So, I have been meaning to write about our trip, but there's not a lot that I didn't write about in blurbs on Facebook. We visited with family, saw the friends that matter most (that weren't sick or not feeling up to seeing anyone, let alone visitors from a strange land) and we had fun! Halloween was incredibly painful, as I knew it would be. I'm grateful that we got to spend a good chunk of the day with Chris' parents, who are some of the most awesome people to ever walk the earth, and we went trick or treating with Marisol and her son, Diego. Nothing exceptionally noteworthy, aside from spending the Sunday before we left with my friend Saz and her gorgeous kids, and the trip from LC to ABQ with Chris' mom (and my terrible bout of stomach flu that lasted exactly 24 hours. WTF? Seems I left that little souvenir for my step dad to catch. Whoops.)
We got to see my brother, whom Dante absolutely adores. For days, all he could say was "Uncle Jesse!" and it sucked that we didn't get to see more of him. I must demand in this very public platform that my brother gets his narrow butt up here soon for a visit. No ands, ifs or buts, J. You need to get here and stay for at least a warm weekend so we can go to the zoo and a museum and such. Start saving; food and couch space is on me.
What surprised me the most (in an awesome way) was seeing my cousin Lauren. I knew in the back of my head that she is now an adult (!) and going to school, but to see what a gorgeous young lady she has become just blew my mind! She's incredibly smart, bright, responsible and sweet. She truly has become the Whole Package, and I am incredibly proud of her. But part of my brain still goes back 21 years and I remember holding her a month after she was born. She just blows my mind!
There are a few people I wish I got to spend more time with (Yvonne G., Emilia. Robert, Stacie...) but I sincerely hope they know I tried so hard to see as many people as I could and stretched all three of us incredibly thin. At the very latest, I'll be there next year for Emilia's wedding come hell or high water, so there's that....
While we were there, Dante's vocabulary grew by leaps and bounds! Scarlett had her first taste of solid food! She started holding her head up much better! Dante is making even more of a transition from "toddler" to "real live boy" a la Pinocchio, and we're all richer for the experience.
Since we've been home, I've watched as Dante is even more autonomous and Scarlett is showing her true, precious colors. Dante is defiant, but I have to remember to step back and be mindful that I can't helicopter him until he's 30. Scarlett is very much my diva. She likes things done a certain way, and she'll reward me with a smile and her tongue sticking out. She has started to cut her first tooth this week, and is now eating solid food twice a day. She's so incredibly pretty, to boot! Her eyes sparkle when she smiles at me. I think she's fully aware that I will do anything for her, and it shows.
My gorgeous husband is gone this week, visiting his family. Before he left, he set up Skype on his computer, and then since he's been down there, he set it up for his mom, too. So every day since we bought the mic (Wednesday) we've chatted a few times, and Dante is not happy until we call Daddy. It's sweet. I love how much Dante loves his dad.
So, I am off to get Dante up, get Scarlett up and cuddle up with some Sesame Street before I make Dante help me clean. This morning, he emptied out the dishwasher. Kinda. He took all the silverware and put it in one spot of the silverware divider, and he put the stock pots where they go without me having to show him. I did have to show him where the cookie sheet went, but he was so happy to help, I thought his head was going to explode!
Good night!
Friday, November 25, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Chocolate Tush with a Side of Baby Powder
Today was ....a day. Woke up at ten because both Scarlett and Dante didn't want me to get any sleep. Figured I'd get up, go get a bus ticket for a friend (long story), then go get Skyrim for the Love of My Life.
Got to 7-11 near our apartment to grab the bus ticket (new feature on greyhound's site! You can pay cash and get the web fare, and avoid the gift ticket fee! Sweet!) and I got the card set up only to have the douche behind the counter tell me they've never had it work (he didn't even try!) and he basically shooed me out the door.
Went to Starbucks to borrow a pen and make a phone call to Greyhound, and let Dante blow off some steam. Decided to look for another 7-11 at home online to save myself some time, and brought us upstairs for diaper changes and cup/bottle refills. I immediately sit in front of my computer and I'm done with phone calls and "research" in less than 3 minutes. I get up to ask Dante where his cup is, walk into his room.....and he's COVERED in baby powder. He must've "made it rain" up in that be-otch! He looked like he had grey hair! I asked if he was a Mexican in white-face and he just said "yeah" in that cute voice of his that makes me both want to scream and give him a hug. Took the obligatory pictures, sent one to his dad to remind him that keeping baby powder in this kids' reach is a bad idea, and brushed him off with my big ol' kabuki brush. Seemed appropriate.
Got them strapped into the car, hit construction traffic, and heard FOUR "Chris Songs" in a row on the radio. Not a cd that I threw in, on the radio. Sigh. Hit up the 7-11 near where I used to live in Glendale, ran in with both kids, and got the ticket. Ran out, got them strapped back in and went a block away to GameStop. Got them out again and this time got the stroller out because I wanted to hit the loo and I *hate* putting Scarlett's car seat on bathroom floors. Got the game for my dear Hubby and figured I'd run to Safeway, since I had a coupon for a free Starbucks drink from Safeway's Starbucks that expired today. I didn't have my binder with me (DAMN!), but I was only going for bread, milk and mayo, stuff I don't have coupons for anyway.
On the drive to Safeway, I was behind a lady with 6 kids in the car. Yup. A CAR. Not a single one of those kids, who seemed to be between the ages of 3 to 12, were in a car seat. Two kids were in the front passenger seat without the seat belt, and the other four were fighting in the back. And they were fighting with the kids in the front! I did what any other mom who loves their kids would do: I called dispatch. I gave the lady the make and model of the car, the color, the plates, and explained what I saw and where we were down to the block. She was as dumbfounded as I was! I really hope that driver got busted! What if something had happened? What if my brakes failed and I accidentally rear ended her? My kids and I would have been safe, but those kids would have been roadkill! I couldn't in good conscience let that go unreported!
Got to Safeway, got them out, and decided to let Dante ride in a car cart. Ugh. I hate those things. They don't steer for squat, and the floors in this particular store leave a lot to be desired. I hit Starbucks first, and the poor kid behind the counter was very confused by my coupon. Seems it was his first day back there all alone, and the bar code had faded a bit. Sigh. While I was waiting for him to figure it out, Dante decided he wanted "Dante Coffee" (hot chocolate, for those keeping score), so I said "Sure! But you have to stay in your seat or I'm taking it away!" Bless his tiny heart, he tried! The tiny, cut off straw that the barista gave him was too short even for the short cup and got stuck in the opening. Add the sad state of the floors and the rickety-ness of the cart, and it was a recipe for disaster. I checked out and ran back to Starbucks on the way out to get water to make Scarlett a bottle, and that was when I saw how much of Dante's chocolate had spilled. Aw, crap. I was thinking we left a trail of hot chocolate all over the store! Then I saw his butt. Oh, my goth. He had a chocolate stain from his middle back to his upper thigh on the left side of his Osh Kosh overalls! I turned around, and there was a reporter from 9News, talking to a manager as a camera guy set up. I ran. Heaven forbid my child's chocolate-y butt winds up on the local newscast.
Got them home, fed them both, and now they are both out cold. Wow. What. A. Day!!!!
Got to 7-11 near our apartment to grab the bus ticket (new feature on greyhound's site! You can pay cash and get the web fare, and avoid the gift ticket fee! Sweet!) and I got the card set up only to have the douche behind the counter tell me they've never had it work (he didn't even try!) and he basically shooed me out the door.
Went to Starbucks to borrow a pen and make a phone call to Greyhound, and let Dante blow off some steam. Decided to look for another 7-11 at home online to save myself some time, and brought us upstairs for diaper changes and cup/bottle refills. I immediately sit in front of my computer and I'm done with phone calls and "research" in less than 3 minutes. I get up to ask Dante where his cup is, walk into his room.....and he's COVERED in baby powder. He must've "made it rain" up in that be-otch! He looked like he had grey hair! I asked if he was a Mexican in white-face and he just said "yeah" in that cute voice of his that makes me both want to scream and give him a hug. Took the obligatory pictures, sent one to his dad to remind him that keeping baby powder in this kids' reach is a bad idea, and brushed him off with my big ol' kabuki brush. Seemed appropriate.
Got them strapped into the car, hit construction traffic, and heard FOUR "Chris Songs" in a row on the radio. Not a cd that I threw in, on the radio. Sigh. Hit up the 7-11 near where I used to live in Glendale, ran in with both kids, and got the ticket. Ran out, got them strapped back in and went a block away to GameStop. Got them out again and this time got the stroller out because I wanted to hit the loo and I *hate* putting Scarlett's car seat on bathroom floors. Got the game for my dear Hubby and figured I'd run to Safeway, since I had a coupon for a free Starbucks drink from Safeway's Starbucks that expired today. I didn't have my binder with me (DAMN!), but I was only going for bread, milk and mayo, stuff I don't have coupons for anyway.
On the drive to Safeway, I was behind a lady with 6 kids in the car. Yup. A CAR. Not a single one of those kids, who seemed to be between the ages of 3 to 12, were in a car seat. Two kids were in the front passenger seat without the seat belt, and the other four were fighting in the back. And they were fighting with the kids in the front! I did what any other mom who loves their kids would do: I called dispatch. I gave the lady the make and model of the car, the color, the plates, and explained what I saw and where we were down to the block. She was as dumbfounded as I was! I really hope that driver got busted! What if something had happened? What if my brakes failed and I accidentally rear ended her? My kids and I would have been safe, but those kids would have been roadkill! I couldn't in good conscience let that go unreported!
Got to Safeway, got them out, and decided to let Dante ride in a car cart. Ugh. I hate those things. They don't steer for squat, and the floors in this particular store leave a lot to be desired. I hit Starbucks first, and the poor kid behind the counter was very confused by my coupon. Seems it was his first day back there all alone, and the bar code had faded a bit. Sigh. While I was waiting for him to figure it out, Dante decided he wanted "Dante Coffee" (hot chocolate, for those keeping score), so I said "Sure! But you have to stay in your seat or I'm taking it away!" Bless his tiny heart, he tried! The tiny, cut off straw that the barista gave him was too short even for the short cup and got stuck in the opening. Add the sad state of the floors and the rickety-ness of the cart, and it was a recipe for disaster. I checked out and ran back to Starbucks on the way out to get water to make Scarlett a bottle, and that was when I saw how much of Dante's chocolate had spilled. Aw, crap. I was thinking we left a trail of hot chocolate all over the store! Then I saw his butt. Oh, my goth. He had a chocolate stain from his middle back to his upper thigh on the left side of his Osh Kosh overalls! I turned around, and there was a reporter from 9News, talking to a manager as a camera guy set up. I ran. Heaven forbid my child's chocolate-y butt winds up on the local newscast.
Got them home, fed them both, and now they are both out cold. Wow. What. A. Day!!!!
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