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| Playing in the pool keeping it cool |
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| Food and Friends! |
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| Skyping with Vicki. |
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| Hey guys... I'm usually the center of attention! |
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| Great Skype Photo! |
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| Pop and Connor! |
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Skype-rise Party Picture Follow Up
Here are the some pics of our Skype-rise Party
From an Earthquake to a Hurricane.... Damn August... Calm down!!
We had quite the visitor this weekend. Irene blew up the coast for a visit Saturday/Sunday and kept moving up to New England. Saturday morning we woke up to breeze beautiful morning. Slowly but surely the sky became gray and the breeze became wind. By afternoon Irene was getting closer.
Connor and I spent the day hanging out in the house and watching way too much TV. I wanted to do some baking so we would be prepared with yummy goodies if the power went out BUT the baking element in our oven burned out and my oven couldn't get warm. Boo..............
It got windier and windier and our power flicked a few times and our DirecTV lost signal a few times but Connor and I were snuggled up watching Care Bears Movie II. Kevin has to keep BGE buildings up and running so he had to report for Storm Duty Saturday morning at 9am. He worked a 12 hour shift before getting home around 10pm. He of course got off work right when the worst of the storm was hitting. I was nervous for his drive home but thankfully he did make it home with no issues. I'm thankful he had the "day shift" of Storm Duty. Saturday night into Sunday morning became very very windy and my nerves were becoming stressed about all the trees around our house. Having Kevin at the house with me while the major part of Irene was passing over us helped me get some sleep.
We woke up Sunday morning to only two large branches had fallen off our trees and didn't cause any damage. We also had a piece of siding that came loose. Other than that there were hunks of branches out in the street and our neighborhood lost a few trees. Kevin left for work again at 7:30am to make sure he could get to work on time. He worked a lovely 14 hour day and didn't get home until after Connor went to bed. I found out quick that our neighborhood was lucking. Many others were dealing with flooded basements, power outages and fallen trees blocking roads.
Once Irene moved up the coast, Sunday turned into a beautiful day. Connor and I had breakfast at my father's house because we lost power right as I was getting ready to cook breakfast. Right as we were walking out the door our power came back on! We decided that Pop and Nan's breakfast sounded WAY better than mommy's breakfast. After Connor's nap in the afternoon we were able to go for a walk around the neighborhood because the weather was so welcoming.
As of right now there are still lots of areas of MD without power and some closed roads. County schools and the Community College are closed due to no power. Since the college has been closed, I've been off work!
Monday was the perfect day to be off work. No humidity and the temps were in the upper 70's/ low 80's. I kept Connor home from daycare so we could get an extra day together. I packed us up for a trip to the park. I drove us down to Ft. Smallwood Park BUT it was closed. Then I drove us to Lake Waterford Park BUT it was closed. I assumed Downs Park was closed and decided to run some errands instead of the park. On the way home I stopped at Tick Neck Park and IT WAS OPEN!! Of course there was a tree down in the parking lot but other than a soggy ground the playground was open for Connor to play.
Kevin got stuck at work again and got home late, but not later than Connor's bedtime. When Kevin told me he was on his way home Connor and I went out to draw with chalk and play with trucks. Connor was so happy to see Kevin pull up when he got home. Connor exploded in a language we couldn't understand but every other word was "daddy". I ended my evening begining Week 3 of C25K and catching up with Kevin after a long weekend of barely seeing each other. AND even though Kevin has worked lots of hours he replaced the element in our oven and it works again!!!
I'm off work again today because the College is still working on getting power. Connor is at daycare today and since I've been stuck in the house for the last three days we're caught up on all the cleaning. I've got myself a ME day and I'm truly excited!
Connor and I spent the day hanging out in the house and watching way too much TV. I wanted to do some baking so we would be prepared with yummy goodies if the power went out BUT the baking element in our oven burned out and my oven couldn't get warm. Boo..............
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| Connor and Captain watching TV |
We woke up Sunday morning to only two large branches had fallen off our trees and didn't cause any damage. We also had a piece of siding that came loose. Other than that there were hunks of branches out in the street and our neighborhood lost a few trees. Kevin left for work again at 7:30am to make sure he could get to work on time. He worked a lovely 14 hour day and didn't get home until after Connor went to bed. I found out quick that our neighborhood was lucking. Many others were dealing with flooded basements, power outages and fallen trees blocking roads.
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| Branches in our yard |
As of right now there are still lots of areas of MD without power and some closed roads. County schools and the Community College are closed due to no power. Since the college has been closed, I've been off work!
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| Our neighborhood may have escaped damage but Discovery City has seen better days... |
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| Tree down in Tick Neck Park's parking lot |
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| Connor happy to be out at park and not stuck in the house. |
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| Down the slide!!!!!!!!! |
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| Playing with Chalk and Trucks while waiting for Daddy |
I'm off work again today because the College is still working on getting power. Connor is at daycare today and since I've been stuck in the house for the last three days we're caught up on all the cleaning. I've got myself a ME day and I'm truly excited!
Friday, August 26, 2011
C25k - Week 2
Today I'm getting ready to complete Week 2 of C25K. On my lunch break I'll be doing Run 3!
Run 1 for Week 2 was surprisingly easier than I expected. This week I'm running 90 seconds and walking for 2 minutes in between. BUT Run 2 was difficult. I'm not sure why. Maybe because the two prior runs beforehand I completed in the evening at dusk and in cooler weather, maybe because I threw in an extra exercise in between Run 1 and Run 2, maybe because I didn't drink enough water before hand, or maybe just maybe I wasn't feeling running that day. I did however feel great once the run was complete and I finally cooled down.
My muscles are not nearly as sore as they were when I started this journey and I've noticed that my speed has improved throughout my practicing before and now into Week 2. Kevin has also joined me in the journey and we're sticking to running on the same days but at different times. I love that we're doing this together. We have our alone time to run and then have someone to talk to about it and compare how we're feeling. Right now we both are concerned with the fact that the last week expects us to run for a half hour straight.
During Run 2 when I was struggling on Wednesday I started thinking about Reiki and some of the symbols to help give me a boost and focus my breathing towards the end. It helped BIG TIME! So for Run 3, on my walk to the track this afternoon I'm going to get in touch with that energy before I start running and allow it to help me through the whole run.
Today is Boost My Blog Friday! Thanks to those who stopped by!
Run 1 for Week 2 was surprisingly easier than I expected. This week I'm running 90 seconds and walking for 2 minutes in between. BUT Run 2 was difficult. I'm not sure why. Maybe because the two prior runs beforehand I completed in the evening at dusk and in cooler weather, maybe because I threw in an extra exercise in between Run 1 and Run 2, maybe because I didn't drink enough water before hand, or maybe just maybe I wasn't feeling running that day. I did however feel great once the run was complete and I finally cooled down.
My muscles are not nearly as sore as they were when I started this journey and I've noticed that my speed has improved throughout my practicing before and now into Week 2. Kevin has also joined me in the journey and we're sticking to running on the same days but at different times. I love that we're doing this together. We have our alone time to run and then have someone to talk to about it and compare how we're feeling. Right now we both are concerned with the fact that the last week expects us to run for a half hour straight.
During Run 2 when I was struggling on Wednesday I started thinking about Reiki and some of the symbols to help give me a boost and focus my breathing towards the end. It helped BIG TIME! So for Run 3, on my walk to the track this afternoon I'm going to get in touch with that energy before I start running and allow it to help me through the whole run.
Today is Boost My Blog Friday! Thanks to those who stopped by!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Versatile Blogger Award!?
Christine from Inspired Life Nominated me for the Versatile Blog Award! Thank you dear friend! I met Christine through an online community because our toddlers were born in January 2010. She mentioned that I should try out the Ultimate Blog Challenge in July and BAM I'm blogging more than ever now.
The Rules of accepting the Versatile Blogger Award are:
Writing Out Loud
A Bumbling Idiot
Budgeting During College
Confessions and Rants of a SAHM
How to Raise Your Vibration
Inside Tempe
Krafty Max Orginals
The Bright Side
The Meditative Mom
[{love.love.love.}]
grey luster girl
Mom Blog
Positive Magical Life
Confessions of a Daydream Believer....
Everyday Gyaan
EDIT: After publishing this I realized I spelled Versatile about three different ways throughout this blog.... hot damn I need to work on my spelling and proofreading!!
The Rules of accepting the Versatile Blogger Award are:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs (contact them to let them know).
7 Things About Me........... hmmmm.........- I have two different colored eyes. I always thought it was because of the two eye surgeries I had when I was younger BUT I was recently told that no.... its genetic... Maybe Connor will develop two different colored eyes!!
- I met Kevin in middle school, we became friends in high school BUT didn't date until my third year of college. If we would have dated before then... I think our personalities would have clashed.
- I'm currently taking three online classes at the community college and enrolled in a fourth that starts in September. Three are non-credit and one is credit. The classes are Web 2.0 Blogs, Wikis and Podcasting, Social Networking for an Organization, Introduction to Object Oriented Programming and Analysis and the fourth one is Intro to CSS and XHTML. Some of them are refreshers and others are going to help me out big time.
- I LOVE living by the water. Our second townhouse we rented had a huge beautiful creek right up to our back yard. It was so beautiful and so relaxing. Now our home pretty much on the peninsula part of the neighborhood and the water is only a walk away.
- I love meditating. I don't do it often enough but when I do its the most relaxing thing I can do for myself.
- I'm a USUI and Karuna Reiki Master. These are two different teachings of Reiki. I used to teach and have clients way more than I do now. With a toddler things have slowed down. First reason being its just plain difficult to plan teaching/market classes while pre-occupied with a toddler. Secondly, I love having my weekends spent with us a family as often as possible. I should blog about Reiki more often.
- I'm very excited that there are talks of a fourth Austin Powers movie!
Now for the 15 bloggers....
A Bumbling Idiot
Budgeting During College
Confessions and Rants of a SAHM
How to Raise Your Vibration
Inside Tempe
Krafty Max Orginals
The Bright Side
The Meditative Mom
[{love.love.love.}]
grey luster girl
Mom Blog
Positive Magical Life
Confessions of a Daydream Believer....
Everyday Gyaan
EDIT: After publishing this I realized I spelled Versatile about three different ways throughout this blog.... hot damn I need to work on my spelling and proofreading!!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
5.9 Earthquake
5.9 Earthquake?! I was sitting at my desk at work and my office started shaking. I thought maybe it was construction going on underneath me. BUT the the floor started swaying and it got stronger. I poked my head out the door to make sure it wasn't my imagination.
As soon as I saw others I realized I was experiencing an earthquake. I got a little scared and braced myself in the doorway like a nerd ;).
I work on a college campus and found myself evacuated with hundreds of others. What worried me was the lack of communication. My cell could not call out to Kevin or daycare. I was FINALLY able to reach out via text. Everyone was fine.
The college closed and I headed home!! I am grateful for the lack of aftershocks so far and only a few fallen picture frames.
My father and I put together a picture of what happened this afternoon using Connor's Little People .....
Monday, August 22, 2011
Skype-rise Birthday Party
Well...we took having a Surprise Birthday Party to a whole new technological level this weekend. We Skyped the guest of honor! Let's start from the beginning...
Kevin came up with the idea to Skype my sister (who lives in Alaska) for her birthday. She's been far away family for a long time and her husband is away training with the Army in preparation for deployment. He thought it would be a great idea to get a small group of her favorite people together for a cookout and then Skype with my sister while it was going on. I thought it could go two ways....
Kevin and I planned to have a cookout and hope that the random storms we've been having lately would hold out (and they did!). Everyone brought a yummy treat with them to share. Kevin and I tossed BBQ chicken legs, mesquite pork chops, and beef/turkey burgers on the grill. For side dishes we had bbq baked beans, mac n cheese, frosted flake cheesy potato goodness (don't for the life of me know the name of it) and meatballs in the crock pot. I also steamed shrimp and we had a 7-layer taco dip. For dessert I baked two round cakes. AND we can't forget the awesome homemade black cherry wine! All the food was YUMMY.
My father showed up with his laptop that he uses to Skype with Vicki and had set a "date" for them to have their weekly Skype session. When he logged on he stood on one side of our deck and the rest of the party sat at the picnic table on the other side. She noticed very quickly that my father was outside and then he turned the laptop around and we sang "Happy Birthday". It was QUITE the surprise!
Afterward we passed the laptop around and each person got to say their own Happy Birthday message to her and have their time talking with her. About an hour into the Skype session she had to go. It was the quickest birthday party ever! Once the laptop was put away, we went back to over indulging on all the food everyone had prepared. As the sun slowly set our guests said goodbye and the party fizzled down to a small number.
I blogged a last month about being "too connected" (Public Restroom + Angry Birds = WTF?!) to everyone. I think in this case technology served us well and gave me a fresh appreciation for being "connected".
Pictures coming soon!
Kevin came up with the idea to Skype my sister (who lives in Alaska) for her birthday. She's been far away family for a long time and her husband is away training with the Army in preparation for deployment. He thought it would be a great idea to get a small group of her favorite people together for a cookout and then Skype with my sister while it was going on. I thought it could go two ways....
- She would LOVE it and totally appreciate the gesture and enjoy catching up with everyone.
- She would get upset because she wasn't actually there with us and end the Skype session.
Kevin and I planned to have a cookout and hope that the random storms we've been having lately would hold out (and they did!). Everyone brought a yummy treat with them to share. Kevin and I tossed BBQ chicken legs, mesquite pork chops, and beef/turkey burgers on the grill. For side dishes we had bbq baked beans, mac n cheese, frosted flake cheesy potato goodness (don't for the life of me know the name of it) and meatballs in the crock pot. I also steamed shrimp and we had a 7-layer taco dip. For dessert I baked two round cakes. AND we can't forget the awesome homemade black cherry wine! All the food was YUMMY.
My father showed up with his laptop that he uses to Skype with Vicki and had set a "date" for them to have their weekly Skype session. When he logged on he stood on one side of our deck and the rest of the party sat at the picnic table on the other side. She noticed very quickly that my father was outside and then he turned the laptop around and we sang "Happy Birthday". It was QUITE the surprise!
Afterward we passed the laptop around and each person got to say their own Happy Birthday message to her and have their time talking with her. About an hour into the Skype session she had to go. It was the quickest birthday party ever! Once the laptop was put away, we went back to over indulging on all the food everyone had prepared. As the sun slowly set our guests said goodbye and the party fizzled down to a small number.
I blogged a last month about being "too connected" (Public Restroom + Angry Birds = WTF?!) to everyone. I think in this case technology served us well and gave me a fresh appreciation for being "connected".
Pictures coming soon!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Holy Moly! Is it Friday Already?!
This week has blown by. I barely had a chance to even THINK about blogging. I've been thinking of ideas and jotting them down so hopefully next week is a little more productive.
We're going to have another weekend full of friends and family fun. Can't wait to share the pictures and stories.
Its Boost My Blog Friday. Thanks for stopping by....
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Saw this article this morning and it made me smile....Gigantic Lobster Finds New Home
WOW is all I can say. That is one LARGE lobster. I'm very glad they found a home for it. Like the article says, "This seemed like a [lousy] way to go". Could you imagine living your life for 75 years, only to have yourself thrown in for dinner! Looking at the picture the lobster is quite beautiful! It also is a sad reminder I did not get as many steamed crabs this summer as I usually do. Boo hoo...
I guess this article is a fun Friday fact that Mother Nature does have some big miracles up her sleeve! But one might wonder if this lobster has a mate out there wondering why he didn't come home for dinner... Friends Episode 2.14 The One With the Prom Video.
We're going to have another weekend full of friends and family fun. Can't wait to share the pictures and stories.
Its Boost My Blog Friday. Thanks for stopping by....
_______________________________________________
Saw this article this morning and it made me smile....Gigantic Lobster Finds New Home
WOW is all I can say. That is one LARGE lobster. I'm very glad they found a home for it. Like the article says, "This seemed like a [lousy] way to go". Could you imagine living your life for 75 years, only to have yourself thrown in for dinner! Looking at the picture the lobster is quite beautiful! It also is a sad reminder I did not get as many steamed crabs this summer as I usually do. Boo hoo...
I guess this article is a fun Friday fact that Mother Nature does have some big miracles up her sleeve! But one might wonder if this lobster has a mate out there wondering why he didn't come home for dinner... Friends Episode 2.14 The One With the Prom Video.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
C25K aka... Getting My Butt In Shape....
After much consideration I decided to join in and do the Couch to 5k program (C25K). I have several friends who have completed it and I have several friends encouraging me to join them and do it.
I've never been one to be into exercising nor do I have any athletic abilities and I've been totally ok with that my whole life. In the third grade I wanted to quit softball because it made me sweat. In high school a close friend tried to talk me into joining track. I laughed my butt off at that one. I did do dance for a little bit in high school but that was short lived. I even tried out and made it into Color Guard my senior year but decided I didn't want to sweat outside during practice. Pretty sad huh?! That's ok.... I was a healthy and ok with not getting sweaty and dirty!
As I got older I used the excuse that I only run unless in danger because I couldn't find a supportive enough sports bra. Well I've recently learned that yes... all that was was an excuse. I'm doing just fine jogging and having no issues with being supported (<---------- can't believe I just put that out there). I guess I always ASSumed that I would have a problem with it.
Last week I decided to "try out jogging". Not sure how one "tries out jogging", but I did. On my lunch break I went to the locker room, changed and then headed out to the track. I would walk for a while then jog for a while then walk again. I guess I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't fall apart or feel like an idiot. After three trips to the track I realized that I don't feel like an idiot, I didn't fall apart and I'm getting a pretty good tan while going out there on my lunch break.
So today marked the beginning of Week 1 and I completed Run 1. I downloaded C25K Lite for my Droid. It tells you when to Warm Up, when to Walk and when to Jog. It felt good. Just when I was getting tired I would hear the marker letting me know it was time to walk and once I caught my breath it was telling me to jog again. AND right when I thought I couldn't do another round of jogging the app was telling me to Cool Down.
I learned two things during Run 1. I need to pack sunscreen. Today was the first time I was out there and it was sunny the whole time AND I need to pack a towel so I can hop in the shower to cool off. Nothing like returning back to work sticky and gross feeling. Hopefully Run 2 and 3 this week go just as smoothly!
I've never been one to be into exercising nor do I have any athletic abilities and I've been totally ok with that my whole life. In the third grade I wanted to quit softball because it made me sweat. In high school a close friend tried to talk me into joining track. I laughed my butt off at that one. I did do dance for a little bit in high school but that was short lived. I even tried out and made it into Color Guard my senior year but decided I didn't want to sweat outside during practice. Pretty sad huh?! That's ok.... I was a healthy and ok with not getting sweaty and dirty!
As I got older I used the excuse that I only run unless in danger because I couldn't find a supportive enough sports bra. Well I've recently learned that yes... all that was was an excuse. I'm doing just fine jogging and having no issues with being supported (<---------- can't believe I just put that out there). I guess I always ASSumed that I would have a problem with it.
Last week I decided to "try out jogging". Not sure how one "tries out jogging", but I did. On my lunch break I went to the locker room, changed and then headed out to the track. I would walk for a while then jog for a while then walk again. I guess I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't fall apart or feel like an idiot. After three trips to the track I realized that I don't feel like an idiot, I didn't fall apart and I'm getting a pretty good tan while going out there on my lunch break.
So today marked the beginning of Week 1 and I completed Run 1. I downloaded C25K Lite for my Droid. It tells you when to Warm Up, when to Walk and when to Jog. It felt good. Just when I was getting tired I would hear the marker letting me know it was time to walk and once I caught my breath it was telling me to jog again. AND right when I thought I couldn't do another round of jogging the app was telling me to Cool Down.
I learned two things during Run 1. I need to pack sunscreen. Today was the first time I was out there and it was sunny the whole time AND I need to pack a towel so I can hop in the shower to cool off. Nothing like returning back to work sticky and gross feeling. Hopefully Run 2 and 3 this week go just as smoothly!
Monday, August 15, 2011
An Empty Kitchen Sink
I FINALLY ended my weekend and evening with an empty kitchen sink last night. For the last several months our old dishwasher was SOOOOO bad that alot of the time dishes coming out "clean" were going back into the sink because they were still dirty. This left and awful cycle of being overwhelmed with dishes in the sink and pissed off because our dishwasher wasn't cleaning them enough. HOWEVER.... my mom and Bill bought us a dishwasher last month when they were in town for our birthdays. Kevin (with some help from my dad) installed it last week and I can finally say we've had little to no dishes left in our sink because the dishes are coming out nice and clean!
Now that my kitchen sink is staying empty more often I'm going to start following The Fly Lady again. She has a great program that helps you stay on top of keeping your house organized and cleaned if you have trouble keeping up with everything (like me). I'll have to blog about my adventures with that at another time.
This weekend was pretty low key but made some good memories.
Friday after dinner we headed to Ft. Smallwood Park because, for the first time in weeks, it was cool enough to enjoy being outside. Connor enjoyed running around the jungle gym and swinging on the swings BUT I think his favorite part of the trip was playing basketball with Kevin. He chased Kevin around and tried throwing the ball. Kevin had tossed his hat to the corner and Connor kept finding it and bringing to him/yelling at him to put it back on.
Saturday Connor went to the grocery store with me and Kevin played roller hockey in the morning. In the afternoon we decided to switch around the car seats. We installed our Graco Nautilus in the Trailblazer, moved the Alpha Omega to my car and the Cosco to the Jeep Wrangler. We always envisioned keeping him rear-facing until 2 but we feel the time has come to switch.Connor seems much happier and my sanity while driving has returned.
Because the Jeep finally has a car seat in it now, we were able to cruise in to the Eastlake picnic. We took out the front two windows and the back window but left in the two side windows for Connor. HE HAD A BLAST. The wind was blowing through his hair and he loved being able to see us. Our stay at the Eastlake party was cut short to passing storms and Connor's need to play in the mud. Regardless of our short stay we had a great time.
Sunday was very very very low key. Storms off and on canceled Kevin's make up softball tournament and we were able to meet my dad to see the new Planet of the Apes. IT WAS GOOD. Actually it was better than good.... IT WAS GREAT. I recommend seeing it. Kevin is now looking into buying the box set so I can be refreshed and he can finally watch them for the first time.
Here's to a great week ahead of us!
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| Who would have thought I would get excited over an empty sink! |
This weekend was pretty low key but made some good memories.
Friday after dinner we headed to Ft. Smallwood Park because, for the first time in weeks, it was cool enough to enjoy being outside. Connor enjoyed running around the jungle gym and swinging on the swings BUT I think his favorite part of the trip was playing basketball with Kevin. He chased Kevin around and tried throwing the ball. Kevin had tossed his hat to the corner and Connor kept finding it and bringing to him/yelling at him to put it back on.
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| Nothing But Net! |
Saturday Connor went to the grocery store with me and Kevin played roller hockey in the morning. In the afternoon we decided to switch around the car seats. We installed our Graco Nautilus in the Trailblazer, moved the Alpha Omega to my car and the Cosco to the Jeep Wrangler. We always envisioned keeping him rear-facing until 2 but we feel the time has come to switch.Connor seems much happier and my sanity while driving has returned.
Because the Jeep finally has a car seat in it now, we were able to cruise in to the Eastlake picnic. We took out the front two windows and the back window but left in the two side windows for Connor. HE HAD A BLAST. The wind was blowing through his hair and he loved being able to see us. Our stay at the Eastlake party was cut short to passing storms and Connor's need to play in the mud. Regardless of our short stay we had a great time.
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| Take it slow... you're gonna mess up my hair! |
Here's to a great week ahead of us!
Friday, August 12, 2011
My Vision Board Explained
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| My Vision Board - Created Aug 9th 2011 |
I'll start off in the upper left-hand corner. What looks like a black box up in the corner says PERFECT. I'm not trying to be perfect nor do I think that I am. I just want to feel perfect. Does that make sense? If it doesn't to you.... thats ok... it does to me!
Underneath of PERFECT is the word Sexy. Again..... not trying to get a huge ego and BE SEXY... I want to feel sexy. I always believe that if you think you are sexy, other people will find you the same way.
Under Sexy comes Be Vibrant. The word Vibrant
After Be Vibrant comes Instant Calm and More Energy Right Now!. These two are complete opposites but I want to be able to become instantly calm and have more energy on demand. I know it sounds impossible BUT I'll try to accomplish it!!
After those two comes the word Reiki, a picture of a person meditating, and a picture of a bird/dove these go with the theme of having peace and paying attention to the energy within me and around me.
In the bottom left-hand corner is Sugar Rush and Down Time these two are also kind of opposites. I'd love to have the sugar rush feeling without actually ingesting the sugar and without the crash. I guess I just want that "high on life" feeling. I used to feel it all the time, not sure what happened. I also need more down time. I do not give myself enough and I'm always keeping myself busy.
Back up to the top center now, in BIG letters you'll see Get Organized. This is pretty much self-explanatory. I think everyone wants to get more organized. I'd at least like to just get organized!
Underneath of Get Organized is TIMING IS EVERYTHING. For me this is a well needed reminder. I forget that things happen in their own time and I am where I need to be no matter how lost I'm feeling. There is a purpose.
Next is a picture of ME! It is a picture that is was in the Fall 2010 Reiki Magazine because I wrote an article on Reiki and Pregnancy. It was very inspiring to have the article published and hope to get more writing done this year.
And then OF COURSE there is a HUGE WAD OF MONEY! Yes. What Vision Board would be complete without a huge wad of cash. But in all seriousness I'm looking at generating more income for our family and managing our money better.
Next to the HUGE WAD OF MONEY is FAMILY and NEW LESSON PLAN. This is for working towards us becoming an even better family and having a new lesson plan for living life. Examples being... eating better, spending/saving money more wisely, being more physically active and exercising.
THEN this is a picture of a Fruity Beverage. It could be alcoholic or not. Just as long as I'm enjoying a YUMMY, refreshing, and relaxing drink from time to time I'll be happy.
Back up to the top right-hand corner you'll find feeling great starts here NOW. Needless to say I've been in a funk off and on for the last year. Its time to start feeling great and the time is NOW. No exceptions and no excuses.
That is followed by health inside&out. This is pretty self explanatory as well. It goes hand and hand with the "new lesson plan".
Below that you will find 100% COMMITTED and Fun Fearless Females. I want to be 100% committed to anything I am doing or decide to do. I'm a Sagittarius and I tend to procrastinate. I'm surprised that the blog challenge I was in last month didn't find me needing to do 20 posts in the last week. I also have a goal to surround myself with Fun Fearless Females this year and to also become one.
Underneath those is love your looks and smile!. These are just little reminders to myself and keep me in a positive space.
THEN we get to GREAT ADVENTURES I'm hoping for some good vacations and trips this year. Maybe not far and long but I want to enjoy time as a family, and as just husband and wife.
Next to GREAT ADVENTURES you'll find a picture of a woman holding her arms up to the sky in celebration. I intend to just that and often this year. Celebrate life and the world.
AND FINALLY... LAST BUT NOT LEAST. I've got picture of Ellen because of tentative plans to go see The Ellen Show with my mother when I'm off work for spring break. I
I hope I didn't bore you TOO MUCH with my explanations BUT again.... I said this was mostly for me to figure out what the heck I put on there and why!! Happy Friday!!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Vision Board!
Before I jump into the meat and potatoes of the blog I guess I should explain what a Vision Board is.... To me, a Vision Board is images and words in one place that remind you of what you are trying to achieve for yourself, anything that makes you happy, and what you want to create in your life. You get a bunch of magazines together and just start cutting out pictures and words or anything else that jumps out at you. Then you go through everything that you have cut out and glue them to a poster board. After you're done, you hang it up in a place where you will see it. The Vision Board becomes a reminder of what makes you happy or what you are working towards creating in your life.
This year I've been struggling with finding direction and focus. Last month I read a blog about making a Vision Board and decided that this would be great group project. I emailed some girlfriends to see if they were interested in a "Girls Night In" and creating a Vision Board. We all got excited at the idea and put a date on the calendar. Tuesday was the day and we got together for a fun evening of creativity and bettering ourselves.
I bought poster board and glue sticks for everyone. They just had to bring a magazines, scissors and an open mind. We cut regular sized poster boards in half and then got to cutting up magazines. It was a great time for us to chat about what we are working towards, what we want in life, what we've been worrying about lately and anything else that came to mind.
We were a diverse group. Three of us were momma's to 1.5 yearolds and an almost 2 yearold. Two were pregnant with their first baby and the other not even thinking about having kids yet. Some of us have known each other for most of our lives and others were just meeting for the first time. Its amazing how we all came together like old friends.
Some of us came not knowing how things were going to turn out and others had been wanting to make a Vision Board for a loooooooooong time. The way things unfolded for each of us was amazing as well. Some Vision Boards were all pictures and others, like mine, were mostly words. Of course there was a mix of the in-between as well. Some overlapped their pictures and words and others, like mine, had lots of white space between words and pictures. There was lots of laughter.
When most of us were finished we had a mini show-and-tell and showed off our creation. During the show-and-tell I learned things about my friends I thought I should have known. We all learned about each other. To me, what was great about the show-and-tell was we were learning how we could support our each other by knowing each others goals.
I decided to hang my Vision Board in my office at work. I'm its right on my desk and in my face for most of the day/week. Once I get used to it being right in my face I'll move it into the kitchen at home and then find it a new home after I get used to it being in the kitchen. I'm planning another blog to explain my Vision Board in detail.
Before I started with this I struggled with being focused and feeling lost. Now I that I have physically put together a reminder I no longer feel lost and more focused than ever. In an email to someone I recently said, "Becoming a mother has made me lose sight of a few things and I'm trying to get it back". I've realized that I was wrong. Becoming a mother didn't make me lose sight of anything. I just became so filled with a new kind of love that my heart and brain couldn't communicate. I've just had to learn how to balance having a heart full of love and still living life. Here's to moving forward and reaching our goals.
This year I've been struggling with finding direction and focus. Last month I read a blog about making a Vision Board and decided that this would be great group project. I emailed some girlfriends to see if they were interested in a "Girls Night In" and creating a Vision Board. We all got excited at the idea and put a date on the calendar. Tuesday was the day and we got together for a fun evening of creativity and bettering ourselves.
I bought poster board and glue sticks for everyone. They just had to bring a magazines, scissors and an open mind. We cut regular sized poster boards in half and then got to cutting up magazines. It was a great time for us to chat about what we are working towards, what we want in life, what we've been worrying about lately and anything else that came to mind.
We were a diverse group. Three of us were momma's to 1.5 yearolds and an almost 2 yearold. Two were pregnant with their first baby and the other not even thinking about having kids yet. Some of us have known each other for most of our lives and others were just meeting for the first time. Its amazing how we all came together like old friends.
Some of us came not knowing how things were going to turn out and others had been wanting to make a Vision Board for a loooooooooong time. The way things unfolded for each of us was amazing as well. Some Vision Boards were all pictures and others, like mine, were mostly words. Of course there was a mix of the in-between as well. Some overlapped their pictures and words and others, like mine, had lots of white space between words and pictures. There was lots of laughter.
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| Mags, Mags and MORE Mags!!! |
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| Ready to start gluing! |
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| One of us needed to spread out on the floor to get the "Vision" just right! |
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| My finished Vision Board |
Before I started with this I struggled with being focused and feeling lost. Now I that I have physically put together a reminder I no longer feel lost and more focused than ever. In an email to someone I recently said, "Becoming a mother has made me lose sight of a few things and I'm trying to get it back". I've realized that I was wrong. Becoming a mother didn't make me lose sight of anything. I just became so filled with a new kind of love that my heart and brain couldn't communicate. I've just had to learn how to balance having a heart full of love and still living life. Here's to moving forward and reaching our goals.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Grateful
For a Monday I'm feeling pretty damn grateful. Usually Mondays are the most rough part of the week for me. Not because its Monday or I get a "case of the Mondays" but my essence goes into shock every Monday.
I go from a weekend that was spent doing the things I want or need to do on my time to "working for the man" and stuck in my office with no window to the outside world. I go from spending most of my time with my awesome 19 month old to sitting in my office knowing he's having fun with other kids and our daycare provider without me (which I'm all for most days but I struggle on Mondays). I miss his cute little face and his sweet hugs and kisses he's been giving out recently. I miss his need to have me by his side playing with trucks from time to time. I miss having most of our meals together as a family instead of just dinner at the end of the day. Like I said... most of these things don't bother me except for on Mondays.
BUT TODAY.... I just feel so grateful for life.
I'm grateful for Kevin, Connor and even our cats and dog (that says a whole lot!!!). We're a healthy and happy family these days
I feel grateful for our extended family.
I feel grateful for the wonderful friends that I have and how each one is a different blessing in my life.
I'm full of love and gratefulness for the fact that I have a job to go to and its a job that I like.
I feel grateful for our new dishwasher that is coming this evening.
I feel grateful for my iPod mysteriously coming back to life and working again (that's a blog all in itself).
I feel grateful for the two classes I've started taking in the last two weeks at work. I'm jumping in and loving it.
Hot damn... I'm just filled with gratefulness which makes me feel GREAT! Hooray for Monday! Hopefully I feel the same way next Monday!
I go from a weekend that was spent doing the things I want or need to do on my time to "working for the man" and stuck in my office with no window to the outside world. I go from spending most of my time with my awesome 19 month old to sitting in my office knowing he's having fun with other kids and our daycare provider without me (which I'm all for most days but I struggle on Mondays). I miss his cute little face and his sweet hugs and kisses he's been giving out recently. I miss his need to have me by his side playing with trucks from time to time. I miss having most of our meals together as a family instead of just dinner at the end of the day. Like I said... most of these things don't bother me except for on Mondays.
BUT TODAY.... I just feel so grateful for life.
I'm grateful for Kevin, Connor and even our cats and dog (that says a whole lot!!!). We're a healthy and happy family these days
I feel grateful for our extended family.
I feel grateful for the wonderful friends that I have and how each one is a different blessing in my life.
I'm full of love and gratefulness for the fact that I have a job to go to and its a job that I like.
I feel grateful for our new dishwasher that is coming this evening.
I feel grateful for my iPod mysteriously coming back to life and working again (that's a blog all in itself).
I feel grateful for the two classes I've started taking in the last two weeks at work. I'm jumping in and loving it.
Hot damn... I'm just filled with gratefulness which makes me feel GREAT! Hooray for Monday! Hopefully I feel the same way next Monday!
Blinked it By
This weekend went by in a BLINK!
Here are some highlights!
Smurfs!
I was able to see the movie Smurfs with my dad. It was great to have an evening hanging out with my dad. Much like most children from the 80's I LOVED the smurfs. I still have my Smurf baby blanket and Smurfette pillow tucked away in my hope chest in our bedroom (for what reason.... I don't know). The movie was a lot better than I hoped it to be. I was concerned because of the bad reviews BUT it was comical and made me giggle. There was some bonus adult humor as well. Overall... it was Smurferistic!
New Toys For Connor!
Saturday I ventured out with Connor to do some shopping while Kevin tried out mountain biking in the morning. I had to get some supplies for my Vision Board Girls Night on Tuesday.
From there we ventured to Marshall's to see what kind of deals I could find on some toys. I found Wacky Wednesday and Ten Apples Up On Top by Theo. LeSieg (aka Dr. Seuss). I already have a copy of Wacky Wednesday BUT it has been passed through a few children and has lived a long life. Needless to say it needs to be replaced. I was excited to find it because I thought Wacky Wednesday was no longer in print.... AND I got it for $4.50. Ten Apples Up On Top was a favorite book that was at my grandparents house and I was excited to find it for $4!! I also scored Connor the Little Tikes Golf Set for $12. He LOVES it!!
Our last stop was at M&M's Consignment Shop. I had taken a few things in a couple weeks ago when I was cleaning out my office and wanted to see if anything sold. I was planning on looking for some Little People things for Connor if they did. I was happy to find there was $27 on my account. I got Connor two Little People toys, a Sit N Spin and at the last minute he grabbed a huge Tonka Fire Truck.
I just looked up the Little People toys and realized what a great deal we got. First I got him the Little People Racetrack that is supposed to come with two racers and costs $36.... I got ours for $11 and it came with the two race cars AND two extras cars/wheelies. NICE. I can't find the exact Little People Town that I picked up (its a little older but still has a lot of life left) but the one that is similar is going for close to $40 and we got ours for $12. Consignment shopping is WONDERFUL.
Domestic Day
Sunday was grocery shopping and cleaning day. Fun, Fun, Fun.... Well really it kinda was. I love rearranging and organizing when I have the time and drive. That was exactly what I did in the kitchen yesterday. I attacked our two clutter piles and moved around some furniture and it looks GREAT! I'm prepping to start following The Fly Lady once again. We're getting a new dishwasher this week and I'm ready to have my sink empty at the end of every evening!
Overall it was a productive weekend. Lots of boring stuff for your reading pleasure. This week I have my Vision Board Girls Night and a few other ideas to blog about. Stay tuned!!
Here are some highlights!
Smurfs!
I was able to see the movie Smurfs with my dad. It was great to have an evening hanging out with my dad. Much like most children from the 80's I LOVED the smurfs. I still have my Smurf baby blanket and Smurfette pillow tucked away in my hope chest in our bedroom (for what reason.... I don't know). The movie was a lot better than I hoped it to be. I was concerned because of the bad reviews BUT it was comical and made me giggle. There was some bonus adult humor as well. Overall... it was Smurferistic!
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| La la la la la.... laaaaaaaaaa..... Sing a Happy Song |
Saturday I ventured out with Connor to do some shopping while Kevin tried out mountain biking in the morning. I had to get some supplies for my Vision Board Girls Night on Tuesday.
From there we ventured to Marshall's to see what kind of deals I could find on some toys. I found Wacky Wednesday and Ten Apples Up On Top by Theo. LeSieg (aka Dr. Seuss). I already have a copy of Wacky Wednesday BUT it has been passed through a few children and has lived a long life. Needless to say it needs to be replaced. I was excited to find it because I thought Wacky Wednesday was no longer in print.... AND I got it for $4.50. Ten Apples Up On Top was a favorite book that was at my grandparents house and I was excited to find it for $4!! I also scored Connor the Little Tikes Golf Set for $12. He LOVES it!!
Our last stop was at M&M's Consignment Shop. I had taken a few things in a couple weeks ago when I was cleaning out my office and wanted to see if anything sold. I was planning on looking for some Little People things for Connor if they did. I was happy to find there was $27 on my account. I got Connor two Little People toys, a Sit N Spin and at the last minute he grabbed a huge Tonka Fire Truck.
I just looked up the Little People toys and realized what a great deal we got. First I got him the Little People Racetrack that is supposed to come with two racers and costs $36.... I got ours for $11 and it came with the two race cars AND two extras cars/wheelies. NICE. I can't find the exact Little People Town that I picked up (its a little older but still has a lot of life left) but the one that is similar is going for close to $40 and we got ours for $12. Consignment shopping is WONDERFUL.
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| Little People® Wheelies™ Rev 'n Sounds™ Race Track |
Domestic Day
Sunday was grocery shopping and cleaning day. Fun, Fun, Fun.... Well really it kinda was. I love rearranging and organizing when I have the time and drive. That was exactly what I did in the kitchen yesterday. I attacked our two clutter piles and moved around some furniture and it looks GREAT! I'm prepping to start following The Fly Lady once again. We're getting a new dishwasher this week and I'm ready to have my sink empty at the end of every evening!
Overall it was a productive weekend. Lots of boring stuff for your reading pleasure. This week I have my Vision Board Girls Night and a few other ideas to blog about. Stay tuned!!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Mommy's Space
Apparently I never got to blog last night after stating that I would. OOPS! I had a fabulous evening out with a friend I haven't seen in a long time. Once I got home I was ready to snuggle up with my nook and climb under the covers. So here is yesterday's blog.....
I've been working towards getting my office back to a functioning room for me. Pre-Connor days my office was a space for my holistic health practice. I would teach Reiki workshops and see my clients in it. It was a very nice relaxing space that I could go to as well to get away.
The history of setting up the room is quite funny (now... not then) actually. When we bought our house the room had blue paneling and tan trim and the carpet was pretty gross looking. We didn't have our project list confirmed when we first settled in so I set up my room as decent as I could for my clients. BUT after a while I just didn't like it at all.
Kevin and I decided we would rip off the paneling, spackle the imperfections, sand them down and paint (allllll in one weekend). Easy as pie. So we thought.... The first three walls came off fine for the most part. Some work to be done, some wall paper border and some crazy color choices but not bad.
The last wall kicked our ass.Kevin pulled off the first layer of paneling. We found what we thought was 3 layers of wall paper and MOLD down in a corner. Come to find out it was two layers or wallpaper and a SECOND LAYER OF PANELING. We ripped that off to find some awful drywall work around the sliding glass door and another mini layer of paneling. We had to rip all of the dry wall off that one wall because of the mold. Needless to say it was our first real home improvement project and it showed us the true colors that comes with it.
Once Connor came into the picture, it became our spare room/catch-all room. I've struggled with keeping it from collecting things around the house but it always gets taken over. We have an inflatable queen bed we use when we have visitors and then it gets deflated once the visitor leaves. When my mom and Bill were coming to visit we had stuff that needed to be given to Goodwill or consignment. I worked my hardest at getting the room cleaned out and the closet organized. The room was in top shape for when they visited.
After they left and the bed was deflated, I looked around at my space. The space which we worked so hard at putting together, used to be relaxing, calm, and had great balanced energy.
I used to bead before becoming a momma and have totally slacked and ignored my crafty side. Its hard to pull out all my beads out and supplies needed and get focused all in the time it takes for Connor to take his afternoon nap. I would have to put it all away before he woke up.
Sooooooooooooooooo I decided to set up a table with my projects and beads in my room. Now I have a table with my regularly used beads and supplies ready for me to sit down at any moment and get to work. My comfy chair has been cleared off and I can sit with a book or prop my feet up and meditate if I want. The table with my beading supplies also has room for me to sit and journal or work with my cards when I'm called to do it. Life is pretty damn good back there! Of course I usually only get back there once Connor has gone to bed but its nice to disappear somewhere that I'm not looking around saying...."OMG there is a lot of cleaning to do".
I've been working towards getting my office back to a functioning room for me. Pre-Connor days my office was a space for my holistic health practice. I would teach Reiki workshops and see my clients in it. It was a very nice relaxing space that I could go to as well to get away.
The history of setting up the room is quite funny (now... not then) actually. When we bought our house the room had blue paneling and tan trim and the carpet was pretty gross looking. We didn't have our project list confirmed when we first settled in so I set up my room as decent as I could for my clients. BUT after a while I just didn't like it at all.
Kevin and I decided we would rip off the paneling, spackle the imperfections, sand them down and paint (allllll in one weekend). Easy as pie. So we thought.... The first three walls came off fine for the most part. Some work to be done, some wall paper border and some crazy color choices but not bad.
The last wall kicked our ass.Kevin pulled off the first layer of paneling. We found what we thought was 3 layers of wall paper and MOLD down in a corner. Come to find out it was two layers or wallpaper and a SECOND LAYER OF PANELING. We ripped that off to find some awful drywall work around the sliding glass door and another mini layer of paneling. We had to rip all of the dry wall off that one wall because of the mold. Needless to say it was our first real home improvement project and it showed us the true colors that comes with it.
Once Connor came into the picture, it became our spare room/catch-all room. I've struggled with keeping it from collecting things around the house but it always gets taken over. We have an inflatable queen bed we use when we have visitors and then it gets deflated once the visitor leaves. When my mom and Bill were coming to visit we had stuff that needed to be given to Goodwill or consignment. I worked my hardest at getting the room cleaned out and the closet organized. The room was in top shape for when they visited.
After they left and the bed was deflated, I looked around at my space. The space which we worked so hard at putting together, used to be relaxing, calm, and had great balanced energy.
I used to bead before becoming a momma and have totally slacked and ignored my crafty side. Its hard to pull out all my beads out and supplies needed and get focused all in the time it takes for Connor to take his afternoon nap. I would have to put it all away before he woke up.
Sooooooooooooooooo I decided to set up a table with my projects and beads in my room. Now I have a table with my regularly used beads and supplies ready for me to sit down at any moment and get to work. My comfy chair has been cleared off and I can sit with a book or prop my feet up and meditate if I want. The table with my beading supplies also has room for me to sit and journal or work with my cards when I'm called to do it. Life is pretty damn good back there! Of course I usually only get back there once Connor has gone to bed but its nice to disappear somewhere that I'm not looking around saying...."OMG there is a lot of cleaning to do".
My Crafting/Meditation Space!
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| My crafting and journaling table with my comfy chair in the corner |
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| When I was orginally painting I painted OM on the wall The wall looked very blank... on a whim I painted the OM My space became complete afterwards. |
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| This side of the room is still a work in progress :) |
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
New Blogging Schedule
I decided after the Ulitimate Blog Challenge I would start blogging every other day. Yesterday was very weird. I was futzing around on the computer BUT didn't blog. I figured it'll help ideas develop and that way I'm just not blogging about the everyday happenings of the Sachs household. That can get pretty boring sometimes... TRUST ME. :)
I'm also thinking of changing the design around too. I'll probably wind up doing this like once a month or every other month. When I was a kid I used to rearrange my bedroom monthly... Changing my blog background and stuff is causing me to have flash backs...
ANYWAY... An awesome blog about my awesome craft/meditation room should be popping up tonight! YAY!
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| Everyday happenings of the Sachs household would have me blogging about Connor helping with laundry day |
ANYWAY... An awesome blog about my awesome craft/meditation room should be popping up tonight! YAY!
Monday, August 1, 2011
After Hours... Life after Bedtime
Kevin and I decided to take Connor to the Glen Burnie Carnival this evening because the Glen Burnie Masonic Lodge was sponsoring the Maryland Chip Program for children. If there is an emergency and your child is missing you have all the information you need to help locate your child.
First you fill out all contact information and home address. While Kevin was filling out the paper work Connor walked around and rearranged the chairs. You also weigh and measure your child. Once all the information is filled out you get taken to a person with a computer set up. Connor's bed time was fast approaching and once we got up to the computer part it WAS his bed time.
The first thing they do at the computer is finger print your child. This is not the messy kind of finger printing. They have a gadget that plugs into the computer and scans your finger. WELL.... Connor was not having any of it. He screamed... he cried.... it was past his bedtime damn it and everyone in the building knew it. Next they took his picture via web cam. They took pictures from all angles. Their next step is they record your childs voice. We have Connor screaming and crying recorded. Nice...........
After the compture torture was over, they handed us a disc of the info and the next step was a DNA swab. THAT WAS FUN. NOT!!! Oh man I felt bad for him at this point and kept questioning why we were doing this to him. We could always come back tomorrow before his bedtime. The DNA swab was the final event and we were able to get him out of there.
As soon as we were out of the building he cheered up. We wandered around and bought tickets to get on the Merry Go Round and the Ferris Wheel but Connor started to continue his melt down from earlier. We decided we would come back tomorrow before his bed time so he could enjoy himself. On the way out we stopped at the "Rubber Ducky" booth and Connor won a selection from the "Large" self. We helped him pick out a cute elephant stuffed animal.
As soon as we got home Connor took off running for his bedroom while clutching onto his new toy. We changed into PJs and read Dr. Seuss' ABC's. I tucked him in with his elephant and he was out like a light in less than a minute.
First you fill out all contact information and home address. While Kevin was filling out the paper work Connor walked around and rearranged the chairs. You also weigh and measure your child. Once all the information is filled out you get taken to a person with a computer set up. Connor's bed time was fast approaching and once we got up to the computer part it WAS his bed time.
The first thing they do at the computer is finger print your child. This is not the messy kind of finger printing. They have a gadget that plugs into the computer and scans your finger. WELL.... Connor was not having any of it. He screamed... he cried.... it was past his bedtime damn it and everyone in the building knew it. Next they took his picture via web cam. They took pictures from all angles. Their next step is they record your childs voice. We have Connor screaming and crying recorded. Nice...........
After the compture torture was over, they handed us a disc of the info and the next step was a DNA swab. THAT WAS FUN. NOT!!! Oh man I felt bad for him at this point and kept questioning why we were doing this to him. We could always come back tomorrow before his bedtime. The DNA swab was the final event and we were able to get him out of there.
As soon as we were out of the building he cheered up. We wandered around and bought tickets to get on the Merry Go Round and the Ferris Wheel but Connor started to continue his melt down from earlier. We decided we would come back tomorrow before his bed time so he could enjoy himself. On the way out we stopped at the "Rubber Ducky" booth and Connor won a selection from the "Large" self. We helped him pick out a cute elephant stuffed animal.
As soon as we got home Connor took off running for his bedroom while clutching onto his new toy. We changed into PJs and read Dr. Seuss' ABC's. I tucked him in with his elephant and he was out like a light in less than a minute.
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