to make a real dinner last night or sit at the kitchen table.  We had BLTs (I threw a piece of Kraft American processed cheese on Em's to make it healthier) and tater tots for dinner.  Daddy watched football, Em watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the Ipad, and I read my book while we ate.  Sigh.

Some more post dinner ipad tv watching while she has her milk.

We let Em help load and unload the dishwasher.  She may or may not put utensils in her mouth.  We may or may not put them back into the dishwasher.

I also turned Em's car seat around at 14 months, let her eat in the car (usually McDonald's, tater tots from Sonic, or goldfish), and let her watch tv in the morning (dude I am tired in the morning!  I can't be all let's make some crafts at 7:30am.)  We occasionally let Em have sweets especially if she's with us and we want sweets.  How are we gonna eat ice cream and not give her any?  Sometimes I go to the gym and pretend to ride the stationary bike so Em can play in the babysitting room and I can have a break.

BUT Em is healthy and happy and overall well taken care.  I don't think we could love anyone more than we love Em.  

And we'll see baby part two tomorrow at my MFM appointment and hopefully get some info on my placenta and what happens next with my cervix (which actually looked really good at last week's ultrasound).  

I would say get out and vote but facebook has drained all ability to care about this election from my soul.  No, it's not fair to blame facebook.  It's everyone's constant posts on Facebook that are NOT about why you should vote for their candidate, but why you shouldn't vote for the other candidate.  It definitely seemed this election that people were really hateful towards others with different opinions from them AND really emotional, instead of factual, in supporting their candidate.  Can't we all just get along?

Surprise!

Surprise!  I'm pregnant!  I just hit 12 weeks, we've had 3 ultrasounds, and heard the heartbeat on doppler.  The baby looks great.  I was so excited to have a normal pregnancy as compared to last time, but Thursday I got diagnosed with a partial placenta previa and a cyst on my ovary and told to take it easy.  Easier said than done with a toddler and a husband who is traveling and working more than usual.  We'll manage though.  Below are the two pictures we put on Facebook to tell our friends.  

Emma wore her soon to be a big sister shirt to the airport last week when we picked up my dad and his lady friend and my dad didn't even notice!  I finally had to say to him that Emma wore a special shirt for you.  haha  I knew Patsy would know as soon as she saw me that I was pregnant.  I have definitely popped!  It is true that with the second you start showing much earlier.  Of course I was happy because I heart maternity clothes and was extremely happy to put on those maternity pants. 

And I know I've been a blog slacker and I apologize, but I was so sick between week 4 and week 9.  I just couldn't work up any energy (I had to reserve my energy for vomiting, but on the plus side I lost 5lbs) for blogging, plus all I wanted to write about was being pregnant and we weren't telling people until we knew things looked okay.  Hopefully this pregnancy will be the one to get me out of that awful miscarriage club.  I would like to resign my membership. 

So tell your friends and look forward to funny pregnancy posts.  I promise to do a better job blogging! 

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!  

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

We spend a LOT of time in our house watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Yeah, yeah I've heard you shouldn't let your kid watch tv before age 2, it'll stunt their development, blah, blah, blah.  I've had friends who have seriously limited their childrens' television watching and all I can ask myself is why. 

First off, I am tired in the morning.  Emma wakes up early and it's hard for me to entertain her when I can barely keep my eyes open.  Welcome to the wonderful world of Disney.  We spend our mornings alternating between Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Dinosaur Train, and Sesame Street. 

And lest ye judge me about Emma's development or language skills, my mom and our friends will attest that this child NEVER stops talking.  NEVER.  From the moment her eyes open until she closes them at bedtime and sometimes during her sleep she is all talk, talk, talk, sing, sing, sing.  At almost 20 months she can just about count to 10 on her own, she knows color, she sings her ABCs, she knows most of Twinkle Twinkle.  I have zero worries about her language development. 

As soon as the characters come on the tv Emma greets them all by name.  "Hi Mickey, Hi Gooey, Hi Doald, Hi Minnie."  She can't say grandma, but she knows every character from Mickey, Sesame Street, and all our dogs.

Plus even when the tv is on she isn't sitting mindlessly in front of it.  She is playing with dolls, walking around the living room, hopping, did I mention the singing and talking?  And she is so sweet.  If she notices my eyes are closed she comes over and screams "Mommy" in my face to make sure I'm okay and then she'll cover me with her baby's blanket and put a hat on me.  She also occasionally wants to play catch minus letting me know in advance which mostly results in her throwing things at me.  She hasn't really grasped what's appropriate to throw and what's not and, I'll tell you what, your eyes open pretty fast when you get hit with a remote control car. 

From watching so many episodes (sooo sooo many episodes) of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse I do have some questions.

A) Why are there only 6 different episodes?  I cannot watch these same 6 episodes any more.  Get with the program Disney.  I'm sure your animators are locked in a basement sweat shop basement somewhere, but give 'em an extra piece of bread and glass of water and tell them to get on with it already!

B) Where do Mickey and his friends live?  The clubhouse appears to be in the middle of nowhere.  Why don't they have houses.  I mean Minnie has her bow-tique, but no home? 

C)  Why do they keep hanging out with Pete?  He seems like a bully, always demanding beans or coins from them for things that should be free.  He's like a shyster used car salesman (I was going to make a political comparison, but decided it would not be appropriate so I'll leave it up to your imagination). 

D) Are these characters romantically involved or siblings?  Goofy and Clarabell have gone on some dates, but what about Mickey and Minnie or Daisy and Donald?  And how does Minnie had nieces and Mickey doesn't? 

E)  I truly think Daisy is like the sex pot of the show.  I bet her and Mickey had an affair. 

F) If these yahoos didn't have Toodles they would never be able to accomplish anything.  He is the backbone of their whole operation. 

G) Does anyone else think the handy helpers are odd and a little bit creepy? 

Well, I've pretty much used up my morning energy.  I think it's time to make sure my couch still fits the entire length of my body.  I like to check periodically through out the day to make sure I'm not growing still. 

Tune in next week when I critique Sesame Street.

A Calling

I know that not everyone feels called to adopt.  It's a huge committment and you take on a lot of unknowns.  Children who are available for adoption have, most likely, experienced traumas that we can't even imagine.  However, God has still put that calling into my heart and while we have always planned to adopt when Paul retires from the military I think maybe we'll end up adopting at least one child at our next assignment.  We'll see.  I know God has our children all picked out for us.  I keep telling Paul he needs to stay in a few extra years and retire as a Lt Col because I want a big family and I want to adopt at least 4 kids.  haha

I wanted to take an opportunity to share a young boy's journey and hope for a family.  He needs a very special family.  Maybe someone will read this blog and know in their heart that they are his forever family.  Or maybe someone who reads this blog will share his story with his forever family.  You never know.  God moves in mysterious ways for sure. 

No Greater Joy Mom is one of my favorite adoption blogs.  This family is amazing.  I don't know them and I love them.  She recently blogged about Zack, a young man who desperately wants a forever family and to be reunited with his soul sister who was adopted by an American family. 

I will warn you that his story brought tears to my eyes, but I hope you'll read it and pass it on.  You never know.  You just never know. 

Major Dad

Paul pinned on Major last Friday (I know I've been a blog slacker lately) and even though it was his day Emma was the star of the show.  For those not familiar with the military to say pin on means that he was given the oath by a higher rank officer and then family gets to remove the old rank from his uniform and pin on his new rank.  Emma removed his Captain bars while I pinned on his Major rank. 

There's actually a whole ceremony that goes along with everything and I am sure that no one has participated in one quite like ours.  Our friend Neicey, also an AF Captain, served as the announcer/MC.  Everyone was seated and quiet.  She announced Em and I and we walked in and took our seats.  Then everyone stood while Paul and Colonel Talbot came in.  As they walked by us (keep in mind it's totally quiet), Emma yelled "My daddy."  And that pretty much set the tone for the entire ceremony.

Em is a very active toddler.  Trying to keep her on my lap was like trying to hold on to an eel.  Impossible!  Paul said to go ahead and let her walk around so off she went.  While Col. Talbot was trying to talk about how awesome Paul is, Em was organizing all the dry erase markers and erasers.  Apparently she felt Paul needed to hold all of them. 

Then while Paul was being given the oath by Col Talbot Em went up to check out the American flag.  Thank goodness Neicey was standing there to prevent her from knocking it over.  Her fun with the flag put on the lock down, Em decided to turn her attention to Col Talbot.  Thankfully the Col has a 4 year old so she wasn't as phased as say someone without kids would've been when Em started rubbing her leg (pantyhose are cool).  We all waited with baited breath for Em to reach up and pull her skirt down trying to stand up.  It didn't happen and we all breathed a sigh of relief.  

Needless to say, there was a lot of laughter during the ceremony.  No solemn occasions for the McArtor family.  I think most of the people there were there to see Emma and to see who on earth would put up with Paul on a daily basis (one woman actually said that was why she came). 

No ceremony would be complete without a sundae bar.  Yum yum!

I am so proud of Paul.  Not only is he a great dad, he's also a great Air Force officer!  And I threw in a cute bedtime story picture just to warm your heart on this damp fall day! 

A Reminder

Last week my People magazine featured Kate Middleton (Prince William's wife) on the cover with the tag line "Tragedy" because the Princess had been photographed topless while on vacation.  I felt a little disgusted and outraged.  Yes, being photographed topless is an invasion of privacy, but being photographed topless while on a luxurious vacation is NOT a tragedy.  And so I sent the following letter to the Editor at People magazine.

Dear People,


I was disturbed by your recent cover featuring Kate Middleton and the word "tragedy" in response to her being photographed topless. I think you need to re-examine your use of the word tragedy. Soldiers and civilian employees being killed in Afghanistan, leaving behind loved ones, are tragedies. Homelessness and poverty in the USA are tragedies. Children being abused is a tragedy. Human trafficking is a tragedy. Parents outliving their children is a tragedy. Kate Middleton being photographed topless while on a luxurious vacation is NOT a tragedy. It's an invasion of privacy.

If you want to do a true story on tragedy why not spread the word on EB, about children being born with a horrific, painful, rare disease? Courtney Roth lost her 2 year old son this January. THAT is a tragedy. http://www.wdsu.com/news/local-news/northshore/Mother-spreads-word-on-fatal-skin-disease/-/12537650/16668638/-/jif376/-/index.html

The suffering of baby Easton is a tragedy. http://www.facebook.com/#!/SupportBabyEastonFriedel

A family who can't afford medical supplies for their child because the husband got laid off from his job with the Department of Juvenile Justice and the closest hospital that can work with a child with EB is 4 hours away is a tragedy. http://www.facebook.com/BenWileyJr

People magazine reaches so many people. I know it is primarily a celebrity magazine, but you also profile people in need or doing good in the world. Please keep the use of the word tragedy to true tragedies.

Sincerely,
Jenn M.

I look at my daughter and thank God every day that she's healthy.  I can't imagine what these parents are going through or how they feel and I thank God for that, too.  When she's whining or fussy or wakes me up for the 3rd time in the middle of the night I remind myself how many parents would give anything to be in my shoes right now with their child.  I don't know why a terrible disease like EB exists.  I do know that these children are beautiful.  Through all the pain and tears and things you and I can't begin to process they smile and play and laugh.  Children are much stronger than us adults could ever hope to be.

Perhaps we should all approach the world with the strength of a child.

Scary

After the gym today I decided the only thing that would do for lunch was McDonalds.  I've had this honey mustard sauce on my mind and I cannot remember where I had it!  It wasn't chik fi la (I thought I'd miss you, but I don't), not Wendy's (only like your hamburgers and baja salad), not Burger King (probably haven't eaten there in 15 years), so that left McDonald's.  Isn't it weird the things that we crave at different times? 

After we left the drive thru I noticed 2 people calling for "Ryan."  I thought at first they were looking for a dog, and asked the woman who said that the man had lost his 4 1/2 year old son.  My heart immediately constricted because I can't imagine thinking Em was missing for even a second.  I said I'd drive up the street and look. 

I drove around some, didn't see him, headed back to McDonald's, saw that more people were walking around looking and yelling his name, drove around some more, and started to head home.  A half mile down the road I turned around.  I thought I can't go home while someone's son is missing. 

As I turned down a side street I saw a police car go racing by with lights flashing.  I thought thank God they've called the police.  I stopped and asked some golfers at the course near the McDonald's, I talked to some sketchy guy in an apartment complex, I talked to some Verizon employees who then 2 minutes later I saw pulling up and getting out in another complex and he said he was going to walk the golf course.  No kid. 

My biggest fear was how far could a 4 1/2 year old get and that someone had taken him. We were on a busy road so he couldn't of crossed the street.  While I was driving around I heard lots of sirens so I decided to drive back to McDonald's and see what I could do to help. 

The police had the entrance/exit blocked, they had a dog out, and as I slowed down in front of McDonald's I saw someone find Ryan under a bush not 6 feet from the their car.  Praise Jesus!  Praise Jesus!  Praise Jesus! 

I immediately started hysterically sobbing and called my mom to calm me down (thanks Mom). 

I headed home although I felt a little guilty that I didn't try to find the Verizon guy to let him know, but I had to feed Em and get her down for her nap.  I don't think the 18 french fries she ate in the car was good enough (meanwhile I had scarfed down a cheeseburger--I know, I know, I said nuggets, don't judge me--and it was damn good) so we had to get home to our nuggets. 

And ya know, McDonald's forget the honey mustard sauce!  I got 2 bbq and a sweet & spicy.  I guess I'll have to go back.  haha

I'll tell ya what.  I might need a cocktail. 

Proud Parenting Moments

This weekend I experienced some of my finest parenting moments.  Our friend Ty was in town so seeing as Paul was having a guy's weekend in NYC, Em and I met Ty and his girlfriend and their friends in Boston for lunch.  Em had fallen asleep in the car so she was a sweet treat when we first got to the restaurant.  I think part of the problem is that she LOVES walking (ya know now that she's finally started walking) so all she kept saying is "Up, up."  Of course she also loves to eat so as soon as we gave her some food she was all good. 

After lunch we walked around the North End for a little bit (making a stop at Mike's Pastry--if you've never been you should come to Boston just to get one of their cannolis...amazing!).  We loved seeing Ty and meeting Margaret, but eventually it was time to head home.  We had parked at the Coast Guard station so on the way I decided to let Em run around for a little bit. 

As soon as she beelined towards the water I realized I had made a grave error in judgment, but the only thing to do now was go with it.  Em loves water more than she loves walking or food.  So even though it was a slightly cool day and slightly windy I stripped off her socks, shoes, and pants and let her run free like a gazelle.  Ya know we're from the south, we like to keep it classy here in Boston (imagine this is being said with a southern accent.  It's funnier that way.).  

Look how much fun she's having!

Pre water

Post water


Of course I had not planned ahead so I had no towels, no spare clothes.  I changed her diaper, pulled her pants back on, threw her socks and shoes on, and put her sweatshirt on.  She was asleep before we even got back on I-93. 

Sunday I was exhausted.  All I wanted was to take a nap when Emma took a nap.  She fell asleep and then woke up 30 minutes later.  I was laying in bed and had just fallen asleep when I heard her crying.  I decided to just let her fuss and hope she went to back to sleep.  She didn't, but she did start playing so I left her in there.  An hour later she was still awake so I decided to go get her.  Turns out she had a massive poo and that's why she didn't go back to sleep.  I am talking MASSIVE!  I felt horrible, like the worst mom ever.  To make it up to her, I took her out for froyo and to the park for an hour and a half. 

Whenever we take Em to the pedi, the doctor comments on how for a stay at home child Em sure gets every single kid illness.  At the park Sunday I realized why.  Emma LICKS everything.  There's a big sandbox at the park.  I look over and Em has a toy in her mouth.  We go to this steering wheel.  Em immediately licks it.  Oh lawdy! 

And then last night I'm laying in bed, reading a book, we have the windows open, the dogs are outside, and all of the sudden I can smell skunk.  No, no, no, no! 

Ugh, 2 of our dogs got sprayed by skunk.  2 of our dogs slept outside in their crates last night.  Thank goodness it was a nice day because they stayed outside all day and Paul came home from work to give them a special bath. 

So, that has been our weekend.  Hope y'all have a great week!

Lice

One of my friends recently had the joyful experience of going through lice with her daughter.  She asked me to share her experience in hopes of helping save someone else's sanity. 

I had called the pediatrician for advice because we were concerned about excessive itching on my daughter’s head, not having a clue about lice. A few days later, we brought my daughter to the office and the nurse confirmed she had lice. (WHAT???!!!)


In extreme panic and lack of education about lice, I researched everything I could have regarding getting rid of the stubborn buggers. Okay, maybe I was a little obsessed, but the thought of lice grossed me out and I feared the world would end if I got it as well. (Okay, a little exaggeration, especially being the date is so close to 9/11. On a scale of 0 to a million, this was .0000000000000000001).

There was a lot of conflicting information so we tried a few of the methods and in retrospect; I have some experience and advice that I’d like to share. I admit it’s partly for selfish reasons, to educate other parents about lice so that my daughter doesn’t get lice again, but also to save parents the same exhaustion I experienced.

I included a link with material that I found that helped me keep my sanity. (although that is debatable at this point.) It’s designed for a skeptic about the effectiveness of the shampoos and a theory of lice that might be immune to Pyrethrum, the chemical in common lice treatments. (http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/theliceprogram/theprogram.html)

The program talks about the life cycle of lice and why it’s so difficult to get rid of them. It’s a 21 day program, although we won our battle within 10 days. (Thank goodness it wasn’t 3 months like the nurse’s daughter. Again, WHAT???!!!) I believe our experience was shorter than 21 days because I DO believe the lice shampoo killed adult lice, (the ones that can lay eggs) but I’m not convinced it killed the eggs. My husband and I cut out every egg we could find and the material I reference pulled me into reality that I wouldn’t find all the eggs.

Unfortunately, my daughter’s hair is uncommonly thick and after HOURS and HOURS of combing, I found myself thinking for the first time that I wished her hair wasn’t so hair-commercial beautiful and I was no longer extremely envious of her shiny brown silky hair. Along with the shampoo, extreme combing, and olive oil, I had a friend give her a pixie cut. (I couldn’t do it – I cried just watching, although I have learned to like the spunky style that suits her personality.) The haircut was the only way I could manage my time, with all the combing, laundry, vacuuming, and sterilizing I would get awards for.

Here’s our experience:

· Day -4: Itching started

· Day 0: lice confirmed, first shampoo (3 dead adult lice)

· Day 1: treated myself just in case

· Day 2: chopped five inches from her hair

· Day 3: last nymph found

· Day 7: second shampoo

· Day 9: pixie cut, last of eggs found

· Day 10: no eggs found

· Day 11: Back to school, panic gone, nervousness still remained.

· Day 12 forward: brief combing and preventative shampoo each night.

Our experience will likely be different than yours, but the most important things that I walked away with is to trust your instinct, and spend most of your time killing the bugs and combing for eggs in your child’s hair. As a favor, please don't send your child back to school until after at least 10 days, so they don't give lice to other kids.

Good luck!

Embrace the Chaos

I meant to blog yesterday, but got caught up in being lazy.  It was Paul's turn to get up early with Emma yesterday and as I hadn't fallen asleep until after 1am I slept until 9:40am!  I felt like a girl of 20 again. 

We spent the morning lounging around the living room and playing with Emma.  As soon as she went down for a nap I ran out the door to Starbucks like my ass was on fire.  When you need a Starbucks, you NEED a Starbucks. 

She was still sleeping when I got home so I called the vet to make an appointment for our boxer, Sasha.  Did I mention 2 nights ago at dinner I was getting something from the kitchen, walked by Sasha, and urine was just pouring out of her?  She didn't even react!  Just laid there and peed all over the floor.  I got her up and let Sasha and Beauty outside, came back in, and Beast had thrown up by the high chair!  Paul finished cleaning up the urine and then cleaned up the vomit.  I can usually handle it, but not when we're eating.  Gag! 

Anyway, so I called the vet yesterday to make an appointment and the woman on the phone said well it could be incontinence, but she'll have to see the vet to make sure it's not a UTI.  A UTI we can handle, an 80lb dog with incontinence we can not.  I'm pretty sure diapering a boxer was NOT on the list of activities I thought I'd be engaging in this year. 

While Em was napping we let the dogs out and a few minutes later our neighbor Nicole knocked on our door.  Apparently Sasha was running around their yard with their German shepherd.  Paul went out to get her and I went downstairs to let the other dogs in.  He went out to inspect and found that a tree had fallen down and wiped out a section of our fence. 

After Emma woke up we went to our friend Liz's and Jeremy's.  They are expecting baby #2 in the spring and needed to get rid of their guest room furniture.  Being a social worker, I quickly snagged it for Paul's cousin and fiance for their new place.  Score!  Much love to Liz and Jeremy for being so generous!  They are amazingly nice people and a fun couple and Emma loves playing with their son Caleb (who is 3 weeks younger than her). 

On the way to their house my phone rang.  I couldn't answer it because I needed the GPS on.  I should've answered because a few minutes later our friend Sarah called and then texted and then our neighbor Nicole called.  Apparently someone, who will remain nameless but is going to MIT this fall didn't shut the door all the way and when I set the alarm it eventually went off.  Since I didn't answer the phone when ADT called they sent the police to our house.  Nicole was concerned because the police were at our house and the alarm was going off.  At least I know that A) the police will come if it goes off for real, and B) Nicole can hear our alarm going off.  She's a federal agent and carries a gun so having her next door is greatly reassuring to me. 

The boys loaded up all the furniture while Liz and I chatted and the munchkins played.  We had to hurry home as soon as they were done because it looked like it was going to storm.  Of course it didn't end up raining until 9:30pm. 

Because it looked like we were about to get a massive storm I took Em and the dogs outside (after we had a snack of course and I ran up to the farm stand to buy lettuce.  We do have priorities you know.) while Paul ran up to Home Depot to get supplies to fix the fence.  I'm out there, watching Em, watching the dogs, yelling at them to stay away from the hole in the fence, and trying to pick things up before it storms.  I go to pick up a paper bag full of beer bottles from last weekends Labor Day cook out and the bag rips spilling beer bottles everywhere.  I call inside to the cousins and they come out to help.  They clean everything up and Em and I play a little bit longer.  And by play I meant she ran to the back of the yard as I tried to steer her around the piles of dog poop in our yard. 

We decided to head inside and I notice that there is something under the deck.  It's Beast our chihuahua.  He's stuck under the deck.  Are you freaking kidding me?  I take Em inside and ask Sarah to take her upstairs, go back outside, and try to coax him out.  I can see where he crawled under the deck, but of course he hadn't stayed there and can't figure out his way to get back there (the fact that we threw all the concrete blocks and broken up concrete from our old stairs and retaining wall under there may have had something to do with that).  Sigh.  I go inside, grab a shovel, and dig out the area in front of the dog so he can crawl out.  I'm surprised he didn't get bit by a snake under there.  Maybe they were all chilling in the wood pile that day.  Then I fill the hole back in. 

Get back inside and of course it's almost 5pm and time to start dinner.  Can't a sista get a break around here? 

Of course my greens, fried chicken, and salad were delicious!  Thank goodness for our Breville fryer.  haha  Something I'm sure we needed to buy and that will contribute to our longevity. 

When your day is chaotic I think the only thing you can do is embrace it.  Otherwise it'll make you cray cray!

Marriott Points in the Hizzouse

Forgive me. I'm typing this on my iPad on the Amtrack. If you've never ridden the train you are missing out. Good times.  We'd def use Amtrack again.

Yesterday was our 3rd anniversary. Paul had told me he'd make a dinner reservation and did he ever. Monday he gave me a card with instructions to pack a bag for me and Emma and to be prepared to leave Tues at 6:30am. I had no idea where we were headed nor would he give me any clues.

We got up bright and early Tues morning and headed out. Cousin Jacob was driving the swagger wagon and I felt fairly confident he was taking us to the airport. Wrong!

He passed the airport exit and now I was thoroughly confused until he got to the south station exit and exited. The only thing off that exit is the train station and Chinatown.

The train? I'd never been on Amtrack before and the only training leaving at the time he told me was heading to Richmond VA. Richmond? What on earth could we be going to Richmond for? I was game though. Once I saw the list of stops on our train I realized we were probably going to NYC.

I heart NYC! We got to Penn Station and told me we needed to head towards 33rd between 7th & 8th. I figured our hotel was there until he said to look for a restaurant called Nick & Stef's. What? What is going on? We trucked along, did not see the restaurant, and Paul got a phone call. A car pulled up to the curb and we got in. There was even a car seat for Em.

We head out and the driver pulls up in front of a hotel. I get out, look up, and see Ritz Carlton. To say my mouth dropped open would be an understatement. We are Holiday Inn people, not Ritz Carlton people. I began to wonder if Paul had won the lottery or robbed someone without telling me. Niressa, the porter, took us up to our room on the 8th floor.

We opened the door and it hadn't been cleaned yet. She apologized profusely and called down to the desk. They upgraded us to a room on the 6th floor with a view of the Statue of Liberty, Battery Park, Ellis Island, and the Hudson. Even Paul was impressed because he said that was the room on the website, telescope and everything , AND we got it with Marriott points. Paul used to travel A LOT for work. 

It was slightly rainy and overcast, but we decided to go have a drink and snack at the bar to wait out the rain. Once it stopped raining we headed over to the World Trade Center memorial where they were giving out free tickets to go inside.

Okay, I didn't finish on the train because I started to get motion sickness.  I'm home now on the laptop so I should be able to finish. 

World Trade Center Memorial has more security than the airport.  You have to go through metal detectors and send all your belongings through an xray machine.  We were a little surprised.  And I wondered, thinking about all the war memorials in DC, if and when they will do a memorial for the military and civilians killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that's a post for another day.  The WTC Memorial is amazing.  I'll post pictures as soon as I upload them onto the computer. 

After that we went back to the hotel (can you even call the Ritz Carlton a hotel?  It seems like too mundane a word for something so magnificent) and got ready for dinner.  There was a small Italian restaurant within walking distance so went there.  Delicious of course!  After dinner I made a pit stop at the RC bar to grab a glass of wine to take up to my room.  We were all asleep by 9:15pm. 

Saturday the weather was still a little rainy in the morning.  We decided to eat breakfast at the RC and we were only slightly underdressed.  I had a tank top and shorts on and we both had sneakers on (and I didn't even have good sneakers on.  Since I didn't know where we were going I had brought old sneakers that I had worn for painting.  Marriot points in the hizzouse!).  Everyone else in the restaurant was in suits and ties and business clothes.  haha $100 later (I know, right!  We almost stroked out.  I didn't even have a mimosa or anything!) we were on our way to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  Neither of us had ever been.  It only rained once when we were at the Statue of Liberty and then it was a pretty nice, but overcast day.  Em was so good and slept through most of Ellis Island which allowed Paul and I to leisurely look around.  If you ever get a chance to go I highly recommend it. 

Wednesday was our anniversary and Paul had arranged for someone from the Babysitting Guild of NY to come watch Emma in our room.  I was slightly, and by slightly I mean holy anxiety, nervous about it as we've never used a babysitter before (and Em is 18 months old lol) and especially one from a service in NYC in our hotel room.  There was a mix up with the time so that didn't help my anxiety, but she got there, she seemed nice, and off we went.  Em didn't even cry. 

We started off the night with a cocktail at the hotel bar.  Even Paul had one.  Then we went to dinner.  Paul started with a bowl of chicken noodle soup and I had lobster bisque.  To say they were amazing would be an understatement.  It was heaven in a bowl.  Our main course was NY strip steak.  I had creamed spinach with mine and Paul had macaroni and cheese.  We also got a side of garlic mashed potatoes and I had another glass of wine.  I've never tasted anything so good!  I can never eat frozen creamed spinach again.  Never.  I think it was all better than Ruth's Chris.  We should've shared the steak because we were so full, but it was so good.  We actually talked about going to the bathroom to throw up so we could eat more.  I know, disgusting, right. 

The waiter, who was also amazing, cleared the table and brought back a clean spoon and fork for each of us.  We didn't know what was coming, but we sort of grimaced at the thought of more food.  Of course the RC hooked us up with a dessert tray of 9 mini desserts (key lime pie, 3 cookie type things, 2 brownies, 2 apple pies, and a chocolate cake) AND 2 glasses of champagne.  I almost threw up right then and there.  Paul doesn't drink champagne so I knew it'd be up to me to finish both glasses.  We ate until I couldn't possibly ingest anything else and I drank the champagne.  Through out this whole thing we watched a guy across the street in Battery Park jumping up the stairs.  The one set of stairs was probably 2 feet wide per stair.  The other set he hopped up on one leg.  I was tired just watching him. 

After dinner we decided to walk through Battery Park and try to walk off some of the 45,000 calories we'd just consumed.  I stopped to tell the hopper how impressive he was because it was impressive.  He was doing crossfit.  Yikes!  It was a beautiful night and it was nice to have some alone time.  I noticed a lot of New Yorkers are super committed to jogging.  Show offs. 

We got back up to our room and Emma was snoring away.  She's NEVER fallen asleep for anyone but Paul and I before.  I was so relieved.  The sitter said she did great, ate her $20 chicken finger dinner with no problems, had a good time playing, and drank all her milk.  She slept till 5am and then came in bed with us and finally fell back asleep till 8am. 

We left on Thursday and spent the morning walking around the Financial District (tons of pictures to come), enjoying a Starbucks, and having pizza for lunch.  Our train left at 2pm and since we got to sit in the handicapped section Em was able to nap in her stroller.  She was quite the little celebrity, walking up and down each car, saying hi to everyone on board.  I think we are going to have our hands full when she gets older.  lol  The staff at the hotel was sad to see Em leave.  She was given a stuffed animal every time we got back from somewhere and came home with a lion, zebra, giraffe, elephant, and monkey.  She loved running around the lobby, welcoming new guests, and brightening the staff's day.  What a little charmer! 

It was an amazing trip.  We can never stay in a regular hotel again after the Ritz Carlton.  I have the best husband in the world to plan such a wonderful anniversary surprise.  We'll see how he tops it next year!  haha