More of the Drama that is MY Life

Whew......home again, at last. It's been QUITE a morning...definitely "one of those days." Know what I mean? I will say, although I am exhausted (in every sense of the word), I have learned a few important things through the unexpected turn of events that took place today.


My day began early when I got out of bed to get ready for a doctor's appointment. I didn't feel that great -- a little lightheaded and weak -- and kind of had that "about to pass out" feeling. I've felt like this before, so I knew it was just dehydration. Once I got some water into my system, I would be fine. I've never been one to drink a whole lot, so I'm always having to force myself to drink water. It's even worse now that I am pregnant. Anyway......I walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water and overcompensated for my lack of fluids by drinking a very large glass of water without taking a breath (one of my many hidden talents). That leads me to lesson #1: Never drink a large glass of water without taking a breath. First of all, it makes you feel like you're about to throw up. Second, I have had to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes since 7:30 AM.


I managed to get myself ready and was feeling much better by the time I got Jacob out of bed and ready to go. He ate breakfast and we were out the door, headed to Erika's house since she was going to watch him during my appointment. As I was nearing her house, I called her to let her know I was minutes away. While we were talking, my low fuel chime went off and showed I had 42 miles to go before I would run out of gas. This is where lesson #2, part A comes in: The low fuel chime in your car is meaningless. Forty-two miles worth of gas was certainly more than enough to get me to Erika's and then to the doctor's office, so I didn't think anything of it. Then, as I approached the stoplight to make a left turn, my gas pedal stopped working, the a/c began to blow warm air and my car came to a stop. I tried to crank it again. Nothing. Of course, I was the first car in line to turn at the stoplight, so when we had the green arrow, I had people honking and hollering at me. I didn't know what to do. I waved my hand out the window and yelled for them to go around me, but apparently, they didn't know what I was doing. So, they just honked and yelled louder. There I was, Jacob in the backseat saying, "Uh-Oh," blocking traffic in the middle of the road because I ran out of gas. (I didn't know that's what was wrong at the time.)


I called Heath and he and a co-worker came to rescue me or at least push the car to the median. The only problem -- our car weighs about 50 tons. Ok, so it probably weighs a litte less than that, but it was too heavy for them to push. A guy driving by saw they were having trouble and stopped to help. (Yes, there are still a few nice people in the world!) Thankfully, the three of them were able to get the job done. At least then, I wasn't blocking traffic. I had already called AAA...twice (don't get me started on that one), so the tow truck was on it's way. Meanwhile, it's like 130 degrees outside (ok, so that's a little exaggeration too) and Jacob is turning into a little ball of sweat in his carseat. Poor thing!


Finally the tow truck arrives and the guy says he thinks I probably just ran out of gas. I say, "But my fuel meter said I could go 42 more miles!" He put a little gas in the car and, sure enough, it cranked right up and we drove it over to the gas station across the street to fill up. It took a little over 21 gallons. Yes, I was indeed out of gas....very embarrassing. Later I stopped by the dealership to ask about my faulty fuel gauge and was told those things are meaningless. Here's part B of lesson #2: If you want to extend the life of your car, no matter the make or model, you should never let it get below 1/2 a tank. Believe me, my gas tank will be no less than half full from now on. AND...never again will I laugh at that guy on the side of the road filling his tank with gas from a little container!


With that problem solved, I decided to get some shopping done. After all, I had missed my doctor's appointment and I was already out, so...why not? I went to one store, then noticed it was almost lunchtime. Knowing Jacob wouldn't be a happy camper without food, I pulled into Moe's to grab a bite to eat. Lesson #3: Never go to a restaurant alone with a busy toddler. Jacob did not want to sit down and eat. He wanted to climb on the table and share his cookie with the kid sitting in the booth in front of us. He finally settled down and ate a few chips, but that lasted all of 5 minutes. I ate my salad as fast as I could, partly because I wanted to get Jacob out of there and partly because I had to go to the bathroom so bad I couldn't stand it.


Going to a public restroom with an almost 2 year old is an experience in itself. I'm always so grossed out because he touches everything (including dirty plungers...GROSS!) and there's nothing I can do to stop him. Finally, after changing his diaper and washing his hands and mine, we were out of there. Here comes lessson #4: Always check your clothes when leaving the restroom. I didn't and when I got to the car, I realized the back of my long, flowy maternity top was tucked into what I'll call my "maternity hot pants." I had walked all the way through the restaurant like this. Wow...two embarrassing moments in one day. Now, the pants I have on aren't really "hot pants," but they're kind of stretchy (not trashy stretchy or legging stretchy...just....stretchy). I wouldn't ordinarily tuck a shirt into them. Plus, they have an elastic waistband. At least they didn't have that giant panel across the top. Now, THAT would have been REALLY embarrassing. :)


SO....a few stores later and several public restroom trips later, here I am back at home. Jacob is napping and I'm enjoying the peace and quiet. I think I'll take this time to pray for God to grant me an uneventful afternoon and evening. That would be nice. I'll do that...right after I go to the bathroom again.

Water Fun

Last week we went to a playgroup at a nearby neighborhood pool. Jacob and Katie had a blast! I'm so glad Erika volunteered to come along because Jacob was a handful. He has no fear. He wanted to run around all over the place and I'm convinced he would have dived into the lazy river several times if I hadn't grabbed him. He just can't control himself around water! He loves it! Katie was much more calm and stayed by our side the whole time. Here are a few pictures from the day. Snack time!

The pool was only 1 foot deep in front of the rope.

Jacob's favorite part was playing in the fountains.

He loved the frog.

Thoughts on Cleaning

It's 11:52 AM and after 2 1/2 hours, my kitchen is finally clean...well, almost. I still need to sweep and mop the floor. I know 2 1/2 hours seems like quite a long time to be cleaning a small kitchen, but cleaning with a toddler running around is no easy task.

I started this morning by unloading the dishwasher -- a task Jacob usually helps with -- but today he was more interested in the DVD he asked to watch. We haven't been watching a lot of TV lately, but knowing I needed to clean, I reluctantly popped it in the DVD player hoping it would entertain him and keep him out of trouble for at least 15 minutes or so. It did...for about 15 minutes. As I am reloading the dishwasher, I look up and see him pull the last of our large collection of magazines off the coffee table shelves. (You know...all the old magazines you save because there is a good recipe or craft idea, but never really get around to making or doing?) It's just as I suspected. As I am cleaning one room, another one is being destroyed. I stop what I'm doing and attempt to get Jacob to help me put the magazines back on the shelves. Perhaps I should have just thrown them away, but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to do it just yet -- so many good recipes. Jacob finds one he wants to look at and since I'm feeling a little guilty for not playing with him, we sit down on the couch and look at the toy catalog. He smells like perfume so I know he's been in the trash can. Last night we threw away an old bottle of perfumed lotion. I didn't think there was anything left in the bottle, but obviously, I was wrong.

As I head back to the kitchen, Jacob begins playing with blocks and as he plays, we're having a conversation about what he is building. Then, I get distracted washing all the dishes that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher. I look up a while later and see all the DVDs on the floor. Each one pulled out of the drawer and some out of their cases. With that task being accomplished, Jacob has moved on to another drawer in the entertainment center. Again, I stop what I am doing and attempt to get Jacob to help me put the DVDs away. This time, he does. Each time he throws one in, he says, "Yay!" He also adds in an occasional "dood dob!" (Good Job!). We finish putting the DVDs away and he runs off to bounce on his zebra. I return to the kitchen. After a couple minutes, Jacob joins me. He opens the one cabinet without a lock and begins to empty it out. He plays with the cooling racks for a while, then moves to the kitchen table. He stands on the chair to reach the napkin holder, then sits back down as I tell him to "SIT DOWN!" He takes each napkin out of the holder, wipes his nose, then throws it on the floor. I stop what I am doing and try to rescue a few napkins. I am too late. Jacob helps me throw each one in the trash can. He gets distracted because he sees the lotion bottle, grabs it and tries to squirt it in his mouth. "Mmmmmmm......nummy," he says. I take it from him and push it down further into the trash can. Jacob returns to the living room and picks up the remote to the DVD player. He brakes off the battery cover before I can take it from him. "Bak-it, " he says. "Yes, you broke it," I respond. "Just wait 'till Daddy finds out." Oh well. I guess we'll just have to tape it back on. As I put the remote up out of reach (something I should have done earlier) Jacob runs off and begins spinning around singing "Ring around the rosies." Actually, he just spins around, says, "Assss---es, Assssss----es......DOM!" (Ashes, Ashes, Down!) then falls down. I feel bad that he's playing that game by himself, so I spin around a couple times with him and sing the whole verse.

I finally manage to finish washing the dishes and start wiping the counters as I see Jacob head over to play with his toys behind the couch. Of course, now that I am done, he's playing quietly and entertaining himself. That's just the way it goes!

I have to say, cleaning is not a task I enjoy. It has never been one of my specialties. Just ask anyone who has ever lived with me :) I do try to keep things reasonably clean though. It definitely takes a lot more effort now than it ever did before, but I've gotten used to it. Hmmm...wonder how it will be with two????

Well, it's now 1:20 PM. Jacob has eaten lunch, we've played a little more and he is taking a nap. Yay! I get to take a break.....except....oh yeah, I need to finish cleaning the kitchen.

A Perfect Day at the Booch

It was a perfect day for the beach -- not too crowded, not too hot, and a gentle breeze...well, it was gentle except for that one gust that sent our beach umbrella flying across the sand. We couldn't have asked for a better day! Jacob was especially excited to go to the "booch." Since it wasn't crowded this morning, he was able to run all over the place. When he got to the water, he squealed with excitement as the waves hit his legs, followed by a "Whoooaaa!" when they knocked him down. If we hadn't been there with him, he would have kept running right out into the ocean. As I've stated many times before, Jacob loves the water!

Tell me again where we're going.

Yay! The Booch!

Heading out to the ocean

Bring on the sun!

Jacob is enjoying some sandy crackers. Doesn't everything taste better with a little grit?

Building sand castles

It's funny that we live so close to the beach, yet seem to get there so infrequently. After the wonderful time we had today, I've decided we should go more often. I guess I'll just have to put "go to beach" more towards the top of our "things to do" list!

More Pictures from the Weekend

Uncle Philip and Aunt Michelle were in town Saturday, so we drove over to spend the day with them. While we were there, Papa and Jacob had fun in the "recording studio." Jacob is a natural with the microphone and likes to play along on the ukulele, which to him, is a little "tah-wah" (guitar).

This looks like a very serious discussion.

POPSICLES CAN BE DIFFICULT TO EAT!!!

I decided Sunday afternoon was a nice time for a popsicle, so I gave Jacob one for the first time. He's had little bites before, but never had a whole one to himself. He wasn't really sure what to do with it. At first, I didn't think he was going to eat it at all. He made a face because it was so cold, and he didn't like that it was on a stick.

After several attempts to eat it, he pointed the popsicle at me and said, Peece....peece.....peeces," which was his way of asking me to cut it into little pieces. He liked it much better when he was able to eat it with a fork.

Jacob's vocabulary is expanding very quickly and the way he says some words is different now, so I thought I'd give everyone a quick vocabulary update:

Yogurt..............used to be pronounced, "uht," now is pronounced, "bo-guck."

Milk..................used to be pronounced, "ut," now is pronounced, "moolk."

Hello................."heh-no"

Nothing............"nutting" or sometimes "nuttin" ------He'll play with his toy phones now (and the real ones) and say, "heh-no.......nuttin" I guess because he's heard me pick up the phone, say "hello," then say, "oh...nothing," when someone asks, "What are you doing?"

Keys................"tees"

Hurry, Hurry!................"uh-wee, uh-wee!"

I see you!........................."c-yuh"

wall.................................."wah"

Ready............................."weh-eeee"

Go!................................."do!"

Berry............................."beh-eeeee"

Blueberry....................."boo-boo beh-eeeee"

Waffle..........................."fahffle"

snacks.........................."sacks"

raisins..........................."sessin"

crayons........................."ons"

color.............................."tah-wah" (same as guitar)

Pop-Tart....................."ot-tot"

pepperoni...................."mo-ny"

pizza............................."shoo-sha"

He'll repeat just about anything we say now, so there are soooooooo many words I could list. These are just a few of the ones I can think of at the moment.

Happy Independence Day!

We celebrated the Fourth by taking Jacob to Island Playground that morning and we all had a great time. Jacob loves that place! His favorite things are the slides and the cash register, which he calls a "button." Actually, he calls anything with buttons to press a "button."

Taking off shoes and getting ready to play!

Here he is digging for dinosaur bones.

Ready...set....GOOOOOO!!!!!!

He went down this slide over and over and over and over and over.......well, you get my point.

Crawling out of one of the bouncy castles

That will be twenty-two dollars and sixteen cents, please.

He went down this slide by himself once before and it wasn't quite as fun. He tried to sit up on the way down, which caused him to tumble all the way to the bottom. He didn't really cry, but he said "No, no, no" when I asked him if he wanted to do it again. The experience was much more enjoyable when Daddy went down with him. They ended up going down several times. One time, Jacob's hair was standing straight up because they slid down so fast. It was hilarious. I wish I had taken a video of it.

Later that afternoon, Katie and her boyfriend, Tim, came to visit. We went to Frankie Bones for dinner and Jacob was very well behaved. I was so proud of him. We were planning on going to see fireworks afterwards, but decided to hang out at the house instead. The D.C. fireworks had just begun when we got home, so we watched them on TV. Jacob still had fun. He had an American flag and a patriotic pinwheel that he waved in the air while he watched. He loves fireworks.

We aren't totally lame parents because we did take Jacob to see fireworks last weekend at Bluff Fest (an early July 4th celebration). They were selling these little light-up swords and of course, we had to get one for Jacob. He loves his "sud."