Thursday, April 30, 2009

Four-eye flashbacks

Yesterday, The Hubby and I found out that our Little One needs glasses. Not only does she has my hair and eye color, but appears that she also has my bad vision. I found this news to be very heartbreaking. The one wish that I had for our child was for him/her to have the father’s eyesight. I didn’t care about hair, skin color, eye color, sex etc… but I didn’t want him/her to have my eyesight. *sighs*

As we were going through the different frame options (which were very limited since she is only 13 months old), the memories of being called “Four-eyes” and “Coke Bottles” came flooding back. I hated my glasses… the endless teasing from my so-called peers. I hated the fact that I wasn’t allowed to play contact sports whether in gym class or on a school team. My eyes water with just thought of our Little One having to experience any or all of this. The day that I turned 16 and my parents allowed me to get contacts was like the second coming of Christ to my life.

The Hubby tried to cheer me up to say that she will get picked on anyways and that kids are cruel. I know this but only in my mind…not in my heart. I can almost imagine the future comforting conversations with her about kids teasing her about her glasses.

Since she has to have glasses (no choice), I was hoping to get the best looking pair for her. As I mentioned above, there is a very limited selection… (not to mention, the very limited store of funds that we are currently experiencing). The one place offered regular frames that we could just picture her tearing off her face and breaking them. Heck, she almost did it to the sample pair. The second place offered plastic frames that are made for babies & kids. We opted to go to the second place. They were a bit more expensive but we believe that it will save us $ in the long run because replacement glasses won’t be needed so frequently. They are not the prettiest of frames though. I really had a hard time accepting them. I mean, I could just get the color black and the Little One will look like imposter Harry Potter. (To see the frames: http://miraflex.info/catalog/basic/miniBaby.htm).

In about a week, the Little One will have a brand new pair of Clear Pink Pearl glasses. May the years of torture and taunting begin! Sorry Little One.

Pet Peeves - Do you have them?

Everyone has something that just "rubs them the wrong way". I know that I have a few minor pet peeves... such as:

* When a car quickly pulls out in front of you from a side street, even though there are no cars behind you... then they proceed to go under the speed limit.

* $1536.00 is “one thousand five hundred and thirty six dollars”. Not “fifteen hundred and thirty six dollars”

* When my husband puts my food scale away in the cupboard despite that I use it all the time. (Frankly, I think that's why he does it.)

What are yours?

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Monday, April 27, 2009

Nothing like getting your bush trimmed…

Okay… now get your mind out of the gutter, reader(s)!

This past weekend was a good weekend around the household. The weather was very warm and sunny. It allowed us to have our first BBQ of the season. Some good friends even came over and helped me tackle the backyard work. It’s amazing how much work a postage sized yard can create! Finally, my irises (sp?) can thrive and enjoy the sunlight without having to weave their stalks around old dead leaves and other debris.

I even managed to be outside for the majority of Saturday and walk away without getting sunburn! That’s almost unheard of for my fair (a.k.a pasty white) skin! Kudos to Coppertone sunblock!

This was a pretty big weekend for the Little One too. She got to enjoy the BBQ as well as had her first taste of delicious soft served ice cream and a ride on the Merry-Go-Round on Saturday. Unfortunately, she does have a small scrap on her little nose from an incident involving a TV dinner stand. However, she is quite the trooper and didn’t let that little run-in ruin the rest of her weekend.

We did have one casualty this weekend. “Cinnamon” tackled a bush in the backyard with a pair of trimmers. Needless to say, the bush didn’t stand a chance… and now doesn’t stand at all. I made a note to myself to direct Cinnamon clipper happy self to better targets. Our backyard is in a major need of a makeover. I’m sure that I can harness this particular persona of our dear friend to our advantage in the future!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Wordless Wednesday




**Check out: http://kaits-photoblog.blogspot.com/

Monday, April 20, 2009

Weekend of Seclusion

This past weekend was the first weekend in a long time that it was just the three of us the whole time. Looking back in hindsight, I think I subconsciously made sure that it was. I turned down a friend’s dinner invite… didn’t call back another friend’s phone call.

The only time that any one of us left the house was on Saturday when The Hubby went grocery shopping. I stayed home and watched Little One. I think we needed it. Correction… I know that I needed it. We don’t know what life is going to throw our way in the coming days, weeks… hell… months. This seems like it was the last weekend before things become reality.

I know that The Hubby doesn’t technically lose his job until the end of the month. However, I think this coming weekend is going to be when “what ifs” are going to start crashing in hard and becoming more of a reality.

This past weekend was like our last one of our former life.

Friday, April 17, 2009

The calm before the storm...

It is a weird feeling that I’ve been experiencing. It is like I am waiting for the impending doom to hit my life… my family. I do not like it in the least.

The Hubby and I have taken (or in the process of taking) steps to put our survival plan into place while he waits to hear from potential employers. Now, we wait for the pieces to fall into place as his last day approaches. I consider myself a rather patient person… but this wait is awful.

Will our plan work? Will The Hubby find a job that he likes but also pays the bills? Shall I pick up a second job just in case? I know that he will find a job. However, can we survive on our plan until he does? All these questions/thoughts are running through my mind. I can just imagine the thoughts that are running through his mind. I guess I am thankful that the Little One is too small to comprehend what is happening around her.

There is one positive thing in all of this… our friends and family. It’s amazing how supportive they have been to us since hearing this news. It is a wonderful feeling to know that we have surrounded ourselves with these kind, understanding and generous people. How can the Little One not grow up to be a wonderful woman with this kind of support structure?

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Wordless Wednesday






**Photo courtesy of The Pioneer Woman (http://thepioneerwoman.com)**

Monday, April 13, 2009

Karaoke is for the mediocre singer…

Now, with the Little One, we hardly get to go out. We decided to continue to take advantage of the MIL being in town and go out despite the bad news that we received this past week. The Hubby and I met up with some friends at a local bar this past Saturday night for a little bit of karaoke. The Hubby is a big fan of getting up there and sing. I may sing one or two songs depending on my self confidence that evening (or also how much liquid courage I’ve partaken).

Being a holiday weekend, the crowd was a little different than what we are used to. The Hubby and I drank perhaps a little too much thanks to our friends’ generosity. (I mean, I tried an Irish car bomb for the first time. It wasn’t bad… just don’t see what all the hype was all about). Good time was had by all, I believe.

Now, despite my slightly impaired state, I realized that the talent level of this particular evening was higher than normal. Some of them were right down pretty good. That sucked. Why? I believe that good singers cause an atmosphere that will prohibit the less timid from getting their butts up on stage to sing a song. I find that a little bit sad. Don’t get me wrong. I really don’t relish having to hear someone that sounds like a cat screeching. However, if anything, that helps encourages people to get up on stage because they think to themselves … “man, I can’t do worse than that guy”. Also, the good singers tend to pick songs that make them sound good (no matter what the subject matter is) instead of picking songs that will get the party crowd involved. It’s like “Lightning Crashes” by Live versus “Love Shack” by B52s. See the difference? Both good songs… but one is definitely a bit more welcomed by the party/bar crowd.

Don't worry, I did my small part in keeping the talent level in check… I suspect that I will hear from The Bangles about how awesome “Cinnamon” and I sounded at the mic for “Walk like an Egyptian”. It’s just a matter of time, I’m sure.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Friday Afternoon Commerical Break

Shaken household...

This has been quite a week... unfortunately, it has not been in a good way. Unfortunately, earlier this week, The Hubby found out that he will be losing his job. This has definitely shaken the foundations of our lives for he is the primary provider for our little family.

I will not get into the details of the reasons for the departure. Frankly, it gets my blood boiling and I'm trying to keep a calm, confident, & supporting persona. Kudos to me.

Lately, we don't have much "fluff" in our lives. However, we will need to make some drastic reductions in our lives. It is going to be quite a major adjustment... nah.. that statement doesn't even come close to portraying the magnitude of change we are currently facing.

Here's to hoping for the future and praying that we do not walk away from this with too many scars.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

One day is good... the next not so much.

It’s absolutely amazing how things can change so dramatically in one day. The “rug” has been whipped out from under our feet with an announcement yesterday. Everything that we have been working for has been put into jeopardy. I don’t think my heart has stopped pounding against my chest since I got the phone call from The Hubby yesterday afternoon. All these thoughts of our responsibilities (bills, house, and our baby girl for examples) keep crossing my mind no matter how hard I try to bury myself into my work today.

I don’t think I’m able to say exactly what has happened yet. I’ll have to fill you in on that at a later time... But please know that we don’t mean to be absent minded these next few days. We have a lot that we need to figure out.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Weekend Recap

Let me just start off by saying that I am still completely exhausted! However, I think fun was had by all!

As you read from my previous post, I scheduled a much needed hair appointment at a new salon for this past Friday. The hairdresser trimmed off all the dead ends (Believe me… there was a lot) and fixed the existing layers. We kept the length of my hair relatively the same instead of going with a shorter style. She pointed out that there will be a lot more that I can do with styles by keeping it. She gave me some pointers on how to work with the curls so that they are not frizzy. She also gave me some pointers on how to straighten my hair but not have it so pin straight. Overall, I was pleased with my experience. I’ve already put some of the pointers to work. I must admit that I have trouble seeing my hair so curly after trying to hide it for so long. I’ve received some positive feedback from friends and co-workers. So, hopefully, I can keep working on this transition. I think there are some additional changes that I would like to make as far as my hair is concerned. However, I need to work with this new information to see exactly what those future changes will be. Either case, I think the hairdresser that I saw is the person to keep with during this transition. In the meantime, I will continue to “swallow” the guilty feeling of leaving my old hairdresser behind.

The rest of the day on Friday (and certainly well into the evening) was spent on preparations for the Little One’s 1 year birthday party. There were games to set up! Veggies, fruits, and cheese to be sliced! Cookies to be made! Furniture adjustments! I was amazed the amount of work that it required to get a birthday party ready for a 1 year old. *chuckles* I can definitely see why parents often have birthday parties at party locations such as Chuck E. Cheese or Color Me Mine. I must admit that let the details get to me too much on Saturday. I wanted a clear start to the party festivities which was hard to do since a lot of the guests were already at the house since they had to travel long distances to attend. However, I think the party went pretty well. I had games for the adults to make the party more interesting. The Little One just soaked up all the attention and love from the different party guests. The other kids worked on the projects that I had purchased ahead of time between breaks from pulling out all the toys that Little One owns. The Little One did pretty good overall. She was not the extreme cake smasher that I had imagine when confronted with her very own little cake. Perhaps this means that she will be a neat child as she grows up. (Here’s to hoping!) The Hubby did a wonderful job as the chef of the weekend by making delicious and filling meals for our family and guests.

Most of the out-of-town guests started their return journeys on Sunday afternoon. It was absolutely wonderful to see everyone. And to those that read my blog… Thank you very much for making this birthday party a wonderful and memorable milestone for our daughter and our family.

Upcoming? Celebrating the Little One's first Easter with the Hubby and my MIL. Hopefully, good weather will come so we can be outside! The Little One got this adorable bubble making machine that I can't wait to get out and play with her.