Busted Lip & Margaritas

Yesterday I dropped Cristian off at school and as he walked over to me he tripped over one of the other kids and fell face first to the ground. Luckily he has awesome reflexes so he caught himself just an inch or two above the cement floor. Yay! No smashed face! Then he burst into tears, I helped him up thinking he was just startled...but then I saw blood. He had saved his nose but bit his lip in the process. It was bleeding like crazy and immediately puffed right up. Poor kid, he has full lips (which are precious), but when they get fat, they get really fat. So, he ended up with a big ol' busted lip. I stayed around for a bit to get him settled while the rest of his class went to the cafe for breakfast. Once he was calm I took him over to join his class. He sat down and immediately all the boys were asking to see it and if it hurt and "cool!" They are really bred that way...I'm pretty sure none of their parents taught them to oooh and ahhh over scars and blood, they just do, instinctively. Here is a picture from last night.

It looks better than it did in the morning, but you can still see it is a little swollen. I asked him after dinner if he wanted to go get an ice cream cone. He said no, that he wanted to stay home and play soccer instead. O.k. Well, that was until bed time rolled around and then he was all about getting ice cream. It was, obviously, too late so I convinced him that he could have some today. This morning he woke up and asked, "Can I watch Jake with my ice cream cone?" Ha! So I said, "You can watch Jake, but no ice cream for breakfast." His response, little stinker, "But, mommy, you said last night I could have ice cream cone today." Well, he got me...luckily I convinced him to wait and have ice cream after dinner tonight...and since he was with Carlos today, I had to call and tell his dad to make sure and give that kid a cone!

On a different note...I got to have a lovely dinner with my very dear friend A. this evening. She is such an awesome lady that I have known for a number of years. We met at work forever ago, but she moved companies 5 years ago and we haven't been in touch for awhile. Strangely, we are both recently divorced and living, literally, down the street from each other. Ha! So great to reconnect and have a nice, long, full of conversation dinner that even included margaritas. Yum! I'm thrilled that through it all we just started where we left off. Isn't it soo cool when you have a friend like that? I have a few of them...I feel like that is how you know that you have a true friendship...time doesn't change your love for each other.

Nascar's Newest Fan

For the first time in history the Daytona 500 was postponed yesterday due to rain. Which was strangely lucky for me. Cristian was with his dad yesterday so we are getting to watch all the action together. Yay! I know, I know, you had no idea I liked Nascar. Well, the truth is I like all sports...including car racing, skulls & even curling. Unfortunately, I don't get ESPN with my cable package so I gotta get what I can from the major networks. Anyhoo, I am very surprised that Cristian is totally into it. For the first 30 minutes he sat in silence. Love that kid. So, I am dubbing him Nascar's Newest Fan. Ha!

On an entirely different topic, I worked from home today. I wasn't feeling so hot this morning. I've been having these vivid dreams lately and I haven't been sleeping well. Ok, ok, not those kind of dreams. Weird dreams. I had one last week where I dreamed one of my co-workers (that I only know by name...I have never even spoke to this person) died from alcohol poisoning. See, I told you, weird. The last few nights I just keep dreaming that I needed to apologize to someone. Strange. I never do anything wrong why would I ever dream of apologizing?? Ha! I'm kidding. Actually, this has a longer story to it. I was on Facebook last week and I was reading a post from an old high school friend. One of the comments on her post was from another friend from high school that I haven't seen in many years. He was a good friend but as we all know I was sort of messed up back then and we lost touch after graduation. So, of course I friend requested him. He accepted, and ever since I have been thinking about way back when. My best memory of this guy was when he defended me to a group of guys talking smack. I didn't know about it until later when he reluctantly admitted what he had done. I was so young and dumb I don't even know if I said Thank You. I was so use to men/boys treating me like crap that I didn't know what to do when one of them was actually nice to me. I was such a mess back them. Just stuffing down all the emotions of divorce and a dad who never had time for me. Yuck! Anyhoo, so seeing this person on Facebook made me think of all of that and apparently my dreams are telling me to go with it and just send him an email saying thanks for being a friend way back when, especially since I wasn't the easiest person to be friends with. Think I'll send that tonight...maybe I can finally get some sleep.

Been a long time

It has been a year of change. Cristian is almost 4...Philip would have been 5 next week. We have moved again and I am taking on a different role at work. All good in their own ways. It has been nice having a 15 minute commute as opposed to an hour commute. Cristian has been throwing less fits...as in I can't even remember the last time he had a tantrum. Hazzah! I am enjoying learning new things at the office and doing some crosstraining. I went back on Weight Watchers 2 weeks ago. They have meetings at my office, so I really have no excuses. It works...I just have to stay focused. No emotional eating...no boredom eating...I have to stay busy. I've been at my company for 12 years so I know I can commit...now I just need to show a little of that in my healthy lifestyle commitments. I want to live...if not for me, then for Cristian. With a little sweat I may even get to my goal weight by the end of the year. Wow, that would be a great New Years. Would love to have a new love to go with that imaginary body I am planning...one thing at a time! Our divorce will be final soon! A simple, no issues divorce is a pain in the butt! Ha! We thought, why pay for an attorney, this is a simple divorce. No property, no splitting assets. Simple. We decided to just put together the paperwork and file it ourselves. Ha! What a joke the county offices are???!!! It has taken months to get a court date...now I'm thinking I should have just bit the bullet and paid an attorney...it doesn't matter now, argh.

So, things are moving along. Cristian is doing so well at school. His teachers like him and he adores them. He has two close friends that he plays with at school and talks about constantly at home. He loves to drum (on the new drum I bought him...yes, I'm a glutton) and shoot his rubber band gun (another new toy, from our trip to the rodeo...he has me wrapped around his finger). He likes to tell Grammie how she 'knows everything' and he expects her to answer all his questions. Yes, she lies sometimes....she likes to say that she is not lying but just 'making up stuff'. I don't really see the difference but whatever gets him to stop asking 'why?'!!

I'm doing ok. Still trying to wrap my brain around being single. It has been almost 7 years since I was last single. How does dating work...more to the point where will I meet dates? Yikes! Actually, it didn't take me long to get use to being the boss again. I've never had a problem being independent...I always prefer to have my way anyway. Ha! But, there are times when I would like to have another adult around to talk to. As it is I talk to myself far too much! :-) Kidding...maybe. Oh, and having someone to kiss and hug and all that would be nice too. Who knows what the future will hold, only time will tell. I'm in no rush...but I am sort of. I still want more babies and I'm already...err...34...so I can't wait forever. Please God, send me the man of my dreams...and do it fast!

I said this last year, but this year I think I am more serious about it. I am going to write a few times a week on this blog. I probably won't post a ton of pictures as that takes much more effort that I can muster in the evening...but I will try to tell our stories. A little about me and a little about Cristian. Day to day happenings that will be nice to look back on years from now.

Shuttle

Do you remember where you were 25 years ago today? I was in 2nd grade, Mrs. Sewell's class. I loved Mrs. Sewell. Fond memories of her and my class are still vibrant in my mind, even 25 years later. That was the first year I was involved in the Gifted and Talented Program. We had spent the first part of the year studying the space program. Christa McAuliffe was to be the first teacher to go into space. We learned about the Challenger and the experiments that Mrs. McAuliffe was going to do while in space. I was so excited to watch the launch at school that morning. We had been talking about it for at least 6 months and I was thrilled. We had moved our desks to the back of the class that day. We only had one TV for the 2nd grade, so we all had to smush into one class. The teachers turned out the lights and we huddled on the floor to watch the shuttle take off. I remember watching the explosion and then looking around at the teachers wondering what happened. No one said a word, us kids just kept looking at each other and then back at our teachers. Mrs. Sewell and the other teachers started to cry softly and hug each other. Even with the tears and hugs, we still didn't understand. Finally, Mrs. Sewell came to the front of the class and turned off the TV. She told us that something had gone wrong with the launch and that there had been an accident.
That night, my mom came home and we watched the reports on TV. They just kept showing the explosion, over and over. Even now, it brings me to tears. This was the first event in my life that connected millions of people together. The first event that I can say, I know where I was. I even remember what I was wearing that day…

House...sold!

What a crazy couple of weeks this has been!!! We decided to move the day before Thanksgiving. It was not the best idea, but it was the only day that worked for everybody’s schedule. I reserved the truck (a big 26 footer), hired a couple of guys to come over and load the truck (with help from Carlos and our friend Sam), and I rented a storage unit. Everything was going well. We found a new school for Cristian and I was excited to move and have a few extra days to get the house in order before closing. Then, the day before the big move, my realtor called. We would be closing the next day…on moving day! I was pretty ticked at the situation, but there was really nothing I could do. I called in mom for help. I was not going to leave 4 dudes unsupervised while I went to sign the papers. Mom agreed to help (Thank You God). It was a tough day that ended around 10pm. We moved everything…to three separate locations…in one day! It was exhausting for all. We even flowed a little moving into Thanksgiving morning. It worked out and we returned the truck on time, and still had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with Carlos’ family at my brother- & sister-in-law’s house.

We rounded out the holiday weekend with a little shopping on Black Friday and a mini-trip to Palestine (TX) on Saturday. We went to Palestine to ride the Polar Express with a bunch of ladies and little ladies in my family. Cristian was, of course, the only boy. We had so much fun! All the cousins thought the tickets were a little pricey, but once the ride was over we knew they were worth every penny! We made plans to make the trip every other year. We had such a blast…spending time together and watching the kids faces during the train ride. It was amazing! A perfect end to a less that perfect week.

Cristian went to his old school for the last time this past Tuesday. The kids made him a big card and his teacher gave him a little gift. We love that school. He attended for the last two years and he loved it. The staff is wonderful and Cristian made such good friends…several of which he has known for the entire two years (since they were 6 months old or younger!).

He started his new school on Wednesday. It is a Christian school that has preschool and K through 12 grades. We are excited that he will have bible education added into his curriculum. His teacher is great and he seems to like it already. After his first day he told me “I making new friends!” When asked if his new friends were boys or girls, he said “Gurls, Petty Gurls.” Guess we better keep a close eye on that kid, he is starting early!

Things are starting to get into a groove with this new normal of ours. Carlos is at his moms and I am at mine. Cristian still doesn’t understand that we can not go “home”. He keeps asking to go home and it breaks my heart every time. I keep explaining that Grammie needs company so we are going to stay with her for awhile. I am feeling like the worst mom ever for confusing him and making all these changes in his life at once. He is doing OK though, resilient little man. He smiles most of time, just like he always has. He is (finally) sleeping in his own bed! Not sure how that happened, but he just decided when we moved and he has done it ever since. I am getting much better sleep now that I don’t have two little feet in my back all night! It is a win-win on that front.

We are sort of looking forward to the holidays…which kick off with a Train Ride this weekend in SA and Cristian’s school Christmas program next week. We still have a few boxes that need unpacking and some organizing that needs to be done at Grammie’s I plan to work on that this Saturday before we head in town for the train ride. I am hoping we get the tree up and decorated on Sunday, so we can enjoy it for a few weeks. Not sure what other plans we have for the holidays, but they will include ham, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, and a chocolate pie from the bakery in Kyle. Yummy! We didn’t really have leftovers from Thanksgiving, so I am going to make extra at Christmas. I love second day ham sandwiches and chocolate pie!

House Happenings etc.

Well, well, I never thought I would see the day…that our house would sell! After all the paperwork and pain…it looks like we are finally on the verge of closing! I should hear from my realtor in the next few days with a closing date. I knew this would happen right around the holidays! I just know I am going to end up hauling a box or unpacking a box over my vacation. Oh well.

Even better news, Cristian is feeling mush better. Did you know that they make Claritan for 2 year olds? They do! My little ball of allergies will be taking them as needed from now on. So glad we found something to help with his allergies. Now, we need to get him back with the humidifier at night. We had another bloody nose last night. Not strep this time, just really dry air. If it is not one thing, it is another

Anybody heard about “Little Buddy” Wade Phillips getting fired yesterday? Carlos calls him “Little Buddy.” I actually pulled over driving home yesterday when I heard the news. Carlos was at work, but I just had to text him. He called me right back. It was the news of the day at our house. Hopefully Dallas can scrape together some dignity and finish out the year on a high note.

Carlos and I caught Cristian saying the F-word in the car the other day. Well, I mean, it sounded like the F-word…over and over and over. We are both pretty sure he was saying something else, but the jury is still out. I can be a sailor, but I have really tight-lipped it since having Cristian. If he did pick up a bad word from me, it would not have been that word.

Now, some deep, thought provoking, rhetorical questions that are on my mind today...
Have you ever worked at a company where your fellow employees were jockeying to get on the layoff list? Even during a recession? How bad must it be at such a place? Did you ever work for a bully boss? How about a boss that said, in a meeting about self appraisals, “If you don’t like working here, you can leave.”????

No Pictures

Most of the time I don’t post because I have no pictures loaded and I just feel so bad posting just my words. I have realized recently that I am totally missing out on the purpose of this blog. The reason I started it. To document my life as it is, pictures NOT required. I know and you know that pictures are great and add a little something extra special to a post. I mean, who could resist my cutie pie Cristian? However, my camera loads super slow and after all the time it takes to get them on my computer, the energy of the post is sucked out. For now, I am going to commit to posting several times a week, but there may not be pictures for awhile.

Here goes, an update!

For those of you that don’t know, we are in process of selling our house. The selling process has been a total bear. We have a buyer and are working toward a closing…hopefully before the holidays are upon us. The bank is just being a pain in the butt. We are having to submit paperwork over and over. I know it will work out and I am so thankful to have an experienced realtor with the patience of a Saint. He is not getting paid enough for sure.

Cristian is almost 2 ½ and he is so busy. We are at the beginnings of the conversation stage. It is really cool to be able to talk with him and get full sentences back. His take on the world is so interesting. This age is so fun. One minute he is making me ‘tea’ with his tea set and the next minute he is ramming wooden people with Thomas the train. I love that he has no idea what gender roles are and that he just loves to play. I was wrapping the tea set for a gift some weeks back and he inquired about it. I explained what it was and how you use it. He made me ‘tea’ immediately and was so thrilled with the make believe that I never did finish wrapping it. He got the tea set and we wrapped something else for the birthday girl. He loves to make you smile and is a big helper around the house. He can sing the cleanup song while gathering his toys and he likes to dust with wet ones. Some of his favorite sayings are:

“o-k.” (he says this to pretty much every question)
“Here come the bridge…duck!” (when we are on the highway)
“You play trains wit me?”
“I need a new one.” (when his wet one is dirty and he needs a new one to keep cleaning)
“I loooove ______!” (you can pretty much fill in anything here: cake, trains, Dino Dan, juice, chips, trucks)
“I love you too, Mommy.) (my person favorite, in response to: I love you Cristian)
“Carlosssss!!!” (after I call Carlos, he calls Carlos…we correct him, but only after giggling…it is pretty funny)
“I go Grammie’s house?” (pretty much every weekend we hear this question at least a few times)

There are so many more, I will try to highlight a couple with each post.

Work is nuts for me right now. We are in our busy season and I am working extra hours trying to keep up with the demands. I am more tired that I think I have ever been. I will be happy when the holidays come, as I need some time to sleep!

Carlos started a new job this past month. He is really enjoying it and is excited about some of the great opportunities they have there. The hours are a little wonky right now, but we are hopeful they will pan out in a few months.
Well, that is it for now. Have a great Thursday!