Halloween Eve

We thought we ought to give the costume a trial run. It was mostly successful except for a little protesting in the beginning which was followed by fascination and then obsession with zipping and unzipping. Should be interesting tomorrow night! We also visited another pumpkin patch which was less than a block from the entrance to our neighborhood. We drove by, and Ian said, "Pum Pum!" So, on a whim, we decided to go.

Shoo flu, don't bother me!

I'm not really a worrier. My family and I have been blessed with good health, and while I don't take that for granted, I don't get all worked up over germs, illnesses, and that sort of thing. Sure, I'm careful, but not paranoid... until NOW.

Now that I know people and have even interacted with folks recently who have come down with the swine flu, this epidemic is starting to concern me. And the fact that Ian and I would both be considered "priority" for getting the vaccination doesn't help... especially since I can't find anywhere in town that is offering it right now! I called the "Flu Hotline" today at 4:35 p.m. What do you know, their hours are 7:30a-4:30p. I'll be calling again in the morning.

John and I got our shots for the seasonal flu. However, when I took Ian in to get his, he also had an ear infection, and they wouldn't give him the shot until he was through with his 10-day antibiotic. Well, ten days later, the pedi office was OUT of flu shots... and so was everyone else in town! Well, except for the creepy downtown health department which I DID go to and decided NOT to go back after they gave me the runaround. Plus, the place just smelled like sick... we'd probably catch the flu in there just waiting to get vaccinated. (Their propaganda posters offered a hefty dose of paranoia in and of themselves, too.)

Ian has an appointment for next Friday to FINALLY get his flu shot. They offered the H1N1, too, but later said he had to be two years old. I'm so confused. I thought infants/toddlers were supposed to be high risk? And we're only four months shy of age two, so does it really matter? I do get a little disgusted with doctors and health insurance and all that mess sometimes. It makes me thankful that we're just in for the shot, not the treatment, and that we don't have to visit doctors that often. Phew... um, achoo!

That's right, Ian and I both have been puny today. I've had a cough sneaking its way in for a few days now. Today the throat is raw and sore. Ian's nose started running like a faucet today, too. So, sure, we're not diagnosed flu patients or anything, but worry, worry, cough, cough! I need my swine flu shot!

Oh, my beloved Zumba

Let's just face facts here. Zumba here is not like Waco's version. It seems Waco has got it down pact. It's high energy. The routines are simple. There is variety in the moves and songs. It's fun. And it burns calories. I knew people there. Oh... and the times it is offered worked well with my schedule... and Ian's. That's probably the first problem I have with Zumba here. The times just aren't great... either during Ian's naptime or at night when John would be home. Grrr.

The second issue I have is that I liked the class at Gold's Gym the best, and so that is why I joined there. Plus with several locations around town, I figured I would have access to a lot of classes and different facilities. (Oh, and membership was cheap, that was a plus.) Well, enter new instructor for said Zumba class and all was lost. This chick does it like step aerobics! Seriously? All the step-touches are BORING. Then there's another class/instructor that does mainly salsa. Again, BORING!

I guess I'm just a Zumba snob. I'll be in Waco this weekend, and I plan to visit a class. Hooray!

OK, so I found something similar here that I think will suffice. It's called BodyJam, and it offers the variety I'm looking for, plus it's definitely a fun workout. However, the format is different from Zumba. The routine is the same every week... for six weeks. The structure is more like kickboxing where you do a few moves and then keep adding on until you've got a whole "combo" worked up by the end of the song. So, sure, I can see the need to continue the same routine, just to get the hang of it. But after a few weeks, well, I'm just a little bored with it.

Exercise simply cannot be boring in order for me to be motivated to do it. My most consistent exercising has been with either Zumba or taking walks with friends. Curves certainly didn't offer enough excitement to keep me interested. And sure, I have access to tons of cardio and strength training equipment... but BORING! I just can't bring myself to go get on a treadmill.

Does Waco Zumba want to telecast? I would totally tune in.

Blog Edits

The other night, I developed a new header which then began to drive the overall look of my blog. As a designer, the I felt the black background was a must to work well with my header. And that's not for lack of trying out other color schemes, either. However, I do realize that web design is different from print which is what I work with most often. I was concerned about readability, and I've gotten mixed comments on that. Enter web guru husband with his fabulous suggestions.

First, I changed the font to a sans serif, so I think that will help you folks out. If you still have trouble reading it OR you're like Grandpa, and you print my blog posts, here is an option for you!

Visit this site: Readability

On the left side of the screen, you can choose the layout you like best. Then find that little "readability" icon on the right, drag it to your browser's toolbar (Grandpa... where all your bookmarks are, most likely, at the top of the window just below where you type in the addresses.) Now, it appears in your toolbar, and when you get to any site you can't read well, just click that button and viola!

Now, if you're reading a blog, you'll have to click on the blog post's title (Grandpa, for example... click on "Blog Edits" above) in order to isolate the post and THEN click on "Readability." Otherwise, it picks some random post for you to read which may not be the most current one. (John says it's detecting that post as the main content, for some reason.)

I found this handy tip and more on John's blog. Did you know the hubby had a blog?

He has a limit...

John and I have always been impressed by Ian's flexibility in adapting to most situations. We put that kid through a lot sometimes... long car rides, long days with little/no napping opportunity, meeting/staying with different people, etc. We were gone this past week from Tuesday through Saturday, and well, on Saturday, Ian told me he'd had enough.

Granted, he slept in four different locations over the week and experienced a few new things. So, I'm guessing the crowds and loud noises at the Baylor Homecoming tailgate were a little much for him at the end of a busy week. I really can't blame him for his meltdown, but at the same time... I really just wanted to visit with some friends!

Parenting really teaches you that agendas can be completely thrown out the window in a moment's notice. Or without any notice at all.

Fortunately Ian slept the whole way home in the car. This was essential since we were scheduled for a family-fun event with John's work that evening. Ian did OK at this, although a little clingy at times (perhaps concerned about the loud music), and thankfully he was able to run around at will, otherwise things might not have gone well at all.

Ian thought running around at will would be a good idea at the grocery store this morning. And not just any store... Whole Foods, where we needed to browse a bit to see what we wanted to get. John and I were able to tag team and get through the shopping trip, but this did involve Ian getting in and out of the cart, lots of tears, and an eventual spanking. Man, these terrible twos must be upon us!

After a good long nap this afternnon, Ian seemed back to his happy and easy-going self. I hope he was just reacting to the craziness of the past several days instead of entering into a more difficult stage of his upbringing. I'm sure it's the latter, though, because it has been increasingly difficult to get him to cooperate lately... especially when a grocery cart or high chair is involved. He simply does not want to be contained. And he wants HIS way, of course.

Oh, the joys of toddlerhood.

There's always a bright side

John seems to be itching to buy a fancy new car. We both know that possibly is far down the road, but I guess driving the dumpy Sentra has gotten to him. In the same way, I really want a house. I feel like after six years of marriage and two kids, we should be able to settle down. And there are just things about this rent house that irk me... reminding me that it's not mine, and I wouldn't choose to buy it, either. However, there is ALWAYS a bright side... you know, like the fact we HAVE a place to live and modes of transportation. To further illustrate my point about the house...

I've been bummed about putting our brand new washer and dryer in the garage. Usually it's so hot and stuffy in there, who wants to deal with hot laundry? Plus, it's always a trick to not drop clean clothes on the dirty ground. Oh, and every now and then, I'll meet one of our roach friends out there. Ick! But today, with the weather being so nice, I opened the garage door and folded laundry out there. It was actually pleasant! And if the utilities had been indoors, I wouldn't get to enjoy the cool breeze... I would end up inside a hot, stuffy room anyway. (Don't get me wrong, I definitely want a laundry room in the next place, though!)

Another thing to brighten the day... we recently discovered a rose bush blooming in our yard! And well, with all the rain we've been getting lately, we've actually grown somewhat of a yard, too. We've enjoyed spending some evenings outside. And this little guy, well, isn't he nice to look at? He's my desktop wallpaper right now.

Pum Pum (Ian's word for pumpkin) and Boots!

We went to a fall festival/pumpkin patch in the Hill Country this weekend. Ian had a lot of fun running around and exploring. For the full album, click here.

Viva la Via!

Via is the name of our city's bus system, and we had our first bus ride experience today! Interestingly enough, our car had to go in the shop (ugh, and $500 later we got to bring it home) so it was a good day to take the bus... not to mention the weather was beautiful. Plus, since John had the CRV with the carseat in it, I knew if something went terribly wrong, he could come and rescue us! But it turns out the whole ordeal was not that big of a deal, and I certainly feel more confident to plan bus rides in the future. So, here is how our adventure went:

Oh, how I planned! I mulled over the website and plotted our "itinerary," which really only involved a 15 minute ride up to Walmart and back. I made sure I had everything we needed... exact change for our fare, small camera (so I wouldn't look so silly taking pictures), snacks, diapers, wipes, comfort measures, etc. But I didn't want to take a bulky bag, so I had a wallet-on-a-string type of thing and a small (read: very small) backpack.

The bus comes every hour to a stop only a block from our house. We headed out to catch the 9:15 bus, and well, we watched it drive by! No, we weren't late... we were just at the wrong bus stop on the wrong side of the street! I gestured to the driver as he passed, and he pointed the direction he was going... which wasn't toward Walmart. How did I goof? We waited for about ten more minutes before I decided to head home and double check. Yup, that was our bus. Hmmm. So, back out to catch this bus at 10:15, then! On the bright side, I realized when we got home that I had forgotten to put dinner in the crockpot, so that worked out well, I suppose. Here is Ian waiting at the wrong bus stop.


So, we finally boarded the bus and were on our way. Thankfully Ian's ride was free, and mine was cheaper than expected. Hooray! Good news since we had car repairs to pay for... although the other guy waiting at our bus stop said he had to take the bus because he didn't have the $350 to get his car fixed. How's that for perspective? Here we are complaining about having the money to fix our car, and really, we're riding the bus for fun.

Ian behaved SO well on the bus. I think he was a little unsure for about half the ride. This is his concerned face that he wore most of the time.


Pictures were hard to take because I wanted to be attentive to him plus the sun was shining in the window making it difficult to get a good shot. It was funny, whenever the bus would stop or turn, I would put my hand on Ian to secure him, and he would always push it away. Like, it's OK, Mom, I got this.



So yeah, we just went up to Walmart to get some essentials, and we ended up getting lunch at McDonalds, too. The 9:15 trip would've been better because Ian was getting tired and cranky toward the end. On our return bus trip, he got a little fussy because he wanted to get down, so we had to bust out with Buddy and paci which helped soothe him (and probably everyone else) for the ride home. Good thing I came prepared!


We got off a stop too early on the way home, but the weather was nice, so I didn't mind walking a few blocks to get home. Ian picked up acorns along the way, although he was frustrated that his jeans had a fake pocket. When we got home, he promptly went down for his nap. So, that was that! No big deal, eh? So, I'm going to make Ian a bus shirt, and I need your help in deciding what it should say. I have the Via logo and some bus graphics I can use. So, what do you think?

T-shirt ideas:
Viva la Via!
I take the bus.
The bus stops for me.
Sweet ride
Bus Boy
Route 606 (this is our bus route, and I would design it like the Route 66 sign probably)


Your suggestions are also welcome! Thanks for tuning in to our bus ride saga!

Seriously?

Um, how old are you, Ian? Somehow I feel like my 19-month-old shouldn't be able to do this.







When I say "Here he comes," it reminds me of something... what was it? Oh yeah, THIS post which was only taken about a year ago, people! I've been watching his videos lately, reminiscing... partly because he has changed so much and also because I try to imagine what it will be like the second time around.

For more park play photos, click here. I've been a little shutterbug here lately, so watch out!

Lil' Pumpkin Eater

Yeah, so I knew I wouldn't get away with something like the pumpkin hat from last year. So we went a different direction this year. For the full album, click here.

A Mom Moment

Let's face it, toddlers are some of the most self-centered little creatures we know. (Although I have a theory that we are ALL that self-centered, we've just learned to express it in a way that is more socially acceptable.) I honestly feared that when Ian learned the word "mine" that it would soon become his favorite word. Well, with sibling on the way, I'm sure "mine" will rear its ugly head in the future, but right now, he only says it occasionally.

I have watched Ian play with other children, and he rarely fights for a toy. Usually he just gives it up and moves on to another toy. He's sneaky, though. He keeps an eye on that original toy, and when the other child puts it town, he makes a beeline for it to pick it back up again. He's not really all that possessive about things, although he definitely wants HIS way all the time.

So, the real point of this post is something I experienced this morning that just made my heart melt. When I dropped Ian off at Mother's Day Out today, there was a little girl standing and crying at the door (the outside entrance, not at his class). It was raining, so I was trying to rush him in the door, but he stopped and studied the girl for a minute. He seemed very concerned for her. I told him to tell her "hi," and he waved. I told him she was sad, and he went over and pat her on the arm. The girl looked a little bewildered. Well, quite frankly, I was, too! Then we said "bye bye" and went inside.

It was a glimpse of my son's compassionate heart, and it makes me tear up just thinking about it now. That's not something I taught him to do... he just felt compelled to do it! He's always been concerned when other babies cry. I realized that I don't give him much credit in this area, thinking that he's just a self absorbed little kid. But he IS developing feelings, relationships, and looking outward... not just toward his parents with whom he interacts daily, but toward complete strangers! (The girl was a year or two older, so she's not in his class.)

Sometimes I look at my child when he's in a state of outright defiance and I think, what a little innate sinner! But today, I saw God's love displayed through my son, a reminder that He died for our sins and gave us the capacity to love people like He does. Sometimes I am the one who is too self-centered to see these things or even take the opportunity to learn something from my 19-month-old.

More Words

As part of the morning routine: up, down, blinds (we open them), breakfast, bus (we see out the window), all done, button (to open garage), bye bye (to Daddy)

While driving around: bus, truck, car, sky, clouds, trees, bump (speed bumps), pool (in our neighborhood), park

At lunch today: chicken, fries, juice, mine, bug, fly, dog (outside), where's dada?, sauce, napkin, all done, trash

Around the house: backpack, play, fort, shoes, box, blanket, book, couch

Body parts: eye, nose, mouth, chin, knee, ear, bottom or bum, elbow, toes, feet, teeth

An Announcement

John convinced me to give Wordpress a try, so here it goes. You might want to check this out...

For the love of buses

It's been said before, but this kid really loves buses. He points them out wherever we go, and he can tell the difference between a city bus and a school bus. Sometimes I don't even see them until they pass us, but he can spot them like a hawk! He's also pointed out day care buses, church buses, and charter buses. Buses, buses, everywhere! (Yes, he already owns a toy bus, so don't get any ideas.)

So, I think I'd like to take my kiddo on a bus ride. (He also likes to point out cars and trucks when we're on the road.) We're in the big city now, and I see the bus stops EVERYWHERE. Like there's one just a block over from our house. But here's the thing... I have never navigated public transportation by myself. In fact, I've really only ridden buses, taxis, and subways when traveling overseas. Even though I'm an educated person, and I'm sure the added bonus of having everything in my own language would make this process easy, I'm a little worried about it.

First of all... riding a bus with a toddler? Is that safe? Obviously, there's no carseat or anything. But I'm sure people do it all the time. What if Ian won't sit in a seat, though? What if he tries to run around or throws a fit when I try to keep him contained? It's just so unpredictable. I anticipate that he would sit in his seat and look out the window, and we could make this a fun outing by spotting all the cool stuff on the road as we go. But I just don't know.

And where would we go? I mean, the point is just to ride the bus, not go anywhere, really. Clearly I would choose somewhere safe so we're not sitting at some ghetto bus stop waiting for the next bus to come along. And how would I time it? Seems like if I actually had somewhere to be at a certain time, I could plan this better. But since I don't, I'm a little clueless on where to start.

Our city's bus system has a website, and I can even pay for my fares online. But there are different kinds of buses and different types of routes, and ahhh... it's already starting to confuse me! I've gotta appear confident in the situation, otherwise Ian might pick up on my insecurities and react to them. (He tends to react when he senses that I'm stressed.) I wish I knew a bus driver I could hash it all out with. Am I just being silly? Is it a good idea to take Ian on a bus since he's expressed such an interest in them? Or should I wait until he's older?