just my type

a mother's love

Since I became one of them a year ago, I've said it to myself a thousand times...

OHHH... so THIS is how much my mom loves me.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. :)

the birthday

Just a few pictures from Max's first birthday... okay, a lot of pictures.  His party is this weekend, but I wanted to do some fun stuff on his birthday, too.  Tom had baseball pretty much all day, so we had a family breakfast before we left for work.

We sang 'Happy Birthday' and put a candle in his (pan)cake.

I asked Max how many he was, and I got five.  I think he was doing 'so big', though.

Then it was time for a few presents.

Nothing like a baseball bat that's bigger than you are.  Tom didn't buy him age-appropriate gifts, but he actually LOVES this thing.

Some cool Twins PJs!!

He also got a tiny little mitt with a soft ball.  The mitt has velcro inside that the ball sticks to.  I think this next one is hilarious... I have NO IDEA how I got this shot.  Trust me, my one-year-old does not wind up and throw at a glove, as much as his daddy would like to believe it. :)

A slightly blurry family portrait. :)

Max went to Mary's for the morning and then I picked him up around noon.  We headed over to Tom's game for awhile, but the game before theirs went into extra innings, so we didn't actually get to see his team play.   But, we got to visit with Tom so that was nice.  Max didn't last very long... it was kind of chilly and he was getting tired and was teething all day.  So we went home and took a nap.  After he woke up we headed out to meet my mom and grandma for dinner.

And then went and got some Culver's for dessert.

Yum!

It was a good day. :)

Story from yesterday about how stupid I am... after I put Max down for his nap I thought I'd check out the pictures from his birthday breakfast and gifts.  I don't have a card reader so I always just hook my camera up to the computer.  Well, there's a 'download' and 'delete' button, and I pressed the 'delete' button, thinking I was downloading.  It even asked me if I was sure, and I said yes out of habit, then started reading blogs or something, waiting for my pictures to get uploaded.  Well, I looked after a little while and there were NO FILES and then I realized what had happened.  I was so disappointed!  Of course this had to happen with his first birthday pictures.  So I immediately thought, there HAS to be some way to get those files back... right?  So I Googled and found this program that said it would work, only you have to use a card reader.  So, we made a quick trip to get a card reader before dinner, and I tried it last night... and it worked!  I got all my pictures back from that morning... it even found pictures on my card that I had deleted months ago... crazy.  Anyway... it killed me to think those pictures were gone forever, so, I was happy. :)

Oh, and thanks for all the good luck wishes... I think Tom has a new job already.  I think he'll probably take next week off and then maybe start the following Monday.  I hope he likes it and it works out for him... we've both worked for this company before and still know people there so it's not completely foreign territory, but still, it's always an adjustment starting a new job.

I guess I should get back to cleaning up the house and making lists of things for Tom to do tomorrow to get ready for the birthday party. :)  I am shooting a wedding tomorrow so it'll be a busy weekend.  Hope everyone has a good one!

month twelve

Dear Max,

One year ago, right now, you and your daddy and I were cuddled up in our hospital room, watching Justin Morneau hit two home runs.  You were born about 12 hours before that.  I remember laying in the recovery room after the surgery, watching the clock, just trying SO hard to stay awake.  I was worried that I'd fall asleep and they wouldn't wake me up to go see you.  Finally after what seemed like FOREVER, they brought me back up to our room and Daddy was sitting there holding you and he said "He's awesome, girl."  Or maybe it was "Girl, he's awesome."  Hey, I was on some drugs, cut me some slack.  I know it was one of the two.  But I will never forget the look on his face.  I saw that same look when he proposed to me, when we got married, and when we stepped on the field during a tour of Fenway Park.  I would describe it as incredulous happiness.  Like he can't believe he's actually THIS happy.  And now that you're around, I get to see it a lot more often, and I am pretty sure I've had the same look on my face a lot in the past year too.

You are completely delightful at a year old.  You LOVE to eat anything we put in front of you.  You're not really any closer to walking than you were a month ago, but I think you're getting closer to talking.  You love dogs and grin and point at them whenever we see one.  You love your stuffed animals and give them hugs all the time.  You even love your books that have pictures of stuffed animals, and you'll try to hug them too, or at least drool on them.  Books are still your favorite.  When we go somewhere, I bring along a magazine to keep you happy.  You can't get enough of going up and down the stairs.  We have to block you into the living room with furniture if we want you to FOCUS and play with your toys, already.  You say 'mom' and 'dada' and pull yourself up on our legs constantly.  You loved going to Daddy's baseball game and exploring the stadium.  You're never happy to just sit.  You're pretty much a blast.  We love you and are so proud of you.  A year later, it's still a little hard to believe you're ours.

Tonight I was putting you to bed, on your first night as a one-year-old, and it hit me: I'm really a MOM.  I guess I knew it all along, but it took a year or so for me to get it.  It was a piece of cake, being your mom over the past year.  I fed you, changed your diaper, helped you to sleep.  Now is when the hard part starts.  I felt a little bit sad today, and I guess I'm having a hard time letting go of this year.  But I think the letting go gets much harder from here on out.  Putting you on a bus to school, or watching you get hit by a pitch, or laying in bed, waiting to hear you come home late at night.  I have heard people say 'having a child is to wear your heart on the outside of your body,' but I never understood it... until now.

Happy Birthday, baby.

Love,
Mommy

i think it's time for bed

Today: not very good.  First of all, I had this stupid class I had to go to... because I bounced a check.  About four months ago, I deposited a few checks into an ATM.  I bank both with Tom at Wells Fargo and at the credit union I grew up with... which is now an hour away from me, but I still have an account there because their loan application process is something like this: me: I found a car I like, can I have some money?  them: sure, let me put someone on the phone that knows your voice so I can verify it's you.  But otherwise, I don't keep much money there.  Just enough to pay my car loan, and maybe a little bit extra fun money.

(Side story: when I was in college, my roommates and I went to my parents' house for the weekend, and on the way back out of town I drove through the drive-up to get some cash.  I pulled up, asked Brenda for $40 or whatever, took the money, and rolled the window back up.  Turned around and saw my roommates staring at me with their mouths open.  It never occurred to me until then that to do this at other banks, you would need things like an account number.  Or ID.)

Okay, so, I deposited some money into my credit union account.  Only I THOUGHT I deposited it into my credit union account... but actually I grabbed the wrong check card and deposited it into our joint checking account.  So that night, Tom and I went out to dinner for his birthday at a nice little restaurant near my hometown.  I wrote out a $70 check from my credit union account.  And then realized upon checking my account some time later that I had STUPIDLY put the money in the wrong account.  Oops.  Apparently this restaurant doesn't send checks through twice, which I find sort of crappy, especially when it's a local check in a small town.  And apparently, the penalty for this, on top of paying the $35 fee, which I was fine with, because it's my own stupid fault... I have to go to a FOUR HOUR class on 'worthless' checks.  AND, this class costs ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS.  And this class was today.  So, this girl, who has now bounced a total of one check in her whole entire life and who obsessively enters her every single dollar spent into Quicken and who has six ING Direct accounts labeled for saving in different capacities and secretly wishes she was an accountant or financial adviser, spent the hours of 4 to 7:30 with a retired police officer learning how to balance her checkbook... which is to say, I learned, um, NOTHING except TO DOUBLE-CHECK THE FREAKING CHECK CARD YOU'RE USING TO DEPOSIT YOUR MONEY.

*breathing.*

At least we got done a half hour early.  But I didn't get to see Max today except for the 20 minutes or so this morning when I woke him up, got him dressed and gave him a sippy cup.  Which really sucks.  I hate days like that. 

Also: Tom got laid off today.  It wasn't really unexpected... he was a contractor and that sort of comes with the territory.  He actually had an interview this morning for a new job, and has another one or two in the works, so I'm not that worried about it at this point.  But it still sucks because he liked the job... it was totally flexible which worked great with coaching.  I guess we sort of knew all along this was coming but were hoping for the best.  I wish the funding would have came through so he could stay there... but, that's the government for you.  They did pay him a ton of money to just sit there for the last month though.  They're very efficient.

Pictures will make me feel better. :)  Here's Max over the weekend... hanging out in his PJs on Saturday morning...

And my boys at the baseball games on Sunday... it was Max's first real Saints game.  I like this one of Tom because it's how he always looks when I say I want to take a picture... thrilled.

Alright, time to put this day to bed... here's hoping the rest of the week goes better!

101 in 1001 - no soda for a month

In the month of April, I did not drink soda*... not a single drop.  I put this on my list because I was getting kind of concerned that I was drinking too much.  I used to drink Diet Coke when we went out to eat, and that was pretty much it.  Not very often otherwise.  But recently I had started drinking it at night... or I'd grab a can in the afternoon at work.  And you know that when you go out to eat you're really drinking about a six-pack if you keep sucking down the refills like I do. :)  So, I figured I'd give it a try. 

And honestly, I didn't really miss it.  The first couple weeks flew by and I barely even noticed.  I already pretty much knew I didn't need it for the caffeine... the only time I'll grab a soda for caffeine is maybe if I'm driving home late at night.  Otherwise, I don't really need the stuff... I've never been a coffee-drinker and to be honest the thought of drinking soda before lunchtime sort of grosses me out.  I did notice the following during this experiment:

• If both Tom and I drink water instead of soda when going out to eat, we save up to $5-6 on the meal.  That's a LOT if you add it up over the month.
• I lost 5 or so pounds in the month of April.  Was it related?  Maybe... I don't really think I increased my water intake that much, and I always drink diet but I know the experts say that sometimes even diet soda can make you gain or keep weight on.  I did try to eat better though too, so I'm not sure.  I guess we'll see if I gain it back now. :)
• I really think I just LIKE soda.  In fact, if we're going out for drinks there are times when I'll get a Diet Coke just because it sounds better than a real drink.  So, after this little experiment, I don't think I have a problem... but, I was happy when May 1 rolled around and I could enjoy it again.

The only time that I was close to cheating was when I went to visit my parents for the weekend, sometime around mid-April... my dad helped me pack up the car as I was leaving.  When I was walking out of the house my dad said, 'I put a can of your favorite pop* in your car for your ride home.'  Aww... my dad is so nice.  And I almost wanted to drink it just because of that! :)  Well Dad, I didn't drink it on the ride home, but...

... it waited for me in the fridge until May. :)  Thanks!

* I call it 'soda', but generally, Minnesotans say 'pop'.

101 in 1001 - painting our bedroom

Our bedroom is finally finished, which is the first item I'm crossing off my list.  I just have a few things to clean up, and maybe another picture or two to hang.  But, most of it is done. 

Let's remember the room as it was when we moved in:

Ahhh, the memories.  Ew.

This is the room now:

We took the border down and painted, obviously.  The ceiling has molding now and I painted the middle a metallic bronze (it looks much different/better in person, I think).  The ceiling fan had to go. 

Here's a wider shot.  I swear, why does bedding always look SO much more wrinkly in pictures?

These are some of my favorite wedding pictures.

I was saying in my last post how I love invitations and all that stuff.  I planned my wedding invitation for years.  I knew long before I was even engaged what I wanted it to look like.  Seriously... I am such a loser.  I wanted it to be very classic, and very formal, our parents' names and 'request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their children' and all that.  And it was SO PLAIN, but I loved it.  And it hangs in our bedroom. :)

It feels good to have the bedroom done.  I feel better when my bed is made and my room is relaxing (purple ceiling = not relaxing).  Unfortunately, our adjoining bathroom still looks like this:

Mark my words: one day I will live a life free of floral borders.  This may be my next project.

we have a winner

So, I was amazed at all the comments on the giveaway post... definitely my world record.  I guess giving something away brings people out of the woodwork! ;)  I'm joking, I'm so glad you all left comments, especially new people - it was great to hear from you!  And some of you have sweet blogs too!  Why y'all been holding out on me?  Why am I saying 'y'all' when I grew up 100 miles from the Canadian border?

Okay, first of all, the best joke award goes to Travis.

so a frog comes up to an engineer and says "kiss me and i'll turn into a beautiful princess." the engineer picks it up, smiles, and puts it in his shirt pocket. a few minutes later, the frog says "kiss me and i'll turn into a beautiful princess and do whatever you want!" the engineer takes it out of his pocket, smiles, and puts it back in. the frog tries one more time "kiss me and i'll turn into a beautiful princess, do whatever you want, and stay with you forever." again, the engineer does nothing. so the frog says "what's with you? don't you want a beautiful princess to spend the rest of your life with?" to which the engineer responds "listen, i'm an engineer. i don't have time for women. but a talking frog? now that's cool."

HAHAHAHA.  My dad is an engineer... I love it. :)

And now, for the GRAND PRIZE.

First, I printed off everyone's post and we put them in Tom's hat.  Umm... that was a lot more paper than I had planned, but don't worry, we recycle.

Then, the official drawer was ready to begin (looks excited, doesn't he?).

He went for the hat (am I making this suspenseful enough?).

And made his pick!  We used the first one out. :)

And... we have a winner!

That's right... Jaime is the proud new owner of a $25 Target gift card!  Congrats!  I'll email you soon for your address!

Okay, so this is funny... I was keeping an eye on the comments as they came in, just to see who left the actual 1000th comment, even though I wasn't going to award the prize based on that.  And guess who it was?  Yep, it was Jaime.

Gives you chills, doesn't it? ;)

Thanks again to everyone for playing, I loved hearing from you (and hearing all your jokes, too)!

may day

Okay.  So some people have asked what happened when I took on a tortilla chip and the tortilla chip won.  The story is this: Tom and I were eating chips and salsa a week ago tonight.  My chest started hurting a little bit.  I was kind of shifting around, like, oh, that's weird, kinda uncomfortable, hmm, maybe it's just heartburn or something.  It still hurt later when I headed to bed.  The next morning I woke up and it STILL hurts.  It's right in the middle of my chest, hurts more if I push on it.  It hurts all day at work, but not too bad.  I pick Max up after work and head home, I'm playing with him, helping Tom make dinner, whatever, and OH MY GOD I'M IN PAIN.  It hurts to raise my arm, it hurts to pick Max up, it hurts to breathe, I'm actually crying because I'm kind of a baby like that.  It still hurt over the weekend, and now a week later, it's almost gone, but I can still feel the spot if I breathe in really deep or press on it.  So, to make a long (and boring) story short: I must have scratched my esophagus with a chip.  This is called, in medical terms, "Food laceration of the esophagus" and according to a study I found, "The current popularity of hard taco shells, taco chips, and related Mexican-style foods using these chips make the esophageal 'taco tear' likely to become more common." 

The moral of the story: Eat responsibly.  CHEW YOUR FOOD. Or you yourself may wind up with a taco tear.

Otherwise, things are going good.  Baseball season is winding down... this is the last weekend of regular season games.  They are playing right now and I am THANKFUL I am home listening on the radio and not down at the stadium because it feels like 34* with 35mph winds... brr!  I almost have our bedroom finished, just hanging the curtains, so I'll post some pictures of that soon, and I have a few things to cross off my 101 in 1001 list... OH, and the winner of the drawing (I'll post that tomorrow)!  Comment on the post if you haven't yet!

Max's birthday party is going to be on Mother's Day.  It's just going to be family, maybe 12-15 people or so, and we're just going to grill and have cupcakes.  I made invitations anyway, because I love anything to do with paper (I was in heaven when I got to make all this kind of stuff for my wedding).

I so copied that from somewhere.  And it's not even that creative.

Tonight Max and I went to Target and picked up some party supplies.  We had fun - he was laughing the whole time and cracking me up.  He's finally starting to say 'Mama' a lot.  He's been saying 'Dada' FOREVER and used to say that back to me when I would say 'Mama'.  Tonight while shopping he looked at me and said 'Mama?' and I said all excitedly 'MAMA!!!'  Then he gave me his sly little smile and said 'Dada.'  I swear, he thinks it's a joke!  Hilarious, Max.

We went outside one night this week and played on the deck (our yard is still swamp-like).  It was kinda chilly so I made him wear his hood.

Wipeout.

Happy May Day!  Here's hoping spring actually shows itself soon here...

giveaway

I've wanted to do some kind of giveaway on my blog for awhile now, maybe when I reached a milestone number of hits or something.  And then I thought, what better to celebrate than my 1000th comment?  At first I thought I would just give a prize to the 1000th commenter, but then I realized if I announce that, someone could just come by and spam me with a 1000 comments and win. :)  So, instead, in HONOR of this milestone, I'm going to give away a prize to someone who comments on THIS post, the one in which I will receive my 1000th comment, regardless of which one of you readers actually makes that comment.  I'll put everyone's name in and then Max will draw out of a hat (okay, maybe Max will just put the hat in his mouth, but we'll make it as close to official as we can).

And the prize?  I'm so glad you asked!

A $25 Target gift card... because a) I love Target and b) I was able to get it for free using points from my credit card. :)  And if you don't have a Target nearby, well, I'm heartbroken for you and am not entirely sure why you haven't moved yet.  But you can still use it online, so cheer up already.

Examples of things you could buy at Target:

1. A new swimsuit for summer (cute!)

2. Some new sandals for summer (yay!)

3. A good book to read at the beach (fun!)

4. A Global Bazaar item for your house (stylish!)

5. Diapers (real-world scenario!)

So to enter the drawing, just leave a comment on this post.  The only rule is that you'll need to leave a valid email address, so I can contact you.  The comment doesn't have to be anything specific (although my husband says he needs some new jokes, so feel free to leave one of those).  And no, it won't help you to leave more than one (especially if they are bad jokes ;).  I will accept comments through midnight tomorrow.  Good luck!

ryan's first birthday

Like I said in my previous post, we went to my nephew Ryan's first birthday party on Sunday.  For anyone that is newer to my blog... last year, my sister-in-law, Anne, was due on May 1st and I was due on May 2nd.  She won the labor lottery and delivered a week early, and I heaved myself around for almost two more weeks until Max was born on May 8.  And then we had ourselves two little cousins.

The first time they met... Ryan, 17 days old, and Max, 4 days old.

And now Ryan is one! 

He LOVED the cake!

And even tried to share some with Mommy...

Max even wore a hat for the occasion.

Then the boys took Ryan's new wagon out for a spin.

Ryan loved it!

Max was not quite so impressed.

Thanks for the fun party, guys!  We'll see you soon for the next one. :)