Sunny Friday

Today we went and bought a training potty. Yeah, that's right, I'm ambitious. I've been sitting my 12 month old on the potty. At least the pediatrician seems to think it's a little early for that. She said "Go ahead if you feel like it, but I don't think it will do any good". OK, good for you, but I want to try. He's a smart kid. For instance, he already tells us when he's pooping in his diaper. He signs "potty" EVERY time. That indicates to me that he knows what it happening. Now with the peeing, not sure it's going to be as easy. He did sit on the potty for a little while this afternoon and read a book with me. Nothing happened. That's OK, I'm not expecting miracles. I know this is going to take a while. I just thought why not start. Oh, did I mention that he was excited to see something new in the bathroom. I can't wait to see his reaction when he "makes something happen" for the first time and the potty starts playing songs.

Zachariah has been saying "Grandpa" now. Well, more like "Papa". It was really cute. The first time I heard him, I asked him what he said. I asked "Did you say Grandpa?". Then he signed Grandpa. I've taught him this sign, but until then he hadn't signed it back to me. Then he kept saying Papa Papa. It was really cute. He's said it now and then since that first time earlier this week. I called my parents, so my dad could be proud. I hope that he'll say it in front of Grandpa when we see him next.

Tomorrow we're going to get Zachariah's picture taken with the Easter Bunny. I hope this goes as well as the visit with Santa went. It's always hard to tell how they will react to something different like this. I'll try to remember to share the picture with you.

Later in the day I will take Zachariah to his first hockey game. My sister plays in a local hockey league. They're having an all day tournament, so I thought it would be fun to pop in and see a few games if we have time. I'm hoping I can keep a toddler contained long enough to see her play for a little while. I know it would mean a lot to her.

If you haven't had a chance already, go to Semi-desperate Housewife's blog and vote on a bedroom set for her baby boy (she just found out it is a boy...YEAH for boys!). I'm pulling for the vintage sports or moon & stars theme.

Set to Broil

We had a complete meltdown today! Yikes! I'm a little concerned that it's starting so early. I'm beginning to see that we're raising a strong-willed child. He's not always like this, but he does have tenancies towards it. Today when I was tutoring he was not cooperating. Usually he'll sit in his stroller for a while, eat a snack, and then get down to play or walk around. He didn't sit very long, and he was wanting down. I put him down, and he wanted to eat. I tried giving him his snacks again. Nope! No deal! I tried his water cup. Nope! I distracted him for a little while with some toys. Then he came back to me, signing that he wanted more to eat. I tried some crackers that I had in my purse. He ate about 3/4 of one, then wanted nothing more to do with those. He still wanted something to eat. I had nothing else with me! Ahh. SO, he went into a fit right there in front of all the kids. Boy was I glad that there were other adults in the room, at least I didn't have to deal with all the kids too. I just told the girl I was working with that I would be back. I escorted Zachariah out of the room and tried to calm him down. Didn't work. The only thing I could think that would stop it was something he would like to eat. I finally found some leftover crumbs of cereal that we had in the kitchen for the kids' snacks. He seemed to think that was acceptable to eat. Finally! So, I set him back in his stroller to eat this snack. Matt came within about 15 minutes to get him. Luckily the cereal lasted that long.

I still don't know for sure what caused this meltdown. A few days this week I had a granola bar in his bag, and I think maybe that's what he wanted. I didn't have one, so it made him mad. Oops, I didn't realized that I had started something. Or maybe it was just one of those moods. This is the worst he's ever been. And of course it had to happen away from home...and somewhere I couldn't let him scream it out. I hope this isn't going to be an ongoing problem, or we'll have to come up with another solution. That was no fun. And we still have a LONG way until the Terrible Twos.

Stranger Anxiety

This is something that my son does NOT have. He proves this time and time again. He will smile at (almost) anyone who smiles or talks to him. He does this every time we go anywhere. It's kind of cute. He's a little charmer like that.

Today I took a friend of mine to a doctor appointment. Since her appointment wasn't going to be very long, I just waited in the waiting room. I brought about 5 board books and some snacks to keep Zachariah entertained. He sat on my lap and ate snacks for the first 1/2 hour we were there. Then he decided to get down. There were several other young kids around us. One little girl was looking at books. I got one of his books out, but he didn't want to put down his snacks so that didn't work. Well, the little girl saw that Zachariah's book was Elmo and she started smiling and saying "Elmo". I told her she could look at the book. She took it over to her mom and they read the book together. Zachariah started getting restless and began walking around some chairs nearby. When the little girl was done with the book, she handed it to Zachariah. He smiled so big like someone had just given him a present. Then he toddled back over to me with the book in his hands. Then he kept going over to some older ladies next to us. He went right up to the lady beside me (a grandmotherly woman), and I told him not to bother her. She told me she didn't mind at all. I think by the time we left maybe she did mind. He kept going over to her. Then he'd stand there and grin at her. She and her daughter got a kick out of him.

I'm glad that he's not afraid of other people. But geesh, he's really friendly. He thinks everyone who looks at him must think he's adorable. Then he flashes them that toothy smile, and he believes they are under his charms. But then again it's just too cute to resist.

Captain Cranky Pants

This is all about the kid. If you remember over a month ago I talked about Zachariah's general clinginess towards me. This comes and goes for him. Sometimes he's fine with both of us. Other times he only wants Mommy. Then there are moments when we're both home, he goes to Daddy and gives me this "we don't need you" look. I'm sure all kids go through some sort of this.

The last week or so, Zachariah has started crying as soon as Matt picks him up from me at the tutoring center. We've helped this a little bit by me putting him in the car seat then saying goodbye. Then he does fine for Matt once they get home. And with the nicer weather, Matt has been able to go for walks with Zachariah in the stroller. That keeps him occupied taking in all the sights.

Last night we had a complete meltdown. They had gone for a walk, and then Matt went to grill dinner. Zachariah was happy sitting there in his stroller watching. That's when I pulled into the drive. He was happy to see me, but he didn't go overboard or anything. I walked him around the yard for a while, so Matt could finish up supper. He walked over to look at all the trees. Then the neighbor spotted us. We stood and chatted for a while, since we haven't done that in a long time. She kept saying how cute Zachariah is. And every time she said that he turned and gave her this cheesy grin. It was so funny! Anyway, then we went inside to eat dinner. Zachariah was being picky and wouldn't eat much. I got him some yogurt (a fail-safe for us) and he was happily eating that. In the meantime Matt finished his dinner. He scooted Zachariah's chair closer to him and said he would feed him so I could eat. Nice! I do like to eat warm food now and then. When he moved Zachariah, he started crying. Matt quickly tried feeding him, but that was not working. Zachariah would look at me like I'd completely abandoned him and continue crying. (I was sitting right beside him.) We couldn't get him to eat or drink or do anything but cry. Finally Matt said OK we'll get you ready for bed. It was his bedtime anyway, so that could have been part of the problem. I heard him cry almost the whole time that Matt changed him. My stomach was so upset at hearing him cry at that point that I didn't even finish my dinner. I could tell that Matt's heart was breaking too. He just couldn't console him. I finished the bedtime routine and he calmed down and went right to sleep. Ahh! Perfect peace! I just felt so bad that Matt couldn't calm him down. I know it broke Matt's heart that Zac kept coming back to me. Hopefully this was a one-time relapse. He was finally getting better (except getting in the car in the afternoon with Daddy.)

On other Zachariah news, I can't believe how fast he is growing up. He has been changing like crazy before my eyes lately. He is walking like a pro now. He doesn't crawl at all anymore. He's getting better about playing by himself for longer. (This has been great, because I can finally get more done around here.) He still comes back to me, but not nearly as often as before. Zachariah is signing more words as I teach him. He jabbers to himself a lot, but he doesn't speak too many words. Mostly he says Mama, Dada, Bye bye, and sometimes Nigh nigh (night night). And the other thing that amazes me is how much he's grown. He is SOOO tall. I don't know if I've mentioned before, but he is in the 90th percentile for height. He's always been that or above. I don't realize it too much until I see him near other kids his age. Weight-wise he's in the 40th %. He has a cute little pudgy belly though, but no butt. That means his pants still slide off of him.

Oh that just reminded me of something he did yesterday. When I laid him down for a nap, he pulled his pants off. That's the first time he's ever done that. Is this the start of something? Right now he's running around in just a onesie - which he never does. He wouldn't let me put on pants, and I'm lucky I got those socks to stay on. This morning I walked into his room with a video camera on when I woke him up. He hammed it up for the camera like usual. He was pointing to things on the floor and outside. Then he fell down (in the crib) when he was moving around. He smiled at me like it was funny. Then when I laughed, he thought he'd do it again (on purpose this time) and again and again. I couldn't believe it. It was a good thing to get on video, I'm sure.

It's funny that being a mother has changed me in ways that I didn't know it would. I think it's all good though. Every time he makes me smile, I think it adds years to my life. Having a baby makes it worth everything.

Weekend fun

We had a nice weekend. We really didn't do much. Maybe that's why it was fun. I liked not feeling so hectic. We've just had a lot going on lately. And we'll probably be away at least part of the weekend for Easter.

Saturday we worked on things around the house. It felt nice to have things tidy and even work on the home improvement projects. Then we all went to grab lunch and get groceries. It's been a while since Matt has gone along with me, and it was so much easier. I guess I've gotten used to doing it all by myself. Matt loves to shop, but he's just been so busy. So I'd been going to get groceries by myself during the week for a while now. We stopped at a home improvement store to get a few more supplies too. We spent the afternoon playing with Zachariah. He was in a great mood, despite the cold he's getting over. In the evening Matt and I just relaxed and watched a movie on TV.

On Sunday we went to church as usual. Then we decided to grab lunch afterwards. This was a special treat, because we don't eat out much. We're saving as much money as possible, so eating out is a luxury for us. And also we're trying to eat better, so it's easier to fix our own food at home. Anyway, we didn't eat as healthy then, but it was delicious. When we got home we watched the NASCAR race and took short naps. Then we all went for a nice walk. The weather here has been amazing. It was 78 yesterday. In March! Crazy! It's like that again today too. I love it! After our walk we fed Zachariah something for supper, then we hopped in the car and went for ice cream. Mmm, yummy. It's been a while since we'd had ice cream too! We came home, put the kid to bed, relaxed, then went to bed early.

I'm not sure what made this weekend so enjoyable to me. Maybe it's because Matt and I were both home and were able to spend quality time as a family with Zachariah. And instead of being just a few hours in the afternoon, we spent all day together for 2 days. I also think I had a little bit of the winter blues. This spring weather has really lifted my spirits. I'm not even sure I realized that I was feeling a little down. But I just feel so much better. And I'm thrilled about another nice spring day today! Except it's a normal Monday, but that's OK. I can enjoy the sunshine!

Keeping up

I have a hard time trying to keep up with updated pictures, journals, etc. for friends and family to see what Zachariah has been doing lately. I take pictures constantly, which is a good thing. We have a website we started for Zachariah a few months ago. It has a place for a journal to talk about all the newest events and things he's accomplished. I love the idea of it, but man is it hard keeping up. I was updating it every several days, so family and friends could read it. Then things started getting busier, and I started slacking off. Then there's the issue of loading all the pictures to a photo sharing website for everyone to see. I have to get the pictures ready and then upload and comment on each one. While a fun thing to do, I'm wondering if it's just too much to keep up. I don't want to stop doing it. Maybe I should figure out a schedule to when I'll do this. Perhaps one a certain day each week I should load pictures. Then another day update the journal and that website. I know a few people who are regularly looking for new pictures. But I do wonder how many people actually take the time to check everything out when I put new up. Is it worth all the work? Maybe, maybe not.

Then there is the whole issue of having professional photographs taken every so often. I haven't been as good about this as I'd like to be. I never did get Zachariah in for newborn pictures, but I took some great staged ones at home that seemed to satisfy everyone since I printed copies for them. I did get him in around 3 months for professional pics. Then my mother-in-law kindly asked me to get more taken at 6 months. She even gave me some money to do this, since it was really for her sake. And I got pictures taken then. They always turn out so cute. But I have a hard time not buying lots of prints of everything. I wish I had enough money to do that, but sadly I don't. So, I'm stuck picking and choosing the best poses and buying enough prints to satisfy picture happy relatives. When Zachariah was approaching 8-9 months, I though it would be a great time to get family pictures done before Christmas. I got ignored and an eye-rolling from my husband, so I just sort of let the subject drop. We never did get pictures done. I thought I should at least get Zachariah's done, but it got closer and closer to Christmas. We got busier and busier, until it was too late for Christmas pics. We do have a great one of Zac with Santa, so we printed copies of those.

Now we just celebrated his first birthday...a great time for pictures. I STILL haven't taken him in. We got busy with the party, the studio never answers their phone ( or returns messages), and now he is cranky with a cold. I'm hoping in the next few weeks we can get on the ball and get some more professional pictures taken. I adore the ones I have, so I don't know why it takes me so long to get it done. It's just one more thing to add to my ever growing list of daily/weekly/monthly things to do.

Housewife of the year?

I don't even think I'll be up for nominations for that title. As I was laying in the middle of the living room floor with my son playing nearby this morning, I thought "Hmm, maybe I should be cleaning instead of playing with Zachariah". Then I came to my senses and decided that I would rather be playing with him. So, there goes my chances for being Housewife of the Year. Ahh, I never really stood a chance anyway.

Actually, I consider myself to be a Stay at Home Mom. That's more about what I do. I stay home to be a mommy. I take care of the kid all day. When I have free time? Well, then I *sometimes* clean and do things around the house. I also spend time online during the day, reading blogs, writing blogs, and just catching up on other fun things.

Is my house clean? Yes, in a manner of speaking. Spotless? By no means! But when I can take time to sit on the floor and play silly games or read books with my son, I'll take it any day. If someone offered to pay me $1,000,000 to trade that time I have with my son, I wouldn't take it. Would I consider it? Maybe, that's a lot of money! But, I don't think anything is worth the fun times I'm able to spend with my son while he's little. He's already growing so quickly and sometimes I miss the moments when I just sat and rocked my newborn. But that's OK. I love seeing him grow and learn too.

I'm discovering that this is what being a Mom is all about! And I LOVE it!

Wordless Wednesday

I don't really have anything that I'd like to post about, so I thought I'd just share a few recent pictures. Enjoy.

Story & Question

I'll start with the cute story. The ladies in the infant nursery told me this story when we picked up Zachariah after the church service on Sunday. There was a little girl about Zachariah's age who was in the nursery for the first time. They couldn't get her to play, and she just laid on the floor with a teddy bear. Zachariah went over next to her and sat there patting her head to comfort her. He is such a sweet kid. Usually he's kissing the little babies in the nursery too. I wish I could have seen that. It gives me warm fuzzies just thinking about it. Too cute!

Now the question. What do I feed my child? He is starting to become a picky eater, just in these last few weeks. He always tells me when he wants to eat...which seems like constantly. At meals I try veggies, fruits, bread, meat, cheese, and other stuff. I try to make sure he gets a fruit and/or veggie at every meal. Lately the problem has been that he'll take about two bites of something, then refuse any more. Or if I set it on his tray, he throws it on the floor. Then he wants something else. I move to the next thing, same story, two bites, then done with that too. I try to prepare a good meal, and when he's refused everything I have there to offer meal's over. Problem with that is in 10 minutes he's telling me he wants to eat again. He would eat fruit puffs (Gerber), freeze-dried fruit (Gerber), and Teddy Grahams all day if I let him. He just wants to snack. I only let him have snacks between meals (and then only once). But if he starts telling me he wants to eat again, I have a hard time making him wait. I feel like I'm starving him if I don't give him something. He drinks milk in the morning and just before bedtime, but only takes a little during the day. And he really doesn't drink anything else. Maybe if I could get him to drink more, it would help fill him up.

What do you think? Should I keep doing what I'm doing and not worry that I'm starving my child? I just don't want to give in and let him snack all day long. If he ate more fruits and veggies, I don't think the snacking would bug me as much. I also offer a mix between jarred baby food and table food. Sometimes he'll only eat one, but other times he wants the other. It still doesn't mean he'll eat more than 2 bites. There are 2 things that he'll always eat, so I try to offer one or the other at each meal - oatmeal and baby yogurt (well, any kind, but baby yogurt is probably best for him right now).

I KNOW that I'm not the only parent of a toddler who deals with this. ALL parents of toddlers go through this. It's inevitable. I just worry that he says he wants to eat so often. How can I not feed him when he's standing there signing eat to me? And how can I get him to fill up more when I do feed him meals?

Yummy

I found a good vegetarian recipe that we enjoyed for dinner tonight. It is low fat, full of veggies, and quite tasty. I'll share it with you.

Tortilla-Black Bean Casserole

- 2 cups chopped onion (2 large)
- 1 1/2 cups shopped green sweet pepper (2 medium)
- 1 14 1/2-ounce can tomatoes, undrained and cut up
- 3/4 cup bottled picante sauce
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 15-ounce cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 12 6-inch corn tortillas
- 8 ounces reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)
- 1 medium tomatoes, chopped
- Sliced pitted ripe olives
- 1/2 cup low-fat sour cream

1. In a large skillet combine onion, sweet pepper, undrained tomatoes, picante sauce, cumin, and garlic. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in beans.

2. Spread one-third of the bean mixture over the bottom of a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Top with 6 of the tortillas, overlapping as necessary, and 1 cup of the cheese. Add another one-third of the bean mixture; top with remaining 6 tortillas and remaining bean mixture.

3. Bake, covered, in a 350 degree oven 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Top with tomatoes and olives, and serve with sour cream.



This was very yummy. Speaking of yummy, I just had to share this cute picture. I haven't posted one in a while. I just want to eat him up. Yum yum!

Lazy day

I am having such a lazy day today. I don't know why. I just don't feel motivated to do much. I have showered and dressed. Zachariah's not even dressed though. He slept in this morning, then he was up for about an hour or so and went down for a nap (where he is still). I don't think he's feeling the greatest. Or maybe he's just having a lazy Monday too. I have read blogs all morning and into the afternoon. I did do dishes, and laundry is all caught up. It's one of those days I don't really feel like being home, but it's so dreary outside that I don't feel like going out. That means bundling Zachariah all up, then taking the stroller in and out of stores. Not sure I'm up to that. Actually, I haven't been to the mall in weeks. That's pretty unusual for me. I typically go shop the clearance racks about once a week or so. But in the last few months, I just haven't left the house much other than necessary trips to the grocery store. Maybe I'm slowly becoming a hermit (at least during the weekdays). That may not be a completely bad thing.

If I could be so nice

I feel a little guilty about my husband bashing the other day. I really didn't mean it as such, but really it was. So, I've been thinking about things that I (as a wife/mother) could be doing to help my husband out. But most of the time I'm too lazy/busy to do it.

It would be nice if I ...

• got up with my husband in the morning instead of staying in bed.
• made Matt breakfast every day (or even a few times a week).
• packed his lunch for him.
• had a nice hot dinner waiting for him when he got home (this isn't possible, but might be nice).
• always kept his laundry clean, folded, and ironed (I wash it, but sometimes he asks me after he's out of clean shirts).
• washed dishes EVERY day (without a dishwasher I don't always get to them every day).
• made the bed.

Schedules

I have had an awful time trying to get out to run errands this week. Zachariah's nap schedule has been really off. I'm not sure why, but I'm not a strict-schedule kind of mom. Although, I do like some semblance of order to my day, I can adjust. And it seems that every few months (if not sooner) he changes his schedule on me. I'm not sure this one is working.

Matt has asked us to meet him for lunch today. That's when Zachariah has normally been napping, so we'll see what happens. I'm hoping that I can make a few other stops while we're out then too. But he should be able to take an afternoon nap then. He's been missing out on afternoon naps, because his morning naps run into the afternoon. By the time he's ready for a late nap, we have to leave so I can tutor. Today I don't tutor, so he can sleep the afternoon away if he wants to.

I am playing piano for a wedding on Saturday. My aunt is getting married and she asked if I'd play a little before and after the ceremony (plus all the wedding party entrances/exits). So, I've been trying to prepare for that. I realized at the beginning of the week that my wedding songbook is not here. It got left behind at my mom's church when I let someone use it at my sister's wedding this last summer. Luckily she found it, but that means I haven't been able to practice all the important things. I will go early tomorrow morning and head up that way, so I can practice for a little while before the wedding. I'm sure it will be fine.

Must be nice

It Must Be Nice - Husband pt. 1

*A collection of random thoughts. (Note to reader: I do love my husband, and I love doing things for him. Just had to get this off my chest.) There may be more to come. Feel free to add your own in the comments.*

• It must be nice to sleep in on the weekends.
• It must be nice to cook dinner and receive all the thanks and praise, and then let someone else worry about cleaning up the mess.
• It must be nice to eat your dinner while it’s warm, and when you’re finished go do whatever you need to because someone else is feeding the baby while their food gets cold.
• It must be nice to have a clean house, and you didn’t lift a finger.
• It must be nice to get a shower WHENEVER you want it.
• It must be nice to leave the house without dragging a kid with you everywhere you go.
• It must be nice having someone there to bath the baby and put him to bed, so you can play on the computer.

Grandparents' Day

While Matt and I were away this weekend, Zachariah got to stay with my parents. To start things off on a bad note, he didn't sleep through the night when we all stayed there Friday night. This kid has slept through the night since he was just over 3 months old. And he's never kept us up all night not wanting to sleep, except for the first night we brought him home from the hospital (why did no one tell me that would be the toughest night ever?). He went to bed late on Friday, because my sister had stopped to see him. So I let him stay up to play with Aunt Rachel for a while. Then he went to bed just like usual. He fell asleep quickly too. This was around 9:00PM. Then about 12:30AM he woke up screaming. I went in and tried to put him back to sleep (which is usually an easy task). He kept getting back up and crying again. Matt and I took turns getting up with him every 10-20 minutes (depending on how long he was mad) for an hour or two. Finally I decided maybe he'd sleep next to me in an extra bed. He just wanted to play on the bed. He was tired though, so I kept thinking he'd fall asleep soon. Finally I gave up on that and put him back in the crib. And he started screaming again about 10 minutes after I left the room. Around 3:00AM my mom got up and offered to take him downstairs to rock for a while, so I could get some sleep. He did go to sleep pretty quickly down there, but as soon as she laid him in the crib upstairs he started crying again. So she slept on the bed with him. I woke up about 5:30 hearing him fussing. I went in the room where he was sleeping in bed with my mom. He was asleep, but just uncomfortable or something. I let Mom go back to her bed and I laid there with him. I slept a little bit, and he did manage to sleep there until 7:30-8:00AM. We never did figure out why he wouldn't sleep. It was strange. We'd even tried giving him some warm milk and letting him play. He really didn't want either. After talking about it in the morning, I realized that it was that day exactly a year ago that we brought him home from the hospital. I thought maybe he was reliving that night! HA!

I didn't know after all that how he would be for my parents the rest of the weekend, but he did pretty good. He slept all through the night Saturday night. And he took 2 naps Saturday and Sunday. My parents took him to visit their friends on Saturday. They were watching their 2 month old grand-daughter. I guess Zachariah really liked her. He just loves all babies. When my dad held her, Zachariah climbed into his lap too and started kissing Aniyah on the head. They got a cute picture of them together, but they missed him kissing her. They enjoyed spending the day with Zac. Then Sunday they got him up and took him to church with them. My mom confessed to me that she'd forgotten how hard it is to get ready in the morning with a baby. Ha ha! He was good through church and slept on the pew. Then he ate dinner at the potluck with them afterwards. We came back and got him Sunday evening.

I'm glad that Zachariah has wonderful grandparents that enjoy him so much. It helps too that he's the only grandchild (with both our families). But I know he'll treasure these moments some day.

A Brief Retreat

This weekend, Matt and I had the wonderful opportunity to go away overnight. This was my first time away from Zachariah that long. He stayed with my parents, but I can tell you more about that later. Matt had made all the reservations for our weekend trip. He didn't tell me where we were staying, just that it was nice and I'd like it. I knew what city we were staying near, but that was it. Now I could have easily snooped, but he knew that I would not. And it was a very nice surprise!

We stayed near Toledo in a suite. The place is called Belamere Suites. I had never heard of it. It's located almost in the middle of nowhere, but it's very close to a big shopping center and easy to get anywhere in Toledo from there. We spent all day Saturday walking around the shopping center (plus a few other stores we stopped at on the way there). Then we saw the movie "Wild Hogs" in the afternoon. That was pretty funny, and we enjoyed actually seeing a movie in the theater. We also had a great dinner at a place called Blue Pacific Grill. It's a Mongolian grill where you choose exactly what you want in your dish and they cook it right in front of you. It was wonderful food! Then we spent the rest of the evening relaxing in our suite. We enjoyed the jacuzzi and watched movies. We stayed up late and ordered a midnight snack basket that they brought to our suite for us. It was a lot of fun. And I can't tell you how great it was to eat out without having a squirmy baby there too.

Sunday morning we slept in late. That was divine for me. I have not slept in for over a year (when Zachariah was born). Then we spent 3 hours in the Toledo Museum of Art and enjoyed checking out many exhibits. My favorites were the 2 feature exhibits - Jacob Lawrence Prints, 1963-2000: A Comprehensive Survey & Symphonic Poem: The Art of Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson. They were very interesting. Matt enjoyed the Symphonic Poem exhibit more than I would have imagined. He's not a very artsy person, and this was a completely different kind of art. But very neat. And he did like the historical things that she brought into her art.

We were quite tired after we realized that we'd been in the museum for 3 hours (and we only made it through about half of it). So we decided to head out. We ended up stopping for lunch at Red Robin that Matt spotted. That was very yummy! And we went to a shopping mall near there, but didn't buy much. Actually I think the only thing we got were some clothes for Zachariah. (I love buying baby clothes, and I found some really cute shirts and a romper for summer.) Anyway, we did head back after that. And it was a great trip!

Here's a fun topic

Now here's an interesting thing. And no, I wasn't searching for it, I just saw an advertisement. I had to go see what they said about it. People are looking for surrogate mothers to "carry" their babies for them. How do you feel about this? Is it ethical? Could you do it? For someone you know/love? For a stranger? For the money? The website above that I looked at is trying to find strangers who are willing to do this for money. They implant the goods inside you, and you just bake the bun. I can't imagine the emotional baggage that this would carry. Knowing that you're carrying a baby that you will give up and never was yours. Wow! Something to think about. Could I do it? Maybe. I can think of one situation where I would in a heartbeat. If my sister (only the one particular one) asked me to do something like this for her, I would. Although I would do almost anything for this sister. And she probably would for me too. Actually, I know someone who was a stranger surrogate. She's the relative of friend I don't see often. My mother asked the woman's mom about them having another baby. The mother said..."Oh, it's not really hers. She's carrying it for someone else. We don't really talk about it much, because it's a different situation." We found out that basically she was doing it for the money. OK, I'm done ranting. I'm not even sure where I stand on this issue. It's just one that I find rather interesting.

Blog Schmog

Why have I gotten so addicted to reading blogs? Once you start, you can't stop. And I check them compulsively at least 2 times each day during the week. I think I like to hear about other people's lives. It's almost like watching a reality show on TV. Is my life that boring that I have to live through others? I honestly don't think it's that, but it's something. It is fun to "get to know" other people online though. I've been doing that for a long time. It's just that my latest addiction is blogging. Although, I do enjoy having my own blog almost as much as reading others. When I started reading blogs, there were about 5 that I really enjoyed and checked often. Then I started connecting to other blogs from their blogs, and now I regularly check about 12. And some days when I'm sitting here with nothing else to do, I start searching for more blogs to read. I try not to let myself get hooked on many more, but I don't know if I can help it. Anyway, just wanted you to know that I love you, my blogging world.

Picking up the pieces

Tax time is here. Usually Matt and I are right on top of our taxes. Generally once we get all our W2's and other statements, we get our taxes done. I know last year we had them finished in early February, because we wanted them out of the way before the baby was born. This year, there have been so many other things going on that we just haven't gotten to our taxes yet. Finally this weekend we are doing them. Well, actually Friday afternoon we'll sit down and finish. We use Turbo Tax. It means I need to get busy this week, because I have to get all my business things around for the Schedule C. I don't think I've mentioned it here before, but I'm a Pampered Chef Consultant. I haven't done much with my business, but I do stay active. I do shows once in a while, and it's nice to have a little extra spending money. But I have to keep track of everything for tax purposes. I don't think it will take me long this year, because I took a lot of time off last year with having a newborn and everything. Anyway, I've been dragging my feet, because it's usually a bear to get all my income an expenses listed and printed. Once it's done it doesn't seem too bad. Now that I'm thinking about it though, it should be super easy this year since I didn't do much.

Yesterday was Zachariah's 12 month check-up. It went well. He's growing steadily. He's in the 43rd percentile for weight and 90th for height. He's always been on the tall end, even though none of us are tall. We'll be switching him to whole milk soon. I don't think he'll have too much problem adjusting to that. Now we just have to worry that he's getting enough good food in his diet. So far that hasn't been hard, he's a pretty good eater. He likes his fruits and veggies. Hopefully that will keep up. And I did talk to the pediatrician about Zachariah sleeping so much. She said "that's great"! So, I guess I was right, Mom. (My mom doesn't read this blog, but that's OK.)

This weekend will be a special one for Matt and I. We are going away overnight. This is the first time we're done that since we had Zachariah. Well, Matt's left overnight for business, but I haven't been away from him overnight yet. Matt had planned the whole trip, so I don't have much idea where we're going. Mostly we just plan to relax, see a movie, eat out (at nice places), and enjoy each other's peaceful company. I'm really looking forward to having this time alone with Matt. I'm sure we'll cherish it. Zachariah is staying with my parents, and I know they'll all have a blast. And I won't be calling to check up on him, because I know he'll be in capable hands. They can call if they have questions, otherwise we'll see him when we get back Sunday.

Last night I had a dream. It was about Matt's job interview. In the dream we had become friends with someone who works for this company his interviewing with. She ended up telling us that they were going to offer Matt a job. We were so excited. Strange. So, I was telling Matt about the dream. He said that he'd been praying for a dream or vision that would tell him whether or not he would get the job! I didn't know that. Maybe I got the dream instead. It was funny because before he'd even told me that, I had told him I had "a dream or maybe a sign from God". Wow! I know that God does work like that, so I won't put it past Him to have given me that dream. Now I'm thinking maybe I should start packing to get myself ahead. But, we will wait. And we are still waiting since the last post I had about this. The only new information we have is that his name is still on the list, which means he's still in the running for the position.

Things to look forward to: tax return, no more formula purchases (at least for now), our first weekend away, and a new job.

New floor

A huge shout-out to my wonderul hubby Matt!

I know that I've posted before about our bathroom remodeling project. OK, so, this weekend my father and Matt got most of the flooring laid in the bathroom! I am so excited. I couldn't contain myself when I saw the finished project. I told Matt I was so happy that I was contemplating sleeping on the new floor. Ha! Anyway, it's almost done. Now Matt needs to finish a few of the edge tiles that need to be cut to size. Then we'll finish the walls and be done with the whole thing! YEAH! **doing a happy dance** Here are a few pictures of our nothing-great-to-talk-about-flooring-but-I-love-that-I-finally-have-it bathroom floor.

Crash

It's now 2 days after Zachariah's birthday. My house is still a mess. I've just been too tired to really mess with it. And I need to go get groceries. I don't think it's going to happen today. Tomorrow I have to take Zachariah to his 12 month check-up. I'm anxious to see how much he has grown since last time. He's been growing quickly.

So, maybe this afternoon I'll get to the dishes piling up in the sink. Then I'll think about taking down the streamers and balloons. Just maybe. And if I don't...what will it hurt really?

We're finally all feeling mostly healthy here. Zachariah still has a little ickiness. (He spit out something yucky at me this morning. Eww!) But I'm hoping with the illness out of the house and the birthday celebration over, maybe I can get back into the swing of things. Although, it always seems there is something to mess everything back up eventually.

Birthday Bash

Today was Zachariah's first birthday! Happy Birthday baby boy! What a fun day. We had plenty of family and friends come over this afternoon for a party. Mostly we just talked, played with Zac, and then ate cake and ice cream. I can't believe my baby is growing up so quickly, but this was a great way to celebrate.

To top it off, Zachariah has really started walking this week. He's taking off on his own all the time now! He's been working up to this for a LONG time. This kid has been "cruising" since he was 7 months old. He didn't crawl until 9 months though. And he's been taking steps since 10 months. But he is now walking! Such a big boy.

OK, I thought I'd better share a few pictures.



The birthday cake! (I made it. Turned out OK. I liked the idea I thought of.)

The birthday boy playing with the fun balloons!

The cake eating! The little hunny pot came off the big cake for his own little cake. It worked really well!

This is honestly as messy as he got. Only icing on his little hands and face. Not a drop anywhere else. He picked at the icing and licked his fingers. Yum yum! He only got his hands this messy, because Aunt Mary thought it would be fun to "help" and stick his hands farther into the cake. He's such a tidy kid. But he did love the cake...and some ice cream....and whipped cream later.

Time Out

I'm just taking a quick break from the furious house cleaning. We are on the countdown to Zachariah's birthday party. Tomorrow is the big day. And the party is at 2:00. I am almost ready. I'm just getting some last minute things taken care of.

I need to say that my sister is AWESOME! She came over today for a few hours to help me out. She entertained Zachariah for a while, so I could get the cake done and clean up in the kitchen. Then when he went down for a nap, she helped my dust and clean. She is just wonderful. I'm so glad that I have such a kind, caring, generous, loving sister. Thanks Rachel.

And until I have time to write the whole birth story, here are a few pictures to tide you over. These are pictures of me this time last year. I was admitted to the hospital the day I had Zachariah for obervation. My blood pressure was high, and they knew I was having a BIG baby. The ultrasound taken on March 2nd (last year) said the baby was 8 1/2 lbs. My OB told me his guess was closer to 9 lbs. I couldn't believe my ears. So, even though I was a week away from my due date, they decided to induce labor on March 3rd in the morning. So here I am at the hospital just hanging around until the next day, so I can have the baby. I'll write more later. And the "HUGE" "WHALE" "GIANT" comments won't offend me. I was "HUGE" "A WHALE" and "GIANT". I was actually still getting around pretty well. I could still see my shoes! ;)

I'm siiiiiiick!

Yuck, I hate colds or sinus problems or whatever this is that I have. I started feeling under the weather on Sunday night. Now it's Thursday, and I still feel rotten. I am starting to perk up a little bit this afternoon. Wow, it's hard to rest and chase a baby around all day. This is the first I've been sick since Zachariah was born. Guess I've been lucky so far. He has been pretty good for me, though. Today Matt is sick too. He came home after being at work for an hour. Poor guy. He has kept holed up in our bedroom since 9:00 this morning (it's now about 4:00PM). Must be nice to sleep all day and lounge on the bed watching TV while someone else is there to worry about the baby. Too bad I haven't been able to do that for the last 4 days that I've been sick. Oh well, I guess all in all I just prove to myself that I can do all this "mothering" stuff. It really isn't so bad. We just suck it up and go on with our days.

This is all on top of the big party that we have coming up on Saturday. Yes, Saturday, March 3 is the day that my son turns one year old! A year ago I was having a new baby and just entering this world of motherhood. So, I'm trying to get my house completely spic and span for all the guests we have coming over. Luckily I have the world's greatest sister, and she's coming over tomorrow afternoon to help me out. I figure it might help to have someone else there to help wrangle the kiddo, so I can finish cleaning, baking the cake, decorating the cake, and all that other fun stuff I have yet to do. I still have to go out tomorrow morning to get cake supplies and other party supplies. I'm SO glad that I decided just to have a simple cake and ice cream party. There is still a lot to do.

I plan to write a "birth story" and share it on here sometime. I figured the first birthday was an appropriate time to do that. And let me just say...I'm so ready for another baby. That's for another post/another time though. I just wrote this small post, because I felt neglectful of my blog these last few days. Now I'm back to cleaning.