Nicky's Portraits

Nicky and I had a very busy day today. First, he had his six month portraits taken today. He did so well! He was very smiley and cooperative. Enjoy the photo below (don't worry - I bought the rights to it so I'm not ripping it off!). If you want to see the rest of the portraits, click on this link: portraits.

After portraits, we ran some errands around town in preparation for our trip to North Dakota later this week. At USABaby, I found a cool pacifier that closes when you drop it on the floor (great idea) as well as a teether that looks like a raspberry with a pacifier-type handle. Then we renewed one of my library books. When we went to Walmart, things took a turn for the worse. First, I discovered that I'd left my wallet in the car when I went to buy some Claritin at the pharmacy. I had to leave the cart there and haul Nicky outside again. When, we got to the car, I was horrified to find out that Nicky had had a major blowout and pooped out the back of his diaper. It was not only all over him and his clothes but also his car seat! After cleaning him up in the car, we were about to go back to the store to finish our shopping, but wait... Where were my keys? They were in the back-seat and we were locked out! In all the yucky poopy excitement, they had fallen out of my pocket. So I called Scott since it was almost 5pm by this time. He agreed to come bail me out. In the mean time, we went back into the store to finish the shopping But wait - now Nicky was hungry so I took him to the restroom to feed him. That was fine, but when I stood up, the toilet flushed automatically and quite loudly. It scared the bejesus out of poor tired Nicky. He was terrified (he generally hates loud noises) and screamed his head off. I was able to talk him down, and we went back to shopping again. Nicky fell asleep as I bemoaned what a horrible shopping experience it had been. On top of all of the unfortunate incidents that had occurred, I also could not find a number of items that were on my list. Scott arrived just as we were finishing up with check-out and we were finally able to go home. Ow, what a day.

Now, all I can think about it everything I have to do tomorrow before we leave Thursday morning. How do you prepare for a 9 hour car ride with a 6-month-old? Is that even doable? We'll see. We have a bit of flexibility in our schedule. Tomorrow I need to do laundry, pack, finish scanning some family photos so I can bring them back to my mom, and run a few more errands. We'll see if I can get it all done!

I'm 30!

Yes, today is my birthday, and I turn 30. Why am I publicizing this?!? I'm not sure... Whatever, I guess its not a secret, so why not. I feel strange about turning 30, but such is life. I definitely can't believe I'm 30 already because my 20's just flew by, but really I don't think 30 is that old. Its just weird to think of myself as 30. I'm sure I'll get over it soon.

As far as birthdays go, I can't complain. Its been a pretty good one. First off, I get my first Mother's Day and my 30th wrapped into a nice 2 day celebration. Happy belated Mother's Day to everyone. Yesterday, my brother, Daren, flew in from San Diego for a 4 day visit (notice the California tan). He and Nicky are having a lot of fun together being silly. Anyway, after we picked him at the airport, we drove to Platte City where there was supposed to a BBQ contest going on. But, when we got there, we found out it had ended the day before:( So instead we took Daren to Arthur Bryant's downtown for some authentic KC BBQ. Yum!! Then we headed to the River Market to check that out. Overall, a very nice day. I got a nice card from Nicky and Scott as well as a set of almond scented lotion, soap, and a candle. Just what I wanted!

Today, I opened my other present - some really nice and way-too-expensive clothes that Scott picked out for me. I love them, but have to exchange the jeans because they are a size too big:)!! I have never had a pair of jeans this trendy and nice before; I almost feel guilty about it and I didn't even buy them! I also got the cutest card ever from Nicky and Scott. It reads, "Pooh loves Piglet, Piglet loves Pooh, and Guess what Mommy, I love you!! Happy Birthday." Nicky even signed it (with Scott's help, of course). Tonight, we will go out for supper and have some cake. Thanks to my parents, my mother and father-in-law, my brother and sister-in-law, and my cousin Tyla for the lovely birthday cards as well as my friends Beth and Sarah for the birthday emails. And thanks to my Auntie/Godmother Arlene for sending me birthday wishes over the phone. It feels nice to be loved!

In other news, today the insurance adjuster came to look at our basement. Our finally tally of losses: a repair bill to fix the water heater, my Martha Stewart pre-lit Xmas tree, ALL of my Xmas decorations:( (2 rubbermaid totes worth that obviously weren't water tight), a big huge box of my old textbooks, and clean-up time and costs. Overall, not too bad. The only thing I am really bummed about is the Christmas stuff. I am going to try to salvage my Hallmark decorations. We'll hear back next week from the insurance company on how much they will compensate us.

Tomorrow, Daren, Nicky and I (and hopefully Scott in the afternoon) are going to the amusement park. I hope Scott comes so I can ride some roller coasters (someone has to sit with Nicky on the sidelines). I absolutely love roller coaster so I can't wait!!

Basement Flooding

My basement is filled with poop water. Yes, I could have stated that more nicely, as in "sewer water," but the more graphic language captures the horror better, I think. Let me explain... There has been ongoing heavy rain for the last week and many of the basements around here are taking on water. That's usually all fine and good - we have a sump pump and we know well enough to put up all of our things a few inches so the occasional stream doesn't wreck them. However, we weren't fully prepared for the current scenario. Last night, at its height (we think), the water was about 8 inches deep!!! And this isn't just normal rainwater, its sewer water due to the lack of a storm sewer system in this part of our lovely city. I'll let Scott explain how the city has been stalling on making this set of somewhat expensive but obviously needed improvements with his inside knowledge of the city. All I know is, yesterday in between deluges, when the water had subsided in our basement, there was actual excrement on the floor (see picture). Possible losses include our Christmas tree, a box of textbook that I didn't have high enough and some dress pants I had been drying on a rack. On top of that, we are worried that our water heater, furnace and washer and dryer might get damaged or ruined. This morning, Scott said his shower was only lukewarm.

Well, the water is draining right now so soon I will have to go downstairs and inspect damage and start clean-up. With 5 more days of rain forecasted, this will likely be an ongoing situation. Did I mention that I need a shower and have a ton of laundry to do...

Shoes and Other Excitement

Last night I did a little Internet shopping. As some of you might know, I have super narrow feet so I have to special order all my shoes. I can't go to a regular shoe store:( So, there is this pair of shoes that I have been eyeing online for a month that I love but they're $90 - my shoes are always extra expensive but I hate to pay that kind of money. Yes, I am cheap. Anyway, see the pic below. I like them because they are similar to tennis shoes so they should be comfortable, but they aren't too sporty and are casual enough to wear everyday with almost anything. Plus I just like how they look. I was hoping they'd go on sale, which they did, but at that point the ones in my size were gone. I've been searching the other online shoe stores since then to see if I could find them cheaper. Last night I finally found them on sale for $80 plus I had a code for $10 off. And then before I checked out I found out I got another 10% for registering with the website, so the final total for my $90 pair of shoes was $64!! I love saving money!! I like shoes, too:)

I'm also excited because my brother Daren is coming to visit in a week over Mother's Day and my birthday. I am excited to see him and for him to see Nicky again. It should be fun! And yes, my birthday is coming up on May 14th, but the yucky part is that its my 30th birthday. Dang, I'm getting old. But it will be cool to have my first Mother's Day on Sunday the 13th followed by my 30th birthday the very next day and be able to share both with Nicky, Scott, and Daren.

Lastly, despite my first playgroup never getting off the ground (the kiddo hosting the group got sick the day before its first meeting so it had to be canceled and it just hasn't been rescheduled since), I've finally found another parenting group to join. Its the Kansas City Attachment Parenting group, and I joined because the attachment parenting philosophy matches my parenting style and philosophy very well so I know I'd find like-minded parents there. The KCAP group has an online discussion board (which is nice for when I'm at home with Nicky) but also many meet-ups and activities. I went to a playgroup last Wednesday which was very fun. There was even one little girl there that was a few weeks older than Nicky and just as big as him. Both and I and the other mom enjoyed that fact. This week the group was canceled (due to illness again) but I hope to attend regularly each week. I'm also going to try to go the Mom's Night Out tonight where a bunch of the moms meet at a restaurant once a month. Its sure nice to have a social life again! Only problem is I'm a bit quiet and sometimes shy in big groups, but I'm sure that given time I will warm up and make some friends. So far, everyone I've met has been very nice. I'm already looking forward to the Spring Party they're having this Sunday as well as a big Fourth of July party that's already planned. Now if I can just get Scott on board, the scrooge:)