a video for a friend

Thank God for Heather, man. If not for her & Jack prompting, we might not have recorded this video.

Gone are the days where the best I could get him to say is "I only like milk. Mommy only likes coffee." Because, while true, it doesn't really capture everything he's into. Enjoy:

We're dino-crazy.

This is Buddy. His favorite thing in the world is riding the Dinosaur Train.

So when we were in Washington DC this summer, at the end of our visit to the Natural History Museum, we told Oliver he could get a toy. We were all tired and he'd had such a long day and he had been so good... the boy deserved a reward. So I parked his stroller next to a souvenir stand and told him to pick out whatever he wanted. He picked a random three-pack of dinosaur toys. I think I actually tried to talk him out of them because they were from some show we'd never seen and I guess maybe I thought he'd be happier with some generic dinosaurs. I don't know.

Fast-forward to the trip home... we stopped at a Waffle House for dinner. (Scattered, smothered, covered and chunked - FYI) and another mom at the table next to us pointed out Oliver's toys to her son. Who then proceeded to tell us the names of the things and also what time periods they were from and some other random info. I smiled and nodded, talking to the mom, who told us her son had started out watching the dinosaur show and now he new everything about them. Cute, her son liked dinosaurs. They're a nice family.

So maybe a week later I came across Buddy there on the Netflix. What the hell, I thought. Better than another episode of Elmo's World, I thought.

I created a monster.

In the best way.

Confession: I love this show.

We know all the songs (and I have come thiiisclose to purchasing the soundtrack), we can identify theropods and pterosaurs and name their features, we have a running joke in our house about how Don likes to eat bugs, and Oliver was seriously bummed that he was not a stygimoloch.

He can recognize each episode by its Netflix thumbnail. We have yet to actually catch it on PBS, but now that there's new episodes I'm going to have to figure out the air times, because OMG new Dinosaur Train. I have 2 PBS Kids apps on my phone.

We're dino-crazy, and it's fun. We like it. It made for a really great birthday party.

Just ask Oliver about Dr. Scott... he'll tell you that's his friend, the paleontologist, who wants us to get outside, get into nature, and make our own discoveries.

oh, drafts folder. you suck.

I found the following in my Drafts folder, dated September 5, 2011.

I'm posting it as is, for no other reason than to have it as a reminder. It contains only the good stuff from last summer, when everything sucked except for my sweet baby Oliver. He was busy growing, learning, and becoming so smart that my heart wants to burst from my chest and my eyes well up with tears. Just reading through this list made me remember... and realize how much he has grown. This was one whole year ago, when he was just sprouting this little personality, and now we have conversations and he's potty training like a boss and his imagination runs wild and he makes up songs and tells stories...

I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again: He. Is. Pure. Joy.

If only she could know him now.

So here is the awkward draft, unedited:

oh hey, May.

(Insert something here about how I randomly feel like blogging after an extended time of not blogging.)

And then, we jump right in.

The other day Oliver found a "credit card" (an old gift card with no balance left on it). Since Mother's Day was coming up, Nick asked him what he was going to buy to buy for Mommy. He said, "ummmm, Doc Hudson!"


for me

I got my nails done about two months ago. I still have some remnants of that polish left over on my toenails, and it looks downright shameful.

I am waiting not-so-patiently for my cell phone upgrade so I can get an iPhone. June 2nd you will find me at Best Buy or the AT&T store. My mom, husband, and pretty much everyone on Twitter has one, so getting a new phone with zero learning curve will but super sweet. I may or may not have put a couple cases and screen protectors on my Amazon Wishlist.

We have 3 vacations planned for this summer, along with a couple of day trips. We are going to be one busy family. But with the super warm spring we've already had, the happy fun times started early.

We went to Chicago with the Masons last weekend and had a really great trip. Oliver was a sweetheart in the car for 5 hours each way, and while there he played nicely with his friend the whole time.

flyin in the sky (Sky Deck at Willis Tower) on Friday May 18th

My boys have no fear. I don't know what it was... I don't think I'm super afraid of heights, but I could not step out on that glass balcony. Oliver was on there for maybe 5 minutes and I was ready to vomit.

We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo for the whole day on Saturday, but I don't have those pictures with me right now. In two weeks, this will not be a problem anymore since I will be able to take them with my OWN PHONE.

So, if I said I will post the pics from the zoo soon, would you believe me? :)

my son, today

This morning, my son woke up and started calling for me saying, "Mommy where aaaaaaare youuuuuuu?"

How could I not wake up with a smile on my face, hearing that? I love weekends.

I sleepily shuffled into his room to find him stark naked. Shocked, I asked him, "Ollie! Why are you naked?!"

His answer was to smile at me, hold out his pants, and then say, "Hi Mommy! Pants! No diaper!"

I eventually found his diaper had been stuffed down behind his crib. Thankfully, it was only wet, and pretty heavy. I can see how that would be annoying.

(He's inching closer to potty-training, I think.  Along with this morning's antics, he's also occasionally been asking to be changed and sneaking off to do his business "alone" either behind the couch or at the end of the hallway or something. He will mention going potty [he's seen the kids at daycare going off to use the potty], and we have a little potty thing that plays a song that we got as a hand me down that he likes to go sit on and play with.)

Anyway, we had bacon, half an orange, and some blueberries for breakfast. We then watched Shrek and and ate a few goldfish crackers. When Daddy and Uncle Joel woke up, we all played Mr. Potato Head for a while.  We had Thanksgiving sandwiches for lunch, and right now my sweet boy is napping, clutching on to the Woody doll he got for his birthday.

We'll see what happens when he wakes up.

Thankful.

Oliver, Two Years Old

And his silly Daddy.

I love these goofballs.

With all my heart.

Today I just want to say that I'm so thankful for the happiness and health of these two dudes right here, and they joy they bring me just by being "mine".

Ollie's top 5 movies

amirite?

Ollie's Current Favorite Movies:

1. Toy Story (& Toy Story 3) He doesn't really care for Toy Story 2. Anyway: I took picture of the sky outside my office not long ago, because it reminded me of Toy Story.
2. Cars (& Cars 2)
3. Rio - the birdy movie. 
4. Madagascar & Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - these are interchangeable and can also at any time be referred to as "Alex the Lion Movie"
5. Finding Nemo

Source: funri.com via Sara on Pinterest

Here are some things that can be regularly heard around my house:

• How long is this going to TAKE?
• Just take a look at this right here, loverboy.
• Is it getting DARK OUT??
• Good God, girl. You huge.
• Birds versus monkeys!!!!
• Noggin!
• You ARE the bomb!

Actually, just rest assured that if you hear me or Nick say something and then giggle like 5 year olds, it's probably a quote from a movie intended for 5 year olds.

the daddy on the bus

Nick has quite often taken issue with many commercials and some TV shows and how they portray men. You know the ones I'm talking about... the commercial for a vacuum cleaner where the lazy dude on the couch can barely be bothered to lift his feet as the woman gleefully pushes her new vacuum past him. Practically any ad for a cooking gadget or grocery store will show a wife shopping for and preparing dinner for her family in a healthier/faster/less clean-up required way.

Not that these things aren't the "norm" I guess, and not to say that many women aren't perfectly happy (or expected or at least not resentful) doing these things for their family. But the point is, it's not always the women doing the cooking and/or cleaning, and certainly in this day and age, the men in our lives don't plant their butts on the couch every night and weekend and not lift a finger to help around the house.

So the other day, after dinner, Oliver started randomly singing "The Wheels on the Bus" while we prompted him what line to say next.

The wheels on the bus go...? Wound and wound!
The doors on the bus go...? Open-ann shut!
The wipers on the bus go...? Swish-wish-wish!
The baby on the bus goes...? Wah Wah Wah!
The mommy on the bus goes...? Shh Shh Shh!

All through the town!

There doesn't seem to be any daddies on this bus*?

So we made up some words, totally in jest (and out of ear shot) about what the daddy on the bus might say.

The daddy on the bus goes [boobs and beer!]
[nachos and farts!] [porn and war!]
The daddy on the bus goes [work work work]
All through the town!

*I did find one website that referenced the parents on the bus going shh shh shh, and also the mommy on the bus saying I love you and the daddy saying I love you, too. But I thought our version was funnier.

thirty two

Today is my birthday!

It's 9:00 am and I've gotten two phone calls, had three co-workers stop by my desk, got a card in the mail from my grandma yesterday (how do grandmas always do that?) and 4756 texts and facebook messages. :-D

I'm 32 years old today... and it's pretty much a so-what kind of birthday. Thirty-two? Eh. Except hey! It's my birthday so I do get to feel a little special! (Plus, so does my mom. Because damn, this day should be as much about her as me, no?)

So tonight we're going out for some good Mexican food and I'm gonna have me a couple margaritas.

Happy Friday, friends!

Boo at the (CLEMet) Zoo



(show me your teeth, Ollie!)

Mommy + Oliver = <3

I have to say... I was unimpressed. The radio ads touted "family friendly fun!" that's "hairy, not scary!" (get it, because it was at the zoo?) but the problem was that the animals were, for the most part, sleeping. So... not much hair.
There were a few activities, like a Monster Mash dance area thing where we probably would have been trampled and a "spooky" greenhouse with lights in the trees and some good pumpkin decorations. There were bunches of kids and whole families in costume, a lot of people for a Sunday night, I thought.

Melman!

The only animals we could really see were the ones that had indoor viewing areas: the elephants, which Ollie did NOT LIKE (they were they were too big, I think?) and a koala. Outside we saw a couple camels, a few reindeer (cool, but not in a lighted habitat area, so tough to see) a seal (NO SEAL, DADDY!) and the bears.

The bears made it all worth it. We pointed, said "see the bears, buddy?" and held him while he looked... and then my Ollie held up his little hand like a claw and said "RARRR."

We hung out by the dang bears until it was time to leave. I can't wait to go back to the zoo during the DAY. As far as the Boo at the Zoo event, maybe we'll enjoy it more when he's a little older.

there goes my hero

(Gotcha! Not a Foo Fighters post.)

This is the story of us...

Sara & Nick - 1996

We met in high school, when he started dating my friend Kristina. They broke up, we stayed friends, and eventually started dating. 8 months is a long time in high school. We broke up over some dumb crap that I said. I moved away to college.

Fast forward 7 years, to 2003. I had moved to Georgia. I was visiting my BFF in Ohio, and her sister told me that she ran into Nick at the Post Office, where he said something to the effect of: "If I ever saw Sara again, I'd marry her."

Well. I had to call that guy, right? Lucky for me, his mom still had the same home phone number, and I still remembered it. I called, we talked.

We talked. For hours, every night for six months.

My BFF Julie had a small wedding back home that Valentine's Day. We hung out that weekend. Julie & I went to the mall for hair and nails, and this guy walked with us through the mall, then alone, carrying her veil. Because he told me he would help.

He visited me in April. And May.

It had all the excitement of a brand new relationship, with all the comforts of a long time friend.

I visited him in June. He proposed.

He moved to Georgia in July.

Together we moved back to Ohio in December of 2005. Rented a little house, got a little dog.

in the lobby of the Riviera, no we didn't get married at a window

We were married in March of 2006, at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in lovely Las Vegas. And lived happily ever after, so far!

So, I married my high school sweetheart, sort of. But he's always been my hero.

I have this theory...

Crafted over the years with the help of some good friends.

Erasure Theory: When you have a bad experience, you can recreate the scene in an enjoyable setting, in order to erase the offending memory.

Example: Say you have a crappy time with someone (usually an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend) while drinking Captain Morgan's/bird watching/eating at McDonald's. Now, every time you drink Captain/see a bird/eat a Happy Meal, you think of this person and whatever unpleasant memory that has attached itself to this event.

In order to prevent this from happening again, make a point of slightly changing the situation to have a good time, thereby erasing the bad time. Drink Captain Morgan's with your best friend. Go out and sit in a park and watch birds on a bright, clear, sunny summer day. Eat at McDonald's with your Grandma.

Notable use: Friends, The One With The 'Cuffs:

Monica: You bet that I'd screw up? All that stuff about hiring me because I was good was...
Mrs. Geller: No no no, that was all true. This was just in case you pulled a Monica.

Phoebe: Just change what it means, you know. Go down there and prove your mother wrong. You finish the job you were hired to do, and we'll call that, "pulling a Monica."
Monica: What?
Phoebe: Okay, um, if a kid gets straight A's, his parents would say, "Yeah, he pulled a Monica!" Or a fireman saves a baby, and they go, "Yeah I know, he pulled a Monica. Whew." Or someone hits a home run, the announcer says "Yeah, that one's outta here." 'Cause somethings don't change.

I think the most important part of this "theory" is to be mentally aware of the new situation. Be totally, purposefully in the new moment. You get to decide what means what to you. If you want to stop thinking about that bad thing that happened, or like me, if you tend to dwell on what could have or should have been... give yourself a do-over!

As my mom says, "The place to be happy is here. The time to be happy is now." Why wait?

that time we went to Florida...

...was in April. :)

obviously very happy to be eating strawberries for breakfast by the pool, be in the water with mommy and daddy, and play ball while sitting on the big raft.

at the beach for the first time. he did like it, eating sand and jumping the waves were his very favorite parts.

it was bound to happen

Oliver is a pretty good traveller. We drove 3 hours south this past weekend for my best friend's son's birthday party. We took a little break about 2 hours in, changed a diaper and ran around the rest area a bit, after which he crashed out for about 45 minutes.

have squeezy "appa sauce", will travel.

Despite getting a late start, we got there just a few minutes after the party started. It was SO CUTE - with Dr. Suess decorations and Cat in the Hat all over. (Oh! And Swedish Fish! Which I forgot to bring home. Boo.)

this is the only picture available for me to steal from Facebook.
yes, it was a first birthday party. yes the cake topper got fixed in time.

The party was lovely, all three babies in attendance were well behaved and (most importantly) they went to sleep without a fight leaving all parents free to enjoy each other's company (and beer) (and whisky slush).

Sunday morning was also full of happy, with three babies and 6 adults having breakfast and some good playtime.

wheee toys!

So after all the good time feelings and rainbow words, you know there has to be something, right? Right.

passed out with Lightning McQueen on his shoulder

We drove home shortly after lunch time, and Oliver fell alseep almost right away. As soon as he woke up, we stopped off at a McDonald's for a diaper change and some french fries.

When we were about half an hour from home Ollie looked at his daddy, held out his hand and said "what's iss?" And Nick said, "What is that? Let me have it..."

It was poop.

It had exploded out of the side of his diaper and down onto the car seat, of course. So I pulled the car over on a side street and get him out. Nick took him and changed his diaper and shorts, while I attempted to get the car seat cover off. Would. Not. Budge. I don't know what the hell I was doing wrong, or maybe if it was just because I wasn't the one who installed it, but I couldn't figure out how to get the cover off of the seat.

So Nick and I switched, and I watched Oliver (which meant keeping him from climbing all over the front seat and/or pushing too many vital buttons on the dashboard) while Nick got the cover off the seat. Turns out, you have to completely disconnect the seat from the car and thread the straps through the cushion and... let's just say there was poop everywhere.

We switched places once again so I could attempt to scrub as much poop as I could off of the straps and buckles before putting him in the seat again. There was a lot of poop.

Did I mention that during the 20 minutes or so that we were stopped on the side of the road it went from a light mist to full-on downpouring rain? Yeah.

I just have to say here that I am SO GLAD my husband is super awesome and dealt with the poop and carseat-challenged wife like a champ. All we could smell the rest of the way home was poo, obviously, but I really would have been sunk without him there.

We were never so happy to be home and see and smell Dial antibacterial soap!

Wordless Wednesday: bounce house

Hey people.

I'm not quite ready for words again yet, so here's some fun for you - from just last night.



Oliver's daycare had a "carnival" open house last night. Can you feel the happy?

Florida!

We're hanging by the pool this week. BRB. TTYL. CYA.

a crappy cell phone video for your Wednesday

plotting my personality

So, everyone knows Netflix = Awesome. And ever since we quit cable we’ve been watching a lot of hulu and Netflix between 8 and 10 pm – after the boy goes to sleep and we have a few minutes to veg.

The last movie we got on DVD was Inception. It. Was. Fucking. Awesome. Seriously awesome. If you haven’t seen it, rent it or add it to your queue right now!

The other day I had a conversation with my friend Dan, who has seen Inception twice, and he mentioned that he thinks it’s just as good the second time because you'll catch things you didn't the first time, including some plot holes.

I told him that I already spotted a couple, because good movies like this that really get you thinking tend to stick around in my head for a while. Which is ironic, considering that “inception” refers to the concept of implanting an idea into someone else’s head – making them think it was their own idea.

Anyhow, here’s what I said: *spoiler alert*

If they were never supposed to go any "deeper" than that third dream, the one with all the snow and shit, how did they happen to have one of those sedative machines that let Cobb and the-girl-what’s-her-name-from-Juno go into limbo after their Target Guy when Mal killed him?

(Yes, I really notice little things like this. Tiny little things like hey! That guy’s hair is parted on the wrong side! And why is there no coffee spilled on his shirt?)

Dan’s example, which I think is also a good example of the difference between men and women:

In Dream One the driver takes the team off the bridge, they are falling towards the water. As such, in Dream Two the dreamers experience zero gravity (in the hotel). So, why don't the dreamers in Dream Three (snow fortress) experience zero gravity? Answer: because zero G looks awesome in a hotel. Zero G on a mountain top involves a lot of people floating off into space and dying.

I thought it had something to do with the fact that time stretches out in subsequent dreams, like they had 30 seconds in dream one, which gave them 20 minutes in dream two and then 2 hours in dream three... so the floaty effects are dampened.

Yah, you could say that. But I think they just goofed.

Right. So the difference is, boys see things in terms of action and special effects, and girls see them in terms of… basic facts and linear story lines. I don’t know, maybe I’m not a philosopher.

Anyhow, after that, I had a little revelation about myself. I don't like plot holes. So, if I find an adequate explanation, I stick with it. So my mind can rest. I’m the type of person who picks at hangnails and threads... plot holes unnerve me. *spoiler alert* I have absolutely refused to let any other possibility enter my mind: that damn top WAS WOBBLING at the end!

I don’t watch the news, because if I do, all the sad puppies and missing children of the world will visit my dreams. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that is so true for me. My balance is easily thrown off by images, leaving me feeling haunted by their stories. Without even closing my eyes, I can still see the chubby face and pink jacket of the 4-month old baby girl who somehow survived the tsunami in Japan. I can almost feel the intense overwhelming pain her parents must have felt… and if this story had had an unhappy ending?

Emotionally Sensitive. I have trouble distancing myself from the rest of the world mentally. At least that's what that therapist said. Other people's hurt is my hurt.

But, it's not bad all the time... it works both ways. Other people's joy is my heart-pounding success. I am Jack’s medulla oblongata.

I get choked up when someone wins big on Wheel of Fortune. When Michael Scott proposed to Holly on the Office, I got a lump in my throat.

I tear up reading those stories about children and kitty-cats who love so purely, and who dial 911 and save the day. And the high school basketball towel boy who was happy to just be part of the team? And then they put him in the last game of the year? And he makes that half-court shot and the crowd goes wild and the team lifts him up on their skinny teenage shoulders? Yes, that noise you hear is in fact me, having a good ugly cry.

When I feel happy, I am unstoppable, on top of the world!* Like last Friday, I was looking forward to going out to dinner with my lovely husband, and that alone kept my mood lifted to just above where anything else could touch it… there was no getting me down.

So looking forward to our trip to Florida in three weeks, when I say I’m excited, you know I’m seriously freaking excited. The thought my babe and his grandparents will get to charge down the beach together and splash in the ocean? I am looking more forward to this trip than anything, at all, ever. The potential energy in the potential memories makes me unable to stop smiling.

And when I talk about how happy I am, how these guys make my life better than I could have imagined? You know that shit is the God’s-honest truth.

*Yes, I realize this makes me sound manic-depressive, but it’s not to that extreme… I don’t actually have huge mood swings. I’m just describing what goes on inside, and that I’m still learning about myself.

independence and favorites

So... what's he doing now?

Whatever it is he's doing it by himself!

Not that we're not, like, teaching him things... but some of these things he must have picked up by watching us or learning from the teachers and other kids at daycare. Anyway, here's the list!

I love that he has favorites. He doesn't (yet) have a "lovey", the one must-have security item that must be present at all naptimes and bonked-head-in-need-of-comfort times, hugs and kisses do just fine for now.

Dr. Seuss' ABCs always gets a smile. This was my favorite book as a child, apparently to the point where I had the book memorized! Oh, history really does repeat itself... I currently have the book memorized. :) The other night we were in the car on our way home from eating and he was just tired of sitting and started getting pissed... so I started rattling off rhymes and soon he was giggling.

Me: Big D... little d... What begins with D? Doughnuts and a duck-dog!
Oliver: D... D... D!
Me: Big R... little r... What begins with R? Rosy's red rhinocerous! R... r... R...
Oliver: Arrrrrr!

My dude loves Elmo. They have a chicken dance Elmo at daycare, and when you push his foot he sings... "Elmo wants to be a chicken, Elmo wants to be a duck... *quack quack quack!"

This morning he spied his Elmo hoodie in his dresser and pointed, saying "mo mo! MO MO!" So, guess what he's wearing today?

He loves his Roxie! We got him a big ball that he tosses around - he laughs so much when she jumps up to chase it. I can't wait to see him in the back yard together!

Lately if you say "Oliver, let's go change your diaper" he'll walk down the hall and wait for you at the door. Most of the time once you open the door he'll either take off toward the books in his closet or behind the rocking chair to play peek-a-boo. Still better than running away from a diaper change, though!

This walking down the hall trick will sometimes work for "Oliver, want to go nite nite?" Sometimes.

Other things he wants to do by himself:

• Put on his socks, shoes and sometimes his pants
• Take off his socks, shoes and pants
• Run
• Eat with silverware

Seriously, these days he'll eat almost anything as long as it's speared on the end of a fork. We didn't teach him this really, except by example, which is why it blows my mind that this is how he prefers to eat. At least he's not surviving on applesauce and peas any more! (That was so two weeks ago.) He's getting pretty good at spooning mashed potatoes too.

He's also started to develop a little bit of patience. A little. He will hand me his sippy cup when it's empty and most of the time actually not cry when I walk away, and wait for me to bring back some more milk.

Our son enjoys routine. Most days I get home from work, we eat dinner, then Nick goes to take a shower. Oliver and I read books and do all kinds of playing, but once Daddy comes out of the bathroom door it's "Da Dee!" and off he goes down the hall. We have been practicing having him walk holding one of our hands, and so he gets up, walks over to his dad, takes his hand and leads him to the bedroom. Like, "OK now you go here, and put on pajama pants, and then we pick things up like shoes and dog chew bones and bring them to mommy in the living room now, right? OK GO."

He's got a new tickle spot on his jawbone and is working on saying "Ollie" and "love you". Just plain killing me.


TOY STORY TENT! COMPLETE WITH REX INSIDE!

Oliver likes...

The lottery drawing. It's his favorite show.

The HH Gregg newspaper guy. Makes him laugh.

"uh oh!" It comes out sounding more like "ah ooh!" and is, of course, adorable. We're working on teaching him that it's not an "uh oh" if you do it on purpose.

Walking. This is his jam. His primary mode of transportation. He's still working on watching where he's going, though.

Peas, corn, meatballs, any and all fruit, and Wendy's chicken nuggets over McDonalds.

French fries dipped in Frosty. Another win for Wendy, that vixen.

His pup, Roxie. He laugh when she kisses him. She lets him hug her.

Books. Flipping the pages, pointing at animals, sitting in your lap. Cows say "ooooh".

Ducks. He has the Munchkin bath duck, which he used to be afraid of, but now he loves it's quack. As a sign of his genius, he now says "cah cahk" when he sees any duck, on a shirt, in a book, and every morning when he sees that inflatable fellow in the closet.

Kisses. Ok, maybe it's more something his mom likes, but Oliver gives kisses to people, Roxie, and the boy in the mirror. And he gives "nice nice" (hugs) to pretty much everything if prompted.