Monday, October 11, 2010

The Ward House of Sick

Friday afternoon, Travis sent me a text complaining that it felt like someone had punched him right in the eye and it was bloodshot. Oh and he's crazy light sensitive in that eye. I stated the obvious, considering our son fought pink eye a week and a half earlier. He said, "No, it's not pink eye. I've had that before and this is not it."

"Ok, well, why don't you go to Urgent Care right after work?"

A reluctant, "Oookkaaayyy." That guy NEVER wants to go to the doctor. UGH.

Travis calls after his appointment and says, "You'll never guess what it is."

"Pink eye."

"Yup."

He then proceeds to tell me that there is a two hour wait for his prescription to be filled, so he was going to go buy some stuff from Home Depot, then go back for the antibiotics. He finally pulls into the driveway at 8:30 pm. His eye is GROSS, you guys. Seriously gross. I have since dubbed it his zombie eye, because that's exactly what it looks like. Just his left eye, mind you. I need to remember to take a photo tonight because it's crazy. You can see all the blood vessels in the whites of his eye and his iris is clouded over and yellowish. Yucko City.

Travis headed straight to bed after his shower in the dark because he cannot stand any light whatsoever. He had to drive home at 8 at night with his sunglasses on because the headlights threatened to split his head apart.


Saturday night, Aiden enjoyed playing with the dancing ghost my dad sent for Halloween last year. It never ceases to amaze me how much Aiden is growing up. He is able to go up and push that button as often as he wants. And he dances every time. This was him last year with this same ghost. (Feel free to peruse the other Halloween videos - oh how he's grown!)

Saturday morning, I already had plans to help Rachel move. Since I was unsure if Travis would be around to help because he might have to work, I had already arranged for Robert to watch Aiden. I dropped him off, then headed over to Rachel's. It took two trucks, four cars, two trips and four hours. I was bruised and tired, but felt good about getting in the only workout I've had in years. HA.
I ran home, took a shower, then headed off to the Ramby's to visit wee Skylar. Again, I forgot my dang camera. My cell phone takes pretty good photos, but not good enough for my liking! The little boys played in the sand box all evening while the adults chatted and ate dinner on the back porch. Alexa's parents were both still in town. It's always so nice to see them!

After dinner, Aiden and Blair took a bath to get rid of the sand that had found a home who knows where. That was really nice because the idea of putting Aiden in his carseat like that made me cringe. Plus! Now we have ammo for when they are misbehaving teenagers. ;)


Blair gave Skylar a good night kiss. So sweet!



Sunday was my turn to feel like crap. Aiden had been cranky all weekend because he was teething, so he was handful. And since Travis fell too crummy Saturday to work on the house, he decided to do it Sunday. The result is a totally trashed house. I did nothing to stop Aiden from getting into everything and I never made him put up his toys. There is stuff everywhere. Plus, Travis thought there was no need to put a tarp up to block the doorways to the rest of the house before he started to work. That means there is now drywall dust covering the entire house.

I told Travis that we needed the tarps. He said there was no need, there would be barely any dust to get around. Whatever. I told him he had to clean the dust up then. HA. We'll see if he actually does that, because it is definitely coating all the flat surfaces of our home.

So, the work he's doing... Travis and I have wanted to close off the door from the kitchen to the office since we bought the house. That way we can market it as a three-bedroom, instead of a two-bedroom. We had hoped to sell the house this spring, but our real estate agent urged us to wait at least a year, since the market had not improved enough for us to make a profit. So, we have a few things we'd like to do before next spring, closing this doorway is one of them.

To keep Aiden out of the work zone, we spent the afternoon in the backyard.



Aiden has recently mastered his ability to back up and sit down without having to look at what he's doing. He used to crawl onto a chair, then flip over onto his butt to sit. Now he just backs it up like a pro. And he is all over this sitting business. He sits on anything he can find that is the right height. The step into the garage for example.

When Travis had a moment to break before dinner, he came outside for a bit. We got out the sidewalk chalk and the boys drew a few pictures. I remained in my seat, since the process of standing took every last drop of energy I had.



There's still a lot left to be done for that doorway, but the construction portion of the work is complete. Travis closed off the doorway and now the guest bedroom seems so much smaller. There is more wall space to arrange the furniture along, but the room itself appears less spacey. I cannot tell much of a difference on the kitchen side though. The only irritation I have right now is remembering that I can no longer walk through the house that way.


Travis temporarily set in the cabinets so we could discuss layout and that made the space seem much smaller. It's for the better though. I don't have nearly enough cabinet space, and all that extra room in the kitchen only meant more hot bodies taking up space while I cook.

I'm not sure how I feel about the cabinets just yet. Without paying a fortune for custom cabinets and counters, it was impossible to match the original countertop and cabinets. We also cannot afford to replace the existing counters to match at this point. The new cabinets will not be permanent though, so the next owners can easily remove the cabinetry if they see fit.

I hope we're making the right choice!

Friday, October 8, 2010

It's reached the Danube

Did you guys hear about the toxic waste spill in Hungary? If not, look it up. The destruction is immense, and we haven't even found out what the long term effects of the toxins will be yet. A reservoir broke that was holding the toxic by-products of an alumina factory. The sludge that was left behind is clay red, making it very obvious what it has touched.

The photos of clean up workers standing next to buildings gives you a good idea of how high the toxic tidal wave was that rolled through the three neighboring villages. It looks to me that it was at least 5 feet high. The aftermath looks like an angry, red hurricane made it's way through the center of the continent.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Going Mobile

It's always so irritating whenever one of your utilities gives you a problem. They are all things you use on a daily basis, so for one of them to fall out from under you is to ruin your daily life. My most recent struggle was with my cell phone. I have have been using Verizon Wireless as long as I've had a cell phone. All of my family and all of Travis' family uses Verizon, so we have stuck with it. Actually Travis and his family used to use Sprint, but had too many problems with them, so they switched to Verizon.

I have ALWAYS had a good experience with Verizon - until my last phone that is. I had the Samsung Sway. They are no longer selling it in the store, but it is still available on eBay and Amazon. DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE. The chances of someone getting a plain phone like that are probably minimal, but I want to put that out there just in case.

I had horrible reception with the Sway, where Travis' phone always worked. The battery only lasted from 6 am, when I took it off the charger in the morning, until maybe 5 or 5:30 in the evening. Most of that time I am at work. So there was little to no talking on the phone during that time. And I didn't have the Internet, so I wasn't burning up battery surfing the web or looking up apps. It was just a crappy phone.

I used to charge the phone on my ride home from work, but the car charger broke from such frequent use. I didn't want to sink any money into this stupid phone, since I had planned to get something else as soon as possible.

I went into the store on four separate occasions in an attempt to fix the problems. The first time, they gave me a new battery. The second time they uploaded new software (what the hell that has to do with a battery, I don't know). The third time they insisted on trying to give me a new battery again since it had been 6 months since I'd had a new battery. The fourth time, I went in and said, I don't want a new battery, I don't want a software upgrade. I want a new phone. The new phone had the same problems. So I guess it was just THAT model that sucks.

I get discounts with Verizon through my work and one of those is that I qualify for an discounted upgrade before my 2-year contract is up. I counted the days until I could throw out that stupid Sway and that time came a couple weekends ago. I had talked around to everyone I knew with Verizon to see what they thought of their current phone. I have always had excellent phones until this one, so I had hope that I could find a phone that wouldn't die before I got home from work.

I decided to go with the enV Touch by LG. I have always had LG phones. I don't know what made me sway from that brand. No pun intended. Ok maybe a little.

This is a big step for me though. I have avoided touch screens like the plague. I have always had a hard time using the screen with my nails. I text a lot, so the idea of struggling with a touch screen key pad really did not appeal to me. This last time I went into the store and got that horrid phone, I realized that the majority of the phones in the place were touch screens. I worried that the next time I went in there, "normal" phones would be obsolete and I would be forced to use a touch screen phone when I wasn't ready. So this time, I opted for a touch screen with a QWERTY key pad. That way, I can go back to the real keys when I get frustrated with the touch screen. Which, as it turns out, is pretty frequent so far. I'm learning though.

The only downfall for me with this phone is the data package. I got the smallest one, since I didn't want to be spending anymore money on a cell phone. It seems so frivolous. I have access to a computer all day long. The only time I can't get to a computer is when I am driving. And it doesn't really seem like that great of an idea to be on the Internet while I'm driving. So why should I need Internet on my phone? So far, the part I like best is the Mobile Email. I like that I get a text whenever I get an email.

I ordered the phone online and had to wait over the weekend for the Monday delivery. I was worried FedEx would come while I was at work. Since it was a Signature Required package, I didn't want to miss it and then have to drive into Houston to pick it up. Travis suggested leaving a post-it with a message stating I was expecting a package and to sign it. I was skeptical, but did it anyway to get him off my back. Turns out, IT WORKED. They took the post-it and left the package. Awesome.

So far, the battery has lasted all the way until I go to bed around 11. And it was showing no signs of dying on me. Tuesday it was down to one battery bar (out of four) because I spent all day learning how to use the darn thing. Wednesday, it still had three bars left, which is HUGE. I am ecstatic about that. I should probably try calling Travis at lunch time to see how well the reception is here at work. The Sway didn't work at all in my building. So obnoxious.

Things are looking up!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

October at the Beach

I really wanted to go to the beach this weekend since the weather has cooled down so much. We have been going first thing in the morning whenever we go, to avoid the midday heat. Probably not such a good idea now that it's started to cool down. It was SOOOO windy that we had to use the Murano as a shield from the wind. We still had a good time though.






I made Aiden a "motorcycle" out of the sand. I think he enjoyed it for a good two minutes before crushing the "handlebars". =)



Then Sunday night we went to Travis and Robert's softball game. Sadly, it was cancelled for the second week in a row, but we didn't waste an opportunity to play on their playground!




We went up to meet Skylar last night and she is just as precious in person as she is in her photos. It was so surreal going to meet Alexa in the same hospital in which I had Aiden. It brought back a lot of rough memories. Aiden was a great baby, so no stressful thoughts about him. 'Just' the recovery. Seriously though, Skylar is adorable. She slept the entire time I was in the room. When I went to trade posts with Travis (Aiden wasn't allowed in the room), she woke right up. I ran back in after Travis came back with the news of a wide-eyed baby. Alas, she was nursing by the time I got in there.


It was such a surprise to see how tiny Skylar was. I know they come in a small package, but sheesh. Aiden is a MONSTER now. I know he was never actually as small as Skylar after he was born, but I know he was only a pound heavier. That's itty bitty. Seriously... can't believe it...


I'm hoping to visit the Ramby's this weekend after they are home from the hospital, so hopefully she'll be awake at some point while I'm there. She was mighty colorful in her sleep, but I'd love to see her awake!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Scattered Thoughts

I had a hair makeover this weekend. It was probably a month overdue for a trim, so I went in for that. Unfortunately the lady did the opposite that I asked for - I wanted my hair tapered around towards my face, but she angled it away instead - but I cannot complain. I get the $13 hair cut at whichever chain store is closest when I think of it.

I also dyed my hair. I do this from time to time to help hide the greys that started to take over my head when I was 25. They are actually a startling white, but calling them 'whites' just doesn't sound right. The brand I had been using before was fading too quickly for my preference, so I talked it over with a few of my friends and family who dye their hair regularly. Since I was buying a new brand, I didn't know exactly which shade to get. I ended up going a little darker than I had wanted. But! I guess it's getting into the colder months and a darker 'do couldn't hurt.


I cut my finger this weekend on the tamper-evidence foil of sour cream. I didn't realize it until there was blood everywhere and Travis was questioning the blood in the sour cream. Oh. Guess I cut myself?

It's super annoying though because it's on the tip of the index finger on my right hand. I'm right-handed. Now, every time I write, or try to open a bottle or vial, or anything that puts pressure on the pad of my finger, the wound opens up and starts to bleed again. Gross. And annoying.



New found morning struggle: Putting a jacket on Aiden. He HATES them. As Alexa puts it, you'd think it was burning his skin off. He literally throws himself on the ground immediately after getting the jacket on. I'm hoping he gets used to this soon. It may only be chilly in the mornings at this point, but that will change as the winter progresses!



Travis forced me to buy some things for myself this weekend with some extra money he earned. He didn't have to force me into it, but I sure felt guilty afterwards. I don't know why, but ever since I had Aiden, it feels horrible to spend money on myself. One of my favorite items from all the shopping I did is the Mr. Coffee Electric Coffee Grinder.

Why did no one ever tell me what heavenly goodness comes from grinding your own bean?! I know that coffee usually tastes like it smells when it's in the bag, but the level of intensity that comes from freshly ground coffee beans is insane. I now fully understand why coffeehouse coffee always tastes so much better than what I make at home. BECAUSE IT DOESN'T COME FROM WEEKS OLD PREPACKAGED COFFEE GRINDS.

Seriously. Yum.



Can't wait for tonight! We're going to meet Skylar!!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Skylar Sophia Ramby

Alexa had her scheduled c-section this morning!! I got a text from Dad, but no photos as of yet.

Skylar Sophia Ramby

Born at 9:13 am
6 lbs, 15 oz
19 inches

I can't wait to meet her! We're going to visit them in the hospital tomorrow after work. I wanted to give Alexa a chance to recover a little today and spend some undivided time with their new addition. I can't wait to hold a fresh baby!!

***UPDATE***

I've got photos! She's so tiny and round!!

Dad took a photo while she was in the nursery


Close up (with the tiny hospital hat)


Mommy and Skylar (check out that hair!)

Friday, October 1, 2010

Yo

Aiden has a favorite show. This is the first time that I have seen him ever sit down when a show starts.




If you aren't already privy to the world of Nick Jr, it's called Yo Gabba Gabba. The first time I ever saw a clip of this, I couldn't believe it was a real show. After watching it through, start to finish, I actually like it. It's a little trippy, but the colors are vibrant and the "host" is hilariously entertaining. I usually find myself singing along to the various jingles (which happens easier the longer I'm a parent to a toddler). It can be repetitive at times, especially when they are trying to get a lesson across, as in the clip above. BUT! That is excellent for a toddler. Repetition is the only way for him to learn at this point.

I don't know if it's because he has been sick with pink eye and his teeth have been bothering him off and on for weeks or if he is genuinely interested in the show. Honestly, I think he just likes the show. Aiden LOVES music and this show is full of it. If the tickets weren't so dang expensive and currently only available in the middle of a week day, I would take Aiden to the live show.

For the time being, I enjoy that if Aiden is being really cranky and nothing seems to make it better, we can just turn this show on (thank you DVR!) and let him dance his irritations away!
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