Sleep In Saturday

I'll be honest, today I didn't leave the couch all that much.  I was probably in and out of sleep from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.  Can you say laaaazy?!  Gavin didn't care either.  He snuggled right along with me as we watched tv, snacked and slept.  It was great. 

Amazing discovery:  Gavin can count to ten!  No joke!  Well, you would have to help him along but if I say 1, he'll say 2.  If I say 3, he'll say 4.  So forth and so on.  I was pretty astonished to find this out and I'm thinking my kid is a genius.  Let me rephrase that....I KNOW my kid is a genius!!!  Here are some pictures and videos to get you caught up.

Reunion

After such a lazy day today, we met up with a couple of friends we haven't seen in two years.  The last time we saw Frank and Kathleen Monteleone was for our wedding.  Tonight was their first time meeting Gavin.  He was such a good boy and actually reached for them to hold him.  Glad he takes a liking to strangers... :)

We had a nice visit and we may plan a trip to New York sometime soon to see them again.  Here are some pictures....

Below next to Frank is Rob (old friend) and Steven (Frank's brother) 

Short and Sweet

Today went by too quickly.  Just to sum up, we went to the Turkey Trot at 6:00 a.m., took a nap when we got home at 9:30 a.m., starting cleaning and cooking at 11:00 a.m., ate at 5:00 p.m. then everyone left at 7:30 p.m.  Short and sweet....

I'll give just a little bit more detail.  This was my first Turkey Trot  and I could not believe how many people do it!  I looked at the thousands of people on Keene Road and was astonished at the flood of people on it.  We had a great walk and I definitely felt like I earned my right to pig out later.  The nap was short-lived for me because all I kept thinking about was how much cleaning I needed to do.  Eric cooked the turkey perfectly and all the other dishes were fantastic!  Everything just came together so well.  It definitely came and went just like that though.  I do have pictures that I need to get from family.  Heather has pictures from the Turkey Trot and my mom took some during dinner.  More to come....

Media Update

And this is for the request of my husband....

Happy Boy

This week has been great with my happy little boy!  His hives are practically gone and I think we solved the problem.  Has anyone heard of being allergic to different brands of milk?  Here's the thing, before we moved, we would buy Publix whole milk.  The Wal-mart Supermarket's milk was nasty and tasted really funky.  Then we switched to SweetBay whole milk because that store was closer.  After a month of drinking that, he broke out into hives.  Then he fought through those hives for a month.  We switched everything!  Laundry detergent, foods, juices and just this past weekend, we switched to organic milk.  Within a day, his hives were disappearing.  I asked Mrs. Shirley what kind of milk she was giving him and she said Publix brand.  It just got me thinking.....  We're still not certain if this is actually the cause of the hives or not but it's been working this week!   

Tonight, we finally got the tv on the wall!  Woot woot!  It definitely opens up the room just a little bit.  And let me tell you, every little bit counts with that monstrosity of a couch in that living room.  I cleaned the bathroom while Eric cleaned the kitchen tonight.  Tomorrow, Dylan is spending the night.  Not sure what we're going to do with him but we'll figure something out.  Maybe he'll want to workout with me or even better, we'll put him to work!  :)  But this will be our first house guest....how sweet!
   

Preparations

Since this will be our first time hosting Thanksgiving, we are in the midst of prepping our house.....starting tomorrow.  It's Monday and it's one of those nights where we don't want to do anything but lounge around.  Gavin was such a good boy tonight.  He's trying his hardest to form those sentences and he now ends with a word so we know what he wants. 

Speaking of Gavin, his hives are going away slowly but surely.  Can you believe it's been 6 weeks of on again off again hives?!  We're still planning on taking him to an allergist in December.  They might do blood work with food allergy testing just to tell us what he cannot have anymore.  Thankfully, the hives haven't bothered Gavin all that much and he's still a healthy boy through it all.

Things to do before Thursday:
Mount tv on the wall - yep, it's still not done
Buy turkey and other foods
Sweep and scrub tile floors
Clean ALL rooms
Get extra table and chairs
Laundry

There are probably other things we need to do but that's the majority of it.  Hope your planning is more successful than mine! :)

Compliments

I'm one to admit that I don't know how to take a compliment.  I enjoy getting them but I don't handle it very well.  Usually, I say the opposite or return a compliment to get the focus off of me.  Then just recently, Eric told me that I need to take a compliment better.  So I've been practicing.  Today at church, I received compliment after compliment of how much weight I've lost.  The fact is, I haven't lost any at all!  But you know what I did?  I accepted the compliment anyway and talked about how I did it.  P90X BABY!!!  :)

It's different when you receive a compliment from a friend than it is coming from your significant other.  When Eric gives me a compliment, it means so much more.  I have seen couples that once they get married, they let themselves go because they feel so comfortable in their skin.  Granted, I gained 40 pounds after we got married but I had an excuse!  :)  But now I want to make sure that I can still catch my husband's eye.  I want to look good for my husband!  And he definitely sees the effort I'm making and he rewards me with compliments.  Yesterday, he probably gave me a compliment every half hour!  But it felt good to hear those words coming from my husband than anyone else.

Have you complimented your spouse today?

Without

Today, I thought about Eric a lot.  He left really early this morning to travel to Weston (which is four hours away) for 1 performance.  After he left, Gavin was a little whiny and cranky.  Maybe it was because he didn't sleep very well.  At noon, I had to attend a funeral for one of our church members.  I got teary-eyed on my way there because I thought about losing Eric.  Ok, teary-eyed is an understatement.  I don't really want to write out my thoughts about this because I don't want to dwell on it so much.  Plus, that's no way to live!  I love my husband and right now, I don't want to imagine myself without him. 

Tonight, I had dinner with my pastor, his wife and kids.  Surprisingly, Gavin did pretty well at the dinner table.  There was a moment where he had a mashed potato beard (wish I had my camera for that one!)  We had a good time and good discussions.  Although, I will say that it's getting more and more difficult to carry on a conversation when your toddler needs more of your attention.  Still perfecting my multi-tasking skills.... 

Happy Birthday, Eric!

I did not have the laptop this night but I still journaled so here it is....

Today is Eric's birthday!  All three of us woke up at 5:30 this morning (not intentionally) and that's when Eric received his cards and his gift.  Let me preface his birthday gift.  I've been a week late (menstrually speaking) and I told him about it but it didn't phase him whatsoever.  So I took a test, wrapped it up in toilet paper and put it back in the pregnancy test box.  This morning I handed him the box and he said, "What's this?"  He didn't even look at me.  Being the actor that Eric is, he was opening it very slowly to add a dramatic effect to it.  He took a deep breath and said, "WHEW!!!!"  It was negative.  On a personal note, I think working out so much has affected me.  All is good but it definitely made Eric heart race like crazy!

Last night, we went to Arigato's with a few friends.  We had a great time even though the waitress was flirting with MY birthday boy.  On our way home, we stopped by Dairy Queen for a blizzard.  We had a flashback to my last month of pregnancy and we visited Dairy Queen at least two times a week.  Those were the good old days.  All in all, I think Eric had a great birthday!

18 Months Old

Where has the time gone?!  How is it that we have an 18-month old child?!  How did we manage to get this far so quickly?!  By the grace of God....

Today, Gavin is 18-months old.  We've noticed a lot of improvements in his behavior and mannerisms over the past month or so.  Eating-wise, he is really feeding himself better with a spoon.  Bedtime-wise, when he hears the words "nite nite", he takes my hand and walks me to his room, waits for me to get in the chair so he can climb on my lap, then after his milk, he willingly gets into his crib and tries to get comfortable.  And I can leave the room without him screaming his head off!  Walking-wise, he is seriously running, not walking anymore.  He loves to run in circles around some object, i.e. table, person, chair, toy.  Talking-wise, he still jibber-jabbers ALL the time but now we're hearing a familiar word here and there, i.e. "lkaidn lkdoaineb Dada aldien;bi  aoinc;ile aiec,ieini Mama aienclie gildk ball ;dineinb eindie, car oibnelic Dy-an (short for Dylan) ald;ino einlkodie Papa....you get the idea.  :)

Temptation

Today marks the beginning of a temptation match for the rest of the year! 

My work had their annual Thanksgiving potluck luncheon.  There was SO much food and still a lot of leftover!  I kept my portions small because I wanted to try everything.  I did NOT go up for seconds like I usually do.  There were a few pies and banana pudding for dessert which I am proud to say that I skipped.  So all in all, self-control - 1, temptation - 0.

But that isn't the end.  We're going to Arigato's Japanese Steakhouse tomorrow night for Eric's birthday.  We have a church Thanksgiving potluck luncheon on Sunday.  And let's not forget the actual Thanksgiving dinner next Thursday.  Unfortunately, I foresee December being much worse!

I have to admit that I skipped my P90X workout last night upon my husband's request.  However, I got up REALLY early this morning to accomplish last night's routine and will continue with the schedule tonight.  Believe me, I'm not overdoing anything.  I'm keeping a commitment to a workout plan which some have difficulties in doing.  I haven't really lost that much weight, if any at all, and I haven't lost any inches either.  However, I do notice my endurance has improved.  How else am I going to get through these workouts?!  

At this point and on till the rest of the year, it's going to be a day by day food temptation match!  Wish me luck! 

In a Trance

This is what happens when Mater's Tall Tales come on the Disney Channel:

Touchdown!

Gavin is going to be a football fanatic just like his daddy.  Everytime we get excited about a touchdown, Gavin will raise his hands and say, "Yaaaaay!"  And now when Eric yells, "Touchdown!" Gavin will just scream out of excitement!  See for yourself...

Sunday Packed with Alpacas

Today, the church kids were invited after church to go to one of our member's Alpaca Farm!  We took our nephew with us and I'd say we had a good time.  I think we spent more time in the car than anything but all in all we really enjoyed ourselves.  Here are a couple videos of our road trip:





Then here are some pictures and videos when we finally got there:

Super Slammed Saturday

Today was a full-packed day!  I made A LOT of plans and was able to accomplish all of them, praise the Lord!  Gavin woke up early (as expected) and we waited till Eric got up.  We ate breakfast then I went garage sale hunting with Gavin....I'll explain that in just a bit.  Eric went out and bought a wall mount for our tv.  The idea was that he and his two friends were going to work together in mounting the tv on the wall....I'll explain that in a bit as well. 

So, garage sale hunting did go as well as I had expected.  I saw the signs but was not impressed with the drive-by view of the merchandise.  We ended up stopping by ONE garage sale but it was a huge success that I ended up going back for more.  This particular garage sale had two big piles of clothes.  I was holding Gavin at the time and just didn't feel like going through them especially when the sign said, "Clothing: $1.00 each."  I glanced at the rest of their stuff but rerouted back to the clothes.  I looked more closely and saw that they were my size!  The seller came by and said, "Listen, if you're willing to go through ALL of those clothes then I'll mark them down to $.25 each.  I just have to get rid of them."  SOLD!  It was a little difficult to go through all of them with Gavin wondering around so I got 13 pieces of clothing for $3.00 and told her that I might be back. 

After getting so excited about my find, I went home, dropped off the clothes and left again so I could meet up with my friend, Kelly.  We took a nice walk with our children and caught up with each other as much as we could.  While I was at the park, Eric and his friends were attempting the tv project.  On my way home, I kept thinking, "The tv is going to look so good on the wall.  I can't wait to see it!"  Well....looks like I'm still gonna have to wait to see it.  I came home to a living room with nuts, bolts, screws, wires and tools everywhere, holes in the wall, a mount that is on our wall by 1/2 of the screws needed and no tv on the wall.  It was quite comical and almost like a Three Stooges episode. 

After a sitter came and got Gavin, I rushed back to the garage sale before they closed.  She was happy to see me again and the deal was still on!  This go around, I found 21 pieces of clothing that I paid $5.00 for.  Insane! 

Later than afternoon, Eric and I attended a bowling event which was a fundraiser for prostate cancer.  We had a lot of fun and got to see old friends we haven't seen in years.  AND Eric actually won a raffle that included a bottle of Crown Royal Whiskey and 25 cigars!

Ok....here are pictures:

Thanksgiving Decision

After many years of jumping from one house to another and/or picking and choosing which house to spend Thanksgiving, Eric and I have decided to host this year's dinner at our house!

We might have a total of 18 people....yes, 18....at our house for Thanksgiving.  Wanna know the guest list? 

Eric (Husband)
Me
Gavin (Son)
Dad
Karen (Dad's wife)
Ali (Karen's daughter)
Carina (Karen's daughter)
Mom
Carlos (Mom's husband)
Brandon (Brother)
Renee (Brother's wife)
Grandma
Aunt Judy (Grandma's sister)
Cindy (Mother-in-law)
Heather (Sister-in-law)
Dylan (Nephew)
Mark (Cindy's boyfriend)
Sean (Mark's son)

Do we have the room for all of them?  We'll make room! :)  Am I cooking?  Heeeeck no!  Are we expecting our guests to bring food?  Ya darn tootin'!  Are we doing the Turkey Trot that morning?  Yes, for the first time ever and we'd like to keep it a tradition.  Can we get the house in order before Thanksgiving?  Let's hope so!  Praise the Lord for FOOTBALL!!!

Thrift Store

Ever since I was in high school, I have always loved thrift stores!  Some of my favorite clothes came from a thrift store.  So many bags of clothes for so little money.  Well, about 3 years ago, I discovered a thrift store/garage sale online.  It's called craigslist! 

I will admit that I have somewhat of an obsession with craigslist.  Just type in something that you want or need and up pops a bunch of people who are trying to get rid of that particular item.  Easy as pie (even though I wouldn't know...I never made a pie.)  Eric has even sold some of his coral through craigslist as well.  That's also where I got Gavin's Nemo costume.  One year, I got tickets to Disney AND Islands of Adventure...and they were legit! 

Check out craigslist.  You might be amazed at what you might find through that online thrift store jungle. 

Answer My Question....

Why do you love your spouse?

What's the Difference?

Eric and I have been doing P90X for a little over 2 weeks now.  Today was Day 16 and I will admit that we skipped a day here and there for various reasons.  But for the most part, we've been sticking to the plan.  We're weighing ourselves every Monday just to track our progress.  I've always know what I'm about to report but for some reason it's still frustrating....guys lose weight more quickly than women.

WHY?!  What's the difference between us?  I workout just as hard as Eric does (if not harder).  I eat just as much as Eric (if not less).  But yet, for some odd reason he loses more weight than I do!  Haha!

In all honesty, I'm really not upset at all.  So far, I lost 3 pounds and Eric lost 7!  I am so proud of Eric and all the effort he's making in losing weight and getting into shape.  And in fact, he does work harder than I do because his job requires him to perform a vigorous and strenuous routine.

16 days down, 74 days to go.  And did I mention that Eric's birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all fall within those days?  It's gonna be rough be we're gonna stay strong...X Style!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Windchimes.  I have always loved the beautiful sound of windchimes.  Windchimes were one of my late stepmother's favorite things.  I remember falling alseep on a lazy day to the sound of her battery operated windchimes.  Just very relaxing and soothing.  Naturally, I inherited, more or less just took, these precious and meaningful windchimes and they've been in my possession for 5 years now.  Well, Gavin found them this morning and sorta disconnected it.  No worries though because it's an easy fix.  Here's Gavin trying to put it back together so he can hear the beautiful sound Connie adored.

What Not To Wear

As we were getting ready for church, I needed to find a jacket for Gavin because it's freezing in Florida.  I remembered that he got one from Papa Jeff before he was born.  I put it on Gavin and I think he still needs to grow a little bit more before he wears it out in public. 

Bubbles

Gavin has a new word and activity:  Bubbles!  Actually it's not really "new" because he's been enthralled with them for awhile now but I FINALLY got it on video and through pictures.  He says "Bubbles" and "Aw maaan".  There's also a video where he's talking to Grandpa Jeff; not to be confused with Papa Jeff.  For those of you that don't know my dad and Eric's dad are both named Jeff.  Grandpa Jeff is in Korea and probably the main reason why I keep up with this blog.  We can't wait to see you in December! :)

 

Jamboree

We're getting ready to go to the Jamboree at First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks.  It's kinda like a carnival/fair/fall festival on church property.  Unfortunately, a certain temptation will be there:  carnival food.  I don't think it will be that much of a temptation because 1. we don't have any money  2. we're eating dinner before we go.  3. we have to do P90X when we get back home.

Not sure about the rest of the country but it's stinkin' cold and windy in Florida!  Being natives, we're not used to this drop in temperature so quickly.  It's almost as if we need a slight transition into colder weather; you can't just go from 85 to 60 over night!  Who does that?!  :)

Well, I haven't taken any pictures or videos lately because my camera battery died and I can't find the charger.  But soon....

Have a great weekend!

Jamboree 2009

No Sleep For Me

Last night, I maybe had 2 hours of sleep.  It wasn't Gavin that kept me up.  It wasn't Ava making a ruckus either.  It wasn't even a tv show that I had to watch.  It was fear and my fear alone.

Eric left Tuesday afternoon southbound to Naples.  He stayed two nights.  The first night was ok.  Went to bed late but at least I received 7 hours of sleep.  Last night, I purposely watched 2 movies so I could stay awake in case someone were to try and break in.  Here's the thing:  I was being an idiot and read the local news online.  Wouldn't you know it that there were burglaries, home invasions, shootings, hit-and-runs, etc.  Those stories get in my mind and then it invites fear in.  Not that this matters but it was raining too.  The extra sound outside made it more difficult for me to listen for intruders!

I really had nothing to fear about though.  I prayed and prayed last night that God would protect Gavin and me, that He would surround our house with His angels.  Of course this prayer didn't come till about 2:30 a.m. but I did finally come to my senses:  God is in control! 

I talked to Eric this morning and told him about my night/morning.  He wondered why I didn't call him because he would've stayed up with me.  Next time I will definitely do that!  Then he texted "love u. im excited to come home!"  My response was "Me too so I can get some sleep! Love you!"   

Superhero

This past Saturday afternoon, Gavin and I attended our friends' son's FIRST birthday party.  The theme?  Superheroes!  The location?  The park.  The decorations and activities?  AWESOME!  The birthday boy?  Gabe Costa, our little Superhero. 

I met Gabe's mother, Brandi, during boot camp April 2008.  I joined because I had to get in shape for my wedding in August that year.  After our first month, I think it's safe to say that we were the top two in that class.  :)  We decided to do it for one more month before the summer heat really got to us.  I think we should've quit while we were ahead because it was HOT!  But during the second month of boot camp, Brandi and I really got to know each other.  We realized that we were both believers of Jesus and everything seemed to click from there.  After the camp, we kept in touch; especially when we both found out we were pregnant!  Brandi's pregnancy was a little more complicated and it's a story I can't even explain.  Read about it here.

Their faith through this whole process has been astounding!  We were getting updates month after month of this little child's developments.  We just prayed and will continue to pray for this sweet, God-fearing family!  We were honored to celebrate Gabe's first birthday with them and we can't wait to celebrate many more to come.  May the Lord continue to bless the Costa family as they faithfully follow His will!  We love you guys! :)

Almost 30 Moments

Monday night, my little family took a walk down to the Rec Center so Gavin could play on the playground.  When we got there, some junior high kids were in their corner goofing around.  My thought was that they're a little too big to hang out in a playground.  But that didn't bother Gavin whatsoever.  He ran around like he owned the place; climbing up the stairs and sliding down the slide.  He was literally in his own little world. 

Well, these kids starting to throw around a football.  This concerned me because they had no control over the ball at all.  One kid threw it and it hit the pole and bounced near Gavin and into my leg.  Yeah, it kinda hurt so I could only imagine what would've happen if it hit Gavin.  I took the ball and tossed it back to them.  Then I think I got more upset by their response than I did them horsing around.  They said, "Thank you, Ma'am."  CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!  My old weak knees almost gave out on me because I knew that I was the "Ma'am."  Once Eric figured out why I was upset, he just laughed at me!

     

Workout Likes and Dislikes

I like working out with my husband.

I dislike push-ups.

I like the sore feeling after working out.

I dislike push-ups.

I like thinking about the results that may come.

I dislike push-ups.