January 31, 2011

Decent Weather

On Saturday, we finally had warm(er) weather.  It was a whopping 63 degrees, so we got in the car and went to the park on the Army post.  Weston sat in his stroller while Doug and I threw the football around and threw and hit baseballs and softballs.

It was very nice to get out and hang out with my boys.  Being cooped up in the house isn't all it's cracked up to be.  We found out we can bring the dogs, so next time, we will take them and let them run.  I forgot the camera, but I will definitely take pictures the next time we go to the park. 

Doug had a good point about the weather.  If there is no chance of precipitation, then it should be a cloudless, warm and sunny day.  However, if there is a chance of rain, let it be 30 degrees or less so that the rain can become snow. 

I'm not looking forward to the summer when it will be so incredibly hot out.  Saturday was great weather.

Yesterday, it was overcast all day, so we didn't go to the park.  Instead, during Weston's nap, Doug and I went in the backyard and played with the dogs.

All in all, it was a nice weekend.

January 30, 2011

My "Education"

Before I left to go to college, my uncle gave me the following advice:

"Don't let school get in the way of your education."

This was the same uncle who begged his professors to let him graduate on the day of graduation, so I took his advice with a grain of salt.

However, these are the non-school things I learned while in college:
  • Wal-Mart is not a good place to be at 3am when you have an 8am class.
  • No matter how pleasant the weather is outside, sitting in class is a better option than sitting at the beach.  Not only do you get sun-poisoning, but you also have trouble passing the class, since you weren't there for the material.
  • If you choose to spend your first year of college doing the two activities above instead of class, your parents make you come home and work for a while to earn money to pay your own way through college.  No more gravy train.
  • Getting involved in activities helps home-sickness.
  • The freedom that being away from home brings can be handled 2 ways: responsibly or irresponsibly.  I suggest the former rather than the latter.  Grades tend to better.
  • Some of the friends you make in college are lifelong.  Some are just using you.
  • The "Freshman 15" is very real, especially when you don't get a good home-cooked meal and the local drive-thru employees know your order by heart.
  • Living close enough to home to occasionally visit is much better than living so far away you can only go home for the holidays.
  • You can't lie to your parents about what you're really doing in college.  Eventually they find out the truth.
  • Going 109mph in a 70mph zone equals a $274 ticket.
  • Roommates get along better when they all have their own space to retreat to.
  • Returning to where you went to college after you leave/graduate is bittersweet.
Depending on what you make of your college experience, they can be the best days of your life. 

January 29, 2011

I Was There

This morning, my neck, back and hips hurt and I am exhausted.  However, it is TOTALLY worth it.  Last night, my baby needed me.  So for several hours, I sat motionless in an awkward position while he slept on me.

When Weston cried out from his crib, I was there.
When he needed comforting, I was there.
When he needed to snuggle and fall asleep on me, I was there.
When he periodically awoke to survey his surroundings, I was there.
When he looked up at me and brushed his little hand against my cheek, perhaps to thank me for comforting him, I was there, in tears.

See, all too soon, he will think he's too big to cuddle with me.  Far before I am ready, he will be an adult and won't need me anymore.  As his mommy, I hope Weston will always need me in some capacity, even if it is just to babysit grandchildren.

But last night.  Last night, my son needed me.  So, as I watched him sleep and listen to him breathe, I thought about how lucky I am to be Weston's mom, Weston's comforter.

I hope that some day, Weston will get married and have children of his own.  When his child cries out, I know he will be there.

January 28, 2011

Challenger: 25th Anniversary

When the Challenger exploded on January 28, 1986, I was 16 1/2 months old.  I obviously don't remember it occurring.  However, with the invention of YouTube, I have seen what happened.

I have mentioned before that I wanted to be an astronaut.  This had little to do with the Challenger and more to do with the fact that a) I grew up in Florida and saw many shuttle launches both from my backyard and from Kennedy Space Center and b) I thought that being weightless would be awesome. 

However, as we all know, there was a teacher aboard the Challenger shuttle named Christa McAuliffe.  She was the first civilian to head to space.  She was going to teach a lesson when she got up with the stars.  As a teacher myself, I think that, although tragic, it is also awesome that she died trying to teach students in a way never done before or since.  She was setting a precedent so that maybe someday, someone like me could have the opportunity to go to space and teach at the same time.

I married an aerospace (and mechanical) engineer.  Space shuttles, rockets, etc are his specialty.  He works for NASA.  He was 8 months old when the tragedy occurred, so he also doesn't remember the Challenger.  Through his studies and hands-on work, he has been able to explain to me what actually happened that caused the Challenger to ignite and explode.  I find it all very interesting and, to be honest, at times over my head. 

I also find it very sad that this incident could have been prevented.  I hope that the NASA engineers and employees of today use more caution and test things a bit further to help these issues to not happen again.  17 years didn't help, since Columbia destructed as it re-entered the atmosphere.  Although shuttles will no longer be used, eventually, there will be passenger rockets that will take astronauts to space to research and explore.  We do not need anymore tragedies to occur, killing people just doing their jobs and a civilian like Mrs. McAuliffe who was paving the way for the next generation and who had so much left to teach.

Please take a moment today to remember the crew of the Challenger.

January 27, 2011

"I Took His Hand and Followed"

This poem by Mrs. Roy Peifer is how I look at parenting; the housework can wait, but my child(ren) will never be this little again, so I will cherish this time that I do have with them.

My dishes went unwashed today,
I didn't make the bed,
I took his hand and followed
Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,
My little son and I...
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the summer sky

We waded in a crystal stream,
We wandered through a wood...
My kitchen wasn't swept today
But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade
And now my small son knows
How Mother Bunny hides her nest,
Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,
We climbed a sunlit hill...
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,
We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected,
That I didn't brush the stairs,
In twenty years, no one on earth
Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy
To noble manhood grow,
In twenty years, the whole wide world
May look and see and know.

January 26, 2011

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

When I was in college, I was introduced to a book by Judith Viorst called Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  The point the professor was making with the book is before we (the teachers) got upset with a student for not paying attention or being in a bad mood, take into consideration that perhaps they had a bad morning or something may be going on at home.  However, this book is a good reminder that everyone has bad days.

Today, I have had a day that seems like Alexander's.  Nothing has gone right today.  I was changing Weston's diaper and he put his hand in the contents.  I was making his lunch and spilled the bowl of food.  I was doing laundry and dropped the bottle of fabric softener, spilling sticky blue goo on the comforter sitting on the floor.  I needed to take a shower.  Weston screamed the entire time I was in the shower, making me feel like I was a horrible mom for leaving him alone and taking 5 minutes for myself.

Also, I have not been able to focus on anything today.  I went to get the mail and realized the garbage can needed to be brought up.  I took the garbage can as far as the garage door, intending to go through the house, open the garage door and bring the can into the garage.  As I was walking toward the garage, I thought about dinner and wondered if we had all the ingredients for dinner.  Then I remembered I had laundry in the washer and it needed to be switched into the dryer.  By this time, I had forgotten about the garbage can, so I started playing with Weston.  In the middle of playing with him, I remembered I need to get the garbage can, so I halted playing and went to take care of it.  When I came back in, Weston was screaming.

So, basically, I am ready to call it a day and climb into bed, watch a mindless movie and start fresh tomorrow.  Too bad I have a husband and child who both depend on dinner, not that Doug's not capable, but I need to spend time with them, especially Doug.  However, when I do finally climb into bed tonight, I will pray that tomorrow brings a more peaceful, simple day.

January 25, 2011

How We Met

During my last semester of college, I began working at a tutoring place.  When I first started, my job title was a run-of-the-mill tutor.  I showed up at the designated time, tutored and went home.  However, as the spring went along, I was given more responsibility and at the beginning of the summer, I was given the opportunity to manage the learning center. 

The owner of the center had another center in the town south of where I lived and he asked another girl around my age, Amy, to manage that center.  Since we both had teaching not business degrees and had practice managing children, not other adults, we began calling back and forth to ask each other how to do this or that.  Eventually, we developed a repoire and decided we'd go do something outside of work. 

We usually hung out at her house because she lived by herself and I lived at home with my parents.  She had told me about her friend, Doug, casually mentioning him in conversation.  She said he was a very nice guy, he had recently moved to Alabama for his job and that she was trying to find him a girlfriend.  I wasn't looking for a boyfriend at the time, but I was open to having one. 

The back story is that Doug and Amy went to high school together and they were both in the band.  Doug liked Amy, but she wouldn't date him.  She went to another country to teach and Doug again tried to date Amy, but again, she turned him down.  They talked almost every day while she was gone, which I assume didn't help Doug get over Amy.  Anyway, when she returned, he figured he'd give it one last shot and she said 'no'.  Maybe Amy was trying to find him a girlfriend so he'd get off her back.

One day, Amy mentioned that Doug was coming home for the 4th of July holiday and maybe I should meet him.  Unfortunately, I was going on vacation and wouldn't be in town, but I told her, if he's such a nice guy, maybe she should give him a chance.

When I returned from vacation, I happened to be at Amy's house one evening when Doug called.  I talked to him for a few minutes and although he did sound like a nice guy, I didn't really think anything of it.  Doug gave me his phone number and I went home and announced that "I have digits".  My mom then called this poor guy "Digits".  Time went on and the more I talked to Doug, the more I wanted to meet him and the more I thought about the possibility of dating him. 

He was coming back to Florida for Labor Day weekend.  This would be my chance to meet him.  The problem was that Amy was thinking that maybe she would date him and so I kind of backed off.  The weekend before he was to be in Florida, she decided that she didn't want to date him, so she planned a group hangout at a local sports bar for us to meet and play trivia. 

I looked forward to meeting Doug on Thursday, but since he lived 10 hours away, I didn't really think that it was going to work.  We went to Trivia Night and I thought that Doug was nice looking.  That night, I also found out that he was smart. Except for one question, he knew all the answers.  I though I knew the answer to the question he didn't, but I didn't want to speak up and look stupid.  It turns out that my answer was right.  When we left that night, Amy made us hug, which was incredibly awkward.

On the way home, I texted Doug to say it was nice to meet him.  I didn't figure I would really hear from him again, not because the night was bad, just because, again, the distance.  To my surprise, the next evening Doug called and asked if I wanted to go see a movie.  We went and saw a horrible movie (Tropic Thunder) and made plans to go out the next evening. 

While I was at work on Saturday, there was nothing going on, so I watched the University of Florida football game.  Doug is a graduate of UF and loves football, so I figured I would impress him with my knowledge of what happened during the game when we met up later.  We went and saw another pretty bad movie (Pineapple Express) and walked around a local park so we could talk more, since movies don't really give one an opportunity to talk and get to know someone.

Sunday we each did our own thing and originally Doug was going to go back to Alabama on Monday.  However, Hurricane Gustav went near where Doug worked, so there was no work until Wednesday, so he would be going back on Tuesday.  On Monday, we went back to the park and we sat and talked for many hours, into the middle of the night.  We decided that we would try giving the long-distance relationship a try.

It didn't take long to decide that long-distance just wasn't going to work.  About the same time, my full-time job was quickly becoming a part-time job and then no job due to the owner being in trouble with the IRS and closing down his two learning centers.  I began looking for a teaching position closer to where Doug was.  I know that moving for a guy is crazy, but I thought that maybe this guy was "the one".  I also figured that if our relationship didn't work out, I could still make a life for myself away from Florida.  I wanted to get out of Florida anyway. 

I soon found a job about 15 minutes from where Doug worked.  I packed up all of my stuff and moved to Alabama at the end of September.  It all happened so quickly, my poor mom didn't know what was going on.  She went from having her whole family living at home at the beginning of September to having just my brother at home by the end of September (my dad was away from home for his job and didn't know when he'd be back home).

Obviously our relationship worked out and the rest is history!

January 24, 2011

Senior Citizen Tables

Last night, Doug and I went to dinner.  Across from our table, there was an elderly man dining by himself.  He looked sad to be alone.  He was fairly far through his meal, otherwise I would have invited him to dine with us.

My grandmother was widowed in 1984 at the young age of 51.  She passed away in 2005 at the age of 72.  For 21 1/2 years, my grandmother lived alone.  She had many occasions of going out to dinner by herself and she always felt lonely.

One of the places she liked to dine was Cracker Barrel.  She mentioned to me that it would be nice if places that have a lot of elderly customers would take a big table and set it aside for senior citizens, who would normally be dining alone, to sit together and have conversations.  This way, older diners would have the choice of sitting by themselves or sitting with other people their age.

When I saw the older gentleman across the aisle, I thought of the community table idea my grandmother had many years ago.

January 23, 2011

Puppies!!

This morning, my mom's Labrador Retriever Remy had 9 10 puppies.  Remy is Waveland's mom and this is her third and final litter.  Actually, the previous litter was to be her final litter, but unfortunately an accident occurred, causing Remy to be a mommy for the third time.

The first 2 litters, 17 puppies, were all black and there were 11 boys and 6 girls.  This litter, there were blacks, chocolates and yellows and 6 girls, 3 4 boys.  They are adorable and I can't wait to play with them.

I may even convince Doug to let us get one.  Not likely, but I can always try, right?



January 22, 2011

Dog-Proofing the House

At the stage of parenthood Doug and I are at, our child being somewhat mobile, most people start baby proofing their home.  Not Doug and I.  We are dog-proofing our home. 

Ever since we had Weston, Doug and I have had to follow Hattie around to make sure that she doesn't have any of Weston's tiny socks, clothes, and toys in her mouth.  It is truly a full-time job.  Anytime Hattie walks through the house to go outside, she always grabs something of Weston's.  It's hard to know if she has something in her mouth sometimes because her lips and mouth are so big.

Hattie's favorite things to grab of Weston's are his blocks, his various stuffed animals and his clothes.  She usually just carries them around, not chewing on them or swallowing anything.  However, we have had her swallow his socks and bibs because she gets hold of stuff and we either don't know it or before we can get to her, she's swallowed it because she knows she's not supposed to have it.

She knows that she's not supposed to have anything of Weston's in her mouth, so as soon as you look at her she drops her head and thinks about dropping the item.  However, you normally have to grab her collar for her to finally drop whatever she has.

I get so tired of telling her to "DROP IT!" and "NO!" that she ends up spending a lot of time in her crate.  I can't possibly pick up everything that she may decide she wants to have.  This week, I'm going to work on making Weston's things less accessible to Hattie, perhaps with a baby gate around his play area.  This way life will be more harmonious for all of us.

January 21, 2011

The Towel-Eating Dog Story

Here's the whole story about how Hattie became the Towel-Eating Dog:

On February 13, 2009, Doug and I took the dogs for a walk.  It had been raining all day, but the dogs needed to do their business, so we tried to go out when there was a lull in the rainfall.  When we came back inside, the dogs were wet from both puddles and the rain.  After drying them off as best as we could, they were still slightly damp.  We felt bad for them, so we put towels in their crates with them so that the girls could cuddle up and get warm.  They were older towels and the one that was put in with Hattie had frayed edges.  Apparently, overnight, Hattie tore some of the towel apart.  We collected all of the pieces, but since it was scraps, we didn't try putting it back together to find out if there was any missing.  Hattie seemed fine, so Doug and I went about our business, going out for Valentine's Day and not giving it a second thought.

When we came home from church on February 15, Hattie was happy to see us and acted like nothing was wrong.  A little while later, while we were watching football, Hattie threw up.  In the vomit was a piece of the towel.  When I tried to go grab the piece out of the vomit, she ate it back up.  Gross, I know.  Because she had eaten a sock earlier in the week and passed it in its entirety, I wasn't really worried about the piece of towel.

By Monday (the following day), Hattie wasn't really eating and what she did eat wasn't staying down.  That evening, I gave her rice to try to calm her stomach.  Bad idea.  On Tuesday morning, about 4am, she woke me up with a cry that I could tell meant she was in pain.  It was such a pitiful cry, I felt so bad for her.  I went to her crate and she had thrown up what looked to be a few gallons of bile, rice, water, etc.  Later that morning, I took her to the vet.  They gave me medicine and told me to keep an eye on her and bring her back on Friday if she wasn't any better.  That evening, she pooped, so I thought, ok, maybe she just needed to move everything through her system. 

All day Wednesday and Thursday morning, Hattie didn't seem to be getting better, but she wasn't getting worse either.  She was keeping the medicine and food down, but she hadn't pooped.  We had planned on going to Florida for the weekend, so we were trying to decide whether or not to stay or go ahead with our plans.  I decided to call the vet on Thursday afternoon to get their opinion.  (There is a branch of the vet in Florida, where we would be, in case she needed care.)

Two side notes about the previous paragraph:
1) Doug and I had gone to Olive Garden for Valentine's Day and I called them to make a reservation.  For whatever reason, it was towards the top of my "previously dialed numbers", and when I went to call the vet, I called OG by accident.  I didn't hear the greeting when someone answered, so I just began telling the person about what was going on.  "Hey, this is Ellery ______ and I brought my Great Dane, Hattie, in on Tuesday.  She hasn't pooped since Tuesday and I'm a little worried."  About that time, the poor girl on the other end of the phone said, "Um, ma'am? You called Olive Garden."  Well, I guess she didn't really care that my dog had bowel issues then, huh?
2) My mom had planned a surprise bridal shower for me to coincide the weekend that Doug and I would be in Florida.  When my mom found out about Hattie's predicament, she started sweating bullets that we were going to stay in Alabama and the "bride" for which the bridal shower was for would be MIA.  Therefore, she told Doug to keep her apprised of whether or not we were coming. 

When I called the vet, she told me that it was fine if we took Hattie to Florida, but just keep an eye on her and if she gets any worse, take her to the vet ASAP.  If she is still the same by Monday, bring her back in when you return from Florida.  So, I put her and put Waveland, who at that point was only about 10 weeks old, in the car and started to leave the apartment to pick Doug up from work and get on the road.  Before we ever left the apartment's parking lot, Hattie started heaving.  I put the garbage can under her mouth and she barfed in it.  I cried the entire 45 minutes to Doug's work because I was so stressed about what was wrong with my dog.  I was still not thinking the towel could have gotten stuck, because it was such a small piece.  The rest of the 12 hour drive, Hattie slept and didn't get sick again.

Doug and I went somewhere on Friday, while leaving Hattie at my parents' house.  When we got back, my mom told me that Hattie was acting very lethargic and her gums were pale white.  We immediately took Hattie to the vet.  After several tests, it was determined that she had a blockage and that if she was not operated on in the next 24 hours, she would die and even with the surgery, they couldn't guarantee that she'd make it.  Because the blockage had been going on for almost a week, her intestines may be dead or dying.  I felt like SUCH a horrible parent that I let her be in pain and sick this long.  The doctor told us that she must be in INCREDIBLE pain, but she was being very stoic and not showing any signs of pain, even in her belly.  They told us to bring her back the following morning to have the surgery, that they told us should only take "a couple hours".

Doug and I spent the night holding Hattie's legs down, so that she wouldn't curl up.  We discovered when she curled up, she was cutting off circulation and that's why her gums were turning white.  The next morning, we took her into the vet, not knowing if we were going to see her again.  We then went to Doug's parents' house and crashed on the couch, since neither of us had slept the night before and his parents' house was closer to the vet.  When we called a few hours later, Hattie was still in surgery. 

Unbeknownst to me, this was also the day of my bridal shower and therefore, Doug had very strict instructions to keep me away from my parents' house until it was time.  All I wanted to do is go cry on my mom's shoulder because she knew how much Hattie meant to me.  Obviously, we couldn't do that, so Doug found other things we could do to keep my mind off of Hattie.

On the way to the bridal shower, some 4 hours into the surgery, we stopped by the vet's.  Because I had previously worked at that vet, they let me in the back to see her, while she was being operated on.  It broke my heart to see her like she was.  I was sad we had to leave, but according to Doug, my mom had planned for Doug's mother and grandmother, my mother and myself to all go out to lunch, so we needed to get going.

About 2 hours after we left the vet, and in the middle of my bridal shower, one of the nurses called to tell me that the surgery was over (finally!) and Hattie was recovering well.  That really cheered me up and allowed me to enjoy my bridal shower.  Her surgery ended up taking 6 hours and parts of both her small and large intestine were removed due to necrosis.

When we picked her up, we saw that she was cut from her sternum to her crotch, which on a Great Dane is about a 3 foot scar.  She was on strict rest, was given tons of medication and a lampshade collar to keep her from messing with the sutures.  Because we lived upstairs, and she was definitely not allowed to climb stairs, my mom volunteered to keep Hattie while she recovered.  My mom made "medical meatballs" (wet dog food balls with pills stuck in the middle), which Hattie loved.  She didn't like wearing the collar or not being able to run around a lot. 

Two weeks later, we returned to Florida to pick Hattie up and to take her to the vet to have the sutures removed.  Everything looked great and Hattie had made a full recovery.  When we took her back to Alabama, she was back to her normal self, running around with Waveland and being a general goof.

We learned our lesson.  Now, the dogs don't get towels in their crates.  We dry them off as best as we can and then they get in their crates.

And THAT, my friends, is how Hattie earned the moniker "The Towel-Eating Dog".

January 20, 2011

I Heart NY

Yesterday, I briefly mentioned that I love New York.  I have been to places all around the United States and Europe and I can say, without a doubt, New York is my absolute favorite city. 


I first went to NYC in summer of 2005 with my family.  We stayed in midtown Manhattan, because we had gotten an amazing deal.  We definitely did all the touristy things you do in NY.  We went to Ellis Island, the Empire State Building, Ground Zero, Times Square, etc.  Unfortunately, the Statue of Liberty was closed still, so we didn't go there.  My brother and I rode the ferris wheel in Toys R Us.  My parents wanted to eat at the restaurant made famous by When Harry Met Sally, so we went there as well.  We had the best pizza I've ever tasted at Ray's.  Basically, I had a BLAST!!


The rest of my family didn't enjoy themselves nearly as much.  My parents thought it was a very dirty place and my brother thought it was far too hot.  Well, duh!, it's July and it's probably cooler here than it is in Florida.


Anyway, we went back to NY in the summers of 2006 and 2008.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself both times we returned.  In fact, in 2008, I ditched the family and walked around by myself.  I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, went to Tiffany's and went to Central Park.


Unfortunately, I've only ever been to NY in the summer.  I would LOVE to go ice skating in Rockefeller Center, see the Rockettes and go on a carriage ride around Central Park while it's snowing.  I would enjoy seeing the leaves changing around the city as well.


Before I met Doug, I planned to move to NY to teach.  It would just be Hattie and me, two girls in NYC.  Hattie would protect me and I could venture around the city at my leisure during time off.  Riiight.  Because I'd have time off between my 4 jobs that I would need just to pay for my apartment.


I can't wait until my next trip to NYC.  I don't know when that will be (hint, hint Doug!), but I will cherish it for sure.

January 19, 2011

Hattie

In this post I explained how we acquired Waveland.  Today, I will explain how I became the mom of a Great Dane puppy.

When I was about 20, I decided I wanted a Great Dane.  I was raised with Beagles and although they are not small dogs, they are definitely not a large breed either.  I began looking for a Dane in Florida, but I wasn't very successful. 

I asked for a Dane puppy for Christmas of 2005, hoping that perhaps my parents would have better success.  On Christmas Eve eve, I had a dream that I was getting a mostly white-furred, blue-eyed puppy for Christmas.  My friend and I spent Christmas Eve at work coming up with names for this puppy I was sure I was getting.  Because I love New York, all of the names revolved around NYC- Taxi, Tiffany, TriBeCa, etc.  On Christmas morning, I went out to the living room to cuddle with my new puppy...that wasn't there.  My parents told me that they couldn't find a puppy in Florida and that the ones out of state would be too expensive for their Christmas budget. I was disappointed, but I understood my parents' reasoning for not getting me a puppy at that time. 

In February of 2006, I found puppies in Missouri (I'm sure there were some closer) and I began emailing the owner of the kennel.  She had just had some adorable puppies born and I decided I would buy one of them with my own money.  The only problem was that the house we lived in didn't accept big dogs.  Therefore, to avoid being homeless, I opted not to purchase a puppy at that time.

By May 2006, I knew we were moving to a house that would allow big dogs, so I contacted the woman in Missouri again and she happened to be having puppies at the end of the month.  When the litter was born, I looked at pictures of the puppies and decided on "Puppy #5".  I would be getting her at the end of July when she was 8 weeks old.

We went on a family vacation to New York (yay!) and Washington D.C.  The entire time we were gone, all I talked about was getting this puppy.  My dad didn't believe that I had actually bought a Great Dane puppy.  My mom and I tried to convince him to buy Hattie's sister, whom we had already named Gracie.  He almost went for it, but then at the last minute, decided against it.

Due to the incredibly high heat index in Florida, Hattie couldn't fly until the temperature was lower than 75 degrees.  Therefore, my puppy's arrival in Florida kept getting delayed.  Finally, the breeder called me and told me that the airline had cleared my puppy, along with a few others coming from Hattie's litter, to fly on July 28th.  She would be arriving about 6 in the evening and coming by way of Houston.  I dragged my brother with me to go to the airport to pick her up.  We left about 4 to make the 45 minute drive to the airport.  Can you tell I was excited??  Just as we were walking into the airport, my mom called me to tell me that Hattie's flight had been delayed in Houston due to a bad storm and she wouldn't be arriving until about 8.  My brother and I now had about 3 hours to kill at the airport. 

When Hattie's flight finally arrived, she was soaking wet and shaking.  She had been in a crate from about 3am until 8pm.  Apparently the airline wasn't allowed to take her out of her crate for safety reasons.  They did however, set her and 2 other dogs out in the rain in their crates.  I was very upset at the treatment of my (and others') pet.  However, my excitement over finally having my puppy outweighed my disdain towards the airline.  Manhattan was now mine.

Here are a couple pictures of Manhattan.

January 18, 2011

Reaction to My Pregnancy

As I have mentioned previously, Doug and I found out we were expecting a baby about 6 weeks after we got married.  We did not plan to get pregnant nor were we prepared for a pregnancy at that point.  Although, is anyone ever really prepared for a baby?

When we found out, we kept it to ourselves for about 3 weeks.  One, we were in shock that we were going to have a baby during our first year of marriage.  Two, if the pregnancy didn't work out, we didn't want to get the grandparents' hopes up, because regardless of the timing, grandparents-to-be are always excited.  Or so I thought.

During the 3 week holding period, Doug and I went to my brother's graduation from Army Basic Training.  It was here that I had my first bout of morning sickness.  Unfortunately, my parents and my aunt and uncle were there to witness my feeling ill.  Due to the sickness, both my mom and my aunt knew I was pregnant, but didn't say anything.

When we finally told everyone I was expecting, my parents were both very supportive and excited about a new grandchild.  Unfortunately, we also got some very harsh reactions.

Some of our family members told us that they "wished we had waited".  Um, yeah, us too, but it is what it is.  Also, I don't feel like it was the place of our family members to say this to us because we didn't ask them for money or help raising the baby, so why do you care when we have a baby?  Apparently, a year later, when we are caring for our child much better than a lot of people and giving him everything he needs and wants (or more accurately, what we want for him), these family members still believe that we shouldn't have a baby right now.

Other family members felt that the whole reason we got married was because I wanted a baby.  This is not true and they know that.  They felt that we were moving into the parenthood stage too quickly.  I agree, but the pregnancy was up to God, not up to me.  They chose to be in denial the entire pregnancy and therefore didn't show any love towards me or Weston.

Of course, at some point I wanted children, but I wanted to enjoy being married for a while as well.  Since I have a thing with numbers, I thought maybe having a 10/10/10 baby would be fun.  However, while Doug and I waited for the pregnancy test to confirm what we suspected, we told each other that if the test came back negative, we were not going to try for the 10/10/10 baby, it was just too soon.  It turns out that we became parents 3 1/2 months before 10/10/10. 

At times, I felt like a teen mom or that I should be ashamed of my pregnancy.  Hopefully with the next pregnancy, Doug and I won't receive such mean/harsh comments.  And if we do, I will try my best to ignore them and keep my head up.  Each baby is a miracle from God and although the timing may not always be the best, there is a purpose for every child.

January 17, 2011

My 26th Year

Two days after I turned 25, I got married. 

-As a side note, when we planned our wedding, I told Doug that just because my birthday and our anniversary were two days apart did not mean that he could just buy one gift and expect that it would "do".  It's kind of like having a birthday near Christmas.  If your birthday is near Christmas, some people try to cheap out and buy only one gift and expect you to spread it between two unrelated holidays. 

One month and 19 days after I turned 25, I found out that Doug and I were expecting a baby.

-Weston is an unexpected miracle and gift from God.  We definitely didn't intend on getting pregnant so quickly or having a baby within our first year of marriage.  Some people felt we were making a mistake, but that is its own blog post.

Nine months and 20 days after I turned 25, I gave birth to the most adorable and amazing little boy.

-Many strangers have commented that they think Weston is a "pretty" baby or the most handsome baby they've ever seen.  Of course Doug and I agree, but when he was first born, we thought people were saying that to be nice and that everyone says that to people with babies.  However, 6 1/2 months later, people still stop us to tell us how sweet and cute our baby is.  I'm flattered and hope that his siblings are just as cute.

My mom told me just last night that Weston is cuter than my brother and me.  I told her that she's wrong.  Your own children are cuter than your grandchildren.  The only possible way grandchildren are cuter is that you can send them back home.

I have got to say, my 26th year on this planet was the best yet.  Since I'm not getting married again, I don't think another year will be so eventful, but I hope Doug and I are blessed with several more children, which will make those years just as great at the 26th one was. 

January 16, 2011

Things I've Learned in 6.5 Months

Since becoming a mom, I have found I do things that I would have never done before Weston was born. Also, there are a few thing's Weston does that I figured I would not allow, but I do.  Here are a few items of Mommy-isms I have found myself doing or things Weston does:
  • Weston sticks his hand down my shirt and just rests his hand on my breast.  I let him keep it there because he it seems to comfort him.
  • I have gone out in public with spit-up and formula on me.
  • I will sniff Weston's back end to see if he's what we call "fresh".  Unfortunately, directly checking the diaper has resulted in many, shall we say, "dipped" fingers.
  • I pick my Weston's nose, with or without a wet wipe.
  • I have left the house and forgotten the essentials- diapers, blankets, burp cloths...
  • I songs that I find myself singing are not from the radio, but from Special Agent Oso and the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
  • I narrate everything I do during the day, even after Weston's asleep.
As my mothering goes on, I'm sure I will find that Weston or I do things I swore I'd never do/allow my child to do.

January 15, 2011

Week Wrap-Up

Since a lot of snow (for our area) was dumped on Sunday night/Monday we were unable to leave the house until Thursday.  Even though the main roads are pretty clear, parking lots and back roads are still very icy.  Therefore, Doug has worked from home all week. 

Since Doug working at home was just a temporary thing, he used our dining room for his office.  The problem with this is that our dining room faces the living room.  The same living room where Weston's toys are and where Weston and I spend most of our day.  This led to a noisy work environment for Doug.  If he worked from home long-term, he'd have to use the 4th bedroom as an office.

Also, I thought I'd enjoy having Doug home, but I really didn't.  This is because it was hard to determine when was work time and when was family time.  Even today, on Saturday, he's working.  At least when he goes to work, I know that when he's home, it's family time, not work time.

Since Weston and I were cooped up at home, we had to find new ways to keep ourselves entertained.  Weston learned this week how to pet the dogs.  Waveland loves going up to Weston and giving him kisses and now that he has learned how to pet her, it just reinforces her kisses.  He doesn't enjoy the overabundance of kisses that much.  Hattie lets Weston pet her, but only if she happens to walk by or lay down close enough to him.  She doesn't go out of her way to be near him.  Just wait until he starts eating real food and dropping it off the high chair.  She'll quickly change her mind!

Last night, we went to see The Dilemma.  It was an ok movie.  The movie was funny at times and it makes you think about what you would do in the same situation.  Weston did pretty well in the movie.  He fell asleep before the movie started, but then woke up about halfway through.  I fed him and then held him the rest of the time.  He fell back asleep on my chest, causing my arms and legs to be very asleep by the time we left.

January 14, 2011

AFI Top 100 Movies

Since I was talking about my favorite movie yesterday, Pretty Woman, I figured today I would see which movies from the American Film Institute's "100 Movies" I have seen.  Surprisingly, Pretty Woman is not on the top 100.  Haha. I have highlighted the ones I have seen in green and the ones I have not in red.  At the end, I'll have a final count of the movies I've seen vs. those I haven't and share any anecdotes I may have about the movies.


#MOVIEYEAR
1CITIZEN KANE1941
2THE GODFATHER1972
3CASABLANCA1942
4RAGING BULL1980
5SINGIN' IN THE RAIN1952
6GONE WITH THE WIND1939
7LAWRENCE OF ARABIA1962
8SCHINDLER'S LIST1993
9VERTIGO1958
10THE WIZARD OF OZ1939
11CITY LIGHTS1931
12THE SEARCHERS1956
13STAR WARS1977
14PSYCHO1960
152001: A SPACE ODYSSEY1968
16SUNSET BLVD.1950
17THE GRADUATE1967
18THE GENERAL1927
19ON THE WATERFRONT1954
20IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE1946
21CHINATOWN1974
22SOME LIKE IT HOT1959
23THE GRAPES OF WRATH1940
24E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL1982
25TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD1962
26MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON1939
27HIGH NOON1952
28ALL ABOUT EVE1950
29DOUBLE INDEMNITY1944
30APOCALYPSE NOW1979
31THE MALTESE FALCON1941
32THE GODFATHER PART II1974
33ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST1975
34SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS1937
35ANNIE HALL1977
36THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI1957
37THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES1946
38THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE1948
39DR. STRANGELOVE1964
40THE SOUND OF MUSIC1965
41KING KONG1933
42BONNIE AND CLYDE1967
43MIDNIGHT COWBOY1969
44THE PHILADELPHIA STORY1940
45SHANE1953
46IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT1934
47A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE1951
48REAR WINDOW1954
49INTOLERANCE1916
50THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING2001
51WEST SIDE STORY1961
52TAXI DRIVER1976
53THE DEER HUNTER1978
54M*A*S*H1970
55NORTH BY NORTHWEST1959
56JAWS1975
57ROCKY1976
58THE GOLD RUSH1925
59NASHVILLE1975
60DUCK SOUP1933
61SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS1941
62AMERICAN GRAFFITI1973
63CABARET1972
64NETWORK1976
65THE AFRICAN QUEEN1951
66RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK1981
67WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?1966
68UNFORGIVEN1992
69TOOTSIE1982
70A CLOCKWORK ORANGE1971
71SAVING PRIVATE RYAN1998
72THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION1994
73BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID1969
74THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS1991
75IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT1967
76FORREST GUMP1994
77ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN1976
78MODERN TIMES1936
79THE WILD BUNCH1969
80THE APARTMENT1960
81SPARTACUS1960
82SUNRISE1927
83TITANIC1997
84EASY RIDER1969
85A NIGHT AT THE OPERA1935
86PLATOON1986
8712 ANGRY MEN1957
88BRINGING UP BABY1938
89THE SIXTH SENSE1999
90SWING TIME1936
91SOPHIE'S CHOICE1982
92GOODFELLAS1990
93THE FRENCH CONNECTION1971
94PULP FICTION1994
95THE LAST PICTURE SHOW1971
96DO THE RIGHT THING1989
97BLADE RUNNER1982
98YANKEE DOODLE DANDY1942
99TOY STORY1995
100BEN-HUR1959


So, the final count:
I have seen 17 movies.
I have not seen  83 movies.

Of the 17 I have seen, 5 of the movies were seen in school or for school.  I only watched Ben Hur because I would be getting extra credit for watching it and the boy I liked was going.  You better believe I sat right next to him and also didn't watch most of the movie because I was staring at him.  I watched Streetcar Named Desire because I was supposed to have read the book, but didn't, so I had to get my knowledge from the movie and pray that the movie was the same as the book.  I hated Dr. Strangelove and the teacher that made us watch it.

I thought Taxi Driver and Silence of the Lambs were incredibly weird and twisted.

Schindler's List is a very powerful movie, but because it is so long (3 hours and 15 min), I have only seen it once.

My grandmother and I watched The Sound of Music the Christmas before she passed away.  A few days later, I bought it because I liked it and liked watching it with her.  Unfortunately, before we had a chance to watch the DVD, she passed away.  It is still in its cellophane wrapper almost 6 years later.  

Sadly, I've seen Jaws far more time than I should have.  I am now scared to go in the ocean and yet, I have my scuba diving license.

You would think being Italian, I would have seen Godfather or Goodfellas, but I haven't.

I also haven't seen, nor do I have any desire to, Wizard of Oz or Gone With the Wind.  My family thinks that this is crazy.  They think that one should see both of these movies by my age, but definitely during their lifetime.

I will probably die without seeing most of these movies, simply because I just don't care to see them.  I think God will forgive me.