Papa Would Be So Proud

Future Prom Date

One night last week, Eric and I were talking about our homecoming/prom experiences in high school.  I told him that if I could, I would do it all over.  For some odd reason, I now have a desire to get all dolled up with a fancy dress, hairstyled hair, professional makeup, jewelry and high heels.  I thought about throwing a fancy party for my 30th birthday but I have a feeling it's going to cost too much to rent some place out and cater food for my friends and family.  Wouldn't it be cute to see Gavin in a tuxedo?!  Anyhow, back to my conversation with my husband.

We then thought about Eric teaching at a high school and being able to attend prom again!  He said we could volunteer as chaperones and that would be our do-over prom.  I thought that was the best idea ever!  All the more to see Eric complete his schooling, riiiiiight?!  In the meantime, I'll wait patiently to attend a fancy event where I can get all dressed up.  :) 

Old Friends

This past Saturday afternoon, I had the privilege of having lunch with some old friends.  They're actually sisters, Katie and Rebecca, and their mom joined us as well.  We went to Sweet Sage and ate some really delicious food.  Like always, I cleaned my plate up!  We had wonderful conversations and got caught up on recent events.  It was a nice, relaxing time with good friends. 

Me with Rebecca and Katie



Exhaustion

It's weird because as exhausted as I am, I actually feel wonderful!  Maybe it's because I've been working out in the mornings.  Maybe it's because Gavin has been so well-behaved this past weekend.  Maybe it's because Gavin has been sleeping so well lately.  Maybe it's because Eric and I have figured out how to have "us" time without a babysitter. 

Either way, things are going well.  Friday night, we took Gavin to the beach after work.  There were so many schools of sting ray swimming close to shore!  I forgot my camera but it was pretty amazing.  Gavin was definitely entertaining some old folks during their sunset dinner.  It takes him awhile to get used to the sand and water but after that, he's difficult to control! 

Speaking of difficult to control, Saturday night we had dinner with our pastor, Joe, his wife, Christine and their two kids. His son, Tyler, is about 9 months older than Gavin. These two were so adorable together! Gavin calls him "Ty-ty". We all ate at Five Guys and as soon as the boys were done eating, they were jumping up and down and copying everything the other one was doing. Then we packed it up (which Gavin was not happy about; he kept crying, "Tyyyy-Tyyyy") and headed a couple blocks over to Yogurt Mountain for some frozen yogurt. Their youngest, Lauren, just turned one and she was going to experience her first ice cream. It's amazing because when Tyler turned one, they had invited us then to witness his first ice cream experience. So we definitely felt honored with their second child as well. Lauren wasn't feeling well and she even looked tired so we're not sure if she enjoyed it or not. But the boys....oh the boys! Here are some pictures Christine took.

At the end of our visit, these two boys gave each other the biggest, sweetest hug!  What a great time....not so much for adult conversation though.  :)

Sunday was probably my most favorite day of this past weekend.  This may sound mean but it was because I was by myself and I got SO much done!  Eric had rehearsal in Brandon.  Gavin was with my dad.  And I had a garage to tackle.  I spent about 2-3 hours cleaning out our garage.  I arranged furniture, grouped tools together, lifted up a heavy Christmas tree, threw out a ton of trash (no exaggeration!), and even had time to clean out the back porch.  I also squeezed in an hour work out (even though 2-3 hours was probably enough).  I picked up Gavin, started laundry, gave him a bath, snuggled for a little bit then he was out like a light.  Eric came home and we did our "us" time of playing Rummy 10,000 and watching Chopped All-Stars.  We were both so exhausted that I think we forgot to say Goodnight to each other. 

Oh Happy Refreshed Monday!!!  Treat me good.....

Understanding a Toddler

We've been looking up articles online about whining toddlers.  Yes, our 22-month year old has already begun the Terrible Two's!  We realize that he cannot communicate exactly what he wants/needs so he gets frustrated just as much as we do.  For the most part, we get on his level and calmly ask him what he wants.  He usually points and then motions his "come here" hand and says, "I take.  I take."  But if we grab the wrong item, he throws a huge hissy fit.  Some books tell you to just walk away when he gets really cranky.  Well, what happens when he is running after you screaming his head off?!  Most of the time, he just wants to be held.  Other times, he will say as many food items as he can remember (bread, banana, cracker, milk, etc) to indicate that he's hungry.  Some times, he wants what we have.  But we're doing our best to understand our little toddler boy.   

This week, bedtime has not been as consistent like we have been before.  Most of it is because we've had some visitors.  We had some friends over for dinner Tuesday night and Gavin didn't go to bed till 9:00.  Last night, Dylan was over and Gavin didn't go to bed till 8:15.  Tonight, we're meeting up with Gavin's friend, Ben, at the park so I know for a fact he's not going to bed early tonight.  We roll with the punches and hope that the next week (or even day) we'll do better.

  

One Thing At A Time

For the past week, I feel like I've been juggling with one hand while running around in circles. 

The Bad Things:
Almost a month ago, I had a party with some girlfriends.  It was like a Tupperware/Mary Kay kinda party.  My girlfriends and I made orders and we still have yet to receive our products.  I literally spent all week last week calling our consultant; texting her as well as emailing her and I never got a response.  Should I even mention that she was over an hour late to the party?!  I felt defeated last Friday especially since she took our money.  I called corporate and they told me what I would need to do and that it would take up to 2 weeks investigation.  This was bad news for me on top of already feeling defeated.

I didn't lose any weight this week.  I also didn't push myself hard enough this weekend either.  It doesn't help when your husband decides to make cupcakes with homemade icing and bacon bits on top!  Sounds nasty but it was oh so delicious. 

We haven't sold our couch yet.  There was a couple that came by yesterday afternoon.  They said "Yes" and that they would just need to call some friends with trucks to load it up!  Well, when they got home, they did the smart thing (unlike us) and measured where it would go.  It was too big.  They called us and said they would have to decline. 

The Good Things:
I spoke with my party consultant's business partner today and she's going to figure out where our stuff is.  She also said that she would drive over to the consultant's house, get our stuff and ship it herself (overnight it on Wednesday).  She was so apologetic and so sweet and said, "Listen Brooke, now that you have my number, please call me directly if you have any other concerns."  A huge weight was lifted there.

This week for P90X is mostly all cardio work.  I'm also hoping to pick it up at least two times a day....if Gavin allows me to workout in the morning.

We have another possible buyer coming this Sunday to look at our couch.  They actually called when the first people said they would take it.  We told them, "If this falls through, then we'll definitely give you a call."  And since it fell through, we obviously gave them a call. :)

The last good AWESOME thing that happened is my sister-in-law cleaned out her closet!!!  That means I have new-to-me clothes!  I can't tell you how excited I was to go through her pile(s).  I was SO bummed because we don't wear the same size shoe and she had a bunch to go through and also some of her pants were a little short.  But I got a lot of tops! :)

Ok....here are some pictures of my family.

Still wanting nothing to do with Cousin Baylor.  :( 

NOT a Neat Freak

I'm one to say that I'm proud for not being a neat freak.  I prefer to call myself a hide-the-mess kinda woman.  Depending on your level of closeness with me, you will either see my house a complete diaster area or somewhat tidy.....never spotlessly clean. 

When I got home after work yesterday, Eric's first words to me were, "Don't be mad but the place is a mess."  And what a mess it was!  All I have to say is that I'm glad Eric is not a stay-at-home daddy. :)  Soon after observing the damage, Eric had to go to rehearsal and Gavin managed to create another mess at the dinner table.  Thankfully he went to sleep pretty easily but unfortunately I was not in the cleaning hide-the-mess mood.  So I relaxed and watched tv.

Then I started thinking about all the neat freaks I do know.  I had to giggle because 1. they don't have children yet or children that can walk.  2. I'm thankful for not having to be THAT perfect.  Yes, I enjoy a clean house every now and then but being full-time employed, having a creative toddler boy, having a husband that constantly cooks and owning a shedding cat makes it difficult to keep up with the chores.  So I would choose an untidy house any day of the week than trade them in for a clean house. :)

    

P90X Update

Today is Day 45 and I already completed my workout about an hour ago.  This week I've been trying to workout in the mornings so Eric and I have time to spend together in the evenings.  Lately we've been playing an ongoing game of Rummy 10,000.  Whoever gets to 10,000 points first, wins.  So far I'm in the lead with 1,880 and Eric trailing with 1,500 something.  Yeah....we got a long way to go. :)

But my workouts are going great!  I feel stronger, thinner and healthier.  I know I've reached one of my goals already and that was to keep up with "the kids" on the dvds.  Even on the Ab Ripper X dvd, I'm able to keep up with them (except for the oblique v-ups).  Thankfully, I still have my trusty accountability partner pushing me every step of the way.  For instance, I didn't workout last night and then I got a text from Brandi around 9:30 p.m. asking, "How'd your day go?"  Instantly I said to Eric, "I HAVE to workout!"  And I did....at 10:00 p.m.!  Brandi and I have already made a date to go bathing suit shopping after our competition.  We're half way there!

These next two days may be rough for Eric so keep him in your prayers.  Our nanny will be in training today and tomorrow so that means Eric will take care of Gavin for a full 8 hours....by himself.  Then after I get home, he will have rehearsals from 6 to 11 p.m.  I just hope Gavin will cooperate like a good little boy should. :) 

No Nap Weekend

When I know my son didn't nap that day, I fear for the evening that lies ahead.  However, this weekend Gavin did amazingly well without having a nap!  Saturday was go-go-go.  We woke up, ate breakfast then headed over to Dylan's football game.  Gavin was such a good boy sitting on the sidelines while Dylan scored touchdowns and pulled flags off his opponents.  Gavin got upset a couple times when Dylan came in for a waterbreak and then had to leave to play again.  After the game, we went home and ate lunch.  He was so playful that I didn't want to interrupt it for a nap.  So I skipped it.

Then around 2:00 p.m. we walked across the street to the Seminole Pow Wow Festival.  We met up with Heather, Dylan and their friends.  It was absolutely beautiful out and we all soaked up some sun.  Gavin had so much fun eating snow cones and funnel cake and dancing with the boys!  We stayed for about two hours because Eric and I had a dinner date with a couple from our church.  Heather kept Gavin for us as we went to dinner.  We got home around 8:20 and then we all went back to the festival to watch the fireworks.  Gavin actually fell asleep during the loud booms.  I guess that's what a no-nap day will do to ya. 

Sunday, we woke up, got ready for church and hit the road.  I got to hear another amazing message by Pastor Joe.  Have I told you how much I LOVE the Old Testament PJoe style?!  Love, love, love it!  After church we went home (ok, Gavin got maybe a 15-minute nap on the car ride).  All afternoon, we played, watched Finding Nemo (a couple times), played with our neighbor's dog, watched the fish tank and did a butt-load of laundry. 

Such a fun day!  Then it was 6:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m.....bedtime.  I thought this was going to be a difficult task; putting Gavin to sleep while there was still light outside.  Thankfully, no-nap day wore him out to the point of no return.  He was asleep within minutes!  And he stayed that way for 12 hours straight.  Pretty darn good for the first night of Daylight Savings Time! 

I know I skipped Friday night so here it is....

Friday Night after Joto's Pizza!

Plane!

Youtube Videos

As most of you know, I post a lot of my videos from youtube to this blog.  Most of them (if not all of them) are of Gavin.  I LOVE capturing those moving moments that a still camera shot cannot give you. 

But I have one video on my account that is not of Gavin.  In fact, no one we personally know is in this video...except my husband's voice.  The amazing thing is that it has over 4,200 hits; 10 comments and 14 thumbs up....and 2 thumbs down.  I don't know why I'm so amazed at this.  I think it's because it's only a 10 second video and it was viewed SO many times!  Check it out and turn up your volume....

Lost

Normally, this word "lost" contains some negative vibes.  I'm lost, I need directions.  I lost my wallet which has my check card.  I lost my keys to my car.  I'm a lost soul.  I've lost my mind! 

But today, I'm putting a positive twist on the word "lost".  I've lost pounds AND inches!  Thanks to P90X and my friend, Brandi, for keeping me accountable, I'm actually starting to see results.  I've lost an inch off my chest, an inch and a half off my waist, an inch off my hips, a half an inch off my thighs and a half an inch off my arms.  Not to mention that I lost a couple pounds as well.  I feel great and Eric can even notice a difference.  I think Brandi and I are neck in neck as far as our measurements go.  It's been wonderful texting her everyday to see how she's doing and reporting on how I'm doing.  Now we have less than two months to go.....I'm so excited to reach the end.

P.S.  I HATE PUSH-UPS!!!

The view of our walk Saturday night....

March, Really?!

Don't know about you, but can you believe we're in March already?  That means in two weeks, we switch the clocks ahead.  That means it is going to get hotter in Florida....I can feel it already.  That means we may have to mow our yard again.  That means Eric will start working again.  That means in two months, our little boy will be 2 years old.  WHAT?! 

I am constantly looking at Gavin's baby pictures.  He was so tiny, then chubby and now almost a little man.  Part of me wants him to grow up faster.  For instance, I would like to start potty training him; I would like him to sleep in a toddler bed; I would like him to speak in sentences.  Then there's the other part of me that wants him to stay little forever.  For instance, I miss his baby fat cuteness; I miss rocking him to sleep; I miss him staying put in one area.  But he's growing at his own pace and he amazes me every day.

So far, March has brought us nothing but sickness.  Eric and I both had a 24 hour stomach bug of some sort.  I'll put it delicately:  we had to take turns using the bathroom.  Yes, we have a second bathroom but 1. it was too far away 2. we still have yet to clean it from our plumbing issues.  Which by the way, praise the Lord we got our plumbing fixed before this sickness hit us!  My sickness was so bad that I actually lost 4 pounds enduring it.  Gavin is alright.  He had his vomit explosion Sunday afternoon.  Now, he's not sleeping very well and we're up at all hours of the night.  So pray for us as we're healing and trying to rest as much as we can.  No pictures or videos to post this time but hopefully we get some out to you soon.

Take care and stay healthy!